OSINBANJO AND SARAKI HAVING A CLOSED DOOR MEETING

Senate President, Bukola Saraki and Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday held a closed door meeting at the presidential villa. This is the second time the Senate President would be meeting with Osinbajo this week. Saraki arrived the villa in the company of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubo Dogara who would be coming for the third time this week. The Speaker’s first time was on Monday when he visited with Governor Rochas Okorochola of Imo State. On Tuesday, the Senate President visited the Villa with the Speaker again. The reason for their visit is still unknown at the moment.

I WARNED NIGERIAN'S ABOUT BUHARI THAT HE HAS NO DIRECTION - PDP CHEIFTAIN

chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a former member of the House of Representatives. Hon. Bitrus Kaze has stated that he warned Nigerians against voting for Muhammadu Buhari in 2015. The ex-lawmaker said Buhari had succeeded in taking Nigeria back to zero level and that it would only take time for the country to recover. Speaing with Sun, Kaze said anyone advising Buhari to run for second term was only being deceptive as the president was unfit to govern the country beyond 2019. He said, “Before I left the National Assembly, I warned our successors, that they will be dealing with somebody who finds legislative institution strange, which he has never agreed to deal with, and with due respect, I think I am being vindicated. “The President does not seems to agree or believe in anybody, the President does not understand the difficulty his policies, if any have put Nigerians into, even though up to this moment, I do not understand the policy direction of his administration. It was only late last year that he put an economy team in place. “He did not know the direction the government is going and as a former member of the House of Representatives, Buhari does not have clear policies in place. International investors are left at a lost and that has led to closure of companies, which resulted to loss of jobs; I am not sure this is the change Nigerians expected.” Asked if Buhari is fit to run for second term, the PDP stalwart said, “Count me out, I have been consulted by prominent personalities who are in that group and I told them that my personal understanding of President Muhammadu Buhari, is that he does not appeal to me as a person who take the interest of Plateau state at heart, I have never seen that, even when he won election on the Plateau during the 2015 Presidential election. “For Goodluck Jonathan to get 500, 000 votes and President Buhari getting 400, 000 where Jonathan got 1 million votes in 2011 and Buhari had less than 200, 000 votes, to me Buhari won, for the fact that the President got substantial votes, he has not demonstrated to me that he appreciates the ideals of a Plateau man. “Plateau is my home and anybody who will not take the interest of Plateau at heart, I am not likely to support that person. If President Buhari is going to contest for 2019, that is his business, but please count me out.”

5 FACTS ABOUT APOSTLE SULEIMAN THE WILL SURPRISE YOU

Apostle Suleman, the founder and general overseer of Omega Fire Ministry (OFM) has been in the news of recent because of his recent outspokenness and the attempted arrest by the DSS. 6 facts about Apostle Suleman that will surprise you However, there are several interesting facts about him that many do not know. Here are some of them: 1. He once hated Christianity Surprisingly, he once hated Christianity. According to him, the influence of his father rubbed off on him in his youth. He thought many Christians were insincere. Seeing the pastors collect donations from church members without accounting for the expenditure was a turn-off for him. However, that changed in 1989. 2. He rejected a private jet given to him According to Suleman, he once rejected the gift of a private jet, he explained in an interview: “But I don’t have one yet. The truth is that, I was given a private plane as a gift about one month ago. But God told me that the giver was not pure. "So I rejected it. You may have seen the pictures of the jet on the internet. In fact, I collected it. But when I prayed over it and found out that the source of the giver’s wealth wasn’t sincere, I politely turned it down.” READ ALSO: Apostle Johnson Suleman receives grand welcome in Abuja as he returns to church 3. He was once a journalist and a writer Apostle Suleman was once a journalist and a writer, he studied mass communication and he has a PhD in human resource development. Suleman has worked as an investigative journalist at TELL magazine, and later moved to PM News before joining DBN, a television station, which is no longer in existence. 4. His father was a Muslim Another surprising fact about him is that his father was a Muslim, while his mother was a Christian. According to information available, his father stayed a Muslim, he did not see the possibility of his son leaving the fold. His parents disagreed on a number of issues, which eventually led to their separation. 5. He was once a cultist The now holy man was formerly a cultist. He said in an interview: “I was a dignified cultist. I am from a home of separated parents. My parents had some issues. Any child from a home like that is bound to fall into the streets. “So, I got into school and I wanted acceptance somewhere. Someone told me that there is something called brotherhood and that I would be accepted as a family member and I liked it. I didn’t know there was a beating part and being taken to the bush. “I didn’t like that. But you have to go into it. What I always avoided then was the assignments. I was just like a floor member. I would go to meetings and when assigned to do something and I couldn’t, I had to look for someone to do it and pay for it. I was not really happy but I was there.” READ ALSO: DSS cautions Apostle Suleman over provocative statement 6. His greatest challenge is the flesh Suleman says the greatest weakness is that of the flesh. “Men of God called to proclaim the Gospel of Christ in truth cannot be separated from having challenges in their various assignments as challenges are part of the call. "The general challenge in respective of the call is the flesh and the devil. If these two things are removed, there won’t be any challenge. "As for the achievements, we have several daily, weekly, monthly, yearly achievements but the greatest of it all is that we have the Most High God with us in all our ways,” he said in an interview.

UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN RANKED 16 IN AFRICA

The University of Ibadan has been ranked 16th best university in Africa, according to the latest edition of Ranking Web of University. The Nigeria’s first university, was recently ranked the best university in the country while Covenant University and Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife came second and third respectively. READ ALSO: University of Ibadan ranked among top 25 universities in Africa The information obtained by Naij.com from Ranking Web of University revealed that the latest ranking of African universities was “built with the indicators obtained during this month in order to maintain the freshness of the data of the most current and updated Ranking of Universities. “This version is final, but you can expect minor changes if errors are discovered after publication. “Since 2004, the Ranking Web (or Webometrics Ranking) is published twice a year (data is collected during the first weeks of January and July for being public at the end of both months), covering more than 24,000 Higher Education Institutions worldwide. The best ten universities in the world University of Ibadan's world ranking “We intend to motivate both institutions and scholars to have a web presence that reflect accurately their activities. If the web performance of an institution is below the expected position according to their academic excellence, university authorities should reconsider their web, open access and transparency policy, promoting substantial increases of the volume and quality of their electronic publications. “Data is collected between 1 and 20 of January or July, depending of the edition. Each variable is obtained at least two times during that period and the maximum value is chosen for discarding mistakes or errors. University of Ibadan's African ranking “Volatility of search engines is very high so figures can be different and not easily replicated if the search is performed days later. Google info is very geographically biased, so for our purposes the data are collected using the google.com mirror domain, English as language of the interface and Madrid (Spain) as location. Recall that the same university was ranked as N0 25 in Africa by Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings 2016-2017.

MAN HANGS HIMSELF IN KANO AND LEAVE A NOTE

The lifeless body of a middle-aged man identified as Nura was on Thursday, February 2, found hung on a tree plant in Tsamiya village of Gezawa local government area of Kano state, Daily Trust reports. It was gathered that the man was suspected to have hung himself for unknown reasons. According to an eye witness, "The man kept his shirt, shoe and a local counter (Charbi) under the tree and then wrote his name before he hung himself to death." Nura's death comes five months after a 50-year-old man identified as Chief Ekanem Edet from Mbiabong Itam in Itu local government area of Akwa Ibom state, hung himself to the roof of his room on September 1, 2016. But just before his death, Edet left a note for President Muhammadu Buhari.

SOILDER GETS JAILED FOR FLEETING FROM BOKO HARAM

Nigerian soldier, Egbechi Oze, has been sentenced to jail by an army general court martial sitting in Maiduguri, Borno state after he fled his duty post. Premium Times reports that the private was absent for 270 days when he fled his post because of Boko Haram and took refuge in a state in the south east. READ ALSO: Governor Shettima accuses UNICEF, 126 NGO’s of failing to provide services to IDPs The soldier was among those that were recorded as missing after Boko Haram terrorists attacked a military base in Gwoza. The court said that in spite of the fact that Oze had abandoned his duty post for almost a year, he still continued to enjoy his benefits. He was charged for not accounting for his rifle and cache of ammunitions he signed to be in his possession during the attack on Gwoza but was acquitted of the charges. READ ALSO: Borno government undermining fight against terrorism - Religious group This was because he lost possession of them when he was abducted by Boko Haram before soldiers finally attacked the place. He was sentenced to 14 months in prison and the court reiterated that he stands a chance of dismissal and refusal to be readmitted into the army for his court martial.

DEMBELE'S FLIGHT PHOTO SPARKS CHELSEA RUMORS

The Bhoys forward has been linked with a move to the Premier League and did nothing to quell speculation after being pictured on a flight to London Celtic attacker Moussa Dembele has added fuel to the rumours that he could be set for a £40 million deadline day transfer to Chelsea after being photographed flying to London. The 20-year-old Frenchman has scored nine goals in the Scottish Premiership so far this season, and with Celtic already 22 points clear at the top of the table, has been linked with a move to a bigger club. 'I'm hoping I don't play this season' - Terry Dembele is reportedly travelling to London, arriving at Heathrow before having a scan on a knee injury. Big Moussa on my flight to London.... Don't do it big man!!! #celtic #MoussaDembele 10:57 AM - 31 Jan 2017 253 239 Guy Goma @GuyGoma @GuyGoma there he is in arrivals a T5 12:47 PM - 31 Jan 2017 3 3 Guy Goma @GuyGoma Chelsea have scouted the former Fulham attacker, who has four goals in four international appearances since making his France Under-21 debut in October. However, Goal understands that Bhoys boss Brendan Rodgers does not have any intention of selling Dembele until at least the summer, with Chelsea set to miss out before the January transfer window closes. Dembele is highly thought of at Celtic, and is happy with Rodgers after the former Liverpool manager compared him to Chelsea legend Didier Drogba. “I worked with Didier Drogba at Chelsea and I think Moussa’s of that ilk," Rodgers told the Daily Record. “He’s a big-game player and he has a belief. He is a boy who can get to the top but there are some things to work upon yet and he’s here to do just that." The major confirmed January deals Chelsea have increased their interest after the attacker's excellent return of 20 goals in all competitions since moving to Celtic Park. The 20-year-old signed for just £500,000 last summer from the Cottagers, with Blues boss Antonio Conte keen on signing another striker before the transfer window closes. Belgium international Michy Batshuayi has yet to make a Premier League start since moving to Stamford Bridge, while a move for Swansea City's Fernando Llorente has not happened despite strong speculation. With Celtic refusing to sell Dembele until the summer, Conte may be forced to look elsewhere if he is to bring in another forward before the window closes on Tuesday night.

BOKO HARAM KILLED 1 POLICE INJURED REST AT BORNO

Boko Haram members yesterday ambushed a police patrol van, killing one police officer and injuring another. The attack happened at Biu local government in Borno state. The state police public relations officer, Victor Isuku, who confirmed the incident, said the police officers were able to repel the sect members. The remains of the killed police officer has been deposited at government hospital in Damboa while the injured one is receiving medical attention.

The 2face Match By Chally Boy

Read his piece below... I no just understand my people some times. Some people go sidon dey look Uche face, dey dulling and the few wey wan do something weather our condition go fit better, na so we go dey yab dem, dey stone dem. I just tire when I read some useless tweets and updates about Tuface. As a Fada, e no go nice if I just sidon make some guys dey fuckup, dey miss yarn because dem Mumu never Do. Have we not suffered Enough? Are we not Hungry Enough? Has Corruption not crippled our People enough? Has Political Criminality not damaged our Morality enough? Wetin remain again, no be to enter street? If some can't see the sense in the march Tuface is organizing why must they insist on exposing their ignorance on our social highway. If him like make e get 7 kids with 3 babymamas, what has that got to do with the price of garri in the market? Has TuFace not been actively involved in the demand for good governance before now? So why is it that he has ulterior motives now. Until we fraustrated Nigerians begin to stand up and fight for good governance at all Level, we go soon chop sand sand. I am from Oguta in Imo State; I am doing my little bit in empowering the youths, Mothers, Market Women and Disadvantaged people who have no access to a simple normal life. I am also using the Njiko Carnival under The Justice Oputa Foundation to promote not just the historical heritage of the Oguta people, but also the Magnificent Oguta Blue Lake and environs as a tourisim hub in Nigeria, most times with my money. Yet, some people go dey cause me, some just dey like read meanings into my action like say dem dey my mind. But una know say I no send anybody. We could never have sank this low if it wasn't for our inactions, our docility and our Mumuness. I support mass mobilisation, mass movement, citizen advocacy, the fight, struggle for a better country and the drive to Emancipate the mind of Nigerians. I Believe that is what my guy Tuface Idibia wants too. So we must all commot. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. We are stronger when many speak together as one voice. We are stronger when we think in the same direction we are stronger when we project our common values we are stronger when we are oblivious of tribe/religion in our decision making. Anyhow, anywhere any day I go show, because Na our future we they fight for. Since last year me and some exceptional nigerian youths are also putting together The Mother of all rally's to be held in Abuja. We must see the end of this nonsense. Pikin wey say him mama no go rest, him too no go sleep. We they come, them go know how far. Am calling on all celebrities wey get mouth to speak out and fall out. Everybody wey dey fraustrated with this country must show, enough is enough. I believe that the biggest threat to governance in Nigeria are the criminal Governors; their stooges at the local government level. The Nigerian National Assembly that is forever breaking Laws instead of making them and the Judiciary where Justice is now for the Highest Bidder. Una go hearam, The many agencies under the Executive like the CBN; NNPC; RMAFC; Finance and others need to be pressured to introduce accountability into governance. So we all must begin to face those Governor who have Collected Several Bailouts from the Federal Government and Looted them; Those Governors who are taking Security Votes and Looting them; Those Governors who go to the Ministry of Finance Monthly to Collect FAAC Allocations and Loot them; Those Governors who are Refusing to Pay Salaries but have no Problem Chartering Private Jets worth Tens of Millions of Naira. We must stop hailing the Corrupt and destroyers of our Dreams; We must Expose and ridicule them. We must be audacious in our Demands; we must be Fearless in our Agitation and we must be ready to sacrifice for this Country. Nothing will happen unless we change this our Mumu mindset that has rendered us hopeless. The divisive politics that we play, is our Enemy; The Nigerian People are the Victim and it is time to channel our anger towards a Peaceful Revolution. We must stop being the victims and become THE FEAR. If our yeye Leaders no fear us, change no go come. Very soon they will no longer be able to enjoy all that stolen money in this country again. God punish bad people. #OurMumuDonDo.

HIGHEST PAID NIGERIAN PLAYERS ABROAD

We wrote on the 2017 top 10 richest footballers in Africa in one of our previous posts and we listed the likes of Mikel, Yaya Toure, Eto etc. This time, we shall focus on who the current highest paid Nigerian footballer in the premier league this 2017 is, his salary and some fact about him. The highest paid footballer in Nigeria is Manchester City young star, Kelechi Iheanacho . He turned highest earning Super Eagles star in the English Premier League, and all of Europe when he penned another two-year contract expansion that will see stay at the Etihad until 2021. Kelechi Iheanacho’s salary a week is £85,000. With his new wages, Iheanacho toppled Super Eagles captain John Mikel Obi who for a while has been on the top flight in football with a salary of 70,000 pounds a week. Mikel currently plays for Chelsea Football Club also in the English Premier League. Recent Update 2017: Mikel now earns £140,000 weekly from his new club Tiajin Teda While describing his new improved deal as a “dream come true”, the youngster said he could now “change lives” The deal came to fruition despite Iheanacho’s new handlers being locked in an ownership tussle with the player’s previous representatives, who are based in the United States of America. Following a string of outstanding displays in his 2015/16 breakout year, his agents had initially proposed a 50,000 pounds-per- week deal, a massive shift from his former 18,000 pounds-a-week pay when he first joined the club, according to Vanguard Mikel’s compatriot at Stamford Bridge, Victor Moses salary at Chelsea FC is 50,000 pounds-a- week since joining Chelsea from Wigan Athletic in 2012, and hopes to be offered a new deal after an impressing start to the current campaign under new Chelsea boss, Antonio Conte. ALSO READ Biography Of Wole Soyinka: Africa's First Nobel Laureate Watford striker Odion Ighalo, who turned down a whopping €100,000- a-week deal to the Chinese Super league last term, is believed to have improved on his 25,000 pounds-a- week pay following a contract extension at Vicarage Road The former Golden Eaglet salary was 18,000 pounds-a-week when he first signed for Manchester City Football Club.

CROUCH CELEBRATES 100TH PREMIER LEAGUE GOAL

The former England international has joined an exclusive club, putting himself alongside the likes of Didier Drogba, Wayne Rooney and Matt Le Tissier Peter Crouch has scored his 100th Premier League goal and marked the occasion by bringing out his infamous robot celebration. Liverpool's title bid all but over, says Carragher The former England striker opened the scoring for Stoke City against Everton and, at 36 years of age, becomes the oldest player to reach the 100-mark in the competition. 7- PETER CROUCH OPENS THE SCORING AND BAGS HIS 100TH PREMIER LEAGUE GOAL!!!!!! 9:07 PM - 1 Feb 2017 · Stoke-on- Trent, England 271 389 Stoke City FC @stokecity Welcome to a very special club, @petercrouch !

ODION IGHALO APOLOGISES

Ex-Watford striker Odion Ighalo has apologised to the club’s fans for not scoring enough. After a disappointing start to the season, Ighalo left the club for approximately after agreeing a £200,000-a-week deal with Chinese Super League side Changchun Yatai. And the Nigerian expressed his love for Watford in an emotional Instagram post. https://www.instagram.com/p/ BP9ZpxDja5a/?taken-by=ighalojude

GUNMEN KILL 2 FOREIGNERS,5 OTHERS IN ADAMAWA

Report from Adamawa state is that unknown assailants have killed two white men who are believed to be contractors and five other officials of the state’s Ministry of Land and Survey. Unknown gunmen have been blamed for the attack According to Daily Post, the seven were killed in a village in Toungo local government area of Adamawa state while on official assignment READ ALSO: One policeman dead, others injured as Boko Haram ambush police in Borno One of the victims was identified as Zakaria, a Director of the Adamawa State Ministry of Land and Survey. The officials were said to be demarcating the boundary of some villages between Cameroon and Niger when the incident happened. PAY ATTENTION: Get the latest news on NAIJ.com News App It is not clear who attacked the officials but Adamawa is one of the states most affected by Boko Haram attacks after Borno and Yobe. Meanwhile, residents of Borno state have trooped out to celebrate the defeat of Boko Haram by the Nigerian Army. Reports from the northeast state are that the rally held at Ramat Square in Maiduguri, the state capital.

MAN SLAPS MAN TO COMA OVER BUHARI'S ALLEGED DEATH RUMOR

41-year-old man identified as Usman Bukar, who claimed to hail from Kano state, has been arrested by police in Delta state for putting a Taxi driver in coma after slapping him - Bukar was said to have been angered by the driver's claim that President Buhari is allegedly dead - Spokesman of Delta state police command Andrew Aniamaka confirmed that the victim is receiving treatment while Bukar is in custody President Buhari departed for the UK on holiday on Thursday, January 19 and is set to return on February 6. A Taxi driver in Delta state has gotten himself into deep trouble and ended up in a coma after claiming that President Muhammmadu Buhari is dead despite clear warning from the presidency to desist from such statements.

OPINION: PRESIDENT BUHARI-DEAD OR ALIVE

Editor’s note: So much has been said about President Muhammadu Buhari's vacation, there are questions as to the president's state of health, with many arguing for and against his death. In this opinion by Wale Sokunbi, Nigerians are called to order regarding what they wish the president, there is a conscious effort to re-orient the people as regards their relationship with their leaders. The vacation dilemma Two major issues dominated public discourse in the past week. First, is the raging rumour on the “death”, or otherwise, of President Muhammadu Buhari, who is officially said to be on a 10-day vacation in the United Kingdom. I first chanced on the news of the president’s supposed death on the social media about two weekends ago, and immediately waved it off as one of the fake news for which that medium of communication is becoming quite notorious. But, I had apparently underestimated the great interest and excitement that any negative news about Buhari and his government generates among certain segments of the Nigerian population. Opinion: President Buhari - Dead or Alive? What I had thought of as a mere tale spawned by some idle social media tattlers soon took on a life of its own, complete with intriguing plots and murderous suppositions that could dwarf any tale told by James Hardly Chase and the other old grand masters of fiction writing. Strangely, many of the carriers of these tales have worked themselves into a frenzy over a “development” that they believe is likely to lead to “Nigeria’s second civil war, if not an actual dissolution of the country”. Many of the purveyors of this most unlikely story can hardly keep their excitement under check, as they surreptitiously regale those with whom they choose to discuss the matter, with “details” of how the president was flown, “totally unconscious”, out of the country, and died shortly after arriving in London. READ ALSO: Man slaps Taxi driver into coma over Buhari’s alleged death rumour Yet, others hold firmly to online accounts of how the president was caught “trying to kill himself”, and rushed to the hospital, where he is now in a vegetative state, while his handlers, are trying to hoodwink Nigerians and rule the nation by proxy, as happened in the last few weeks of the late president, Umaru Yar’Adua.