Pastors Paul and Ifeanyi Adefarasin mark silver jubilee

Head Pastor of House on The Rock (HOTR), Pastor Paul Adefarasin and his beautiful wife, Ifeanyi, are celebrating their silver jubilee today. They are celebrating their 25 years wedding anniversary.

His wife, Ifeanyi took to her Instagram page to write,

"Time passes by speedily when you’re living your best life with the man of your dreams! 

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I had no idea the heights that you would take me to, nor the depths and wonders that you would show me in life; all I knew was that you were a very special man - a unique man, a true man of God; and I was being given the privilege and honour of journeying life alongside you. 25 years later, having lived life under your cover, guidance, love, and assurance; if I had to choose again, I would choose you Adeolu. 💕🤗

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I love you simply because you are an absolutely amazing person who cares deeply and loves easily. You make it so easy to love you. 

I respect you for the loving husband and caring father that you are. 

I cherish you for your large heart that reflects Christ in so many ways. It makes you very admirable and attractive. 

I am so blessed and inspired by you. I thank you for being the man you said you would be. 

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Today, I stay focused on and grounded in the One who has blessed, kept, and given us 25 wonderful years and the promise of a great God-ordained future.

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With all my love now and forever, I wish you a Happy Wedding Anniversary, my Best Friend, my Husband, my Pastor, my Forever Heartbeat and my Love -"

See beautiful photos of the couple below 

Lagos : Government seizes houses used for fraud

The Lagos State Government has said that it seized two houses which have been used to defraud some accommodation seekers in the state.

Making this known at a press briefing to commemorate the first year of the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led administration, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Housing, Mrs Toke Benson-Awoyinka said that the government had resolved to prosecute any developer or agent caught defrauding members of the public.

Benson-Awoyinka, who is also in charge of the Lagos State Real Estate Transaction Department, said her office was prosecuting two developers who defrauded members of the public in the Ketu and Mafoluku areas.

She said government had seized their properties, which would be sold to repay their victims.

The special adviser, however, appealed to residents to always patronise agents and developers registered with government.

“We have successfully reviewed the Lagos State Estate Agency Regulatory Law, Cap. L28, Laws of Lagos State, 2015, which provides for the establishment of the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority.

The essence of this law is to regulate real estate transactions in Lagos State by identifying persons eligible to be licensed as real estate practitioners and provide for the issuance or renewal of annual permits,” she added.

Benson-Awoyinka pointed out that the state had the responsibility of maintaining a register of licensed real estate practitioners and sanctioning unlicensed agents in the state.

First all-female crew on surveillance for NAF today

History was made in the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) as they conducted an operational Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance mission which was carried out by an all-female crew.

NAF made this known in a statement by its Director of Public Relations and Information, Ibikunle Daramola.

The statement noted that “the mission, which was conducted on 28 May 2020 using the NAF Beechcraft KingAir ISR aircraft, had Flying Officers Oluwabunmi Ijelu and Genevieve Nwaogwugwu as Captain and Co-Pilot, respectively, with Sergeant Njoku Patience as the Airborne Tactical Observation System mission operator and Lance Corporal Shawulu Godiya as the on-board technician. It is noteworthy that Flying Officer Ijelu is the first female officer to become a Captain on a NAF aircraft.

“The aircraft was also marshaled by a female Marshaller, Aircraftwoman David Precious. The mission, which was preceded by the customary pre-flight briefing, originated from the 307 Executive Airlift Group (307 EAG), at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport and covered selected areas of interest in Niger State and its environs, where the intelligence that would support NAF air interdiction missions, as well as the operations of ground forces, was gathered.”

The Commander 307 EAG, Air Commodore Francis Edosa, was quoted as commending the all-female crew for displaying “a high level of professionalism”.

The statement added that within the past four and a half years, there has been a surge in the involvement of female personnel in areas that were previously the preserve of men. It added, 

“Five female pilots have been winged within the period, bringing the total number of female pilots in the NAF to seven.

Many other female officers and airwomen are excelling in their various fields of specialization including Regiment and Special Forces, Aircraft/Armament Engineers and Technicians as well as Air Traffic Controllers, amongst others.

The NAF’s objective in this regard is to maximise all of the potentials of Nigeria’s vast human resource pool, male and female, to ensure the effective, efficient, and timely employment of Air Power in response to Nigeria’s national security imperatives.”

Amotekun : Oyo assembly demands immediate launch

The Oyo State House of Assembly has urged Governor Seyi Makinde to okay the launch of Amotekun Corps. The House said that this is necessary due to the rising rate of insecurity in the state.

The state lawmakers said that the call became imperative to checkmate criminals marauding as herdsmen in some parts of the state.

The House, while reacting to the killings of three persons in the Akinyele Local Government Area of the state and destruction of some farmlands in Ogbomoso community by some yet-to-be-identified bandits, said the development was worrisome.

The Speaker, Oyo State House of Assembly, Adebo Ogundoyin, stated,  

“The sooner Amotekun Corps is constituted, the better for the state in terms of security.”

The House expressed satisfaction on the recent nomination of Gen. Kunle Togun (retd.) and Col. Olayanju Olayinka (retd.), as chairman and commandant of the corps respectively, but wondered why there were delays in the formation of the Amotekun Board that would handle the recruitment of personnel.

Isiaka Kazeem, who represents Oyo East/Oyo West had, through a motion, drawn the attention of the Assembly members to the nvasion of villages in the Akinyele LGA by herdsmen resulting in killing of some persons.

He noted that the police and other security agencies in the state were overstretched, thereby leaving the residents of the state in danger.

The Majority Leader of the House, Sanjo Adedoyin, lamented that the state government was foot-dragging on the takeoff of Amotekun Corps in the state.

Cross River House of Assembly rejects Ikpeme as CJ for the second time

For the second time, the Cross River State House of Assembly has turned down the letter from the National Judicial Council. The letter is requesting the confirmation of Justice Akon Ikpeme as the substantive Chief Judge of the state.

Through a voice vote, the House said it could not reverse itself on the issue of who became the chief judge of the state after it had “exhaustively” deliberated on it three months ago and settled for Justice Maurice Eneji.

The rejection succeeded a second letter from the NJC which was transmitted to the House by Governor Ben Ayade, requesting a second confirmation of Justice Akon Ikpeme as the Chief Judge.

The governor had, in a letter dated May 29, 2020 and signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Tina Agbor, urged the House to treat the attached letter from the NJC with “urgency and ensure that there is no vacuum created in the judiciary.”

Immediately the Clerk of the House, Bassey Ekpeyong, read the correspondence from the governor, the House Leader, Peter Odey, representing Ogoja State Constituency, moved a motion. He said, 

“Having read the letter from the NJC via the governor, I move that we accept it as a working document of the House, but maintain that we cannot reverse ourselves in this matter.”

The House did not debate the matter further, and through a voice vote, rejected NJC’s request again, settling for Justice Maurice Eneji, whose tenure as Acting Chief Judge ended on Tuesday, June 2, 2020. He became acting chief judge on March 2, 2020.

The House, in a resolution No. 45 sent to the government of Cross River State and signed by the Clerk of the house, Ekpeyong, had rejected Justice Ikpeme as the substantive chief judge after acting for three months.

In rejecting her confirmation, the House alleged that throughout the period Ikpeme acted as chief judge, she was more concerned about the politics surrounding her confirmation and other issues to the detriment of other official matters.

In his reaction, the Chairman of the House Committee on Judiciary, Public Petition, Public Service Matters and Conflict Resolution, Efa Esua, said, 

“The letter from the governor was not referred to my committee. So, my position and a few others remain that Ikpeme be sworn in and I have not changed.

I had expected my colleagues to be on the side of the law. But you saw what happened. So let us see how it plays out because Justice Maurice Eneji’s tenure as acting chief judge ends today.”

Budget slash : SERAP drags FG to UN

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has dragged the Federal Government before the United Nations. This was done due to the plans in motion to slash the education and health care budgetary allocations in the country.

In the petition, the group also urged the UN to prevail upon the Federal Government to drop the plan to spend N27bn on the renovation of the National Assembly complex as soon as possible.

The Deputy Director of SERAP, Kolawole Oludare, said that the petition was sent to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, Koumbou Boly Barry; UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, Dainius Puras; and the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, Olivier De Schutter.

SERAP accused the Nigerian authorities of “putting politicians’ allowances and comfort before citizens’ human rights.” It said, 

“The budget cuts show failure to address the growing economic and social inequality in the country and to genuinely address the consequences of COVID-19 on the poor and marginalised groups.

Nigeria’s budget deficits are caused by excessive expenditures on politicians’ allowances and mismanagement.

Nigerian authorities would only be able to commit to fiscal discipline if they prioritise cutting the allowances of lawmakers and the costs of governance in general, rather than cutting critical funding for healthcare and education.

We believe that alternative policies and measures, such as reducing the costs of governance, including the excessive allowances for high-ranking public officials and the lawmakers, would have been a more appropriate solution to addressing budget deficits, as this would increase the available resources for healthcare and education, which in turn would contribute to reducing socio-economic inequality.”

Senate defends appointments made by Buhari

The Senate has shut critics of the Presidency and defended the appointments that have been made so far by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. These appointments were of course, approved by the red chamber.

Addressing journalists on Tuesday after plenary, the spokesperson for the Upper Chamber, Dr Ajibola Basiru described the claims that Buhari’s appointment was lopsided as “beer parlour talks".

He urged Nigerians to assess the various appointments made by Buhari based on geopolitical zones instead of looking at them from whether the appointee is from the North or South.

On Tuesday, the Minority Leader of the Senate, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, and two senators from Akwa Ibom State openly protested against two appointments made by Buhari, alleging clear cases of nepotism in the choice of the nominees.

But while specifically reacting to the Senate confirmation of a northerner, who is Buhari’s nominees for the position of the Chairman of the Board of Federal Character Commission when the Secretary is already from the North, Basiru said the two officials are from different geopolitical zones. He said, 

“Please do a tabulation of all appointments to be filled up by the Federal Government and the ones that have been done and show empirically, scientifically, how it has been lopsided

I will not with due respect, rely on what people colloquially call, beer parlor discussion.

I want to tell you too that politicians can be mischievous, I am not saying any senator is mischievous.

When you talk of the North we have three zones – North-Central, North-East, and North-West – but when people want to be mischievous when the appointment comes from the North Central and they want to just make it look as if is from the North, they will say this one is also for the North but when it suits them, then they will talk of South East and South West.”

There's likely going to be a sequel for 'Living in Bondage: Breaking free'

The executive producer of the movie, 'Living in Bondage: Breaking free', Charles Okpaleke has hinted on the possibility of a sequel for the multiple awards winning movie.

Let us not forget that the movie, Living in Bondage is already on Netflix.

Charles took to his Instagram page to reveal that he held a meeting with the director, Ramsey Nouah, writer, Nicole Asinugo and co-producer, Chris Odeh. He wrote:

"I just finished a 4 hour zoom meeting with @2scoopsofnikki @ramseynouah @chrisodeh All I can say for now is Richard Williams would pay some people a visit! It’s official. Who should he start with? The reporter, Andy, Nnamdi or Tobi? Or maybe Kelly."

See five airports to be reopened by June 21

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, has revealed that only five airports will be allowed to reopen. This is in line with the previous news that airports will be reopened for domestic flights from June 21, 2020.

A circular signed by the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Musa Nuhu stated that the airports to reopen for operations include Omagwa International Airport Port Harcourt, Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport Abuja, Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos, Sam Mbakwe Airport Owerri, and Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport Kano.

The circular added that the Nigerian Airspace remains closed for International flights. The circular reads in part:

''Following the announcement by President Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 on the easing of and the start of second phase on the COVID-19 lockdown , we wish to inform the industry of the following: The closure of Nigerian airports to domestic flights has been extended to 2300Z on the 20th June 2020. 

The gradual start of domestic flight operations will commence on 21st June 2020 with Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport Abuja, Murtala Mohammed International Airport Lagos, Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport Kano, Omagwa International Airport, Port Harcourt and Sam Mbakwe Airport Owerri.

Other airports will be gradually added to the network after a review and assessment. All flights to any airport outside the above five listed airports above shall comply with the existing COVID- 19 protocols for approvals.

The closure of Nigerian airports to international flights will continue until a date of resumption is announced.

Emergency and essentials flights are exempted from this restriction and shall comply with the existing COVID-19 protocols for approvals.''

Lesotho former first lady sent back to prison

Wife of the former Lesotho Prime Minister, Thomas Thabane, has been sent back to prison. The former first lady was charged with the murder of her husband’s first wife. 

However, she applied for a judicial review but was still sent back to prison on Wednesday after the court annulled her judicial review.

In February, the 43 year old Maesaiah Thabane, 43, was charged for her involvement in the murder of Lipolelo Thabane who is the first wife of Thomas Thabane, in 2017. 

She spent one night in jail before a High Court freed her on a 1,000 maloti ($57) bail.

We gathered that Lipolelo was shot by gunmen shortly before her estranged husband's inauguration as the Prime Minister. This was also some weeks before he got married to Maesaiah back in 2017.

It was learnt that Thomas and Lipolelo were separated and had been going through a divorce before her death.

Last week Friday, the Lesotho Court of Appeal overturned the controversial judicial supervision measures she had enjoyed after she was granted bail in the case.

After the ruling, the police could not immediately arrest her because she was in South Africa with her husband who had travelled to the neighboring country for treatment.

On Wednesday she arrived at the magistrate court in Maseru under the escort of armed police officers.