Veteran Yoruba actor Musiliu Ajikanle is dead

Ajikanle died on Monday after seven years of battling with stroke.

Nollywood filmmaker and actor Saliu Gbolagade made the announcement in an Instagram.

Sharing the picture of the deceased, the filmmaker wrote, Ina Lilah Waina Allah Rajiun. God gave each of us the gift of life, and God gifted us with eternal life.

Rest well, my dear friend Musiliu Ajikanle, your footsteps can never be filled, nor your love ever forgotten. May the blessings and peace of a good life lived follow you into heaven.

Yoruba movie celebrities like Ayo Mogaji, Fathia Balogun, Sola Kosoko, and actor Portable took to the comments section to express their condolences.

Big Brother Naija All Stars housemates on Monday saved Soma from possible eviction this Sunday.

In a new twist to the nomination process, the contestants were asked to name another housemate who should not be put up for eviction.

Eight housemates, including Angel, Uriel, Adekunle, Kiddwaya, Cross, Princess, Alex, and Seyi, selected Soma.

Soma will join Head of Head Kiddwaya and Black Envelope winner Angel in escaping eviction this week.

This is how the contestants nominated:

Angel – Soma

Venita – Ike

CeeC – Ilebayo

Uriel – Soma

Ike – Venita

Adekunle – Soma

Pere – Cross

Tolanibaj – Neo Energy

Cross – Soma

Princess – Soma

Ilebaye – Doyin

Whitemoney – Mercy

Mercy – CeeC

Soma – Uriel

Neo – Tolanibaj

Alex – Soma

Seyi – Soma

Frodd – Adekunle

Doyin – Ilebaye

Kiddwaya – Soma

Famous Nigerian singer, David Adeleke, aka Davido, has finally admitted to having a child with his rumoured fourth babymama, Larissa London.

The ‘Omo Baba Olowo’ crooner stated that he has a son called Dawson who lives in London.

He stated this in a recent podcast interview.

Davido said he named his daughters, Imade and Hailey after his late mother, stressing that his second daughter, Hailey is a replica of his mom.

He said, I named both of them [my daughters] after my mum. Hailey, she is the exact replica of my mum; my second daughter, she is just like my mum. It’s crazy. It’s like she came in her.

I have a son too. His name is Dawson. He lives in London right now.

Davido lost his first son, Ifeanyi Adeleke in a swimming pool accident at his Banana Island residence last October.

The Kuje Correctional Centre has presented to the Zuba Magistrate Court, the medical report of the psychiatric evaluation of Obiajulu Ujah.

The citizen, regarded as a supporter of Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi, caused a stir at the Abuja airport on March 31.

Ujah was ejected from a Lagos-bound Ibom Air flight after vociferously opposing the May 29 inauguration of President Bola Tinubu.

Upon his arraignment in April, he was sent to prison for one month to enable medical experts to determine the state of his mental health.

The medical report signed by the Kuje Prison Chief Medical Officer (CMO) suggests Ujah has a mental disorder, PRNigeria reported on Tuesday.

At the last sitting at the FCT Magistrate Court in Zuba, Magistrate Abdulazeez Ismail Muhammad subpoenaed the Controller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS).

Also summoned was the Kuje Correctional Centre CMO to provide his opinion in writing as to the state of mind of Ujah, who is said to be mentally-challenged.

With the report now tendered before the court, Ujah will know his fate at the next hearing in the matter adjourned to the 15th day of June, 2023.

The raging controversy over the unveiling of the supposed national carrier, Nigeria Air plane, at the twilight of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration should not be swept under the carpet, civil society organisations say.

The unveiling of Nigeria Air was carried out by Hadi Sirika, former Minister of Aviation, on May 26, 2023, at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The Ex-Minister expressed delight, insisting that the Federal Government had matched its words with action regarding the project.

Before the unveiling, the erstwhile Minister had repeatedly assured Nigerians that the project would kick off, at some point revealing the plan for aircraft which would be used in the fleet.

Sirika promised that Nigeria Air would begin operation within five months following the unveiling of the name and logo of Nigeria Air at the Farnborough International Air Show in July 2018.

However, there was a backlash after the event, especially over the Ethiopian Airlines plane used for the unveiling.

The outgone House of Representatives Committee on Aviation reacted by calling for the suspension of the establishment of Nigeria Air.

It also called for prosecuting those involved in the unveiling of the national carrier by the previous administration, describing the exercise as a fraud.

The committee urged President Bola Tinubu to constitute a high-level Presidential committee to undertake a holistic review of the processes of the Nigeria Air project.

Rep. Nnolim Nnaji, the Chairman of the committee on Aviation, said the committee was dissatisfied with the actions of the former Minister of Aviation in going ahead to flag off the operations of Nigeria Air despite a standing court injunction against such, insisting there was no provision for sustaining the airline’s operations.

He said a careful review of the process indicated the exercise to be highly opaque, shrouded in secrecy, shoddy and capable of ridiculing and tarnishing the image of Nigeria before the international community.

We want to put on record that the committee and, indeed, the National Assembly had no role in the purported launch of Nigeria Air or anything related thereof.

He said, While the committee and indeed the parliament is not opposed to Nigeria having a National Carrier, as a matter of fact, having a National Carrier is highly desirable to us as a people and Nigeria, as a nation.

The committee also directed the Federal Ministry of Aviation and its partners in the Nigeria Air project to suspend flight operations and every other action concerning Nigeria Air.

Joining the call for a thorough probe of the alleged fraud is a Civil Society Organisation, the Center for Human Rights and Accountability Network, CHRAN.

It called on the anti-graft agencies, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, to probe Buhari over his role in the alleged ‘fraudulent’ launch of the Nigeria Air.

It also demanded immediate arrest and investigation of Sirika and all those involved in the alleged scam for them to face the full wrath of the law if found wanting.

In a statement signed by its Chairman, Otuekong Franklyn Isong and the Deputy Director, Public Affairs, Comrade Vincent Aluu, the group said, The launch, which took place on the last day of the Buhari’s government, was criminal and aimed at defrauding the people.

A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Dr Haruna Gololo, also urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to investigate the immediate past Minister of Aviation over unpleasant discoveries in Nigeria Air aircraft’s purported launch.

He demanded, We are giving the EFCC two weeks to arrest and investigate the former Minister of Aviation and other key participants in the former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

The President of the Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network (CRRAN), Olu Omotayo, said the previous administration acted as if there was no law in the country.

Omotayo said an investigation ought to have commenced if it were in an advanced country.

He said what they did was shabbily done, insisting it was dubious.

He said, The past administration did not handle it in an open way. It was shrouded in so much secrecy, and when you are doing a public project like that, the people are supposed to know.

But they were just dribbling at the Nigerians, telling Nigerians that they already had some aircraft on the ground at various press conferences they addressed, but with the situation, it turned out to be false.

If it were in an advanced country, an investigation is supposed to have commenced because I felt that whatever they did was shabbily done, and it was very dubious. There is nothing on the ground to show that they actually invested the amount of money they were talking about.

So the issue has to be investigated, either by the appropriate agency or the incoming National Assembly. We cannot just leave it lying down because it will encourage public officeholders to repeat the same act in the future. They acted as if there was no law in the country.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has disclosed the agenda of his meeting with President Bola Tinubu.

The two men met inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja/

Speaking with newsmen afterwards, Jonathan said he met with Tinubu to brief him about the planned constitutional referendum in Mali.

Jonathan is a special envoy of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and is leading the mediation mission in Mali.

The West African country will conduct a referendum on a new constitution on June 18. It will be a precursor to the long-awaited elections scheduled for February 2024.

I came to brief the president on the activities of some continental and subcontinental bodies. You know, I am the ECOWAS mediator for Mali and the chairman of the West African Elders Forum.

Jonathan said, So, there are certain issues bordering on the continent and the sub-region that I discuss with various presidents.

Managing Director, Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission, HYPPADEC, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq Yelwa has described as tragic the boat mishap that claimed many lives in Patigi LGA of Kwara State.

According to a statement by the spokesman of the commission, Nura Tanko, the HYPPADEC boss said the incident was shocking and sad owing to the intensity of casualties recorded.

He said the Commission had already dispatched a team of experts from Kwara state office to assist in search operations while awaiting the comprehensive report on the mishap to be guided on the next line of action.

The incident, according to reports, occurred when a wooden boat carrying about 300 people returning to Ebbu after a wedding capsized, claiming about 150 lives.

The Kwara state police command through its spokesman, SP Okasanmi Ajayi, confirmed in Ilorin on Tuesday that 103 persons died in the boat mishap.

Abubakar, expressed sympathy to the family of the bereaved while praying for quick recovery of the survivors.

He also expressed heartfelt condolences to the Kwara State Government, Patigi Emirate and the families of the deceased.

Controversial Nigerian media personality and actor, Chinedu Ani Emmanuel, aka Nedu, has revealed how speculations that he is a misogynist made him lose a multi-million naira endorsement deal.

The comedian disclosed this on the latest episode of The Honest Bunch audiovisual podcast co-hosted by him, Husband Material, and Deity Cole.

He said, I almost signed an endorsement three weeks ago and I lost it. I’m not feeling bad. I didn’t feel bad for a second but I lost it.

Why did I lose it? Because a lot of people were flying with the narrative, ‘Nedu hates women. And it’s a beverage brand. The brand said, If this is what people are saying, it means it is not going to go well with our female audience.

Nedu berated what he described as the double standard of those who accused him of liking women too much in his skits but turned around to say he spread hate against women in his podcast.

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, of raping Nigeria’s democracy and dishonouring the memory of the late MKO Abiola.

PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, urged Nigerians to use the June 12 Democracy Day to accentuate the demand for the entrenchment of democratic tenets in the country.

The party described as distasteful, offensive and unacceptable for the nation to observe the Democracy Day under a system that violated, desecrated and despoiled all the tenets of democracy as witnessed in brazen rigging that characterized the 2023 general elections.

Ologunagba made the assertion in a statement titled: “June 12: @inecnigeria, @OfficialAPCNg Raped Democracy, Dishonored Abiola’s Memory – @OfficialPDPNig.

The statement reads, The barefaced manipulations of the 2023 general elections by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), amounts to an unpardonable assault and rape of democracy and disregard for the will of the people; the very ills which Chief MKO Abiola fought and died for.

June 12 epitomizes the struggle by Nigerians against corrupt, manipulative and anti-democratic system; against injustice, impunity and electoral fraud which INEC, under Prof. Mahmood Yakubu now represents.

It is indeed heartrending that all the steady progress and gains made by successive PDP administrations in reforming our electoral system have been completely wiped off by INEC in the conduct of the 2023 general elections.

Our Party, however, urges Nigerians not to despair but remain optimistic and law-abiding in their hope for a better nation which they earnestly yearn for.