Senator Ireti Kingibe on Wednesday reacted to Senate President Godswill Akpabio’s assurance during the day’s plenary session that “prayers” had been sent to the lawmakers as they embark on a recess — eliciting speculation over hidden allowances.

“In order to enable all of us to enjoy our holidays, a token has been sent to our various accounts by the Clerk of the National Assembly,” Akpabio told the senators before withdrawing the statement, describing the supposed disbursement as “prayers” sent to their “mailboxes”.

However, Kingibe, the sole lawmaker representing the FCT in the red chamber, was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where she stressed that she did not receive any allowances that were out of the ordinary.

“No, actually, I didn’t receive any prayers, but I’ll check my email for the prayers,” the Labour Party member said humorously, adding that she did not know for sure what Akpabio was talking about.

Acknowledging that “most people” assumed allowances might have been paid to the lawmakers, she explained that such payments might be “statutory things that we would have been paid anyway”.

“I don’t think it was anything extra that we’re supposed to be given. I certainly haven’t seen anything extra,” Kingibe said.

Asked to comment on the high cost of governance, particularly on the part of senators often criticised as some of the highest paid in the world, the opposition lawmaker conceded that she could not change anything.

However, she revealed her strategy for the extra funds she gets paid.

“I have a constituency office; I also have a development office where I do development programmes for the people, and hopefully, anything extra, I will put in any allowances,” Kingibe said.

“Obviously, I’m new (and) we’ve been paid very little. But as they come in, a lot of it will go towards funding that office, the development programmes.”

A retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Mary Peter-Odili has distanced herself from an allegation that she is influencing judges of the court of appeal and the Supreme Court to ensure that President Bola Tinubu gets a favourable judgment at the Presidential election petition tribunal.

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, flagbearer of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) are challenging Tinubu’s victory in the presidential election held on the 25th of February, 2023.

A Twitter user, Jackson Ude had alleged that Peter-Odili is helping Tinubu secure a favourable judgement at the tribunal.

Reacting to the allegation in a press statement signed by her spokesperson, Felix Enebeli, Odili described the claim as “false and malicious”.

The statement reads, “While the defamation arising from the false allegation has been referred to the lawyers of her lordship to deal with in accordance with the law, we consider it appropriate, particularly for the sake of the public, to issue this unequivocal denial of the false allegation.

“We deny every allegation contained in the publication and state that the publication is false, malicious, mischievous and a deliberate attempt at smearing the integrity and solid reputation of her lordship.

“We say nothing of the fact that the publication has the potential of inciting the public against her lordship on an issue of grave national importance.

“For the records, her lordship is neither a judicial consultant to anyone nor is she in any way connected with or involved in any of the presidential election petitions or any other election petition whatsoever. The public is hereby urged to disbelieve, disregard and ignore this false publication”.

Enebeli added that Odili’s lawyers are on the issue and have demanded a retraction and public apology from Ude.

According to Enebeli, a redress would be sought in court if Ude failed to retract the story.

The Oyo State House of Assembly has passed and approved a bill to grant special public holidays for traditional worshippers in Oyo State to celebrate Isese Day annually.

The bill was passed on Wednesday (today) to adherents of traditional religion in the state, Naija News understands.

The motion was read before the lawmakers today by the Majority Leader, Hon. Sanjo Onaolapo.

The lawmakers stressed the importance of dedicating a day for adherents of traditional religion to celebrate as it is for Christians and Muslims across the country.

The lawmaker also noted that some states in the Southwest region had already done so, stressing the need to respect the beliefs of traditional religious worshippers.

Naija News understands that the State Governor, Seyi Makinde, had promised to sign the bill into law once passed by the state House of Assembly.

In July, the Ogun State House of Assembly approved a special holiday for Isese in the state years after their predecessors in the chamber had declined requests to do so.

The holiday was fixed for August 20 annually for adherents of traditional religions to celebrate.

The Kogi State Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the November 11 election, Dino Melaye, has predicted the outcome of the forthcoming polls.

Naija News reports that the PDP chieftain on Wednesday, after a meeting of Kogi PDP stakeholders from the three Senatorial Districts of the state with the members of the National Working Committee (NWC), said the party would win because things have never been this bad for citizens in the state.

Melaye lamented the poor state of healthcare, education, and general standard of living under the All Progressives Congress (APC) government in the state.

While giving a charge to the party’s stakeholders, Melaye told them not to be intimidated by members of the ruling APC in the state.

He noted that “My charge to the people of Kogi State is that they should not be Intimidated by the APC. The threat, violence, and humiliation by the APC should not deter them from exercising their democratic rights. I want to assure you that we will protect our people.

“The PDP is going to win the election in Kogi State because we have never had it so bad in the state’s history. Our people are impoverished, salaries have not been paid, pensions have not been paid, gratuities have not been paid. The health sector is non-existent. In fact, all the general hospitals in the state are mere consulting clinics.

“Education has gone moribund, and this is what the PDP is coming to ameliorate and palliate. I want to assure you that by the grace of God. With the resolutions of this meeting, with the strategy adopted in this meeting, the PDP is good to go in Kogi State. “

Speaking on behalf of the NWC, acting National Chairman of the PDP, Umar Damagum, said signs were evident already that the PDP was the party to beat in the forthcoming governorship election in Kogi State.

He submitted that “We have already seen prospects in the coming election in Kogi, so this meeting is to know your challenges and to know how to work on the reconciliation before the election

“This reconciliation will take three stages from the ward, local government, and state. I am glad most of the senior stakeholders are here, and they are supposed to anchor that reconciliation. Because we that are from the state can only encourage you to work on the reconciliation.

“I am delighted to tell you that the Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, who is the Chairman of the Kogi Campaign Committee, has promised to go to each zone to sit down with you on a zonal basis. He will campaign in all these places, and he is very much alive to this responsibility in Kogi.”

President Bola Tinubu and the former Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi are currently in a meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Naija News understands that the meeting is coming hours after Sanusi returned from the Niger Republic where he went to meet the Niger coup leader.

The former Emir of Kano met with the military leaders, led by the coup leader, General Abdourahmane Tchiani, in Niamey, the nation’s capital, to discuss the current political impasse occasioned by the recent coup in the country.

Recall that the military coup leader seized power from the democratically elected President, Mohamed Bazoum.

Sanusi Lamido Sanusi arrived at the Presidential Villa at about 8:25 pm immediately after a high delegation of the Nigeria Islamic Ulama met with the President.

The former Emir when asked about his visit to Niger simply said, ‘it’s fine.’

At the time of filing this report, Sanusi was still meeting with the President.

Brazilian superstar, Neymar has reportedly been told that he can leave Paris Saint-Germain this summer.

The former Barcelona forward is one of five players who were informed that they are not needed, during meetings with manager Luis Enrique and sporting director Luis Campos.

It comes following reports earlier this week that the 31-year-old had told the club's management of his own desire to leave the club.

French publication RMC Sport now claims that Neymar, Marco Verratti, Hugo Ekitike, Juan Bernat, and Renato Sanches were told they are 'not part of PSG's project and should find a solution elsewhere'.

Neymar and Verratti have been absent from training for the last two days along with Kylian Mbappe. They were also not invited to the club's team photo day.

Bernat, Ekitike, Sanches were also not part of the team photo day though a second round of official photos is planned for the end of the transfer window, should any of those players end up staying at the club.

The Brazil international had grown increasingly unhappy at the French giants, with reports suggesting he was determined to seal a return to Barcelona this summer.

Back in May, angry PSG fans gathered outside his Paris home to demand that he leave, prompting the club to release a statement condemning the actions of their supporters.

The incident is said to have influenced Neymar's decision to leave the club, with the forward reportedly feeling that he is 'exposed' in Paris in a way that he never had been during his time at Barcelona.

A billionaire tech guru who planning to 'live forever' has shared details about his complex daily routine to extend his life as long as possible.

Bryan Johnson, 45, a California-based tech mogul spoke to Steven Bartlett on the Diary of a CEO Podcast this week.

He believes that always sleeping at the same time, never eating after 11am, and taking 111 pills are the keys to eternal youth.

The mogul added that his main goal in the 21st century is to 'not die' and he does anything possible to extend life - which has included injecting his 17-year-old son's plasma.

'I'm revolting against the culture of death,' he said on the podcast.

'I was born to introduce this new idea to humanity,' he told Dragon's Den star Steven.

'In the 21st Century, the only goal is not to die. It's the rallying cry for the 21st Century, those two word: "don't die",' he added.

Speaking this week, he also revealed how being born Mormon and struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts lead to his success now - but said that he worries that previously not looking after himself earlier in life could have caused damage.

Bryan added that he thinks it's 'absolutely possible' to 'live forever' and that he makes all his decisions via algorithm, so he does not give his mind 'authority' to make decisions.

Bryan also said that sleep is the most important thing for him and that he measures the quality of his sleep, getting 100 percent quality for six months straight.

The mogul revealed that he goes to bed at 8.30pm everyday, which can be detrimental to his social life - but said that it is worth it.

When he wakes up, he often doesn't speak to anyone for four or five hours so he's able to 'think'.

'I probe myself to deep levels, but you can get knocked off so fast. 'Someone saying "How are you, how was your sleep" can knock me off.'

The father-of-one also allocates 2250 calories to eat a day, which is strictly plant-based, eating everything between 6am and 11am.

Wine, he says, should also be drunk in the morning and limited to 3oz a day.

'I've built my life around sleep,' he explained. 'That's the opposite of cultural norms, most people will blow their bedtime if they want to go out with friends.

'I've made the hard decisions. There's a bunch of small things. 'My last meal of the day is at 11am, by the time I go to bed I have more than eight hours of digestion.

'I ran a few hundred experiments on this. I sleep best with an empty stomach'.

He added that he 'never shares a bed' with anyone and won't have sex after 8.30pm either.

'I'm single, I've tried to date before, I've given them a list of 10 things that will make them impossible to like me.'

Bryan also said that he grew up in 'typically American' and 'not healthy' way where he ate many sugary cereals, but now eats zero cane sugar because it has 'no benefits'.

'We're baby steps away from creating super intelligence, we cannot model out what the future is like in any way, shape or form,' he explained.

'The only thing we can play is don't die, don't kill each other. And don't underestimate AI.'

Discussing his diet, Bryan said he eats 2250 calories a day and 'every calorie has to fight for its life'.

He starts his day with a bowl of 'super veggies' which includes broccoli, cauliflower, garlic, ginger, and hemp seeds with extra virgin olive oil and cacao. He doesn't add any salt or seasoning except potassium chloride.

Eating around a kilogram of vegetables a day, he says that he adds dark chocolate to put off any sweet cravings.

He then has a 'dessert' of macadamia nuts mixed with berries and proteins.

Three tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, as well as a drink of 'green giant' are also part of the diet as well as 111 pills.

Bryan spends $2million (£1.6m) a year on a team of more than 30 doctors and medical experts that oversee and test almost every one of his organs. Their aim is to engineer his body into that of an 18-year-old.

He has taken 33,537 images of his bowels and monitors everything from his bone weight to his number of nighttime erections.

He and his doctors claim that in two years he has reduced his overall biological age by more than five years and now has the heart of a 37-year-old, the skin of a 28-year-old, and the lung capacity and fitness of an 18-year-old. His medical team is led by Oliver Zolman, a 29-year-old doctor researching aging therapies in Cambridge.

In his 30s, the entrepreneur founded Braintree Payment Solutions, a hugely successful company that he sold in 2013 for $800million.

Mohamed Bazoum, the democratically elected president of Niger, said he is being kept isolated and forced to eat dry rice and pasta by the military junta who overthrew him and are refusing to bow to international pressure to cede power.

In a series of text messages to a friend reportedly seen by CNN, Bazoum said he has been “deprived of all human contact” since Friday, with no one supplying him food or medicine.

Bazoum said he has been living without electricity for a week, a normal occurrence for all Nigeriens after Nigeria cut off electric power in response to the coup.

Bazoum says all of the perishable food he was supplied with has since gone bad, and he is now eating dry pasta and rice.

Though denied the chance to speak with acting US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland during her visit to Niamey, the Nigerien capital, on Monday, Bazoum has been in contact with the outside world.

Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou, the prime minister in Bazoum’s government, told French TV that the president was in good spirits despite being held in a “catastrophic situation.”

Nuland’s meeting on Monday with senior coup leaders lasted more than two hours, consisting of “extremely frank and at times quite difficult” conversations. A Tuesday face-to-face meeting that was supposed to take place in Niamey between the junta and representatives from the United Nations, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was canceled at short notice.

Junta leaders said in a letter that postponement of the meeting was “necessary” in “this atmosphere of threatened aggression against Niger.”

However, Mahamadou, Bazoum’s prime minister, told French state-funded broadcaster TV5-Monde that the junta would like to continue dialogue with ECOWAS, the bloc that has been leading the regional response to the political crisis in Niger.

ECOWAS leaders are due to meet on Thursday in Nigeria to discuss the coup, though specifics regarding the gathering remain unclear.

The regional bloc had given the junta one week to return to their barracks and reinstall Bazoum, but that deadline came and went on Sunday without any change.