I’ve met all my bail conditions, charge me to court, Fani-Kayode tells EFCC

Spokes-  person to ex- President Goodluck Jonathan Presidential Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani- Kayode said yesterday that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC should  release him since he has met all his bail conditions or charge him to court. Femi Fani-Kayode A statement signed yesterday by his Media Assistant, Jude Ndukwe and made available to Journalists in Abuja yesterday read, “This is to refute the false information being peddled by a section of the media that former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, who has remained illegally detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) since May 9, 2016, has not met his bail conditions as set by EFCC. “Chief Fani-Kayode has since fulfilled the conditions for his bail but rather than take the honourable path of releasing him pending any charge brought against him, the anti-graft agency moved him from Abuja to Lagos where they obtained a questionable warrant to further detain him illegally for another three weeks.

BREAKING: Muhammad Ali ''Greatest of all Time'' Dead at 74

Heavyweight boxing legend Muhammad Ali, a 20th Century icon whose fame transcended sport during a remarkable career that spanned three decades, died Friday, his family said. The beloved 74-year-old sports hero, who had been battling Parkinson’s disease for decades, passed away in a hospital here where he had been admitted earlier this week suffering from respiratory problems. “After a 32-year battle with Parkinson’s disease, Muhammad Ali has passed away at the age of 74,” spokesman Bob Gunnell said. “The three-time World Heavyweight Champion boxer died this evening.” Funeral arrangements for Ali would be announced on Saturday, he added, with the champion to be buried in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. Ali had been living in the Phoenix area with his fourth wife, Lonnie, whom he married in 1986. He was survived by nine children, seven daughters and two sons. As the family gathered at his bedside on Friday, concern for Ali had grown. Upon his death tributes immediately poured in for “The Greatest,” who was known globally not only for his storied ring career but also for his humanitarian activism. “Muhammad Ali transformed this country and impacted the world with his spirit,” said longtime boxing promoter Bob Arum. “His legacy will be part of our history for all time. “He is, without a question in my mind, the most transformative person of our time,” Arum said. Ali had been hospitalized multiple times in recent years. In 2014 he was treated for a mild case of pneumonia and again in 2015 for a urinary tract infection. His Parkinson’s, thought to be linked to the thousands of punches he took during a career studded by bruising battles inside the ropes, had limited his public speaking. But he continued to make appearances and offer opinions through his family members and spokespeople. In April, he attended a Celebrity Fight Night Dinner in Phoenix that raised funds for treatment of Parkinson’s. In December, he issued a statement rebuking US presidential hopeful Donald Trump’s call for a ban on Muslims entering the United States. –

 ‘The greatest’ – His 30-year career, which stretched from 1960 to 1981 and saw him retire with a record of 56-5, included such historic bouts as the Rumble in the Jungle against George Foreman. Don King promoted that watershed bout in Kinshasa, Zaire, in 1974, in which Ali used his “Rope a Dope” strategy to best Foreman and become just the second fighter to regain the heavyweight world title. “His spirit will go on forever,” King said of Ali. “He represents what every athlete and sports person tries to do, an attitude of getting it done, success, he was fabulous. “A great human being, and a champion of the people. The greatest of all times.” Other defining moments of Ali’s career included two knockouts of Sonny Liston and his thrilling rivalry with Joe Frazier — which saw the two men slug it out in the ring and verbally spar out of it. “Ali, Frazier & Foreman, we were 1 guy. A part of me slipped away — the greatest piece” Foreman wrote on Twitter shortly after Ali’s death was announced. Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson added: “God came for his champion. So long great one. @MuhammadAli #TheGreatest #RIP.” Ali, born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr in Louisville, Kentucky, dazzled fans with slick moves in the ring, and with his wit and engaging persona outside it. His refusal to serve in the Vietnam War saw him banned from the sport for years, but the US Supreme Court overturned his conviction for draft dodging in 1971. He took the name of Muhammad Ali after converting to Islam in 1964, soon after he had stunned the sport by claiming the title with a monumental upset of Liston. He was vilified in some quarters for that conversion and his outspoken stance on Vietnam and civil rights issues. His refusal to fight in Vietnam saw him prosecuted for draft evasion, and led to him being effectively banned for boxing for three years of his prime. But he held firm to his beliefs and eventually earned accolades as an activist. He received the highest US civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 2005. –

 ‘A giant’ – He represented the United Nations as a messenger of peace and was chosen to light the Olympic torch in 1996, when he was already weakened by Parkinson’s. Floyd Mayweather, who walked away from boxing last year with a perfect 49-0 record, recalled the awe he felt in meeting Ali in ’96, when he himself was a US Olympian. “I didn’t really know what to say. I couldn’t believe it,” Mayweather said. “I didn’t even want to show my true feelings and emotions of how I felt.” Twenty years on, Mayweather was clear on his view of Ali’s legacy — forged inside and outside the ring. “Never be afraid,” Mayweather said. “Never stop believing. And never settle for less.” Mayweather’s great rival Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines said the world had lost “a giant”. “Boxing benefitted from Muhammad Ali’s talents, but not as much as mankind benefitted from his humanity,” Pacquiao said.

Lagos to make Yoruba language compulsory in schools

Lagos State Government has concluded plans to make the teaching of Yoruba language compulsory in all its public schools. Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State represented by his deputy Dr Idiat Oluranti Adebule, said that the subject will be taught in primary schools and junior secondary schools JSS3 across the state. He disclosed this yesterday at a stakeholders forum organised by the Lagos State House of Assembly at Academy hall, Agidingbi, Ikeja Lagos on the need to make Yoruba Language a compulsory teaching subject in all schools in the state. According to him, the state government equally noted that the imposition of western culture and language on Nigerian children has done a lot of damage to the rich local cultural heritage of the Yoruba people. Ambode noted that it is important for children not only to learn the language of their environment, but also the culture and people’s general way of life. The governor added that it is very important for every Yoruba child to be able to speak the language very fluently, enriched with adequate cultural norms of the people so as to guarantee a responsible life in the future. Ambode commended members of the state house of Assembly for their efforts at ensuring that Yoruba language is not relegated to the background, he noted that their effort would further help the state government in the implementation of its policy on the teaching of Yoruba language, adding that the house would help to make appropriate legislations that would back up government efforts at making Yoruba language a compulsory subject in all schools in the state. The Governor who expressed reservations that government previous efforts at making the teaching of the language compulsory in all schools in the state are being frustrated by proprietors of private schools , expressed optimism that the State House of Assembly will do the needful to make the dream come to reality. He lauded all the traditional rulers and other notable Yoruba indigenes for gracing the occasion , adding that with their collective will and efforts, the goal of restoring the cultural values of the Yoruba people of Nigeria would be realized. Earlier in his address, Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Mudasiru Obasa called on parents and teachers to ensure that Yoruba language remains the medium of communication to children and pupils at home and in schools, adding that the efforts would help growing up children to learn both the language and its cultural values. He called on the state government to set a day aside in the schools calendar in which Yoruba language would be the spoken language in all the public schools, urging government to recruit more Yoruba language teachers to promote the teaching of the language in public schools. 27 0 11 0 

FG releases census on all the goats, cattles, pigs, sheeps, camels, other livestocks in Nigeria

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, yesterday June 2nd, released details of the 2011 National Agricultural Sample Survey, which shows an estimated number of livestock in the country.

At a news conference in Abuja yesterday June 2nd, Ogbeh said the 2011 census on Nigeria's livestock showed that the country had an estimated 7.1 million pigs, 41.3 million sheep, 19.5 million cattle, 28,000 camels, 974,499 donkeys, 11.6 million ducks, 145 million chickens, 1.2 million turkeys and 72.5 million goats.

According to Ogbeh, the figures have placed Nigeria as the leading country in livestock ownership in Africa but this has not translated into adequate provision of protein food for Nigerians. He called for improved commercialization of livestock rearing in Nigeria.

President appoints daughter as her of oil firm

Image caption

Isabel dos Santos, named by Forbes magazine as Africa's richest woman, worth an estimated $3.3bn (£2.3bn), takes on the job after the entire board was sacked by her father in April.

Angola and Nigeria are Africa's largest oil producers.

Critics accuse President dos Santos, who has ruled since 1979, of being increasingly authoritarian.

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• Ms Dos Santos has large stakes in many of Angola's strategic industries, including diamonds, banking, media and telecommunications, with large parts of her business empire based in Portugal.

She owns 7% of the Portuguese oil and gas company Galp Energia.

A statement from her office said that she wanted to "ensure transparency" in the management of Songangol, and to improve the Angolan oil sector's ability to compete globally.

Representatives for Ms Dos Santos deny that her wealth is largely due to her father's position as president and has been acquired through state money and public funds.

Image copyright

Image captionMr Dos Santos has ruled the oil-rich nation for 36 years

Ms Dos Santos' father is Africa's second longest-serving leader, after Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.

In March, the 73-year-old said he was planning to step down in 2018, although he has failed to follow through on similar commitments made in the past.

Being head of the state oil company is "next to the presidency... the most powerful position in the country," Angola analyst Aslak Orre told the BBC's Newsday programme.

He said that many would see a possible political motive behind the appointment, especially given Mr Dos Santos' age.

"The way he is channelling resources and public jobs to Isabel and his other children implies he is planning almost a monarchical succession... passing power from himself to one of his children."

The president's son Jose is already head of the country's sovereign wealth fund, created to make investments using the country's oil wealth.

The southern African state is also rich in diamonds, which fuelled a 27-year civil war in the country.

Angola witnessed an economic boom since the end of a civil war in 2002. However, critics of the elected government say the wealth has only benefited a small elite.

Child and maternal mortality rates are among the highest in the world

He's temperamentally unfit, we can't put our children's safety in his hands'- Hillary Clinton goes offensive on Donald Trump

In one of the most savage speeches of her political career so far, Hillary Clinton, yesterday, threw away the diplomatic tactics that has characterized her previous press addresses and went straight for the jugular, unleashing a series of biting attacks on presumptive Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Clinton warned that Trump should not be let anywhere near the nuclear codes because he could start a war when somebody "got under his very thin skin."

"He's not just unprepared -- he's temperamentally unfit to hold an office that requires knowledge, stability and immense responsibility," 

Clinton said during her speech on National Security in San Diego, California.

She lambasted his "bragging" approach to foreign policy based on a string of "nasty tweets" and accused him of harboring a "bizarre" closeness with authoritarian leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Communist rulers of China and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un.

"We cannot put the safety of our children and grandchildren in Donald Trump's hands. We cannot let him roll the dice with America,"

"He says he has foreign policy experience because he ran the Miss Universe pageant in Russia," Clinton said. "The stakes in global statecraft are infinitely higher and more complex than in the world of luxury hotels."

"I will leave it to the psychiatrists to explain his attraction to tyrants" 

"You know, there's no risk of people losing their lives if you blow up a golf-course deal," she said. "But it doesn't work like that in world affairs."

"He also says, 'I know more about ISIS than the generals do, believe me.' You know what? I don't believe him," 

"This is a man who said that more countries should have nuclear weapons, including Saudi Arabia. This is someone who has threatened to abandon our allies in NATO, the countries that work with us to root out terrorists abroad before they strike us at home," 

"He believes we can treat the U.S. economy like one of his casinos and default on our debts to the rest of the world, which would cause an economic catastrophe far worse than anything we experienced in 2008," she continued.

 "He has said that he would order our military to carry out torture."

"Imagine Donald Trump sitting in the Situation Room, making life-or-death decisions on behalf of the United States. Imagine him deciding whether to send your spouses or children into battle. Imagine if he had not just his Twitter account at his disposal when he's angry, but America's entire arsenal," she said.

"Do we want him making those calls -- someone thin-skinned and quick to anger, who lashes out at the smallest criticism?" she asked rhetorically. "Do we want his finger anywhere near the button?"

Source :CNN

Why Jonathan may not be target of arrest soon

Contrary to widespread speculations that the noose may have tightened around former President Jonathan’s camp, and that his arrest may be in the offing, Ripples Nigeria investigations show that he may not be on the priority list of security agencies for now.

On Wednesday, the former president arrived Port-Harcourt International Airport enroute his country home, Otuoke. He is reported to have spent about a month away from Nigeria, raising speculations that he might have sought refuge in the French-speaking West African country of Côte d’ Ivoire. This has since been denied by the former president.

The exile rumour gained grounds soon after Jonathan’s Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs, Warimopei Dudafa and his cousin, Robert Azibaola, were arrested and detained by the EFCC over allegations of embezzlement of public funds.

While Azibaola was accused of being involved in a $40m oil pipeline scandal, Dudafa allegedly got into trouble for sharing N10bn to PDP delegates during the presidential primaries in December 2014.

Soon after that, the EFCC also arrested and grilled his former Principal Private Secretary, Mr. Hassan Tukur in connection with the release of some funds by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

Though the rumoured plan to also quarantine Jonathan for possible prosecution is yet to fully abate, Ripples Nigeria findings do not suggest that he may be picked up soon for interrogation. An immediate pointer to this was a declaration by President Buhari that the former president had done so much to earn his praise and those of other compatriots.

In an emotion-laden statement made while addressing the Villa press corps on Monday, Buhari hailed Jonathan, “For him to have conceded defeat even before the result was announced by INEC, I think it was a great generosity, a great patriotism.”

A presidency source who spoke on the matter of Jonathan’s speculated prosecution cast further doubts on plans to quiz him. He said, “I doubt if there are any such plans in the immediate. There is no reason to. Don’t forget there are legal sides to the issue of prosecution.

“The only petition to have Jonathan arrested that I know of is the one by a so called Mr Ikenna Ejezie which is already stewed in controversy. The integrity of the petition and the petitioner has been queried.”

He added, “There is nothing concrete for the security agencies to work with yet.”

Members of the civil society have, however, expressed serious concerns over alleged moves to bury the anti- corruption war under the cloak of friendship. A convener of one of such groups queried Buhari’s show of sentiment.

“This debt of gratitude being sold by Buhari towards a man who presided over the greatest rot in Nigeria’s history is unnecessary and uncalled for.”

Alluding to the various reports which allegedly have shown manifest pilfering of public funds by senior officials of the Jonathan administration, he said, “GEJ cannot claim ignorance of all that happened under his nose. Remember, the buck stops on the president’s table.”

Ripples Nigeria had on Wednesday reported that the presidency may be adopting a somewhat reconciliatory approach in the anti-corruption war. Titled, ‘How ObJ, others stopped Buhari from naming looters,” the report adduced need for strong caution as reason why presidency sources wanted the issue of alleged looters treated with utmost care.