CHAN 2016:Ivory coast join hosts Rwanda in the quarterfinals

The Ivory Coast qualified for the knockout phase of the African Nations Championship CHAN 2016 in style after an emphatic 4-1 win over Gabon at the Huye Stadium in Butare on Sunday afternoon, according to AIT News.

The Elephants took the lead in the 19th minute after a beautiful long-range drive from Essis Aka sailed past Gabonese keeper Yves Moto into the bottom corner.

Gabon levelled the tie after 51 minutes when Franck Obambou met a teasing corner kick from Knox Younga, leaving goalkeeper Badra Ali Sangare stranded in the Ivory Coast goal.

Cote D’Ivoire came back stronger in the second half and regained their lead through Djedje Guiza in the 65th minute, before substitute Koffi Boua scored a fine solo run, side-stepping two defenders to make it 3-1 and pit the game beyond the reach of Gabon.

The ruthless Ivorians put a gloss to the score in the 84th minute when Ble Treika made it 4-1 with a beautiful first touch to go lose his marker before beating the Yves Moto with a low shot.

In the other Group A match, hosts Rwanda fell 4-1 to Morroco but it was too little ,too late for the Atlas Lions who were knocked out as the hosts and Ivory Coast took the quarterfinal berths from the group.

Buhari Tasks Stakeholder for solution on Pipeline Vandalism

According a report shown at a meeting between the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and executive of the Traditional Rulers of Oil Mineral Producing Communities (TROMCON) in Port Harcourt, President Buhari directed the NDDC to quickly intervene and explore every avenue that would help bring back peace and stability to the region.

It was a consultation and negotiation meeting, one that was seen as very necessary to ensure there are no further acts of vandalism and criminality in the Niger Delta region.

At the meeting, the NDDC Acting Managing Director (MD), Mrs Ibim Semenitari, appealed to the traditional rulers, led by Eze Akuwueze Ikegwuruka, the paramount ruler of Ngbirichi in Imo State and the National Chairman of TROMPCON, to engage in serious sensitisation of their subjects against oil theft, vandalism and other acts that could cause a breach of security.

She tasked the royal fathers on engaging in five critical areas and promise to support TROMPCON, as critical partners, in its activities and in the commission’s efforts to facilitate the sustainable development of the Niger Delta, where Nigeria’ major source of revenue, crude oil, is mined.

The National Chairman of TROMPCON, Eze Ikegwuruka, assured Mrs Semenitari that the traditional rulers in the region were ready for partnership and collaboration with the NDDC, pointing out that TROMPCON had been longing to join hands with the NDDC and other development agencies.

He reaffirmed their stake in the affairs of the Niger Delta.

It is the view of TROMPCOM that all stakeholders as well as service providers should collaborate to ensure coordinated and accelerated development of the Niger Delta region. This imperative has been underscored in the Niger Delta Regional Development Master Plan which provided for Partners for Sustainable Development (PSD) Forum,” Eze Ikegwuruka stressed.

He said that TROMPCON would do whatever was necessary to ensure the maintenance of peace and provide the conducive environment for the NDDC and other agencies of development, including contractors.

He further said that the royal fathers would visit the National Assembly to discuss the NDDC budget and rub minds with them to see how to provide more employment opportunities and avoid a situation where contracts were hijacked to the detriment of the people of the Niger Delta.

TROMPCON is currently in court with the Federal Government to press home the demand for proper funding of the NDDC in line with the commission’s enabling law.

With Channel Television

Wahala: Pastor lands in trouble after stolen vehicle was used to sow seed into his life

A Presbyterian Reverend, Titus Onwuchekwa, was recently paraded at the Lagos State Police Command, Ikeja, alongside 5 suspects, for armed robbery. 

The arrest of two notorious armed robbery kingpins, Opeyemi Aregbesola and Bola Salami led to the arrest of one Osas Felix Bright and Chibuike Umeh. .

Felix and Chibike specialised in receiving stolen cars, changing the colour and re-registering the cars with forged custom duty documents before selling them. While reacting to his arrest, Rev. Titus Onwuchekwa, said: “I bought a Mitsubishi Pajero jeep from one Felix.


While negotiating, I told him that I was a man of God and he said that he would use the vehicle to sow a seed into my life. He said because I was a man of God, he would sell it to me for N500k. He said I should pray that God should bless him with more children because he had only had one child since he married.

He gave me the car documents, which bore his name; he also gave me the custom clearing documents, and they had the same name too. A soldier friend of mine had to help me verify if the car was genuine and he confirmed that it was. I am a man of God and I will never buy a stolen property.”

With AITnews

FG removed subsidy on kerosene and pegs price at N83 per litre

The Federal Government, weekend, hiked the price of Household Kerosene (HHK) to N83 per litre from N50 per litre, thereby, officially ending subsidy on the product, according to Vanguard.

The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA , in its product pricing template released, weekend, however, stated that the N83 per litre price applies only to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), meaning that other petrol stations and dealers can sell higher than the stipulated amount.

Curiously, the hike in the price of kerosene came at a time when the price of crude oil had dropped to record low, with the price of petroleum products, such as kerosene, fuel and diesel, among others, dropping significantly in a number of countries, like the United States.

This also brings to question, the recent reduction in the price of Premium Motor Spirit announced by the Federal Government and which commenced at the beginning of the year.

Again, the PPPRA’s template also showed that at N83 per litre, the Federal Government is making a gain of N10.72 for every litre, as it puts the Expected Open Market Price, which is the Landing Cost plus Total Margins at N72.28 per litre. The expected open market price is the prevailing open market rate for the product in Nigeria, after taking certain costs into consideration.

Giving a breakdown of the price, the PPPRA template put the Landing Cost of  the product at N57.98 per litre, while the total margin due for middlemen was put at N14.30.

The PPPRA further put official ex-depot price, which is the price depot owners would sell at marketers, at N68.70 per litre, official ex-depot price for collection, N73 per litre while ex-coastal price is N68.02 per litre.

Late December, the PPPRA had on behalf of the Federal Government announced that effective January 1, 2016, Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise known as petrol, would be sold at N86 per litre by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) retail stations, while other oil marketers would sell at N86.50 per litre.

Executive Secretary of the PPPRA, Mr. Farouk Ahmed, who made the announcement, said the reduction in the price of the commodity was due to an implementation of the revised components of the Petroleum Products Pricing Template for PMS and household kerosene.

According to him, the revised template, which would be reviewed on quarterly basis, is geared towards ensuring an efficient and market-driven price that would reflect current realities.

He said: “Since 2007, while crude oil price had been moving up and down, the template remained the same. This had made it necessary for us to introduce a mechanism whereby the template would be sensitive to the price of crude oil.

“However, the template is not static, as there would be a quarterly review and if there is any major shift, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources would be expected to call for a review, either upward or downward, depending on the market condition.

US and UK said they do not recognise the passports issued by Biafra

The governments of the United States and the United Kingdom have said they do not recognise the passports being issued by the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, according to The Punch.

The National Director of Information, MASSOB, Sunny Okereafor, had said two weeks ago that the passport was valid worldwide, adding that the travel document costs N5,000 while its renewal costs N2,000.

He had said, “I assure you that the Biafran passport is valid. Except Nigeria, other countries of the world accept Biafran passport and allow our citizens to travel with it. In Europe, North and South America, Biafran passport is accepted. Nigeria is the only country that seizes Biafran passport. Go to neighbouring Ghana here, they will stamp the passport for you. Don’t be confused by the propaganda of the Nigerian government that there is nothing like Biafra passport.

“MASSOB appeals to Biafran citizens to procure their passport and use it to travel. If you doubt me, get a Nigerian passport while I have my Biafran passport; when we get to Europe, you will see who they will welcome than the other. Many people with the Nigerian passport have been repatriated, but have you heard of anybody with Biafran passport receiving such ill-treatment?”

However, our correspondent sent an email to the American consulate in Lagos to inquire from the US regarding the claim of MASSOB.

In his response, the Deputy Public Affairs Officer at the consulate, Frank Sellin, said, “The United States does not consider passports purporting to be from a Biafra entity to be a valid legal document for purposes of visa issuance.”

 British Government in a similar response to The Punch via email.

The UK recalled that it did not support the disintegration of Nigeria during the 1967 Biafran War and had not changed its stance 49 years after.

A statement by the Press and Public Affairs Officer, British High Commission, Abuja, Mr. Joe Abuku, read in part, “The answer is unequivocally ‘no’. The UK does not recognise the so-called Biafran passport, told The Punch.

“The position of the UK Government during the Biafran War is a matter of historical record. The UK Government’s position, which reflected the Charter of the Organisation of African Unity, was to recognise the borders laid down at independence.

“The Biafran War caused great suffering and the UK supported the reconciliation work that followed the conflict. The UK supports the territorial integrity of Nigeria and the Nigerian Government’s commitment to work for a secure and prosperous Nigeria for all Nigerians.”