29yrs old Dennis Okike is a
multi-millionaire today and the
proud owner of a brand new
SUV, courtesy of his
participation in the just
concluded Gulder Ultimate
Search, 2013 edition. He
speaks with Punch on the
show, his experiences and how
it took him three years to
emerge the Ultimate Man.
Enjoy...
Why did you decide to go in for
Gulder Ultimate Search 10?
I had the craving to be a part of
the show. I saw myself as
being an Ultimate Man
someday. I have always had
the dream. My friend, Uche
Nwaezeapu, won the GUS in
2006. He wasn’t as athletic as I
was back then. He was just the
guy next door and didn’t
participate in any sports while
we were in school. Now, I
started seeing him on TV and
he became the winner. So I felt
if Uche could win, I could as
well. I prayed about it and from
that day, I started working
towards it...
So this wasn’t your first time of
trying to be a part of the show?
No. this was actually the third
time. The first time, I didn’t
make the preliminaries. The
second time, I was evicted
during the final selection and
then this time around, when I
went into the jungle. I played all
my cards well and I prayed so
much about it. I trained for
almost eight months for this
year’s search. I was always at
the stadium and the pool
training for the search. I was
just ready for it. I watched all
the past tasks they had in the
other editions and I was just
ready for anything new.
That means just as Uche won,
your life ambition was to be a
part of GUS?
That is true, very true. When
the show came out 10 years
ago, I liked it. But I was scared
of the jungle. But when I saw
Uche my friend doing it, I knew
I could do it as well. He was
my best friend in secondary
school. He coached me all the
while; he made sure I practised
my swimming. He pushed me
so hard. He told me that I
wouldn’t remember all I have
gone through when I start
reaping the fruits of it. He was
the motivational person I
needed. I think I owe all of this
to him.
When did you graduate from
the university?
I graduated in 2009/2010. I
attended University of Nigeria,
Nsukka.
So you haven’t been working
between then and now?
I was working in a bank. But it
was a holiday job. I did my
industrial training at the bank
and somehow, I went back
after graduation and since I
was close to the bosses, they
gave me a holiday job. I
worked there for a while until I
realised that I needed to go
back to school to settle some
issues. I did and that was it.
So you went in for the show
and even made it a ‘life
ambition’ because you didn’t
have a job?
I think God has a way of
planning my life. Everything
went according to God’s plans.
Those who come for the search
are mainly those who are less
occupied. If you had a nine to
five job, I don’t think you would
have the time to be a part of
GUS; that means you would
quit your job. And then, what if
you didn’t become the winner
after quitting your job?
How did you feel when you
were declared the winner?
I told you winning the show
was my priority in life. When I
won, I couldn’t help how I felt.
It was overwhelming. I had to
fall back into the water. How do
I explain being excited and
happy at the same time? I
couldn’t believe it. I was
startled. It didn’t get to me at
first but when it did? I almost
fainted. I got hit by N10m on
my left side and a brand new
SUV on my right side so I
fainted.
You raise the alarm at first even
when you hadn’t found the
piece you were asked to…
Yes. I saw something. It was a
bag of sand. I screamed that I
had found something. It turned
out to be a bag of sand. But it
didn’t deter me. I kept
searching. I asked myself what
I was coming back to if I didn’t
find the piece. I didn’t mind
breaking my nails and hurting
myself. No matter what, I
wanted to come back home
with the money. I had injuries
but I didn’t mind. I took the
pain and I felt I would get the
glory eventually. I was always
reciting my favourite Psalm-
Psalm 53. I kept digging. I went
to a spot where I noted that the
other contestants hadn’t gone.
I kept searching. I found
another bag. I didn’t want to
raise the alarm again. I pulled it
out and the more I pulled, it got
bigger. Obviously, it wasn’t a
sack of sand, it was the
scepter. I went on my knees
and thank God. There were
times I would have been
evicted but I kept praying that
the day wouldn’t be my last
day in the jungle.
What if you hadn’t won?
I still would have gone home
with money. But the most
important thing I am happy I
came for the show this year is
that it gave me the opportunity
to get a GUS pendant. I longed
for it. I wanted to be a part of
the GUS family. I wasn’t keen
about winning. But when I got
into the jungle and I saw the
contestants, I realised that I
should win. Some of them
hadn’t been through what I
have been through in life. Some
of them are comfortable in life. I
felt I hungered for it more. The
hunger kept pushing me. The
longer I stayed in the jungle,
the more I got weaker. People
felt I was losing focus but I am
human. God just protected
everyone of us.
You said you have been
through a lot in life, can you
tell us some of what you have
been through?
I have been neglected by
friends. I am an only son and it
sort of made me to be a one
man army. I grew up having
the sense of being on my own.
I had issues in my family. My
father was comfortable at a
point but at a point, he got shot
in 1998. You know what
happens when the breadwinner
is not able to bring in money
into the family again. Things
became bizarre. I can’t really
say most of the things that
happened. Going through the
university wasn’t easy at all.
But I am this kind of person
that even if I wear bathroom
slippers, I would still look good.
I didn’t let hardship get to me. I
have tasted hardship.
So many people think what we
see on TV is film trick; you
guys don’t get to suffer as
much as...
I don’t think you were shown
half of what we went through in
that jungle. We didn’t have
tooth brushes. We didn’t brush
our teeth for a month. It is a
jungle and you don’t have tooth
brushes in the jungle. It was
incredible. We were walking
casually into the jungle not
knowing what was in stock for
us. We had to go into the mud
for the mudslinging game. That
was when reality dawned on
us. Before then, we were
lounging and relaxing in the
hotel. In the jungle, I went
without food for two and half
days. I was being punished for
an offence. We slept under the
rain. We had bamboos as beds.
We had roaches, mosquitoes
and rodents all around us. We
went through a lot.
Was there a time you felt like
quitting?
I wanted to give up on the
fourth day. But no girl
complained. If no girl
complained, how could I have
been the first to quit? I had to
endure. Our food weren’t tasty
but we had to eat it. we just
wanted the stomach to be filled
up. Initially I thought we would
go and take shelter somewhere
if it rained. But that wasn’t the
case. Rain or shine, we were in
the jungle. It wasn’t the most
wonderful experience but I
thank God.
Was it all worth it, even with
the N10m?
It was worth it.
You didn’t have a good
relationship with the other
contestants…
I wouldn’t say it that way. I
didn’t want to be lukewarm. I
wanted the fire to continue
burning in me. I didn’t want to
continue joking and laughing
and playing. At a point, I felt it
could make us forget the
reason we were there. They
said I was quarrelsome, I was
just being defensive. I don’t like
being bullied.
What is next now?
A new phase of my life has
begun. I don’t have to rush. I
had my plans before I went to
the jungle. Now that I am out,
some plans might be altered.
Better plans have come. I am
not going to sit down and start
spending the money. My plan
is to see if I can double the
money.
What of your girlfriend?
I don’t have to say anything
about that. I will keep living my
life. I live a decent life and I will
not have issues. I will not bring
out my private life in public.
Old friends must have
resurrected now since you
won?
You don’t need to ask. There
was a point in my life my phone
didn’t use to ring. But now, it is
crazy. And the thing is that you
cannot be rude to anybody. My
callers even call by 2am. It has
been crazy. I now have to live
with it. It is my cross and I will
carry it humbly.
The truth is bitter but it has to
be told, anyway. Fast-rising
Yoruba actress Bose
Arowosegbe is married to a
man who already has a wife
and children, and she is very
proud of it. WTH! She opens up
to Vanguard the many reasons
why ladies like her prefer to go
for other women husband's.
Why are you actresses always
going after married men?
" I am married to a married man
too . I have not told anyone this
before. Other journalists I have
met were fed the story that my
husband is abroad when he
has always been in the
country. Most single men out
there are not matured enough
to handle the fact that
actresses are normal women.
They believe we are harlots to
be used and dumped.
I believe they (single men) are
too immature to handle the life
around us . They are easily
affected by things they read
and hear about us, and also
things they see on screen
about us.
But married men are matured to
handle all this. They listen to
us instead of listening to gist
about us. They seem to
understand women better.
Besides, they (married men) are
more caring, gentler and wiser."
Dear married women, please
protect your husband o, before
another actress take over from
you. lol!
It is not yet over, as the
Academic Staff Union of
Universities (ASUU) has
given the Government
conditions to be met
before the union would
finally call off its over
four-month old strike.
“I must tell you that
our mandate
remains. The only
mandate we have is
that 2009 agreement
must be met. We
have not reached
any agreement with
the Federal
Government.
“Since the Federal
Government wants to
be releasing N220bn
every year for five
years, then all
monetary and
regulatory agencies
must sign.... The
reason we will
ensure this is that
we don’t want
argument tomorrow
that the agreement
was entered in error
or that they don’t
know the implication
of signing the
agreement . If
possible, documents
that will provide for
automatic deduction
of the agreed money
at a particular/
agreed date must be
provided.”
A prominent member of
the union, who craved
anonymity because he
was not authorised to
speak on behalf of the
union, told Punch that
doing this would give the
association the confidence
that “the Government
knows what it is doing
when it signed the
agreement.”
He said, "The Central
Bank of Nigeria, Ministries
of Finance and Labour,
National Assembly, Office
of the Presidency,
National Universities
Commission, Tertiary
Education Trust Fund,
Trade Union Congress
and our umbrella body,
the Nigeria Labour
Congress, must sign with
consequences stated."
Recall that the leadership
of ASUU had engaged in
a 13-hour marathon
meeting with government
delegation led by
President Goodluck
Jonathan in Abuja
between Monday and
Tuesday.
Asked when the lecturers
would call off the strike, a
source who was at the
meeting said, “I doubt if
the strike is ending soon.
The problem is with the
Finance Minister. Where is
government getting N1trn
from? A government that
could not implement
agreement between 2009
and 2013, what is the
guarantee that they would
honour this agreement.
“It is all politics. We are
still awaiting directives
from our branches. We
have told them the
outcome of the meeting
with the President but we
are waiting for them to tell
us what they think of
government’s proposal.
“Imagine the Minister of
Education has travelled
out of the country. He
was appointed Vice
President for UNESCO
General Assembly. How
can he travel out of the
country without resolving
the crisis in the education
sector?’"
The agreement reached
by both ASUU and the
Federal Government is
that government would
inject N1.1tn into public
universities in the next
five years. But ASUU need
guarantees that this will
happen.
Mrs Hajia Buari, mother of
Ghanaian actress, Nadia
Buari, is very mad at
Nollywood bad boy Jim
Iyke who was recently
delivered at Prophet TB
Joshua's church in Lagos
from his spiritual
challenges.
Many had thought after
his deliverance, Jim will
get married to Nadia who
has been with him for
sometime now, including
having "private"
vacations...you know
what I mean! But
unfortunately the reverse
is the case. Jim Iyke
responded to a tweet from
Obascotec , by
saying he's not ready for
marriage.
Jim has dumped Nadia
and her mum is very
angry. See what she said
about him below...
“They were great
together. They were
like a couple and we
thought they were
heading for the altar .
She was very
connected to
him. She has talked
to me about getting
married and having
children.
She plans on settling
down but not right
now. She has to
focus on her career.
That Nigerian boy
will suffer for daring
to break my baby’s
heart ,” Mrs Hajia
was by a Ghanaian
media.
I think she shouldn't rush
into any conclusions. Jim
Iyke might still have good
plans for Nadia, who
knows?
The gang leader of the
deadly robbery gang that
snatched Fuji Musician,
Alabi Pasuma's Range
Rover Sport car at gun
point months ago has
been apprehended. He is
Kasali Adegoke. Below
are his confession...
“While he was with
us, we had no idea
that he was Pasuma.
We did not recognise
him. It was the next
day that we realised
that it was Pasuma
car we snatched the
previous night when
the news was all
over town.
“By that time, the car
was already in
Cotonou. We drove it
that same night to a
border town in Ogun
State where one of
the receiver’s boys
was waiting to drive
it back to Cotonu.
We were paid
N950,000.
“I have a receiver at
Cotonou who usually
calls to place orders
for any type of
vehicle that he
wants. Before we
stole Pasuma’s car,
my buyer had
already told me that
he wanted a Range
Rover Sport. We
were just on the
lookout for possible
victims when we
noticed Pasuma’s
car.”
It would be recalled that
Pasuma was to have
hidden his face from the
robbers that night until he
was dumped in a bush
near Ota, Ogun State, after
they stripped him down to
his underwear.
SARS operatives led by
the Officer-in-Charge,
Mohammed Tijani,
arrested Adegoke in
Obele, a border town
between Nigeria and
Benin Republic. He was
critically injured in a
shoot out with the police.
He later led SARS men to
arrest other members of
his gang at their hideout
in Iju-Ishaga, Lagos. A
top police source say the
deadly gang, led by a
deformed Adegoke, have
killed about 20 policemen.
Nigeria is expected to release
revised economic numbers
from 1990 to 2008. That is
expected to show that the
country has overtaken South
Africa as Africa's largest
economy
.With us to discuss all this is
professor at the University of
Massachusetts Amherst
Léonce Ndikumana. He is a
professor of economics at
UMass Amherst, as I
mentioned, and he's the
director of the African Policy
Program at the Political
Economy Research Institute
(PERI).Thank you for joining
us.LÉONCE NDIKUMANA,
ASSOC. PROF. ECONOMICS
AND LAW, UMKC: Thank you
very much for the
opportunity.DESVARIEUX: So,
Professor, let's talk about
Nigeria. It's moving to become
the number-one economy on
the African continent. What is
the cause behind this rapid
economic growth?NDIKUMANA:
Thank you very much. I think
this is a very important and
interesting question.There are
two things that we need to
single out. One is that even as
of today, Nigeria is the second-
largest economy on the
continent, with about
$262 billion in 2012, compared
to $384 billion GDP for South
Africa.
The second one is that Nigeria
had been growing quite fast. In
2011, they grew by 7.4 percent,
which that went down a little
bit to 26.6 percent in 2012. At
the same time, South Africa's
been growing a little bit slower,
in the range of 2 to 3 percent,
which is consistent with a more
mature economy. So that by
itself would mean that over
time Nigeria is going to get
closer and closer to South
Africa. Even if you look at the
last 12 years, in 2012 the
economy of South Africa was
about three times larger than
the economy of Nigeria. Now
it's about 1.5 percent.Now you
bring in another factor, which is
the rebasing of the national
data in Nigeria, which is
something that other countries
are going to also have to
undertake because their
national accounts based on
outdated--have outdated
bases, in the sense that some
sectors which were not there
when they were doing the
calculations now are more
predominant in production of
goods and services.
One of the biggest new
innovation is the telecom
sector, which is becoming a
bigger and bigger part of the
service sector. So this requires
countries to go back in their
statistics and redo the
weighting of each economic
sector. And this, for many
countries, is going to result in a
larger major amount of national
output, which is GDP. Ghana
has already done it, and Nigeria
is on track of releasing their
new statistics. And this will
result in a larger GDP for
Nigeria. And, again, as you
said, it may be the case that
they may be either closer, even
take over South Africa,
assuming that South Africa
doesn't do the rebasing
[incompr.]DESVARIEUX: And I
can imagine what's propelling
this rapid growth is that three-
letter word, oil, since Nigeria
has a lot of it. What do you
make of that?NDIKUMANA:
Yes. As you indicated, the rapid
growth in Nigeria over the past
years is driven mainly by the oil
sector.
To give you an example, of the
six point--while the country as
a whole grew by 6.6 percent in
2012, the oil sector actually
grew faster, by 8 percent, which
means that some of the sectors
were shrinking. And this
poses--is a source of concern
because oil, the oil sector, as
we know, is a very capital-
intensive sector, which means
that it doesn't create lots of
jobs.At the same time, since
we're talking about South Africa
and Nigeria, they share two
important problems. One is
unemployment, and the second
is [incompr.] to global markets,
shocks in global markets.
Unemployment has been high
in South Africa. It's known. And
they have very good statistics.
It's about 25 percent. In fact,
Nigerian unemployment over
the past two years has been
increasing from 21 percent to
24 percent. So even as the
economy's growing in Nigeria,
unemployment is actually
growing at the same time,
which is the result of the fact
that growth is taking place in
sectors that are not creating
employment. So this is a major,
major problem for Nigeria.
At the same time, the sectors
which are the life--which
provide the life for the majority
of the population, especially
agriculture, is not growing as
fast, because there has not
been sufficient investment in
technology so that productivity
in agriculture, the mainstay of
the livelihood of the population,
is actually seeing a decline in
productivity. And that is true for
Nigeria as well for many other
countries.
So the challenge for Nigeria is
how to harness these oil
resources so that the growth in
revenue that's coming from oil
can actually trigger expansion
in other sectors outside of the
oil sector.
This lady is kinda crazy
though. She went ahead
to send her private photos
to a man that is not even
based in this country but
abroad, not knowing that
the Naija guy wanted to
rubbish her. See more
photos below
After leading one of Ghana's star
actresses, Nadia Buari, on and
making her believe he would
settle down with her, and finally
breaking her heart, Nigerian
actor, Jim Iyke has been cursed
by Nadia's Mother. This is real! I
mean this is not a movie in
which Jim gets away with stuff
of this kind.
Jim and Nadia were intimate and
appeared to be so much in love
and everyone thought that they
will tie the knot before the year
ends, until Jim posted on his
Twitter handle that he was not
going to marry the Ghanaian
beauty, while Nadia herself
responded by deleting Jim’s
pictures from her Instagram
account.
Hajia Buari, after the media
celebrated break-up, was
reported by a Ghanaian
entertainment site, to have said
Jim will suffer untold hardship in
life:
“They were great together. They
were like a couple and we
thought they were heading for
the altar. She was very
connected to him. She has
talked to me about getting
married and having children. She
plans on settling down but not
right now. She has to focus on
her career. That Nigerian boy will
suffer for daring to break my
baby’s heart,” Angry Hajia Buari
said
Well, in weeks to come, media
eyes will be on the erstwhile
lovers to see how the Jim and
Nadia story further develops.
The picture that trigger the rumour
A terrible rumor being peddled around on social media and website has it that, celebrated
Ghanaian actor van vicker has had an accident.
The rumor which started this morning on Fake Nadia Buari, Fake Ini Edo, Fake Jim Iyke and some
other African celebrities social media pages provoked Van vicker to react that,
‘There is a post on an imposter's page that I had an accident this morning on my way to church
and I might die from bleeding. Its a rumor and a stunt to drive traffic to that page. I am well and
in great health. JeHoV dey by my side. StayEeasy’ Unedited.
In a separate chat with Van Vicker;s Publicist ( Mustapha Ayinde Inusah AKA Attractive), he
revealed to Guruscoded.com that , he doesn't really know where the sham rumors are coming
from , and confirmed that Van vicker, is not dead but rather he’s on set shooting in Nigeria
The issues militating against
Governor Peter Obi's anointed
candidate in the November 16
governorship pool in Anambra
State is increasing by the day.
Despite an insistence by Willie
Obiano, the governorship
candidate of APGA, that he did
not engage in multiple
registrations, damning evidence
has now emerged that he did.
The proof that Mr. Obiano
registered multiple times might
put his candidature in serious
trouble, a source at the electoral
commission said. The
revelations came after an
Anambra State High Court had
granted the candidate a weird
injunction to shield him from
criminal prosecution.
Evidence of Obiano double
registration in Anambra State
below:
Unimpeachable documents
obtained by Sahara Reporters
show that Mr. Obiano registered
more than once, an act that
violates the law. On August 21,
2013, he was issued a voter
identification number (VIN)
90F5B12B88377091121. Then,
at 10.25 a.m., on September 3,
2013, he was given another
voter identification number
90F5B15E7D378200332. A third
registration car has also
emerged from Kosofe Local
Government area in Lagos.
Except for the fact that the APGA
candidate wore different clothes,
all the information in the three
registrations remained the same.
In the cards, he was registered
as “Obiano, Maduabuchi Willie.”
His address in both documents
was given as “No. 1 Chief Willie
Obiano Street, Otuocha” just as
his date of birth was recorded as
August 8, 1955. His age on both
cards was recorded as 56.
The watermarks on the cards
clearly show the different voter
identification numbers as well as
different issuing dates and times,
though the name of the
candidate was unchanged.
“It is against the law to register
more than once,” a source at
INEC told SaharaReporters
today. Section 12(2) of the
Electoral Act 2010 (as amended)
provides that “A person shall not
register in more than one
registration center or register
more than once in the same
registration center.” Section
12(3) then states that any
person who contravenes the law
would be liable “on conviction to
a fine not exceeding N100,000
or imprisonment.”
Information reaching
Obascotec is that
controversial Nollywood actress,
Tonto Dikeh is seriously on the
verge to remove Genevieve Nnaji
from D'banj's heart and occupy
the space. I hear she is giving
her all to the affair, which started
secretly few weeks back but the
whole thing has been exposed.
Genevieve is said to be very
bitter because she sees Tonto
as a younger sister and could
not believe that she of all ladies
will go behind her to be having
an "affair" with a man D'banj
who she is trying to get back.
What is actually giving some
people concern is the fact that
Tonto Dikeh dated Don Jazzy
when he and D'banj were still
working together. But Tonto
doesn't give a damn over what
Genevieve or anyone think.
On Sunday, news broke that
Davido and his bodyguard were
involved in a fight at a club in a
highbrow Lagos area. After
different stories were peddled on
the matter, his management has
released a statement on the
issue, with a view to “clear the
air” on the falsified accounts
circulating about the incident.
Below is what happened at the
Grotto Club in Victoria Island,
Lagos...
Official Statement from Davido's
management:
After a successful outing at a
recent concert on Sunday
November 3 at Eko Hotels,
popular musician Davido headed
to the Grotto Nightclub on
Victoria Island. After a brief stay
at the club, Davido and his crew
proceeded to his vehicle outside
to head home.
Upon entering the vehicle, he
realized that his ATM card was
missing. His bodyguard Tijani
Olamilekan Ogbeide better
known as Teejay got down from
the vehicle to search for the
ATM card in the club.
Upon alighting, he was accosted
by an already drunk “DJ Jay
Dee” who had in his hand a
champagne flute. This DJ
Jaydee informed Teejay that he
had the ATM card in his hand
and would like to personally
deliver it to Davido.
Teejay politely asked him to
hand over the ATM card as it
was clear that Davido was right
in his view in his car. DJ Jaydee
refused to hand over the card
without payment and instead
proceeded to shout that he knew
who Davido was personally and
that he (DJ Jaydee) was a
known person in Lagos.
Teejay refused him access to
Davido which led DJ Jaydee to
throw the ATM card on the
ground in anger. As Teejay bent
to retrieve the card, DJ Jaydee
stabbed him in the neck with the
champagne flute he was holding.
An oblivious Teejay threw him
off his back and proceeded to
return the ATM card to Davido.
As he was entering the car to
leave, one of the occupants
noticed the stab wounds and
called his attention to the blood.
Teejay promptly alighted from
the car and went to confront DJ
Jaydee who was still yelling
outside.
DJ Jaydee apparently not done
with his violence stabbed the
bodyguard a second time, this
time on his hands and ran off
into the club. Teejay searched
for him to no avail and left the
club soon after.
Tijani Olamilekan Ogbeide has
since reported the matter to the
police and they have been to the
club to invite DJ Jaydee for
questioning. Grotto has been
unable to deliver DJ Jaydee to
the police, instead malicious and
falsified accounts of the incident
have found their way on social
media portals being championed
of course by sources intent on
casting vile aspersions on
Davido and his bodyguard
Teejay.
DJ Jaydee is yet to surface.
Tijani Olamilekan Ogbeide has
pressed charges to this effect.
Davido’s management
categorically refutes all the
allegations of violence as
insinuated by some. Teejay was
carrying out his job by
restricting access to Davido from
an unknown and obviously
inebriated and violent individual.
He performed his duties as
bodyguard and instead of
resorting to violence, followed
the dictates of the law. Members
of the public and fans should
please note that Davido was not
present at this unfortunate
incident that occurred that night
as erroneously reported in a few
quarters.
What we usually see in
Nollywood movies where a man
will be very wealthy and in
position of authority but his wife
or first son will be battling with a
"serious" challenge, is what is
playing out in Enugu State. Sad!
Following several reports in the
social media that Governor
Sullivan Chime of Enugu State
was holding Clara, his wife in
solitary confinement,c observed that
some persons close to the wife
contacted Femi Falana, a popular
human rights activist, to help
rescue the woman.
But in a bid to stop Falana,
Governor Chime has opened up
on his wife's true condition...
He said it is not his will to
subject his wife to such
condition and that whatever is
been done to her is for her own
good and was put in place by
professionals to save her from
"shame and ridicule".
Speaking to selected journalists
on Tuesday night in the
presence of some family
members and his wife, who is
said to be mentally unstable,
Governor Chime said Femi
Falana should not allow people
to push him into taking any
action against him as he is only
trying to help his wife's
situation.
In the words of Govenor Chime:
“Well, my wife has some
medical challenges , and it
would be very unkind for
me to talk about her
condition on the pages of
newspapers. I have done
everything to protect her
integrity and I’m not now
going to expose her to
ridicule because some
people want to exploit her
situation to drag me into a
needless war of words.”
Ascotec gathered that
his wife, Clara, sat calmly
throughout the session with the
journalists but it was not too
difficult to notice some signs in
her disposition from time to
time.
The wife's psychiatric doctor, Dr.
Aham Agumuo, was also present
at the session. We pray she gets
well!
A 16-year-old girl (name withheld) has been reportedly hospitalised after she was
allegedly r*ped to coma by some unknown men in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Vanguard gathered that the incident occurred at 8p.m. on Monday on her way back
home from where she was sent on an errand.
According to a popular actress (name withheld) who broke the news through her post
on the Facebook: “A-16-year-old girl from Abeokuta in Ogun State was sent on errand
last night (Monday) around 8 p.m. to the nearby street.
“On her way back home, hefty men ambushed her and got her r*ped till coma. As we are
posting this right now, she is lying in sick bed at Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta.
Since the creation of the new
Anambra state in 1991, it's only
Anambra North Senatorial district
that has never produced a
Governor of the state likewise
the Ekiti South Senatorial district
since 1996 when the state was
created.
Anambra North is likely to
produce the governor of the
state in November 16, 2013,
because it has the highest
voting strength compare with
other two senatorial districts.
The two major political parties
zoned their candidates to
Anambra North.
Chief Willie Maduabuchi Obiano
is APGA flag bearer, from the oil-
bearing Aguleri in Anambra
North Senatorial District while Dr
Tony Okechukwu Nwoye is the
standard bearer of the PDP, he
is from Offiantta Village, Nsugbe
in Anambra East Local
Government, Anambra North
Senatorial District.
Out of Nine(9) elected Governors
produced in the state. Two of
the elected Governors were old
Anambra state "Enugu
state" (Chief Jim Nwobodo and
Chief Christian Onoh) other
elected Governors are:
Dr Chukuwuemeka Ezeife
(Anambra south)
Dr Chinwoke Mbadinugu
(Anambra south)
Senator Chris Ngige ( Anambra
Central)
Peter Obi ( Anambra Central)
Verginia Etiaba( Anambra South)
Andy Uba ( Anambra South)
Peter Obi ( Anambra Central)
Likewise in Ekiti State, it was
only Ekiti South Senatorial
District that has never produced
a governor of the state since the
return of democracy in the
country 1999. Out of the Four
elected Governors produced in
the state,Ekiti Central and North
Senatorial Districts had
produced two Governors
each,they are:
Otunba Niyi Adebayo (Iyin Ekiti)
Ekiti Central
Dr Ayo Fayose (Afao Ekiti) Ekiti
Central
Engr Segun Oni (Ifaki Ekiti) Ekiti
North
Dr Kayode Fayemi (Isan Ekiti)
Ekiti North.
Party politics and zoning are
very important elements of any
liberal with a wave of hand in
primordial state like Ekiti State.
Power shift or zoning as the
case maybe is the only way
forward for our amiable state
because of our different
senatorial districts.
All Progressive Congress (APC)
had shifted their Governorship
race to the Ekiti North/Central
Senatorial District where the
zone have produced two
governors each. The ideology of
APC is different from other
parties in Nigeria (Ondo and
Anambra States as a case
Study). I think the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) will shift
the Governorship position to the
South Senatorial District,the
largest Local Government Area
and which has never produced a
governor since the creation of
the state.
Infact, it is clear in PDP
constitution that there is zoning
and rotation everywhere,Right
from National level through the
various states to Local
Government areas and electoral
wards arrangement across the
country. I refer to the PDP
constitution, Article 7 subsection
2(c) which states that in
pursuance of the principle of
Equity, Justice and Fairness, the
party shall adhere to the policy
of rotation and zoning of the
party and public offices and it
shall be enforced by the
appropriate executive committee
at all levels. (PDP
constitution,1999).
Ekiti people especially PDP SWC
and PDP NWC,should promote
peace and stability, fairness and
equity. we need to focus on
Governorship aspirants that
come from Ekiti South Senatorial
district such as His Excellencies
Adebisi Omoyeni,Abiodun Aluko
other are Senator Gbenga
Aluko,Prince Dayo Adeyeye ,Amb
Dare Bejide, Pham Bimbo
Owolabi, Rt (Hon) Femi Bamisile,
Senator Bode Olowoporoku, Dr
Kunle Folayan, Hon Ropo
Ogunbodunde, Mr Babatunde
Larin-Alabi and Mr Mayowa
Aluko.
Many would argue that many of
the above listed aspirants are
'no name' people ,but they forgot
that prior to the 1999 election,
how many people have heard the
name of Otunba Niyi Adebayo
who later became Governor? Let
us assume that Adebayo is not
good example judging from the
below Average rate his
administration achieved, how
about his successors? How
many people had heard about Mr
Ayo Fayose prior to the 2003
election? Even Five months to
the election, did many ever
heard of him? Did many gave
him a chance of making any
difference? How many people
heard about Engr Segun Oni?
How about Gov Kayode Fayemi?
Did many so-called pundits ever
heard of Fayemi prior to 2007
election?
I understand that at the end of
the day, it is the people of Ekiti
that will decide who will be their
next Governor but we should not
forget the fact that in the interest
of Equity, Justice and Fairness,
every section of the state should
show a sense of belonging.
Ekiti State belongs to all of us
and not to a particular Zone.
Ekiti south Senatorial district
should be given the chance to
present the next Governor like
other Zone in the state.
God bless Ekiti South Senatorial
District;
God bless the land of honour;
God the Federal Republic of
Nigeria.
Details of the Monday/Tuesday
marathon meeting between
President Goodluck Jonathan
and the leadership of the
Academic Staff Union of
Universities have begun to
emerge.
“The meeting should be the
longest that we have ever
had on this crisis but I can
tell you that both parties
were frank all through the
discussions.
“The parties also showed
commitment towards
ending the crisis. The
President in particular
showed that he was serious
about ending the strike and
that was why he offered to
release over N1tn to the
universities in the next five
years."
Punch gathered on Tuesday
evening that a key component of
the agreement reached by the
parties was that the Federal
Government would inject N1.1tn
into public universities in the
next five years.
A reliable source, who made this
known, also hinted that the
strike would be called off
anytime next week.
He said the government team
which was led by President
Goodluck Jonathan would
release N220bn yearly into the
sector beginning from 2014.
The source added, “The money
will be released on a yearly
basis at N220bn per annum
beginning from 2014. For the
outgoing year, the government
will only release N100bn and
this has been processed.”
He said that the government, in
order to show its commitment to
a fresh pact, accepted that “the
fund (N1.1tn) should domiciled
at the Central Bank of Nigeria”
“The money will be released on a
quarterly basis to the
universities. So, there won’t be
any problem about funding the
deal,” the source said.
The National Universities
Commission and the Trade
Union Congress, according to
him, are joint guarantors of the
agreement while the Minister of
Education will be the
implementation officer.
The source said that the
government agreed among other
things, to revamp the public
universities by ensuring that all
those issues that always led to
strike were dealt with once and
for all.
It was learnt that the negotiating
team of ASUU led by Dr. Nassir
Faggae met on Tuesday to
further deliberate on the deal.
Signs that all is not well between
actor Jim Iyke and Nadia Buari
manifested after OluFamous.Com
sent him a tweet on Sunday
evening on why he wants to
marry the Ghanian actress.
Moments after Jim Iyke read the
report on Obascotec, he
dished out a statement that
suggests that all is no longer the
way they used to be before his
pregnancy scandal with a Lagos
babe known as Nancy.
Below is what we have gathered
about Jim and Nadia's issues...
Before Jim Iyke even sent out a
statement on Sunday denying
reports that he was making
marriage plans with Nadia Buari,
the actress have already deleted
all his pictures from her page on
instagram.
Then Jim himself now capped it
with a tweet, saying marriage is
not his priority now. Many folks
have read a lot of meaning into
their issues, but it appears the
matter of Nancy's pregnancy is
still a major issue.
Nadia is no longer saying sweet
things about Jim online and he
is now saying he's not ready for
marriage yet.
By Bruno Mbanaso
Obi made a surprise and
unscheduled
visit to Holy Ghost Adoration
Ministries
with his entourage, says the
proprietor
of Holy Ghost Adoration
Ministries, Rev
Father Emanuel Obinma aka
Ebube
Monso.
Gov. Obi had in his broadcast
claimed to
have been invited by the
Reverend father,
but the spiritually gifted clergy
confided
in a close friend and
worshipper in the
church that what Obi is
broadcasting to
the state in not correct, as he
did not
invite him, but could not have
asked him
to leave once he had come.
Our source states: ‘Rev.
Obinma as visibly
angry, based on the false claim
by the
governor in a state-wide
broadcast,
which gives the impression that
our
church is being mixed up with
politics.’
‘Well, we do not ask people to
leave when
they come here, We open our
hands to
receive all, because that is the
nature of
soul-winning, but to say that
we sent a
written invitation to him ( Gov
Obi) to
attend our vigil on November 1,
2013 is
to say the least worrisome’ Rev
Obinma
was quoted as saying.
According to our
very reliable source, the
catholic priest is
yet to make up his mind
whether to join
issues publicly with Gov. Obi
but is very
resolute about straightening the
records
on the issue of a written
invitation to the
governor’.
Gov Obi had attended a night
vigil in the
Adoration Centre at 2.00am last
Saturday
along with Candidate of APGA
in
November 16 governorship
polls, Mr Wilie
Obiano, National Chairman of
APGA, Chief
Victor Umeh,Director General of
Willie
Obiano Campaign Organisation,
Chief Joe-
Martins Uzodike, also the
Commissioner
for Information,Mr Oke Udeh
erstwhile
Deputy Governor who betrayed
Dr Chris
Ngige in office as a governor,
and one
Ifeanyi Ibezi, a native of
Abatete, among
others.
There attempt to speak to the
crowd and
convince them to vote for
Obiano failed,
as the people initially protested
the mix-
up of worship with politics.
However,
when Obi insisted on having his
way, the
crowd burst into a song,
rendering
praises to Senator Dr Chris
Ngige, Obi’s
political rival and candidate of
the All
Progressive Congress (APC), a
development which angered
Obi.
Peter Obi at the Adoration
Grounds
It took the intervention of Rev
Fr Obinma
for Obi to speak at all to the
people, who
became uncontrollable again
when the
governor asked them to vote
for Obiano
who was beside him in the
uniformed
delegation.
Obiano has since denied
attending the
vigil with Governor Obi, while
Obi’s
broadcast to the state carefully
omitted
the name of the faltering
candidate of
Obi’s political party.
Controversy has ensued over
the actual
time of departure of the
governor from
the venue, and how it relates to
the
stampede which eventually
recorded a
death casualty of 61 persons as
the
governor claims to have left at
3.00am ,while eye-witnesses
say the
governor and his entourage
were in Uke
ill the adoration closed at 5.20
am.
‘Look, telling you the story as
someone
who was there, forget all you
hear those
who felt angered by the
governors
intrusive presence simply
hauled sachet
water and other things at
him ,leading to
the decision of his security
details to
shoot into the air and release
some
The Nigeria Security and Civil
Defence Corps, Akwa Ibom
State Command, has arrested a
Power Holding Company of
Nigeria service manager and
eight others for allegedly
engaging in illegal poles
planting and cables theft.
The eight men were said to
have been nabbed following a
tip-off from residents that some
vandals were tampering
with the PHCN installations at
Nung Oku in Ibesikpo/Asutan
Local Government Area.
It was learnt that the service
manager, Ibesikpo/Asutan
LGA’s PHCN office was arrested
for alleged complicity in the
crime.
The command’s head, Public
Relations/Protocol, Mr. Ime
White, told PUNCH Metro in Uyo
on Monday that following
the tip-off, the state
commandant of the agency, Mr.
Pedro Ideba, quickly mobilised
patrol teams to the area.
He explained that the
command’s prompt action was
also
necessitated by the fear that if
the vandals were quacks,
they could be electrocuted.
White said following the arrest
of the suspects, the
command impounded the truck
they were using, which
had PHCN label indicating that
the vandals were from the
Port Harcourt district.
He noted that investigation,
however, revealed that though
the vandals posed as PHCN
workers, none had ever worked
with the parastatal.
He added that NSCDC had
impounded feeder cables,
insulators, ladder and other
working tools recovered from
the suspects.
He said, “We discovered a
purported contract of
transplanting poles being
undertaken by one Jenkins
International Limited.
“It was the duty of the service
manager, PHCN, Ibesikpo/
Asutan LGA, to have notified the
Uyo District of such jobs,
but that did not happen.
“Upon the arrest of the
suspects, we discovered that
the
truck they were using had
PHCN label that has to do with
metering project of Port
Harcourt district and not Akwa
Ibom. Although they posed as
PHCN workers, we
discovered that none of them
worked with the company.
Feeder cables, insulators,
ladders and other working
tools, were all impounded
here.”
He stated that when the
command contacted Uyo office
of the PHCN to verify if there
was any contract they gave to
Jenkins International Limited,
the office denied knowledge of
such deal.
Seven years after an
unwanted pregnancy
forced her to drop out of
the University of Ilorin,
Aishat Farooq has
emerged the best
graduating student of the
Bells University of
Technology in Ota, Ogun
State.
When Aishat Farooq
gained admission into the
University of Ilorin at 15,
to study Zoology, little did
she know that her secret
romance with a boy will
abort her lofty dreams
through pregnancy...
Despite the fact that she
was a high flyer in her
first two years in
UNILORIN, the now 25-
year-old indigene of Ilorin,
Kwara State, got
distracted along the line.
She played the campus
love game and got a
shocking result: she got
pregnant.
It was in 2006 and in her
third year. She was
pregnant for a fellow
student whom she had
been dating. She was
disappointed in herself
and thought the whole
world was crashing on
her. Yet, she vowed not to
terminate the pregnancy.
Although she wanted to
continue her studies in the
university, she became
disillusioned and dropped
out at 18. She sought
consolation in trading. But
her father, Shehu Farooq,
who believed that his
daughter’s academic
prowess should not be
wasted, was determined
to get her back on the
academic track.
Today, Aishat has a
different story. On
Saturday, she stood tall
among her peers at the
5th convocation ceremony
of Bells University, Ota,
Ogun State, where she
emerged the overall best
graduating student with a
Cumulative Grade Point
Average of 4.93 .
“The rebel in me won,”
Aishat declared while
giving the valedictory
address on behalf of the
208 graduating students
of the university.
“I hope my story will
inspire at least one
person to change his or
her circumstance. I was
pregnant at 18 and by 19
I was already a mother. I
had disappointed my
father who believed so
much in me. He had such
big dreams for me and
feared the dreams would
become unfulfilled,” she
added.
Breaking the news of the
pregnancy to her father,
who was at the time
based in the northern part
of the country, was not
easy. Aishat’s mother,
Fatima, who stayed in
Lagos with the family, did
not break the “sad news”
to the man until the lady
was almost due. The
mum then feared her
husband would be too
angry.
Aishat studied Business
Administration with
specialisation in Human
Resources Management,
and received the Vice-
Chancellor’s Prize for the
Overall Best Graduating
Student with a cash
reward of N50,000 and a
plaque . She also won the
College of Management
Sciences Prize and
Department of Business
Administration Prize for
the Best Graduating
Student.
Speaking with Punch's
Temitayo Famutimi after
she received the awards,
Aishat, whose face
beamed with smiles,
expressed gratitude to her
dad for not losing hope in
her during her trying time.
She noted, “I did
exceptionally well and
bagged awards in the
schools I attended. I had
the overall best result at
the Senior Secondary
School Certificate level at
Model Secondary School,
Maitama, Abuja. In fact in
UNILORIN, I was on the
first class grade in my
first year but in 200 Level,
I dropped to second class
upper division because I
had already started
getting distracted by the
boys .
“It just happened that
things turned out the way
it did. But here I am, a
product of God’s
unending mercies,
unconditional love and
grace – all coupled with
the faith my dad had in
me and my fierce
determination.
“I’m a goalgetter. I push
myself hard. Even here in
spite of being a mother, I
was pushing for the best
despite the challenges. I
wanted to make my dad
proud again. Once you
are determined, nothing is
impossible. Nothing can
stop you .”
The major reason why ASUU has
refused to call off its prolonged
strike is the mind-boggling
salaries and the unending
allowances of political office
holders in Nigeria, especially the
Executive and Legislature.
Obascote cobascotec gathered that it
is with this 'trouble' that ASUU
leaders entered into a closed
door meeting in Aso Rock with
President Goodluck Jonathan on
Monday. Sensing that the
lectures are ready to speak their
minds without fear, the meeting
was shifted to the First Lady
Conference Room.
Indication that the strike may be
called off emerged when
Jonathan said while shaking
hands with members of the
delegation that, “The matter must
be resolved here today. Our
children must go back to
school.”
The meeting went into the early
hours of Tuesday, all in a bid to
find a final resolution to the
strike that started on July 1,
2013. ASUU went into the
meeting with the NLC President,
Abdulawahid Omar.
On his part, Jonathan was joined
by VP Sambo; Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-
Iweala; Anyim Pius Anyim;
Nyesom Wike and Minister of
Labour, Emeka Wogu.
gathered that if
ASUU have its way, the strike
will be called off soon but their
would be a general reduction in
the salary of political office
holders across board by 2014.
The President ASUU is expected
to meet his members on
Tuesday to take a final decision
on the strike.
Chizoba Michael Nwobodo’s
inordinate ambition to get rich
quick has left two families in
deep sorrow and anguish. The
24-yr-old gruesomely
murdered two young boys and
harvested their vital organs
for money making rituals.
He’s a kidnapper, armed robber
and ritual killer who hails from
Umualaguroyi Uhueze Nenwe
village in Aninri West Local
Government Area of Enugu State.
He committed the heinous
crimes between August and
October this year.
In the first incident, which
occurred in Ohuhu, Abia State on
August 7, 2013, he abducted
Emmanuel Nwobodo, the nine-
year-old son of his uncle,
Nnamdi Nwobodo, immediately
the boy returned from school at
4.00pm on that fateful day. He
took the boy into a nearby bush,
beheaded him and proceeded to
harvest his kidneys, lungs, heart
and genitals. Done with the
horrible act, he calmly dumped
the boy’s dismembered body on
the bank of a nearby river.
When evening came and the boy
had still not returned from
school, the parents started
searching for him. Chizoba even
joined in the search for the
unfortunate boy. When he could
not be found, his parents
reported the matter to the police
at Isikwuato Police Station, Abia
State.
Later, Chizoba made a call to his
uncle, informing him thus: “I told
my uncle that I kidnapped the
child at 4.00pm, that if he can
pay me ransom of N300,000 I
would release the child to him.
He paid me N200,000. After
some time, I called my uncle
again and demanded another
sum of N200,000. I told him to
sell his land, but my uncle
refused to pay the money. At the
time I was demanding the
money, I had already killed the
child.”
On October 11, 2013, barely two
months after murdering nine-
year-old Emmanuel, Chizoba
again abducted another child,
Promise Uwakwe, a five-year-
old boy as he was returning
from school. This time around,
he enticed the innocent boy with
biscuits, dragged him into the
bush and when the obviously
startled boy began to scream
after sensing danger, Chizoba
quickly strangled him to death
and then removed the boy’s vital
organs.
Promise’s father, Mr Ngozi
Nwakwe said the family became
worried when the boy’s school
uniform was found on the
ground but he could not be
found. After the first day, he
reported to the police at Anniri
Police Post and the policemen
joined in the search for the
child. When the child was not
found after three days, the case
was transferred to the Anti-
kidnapping Squad of the Enugu
State Police Command.
Like the well-known Otokoto
ritual killing incident that
occurred in 1996 in Imo State,
the blood of the gruesomely
murdered innocent little boys
cried unceasingly before the
Throne of the Almighty for
justice.
“It was when the suspect
demanded N3 million ransom
from us that we alerted the
police and they rounded him up
and he confessed to them that
he had killed my son and
removed his genitals lungs,
kidneys and heart and then
dumped him inside a water tank
from which we recovered his
corpse,” Nwakwe said in
anguish.
Enugu State Commissioner of
Police, Mr. Abubakar Adamu who
narrated Chizoba’s murderous
escapades to Sunday Sun
revealed that the suspect was
exposed when he called Mr
Nwakwe and demanded N3
million ransom for the boy. The
family refused and reported to
the police.
CP Adamu said the Commander
of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad,
Alex Akinlalu, a Deputy
Superintendent of Police (DSP)
and his team swung into action
and arrested Chizoba at his
village.
In a brief chat after his arrest by
the police, Chizoba told Sunday
Sun “I am a kidnapper, armed
robber, ritualist, artist and
musician. I traveled to India in
2013 to acquire power so that
anything I engage in will
prosper. I spent one month and
one week in India. I needed
money, so I contacted a
herbalist who told me that if I
wanted to make money I should
look for two boys and two girls
between the ages of four and
nine years old for money ritual.”
Continuing, he said: “I used the
two boys for the ritual. I bought
red candle, blue candle, black
candle, white candle and other
ritual materials and did some
incantations after which I threw
the human parts into the bush.”
Meanwhile, Mrs. Elizabeth
Nwobodo, mother of Emmanuel,
the first victim, is crying and
calling on the government to
ensure that justice is done and
she has been assured by CP
Adamu that the suspect would
definitely be charged to court for
his heinous crimes at the
conclusion of investigations.
