Mikel cries and begs NFF for forgiveness

Mikel

 

Obviously feeling the public spat for snubbing his country and his fast dwindling popularity and relevance, Chelsea midfielder Mikel Obi has reached out to officials of the federa­tion to plead for forgive­ness.

According to Sporting­Sun findings, Mikel called officials of the NFF from the northern part of the country where he spoke in Hausa language appalling to them to plead with coach Oliseh to forgive him for ignoring his calls when he visited London to meet with players like Victor Moses, Carl Ikeme to crave their commitment to the cause of the. national team.

According to the source, Mikel called some NFF officials last week to beg for forgiveness. He spoke to them in Hausa, weeping that they should. save his career by appealing to the coach to forgive him for shunning his calls. He said his career was in danger if he was shut out of the national team completely. Since he is not play­ing regularly for Chelsea he reckons that his career could be over if he not in­vited to the national team” The decision on whether to invite him on not rests with Oliseh. It would be re­called that Mikel has had running battle with succes­sive Super Eagles coaches from Samson Siasia, Ste­phen Keshi and now Oliseh.

The NFF is said to be di­vided on whether he should be invited or left out of the new-look team.

Don’t Tamper with the fund in my Charity Account- Kuku to EFCC

Apparently jittery of for the heavy clamp down on corrupt officials of the past administration, by the Buhari government, former special adviser to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta and chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Hon. Kingsley Kuku, has asked the Economic and Financial Cries Commission (EFCC), not to tamper with the account of his charity organisation.

Kuku made this known yesterday in a telephone interview from his hospital bed in the United States during which he said no public fund was in charity account.

Hon Kuku

The former special adviser said the account which is used to operate his foundation, Keketobou Care Foundation, named after his mother, Mrs Keketobou Kuku, has been used to help the poor in the society, especially, indigent students, widows, women and men.

Kuku was reacting to reports that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has frozen the accounts of close allies of former President Goodluck Jonathan, including the Keketobou Care Foundation, which he runs.

The former presidential aide, who is recuperating in an American hospital after a knee surgery,   said there were no government funds in the said account, which he said, had a total deposit of N720,484 as at the end of July this year.

According to Kuku, the amount found in the account was the proceeds from the launch of his book: “Remaking the Niger Delta: Challenges and Opportunities.”

He said before now, he had used his personal earnings and other donations by well-wishers to fund the account so as to provide enough funds for buying JAMB forms for poor indigenes of Ondo State and provide support to poor widows, women and traders in the state.

“I have always been using the Keketobou Care Foundation to help the poor and there is no evidence that the account has ever been funded with government money, as the records would show,” Kuku said.

He described as unfortunate any attempt by the EFCC or any other anti-craft agency to flag the   account, saying that it was a politically-motivated move to implicate him and others who worked   with Jonathan.

A seven-year-old girl (names withheld) has narrated how her father paid her after sexually abusing her at their Ojokoro Housing Estate, Meiran, Ijaiye, Lagos, residence.

The primary three pupil said: “My daddy usually gives me money after touching my private part or putting his penis in my mouth. He touches my private part when my mother is outside washing clothes or when she is not in the house.”

The victim’s father, identified as Chukwuemeka Odunzie, allegedly started defiling his daughter early last year.

Narrating her ordeal, the victim’s mother, Mrs Odunzie, said: “Last year, my son told me that his younger sister was fond of playing with her private parts. It sounded strange that a seven-year-old child would be doing that.

“I will talk to her, scold her and sometimes beat her. There was a time I told my husband.

“All he said was that if she was acting strangely I should take her to any of these white garment churches. I was alarmed when one day, while we were in the sitting room, she started touching and playing with herself.

She confesses to mother

“Immediately, I called her inside the room and asked her what the problem was. I asked her if anyone was fiddling with her private parts. She said it was her father that always touched her private parts and that after touching her private parts, he would give her money.

“I confronted my husband when he returned from work but he denied vehemently. I reported a case of defilement to Ebenezer Divisional Police and the policemen invited my husband for questioning.

“He was arrested later by the police, who gave me a report to take my daughter to the hospital. The doctor said there had been no penetration, but that there is an opening in her virginal and advised that the victim be tested for infection.

Family fights back

“By the time we came back from the hospital, the IPO said it was a family issue and that we should go home and settle the case.

“Members of his family were shouting, saying that I had no right to report the case to the police, that it was a family issue that should be treated as one. They pressurized me till I withdrew the case, after which he promised not to defile our daughter again.

“After I withdrew the case, my husband began to beat the children at the slightest provocation. And at times, he would beat them for no tangible reason.

“Two weeks ago, it happened again. I asked her what she did for her father that made him give her money without giving her siblings. That was when she said that daddy gave her the money after touching her private part.

“Her siblings said it had been ongoing for a while and that they refused to tell me because the last time they did, their daddy kept beating them.

“Penis forced into mouth”

“Her brother said whenever I was not around, or I was outside washing clothes, daddy would send him and his other siblings inside the bedroom, while he would ask the victim to kneel down in between his legs and bend her head towards his manhood.

“She also confirmed that after touching her, daddy would put his penis in her mouth.

“There was even a time my daughter was caught in the act with a four-year-old boy, who is a neighbour’s child.”

In his defense, the victim’s father, Chukwuemeka Odunzie, admitted that it was only once he abused his daughter and that he was not doing it for occult reasons.

Reacting to the issue, the Co-coordinator, Project Alert, Josephine Effah Chukwuma, said: “Apart from ensuring that the law takes it course, the main task is how to rehabilitate this little girl, whose life has been messed up by her father.

“This is because the abuse was not a one-off thing as the victim had become so accustomed to the act, that when she feels the urge and there is no one to touch her, she touches herself.

“There is need to rehabilitate her and her siblings, who watched.”

Source: Vanguard

Evil: Man docked for forcing his 7 year old daughter to perform oral sex on him

A seven-year-old girl (names withheld) has narrated how her father paid her after sexually abusing her at their Ojokoro Housing Estate, Meiran, Ijaiye, Lagos, residence.

The primary three pupil said: “My daddy usually gives me money after touching my private part or putting his penis in my mouth. He touches my private part when my mother is outside washing clothes or when she is not in the house.”

The victim’s father, identified as Chukwuemeka Odunzie, allegedly started defiling his daughter early last year.

Narrating her ordeal, the victim’s mother, Mrs Odunzie, said: “Last year, my son told me that his younger sister was fond of playing with her private parts. It sounded strange that a seven-year-old child would be doing that.

“I will talk to her, scold her and sometimes beat her. There was a time I told my husband.

“All he said was that if she was acting strangely I should take her to any of these white garment churches. I was alarmed when one day, while we were in the sitting room, she started touching and playing with herself.

She confesses to mother

“Immediately, I called her inside the room and asked her what the problem was. I asked her if anyone was fiddling with her private parts. She said it was her father that always touched her private parts and that after touching her private parts, he would give her money.

“I confronted my husband when he returned from work but he denied vehemently. I reported a case of defilement to Ebenezer Divisional Police and the policemen invited my husband for questioning.

“He was arrested later by the police, who gave me a report to take my daughter to the hospital. The doctor said there had been no penetration, but that there is an opening in her virginal and advised that the victim be tested for infection.

Family fights back

“By the time we came back from the hospital, the IPO said it was a family issue and that we should go home and settle the case.

“Members of his family were shouting, saying that I had no right to report the case to the police, that it was a family issue that should be treated as one. They pressurized me till I withdrew the case, after which he promised not to defile our daughter again.

“After I withdrew the case, my husband began to beat the children at the slightest provocation. And at times, he would beat them for no tangible reason.

“Two weeks ago, it happened again. I asked her what she did for her father that made him give her money without giving her siblings. That was when she said that daddy gave her the money after touching her private part.

“Her siblings said it had been ongoing for a while and that they refused to tell me because the last time they did, their daddy kept beating them.

“Penis forced into mouth”

“Her brother said whenever I was not around, or I was outside washing clothes, daddy would send him and his other siblings inside the bedroom, while he would ask the victim to kneel down in between his legs and bend her head towards his manhood.

“She also confirmed that after touching her, daddy would put his penis in her mouth.

“There was even a time my daughter was caught in the act with a four-year-old boy, who is a neighbour’s child.”

In his defense, the victim’s father, Chukwuemeka Odunzie, admitted that it was only once he abused his daughter and that he was not doing it for occult reasons.

Reacting to the issue, the Co-coordinator, Project Alert, Josephine Effah Chukwuma, said: “Apart from ensuring that the law takes it course, the main task is how to rehabilitate this little girl, whose life has been messed up by her father.

“This is because the abuse was not a one-off thing as the victim had become so accustomed to the act, that when she feels the urge and there is no one to touch her, she touches herself.

“There is need to rehabilitate her and her siblings, who watched.”

Source: Vanguard

Double tragedy in Lagos: Fire razes home, kills teenager, another teenager dies inside well in Lagos

A sixteen-year-old died while his father and two other members of his family were injured in a fire incident that occurred at Agungi community in Lekki area of Lagos State.

A 10-year-old girl also fell inside a well around Mafoluku area of the state and was brought out dead by men of the Lagos State Fire Service.

The Lekki fire incident occurred around 2.00 a.m. on Monday when members of the family were already asleep.

The incident occurred at a four-bedroom duplex situated at 35C, Ajiran Road.

Tribune Online gathered that the fire started from the room where the teenager slept. When he woke up and saw the intensity of the fire, he ran into the bathroom.

His body was, however, found after the fire had been put out.

His father and two other members of the family who escaped were later taken to the hospital.

In the second incident, 10-year-old Eniola Sodipo fell into a well while playing with some of her mates at 11, Atanda Street in Mafoluku area of Oshodi.

The body of the girl was later recovered by fire fighters who brought her out from the well.

The Director of Lagos State Fire Service, Rasak Fadipe, confirmed both incidents.

I support Gov. Dickson, Jonathan declares

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has declared his support for Governor Seriake Dickson for a second term.
Dr Jonathan hinged his support for Governor Dickson’s re-election bid as one of the most performing  governors in the country, based on his excellent track record of regular payment of workers’ salaries, reduction of the state’s huge debt profile and the unprecedented infrastructural development.
Dickson, last week, submitted his nomination and expression of intent form at the national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja, to contest for a second term in office, ahead of  December 5  governorship poll in the Bayelsa State.
 

Gov. Dickson

Speaking while receiving Governor Dickson at his country home, Otuoke, Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, Dr Jonathan said his decision was based on the developmental strides of the governor in the last three and a half years in the state.
According to Dr Jonathan, “If  Bayelsa is compared to other states in the country in terms of the level of physical infrastructure, coupled with the degree of indebtedness in terms of bank loans and capital market, Governor Dickson deserved to be praised.”
His words: “I am not expecting the governor to score 100 per cent. There are three key parameters I will like to score Governor Dickson, which are payment of salaries, physical infrastructure and low indebtedness of the state in terms of bank loans and in the capital markets. If you compare what has happened in other parts of the country, you will praise the governor. People should think more of about the way the state is being run and prepared for our future generation.
“Bayelsa  is not a cursed state. On the notion that governors in Bayelsa cannot do eight years; it slows down the rate of development and except there is continuation in government, development will be truncated. Performance is not about satisfying individual needs and so, we need to encourage Governor Dickson to go for second term.”
Describing Governor Dickson as his political first son, the former president noted that if Governor Dickson was given the opportunity of  a second term, he would strive to consolidate on the achievements already recorded.
Earlier in his remarks, Governor Dickson had solicited the support and encouragement of Dr Jonathan to run for a second term, stressing that he and his entourage needed to seek his support, as he is the leader of PDP, both at the state and national levels.
Governor Dickson, who had been canvassing support from stakeholders of the party, as well as royal fathers of the state preceding his formal declaration to run for the governorship, had earlier paid homage to the chairman of the state Traditional Rulers Council, King Alfred Diete Spiff.
Governor Dickson, who equated Dr Jonathan’s support to him to the Rock of Gibraltar, said his encouragement dated back to 2005, when he served in the former president’s cabinet as Attorney- General and Commissioner for Justice.
Highpoints of both events was Governor Dickson receiving royal blessings for the task ahead.

Exposed: The high political scheming Buhari adopted in choosing his SGF, CoS

President Buhari

 The decision of the loyalists of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in the All Progressives Congress (APC) to take complete hold of power in the current administration is the main reason behind the choice of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation(SGF) and the Chief of Staff to the President (CoS) made by President Muhammadu Buhari, sources close to the administration have revealed.
Investigations by the Sunday Tribune confirmed that other reasons behind the decision include the fear of the influence of some notable members of the APC  as well as the need to weaken such influences ahead of the next election in 2019.
Sources in the polity have said that the president was wary of appointing anyone who could come under direct influence of powerful camps in the APC, including the camps of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and the party’s national leader, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Sources informed the Sunday Tribune that Buhari was actually looking for his own men as the SGF and CoS, such that he would be assured of having reduced the influence of powerful forces in his party.
A source said that the appointments were actually done with eyes on what happens between now and 2019, adding that the president was hopeful of leaving the government in the hands of “new breed of politicians” whom he would have groomed within the period of his presidency.
It was learnt that the appointment of David Lawal Babachir as the SGF was specifically targeted at Atiku, as it is believed that Babachir,  who hails from the same Adamawa State as the former vice-president, would corner the influence from that axis.
It was gathered that going by the influence some of the powerful forces in the APC displayed in the buildup to the 2015 election, the Presidency was clear that such persons have the capacity to rubbish whatever achievements it could place on the table for Nigerians in 2019.
A source said that the need to cut some powerful forces to size in the APC informed the decision to drop the likes of former Governor of Anambra State, Senator Chris Ngige, who is considered to be close to Tinubu, while the same reason worked against Atiku in the choice of the SGF.
It was also gathered that the Villa is convinced that the camps of notable leaders including Atiku and Tinubu still have their eyes on the Presidency.
Said a source: “The whole appointments were done against the backdrop of what happens in 2019. There are fears that the camps of Atiku and Tinubu still hold enormous influence and that allowing them the control of the SGF may be counterproductive to the president.
“The truth is that the president may not be interested in a second term in office but he will certainly be interested in who succeeds him, looking at what his government is doing to tackle the [former President Goodluck] Jonathan administration currently.”
Sources said that the influence and ambition of such powerful individuals were taken into consideration in making the critical appointments.
It was further gathered that the political bloc of the CPC, which was formed by Buhari until the merger with other parties,  is already moving to take over the control of key appointments to ensure its control of the levers of power beyond 2019.
A source said that “some strong leaders of the CPC group in APC are convincing the president on the need to produce a relatively unknown candidate in the next election and shock the old breed politicians who have so much power and influence to neutralise him.”
Another source said that the CPC camp had argued that whatever legacy or achievements  the president records in four years could be rubbished by some of the powerful blocs in the party, going by the arsenal they deployed against Jonathan, adding that the president has been advised to reduce the influence of such forces.
Sources, however, further indicated that the shock that greeted the last appointment is not about to abate, as more shocks are said to await the political class.
According to sources, the president’s loyalists have convinced him on the need to continue to undercut the big-time politicians by bringing out relatively unknown persons.
“The shock that gripped the political class following the recent appointments is not about to abate. Minnows are to continue to emerge in order to continue to undercut the top flight politicians and also enhance the search for new breed politicians,” a source said.