PINK REPUBLIC/ MY BLOG IS A STORY MARATHON.

Alleged N4.6bn Fraud: Court Adjourns Fani-Kayode Others’ Trial Till Jan. 24 Justice Daniel Osaigor of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Tuesday, November 30, 2021, adjourned till January 24, 2022 further hearing in the alleged N4.6bn fraud involving a former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode and others. Fani-Kayode is standing trial alongside a former Minister of State for Finance, Nenadi Usman, a former Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, ALGON, Yusuf Danjuma, and a company, Join-Trust Dimensions Nigeria Ltd. on a 17-count charge bordering money laundering to the tune of N4.6billion. 

 Court Adjourns Naira Marley’s Trial Till Feb.16 Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos has adjourned the trial of Azeez Fashola, also known as Naira Marley, till February 16, 2022. Marley is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on an 11-count charge bordering on conspiracy and credit card fraud. He pleaded "not guilty" to the charges when he was arraigned on May 20, 2019. At the last sitting on October 27, 2021, Augustine Anosike, a forensic analyst testifying as the second prosecution witness, had concluded his examination-in-chief. The court subsequently adjourned till November 30, 2021 for cross-examination. At today's proceeding, however, the prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, told the court that the witness was absent in court on "compassionate grounds”.

 Ogun 2022 Appropriation Bill: Abiodun presents N351bn 'Budget of Restoration'  Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, on Tuesday presented a sum of N351bn as the proposed appropriation bill for the year 2022 before the House of Assembly. Abiodun, while presenting the fiscal proposal christened 'Budget of Restoration', said the main task of his administration next year is to increase pace of the implementation of its development plan as already designed and encapsulated in the 'Building Our Future Together' agenda. Adding that the budget for 2022 will also seek to sustain and improve on the gains so far made in the delivery of good governance to the people of Ogun State, Abiodun noted that the state under his watch, has begun moving very steadily towards full recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.  He said his administration's budget credibility as determined by performance in year 2021 was better than what Ogun has ever had in its history wh...

 Destruction of 20tons drugs an indication of NDLEA's resolve — Marwa Chairman/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) has described the public destruction/burning of 20 tons of assorted illicit drugs in Abuja on Tuesday is a further affirmation of the resolve of the anti-narcotic agency to wage a total war against drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking in Nigeria. According to him, We may recall that when President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign of the NDLEA on June 26, 2021, he declared that WADA should not just be a slogan, but a call to civil action by all Nigerians Todays public destruction of 20 tons of illicit drugs and substances, further buttresses that call to action.  To be destroyed here today is approximately 20, 000 kilograms of illicit drugs worth billions of naira. Approximately, 19, 598 kilograms of these assorted illicit drugs were seized by the FCT Comm...

A 29 Year Old Virgin Bachelor Weds A 28 Year Old Virgin Bride In Lagos. The virgin groom Pastor Oghale Ighele, 29 wedded the virgin bride Dr Clementina Agbate, 28 last weekend at Marcillina’s Place, GRA Ikeja. According to the Groom, “While I was growing up, my parents kept hammering on the need for me to keep myself and never mess up and I heeded their advice. I tried to make friends who would not deceive me into having sex before marriage. I was also fully involved in church activities and I thank God for guiding me.” The bride added  “I am happy and fulfilled marrying as a virgin, though it was not an easy thing to do. I took the decision of remaining a virgin till I get married when I was a teenager. Meanwhile, I grew up in a Christian home. So, I had to keep myself. It was not easy for me. I was severally tempted by my lecturers while in the university. Friends also tried to lure me into fornication and men asked me out. In fact, I went through so many challenges. But what gui...

President Muhammadu Buhari sympathizes with families of policemen reportedly murdered in the Southeast by misguided separatist elements, who videotaped the bestial killings, and proceeded to share it widely on social media.  The President laments the horrific nature of the bloodletting, which indicates that some minds are completely overtaken by hatred, and reduced to the basest level imaginable.  Noting that the three abducted policemen, two of whom were later brutally executed, were serving the country, and providing security to those who ironically turned against them, President Buhari sends heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families, praying for God’s comfort in their deep sorrow.  He equally sympathizes with all those who have lost loved ones in the different theatres of insecurity that had rocked the country, charging them to take solace in the inevitable victory of good over evil.  As the areas where insecurity was once fiercest in the country experience s...

Need for countries to form a common front against COVID-19 stressed By Princess-Ekwi Ajide (ABS Abuja Bureau Chief) With the advent of the new COVID-19 variant, Omicron,  the World Health Organisation,  WHO,  has expressed worry that even though almost eight billion vaccines have been administered around the world, one hundred and three countries still have not reached the forty percent target, and more than half of them are at risk of missing it by the end of the year. In his opening remarks at the Special Session of the World Health Assembly,  the Director General of WHO, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus said COVID-19 has exposed and exacerbated fundamental weaknesses in the global architecture for pandemic preparedness and response. According to him, Omicron demonstrates just why the world needs a new accord on pandemics and the current system disincentivizes countries from alerting others to threats that will inevitably land on their shores saying that global health securi...

  The Federal Government will sanction those who bring in personnel into the public workforce by illegal recruitment, pad their payroll and retain ghost workers, President Muhammadu Buhari said Tuesday in Abuja.   Declaring open the 3rd National Summit on Diminishing Corruption in the Public Sector, the President warned that his administration would not hesitate to punish Heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that fraudulently present new projects as ongoing projects in the budget.   ‘‘We reduced the cost of governance by maintaining our promise to complete abandoned or ongoing projects commenced by previous administrations and have ensured that MDAs do not put forward new capital projects at the expense of ongoing projects.   ‘‘Government has, however, noted from the activities of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) that some MDAs have devised the fraudulent practice of presenting new projects as ongoing proj...

 "As Twitter’s CE0, Jack Dorsey steps down from his position, the running of the business is now in the hands of  Indian-American, Parag Agrawal. Below are five things to know about the new Twitter CEO: 1. Before his current appointment, Agrawal was Twitter's chief technical officer. 2. He  joined the company in 2011.  3. He has served as the chief technology officer since October 2017, where he was responsible for the network's technical strategy. 4. Before joining Twitter, he did research internships at AT&T, Microsoft and Yahoo. 5. Agrawal holds a PhD in computer science from Stanford University and a bachelor's degree in computer science and engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay" Credit: Ukabuilu chuks

GOVERNOR BABAJIDE SANWO-OLU’S SPEECH TO THE PEOPLE OF LAGOS STATE ON THE LEKKI TOLLGATE INCIDENT – DELIVERED ON TUESDAY 30 NOVEMBER, 2021 My dear good people of Lagos State, It is with great sense of responsibility that I address you today on the reactions that have trailed the release of the #EndSARS Judicial Panel of Inquiry Report submitted to me two weeks ago, and how it has played out in public discourse since then. I believe — and have always been vocal about this — that we owe it to you, the people of Lagos, to constantly speak and engage with you. In easy times, in difficult circumstances, we will never shy away from making our case to you, while also ensuring that we listen to you. I will start by saying that we, as an administration, are determined that the next steps that will be taken in this process of coming to terms with the events of October 2020, must bring closure to a painful episode in the history of our State, with the release of the White Paper later today. This, ...

 IMO STATE GOVERNMENT THROUGH OCDA SEALS ILLEGALLY ACQUIRED PROPERTIES IN SHELL CAMP ... GIVES TRADERS AT OLD TIMBER MARKET ONE MONTH TO RELOCATE TO PERMANENT SITE. The Imo State Government through the Special Adviser/General Manager of Owerri Capital Development Authority (OCDA), Engr. Francis Chukwu, on Monday  kick started the recovery of land assets belonging to Imolites,sequel to State Government plans to return illegally converted lands by previous administration to the original owners. According to the OCDA boss, he stated that the government is leaving no stone unturned in returning illegally acquired properties to the original owner, he said that the 3R administration of Gov. Hope Uzodimma,is one that believes in transparency and accountability in service to the people.  In another development traders occupying old timber market have been asked to relocate to their permanent site in Naze Owerri North within one month, while those at Naze roundabout were asked to ...

President Buhari participates at the 3rd National Summit on Diminishing Corruption in the Public Sector 2021 and presents Public Service Integrity Award in State House on 30th Nov 2021 ICPC 5: President Buhari with R-L: Awardee Asst. Commander of Narcotics NDLEA Muhammad Tukur Ahmad, Chairman of ICPC Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, and Awardee Mr. Nelson Okoronkwo of Federal Ministry of Information during the 3rd National Summit on Diminishing Corruption in the Public Sector 2021 and presents Public Service Integrity Award in State House on 30th Nov 2021. More photos below.

“Yours is a story in which every Barbadian, young and old, can take the greatest pride - inspired by what has come before them and confident about what lies ahead. “You are the guardians of your heritage, firm craftsmen of your fate! “I remain deeply committed to this very special country, and to your future prosperity and wellbeing. I shall always consider myself a friend of Barbados.” In attendance at last night's Presidential Inauguration Ceremony in Bridgetown, The Prince of Wales highlighted the close relationship between Barbados and the UK. The event included cultural performances, a march past and a mounted Guard of Honour, which escorted HRH to Heroes Square. The Royal Standard was lowered before Dame Sandra Mason was sworn in as the first President of Barbados and the Presidential Standard was raised. During a special presentation,The Prince received the The Order of Freedom of Barbados - the country’s highest-ranking honour. Thank you for the warm hospitality shown to ...

Congratulations to Darey Art Alade and his wife Deola who both tied the knot in 2007,wow is 15 years already and the Nigerian musician is not keeping quiet about it. He shared a photo of both both of them backing the cameraman with the caption ''   Through the furnace, through the fire… Passion and desire… Love and hope… 15 years deep…now that’s dope! 😝 Happy 15th Wedding Anniversary love ❤️  ''.One more photo below.