EVERY HOUR

Organisers of the Africa Youth Cup billed for April in Cape Verde, Serahanasports, have extended invitation to the Restoration Starlets of Bayelsa State, a youth team assembled after the Governor Seriake Dickson-sponsored Restoration Cup last year. The France-based organisers of the tournament also congratulated Governor Dickson on the emergence of Bayelsa Queens as champions of the National Women Premier League (NWPL) even as they expressed joy over the progress being made by the state in the area of sports infrastructure and development. "We congratulate Governor Dickson on the stride Bayelsa is making in grassroots sports development. The victory of Bayelsa Queens is heartwarming and we hope to see the Restoration Starlets in Cape Verde to be part of the Africa Youth Cup. We have already extended invitation to the Starlets to feature in the tournament," Godson Ekadi, spokesman of Serahanasports stated. Ekadi disclosed further that Nigeria would be having three

In the aftermath of President Buhari's controversial suspension of Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnognhen and subsequent swearing in of an Acting Chief Justice in person of Justice Tanko Mohammed, Civil Society Organizations, Pro-Democracy Groups and Professional Associations in their numbers, took to the streets of Abuja the nation\s capital on Monday to protest the action with virtually all of them demanding a reversal of the President's action. Amongst the groups present were the #OccupyNigeria Group who have over the years been at the forefront of agitations for good, transparent and responsible governance. Coordinator of the group Comrade Idris Usman whist fielding questions from newsmen at the Unity Fountain venue of the peaceful demonstration, was emphatic in his condemnation of the actions of President Muhammadu Buhari. According to Comrade Usman "  President Buhari has violated the strongest bond of our unity which is the constitut

In its collective search for a polity that is just, egalitarian and inclusive, the Ime Obi Ohaneze Ndi Igbo met today Thursday 24 January, 2019 at the Nike Lake Hotel, Enugu, to further deliberate on the future of Ndigbo in the chequred history of a beleaguered country. After a critical and dispassionate appraisal of the issues and the visible fault lines in our polity,    including the analysis of the election manifestos of   the various contesting parties, especially with regards to the restructuring of the federation and continued relevance of our people in the Nigerian geopolitical space, the meeting resolved as follows: 1.   That Ohaneze remains the apex socio-cultural organization that works   for the interest of the Igbo in and outside Nigeria. It attempts to aggregate the views of   all other   Igbo platforms; 2. Ohaneze notes particularly that a major political party (PDP) by the nomination of   our son Peter Obi as the Vice presidential candidate has given N

At last 2019 has, with poise, come! Like a spinning wheel, the orbit of political maelstrom in Africa's largest democracy, Nigeria, has completed its course after nearly four years since 2015. So, the country joins the league of nations around the world having general elections at the very dawn of 2019. Nigeria's elections, covering all levels of governance come with profound duality; of positive expectations and ominous anxieties. But in all these, an apparent and emerging concern of stakeholders and observers is the assessment of truth or the absence thereof, that is, lies and falsehood. We need to recognize from the outset that one of man's greatest life pursuits, almost as valued as daily existence is the search for what is considered as truth. At the intellectual level, no other subject matter has preoccupied the mental rigour and philosophical enquiries of countless ages of thinkers, scholars and religious schools as this one. However, the search for what is c

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has rejected the N27,000 new National Minimum Wage adopted by the National Council of State on Tuesday. Dr Peter Ozo-Eson, the NLC General Secretary, made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja. The National Council approved the sum during its meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, presided by President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday. The N27,000 approved by the Council of State is N3,000 short of the N30,000 the Tripartite Committee on Review of National Minimum Wage recommended. Reacting, Ozo-Ezon said the council has no jurisdiction determining another amount after a Tripartite Committee has submitted its report. “It is abysmal of government to be delaying the submission of an Executive Bill to the National Assembly and by wrongfully adopting N27,000 through the council of states ,” he said. Ozo-Eson, however, said the NLC has called an emergency National Executive Council meeting for Friday to wei

"It has become pertinent for me to speak about my ongoing visit to the United States of America, where I met and I am still meeting with US administration officials and business leaders. I travelled to the United States of America because I had a mission and my mission is to create the right economic atmosphere for American investments to return to Nigeria at a rate and quantum that we had before the current Nigerian administration’s policies almost halted the flow of Foreign Direct Investments to Nigeria. I am in America because Atiku means jobs. My reason for running for the office of President of Nigeria and even for going into public service in the first place, is because I believe that Nigeria has what it takes to be the beacon of hope for the Black Race and a leading nation of reckoning in the international community. This has not materialised over the course of the last four years because, as Chinua Achebe prophetically said in his 1983 book, “the

The Governor òf Bayelsa State, the Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson, has offered automatic employment to the wives of two Bayelsa-born pilots who died in action against the Boko Haram insurgents. Governor Dickson made the pronouncement while paying a condolence visit to one of the widows, Mrs. Diepreye Inokoba Jacob, whose husband, Flight Lieutenant Pereowei Jacob, died in a helicopter crash at Damasak, on January 2, 2019. Governor Dickson extended the offer of automatic employment to the wife of the second pilot, Lt. Owei, who died in 2016 when the Commander 115 Special Operations Group, Port Harcourt, Air Commodore E Ebiowei, called his attention to it. The Governor said that the offer of automatic employment was the state government’s modest way of encouraging and rallying support for the relatives left behind by indigenes of the state who got killed in action. He described the late pilots as heroes whose services were a source of pride to the Ijaw nation. He said, “We ar

Press Release South-South Governors Meeting: Governor Obaseki Exposes his Political Naivety   Edo State PDP condemn the non-attendance of Gov Obaseki to the South-South governors forum whereby the brave and courageous governors of the south-south met to deliberate on the illegal arraignment, persecution, molestation and brutal intimidation of one of its illustrious sons, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen. It is unfortunate that Governor Obaseki would rather play politics than take sides with the people of his region in the fight against oppression and tyranny. His decision to shun the meeting has further exposed his political naivety  and lack of political sagacity. Governor Obaseki should know that as a region, we have been deprived of resources due us as well as infrastructural and human development. This is the time to identity with your kit and kin and not time to play the political ostrich. Edo PDP would like to let the people k

14/01/2019 This is to inform Bayelsans, especially the Chiefs and good people of Bayelsa West Senatorial District that, the “I Talk-Na-Do Governor, His Excellency, the Honourable Henry Seriake Dickson, Governor of Bayelsa State will be making a triumphant and historic journey to Ekeremor Town, headquarters of Ekeremor Local Government Area by Road today, Monday, 14th of January, 2019. It will be recalled that, the Countriman Governor had promised in January, 2018 that, the Bayelsa West Senatorial Road would get to Ekeremor Town by December of the same year and with this promise fulfilled, Governor Dickson will be embarking on the historic journey. This is even more remarkable for the fact that, the road to Ekeremor Town has been in the drawing board for about 50 years, which is long before the creation Bayelsa State and the coming of the Restoration administration of Governor Dickson. To this end, all well-meaning Bayelsans, political leaders from all divides, senior c

PEOPLES TRUST PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE GBENGA OLAWEPO HASHIM (L) OBSERVES PROCEEDING IN COMPANY OF PARTY CHAIRMAN AND RENOWN ACTIVIIST AND LEGAL LUMINARY CHIEF OLISA AGBAKOBA (R) National Youth Leader of the Peoples Trust Party (PT) Hon. Olu Adekunle has reaffirmed the position of the party and its teeming supporters that its Presidential Candidate Gbenga Olawepo Hasshim , remains the best choice for Nigerians in the forthcoming presidential elections scheduled for February 16, 2019. Speaking at the flag off ceremony for the PT Presidential Campaign held on Saturday January 12, 2019 at the Old Parade Ground located in the nation’s capital, Abuja, Adekunle was emphatic on the sterling qualities of the presidential candidate, describing him as a welcome departure from the usual faces that have somewhat obscured the Nigerian   political landscape. A situation Nigerians have grown weary of. According to Hon. Adekunle, “ Gbenga Olawepo Hashim is untainted by Nigeria’s politi

The Code of Conduct Tribunal has adjourned proceedings involving the charges of non-declaration of assets preferred against the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen. The proceedings were adjourned till January 22, 2019. The CJN was represented by a team of lawyers led by Wole Olanipekun (SAN)  including 47 Senior Advocates of Nigeria and over  70 other lawyers. Responding to inquiries as to the whereabouts of the CJN who was visibly absent, Wole Olanipekun during the session, insisted that the CJN did not need to appear in court since he was he has not been properly served a notice to that effect. Recall also that five out of the six governors that make up the South-South Governors Forum at  an emergency meeting held in Abuja on Sunday January 13, 2019  had  asked the CJN not to honour the summons from the Code of Conduct Bureau to appear before the tribunal. Lead prosecuting counsel, Aliyu Umar (SAN), in conceding to the fact that Onnoghen was not properl

The Governors of the South-South Nigeria have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to have respect for the constitution, strict adherence to the rule of law and separation of powers as enshrined in the 1999 constitution.   The call was made at the end of the meeting of the South-South Governors’ Forum held in Abuja on Sunday and attended by Gov. Nyesom Wike, Governor of Rivers State, Prof. Ben Ayade, Governor of Cross River State, Gov Udom Emmanuel, Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, Governor of Delta State and hosted by Governor of Bayelsa State, Hon Henry Seriake Dickson. The Governors condemned without any equivocation, the assault on the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the Judiciary especially coming after similar assaults on the National Assembly, to save the country from this embarrassment and global contempt.

An emergency meeting of the governors of the states of the South South geopolitical zone, held at the Bayelsa State Governor’s Lodge, Abuja on Sunday, January 13, 2019. The meeting, called at the instance of the Governor of Bayelsa State, the Honourable Henry Seriake Dickson, who is also Chairman of the South South Governors Forum, was attended by the Governors of Cross River State, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and Delta States. The meeting deliberated on the recent happenings at the Supreme Court involving the Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Walter Onnoghen and resolved that the action against him constitutes a setback to the gains of the nation’s democratic experience of 20 years. We note that under Section 158(1) of the 1999 Constitution, the National Judicial Council, has ample powers to deal exhaustively with matters pertaining to allegations of misconduct and discipline of Judicial officers. Specifically, the NJC has the powers and clear procedures for investigating all