Ovuema O Elijah's blog....

Renown film-maker, Amaka Igwe, is dead. The producer of popular movies and soap operas that include ‘Violated’, ‘Checkmate’ and ‘Fuji House of Commotion’ passed on in Enugu, Enugu State on Monday following an asthma attack. She was 51. 30th April, 2014 According to family sources,  the prolific film-maker and her husband/business partner, Chief Charles Igwe, were on a pre-production trip to the Coal City when she had the attack. They were said to be preparing for the production of a new Igbo soap. Although she was said to have been rushed to the hospital when the incident happened, she eventually breathed her last at the clinic, thus throwing many of her associates and fans into grief. A stickler for professionalism and mentor of several successful actors, Igwe is survived by her husband of 21 years, three children, an aged mother, siblings and a large extended family . Meanwhile,  tributes have continued to pour in for the producer, who  was also the founder of

I didn’t stop Diezani Alison-Madueke's probe –Judge Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court, Abuja  on Tuesday denied claims by the House of Representatives that he issued an order stopping investigations into the  allegations that Petroleum Resources Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, spent N10bn to charter a private jet  for her trips in the last two years.  The  judge therefore summoned the House   to appear before the court on May 5 to “clear the air” on the  issue.  The spokesman  for  the House of Representatives,   Zakari Mohammed, had at a news conference  on Monday, announced that the House had received a court order  stopping  the Public Accounts Committee from going ahead with the probe. However, when the case came up for hearing on Tuesday, the obviously angry judge  expressed shock at media reports that he had issued an interim injunction  stopping  the investigation.  Mohammed initially blamed journalists for the ‘misinformation’ befor

Women In Abuja Staged A peaceful Demonstration: Bring Back Our Girls 30th April, 2014   Women in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city, organized as “Women for Peace and Justice”, are staging a peaceful protest to press the government to act swiftly to release the remaining 230 female students kidnapped from their hostel in a secondary school in Chibok, Borno State. Out of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue. Will Ross reports from a protest in Abuja where mothers have been pressing for the release of 230 schoolgirls abducted by militants two weeks ago About 243 girls, students of the Government Secondary School, GGSC, we re abducted by members of the Boko Haram on April 14. Forty-three of the girls escaped captivity and reunited with their families. But the bulk of the students are still held by their abductors without much of a showing of tact to free the schoolgirls by the government. The protest today is expected to push the government into showi

BREAKING NEWS: Federal Government Extends Duration Of National Conference In Abuja 30th April, 2014 The conference, which commenced on March 17, was to last for three months till June 19. According to PREMIUM TIMES, the conference will now end on July 31. It was gathered that the extension is contained in the work plan released to delegates on Wednesday. However, James Akpandem, a spokesperson for the conference, reportedly said he is not aware of the extension when he was contacted by newsmen. “What I know is that the period for the committees to complete their work has been extended to May 15,” he said. * A cross section of members of the National Conference going on in Abuja It could be recalled that the conference leadership had agreed to seek extension from the federal government after it met with leaders of its 20 Standing Committees on Monday. Now that the duration of the conference has been extended, each delegate will now get about N4.5 million more than the N9 mil

Atletic Madrid Defeated Chelsea To Reach Its First Champion's League Since 1972 Chelsea's hopes of reaching a third Champions League final in six years were ended as Atletico Madrid produced a stunning counter-attacking display at Stamford Bridge to set up a final against city rivals Real. Jose Mourinho's side went ahead in the tie when Fernando Torres put Chelsea in front with a goal against his former club nine minutes before half-time. But Chelsea allowed Atletico back into the match just before the interval, as Adrian Lopez scrambled home. With Atletico ahead on the away goals rule following a goalless first leg, Chelsea needed to score to reach the Lisbon final but it was the Spaniards who struck again, Diego Costa putting them in front from the penalty spot before the excellent Arda Turan added a third with 18 minutes remaining. At the final whistle, the visitors danced in front of their fans as John Terry stood in the centre circle and shed

Is Nigeria serious about tackling corruption? President Jonathan has positioned himself as being tough on corruption, but Nigerians are not convinced Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan wants the world to believe he and his government are serious about ending corruption. But two recent events have sent out the opposite message. As President Jonathan handed out awards to celebrate Nigeria's centenary, there was a collective leap of eyebrows when people learnt that former President Sani Abacha was on the list. Many wondered why a military dictator who had plundered the nation was being celebrated? As if people needed reminding, during that same week the United States announced that it was freezing $458m (£275m) that had been stashed away in foreign bank accounts - part of at least $3bn that Abacha is believed to have looted during the 1990s. A presidential spokesman tried to calm things down by stating that the centenary award was "not a test of saint

Nigeria girls' abduction: Protest march in Abuja 30th April 2014 Courtesy: BBC news Angry relatives of the missing schoolgirls staged a protest earlier this week   Hundreds of demonstrators are marching through the Nigerian capital, Abuja, to press for the release of more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by militants two weeks ago. The government denies claims by the protesters that it is not doing enough to secure their release. The Islamist group Boko Haram has been blamed for abducting the girls from their school in Chibok, Borno state. Boko Haram has not yet made any response to the accusation. The group, whose name means "Western education is forbidden" in the local Hausa language, has staged a wave of attacks in northern Nigeria in recent years, with an estimated 1,500 killed in the violence and subsequent security crackdown this year alone. In tears Organisers told the BBC that about 500 people were marching to the National Assembly t

"PLOT TO DIVIDE THE NORTH AND DISMEMBER NIGERIA" Tweet by Nasir El-Rufai   Second Republic Minister Paul Unongo writes for the Daily Trust today - "PLOT TO DIVIDE THE NORTH AND DISMEMBER NIGERIA" - Wednesday, 30 April 2014 - by Paul Unongo  Northern Nigeria has never had it so bad. The security situation in the region has deteriorated, especially in the last three years. On a daily basis, the blood of innocent citizens is shed in the name of Boko Haram insurgency. P ... roperties worth billions of naira are destroyed while young schoolgirls are abducted with little or no resistance from Nigerian troops who operate in the region. We should also not forget that those states in the North-East are effectively under emergency rule! This is the territory that Professor Abdullahi Ashafa has argued was created by “mere arbitrary line of parallels of latitude, not a true division between the North and the South.” This region, the North, had a landmass of 255,700 squ

Real Madrid thrash Bayern Munich to reach UEFA Champions League final 29th April 2014 Courtesy:BBC News Real Madrid sailed into their first Champions League final since 2002 with an astonishingly one-sided away victory over holders Bayern Munich. Sergio Ramos scored two headers from set-pieces before Cristiano Ronaldo rounded off a counter-attack to all but end the game as a contest. Ronaldo added a late free-kick for his record 16th goal of the European campaign to seal a 5-0 aggregate win. Real will face either Chelsea or Atletico Madrid in the final in Lisbon. The defeat was a humiliation for Bayern, who last year thrashed Barcelona 7-0 on aggregate in the semi-finals before overcoming fellow Germans Borussia Dortmund to lift the trophy for the fifth time. And the result will increase the pressure on manager Pep Guardiola amid the growing feeling that, despite winning the Bundesliga in record time, he has not delivered the progress his employers were expe

  Country of kings, Nigeria's many monarchs: See Pictures   Can you believe the Number of Monarchs in our beloved Motherland. In Pictures are just a few, with so many Monarchs yet so much confusions. Leaders expected to give directions to the youths of tomorrow, are still the ones drawing the Nation backward. With due respect to all the Monarchs of this Great Nation.  Be the true fathers our Nation and direct us your children through the right path. 13 October 2013 Last updated at 01:31 GMT Courtesy: BBC News In association with Benjamin Ikenchuku Keagborekuzi entered the Guinness Book of World Records in 1980 as the youngest monarch when he was crowned at the age of two. He is the Dein of Agbor Kingdom in Delta state. “Despite the violence in Nigeria this exhibition shows Nigeria has a rich and varied culture and the kings who I have photographed have great dignity, a great sense of humour and a great sense of style,” says Mr Osodi. The Custodians of

New US sanctions target Russian officials and companies The US has imposed sanctions on seven Russian individuals and 17 companies it says are linked to President Vladimir Putin's "inner circle". Courtesy:BBC News 29th April 2014 The White House said the move was a response to "Russia's continued illegal intervention in Ukraine". Those targeted include Igor Sechin, head of oil giant Rosneft, and Sergei Chemezov of the hi-tech firm Rostec. The announcement comes after the mayor of Kharkiv, a city in eastern Ukraine, was shot and critically wounded. Hennadiy Kernes was recovering after an operation to repair damage to the chest and abdomen, but his life remained in danger, his office said. Mr Kernes used to be a supporter of former pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych. He then dropped his support for Mr Yanukovych in favour of a united Ukraine. Monday also saw pro-Russian separatists seize a local government building in Ko