Nigeria's new First Lady with her daughters (photo)

New First Lady, Mrs Aisha Buhari with her daughters and step daughters

President Muhammadu Buhari hosts visiting world leaders to lunch in Aso Rock (Photos)

President Buhari is about now hosting visiting world leaders to lunch at Aso Villa. More pics after the cut..

 

Former President Jonathan & wife leave Abuja for Otuoke (Photo)

Former president Jonathan and wife pictured on their way out of Abuja back to their home in Otuoke, Bayelsa state after the inauguration ceremony this morning.

Kenyan lawyer eyes Obama's daughter, offers 50 cows to marry her

A Kenyan paper has reported how a local lawyer, Felix Kiprono, has been eyeing the eldest First Daughter, Malia Obama, since her father Barack Obama was sworn in as president of the United States in 2008. Now that she is almost 17, the man is ready to ask her dad for her hand in marriage! Can someone say pedophile?

In case we have forgotten, Malia may be over 6ft tall now, but in 2008, she was not yet 10 and looked exactly her age as can be seen in the pic above with her mom and younger sister. How old is this lawyer Kiprono again? Someone better tell him that like all dads, Obama doesn't joke with his baby girls, and as the POTUS, the entire Secret Service may soon be on his case, lol.

Kiprono says he is willing to give a dowry of 50 cows, 70 sheep and 30 goats, and is ready to meet with President Obama during his scheduled visit to Kenya in July to finalise the proposal. Read the deluded man's plans for the visit below...

Kiprono told The Nairobian that his love for Malia is real and not infatuation and he believes he has a chance since Malia has Kenyan blood through her father, Obama's Kenyan roots. For the proposal, he says he'll avoid expensive hotels in the city, and that should Obama accept his request, his engagement to the ‘love of his life’ will be “unique with a twist.” He says;

“I got interested in her in 2008. As a matter of fact, I haven’t dated anyone since and promise to be faithful to her. I have shared this with my family and they are willing to help me raise the bride price.”

“People might say I am after the family’s money, which is not the case. My love is real, I am currently drafting a letter to Obama asking him to please have Malia accompany him for this trip. I hope the embassy will pass the letter to him. I will hand it over to the U.S. Ambassador with whom we have interacted several times.”

“I will not resort to the cliché of popping champagne. Instead, I will surprise her with mursik, the traditional Kalenjin sour milk. As an indication that she is my queen, I will tie sinendet, which is a sacred plant, around her head.

I will propose to her on a popular hill in Bureti near my father’s land, where leaders and warriors are usually crowned. The place is called Kapkatet, which means ‘victory.’Ours will be a simple life. I will teach Malia how to milk a cow, cook ugali and prepare mursik like any other Kalenjin woman.”

Credit: RML

I was a motor park tout —Benue gov-elect

The Benue State incoming Governor, Chief Samuel Ortom, has described his experience as a motor park tout and his election as governor as a divine arrangement and the handiwork of God.

Ortom, who bared his mind to The PUNCH in an exclusive chat in Makurdi, said his elevation from grass to grace was due to hard work and his firm believe in God.

He said, “My journey from being a motor park tout to an elected governor is purely a divine arrangement. I cast my mind back to when I dropped out of school in Form 2 but I remained hardworking and I did not engage in crime to survive.

“One thing I know is that hard work pays and you must keep faith with God; power belongs to God and He alone gives it to whoever He will.”

The former Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment said he had dropped out of school in Form 2 due to lack of funds but this did not force him to engage in criminal activities to survive.

Ortom, however, noted that the selection process of the PDP delegates in the last party’s primary in the state was manipulated by the party leadership intentionally to thwart his ambition of becoming the next governor.

He said the party also frustrated the support of the Benue populace who supported him.

He said, “The process of selection of delegates in the last PDP governorship election was manipulated by the leadership of the party to thwart my ambition and frustrate the people who all supported me. But God vindicated me and blessed me, and now I am an elected governor.”

Credit: PUNCH

Buhari’s meeting with British PM embarrassing – PDP

The Delta State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, on Wednesday, condemned the recent visit of the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, to the United Kingdom, saying it was the height of diplomatic embarrassment for Buhari to stand on the street waiting for the British Prime Minister, David Cameron.

The PDP, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Deinhan Macauley, said it wondered why the President-elect decided to boycott last Friday and Sunday prayers organised for the successful inauguration of his government.

The party, therefore, asked the All Progressives Congress to apologise to Nigerians “for making the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, a diplomatic scorn in the UK by not making strategic arrangements for his visit.”

The PDP also slammed the British government saying,“ for a nation with the best economy in Africa, the British government cannot be a godfather to Nigeria, the era of colonial domination is gone for good.”

The party called on Nigerians to be wary of converted democrats, promising that the PDP would remain the most viable party and opposition.

The statement read, “It is regrettable that the APC and the protocol officers of the President-elect could not make strategic arrangement for his visit and turned into a subject of diplomatic scorn. The APC should, therefore, apologise to Nigerians for the national embarrassment.

“We call on the APC to explain to Nigeria why Buhari decided to boycott the Friday and Sunday prayers organised for the inauguration of his government. The indifference displayed by Buhari and his APC followers towards the programme is a pointer to the level of impunity that Nigerians may get from the new administration.

The PDP said with the military background of the President-elect, Nigerians may be disappointed with the new administration.

Credit: PUNCH

Don't single me out for probe -Jonathan tells Buhari

President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday advised the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, not to single out his administration in any probe he may want to carry out after his inauguration on Friday.

He said all those advising Buhari to probe his administration must also advise him to extend his probe beyond his regime or else, the probe will be seen as a witch-hunt.

Jonathan made his position known at the valedictory session of the Federal Executive Council which he presided over at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He also said those calling for his administration’s probe should add that the probe should be extended to the way oil wells and fields were allocated in the past.

A former Minister of Defence, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, had over the weekend joined the growing number of persons calling on Buhari to probe the Jonathan administration.

Jonathan said, “Some people are even calling for the probe of this government. I agree that in Nigeria, there are a number of things that we will probe; very many things.

“Even debts owed by states and this nation from 1960 up to this time. They are saying it is Jonathan’s administration that is owing all the debts.

“I believe that anybody calling for probe must ensure that these probes are extended beyond the Jonathan administration, otherwise to me, it will be a witch-hunt. If you are very sincere, then it is not just the Jonathan’s administration that should be probed.

“A number of things have gone wrong and we have done our best to fix them. The Attorney General is aware of the massive judgement debts, if we aggregate all of them, it is about $1bn. How did we come to this kind of huge judgement debts? These issues should be probed.

“How do you allocate our oil wells, oil fields, marginal wells and others? Do we follow our laws? All these should be probed. I believe all these and many more areas should be looked at.”

Jonathan said regardless of what critics might say about his administration, he and his team had done well under a difficult situation.

He advised those who criticise him to endeavour to compare his administration’s performance with those of the administrations before him on a sector-by-sector basis.

The President listed some of the daunting challenges faced by his administration to include the prolonged industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, terror attacks and the ongoing fuel scarcity.

Jonathan described the ongoing fuel scarcity as an act of sabotage.

The president claimed that those who felt they must bring his government to its knees were the ones behind the scarcity.

He wondered why marketers would choose to go on strike a few days to the end of his administration.

“Even this last fuel scarcity, to me one can clearly say it was an act of sabotage. This government has few days to go, that is definitely not the time you expect massive strikes, using marketers and unions. Unions asking for increase in salaries at a time oil prices have dropped and volumes have dropped,” he said.

The President made it clear that he had not dissolved his cabinet as all ministers were expected to attend the inauguration dinner on Thursday in their official capacity.

Earlier, the Vice-President, Namadi Sambo, had thanked Jonathan for finding him worthy to be his running mate in 2011 and 2015. He said he did not at any time lobby the President for the position.

He promised to remain a member of the Jonathan family and his ambassador anywhere he found himself.

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke (SAN), said the administration had impacted on the lives of millions of Nigerians.

Credit: PUNCH