Pep Opara's Blog

I know many Nigerians don't like to read, you have got to read this and be abreast of the political shenanigans of Najia. According to excerpt from PM News, Some National Assembly members said they are not sure whether the two chambers will reconvene tomorrow to consider the 2019 budget of the Independent National Electoral Commission. This is because the Chairman, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has not made any official announcement. The Nation reported today that many senators and House members, who were set to go on summer holiday and perform the Hajj rites, remain in Abuja because there is no word from the National Assembly’s leadership. A member of the House from the Northwest said: “This budget is important but there is anxiety everywhere on the security implications of recalling members. “From the look of things, our leaders are looking at all options on how to make the ratification of the budget easier.” A principal officer of the House, who spoke in confidence, sa...

A 36-year-old contractor, Joe Blankson is a HERO! A resident of Bakana, Rivers State. He singlehandedly rescued 13 passengers in a boat accident, but lost his life saving others. He died saving lives!He is a HERO of our modern time.

A 45-year-old man, Julius Ochim, has been arrested by the Ogun State Police Command for allegedly impregnating his own daughter, who eventually gave birth to a baby girl. . The Command Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said: ”The man was arrested following a complaint by his daughter who reported at Shagamu Police Division that her father has been having carnal knowledge of her since she was 9, after the death of her mother in 2009.” Oyeyemi added that, consequently, the lady reportedly got pregnant for the suspect and gave birth to a baby girl who is now three years old. On why she did not report after many years, the lady reportedly told the police that her father ”used to threaten her with cultural implication of refusing him to sleep with her.” . . He said on interrogation, the suspect confessed to the crime but blamed it all on the devil’s handwork. He reportedly confessed that he had been sleeping with the young woman since the demise of his wife. . . The po...

A leak of private property data in Dubai has shed new light on how the proceeds of a notorious $1.3 billion oil deal involving Shell may have been spent on luxury villas in the secretive Arab Emirate. PREMIUM TIMES’ UK partner, Finance Uncovered, has discovered the name of former Nigerian oil minister Daniel Etete among thousands of property and residency records compiled by assorted real estate professionals in Dubai. The leak was obtained by the U.S. non-profit C4ADS, passed to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and seen by Finance Uncovered. Mr Etete was the suspected mastermind behind a 2011 deal known as OPL245 that is alleged to be one of the most corrupt in the history of the oil industry. Mr Etete, as well as oil giants Shell and Eni of Italy, and a number of their former executives, are due to stand trial on various corruption charges relating to OPL245 in Italy on June 20. It is said to be one of the biggest trials in corporate history. All the...

Shocked?!...But it is Politics. All Progressives Congress (APC) has described the defection of the Benue State Governor, Dr Samuel Ortom to the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) as “somewhat surprising”. Malam Bolaji Abudullahi, APC National Publicity Secretary said this on Wednesday in Abuja, while reacting to the development. The party recalled efforts made by its National Chairman, Mr Adams Oshiomhole to address some of the grievances raised by the Governor pertaining to the local politics in his state. “The Governor had left the meeting saying he was satisfied with the assurances given by party leaders. We are still working on giving effect to the resolutions from the meeting. “Therefore, we are somewhat surprised by Gov Ortom’s decision,” the statement said. The APC reiterated its earlier position that it respects the rights of every citizen to choose his political affiliation, but expressed hope that those who left its fold would rescind their decisions. It a...

                     Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson thanked medics for saving his life and said he felt humbled by the huge outpouring of sympathy in his first public comments since undergoing emergency surgery for a brain haemorrhage in May. The 76-year-old Scot, who won 38 trophies in 26 years in charge at United, praised medical staff in a video message released by the club. Ferguson, who guided United to 13 Premier League titles and two Champions League trophies, remained in intensive care for several days following the emergency surgery.  “Hello. Just a quick message, first of all to thank the medical staff at Macclesfield, Salford Royal and Alexandra hospitals,” said a healthy-looking Ferguson, whose speech appeared to have been affected a little. “Believe me, without those people, who gave me such great care, I would not be sitting here today. So thank you from me and my family, thank you...

Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West) has been abducted by unknown gunmen. This was disclosed by Senator Ben Bruce (Bayelsa East) on his Twitter page. “I have just been informed by Moses Melaye, @dino_melaye’s brother, that Dino has been abducted by unknown persons in a Toyota Sienna that blocked their car and overpowered them on their way to Kogi to answer to Dino’s court case. Lets be on the watch out. Will keep you updated,” Bruce tweeted. Melaye was arraigned yesterday before an FCT High Court in Apo, Abuja on a six-count charge bordering on attempted suicide. Daily Trust reports that Melaye was also charged with the offences of attempt to escape from lawful custody and damage of police property.

                                            Trouble in Safety Net Party! Members of the House of Representatives from the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC have disowned Senator Abu Ibrahim in his allegation that Speaker Yakubu Dogara was part of a plot to impeach President Muhammad Buhari. Vanguardnews reports that the members at a press briefing on Thursday told House of Representatives Correspondents that the allegation was a figment of Senator Ibrahim’s imagination. Pledging their unalloyed support to the reelection bid of President Buhari, the members who converged under the aegis of Parliamentary Support Group, PSG, led by Hon. Abdulmumuni Jubril said that Speaker Dogara was with them in the movement. “That’s just his personal opinion. That’s purely a Senate issue”, Hon. Jubril said in response to a question. Recall that Senator Ibrahim, a clos...

Iran on Tuesday warned North Korea against accepting any nuclear deal with U.S. President Donald Trump, the Associated Press quoted the semi-official Fars news agency as saying. “We don’t know what type of person the North Korean leader is negotiating with. “We are facing a man who revokes his signature while abroad. “It is not clear that he would not cancel the agreement before returning back home,” Iran’s government spokesman, Mohammad Bagher Nobakht, was quoted as saying by IRNA new agency. Trump pulled the U.S. out of a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran on May 9, calling it deeply flawed and re-imposing unilateral sanctions. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, signed a joint statement on Tuesday, pledging to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula while Washington committed to providing security guarantees for its old enemy. The joint statement signed at the end of their historic summit in Singapore gave few details on how either goal would b...

Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, on Tuesday said it was confusing for President Muhammadu Buhari to honour the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, late Chief Moshood Abiola while at the same time admiring his ‘tormentor-in-chief.’ Soyinka spoke in Abuja at the conferment of posthumous CGFR on Abiola and GCON on late Gani Fawehinmi and others in Aso Rock. Though Soyinka did not mention who the Tormentor-in-Chief was, but his words pointed to the late brutal dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha who Buhari had been praising in recent times. According to him, it was confusing for Buhari to honour Chief Moshood Abiola on the one hand, and be admiring the late politician’s “Tormentor-in-Chief” on the other. Soyinka described the Tormentor-in-chief as one of the worst dictators in the history of the country, who should be facing international court for his crime against humanity, saying it was sad that Buhari had something to do with such a man. He explained t...

For the past 25 days, Melania, wife of US President Donald Trump has not been seen in public and already tongues are wagging about her whereabouts. The US First Lady on 14 May underwent a medical procedure to treat a benign kidney condition. She remained at Walter Reed Medical Center until May 19. Now reports have it that Melania will not be joining President Trump on his upcoming trips to the G7 summit in Quebec and the highly anticipated summit between the United States and North Korea in Singapore, her spokeswoman told ABC News. The 48-year-old first lady has not been seen in public since May 10, when she and the president welcomed home three American detainees from North Korea. Today marks the 24th day she has not been seen in public. Last week, as questions swirled about the state of her health and the hashtag #whereisMelania trended online, she tweeted that she was “feeling great” and “working hard on behalf of children and the American people.” Mel...

         An Igando Customary Court in Lagos on Monday saved a four-year-old marriage between Mrs Musilimotu Olashuyi and her husband, Gbenga, who conspired with a cleric to sleep with her.  Musilimotu, had earlier approached the court, seeking to end her marriage, claiming that an Alfa made love to her with her husband’s approval. “Actually, my husband got to know the Alfa through me because I always go to his mosque to pray. “When he told me that my husband business is not moving fine, I brought him home to meet my husband. “Before I know what was happening, my husband conspired with him to use me for money ritual. “It was with my husband’s consent that the Alfa had sexual intercourse with me for three days. “After the incident, I started getting sick and getting emaciating and I told people around me what happened which led to the arrest of the cleric and my husband ran away. “My husband resurfaced at the station after the cleric br...

The Nigeria Police Force has ordered Senate President, Bukola Saraki to respond to his allegation of indictment in the Offa Bank robbery within 48 hours rather than appearing in person. The police had said on Sunday that it would be inviting Saraki as five of the robbery suspects indicted him. Saraki, earlier on Monday asked his Aide De Camp, ADC, to go to the police to collect the letter of invitation so that he could appear before the police. But Saraki, in his twitter handle  @ bukolasaraki,  said the police did not want him to appear in person again, but that he should write to them to clear his name in the mess. “Following my earlier tweet, I have received the letter from @PoliceNG. They are no longer asking me to appear at any station, but to respond in writing to the allegations within 48 hours — which I plan to do,” he twitted. See tweet above.

  The National Assembly is keeping the details of the 2018 budget top secret, despite jacking it up by more than 10 per cent. The Daily Trust reported that the NASS increased its spending from N125 to N139.5 billion, but did not give a breakdown of what items made up the single line item. Last year, following pressure from various stakeholders, the leadership of the National Assembly released its budget details, a development that gave the public the opportunity to scrutinise the allocations. In the budget that has been transmitted to President Muhammad Buhari for assent, the lawmakers allocated N139.5bn to themselves as a line item under statutory transfers. Daily Trust reports that 18 days after the 2018 budget was passed, the National Assembly has not revealed the details, unlike what obtained last year when the details were released same day the national budget was passed. In a phone interview, a lawmaker said aside the details of the 2018 budget, the implem...

           Abia police command has arrested members of three suspected child traffickers, who are baby sellers, including 17-year-old Gift Daniel, who sold her two-day-old baby boy for N670, 000. According to report by PM News, the Police Commissioner, Mr Anthony Ogbizi, said this on Monday, while briefing newsmen in Umuahia on the activities of the command. Ogbizi also said that the command arrested no fewer than 22 other suspected criminals, following raids by his men in the wake of renewed criminal acts in different parts of the state. In an interview with newsmen, Daniel said that she was compelled to sell the baby due to financial difficulties. She said that her first baby, also a boy, was sold by her own mother after delivery, hence her resolve to personally sell the second baby. “My mother sent me away from the house, when I became pregnant for the second baby and because of the financial difficulties, I started looking for somebody to h...

Newly wed Duke and Duchess of Sussex attend first official royal duty as a couple.  Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were married in a very royal wedding with a fusion of the old and the new world Media site, thecut.com reports that... The garden party was being held to celebrate Prince Charles’s 70th birthday … even though the heir to the throne won’t actually be turning 70 until the fall. But the event was also important, as it was a chance to highlight the more than 400 charities  he supports through royal patronage. The couple were pictured arriving by car at the royal garden party on Tuesday. Once they stepped into the party, we got to see that Meghan was wearing a conservative, lovely and appropriately spring-like dress, hat, and clutch, with a  sleek pulled-back hairdo, wearing a panty hose and looking like bowl of sweet ice cream. But my!!! ..Prince Harry and wife look so in love!  See more pics after the cut.

      Such Stress on the Princess To Be!!.... TMZ reports that Meghan Markle's dad has had a change of heart -- this after his daughter contacted him -- and he now wants to go to England and walk her down the aisle ... but there's a serious snag. Thomas Markle  just told us he's back in the hospital after experiencing serious chest pains and doctors are performing a battery of tests on him. He says the doctors told him his heart was "seriously damaged" after his heart attack a week ago. Thomas tells TMZ Meghan tried calling him Monday but he was not near his phone. She followed up with a text telling him she loved him and was concerned about his health. He says she harbors no ill feelings toward him for making a deal with a paparazzi agency to stage photos of him getting ready for the wedding. As for the Queen being upset with him, Thomas scoffed, saying, "I don't think the queen is thinking about what I'm doing." Thomas s...