Burial Of Ooni Allegedly Stalled As Man To Be Buried Alive With King Absconds

OONI of Ife Oba Okunade Sijuwade’s burial has allegedly been put on hold after a man elected to be buried alive with the monarch absconded unwilling to be the one to keep the king company in the afterlife. 

Unconfirmed reports from Ile-Ife indicate that the designated person to be buried alive alongside the monarch, known traditionally as the Abobaku, took to his heels for dear life.

See the photo of the running man below:

In Ile-Ife culture, the Abobaku is a person selected by the traditional chiefs to live and die with the king and is treated well and showered with a lot of care and gifts while alive. Apparently, the incumbent Abobaku ran away following the confirmation of the death of the Ooni earlier this month. Despite denials of the death by the Traditional Royal Council of Ife, He refused to wait for confirmation and has been at large ever since.

According to Yoruba tradition, a king does not die alone and his burial rites include being buried with other people. An Abobaku lives his life for the king and is buried alongside the monarch. In the authentic tradition, just as there is a lineage that becomes king, there is also always a family dedicated to the ancient belief of dying with the king. It is not yet clear if the Traditional Royal Council will go ahead with the funeral following the disappearance of the Abobaku.

Earlier this month, the traditional authorities in Ile-Ife said that there will be no human sacrifice involved in the burial of Oba Sijuwade. Apparently, Oba Sijuwade abolished human sacrifices when he was still on the throne and was said to have appealed to the gods to help put a stop to human sacrifice, describing the act as barbaric, callous and inhuman.

Prominent Ifa priest, Chief Ifayemi Elebuibon, confirmed the abolition of the practice, adding that what will happen instead is that the cows will be dressed up to make them look like humans. Oba Sijuwade, 85, was the 50th monarch of Ile-Ife believed to be cradle of Yoruba civilisation and the ancestral home of all Oduduwa’s offspring.

Sad End For Peter Bello, co-pilot of crashed chopper who joined Sad End Peter Bello Co-Pilot Crashed Chopper Joined Bristow Last Year

Peter Bello, co-pilot of the helicopter that crashed in the Oworonshoki area of Lagos on Wednesday, joined Bristow Helicopters in 2014. He had departed an oil rig in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, with the hope of landing in Lagos around 3:35am – as the flight schedule revealed – but sadly the aircraft ended in the lagoon about five minutes before the landing time. 

The body of the deceased was recovered on Thursday, alongside that of Joseph Wyatt, the pilot of the ill-fated aircraft, after several hours of search. In a statement released on Thursday, Duncan Moore, Bristow’s regional director in Africa, said Bello joined the company’s flight school in 2014. 

The statement added that Wyatt, a US citizen, joined Bristow in 2006 and has spent his entire career out of Africa, flying with the company. Bristow expressed sadness over the development, disclosing that it has established a dedicated hotline for family members of those on board the flight. “We are saddened by this tragic accident. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families, friends and loved ones of all those on board,” the statement read. “Bristow has mobilised the full resources of its response team and is working closely with authorities on the investigation, including at the accident site to recover the aircraft. “Medical treatment is being provided to those who are injured and trained coordinators have been assigned to the families of the crew members and passengers to support them with their every need and ensure that they receive the most current information and assistance.” Six people were rescued alive and are responding to treatment at the St. Nicholas Hospital in Lagos Island, while the remains of the other six have been deposited at the morgue of Mainland Hospital.

Nick Gordon Denies Drugging Late Bobbi Kristina

Nick Gordon has denied drugging and having a hand in Bobbi Kristina Brown death following a suit by her guardian claiming he fed Bobbi Kris a lethal cocktail of drugs before submerging her in the bathtub. In a statement to the media Nick Gordon’s lawyer Jose Baez insists,

“The recent lawsuit against Nick is slanderous and meritless. Nick has been heartbroken and destroyed over the loss of his love and it’s shameful that such baseless allegations have been presented publicly. Nick has engaged civil counsel and intends to defend the lawsuit vigorously and expose it for what it is: a fictitious assault against the person who loved Krissy most.”

Lagos Helicopter Crash: Comapny Releases Statement, Pledges Support and Assistance to All Victims

The management of Bristow helicopters limited, owners of the helicopter that crashed into the Lagos lagoon yesterday August 12th have released a statement regarding the mishap. 

The statement signed by the company's Regional Director for Africa Duncan Moore below

“Our thoughts are with those affected by the unfortunate accident. We regret the loss of lives in the air crash and we are ready to assist them with our full resources. Our highest priority is to take care of our crew and clients and their family members and provide them with any assistance needed. Our personnel are currently working to confirm the number of people on board, their identities and the extent of any injury.  

The company is fully cooperating with Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) and the Nigeria Police. Preliminary information indicates that the aircraft carried 10 passengers and a crew of two, subject to confirmation.

The company is in the process of collecting pertinent information and we will release more details as soon as it is available. At this time, the full resources of Bristow Helicopter’s incident response team are being mobilised" the statement read.

Boko Haram Abduct 4 Women, Kill 6 In Borno

Boko Haram insurgents have abducted four women and also killed six people during an attack on Bale Mammanti, in Maiduguri, Borno State.

The attack, which was heralded by heavy shooting, occurred on Tuesday night.

A resident, Timothy Ibrahim, revealed on Wednesday morning that: “because the gunshots went on for about 30 minutes, we thought that the town was under attack”.

“We even thought that the insurgents were attempting to take over the Maimalari barrack and that the military was repelling them with the gunshots.”

A member of a youth vigilance group, also confirmed the attack, saying: “The militants stormed the village of Bale Mammanti on the outskirts of Maiduguri last night in Jere Local Government Area. They killed six civilians and they abducted four women.”

Senators Reject Pay Cut Recommendation By Panel

The Senate on Wednesday suspended consideration of the report of its Finance committee following disagreements among members over the pay cut recommended by the panel.

It was gathered that during a 2 hour deliberation behind closed doors the senators resolved to reject the reduction of salaries and allowances as recommended by the Senator James Manager’s committee.

The senators said it was not possible to accept pay cut with other beneficiaries of the N120bn National Assembly annual budget not doing same. He said his colleagues also resolved to reject the report because the recommendations were not practicable.

Some other senators on condition of anonymity said further consideration of the finance committee report was stepped down because many of their colleagues rejected the contents of the report.

Senator Matthew Urhoghide (PDP Edo South), said senators told themselves the truth at the session on the need to be very cautious on accepting reduction of salaries and allowances.

Urhoghide said that majority of the senators agreed that “funny allowances” like the monthly N42,000 wardrobe allowance should be cut off completely.

He said

“Yes, as recommended by the committee, all senators agreed that there must be openness in Senate budget and by extension, that of the National Assembly.

“At the same time, many reasoned that why should we further reduce our budget when already, N30bn has been reduced from the traditional 150bn that it used to be for all the seven different organs of the National Assembly.

“All of us have people in our constituencies and financial requests from them keep piling up on a daily basis, the reality of which made steps to be redirected, otherwise, some of us may stop coming here.”

The committee, also recommended the publication of all the payments accruable to each senator on a quarterly basis.

However, Senate President, Bukola Saraki, at plenary, explained that “Senate in closed session deliberated on the report of the finance committee but agreed to stand it down for further legislative input.”

Addressing journalists after plenary, Senate spokesperson, Senator Dino Melaye, said further action on the report was put on hold because the senate budget was an integral part of the National Assembly budget being jointly shared by seven bodies.

Melaye said:

“The Senate today, in closed-door session, discussed the report of the ad hoc committee on finances of the senate.

“After due deliberations by the senators, we came to the conclusion that since the budget of the Senate is not independent of the budget of the National Assembly, the budget of the House of Representatives is also inclusive.

“We have the management; we have the National Institute for Legislative Studies; we have even the Public Conduct Commission; the National Assembly Civil Service Commission, and over 3, 000 legislative aides, that are beneficiaries of the N120bn annual budget.

“Therefore, we have agreed that we should consult amongst other arms that share the budget of the National Assembly, before we would draw a conclusion on the report.

“So, the resolution is that we are going to interface with the House of Representatives so that we can be on the same page on the report as presented. This is the resolution of the Senate today in a closed-door session.”

Melaye denied reports that the National Assembly had been experiencing cash crunch despite the fact that some senators confirmed last week that they had not received salaries since their inauguration on June 9.

“I am not aware of any cash crunch, and for me, it is news from you, and I don’t think it is true,” he said.

He said that the senators had the power to reduce their own pay just like the President, the Vice President and some governors had done.

Melaye said

“It is the responsibility of the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission to stipulate how much you would be paid. But you can sacrifice, as a public officer, to say: I am taking half of my salary, and then taking half back to the treasury.

“It means that it would be returned to the treasury, where it would be used for other developmental programmes.

“We would make wider consultations with the House of Representatives on the report because we have one National Assembly and whatever is going to affect the Senate, the House of Representatives should also be carried along and I am sure that after this consultation we will get back to the public.”

Ooni of Ife ‘Oba Okuande Sijuade’ to Be Buried on Friday

The late Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, will be buried on Friday, 14th August, 2015, Adetokunbo Sijuwade, the son of the monarch announced on Wednesday.

Addressing journalists at the Government Office in Osogbo, the younger Sijuwade said the body of the late monarch would be flown in from London on Thursday and buried on Friday at 10 a.m.

”Abobaku” Of Ooni Reportedly On The Run As Burial Plans Kick Off?

Heard in Yorubaland an oba is never buried alone. see tweet below..

Banks reduce withdrawal limits on ATMs

In a new arrangement, all ATMs that were enabled for domestic and foreign transactions have been restructured to limit Naira cash withdrawal at ATMs from N150,000 per day to N60,000 per day while foreign currency is $300 per day.

The new arrangement has separated traditional ATM from MasterCard credit card where the former has now been deactivated and can no longer be used for transactions abroad.

Henceforth, a single ATM card serves for transactions for both domestic and abroad.

Also, the restructured cards now have spending limits on POS/eCommerce (online shopping) at $300 (about N60,000) per day. Before this, the limit was N2 million per day.

In a communication to the customers, the bank explained:

“In view of the increased difficulty in sourcing foreign currency to settle international transactions on Naira MasterCards, we have reduced the daily international spending limit on your Naira MasterCard to $300.This means that you can only spend up to $300 daily when using your Naira MasterCard for international payments via POS and online.

“You will, however, continue to have the option of paying for medical bills, school fees, mortgages and credit cards using Form A, as these are eligible transactions for foreign currency. Simply visit any GTBank branch to complete a Form A along with the required documents to make these payments.”

These developments came on the heels of Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) statement on Sunday that all legitimate requests for foreign currency for eligible transactions, normally referred to as “invisibles,” such as remittances for school fees, student maintenance allowances, BTA, PTA, medical and other eligible transactions, shall be fully met at the official/interbank exchange rate.

A statement from the CBN added:

“The CBN hereby directs all authorised dealers in foreign exchange in Nigeria to henceforth treat as top priority all legitimate demand for foreign exchange for eligible transactions.

“The CBN once again advises individuals that wish to source foreign currency for such eligible transactions to approach their banks with their legitimate demand as the CBN has made adequate provisions of foreign currency for all such legitimate and eligible purposes.

“Furthermore, holders of Naira denominated debit and credit cards shall continue to have access to the use of their cards at ATMs in any part of the world but subject to the annual limit of $50,000. ATM withdraws shall continue to be a maximum of $300 per day.”

Vanguard

Comedian Akpororo Organizes Novelty Match To Propose To His Fiancee Again (Photos)

LComedian Akpororo got engaged to his girlfriend, Josephine Abraham on Sunday August 9th. And then he organized a novelty engagement match to propose to her again which was exclusively covered by HIP TV.