Those wishing Buhari dead should confront God – Ortom

Benue Governor Samuel Ortom

The Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has asked those who are behind the rumoured death of President Muhammadu Buhari to go and confront God who made it possible for him to become the President.

Ortom said this when he paid a solidarity visit to the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Monday night.

He said he decided to visit and show solidarity to Osinbajo and wish Buhari who is on vacation good health and safe return home.

He prayed that God would help the present administration, which he said came on board at a time that Nigeria is in recession occasioned by bad leadership by past administration.

The governor said, “Those that are wishing Mr. President dead should go and confront God who brought Mr. President to be President of Nigeria.

“It was not his making. When that time came, God made it possible, just like some of us.“It was God that made it possible for us to be here and nobody can remove us until the time that God’s programme for Nigeria is completed and God decides what to do next.”

While urging all Nigerians to be law-abiding, Ortom said when leaders champion the course of disobeying the laws of the land, there would be anarchy.

“Nigeria is the only country we have. Definitely, we don’t want to be like Syria and other countries that have gotten themselves entangled in various calamities,” he said.

“I want to implore those who are bestowed with leadership, especially those who have taken oath of office, to obey the laws of the land, to protect the laws of the land and to live by the oath of office they have taken instead of playing politics of the extreme and causing things that can bring major disaster to our country.”

How Nigerian Psychiatrists learnt from Burundi, Rwanda to treat Boko Haram victims – ‎Official

January 31, 2017Ebuka Onyeji

A consultant psychiatrist, Ibrahim Wakama, has revealed that the template for the treatment of people in the north-east experiencing psychological trauma as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency was adopted from Burundi and Rwanda.

Mr. Wakama, Head of Clinical Services of the Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital, Maiduguri,  disclosed this to PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday in Abuja during a workshop to build psycho-social support for girl victims of trauma in the north-east.

The workshop was organised by a social advocacy group active in the zone, Development Research and Projects Centre, DRPC.

“At the beginning, there was nothing on ground for people with psycho trauma. It was a new thing and a new experience. No material was on ground. The first thing we did was to look at what other countries like Burundi and Rwanda who had issues of humanitarian crisis did”, he said.

“We looked at the measures they have adopted. We then adopted some of the materials they used, although some of the materials are not culturally sensitive, considering our peculiarities, so we translated them and made them culturally sensitive.

“We also trained our local staff to serve as psycho social support councillors. We established a referral pattern between the IDP camps and the hospitals. That’s how we were able to initiate our plan and got established”, Mr. Wakama said.

The consultant explained that out of the 1654 referral cases they received at the beginning, about 65 per cent of those that had psycho issues were girls.

“And this is just within the psycho facilities and the IDP camps; we are not talking about the host communities.

“I think the level of psycho trauma among women will be astronomically high compared to what we think of,” he said.

Mr. Wakama said at the onset of the Boko Haram insurgency, there were no provisions in place for victims of trauma to cope with life.

He said doctors at the Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital were pooling money together to support the victims.

He said the victims support fund put together by the Nigerian government has not made any cash donation to the facility, despite its crucial role in helping victims of the war to recover.

Mr. Wakama said some agencies that had been helping some of the victims withdraw from treatment because they could no longer afford to provide funding.

He said only 20 per cent of Boko Haram victims are in IDP camps, the rest are living in different settlements across the state and with little care.

“The major problem we have are those in the host communities and those dispersed by insurgency who we can’t reach out to.”

During the workshop, experts working in the area of mental health also called on government and other stakeholders to ensure coordination in their intervention for girls experiencing trauma in the North-east.

Mustapha Gudaji, a consultant psychiatrist with the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital and a senior lecturer at Bayero University, Kano said there was need for government to bring together all relevant stakeholders and have a comprehensive trauma focused care.

Faltama Shettima, a consultant psychiatrist at the Federal Neuro-psychiatrist Hospital, Maiduguri said coordinated intervention was key to building resilience and coping strategies for girls in school, internally displaced persons’ camps, and in health facilities who present symptoms of trauma in the north-east.

South African prosecutor who jailed Pistorius quits

January 31, 2017Agency Report

Gerrie Nel

Gerrie Nel, the South African prosecutor who obtained a jail sentence for Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius for killing his girlfriend has resigned, a spokesman for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Tuesday.

Pistorius is the double-amputee former Olympic sprinter who killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp by firing four shots through a bathroom door in his Pretoria home on Feb. 14, 2013.

“Nel informed the NPA about his resignation on Monday.

“He cited he wanted to pursue other interests outside the NPA,’’ Luvuyo Mfaku told journalists.

Nel soared to international fame when he became the chief prosecutor in the trial of double-amputee Olympic sprinter Pistorius.

Nel initially obtained a five-year sentence for Pistorius after Judge Thokozile Masipa accepted the athlete’s argument that he mistook the model for an intruder.

In July 2016, the Supreme Court of Appeal found him guilty of murder and raised the sentence to six years.

Earlier on in his career, Nel was junior prosecutor in the case of the 1993 murder of anti-apartheid activist Chris Hani.

He also prosecuted former police chief and ex-Interpol president, Jackie Selebi, for whom he obtained a 15-year sentence for corruption in 2010.

Indemnity for 330KVA transmission line triggers controversy in A’Ibom communities

tue jan 31st,2017-akwa ibom

By Chioma Onuegbu

UKPUM ETE—THE lingering issue of compensation for the 330KVA Ikot-Ekpene-Ikot Abasi 330 KVA Transmission Line in Ikot Abasi Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, has caused pandemonium between the National Integrated Power Project, NIPP, and residents of Ukpum Ete clan, comprising 12 villages.

The aggrieved residents complained that they were yet to be paid compensation for the project, which was handled by National Integrated Power Project, NIPP, and Niger Delta Power Holding Company, after the enumeration and valuation of their property, along the Right of Way, ROW, of the transmission line by NIPP contractor, Joe Etteba in 2012. The 12 villages include Abiaran, Ekpuk Inang, Umeneke1, Umeneke11, Ikot Akan, Abasute, Ikot Etenge Ete, Okpoto, Odiono Iso Utibe, Obioakama, and Essein Etuk.

Conflicting statements: Mr. Nyong Ekwere, from Abiaran village, who spoke to the NDV, lamented that despite the several petitions and appeals to both the state and federal government over the matter, especially after they realized that the Bureau of Public Procurement, (BPP) had certified compensation and funds released for the project done across the country, the matter was yet to be resolved.

power

Ekwere said the total sum NIPP was supposed to pay Ete group of villages was N679, 801, 817.00 as compensation based on the enumeration and valuation by the contractor Mr. Joe Ettaba & Partners. He noted, however, that the matter remained inconclusive even after officials of the NIPP and other stakeholders in the power sector met, last Thursday, in Uyo.

“During our meeting with the managing director of NIPP, Mr Chiedu Ugbo, last Thursday, he assured us that the money will be paid soon; that he wants the matter to be resolved peacefully, and we accepted and appreciated him for his concern towards our plight. That meeting was chaired by the Special Assistant to the Governor on Power, Engr. Etukudoh.

“But after the MD left, other NIPP officials he came with now turned round by introducing a fresh issue that third enumeration and valuation done by Celestine Udia of Ekere and Associates, will be used for the payment of compensation. That is not acceptable and we disagreed totally with that because we are not aware of any other assessment done in our community apart from the one done by Ettaba.

FG, Ministry of Power should mediate

“We do not know when Udia or even Ekere and associates came to do any assessment. Because if they did, as they claim, the village heads at least would have known about it. So we are surprised and that is why we are insisting on the one done by Joe Ettaba, which we all know.

In fact, the problem started after Ettaba completed the enumeration and valuation, and we later heard that another person, Ene & Associates came and paid some people compensation and nobody from the 12 villages affected by the transmission line were paid. Now, they are bringing a third valuer, Ekere and Associates. So I am still appealing to the Federal Government through the Ministry of Power to intervene in this matter,” he asserted.

Similarly, Mr. Usen Samuel Akpan of Obiokama village said, “We are not happy about what is happening fact. Our counterparts in other states have been paid. And now without paying us since the completion of the assessment in 2012, they are now talking about another assessment they did which we are not even aware of, so I see this whole thing as a way to frustrate and cheat our community.

“In as much as we are peace loving communities, we will not allow that to happen because it is painful. In fact, I had thought that when the NIPP officials come, they were going to negotiate on what we had earlier sent to them so that we can come to an agreement, but instead, they are now saying they want to use another valuation.

First, let them pay us for the one done in 2012 before another one they did. So as I speak, Ete group of villages affected by the power project are not happy because they have waited for this for too long. We are peace loving people and all we are asking for is what is due to us. We are farmers and when our crops, are destroyed and our farmlands taken by government, we should be compensated.”

Threats: A youth of the area, who simply identified himself as Udoh, alleged that there was a time security operatives were used to intimidate them. His words: “If they had allowed the original consultant, Joe Ettaba, who did the assessment to pay the affected persons instead of bringing in a strange contractor, Ene & Associates, all these problems would not have come up in the first place. Because we are asking for what is our right, they even threaten us with security men.”

How I was marginalised — Ettaba

The contractor, Ettaba, who spoke to NDV on phone, said he did the enumeration and valuation, but payment of compensation was given to another company, which had never been to the community, adding that the firm ended up paying some fictitious names instead of the real people, whose properties were affected by the transmission line

OMG!!! See This Epic Throwback Photo Of Olamide, DJ Enimoney & Viktoh. Dear Brethren, Double Your Hustle!

January 6, 2017

 |  0 Comment

Success is definitely a gradual process and it takes time to get matured and become a Glaring one.

Here is a throwback photo of Olamide with DJ Enimoney & Viktoh at a Party in Bariga far back 2006.

“I am better than all of you” – Tekno Brags

January 6, 2017 |  0 Comment

It’s safe to say that Tekno has earned his bragging rights as far as the Nigerian music scene is concerned and you can take that to the bank!

The Triple MG artiste who has received global recognition and is on Billboard’s list of Artistes to Watch in 2017 proved yet again that he is a master of his craft.

Taking to his Instagram page, the Pana crooner whose video has raked in almost 15 million views on Youtube went hard as he bragged that he was better than everyone, his the reason being: “I produce fire. King of my own sound #gethigh #win.”

In the one-minute clip laden with expletives, Tekno afforded fans a listen on his latest project – beats he is currently working on and went on to say;

“Imma tell you all fucking somethin’, Imma tell you all somethin’
This is why i’m better than you, better than you, better than you, better than fucking you.
You know why? Because i’m better than you. Listen.
This is what I’m working on. Imma let you all in on what I’m fucking working on right now.
See, let me show you somethn
’.”
Despite being disqualified from the Next Rated category at the 2016, Headies and subsequently dissed by Mr Eazi who went home with the award, 24-year-old Tekno has moved on to do bigger and better things and is poised to have a great 2017 if that new beat is any indication.

He has since deleted the video.

(Photos) Mikel Obi Confirms Mega Chinese Deal With Open Letter 

Super Eagles Skipper, Mikel Obi has signed for Chinese Super League club, Tianjin     TEDA.

The Blues midfielder becomes the latest Premier League star to move to China after his switch was shared     on social media, the 29-year-old was pictured holding a Tianjin jersey alongside a club official.

Reliable reports have it that Mikel will earn £140,000 a week at the Chinese club as he moves on a free transfer.

The Nigeria international has fallen down the pecking order at the Stamford Bridge since the arrival of Antonio Conte who has preffered N’Golo Kante, Nemanja Matic, Nathaniel Chalobah and Cesc Fabregas ahead of him.

Before his eventual move, there were reports of interest from Inter Milan, Marseille and Valencia, with suggestions that the La Liga outfit were leading the race to sign Mikel.

Mikel led the Nigerian team to win a bronze medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics last summer and has remained a pivotal figure in the Nigerian football sphere.

The midfielder also showed class by writing an open letter to his fans, confirming his move to the Far East after spending a decade at the Stamford Bridge.

OH NO! Lady Doing Acrobatic Dancing Breaks Neck & Dies Instantly On The Dance Floor -Photo

A popular proverb in Yoruba language says, “joy kills instead of poverty” and
that was the

situation of a Jamaican lady (name withheld) who broke her neck and give-up the ghost

while doing some dirty dance at a street dance in Jamaica recently.

The photograph of the lady was released on net by an anonymous source last weekend.

The source texted along with the picture that the girl was performing an acrobatic dance with her head top on a speaker box, when she fell and broke her neck.

“Everyone was shocked when she fell on her head,” the source texted.

“A few guys went and lift her up and that’s when they noticed her head fell all the way back.”

SENIOR BANK OFFCIAL AND DISMISSED POLICE OFFICER ARRESTED OVER FAILED ROBBERY ATTACK

The Rivers state Police command have arrested 28 year old Senior Access Bank official, 

Samuel Ndudiri and a dismissed police officer, Ukwuoma Promise, involved in a foiled 

robbery attack at an Access Bank Branch in Port Harcourt, Rivers state on December 22nd. 

A statement by the police command states that others arrested alongside these two 

culprits 

are 28 year old Samuel Nwala, Lucky Ukwuoma ‘M’26 years and Kaale Taagabah ‘M’ 27 

years.

According to the statement, on the 22nd of December 2016, the five (5) suspects 

mentioned above and others still at large, stormed a Branch of Access Bank plc in Port 

Harcourt, relying on information and active involvement of one of the staff of the Bank. The 

armed robbers successfully broke down the well fortified security doors and barriers and 

took over the banking hall.

They were almost pulling down the vault of the Bank and other strong rooms in the bank 

with use of gas cylinder welding machine and iron cutters before the joint Police Teams of 

IGP’S Intelligence Response Team and Policemen from Rivers state Police Command swiftly 

moved in and dislodged them, thereby foiled the armed robbery attack on the Bank and 

made a prompt arrest of three (3) of the suspects at the scene namely Samuel Nwala, Lucky

Ukwuoma, and Kaale Taagabah.

In the course of thorough investigation into the foiled armed robbery attack on the Bank,

 the principal suspect who is a staff of the Bank and the master mind of the armed robber

 attack was subsequently arrested based on the confessional statements volunteered by the 

last three suspects arrested at the scene. The arrest of the principal suspect led to the 

arrest of Ex SGT Promise Ukwuoma who participated actively in the armed robbery attack 

on the Bank. The two (2) AK 47 riffles and the ammunition were recovered from him.

All the suspects have volunteered confessional and useful statements to the Police about 

the various criminal roles they played in the commission of the crime.

How Emma Stone Ascended From Quirky Rom-Com Starlet to Hollywood's Leading Lady

Dominique Charriau/WireImage

The stage is set for Emma Stone's biggest career moment thus far. 

At 28-years-old, the actress stands to win her first major award at the 2017 Golden Globes for musical-comedy La La Land, a classically feel-good role captivating movie goers and critics alike.

The Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy nominee has already witnessed her fair share of success in Hollywood, her feature film debut in 2007's Superbad a precursor to a string of other mainstream box office hits, but she's certainly never joined the ranks of award season heavy hitters like Meryl Streep and Annette Bening... until now. 

Stone's Golden Globes category reads like a who's who of evergreen female powerhouses, both veterans in the biz and actresses on the rise. Between Streep, Bening, Oscar nominee Hailee Steinfeld and action-indie crossover starlet Lily Collins, many might have once considered Emma the underdog.

But as rave review after rave review for Stone's performance trickled in following La La Land's Venice Film Festival premiere, it's clear that she's really come to master every movie genre. 

Columbia Pictures

Like most aspiring actresses, Emma—who dropped out of high school and moved to Los Angeles with her mom at 15—certainly paid her dues in show business.

Despite catching a talent agent's eye with her own take on an Alicia Silverstone monologue from Clueless, Stone was cast in various pilots that never made it to air and lost a starring role in Heroes to Hayden Panettiere, a setback she told Vanity Fair in 2011 was her "rock-bottom."

Then came along Superbad, a Seth Rogen-helmed comedy that gave Emma her first taste of fame. She co-starred as Jonah Hill's seemingly improbable but nonetheless likable love interest in the raunchy high school flick, a performance that put her on the map as one of Hollywood's up and coming rom-com darlings.

Columbia Pictures

Praised for her goofy, girl next door charm, Stone went on to snag similarly-written (and always supporting) parts opposite Ana Farris in 2008's The House Bunny, alongside Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner in Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and indie dramedy Paper Man, both released in 2009.

She then ventured into less-predictable, though not completely out of her wheelhouse, projects like 2009's horror-comedy Zombieland.

Critics dubbed Emma as "a hottie," "sexy" and "cynical" in the lucrative flick, but her acting chops were mostly an after thought in comparison to co-stars Woody Harrelsonand JesseEisenberg's review mentions.

Screen Gems

Enter 2010's Easy A—Emma's first chance at proving she was a multidimensional standalone star (who also sang in the shower! #relatable), and boy did she nail it.

Critics like Robert Ebert sang Stone's praises in the edgy teen film inspired by The Scarlet Letter: "It's a funny, engaging comedy that takes the familiar but underrated Emma Stone and makes her, I believe, a star. Until actors are matched to the right role, we can never quite see them clearly."

Stone, then only 22, had achieved what most young, stunning comedic actresses who have onscreen chemistry with hunky male counterparts struggle to grasp: being taken seriously. Emma earned a BAFTA Rising Star Award nomination as well as a Best Actress nod at the 2011 Golden Globes for Easy A. She lost to Tom Hardy and Annette Bening, respectively.

Dreamworks

And if anyone recognized Emma's fledgling career was at a turning point, it was Emma herself. In a 2011 interview with the Belfast Telegraph, she explained why wrangling a role in Civil Rights period drama The Help (which earned a Best Picture nod at the Academy Awards) was so pivotal for her future professional endeavors.

"It's kind of mind-boggling to think that people decide to only see the one thing. 'Oh you did that, let's do that again, and again, and again,'" she recalled of constantly being typecast as "the sarcastic interest of the guy." 

Her role in The Help couldn't have strayed further from those aforementioned projects, a conscious decision on Emma's part that didn't go unnoticed. 

Columbia Pictures

Fresh off The Help, Stone shed her signature red locks and pivoted into the world of comic book flicks, starring as Andrew Garfield's beau in 2012's The Amazing

Spider-Man. As Spider-Man reboots go, Emma's iteration was commercially

successful and well-liked by super hero junkies. 

For the next two years, Stone played it safe, picking up parts in universally forgettable, mostly panned films like Movie 43, Gangster Squad and Magic in the Moonlight. 

Once again disillusioned by the same pattern of projects that kickstarted her career, Stone was tapped for 2014's dark comedy-drama, Birdman. In her own words to Rolling Stone late last year, "If part of what you've craved in your life is to not upset anybody, it's easy to be drawn to characters that aren't gonna upset anybody. 

Fox Searchlight

She played Michael Keaton's recovering drug addict daughter, a powerful, avante-garde film that swept the 2015 Oscars and nominated Stone in the Best Supporting Actress category. The Guardian called Emma "the great revelation" of the entire experience.

In a way, every piece of Emma's puzzle was in place (including Aloha's admittedly regrettable whitewashing controversy) for a project like La La Land to fall in her lap.

She'd already acted alongside Ryan Reynolds in 2011's Crazy, Stupid, Love and Paper Man, and a chance at taking a stab at something completely unique for the often-pigeonholed actress was surely an opportunity she couldn't pass up. 

Lionsgate

The hype around La La Land speaks for itself. The Damien Chazelle-directed film won eight accolades, including Best Picture, at the 22nd Annual Critics' Choice Awards and could go home with up to seven more when the curtain closes at the Globes.

As for whether or not Emma is prepared to take the stage with an acceptance speech come Sunday evening? She told Rolling Stone, "I'm trying not to think about that. I just focus on what I've got to do at any one moment, and don't necessarily think about where it's all leading."

Well if you ask the City of Stars, they're all shining just for Emma. 

Nicki Minaj and Meek Mill's Breakup: Here's What Went Wrong With the Rap Couple's Relationship

Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

It's official that Nicki Minaj and Meek Mill have split, and now we may have some insight as to what led to their split.

A source tells E! News that there was a big communication problem between the rap couple. "They were fighting on and off for a little while about a few topics that upset Nicki. They had a bigger fight and then called it quits," an insider tells us exclusively.

The source adds that Minaj was the one who decided to end the relationship, and that there is still love between these exes.

There seemed to be a bit of shade thrown at the Pink Friday rapper when Meek displayed an image of wedge sneakers with the caption, "If you walk out don't wear these they wack….." on an Instagram post that has since been deleted.

Sure, that can be interpreted in many ways, but those shoes were worn in the music video for Ciara's 2013 break-up single "I'm Out" featuring Nicki. We'll let you decide on whether that's just a funny coincidence or not.

Nicki, 34, and Meek, 29, began dating in early 2015, and have tried to keep the majority of their personal lives as private as possible.