Those were good days....wow! Photo credit: Meche Isaac Moses of Goge Africa

President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo yesterday, October 2, 2016, while speaking at the Olive Tree parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) said that he became the Vice President of Nigeria without.

According to him, his emergence without any personal effort showed that God is involved in the business of changing Nigeria.

“This country has gone forward and it is going to keep moving forward. The reason why I, Yemi Osinbajo, without asking for a position, was given the vice-presidency of this nation is because God’s hand is in this business.

And so, I am completely confident that despite where we are today, it is the dawn of a new beginning. It has begun to show and surely there is a very bright light at the end of the tunnel. God knows that this country has a plan and purpose in Africa and in the world; the plan and purpose will never diminish or be cut short”he said

As Nigerians converged for the celebration of independence from the British government, Pastor Williams Kumuyi, the General Superintendent of Deeper Christian Life Ministry, said in the midst of the recession and other crisis rocking the nation, the desires of Nigerians will be fulfilled.

Kumuyi, who is in Asaba, the Delta State capital, for an independence service on Sunday, October 2, appreciated God for Nigerians, saying the government and the Christian church are working in partnership for the development of the nation.

He said the objective of the church is to move people forward to live better lives and achieve their goals, just as he appreciated Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s development strides in the state.

Specifically, he said the Delta health care programme was a laudable one, even as he commended the governor for the youth empowerment programmes in the state.

Governor Okowa, who received the pastor along with his wife, Edith and members of the state executive council, said he was glad to have Kumuyi in the state, just as he called on gospel ministers to pray for the good of Nigeria.

According to him, “this is the time we need more of your prayers for Nigeria and our state. We need God now more than ever before. The more knowledge of God we have the better for us as a nation and state. The knowledge of God is needed in our homes”.

Okowa, who condemned gospel preachers who are laying more emphasis on prosperity than the preaching of the gospel, called on preachers to focus on the word of God as it is the needed ingredient for national development.

The governor said many gospel preachers are confusing Nigerians with the emphasis on prosperity at the detriment of the word of God, saying the gospel should be given more prominence than the craze for material things and wealth.

He told Kumuyi to pray for the state, maintaining that “whatever prayer you pray for us will work”, adding that “we have been troubled over time because of crisis in the state. We pray that the crisis in our midst will disappear so that we enjoy God’s presence and fullness.”

Okowa further added that the revered man of God presence was needed in Delta. He said, “if you decide to come and live in Delta, we will be glad to have you among us”.

Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, yesterday said Nigeria was already coming out of the economic recession. Speaking at the end of a two-day National Council of Finance and Economic Development conference held in Abeokuta, Ogun state yesterday September 28th, Adeosun said the measures being taken by the Federal government is an indication that the economy is on its way out of recession.

“We are already getting out of recession because of the actions the federal government is taking. If you are in a problem, the day you start to step towards progression, you are already getting out of it, we are getting out of it. We are investing more in capital than we have ever invested. We are sorting out infrastructure, we are stopping wastage and so the sign of recovery already there” she said

Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, over the weekend lent her voice to the call for the sale of some national assets to revive the economy. Adeosun endorsed the sale while speaking to some business editors in Abuja. Leadership quotes her as saying it is better to sell off under-utilized assets than borrow money to revive the economy

‘‘I think there are lots of assets being considered. There are some unused assets that are just lying idle and people have come and said, ‘These things you are not using, can we lease it from you? 
I think when you are looking for money, some things that government is sitting on, we don’t have money to do them and so it makes sense for me to unlock those things as it will bring money to the economy at these difficult times so that we can move forward. I don’t think we have got to the stage where we say it’s this or that asset. The conversation now should be: should we just keep borrowing, or now that things have got to this stage, we should start to dislodge some under-utilized assets. And it’s not exclusive to us, Saudi Arabia is selling some of its oil assets. So if you sell an asset and use it to finance another asset which is going to give you more, then I don’t have a problem with that. The infrastructure challenges we face are so serious and the kind of money that we need, we can’t borrow because when you have an accumulated deficit, you need to look for the money that will sustain what you are doing for the next three to four years. So, that is what we are looking at and having a more strategic approach so that, over time, we will borrow less, which, of course, is good in the long run,’ She revealed ways in which the assets can be sold. ‘‘The investor will need to look at the risk and pricing accordingly. We can sell to the Nigerian people or the pension fund and you can also list these assets on the stock exchange. So there are different types of sales,’’ she said

The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, at the weekend charged the federal government to do what it can to get the country out of the present economic doldrums, stating that the church lacks the political and economic power to get the country out of the recession.

Speaking during the thanksgiving service and formal inauguration of the new CAN executives, its President, Dr. Samson Olasupo Ayokunle pointed out that what the church has is spiritual power through prayer, which they had already utilised by calling for national prayer to help the country.

 Ayokunle averred that it was the responsibility of the government to take the country out of recession, adding that “We will continue to speak to our national leaders to do what is right, and to let them know that, we are close to the grass root, we understand their pains.”

He continues, “Government should buckle up and know that it is not time to complain, government should know that it is the last resort for the people. Government is the one managing the national purse, so they should courageously address the economic challenges confronting the country and not chicken out.”

Speaking on the state of insecurity, the Christian leader said; “Government should continue to fight insurgency in the country; they should not give up until battle is won. Insurgency is not boko haram alone but also the menace of Fulani herdsmen, menace of armed robbery and kidnappers.

“Every form of violence must be subdued in this nation. Let the government diversify their focus, not only on boko haram but others that are hitting very deep into the fabric of our society.”

He went on to debunk media report that there is crisis in the association over his emergency as CAN President, pointing out that people tend to celebrate sycophancy.

The northern region of CAN was some months ago reported as rejecting the emergence of Ayokunle as CAN President , stating that “All the 19 Northern states were edged out of the process of the CAN President’s election. We suspect that there was connivance between the outgoing CAN President and some individuals at the helm of affairs of the association.”

Speaking on this, the CAN President said; “The political news you are carrying in the newspaper is quite different from what is happening in CAN, there is no amount of noise you can make, the service of today is an attestation to the fact that CAN is together.

“The challenge in this nation today is the challenge of standing firm for what is good. People don’t want to listen to what is truth, they only want you to praise them, they don’t want you to challenge them.

“In the society, the righteous does not have any value, we celebrate those that half naked and called them celebrities, but as Christians we hold it a duty to stand firm in season and out of season.”

Nigeria has reached the finals of the U-23 African Nations Cup, after beating Senegal with a penalty scored in the 76th minute by Etebo.

Nigeria and Senegal played goalless in the first half after Senegal had wasted their own chance to record a goal against Nigeria, but the effort was blocked by Nigerian goalkeeper, Emmanuel Daniel.

The Dream Team VI however did not let their own opportunity slip, when Senegal defender handled the ball inside the box while trying to prevent a Nigerian attacker have a touch after Senegal goalie was already down in a scramble.

The Senegalese defender, Thioune got a red card to the bargain, reducing the team to 10 men.

Etebo wasted no time and tucked the ball into the corner, on the 76th minute.

The President of Ghana, John Mahama today reached an agreement with the government of Nigeria represented by NNPC GMD Ibe Kachiukwu, to pay off the N33.8 billion owed Nigeria from the gas supply provided by a Nigerian gas company, N-Gas, the main supplier of gas to Ghana’s Volta River Authority through the West African Gas Pipeline.

The N-Gas buys gas from NNPC and transports it to its customers in Benin, Togo and Ghana. The N-Gas had recently threatened to cut gas supply by 70% to Ghana’s main power generation company due to unpaid debts of $181m (33.8bn).

                                                         
President Muhammadu Buhari who has been quoted as saying he supports “the total implementation of the sharia in the country” yesterday said the country cannot practise certain prescribed punishment under the Islamic penal code.

According to him Nigerian law does not allow for “sharia punishments, such as stonings and amputations, adding: “I cannot change it. I haven’t been voted by [a] majority of Nigerians to change Nigerian constitution.”

Buhari spoke on wide-ranging issues in an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera English’s flagship current affairs show, ‘UpFront’.

Asked about his record as a military dictator in the mid-1980s, and the alleged human-rights abuses which occurred on his watch, Buhari said: “If there is any injustice that can be proved against me when I was there, I will gladly apologise.”

The president refused, however, to concede that his now-notorious ‘war against indiscipline’ in the 1980s featured any such “injustice”.

Buhari had pledged to defeat Boko Haram by December but also acknowledged he would be willing to negotiate with the group to secure the release of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls.

“They have to prove to us that they are alive, they are well, and then we can… negotiate with them,” President Buhari told ‘UpFront’ host Mehdi Hasan.

“We said it and we meant it. If we are satisfied that the girls are alive.

Source: Leadership

To mark Nigeria’s 55th independence celebration,the Federal government has declared Thursday 1st of October,public holiday .President Buhari has approved a 70million budget for the celebrations, Happy celebration People's of Nigeria.......