Move over Beyonce, Sister Solange Knowles 'A Seat At The Table' Album is now No.1 on Billboard 200 Charts

The Drunk inlove hit maker, Queen Bee has to move over as Sister, Solange Knowles has landed her first no. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart with her musical masterpiece, 'A Seat At The Table.' Not only is this a win for Solange, but her no. 1 also adds her and Beyoncé into an elite group of solo siblings to have no. 1 albums in the same year, via Billboard. Previously, Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson managed the feat, as did Master P and his brother Silkk the Shocker. Beyonce has logged six previous No.1's,most recently with 2016’s Lemonade.Notably, Solange and Beyonce both earned No. 1s in the same calendar year, just as Michael and Janet did in 2001 (with Invincible and All For You, respectively).Congrats to Solange.

Corruption?Judges arrested Released on Bail...DSS Prepares to Charge them to Court

Following a public outrage by Nigerians, the Department of State Security(DSS) has released all Judges arrested days ago, kept in their custody.According to reports, all seven judges were released on self-recognition on Sunday. “They reported this morning (Monday) 10am and they have all gone back home. They will be coming back tomorrow," the source said, adding that everything went well and civil.“They were released on bail on self recognition based on the fact that given their standing in the society, they cannot run away.The investigation continues and preparation to charge them to court is ongoing” he added.

Militicians?Nigerian Politicians think winning Election is 'Do or Die' Affair,Nation's Electoral Arena now bloody battlefield...Prof Jega Spite Fire

Ex Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission,(INEC) Prof. Attahiru Jega, says the biggest challenge confronting the electoral body is the reckless mind-set of politicians, who believe that winning an election is a do-or-die affair.Through this mindset, Jega said Nigerian politicians had turned the nation’s electoral arena into a bloody battlefield characterised by political thuggery, snatching of ballot boxes and assassinations while creating fear in the minds of voters.Jega, who presided over INEC during the 2015 general election, said the situation was so bad that it took INEC a lot of effort to allay the fear of voters and revive their interest in the process before they could come out to vote in 2015.The ex-INEC helmsman declared that all attempts by the country to reform the electoral process would be a waste of effort except politicians changed their reckless mindset.Jega spoke in Lagos on Saturday at the 50th birthday ceremony of the National Legal Adviser of the All Progressives Congress, Dr. Muiz Banire (SAN).He delivered a paper entitled, “Challenges and prospects of sustainable credible elections in Nigeria.”Jega said, “INEC, as an election management body, faced perhaps its greatest challenge containing the predisposition and reckless mindset of Nigerian politicians. I quite often say that Nigeria has a special breed of politicians – ‘militicians’. They generally tend to believe that political power, through election, has to be captured and this has to be done by hook or by crook; by any means necessary. For many, winning an election is literally a do-or-die affair. That is why the Nigerian political arena increasingly resembles a bloody battlefield with maiming, killing, burning, assassinations and unimaginable destruction of lives and property.

Terrorism?Nigeria's Presidency hail S'African Judgement Sentencing Henry Okah to 20 yrs in Prison

The Presidency has expressed satisfaction over the South African Supreme Court of Appeal’s decision to confirm the conviction of Henry Orkah to 20 years in prison.A presidency official, who preferred not to be named, confirmed this development to State House correspondents in Abuja on Saturday, according to Metrowatch.The court, on Oct. 3, found Orkah guilty on two out of the 6-count charges relating to the Warri bombing labeled against him. The Court also upheld the 12-year sentence for his role in the Abuja bombing, that claimed many innocent lives.The convictions that were upheld are those in respect of the Warri bombing, relating to Okah’s providing finance and equipment without which the bombings would not have been executed.The source stated that already the Nigerian government had written “a measured letter” to the South African government, hailing the judicial decision as a big step forward towards removing terrorism from the continent.“South Africa has projected itself an enduring partner to Nigeria in the war against terrorism. 

Drama:NDDC Boss Semenitari call out Bayelsa State Govt over Internal Road Re-construction Claims

The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Boss has taken a swipe at Bayelsa State Govt after it took credit for internal emergency road repairs and rehabilitation on 14 roads in Bayelsa State, including the capital, Yenagoa. A statement by its Special Adviser on Media and Communication Mr. Bekee Anyalewechi said, the Commission has described as untrue and shocking recent claims by the Bayelsa State Government that it was intervening on the roads.According to the statement, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, in reaction to claims made by the Bayelsa State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Obuebite Jonathan, on Saturday during a radio programme, in Yenagoa, that the ongoing emergency repairs on roads in the state were the handiwork of the state government, is untrue.She stated that “the ongoing emergency road repairs and rehabilitation covered the 9 mandate states of the Commission and wondered why that commend the interventionist agency for the bold step which would be a huge relief to it, the Bayelsa State Government decided to turn the truth head-down.“Such deliberate falsehood erodes public trust in authorities”,Ibim said, emphasising that the emergency work was meant to relief the government of some infrastructure burden.“The Commission had expected that the Government of Bayelsa State would, in best practice, emulate its Cross River and Akwa-Ibom States counterparts in commending the Commission.“Or, where it lacked the courage to attribute credit to NDDC, would keep quiet than spreading misinformation,” Semenitari added.”Semenitari expressed disbelief that though the Government knew the truth, it chose to hide it from the public noting that such style of governance erodes confidence in government and ridicules the tenets of probity.“NDDC saw gaps in road infrastructure across its 9 mandate states and the urgent need to intervene and after a management meeting, decided to act as to procure relief to motorists and other road users.“So the option of emergency road repairs came handy as it would afford immediate remedial solutions, relieve states of financial burden and enhance inter and intra-city communications. Under this intervention, hitherto impassable roads have become usable routes thereby boosting economic activity and improving livelihood of the people.”The Commission listed the 14 roads in which it is intervening in Bayelsa to be the Oporuma-Sabageria-Polaku road in Opokuma local government; Odi-Trofani road; Otiotio Road, Yenagoa; DooGood Street, Yenagoa; Goodnews Street, Azikoro, Yenagoa; Shepherd Vine Road, also in Yenagoa.According to NDDC, other roads in which its intervention is ongoing in the state capital are Capt. Ayeni Street; Saptex Road, Yenizue-Epie; INEC Road, Kpansia; Jasmine Suite Road, Kpansia; ErepaRoad ; and NIIT Road.Others it listed are the Dimrose-Green; Villa-Custom Link Roads 1 & 2, Biogbolo; and Tolda Road, Ekeki, all in Yenagoa.NDDC emphasised that while it was not engaging the Bayelsa State Government in any verbal war, it was necessary to leave the public with the correct information, saying “it is critical for good governance.

IMF predicts Nigeria will be out of Recession in 2017!!

The International Monetary Fund has predicted that the Nigerian economy will grow by 0.6% in 2017, effectively lifting the country out of an officially declared recession. In the IMF’s World Economic Outlook report released on Tuesday, Nigeria’s real Gross Domestic Product is expected to increase marginally by 0.6% with Consumer Prices rising by 17.1%.Nigeria’s Current Account Balance is however forecast to slump further by 0.4% next year.According to the Bretton Woods institution, the projected increase in global growth in 2017 to 3.4% hinges crucially on rising growth in emerging market and developing economies.The institution however revised down growth projections for the last quarter of 2016 in the region to reflect the challenging macroeconomic conditions in economies like Nigeria.In Nigeria for example, this revision was based on the contracted economic activity followed by disruptions to oil production, foreign currency shortages resulting from lower oil receipts, lower power generation, and weak investor confidence.

FG Policy Partiality? Nigeria's foremost Indegenous Tomatoe Paste Manufacturer ''Erisco Foods' may shut-down in 30 days

Nigeria’s biggest toma­to paste manufacturing company, Erisco Foods Limited, has revealed it will shut down operations within 30 days, if the Federal Government failed to ad­dress salient policy issues that are frus­trating the country’s manufacturers, but favoring foreigners.The President/Chief Exec­utive Officer of Erisco Foods, Chief Eric Umeofia, in a letter he addressed to the chairman of the Federal Government’s Economic Team, Vice President Yemi Osi­nbajo, said it is surprising that at a time when the country is grap­pling with recession and trying to discourage importation and encouraging local manufacture, key government agencies are do­ing everything possible to frus­trate local manufacturers.According to him, the CBN has refused Erisco access to for­eign exchange to enable it import machinery parts and raw mate­rials for the production of toma­to paste.He said the same CBN ap­proved intervention loan and fo­rex to companies mostly owned by foreigners to import the same finished tomato paste and other items like frozen fish, fish heads and supermarket items that “we don’t need at all or that we can produce better in Nigeria.The company, which has in­vestments worth over $150 mil­lion and a workforce of over 2,000, said it has been producing below 20 percent of its installed capacity since its inception because of the failure of some government agen­cies such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Ministry of In­dustry, Trade and Investment and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to live up to their re­sponsibilities.

 

Special Federal Grants for Lagos State Bill by Tinubu thrown-out...Uproar unleashed in Senate

Senator Oluremi Tinubu, representing Lagos Central Senatorial District on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was left in disarray after a bill sponsored by her,which sought to establish an Act to make provisions for Federal Grants to Lagos State was thrown-out, causing uproar amongst members of the Senate.While the bill was highly supported by South- West senators, those from the North, South-East and South-South rejected the bill, pointing out that it would give undue advantage to Lagos as well as set a dangerous precedence in the system.As the situation tended to get out of hand, Ekweremadu decided to stop further debate on the bill and went on to put the bill to a voice vote.He did it three times and it was rejected three times and accordingly, the bill was rejected. In the course of the debate, the bill suffered serious partisan considerations from the lawmakers, splitting the Senate along geo-political divides.The uproar was triggered by uncomplimentary comments made by the Senate Chief Whip, Prof. Olusola Adeyeye, when in the course of his contribution to the debate; he described the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as a “rotten pampered child.”His comments irked many senators and generated mild commotion in the chamber. Adeyeye’s comment particularly provoked deep anger in Senator Philip Aduda (FCT), forcing the Chief Whip to withdraw the statement.But the withdrawal did not douse the tension, which had degenerated into a shouting match among the senators.

Bayelsa @20:Dickson Ignores Opposition, opts for Infrastructure Dev

Despite acts of destabilisation orchestrated by members of the opposition party, Bayelsa State Governor, Henry Seriake Dickson, said he would remain focused on addressing the basic challenges, particularly in the areas of education, security and critical infrastructure. He gave the assurance on the sidelines of the Independence celebrations in Yenagoa, where he also decried the activities of some political actors in the state to discredit his administration for selfish reasons.Dickson cited instances, where such politicians "collude with detractors to