Aluu 4 case re-opened in court..2 of them would have graduated this week

...if they hadn't been brutally killed. The Aluu 4 case was re-opened in a Rivers court yesterday June 11th (since the courts are now opened in the state), but sadly they couldn't hear the case because of the absence of the accused persons. The case was adjourned to July.

Meanwhile friends of the boys have paid tribute to them. Two of the boys, Lloyd & Ugonna would have graduated this week if they hadn't been killed on October 5 2012 by a mob in Aluu community. Llyod would have graduated B.tech in Engineering and Ugonna B.sc in Geology. May their souls continue to rest in peace. #JusticceforAluu4.

Nwala Noble is the friend who paid them tribute and whose graduation gown you see above. He would have graduated today with his friends...if they hadn't been brutally murdered.

APC insists on sanctioning Saraki, Dogara; says due process will be followed

The leadership of APC insists they will still sanction Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and others who went against the party's wish in the just concluded National Assembly leadership elections.

While the party endorsed Senator Ahmed Lawan and Hon Femi Gbajabiamila for positions of Senate President and Speaker House of Representatives, APC said Senator Saraki and Hon Dogara went against their wish and contested for the elections and won with the support of PDP members.

Speaking with journalists after a meeting in Abuja yesterday June 11, the National Publicity secretary of the party, Lai Mohammed said the proposed sanctions on the "erring members" will follow due process

"The sanctions will follow due process. The party has made it clear that it is not happy with the outcome of the election".

He said the erring members will be sent a letter notifying them of their misconduct and then given an opportunity to respond.

Port Harcourt refinery to commence operation by end June - NNPC

The Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr Joseph Dawha today said the refinery in Port Harcourt will start refining petroleum products by the end of this month. Dr Dawha made the announcement while inspecting some petrol stations in Abuja today. He said;

"Presently, the refineries are undergoing rehabilitation and we are undertaking what we call a new strategy to carry out the turn around maintenance on them. Basically, what this means is that we are carrying out phased implementation of rehabilitation of the refineries. We are taking the refineries unit by unit and carrying out turnaround maintenance on them. So in other words, if the maintenance are being carried out on the run and we started a couple of months ago.
Most of the refineries have advanced to a certain stage where they will be able to operate very soon. For example, the Port Harcourt refinery, which has reached an advanced stage, will start receiving crude by end of this month and then of course will start contributing to the available products in the country.”he said Dr Dawha denied claims that the oil corporation abandoned the four refineries in Nigeria - 2 in port harcourt, one in Kaduna and one in Warri “I’ve heard some people say we have neglected the refineries, no, farther from that. We hope that at the end of the exercise, these refineries will be fully back into operation and we will minimise some of the problems we have with importation. We decided that if the refineries were not in good state to process crude for maximum gain, then there was no point sending crude to the refineries. Therefore what you do is to try and fix it so that by the time you start processing the crude, you will get real value for the crude you are sending to the refineries. We are satisfied with the level of work that has been carried out so far in the Port Harcourt refinery, so that if you start processing crude now you will get real value."

British woman starts online petition to stop her Nigerian husband from being deported from the UK

According to a report by UK Mirror, a heavily pregnant British woman named Robyn Daodu has started an online petition to stop her Nigerian Olympic boxer husband from being deported from the UK after he was turned down by the British Army.

Adedayo Victor Daodu came to the UK for the London 2012 Games as a member of the Nigerian boxing squad and decided to stay. The 25-year-old was locked up last week at Dungavel immigration removal centre in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, and told he faces being returned to Lagos.

Before the 2012 Olympics, Victor signed up for the British Army. After returning to his homeland, he was sent a letter inviting him to return to the UK for recruitment.

After claiming to have passed written and physical tests, he applied to extend his visa so he could stay in Britain before enlisting. The couple moved to Salford in July 2013.

But Victor was soon told that due to new guidelines, his application to join the Army had been refused.

Robyn and Victor applied for asylum in a bid to stay together and claim they were told by the Home Office they could get married pending the application.
They assumed Victor’s UK residency would not be a problem.

After marrying in April last year, his asylum claim was refused in three months later.
The couple say the Home Office, in a letter to their solicitors, have told them they should move to Nigeria.
Robyn says they have spent £4,000 in legal fees after a number of failed appeals. Victor was most recently refused leave to stay in March.
In April, he spent two weeks in the immigration centre, but was released after an appeal.

Oldham East and Saddleworth MP, Debbie Abrahams, was able to help get Victor released from the centre last Thursday. 
The couple are now awaiting a reply to another appeal.
Immigration rules mean that anyone applying for a visa as the spouse of a British citizen had to have the legal right to be here for at least the next six months when they got married.
They also have to be able to prove they can support themselves financially.
Robyn, 27, who lives with Victor in Oldham, said: “It took the army a year to tell him he couldn’t join.
“The Home Office should have told him he couldn’t stay a long time ago if that’s what was always going to happen.
"I don’t understand why they’ve only started detaining him now after we’ve set up a life, got married and I’ve become pregnant.
“The communication just hasn’t been there.
"The stress is unbearable. None of this would have happened if not for the army’s slowness in letting Victor know about the change in the acceptance rules.
“I need him and his unborn child needs him.”
Victor said: “I just want to stay here and do what’s right for my baby and Robyn.”
The Home Office said it did not comment on individual cases.

Source: UK Mirror

From a poor boy in Mushin to the president's official photographer - The inspiring story of Bayo Omoboriowo

Meet Bayo Omoboriowo; President Buhari's official photographer and guess what? He is just 28 - written by Chukwudi Iwuchukwu

For many Nigerians on social media, we always admire the beautiful pictures of our new President, Muhammed Buhari. We admire the elegance and the story the pictures portray, we salute the aesthetics behind the image but not many know that the guy behind it all is Bayo Omoboriowo the official photographer of the president and amazingly, he's just 28.

When I met Bayo for the First time February 14 this year at Buhari Valentine dinner here in Lagos, I did not know who he was, he was dressed in an impeccable manner, with suit and tie and then was carrying his camera like a baby I thought he was just one of those "I just came back to Nigeria" guys who like over dressing with their camera not until he told me to stand for him to take a snap shot of me, I did and after the shoot, we got talking, when he mentioned his name, I remembered I had read his interview 3 years back, an Interview he did with Bella Naija talking about his passion for photography, his dreams and where he want to be in the years to come using the instrument of his camera.

My respect for him grew higher that moment and I told myself: "Indeed Dreams come true" Bayo Omoboriowo was born without silver spoon, he tasted poverty, experienced the low esteem Poverty inflicts on its victims but never allowed his past to define him, he decided to change his story and that he has successfully been able to do looking at what he has done for himself within a space of 6 years

He took his destiny by his hand, discovered his passion which was photography, refined and turned it to a business and income making project.

One thing you have to give to this young man is this, he never allowed the distraction that being a youth bring to distract him from his focus , he graduated from University Of Lagos in 2009 and since then he has only been doing one thing, Photography and today, he is the official photographer of our dear President. 

Bayo is one of the 20 man delegation that followed Buhari to Germany On Sunday , seeing his name on that list brought smile to my face, this shows how far he has gone and where God has taken him to. I could not have been prouder of my generation and the envelop we are pushing, the stories we are changing and the boundaries we are taking in spite of the difficulties of being a Young Nigerian.

Bayo's life is teaching young people what is possible and doable, , a man born in poverty at Mushin Lagos 28 years ago is flying with the President all over the world today because of his passion and determination to give meaning to his life, what then is your excuse?

Life is too short to just waste on unnecessary gallivanting. Discover your passion, key into it and start now. You don’t need capital to start, you just need few people who believe in your passion and would do anything to see it come to fruition.

Your network determines your net worth; those friends around you have a lot to do with your tomorrow, more than you know. Bayo's of this world are passing a compelling message to young people to leave every other thing that is distracting them and run with their dreams. Lives and destinies are tied to that dream and that is the more reason you need to take that bold step and believe in your ability to do it.

Again let me emphasize, Bayo started from the bottom, he started with zero capital. he had nothing except his incredible belief in God and the dream he has and nothing more.

I wish you all the best in this journey and hope to celebrate your journey tomorrow. 

Chukwudi Iwuchukwu Is A PR Consultant and Passive Lawyer,