Taiwo Ajai-Lycett, Joke Silva, Bimbo Akintola, others take the stage for 'Hear Word!' this December!

A show based on a collection of true life stories of a poignant, joyous and heartbreaking examination of female self-discovery and challenges facing Nigerian women is back on stage from December 24 –
27, 2015 at the Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos.

The play, HEAR WORD!, examines the cultural, social behaviour and beliefs that  oppress, reject and limit a woman’s potential. HEAR WORD! inspires women to break barriers, realise their full potential and contribute to nation building.
The show produced and directed by Ifeoma Fafunwa will feature powerful performances from a cast of extraordinary Nigerian actresses which include, TaiwoAjai-Lycett,Joke Silva, Bimbo Akintola, Omonor,
ElvinaIbru, Ufuoma McDermott, Zara Udofia, Deborah Ohiri, Rita Edward and Odenike.
HEAR WORD! is a powerful piece of performance art that combines artistry, social commentary and true-life stories of inequality and transformation, delivered by some of Nigeria’s most talented actresses.
The stories are based on real issues affecting the lives of women across Nigeria and examine what factors limit their potential for independence, leadership and meaningful contribution.
The show not only gives a voice to these women, it provides the world with insight into their unique or universal challenges. Tackling topics such as circumcision and barrenness as well as more universal challenges like child molestation, gender-based violence and women trafficking, HEAR WORD! bravely serves up the cultural and societal norms that oppress and limit African women. It empowers women to break the culture of silence, unite, challenge the status quo, move beyond barriers and
create solutions.
Show dates: December 24, 25, 26 and 27, 2015. Time: 7pm.

Thrills and frills from COPA Lagos 2015

COPA Lagos, Nigeria’s highly entertaining international beach soccer tournament ended on Sunday, December 20, 2015 with a music concert. The tournament was preceded by other lifestyle events which include a fashion and celebrity match. All of this made the annual event a memorable one that will not be easily forgotten by all lovers of beach soccer and entertainment.

The musical concert had a lot of A-list artiste such as Seyi Shay; Naeto-C; Falz; Lil Kesh; Tekno amongst others. The teeming music lovers were held spell-bound till the wee-hours of Monday morning dancing to songs from these maestro.

Other activities that made the event full of glitz and glamour include the fashion show where different beach wears spiced with an African touch hit the runway. Designers such as Ejiro Amos-Tafiri, Andrea Iyamah, Okun Beachwear, Tzar, Iconic Invanity had their cloth lines showcased to the admiration of fashion lovers.

Fans and spectators trooped in large numbers to watch the celebrity match as ex-internationals squared up against entertainers. Entertainers such as Sound Sultan, Mozez Praiz, and Shina Rambo made a team line-up while ex internationals such as Mutiu Adepoju and Victor Ikpeba also featured in the celebrity match.

Copa Lagos which is in her fifth year has been greatly improved for participants to have a memorable event annually.

2015 in retrospect: Art sector waxes stronger but needs govt attention

In this report, ADA DIKE writes on some major events that took place in the Art sector in 2015 and recommends that Nigerian government should invest more in it to boost the country’s economy.
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Mohammed

The Art sector, the flagship for social and economic development of the society has been regarded by many as a sector yet to be tapped by the Nigerian government to boost her economy. Stakeholders of creative industry have severally beckoned on governments at all levels to invest in Art and culture in Nigeria. This year, some states including Osun State (which hosts annual Osun Osogbo Festival) and Kaduna State hearkened to the call. A couple of weeks ago, Kaduna State organized the maiden edition of Kaduna Music Festival, KADAMFEST with attracted high turnout of musicians, artistes and music lovers. President Muhammadu Buhari declared the Festival open and commended Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El Rufai, for using the music industry as an avenue for job creation in the state.

Prof. Alele Williams, Bukky George, Iquo Ukoh, others win the W Awards

The Access Conference 2015 which held at the Eko Hotel was followed by
the presentation of the W Awards winners. The W Awards is positioned to recognise and celebrate Nigerian women who defy all odds to stand out successfully; highlighting the important contribution that women are making in the Nigerian emerging economy. We are looking for women across four categories who, through their achievements and contribution, have had an impact within their relevant category.
Full list of winners:
The W Entrepreneur of the year (W in Business).This Award recognises an entrepreneur who has built a successful business. She must be fully engaged and active in the day-to-day running and decision-making in the business.
1.    Mrs Nkechi Obi
2.    Mrs.Lola Amao
3.    Mrs. Bukky George - winner

Teenage saxophonist gives fans Christmas gifts with latest single; “I do”

Nigeria's most talented teenage saxophonist, Tejiri Emore, in the spirit of the yuletide season, has dropped a new single.

 Titled: 'I do', the release of the single aims to stir up the joy of the season. 

 As great things are accomplished by talented people who believe in themselves, Tejiri, Nigeria’s youngest saxophonist, an epitome of talent, skill and drive whom one can with no doubt refer to as 'A Child of Promise' has set the set pace for other young talents like him with this new single he originally composed by himself and produced by Mystro a vast and seasoned music producer. 

 This song has a perfect blend and rhythmic combination of the saxophone, drums and keyboard which can set your mind at ease and can be played anytime, anywhere especially with its beat that is sure to get you on your feet dancing.

Emore was born on November 24, 2001 in Lagos Nigeria.

Total deliverance of the body necessary for mankind

 

Book review

Book title: Total Deliverance of the Body

Author: Oluwasanmi Samuel

Publisher: Oluwasanmi Samuel Bright

Year of publication: November 2015

Pages: 110

Reviewer: Ada Dike

 “Total Deliverance of the Body,” written by an end time revival fire preacher, Oluwasanmi Samuel, is a unique manual one can use to deliver him or herself from the claws of the evil ones.

Written and packaged in a well planned manner, readers are aroused and held in an intriguing and fascinating mood if he or she finishes reading the 110-page-book which contains eight chapters with topics and prayer points. It is an eye opener for those who wish to know how they can be delivered from the power of darkness in these perilous times.

Oluwasanmi Samuel

The First Chapter, aptly titled, “When Your Body is Under Attack”, described the body under attack as the body that has become a satanic container. According to the former the president, Youth End Time Fire Fighter Evangelistic Ministries, from the nature of man, he is made up of essentially, a spirit. “Man’s body is the temple of God’s spirit.” Emphasizing what makes up a man, he says, “Man is triune, that is, “three in one”. Man is a spirit that has a soul and is living in a body. The spirit of man is the candle of the candle of the Lord. The human spirit is the centre of conscience and discernment providing a window of God’s light to bring spiritual understanding to our inner man. If one’s spirit man is defeated in the spirit realm, that is the end of that life. The soul consists of the mind, emotion and will. The mind is for thinking and reasoning. Emotion is for feelings and the will is for choice and reasoning.”

Thrills and frills from ‘Fifty’ world premiere

Omoni Oboli, Ireti Doyle, Mo Abudu, Dakore Akande & Nse Ikpe-Etim

Fifty, executively produced by Mo Abudu, has gone into the annals of history as the biggest film premiere in the history of Nigerian cinema.  The Oscar-deserving premiere was held at the Eko Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos on Sunday, December 13, 2015, attended by the crème de la crème of Lagos society.
With a red carpet that stretched forever, the premiere was attended by faces from Nigerian film and music, senior public figures and dignitaries from business and politics.  Both the local and international media was present aplenty, including representatives of Vogue, Ebony and Essence.  Musical performances by the King of Juju, King Sunny Ade, Waje and Tiwa Savage sent dinner down nicely.
Following the movie showing which had the audience in stitches all night, the after-party featured an exclusive Mystique Lounge, where special guests and official sponsors received especial pampering, attention and gifting. 

What writing Yellow-Yellow taught me -Kaine Agary

A novel writer, columnist, Editor in-Chief of TAKAii Magazine and co-owner of DTalkshop, Kaine Agary, in this interview with ADA DIKE speaks on what writing her novel taught her.

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Every opportunity Kaine Agary gets invited to speak to the youth, she always does so. As a citizen of Nigeria in love with books, this is her way to ensure that the youth from her state (Bayelsa) are well read. “Every time I come in contact with the youth from Rivers, Bayelsa States and others, I try to engage with them and encourage them because it is important that they see positive role models, mentors, people who

Appeal Court Judgement - Inevitable, Predictable, Foreseen -Prince Tonye Princewill

Ordinarily I would not bother to comment on news that is not only inevitable but in progress. We still have to wait for the Supreme Court. Wike refused to accept my advice at the tribunal stage and still went ahead to appeal the judgement. It is therefore reasonable to assume he will maintain the same stubborn stance and delay the inevitable yet again. It is, after all, his prerogative.
Anyone who is truly confident of his popularity should not be afraid to face the electorate. PDP has a lot of supporters. But everyday they drag this process out, they may loose more and more and more. Forget the arrogance of politicians, nobody knows what the outcome of an election will be, but everyone with a conscience knows that the one we had in 2015 was neither free nor fair nor credible. It can't stand scrutiny. As we have now seen.

As for me I would rather focus on adding value to society and so I call on others to look back as my classmates and I from FGC PH have just done. At how you can give back to your alma mater. We don't have to all be in Government to make a difference. We in the class of 85 converged from near and far to make a difference and I am so proud we did.
Commissioning a new entrance to the school, building a world class monument in front of the admin building, delivering 16 new state of the art girls toilets, 10 new water taps and 300 desks and teacher's tables is totally unprecedented and has demonstrated the sheet effectiveness of team work. Maybe our politicians can borrow a leaf from that.
As for the conduct of future elections in Rivers, it is worth noting the supremacy of the card reader as now contained in this judgement and the way elections in Kogi and Bayelsa went. We still have lessons to learn. My main concern remains security. Both APC and the PDP have shown desperation and an unmitigated desire for power at all costs. The recent black and white march charades can not conceal the blood they both spilled. People are not foolish.
My consolation is God does not sleep. As for the decision on what I do as the Labour Party candidate, this is not a choice strictly for me alone to make. My ambition is not the priority, the ambition of the state is. So far I have followed spiritual guidance and it has given me peace. This time will be no different. I am not desperate to be Governor. But I will not go quietly into the night. What I will say is I will sponsor every Labour Party candidate who shows a real desire to contest their rerun. A statement on my election will be made when a vacancy arises.

COURT ORDERS UNCONDITIONAL RELEASE OF PRO-BIAFRA LEADER KANU

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday ordered an unconditional release a leader of pro-Biafra leader and Director of Radio Biafra, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, from the custody of the Department of State Service.
Justice Adeniyi Ademola in a ruling on Kanu’s bail application held his continued detention for about two months without any pending charges against him against the provisions of section 35(4) of the Constitution.
The judge also set aside an order granted the DSS on November 10, 2015 permitting the DSS to keep Kanu in its custody for 90 days.
Earlier on Wednesday, a Magistrate’s Court in Wuse Zone 2 of the Federal Capital Territory on Wednesday struck out the charges instituted against a Kanu by the DSS.
The DSS had applied for the discontinuance of the case to enable it to file charges of terrorism and terrorism financing against him.
But Justice Ademola ruled on Thursday that with the continued detention of the pro-Biafra leader for over two months showed that the DSS lacked sufficient material to prosecute him or had yet to make up its mind to do so.
http://therecorderng.com/court-orders-unconditional-releas…/

DSS DROPS CHARGES AGAINST NNAMDI KANU

Magistrate of the Chief Magistrate Court, Wuse Zone 2, Abuja, Shuaibu Usman, on Wednesday discharged the Director of Radio Biafra and Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, on all counts of criminal conspiracy and ownership of an unlawful society brought against him by the federal government.
After holding that the government had dropped the charges against Kanu, the judge ruled: “The accused person is hereby discharged and the case struck out.”
The government through its agent, the Department of State Services (DSS), had elected to withdraw the case at the lower court for a higher court, which has jurisdiction to entertain charges bordering on terrorism, to take over.

I will proceed to Supreme Court -Wike

APPEAL COURT UPHOLDS TRIBUNAL’S JUDGMENT NULLIFYING WIKE’S ELECTION

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has affirmed the judgment of the Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which nullified the election of Nyesom Wike as governor of the state.
The five-man panel of the Court of Appeal led by Justice M.B Dongban-Mensen in its judgment dismissed the appeals filed by Wike and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, against the judgment of the tribunal on the grounds that they lacked merit.
In the judgment read by the Presiding Justice, Donghan-Messen, the appeal court held that the tribunal was right to have held that the All Progressives Congress and its governorship candidate in the April 11, 2015 election, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, had satisfactorily proved their petition that the poll was conducted in substantial non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
The appeal court, which resolved all the seven issues formulated in the appeal against the appellants, held that the non-usage of the smart card reader and disregard by officials of INEC in Rivers State on the commission’s directive on the mandatory use of the card reader machine was a direct violation of the Electoral Act.
The appellate court also held that contrary to the contention of Wike and PDP, the manual and guidelines issued by INEC for the conduct of the 2015 general election were in conformity with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
Wike and the PDP still have the opportunity to appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Rivers State Governorship Election Tribunal had in October nullified the April 11 governorship.
The tribunal had also ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct a fresh election within 90 days.
This followed a petition by the All Progressives Congress and its governorship candidate, Dakuku Peterside, alleging that the election was characterised by widespread electoral malpractices.
In nullifying the election, the Justice Suleiman Ambrosa led-tribunal said the evidence provided by Wike and INEC’s witnesses was not credible.
Wike had, however, challenged the decision of the tribunal with the counsel to the PDP, Chris Uche (SAN), questioning the tribunal’s reliance on accreditation by card readers to nullify the election.
-Punch

Ayade appoints Ita-Giwa, Kate Henshaw, others as aides

Cross River State Governor, Professor Ben Ayade yesterday, approved the appointment of Senator Florence Ita-Giwa as the Chairman of the Cross River Ports Authority.
Ayade who made several appointments into key boards and parastatals, also appointed Nollywood diva, Kate Henshaw as his Special Adviser, Liaison, Lagos.
Other appointments approved by the Governor according to a release by the Special Assistant on Media & Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Christian Ita, are as follows:
Mr. Oju Igile - Managing Director - Cross River Water Board
Gabriel Ewe Obi - Special Adviser - Debt Management
Oko Inaku - Director General - Cross River Urban Renewal Agency
John Eyikwaji - Special Adviser - Chieftaincy Affairs
Dr. Betta Edu - Special Adviser - Community Health
Mr. Victor O Odun - Special Adviser - Special Duties
Barr. Mensah Bassey - Special Adviser - Strategic Planning
Hon. Eddie Ogon - Special Advise - Mortgage Finance & Estate Development
Hon. Tom Agi - Special Adviser - Tourism Development
Chief Tony Undiandeye - Special Adviser - Public Affairs
Mr. Emmanuel Anoh - Special Adviser - Civil Society & NGO

#‎Armsgate‬: FG moves to arrest Olisa Metuh.

December 15, 2015
Press Brief

Government Out To Silence Me
Gentlemen of the press, this press briefing is expedient, taken into consideration the times we find ourselves, especially as they relate to me.
In the last seven months, as opposition spokesperson, I have been hounded, harassed, intimidated and threatened severally. In order to avoid personal and family pressure, I had refrained from bringing them to the public domain.
However, on account of recent information available to me, I now have cause to believe that the Federal Government is desperate and may have finalized plans to silence me.
Nevertheless, I make bold to state the following:

Nigeria to revert petrol price to N97 per litre

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, on Monday announced the Nigerian government's plan to revert to the old pump price of N97 per litre for Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, in 2016.
Read More: http://wp.me/p2LdGt-OMB
Source: Premium Times

Community Pillar Awards announces recipients for 7th edition

All is now set to honour the 2015 recipients of the prestigious Eyegate Media Ltd Award in the 7th edition of its Community Pillar Awards Ceremony.

Scheduled to hold at the gorgeous Teeky Event Centre Lekki on December 12, 2015,

the community Pillar Award has been a moment of celebrating those organizations and individuals that have over the past 365 days impacted on the lives of the common people (the community) through their activities.

Among the recipients that will be wearing the Eyegate Media garlands at the usually colourful event includes: The Redeemed Christian Church of God Lagos Province 6 which had been very outstanding for its many Community Social Responsibility projects; Honourable Kako Are (representing Mushin constituency) for his Mofebe free bus ride for secondary school students; Fidelity Bank: for ‘Unflinching Audacity’ to support micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) irrespective of the prevalent risk involved. Others are MTN Group, Pathcare, Dangote Cement, Airtel, Guinness Foundation and Lapo Microfinance Bank.

Dignitaries expected at the august event include Chief Alex Akinyele, Rtd Gen Akinrinade, Prominent Media executives and entertainment front liners.

The event’s red carpet, according to information from the media company starts by 4pm.