UPDATED: Two dead, six injured in Finland stabbing spree

Two people were killed and six were injured in a stabbing spree in the Finnish city of Turku on Friday, police said, after officers shot one suspect and warned several others could still be at large.

“There are eight victims in the stabbing. Two dead and six injured,” Turku police tweeted after the assault in a market square.
Police shot one suspect in the legs and arrested him. Security forces wrote on Twitter that police were “looking for other possible perpetrators”.

BREAKING: RCCG GO, Adeboye visits President Buhari in London

Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, on Friday visited President Muhammadu Buhari at the Abuja House, London.
Buhari has been receiving medical attention in the British capital since May 7.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, posted two photographs taken during Adeboye’s visit on his Facebook page.

 In one of the pictures, Buhari and his visitor were seated on a sofa while he was scanning through a book which is suspected to be from the religious leader.
A bag which appeared to have been used to take the book to the President was placed in between Buhari and Adeboye.

http://dollarcell.com/?ref=522769

http://dollarcell.com/?ref=522769

Kindly click on the link to view

INFOGRAPHICS: Senators, Reps earn N6.78bn in one year

Senate/Reps earnings

A report by Economic Confidential has revealed that the National Assembly comprising the Senators and members of House of Representatives have received a total of N6.78bn as salaries and allowances in one year.

Edo election: We’ve no link with militants, says Rivers PDP

Oshiomole

Chukwudi Akasike, Port Harcourt
THE People Democratic Party in Rivers State declared on Wednesday it had no link with militants and had never planned to disrupt the election in Edo State with any militant group.
The party also said at no time did Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers and Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta States raise N2bn for the PDP in Edo State to prosecute the election.
Rivers State Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr. Samuel Nwanosike, made this remarks while speaking with newsmen in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
He explained that the comments credited to the Edo State Governor, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, was made out of desperation to ensure that the All Progressives Congress won the forthcoming election in the South-South state.
Oshiomhole had specifically accused Wike and Okowa of planning to deploy 8,000 militants in Edo to disrupt the poll.
The Edo State governor also alleged that his Rivers counterpart and Okowa had raised the sum of N2 billion for the PDP governorship candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, to win the election.
But Nwanosike described the allegations as false, adding that though the Rivers State governor declared amnesty for repentant militants in Rivers, it had nothing to do with the Edo election.

Edo election’ll spark economic revolution – Obaseki

Mr. Godwin Obaseki

Alexander Okere, Benin

The candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Godwin Obaseki, has said that the forthcoming governorship election in Edo State will mark the beginning of an economic revolution.

Obaseki, who was spoke at an interactive session with 2,000 support groups in Benin, the state capital, explained that the governorship election on September 28 would open a floodgates for the citizens of the state.

He said the state government, under the Adams Oshiomhole administration, had laid a solid foundation, which he and his running mate, Philip Shaibu, would build on, when elected into office.

He said, “Let me tell you that, for me, September 28 will be the beginning of a real economic revolution in Edo State. When Governor Adams Oshiomhole assumed office almost eight years ago, the circumstances were very different; we had to fight hard to free the state from the stranglehold of the PDP cabal, who had held us down in perpetual underdevelopment for 16 years.

PDP accuses Oshiomhole, el-Rufai of influencing Edo poll’s postponement

Adams Oshiomhole

Alexander Okere, Benin

The Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party has accused Governor Adams Oshiomhole of allegedly using his Kaduna State counterpart, Nasir el-Rufai, to influence the postponement of the governorship election in order to buy time to rig the poll.

The Independent National Electoral Commission had, last Thursday, postponed the election from September 10 to September 28, citing security reports received by the ‎Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Security over threats by insurgents to cause violence during the exercise.

The Edo State PDP chairman, Chief Dan Orbih, at a press briefing on Wednesday in Benin, claimed that the party received information from the Government House that the Kaduna State governor allegedly influenced a national commissioner of the INEC to postpone the election.

El-Rufai is the Deputy Chairman of the National Campaign Council of the APC for the Edo State governorship election.

It’s wicked to owe workers in recession — Obiano

Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano

Tony Okafor, Awka

The Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, has said that it is a sin for any employer of labour particularly government to owe workers salaries in a time of recession the country is in now.

Obiano said this during the commencement of the  Anambra State Fire and Safety Summit in Awka on Wednesday.

 He said payment of workers’ salaries would energise the economy in a recession and make life more meaningful for the people.

 The governor, who expressed fear that the dollar would continue to rise against the naira, said it would take no fewer than 18 months for the economic downturn in the country to subside.

He said, “A state that does not pay its workers is inviting calamity. Payment of workers’ salaries energises the economy.

“We saw this recession early and made agriculture one of the pillars of our administration.

Ignore Boko Haram’s threat to capture Buhari, says DHQ

Chief of Defence Staff, Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin

John Alechenu and Fidelis Soriwei

A faction of Boko Haram loyal to Abubakar Shekau has released a new video in which it threatened to capture or kill President Muhammadu Buhari.

The sect also threatened to deal with the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai.

The video was viewed by one of our correspondents in Abuja on Wednesday.

It showed a large number of members of the terrorist group observing what they claimed was their Eid-el-Kabir prayer at an undisclosed location.

The unnamed leader of the group who led the prayers was dressed in a white-flowing gown and black turban. He held an AK 47 rifle.

EFCC declares ex-governor wanted for alleged N76bn fraud

Immediate past Governor of Katsina State, Mr. Ibrahim Shema

Eniola Akinkuotu, Abuja

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has declared wanted the immediate past Governor of Katsina State, Mr. Ibrahim Shema, over an alleged N76bn fraud.

It was learnt that the EFCC declared him wanted sequel to allegations levelled against him by his successor, Governor Aminu Masari.

In a gazette signed by the spokesman for the EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, the anti-graft agency said Shema had ignored all invitations by the EFCC.

The gazette read in part, “The public is hereby notified that Ibrahim Shema, a former Governor of Kastina State, is wanted by the EFCC in connection with a case of criminal conspiracy, inflation of contracts, abuse of office, diversion of funds and embezzlement, running into billions of naira.

“The former governor ignored several invitations by the commission since December 1, 2015, when he was first summoned by the agency. All efforts to locate him at his known addresses in Katsina and Abuja were futile.

Tell your friends to forget Biafra, Buhari to Igbo corpers

President Muhammadu Buhari

Eniola Akinkuotu and Ihuoma Chiedozie

President Muhammadu Buhari has urged the National Youth Service Corps members of Igbo extraction to tell their colleagues that there is no hope of having a sovereign ‘Biafran State’.

Buhari said this when over 100 corps members serving in Katsina State came to visit him at his Daura residence on Tuesday.

A statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Garba Shehu, said the President urged the corps members to do everything to ensure the unity of Nigeria.

Speaking specifically to corps members from the south-eastern states, the President said, “Tell your colleagues who want Biafra to forget about it.”

The President said as a young soldier during the Civil War between 1967 and 1970, he fought hard to ensure the unity of the nation.

He, therefore, maintained that Nigeria would never disintegrate under his watch.

Okonjo-Iweala may not be guilty of fraud — Joda

Former Minister of Finance, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Hindi Livinus, Yola

Transition Committee Chairman, Ahmed Joda, said his panel did not find anything to believe a former Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, was guilty of graft.

Okonjo-Iweala served last in the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Joda, who spoke with select journalists in Yola, Adamawa State, said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, which had beamed its searchlight on the last administration, might never find Okonjo-Iweala guilty of any wrongdoing, despite the various financial malfeasances that had been traced to the Jonathan administration.

$15m in my accounts for medical bills, others, says Patience

Dame Patience Jonathan

Eniola Akinkuotu, Success Nwogu and Ramon Oladimeji

Dame Patience Jonathan, the wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan, said she was using her $15m, which was frozen in four companies’ accounts, to settle medical bills while she was out of the country.

She, therefore, urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and Skye Bank to lift the restriction on the accounts.

Patience said this in a letter with reference number GA/Abibo/00226/2016, written by her lawyers, Granville Abibo (SAN) and Co, which was addressed to the Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu.

It had reported that the four accounts belonged to the following companies: Pluto Property and Investment Company Limited, Seagate Property Development and Investment Company Limited, Trans Ocean Property and Investment Company Limited and Globus Integrated Service Limited.

A houseboy, a driver and other domestic workers of a former Special Adviser on Domestic Affairs to Jonathan, Waripamowei Dudafa, were named as directors, but Patience’s $15m was lodged in the accounts and she was given a platinum card and exclusive access to the accounts.

Sultan says killer herdsmen are foreign terrorists, CAN disagrees

Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Jama’atul Nasir Islam, Sa’ad Abubakar lll

Friday Olokor and Adeniyi Olugbemi

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, in his Eid-el-Kabir message on Monday said armed herdsmen perpetrating violence in the country were foreign terrorists.

The Eid prayer was attended by Second Republic President, Alhaji Shehu Shagari; Governor Aminu Tambuwal; his deputy, Alhaji Ahmed Aliyu; and Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, among other dignitaries.

He said,  “All those so-called Fulani herdsmen, moving with guns, causing violence, fighting with farmers are not Nigerians.

“These are foreigners coming into Nigeria to cause a breach of the peace of the nation. They are therefore terrorists and should be treated as such by the Nigerian security agencies.

US takes China to WTO over $100bn rice, wheat subsidies

US President Barack Obama launched legal action against “unfair” Chinese rice, wheat and corn subsidies at the World Trade Organisation on Tuesday, setting up a culturally sensitive multi-billion-dollar trade spat.

The United States alleges that China doled out $100 billion in “market price support” for the grains, above levels agreed at the Geneva-based WTO.

“When other countries flout the rules to try and undercut American workers and farmers, we hold them accountable,” Obama said in a statement announcing the action.

China is the world’s largest producer of wheat and rice, holding significant sway over world markets.

Rice, in particular, is a food staple, with important cultural and political significance.

Just six decades ago, Mao Zedong’s Great Leap Forward — a drive to industrialize China — spurred mass famine that killed as many as 45 million people.

Today, China’s government has put a premium on agricultural self-sufficiency and safeguarding supply, much to Washington’s ire.

It believes that Chinese state aid lowers production

Boko Haram: Buhari is happy with Air Force, says Abubakar

President Muhammadu Buhari

The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, has told Air Force personnel involved in the fight against Boko Haram insurgents in the North East that President Muhammadu Buhari is very happy and appreciates their efforts.

Abubakar made the statement on Tuesday while having lunch with Air Force troops at the Yola Air Force Base as part of Eid-el-Kabir celebrations.

The Chief of Army Staff, represented by Chief of Policy and Plans, NAF headquarters, Air Vice-Marshal James Abubakar, urged the troops to sustain the efforts toward bringing peace to the North East and Nigeria.

He said, “The good work you are doing is appreciated by the commander-in-chief; he is sending his greetings to you at this festive time.

“He commends your efforts and urges you to sustain your commitment for peace in the Northeast and Nigeria as a whole.

Economic crisis: Nigeria will overcome, says Saraki

Senate President Bukola Saraki

The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki on Tuesday, assured Nigerians that economy recession in the country will soon be tackled through legislative  support.

Saraki, gave the assurance in Ilorin during an interaction with Journalists, while also affirming that Nigerians were really suffering.

According to him, the major preoccupation of the Senate upon resumption on September 20, will be finding solutions to the ecession.

“We are going to have an exhaustive and comprehensive debate on fixing the
country’s economy when we resume next week.

4,904 workers recruited by Jonathan may lose jobs

Former President Goodluck Jonathan

Fidelis Soriwei and Friday Olokor

The jobs of 4,904 civil servants, who were recruited by the Federal Civil Service Commission in the last administration of President Goodluck Jonathan,  are under threat as  the  Federal Character Commission has queried the exercise.

 It was learnt on Monday that moves by the Federal Civil Service Commission to sack the workers had led to a crisis in the civil service.

No fewer than 247 of the affected workers had petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission over a plan by the FCSC to sack them.

Nigeria records biggest drop in oil output

’Femi Asu

Crude oil production from Nigeria dropped the most in August among its peers in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, paring the gain it recorded in the previous month.

Nigeria had in March lost the status of Africa’s top oil producer to Angola when the country’s production dropped to 1.677 million barrels per day, compared to Angola’s 1.782 million bpd.

OPEC’s Monthly Oil Market Report for September, which was released on Monday, showed that Nigeria’s oil output fell to 1.468 million bpd in August from 1.52 million bpd in the previous month, based on direct communication.

Nigeria had in July recorded the biggest increase in output, but it was not enough to help the country regain the top spot from Angola.

Patience Jonathan must explain source of wealth –CACOL

Ramon Oladimeji 

A civil society organisation, Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, has said the wife of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, must explain how she came about the funds with which she built a N10bn hotel in Bayelsa State.

Patience inaugurated the hotel, which is known as Aridolf Resort Wellness and Spa, Yenagoa, in April 2015, about a month before the end of her husband’s tenure.

According to a UK business newspaper, The Financial Times, the hotel, which has imported state-of-the-art furniture, can compete with other luxury hotels in developed countries.