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Aero Contractors Airlines on Wednesday said that it would suspend all its scheduled services indefinitely from Thursday Sept. 1. The airline’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Fola Akinkuotu, said in a statement in Lagos that the management decision was part of the strategic business realignment to reposition the airline and return it to the path of profitability. He said that all staff directly and indirectly involved in providing the services, would also proceed on indefinite leave of absence. “This business decision is as a result of the current economic situation in the country, which has forced some other airlines to suspend operation or outrightly pull out of Nigeria. “In the case of Aero, the airline has faced grave challenges in the past six months, which impacted its business and by extension the scheduled services operations,’’ he said. Akinkuotu said the impact of the external environment had been very harsh on the airline’s operational performance, hence the management’s de

After battling illness and surviving brain surgery last year to come back to his feet, ace comedian Julius ‘Da Genius’ Agwu seems to have fallen ill again. While the illness is yet to be disclosed, it is serious enough that Agwu who was in London recently to attend the Nottinghill Carnival and perform at his signature comedy show, Crack Ya Ribs, on Sunday, August 28, could not turn up. Prior to his illness, Agwu had been actively promoting the show on social media. However, his last post on Twitter was on August 25 where he wrote; ‘#LIFEasISeeiT @ London, United Kingdom.’ Friends, colleagues and fans have been wishing the comedian recovery ever since news of his illness filtered out last week. Though, statements from his camp said the comedian was just in hospital for routine checks, on Wednesday, foremost Nollywood filmmaker Zik Zulu Okafor posted a picture on his Facebook account of Julius Agwu lying on a bed with bandaged head, eyes closed and tubes across his chest and face.

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT PRESS RELEASE: FG EXPECTS BETTER ECONOMIC OUTLOOK FOR SECOND HALF OF 2016 *2nd quarter figures indicate further growth in Agric, solid mineral sectors: *Better than IMF estimates *Reveals highest increase in share of investment in GDP since 2010 The just released GDP figures for the 2016 second quarter by the National Bureau of Statistics while confirming a temporary decline, has also indicated an hopeful expectation in the country's economic trajectory. Besides the growth recorded in the agriculture and solid mineral sectors, the Nigerian economy in response to the policies of the Buhari presidency is also doing better than what the IMF had estimated with clear indications that the second half of the year would be even much better. The Buhari presidency will continue to work diligently on the economy and engage with all stakeholders to ensure that beneficial policy initiatives are actively pursued and the dividends delivered to the Nigerian peop

A FEW days ago, President Muhammadu Buhari was quoted as telling a group of agitators from the Niger Delta region of the country that “Nigeria’s unity is not negotiable”. He went further by pulling from a former Head of State; General Yakubu Gowon, most popular quote while the Nigeria/Biafra war lasted to buttress his point. That quote said:“to keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done”. I want to convince  myself that the President meant this “clarion” call of “non-negotiable of the Nigerian nation’s unity” for the attention of all militant groups or agitators in the country. This is necessary because what is good for the goose of the Niger Delta geo-political region of Nigeria is even better for other and all geo-political zones of the Country. Of course, this slogan of “Nigeria’s Unity not negotiable” is not new; it is an age-long and over-used phrase by most political leaders in Nigeria. Proof at hand is that this slogan has failed the test of time. It is time for us therefore

Divided stakeholders say policy may ease business, stifle local firms For diverse stakeholders in the economy, the Federal Government’s recent currency swap deal with China holds both bright prospects and grave implications for Nigeria even as the naira inched up against the dollar at the weekend at the parallel market. During his official trip to the world’s second biggest economy, President Muhammadu Buhari struck a naira and yuan swap deal, scripted to ease trade transactions between both countries, devoid of current exchange challenges with the United State dollar. Besides, the deal, according to Presidency sources, has the potenrial of shoring up the value of the nation’s currency, in the foreign exchange market, through a concomitant emergent bidding scheme, with strategic reduced demand for dollar and other major currencies, other than the yuan. The currency swap deal consists of an agreement between two central banks, at least one of which must be an international currency

The residents of agbado in Ifo local government area of Ogun state, has accused the governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun of total abandonment. They decried the deplorable nature of the roads in the area, particularly the olusegun oshoba road which has totally been abandoned by the governor. The road which was constructed by olusegun oshoba  has totally collapsed and the government seem not be doing something about it.

My government is prepared to discuss with Boko Haram, for the release of the kidnapped Chibok girls, says President Muhammdu Buhari. Some Chibok girls, as recently shown in a new video by Boko Haram. In an interview with journalists in Nairobi, Kenya, at the weekend, Buhari reiterated the preparedness of the Federal Government to discuss the release of the Chibok girls kidnapped by Boko Haram terror group since 2014. NAN quoted the President as saying that the Nigerian government is ready to dialogue with bonafide leaders of the terror group who know the whereabouts of the girls. READ ALSO: 5 prominent people who visited Buhari this week and what they discussed (photos) ‘‘I have made a couple of comments on the Chibok girls and it seems to me that much of it has been politicised. ‘‘What we said is that the government which I preside over is prepared to talk to bonafide leaders of Boko Haram. ‘‘If they do not want to talk to us directly, let them pick an internationally recognise

A woman severely injured during the suspected Fulani herdsmen attack in Ndiagwu Attakwu, Akegbe-Ugwu in Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State has been confirmed dead. Mrs Ifeoma Agbo, until her death was receiving treatment at one of the hospitals in the community, along with three other victims. The Chairman of Nkanu West LGA, Mr Afam Okereke, who confirmed the death of the victim in an interview with Channels Television, said in a bid to prevent such occurrence, especially after the Nimbo attack, he had called several security meetings with the Fulani community. Suspected Fulani herdsmen on Thursday, August 25th invaded the community, killing a seminarian identified as Lazarus Nwankwo, a final year student of Spiritan International School of Theology and wounded four persons, including a pregnant woman. Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, who visited the community on Friday vowed to bring perpetrators to book, adding that his administration will not tolerate the want

Nigeria U23 coach Samson Siasia has announced his resignation after recently steering his side to an Olympic bronze medal in Brazil. Siasia said he reached that point where he had enough of a lack of organisation and professionalism from the country’s football federation. “I have reached that point where I have to say I have had enough,” Siasia told BBC Sport . “I’ve gone several months without getting paid, years of being derided and disrespected by the sports authorities in Nigeria but I am done already. “It’s sad that after all we went through to get to Brazil and end up winning a bronze medal, the players, coaching and backroom staff never received a ‘thank you’ in appreciation despite a turbulent time at the Olympics.” Siasia highlighted a number of unsavoury incidents which occurred in the build up to Olympics as well as during the tournament. “First we had the minister deride us for camping in Atlanta and even denied our existence as a group before the flight problems,” rec

Nigeria’s nascent democracy definitely needs a vibrant and patriotic opposition to strengthen it   as well as keep the government of the day on the course of the rules and tenets of a constitutional system of government. But the way and manner the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has carried on out of government makes it look like a party ill-prepared for the opposition role it should assume and the challenges that go with it. For PDP’s good and the good of this country, the party has to get its act together and rise to the challenge. Of course, only an exceptional political party would think out of the box to prepare, even while in power, for the possibility of defeat and how to make the best of such situation. That would require a much more than average, ordinary party leadership, persons who are less of politicians and more of philosophers, who are less of managers of the status quo and more of visionary leaders. For indeed, the inevitability of change guarantees that a party in powe

Sahara Reporters’s Story is a Mere Fairy Tale, Says Saraki Senate President, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki has described the story by an online medium, Sahara Reporters insisting that the money stolen during an Abuja robbery incident in which some soldiers and Department of State Security (DSS) officials were arrested belong to him as another fairy tale and outright falsehood, which are the hallmarks of the medium. He said the money does not belong to him. In a statement by his Special Adviser (Media and Publicity), Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki reiterated his earlier statement that he knew nothing about the money and that the security agencies have on their own confirmed that the money belong to the operator of an Abuja based bureau de change. “Also, the Bureau de Change operator has admitted to investigators that the money belongs to him. However, Sahara Reporters owned by one Omoyele Sowore, having realised that it goofed has been holding on to straw and piecing together inaccurate inform

A former governor of Enugu state, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, who was once the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has given reason why the Igbo nation seems to be excluded in the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, explaining that it is because the President is not a politician. He pointed out that Buhari, who had his entire training in the army, does not see things the way politicians perceive issues, else he would have cared more for an area where he was not popular in order to harvest votes next time there is an election there. Speaking in an interview with Vanguard, the former PDP chairman said, “The President himself is not a politician, his entire training has been in the military so he doesn’t see things the way we politicians see them. If I lose an election in any part of my constituency my strategy is to make sure that next time around I would win in that constituency and that is by reaching out to the people and convincing them that they were wrong for

Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State may have incurred the wrath of the youths of the state as they attacked him with stones when he attended the weekly Jumat prayers in Lokoja, the state capital, on Friday. The angry youths were said to have displayed placards with various anti-government inscriptions. It was the second time Governor Bello would be attacked in two weeks. He had been attacked by angry youths when he attended a function in Ankpa, a major city in the state. In a video, which Afrique News claimed to be the stoning of Bello, some youths were seen chanting: Ole! Ole!! Ole!!! repeatedly. However, the person to whom the abuse was directed at was not visible in the recording. However, what appears to be the youths retreating and surging forward was evident throughout the video recording, giving the impression they were running away from security operatives. Meanwhile, Bello’s Chief Press Secretary, Kinsgley Fanwo, has denied that the Governor was stoned at the Jumat mosq

This is the update on the real situation in zamfara mayhem. Received from a reliable authority. UPDATE Good morning my beloved brethren, I've been in touch with the happenings in Talata Mafara and I want to testify that God will always leave a sign behind (depending on the context) to encourage His people. It was a Muslim student who went to a NIFES brother to ask questions about Christianity that turned the discourse into what happened. That was Sunday night. He was left for dead but a veteran NIFES associate rescued him while another Muslim helped them to the hospital with his car.   By Monday, a mob went for the lives of these two lecturers and the hospitalized brother. Thank God that before Monday morning the Christian students had mobilized and left danger zones. In frustration the mob went for everywhere Christians meet on campus. They also went to the residence of the Muslim lecturer who helped but he also had relocated his family. So, they set his house ablaze. Now, here

President Muhammadu Buhari has not come to terms with the economic realities of the day, as he has failed to combat economic challenges confronting the nation. This was the assertion of the former Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Governor, Professor Charles Soludo, who said the President’s economic policies, since he took over last year, were still based on campaign promises. Soludo spoke, Thursday, in Kaduna at the Progressive Governors Forum’s 4th Progressive Governance Lecture series with the theme Building the Economy of States: Challenges of Developing Inclusively-Sustainable Growth. According to him, the country was dealing with political, economic and social shocks. He said: “Nigeria is facing unprecedented and tremendous political and economical challenges with global and local dynamics. “Regardless of these challenges, opportunities and possibilities abound if we address some fundamental issues. The key to achieving this is to have a development plan that is anchored on real

The Enugu State Police Command has arrested the suspected mastermind of the herdsmen attack on Ndiagu Attakwu Akegbe Ugwu community in Nkanu West Local Government Area of the state. A statement from the command’s spokesman, Mr Ebere Amaraizu, in Enugu on Friday gave the name of the suspect as Umaru Isah from Gusau, capital of Zamfara. Amaraizu said that the arrest of the suspect followed intelligence made available to the command. “The Enugu State Police Command in its resolve to unmask the perpetrators of the attack on Ndiagu Attakwu Akegbe Ugwu has nabbed one Umaru Isah over his alleged involvement in the incident. “The suspect, who claimed to be 20 years of age, said he came to Enugu from Gusau in Zamfara State to rear cattle, but has none to rear till now. “Investigations are still on with a view to unmasking his gang,” he said. The spokesman said the police would, however, stop at nothing to ensure that those involved in the act were apprehended and brought to book. The communi

BREAKING NEWS !! PROF. PAUL EMEKA AND EFCC SAGA !! In the month of May 2014, The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) waded into the crisis rocking the Assemblies of God Church as it probed the finances of the church over the alleged purchase of N220 million property in Germany by Rev.Prof.Paul Emeka. The probe was sequel to a petition by a breakaway group of the church led by the former Assistant General Superintendent, Reverend Chidi Okoroafor. The faction alleged that the property, whose purchase was said to have been completed in 2011, did not exist, adding that the General Superintendent, Professor Paul Emeka had solely engaged in the transaction. At the end of the investigation by EFCC, Rev. Prof Paul Emeka was exonerated of all accusations against him by Chidi and Alaje. Rather, the EFFC traced a missing N20M of the transactions to Alajes private bank account. To cut the long story short, for a strange reason, Alaje was not prosecuted by EFCC !! If the apex

Aisha Yesufu, a leader of the group, a leader of the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) movement, on Thursday branded President Muhammadu Buhari a “failure” for his inability to rescue the abducted Chibok girls. Speaking on Thursday after the police barred the movement from entering the villa —the second time in four days — Yesufu “dared” the president to “stand up and behave like a man”. “Mr President you are a failure, I dare President Muhammadu Buhari, you should stand up and behave like a man,” she said. She said Buhari was enjoying the “pecks” of the villa, forgetting about the masses that voted him into office. Yesufu stated that the rescue of the Chibok was not a favour but a right as enshrined in the Nigerian constitution. “We are tired of hearing no credible intelligence, I can say that the president is not doing anything,” she added. Obiageli Ezekwesili, another leader of the movement, said the government could not admit that it had not embarked on a rescue of the girls just b

Can Angry Over John Kerry’s Meeting With Sultan, Ignoring The Nigerian Christian Leaders   Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, has accused the United States government of stoking ethnic and religious divisions in Nigeria, after the U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, visited the Sultan of Sokoto and northern governors. Christians wondered why they were excluded from Kerry’s visit between Monday and Tuesday. Mr. Kerry travelled to Sokoto where he met the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar, who is the head of Nigeria’s Muslim community. He later met President Buhari, before governors of northern states. In an interview with journalists, CAN said Kerry’s visit was “discriminatory, personal and divisive”. CAN said Kerry should stop interfering in the internal affairs of the country, alleging that the visit was aimed at furthering the Nigerian federal government’s plan to continue to persecute the teeming population of Nigerian Christians. The president of CAN, Rev. Supo Ayokunl

President Muhammadu Buhari has described himself as a good listener, calling on traditional rulers in the country to assist his government in moving the nation forward by advising him. He, however, urged them to always put such advice in writing. This was disclosed to State House correspondents by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, shortly after he met with the President at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Thursday. Adeyemi, who said he visited the President to endorse a memorandum which he had earlier sent, said Buhari listened with rapt attention and sent him to other traditional rulers in his domain. “The President listened attentively and he has asked me to pass the information to other traditional rulers in my domain to assist the government by giving advice because he is a good listener but that such advice should be put in writing so that he can then relate it to the problems affecting Nigeria,” he said. The monarch stated that he advised the President on the vario

Former President, Goodluck Jonathan, has insisted that he handed over a Nigeria that was economically viable to his successor, President Muhammadu Buhari. Jonathan’s remark follows accusation that he left a bad economy for his successor to inherit. The Buhari-led Federal Government since assumption of power last year, has continued to accuse it’s predecessor of being responsible for the country’s current economic challenges. But the former President, in his response to these criticisms, maintained that he handed over the best Nigerian government with the largest economy in Africa to Buhari. In a statement he personally signed, Jonathan said, “I took over a Nigeria that was the second largest economy in Africa with a GDP of $270.5 billion in 2009, I handed over a Nigeria that had grown to become the largest economy in Africa and the 24th largest economy in the World, with a GDP of $574 billion. “I inherited a Nigeria in which the trains were not working, and handed over a Nigeria i

Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo state, has said that he is not in a hurry to die but live to complete his assignment for the people of the state. Okorocha made the statement on Thursday while reacting to rumours of his ill health shortly after arriving Sam Mbakwe Airport Owerri, from a foreign trip. Addressing a large crowd that gathered at the airport to welcome him, Okorocha described the rumours of his health condition as ‘false’. “I am not in a hurry to die; I will live to complete my assignment for Imo people. I went to the land of the dead and our ancestors turned me back saying it was not yet time,” he said. The governor however, acknowledged that he had a challenge that took him far from the physical. He told the crowd that he was healthy and strong, adding that those who wished him dead were enemies of the state. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalled that the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Sam Onwuemedo said last week that Okorocha traveled outside the countr

Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has asked the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, to be more proactive in dealing with the problems of the Niger Delta region. Professor Soyinka, at a press conference in Lagos believes that the government is not doing enough in handling “the tension in the Niger Delta region”. The Nobel laureate said he was asking the Federal Government, like other key players in Nigeria and the region, to change its government’s style and move swiftly to deal with the issues of the Niger Delta. He is advocating a more proactive intervention by the President and his government to douse the tension. His comment is coming at a period militancy resurgence in the Niger Delta region, with the militants resorting to bombing oil installations. Their activities have reduced Nigeria’s oil output by 700,000 barrels per day to 1.56 million bpd. It is a huge loss of revenue, amounting to billions of Dollars, for the nation that relies solely on crude oil sales. T

Flaws in Apple's iOS operating system have been discovered that made it possible to install spyware on a target's device merely by getting them to click on a link. The discovery was made after a human rights lawyer alerted security researchers to unsolicited text messages he had received. They discovered three previously unknown flaws within Apple's code. Apple has since released a software update that addresses the problem. The two security firms involved, Citizen Lab and Lookout, said they had held back details of the discovery until the fix had been issued. Rare attack The lawyer, Ahmed Mansoor, received the text messages on 10 and 11 August. The texts promised to reveal "secrets" about people allegedly being tortured in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)'s jails if he tapped the links. Had he done so, Citizen Lab says, his iPhone 6 would have been "jailbroken", meaning unauthorised software could have been installed. "Once infected, Man

An impoverished man in India carried his wife's body for 12km after the hospital where she died allegedly failed to provide an ambulance to carry the body back to their village. Dana Majhi's wife Amang, 42, died from tuberculosis in the district hospital in Bhawanipatna town in Orissa state. Mr Majhi said his village was 60km (37 miles) away and he couldn't afford to hire a vehicle. The hospital authorities have denied his charge. 'No choice' "The woman was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday and died the same night. Her husband took away her body without informing any hospital staff," senior medical official B Brahma said. Mr Majhi, however, alleged that his wife died on Tuesday night and that he began walking with her body on Wednesday after the hospital staff kept asking him to remove the body. "I kept pleading with the hospital staff to provide a vehicle to carry my wife's body, but to no avail. Since I am a poor man and could not hire

This is the hospital that Adams Oshiomhole bought for his son, Dr Oshioneh Oshiomhole in Boston Massachusetts, United States of America. The question on the lips of everyone in Edo state now, especially the pensioners and local government workers, is how could an Oshiomhole who was only a textile worker and labour leader earning less than 200,000 naira monthly be able to by this sort of hospital in America? How could Adams Oshiomhole complete his own private Hospital for his son within six months but has not been able to complete Central Hospital annex for over six years? Is this corruption what they want us to continue by all means? Tweet

Parents of the abducted Chibok schoolgirl on Thursday called President Muhammadu Buhari to step down if he can’t fulfil the promise he had made to the them to rescue the girls. Rev Mark Enoch made the call in Abuja onbehalf of parents of the abducted Chibok girls. Rev Enoch whose two children were abducted by the insurgency lamented the parents of the abducted girls have voted for the president based on the promise that he made of rescuing the girls adding that they were now regretting their decision for voting him into power. Rev Enoch who was speaking during the #BringBackourGirls march to the Villa stated that the president kept saying that there was no credible intelligence on the girls and added that the Boko Haram sect has given him the way out by offering for negotiation. He stated that the president cannot in honesty say he does not know where the girls are and wondered if there is any hidden agenda over the issue of the abducted girls. “The Chibok girls parents are sorry