PINK REPUBLIC/ MY BLOG IS A STORY MARATHON.

        The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall have started their Autumn Tour yesterday after arriving in Singapore. TRH have begun their tour (which will also take them to Malaysia, Brunei and India), by celebrating the Commonwealth Games. The Prince and Duchess met Singaporean athletes and para-athletes who hope to win medals for their Commonwealth country, and held the Commonwealth Relay Baton. Her Majesty The Queen launched the Commonwealth Baton Relay outside Buckingham Pal ace in March 2017. By the time the Relay has finished, the Baton will have traveled 230,000km. The Prince of Wales will open the XXI Commonwealth Games on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen when it is staged on Australia's Gold Coast next year.

        A photo of the Kwara State Government’s Light up Kwara project has won the 2017 prize of the 2017 World Bank Global Platform for Sustainable Cities Photo contest. The picture submitted by a Kwara based Reporter/Photo Journalist, Eyitayo Oyelowo was selected out of more than 90 entries from over 40 countries around the world. The World Bank announced the winners on its website ( https://blogs.worldbank.org/…/these-winning-photos-capture-… ) on Tuesday, 31st October, 2017. According to the World Bank, "what the photographers tried to communicate was a need: both the urgent need for infrastructure that leads to more resilient, sustainable cities, or a need to aspire to greener ideals of building sustainable communities for all". In her reaction to the announcement, Eyitayo Oyelowo expressed her excitement on winning the prize and appreciated the World Bank for finding her image worthy of the prize. She also disclosed that this is the second ti...

          Queen of Netherlands, Her Majesty, Maxima Zorreguieta Cerruti on Tuesday paid a courtesy visit to the Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode as part of efforts to advance the United Nation’s financial inclusion advocacy as a vehicle to alleviate poverty and fostering equitable economic growth in Nigeria. Queen Maxima, who was visiting Nigeria for the first time in the last five years, in her capacity as the Special Advocate to United Nations’ Secretary General on financial inclusion for development, said she was impressed by the initiatives of the State Government to improve service delivery especially towards expanding access to affordable healthcare. While noting that it was important for governments to prioritize access to affordable healthcare, Queen Maxima particularly lauded the health insurance scheme of the State Government, which legal framework had already been put in place, saying that Governor Ambode deserved commendation for com...

              It was all tears and wailing as lady met her untimely death after being crushed by a 911 truck. The unfortunate incident occurred in Umunze opposite the popular "Emma nri Oka" shop. According to eyewitnesses, the lady was on a motorcycle (okada) which was approaching the roundabout when all of a sudden, a driver of an L300 bus which was parked by the roadside opened the door of his bus which knocked down the lady from the okada. Unfortunately, a 911 truck coming directly behind the okada climbed her crushing her skull. The young lady is said to hail from Ugwuagbada in Umunze and has been buried. What a very tragic way to die! May her soul rest in peace.More photos below.

       Police officer who abducted a raped a 14 year old girl in Anambra has been arrested, to be arraigned in court soon The Anambra state police command says it has arrested police officer, Bara'u Garba, who abducted and raped a 14-year-old girl, Maryam, in Anambra state. A statement released by the Delta state command says the erring police officer would soon be charged to court. Read the statement below 'The Police Command wishes to confirm the arrest of F/No 275601 CPL Bara'u Garba attached to 7PMF Sokoto but deployed to Anambra State on special duty for the alleged abduction and defilement of a 14yrs old girl of Hausa Quarters in Asaba Delta State. The erring policeman was arrested, defaulted and detained accordingly; and is facing Police internal disciplinary procedures. He will be arraigned before the appropriate Court of the land as soon as the criminal investigation against him is concluded. This is indeed an isolated case and does no...

          Barely one week after a young pretty girl from Imo was caught by vigilantes after burgling a house, another similar episode has occurred. The lady you see in this video hails from Abia State and from her own narrative, a prostitute. The lady who seems to be in her thirties broke into another woman's house in an attempt to cart away dollars and some bottles of wine but ran out of luck as she was caught in the act. It was said that when she broke into the house, unknown to her, the neighbour of the woman who owns the house alerted her on phone and she was able to bring in the members of the Anambra Vigilante who caught her right in the bedroom of the owner of the house.More photos below from the video clips.

       The case of a N2 billion fraud brought against Stephen Oronsaye, a former Head of Service, HoS to the Federation, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, before Justice Gabriel Kolawole of a Federal High Court, Abuja, has been adjourned to November 14, 2017 for “further hearing of evidence of the first prosecution witness”. Oronsaye is alleged to be complicit in several contract awards during his tenure as Ho S, and is standing trial along with Osarenkhoe Afe, managing director, Fredrick Hamilton Global Services Limited.The witness, Roukayya Ibrahim, an EFCC operative and member of the anti-graft agency’s Pension Fraud team was away to Botswana for a short course and so was absent at today’s proceeding. The prosecution, led by O.A. Atolagbe, had sent a letter to the court informing of the absence of Ibrahim, requesting for a new date. Copies of said letter were also sent to counsel for the defence. “My lord, the witness will also not...

     Revenue from Value Added Tax (VAT) grossed N797.51 billion into the Federation Account between January and October 2017, the Honourable Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, revealed on Tuesday. The non-oil revenue represents 46.15 per cent of the 2017 VAT budget of N1.728 trillion. It is however an increase of 19.78 per cent over the corresponding period in 2016. The Minister, who released the details of the 2017 VAT collection on Tuesday in Abuja, said the highest VAT collection of N86.71 billion was achieved in September 2017, while N84.67 billion and N83.315 billion were recorded in May and October, respectively. The lowest VAT earning of N69.20 billion was in March 2017. The Federal Government gets 15 per cent of VAT revenue, while the States and Local Governments receive 50 per cent and 35 per cent, respectively. Adeosun reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to aggressively growing the tax revenue base in order drive economic ...

       President Muhammdu Buhari met with the new Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, at the State House, today.More photos below.

       The Edo State Government has expressed readiness to partner with VLISCO Group to support skills acquisition programme for youths in the state, as part of efforts to tackle the scourge of human trafficking and slavery. Governor Godwin Obaseki, said this while playing host to top management of VLISCO, led by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), David Suddens, who paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House in Benin City, the Edo State Capital on Monday. Obaseki said the goal of his administration is to empower the youths by creating an environment that will attract businesses and employment opportunities. “As a government, our plan is to first attract businesses to the state and ensure that they thrive by taking advantage of our strategic location as a logistics hub,” he said.He lamented that with a population of about 4.5 million people, 60 percent under the age of 25, many of the youths want to travel abroad.He explained that given “the strateg...