Award-winning rapper, Ice prince, has dismissed media reports suggesting that he has turned down a lucrative endorsement deal with Globacom.

Online reports suggested over the weekend that the rapper, real name, Panshak Zamani, had snubbed a multi-million naira deal with the telecommunications giant.

“Chocolate City’s management have moved quickly to deny the reports saying there is no truth in the matter.”

“We were just as surprised as anybody when we read the news of Ice Prince “purportedly” turning down “the offer”, especially since it isnt true,” said Tobi Sanni-Daniel, Ice Prince’s business manager.

“Globacom is a multi-national company with an excellent track record of delivering quality. Any individual would be proud and honoured to be associated with them.

“However to say that we have turned down an endorsement deal is false and completely baseless.”

Ice Prince has recently been busy in the studio as he gears towards a highly anticipated album later in the year. He has released a remix to the hugely successful ‘Aboki’ as well as released a video for ‘Truth’ which has already gone viral.

 



Former vice president Atiku Abubakar has reacted to the content of a book, “The Accidental Public Servant”, authored by former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nasir El-rufai.

Reacting via his Facebook page, the Turakin Adamawa said it was unfortunate that El-rufai could say a number of untrue things about him.

Atiku in the message said: “It amazes me that el-Rufai can pass off fiction for self-gratification at the expense of truth as a book.

“El-Rufai’s attack on my person is to say the least not surprising considering that this is the same man who has notoriety for disparaging religions and their icons, including lately Jesus Christ.

“If he could go to such irreverent extent to disparage religious icons, who is an ordinary mortal like me? It is my belief that any man that can cross the boundary of reason and decency deserves prayers rather than anger.

“I wish to state that the book is as a collection of fiction, half-truths, exaggeration and reflection of selective memory.

He said he was particularly piqued by the claim of el-Rufai that he had almost resigned as the former Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) because of alleged persistent pressure and interference by me as Chairman of the National Council on Privatization.

Atiku noted that the former FCT Minister forgot so soon what he said at the Senate Public Hearing on BPE August 8-13, 2011. That committee, which did an amazing work, was headed by Senator Ahmed Lawan.

Speaking further, he said “We need to recall el-Rufai as saying he had special relationship with former President Obasanjo, which gave him direct access and the discretion to bypass the Council on Privatization then headed by me in order to get the approval of the President.

He wonder how el-Rufai could reconcile his threat of resignation with the accounts he told the Senate about the latitude of freedom he enjoyed at BPE because of his closeness to former President Obasanjo.

In that testimony, el-Rufai told the Senate that, and I quote: “Thank you very much Distinguished Senator. Mr. Chairman, as a matter of principle Mr. Chairman, I am reluctant to judge my successors. So, whenever I do a job, I move on; I don’t comment on what my successors have done. All I can say is this. Mr. Chairman, if you go through my tenure in BPE, you will see that we try to do everything by the rules, by the book. And we resisted every attempt at political interference. There is a process; step by step. Privatization is a mechanical process. Once you have the process published, every step should not be missed. And there was never a time that we deviated from that process.

“We took everything we did to the privatization council. That’s how we ran the place. And I swear to God, I am under oath. Except for one time that the vice president called me and said; look I’ve got calls from A and B to help this guy win this, I said Mr. Vice president you know the rules, tell him to bid the highest price because the highest price wins and he said yes I know, I am just telling you in case they contact you. And I don’t want them to say I didn’t pass on their requests. That was the only time. But no one tried to interfere with my work. There were attempts to block it. President Obasanjo blocked the privatization of Nigeria airways practically. Okay because Kema Chikwe will go and tell him stories. And what is the result today. The company is dead.”

“The claim by el-Rufai that former President Obasanjo went on bended knees before me to seek his cooperation for second term bid in 2003, is a figment of his own wild imagination.

“Such claim lacks any credibility because Obasanjo and I were alone together behind closed doors.

“I wonder whether el-Rufai was a fly on the wall to discuss the details of a private meeting between the two of us.

Atiku concluded by saying that he believes that rather than el-Rufai feeding the public with such fabrications, the former Minister should have provided or quoted the authority for such claim since he was not at the private meeting between former President Obasanjo and me.

 


The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that since it has not been served with court order on the removal of Olagunsoye Oyinlola, as the National Secretary of PDP, it recognizes no other person but him.

This was made known by Kayode Idowu, the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, in Abuja on Tuesday.

He noted that it was impossible for the electoral umpire to strike out the name of Oyinlola without receiving a copy of court order, as INEC needed such to know the steps to take.

“There has not been any specific order with regards to the removal and if there is an order directing the commission to remove his name as national secretary, then, INEC will comply.”

He added that “The PDP as a party had not written to the commission on the removal of Oyinlola as its national secretary.”

The former Osun State Governor was sacked as the PDP national secretary by an Abuja High Court recently.

The leadership of the ruling party has been enmeshed in cold-war, with loyalists of President Goodluck Jonathan and Chief Olusegun Obasanjo fighting over control of affairs.

In an atmosphere of constant defence, President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday defended his administration while being confronted with sensitive security questions regarding Nigeria.

The president who was in an interview with Christine Amapour on CNN said Boko Haram terrorist organization was not a product of misrule or poverty.

Jonathan said, “The sect was not borne out of misrule, definitely not; sometimes people feel it is a result of poverty, but no. Boko Haram is a local terror group and that’s why we call on the rest of the world to work with us and that is why we are talking about Algeria, we are talking about northern Mali and our belief is that if you allow terror to exist in any part of the world, it will not just affect that country or that state, it will affect the rest of the globe and we should not play politics with Boko Haram.”

Jonathan had said that the Boko Haram crisis that is gradually taking over some African countries must be contained as quick as possible before it takes over the entire continent.

He said “Definitely, Boko Haram, if it is not contained, will be a threat. Not only to Nigeria, but to West Africa, North Africa, and Central Africa and of course we know that we have element of Boko Haram link up with some of the al Qeada operating in Northern Mali and other North African countries,” Jonathan said in the nightly programme monitored in Lagos.

Jonathan pledged to work with friendly governments around the world to challenge the menace. He said “ we are ready to work with other nationals and friendly governments to make sure that we contain the problems in the sub-region.”

Making reference to the Algerian terror attacks where about 37 people were killed last week, Amanpour had asked the president whether Nigeria was prepared to contain attacks of such magnitude, and he responded thus; “Yes, what happened in Algeria was unfortunate. That is why the government has been working day and night to make sure that we prevent such excesses,”

The President had denied media report that security forces were killing innocent Nigerians in the Northern Nigeria. He had described the report as mere insinuations by some political motivated interest groups.”

Jonathan stood his ground to defend his administration regarding power supply in the country.

Reacting to Amanpour’s question on whether he had fulfilled part of his promises three years ago of ensuring stable power supply in the country, he responded thus; “I would have loved that you ask ordinary Nigerians on the street of Lagos, Abuja or any other city this question about power. This is one area that Nigerians are quite pleased with the government that our commitment to improve power is working. So if you are saying something different, I’m really surprised. That is one area that even civil societies agree that the government has kept faith with its promise.

“We have not got to where we should be and of course we know that power infrastructure is one investment that you must complete the chain before a bulb can light. You must generate, you must transmit, you must distribute and even if you have the money and the political will, you cannot do it overnight and we are working very hard, you cannot do it overnight.”

Jonathan had also opened up when Amanpour made him to understand that she had received several text messages from Nigerians that they may not watch the interview due to Power outage. He accepted that his government was yet to meet the target it had set for a total result to be achieved in the power sector.

The President also affirmed that foreign companies were guilty of crude oil theft in Nigeria, adding that most of the stolen crude was being bought by refineries abroad.

“Frankly speaking, we want the international community to support Nigeria because this stolen crude is being bought by refineries abroad and they know that the crude oil is stolen. The world must condemn what is wrong. The stolen crude is refined abroad, not refined in Nigeria,” he concluded

 

Lagos lawyer, Festus Keyamo on Monday rejected the conviction of Henry Okah, the alleged leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND).

Okah was arrested a day after a bomb went off near the Eagles Square in Abuja, venue of the Nigeria’s 50th Independence anniversary.

The blast killed at least 12 persons.

But Keyamo in a statement claimed that “Henry Okah was not given adequate facilities and the opportunity to defend himself,” adding that the “Nigerian government must immediately use all diplomatic efforts to ensure that Henry Okah does not die in a South African prison”

He also called on the South African government to grant Okah unconditional pardon.

Below is the full text of the statement.

The decision of the South African Court that convicted Henry Okah this morning of charges relating to terrorism is politically motivated and legally incorrect.

As counsel to Charles Okah and others who are facing the same set of charges under Nigerian Laws, I have been actively involved in coordinating the trials both in South Africa and in Nigeria.

The fundamental flaw in the trial is that Henry Okah was not given adequate facilities and the opportunity to defend himself. This is because after the prosecution closed its case in South Africa, the defence attorneys and my Chambers here in Abuja tried frantically to summon the witnesses of Henry Okah who are based here in Nigeria to testify on his behalf. These witnesses include some government officials.

In this regard, we wrote to the Attorney General of the Federation who replied and directed that Henry’s counsel in South Africa apply to the court there for an order to secure the legal assistance of the Attorney-General of Nigeria. This was only two weeks ago (please, find attached a copy of the letter from the Attorney-General of the Federation to my office and note that the date on the letter was mistakenly given as 8th January, 2012 instead of 2013.)

Without giving Henry’s counsel in South Africa adequate time and facilities to follow the directives, the South African court foreclosed his opportunity to call witnesses and rushed to convict him. This is a breach of his fundamental right to fair hearing and an obvious attempt by the South African authorities to please Nigeria at all cost. That is why the judgment is nothing but political.

Whilst all Nigerians empathise with those who lost their lives and limbs in the October 1, 2010 bombing, it is wrong to convict anybody for it without due process. Henry has been convicted without due process.

I condemn this judgment and call on Nigerians and the international community to condemn the trial and judgment of Henry Okah whose only offence was his refusal to accept the so-called amnesty offered by the Yar’Adua-Jonathan administration and his insistence on the Niger-Delta controlling its resources.
With the recent condemnation of Jonathan by some militants who initially accepted the amnesty programme, I am sure they now know that Henry Okah was correct not to have accepted the poisoned chalice called amnesty.

The Nigerian government must immediately use all diplomatic efforts to ensure that Henry Okah does not die in a South African prison and for the South African government to grant him unconditional pardon. This is without prejudice to his right to appeal against the judgment.

 

BBC’s African correspondent, Oluwashina Okeleji, has reported a blunder made by President Jacob Zuma, as his country prepares to host Africa.

The President reportedly said on national TV that “I hope the Africa Cup of Nations is won by an African team this time”.

Apparently, his media aides did not prep Zuma well for his Dame Patience moment, as the continental fiesta, is always competed for by African countries and is played on African soil.

The competition kicks off today with Zuma’s nation, South Africa squaring up against Cape Verde.

Obehi ‘Biggie Smallz’ Omokhegbe, the CEO of Chup Knuckle Entertainment, is dead.

The photographer and businessman, passed on yesterday afternoon, at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, where he was rushed to. Omokhegbe had complained of stomach ache and started vomiting before he fainted.

He is survived by a wife and three kids.

The Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, has blasted the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, for calling its Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, an ex-convict.

ACN said it was unfortunate and shameful that the ruling party that professed being blessed with intelligent people in its fold, finds it hard to tell the difference between a political prisoner and a criminal convict.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, the country’s leading opposition bloc stated that “any attempt to label Chief Akande an ex-convict in a pejorative sense will be an exercise in futility, because he was neither convicted for abuse of office nor for any corruption-related offence by a duly constituted court.”

Mohammed explained that “the Special Military Tribunal that tried and sentenced hundreds of politicians, including Chief Akande, in the 1980s cannot be a reason to label all those it tried and convicted criminal ex-convicts, reminding the PDP that the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) ordered its members to boycott the proceeding of the tribunal simply because it failed to meet the standard of a properly-constituted court.”

”If those who were tried and convicted by military tribunals are indeed deemed to have been properly tried and found guilty of the offences for which they were charged, many of them would not have gone ahead to hold important elective and appointive positions in the polity.”

“Outside Nigeria you have the global icon Nelson Mandela, who was tried, found guilty and jailed for life in 1964. Of course it will be laughable for anyone trying to denigrate Mandela to tag him an ex-convict, except of course that person is a member of the PDP!”

The spokesman noted that “Chief Bisi Akande, whom the PDP has chosen to pick on in its misguided mudslinging, is an embodiment of honesty, integrity, transparency and decency, who is more of a role model to our youth than most members of the PDP.”

“He served creditably in the private and the public sector, where he held many top posts including that of a Governor.”

“Today, at 74, those rare attributes that have come to define Chief Akande – honesty, decency, integrity and public service – have become synonymous with him. That is why we are proud to hold him up as our Chairman,” ACN said.

ACN admonished the PDP to devote its strength on its leaking tattered umbrella, instead of “trying to denigrate a man whom the people respect and hold up as a sharp distinction of mankind, at a time people are increasingly being defined by their vanities rather than the content of their character.”

”Well, we have got news for the PDP: While the legacy of Chief Akande is assured, that of the PDP is not. Therefore, we advise the sinking behemoth to turn its attention elsewhere, as it awaits its Waterloo,” the statement concluded.

The Executive Director, African Network for Environment and Economic Justice, ANEEJ, David Ugolor, has criticized President Goodluck Jonathan for his silence over the murder of Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde, the late Private Secretary to Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole.

The Benin-based advocate in an interview with Premium Times, said Jonathan was yet to demand the report of the high-powered panel he ordered the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, to institute after the murder incident.

Oyerinde, a former assistant General Secretary of the Nigerian Labour Congress was killed at his residence on May 4, 2012.

The ANEEJ boss said the president’s stand on the matter was one of the reasons the people do not trust him as a leader. “If he wants to be taken seriously by Nigerians, he should call for the report of investigation into the killing of Olaitan Oyerinde.”

Ugolor who was arrested by the police on July 21 after they claimed he sponsored the killing, said he was kept in prison custody with “hardened criminals” for 41 days, till the court freed him after declaring his arrest and detention illegal. He was awarded N5 million compensation, which the police have since appealed.

He noted that the police boss seven months down the line, has refused to make the panel’s findings public, defying the president’s directive who wanted the report submitted three weeks after the inauguration of the investigating team.

“Since my release from detention, I have sent several pleas to the President for his intervention. The police tried to frame me up, but they failed.”

“It is clear the IGP had lied. Since I was granted bail, I have been pleading with the President for intervention. The IGP cannot be a judge in his own case. We sent petitions to the National Assembly, which was read on the floor.

Ugolor added that “When I was granted bail by the court after 41 days in prison, the IGP of police disobeyed the court order. That shows that there was a superior power behind the IGP. He could not have acted on his own. Oshiomhole has cried to the President without any concrete response.

“I challenge the IGP to publish the police the report. If the report indicts the IG, I hope he would be courageous enough to resign honourably? I want to appeal to Mr. President. It is not David Ugolor or Olaitan Oyerinde that is on trial, but Nigeria.”

“What kind of transformation are we talking about that would make an IGP to tell the people lie over the killing of a citizen? President Jonathan ordered the IGP to institute a high powered investigation into the killing and report back within three weeks. Till today has he asked the IGP about the report?” the human rights activist lamented.

“If the president cannot order the IGP to reconcile its report with that of the State Security Service, SSS, what transformation are we talking about? When you have a president who is busy setting up different committees and the reports are not coming out, he is cultivating the perception of no trust around him. Jonathan has the responsibility to behave in a way that Nigerians would take him serious,” he said.