How 25-Year-Old Okiemute Won Project Fame Season 9 [Photos]

Okiemute Ighorodje, 25, has been announced as the winner of the MTN Project fame Season 9 amidst hysteria among her teeming fans in Nigeria and across Africa.

After 8 weeks of hard work, smiles, tears and all emotions, the Project Fame Season 9 has wrapped up and Okiemute has joined the prestigious Hall Of Fame of Project Fame West Africa. Okemutie will be preparing painstaking for her debut song in the mainstream music industry in Nigeria which is highly competitive but lucrative.

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Rumble In APC As Tinubu Blasts Oyegun, Calls For His Resignation

Tinubu

Former governor of Lagos, Senator Bola Tinubu has chided the All Progressive Party (APC) National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun over his submission of Rotimi Akeredolu's name to INEC as the party's flag bearer in the forthcoming gubernatorial election in Ondo State.

All Progressives Congress, APC national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has demanded the resignation of the national chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun who he claimed Sunday had derailed from the path of progressives.

In a stinking communiqué from his media office, Tinubu accused Oyegun of sabotaging the will of democracy in Ondo State by overriding the decision of the appeal panel that asked for a fresh governorship primary following investigations that showed that the delegates’ list used had been tampered with. Tinubu in the communiqué further alleged that Oyegun’s action in allegedly subverting the will of the people was not of his doing, saying that for a man of the age of the national chairman to have done what he did that he must have been under the influence of a “powerful and sinister arm at work.”

Tinubu who said that the APC was now under threat of being suffocated by anti-democratic forces pretending to be progressives, said: “The APC, a party born of the quest for democratic good governance, is under critical threat by those who managed to be in the party but never of it.

From the party’s inception, the principles of democratic fairness and justice were to guide APC internal deliberations. Party founders realized that only by intramural fair dealing could the party remain faithful to the progressive ideals that we presented to the Nigerian electorate as our governing creed. If the party could not justly govern itself, it would find it difficult to establish and maintain just government throughout the nation.

“In essence, the party was the embodiment of a democratic promise made between its members as well as a democratic vow made to the public. Evidently, some errant members believe promises and vows are mere words to be easily spoken and more easily broken. Chairman John Oyegun has breached these good pledges in a most overt and brazen display.

In doing so, Oyegun has dealt a heavy blow to the very party he professes to lead. It is an awful parent who suffocates his own child for the sake of a few naira. The party was supposed to buttress APC members elected to government at all levels. Because of Oyegun’s conduct of our affairs, the party is rapidly becoming an albatross to those it was meant to help.

“Oyegun’s comportment regarding the Ondo State primary will become the textbook definition of political treachery and malfeasance of the basest order. In early September, the state primary was held. A purported winner was named. Having faith in the ways of the party, Tinubu publicly accepted what he assumed to be a verdict honestly derived.

As a democrat, one must face the possibility of defeat and accept such as outcome with as much grace as one would embrace victory. One of the few bright spots during the conduct of the primaries was Jigawa Governor, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar. He chaired the primary convention with decorum and impartiality. He was unaware that a tampered list had been slipped into the process. “Indeed within hours of the announcement, news began to filter in that gravely disturbed me. Credible allegations of fraud troubled the waters.

The delegate list had been materially altered by someone in a strategic position to so do. The names of over 150 valid delegates were excised to make room for an equal number of impostors. This was not a clerical error. The alteration was wilfully executed that the primary would be directed toward a chosen end that bore nothing in common with the will of most state party members. A cunning few had tried to deceive the
many into believing they were outnumbered.

“A conspiracy to steal the Ondo primary had been uncovered. Fortunately, the grand deception afoot had been unable to cover its tracks fast enough. Truth began to cry for justice.
“Several candidates filed petitions contesting the result. The party established an investigative board to review the evidence. In a two to one decision, the panel found the delegate roster had suffered tampering. The panel recommended that
a new primary should be held using the valid delegate list. This recommendation was tabled before the National Working Committee (NWC). “After many hours of deliberations spanning
several days, a final vote was held by the NWC. Before hand, NWC members agreed that the decision of the majority would become the stance of the party. Such is the way of democracy.

The NWC voted six against five to cancel the fraudulent results and hold an honest primary. For a moment, it seemed the party would restore its integrity by giving democracy a chance. However, those who sought to scam an entire state would not let the vote of 11 people spoil their enterprise. “After the NWC vote, a noticeably agitated Chairman Oyegun proposed the NWC engage in prayer before concluding the meeting. Adhering
to this chairman’s request, NWC members began to pray. Seeing that the others had taken his bait, Oyegun used the prayerful interlude to secretly excuse himself from the meeting.
Contravening the NWC decision and in violation of all rules of fundamental decency, Oyegun decided to safeguard the fraud done in Ondo by perpetrating a greater fraud. Oyegun arrogated to himself the right to submit the name of Rotimi Akeredolu to INEC as the candidate of the party.

ANTONIO CONTE: Why Chelsea Risk Another Mid-Table Finish

Chelsea Manager Antonio Conte has stressed Chelsea must improve after their 3-0 defeat the hands of Arsenal or risk ending up in mid-table once more.

Chelsea had to settle for 10th place in the Premier League in 2015-16 after a hugely underwhelming season and brought in Conte in order to guide them back to the Champions League places. Nevertheless, the former Italy boss has admitted they still have plenty of work to do.
"We must improve a lot of if we want to stay up [at the top] and not in the middle of the table," said the Italian.
"But my message is not important. The most important message is the one that arrives on the pitch. We must all understand this message, and find very soon the right solution to improve. "I don't sleep [after a loss like against Arsenal], I don't sleep for two nights. When I don't sleep, I reflect. And it's important to reflect.
"I got angry at half-time but I prefer to keep my words. There are rules in the dressing room. Sure I was angry but my players were also angry. We were not satisfied with our game, with
our performance.
"I have to find the solution very, very soon because against Arsenal we played a very bad game." The reverse at Emirates Stadium made it three winless top-flight matches for Chelsea, who sit eighth.

Toure's Agent Vs Pep Guardiola: Fight Get Messier

Yaya Toure's agent Dimitri Seluk has launched a fresh attack on Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, urging the club to intervene and tell him the midfielder is considered as "family" at the Etihad Stadium.

Seluk previously slammed the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich head coach for "humiliating" Toure by leaving him out of his first-team plans and the club's Champions League squad, before going on to talk down the Catalan's coaching achievements at his old clubs. Guardiola has said Toure will not play for him again at City until he and the club's players receive an apology from the midfielder over his representative's remarks. But Seluk has already insisted he will not be saying sorry and feels there is nothing wrong with questioning Guardiola's decision to only play Toure once this season - against Steaua Bucharest in August.

The agent feels owner Sheikh Mansour and chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak must act, saying to The Sun: "They must say to Guardiola, 'Yaya is our family' - how is it possible to speak like
this? "It is not correct to do that. It is not correct to give up on a top-class player. But this is his decision - he is a good coach but his personality is s***.

"If Yaya is on the field or not, everyone will ask, 'What is this decision from Guardiola?' Normally a person cannot make a decision like this. "And it is England, not North Korea or Afghanistan - so people will discuss whether it is right and they will have their opinions. "It is necessary to remember that Yaya, when he was in Barcelona, played as a defender and they won against Man United [in the 2009 Champions League final].

"It is very strange. All supporters like Guardiola but my opinion is that supporters also see that Yaya gave City a lot. They won the title two times with him and won cups. "We'll see what Pep does. Many people don't understand how it is possible to do what he has done with players."

Seluk insisted Toure would see out his contract until the end of the season unless City approach him and reach acceptable terms to get his client to leave the Etihad Stadium, while again questioning the acclaim received by Guardiola, who has won 10 straight matches since taking charge.

"He has a contract until June and he will stay," continued Seluk.
"If they want him to leave they must make a conversation with me and then it is if we agree. "Okay, Guardiola has won matches this season, so everyone must only see his fantastic football.
But his personality is far from great. I repeat the message from everywhere that he has been from Barcelona to Bayern Munich. Many people don't like him.

"When Yaya came to the club they spent only £20million on players, not Guardiola who comes and buys three or four big signings - maybe he'll spend £1billion on players.
"After that he will say it is very difficult and £1bn is not enough. If he comes to West Brom would he win the title?
"[Claudio] Ranieri, [Ronald] Koeman and [Mauricio] Pochettino show what is possible with less money. It is more easy with half a billion pounds."

Arsene Wenger Explains Theo Walcott's Role, Calls Him...

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has stressed he always believed in Theo Walcott, but has admitted the attacker has not developed as initially expected when he rose to prominence. Walcott was dealt a major blow when he was left out of England's squad for Euro 2016, but has impressed in the opening stages of the 2016-17 campaign, scoring three times in six Premier League outings.

"Theo is a special case; at 16 he went with England to the World Cup in 2006, now we are in 2016 and he has still not played at a World Cup," Wenger told the club's official website. "It was a big blow for Walcott not to go to the Euros. I spoke with him about the disappointment of not going with England.
"He has matured and, when a player survives these disappointments after what you have promised at 16 and the way he dealt with the situations, I always thought there was something special in this guy.

"I always felt there was character in this boy and intelligence. Walcott used to be 90 per cent forward and 10 per cent defending - now he does it 50-50 and does the job in both ways
with commitment."

FINANCE MINISTER: I Can't Say When Recession Will End, But...

Mrs Kemi Adeosun 

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, has said that she cannot predict exactly when the nation will get out of the current economic recession.
She went further saying that some of the efforts of the government to reflate the economy had started yielding results. The minister made views known in an interview in Abuja, stated, “I don’t want to predict when we will get out of recession. Let me tell you that we will get into growth and that’s how you get out of recession, because of the stimulus that we are providing.

“And it may take longer than we would like, but we will definitely get out of it. We are already seeing some positive signs in agriculture and solid minerals;and with what we are trying to do with other sectors, I am very sure we will get out of it soon.”

The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, had last week stated that the country would start getting out of recession by the fourth quarter of the year. He had said, “We are already in the valley, the only direction is to go up the hill and the government is doing everything possible to ensure that we move up the hill. I am optimistic that based on the actions being taken by the monetary and fiscal authorities, the fourth quarter results will show evidence that we have started to move out of recession.
“The worst is over. The Nigerian economy is on the path of recovery and growth. So, please if you are a bystander or sideliner, you are losing; join the train now before it
leaves the station.”

Why Houses In Lagos, Abuja Have No Tenants, See Shocking Revelations

Amid increasing glut in the Nigeria’s property market as a result of the economic recession currently facing the country, the Chief Executive Officer of Sujimoto Construction Limited, a Lagos-based real estate development company, Mr. Sijibomi Ogundele, has revealed that the surge in the number of empty apartments in Ikoyi, Lagos, is due to over pricing.

Ogundele added that this disturbing phenomenon must have prompted the well- informed and educative research publication of economy watch, Financial Derivatives Company Limited recently, which informed that “The number of vacant properties in the upper class real estate neighbourhoods of Lekki, Victoria Island and Ikoyi has risen by 72 percent over the last 18 months”. Ogundele who is fondly called Sujimoto, said the cost of construction is usually padded, warning prospective property investors to beware.

According to him, “This has become a motto on a whole new level for prospective investors, who seek the very much-deserved value for money. To avoid drawing hasty conclusions and to guide our investment choices, investors should only listen to industry experts and verifiable perspectives as seen in the FDC research, and avoid the bandwagon of those listening to jaundiced opinions, which are quite popular.

“For example, the fact that former UK Prime Minister David Cameron said Nigeria was fantastically corrupt, does not in fact mean each and every Nigerian is corrupt. Also, the fact that a few celebrities find themselves enmeshed in marital problems does not mean that the marital life of every Nigerian is in danger. “To put this more clearly, apartments that should not cost more than 100 million naira, are costing investors 400 million naira to construct. Therefore, owners have no other choice than to let out the apartment at 40 million naira, transferring the padded cost of construction to tenants. What is the difference between Ipekere locally fried plantain chips sold in remote areas and the same plantain chips sold in urban areas?

“Have you ever wondered why a good meal prepared in Ijebu Ode would cost lesser than one sold in Lagos? An estimated rental for an apartment in Ikoyi is about $80,000. The same
apartment in Lekki would cost $30,000. What do you think makes the difference? Value in terms of price, quality and location put together in the same place. If location is a fundamental principle in real estate, how much more luxury real estate?”, Ogundele stated. Describing the situation as a case of quality versus quantity, said “A developer who compromises on quality of materials, no matter how highbrow the property’s location, has no right to place an exorbitant price on it. Thus, the argument for demand exceeding supply, as far as empty apartments in Ikoyi go, is unfounded.

“Luxury apartments are in high demand. Poorly finished buildings with exorbitant prices constitute the pile of empty apartments constantly being alluded to. Consider this: Are developments such as Tango Towers and Ultimate Towers in Ikoyi, empty? If such developments are not empty, imagine what would happen when the LorenzoBySujimoto with its high-end features, state-of-the-art facilities, exceptional returns on investment and competitive pricing, is completed?

“I once pointed out that luxury is not expensive. It is the intention to deliver luxury that is expensive. While the cost of a nice three-bedroom apartment in Johannesburg would go for about $350,000, the same apartment in Ikoyi would want $1 million. If the cost of construction materials is the same all over the world, the price of marble, granite, cement, tiles, kitchen, doors, paints etc, why is cost in Nigeria about 300 per cent higher?
“You cannot offer a Toyota for the price of a Bentley. One might argue that both cars will eventually ply the same road but the efficiency and prestige of a Bentley speaks for itself. Luxury sells itself. For us at Sujimoto, our biggest marketers are our clients. Listen, I have sold crap before and I have sold luxury and I can tell you from experience that it is easier to sell luxury than crap.
“When you sell luxury, you sell peace of mind, you have not only sold something that would last for generations, but you win the heart of your client who now becomes your evangelist. With the oil price plummeting, and major economies across the world experiencing down turn, individuals and organizations no longer have loose money to throw around. And with the current downsizing by companies, prospective tenants demand full value for their hard-earned money.

“Nigerian developers must realise that times have changed. The quick fix, quick gain syndrome has ended. Real estate developers who fail to understand that the current investors and real estate enthusiasts are upbeat about quality and finishing having seen same from their travels around the world. “If we desire to be the best and want to compete with foreign developers such as the
Germans, Lebanese and Italians that have spent decades mastering their craft, we will need to raise our standards in the Nigerian construction market. Or else, one day we would
wake up to find all our apartments empty”, Ogundele warned.

Vanguard.

Nigerian Leaders Are Doing Poorly Due To Bad Teachers- Ex Speaker Dimeji Bankole

Dimeji Bankole 

One-time Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Dimeji Bankole has said that the poor leadership being experienced from the current crop of Nigerian leaders are as a result of bad teachers.
The Ogun state born ex-Speaker continued saying that the future of the country is bleak, adding that the current bad leaders in the country were produced by bad teachers years back.
Hon. Bankole made this known while at the second distinguished guest lecture of the Year 2016 Registry Day of the Federal College of Education, FCE, Abeokuta. Lecturing on: “Teachers’ Quality,
Competitiveness and Employability: Defining the roles for College Administrators and Academics,” Bankole said Nigerians have the potential to change the country and further influence global development in a big way.
The former Speaker observed “The future is not looking good. There is a major problem. The government cannot pay salary and pension. If Nigeria is bad today. If we have leadership problem , it is because of the bad teachers. Nigeria needs to be rebranded”, he said. Bankole while lamenting on the challenges facing the education, said, “at present, to gain admission into universities and Polytechnics, students must achieve pass marks at or above the cut-off points of 160-180.

“On the same scale of measurement, the cut-off point for admission to a College of Education is 130. This means that the system is pre- disposed to select poorer academic performers to train as teachers for our children. “If we are selecting poorer academic performers to train and teach our students, how can we expect our students to be high achievers,if all through their formative academic years, they are separated from the brightest minds and not forced to push themselves past the standards and achievements of individuals who are unable to gain admission into university?,” Bankole queried.
While submitting that the result has been having that “In Nigeria at present our school standards are being set by poorer performing students. This is a major problem! Why are we letting this happen?
“This is no joking matter. Our Colleges of Education should have the highest cut-off points, attract the smartest students, because
they matter too much for the future of this country,”he concluded.