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  • 2023 Elections: 13,000 dump APC for PDP in Kaduna state

    2023 Elections: 13,000 dump APC for PDP in Kaduna state

    No fewer than Over 13,000 members of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) has defected to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, in Southern Kaduna.
    The PDP treasurer in Kaduna North-West region, Hon. Rabiu Bakori,  received the new members on behalf of the North-West Zonal PDP Chairman, Sen. Hayyatu Gwarzo, in Zonkwa, area of Kaduna.
    Bakori noted that for the party to come out victorious in the 2023 general elections, all hand must be in deck by all actors in the state.
    “The ruling party had on 2015 promised to enhance security, but have ended up enhancing fears in the minds of Nigerians. Kaduna residents must work hard to ensure that PDP wins at the polls in order to ensure justice, fairness and true democratic values,” He said.
    On his part, the Kaduna State PDP Chairman, Hon. Felix Hassan Hyat, described the defection as symbolic and historical, adding that it would take the PDP to Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, in 2023.
    He explained that the only PDP stronghold in the entire North-west Zone was in Southern Kaduna.
    According to him, “no other party, except the PDP has ever won an election in Southern Kaduna, and come 2023 no other party will win,” Hyat vowed.
    He lamented that Southern Kaduna under the ruling party, had experienced infrastructural deficit and high level of insecurity, noting that the region only enjoyed  federal appointments and infrastructural development during the PDP administration.
    Also, the PDP National Youth Leader, Hon. Mohammed Kadede, said the new members realised that PDP was the party that Nigerians needed come 2023, to rescue them from the APC’s regime.
    Kadede expressed confidence that the PDP will win the elections from the state level to the national level come 2023.
  • Jobless LAUTECH graduate who returned certificate get N500,000 from Alumni’s association

    Jobless LAUTECH graduate who returned certificate get N500,000 from Alumni’s association

    The Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso (LAUTECH) graduate, Osunleke Oludare who returned his certificate and asked for a refund in a viral video has been given a reprieve.

    The Global Alumni President of Lautech, Bayo Onilede  presented Oludare with a sum of N500,000
    (Five Hundred Thousand Naira)

    Oludare has been told to start up a small-scale business with the money.

    Oludare while narrating his ordeal said he is frustrated and he didn’t want to engage in any form of crimes or activities that negate his belief system.

    The Ibadan-born graduate of Agric extension in his narration further explained that he’s been jobless for years and had to return his certificate out of frustration.

    He added that it wasn’t a gimmick or publicity stunt but a move to inform the world of his plight as a graduate.

     Meanwhile, Reprieve and succour has also come the way of another physically challenged ex-student student of the institution, Kewejo John Babatunde as he was presented with a sum of 1 million naira to support his business as a commercial driver.

    Mr. Onilede said the financial intervention is to cushion the effect of economic realities on the selected beneficiaries

    Mr. Kewejo whose firstborn was also given a scholarship up to the University level appreciates the Association for coming to his rescue and being a beacon of support for his family.

    He thanked the Alumni association for coming to his rescue and that of his child.

  • 2023: YPP welcomes 10,000 decampees from APC, PDP in Akwa Ibom

    2023: YPP welcomes 10,000 decampees from APC, PDP in Akwa Ibom

    About 10,000 members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) and the opposition All Progressives Congress, (APC), have dumped their parties to team up with  Young Progressives Party, (YPP) in Akwa Ibom State,

    The event, which took place in Ifa Ikot Akpan, along Airport road, Uyo, had Senator Bassey Albert, the former Chief of Staff to Governor Udom Emmanuel, Akparawa Ephraim Inyangeyen, the member representing Ikono/Ini federal constituency, Hon Emmanuel Ukpong Udo and the lawmaker representing Ikono State constituency, Hon Asuquo Nana Udoh, as well as numerous party men, join the YPP.

    The national chairman of the party Bishop Comrade Emmanuel Amakiri chieftain of YPP, Senator Ifeanyi Uba, the State Chairman of YPP, Apostle Nyenime, and some party stalwarts were on the ground to receive the decampees.

    At the event, the State chairman, who was also the gubernatorial candidate of the party, announced that he was stepping down for Senator Bassey Albert Akpan.

    The national chairman of the party in his speech noted that the YPP had come to stay in Akwa Ibom State and urged every young progressive citizen to take their destiny into their hands.

    He expressed pleasure over the overwhelming support the people had shown to Senator Akpan whom he said would liberate Akwa Ibom from its current quagmire.

    Addressing the gathering, Akpan who is the Senator representing Akwa Ibom North East (Uyo) district, said that in line with the electoral laws, he willingly offered himself as an aspirant in the upcoming primaries for substitution, following Andy’s withdrawal of his candidacy.

    He assured the delegates that if given the chance at the primary, he will not disappoint the party, adding that as a governor, all the civil servants would be treated with social justice and welfare.

    Ephraim Inyangeyen, who spoke on behalf of other decampees, promised that together with OBA, “we will make the difference.“

  • Christian group donates N250,000 to Deborah Yakubu family

    Christian group donates N250,000 to Deborah Yakubu family

    The socio-political arm of the Evangelical Church Winning All, ECWA Social Movement, has donated N250,000 to the family of Deborah Yakubu.

    Deborah was a student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, who was murdered over alleged blasphemy by irate Muslim youths.

    ALSO READ: The killing of Citizen Deborah, our own Malala – By Hope Eghagha

    TheNewsGuru.com understands the group had set out to refund the N120,000 a member reportedly paid to retrieve her body to Niger State for burial.

    Father of Late Deborah who was overwhelmed by the gift and expressed gratitude to the group.

    In his words; “I really appreciate what you did for me and my family. I don’t know what to say, I don’t have the right words, but I really appreciate you for your prayers and for all the work.

    “May God bless everyone who intervened in Deborah’s issue. I really appreciate you; I don’t know what to say anymore.

    “Because of this Deborah’s issue, over 20 persons gave their lives to Christ in this house.

    “As we speak, they are inside our house, in the sitting room. They came here and they are praying,” the bereaved father said in Hausa while his son interpreted.

    In his speech on behalf of the group, Rev. Julius Odofin, noted that the unfortunate incident of Deborah’s demise will not stop the fire ignited by her passion for the gospel, rather, it will be reignited.

    “The Ecwa Social Movement, on behalf of all ECWA Worldwide, pledge to sustain the fire Deborah’s glorious exit ignited amongst us.

    “Accept our condolences and don’t quit as parents in not sending the rest of the children to school. If you do, you have handed over cheap victory to Satan’s mission ‘to steal, to kill and destroy. God forbid.

    “Adieu Deborah till we meet to part no more, Amen,” he said.

  • APC reacts to stolen $50,000 at its national secretariat

    APC reacts to stolen $50,000 at its national secretariat

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that the reported lost Dollars at its national secretariat on Wednesday in Abuja, does not belong to it as being speculated.

    Mr Felix Morka, the party’s National Publicity Secretary said this in a statement on Thursday, adding that the report was false and grossly misleading and should be disregarded by all.

    “Our attention has been drawn to reports in sections of the media regarding lost U.S. Dollars at the APC national secretariat.

    “On Wednesday, April 27, the sum of 50,000 dollars was reportedly lost by an individual around the entrance gate of the party’s national secretariat.

    “To be clear, the lost money does not belong to the party,” he said.

    He added that the loss was not connected with proceeds of sale of Expression of Interest and Nomination forms to aspirants vying for it’s tickets for the 2023 general elections.

    Morka said the development was also not connected with relocation of the venue for the collection of the forms from the party’s secretariat to the International Conference Centre (ICC), as erroneously reported in a section of the media.

    He explained that the party’s decision to relocate the venue for collection of the forms to the ICC was to ease heavy human and vehicular traffic around the secretariat.

    This, he said, was especially as teeming aspirants and their supporters had continued to throng the party’s national secretariat to collect forms.

    Morka further explained that as widely advertised and reported in major news outlets, all purchase of forms were payable to designated bank accounts of the party.

    The APC scribe added that the fee for the said forms was set and denominated in Naira, not in U.S. dollars.

    “We urge our party members and the general public to disregard any reports or suggestion to the contrary as false and grossly misleading,” Morka said.

  • Russia residents with more than $10,000 barred from leaving country

    Russia residents with more than $10,000 barred from leaving country

    Russian residents are no longer allowed to leave the country with more than the equivalent of 10,000 dollars as the Kremlin tries to keep capital inside the country.

    The country faced sharp sanctions due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

    The rule affects the movement of foreign currency too.

    It seems designed to make sure that people attempting to leave Russia as sanctions were slapped on the country don’t take all their hard currency with them.

    Long queues are now common at cash machines that still have banknotes as people try to withdraw their holdings.

    This is against the backdrop of a rouble that is rapidly losing most of its value in light of the sanctions.

    Prices of imported goods are shooting up and people are trying to purchase some items, like new phones before they become unaffordable.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin said the rule limiting cash movements was a reaction to “unfriendly” steps taken by the U.S. and other Western countries.

    The unfriendly steps included sanctions that had been slapped on multiple Russian banks.

  • How I earned N10,000 for my first movie role-Stella Damasus

    How I earned N10,000 for my first movie role-Stella Damasus

    Veteran actress, Stella Damasus has recounted how she earned N10,000 for her first movie role in Nollywood.

    Damasus made this known during an interview with media personality, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu,

    “My first movie was ’95 into ’96, that’s the film ‘Abused’. I had no idea what I was doing but I went for it. I got it by accident. I didn’t plan to be an actor. I thought I was going to be a singer because I worked in a studio,” she said.

    “A friend came to my house and said they were going for an audition. I lived in Surulere and she was going to Ikeja. I went with her. I saw tons of people standing outside under the sun. She went in and came out.

    “Someone called me and asked if I had auditioned. I said I haven’t and didn’t come there for that. They said they liked my look and how I sound. They asked that I come read for the movie. They gave me a script. I read and left.

    “Three weeks later, they called to inform me I got the part. My pay was N10,000. My studio salary then was N700.”

    Asked why she left Nigeria at the peak of her career, she said: “I’ve been in the US (myself, my husband, and my kids) since 2013. One of my children had to study a course not offered in Nigeria. Another was for health reasons,” the actress said.

    “My husband had to take a project at an American university. Having considered these, we decided to move.

    “Before I made for the US, I didn’t act for about two, three years. I had this routine of taking breaks to examine my strides and the impact of my work. I had a rethink about the prospect of my career outside entertainment.

    “If I hit my 40s, what will I do? Wait for scripts or create my own thing? Leaving my country, who’ll know me? I decided I’ll build my brand globally. That’s what I hope to do and it’s a gradual process.”

  • Bitcoin soars above $60,000 again on talk of reduced supply

    Bitcoin soars above $60,000 again on talk of reduced supply

    Bitcoin rose above $60,000 to approach record highs on the weekend, breaking out of a two-week tight range and propelled by talk of constrained new supplies against evidence of wider adoption.

    The world’s biggest and best-known cryptocurrency hit $61,222.22 on Saturday, its highest in nearly a month. It was slightly lower at $59,907 at 0500 GMT on Sunday.

    Bitcoin (BTC) is up 116% from the year’s low of $27,734 on Jan. 4. It crossed the $60,000 mark for the first time on March 13, hitting a record $61,781.83 on Bitstamp exchange, just after U.S. President Joe Biden signed his $1.9 trillion fiscal stimulus package into law.

    Justin d’Anethan, sales manager at digital asset company Diginex in Hong Kong, said investors had turned their attention to stock markets and other cryptocurrencies in the past couple of weeks, leaving Bitcoin idling in the upper 50-thousand dollar levels.

    “That changed just yesterday when we pierced through 60K. With miners not selling recently minted coins, on-exchange reserves hitting multi-year lows and an incessant stream of corporates, funds, large and small investors piling into BTC, we punched through,” he said.

    Bitcoin’s stunning gains this year have been driven by its mainstream acceptance as an investment and a means of payment, accompanied by the rush of retail cash into stocks, exchange-traded funds and other risky assets.

    It soared this year as major firms, such as BNY Mellon, asset manager BlackRock Inc, credit card giant Mastercard Inc, backed cryptocurrencies, while those such as Tesla Inc Square Inc and MicroStrategy Inc invested in bitcoin.

    Big U.S. banks such as Morgan Stanley are also seeking to offer wealth management clients access to bitcoin funds.

  • NIN holders to pay N15,000 for date of birth correction

    NIN holders to pay N15,000 for date of birth correction

    National Identification Number holders are now required to pay N15,000 to correct their dates of birth on the database of the National Identity Management Commission.

    This was announced by NIMC Regional Coordinator, Mrs Funmi Opesanwo, on Wednesday at the commission’s office in the Alausa area of Lagos State.

    Opesanwo noted that NIN holders are also required to pay a processing fee of N5,000 for card renewal or card replacement as well as an address modification fee of N500.

    The regional coordinator noted that NIN enrolment is free but there are fees attached to card renewal, correction of date of birth, change of address and should not be interpreted as payment for NIN registration.

    “For the date of birth correction, there is a processing fee of N15,000. For card renewal or card replacement, there is a processing fee of N5,000. For the modification of address or name, it is N500. So, people misconstrue this to mean that in NIMC they are asking them to pay money. No, those are for services,” Opesanwo stated.

    The NIMC official noted that the fees are payable to the Treasury Single Account of the Federal Government. “For correction of date of birth, it is N15,000 and it is payable to the TSA,” she added.

  • New Trump rule places burden of $15,000 Visa bonds on Nigerian travellers

    New Trump rule places burden of $15,000 Visa bonds on Nigerian travellers

    The outgoing administration of United State (U.S.) President Donald Trump yesterday issued a new temporary rule that could require Nigerian tourist and business travellers as well as others from two dozen countries, most in Africa, to pay a bond of as much as $15,000 to visit the country.

    Countries, whose tourist and business travellers could be subject to the bond requirement include those from Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Sudan, Chad, Angola, Burundi, Djibouti and Eritrea. Other countries include Afghanistan, Bhutan, Iran, Syria, Laos and Yemen.

    The U.S. State Department said the temporary final rule, which takes effect Dec. 24 and runs through June 24, targets countries whose nationals have higher rates of overstaying B-2 visas for tourists and B-1 visas for business travelers. The Trump administration said the six-month pilot program aims to test the feasibility of collecting such bonds and will serve as a diplomatic deterrence to overstaying the visas.

    Trump, who lost a re-election bid earlier this month, made restricting immigration a central part of his four-year term in office. President-elect Joe Biden, a Democrat, has pledged to reverse many of the Republican president’s immigration policies, but untangling hundreds of changes could take months or years.

    Biden’s transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment related to the visa bond requirement.

    The visa bond rule will allow U.S. consular officers to require tourist and business travellers from countries whose nationals had an “overstay rate” of 10% or higher in 2019 to pay a refundable bond of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000.

    Twenty-four countries meet those criteria, including 15 African countries. While those nations had higher rates of overstays, they sent relatively few travellers to the United States.

    Historically, U.S. consular officers have been discouraged from requiring travellers to the United States to post a bond, with State Department guidance saying processing of the bonds would be “cumbersome,” the temporary rule said.