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He gave the hint in far away Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire where he is attending the 5th European Union-African Union (EU-AU) Summit. He was accompanied on the trip by a leader of the governing APC, Bola Tinubu, and governors Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom and Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi states among others. The president arrived late to an interactive session with the Nigerian community in Cote d’Ivoire Tuesday night and said he had to wait for the two governors to accompany him to the meeting because of their electoral value. “First I want to apologise for keeping you for too long sitting, this is because I insisted on the governors attending this meeting. “This is why I came along with them so that when we are going to meet you, when you are going to meet the rest of Nigerians, if you tell them that their governors were in the company of the president, I think that will be another vote for me in the future. I’m very pleased that they were able to turn up,...

Senate President Mr. Bukola Saraki, who is touted as a trained medical doctor, is not licensed to practice medicine in the United Kingdom, according to the country’s General Medical Council (GMC).  Saraki once claimed he practiced medicine at Rush Green Hospital, London, after qualifying as a medical doctor from the University of London in 1988 but that claimed could not be verified as the hospital closed shop in 1995. He had previously schooled in Nigeria. The GMC, in an email message, signed by Sarah Orr, its Media Relations Officer, was responding to SaharaReporters’ enquiry about Mr. Saraki’s status as a medical doctor.   According to the GMC, all licensed doctors working in the United Kingdom have to undergo a revalidation process to ensure that their skills are up to date and they are fit to practice. Majority of doctors, said the GMC, revalidate every five years, a condition that disqualifies Mr. Saraki from practicing in the United Kingdom, as he has ...

The federal government has declared Friday as public holiday in commemoration of the Muslim Eid-El-Maulud celebration. The Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, made the declaration on behalf of the federal government, according to a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja. The statement was signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Abubakar Magaji. It said Mr. Dambazau urged all Muslim faithful and Nigerians in general to use the occasion to pray for peace, progress and unity of the nation. He further urged all Nigerians to support the President Muhammadu Buhari administration in its efforts at building a virile nation, and wished Nigerians a happy Eid-El-Maulud celebration. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Eid-El-Maulud is celebrated every year by Muslims on the 12th day of the Islamic month of Rabi-ul-Awwal as the birthday of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). 

Paul Okoye , one half of the defunct Psquare duo, has said he regrets his role in the rift that engulfed his family in recent weeks. The separation of the brothers who make up the one-time biggest music group in Africa shook fans in Nigeria and beyond. The feud between Peter, Paul and elder brother/manager, Jude, played out in the public domain and was sometimes nasty. In a chat with Beat FM, the singer better known as Rudeboy said he wasn’t himself at the time. When asked if Psquare will ever record a song together again, he said: “I don’t know.” Despite being persistently probed by the hosts of the show, Paul refused to be drawn into issues bordering on Psquare. All he said was: “My fans, take heart. As e dey break my heart, na so e dey break una heart.” Addressing his role in the social media drama, he said: “I think I was very stupid, in that aspect. Something got into me. I couldn’t stand him. But what I did, I regretted it. ...

Brazilian footballer Robinho has been sentenced to nine years in prison for taking part in the gang rape of a woman in Milan in 2013. An Italian court ruled the 33-year-old and five other Brazilians assaulted the Albanian woman, who was 22, after plying her with alcohol in a nightclub. The forward, who left AC Milan in 2015 after five years, was not in court but pleaded not guilty via his lawyer. The sentence will be put on hold until the appeals process is completed. Robinho, capped 100 times by his country, spent two years at Manchester City and currently plays for Atletico Mineiro in Brazil. A post on Robinho’s Instagram page  said he had “already defended himself against the accusations, affirming that he did not participate in the episode” and that “all legal measures are being taken” . >> Robinho

Properties owned by former Nigeria oil minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, and fugitive oil wheeler-dealerKola Aluko were featured in 'Tracking noxious funds klepto tour' in Lagos. The tour, organized by the Kent Law School in collaboration with civil society organizations, visited properties owned by Diezani Alison-Madueke and Kola Aluko in Lagos State. Tracking Noxious Funds is a week-long conference, which has facilitators from Kent Law School at the University of Kent, and sponsored by the MacArthur Foundation with the Institute of International Education (IIE).

Ex-President Robert Mugabe is reportedly worth more than $1bn despite his country being one of the poorest in the world. Mugabe’s wealth has come under the microscope following a military coup earlier in the week. The 93-year-old dictator has accumulated significant wealth during his rule under which thousands of people have been killed over the past 37 years. Local media reports suggest a small part of his fortune was reaped from Zimbabwe’s diamond deposits. Mugabe owns the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Co. He has repeatedly been accused of stealing from the country’s coffers, while he also reportedly acquired 15 acres of land during land seizures in 2000. According to a 2001 US diplomatic cable, later released by the whistle-blowing organisation  WikiLeaks , Mugabe has about $1.75bn worth of assets, mostly invested outside Zimbabwe. It said that while reliable information was difficult to find, there were rumours his assets “include everything from ...