Actress Peju Johnson has said that she is looking forward to getting married and having kids.

In an interview with Saturday Beats, she said, “I cannot stay without getting married. I want to be married. I love love, kids and family. I want them all. These days, it is not easy to find a good man, and many marriages are falling apart. However, I still believe that there is a man out there for me that I will grow old with.”

Reacting to the issue of single mothers celebrating themselves on Fathers’ Day, Johnson said, “Being a single mother is not an easy task. Single mothers are strong, and they are really trying. They are doing what two people are supposed to do. So, they should be allowed to celebrate themselves, because they deserve it.”

Addressing people who feel that even if a parent abandons their kids, the children will still look for that parent in the future, the actress said, “The fact that it works for one person does not mean it would work for others. A lot of parents that abandoned their children are suffering in their old age, simply because they were not there for their children. Parents need to fulfill their responsibilities to their children.”

Asked if she could take back a partner that had abandoned her and her children, she said, “Yes, I can. But, that is if I have not moved on with another man. It is not easy though, but I can accept him back to father his children. Also, I would be doing it for the kids, and not for him or me. Every child needs their father. However, if I had moved on, I would only accept him for co-parenting; just so the children can have their father in their lives.”

Painting a picture of her ideal man, Johnson said, “My ideal man must be loving, dark-complexioned, caring, a good listener, kind, and a man that knows God.”

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio has disclosed that his first grandchild died at a federal government hospital in 2019.

Akpabio made disclosure on Friday during the screening of the Lagos state ministerial nominee, Dr Tunji Alausa.

Akpabio said that he lost his grandchild to medical negligence and dereliction of duty at a federal medical center.

According to him, the deceased bled to death after the drip he was receiving finished in the middle of night and there was no medical worker around to attend to him.

His words: “Like every other person, I have been a victim of medical neglect. I lost my first grandchild in 2019 in a federal medical centre.

“He died through bleeding. He was receiving drip and it was tissued in the night. There was no help, no doctor, no nurse.

“He bled until he lost over 60 percent of his blood and was almost going mental, he struggled and fell on the floor., he was looking for water to drink.

“He rolled on the floor outside and entered the early morning dew, and poured the dew all over his body, and that was where they found him.”

Akpabio said his grandchild was found the next morning in a coma and efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.

“By that time, he had gone into a coma. I was on my way to Port Harcourt for the 2019 rally when they called me.

“I entered there and struggled with the doctor to revive him. They went and brought a defibrillator to attempt to revive the heart, but it did not work.”

The Senate President said he gathered that the defibrillator stopped working eight years ago.

“I used my hand and struggled with my personal physician, I could not revive him. I had to close his eyes and put him in the mortuary,” he said

Amidst ongoing controversies trailing the launch of the new national carrier, Nigeria Air, fresh indications have emerged that the airline will commence flight operations in October this year.

This development was disclosed by Ethiopian Airlines Chief Executive Officer, Mesfin Tasew, in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

The new carrier was first unveiled in 2018 during Farnborough International Airshow, London.

However, in May 2023, Nigeria’s former Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika, launched Nigeria Air 48 hours before the end of his administration with an aircraft.

This development created a significant uproar nationwide.

However, Tasew during the interview said: “The airline will begin operation with two wide-bodied planes and six narrow-bodied aircraft.

“We are eager to see the airline start flying and connecting the local market to the international market.

“Ethiopian Airlines will manage the operation. It is a proven model and the objective is to enable Nigeria to have a flag carrier.

“The prime objective is to enable Nigeria to have an air carrier. Ethiopian Airlines will have a management contract. Effectively, Ethiopian Airlines will manage Nigeria Air to be successful.

“We own a 49 percent stake in the airline, the Nigerian government five percent together while other institutional investors own the rest.”

Mr Tasew expressed optimism based on the size of the Nigerian economy and the potential inherent in it.

Meanwhile, a breakdown of the ownership of the airlines shows that, Ethiopian Airlines own 49 percent, the Federal government five percent, 46 percent by Nigerian private investors, including SAHCO, MRS and other institutional investors.

Tragedy struck in Laoso camp, Ondo town, Ondo State, as a son of a traditionalist, identified as Tunde Akinmoyewa, was shot dead by his friend, Bode, while testing the potency of a bulletproof charm placed on him.

Meanwhile, Police in the state said that the deceased was an ex-convict and cult members while the suspected killer is also a cultist.

Reports had it that the friends were trying to fortify themselves ahead of the yearly Ogun festival in the town.

Vanguard gathered that his friend was asked to test the potency of the charm put on the victim by shooting him with a Dane gun.

An eyewitness said: “It was unbelievable, because such charms never failed before. But this very day, this particular one failed and caused the death of the 27 years old son of a traditionalist in the camp.

“It was around 6:45p.m. at the Laoso camp in Ondo West Local Government Area of the state, when a friend of Tunde volunteered to test the charm on him after drinking some bullet-repelling concoction.

“A native doctor, who reportedly prepared the charm, had assured them that they could not die from gunshots.

“To test the potency of the charms, Tunde was said to have told his friend to shoot him. Immediately Tunde’s friend fired the Dane gun at him, he fell and died instantly.

“He was confirmed dead at the hospital he was rushed to by others who were at the scene. The friend fled after the incident and before the villagers arrived the scene.”

Contacted, the state police commands spokesperson, Funmi Odunlami, said that the victim was an ex-convict and cult member.

Odunlami said that the suspect, who shot the victim, is one of the deceased’s boys.

According to her, they were testing “a locally-made gun believed to be newly procured. He was shot and he died while being taken to the hospital for medical attention.”

The police imagemaker added that Tunde’s remains had been deposited at the morgue while efforts were in top gear to arrest the fleeing suspect.

Following apparent breakdown in negotiations with an ECOWAS delegation, the Niger coup leaders have severed diplomatic relations with France, Nigeria, Togo and U.S.

They announced on National television that the contract of their Ambassadors in those countries have been terminated.

In a quick response Paris said only a legitimate government can cut diplomatic ties.

Niger's elected President Mohamed Bazoum is detained by the coup makers, who deposed him on 26 July 2023.

Nigeria, current Chairman, Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government had sent a delegation which met with some of the coup leaders on Thursday.

Nigeria has also announced the cut of essential electricity supply to Niger in addition to the sanctions imposed by ECOWAS on the country plus a seven-day ultimatum given the coupists to release and reinstate Bazoum.

There was anti- Nigerian and Western protests in Niamey, the Niger capital on Thursday.

On Friday, President Bola Tinubu sent a letter to Nigeria's National Assembly seeking its approval to implement the ECOWAS decisions and mobilisation of Nigeria’s armed forces for possible military intervention in Niger.

The letter also mentioned a ban on commercial flights to and from Niger and movement of goods from Nigeria to Niger.

This raises the optics for possible military confrontation and the escalation of the Niger crisis even as France and other Western countries begin evacuation of their citizens from Niger.

The Niger coupists might be testing the resolve of the international community at grave risks to themselves and regional peace and security.

However, defence experts and analysts have warned against potential catastrophic consequences and the spiralling of the conflict beyond control through kinetic intervention.

This will exacerbate the insecurity and dire socio-economic situation in the politically restive ECOWAS and Sahel regions.

About 1.2 million candidates registered for the on-going 2023 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE), the National Examinations Council (NECO) has said.

The Registrar/Chief Executive of NECO, Prof. Dantani Wushishi, disclosed this in Jos Plateau State, according to a statement by the Head, Information and Public Relations, Azeez Sani on Friday while monitoring the conduct of the examination in some Schools.

Wushishi informed of this figure, 601,074 candidates are male while 584,814 are female.

He expressed satisfaction with the general conduct of the 2023 SSCE based on reports obtained from across the country.

The Registrar said the 2023 SSCE, which would be concluded next week, was the best organised in recent years.

Wushishi stated various measures have been put in place to check examination malpractices, adding that the measures have started yielding positive results.

The Registrar who monitored the examination at Airforce Military School; King and Queens Academy and Emmanuel International College all in Jos, expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the examination in these schools.

Prof. Wushishi had earlier monitored the conduct of the 2023 SSCE in Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Jigawa and Bauchi States.

A Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Ilorin has remanded Esther Shehu and David Kpanaki at the federal correctional centre for allegedly conspiring to defraud Alhaji Kamoru Ibitoye Yusuf, owner of Kam Steel Nigeria limited of $400,000.

The defendants were brought to the court on charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating, screening an offender and obstruction.

The offences contravened sections 97, 322, 167 and 148 of the penal code law and 1(3) of Advance Fee Fraud/other related offences act cap A6.

Alhaji Yusuf had written a petition to the deputy registrar of the magistrate court, Ilorin in a direct complaint on July 18, 2023, through Tofa Ahmed & Co Solicitors & Advocates.

According to the Police First Information Report (FIR), one Ibrahim Tenimu Shehu and Jemima Monosoko Shehu, now at large conspired with Kpanaki, who identified himself as the director of Paz Oil, an alleged “fictitious company”, to fraudulently sell a vessel MT ORYX TRADER as MT REMOS to the petitioner.

“You dishonestly presented (that) the vessel (was) free and not subject to any administrative detention, knowing fully well that it is a subject of court order.

“You also used a 16year-old- daughter of one of you, Jemima Monosoko, as Executive Director and an in-law of a suspect as another Director to fraudulently sell the vessel to the petitioner”.

“On the account of fraudulent presentation by Tenimu and Jemima, you, Kpanaki made the petitioner to spend $400,000 in addition to the purchase price of the vessel and you all absconded”, the FIR submitted.

The charge sheet further added that when the suspects were later tracked by a team of Police operatives to Abuja for possible arrest, the second accused, Esther Shehu, obstructed the officers.

“You dishonesty called your accomplice who claimed to be the DPO of the jurisdiction who deceitfully spoke to the operatives to leave the premises, that the suspect Tenimu Shehu Ibrahim (at large), will meet them at the police station by 12pm but rather with help of Kpanaki, whisked him out in a Blue Tinted Toyota Corolla to an unknown destination”, the sheet added.

Prosecutor, Nasir Yusuf, in his submission, told the court that Esther and Kpanaki confessed to the allegation during investigation at the police headquarters, Ilorin.

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Imo Command has sacked one of its officers for joining protesters on Wednesday in the special marshals regalia.

Sector Commander of the FRSC in Imo, Evaristus Ebeniro, a Corps Commander, who said this while addressing newsmen in Owerri, Imo State capital.

He matained that the officer had been de-marshaled and no longer an officer of the corps.

The Nation reports that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Unions Congress (TUC) embarked on a nationwide protest to register their displeasure with the removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government.

Ebeniro said that although the protester was a special marshal of the corps, he had since been de-marshaled and no longer holds a Special Marshals identity card.

He added that the protester was, whilst serving as a special marshal, summoned as a result of inactivity and lack of commitment to duties but absconded and was therefore de-marshaled in absentia in line with the rules of the corps.

He added that the protester was, whilst serving as a special marshal, summoned as a result of inactivity and lack of commitment to duties but absconded and was therefore de-marshaled in absentia in line with the rules of the corps.

“It is now confirmed that the protester who happened to be a unionist was once a special marshal.

“The Command hereby makes it categorically and unequivocally clear that the protester is no longer with the Corps and that he acted alone in that show of shame “, he said.

Just two days after the inclusion of Dr Maryam Shettima (Shetty)’s name on the ministerial nominees’ list submitted to the Senate on Wednesday, President Bola Tinubu, on Friday surprisingly withdrew her and replaced her with that of Mariya Mahmoud.

The PUNCH reported on Thursday how Nigerians on social media reacted to Shetty’s nomination. While some praised the Kano State-born Shetty and Tinubu, some others blasted Tinubu for her nomination.

Here are five things to know about Maryam Shettima;

1. Her full name is Maryam Shettima Ibrahim, but popularly known as Maryam Shetty.

2. She was born April 8, 1979 (44 years old)

3. She is a political and social activist. She is a national leader of #WeBelieve, an APC support group.

4. She graduated from Bayero University, Kano, with a distinction in BSc Physiotherapy. She also has an MSc in Sports Physiotherapy from the University of East London.

5. She was once chosen to represent Nigeria at the United Nations General Assembly.

Veteran Nollywood actor, Pete Edochie, has expressed shock as most actresses in Nigeria have left their husbands.

Edochie spoke about the spate of failed marriages in Nollywood in a recent chat on the ‘WithChude’ podcast.

He also made reference to Chioma Akpotha, Ireti Doyle and Tonto Dikeh’s failed marriages.

The 76-year-old actor said most women make the mistake of thinking the grass is greener on the other side.

According to the ace actor, women should take their wedding vows seriously and remain in their marriages “for better or worse”.

Edochie also argued that “men and women are not equals in the home. In our culture, a man does not kneel to offer a ring to a woman”.

“If you come to our industry today, most of our girls who got married two or three years ago have all left their husbands,” he said.

“I was even shocked to hear that Chioma Chukwuka, Ireti Doyle, Tonto had also left.

“You know you take a vow when you are getting married for better or worse. Not for better for us but for better or worse.

“You will always think it is greener on the other side. That is the mistake that we all make.”

Edochie and his wife Josephine celebrated their 53rd wedding anniversary in October last year.

With several awards and recognition, the actor has established himself as a household name in the Nigerian movie industry.