By Osaretin Olaye Ekpoma: The spokesman of Ebhodiza community of Ekpoma, in Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State – Jack Ihonre, luckily escaped being killed by communal thugs as a result of a lingering crisis over land dispute between his community Ebhodiza, and neighbouring Ukpoke community.                                                     Jack Ihonre The Nigerian Observer learnt that the crisis which started since 21st December, 2015, when Ukpoke community evaded Ebhodiza community, has resulted to the loss of about 86 members of the community and wanton destruction of property. This has made most of the people to flee from the community, to places where they can be guaranteed protection and security. Our findings revealed that Jack Ihonre who was preparing to go to work in the morning of 21st December, 2015, heard a knock on his door,...

Jose Mourinho Jose Mourinho was on the verge of fulfilling his dream of managing Manchester United on Tuesday after Louis van Gaal’s troubled two-year reign came to a bitter end. The path was clear for the former Chelsea manager to be confirmed as the new United boss after Van Gaal was sacked Monday. That is the price of failing to get one of the world’s biggest clubs into the Champions League. Mourinho’s agent Jorge Mendes was reported by British media to be in negotiations to tie up a deal. It sets the stage for one of the sport’s most intriguing characters to at last manage the Red Devils after a glittering career that so far features 21 major trophies, including three English Premier League crowns and two Champions League titles. Mourinho was sacked by Chelsea in December after a miserable campaign marred by rifts with the club’s star players that eventually became intolerable to owner Roman Abramovich as the team, champions just months earlier, languished nea...

President Muhammadu Buhari The Federal Government on Tuesday said it had recorded a savings of about N220bn since April 2007 when it commenced the implementation of the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System. A statement from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, said that the amount is expected to increase when other agencies of government are enrolled into the platform. The IPPIS is one of the Federal Government’s reform initiative conceived to transform the Nigerian public service aimed at improving the management of human resources and providing a centralised payroll system in the service. The project implementation commenced at the Bureau of Public Service Reforms before its management was transferred to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation in October 2008. The project went live in April 2007 with seven pilot Ministries, Departments and Agencies and its objective include centralised payment of salaries; a...

Christabel Goddy ’Nonye Ben-Nwankwo, and Ademola Olonilua Fast rising actress, Christabel Goddy, may be new in the industry but she already knows how it feels to be in the middle of a controversy. The young lady is the actress that allegedly bit off the skin of her colleague, Princess Chineke, during a fight some months ago. Ever since then, she has been dubbed the ‘cannibal actress,’ a name she told Saturday Beats she detests. And since she claimed the then Actors Guild of Nigeria president, Ibinabo Fiberesima, banned her from AGN and supported Chineke, Goddy said Ibinabo got what she deserved in her latest crisis. While Chineke has told the world her side of the story concerning her fight with Chineke, Goddy had kept mum until now. Saying her side of the story, the up and coming actress said trouble started when the duo were paired together to share a room during a movie production.  She said Chineke had repeatedly complained about her (Goddy) frequen...

By Eranga Isaac   BENIN CITY - Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has stressed the need for men to support women in their quest to participate in active politics and occupy leadership positions. Speaking while playing host to the spouses of members of the Edo State House of Assembly who paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House, Monday, Governor Oshiomhole said, “Part of the problem of women in our country is that too many men, based on wrong assumptions, don’t encourage their wives to be active in politics. Yet women account for at least a simple or slight majority of our population, and there is no field in which a man can excel that a woman cannot excel even better.    "The largest democracy on this planet which is India has been led and governed by a woman for many years, but it wasn’t possible without a supporting husband and family members. We have had a powerful woman in the United Kingdom, Margaret Thatcher. She won’t be forgotte...

Solaade Ayo-Aderele Any mother who has had a premature baby will confess that the experience is not a walk in the park. The reason is simple: Caring for a premature baby in resource-poor setting can be a challenge; and that’s one of the reasons a premature baby may not survive.   Consultant Gynaecologist, Dr. Funmi Samuel, says a normal pregnancy lasts about 40 weeks when measured from the first day of a woman’s last period. So, a baby that is born before a pregnancy clocks 37 weeks is considered premature. Grim statistics According to Born On Time (a collaboration between NGO, government and corporate partners working to improve newborn survival), pre-term birth is the number one cause of death for children under the age of five worldwide. The situation is such that more than one in 10 babies are born before they are due —representing 15 million premature births annually globally. Samuel says that in environments where there are resources to take care o...

Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu With barely five days to the first anniversary of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, stakeholders, no doubt, will like to assess  his leadership approach in the various sectors of the nation’s economy. And education is not going to be an exception. Issues bearing on funding, policies, stable academic calendar, among others, will be in the front burner of the discourse. But how well has the Buhari leadership fared in the last one year? While a few have given his tenure a pass mark, especially with regard to stable academic calendar and fighting corruption, many others say that more needs to be done to properly accomplish the ‘change mantra’ in the education sector. According to the Chairman of the  Academic Staff Union of Universities at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Dr. Caleb Aborisade, the Federal Government has not done anything significant in the sector in the past one year. The Preside...