Ooni of Ife Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Celebrates One Year on the Throne | Watch

His Royal Majesty, Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi celebrated his first year on the throne at a Thanksgiving Service held at the St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Ile-Ife, Osun State with friends, family and well-wishers.

The monarch expressed his happiness as he took the microphone to sing praises to God.

The king, since his reign, has been dedicated to the service of others and particularly unifying the Yoruba people. He has established a number of initiative courses in Osun state which he hopes to continue throughout his reign as king.

Watch the service below.

- Bellanaija

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FG TO LAUNCH FREE HEALTHCARE PROGRAMME IN NIGER DELTA

Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Usani Usani has said the Federal Government will begin a free healthcare intervention scheme in the nine oil producing states as from next month.

Usani said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday.

He said the project will be in collaboration with the National Association of Urologists.

“This intervention is expected to diagnose and offer first hand treatment to persons with terminal ailments and common health challenges,’’ the minister said.

The minister said the programme was in recognition of the immense contribution of the region.

It is the responsibility of the ministry to bring qualitative health services to the doorstep of the people in the mandated areas.

“It is therefore set to facilitate proper arrangement for the realisation of the programme.

“Our target covers those with minor and severe ailments because health is wealth,” Mr. Usani said.

Buhari re-nominates Magu as EFCC chairman

President Muhammadu Buhari has re-nominated Ibrahim Magu for confirmation as chairman of Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, EFCC.

Multiple sources knowledgeable about the development, including presidency officials, have spoken with PREMIUM TIMES on the re-nomination.

The Senate had in December last year declined to confirm Mr. Magu as the substantive chairman of EFCC, ending months of delay and rancorous power-play involving influential senators, the State Security Service, SSS, and officials of the presidency opposed to Mr. Magu’s headship of the agency.

The spokesperson for the Senate, Aliyu Abdullahi, at a hurriedly arranged press conference, cited a security report from the SSS for the non-confirmation of Mr. Magu.

PREMIUM TIMES’ findings revealed the SSS actually turned in two reports with contradictory conclusions. Both were submitted same day, October 3, 2016, and signed by one official, Folashade Bello, on behalf of the Director-General, Lawan Daura.

Nevertheless, the claims in the two reports, reviewed by this newspaper, were tied around the principal charge that Mr. Magu seemed tainted, integrity-challenged and, thus, may become a liability to the anti-graft campaign of the Buhari administration.

But a fact-check by this newspaper showed that the SSS’ claims were inaccurate.

After the presidency received formal notice from the Senate on Mr. Magu’s rejection, Mr. Buhari announced he was referring all allegations of corruption against top officials of his government, including Mr. Magu, to the Attorney-General for investigations.

“But contrary to popular belief,” one of our sources said, “the investigation of the claims made against Magu is not just for the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation.”

The source said the Vice-president, Yemi Osinbajo, played a leading role in the investigation and ended up absolving Mr. Magu of any culpability, morally or legally, and afterwards recommending that he should be re-nominated by the President.

Besides the investigation that involved the Vice-President and the Justice Minister, the presidential advisory council on anti-corruption also undertook a separate task and equally advised Mr. Buhari to re-nominate Mr. Magu, PREMIUM TIMES understands.

Consequently, the President ignored the SSS reports and brushed aside plots to stop Mr. Magu.

Mr. Osinbajo and the Itse Sagay-led anti-corruption advisory council were believed to have categorically advised the President that Mr. Magu’s rejection by the Senate was in bad faith and the SSS’ claims against him were inconsequential.

So, before the President left the country last Thursday for the United Kingdom, he signed off the letter for Mr. Magu’s re-nomination for transfer to the Senate through the Office of the Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, our sources aware of the process said.

But we cannot confirm if the Senate had received the letter as at the time of filing this report. The spokesperson for the Senate, Mr. Abdullahi, did not answer calls or reply a text message.

Presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, referred all questions on the matter to Laolu Akande, Vice President Osinbajo’s spokesperson.

Mr. Akande did not pick calls or reply a text message sent to him.

The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, insiders said, is personally opposed to Mr. Magu’s headship of EFCC and was one of the key figures that ensured he was rejected earlier.

Mr. Magu, as the head of the EFCC’s economic governance unit, spent years investigating Mr. Saraki yielding loads of ‘evidence’ of corruption and abuse of office during the latter’s tenure as Kwara State Governor, 2003-2011.

Mainly, the evidence the federal government now uses against Mr. Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal were from Mr. Magu’s investigative efforts.

To ensure Mr. Magu was rejected, PREMIUM TIMES learnt, Mr. Saraki only disclosed the SSS report that Mr. Magu should not be confirmed, concealing the other that recommended his confirmation.

The former Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, said his removal earlier this year was instigated by Mr. Saraki over his insistence that Mr. Magu had not been rejected in the face of the Senate’s procedure and standard practice.

Jammeh allegedly flies $11 million, exotic cars into exile

The former ruler of the Gambian, Yahya Jammeh has been accused of stealing $11million (500m dalasi) in the past weeks before going into exile.

Jammeh was accused of flying out luxury cars by Mai Fatty, the Adviser to the New President, Adama Barrow in a cargo aircraft provided by the President of Chad, Mr. Idris Deby.

The seven exotic cars, include Rolls Royce and Sports Utility Vehicles for the exclusive use of Jammeh, who is now in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, shortly after a brief stop-over in Conakry, Guinea.

The private jet headed to Malabo where Jammeh will, in the meantime, spend his post-office life as the guest of another sit-tight dictator, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea.

5 domestic staff of Lamido, former Jigawa gov arrested over missing N100m

KANO—The Assistant Inspector-General, AIG, in charge of Police Zone 1, Kano, has detained a driver and four domestic staff of former Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, over alleged theft of N100 million. Security sources in Kano confided in Vanguard that the five suspects were taken into custody last Thursday, following “personal complaint” to the police by Alhaji Sule Lamido.

The multiple sources further revealed that the money, which was allegedly kept under “ground bunker” in the wife’s wing of the multi-billion naira apartment at NNDC Quarters of Kano, was pilfered to “insignificant amount” before it was discovered. Meanwhile, inside sources told Vanguard that the suspects have offered “useful information” on how they conspired to steal “oga’s money” and appeared ready to return what is left of the loot. 

The source, a high-ranking officer, who preferred anonymity, told Vanguard: “As I speak to you, we have five suspects in our custody and they have demonstrated a great deal of cooperation and we are living no stone unturned to recover the stolen money. “When contacted for comments on the veracity of the development, the Zonal Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Sambo Sokoto, neither denied nor confirmed the story. Sokoto told Vanguard on phone: 

“We have several cases at hand and most officers handling them could not be reached for briefing, and I would solicit your support to hang on till tomorrow (today). “I have equally been under pressure from your colleagues and asked to be given time to obtain proper briefing.”