Farouq Ghali-Masanawa, In A Statement On Sunday

 Kano To Pay NECO Exam Fee For 10,400 Students

The 44 local governments in Kano State have been directed by the State to pay National Examinations Council examination (NECO) fees for 10, 400 indigent students.

The Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Murtala Sule-Garo, said this through his Public Relations Officer, 

According to Sule-Garo, the Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, directed each of the eight metropolitan local governments to settle examination fees of 400 less privileged students.

Sule-Garo said each of the remaining 36 local governments would select 200 less privileged students to pay their examination fees.

He said the government had directed the 44 local governments in the state to set up a committee for the selection process.

The commissioner, however, urged wealthy individuals and non-governmental organisations to join hands with government to restore the glory of education in the state.

Synagogue Selects TB Joshua’s Successor

 The wife of the late founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, Temitope Joshua, Mrs Evelyn Joshua, will replace him as General Overseer of the church.

Evelyn and Joshua  were married for 31 years and had three children together until his death on June 5 at the age of 57.

France-based AfricaNews reports that elders of the church met and declared Evelyn the successor to the late televangelist.

A top aide of the late cleric was quoted as saying, “Someone must take charge immediately and give spiritual direction on the mode of service continuity. So much spiritual and financial effort went into building SCOAN and it cannot just waste away (sic).”

Reports say Evelyn, who met TB Joshua over 30 years ago, was said to have been serving as the second-in-command to her husband before his death earlier this month, performing the role of a preacher and offering counselling to church members.

Obasanjo Cautions Against Population Explosion

Nigeria’s former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, has warned against population explosion in the country.

According to Obasanjo, Nigeria’s population is becoming a liability due to its improper management. He said except something urgent is done, Nigeria may be declared the third largest country in 2050.

The former president called for population management in the face of the geometric population explosion without a corresponding socio-economic development, a situation which he said has slowed down national development.

He spoke in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital during a mentoring session with students of some selected schools across the country tagged “raising the next wave of innovative leaders through entrepreneurship.”

While answering questions from the students on mentorship, Obasanjo highlighted service to fatherland , integrity, loyalty and good moral standing as some of the virtues that could sustain them in their chosen careers in life.

Speaking on the state of the nation, the former president expressed worry over management of population of the country.

He said, “When COVID-19 struck, I decided to take the vaccine. I was worried that it would be like Ebola, thank God it has not been as devastating as Ebola.

“We have moved from 120 million to over 200 million. We have added the population of France to our population and if we continue the way we are going, by the year 2050 we will be the third-largest country in the world.

“If we still continue, by the year 3000, we would be the largest country in the world.

“What are we going to do to handle that, how are we going to handle that population? If we do not start getting it right now, we will not get it right by the year 2030.”

The former president however said population could either be an asset or a liability.

He said population by itself may not be a liability if we do what we have to do, but if we don’t do what we have to do which we are not doing now, the population will be a liability.

“What we need to do is education about population management. Some people don’t like saying family planning, but whatever you do, you must manage your population to the benefit of all that are living within your nation,” Obasanjo said.

How He Spent 7 Hours With Cobra In Same Room Without Being Hurt - Bishop Oyedepo

The General Overseer of the Living Faith Church International also known as Winners Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo, has told a story of how he spent seven hours with cobra in the same room.

Revealing he was unhurt by the snake, Oyedepo shared the story to prove how God manifests Himself in the life of someone who loves Him.

In a Youtube video, the clergyman said when you become a lover of God, the enemy will leave you alone, because every attempt on your life will bounce back on him.

He said, “You may read all the books I have written but until you discover my heartbeat for God, you don’t know my secret. God knows I love him, all the devils know I love God and God proves perpetually and unending that I truly love him. So He manifests himself concerning me at His own time. He does it naturally in all the realms.

“I was in my office and a cobra was found in my wardrobe, the third floor of the building and I worked in that floor seven hours in the previous night and the morning when they were cleaning, there was a cobra and it stood up. It was there all night and I was there.

“Let me tell you this, when you become a lover of God, the enemy will leave you alone, because every attempt on your life will bounce back on him.

“Everybody desires supernatural intervention in their finances but there is nothing you earn as wages that will be equal to wealth, it is the blessing of God that makes you rich and he adds no sorrow to it. So, to bring the hand of God to bear on your finances, whatever God says to you to do regarding your finances, do it.”

JAMB Issues New Directives On How To Check UTME Results

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has suspended the use of USSD code to check the just released results of the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME.

JAMB spokesperson Dr. Fabian Benjamin disclosed this in a statement issued on Saturday.

It said candidates are now expected to visit the Board’s website to access their results.

The exam body said the new results checking process was necessitated by the current challenges associated with the USSD code.

It read: “It has come to the attention of the Board that the result checking on USSD code 55019 is saddled with some challenges. Consequently, the Board hereby directs all candidates to visit JAMB portal to check for their 2021 UTME result.

“Each candidate is to follow this simple steps; Visit https://www.jamb.gov.ng.

“On the menu bar, click on efacility; On the page that shows up, click on UTME 2021 Main Results Notification Slip; Enter your registration number and click the button Check My Result.

“Candidates can check their results from anywhere there is internet access, checking by USSD code 55019 is suspended.”

Excitement As Burna Boy, Diddy Meet For First Time After Grammy Win

Nigerian singer, Damini Ogulu, popularly known as Burna Boy and American rapper and producer, Sean Combs, also known as Diddy has finally met.

Diddy co-produced Burna boy’s Grammy award-winning album, ‘Twice as Tall’, over Zoom due to the COVID-19 restrictions.

On Thursday, the duo finally met for the first time as Diddy shared a video of their meeting on his Instagram page.

In the video, Diddy was seen welcoming Burna Boy amid smiles, hugs and laughter.

He captioned the video, “God is the greatest! Yesterday was the first time seeing my brother @burnaboygram in person since the pandemic and since we created the Grammy award winning album, ‘Twice as Tall’ over Zoom!

“This shit is deeper than rap, this is a true brotherhood, the two kings reunite! LOVE LOVE LOVE.”(sic)

NDLEA Apprehends 60 Suspected Drug Traffickers In Imo

Sixty drug suspects in Imo State have been arrested between January and June 2021 and 646.23 kilograms of hard drugs seized, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has said.

Cannabis Sativa (Indian hemp) cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and tramadol are among the seized drugs while the suspects arrested were between the ages of 17 and 60 years.

Nse Inam, the Imo State Narcotics Commander, while briefing journalists on the commemoration of 2021 International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking, added that the Federal Government Special Border Task Force also transferred 4,784kg of Cannabis sativa to the state command.

Speaking further, Inam, an Assistant Commander General of Narcotics, said that eight convictions secured various jail terms. He added that the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria strike affected the prosecution of the affected persons.

He said, “15 drugs addicted person admitted, two persons were successfully rehabilitated and discharged while five others were terminated for various reason. Drug education, sanitisation and public enlightenment were also carried out at Imo State University, Trinity High School Oguta, Emmanuel College Owerri and St. Silas Anglican church Amawire Uratta among others.”

“Drug abuse and trafficking portend serious danger to any society. For us to tackle the problems of insecurity, we have to take the issue of drugs and trafficking seriously”, he added.