Michael Ojuroye Initiative (Ngo)

BY: FUNMI OJUROYE  October 14th 2013 Emmanuel Aguariavwodo The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Democratic People’s Party have rejected the outcome of Saturday’s bye-election for the Delta Central senatorial seat. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Emmanuel Aguariavwodo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the election. But the APC’s candidate, O'tega Emerhor, and Ede Dafinone, the DPP’s candidate, declared the result as a scam, adding that the battle had just begun. Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Mr. Emerhor described the election as one of the worst things that have happened in the nation’s current democratic system. He stated that he and his party rejected the election result, demanding its cancellation. “I hereby place it on record that no bye-election took place. What took place was a sham calculated to select a senator by the government and all its agencies working together to achieve this nefarious and ...

BY: FUNMI OJUROYE  October 14th 2013 Against the background of incessant kidnappings and other violent crimes in Edo State, members of various cult groups in the state came together in Benin, weekend, in a move they said was to tackle insecurity in the state. However, the cult groups during their summit with the theme Interactive Peace Summit: Strategy for Social Cohesion, which held at the Sand Beach Resorts, Benin, expressed dissatisfaction with threats posed to Edo and other neighboring states due to the activities of kidnappers, armed robbery gangs and other criminal activities. They resolved to tackle them. Represented Some of the cult groups represented by at the summit included Green Circuit (Maphites), Norsemen (Vikings), Black Axe, Eiye Confraternity, Family Fraternity of Nigeria and Avarian Organisation of Nigeria. Also in attendance were representatives of Governor Adams Oshiomhole; the Iyase (traditional Prime Minister) of BeninKingdom, Chief Sam Igbe; representati...

BY: FUNMI OJUROYE  October 14th 2013 Oteh and Onyema A total of 92 companies fell short of the Nigerian Stock Exchange’s minimum listing standards between December 2012 and September 2013, our correspondent has gathered. The companies operated below the listing standards of the Exchange in the course of the year for failure to disclose their audited annual financial statements and interim quarterly accounts on time and for non-disclosure of information, according to the latest X-Compliance report published by the NSE. The report, which is a transparency initiative of the Exchange aimed at maintaining market integrity and protecting the investors by providing compliance related information on all listed companies, showed, among other things, that 51 companies defaulted in filing their audited accounts. A breakdown of the figure revealed that as of September 6, 2013, a total of 41 companies had not rendered their audited financial statements for 2012. It also showed that t...

BY: Funmi Ojuroye  October 13th 2013 JONATHAN President Goodluck Jonathan has called on the International Criminal Court to stop harassing the leaders of Kenya and allow them space to deliver on their electoral promises to the people.  In a speech at a special session of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Jonathan also called for the review of some Articles of the Rome Statute that set up the ICC which he said are of  grave concern to Africa. According to him, though African leaders have complained of being unduly  targeted by the ICC, it has failed to address the concern. UHURU The president said:”In expressing my support for Kenya on its difficulties with the ICC, I will like to acknowledge that five years after the post-election violence of 2007, the people of Kenya have proven to the world that they are capable of expressing their sovereign wishes in a free, fair and credible manner in accordance with democratic norms and values. ”This is...

BY: Funmi Ojuroye  October 13th 2013 Sanusi The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, yesterday, said that Nigerians must accept Naira for dollar transfers. Fielding questions from journalists on the sidelines of the 2013 World Bank/ International Monetary Fund , IMF, annual general meeting in Washington, he explained that there was nowhere in the world where those sent money from abroad were being paid in foreign currencies, as was the case in Nigeria. His words: “The interesting thing about our country is that we try to be different from others in the world.  If you are in the UK and somebody transfers money to you from the United States, in what currency do you get paid in London?   Obviously you get paid in pounds. “There is no where in the world where you go to a bank and because you got a transfer, you insist on being paid in that currency”. According to him, the CBN earlier directed that customers be paid...

BY: Funmi Ojuroye  October 13th 2013 One of the participants of Spike TV show Ink Masters and Marine Corps veteran, Don Raider got his first tattoo at the age of 80 on the show, making him the oldest ‘human canvas’ for the competing tattoo artists. Raider is a veteran of the Korean War and served in the United States Marine Corps until his honourable discharge in 1959. He now has a Marine Corps logo on his upper left arm. Raider was hesitant to get a tattoo, as he used to believe in the negative connotations that are sometimes associated with tattoos (such as gang affiliation). He now states that he sees the artform for what it is. His journey with the show was begun by his wife Diana, who applied for the show for both of them without his knowledge. She wanted it to be a surprise for his 80th birthday. However, she was accepted and Raider was not. She applied several times again for her husband with no avail. Finally she turned to family and friends to begin a lette...

BY: Funmi Ojuroye  October 13th 2013 The Adebayos Comedian, Ajibola Adebayo, alias Holy Mallam, and his wife, Ijeoma, share the story of their eight-year-old union How did you meet? Ijeoma:   I had seen him perform before and I was impressed with his style of presentation. The day we met, he hosted a show organised by my friend.   When it was time for him to leave, he could not because someone was blocking his car.  During the brief period he waited to move his car, we got talking and he gave me his call card.  When I got home that night, I decided to call him since he did not have my number. I felt it would be nice to have a comedian as a friend.  This was in May 2004. We have been married for eight years. Holy Mallam:    I was in a hurry to leave the venue of the show in order to go and see a lady I was interested in at the time.   When Ijeoma called me that night, I was in the lady’s house. After her cal...