More Troubles for Minister Ibe Kachikwu over Fuel Scarcity

*Some Praise Tinubu’s Stand | *Group Backs Kachikwu
Minister of State (Petroleum) Dr. Ibe Kachikwu was again under attack for the biting fuel shortage that has crippled many cities and businesses across Nigeria.

Kachikwu was lashed by APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, for “insurbodination” after he was quoted to have said “I’m not a magician” in response to questions about the fuel crisis.

And now the Civil Society Coalition for Positive Change and Stand Up for Nigeria (SUN) issued a 72 hours ultimatum to the minister to resign from office over the prolonged scarcity.

Comrade Venatius Torkuma and Labake Boboye National President and Executive Director of the groups, in a joint statement, said Kachikwu had failed to justify his appointment.

Kachikwu had said Nigerians should count themselves fortunate that the NNPC under his stewardship has been able to bring in the amount of fuel we are even getting.

Some close to the Minister have however praised him for doing his job the way he could.

But the group described the statement as “careless” and “insulting” to Nigerians. They called on President Muhammadu Buhari to fire Kachikwu should he refuse to resign.

The group threatened to take to the street on Wednesday in “a mother of all protests” in the nation’s capital to draw the attention of Buhari and the international community should the minister refuse to resign.

The statement said: “Nigerians fought hard to vote in this government of change. But to hear the minister say the kind of things he said is not only insulting to Nigerians but showed his gross incompetence. Nigerians will not tolerate such recklessness. In case the minister needs a reminder, the era of incompetence is long gone with the previous administration.

“Since he has admitted that he cannot restore normalcy to the current fuel crisis, he should immediately resign his position. Indeed Kachikwu was not coerced to take this job.”

Another N116bn Fraud Busted: See Names of Those to Refund The Cash

Just days after the Presidency revealed that 300 persons and companies were implicated in fresh N116b "curious" contracts issued by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), details of the cash some of those indicted will refund have emerged.

It was also gathered that a former Director of Funds in Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr Mohammed Dikwa, admitted to the EFCC that the controversial $2.billion released to ONSA under ex-NSA Sambo Dasuki were based on just presidential or ministerial orders.

The Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Mallam Garba Shehu, on Thursday said that the ONSA committee had recovered over N7billion from those indicted.

The indicted companies are to refund N41billion. The investigating agencies, including the EFCC, will determine if another N75billion should be recovered from some of the companies.

The Special Committee in the Office of the NSA found persons and companies 'guilty' of infractions.

Some of the alleged infractions:

• breach of contract terms;
• non-execution of contracts;
• haphazard or partial completion of contracts;
• collection of funds for unexecuted contracts;
• diversion of funds for political purposes; and
• sheer mismanagement of contract funds.

300 persons and firms have been referred to investigating agencies, including EFCC, ICPC and police.

Amounts to be refunded by some of the persons and companies are as follows:
Acacia Holding Limited – (N600m and N650m);
Reliance Referral Hospitals Limited – N750m (16/4/2015);
African Cable Television Limited - N350million;
Dalhatu Investment Limited(N500m) - 20/12/13 and N200m on 17/3/15;
Duchy Concepts Limited RC392281(N70m) – 17/3/15;
Wehsec Farms Limited RC 713258(N200m);
Stellavera Dev Company – N250m;
Stellavera Dev Company- N250m;
Societe d’Equipments internationaux –
$6,954,000(21/4/2015), $30m(9/5/15); $50m(9/3/15); €1, 395, 346.84(11/12/13); €1,401,869 (2/10/13); €2, 252,252.25; $16m (20/5/14); $38m(20/5/14); $36m(20/5/14); $5m(4/6/14); $10m(11/7/14).

Some expected refunds from individuals are Dr. Bello Matawalle – N300m; Bello Fadile -N100m and Bashir Yududa N1.5billion.

A source in EFCC said: “Some of those indicted have outstanding cases under investigation by our agency. These allegations are intertwined and we may have to improve on a few clues.

“The latest assignment is to recover the sums against these 300 persons and companies. A few of them had written to the commission to refund some money illegally collected for jobs undone.

“In line with the mandate of the Presidency, we will get to the root of the allegations against those already referred to us. We will also collaborate with other investigating agencies.”

Responding to a question, he said: "Of course, some of these persons and companies will be prosecuted."

Nigerian Army Colonel Abducted [Army to give cash to anyone with information]

Heavily armed men at the weekend abducted a military officer Colonel Samaila Inusa on the highway in a commando style in Kaduna State.

The gunmen suspected to be kidnappers whisked away the officer who was riding in his Mercedes-Benz car around Kamazo, along Kaduna Refinery Road, in Chikun area. He was with his wife.

Deputy Director, Army Public Relations Officer of 1 Division Nigerian Army, Colonel Abdul Usman in a statement on Sunday confirmed the Saturday night’s abduction.

According to the statement, “the abductors dropped off Colonel Inusa’s wife and left with him in his car. The car headed towards Abuja.

“This is to inform the general public that a senior officer of the Nigerian Army, Colonel Samaila Inusa serving in Nigerian Army School of Infantry Jaji Kaduna was abducted around Kamazo near NNPC junction, Kaduna.

“The abductors dropped off his wife and left with him in his car. The car headed towards Abuja.

“Anybody with useful information or assistance should please assist in tracking these abductors. They are in a Mercedes Benz GLK Black colour with registration number Abuja, KUJ 154 TZ.

“This happened at about 7:30pm on Saturday, 26 March, 2016. The following numbers could be reach for further contact; 08033865572, 08030489203, 08023445961, 07038025282 or 08058130703.”

The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Mechanized Division of the Army, Major General Adeniyi Oyebade, has promised N500,000 cash reward for anyone with useful information that could lead to the release of Col. Inusa.

Division Spokesman, Usman assured that such information would be treated with utmost confidentiality.

Meet Noble Igwe & His Sexy Fiancee (their traditional marriage holds today)

Fast-rising media personality Noble Igwe is marrying his cute babe, Chioma Otisi in a traditional marriage on Monday March 28th in Abriba, Abia state. White wedding comes up in June. See more photos...

I Can Go Nudé At the Right Setting ––Actress Chika

Fast-rising Nollywood actress, Chika Agatha is endowed with brains and beauty. In this chat with The Nation she talks on her passion for acting, among other interesting stuffs and some personal issues.

What are you currently working on?
I have a few scripts right now, so I will soon hit the locations. However, some of my works were recently released into the market. One of the movies, Temple of Serpent, was released not long ago and is currently doing well in the market. Also, Sex in the Bar Beach, Ajekpako Billionaire and Sons of Zebedee will also hit the movie shelves soon.

What is so special about your eyes?
If I go to any audition, my diction and my eyes do a lot of magic for me; I think I’ve got sexy eyes.

Why are talking about your eyes? You are endowed with big boobs...
(Laughter) Really? I wasn’t aware that I have huge b00bs.

Generally, what part of your body do you treasure most?
Different people have different parts of their bodies that they treasure. For me, it’s my eyes. When I look at you, if you are someone who isn’t prepared intellectually, you will end up doing my wish. But most importantly, I try to use my eyes well, not just in my career, but for effective communication, generally.

How far can you go to interpret a role?
Expose sensitive parts of my body? I think it depends on the role I’m to play...

What about a role where you have to make real love?
(Laughter) I haven’t thought about that yet. I’m still an up-and-coming actress, so I’ve to position myself in such a way that will make people start requesting what I can’t give. For now, I don’t know if I can do a movie, where I will have to make love for real. Of course, I can do romance. But when you mean real love making, I don’t think I can do that for now [maybe later?].

What about going nudé?
You mean baring it all, without pants and bra? That is on the extreme. For how much? Maybe if I were a Hollywood actress, I could... In Hollywood, going nudé is like a normal thing. When you are with your husband in a movie, everyone knows you are with your husband and you could be nudé. The same thing applies when you are in the bathroom or going swimming.

Are you in any serious relationship now?
Yes, I am in a serious relationship that is just about few weeks’ old.

Few weeks? Are you saying you recently quit a relationship?
Yes, I did. But I really don’t want to talk about it. I have moved on.

Roles are not easy to come by. So, do you have to get down with a producer for a movie role?
Getting down with a man? You mean the man f*cking me? Life is full of uncertainties! What after getting down with him and he wakes up from another side of his bed and says, ‘No, I won’t give her the role again?’ What then do I do? I believe more in getting my roles on merit than cheapening myself and turning myself into a séx symbol.

Act Nudé and Get N5m: I Reject The Script ––Actress Blessing

There are still some good girls around, no matter how many rotten ones we have in Nollywood. This chubby and beautiful actress, Blessing Nweke has revealed how she turned down an offer of N5 million to take it all off in a movie. Her reason? She tells The Sun that she values her family name more than riches.

How would you rate Nigerian movies compared with those of other countries in Africa? 

Nigerian actors and actresses, even our movies, remain the best in Africa. In a few years, we will be the best in the world. For instance, I have featured in a lot of Ghanaian movies and could not finish my parts in some of the films because of the frustration I faced. That’s why I backed out.

What kind of frustration are you talking about?

Not that they don’t like Nigerians, Ghanaians are very accommodating, they are nice people. I faced frustration from the producers and directors. For example, in Nigeria, movies don’t take long before they are produced, but in Ghana movie production is slow. It’s not that they take their time to make movies they are just too slow. So, I could not see the end of most films I featured.

If you’re not an actress, what would you have been?
If I were not an actress I would have loved to be a businesswoman. Though, there is no wrong doing both at the same time, I hope that very soon I would combine acting and business.

How much do you worth in terms of assets?
I am worth a reasonable sum both in cash and assets but that is not what attracted me into acting. I’m not from an extremely poor background and I’m not desperate to acquire wealth. I turned down an offer of N5 million from a producer to act nudé. It was very tempting but for the name of my family that I cherished dearly, I rejected the offer. I refused to drag my family name into the mud.

What is your love life like, have you suffered heartbreak, still searching for Mr. Right or engaged?
I have been heartbroken severally, not once or twice but so many times. As I speak with you, I have someone who loves me greatly but that does not mean that I’m not searching for Mr. Right.

What would you say is the cause of many failed marriages in Nollywood?
I cannot say the cause of failed marriages in Nollywood because I’m not married. I believe that was one of the reasons my parents wanted to stop me from acting. To them, I may not get married and if I do, the marriage won’t last. To me, it is a matter of understanding. For instance, at 2a.m in the morning, your phone will be ringing as both producers and directors are calling you for roles. We travel a lot to shoot films and some men or women may not tolerate that. Those of us who are still single are praying for God-fearing men that can understand the nature of our job. To me, these are some of the challenges that married actors and actresses face in Nollywood

I Can Go Nudé, It's Not A Big Deal ––Actress Sylvya Oluchy

You recently said you could act nudé in a movie?
There was a bit of mix-up in that story. They asked me what I think of nudity in movies and I said it depends on the movie. If you’ve watched The Gods Must Be Crazy, the nudity in that movie was done for accuracy because people then went about nudé.

So, when they asked me I said it depends on the script. It depends on the director I’ll be working with because it’s all about the director’s picture, it’s the director’s story. If I know I’m working with a director who I trust, who I know will make everything tastefully done, where it won’t end up looking like some badly made pornography and it’s a good script, I’ll make my decision.

Can you do a séx scene in a movie?

Yeah. I mean in Lekki Wives I have a couple of kissing and romantic scenes, no nudity but there was a lot of kissing and lots of making out so it comes with the job.

What’s the craziest thing you can do in a movie?
You never know what’s going to come your way or you never know I might just see myself in Hollywood one day, you never know so I never say never. Nudity is not a big deal.

You released some semi-nudé pictures on the beach...
It depends. There’s a level you’ll get to in your modeling career that you just have to do things like that. The highest paid models, the ones you see on Victoria’s Secret runways, I’m sure they do stuff like that. It comes with the territory so before you go into a career like that, you have to prepare yourself.

Even though that’s not really where I’m channeling myself to, it depends on why you’re doing it and the outlet. Gisele Bundchen is like the highest paid model in the world today and I’ve seen a lot of her topless photos for Vogue and other things, she’s just doing her job.