UNIVERSITY  DROP OUT TURNS  ICT  MILLIONAIRE

Wande Adalemo dropped out of the Olabisi Onabanjo University to actualise his dream of building an Internet service company, which is now worth N1bn. He tell this blogs how it all started and what other young Nigerian entrepreneurs can learn from his journey.

The Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, Oxygen Broadband Networks, Nigeria’s first metro WiFi network, Mr. Wande Adalemo, is a young man who aspired to be a university graduate and get a job. But an event in 1998 changed the course of his life and he decided to pursue his dream of building an Internet company.

Today, he sits atop a N1bn broadband network company, which has just rolled out a WiFi network at the popular Computer Village in Lagos.

He said his greatest challenge was funding, but the driving force had been the passion to ensure that all Nigerians have access to affordable Internet access through WiFi technology.

From the ground zero in 2005, dropping out of school along the line, Adalemo said he overcome the challenge and was able to attract investors, who believed in his dream and invested in the business.

Adalemo said the company started with a $2m investment and as at today, had invested N1bn with a network infrastructure already in place and duly licensed by the Nigerian Communications Commission.

“As we speak, we are currently at the Computer Village in Lagos, where we have our pilot network. In the last two months since we started, we have had over 20,000 connections sitting on our network,” he said

In view of this, he said the company had laid out an expansion plan, which would see it invest another N200m in rolling out services in six locations across Lagos State before the end of 2012.

“We are doing another N200m investment and we are going to six new locations by December 2012. We are partnering with malls on the Island, Surulere, and high traffic restaurants. We already have agreements with all of these people,” he said.

The expansion, Adalemo said, would see Oxygen Networks expand to 20 locations in March 2013, and 100 locations in Lagos by 2015; and then Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano, thereafter.

“Of  the N200m needed to roll out services by December 2012, we have attained N75m equity investment to date, which means that we are really set to move to these new locations,” he said.

According to him, the company currently operates with 100 per cent private equity fund from the board of directors and “they are putting in more funds to see us expand.”

He said the company had already attracted institutional investors such as Google and Main One Cable Company, which were interested in investing in it and help boost broadband access in the country.

While the start-up appears to be on the right track, the Oxygen Broadband Network boss said the beginning was very rough.

In an interview with our correspondent on how it all started, he said, “I never saw a computer until 1998. I was with my cousin Femi Adalemo, who was the Chairman of the Nigerian Internet Exchange Committee at some points. So, I went to his office and he said he wanted to send a mail to someone in the United States. Five minutes after, the person in the US had responded to the mail and that surprised me.

“I couldn’t sleep that night, and in the morning, I went back to him and asked him to teach me how to develop something that will make Nigerians send and receive e-mails easily.  I told him I wanted to do something that would make it easier for every Nigerian to send email.

“He told me it was networking and that was how it started. So, as I grew in my knowledge of what the Internet access and broadband were, it became more of a passion. Getting the technology was one thing, putting it together was another, and getting funding took a while. Between 2005 and now, you can see it has been seven years, it has not been easy.”

On how he got the first investor, who later became a co-founder of the company, Adalemo, said, “We had spoken with a thousand of individuals to put their money in the business and the answer we kept getting was no. Eventually, we found someone and it was an interesting story. We met the first investor, who later became a co-founder of the company, in 2005. I didn’t have a penny that day and then a friend of mine called and said there was someone that ‘is interested in this crazy idea of yours, let’s go and see him.’

“I had to trek from Iponrin to Ajose Adeogun to meet him. He was the managing director of a bank then. Meanwhile, I had met several potential investors who had discouraged me but I did not give up. So, when I got there, he told me; ‘If you cannot convince me in two minutes, I cannot invest in this because an idea that cannot hit someone in two minutes is no good idea.’ Well, I think I was able to hit him in two minutes and the next question he asked was how do we move?

“The first thing we did was to go around the world to see where WiMax was failing because my own idea was that WiMax will not work but

Sack Lamorde over $15m Ibori bribe – Clark

Former Federal Commissioner for Information, Chief Edwin Clark, has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to remove the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, from office.

He alleged that Lamorde played some roles in the $15m offered former EFCC chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, by former Delta State Governor James Ibori.
Unlike Lamorde’s claim, Clark insisted that the money belonged to the Delta State Government.
Clark spoke in Abuja on Tuesday at a press briefing.
He alleged that there were contradictions and lies in the affidavit deposed to by the EFCC concerning the Ibori’s $15m bribe.
For example, he said  the affidavit deposed to on August 10 2012 by Bello Yahaya, a Police officer attached to the EFCC on behalf of the anti corruption agency, “put the anti-graft agency not only in ridicule, but portray it as an agency not transparent, competent and committed to war against corruption”.
He said, “In paragraph seven of the his affidavit, Yahaya claimed ‘That I know as a fact that the said $15m is an unclaimed property and no one has claimed or shown any link to the sum’.
“This is not true as in September 2009, the Delta State Elders and Leaders Stakeholders Forum in a protest march that took them to the Central Bank of Nigeria premises in Abuja submitted a written petition to the Governor of Central Bank urging him to refund the money to the Delta State Government as Ibori, as an individual, could not have raised the said huge sum.
“Also in the charges that were later dropped by the London Crown Court against James Ibori and in the statement of former EFCC chairman, Nuhu Ribadu statements to the Metropolitan Police, the ownership of the said money were not in doubt.”
Efforts made to speak with the Acting Head of Media and Publicity of the commission, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren were not successful as calls made to his mobile telephone indicated that it was switched off.
He also did not respond to a text message sent to the telephone as well.

FG to sell power firms to Elumelu, Otedola, others

September 26, 2012 by Everest Amaefule, Abuja 142 Comments

PHCN power station
| credits:

Five firms on Tuesday emerged bid winners, offering a total sum of N107bn for five  electricity generation companies.

The bid winners are Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Plc), Amperion Consortium, CMEC/Eurafric Energy Consortium, Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited and North-South Power Company Limited.
At the financial bids’ opening conducted in Abuja by the National Council on Privatisation, Transcorp emerged the preferred bidder for the Ugheli thermal power plant with an offer of $300m to beat its closest rival, Amperion, which offered $252m.
The former Managing Director, United Bank for Africa Plc, Mr. Tony Elumelu, is the chairman of Transcorp, with his Heirs Holdings having substantial equity in the conglomerate.
Amperion Consortium, however, matched the reserve bid price of $132m for the 414 megawatts Geregu power plant, though it initially offered $128.52m as the sole bidder for the plant.
The consortium is made up of Israeli-based BSG Resource Limited, State Grid Corporation of China and Forte Oil Plc, in which billionaire businessman, Mr. Femi Otedola, is the major stakeholder.
For the Sapele thermal power plant, CMEC/Eurafric Energy Consortium emerged the preferred bidder with an offer of $201m.
Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited, which was the sole bidder for the Kainji hydro plant, was designated the preferred bidder since its offer of $50.76m met the reserved fixed annual fee. However, the plant will not be sold outright but will be given out on a 15-year concession with the bid winner paying a commencement fee of $257m before the deal can be sealed.
Similarly, North-South Power Company Limited, which is linked to the former dictator, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, emerged the preferred bidder for the Shiroro hydro power plant with a sole bid of $23.6m annually for a 15-year concession. The company will, however, pay a commencement fee of $111.65m to close the deal.
However, the bid for the Afam power plant was not opened as all the three bidders failed to meet the stipulated guidelines, according to the Chairman, Technical Committee, NCP, Mr. Atedo Peterside, who supervised the opening of the bids.
The Ugheli plant is situated in Delta State and has an installed capacity of 972 megawatts.
Members of the Transcorp consortium include Symbion Power Plc, a United States-based electricity infrastructure company; and Medea Development S.A, an engineering and projects development service company based in Luxemburg.
Other members of the consortium are PSL Engineering and Control, a Nigerian engineering and systems control firm; and Thomassen Services and Contracting Company, an engineering, procurement and construction firm based in Oman.
Amperion had offered $252m for the Ugheli plant to place second behind Transcorp, while Feniks Electricity came a distant third with an offer of $54m.
The CMEC/Eurafric Energy consortium beat the Julius Berger/Nestoil Power Services, which had to raise its offer from $80m to $106.5m to be designated as the reserve bidder.
The CMEC consortium is made up of China Machinery Engineering Corporation; Eurafric Energy Limited, a Nigerian power transmission contractor; British Power International; First Bank of Nigeria Plc; and Aelex Solicitors and Arbitrators, a legal advisory services firm.
Members of the Mainstream Energy Solution Limited, which won the bid for the Kainji plant include, RusHydro International and RusHydro JSC of Russia; a Nigerian businessman, Col. Sani Bello (retd); Amni International Petroleum Development Company Limited; and NIGELEC, a company based in Niger.
Others are Paqua Energy Limited; Confluence Cable Network Limited; Crust Energy; TAK; Anchorage Holdings Nigeria, a real estate development firm; and All Stream Energy Solutions, a Kaduna-based energy sector service company.

Muslims protest ‘anti-Islam’ film in Kaduna

Muslims in Kaduna trooped out on Monday morning to join their counterparts in other parts of the world in protesting against the “anti-Islamic” film released in America with a message that they were prepared to defend the name and personality of the Prophet Mohammed with the last drop of their blood.
The peaceful demonstration which was organised by Islamic Movement in Nigeria (Shiites) covered about four kilometres and was conducted under the watchful eyes of men of the Kaduna State police command who accompanied them to ensure there was no breakdown of law and order.
Members of the movement were adorned in their traditional attires with the men wearing all white attire while the women were dressed in all black outfits and were joined by other Muslims and a group of Christians.
The protesters carried placards with the inscriptions such as – “death to America”, “Death to Israel”, “No to blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad, “ with men, women and children chanting the same slogans.
They said in a leaflet they distributed that “a great catastrophe has befallen the world when some people from the United States and an Israeli were allowed to produce an anti-Islam film that mocked and ridiculed Islam, Prophet Muhammad and followers of this great religion.”
“The film, apart from outward mockery on tenets and beliefs of Islam, presented Prophet Muhammad in a display of an unspeakable immoral manner and personality.
“Similarly, the release of this movie at this material time, was a move to institutionalize September 11 event as an annual ritual to portray Islam as a religion of terrorists.”
“We are aware of the covert operations of agents of America in Nigeria, who are bent on defending American interests at all cost, “the protesters said.

lagos-Ibadan Expressway: Bi-Courtney commences major reconstruction •Engages top construction firms

CONCESSIONAIRE of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, Bi-Courtney Highway Services Ltd, on Monday, commenced major reconstruction on the 106-kuilometre highway with two top contractors.

The infrastructure development and management company announced that it had engaged Messrs Borino Prono Construction Company and CCC Construction Nigeria Ltd to embark on the major reconstruction works, starting from four critical portions on the road.

A statement issued by Bi-Courtney’s spokesman, Dipo Kehinde, said: “The reconstruction exercise will go on simultaneously in four critical portions of the road.”

While envisaging that the works might impact on smooth traffic flow on the road, Bi-Courtney said it had taken the precautionary measures of engaging traffic control officers and flaggers who would facilitate the flow of traffic during construction hours.

The statement read in part: “We urge motorists to drive with care, observe the rules, and obey traffic signs.

“We are working with all stakeholders, including the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE), the Nigeria Police Force, tanker owners and other road users, to minimise the impact of this exercise on motorists.

“Bi-Courtney commends the commitment and the vision of Mr President to infrastructure development through Public Private Partnership (PPP).

“This vision, being strongly promoted by the Federal Ministry of Works is worthy of support. And we assure Nigerians that the Federal Government and our company are committed to this all-important road project.”

Security guard, houseboy arrested for robbing employer

Eze and Uzor
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Sunday Eze thought he had struck a goldmine when he learned that his posting had been changed. His employers, a private security firm, had asked him to report to a certain address at Omole Estate Phase II in the Ikeja area of Lagos. He was supposed to work there as a security guard.

By all means, Eze’s new boss, Dayo Famoroti, was a wealthy man. He lived with his family in his own home with a retinue of domestic staff at his beck and call.

Eze, who had served a jail term at the Oba Prison in Abeokuta, capital of Ogun State, for buying a stolen generator, believed his boss was very rich.

For five days, he studied Famoroti and the environment. On the sixth day, he persuaded another servant named Obinna Uzor to join him in robbing their boss of some of his belongings.

After some deliberation, both men decided to make their move two days after their discussion.

“I used to work for a private security firm in Surulere as a security guard. One day, I was posted to a compound in Omole Estate Phase II; I was told that a security guard was needed there. My salary was N15,000 every month and I had accommodation with my new boss.

“When I got there, I noticed that the man was wealthy. He had good cars and a well furnished home. He had many servants. I got friendly with one of them, Uzor, who is also a native of my home town,” Eze told CRIME DIGEST.

Both men eventually stole some items valued at N25m. Recounting his role in the crime, Uzor said they waited till Sunday before striking.

 He said, “The house was usually deserted on Sundays because even the cleaners would go to church, leaving only the security guard. I was off duty on that particular day. I was supposed to have gone home to my brother’s house at Ajah and then report for duty on Monday. Famoroti granted his domestic staff a holiday on the last Sunday of every month.

“So, that Sunday, after everyone, including Famoroti, had left the house for church, we made our move. Eze was the only security guard on duty that morning and this made the robbery much easier because the other security guard was on afternoon duty.”

Uzor said that with the aid of a saw, which he had acquired specifically for the crime, they destroyed the locks on the doors and broke into the house.

Both men allegedly stole valuable items. Uzor went into Famoroti’s room and took the key of his Range Rover Sport Utility Vehicle.

Two flat screen television sets, one laptop, some jewellery and a Nokia cell-phone were taken away by the suspected thieves. Satisfied with their loot, both of them immediately set out in the SUV for Nnewi, Anambra State. They did not arrive at their destination until midnight.

 They spent the night in a local hotel. At dawn, they set out for Eze’s village, where they felt they would be safe in the meantime, with their loot.

Eze made attempts to get buyers for the vehicle. When it dawned on him that it was not going to be easy selling it, he handed the vehicle to his aged father.

“I told him to find a buyer for the car and with the proceeds, buy himself a smaller car and then to pay the remaining money into my account,” he said.

Fortunately for Famoroti, the vehicle remained in Nnewi for over two months until a team of policemen from the Special Anti-Robbery Squad arrived from Lagos to retrieve it from Eze’s father two weeks ago.

Earlier, Famoroti had been making frantic phone calls to Uzor after he returned from church to find his car and other valuables missing.

“After the robbery, Eze warned me not to return to Famoroti’s house. When we returned from Anambra, I moved in with Eze and began to stay with him in his rented apartment at Mowe, Ogun State. Already, we had kept the stolen electronic equipment and other items in his house.

“We sold off the items one after the other. We sold the smaller plasma TV at N28,000 and disposed of the big one for N15,000. After a month of selling the items, our loot was soon exhausted.

“Since I didn’t have a regular job at hand, I had no more money to fall back on. Out of desperation, I sold my Nokia cell-phone to a girl who lived beside Eze’s house for N10,000.  She paid me N9,000 and each time I asked for the balance of N1,000, she would make excuses,” Uzor said.

About a month after this, Uzor and Eze were apprehended by the police in Lagos.

Confirming the arrests, the Lagos Commissioner of Police, Mr. Umar Manko said, “Uzor was tracked through the phone, which he had sold to his neighbour. We contacted the young lady and she agreed to cooperate with us.  After he confessed to the crime, he also called Eze on the phone to ascertain his whereabouts. At the time, Eze was on his way back from Lagos Island and was at Ojodu-Berger. The SARS team waited for him and he was arrested as soon as he arrived in his home.”

NEW  TWIST  IN DAVID O  ALLEGED   ASSAULT

On Aug. 12, 2012, CRIME DIGEST reported that popular singer, David Adeleke, aka Davido, allegedly assaulted a taxi driver in Lagos and that his publicist, Valerie Obaeze, claimed via an e-mail that the singer knew nothing about the incident.

In a related development, Hashiru Azeez, the employer of the taxi driver, whose name is Femi Ajibola, told CRIME DIGEST that Davido himself said that the taxi driver was assaulted by his cousins.

Azeez confirmed that he gave a Toyota Corolla to Ajibola on hire purchase.

“I gave it out to him on hire purchase. When Ajibola initially told me about this matter, I did not believe him. Later, I went to Beni’s Apartment in company with Sgt. Nuru Umar, who is the Investigating Police Officer, and we found out that he was right.

“We went to the DPO and he called Davido’s father after I took time to explain who the boy was,” Azeez said.

Immediately after the story was published, the young woman who was conveyed in the cab to see Davido allegedly threatened Ajibola at the taxi park where he operates.

“I got a call from Ajibola that Susan allgedly went to the park to threaten him. She said that if he was claiming that he lost N100,000 during the incident with Davido, she would pay the money. Then she asked if the cab driver had forgotten that she lost her cell-phone, which was valued at N175,000.

“She said that Ajibola would have to produce her phone because he was the one that took them to the hotel in his cab. She added that she would deal with him,” he said.

The car dealer said he had advised his employee to report the matter at the nearest police station.

However, since the case had initially been reported at the Bar Beach Police Station, Ajibola was directed to go and lodge his complaint there.

Azeez said, “Ajibola went to Maroko Police Station, but he was directed to the Bar Beach Police Station because he had already reported the case there.”

Azeez said that a petition had been written on his behalf to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 2 about the incident. He stated that somehow, the Adelekes got wind of this and contacted him for a meeting.

“A lawyer, Malachy Ukwamadu, wrote a petition on our behalf to the AIG Zone 2. We had written the petition even before the publication. Somehow, the Adeleke family got to know that we had written a petition and they got someone to ask me to come with Ajibola to the Bar Beach Police Station. They said they would bring Davido to the station. The boy had surrendered himself and the police were ready to prosecute him. It was hard to believe, but I was optimistic,” the car dealer said.

Azeez said he was advised not to honour the invitation by a policeman who warned that the case might be tilted to the advantage of Davido.

“The policeman warned that there was an ulterior motive behind the invitation. He said the moment that Ajibola stepped into the Bar Beach Police Station, the case would change and turn against him.

“This prompted us to invite a lawyer to go to the station instead of Ajibola. Ukwamadu was out of town. So, we invited Bar. Ademola Olamide. While we waited for them to bring Davido, the IPO told the lawyer that they wanted to negotiate.

“Olamide said that he thought they wanted to bring in Davido and why was it that it was the police that wanted to negotiate. Should they not be neutral?” Azeez said.

The lawyer insisted he would not talk to the police unless they brought Davido to the station. The IPO then phoned somebody who spoke with Olamide and agreed to meet him.

When meeting took place on Aug. 12, the lawyer informed Azeez that the picture painted by Davido was different from what he had learnt from the complainant.

Azeez said, “I was asked to come over to explain. Fortunately, we had our witness. While the counsel was disputing what we said, we called in the witness. He is a driver and he drove along with Ajibola; he had some guys in his vehicle and I learnt that those girls brought those guys.

“When we brought in our witness, they calmed down. Davido then said that he was not the one that assaulted Ajibola. He said that the guys we were claiming were his bodyguards were actually his cousins. He said that it was Bayo, one of his cousins, who beat up Ajibola.”

Suspecting a foul play somewhere, Azeez asked what business Bayo had with Susan since she was Davido’s girlfriend.

“We told him that from his conversation, Susan was his girlfriend and why would Bayo beat up Susan? At a point, they said that they would like to compensate Ajibola  and that they wanted to know how much Ajibola made in a day.

“They said that they would pay two weeks’ earnings. I was not there when they were discussing the money issue. I told my lawyer that there was no basis for compensation since he denied assaulting Ajibola. I said he should produce those who beat up Ajibola, that the police should do their job and we would know what step to take from there,” he said.

Azeez told CRIME DIGEST that Ajibola’s car keys had not been returned to him. He said that an agency that fights for the cause of the less privileged had contacted him and was ready to help out in the matter.

“The agency champions the cause of the less privileged and they are willing to assist us in seeking justice. Davido claims he was not the one that assaulted the driver; but how did he get hold of the car keys before handing it to his father and later, the DPO?

“Why would he take someone’s car keys and keep them? Up till now, nobody has confirmed if Davido has written any statement regarding this case. We still believe that he is above the law until he comes out to say his own part of the story. If at all we agree to negotiate with him, he should accept that he was wrong to have assaulted a man that is 16 years older than him and apologise for his behaviour. Then we will know what to do from there,” he said.

When CRIME DIGEST contacted Susan on the phone, a male voice answered the call, claiming it was a wrong number. However, Obaeze, Davido’s publicist, maintained that her client knew nothing about the incident.

In an e-mail to CRIME DIGEST, the publicist wrote, “Thanks for your enquiry and effort to get our own side of the story, but our previous statement (still) stands. Davido was neither aware of nor involved in any incident involving the assault of a taxi driver or the illegal seizure of his keys. He does not condone violence in any form and will not be commenting further on this matter.”

The Police Public Relations Officer, Zone 2 Police Command, Femi Balogun, confirmed that the case was being handled by his command. He said that the AIG had ordered that Davido should be brought before him with the Toyota Corolla used as taxi. He said they did not know where Davido is and he would be picked up once they have information on his whereabouts.

   

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Cynthia Osokogu: NOA to honour 7 policemen

Cynthia and the suspects
| credits: Eniola Akinkuotu

The National Orientation Agency on Friday in Abuja said it would honour the seven police officers who investigated the murder of Cynthia Osokogu by her Facebook friends.

The Director-General of NOA, Mr. Mike Omeri, said the decision was part of its drive to promote positive value reorientation among public office holders.

The officers would be invested with the Citizens’ Responsibility Recognition in a ceremony to be presided over by the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar at the Force Headquarters in Abuja.

In a statement made available to SATURDAY PUNCH, the Chief Press Secretary to the DG, Mr. Paul Odenyi said, “NOA will soon confer the award on seven policemen for their dedication and professional competence displayed in their speedy investigation of the circumstances surrounding the death of Cynthia Osokogu.”

Omeri described the efficient manner in which the policemen investigated the murder as a testimony the efficacy of the reforms being carried out by the leadership of the police.

He said, “The police personnel who are drawn from the Area ‘E’ Command of the police in Lagos include a Deputy Superintendent of police, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, two Assistant Superintendents of Police, and three other junior personnel.

“We at NOA have insisted on a re-evaluation and restructuring of the system of awards in this country. Those who truly distinguish themselves in their chosen fields of endeavour should be given recognition as against the former practice of giving honour to individuals of questionable character. We will recognise these officers as good examples of excellence in service, diligence in duty and commitment to our collective war against crimes as a people”.

The NOA DG recalled that about two months ago, the agency had organised a value re-orientation roundtable tagged “Do the right thing: Ethics first,” for uniformed men in the country.

Omeri said the handling of the Cynthia Osokogu murder case was a welcome departure from the norm, adding that it showed that the agency’s efforts at value re-orientation in the society had begun to yield positive results.

   

Nigerian sues South African lawyer over alleged hate speech, discrimination

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A Nigerian man, Lucy Okeke, has dragged a South African advocate to court for allegedly saying that foreigners marry South African women only to get permanent residency.
Okeke, who was briefly married to a KwaZulu-Natal woman, has lodged a formal complaint against the lawyer, Nomusa Khuzwayo, in the Durban Equality Court, accusing her of hate speech and unfair discrimination, South Africa’s Daily News reports.
He wants her disciplined for her alleged comments.
Okeke told the court on Friday that he had met Khuzwayo through the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Law Clinic, when he needed help with visitation rights for his child from the marriage, which had been dissolved by then.
He said it was during a consultation with Khuzwayo in February that the comments were allegedly made.
“In her chambers, she asked me to tell her the history of my marriage to my ex-wife. After I had told her, she told me that my marriage was a fraud and that we Nigerians come to South Africa to marry women for legal papers,” the report said.
Okeke said Khuzwayo also told him that his ex-wife was “stupid” for not pushing him to perform the required traditional Zulu marital processes.
“She (Khuzwayo) said girls from rural areas come to the city and they don’t know what goes on and they get paid to get married to foreigners,” he said.
Okeke told the court that he was shocked and hurt to hear this statement from someone he presumed knew South Africa’s constitution well.
“I’ve always taken my stand against any traditional performances, even in my country of origin, because I practise Christianity,” he said. “I am a radical biblical Christian.”
He said that if his marriage had been a fraud, then the court that dissolved it was also fraudulent.
Okeke also said that during the 2008 xenophobic attacks, he was forced to flee Isipingo because locals had been accusing foreigners of stealing “their women and jobs.”
He said that when Khuzwayo made the statement he felt the same pain he had felt back then.
Khuzwayo disputed Okeke’s version of t

Oshiomhole urges FRSC to prosecute erring government officials

September 10, 2012 by Agency Reporter Leave a Comment

Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has called on the Federal Road Safety Commission to arrest and prosecute any government official, who violates traffic regulations in the state.
Oshiomhole gave the advice in Benin on Monday, at the commencement of the FRSC nationwide public enlightenment awareness campaign programme.
The governor, represented by his Executive Director, Protocol, Mr. Agharese Idubor, said the campaign was apt at this time of the year when the volume of traffic on most roads was expected be high.
He commended the commission’s concerted efforts, with its several programmes, aimed at reducing road crashes and ensuring that the highways were safe to travel on.
Oshiomhole said that because Edo was also committed to ensuring safety and sanity on its roads, it established the Edo Traffic Management to complement the efforts of the FRSC in the state.
He, however, told journalists that his administration “believes that nobody is above the law when it comes to obeying traffic laws in the state.”
He said, “Nobody is exempted from obeying traffic laws and everybody irrespective of his status in government is expected to be responsible in obeying constituted authority and laws.
“I encourage the FRSC to arrest and prosecute any government official, who flouts traffic laws.”
Earlier, the Edo State Sector Commander, Mr. Kenneth Nwaegbe, described the weeklong programme as “a nationwide event.”
He said the highlight of this aggressive public enlightenment was that our patrol men would render free safety vehicle checks for motorists with zero enforcement and booking.
Also speaking, the Zonal Commanding Officer of Zone RS5, Mr Wole  Olaniran, urged motorists, especially members of the road transport unions to ensure that they were adequately informed of the basic traffic rules.
Olaniran said that the command had identified that most accidents were caused by recklessness and road misbehaviour.
He listed some of the misbehaviour to include overloading; excessive speed; dangerous overtaking; obstructions, fatigue and use of drug and alcohol, while driving and non-usage of seat belts, among others.

   

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Patience to return before September ending

Patience Jonathan is expected back in the country before the end of September ahead of Nigeria’s 52nd Independence anniversary.

Patience is said to be hospitalised at the Horst Schmidt Klinik in Wiesbaden, Germany.

While a section of the media said she underwent surgery for appendicitis, some others said she was being treated for food poisoning.

Amidst the conflicting reports however, her media aides insisted that she only travelled abroad to rest after the stress involved in the hosting of the African First Ladies’ Conference in Abuja.

They also insisted last week that they did not know when the President’s wife would return to Nigeria.

Her media aide, Ayo Osinlu, had told our correspondent. “She is not a regular public office holder who has a specific duration for vacation. Assuming that she has a specific duration for vacation, then we could have said the vacation will end on a particular day and she will return on a particular day.

“But as it is, she can decide to return anytime she feels she has rested enough.”

But investigation by our correspondent on Sunday showed that Patience would come back to the country before the grand finale of activities marking the celebration of this year’s Independence anniversary on October 1.

A source in the Office of the First Lady said the ailing wife of the President had a role to play in one of the programmes outlined for the celebration and had expressed her desire to personally play the role.

“It is only when madam does not return to Nigeria to personally handle the activity allotted to her office in the independence programme that you can now say that indeed, there is something wrong,” she said.

A look at the programme released by the Federal Government to commemorate this year’s Independence celebration showed that only the event reserved for Patience does not have a date attached to it.

The timetable of events showed that the celebration which started with a presidential retreat for civil society organisations last Thursday would continue on September 17 with the national honours award ceremony and anniversary lecture slated for September 17.

While a conference of secretaries of state Governments is slated for September 25 and 26, the timetable indicates that “a visit to hospitals and orphanages and activities for women, youths and children will follow suit in a date to be determined by the First Lady, Patience Jonathan.”

ISLAND BIG BOY LAYODE SEJORO OPENS BAR

ISLAND BIG BOY LAYODE SEJORO OPENS BAR AT THE SILVERBIRD GALLERIA LAGOS.

On Friday,The 31^st of august ,Layode Sejoro Rilwan popularly known as “RIRI” by friends open his new XL Spot Bar at the silverbird Galleria  Victoria Island Lagos.

       The handsome and stylish dude was overwhelmed as lots of his friends turned up for the opening from home and abroad.

       Present at the opening was a Lagos big la crème girl Biola whose birthday was also celebrated that same day ,Oyekanmi  Elegushi, Oluwaseyi Ogunde to mention a few.

       Rilwan who worked with Lagos Inland revenue told Eti –Osa News how much he loves to relax and also hang out with friends, I promise to be customer friendly by putting every customer on a Good and same level. One who buys a bottle water at my bar today can pop ACE tomorrow, So all my customers are equal.

       I ventured into this because people want a place of relaxation after time spent at work.