Nigerian billionaire businesswoman, Folorunso Alakija, has narrated how God stopped her from using jewelry.
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Speaking on Sunday, November 28, during a church service in Lagos, the Founder of Rose of Sharon Group, said it took ten days for God to stop her from using jewellery.
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According to Church Times, she said, “I used to love jewellery. I had all kinds and the jewellery had to match every cloth I wore. In those days I used to tell God not to take jewellery from me. If anybody had come to me and told me not to wear jewellery, I would not have listened to the person. I would have wondered where that person is coming from. But by the time God started dealing with me on it, I had no option but to do away with it.” �.
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The clergywoman, who is one of the richest women in Africa, said the turning point began when she started bleeding from her ear lobe while she was sleeping.�.
.�“That night I just suddenly found I was bleeding from my ear lobe. I did not sleep with earrings that night so I wondered what could have caused the bleeding. My ear lobe became sticky. When soap touched it while I was having my bath, it was hurting,” she said.
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She said a week before that experience, her younger sister had a dream that she saw that her ear lobe had cut.
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“That dream was almost becoming a reality. At a particular time when we were praying, a nephew of mine asked if I put lipstick on my earlobe because it had become red. The experience was not funny. But to cut a long story short, it took ten days for God to deal with me. Finally, I gave it up. Now I am free,” she added.
The South-East Amalgamated Markets Traders Association, on Monday, rejected the recent increase in the import duty on cargoes charged by Nigeria Customs Service.
SEAMATA is the umbrella union of traders in all the markets in the South-East geopolitical zone and traders of South-East extraction across the states in the federation and in the diaspora.
It said the increment was not calculated based on invoice value of consignments and were targeted at crushing Igbo businesses.
SEAMATA, in a statement signed by its President-General and Secretary-General, Chief Gozie Akudolu, and Mr Alex Okwudiri, respectively, said the Customs had introduced a method of working out import duty payment on goods and set out a particular minimum amount payable for each 40ft container but had jettisoned it.
It said, “Between 2020 and now, the amount charged on cargoes as import duties have risen in geometric proportion from N750,000 to N2m, again to N3m and presently, to N3.3m for 40ft containers; while 20ft containers jumped to N1.8m.
“The Nigerian Customs, on their own, work out payable import duty now, based on ‘estimated’ invoice value of consignment as against the actual invoice value of goods from the country of origin.
“This development is not only bringing untold hardships to importers but also compounding the pains of the citizens as it dovetailed to astronomical increase in prices of imported goods as the Nigerian Customs estimated invoice value is always far above the actual cost of the imports.”
It added, “The indiscriminate estimate of value of goods by Nigerian Customs is adversely affecting the prices of goods in the markets today.
“We are appealing to the Honourable Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning to prevail on the Nigerian Customs to, as a matter of urgency, suspend the exercise.
“This is to save the Nigerian citizens from further economic hardships as further economic pains that follow such situations could lead to social unrest, which our nation doesn’t need now.
Paris Saint-Germain and Argentina forward Lionel Messi has won the Men’s Ballon d’Or for the seventh time.
The 34-year-old striker defeated Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski, Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Jorginho to be crowned winner.
Messi, attended the ceremony in Chatelet Theatre in Paris with his wife and children.
He won the Copa del Rey with his former club, FC Barcelona and he led Argentina to their first silverware since 1993, winning the Copa America, where he was also named Player of the Tournament and won the Golden Boot.
Bayern Munich and Poland striker Lewandowski won the striker of the year award.
He has scored 73 goals in 60 games for Bayern Munich since the start of last season, and won FIFA’s and UEFA’s men’s player of the year awards in 2020.
The Ballon d’Or award ceremony is one of the most anticipated events in the football world. The award, first given out in 1956, is presented by the French weekly magazine, France Football, to the best footballer of the year.
The Northern Elders Forum, NEF has advised President Muhammadu Buhari not to release Nnamdi Kanu from custody.
Recall that Buhari after a meeting with the Southeast elders promised to consider a lighter resolution but worried that such would interfere with the principles of separation of power between the Executive and Judiciary.
The forum in a statement signed by the Director of Publicity, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed said there are no safe grounds for president Buhari to grant the request.
”Nnamdi Kanu’s release will do serious injury to Nigeria which is already threatened by security and other challenges, the statement said.
The Northern elders advised Buhari to follow a judicial process and allow Kanu’s trial run its course.
Part of the statement read, ” We have carefully studied the request of Igbo Elders for President Muhammadu Buhari to terminate the trial of Nnamdi Kanu and release him unconditionally. It has also noted President Buhari’s response which both raised very weighty issues related to the request and his commitment to consider it.
“The Forum notes that there are no safe, constructive or informed grounds for granting the request, and advised that President Buhari will do serious injury to a country already threatened by multiple challenges to its security and territorial integrity if he delays announcing the only responsible response, which is that the judicial process in the case of Kanu must be allowed to run its course.”
The chairman of the Coscharis Group, Cosmas Maduka, has lost his dearly beloved wife, Mrs. Charity Maduka
According to family sources, Mrs Maduka died after suffering a stroke in Nnewi, Anambra state on Sunday afternoon, November 28.
Until her death, she was the Vice-president of the Coscharis Group since its inception and the co-owner of the company.
“In her capacity, she was once the Executive Director supervising the Administrative, Legal, Works / Maintenance, Export, Technologies teams of the organization from 1984 – 2003. Under her tutelage, she was able to grow the business by creating value via the various strategic departments she supervised within the organization.
Barely one month after a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Awka suffered a near death experience in the hands of kidnappers suspected to be Fulani men at Amansea, Awka South LGA, Anambra State, another priest of the same Catholic Diocese of Awka, Rev Fr Peter Andrew Chukwuebuka Ibeazor, has faced the same ordeal in the hands of four kidnappers who were also believed to be Fulanis at Amansea – Ezinato Road.
Ibeazor spoke of what he described as his 28 hours retreat experience with kidnappers and how he eventually made friends with them before they released him.
The priest said he was happy that he returned with his Bible and chaplet.
Ibeazor, who is the chaplain of Ezinato Chaplaincy, Awka South LGA, Anambra state, said he had blessed the kidnappers when they kidnapped him on Nov.11, and when they released him the next day, prompting them to say to him, ‘God bless you’.
The Ogidi born priest who said he even invited them to his chaplaincy, recalled that he had finished with his usual sports exercise in Awka and was heading to his parish house at St James’ Chaplaincy, Ezinato, for an appointment with some of his parishioners at 5.30 pm when he ran into the kidnappers around 7 pm on November 11.
Ibeazor, who explained that he was earlier held up in a traffic gridlock at Aroma, Awka, said he had called and rescheduled the 5.30 pm appointment he had.
The priest, who said he was putting on his sportswear, further said that while he was about seven poles to the parish, he heard some deafening gun shots by those who turned out to be Fulani men who were about four in number and within the ages of 18-30 years.
According to the priest, they spoke Fulani fluently with dotted Hausa and immediately he heard the gun shots, he reached out for his Holy Bible and chaplet which he described as his pride, weapons and companions.
He said the fully armed kidnappers took him into the bush, leaving his car which one of his parishioners saw and alerted other parishioners and the security outfit of the town who took to the bush in search of him, while securing his car at the parish.
The priest said the parishioners embarked on prayers the same way the Catholic Community did when the Vice Chairman of the Chaplaincy, Sir Williams Onwu, was kidnapped six months earlier and he could hear his parishioners praying. He narrated that the kidnappers who saw how he guarded his Bible, threatened him at gun point with knives, while he begged them to leave the Holy Bible for him. Having known he was a priest, he said, they left him with his Bible.
Ibeazor said the kidnappers felt threatened by the search being conducted by the community and was ready to shoot at them at any slightest chance. He noted that when the search party from the town later withdrew, his abductors took him to the other side of Amansea.
He continued, ‘I was carefully guarded in between the four men as we went through the muddy roads. And at intervals I would bless them saying, “God bless you, Allah bless you”, and that would attract heavy blows on me. We trekked into the bush through the trees and swampy areas.
I would often kneel down to pray and read my Bible at every spot and each time I did this they would order me to sit down.
‘By 3.30 am the next day, the Anambra State Government searched for me with security tracking devices. We later came to a spot where we settled down and they opened up for ransom and demanded N20m for my release,’ the priest said, disclosing that he was eventually released at Amansea at around 10 pm the next night, being Friday, November 12, following interventions by some of his friends.
On how he was able to make it home safely, Fr Ibeazor explained that the kidnappers had told him to go farther inside the bush and after they left, he came back and found his way to the road through the same route they (the abductors) used.
The Awka Diocesan priest, who said he was left tattered by the kidnappers, said he collected water from road hawkers who were still around and washed off mud from his body and waited patiently for any means of transportation.
He stated that though the kidnappers collected his SIM card, he was happy that they left his Holy Bible and chaplet for him.
‘The abductors, while speaking on the phone with a friend of mine who is an honourable member, said I had something in my hand which I didn’t want to let go (the Holy Bible). ”But he is a good man. If he is not a good man we would have removed his eyes and heart, sell them, and make good money from them”, the abductors said, ‘Fr Ibeazor narrated.
‘Luckily for me, I had my ATM card on me. So after the help I got from road hawkers, I saw a keke man to whom I explained my predicament and begged him to take me to a nearby ATM outlet.
He took me to Stanel where I withdrew some money and begged him to take me to where I would get shelter. At Aroma Junction, I saw someone I knew.So, I used this phone and called the bishop and informed him of my release,’ Ibeazor said.
The Catholic priest, who is also a deanery chaplain of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal of Nigeria (CCRN), thanked God for the prayers of the CCRN, Onitsha Ecclesiastical Province, who, he said, happened to be at a convention then. He also thanked the members of Ezinato Catholic Community and those of the Number One Adoration Family for their prayers; as well as the support of many individuals, which, he said, necessitated his release.
He appreciated his bishops, brother priests, Anambra state government through the State Commissioner for Works, Engr. Marcel Ifejiofor, of the 4 Square, and his other friend, Hon Nnamdi Obiechina, for facilitating his release.
Ibeazor called on the Anambra State Government to construct an access road for Ezinator to curb insecurity in the town. He said that Ezinato and Amansea towns had been prone to kidnapping and noted that constructing the Ezinato-Umunze Road would help in bringing development to the community which is made up of Ndiora, Ntoko and Ndikpa.
‘Though without road, electricity, water and money, taking my share in labouring/affliction of the Gospel (2 Tim 1:8) is my Joy,’ he said.
The National Association of Nigerian Students on Friday threatened to shut down the country should the Federal Government proceed to remove subsidy from petrol.
The organisation called on Nigerians and all its allied structures to be on the alert for further directives on the next action.
The President of NANS, Sunday Asefon, issued the threat during a press conference held in Abuja.
According to him, although NANS was not totally against deregulation, the conditions for such already agreed upon must be out in place before deregulation.
The text of the briefing was titled “Nigeria will be shut down should the Federal Government attempt the removal of fuel subsidy as allegedly being proposed.”
Asefon said, “None of those conditions is in place at the moment. It is therefore very strange that the Federal Government could contemplate the removal of fuel subsidy now.
“The four refineries are not functioning, and if they are functioning at all, it is at a near-zero level. There is zero consultation with stakeholders to even consider issues around deregulation and why it should or should not be. The survival of Nigerian workers and their wards is yet to be discussed, yet a date that may take lives out of them have been fixed.
Furthermore, inflation is already passing a skyrocketing level. So we may need to find a word to describe the kind of inflation that will be experienced if the pump price of PMS goes above 200 per cent.
“In fact, we are very convinced that the Federal Government is acting impulsively on a matter as sensitive as this.
“NANS is rudely shocked by the statement credited to the Group Managing Director of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Mele Kyari to the effect that Premium Motor Spirit could sell as much as three hundred and forty N340 by February 2022. This is said to be due to the plan of the Federal Government to remove fuel subsidy and usher in an era of so-called deregulation.
“Even more absurd is the proposal announced by the Honourable Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Hajia Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed that N5,000 will be paid to 40 million vulnerable Nigerians to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal.
“NANS is still trying hard to make an iota of good sense out of this strange proposal. We shall return to this particular point.
“But let us first of all categorically state that on behalf of the suffering millions of Nigerian students and on behalf of the millions of the frustrated masses of the Nigerian people who are our parents, brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts, friends and neighbours, we reject this socio-economic evil proposal and we shall resist it.
“Nigerians are really suffering. We are in dire socio-economic straits. We are weeping in our hearts and souls. We are dying in silence. We feel the agony and anguish because we are practically involved. Therefore, any attempt to aggravate the social woes and economic manacles that we already face and wear will not only be unconscionable but reckless. It will amount to testing the patience of Nigerians too far. And we wish to warn against it.
The country is very stretched and tensed. In case the government is not aware, we are passing them this intelligence free of charge now. Again we advise, let the government not stretch it further. The consequences will be dire. The people are already flamed. Mendacity will beget mendacity. NANS is happy that the organised labour and civil society groups have all rejected the proposal.
We shall ensure that the entire country is shut down and paralysed should the Federal Government proceed with its insensitive plan of deregulation, or even any further increase in the pump price of fuel. We have had enough.
“We know that neo-liberal and imperial economists will soon emerge to confuse themselves with some well-rehearsed stale analysis and commentaries. Let us tell them already that nothing can change except the practical reality of the socio-economic condition of Nigerians changes.
“No deregulation can happen on the basis of import-driven deregulation. We are aware of our reality with all the ones already deregulated, including Kerosene, diesel and cooking gas (which price has gone totally out of control).”
Beyond the issues already raised, NANS said that in the 2022 Appropriation Bill, the Federal Government already provided for fuel subsidy.
NANS, therefore, wondered why government would provide for what it plans to eliminate.
Asefon said, “Upon which data did the Honourable Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning determine that only 40 million Nigerians are vulnerable? And what is the definition of vulnerability in our socio-economic context? Where does she intend to generate the money which will be paid to those 40 million Nigerians since there is no provision for it in the 2022 Appropriation Bill?
Is it not very strange economics to rob the poor to pay the poor even lower?
“On which economic sense or theory does five thousand Naira (5,000) per month ‘cushion the inflationary effect of 200 per cent increment on the central economic item of a country?
“It is really sad that government can contemplate something as critical as deregulating the petroleum sector without thinking it through, without consultation and without a robust debate.
“As far as we are concerned, this sinister plan is the quest of government to get money at all costs to squander and finance the ostentatious lifestyles of public officers and senior civil servants. And for these selfish reasons, Nigerians much suffer to breaking limits for it. Again, we reiterate that it is a total no, never.
“We, therefore, call on the Federal Government to rescind the plan till adequate arrangements like refining at home and utilising our petrochemical by-products are made. Then after that, there will be a robust discussion by all stakeholders to deal with associated socio-economic issues and discuss the details of the new regime. It is only on this condition that there can be a corresponding social equilibrium, economic prosperity, job and wealth creation for Nigerians.
“And while we hope that Federal Government will heed this patriotic advice, we call on all our comrades, allies and all structures of NANS to be on the alert. Nobody should be swayed or distracted. Because freedom comes by struggle, we shall struggle to free ourselves from further socio-economic chains.”
The Ijaw ethnic group on Thursday,26th November became the first to sign the Niger Delta Peoples Charter on resource control and self-determination.
The pact was signed on behalf of Ijaw indigenes by His Royal Majesty, King Frank Okiakpe, Agadagba X of Gbaraun Kingdom.
The ceremony took place in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, a statement by Ovunda Eni, Niger Delta Congress (NDC) spokesman disclosed
Former President, Nigeria Environmental Society (NES), Engr. Olu Andah Wai-Ogosu (Rivers representative) signed the charter mid-November.
A week earlier, Emeritus Prof Ebiegberi Joe Alagoa, representing Bayelsa, gave his assent. The 88-year-old statesman lectured at the University of Lagos (UNILAG).
The charter solicits over 70 signatures from Niger Delta nationalities, organisations and the 6 South-South states.
The document demands that oil and other natural resources be controlled by the people, while pushing for exit from Nigeria.
It will be presented to the world on February 23, 2022, at the 55th anniversary of the Niger Delta Republic declaration by the late Major Isaac Boro.
Snakes can’t live inside soakaway. The gas alone in your soakaway will kill them. Just incase you don’t know, the gas inside your soakaway can generate electricity.
Again I ask, does the Snake live inside your poo Or they float ontop of poo?
Do you know your bathing soap water also goes into that soakaway, both the waste water from your kitchen? Do you know soaps carry chemicals that are harmful?
Again an average building has over 6 Chambers, think of it, for a snake to live inside soakaway and still find it way to a w.c, it means it must past many Chambers,so tell me. How possible is that?
Also it is completely madness living a storey building yet you are afraid that Snake will crawl out from your W.C, how?
it can never happen, thats bcos the 4inch pipe that carry your poo from the w.c to the soakaway has a smooth surface, Snake can not comfortable crawl on it. It not possible.
Now is it possible for Snake to crawl out from your W.C? yes it is. But that can only happen if you stay in a bungalow, ground floor and you have a breakage in the service chamber that has direct link to your w.c, I mean direct link to the toilet.
So please those of you that are busy
Flushing fuel and salt inside ur soakaway, sorry you are just wasting your money.
So hear it now, Snake can only come out from your W.C if you have a broken Chamber that is directly linked to you toilet.
Snakes don’t live inside your soakaway because snakes too need oxygen.
Governor Willie Obiano has told the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that he will be relocating to his United States base when he leaves office next March.
Recall Obiano was placed on EFCC watchlist.
Reacting on Thursday over placement of the governor on a watch list by the anti-graft agency, Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Don Adinuba, accused EFCC of acting a script.
He said his principal, currently out of the country, never disguised when he embarked on the foreign trip.
The commissioner said the governor has made it public that he would relocate to his U.S. residence at the end of his tenure.
