PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI ORDERS LAGOS-KANO RAIL LINE TO PASS THROUGH EKITI

PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI ORDERS LAGOS-KANO RAIL LINE TO PASS THROUGH EKITI

President Muhamamdu Buhari has ordered experts who presented Lagos to Kano rail line plan to redraw the line so that it can pass through Ekiti state.

The president stated this during the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Wednesday, August 31, through his special adviser on political matters, Senator Babafemi Ogudu in a release titled: "President Buhari, Ekiti And The Proposed Lagos To Kano Rail Line".

He said: "Something remarkable happened at the Federal Executive Council ( FEC ) today. The experts working on the proposed rail line running from Lagos to Kano came to present their master plan. The president gave full attention as they narrated how the line will go through OGUN, Oyo , Osin , Kwara , Kogi etc .

"The lines meandered and avoided Ekiti. After they were through the President called the experts back to the map and asked them why they avoided Ekiti. They had no convincing explanation . He firmly told them to go and redraw the line to pass through Ekiti.

"It is a mark of a man with a large heart. A different being would have done otherwise considering what the Ekiti governor has done to the President and his family. Generations of Ekiti indigenes will be grateful to Mr President for this act of magnanimity."

Meanwhile, on Monday, August 29, a Chinese company stated that its directors had gotten a provisional letter of award from the Nigerian government on constructing a light rail system valued at N1.851 billion to be built in Kano state. It is learnt that rail will have a full stretch of 74.3 kilometres and is expected to travel at a speed of 100 kilometres per hour.

Gov. El-Rufai Visits IGP Idris In Abuja(Photos)

The Kaduna State Governor, His Excellency Honorable Nasiru Ahmed El-Rufai today 1st September,2016 paid courtesy visit to the Inspector-General of Police, Ag. IGP Ibrahim K. Idris, mni, psc, in his office at the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters Abuja.

Osinbajo Lays Foundation For Nigeria Police Crime and Incident Data base In Abuja(Photos)

Foundation laying ceremony of the Nigeria police Crime and Incident Data base on 1st September, 2016.

The foundation laying ceremony of the Nigeria Police Crime and Incident Data base at Police Force Headquarters, Abuja on Thursday 1st September, 2016 by Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Prof.  Yemi Osinbajo, GCON, SAN.

Basketmouth’s wife Elsie finally replies Freeze on controversial pic, Bovi wades in…slam the heck outta Freeze

Few days ago Freeze shared the above pic of himself cuddling Comedian Basketmouth's wife ..the difference was that he cropped out his ex-wife who was in the pic. The post generated a lot of controversy and many rumoured that he dated her in the past. I didn't want to touch the story because Esther is still married to Basketmouth. Fast forward today, Esther shared the original pic which you see above and the pic was actually from her son's dedication in 2008. She wrote "TBT....Jason's dedication 2008...Miss the good ol'days with you Opeyemi.#thankYouLordForBringingMeThisFar

Bovi waded into the brouhaha as he shared the same pic with caption; "Freeze, Elsie and Freezes ex-wife! Before he became an editor of pictures! I unintentionally triggered the last episode of this soap opera. And I'm ending it. The victim in all of this isn't Bright Freeze or me! May I never intentionally or unintentionally sell impressions that will hurt others. Rubbish"

Amosun appoints Non-Indigenes as Permanent Secretaries

Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, on Thursday, made history by appointing Mr. Ndimele Emmanuel Ofor, a native of Abia State and Mr. Ipinniwa Steve Olusegun, a native of Kogi State as Permanent Secretaries in the Ogun State Civil Service.

"I congratulate all of you who are being elevated as Permanent Secretaries today. I particularly want to congratulate Mr Ofor. Some people said he is a non-indigene. But I don't see it that way.

"I believe that if someone has been serving in a place for 20, 30 years he can no longer be called a non-indigene. He has been with us and he has worked with us. He is now part of us. He cannot be called a non-indigene, and in any event, it will be unfair and unjust to deprive someone who worked for you his deserved elevation on account of where he comes from."

The governor added that, "As for me, hard work rather than where you come from should be the basis for promotion.

"As a nation, we need to move away from base things like ethnicity and emphasize more on hard work."

Mr Ofor and Mr. Ipinniwa were among the 14 new Permanent Secretaries sworn in by the governor at the State Executive Council Chambers, on Thursday.

Others include Mrs. Odumusi Bettey Olubunmi, Mrs. Ajayi Funmi Mofoluke, Mr. Adewunmi Olayiwola Matthew, Mrs. Dosunmu Titilayo Olubodunrin, Engr. Onajobi Jonathan Olukunle and Engr. Adelana Ademola Oluwole.

The list also includes Mr. Olatoye Julius Olufemi, Engr. Bakare Adeoye Tunde, Mrs. Gbadamosi Muibat Abiola, Mr. Rasheed Sefiu Aremu, Mr. Osolase Afeez and Mr. Agbaje Babatunde Aina.

The governor who charged the new Permanent Secretaries to be alert to their responsibilities, tasked them to individually seek to contribute to the ongoing rebuilding effort of his administration in the state.

SINGAPORE TESTS WORLD’S FIRST SELF-DRIVING TAXI [Photos]

Singapore has started testing the world's first self-driving taxi last Thursday, the first time it had been tested on public roads, according to Singapore's Channel NewsAsia.

The self-driving car was invented by nuTonomy, a US technology start-up focused on self-driving cars, and is expected to be put on the market in 2018 with around 75 cars.

According to nuTonomy, ten residents were invited to the test and they could use an App to reserve the taxi for a free ride to any of 12 locations the company had preset throughout the day, except during rush hour for safety reasons.

The company rolled out only one car during the trial period, a Mitsubishi-MiEV, which had been approved by the government. Others are pending approval, according to Strait Times, a local newspaper.

"Singapore is the best place in the world for self-driving cars because of the high consumer demand for taxis here, well-maintained roads, and clear government regulations for its tests," Doug Parker, chief operations officer of nuTonomy , told the Strait Times.

The trial was reported to help improve software system performance, vehicle routing efficiency, vehicle booking processing, and the passengers' ride experience.

"I would definitely consider taking driverless taxis once they are widely available. It would be good if they could also include a carpooling option." Olivia Seow, one of the invited passengers, said.

Abia development: Ikpeazu visits World Bank, seeks partnership(photos)

Abia development: Ikpeazu visits World Bank, seeks partnership

After meetings with the Managing Director/ CEO of The Infrastructure  Bank, Adekunle Oyinloye and his team, as well as the British High commissioner to Nigeria, Paul Ankwright, Abia State Governor yesterday,Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, also met with the Country Director of World Bank in Nigeria, Rachid Benmessaoud, at the Bank's office in Abuja.

In his address to the world bank Country Director, Governor solicited for the support of multilateral institutions to drive his development agenda in Abia.

According to him, "Abia must develop and it is our duty to develop our state with support from global organizations like the World Bank. The world must hear about and support what our people are doing ar Aba. As the Chief Marketing Officer of the state and the Aba brand, it is my duty to tell the world what our people can do and also beg the world to come help us develop Abia. That is why I am here. On our part, we are doing everything we can to ensure that Aba and all of Abia remain open for business. If we do the needful in Aba, which we are ready to do now, Abia will be counted among states in Nigeria that will no longer be relying on the allocation from Abuja, because we have all it takes to provide for ourselves and others in Aba. As a matter of fact, Aba is the SME capital of Nigeria".

Responding, Mr Rachid Benmessaoud promised to explore areas of synergy and support to Abia State within the available programs and resources of the world bank.