The remains of the late governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, have been interred at his country home in Owo, in the Owo council area of the state.

The late Akeredolu, who died in Germany on December 26, last year, was conveyed to his hometown for his final burial.

He was 67. His corpse arrived in the state capital on Wednesday and was received by the state governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa and members of the executive council for his onward journey to his Owo country home the same day.

Eminent Nigerians, led by President Bola Tinubu, eulogised the virtues of the late Governor Akeredolu.

President Tinubu, who was represented by the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, led state governors, ministers, chieftains of the ruling All Progressive Congress, top government functionaries and other important personalities to the funeral service, held at the Saint Andrews Cathedral Church in Imola, Owo, Ondo State.

The Kwara State Police Command on Friday said a cop, identified as Fayemi Kehinde, was injured while a mosque and some vehicles were damaged during a protest by angry students of the Kwara State University.

It said the protest followed a sting operation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in Malete, the host community of the university on Wednesday night.

Fifty persons, comprising 48 students of KWASU, were among the suspects paraded at the Ilorin zonal office of the EFCC for alleged cybercrime on Thursday.

During the crisis, the police station at Malete, in the Moro Local Government Area of the state was reportedly attacked by some students.

However, the Commissioner of Police, Victor Olaiya, said a mosque and some vehicles were damaged by a gathering of students at Malete town

Olaiya, in a statement, on Friday said, “Reports indicate that the gatherings, which began at about 1600hrs, centered around grievances related to the recent raids on black-spots around the school’s premises by operatives of the NDLEA. Students living off campus expressed their dissent, and marched from various parts of the town to Okoru Junction close to Malete Police Division, carrying placards with various inscriptions such as, “Say No to NDLEA”.

“Efforts were made to engage with the students, persuading them to return to their respective hostels and maintain peace. In the process, they encountered a white Toyota Hilux vehicle with registration number Lagos AGL 574 HZ, occupied by four armed policemen from Ila-Orangun led by Inspector Ibrahim Ali and three others on an official assignment to Malete.

“They were mistaken for operatives of the NDLEA. Consequently, the students chased them to Malete Divisional Police Headquarters, where the students began to throw stones into the police station.

“Regrettably, this led to some damages to the rooftop of the mosque and the windscreen of vehicles parked in the station. The policemen fired tear gas canisters to disperse the violent crowd to prevent further damage at the police station.

“Additionally, one police officer, PC Fayemi Kehinde, sustained minor injuries as a result of the stones thrown at the police station. He was given first aid treatment at the hospital and discharged.”

As the economic crisis in Nigeria worsens, a popular actress, Toyin Abraham, has come under fire from frustrated Nigerians, who have been lambasting her for campaigning vigorously for President Bola Tinubu in the lead up to the 2023 elections.

Whenever the actress makes any post on social media, it is usually greeted with criticism and insults by her fans and followers.

Some netizens even went as far as posting flyers that read, ‘Rest in peace’ about the actress.”

Apparently overwhelmed by the negative reactions, Abraham stated that she was aware of the pain felt by the people. She wrote, “Unexplainable, but God will see us all through. It is people’s pain that is getting to me.”

In a similar vein, the actress blamed political opposition for the bad reviews on one of her movies titled, ‘Ijakumo, the Born-Again Stripper’.

At the time, she had said, “You all went to create a WhatsApp group because of ‘Ijakumo, the Born-Again Stripper’; please continue. You all will tell the world why choosing my own candidate is a crime, and yours isn’t.”

She later apologised for her outburst, and asked critics to share their opinions about the movie ‘with love’.

However, the strident criticisms have not abated.

Replying to one of her recent Instagram posts, one Nkem Diana wrote, “Asiwaju Baby. God will visit and judge you. You have not started crying.”

Pablo Floky said, “How far those things you said Baba disclosed to you, is it not time to execute them? Or is it when hunger kills all of us?”

Another Instagram, Eth, wrote, “You misled Nigerians to vote your ‘mumu’ party.”

Meanwhile, a follower, Ojays, was of the opinion that the followers were being unfair to the actress. He wrote, “All those bashing Toyin, please did she force anyone to vote for her choice? Did she point gun at you at the polling booth that you should vote for her candidate by force? Is she the only one who supported Tinubu, or you all just derive pleasure in coming for her. Please, let her breathe. Plus, how sure are you that your own candidate would have performed any better?”

Meanwhile, the actress had also stated that she was partnering with a brand— Smallyfares— to organise a weekly food bank event in Ikeja, Lagos State.

A reggae and dancehall artiste, Chinagorom Onuoha, popularly known as African China, has said that he and his fellow artistes who held sway in the early 2000s ‘pushed’ the music industry to where it is now.

Speaking in an interview with Saturday Beats, China said, “Collaboration is something we cannot rule out in the industry. But, things have changed, and I understand. However, I don’t like the fact that when younger artistes see the people that laid the foundation (of the industry), they don’t respect them.

“They don’t know what we went through. These days, it is easier to stream one’s songs on digital music platforms. Before, those sites were not accessible to Nigerians. Back then, we would go to cyber cafes to do things like that.

“Then, people were not paying attention. We were just trying to make them love Nigerian music. In those days, we were competing with mega American artistes such as 2pac Shakur, P Diddy, Jenifer Lopez, R Kelly, and Busta Rhymes. We were not even competing with fellow Nigerian artistes, because we were all united in trying to push the industry to where it is today.”

The ‘Mr President’ singer added that older artistes were not asking the young artistes for money, but respect.

He added, “We are not asking the young artistes to give us money, but to respect us, if not for our age, but at least for the sacrifices we made for the industry.”

A veteran actress and politician, Hilda Dokubo, has said that with the rate of insecurity and hunger in the country, Nigerians are being abused by the government.

She said, “When the essence of a thing is unknown, abuse is inevitable. And, that is exactly what we are going through right now. Nigerians are being abused. We are being compared with countries that do not have crude oil, forgetting that some other countries have oil, and their citizens are not paying as much as we are paying (for petrol and diesel). If the government had given us the quality of life enjoyed by those people they are comparing us with, it would have been okay. In those countries, children from birth to the age of six have access to free healthcare. They get quality education almost for nothing. They also have policies that work. People can speak freely without being called enemies. But, what do we have here? Is it safe?

“The level of insecurity in Nigeria is shameful. How do we work? What is the state of nightlife in the country? These politicians think their lives are easy, because they travel with 20 bodyguards and policemen. Why don’t they travel alone? They won’t do that, because they know that the country is unsafe.

“Everyone who does business that thrives at night, just like most entertainers, are not finding the situation funny.”

Nigerian singer, Eniola Akinbo, known professionally as Niyola, has pleaded with her fans to pray for her full recovery following a recent near-death experience.

Naija News reports that the singer made this known in a post on her Instagram page, alongside a photo of herself in a hospital.

Although Niyola didn’t reveal the cause of the incident, she disclosed that she suddenly found herself on the floor fighting for her life and regained consciousness after hearing a supernatural voice.

The singer pleaded with her fans and well-wishers to pray for her full recovery.

She wrote, “G R A T I T U D E Modupeoluwa. I just a near death experience and naturally it’s had me thinking about time, purpose and what truly matters. One minute I was fine and the next thing I was on the floor fighting for my life. All I remember after that is hearing a voice say “And you shall by no means get hurt”

“The rest of the story is too long to share but let me tell you, God is real and His words are true!!!!!!!! But for God, it could have been different. I am so thankful.

“If you’re still thinking there’s time to live outside of him, I beg you to rethink and give him your life now. The days are truly dark,and only Christ is the true light that can chase the shadows away. I have lost two people within the last two weeks, both under thirty so don’t think you’re too young and there’s time.

“I know your strength is waning, but you’ll be glad to know that it’s in your weakness God’s strength is made perfect. What you don’t know is you are a target because you carry destiny and the frustration is to distract you from what you carry.

“You can’t give up,you MUST WIN. I typically would put my thoughts in songs but I am not allowed to do any of that for now and I love you too much not to share.

“Believe that as soon as I can, and with your prayers this experience is birthing a whole new project by God’s Grace. I am much better now, but pls pray for my full recovery. The devil is a lieeeeee I go nowhere! I love you.”

A controversial artiste, Habeeb Okikiola, aka Portable, has taken an actress, Laide Bakare, to the cleaners on social media over a recent interview she granted and allegedly referred to him as a dirty boy.

In the interview on a podcast titled, Talk to B, Bakare, who was recently appointed by Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, as his Senior Special Adviser on entertainment, art, culture and tourism, had stated that Portable abused her on social media because of an earlier interview she had granted where she had stated that of her husband cheated on her, she would retaliate by also cheating on him. She said, “He commented on one of my posts, saying, “Pele iya olowo (sorry, rich woman). It turned out to be this werey olorin, Portable. The boy just started abusing me. The Internet just gives some people cheap opportunities. You can imagine one dirty boy from Sango talking anyhow..”

She added that Portable warned her that he did not want to see her with his wife, who is also an actress.

However, in his reaction, Portable claimed that Bakare was actually the one who reached out to him on Instagram. He said, “Laide Bakare, you sent me a direct message and asked me to send my WhatsApp number. I will post everything. I told you to meet my manager, that what did you want to discuss with me? You are calling me a dirty boy, but the day we met at a party, you were the one who hugged me; you hugged a dirty boy. You were asking me to come to your birthday party? You say I come from Sango, where does your family come from? You fell for me, and I will post all the messages you sent to me.”

Also, in a post acknowledging the well wishes from fans over her recent appointment in Osun State, Portable made an unprintable comment, inferring that Bakare was a promiscuous woman.

Responding to him, she wrote, “Omo ofo.com, oni ku re (useless child, you will not die well). I will not spare you for coming to my page to rant nonsense. It is your grandmother that is mad.”

The federal government has said that the Port-Harcourt refinery would begin operation by producing two million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol and 2.2 million litres of diesel per day.
The government said this after an inspection tour of the facility along with the leadership of organised labour.

Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, who disclosed this, said the refinery was 80 percent completed.

She explained that the old plant would begin with 54,000 barrels per day, while the new plant which is currently going through its last phase of completion would also begin production before the end of the year.

“The combined capacity of the two plants, when fully on stream, would produce 10 million litres of PMS per day,” Onyejeocha said in a statement issued by the Director of Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Olajide Oshundun on Thursday.

A scheduled visit to the Port-Harcourt refinery was one of the points listed in the 16 – points agreement reached with the government last year by organised labour.

The minister reiterated the government’s commitment to social dialogue with organized labour and other stakeholders towards achieving industrial peace and harmony, while prioritising workers’ welfare.

She appealed to union leaders to see the strike as the last option.

The minister said: “Issuing of constant strike threat could send wrong signals to potential investors. This is not healthy for our business environment.”

According to the statement, the minister met with the leadership of TUC to review the progress reports of agreements reached in October 2023 between the government and organised labour.

“During the review, the minister read each item on the memorandum of understanding among which were the payment of four out of six months on wage award, the committee of minimum wage review, payment of outstanding salaries and wages of tertiary education workers in federal- owned educational institutions, suspension of VAT on diesel, payment of N25,000 conditional cash transfer to 3,140,819 households, including the pensioners.

“While she said the government has made a huge financial commitment to the provision of CNG Buses and conversion Kits, she also explained that the procurement process was slowing down the launch but measures were already in place to fast-track the process.

“The minister explained that the government has commenced a series of engagements with relevant stakeholders on tax incentives, just as the leadership crises rocking NURTW and RTEAN have been resolved.

“Among the progress made are subsidized distribution of fertilizers to farmers across the country, government’s engagement with various state governments and the private sector on the issue of the implementation of wage award for their workers, and plans to encourage MSEs in the country to create jobs and boost the economy.

“Speaking on the inspection visit to the Port-Harcourt refinery by TUC and federal government delegation, the minister said reports by organized labour and government established that the Port-Harcourt refinery is 80% completed,” the statement said.

The leadership of TUC led by its Secretary General, Nuhu Toro commended the government for the progress recorded so far in implementing a substantial part of the agreement, but differed with the government on some of the items.

He said, for instance, that while the issue of RTEAN has been resolved, that of NURTW has not been resolved.

“If the issue of the president of the union has not been resolved, it suggests that the issue of NURTW has not been resolved.

“You have carefully done justice to the items, and we commend you and the federal government, but we expect fulfillment of all the agreements,” said Nuhu Toro.

He said some of the items have not been fully implemented but from their own assessment, the government has achieved 50% implementation.

According to Toro, “50% is a pass mark, but we urge you to do more. We know there are challenges, but we are very optimistic that they could be addressed”.

While the minister disagreed with the 50% rating by the union, citing reasons, Comrade Toro said 50% is a good performance on the side of the government.

Deputy President of TUC, Kayode Alakija, thanked the minister for her consistency with union leaders and appealed to her to back some of the gray areas with data to reconcile them.

He said: “We will appreciate it if you back up the VAT with empirical data. You said you got the information from the office of the Finance Minister. So, we would appreciate it if they could supply you with data on how they arrived at the information.”

Among those present at the meeting were the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Ismail Abubakar; the Director of Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations, M A. Yusuf and other directors and departmental heads of the ministry.

On the side of the TUC, were its Secretary General, Toro, its Vice President, Alakija Kayode, Deputy President, and two others.

The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has disclosed that he has no plans to leave the party.

He also described insinuations from certain quarters that he was leaving the party as the handwork of political mischief makers.

Obi, in a statement on Friday, signed by the Peter Obi Media Reach (POMR) said enemies of democracy bent on causing crisis in the Labour Party are the ones spreading rumours about his defection.

The LP candidate, in a statement signed by his media aide, Michael Jude Nwolisa, on Friday, dismissed the trending fake and fallacious news story suggesting that he was parting ways with the Labour Party.

“This is not true and it did not originate from Obi or the Obidient Movement but from mischief makers bent on sowing the seed of discord in the party.

“These rising misdemeanors on the party did not start today as they set out to destroy and disorganize the party all to get at Obi and derail the inevitable journey of rescuing Nigeria.

“Presently our principal is preoccupied with making Nigeria work not on partisan politics which ended on October 26, 2023, when the Supreme Court of the land took their final decision on the general elections.

“Those bent on creating a crisis in the Labour Party are clearly enemies of democracy wishing for the failed status quo to remain.

“OBI’s focus at the moment is on creating an environment where democracy is to be practiced according to the defined tenets not the rascality and all forms of impunity prevalent in the country today

“Peter Obi, therefore, would like to assure Nigerians, particularly the Obidient family that his way with Labour is unshaken and intact and that the struggle to rescue Nigeria from the criminal gangs holding it down will not stop until it’s achieved through the will of the Nigerian people,” the statement reads.

Yoruba Nation activist, Sunday Adeyemo, widely known as Igboho, has attributed his return to Nigeria to divine intervention.

The prominent freedom fighter made his way back to the country on Thursday, just in time for his mother’s funeral, which is set to take place in Saki, Oyo State.

His return has sparked significant attention, given his high-profile status as an advocate for Yoruba autonomy and his previous encounters with Nigerian security agencies.

Igboho, on Friday, revealed that he had faced threats to his life, alleging that President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered the Department of State Services (DSS) and military personnel to assassinate him at his residence.

Igboho, addressing his supporters in Oyo State in the Yoruba language, explained that his activism, specifically his vocal opposition to the killing of farmers by Fulani herders in the Southwest, was the reason behind the alleged assassination attempt.

He said: “Buhari sent his soldiers and DSS to arrest me in my house because I said Yorubas are not slaves to Fulanis, they can’t suppress us in our father’s land.

“Fulanis can’t stop our fathers and mothers from going to their farms. But, I’m back with the power of God and authority not that of man.”