BAMY BLOG

To celebrate the 1st Democarcy day in Nigeria, the Presidency last night held a Dinner/Gala night in the presidential villa. Which had the president of Liberia George Weah, APC chief asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Vp osinbajo and some other elites in attendance. More pics after the cut.

Now that baby Archie is here, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are reportedly planning a trip to Africa to help continue Harry's late mother, Princess Diana’s legacy. As part of their Autumn tour, Harry will travel to Angola where Diana visited in January 1997, just months before her death. According to Daily Mirror, Palace aides are investigating Angola’s security situation to see if Meghan Markle and newborn son Archie will be able to join Harry in Angola as he fulfils his mother's legacy by continuing the important work by the HALO Trust. However, they are expected to travel together for at least some of the African tour, which will also take them to Malawi to expand the reach of his charity Sentebale, possibly also South Africa and Botswana. In 2017 on International Mine Awareness Day, Harry said his mother’s work on banning landmines in the last months of her life "wasn’t universally popular". He added: "Some believed she had stepped over the

Protest and military leaders in Sudan have agreed to resume talks soon, an Ethiopian mediator says. Separately, an opposition alliance agreed to suspend its campaign of civil disobedience and widespread strikes. The army - which has been in control since long-time President Omar al-Bashir was ousted in April - has agreed to release political prisoners, special envoy Mahmoud Dirir told reporters. Pro-democracy protesters are demanding a return to civilian government. Talks broke down after dozens of protesters were killed in a crackdown on a sit-in on 3 June. Since then much of the country has been shut down after the opposition called for an open-ended strike. Doctors say 118 people have died in the recent outbreak of violence, while officials say there were fewer fatalities – putting the number at 61. Soldiers have patrolled the streets of Sudanese towns since then, while most businesses have remained closed. What happens now? On Tuesday, the Ethiopian mediator betw

At least five people have been killed and thousands more have been left stranded after record rainfall hit southern China. Hundreds of homes and thousands of hectares of crops have been destroyed by the downpours, which is expected to continue for several days. More than two million people have been affected, roads and bridges have been badly damaged, state media report.  In Guizhou province, an entire town was submerged under 2m (6ft 6in) of water. Elsewhere, China's metrological association said rainfall in the southern provinces of Jiangxi and Hunan had hit record highs for June. In Jiangxi province alone, 150,000 people were relocated after nine cities were swamped by deep floodwaters. More than 20,000 homes in the south-west region of Guangxi are without power, the state-run China Daily newspaper reports.

Governor of Alabama Kay Ivey has signed a bill into law on Monday night that would require the chemical castration of certain sex offenders as a condition of parole. The bill, passed by the state legislature last week, requires male offenders whose offense involved a child under the 13 to “undergo chemical castration treatment in addition to any other penalty or condition prescribed by law.” The law would require the sex offenders to foot the bill for the treatment but would “prohibit a person from being denied parole because of indigency.” State Rep. Steve Hurst (R), who sponsored the bill and had backed similar measures for over a decade, reportedly said, “Not only did I want it to pass, I want to follow it on through to the future where we can try to improve it. One of the ultimate goals that I want to do is for us to track it and to make sure what medication works for what individuals.” Other states, including Florida and California, have passed similar laws, but Am

The 19th Policy Meeting on Admissions to Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria has approved 160 and above as the national minimum cutoff mark for admission into state and federal Universities for the year 2019. The decision was taken at a meeting held at Bola Babalakin Auditorium, Gbongan, Osun State today Tuesday June 11th. It was also agreed that the minimum UTME score for admission into private Universities should be 140. 120 UTME score was approved for polytechnics while 110 score was approved as the least score for admission into private polytechnic.

Femi Gbajabiamila. a member representing Surulere Federal Constituency has finally emerged the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Femi defeated Umar Bago from Niger state in a landslide victory to emerge victorious. Gbajabiamila was nominated by Kano lawmaker, Abdulmumin Jibril while his nomination was seconded by Lynda Chuba Ikpeazu (PDP, Anambra). Gbajabiamila polled 283 to defeat Bago who had a paltry 76 votes. Although there was an initial rowdiness in the house following commencement of voting, the parliamentarians soon composed themselves to face the business of the day. There are no upsets in the final result as Femi Gbajabiamila was the favourite for the position. 

South African vocalist Nichume Siwundla has died. The Singer is said to have committed suicide last night June 9th by jumping off a building in Johannesburg.  In a statement released by her record label, Top Chap Media, it was confirmed that Nichume died from an apparent suicide in her Johannesburg home. Read the full statement below.... It is with sadness that we announce the passing of our fellow musician, sister and friend Nichume. Nichume was found at a friend’s place last night following an apparent suicide. She was an accomplished musician and a qualified ophthalmologist. Nichume reached the heights of her fame when she lent her voice to Mobi Dixon’s hit “Bhutiza”. She featured on singles "Daydreaming" by Fistaz Mixwell and Mobi Dixon, as well as “Far Away” by DJ Anda featuring Mobi Dixon. Following the success of Bhutiza in 2017, she was then signed to Top Chap Media, founded by Mobi Dixon. The duo had just released a single together titled ‘Thobe

President Buhari has signed the June 12th bill into law. President Buhari assented to the Public Holiday Amendment Act, declaring June 12 of every year a public holiday and Democracy Day. President Buhari's Special Assistant on National Assembly matters, Senator Ita Enang, told state house correspondents that with the assent to the amendment, May 29th will no longer be a public holiday.

The Federal Government has declared Wednesday as public holiday to commemorate the maiden National Democracy Day. This was contained in a statement released by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Georgina Ehuriah. The Federal government congratulated Nigerians at home and abroad for the entrenchment of democratic rule in the country. The Permanent Secretary called on Nigerians to continue to cherish the sacrifice made by heroes of democracy, particularly those who lost their lives in the struggle for the actualisation of democratic governance in the country.

The University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State, has cried out over the influx of patients into the hospital due to the inability of other primary and secondary healthcare facilities to meet up with the required standards.  The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Prof. Jesse Otegbayo, made this known while speaking with journalists in Ibadan to begin the celebration of his first 100 days in office.  Otegbayo said the burden of healthcare delivery needed to be taken away from tertiary hospitals to primary and secondary healthcare facilities so as to allow doctors focus on their area of specialisation. He said:  ”UCH is oversubscribed and overwhelmed. Most of the state governments have neglected the secondary tier of healthcare such that these hospitals have no accreditation needed to train even the lowest cadre of doctors, which are the house officers. Low confidence in the quality of care provided by primary and secondary healthcare facilities, have pushed pat

Arsenal forward Danny Welbeck has left the club at the end of his contract along with veteran goalkeeper Petr Cech and experienced defender Stephan Lichtsteiner. Welbeck's exit was expected after the England international's injury-ravaged spell at the Emirates Stadium, while Czech 'keeper Cech and Swiss international Lichtsteiner had previously hinted they would be leaving once their contracts expired. Arsenal also announced youngsters Cohen Bramall, Charlie Gilmour, and Julio Pleguezuelo will leave the Gunners.  A brief statement on Arsenal's website said: "We thank them all for their contributions to the club and we wish them every future success." Welbeck, 28, joined Arsenal from Manchester United during 2014 and went on to win the FA Cup under Arsene Wenger. Often utilised as an attacking option off the bench, Welbeck suffered a string of injury setbacks, the latest being a broken ankle against Sporting Lisbon in a Europa League tie on Nove

Arsenal and former Germany football footballer, Mesut Ozil and his soon-to-be wife Amine Gulse who are getting married today, have made an incredible pledge to pay for the surgeries of 1,000 children in need as part of their wedding celebrations. The former Real Madrid midfielder issued a statement regarding what guests should bring to his wedding as a gift. Taking to his social media accounts, Ozil issued a statement in which he called for guests to join him and Gulse in donating money for those in need. 'As a professional footballer, I am in a fortunate and privileged position. However I invite everyone who is willing and able to help to support a very special project close to both of our hearts that we will undertake with BigShoe,' wrote Ozil. 'Amine and I will bear the expenses for surgeries of 1000 children in need. I'd be happy if in addition, many more treatments all over the world can be fulfilled,' he added. The Arsenal play maker also p

The Liberian government has shut down the use of social media in the country after thousands of Liberians descended on the capital Monrovia on Friday to protest the corruption that has bedeviled president George Weah’s administration. The internet monitoring organization NetBlocks said platforms including WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook were blocked to subdue the protests. While the cut-off didn’t impact all providers, restrictions affected mobile internet provider Orange Liberia and internet service provider Lonestar. The social media shutdown was confirmed by assessing user measurements in the Liberian capital and in collaboration with the digital advocacy Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa Themed  “Save The State,” the anti-government protests come just over a year after former soccer star George Weah was inaugurated into office. As an outsider, Weah campaigned to tackle corruption, and improving the provision of crucial services like

The Kaduna State House of Assembly today Friday June 7th, passed into law the Religious preaching Regulation law 1984. Speaker of the House, Aminu Abdullahi Shagali while reading the bill during plenary,  said a state inter-faith Regulatory council has been established with a chairman to be appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of the Secretary to the state Government. He also said  two members representing the Christians and Muslim faith  are to be  appointed by the Governor among others respectively. According to Abdullahi, the bill when signed into law, will ensure that in each of the 23 local Government areas of the state, a committee to be known as the Local Government Inter-faith Committee must be established. The bill states that any person who plays religious cassette or uses a loud speaker for religious purposes between the hours of 11pm to 4am in a public place, and uses a loudspeaker for religious purposes other than inside a church or mosque commits an off

On Monday (june 10th), the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal will resume sitting on the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate in February 23 presidential election, Atiku Abubakar. Meanwhile, there were indications on Friday that the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, had appointed another judge as her replacement on the five-man panel to hear the case. This comes as Justice Bulkachuwa withdrew as a member and head of the five-man panel on May 22, following the allegation of the likelihood of bias levelled against her by the PDP and Atiku. The tribunal was said to have issued and served the notice for the Monday’s hearing on all parties to the petition on Friday.  The leader of the legal team of the PDP and Atiku, Dr Livy Uzoukwu (SAN), confirmed the development to Punch on Friday saying “we were served the notice  today that the court will resume hearing on Monday”. Asked if he was sure that Justice Bulkachuwa’s

Just Twenty four hours after its license was withdrawn, AIT is back on air. This comes after Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court Abuja, earlier today gave an order that the NBC should maintain status quo and allow the media stations air their programmes without any further hinderance. Recall that the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, yesterday suspended the license of DAAR communications, owners of AIT and Ray Power, on grounds that the stations failed to follow its broadcasting guidelines.

On Wednesday 5th of June, President of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo paid a courtesy visit to President Buhari in Abuja, Nigeria, Scroll down for more pics.

Gianni Infantino was re-elected Wednesday June 5th by acclamation for a second term as FIFA president at the Congress of world football’s governing body in Paris. The 49 year-old, who took charge of FIFA in February 2016 after the departure of the disgraced Sepp Blatter, stood unopposed for a new four-year term which will run until 2023. Earlier, Infantino had insisted that FIFA had been transformed into an organisation “synonymous with credibility” as he addressed representatives of the 211 member federations, before the Women’s World Cup begins in the French capital on Friday. “Today nobody talks about crises, nobody talks about rebuilding FIFA from scratch, nobody talks about scandals, nobody talks about corruption, we talk about football. The very least we can say is that we have turned the situation around. “In three years and four months, this organisation went from being toxic, almost criminal, to being what it should be, an organisat

The Imo state chapter of the Nigeria Medical Association has called off its two months old strike after meeting with the state governor, Emeka Ihedioha.  NMA chairman, Kyrian Duruewuru, who spoke after a closed-door meeting with the governor, said that the association “has called off the indefinite strike with an immediate effect.”    According to the chairman, the governor agreed to address the issues which made the NMA in the state to embark on the strike two months ago. Duruewuru said that they called off the strike so as to give the new administration in the state the benefit of a doubt that it would fix the concerns of the association.  The NMA chairman said that apart from payment of the full salaries which the governor promised, Ihedioha, equally agreed to pay three months salary arrears to the members of the association.The NMA chairman said, “we have called off the indefinite strike and we have instructed our members to go back to work. The governor said that our

A Chinese businessman has been executed after being found guilty of raping 25 underage female students, according to a court.  Zhao Zhiyong had sexually assaulted the young victims on 32 occasions in the space of one and a half years. He was sentenced to death for raping last October before being executed yesterday June 4th, according to the Kaifeng Intermediate People's Court in central China's Henan Province.  In an online statement, the court said Zhao had colluded with an accomplice, named Li Na, who was responsible for scouting for victims. Between May 2015 and January 2017, Li brought underage girls to hotels or Zhao's home for him to have sexual intercourse with by force. The court said it carried out the execution after receiving an order from the Supreme Court.   Zhao was said to be an influential businessman in Kaifeng. He owned a large flour factory and was the deputy head of the Kaifeng Chamber of Commerce, according to Chinese news outlet The Paper.

Brazilian football superstar Neymar will play at the upcoming Copa America despite a rape accusation made against him, Brazilian Football Confederation president Rogerio Caboclo said on Tuesday. "There is no chance of him not taking part in the Copa America," Caboclo told press on the sidelines of the FIFA congress in Paris. "We are following the matter closely and we have complete confidence in Neymar, we know what kind of man he is and what of sportsman he is," he said. Neymar, 27, is accused of raping a Brazilian woman in a Paris hotel in mid-May after two months of exchanges on social media culminated in her flying to Paris to meet him. Neymar denies the rape. He is currently in Brazil preparing for the Copa, which takes place in the country from June 14 to July 7. Caboclo said that if Neymar were a target for hecklers, the striker would have to accept it. "He's one of the world's top play

A rematch between  Anthony Joshua  and  Andy Ruiz Jr  will take place in November or December, says Joshua's promoter  Eddie Hearn . American-born Mexican Ruiz produced one of the biggest shocks in heavyweight boxing history to take Joshua's IBF, WBO and WBA world heavyweight titles in New York on Saturday. A rematch clause was part of the contract for the fight and Hearn says the clause had been triggered on Tuesday after talks. "After meetings with AJ, Rob Mc[Cracken - Joshua's trainer] and the management team in NY, we have today triggered the contracted rematch clause with Andy Ruiz Jr. The fight will take place in Nov/Dec at a venue to be confirmed shortly" Hearn said on Twitter. British fighter Joshua was floored four times as Ruiz defied his underdog status to win in seven rounds at Madison Square Garden. The London 2012 Olympic champion subsequently had a concussion test after the first defeat of his 23-fight career.

EFCC has arraigned the registered trustee of Micheno Multi-purpose Cooperative Society, Mr. Uno Michael Eke before Justice Simon Amobeda of the Federal High Court, sitting in Calabar, Cross River State, on a separate 74-count charge, for allegedly obtaining over N320 million (Three Hundred and Twenty Million) by false pretence from innocent Nigerians. Eke, allegedly defrauded his victims through an alleged ponzi scheme by inducing his victims to invest in his Swissgolden packages, through his company, Micheno Multi-purpose Cooperative Society, under the false pretence of paying them 80 per cent return on investment within just 40 days. With this enticing bait, Eke duped so many people through the scheme, and when his investors started calling for their capitals and expected interest, he made himself unreachable, both by telephone and in person. One of the charges against him reads: "That you, Uno Michael Eke (being the president/chief executive officer

Serena Williams has made history as the first athlete to make Forbes’ list of the World’s Richest Self-Made Women. According to the publication, the 23-time Grand Slam champion made the list as a result of her estimated fortune of $224m (£177m). The majority of William's fortune has been made as a result of her “brain and brand rather than her backhand”, according to Forbes, with the star investing in 34 startup businesses in the past five years alone. Opening up about her financial investments, Williams told the publication: “I want to be in the infrastructure. I want to be the brand, instead of just being the face.” In April, Williams announced she was launching her own venture-capital firm. Forbes reports that 60 per cent of Williams’ investments so far have gone to companies led by women or people of colour.

Nigeria's Representative at the United Nation UN, Prof Tijjani Mohammed Bande, has been elected the President of the 74th UN General Assembly. The election took place today June 4th A native of Zagga in Kebbi State, Muhammed-Bande has had an outstanding career as a scholar and diplomat. He holds M.A in Political Science from Boston University, USA, in 1981 and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Toronto, Canada in 1987. Between January 2000 and February 2004, he was the Director-General of the Centre African de Formation et de Recherche Administrative pour le Development (CAFRAD) in Tangier, Morocco. He is to take over from the current President, María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, who steps down on September 17th.

The Channels Island government has seized money to the value of £211,000,000 in a Jersey bank account that allegedly belonged to former military dictator, General Sani Abacha. According to a report on MetroNews, Abacha laundered the money through the US into the Channel Islands  in Europe. The money was put in accounts held in Jersey by Doraville Properties Corporation, a British Virgin Islands company. The money is now being held by the government until authorities in Jersey, the US and Nigeria come to an agreement on how it should be distributed. Abacha was a military dictator who served as the de facto President of Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998.

To all our Muslim readers and everyone celebrating today, May the magic of this Eid bring lots of happiness in your life and may you celebrate it with all your close friends & may it fill your heart with wonders. Eid Mubarak.