Innocent Ojefia Blog

   Walking on water is not easy.  Not too many people have the ability.  Let’s see, there’s Jesus, and well, that’s about it. Unfortunately for one pastor in Gabon, his attempt to become the second man to make this impossible feat a reality cost him his life.   Pastor Franck Kabele, 35, told his congregation that he was capable of reenacting the very miracles of Jesus Christ.  He decided to make it clear through way of demonstration on Gabon’s beach in the capital city of Libreville. Referencing Matthew 14:22-33, Kabele said that he received a revelation which told him that with enough faith he could achieve what Jesus was able to. According to an eyewitness, Kabele took his congregation out to the beach.  He told them that he would cross the Kombo estuary by foot, which is normally a 20 minute boat ride. Sadly by the second step into the water Kabele found himself completely submerged.  He never returned. This is not the first incident ...

Major-General Muhammadu Buhar and Senator Bola Tinubu As the All Progressives Congress (APC) prepares for its ward, state and national congresses, it has emerged that the leadership of the party may have quietly decided to settle for a Major-General Muhammadu Buhari-Senator Bola Tinubu presidential ticket to contest the 2015 presidential election.  It was gathered from reliable party sources that the decision to field Buhari and Tinubu as APC’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates respectively, was informed by the massive votes, which the pairing of both men could garner for the party during the election.   By the party’s calculations, Buhari, who remains very popular at the grassroots level in most parts of the North-west and North-East, alongside Tinubu, who is from the South-west, will be banking on an estimated 44,848,911 registered voters who accounted for 61 per cent of total registered voters of 73,528,040, in the 2011 election. This is in c...

      Without a definite, clearly defined plan, becoming rich will seem like an unbelievable dream. This alone will solidify your excuses for overspending and not saving. As the saying goes, “Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.”  1. Overspending If you have a ferocious appetite for spending beyond your means, you’re not alone. According to a survey, of the 52% of people who habitually overspend, many balance the shortfall by taking from their savings, and 22% rely on credit cards. Blowing all your money each month is not a realistic pathway to wealth. Start tracking where your money goes each month, check where you can cut back, and create a ‘realistic’ budget that allows you to pay your bills and invest in a retirement account or an emergency fund. 2. Not Saving Enough Welcome to the club! The personal savings percentage in the US is a measly 4.9% of disposable income. Saving should become a priority if you want to accumulate wealth. ...

      Reports coming in have it that the gun battle heard from the environs of the Presidential Villa this morning was as a result of an attempted jail break by prisoners of the State Security Service (SSS). [READ: Just In: Heavy gunfire heard from Aso Rock on Sunday morning ] The attackers, suspected Boko Haram militants who had been incarcerated at the headquarters of the SSS, were said to have turned on a guard who had brought in a meal. They turned on him and shot him and then laid siege to the Yellow House leading to a fierce exchange of fire between them and SSS operatives who fought to regain control of their base. According to reports, the spokesperson of the SSS, Marilyn Ogar has confirmed the incident. She said: “There was an attempted jail break by our inmates when the suspect handler went to feed them. What happened was that the suspects handlers went to feed the detainees here but suddenly they attacked him with their handcuffs, disarmed h...

     ADVERTISEMENT PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan, on Saturday, slammed some state governors for their comments that bad leadership at the Federal level was responsible for insecurity in some parts of the country. Speaking at the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) North-East unity rally held at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium in Bauchi State, President Jonathan declared that those governors were not doing what was expected of them in their states, adding that they were only trying to shift the blame on the Federal Government.The President, who stated that he was a deputy governor and governor of Bayelsa State for eight years and knew the responsibilities of a state governor, declared that some governors, had been in office for about seven years now and had not been able to ensure that children in the state attend primary and secondary schools. These children, the President stated, were the ones being used by some people to cau...

 20 Boko Haram suspects killed in Abuja DSS attack  …security beefed up around Presidential Villa, Abuja No fewer than 20 Boko Haram detainees have been shot dead in a shootout that ensued this morning at the Department of State Security Service in the Asokoro a district of Abuja. Vanguard learnt that the shoutout erupted when some of the suspected terrorists attempted to free their members and leave the detention facility, which is by the precincts of the Presidential Villa. Trouble started around 6am during the normal handing over and taking over of duties by DSS detainees’ handlers. A competent source said that as soon as one handlers opened the gate leading to the cell where the detainees were being kept, ten suspected terrorists rushed out, snatched the handler’s rifle and used it to shoot him. Seeing the attack, some DSS handlers are reported to have retreated so as not to be killed by the rampaging suspected terrorists. The source said after shoo...

  A picture taken Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013 and showing the building which hosts the Vatican bank, formerly known as the Institute for Religious Works, IOR, inside the Vatican. (AP) ROME –   Two men toting a briefcase stuffed with false bond certificates purportedly worth trillions of euros (dollars) tried to bluff their way into the exclusive Vatican bank in a foiled fraud plot, Italian police said Sunday. Financial Guard police Lt. Col. Davide Cardia said the would-be swindlers, who were wearing business suits, tried to convince Swiss Guards at a Vatican City gate earlier this month that "cardinals were expecting them." Cardia told The Associated Press in a phone interview that the suspects, a middle-aged Dutchman and a U.S. citizen, were detained by Vatican authorities after rapid checks by Vatican officials showed they had no such appointment nor connections with the Institute for Religious Works, the f...

  President Goodluck Jonathan   The Presidency on Sunday said President Goodluck Jonathan is “safe and well” despite the heavy shootings that were recorded at the headquarters of the State Security Service known as Yellow House earlier in the morning. The SSS headquarters is located behind the Villa. Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, made the clarification on his Twitter handle amidst speculations that the Presidential Villa was affected by the shooting. “What happened at the SSS HQs has nothing to do with the Villa. President Jonathan is safe and well. Thank you for your concern and support,” Abati wrote. The presidential spokesman further explained that the incident at the SSS headquarters was an attempted jailbreak that has been foiled, adding that there is no cause for alarm. “What happened at the SSS HQ this morning was an attempted jailbreak which has been effectively foiled. There is no cause for ala...

 

More troubles mount for suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor,  Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as the Kano Emirate sends emissaries to the  presidency disassociating itself from recent comments credited to the  ousted CBN Governor disparaging the Nigerian government, the Presidency  and President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. An authoritatively report said that reacting to bitter complaints from the Presidency over Sanusi Lamido’s attacks and disregard to Federal authorities, the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Abdullahi Bayero personally chided Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, urging him to, “shut up and stop embarrassing the Kano Emirate.” A reliable source from Kano Emirate Council told Pointblanknews.com that  Emir Ado Bayero has continued to express concern over Sanusi Lamido  Sanusi’s actions and utterances since he was suspended as CBN Governor. “In fact, I must tell you that His Highness, Alhaji Ado Bayero is upset over recent comments credited to Majen...

                 ADVERTISEMENT Two members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Warri branch, were found dead inside a vehicle on Twhursday morning at Ozoro, Delta State. Saturday Tribune gathered that the senior and junior lawyers were on their way to court for a case when they were waylaid and shot dead. However, another account said the duo were on their way from a court session when they met their death. As of the time of filing this report, it was gathered that the Warri chapter of the NBA was holding a meeting on the matter, so, the chairman could not be reached. But some colleagues of the deceased lawyers said they suspected murder and not armed robbery as being insinuated in some quarters. The name of the senior lawyer, who was in his 40s, was given as Mr Horis Eguono Dafiaghor and his junior was identified as Mr Samuel O. Ekuwangju both of Whytfort Jurisconsult...

 PANDEMONUIM broke out in Awhire-Agbarha-Otor, Ughelli North Local Government Area, Delta State, recently, when suspected gunmen invaded the community’s secondary school and kidnapped two teachers and one engineer attached to a contracting firm working in the community. The kidnappers numbering three, Saturday Vanguard gathered stormed the school premises at about midday armed to the teeth, took the three victims in the full glare of the students and other teachers of the school who watched helplessly. Giving the names of the two teachers as Mrs Elizabeth Ureubu and Mr Emma Ekperu, the dependable source who pleaded anonymity said the kidnappers who came in a motor bike, also kidnapped one engineer working with a contractor in the community on their way out. Lamenting that the teachers were driven out of the school premises in the Honda Accord car belonging to Mrs Elizabeth Ureubu, the source said they immediately alerted the police and other security agents of the developmen...

President Goodluck Jonathan‘s first child , Faith Sakwe Elizabeth will wed her sweetheart , Godswill Edward Osim on the 5th of April in Bayelsa and on the 12th of April in Abuja. President Jonathan would play host to several State Governors, Ministers, Service Chiefs, Royal fathers, top Government functionaries, Ambassadors, Business Moguls, and top CEOs & Chairmen of Conglomerates. The traditional wedding would hold at the newly refurbished expansive compound of His Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR in Bayelsa, while the superlative church wedding and grand reception will hold at the International Conference Center, Herbert Macaulay Way, Abuja. Faith was adopted by the Jonathans at a young age and is their first child. See their wedding invitation and pre-wedding photoshoot below:

The most fundamental of these fallacies is the belief that Nigeria is a uniquely artificial state as it was created by the British colonialists, primarily for economic and administrative convenience.  Less than ten years after the Obasanjo administration’s National Political Reform Conference, President Goodluck Jonathan has sanctioned another such conference, to be called the National Conference, at the cost of seven billion naira. The aim of the conference, the government says, is “examining and genuinely resolving, long-standing impediments” to the cohesion and harmonious development of Nigeria; a country that just clocked a hundred years. And although the president has identified some “no-go” areas for the organizers of the conference, he might have sanctioned it in order to please sections of Nigeria’s elites that have consistently clamoured for a sovereign national conference over the years, or he may well be part of those elites himself. Theoreticall...

Spokesperson for the Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, Mr. Yinka Odumakin Delegates at the ongoing National Conference in Abuja may vote in favour of the removal of immunity clause from the constitution, if the growing consensus of opinion on this issue among members is anything to go by. Saturday PUNCH investigations showed that proponents of an amendment to Section 308 of the Nigerian Constitution, which deals with immunity for the President and state governors, had begun moves to ensure that the proposal sailed through. Saturday Punch   learnt that the proponents were already discussing with other delegates to ensure they got the required votes to delete the clause from the nation’s constitution. Further checks revealed that delegates from across the country were ready to vote against the clause. In separate interviews with Saturday PUNCH, delegates from different parts of the country supported the removal of immunity clause especially for criminal case...

     Several Sate Governors have expressed a mixture of emotions over a sum of $1 billion which some say mysteriously found its way into the Excess Crude Account and increased the allocations given to the governors in the last FAAC disbursement. One governor said, “We were surprised to see the $1billion credited to the ECA, which has accordingly boosted our monthly allocations but the source of the money has not been indicated. “We decided to attend the NEC meeting so as to know how the money came about and to know why our monthly revenue has been declining steadily over a period of nine months.” Another governor said: “Whatever happens, we are happy that our monthly revenue allocations has been slightly raised even though the Federal Government has not bothered to tell us why our allocations were slashed for nine months and where it is suddenly raising money to beef up our allocations. Even the commissioners of finance in the states...

     Hon. Dino Melaye The Delta State Government has debunked allegations that it mismanaged N9 billion excess crude funds released to the state in December 2012. Reacting to a purported press briefing by Hon. Dino Melaye, the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Ovuozorie Macaulay, in a statement in Asaba, yesterday, said in spending the money, due process was duly followed and every fund accounted for, urging Melaye to “properly investigate whatever information they get before coming out with allegations that are frivolous.” The full text of the SSG’s statement read:  “The attention of the Delta State Government has been drawn to the press briefing by Dino Melaye alleging mismanagement of funds, specifically the N9billion excess crude funds released to the state in December 2012. “It would be recalled that in the last two years, the fund allocation from the federation has been dwindling. States have therefore been requesting for the re...

Spain secured a dominant 3-0 victory over Nigeria in the quarter-final match of the current FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. The result ended a seven-match unbeaten run for Nigeria at the tournament dating back to 2012, and fell one match short of the record sequence established by Japan between 2010 and 2012. The game was played at high speeds throughout and was end-to-end in the first half, before the Spaniards took the game by the scruff of the neck with two second-half goals. Nigeria’s Ugochi Emenayo tripped Andrea Falcon who was running into the penalty area at speed. A penalty for Spain was excellently performed by Patri Guijarro the 14th minute. This was the only goal of the first half. Spain doubled their advantage on the 58th minute with a goal by Nahikari Garcia. The Europeans put a point in the match when a strike from Sandra Hernandez from a 45-degree angle burst through the hands of Okeke, and Guijarro was there to force the ball home from close range (71`). ...

The rally is taking place in Lagos. A mass rally for the unemployed in Nigeria is ongoing in Lagos. The rally is organised by the Joint Action Front. “The crisis of unemployment is such that the decadent capitalist economic agenda of successive regimes cannot resolve,” says Achike Chude, Vice Chairman, JAF. Unemployment is a major challenge in Nigeria with the statistics bureau putting the figure at over 20 per cent of the 160 million population. Youth employment is put at over 50 per cent. Details later…                        

Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan and also chairman, National  Economic Council on Crude Oil Theft, has urged the International community  to give maximum support to Nigeria in the fight against crude oil thieves. Governor Uduaghan while speaking with journalists after his address at  Nigeria’s Honorary  International Investor’s Council meeting in London  weekend, specifically requested the support in the areas of sophisticated  surveillance equipment, tagging, identifying final destination of the  stolen crude and proceeds. He also urged them to block the inflow of small arms into the country. Uduaghan revealed that the committee approved by President Goodluck  Jonathan which comprises of six state governors, members of the State  security agencies, the Petroleum Minister, National Planning,  Justice,  NNPC officials NIMASA and all the IOC’s have been working tirelessly to  reduce the crude theft which st...

BRITISH AFRICAN DIASPORA CONFERENCE ON NIGERIAN ENVIRONMENT BEYOND POLITICS AND AMALGAMATION HELD AT THE GRAND COMMITTEE ROOM, HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT IN LONDON 25TH MARCH, 2014        

       The senate Wednesday finally cleared Godwin.I.Emefiele as the new Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN. His confirmation came two months after he was nominated by President Goodluck Jonathan as the next Governor of the apex bank following the suspension of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. The upper legislative chamber also cleared Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa as the substantive President of Appeal Court.  The duo was cleared after hours of questioning by the committee of the Whole Senate. Details to come.

The Lagos state office of the Central Bank of Nigeria was set on fire on Tuesday and assets worth millions of Naira were destroyed. It was learnt, the fire started at about 5:40 PM at the old building as workers were preparing to move documents and other sensitive items from the block into their newly constructed head office annex. Men of the Lagos Fire Service and other emergency agency officials are said to have arrived the scene. Director of Lagos State Fire Service, Mr. Rasak Fadipe, said the fire service got an emergency call that the CBN building was on fire around 5:45 pm. He said two fire trucks were mobilised from the Onikan and Sari-Iganmu Fire Stations each carrying 10,000 litres of water to quell the fire. Fadipe added that aerial ladder was being used to fight the fire as the complex is a high rise building, adding that the fire started on the third floor of the building. He further said that the place had been condoned off to allow fire fighters to do th...