Moments ago, President Muhammadu Buhari received his certificate of return as 'president-elect' from INEC alongside his VP, Yemi Osinbajo.

At the ceremony, President Buhari said, 'I am grateful to God for sparing our lives to witness another milestone in Nigeria’s democratic development namely conclusion of the Presidential election in an overwhelmingly peaceful manner'.

See the rest of his statement below....

I wish, Mr Chairman, to congratulate all the Presidential candidates and their teams on a hard-fought campaign. We may have had different views during the campaign, but the one thing most of us have in common is love of our country and our desire to improve conditions for Nigerians.

From the comments of several observers both local and foreign, it is obvious that the elections were both free and fair.

Now that the elections are over, and a winner declared, we must all see it as a victory for Nigeria, our dear country. That was why I encouraged my teeming supporters, in a speech I read earlier today, not to gloat. Our God-given victory is enough cause for joy, without deriding those who were in the opposition. All Nigerians, going forward, must stand in brotherhood, for a bright and fulfilling future.

I therefore want to assure that we will continue to engage all parties that have the best interest of Nigerians at heart. Our Government will remain inclusive and our doors will remain open. That is the way to build the country of our dream; safe, secure, prosperous, and free of impunity and primitive accumulation by those entrusted with public offices.

The hard work to deliver a better Nigeria continues, building on the foundations of peace, rule of law and opportunities for all. We will roll up our sleeves afresh and give it our all. We have no other motive than to serve Nigeria with our hearts and might and build a nation which we and generations to come can be proud of.

I am very grateful to the over 15 million citizens who voted for me, those who contributed in many ways in the running of our successful campaign, and those at home and abroad who expressed confidence in me and the APC Government. I thank you all.

I can assure that you will see a country moving to the Next Level, as we consolidate on our fundamental areas of securing the country, reviving the economy, and fighting corruption. Many other focal areas, as stated in our campaign manual, will be added, to the good things we plan for our country.

Let me pay tribute here to those who lost their lives either through accidents or mindless violence during the course of these elections. My heart and thoughts are with the families of the victims. May God comfort and give them the fortitude to bear the loss.

Election is not war and should never be seen as a do or die affair. I pray that we all accept this democratic approach to elections, however contentious.

Thank you all and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje has described those doubting the election results from his state as unserious and ignorant.

A total of 1.891m votes were cast during the elections, raising an eyebrow with many assuming the figures were concocted. APC got a total of 1.4m votes.

Reacting to this allegation, Governor Ganduje who spoke with state house correspondents after paying a congratulatory visit to President Buhari, said those in doubt of the figures are not serious

“First of all, they are not serious people, they are people who are anti-democracy. If you have seen how the elections were conducted, I think everybody will agree that INEC tried very well. Even though there was low turnout of voters because we were expecting to get much more than that, but the election was fair and free.

“Those who say we couldn’t have got that much are ignorant of the politics of Kano.” he said

On why the state was unable to provide the five million votes he promised during the campaigns, President Buhari said

“Well, I told you it’s because of the low turnout of voters but I promise you next time…let’s look towards the governorship election.”

When asked if he is optimistic, he will be voted into office again, Governor Ganduje said

“My chances are very high, and you can see the beginning of it with the presidential elections. We gave Mr. President the highest number votes, all the three senators are back, 24 House of Representatives members out of 24 have succeeded. What else are you expecting? That is the foundation.

Another thing is that Mr. President has done a lot of work in Nigeria and in Kano and as a government we have done a lot in Kano State. If there was negative reaction, we would have seen it from the presidential election. That is why I say we are heading for a huge success in Kano both in the gubernatorial and state House of Assembly elections.”

The man who was allegedly resurrected in a video by Pastor Alph Lukau of Alleluia International Ministries has been identified as Brighton from Zimbabwe. 

Brighton is a 29-year-old man who worked at timber a company in Pretoria. The company, Vincent Amoretti Ltd, told Eyewitness News on Tuesday that the last time they saw Brighton was on February 19th, when he arrived late for work. Brighton has not been at work since last Tuesday and is his absence, is being treated absent with leave. 

Now, one of Brighton's former employers has revealed the extent of his deception and that he has been arrested.

According to a report by 'The Citizen' who spoke with Vincent, who Brighton had worked for at a factory in Pretoria, Brighton was arrested on Tuesday morning February 26. 

'Vincent confirmed that he had been told by his other employees that Elliot had been arrested and that they had no further details at this stage. "I got word from one of the guys that works for me that knows Elliot, I believe they arrested him today," said Vincent. 

He went on to confirm that Brighton was indeed an employee at his wood-working factory in Pretoria where he had worked until recently and looked completely healthy the last time he'd reported for duty. 

According to Vincent, this was not the first stunt Brighton had been a part of as he'd previously allegedly pretended to be wheelchair-bound so that the pastor could "heal" him in front of the masses. His employer went on to describe him as a very smart man who was unfortunately fond of lying. 

Various social media users have also shared old photos featuring Brighton, and it seems he has previously worked with the pastor as his cameraman, among other things.

Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, has asked the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the just concluded election, Atiku Abubakar, to show the spirit of sportsmanship and call President Buhari to concede defeat.

Okorocha in an interview with newsmen in Owerri, the state capital this morning, said wisdom calls for Atiku to congratulate President Buhari on his re-election victory.

“Wisdom calls for the PDP candidate to congratulate him (Buhari), to show appreciation because when you don’t do that, people will begin to think that you are doing this for selfish reasons. Nigeria is bigger than all of us, leaders must learn to make sacrifices where possible, not to their own comfort but to the comfort of the nation. That is what leadership is all about,” he said

Atiku has since issued a statement saying he will not concede defeat and will not call President Buhari who has since been declared winner of the 2019 poll. Atiku says the election was marred by electoral malpractice.

The presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has released a statement rejecting the 2019 presidential result.

According to him, the election was marred by electoral fraud in many states. He said this is why he has not called President Buhari to congratulate him.

''If I had lost in a free and fair election, I would have called the victor within seconds of my being aware of his victory to offer not just my congratulations, but my services to help unite Nigeria by being a bridge between the North and the South.

“However, in my democratic struggles for the past three decades, I have never seen our democracy so debased as it was on Saturday, February 23, 2019. 2007 was a challenge, but President Yar’Adua was remorseful. In 2019, it is sad to see those who trampled on democracy thumping their noses down on the Nigerian people.

“Consequently, I hereby reject the result of the February 23, 2019 sham election and will be challenging it in court.” the statement in part reads

Read the full statement below.

“I thank the Nigerian people who trooped out in their millions to perform their civic duty this past Saturday. The patriotism of Nigerians is heartwarming and affirms my oft-repeated statement that we are brothers and sisters born from the womb of one mother Nigeria.

“With regards to the Presidential elections that took place on February 23, 2019, it is clear that there were manifest and premeditated malpractices in many states which negate the results announced.

“One obvious red flag is the statistical impossibility of states ravaged by the war on terror generating much higher voter turnouts than peaceful states. The suppressed votes in my strongholds are so apparent and amateurish, that I am ashamed as a Nigerian that such could be allowed to happen. How can total votes in Akwa-Ibom, for instance, be 50% less than what they were in 2015?

“Another glaring anomaly is the disruption of voting in strongholds of the Peoples Democratic Party in Lagos, Akwa-Ibom, Rivers and diverse other states, with the authorities doing little or nothing and in some cases facilitating these unfortunate situations. (See attached links to documentary evidences).

“The militarization of the electoral process is a disservice to our democracy and a throwback to the jackboot era of military dictatorship. In some areas of the country, such as, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Imo states, troops deployed for the elections turned their guns on the very citizens they were meant to protect. This is condemnable and should not be associated with our electoral process in the future.

“I am a democrat and there are democratic avenues available to present the truth to the nation and the watching world. Already, many international observers have given their verdicts, which corroborate our observations. I am sure more will come in the coming hours and days.

“If I had lost in a free and fair election, I would have called the victor within seconds of my being aware of his victory to offer not just my congratulations, but my services to help unite Nigeria by being a bridge between the North and the South.

“However, in my democratic struggles for the past three decades, I have never seen our democracy so debased as it was on Saturday, February 23, 2019. 2007 was a challenge, but President Yar’Adua was remorseful. In 2019, it is sad to see those who trampled on democracy thumping their noses down on the Nigerian people.

“Consequently, I hereby reject the result of the February 23, 2019 sham election and will be challenging it in court.

“I want to assure my supporters and the entire Nigerian people that together, we will not allow democracy to be emasculated.

“I hope and pray Nigerians will someday summon the courage to defend democracy. That is the only way we can move away from being the world headquarters for extreme poverty.”

Signed:

Waziri Atiku Abubakar

27th February 2019

Former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, has vowed to ensure that the victory of Dr Chris Ekpenyong of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the election for Ikot-Ekpene Senatorial District is reversed. 

Ekpenyong was declared winner of the senatorial seat after polling 118,215 votes to defeat Senator Akpabio of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who got 83,158 votes. 

Senator Akpabio who was a former Senate Minority Leader while he was with the PDP, said he would challenge the results of the election as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Tuesday.

He spoke with Channels Television on its live programme on the election, The Verdict, that he won the poll and was optimistic that the court would make the final decision. 

“It’s a temporary setback. That is why there are processes. For instance, if you feel that you were cheated or there was wrong collation, you have recourse to the courts.

I did not fail; I can’t fail. I believe strongly that there must have been some wrong collation somewhere.

Those things will be corrected. We have processes in the election. It’s from one stage; we have to do registration, vote and collate” Akpabio said.

Former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, has taken to twitter to counsel PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, on the next step he should take if the Federal government fails to release the authentic presidential results from last Saturday, February 23rd election.

In a series of tweets, FFK advised Atiku to call for national disobedience and form his own government if the Federal government fails to announce authentic results.

Dino Melaye has taken to his twitter handle to react to the news of his friend and colleague, Bukola Saraki, losing his senatorial seat. Saraki lost his seat, Kwara Central senatorial district to APC's Ibrahim Oloriegbe, in last Saturday's election.

Dino who is a staunch supporter of Saraki, via his twitter handle, wrote

''Sen Bukola Saraki the indefatigable defender of our democracy. True Patriot and promoter of our national Heritage. Every orchestration, gang up, manipulation and deliberate wickedness against you is temporal and evaporative. You remain my boss, brother and friend. I love you''.

Last night, celebs didn't know what to expect at 2019 Oscars as it was the first ceremony in 30 years without a host.

The evening however concluded with the awards spread around; every Best Picture nominee earned at least one trophy, and 15 movies in all earned the 24 awards while Green Book, won Best Picture in addition to two other awards: Supporting Actor for Mahershala Ali, and Original Screenplay.

Bohemian Rhapsody earned the most Oscars overall, with four, including Lead Actor for Rami Malek, who played Queen frontman Freddie Mercury. The movie has come under fire for its treatment of Mercury’s sexuality. 

Green Book’s three Oscars were matched by Roma and Black Panther. Roma’s Alfonso Cuarón won Best Director and Cinematography, making him the first director in Oscars history to take home both of those prizes. The film also won Best Foreign Language Feature.

See the full list of winners below...

Best Picture

Black Panther

BlacKkKlansman

Bohemian Rhapsody

The Favourite

Green Book **WINNER**

Roma

A Star Is Born

Vice

Directing

BlacKkKlansman, Spike Lee

Cold War, Pawe? Pawlikowski

The Favourite, Yorgos Lanthimos

Roma, Alfonso Cuarón **WINNER**

Vice, Adam McKay

Actress in a Leading Role

Yalitza Aparicio, Roma

Glenn Close, The Wife

Olivia Colman, The Favourite **WINNER**

Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born

Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Actor in a Leading Role

Christian Bale, Vice

Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born

Willem Dafoe, At Eternity’s Gate

Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody **WINNER**

Viggo Mortensen, Green Book

Actress in a Supporting Role

Amy Adams, Vice

Marina de Tavira, Roma

Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk **WINNER**

Emma Stone, The Favourite

Rachel Weisz, The Favourite

Actor in a Supporting Role

Mahershala Ali, Green Book **WINNER**

Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman

Sam Elliott, A Star Is Born

Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Sam Rockwell, Vice

Original Screenplay

The Favourite, Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara

First Reformed, Paul Schrader

Green Book, Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, and Peter Farrelly **WINNER**

Roma, Alfonso Cuarón

Vice, Adam McKay

Adapted Screenplay

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

BlacKkKlansman, Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, and Spike Lee**WINNER**

Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty

If Beale Street Could Talk, Barry Jenkins

A Star Is Born, Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, and Will Fetters

Cinematography

Cold War, Lukasz Zal

The Favourite, Robbie Ryan

Never Look Away, Caleb Deschanel

Roma, Alfonso Cuarón **WINNER**

A Star Is Born, Matthew Libatique

Makeup and Hairstyling

Border

Mary Queen of Scots

Vice ** WINNER**

Best Documentary Feature

Free Solo **WINNER**

Hale County This Morning, This Evening

Minding the Gap

Of Fathers and Sons

RBG

Costume Design

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

Black Panther**WINNER**

The Favourite

Mary Poppins Returns

Mary Queen of Scots

Film Editing

BlacKkKlansman

Bohemian Rhapsody **WINNER**

The Favourite

Green Book

Vice

Production Design

Black Panther **WINNER**

The Favourite

First Man

Mary Poppins Returns

Roma

Sound Editing

Black Panther

Bohemian Rhapsody **WINNER**

First Man

A Quiet Place

Roma

Sound Mixing

Black Panther

Bohemian Rhapsody**WINNER**

First Man

Roma

A Star Is Born

Foreign Language Film

Capernaum, Lebanon

Cold War, Poland

Never Look Away, Germany

Roma, Mexico **WINNER**

Shoplifters, Japan

Animated Feature

Incredibles 2

Isle of Dogs

Mirai

Ralph Breaks the Internet

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse **WINNER**

Live Action Short

Detainment

Fauve

Marguerite

Mother

Skin **WINNER**

Animated Short Film

Animal Behavior

Bao **WINNER**

Late Afternoon

One Small Step

Weekends

Documentary Short

Black Sheep

End Game

Lifeboat

A Night at the Garden

Period. End of Sentence. **WINNER**

Visual Effects

Avengers: Infinity War

Christopher Robin

First Man **WINNER**

Ready Player One

Solo: A Star Wars Story

Original Score

Black Panther **WINNER**

BlacKkKlansman

If Beale Street Could Talk

Isle of Dogs

Mary Poppins Returns

Original Song

“All the Stars,” Black Panther

“I’ll Fight,” RBG

“The Place Where Lost Things Go,” Mary Poppins Returns

“Shallow,” A Star Is Born **WINNER**

“When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings,” The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has lost the Kwara Central Senatorial District election to Ibrahim Oloriegbe of the All Progressives Congress (APC). 

The Returning Officer, Professor Olawale Olatunbosun, announced this on Sunday shortly after collating the results of the election in the zone. According to him, Oloriegbe polled a total of 123,808 votes to defeat Senator Saraki of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who scored 68,994 votes.

A breakdown of the results of the elections conducted revealed that the Senator-elect defeated the Senate President in all four local government areas in Kwara Central senatorial district. They are Asa, Ilorin South, Ilorin West, and Ilorin East LGAs. 

The lawmaker’s loss in the election has cost him and his party a seat in the ninth Assembly, after Saraki’s tenure as Senate President ends.

Photos have surfaced online that shows American rapper, Tyga getting dragged out of a night club on Saturday night in Hollywood.

According to reports, Tyga was at the Sunset Room in Hollywood, celebrating Floyd Mayweather's 42nd birthday when someone in the crowd started an argument with the rapper. It's unclear what they were beefing about as the unknown man grabbed Tyga's clothes and got in his face. Security had to step in and Tyga was grabbed by the neck yanked out of the club.

Once Tyga and the unknown man were outside, it escalated and at one point Tyga reached to grab his security guard's gun but the guard made sure it never left his holster, so Tyga never actually took possession of the firearm.

The Department of State Services (DSS) has denied reports claiming it had arrested a spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Campaign Council, Buba Galadima.

It was widely reported yesterday that the PDP spokesperson was picked up by unknown masked men in Wuse 2 area in Abuja.

Recall that the Buhari Campaign Organization had in a statement released by its spokesperson, Festus Keyamo, called for the arrest of Galadima over allegations he was releasing fake presidential results.

The DSS has however denied any involvement in the reported arrest of Galadima.

Reliable sources close to Nairametrics indicate tier one lender Zenith Bank could earn close to N100 billion or more as gains from derivatives and treasury bills trading in the 2018 financial year.

The bank has consistently made hefty trading income in the last few years rising from N20 billion in 2016 to over N60 billion in the 2017 financial year. 

The trading desk of the bank is headed by Michael Anyimah. He is a 1997 graduate of Actuarial Science from the University of Lagos. He also obtained an MBA from the same institution in 2003. In addition, he is a CFA charter holder.

From July 2005 to March 2008, he was an FX trader with Citigroup Nigeria. While there, he was responsible for developing foreign exchange risk hedges for clients. He was also responsible for the active foreign currency balance sheet management.

He joined Zenith Bank in March 2008, as the Head of Foreign Exchange trading and Derivatives Sales and Trading. At Zenith, he manages the FX Trading Unit which trades the G7 currencies and the Naira against the G7 currencies. G7 currencies comprise currencies of the 7 industrialized countries namely the United States, Germany, France, Canada, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

He also heads the unit in charge of Derivative sales and trading, taking proprietary positions and providing hedging solutions to clients foreign exchange and interest rate risks

Zenith Bank is currently trading at N24.20 in today’s trading session on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, up  1.25%.

Zenith bank head quarters

Tier one lender Zenith Bank Plc has released its audited results for the 2018 financial year. Here are highlights of the result.

Gross Earnings

Gross Earnings dipped from N745 billion in 2017 to N630 billion in 2018.

Bua group

Profit Before Tax

Profit before tax, however, rose from N199 billion in 2017 to N231 billion in 2018.

Profit After Tax

Profit After Tax also rose from N173 billion in 2017 to N193 billion in 2018.

Earnings Per Share

Earnings per share also rose from N5.53 in 2017 to N6.15 in 2018.

Dividend Per Share

The bank has declared a final dividend of N2.50 per share.

Current Share Price

Zenith Bank is currently trading at N24.75 in today’s trading session, up 3.13%

Zenith Bank Plc has announced that it will pay a final dividend of N2.50 kobo for every share of 50 kobo for the financial year ended Monday, December 31, 2018. The dividend payment is subject to appropriate withholding tax and approval of shareholders.

The dividends will be paid by March 19, 2019, electronically to shareholders whose names appear on the Shareholders’ Register as at March 8, 2019, and who have completed the e-dividend registration and mandated the Registrar to pay their dividends directly into their Bank accounts.

Shareholders’ Register will be closed from Monday, March 11 to Friday, March 15, 2019, the Qualification Date has been scheduled to be Friday, March 8, 2019.

This may be an exciting new for Zenith Bank’s Plc, as the lender recorded laudable financial results for 2018 financial year, even though their gross earning dipped.

The lender’s gross Earnings dipped from N745 billion in 2017 to N630 billion in 2018.

Profit before tax, however, rose from N199 billion in 2017 to N231 billion in 2018. Profit After Tax also rose from N173 billion in 2017 to N193 billion in 2018.

Former Super Eagles striker, Osaze Odemwingie, says more than 70% of African players believe so much in juju than medical doctors.

The 37-year-old Football star who currently plays in Indonesia, said this in a recent interview with championat.com, when he explained how he received treatment from a native doctor in Benin city when he was injured while playing football.

”I had a fall in training, I also hurt my shoulder and broke my arm. I was afraid to tell my mom so they took me to the local juju man. They poured hot water to relax their muscles. Somehow they returned the hand to the place, while I yelled, they twisted some small sticks. There was a rite with a chicken. I came home, my mother saw the hand: “Broke?” I answered: “Yes.” I was taken to a regular hospital, anaesthesia was done, and they put the plaster on. All is well in the end,” he said

Speaking further, he said

”At least 70% of players believe in it. They think that some kind of salve will save them. This is more suggestion. Brainwashing goes. ” he added.

During an interactive session titled 'Unveiling The Truth', which was organised by young Christian group, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo described as absurd, the lies, propaganda and accusations against President Buhari. He said:

"President Buhari is possibly one of the most committed people I have ever met. He is committed to seeing that resources of this country are used for this country. In general term, we find that there is fairness in the distribution of appointments. Many of the accusations against Buhari are not true.

“Sometimes, people listen to propaganda and if we look at the facts, things are totally different. On Islamisation, first of all, it is untrue, it is propaganda.

"Anybody who complains that President Buhari is propagating islamic agenda, how is that possible? A lot of these are just propaganda, never listen to these. Many of these are absurd, they are deliberate propaganda. They come from the same source. Don’t believe them. Let’s be fair."

The vice president said the president's good intentions should not be called into doubt and advised his audience not to spread false rumours about him.

Empire actor, Jussie Smollett has just been classified as a suspect for allegedly filing a false police report in which he claimed he was attacked in Chicago last month.

The move comes weeks after the Empire actor told Chicago police he was attacked on January 29th by two men who threw a bleach-like chemical on him, called him anti-gay slurs, and put a rope around his neck.

Giving a status update on the case, Chicago Police spokesperson, Anthony Gugliemi tweeted, 'Jussie Smollett is now officially classified as a suspect in a criminal investigation by #ChicagoPolice for filing a false police report (Class 4 felony). Detectives are currently presenting evidence before a Cook County Grand Jury'.

Smollett has maintained that he was the victim of a hate crime, and the reported attack quickly received global attention, putting immediate pressure on Chicago police to solve the case leading to the interrogation and arrest of two Nigerian brothers who have since been released by the police after no evidence was found linking them to the crime.

It has emerged that Iconic Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld who died at the age of 85 on Tuesday, left some of his $200m (£153m) fortune to his cat.

The German designer who was the creative director for Chanel and Fendi became a devoted cat owner after the Choupette was given to him in 2012.

But after his death on Tuesday, it was claimed that his cat will inherit some of his $200m (£153m) fortune after he named her 'in his will'

Last year, Lagerfeld himself told French magazine Numero that he had named the birman cat as one of the heirs of his estate.

In the interview, he said Choupette was in his will, "among others". But he added: "Don't worry, there is enough for everyone."

Choupette is said to already have substantial fortune to her name, having earned $3m (£2.3m) doing adverts for a German car firm and a Japanese cosmetics brand with Lagerfeld.

In a separate interview with Numero, Lagerfeld revealed he employed two maids to look after the pampered animal who, he said, has "four different dishes prepared for her" each day "served in fabulous bowls".

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ), Yakubu Mahmood, has said that the commission is fully prepared for this Saturday, February 23rd and March 9th elections.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja today February 20th, Mahmood said that the deployment of voting materials to the 774 Local Government Areas of the country will be completed on Thursday February 21st. Mahmood also added that the commission has completed the configuration of the Smart Card Readers (SCRs) which will be used for the accreditation of voters during the elections.

Yakubu denied claims that election materials are missing in some states. He said all the materials that have been transported to some state are in well secured places.

The elections was postponed last Saturday February 16th due to logistics.

Barack Obama and Stephen Curry came together for a town hall event on Tuesday and the former US president made some statements that resounded with a great number of people.

The duo urged youngsters from minority backgrounds to develop confidence without feeling compelled to build self-worth based on chasing women and money.

The event took place in Oakland, and it also marked the fifth anniversary of Obama's My Brother’s Keeper Alliance. Both Curry and the former president talked about challenges they faced in their formative years, while also speaking about other topics, such as hip-hop, policing in minority communities, discipline in schools, male role models, and manhood.

While addressing the societal pressures that young people face to act a certain way because of hip hop's frequent portrayal of what it means to be successful, Obama said:

We live in a culture where our worth is measured by how much money we have and how famous we are.

I will tell you, at the end of the day, the thing that will give you confidence is not that. I know a lot of rich people that are all messed up.

The 44th US president then took a shot at hip hop stars, saying:

If you are really confident about your financial situation, you’re probably not going to be wearing an 8-pound chain around your neck. If you’re very confident about your sexuality, you don’t have to have eight women around you twerking.

Praising his wife, Michelle Obama, he said:

Because I've got one woman that I'm very happy with, right?

So, and she's a strong woman

Obama also added that while growing up, that he was “all kinds of screwed up” and it partly came from only meeting his dad once.

President Buhari has warned that anybody involved in ballot box snatching during the February 23rd and March 6th general elections will pay with his or her live.

Speaking at an All Progressives Congress (APC) Caucus meeting in Abuja on Monday morning, February 18th, President Buhari said that an unlawful act such as ballot snatching will not be tolerated. He added that he has given the police and the military instructions to be ruthless with anyone that would want to cause trouble at polling units.

I have briefed the law enforcement agencies. They have identified hotspots and flashpoints. They too should be prepared to move. They too must have made their arrangements as much as possible.

Anybody that decides to snatch boxes or lead thugs to the polling units may be the last unlawful action he will take.

 I have told the military and the police to be ruthless. We are not going to be blamed that we want to riug elections. I want Nigerians to be respected. Let them go to wherever they want across the parties. I am not afraid. I have gone to the 36 states and Abuja. I think I have gotten enough support across the country to look after me.

I am going to warn anybody who thinks he has enough influence in his own locality to lead a body of thugs to snatch boxes or to disturb the voting system, he will do it at the expense of his own life'' he said

APC National chairman, Adams Oshiomole has accused INEC of colluding with PDP.

Speaking at a special caucus meeting of the APC on Monday morning, Oshiomole said INEC had earlier informed PDP before postponing last Saturday's elections.

''I can put my hand on the holy Koran that INEC knew they were going to postpone this election and shared this information with the Peoples Democratic Party PDP and advised them not to waste  their resources'' Oshiomole said

Super Eagles captain, Mikel Obi was given a heroic treatment by fans of his new club Middlesbrough following his outstanding display during his team's 1 - 0 win against Blackburn Rovers on Sunday.

During the game, the 31-year-old who joined the Championship side on a free transfer earlier this year from Tianjin TEDA made 63 touches, he had 52 passes attempted and 47 passes completed.

The official Twitter page of Middlesbrough described Mikel as the ‘Rolls Royce midfielder’ on social media, while fans were filmed after the match hailing and chanting praises to the Super Eagles captain and even called him African Zidane.

For a while now, there's been rumours about crisis in the marriage of Nollywood actress, Yvonne Jegede and Kunle 'Abounce' Fawole.

It became obvious when she took their 3-month old son to church for dedication yesterday and her husband wasn't present.

Now, the actress has taken it a step further by yanking off her husband surname "Fawole" from her Instagram bio, further raising questions about troubles in her two year marriage.

Empire star, Jussie Smollett reportedly paid two men to orchestrate an assault on him that he reported late last month.

According to two law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation who spoke to CNN, he actor paid two brothers to stage an attack against him, directed them to buy items used in the alleged assault and rehearsed it with them.

The men, who are brothers, were arrested and questioned by police on Wednesday but released without charges Friday after Chicago police cited the discovery of "new evidence."

Chicago police spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said:

“We can confirm that the information received from the individuals questioned by police earlier in the Empire case has in fact shifted the trajectory of the investigation. We’ve reached out to the Empire cast member’s attorney to request a follow-up interview.”

They were reportedly paid $3,500 before leaving for Nigeria and were promised an additional $500 upon their return.

They left for Nigeria later in the day on Jan. 29, after the attack.

Police raided the the brothers’ home on Wednesday, the same day police met them at O’Hare International Airport, as they were returning from Nigeria.

The sources stated that there are records that show the two brothers purchased the rope found around Smollett's neck at a hardware store in Chicago.

One of the brothers reportedly held the rope and poured bleach while the other wore a plain red hat and yelled slurs at Smollett.

The sources say the red hat was bought at an Uptown beauty supply store and that the attack was supposed to happen before Jan. 29. The brothers who are now cooperating with police, stated that the all three of them rehearsed the attack days prior to it happening.

Smollett told authorities he was attacked early January 29 by two men who were "yelling out racial and homophobic slurs." He said one attacker put a rope around his neck and poured an unknown chemical substance on him.

Smollett denies playing a role in his attack, according to his attorneys, Todd S. Pugh and Victor P. Henderson, who issued a statement to Saturday night saying Smollett was angry about these latest developments.

"As a victim of a hate crime who has cooperated with the police investigation, Jussie Smollett is angered and devastated by recent reports that the perpetrators are individuals he is familiar with," the statement read.

"He has now been further victimized by claims attributed to these alleged perpetrators that Jussie played a role in his own attack. Nothing is further from the truth and anyone claiming otherwise is lying." it added

Smollett's attorneys said they expect further updates from Chicago police on the investigation and will continue cooperating with authorities.

"At the present time, Jussie and his attorneys have no inclination to respond to 'unnamed' sources inside of the investigation, but will continue discussions through official channels," the statement read.

Smollett identifies as gay and since 2015 has played the gay character of Jamal on the Fox TV drama "Empire."

Nollywood Actor and model Gbenro Ajibade shared the post above on his Instastories this morning.

His marriage to Nigerian actress and presenter, Osas, has reportedly been in crisis for sometime now. Though the pair spent last Christmas together in the U.S. with their child,  it still seems all is not well between them as Gbenro has called her out for neglecting their child a number of times so she ''can be out all night partying and hanging out with friends.

Professor Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has taken full responsibility for the postponement of the elections. 

In a new statement released this evening, he cited bad weather and other logistics issues, as well as cases of lawsuits filed against the commission. He, however, restated the commitment of the commission to ensuring free, fair and credible elections. 

He said the commission was confronted with myriad of challenges and had to resort to postponing the elections.

See the full statement below...

l. About thirteen hours ago, I conveyed to Nigerians the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to reschedule the 2019 general elections by one week. Presidential and National Assembly elections earlier scheduled for 16th February 2019 will now hold on Saturday 23rd February 2019, while Governorship, State Assembly and FCT Area Council elections scheduled for 2nd March 20l9 will now hold on Saturday 9th March 2019. The one-week adjustment was a painful one for INEC, but necessary in the overall interest of our democracy.

2. Nigerians will recall that when this Commission was appointed in November 2015, we promised Nigerians two cardinal things. First, we shall work hard to consolidate the improvements made in the management of elections. Secondly, we shall always be open, transparent and responsive. We have strived diligently to keep these promises in very trying circumstances.

3. In keeping with our promise to consolidate the gains of the last two electoral cycles, the Commission has conducted 195 rerun and off-season elections across the country since the last general elections. Most of these elections have been generally adjudged to show progressive improvements in planning, execution and outcomes.

4. This commitment to continue to improve on election administration has informed our preparations for the 20l9 general elections. Our goal is to plan carefully, execute meticulously and bring stability into election management in Nigeria. Consequently, we announced fixed dates for elections in Nigeria to the effect that Presidential and National Assembly elections will always hold on the third Saturday in February of an election year. While the Governorship and State Assembly elections follow two weeks later. Having settled this, we began the planning quite early, with a Strategic Plan (SP), 3 Strategic Programme of Action (SPA) and an Election Project Plan (EPP). In fact, the plan for the 2019 general elections was ready in November 2017 and we subsequently issued the timetable and schedule of activities for the elections over one year ago on 9th January 2018. We carefully followed the timetable and implemented 13 of the 14 activities as scheduled. We kept to the timeframe and have not missed the date fixed for any single activity.

5. In preparing for the 2019 general elections, we have come face-to-face with the realities of conducting such an extensive national deployment of men and materials in a developing country like ours. It is said that elections constitute the most extensive mobilization of men and materials that any country could undertake in peacetime. The challenges of doing so, even under the best of circumstances, are enormous. Within a period of 16 months, we registered over 14 million Nigerians as new voters, collecting their names, addresses, photographs and their entire ten fingerprints. Beyond that, we prepared, printed and delivered their Permanent Voter Cards for collection. I should note that of the 14.28 million Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) made available for collection, about 10.87 million or 76.12% have been collected.

6. It is often not appreciated the magnitude of activities that the Commission undertakes during general elections. Not only have we recruited and trained about 1 million young people to serve as ad hoc staff, the magnitude of materials mobilized for our elections isenormous. For instance, the Commission has printed 421.7 million ballot papers for six scheduled elections, as well as 13.6 million leaves of result forms for the Presidential election alone. Indeed, managing 91 political parties and 23,316 candidates for whom votes will be cast in 119,973 polling units by over 84 million voters is certainly astounding. No doubt, preparations for the 2019 general elections have been extremely tasking for the Commission.

7. It is therefore not unexpected that such a tremendous national mobilization of men and materials will encounter operational challenges and we have had our own fair share of such challenges. There has been delay in delivering ballot papers and result sheets for the elections which is not unusual. However, I must emphasize that all the ballot papers and result sheets were ready before the elections despite the very tight legal timeframe for finalizing nomination of candidates and dealing with the spate of legal challenges that accompany it. In this regard, the Commission has been sued or joined in over 640 court cases arising from the nomination of candidates. As at today, there are 40 different court orders against the Commission on whether to add or drop candidates. The net effect of these is that there is usually roughly a one-month window for the Commission to print ballot papers and result sheets and either fly or transport them to several destinations until they finally get to each polling unit. Unfortunately, in the last one week, flights within the country have been adversely affected by bad weather. For instance, three days ago, we were unable to deliver materials to some locations due to bad weather. We therefore had to rely on slow-moving long haulage vehicles to locations that can be serviced by air in spite of the fact that we created five zonal airport hubs: Abuja (North Central), Port Harcourt (South South and South East), Kano (North West), Maiduguri and Yola (North East) and Lagos (South West) to facilitate the delivery of electoral logistics.

8. Apart from these logistical challenges, we also faced what may well be attempts to sabotage our preparations. In a space of two weeks, we had to deal with serious fire incidents in three of our offices in Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area of Abia State, Qu’an Pan Local Government Area of Plateau State and our Anambra State Office at Awka. In all three cases, serious disruptions were occasioned by the fire, further diverting our attention from regular preparations to recovery from the impact of the incidents. In Isiala Ngwa South, hundreds of PVCs were burnt, necessitating the re-compiling of the affected cards and reprinting in time to ensure that the affected voters are not disenfranchised. I am glad that all the cards were quickly reprinted and made available for collection by their owners.

9. In Qu'an Pan Local Government Area, our entire office was razed, destroying all the materials prepared for the elections printed register of voters, ballot boxes, voting cubicles and several electricitygenerating sets. 11 Registration Areas and over 100 polling units were affected by the fire. We recovered quickly and have since replaced everything destroyed. In addition, we secured a suitable building from which to conduct the elections.

10. Perhaps the most serious was the fire incident in our Anambra State Office at Awka, which destroyed over 4,600 Smart Card Readers being prepared for the elections. These Card Readers take at least six months to procure. Despite this setback, we have practically recovered from this by mopping up every available spare SCR across the country and within 24 hours delivered them for elections to hold in Anambra State.

11. All these challenges mean that there have been differences in preparations from one state to another. Our overall assessment is that if the elections went on as planned, polls will not open at 8am in all polling units nationwide. Yet, we are determined that polls must hold at the same time everywhere in the country. In this way, elections will not be staggered. This is very important to public perception of elections as free, fair and credible. We promised Nigerians that we shall be open, transparent and responsive.

12. Faced with these challenges, we initially thought that we only require a maximum of 24 hours to resolve the logistics issues involved and complete our deployment for the election. This would mean shifting the elections to commence on Sunday 17th February 2019. However, given the restriction of movement during elections, that could affect many voters who worship on Sundays. While the Commission was considering the following Monday 18th February 2019 as an option, our ICT Department advised us that it would require 5-6 days to reconfigure about 180,000 Smart Card Readers earlier programmed to work only on election day Saturday 16th February 20l9. It is for this reason that the Commission decided to adjust the election dates to Saturday 23rd February 2019 for Presidential and National Assembly elections and a consequential adjustment of Governorship, State Assembly and FCT Area Council elections to Saturday 9th March 2019.

 13. Some sensitive materials have been distributed. However, all such materials have been retrieved and will be taken back to custody of the Central Bank of Nigeria. I want to assure you that there will be properaudit to account for all materials.

14. In the next few days, the Commission will work on the basis of the following plan:

S/No. Activity Timeframe

- Completion/confirmation of deployment of materials (Monday l8th February 2019)

- Configuration of the Smart Card Readers (Sunday 17th Thursday 21st February 2019)

- Receipt and Deployment of sensitive materials to LGAs (Wednesday 20 and Thursday 21st February 2019)

- Refresher training for ad hoc staff (Thursday 21st February 2019)

- Deployment of personnel to RACs (Friday 22nd of February 2019)

- Election Day (Saturday 23rd February 2019)

15. I want to appeal to Nigerians and all other stakeholders for their understanding in what has been a very difficult decision for the Commission. But we believe that ultimately this is for the good of our democracy and country. I wish to assure you of our commitment to free, fair and credible elections.

16. As Chairman of INEC, and on behalf of the Commission, we take full responsibility for what happened and we regret any inconvenience our decision might have caused.

17. Thank you and God bless.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has just put put a statement to inform the general public that patriotic citizens with authentic information that can lead to arrest of culprits Vote-buying should reach the Commission for prompt response.

The numbers to call are as follows:

ABUJA HQ------ 08141219896, 09077928772, 09051923475, 09074456025, 09051916064, 09066270016

ABUJA ZONAL OFFICE---- 08123827088

LAGOS OFFICE ---08033106347, 08123827088

PORT HARCOURT OFFICE ------ 08024428265

KANO OFFICE ---08090939606

GOMBE OFFICE ---07061813411

KADUNA OFFICE ---08058437972

ENUGU OFFICE ---07064917920

BENIN OFFICE ---08188722502

MAIDUGURI OFFICE ---08035899836

UYO OFFICE ---08055112603, 08180008030

SOKOTO OFFICE --- 08081765401

ILORIN OFFICE ---08034516071

MAKURDI OFFICE ---08036328837

IBADAN OFFICE ---08113883322, 09030000520.

Please note that handsome rewards await informants with authentic information in accordance with the Whistle-blowing Policy of the Federal Government.

The lawyer representing a porn star Stormy Daniels  in a legal battle with US President Donald Trump on Thursday, said his office has previously unreleased footage of R&B superstar R. Kelly having sex with a young girl, AFP reports.

Michael Avenatti said his team discovered the graphic tape as representatives of multiple clients linked to accusations against the American singer, who has faced allegations of sexual assault for decades.

However, Kelly denied the latest allegations on Thursday via his lawyer Steve Greenberg, who said "I have not been contacted by anyone connected with law enforcement, nor has R. Kelly."

In a statement Avenatti said he gave the "new critical video evidence" against the artist to the Cook County State's Attorney in Chicago, where Kelly, 52, lives.

"We will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that this predator is brought to justice," Avenatti, 47, tweeted.

The attorney has become a public figure since filing a lawsuit for adult film actress Stormy Daniels in March last year seeking to invalidate a 2016 non-disclosure agreement over an alleged affair with Trump in 2006.

He said the events shown in the footage fell within the state of Illinois' statute of limitations.

The state's attorney's office told AFP it "cannot confirm or deny an investigation" but The New Yorker magazine, citing a law enforcement official, said an indictment is pending and Kelly could face arrest.

The tape, which is nearly 45 minutes long, is not the same video that saw Kelly face 21 counts of child pornography charges in 2002, a case in which he was acquitted six years later.

CNN, which obtained a copy of the new footage, described it as "clear and explicit." The network said two scenes show a naked man who appears to be Kelly engage in several sex acts with a female who calls out "daddy." The audio captured with the images suggests the girl is 14 years old.

In a statement the artist's lawyer accused women who have spoken out against Kelly of doing so to "make a buck" and dismissed the latest allegations: "Mr. Kelly denies that he has engaged in any illegal conduct, of any kind whatsoever."

"He would like to be able to continue to write and sing and produce and perform," Greenberg said, adding that Kelly is working on an album. In this age of hashtags we are too quick to rush to judgment simply because something is associated with a hashtag. A hashtag does not make claims credible," the lawyer said.

For decades the artist - real name Robert Sylvester Kelly - has faced lawsuits and accusations over child pornography, sex with minors, operating a sex cult and sexual battery.

In 1994 he wed his protege Aaliyah, the late R&B star who was 15 at the time.

Kelly, then 27, had produced the teenage singer's debut album titled "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number." Their marriage was later annulled, and Aaliyah died in a plane crash in 2001.

Despite unsettling claims against him, the decorated musician - known for hits including "I Believe I Can Fly" -- has continued to perform and maintain a solid fan base.

But last month's release of an explosive docuseries entitled "Surviving R. Kelly" has shed new light on the R&B luminary's checkered past, while a #MuteRKelly movement aimed at preventing his music from airing has gained steam.

The artist's record company RCA dropped him last month following the release of the docuseries.

High-profile women's rights attorney Gloria Allred is also representing several women with accusations against the superstar.

"Mr. Kelly is a predator and a criminal who has preyed on young, vulnerable girls for far too long," Avenatti said. "The time has come for him to finally be held accountable for his actions."

Chicago Police has said that two potential suspects in the alleged racial attack on "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett have been arrested.

"Police can detain the potential suspects for an additional 24 hours past the 48 hour holding period under special circumstances, but it must go through the prosecutors office and has to be clear process," Chicago PD told ABC News and also confirmed that “they (the suspects) have a relationship with Jussie”.

Chicago Police also added that "detectives have probable cause that they may have been involved in an alleged crime and we are working to corroborate the allegations and investigative timeline as our investigation continues". 

According to TMZ, the arrested men are brothers from Nigeria named Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo, and Chicago police are now calling them "potential suspects" as opposed to 'persons of interest'.

They also shut down any reports that there was evidence to classify the alleged attack as a hoax.  "While we haven't found any video documenting the alleged attack, there is also no evidence to say that this is a hoax. The alleged victim is being cooperative at this time and continues to be treated as a victim, not a suspect" police added.

Attorney Gloria Schmidt, who is representing the brothers told Chicago CBS station WBBM that her clients were detained at O'Hare Airport on Wednesday evening and were unaware of the attack on Smollett.

"When they first learned what happened to him, they were horrified. This is someone that they know, this is someone that they work with, so they don't want to see somebody go through that. They really don’t understand how police even got information that linked them to this horrific crime, but they’re not guilty of it"  Schmidt said.

The Nigerian Police has once again assured that its officers are properly motivated and trained to conduct themselves professionally during the general elections that kicks off tomorrow.

'Our officers are properly mobilized, trained & adequately motivated to act professionally in the elections. Election Duty Allowances have already been paid directly into individual salary account. We won't disappoint the Nigerian people' the IG said today.

He added that, 'any citizen that intends to offer himself/herself to be used negatively as cannon folders for political actors should either have a rethink or be ready to face the consequences. We will deal decisively with elements that attempt to test our will by engaging in electoral offences'.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has described reports on social media that he has fled Nigeria ahead of tomorrow February 16th Presidential election, as Fake News.

Reports have been rife on social media that the former president who is opposed to the re-election of President Buhari, has fled the country.

Speaking to newsmen in Abeokuta, Ogun state earlier today, the former president said he would stay in Nigeria and vote according to his conscience.

“Why should I travel out of the country before the election? If not for anything, I believe I should be here to perform my civic responsibility, which is to vote according to the dictate of my heart tomorrow and on the second of March. Those who are carrying that type of rumour or fake news; I leave them in the hands of God.

 I am used to that kind of thing. In Yoruba land, if your head is hard, you don’t have to worry yourself. Let anybody tell lies against you, let anybody issue fake news against you, let anybody abuse you, God will deal with them rightly and appropriately,” he said

No fewer than 66 persons have been killed by unknown gunmen in Kajuru local government of Kaduna state. This attack comes less than twenty four hours to the conduct of the presidential and parliamentary elections in the state.

Media aide of the Kaduna state Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, Samuel Aruwan, in a statement released on Friday evening, said already, security agencies are on the trail of the assailants.

The statement added that among the victims were 22 children and 12 women.  

Read the statement below

The Kaduna State Government has condemned the killing of 66 persons in Kajuru LGA and has warned all communities against instigating attacks or reprisals. A government statement said that security agencies have been deployed to the area, while arrests have been made.

“Security agencies today reported the recovery of 66 bodies that were killed in attacks by criminal elements on various dispersed hamlets in the Maro Gida and Iri axis of Kajuru LGA. The settlements affected include Ruga Bahago, Ruga Daku, Ruga Ori, Ruga Haruna, Ruga Yukka Abubakar, Ruga Duni Kadiri, Ruga Shewuka and Ruga Shuaibu Yau.

“Among the victims were 22 children and 12 women. Four wounded persons rescued by the security agencies are now receiving medical attention.

“Government condemns the attacks and commiserates with the families of the victims. Security agencies have been deployed to the area and arrests have been made. Government urges community, traditional and religious leaders in the area to encourage residents to avoid any reprisal attacks and to leave the matter in the hands of the security and law enforcement agencies. The killings are being investigated and residents are assured that indicted persons will be prosecuted.

“Residents of Kaduna State are enjoined to uphold peace and harmony, shun violence and allow the elections to be held in an atmosphere of calm. Any suspicious activity should be reported to the security agencies in person or through the following lines: 09034000060 and 08170189999.”

Signed

Samuel Aruwan

Senior Special Assistant to the Governor (Media & Publicity)

15th February 2019