Controversy has begun to trail the death of 42-year-old Udosen Glory, who reportedly died in a road accident in Akure, Ondo State, last month, following calls for a discreet investigation into her death by her friends.

Her friends maintained that there was more to her death than the claim of auto crash as the cause, as they disclosed that some of her body parts were missing, suggestive of a ritual killing.

Glory, who would have turned 43, on May 8, 2024, was a graduate of Industrial Chemistry from the Federal University of Technology, Akure and an entrepreneur. She was said to have left her abode in the Ajah area of Lagos, to Ogbomosho, Oyo State, on a business trip.

However, apprehension set in after several calls to her mobile line were not answered.

Explaining what she described as a mysterious twist, one of her friends who spoke exclusively to Vanguard on the condition of anonymity, said, “On March 3, 2024, she called me with a new Airtel line, informing me that she went on a business trip to Ogbomoso for an interior decoration/painting job. She told me she would be leaving for Akure, Ondo state, on March 5, 2024, to visit one of her sisters she identified as Shade.

“ On March 7th, she posted her pictures on her different social platforms, thanking God for journey mercies to Akure.
Apprehension

“Later, we realized we hadn’t heard from her for a while via the Whatsapp platform she created. It was unusual for her to stay that long without saying a word about the group, being the admin. All attempts to reach out to her proved abortive. After a while, I decided to reach her on the new line she called me with. and a lady picked it up and said it was the wrong number. But I overheard some people whispering in the background.

“Other people also dialled that number and the lady kept saying it was the wrong number. At one point, the lady at the other end stopped responding to our calls.

” We contributed some money and reached out to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC to track the line. Through that effort, we were able to contact the lady that Rose G had a business deal with in Akure. But she denied meeting with her

“On our way to report the matter to the Police, someone called me on the phone from a police station located between Ore Expressway and Shagamu, informing that an accident happened on March 8, 2024, involving a lady named Rose G. He said she slumped.

Suspicion

Meanwhile, the lady who earlier denied having met Rose G was discovered to have called a man who was Rose G’s acquaintance, requesting her (Rose G)full name, explaining that her Pastor requested the name because he wanted to pray for her.

“ We suspect there is more to the sudden death of my friend. We are appealing to the Police to investigate her death to give her justice. This is because her eyes and breasts were missing. Besides, by the time we went through her phone, we discovered that she contacted the lady who denied seeing her”.

A video of the corpse made available to Vanguard confirmed the missing parts.

However, when Vanguard contacted the lady accused of having denied being with the deceased, she admitted to having seen her.

The lady who identified herself simply as Folashade, in a telephone conversation with Vanguard, said “ She (late Glory) called me on the phone while she was in Ogbomosho, working. She said she would be visiting Akure to process her results. When she arrived, she went to school. Later, we met and spoke. Thereafter, she left for Lagos, and that was the last time we spoke.

“ When I heard about her disappearance, I went to inform my Pastor and we prayed”, she said.

Also contacted was the sister of the deceased, Stella. She disclosed that the remains of Glory had been buried.

Says with student loan scheme, brighter future awaits Nigerian child

Nigerian students will not lack funds for education — Reps

Assure bottlenecks depriving students from accessing loan already removed

President Bola Tinubu has said though he does not have the magic wand, his administration would fix the economic challenges confronting the citizenry.

He also assured that the path to take the Nigerian child out of poverty has been cleared with his signing into law of the Student Loans Re-enactment Bill.

The President spoke Wednesday night when he hosted members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, and the Independent Campaign Council to Iftar at the Old Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja.

This is even as the Chairman of House of Representatives’ Committee on Student’s Loan, Gboyega Isiaka also assured Nigerians of the present administration’s resolve towards ensuring adequate funding of the Student’s Loan scheme for the benefits of students.

The country’s inflation rate has been on a steady rise since the Tinubu administration ended the petrol subsidy regime and unified the exchange rate in 2023.

In its latest report, the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, said inflation rose to 31.7 per cent in February 2024, up from 29.9 per cent in the previous month.

The President, who also noted the country’s capacity to generate revenue was getting better, said: “It is the hard job that you promised the people of Nigeria when you were campaigning for me, you promised them a good result. Didn’t you? That is it! I have to work for it. No magic wand.

“I campaigned on hope, I have to rest on that hope, and push for that hope for the joy of everyone of us.

“The economy is looking good. Don’t worry about that… we know we have the challenge of inflation, it is okay, we will bring it down. We are reengineering, our revenue is getting better.”

The president said Nigeria was regaining its respect and sovereignty around the world, saying “not that we have to go there and hire them to do the job for us, we are doing it ourselves.”

”Whatever is happening to us, we have to solve it by ourselves. It is your effort, your thinking, your resourcefulness, your investment, your dedication and hard work that can only get us there.”

On the student loan scheme, the President in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale, said: “The only thing that can fight poverty is education. Today, I signed the bill for the Student Loan Scheme. Imagine the children of the poor; what about people going through the mud, fishing in the ponds?

“How do you tell their children that their future will be brighter? It is only through education that we can fight poverty. A promising future awaits our children.”

He used the occasion to reassure Nigerians that the economy was being steered onto the path of sustainable growth and broad-based prosperity for Nigerian families in all parts of the country.

Speaking further, Tinubu said: “The economy is looking much better. Yes, we have challenges of inflation but we will bring it down. When the exchange rate was going haywire, it looked like we were asleep, but we worked on it diligently, and it is going down; it is getting better.

“Borrowing was higher a year ago but today, we are reengineering the financial landscape, and our revenue is expanding. And we are taking up our sovereignty and earning our respect back in the comity of nations.”

Acknowledging members of the PCC and ICC for their rigorous efforts toward his election, the President said: “It is your footwork and footprints that made me the President. I campaigned on hope, and you promised Nigerians hope and a good result when campaigning for me.

“There are a lot of expectations. I, therefore, have to work hard for it. There is a windy road we are traveling. We have to navigate carefully. Otherwise, one ends up in the bush, and that is all I have been focused on.

“It is your effort, resourcefulness, and dedication that has brought us here. The results will not come suddenly, you have endured the campaign, you must endure more, and I assure you that a very bright light beckons for you and your children. Nigeria will prosper, and we will all reap the benefits. We will work with determination and persistence.”

While urging citizens to continue to have faith in Nigeria by supporting his administration to succeed for the benefit of all, President Tinubu noted that “Europe and America did not get to where they are today in one day, but through persistence and hard work, which take time and consistent focus.”

“Pray for Nigeria, think Nigeria. This is not play time. Let us believe in ourselves. We must ask questions. What is happening to our solid minerals? No rival wants you to be bigger than them.”

Nigerian students’ll not lack funds for education

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives also assured that all obstacles in the way of securing the loan had been cleared for the benefit of Nigerians

Chairman, Committee on Student Loans, Gboyega Isiaka, who gave the assurance in Abuja yesterday, disclosed that the quantum of funds required for successful implementation of the Student Loan would be drawn from one per cent of all revenues accruing into the federation account.

He said: “The patriotism and determination to make sure that this is a sustainable success still made the executive and Mr. President in particular, to present those far-reaching amendments which has not become law.

“The law has amended so many shortcomings in the 2023 law in the area of fund that we have. Now, we have a known corporate entity that is called Nigerian Education Trust Fund. We now have an institution that is strong, sustainable and comparable to what we have in different parts of the world and going by all that will come into it.”

Anger Spreads Over Tariff Hike

Lagos, Kano, and 10 other states have concluded plans to start generating power in their respective states in conformity with the Electricity Act 2023.

The PUNCH gathered on Thursday that some of these states had established their electricity market laws and were waiting for the approval of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission to have independent regulatory bodies different from the NERC owned by the Federal Government.

As the states stepped up efforts to generate electricity, the Federal Government’s 240 per cent power tariff hike for consumers in Band A enjoying 20-hour electricity attracted more condemnations on Thursday.

Groups including the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Associations of Nigeria, civil society organisations and the Nigeria Electricity Consumer Advocacy Network warned that the hike would worsen the plight of Nigerians.

The subsidy on electricity has been withdrawn completely from the tariff payable by power consumers in the Band A category, who constitute about 15 per cent of the total number of power users across the country.

The government, through the NERC, announced the hike in the electricity bill on Wednesday, adding that those affected would now pay a tariff of N225 per kilowatt-hour, up from the previous rate of N68/kWh, representing about 240 per cent increase.

However, there are strong indications that many states are taking advantage of the new Electricity Act to establish their electricity generation firms.

In June 2023, President Bola Tinubu signed a new Electricity Act into law, heeding the calls of Nigerians that the power sector be reformed and removed from the exclusive list, to give states the power to generate, transmit and distribute electricity within their jurisdiction. This, Nigerians believe, would help in proffering lasting solutions to the electricity problems in Nigeria.

The PUNCH reports that the new law replaces the 2005 Electricity and Power Sector Reform Act as it seeks to promote private sector investments in the power sector. It provides for a holistic integrated resource plan and policy that recognises all sources for the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity.

Electricity Act

The new act permits the state electricity board or any state authority by whatever appellation, to grant licence for mini-grids and provide the framework for the operation of such licensees. With this, the Federal Government has succeeded in removing electricity from the exclusive list, allowing states and private individuals to invest in the sector.

Though a state can regulate its electricity market by issuing licences to private investors who can operate mini-grids and power plants within the state, the act, however, says that until a state has passed its electricity market laws, the NERC will continue to regulate electricity businesses in such states.

Inner sources at the NERC told The PUNCH that at least, 12 of the 36 Nigerian states were set to have their own independent electricity regulatory commissions following the enactment of the 2023 Electricity Act.

It was reliably gathered that the states had applied to the NERC, seeking independence in regulating their electricity markets without the interference of the Federal Government commission.

The NERC official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to speak on the issue, hinted that the NERC, which is presently regulating the Nigerian electricity market, must transition regulatory responsibilities from itself to state regulators when they are established.

“This means that, until a state has passed its electricity market laws, NERC will continue to regulate electricity businesses in such states. 12 states have applied to have their regulatory commissions and once the necessary things are done, the NERC will no longer regulate electricity in those states.

The states will be on their own. That will allow them to generate, transmit and distribute power within their states only. Some of them who have been generating power before the act can now commercialise it and even grant licences to investors to invest in their states,” the source said anonymously.

Another source said, “I can confirm that 12 states have applied to have their regulatory bodies. But I can’t give you the details. Our legal team is still working on the requests by the states.”

Similarly, a source close to the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, confided in one of our correspondents that 12 states were ready to start generating electricity in their states, saying more states should follow suit to solve the nation’s electricity challenges.

The PUNCH reports that Nigerians have continued to languish under a deteriorating power sector supervised by the Federal Government for many years. On many occasions, the national power grid keeps collapsing, plunging the nation into blackouts while affecting businesses.

The power grid collapsed 46 times in six years, according to a report by the International Energy Agency.

As a way of ending the power problems in their domains, some states appear to be leaving no stone unturned. As of February, checks with the Ministry of Power revealed that Lagos, Edo, Kaduna, Enugu, and Oyo have signed their electricity laws.

Ekiti project

Ekiti State Commissioner for Information, Taiwo Olatunbosun, said that the state government had domesticated the Electricity Law, stating that it had been generating and transmitting electricity through the Independent Power Project.

Olatunbosun said, “We have domesticated the Electricity Law here in Ekiti State. The IPP that we have is doing well. The state government plans to upgrade it to 5MW and from there, we improve and establish some other areas.

“The places and businesses the IPP is presently servicing include the Government House, government offices, State Secretariat, Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital and we are extending to Ekiti State University as well. It is equally servicing some conglomerates and other people who are already requesting for it”.

The commissioner said that the present administration in the state would continue to provide strategic interventions in electricity and other infrastructural development “to make Ekiti a destination for investors and uplifting the social life of our people and others promoting their business without any form of challenges that power generation may cause now and in the nearest future.”

According to him, the present IPP structure was built to accommodate future expansion to about 5mw from its present 3.6mw capacity.

The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotosho, in an interview with our correspondent on Thursday said following the passage of the Electricity Act, Lagos had been at the forefront of championing independent power generation.

Omotosho said, “Lagos has been at the forefront of unbundling power generation and power distribution systems. Lagos was the very first to start an independent power project in the days of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as governor, who is now our President.”

He said although the project could not fly then due to some constraints, Lagos did not give up.

“For Lagos State, everything is being put in place to ensure that our people can enjoy stable electricity. We are all for it because it’s about our people.

“We’re having discussions with so many entities in the private sector on how Lagos can generate its electricity, and people have been showing interest,” Omotosho stated.

The Benue State Government disclosed that it had put efforts in top gear to establish its electricity firm.

The state Commissioner for Power and Transport, Omale Omale, who spoke to one of our correspondents on Thursday stated that the state had begun its transmission programme and policy in the power sector.

According to him, the state government has started working on the legal framework that will give electricity law which will help articulate how the power sector in the state would be run.

He said, “Our power market is opening up with investors and our power market is end-to-end where the state will create a market for the private sector to come in, to transmit and distribute.

Omale added that already the state government has had intensive stakeholders’ interactions with the Jos Electricity Distribution, the Transmission Company of Nigeria, customers as well as other critical stakeholders.

He expressed assurance that by the end of the second quarter of this year, the legal framework and policy in the power sector would have been concluded.

Nasarawa partners firm

The Nasarawa State Government said it had entered into a partnership with the Nigeria Off-Grid Market Acceleration Programme to ensure the rapid development and implementation of the state’s energy projects, and to enhance its power and sustainability agenda.

Speaking with journalists in Lafia on Thursday, the Managing Director of the state’s Investment and Development Agency, Ibrahim Abdullahi, said the partnership was a step towards bringing the Nasarawa State vision of becoming one of the top three most competitive economies in Nigeria to actualisation.

He explained that the collaboration, which was formalised with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the state government and NOMAP, was carried out by the Agency, and the Nasarawa Electricity Power Agency as the technical lead.

Also, the Governor of Kebbi State, Dr Nasir Idris, has assured people of the readiness of his administration to create an enabling environment for Fadel International Holding Group to generate solar power for the state.

The Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Ahmed Idris, said “Electricity is one critical area that touches the lives of many. “We don’t have power, but coming of this independent power company is going to help us and help our businessmen and women to grow,” he said.

On its part, the Kano State Government said its independent power project was almost completed, saying it established the power company more than 10 years ago during the second tenure of Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso.

The Director General of the Media and Publicity, Sanusi Tofa, said the two ongoing independent power projects in Tiga and Challawa Goje Dams were at 90 per cent completion, saying there was over $40m in the company’s account to ensure the completion and take-off of the project in no distant time.

“This was established when the new law was not even anticipated. Unfortunately, the money was misappropriated, and the projects were abandoned for eight years,” he said, adding that the projects were completed and tested in January 2024.

Speaking with one of our correspondents, the Osun State Commissioner for Energy, Mr. Festus Adeyemo, said the state had commenced work to generate and distribute energy.

Adeyemo, however, identified funding as a major setback against the plan, adding that the state was relying on support from the World Bank and private investors that have been showing willingness to partner the state.

He said, “We are interested, and we are going to start work on it very soon. We have been working on it, but there some basic things we need to do before going into the real project. We want to have a solid foundation. We are looking at the technical aspect of it.

“The major of challenge is that of funding, but we are getting over it because we have the backing of World Bank. There are some little technical aspects of the project too. We have reached out to the Federal Ministry of Power and we have been given the go ahead. There are some paperwork that we need to do at the federal level before we can commence work on the project”.

The Ondo State Government said it was the first state that domesticated the electricity law in the country even before it was signed it to law.

A top government functionary told one of our correspondents that the electricity bill was passed and signed into law during the administration of late Governor Rotimi Akeredolu .

He said, “The state government was planning to license some companies to generate and distribute electricity in the state, but the process was stalled as a result of the sickness and death of the former governor.”

The Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr Ebenezer Adeniyan confirmed the development as he said, “We are the first to domesticate the electricity law during the late Governor Rotimi Akeredolu. “

In Zamfara, the state government is looking into the possibility of establishing an electricity generating company following persistent power failure in the state.

The Special Assistant to Governor Dauda Lawal on Media and Communications, Mustafa Kaura said the state government had conducted a survey on how to generate electricity from Bakalori dam.

According to Kaura, the work on electricity generation had started in the state during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, adding that, “the work will continue by the administration of Gov Lawal”.

In Sokoto State, the government said it had intensified efforts to improve on electricity supply through its independent power project.

Governor Ahmed Aliyu begged the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, recently on a courtesy visit to the Government House, Sokoto, for the support of the Federal Government on the project.

According to him, the State IPP, which is at 90 per cent stage of completion was initiated by the Wamakko-led administration to boost socio-economic activities in the state.

“The project is almost completed, so, we need the support of the Federal Government to ensure its take-off,” the governor said.

Anger grows

Meanwhile, the PENGASSAN, CSOs , and the Nigeria Electricity Consumer Advocacy Network have lambasted the Federal Government for allowing the implementation of the 240 per cent tariff hike regardless of the class of customers being affected.

Speaking on the sidelines of the National Executive Council meeting of the association in Abuja, PENGASSAN’s President, Festus Osifo, said the tariff hike would compound the perilous nature in Nigeria.

“Jumping from N68/kWh to N225/kWh is enormous. We think that the government should exist for the purpose of serving the people. Adding that to the perilous nature of the society today, the currency floatation that has put us in this mess that we are in today, and the fuel subsidy removal, I think it is quite drastic. So, we will interrogate the process and take a formal position about it,” Osifo stated.

The National Secretary of Nigeria Electricity Consumer Advocacy Network, Uket Obonga, said the Discos lacked the capacity to provide 20- hours supply and would not meet the target, but would bill consumers based on the new rate.

“This is not the first time they are talking about delivering a minimum of 20 hours supply. It is becoming clear that the regulator is making money from the DisCos and it is now dancing to the tune of the Discos,” Obonga alleged.

In his reaction, the Chairman of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, Debo Adeniran, described the hike as an “ill-timed oppressive policy”, noting that the hike would drive industries out of business.

“It is an ill-timed oppressive policy, and of course, there is no basis for the classification of consumers into all of those bands that they’re talking about,” Adeniran declared.

He said if there had been an improvement in the supply of electricity, the tariff hike would be understandable.

“It is a shameful thing for the electricity regulators to accede to the claim that the whole of Nigeria cannot be serviced with 24-hour electricity,” he said.

The TUC insisted on Thursday that the hike was a recipe for industrial unrest in the country. The union had on Wednesday condemned the tariff hike.

On Thursday, the TUC’s deputy president, Tommy Etim, in an interview with The PUNCH, said“The hike in electricity tariff for those who enjoy electricity for 20 hours daily is totally unacceptable and a recipe for industrial unrest.

“ Today, we are still battling with the fuel subsidy removal without any corresponding remedy and yet the increase in the electricity tariff without even the supply of electricity. I think the government should know that they were not voted into office for the enslavement of the citizens but to protect and better the lots of the masses. This is an indication that the poor can no longer breathe,” Etim said.

Similarly, the Executive Director of the Rule of Law Accountability and Advocacy Centre, Okechukwu Nwaguma, said the government must decide whether it wants to serve or punish the people, adding that the policy marks an addition to the pains of the citizens.

“This is an addition to the pains and deprivation of the people. It seems to me that this government is out to punish Nigerians. We were expecting that policies will be put in place to actually cushion the effect of the removal of fuel subsidy.

“But to further remove subsidy on electricity, even when the electricity is not available, people are being made to pay for services that are not provided, it simply shows that this government is out to punish Nigerians.

“If there was improvement in the supply of electricity and this increase comes, it would be understandable, on the contrary, there is no improvement. I think the new government should decide whether they want to serve the people or punish the people,” he said.

Godswill Akpabio, senate president, says the resolution to suspend Abdul Ningi, senator representing Bauchi central, was not his sole decision.

Akpabio said this in a letter issued by his counsel, Umeh Kalu, in response to a letter by Femi Falana, counsel to Ningi.

In March, Ningi sparked controversy when he alleged that the 2024 budget was padded by N3 trillion and that the country is operating two budgets concurrently.

Subsequently, the senate debated the matter at the “committee of the whole”.

The senator was thereafter suspended for three months for allegedly not providing evidence to back his allegations.

In a letter dated March 27 and addressed to Akpabio through his counsel, Ningi gave the senate president a seven-day ultimatum to lift his suspension from the upper legislative chamber.

Ningi described his suspension as “illegal”, saying he would approach a federal high court for his reinstatement if the suspension is not lifted within seven days.

In response, Akpabio, through his lawyer, said the decision to suspend the Bauchi senator was that of the senate.

“We have carefully read through your analysis of the facts and circumstances leading to your client’s suspension from the senate,” the letter read.

“We are unable to find reason in your verdict of our client’s sole culpability in the said suspension. We therefore plead non est factum for our client. In addition to the above and contrary to the contents of your letter under reference, our client was at no time your client’s accuser, prosecutor and judge.

“Our client’s role at the session of the senate that led to your client’s suspension was and remains the statutory role of a legislative house presiding officer, which role equally includes pronouncing the majority decision of the legislative house at the end of debate and voting.

“Permit us to mention your attempt at drawing our client’s attention to legal authorities and pronouncements of our courts of record on the unconstitutionality of suspending members of legislative houses, which attempt we dare say was unhelpful, due to your failure or refusal to make available the relevant particulars of the said court decisions in your letter.

“You may wish to provide these legal authorities which you have alluded to, bearing in mind that every decision of a court emanates from its peculiar facts, circumstances and extant laws. In as much as it may not be necessary to canvass herein all the remedies available to our client, in response to your threats of court action and petition to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC)…

“It is important we mention that legislative proceedings are guided by rules. We urge you to give due consideration to the legal issues raised in this letter and be guided accordingly in your further and future action in respect of this matter.”

The Inspector General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, has made a vow. He promised to re-arrest Nadeem Anjarwalla, the Binance Regional Africa Manager, who escaped from custody in Nigeria.

The IGP said he will realize this with the help of the International Criminal Police Organisation.

Egbetokun said this on Thursday while fielding questions from journalists at the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters, Louis Edet House, Abuja.

Egbetokun said, “I am not going to tell you what INTERPOL is doing, but I must tell you that we are doing a lot. I can assure you that the suspect would be re-arrested.”

Anjarwalla, 38, escaped from custody on Friday, March 22, 2024, from a ‘safe house’ where he and his colleague were detained.

The IG further revealed that kidnapping and murder cases have increased in the past eight weeks, as the Nigeria Police Force recorded 214 cases of kidnapping and 537 homicide cases.

Egbetokun noted that 3,685 suspects were apprehended for their participation in various crimes, while 401 kidnapped victims were rescued.

He said, “On the flip-side, we will continue to strive for excellence by being more proactive in our policing approach. Our responses to the current internal security threats require strategic deployments that are not only proactive but also technology and intelligence-driven.

“Through meticulous analysis of available information, we shall endeavour to pre-empt criminal activities, disrupt their illicit networks, and apprehend perpetrators swiftly. It is essential that we remain vigilant and adaptive in our approach, continuously refining our strategies to stay ahead of evolving threats.

“I am pleased to report a substantial advancement, propelled by the execution of diverse strategies aimed at mitigating the escalating trend of criminal activities across the nation after our last conference held on February 8, 2024.

“In the past eight weeks, we recorded 141 cases of terrorism/secessionist attacks, 537 cases of murder, 126 cases of armed robbery, 214 cases of kidnapping, and 39 cases of unlawful possession of firearms.

“Also, during the period under review, the Nigeria Police Force arrested 3,685 suspects for their participation in various crimes, 401 kidnapped victims were rescued, 216 various firearms, 3,601 ammunition and 82 vehicles were recovered.

“We have in the last nine months cumulatively presented cheques totalling N7,263,391,051.73 to 2,5143 families of deceased police officers.”

Popular singer Kingsley Chinweike Okonkwo aka Kcee has narrated how he lost $70K.

He spoke while explaining why he has not been doing remixes of his top songs.

Speaking in a recent episode of Isbae U’s YouTube series ‘Curiosity made me ask’ the father of two talked about his music career, evolution and how he had stayed relevant in the industry despite having been around for more than three decades at the highest level.

The ‘Ojapiano’ crooner shared how he once tried to get an American artist to feature on his song some years back, but unfortunately, got duped.

He also shared how the American band One Republic reached out to him and asked for the opportunity to be on the remix of his song, Ojapiano.

The host, Isbae U asked KCee to confirm if he didn’t pay for the remix, he reiterated that he didn’t and was shocked that One Republic would reach out to him and want to be on the same song.

His words: “Well I don’t need to say too much but I can’t pay anybody for a remix. Actually I tried to pay for a remix like about eight, nine years ago and they duped me about $70k and that was when I said I would never pay anybody a dime for collaboration.

“I didn’t beg them, they messaged me. The truth is the sound was very good. The sound was new and the sound was fresh.

“A lot of people tried to hit me up for a remix and anybody that knows me, I hardly do remixes of my hit songs. And most of my hit songs are always with me but this one when they came for it, I was like who am I, I was shocked.”

Primate Elijah Ayodele has sent a warning to President Bola Tinubu over the recent increase in electricity tariff.

Speaking on Thursday he slammed the Federal Government for increasing electricity tariff by over 300 per cent.

Ayodele, who foretold the increment last year, stressed that it will not bring any difference to the power sector because electricity will still not be stable as it’s supposed to.

The Federal Government announced the increment on Wednesday and explained that Band A users will be required to pay more for electricity.

In his reaction, Ayodele stated that the tariff increase will affect so many people in the country and that the idea will lead to disappointment in the government.

The cleric explained that the best thing the government should do is make the electricity supply stable in order to help local manufacturers and improve the economy before increasing tariff.

In a statement by his Media Aide, Oluwatosin Osho, Ayodele said: ‘’Despite increasing electricity tariffs, it won’t guarantee 24/7 power supply in the country. It won’t make any difference because what is needed right now is anything that will improve the economy and make it better.

‘’Nigeria is still battling with a stable power supply and increasing electricity tariff will not help the country at all. It will only be justifiable if we have electricity stability across the country’’

‘’Increase in tariff will affect a lot of people, it’s an idea that will not last because Nigerians will still be disappointed in the power supply. The best thing the government can do is to make light stable so that the economy can boom and help local manufactures before an increase in electricity tariffs.’’

‘’The government is supposed to increase power supply by working on all our dams for the purpose of stability. The increment is a good idea but it’s wrong timing. It won’t give the country what is needed; there won’t be any serious result.’’

He advised the government to make a lot of changes in the power sector, expressing the need for states to be empowered to transmit power.

Ayodele also called on the government to check the power supply to neighbouring countries, alleging that there is corruption in the system.

‘’The government has to make a lot of changes in the power sector; states should also be empowered to transmit power. We shouldn’t be doing shifts when it comes to electricity. If we have enough power supply, increasing tariffs won’t be a problem.

‘’There is a lot of supply the government is doing, they need to check supply to other countries because there is so much corruption in the system. The system needs to be cleared. I also urge the government to pray against explosion in any of our power transmission facilities,” he added.

Rick Slayman, the man who happens to be the world’s first living recipient of a genetically edited pig kidney transplant, has been discharged from the hospital.

CNN reports that Slayman was discharged on Wednesday, two weeks after his operation, according to a statement by Massachusetts General Hospital.

“He is recovering well and will continue to recuperate at home with his family,” the hospital wrote on X.

Slayman was quoted in the statement issued by the hospital saying: “This moment – leaving the hospital today with one of the cleanest bills of health I’ve had in a long time – is one I wished would come for many years. Now, it’s a reality and one of the happiest moments of my life.”

Recall that Slayman, a 62-year-old manager with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, had previously said his doctors suggested that he try a pig kidney when he was diagnosed with end-stage kidney disease last year.

His doctors stated last month that they thought Slayman’s new kidney could last years but also acknowledged that there are many unknowns in animal-to-human transplants.

Slayman’s surgery is the third such xenotransplant of a pig organ into a living human.

The first two transplants were hearts transplanted into living patients who had run out of other transplant options.

The organs were transplanted under special rules that permit compassionate use of experimental therapies for patients in especially dire situations. However, both patients died weeks after receiving their organs.

Slayman said he was grateful for the response to his surgery, especially from other patients who are waiting for a kidney transplant.

“Today marks a new beginning not just for me, but for them, as well,” Slayman said.

A police escort attached to the Abuja-Kaduna train route reportedly died aboard the train while conveying passengers from Kaduna to Abuja on Thursday.

A source privy to the incident disclosed that the officer allegedly complained about chest pain before succumbing.

The source revealed that before a passenger, identified as a doctor, could attend to him to manage the situation, the police officer had already passed away.

The source said, “A police officer, who was one of the escorts on an Abuja-Kaduna train, just died. He left home in good health. But later during the journey, he complained of chest pain and asked his colleague to get him some glucose and water.

“There was no emergency medical care on the train. Before a doctor, who was also a passenger, could come, the officer had already passed away.”

It was further gathered that a few minutes after the train arrived in Abuja, a police team drove into the train station to retrieve the corpse for transportation to an undisclosed location.

When contacted for a reaction, the spokesperson for the Nigeria Railway Corporation, Mahmud Yakubu, promised to get back to our correspondent but had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report, despite repeated calls to his line.

Efforts to reach the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, also proved abortive as calls and messages to his line were unanswered.

Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has vowed to keep making the camp of his estranged benefactor, Nyesom Wike, restless.

There has been crisis in Rivers since Fubara fell out with his predecessor who is now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Speaking at the ground breaking of automobile spare parts market in Port Harcourt, on Thursday, Fubara declared the purported list of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Caretaker Committee members for the State, circulating on social media as fake.

He described the list, which has the names of some Wike’s loyalists, as the handiwork of cheap publicity seekers and agents of crisis.

“I know that a lot of you saw something flying in the social media, dailies. Let me brief you, we hard a meeting, and we agreed that, not just in Rivers State, but in all the States affected, that the Executive Councils (of PDP) should be extended for three months.”

“This extension is not meant to bring in new names. The extension also did not say that you are working without the authority of the Governor. So, for those lists that you saw and those ones altered, I can assure you that they are not going to stand.

“For record purposes, so that you will understand, we also agreed that there is going to be a NEC meeting on the 18th of this month (April) that should ratify that decision.

“So, what you are seeing is the handiwork of desperate people who like media publicity. In fact, empty drums make loudest noise. So, don’t bother about anything. Nothing is happening.”

Governor Fubara alluded to the fear that has come upon his detractors given the warning he issued a day ago that he will surprise those who dare him, and vowed to continue to make them feel restless.

The Governor said Rivers State remains a very important stake to protect, which is why his Administration chose the path of peace in order to engender progress.

“You can see how restless they have been since I made just one statement, yesterday. We will continue to make them restless.”

“They won’t know where we are coming from. We will also continue to hit them hard the way we hit them, yesterday. So, those of you who were worried when you saw those lists that were flying, go and rest, nothing is happening.”