Celine Dion gets 4,000 songs for her new album

A public appeal by Celine Dion for new songs for her next album in French has been met with a flood of offered tunes, according to a former Canadian media boss close to the singer’s manager.

Around 4,000 songs were sent to Dion’s website and management company by the October 5 deadline, Charles Benoit, ex-head of the Quebec TV arm of Canadian group Bell Media, told AFP this week.

Celine dion

Dion’s husband and manager, Rene Angelil, and the CEO of the Les Feeling Productions firm managing her career, Aldo Giampaolo, “were surprised by the dimensions this initiative has taken, and they asked me to organise the works’ selection”, he said.

Dion in late August made her appeal for fresh songs, emphasising that it was “open to everyone”.

The 47-year-old Canadian singer, most famous for performing “My Heart Will Go On” as the theme song for the hit 1997 movie “Titanic”, said she wanted new material for an album in French she’s bringing out next year, and for another one in English in 2017.

The current crop of submitted songs are all for the French album and came by letter, social networks and MP3 files from France and other French-speaking countries.

They will be whittled down to just 25 songs by a panel of six French-language broadcast critics, said Pierre Fortier, a Quebec music festival director whom Benoit tapped to be in charge of the selection process.

“Naturally, out of the 4,000 songs received, there aren’t 4,000 hits, but we’ve already found several good ones,” Fortier said.

An online vote open to the public through Dion’s www.celinedion.com website will choose which one of the shortlisted 25 songs will make it on the singer’s album, with the winner announced December 1.

A 56-year-old French amateur singer-composer, Gilles Mazetto, said he hoped his submission, “Cicatrice Dedicacee” (roughly meaning ‘autographed scar’), would make the cut.

“It’s a message in a bottle I’m hoping will be picked up by Celine Dion,” he said.

“I think the song fits her repertoire: it talks about passing time, the moments that define our existence, of those that remain.”

Dion’s last album came out in 2013. In August, she resumed regular concerts she has been giving in Las Vegas since 2011 after taking a year-long hiatus to care for Angelil, 73, who has throat cancer.

Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, the richest man in the world.

“I have houses in at least 188 countries in the world, so I am richer than Bill Gates.” (Adeboye).

Recently, a friend took me to the jewel-in-the-crown of the Redeemed Christian Church of God; a glitzy parish called “City of David” in Victoria Island, Lagos. Displayed resplendently on a wall in the church-office is a design of their current building project; a 14 storey architectural extravaganza titled “Trinity Towers.”

Pastor Enoch Adeboye

Is Redeemed still a church or is it now essentially a business concern? The Trinity Towers project shows the lines are now totally blurred. Jesus warns: “No one can serve two masters. You cannot serve both God and Money.” (Matthew 6:24). Nevertheless, this Tower of Babylon being built with church funds is designed both for the worship of God and for the worship of money.

The project is an appeal to crass commercialism; a blatant celebration of wealth. In this poverty-stricken Nigeria, the foundation of the building alone is expected to cost over 2 billion naira. Side-by-side with a 5,000 seat auditorium for church services are high-brow restaurants, cafeterias, indoor swimming pools, cinema halls, gymnasiums, retail shops, games arcades, lawn tennis courts, relaxation spots, and a helipad as the crowning glory. Of what relevance is all this “supermarket” in a church?

Anointing for carnality

A church-member, overwhelmed by the grandeur of it all, buttonholed me in the hallway. I did not know him from Adam, nevertheless, he held me hostage as he waxed lyrical about how the Redeemed Church was, to use his words: “taking over.” “We have already got the vice-presidency,” he said. (The vice-president of Nigeria is now a Redeemed pastor). “Next we will get the presidency,” he continued; “and then we will get DSTV;” (a South African satellite television network).

The anointing for this pride of life flows right from the top. The General Overseer of the Redeemed Church is Pastor Adeboye. A few years ago, he decided he needed a billion naira without which his “work of God” could not be done. So he confounded the Christian faith by establishing a “millionaire’s club.” To be a member, you had to hand over a million naira to him in Jesus’ name.

Thereafter, he upped the ante by calling for a “billionaire’s club.” He announced that he would be building an auditorium that can only be described as “fantabulous.” It would be a ginormous three kilometers in length and three kilometers in breadth. This project is clearly more designed to get Adeboye into the Guinness Book of World Records than it is to get the members of Redeemed into the kingdom of God.

Declared Adeboye on that occasion: “We need 1 billion naira from ten people. If you are one of them, please see my personal Secretary after we finish today.” Who are those likely to have this kind of money to give in the Nigeria of today except those who have cornered public funds? Thereafter, an announcer sought to know the members of the church who were “willing to join hands with our Father in the Lord to build a new auditorium to God’s glory.”

Vanity upon vanity

The proposed auditorium is not to the glory of God. The proposed auditorium is to the glory of Adeboye. Adeboye’s project is reminiscent of Saul’s, who built a monument to himself. (1 Samuel 15:12). Nowhere in the entire New Testament was money ever collected for putting up a building. Money was only collected for the poor. The temple of God is no longer a physical building. The temple of God is now Jesus Christ.

Pastor Adeboye is getting increasingly carried away by vanity. I have a tape of a question-and-answer session he had with his church-workers a number of years ago in which he boasted that the time would soon come when, before anybody could aspire to be president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he would first have to talk to Redeemed Church. Nothing in the scriptures can be construed as suggesting this as one of the stated objectives of Jesus Christ.

A Redeemed church-member told me of another meeting he attended captioned: “A Day Out with the G.O.” It was a dinner for financial sponsors of one of the annual “Holy Ghost Festivals.” Pastor Adeboye boasted tongue-in-cheek on that occasion that the time would soon come when the Queen of England would plead to join Redeemed in order to work as an usherette. The audience reportedly responded with wild applause and shouts of “Amen.”

Richer than Bill Gates

At the just-concluded 63rd Annual Convention of the Redeemed Church, Adeboye declared that he is now richer than Bill Gates; widely acknowledged as the richest man in the world. He said: “I have houses in at least 188 countries in the world, where we have our churches, so I am richer than Bill Gates. Each time I visit these countries, my children would be struggling and saying daddy, come and stay with me.”

These “houses” don’t belong to Adeboye; they belong to Redeemed church. Knowingly or unknowingly, Adeboye distorts the gospel. Jesus says: “All who have given up home or brothers and sisters or father and mother or children or land for me will be given a hundred times as much. They will also have eternal life.” (Matthew 19:29).

However, Jesus words are spirit. (John 6:63). Therefore, his “houses” are entirely spiritual, while Adeboye’s are physical. Jesus does not make his disciples richer than Bill Gates. Instead, he says: “God will bless you people who are poor. His kingdom belongs to you! But you rich people are in for trouble. You have already had an easy life!” (Luke 6:20/24).

Adeboye continued: “If I announce here that tomorrow morning, I need a car to travel to the new auditorium, how many cars do you think would be made available to me by you my children? Those of you that do not have a car of your own, very soon, God will give you your own cars. So, I am appealing to you to become an incurable soul winner before you leave this convention ground and your cup will overflow.”

Anathema to Christ

This is nothing but the enticing word of man’s wisdom. Believers don’t preach the gospel in order to receive cars. We do because God commands that we do so.

Jesus had neither chariots nor horses. He had no lands and houses. Indeed, he warned a prospective disciple who wanted to follow him they would not be staying at the “Sheraton Hotel:” “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:20).

Jesus does not speak like Adeboye. He says: “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master.” (Matthew 10:24-25). Jesus’ example is anathema to Adeboye’s declaration that he is now the richest man in the world.

This is the word of Jesus the Adeboyes of this age choose to ignore: “It’s terribly hard for rich people to get into the kingdom of heaven! In fact, it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into God’s kingdom.” (Matthew 19:23-24).

BERMUDA TRIANGLE: THE DEVIL'S TRIANGLE.

Bermuda triangle is a strange triangular area on the Atlantic ocean where many ships sailing through it or planes passing over it have disappeared without a trace. In few of such cases where wrecks could be found, the crew had vanished. And such incidents have been happening since centuries. 

So looking for the facts behind the mystery of Bermuda Triangle? More than 1000 ships and planes have disappeared in the triangle area over the past five centuries and continue to do so. And all these happen when apparently there are no human errors, equipment failures or even natural disasters. Strangely, the ships and aircraft just vanish when everything seems to be okay. Many believe that Devil is at play here and therefore call the area also as Devil's Triangle.

The facts however are quite far from what is generally known or believed to be true. There are many stories and myths created through sheer imagination by writers who have used them rampantly to draw publicity to their books. In many cases, the facts got blurred. But one thing which is beyond doubt is, far too many incidents have taken place in this area for it to be ignored casually or interpreted to be just another normal ocean area. Well, I have been digging deep into the incidents and analyzing the facts and evidences. This section is an account of those findings. 

So where is Bermuda Triangle located and how large is the area? Is there a map? And do you get to know when exactly you cross the line and enter the area? By the simplest of all definitions, Bermuda Triangle is located off the South-Eastern coast of the United States and in the Atlantic Ocean. The three corners of the triangle are: Miami (in Florida); San Juan (in Puerto Rico); and Bermuda (a north-Atlantic island).

Lost Planes & Ships in Bermuda Triangle 

Here are some of the most amazing stories of planes and ships that disappeared while crossing the triangle area. As you visit the links, you will also see my findings behind such great mysteries of all times. In most cases I have discussed and explained the possible causes, in some cases I have also given excerpts from official reports that were produced by US Navy, US Air Force or US Coast Guards after completing the search operations. And in several cases, I have given updates on further findings. 

Flight 19: The Avenger planes of Flight-19 took off from the U.S Naval Base of Florida for a routine training session on an afternoon of December 1945, but strangely this time they never returned. 

PBM Martin Mariner: When all hopes for the above Flight-19 planes were quickly fading, two Martin Mariner planes (flying boats) were sent by US Navy to search them out. One came back, but the other didn't. Read the full story to know what happened. 

Tudor Star Tiger: Star Tiger, a Tudor Mark-IV aircraft disappeared in Bermuda Triangle shortly before it was about to land at the Bermuda airport. 

Fight DC-3: The flight DC-3 NC16002 disappeared when it was only 50 miles south of Florida and about to land in Miami. 

Flight 441: A Super Constellation Naval Airliner disappeared in October 1954. 

C-54 Skymaster: Apparently it seemed to be a sudden thunderstorm that had disintegrated the plane. But there was much more to the story. 

Mary Celeste - The Ghost Ship: Known as one of the ghost ships of Bermuda Triangle, Mary Celeste had many misadventures even before her mystery voyage in 1872. But this time, although the ship could be salvaged, none on board could ever be traced. 

Carroll A. Deering: This is another ghost ship of Bermuda triangle which created one of the biggest maritime mysteries of all times. While returning from Rio de Janeiro of Brazil to Portland in Maine in January 1921, it was found abandoned and derelict at Diamond Shoals, off Cape Hatteras in North Carolina. But all the 11 crewmen including the captain were missing. They vanished for ever and never to be found again. 

Marine Sulphur Queen: This 524-foot carrier of molten sulphur started sail on Feb 2, 1963 from Beaumont, Texas with 39 crew. It was reported lost in Florida Straits on February 4, and lost for ever. 

Ellen Austin: The Ellen Austin, an American schooner, met with another ship in Bermuda Triangle. The other ship was moving in full speed but strangely had nobody on board. 

USS Cyclops: Disappearance of the carrier ship U.S.S. Cyclops in Bermuda Triangle has been one of the greatest mysteries of the sea. 

USS Scorpion: USS Scorpion (SSN-589) was a Nuclear powered submarine of United States Navy that disappeared in Bermuda Triangle area in May 1968. 

Those were only few cases. Check out Bermuda Triangle Incidents for a list of all the major indents in the triangle area along with fascinating stories for many.

Popular theories solving the mystery

So what caused the ships and aircraft to disappear mysteriously? There have been many research and explorations done to uncover the mystery. There is no single theory that can explain all the incidents of disappearances. The ships and aircraft have been victims of different circumstances and situations. Things happened quickly and unexpectedly. While many theories have come out, there are few that come close to solving the Bermuda Triangle Mystery.

Methane Gas trapped under the sea floor can erupt, and as a result can lower the water density and cause ships to sink like a rock. Even planes flying over it, can catch fire and get completely destroyed during such gas blowout. 

Sargasso Sea is a strange area that has no shores and bounded only by water currents on all sides. Many ships passing through it have been stranded and made motionless. 

Electronic Fog, a strange thick cloud appears from nowhere and engulfs a ship or a plane. Instruments begin to malfunction, and finally the ship or the aircraft vanishes without a trace. 

There are many other theories that try to solve or explain the mysteries of Bermuda Triangle. Check out the Theories of Bermuda Triangle that describes most of such strange factors that would have caused the disappearances. 

And there are also theories that took recourse to some supernatural events to explain the disappearances. Check out Supernatural Theories to know about them.

Don’t cry for Bola Tinubu

MANY monuments have been built in honour of the man Bola Tinubu.  He is acclaimed as the political genius of our times who not only engineered the taming of the PDP juggernaut, he caged it and confined it to the backwaters of Otuoke.  Since the APC defeat of the PDP in the presidential election, Tinubu the tactician has been feted, celebrated and praised to high heavens.  But all these encomiums have proved to be highly exaggerated.

The truth of the matter is that Tinubu, the veritable Jagaban of Borgu, is a master of political illusion.  He is remarkable for the distinction of characteristically pulling defeat out of the jaws of putative victory.  He mid-wifed the birth of the APC, only to be shut out of its vice-presidential sweepstakes.  He engineered APC”s victory at the centre, only to see his arch-enemies take over the posts of Speaker and Senate President in the National Assembly.  He piggy-backed Buhari to the presidency, only to be shut out of a say in the president’s cabinet nominees.

Tinubu is called the National Leader of the APC when there is no such post in the party’s Constitution.  When a critical meeting of APC bigwigs was called to address the party’s imbroglio in the National Assembly, the “National Leader” could not attend because, in actual fact, he is not even a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party.

Sowing and reaping

In 2011, Tinubu was hailed for cutting his nose to spite his face.  The PDP nominated his kinswoman, Mulikat Akande, as Speaker of the National Assembly.  However, Tinubu conspired with recalcitrant PDP party-members to frustrate the plans of their party for his South-west homestead.  Instead, he engineered the election of Sokoto’s Aminu Tambuwal, an APC  wolf in PDP sheep’s clothing, as Speaker.

In 2015, Tinubu received payback for these shenanigans again to the detriment of his native South-West.  The same Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto he schemed into the position of Speaker in 2011, repaid Tinubu by frustrating his efforts to install his Lagos acolyte, Femi Gbajabiamila, as Speaker in 2015.  Taking a leaf straight out of Tinubu’s 2011 playbook, Tambuwal conspired with opposition PDP members to install another Northern PDP turncoat, Yakubu Dogara, as Speaker.

Tinubu’s comeuppance here is particularly savage because it was actually Gbajabiamila who reportedly convinced Tinubu that Tambuwal would readily act as traitor to  his PDP party in 2011.  It is therefore veritable poetic justice that the same Tambuwal became an equally ready tool of the PDP in the frustration of Gbajabiamila’s ambitions and the interests of Tinubu and the APC in 2015.

Moreover, Tinubu was repaid for his 2011 manipulations with interest.  The same treachery employed to Tinubu’s political disadvantage in the House was also duplicated in the Senate.  Bukola Saraki, another PDP turncoat, refused to abide by the dictates of APC Central, firmly controlled by Tinubu’s ACN.  He snatched the position of Senate President without official APC approval, but with the support of the opposition PDP.  So doing, he sidelined both Tinubu’s first-choice of George Akume, as well as his second-choice of Ahmed Lawan.

Crumbled cookie

Just as Tinubu was licking his wounds at the denial of his “rightful inheritance” in the National Assembly after the APC victory at the polls, the news came that his political cookie had equally crumbled at Aso Rock.  It had been popularly alleged that Tinubu’s portion in Buhari’s presidency would not be limited to the appointment of his political godson as vice-president, but would also include the  allocation of no less than nine choice ministerial nominees to the discretion of the Jagaban of Borgu.

But by the time Buhari unfurled his ministerial list two weeks ago, the alleged dedicated slots had shrunk to zero.  Many of us had warned in the heady days of the formation of the APC that those insistent that power must return to the North would be determined to checkmate Tinubu if and when the election was won.  We warned Tinubu that even as he cannot conceivably be accepted nationally to rule Nigeria as president, even so can he not rule Nigeria by proxy.  We warned him that the North would never allow Buhari to be his Man Friday in Aso Rock.

However, Tinubu was too far gone to listen.  It would now appear that he even failed to take out insurance policies against such probable eventualities.

But once elected, Buhari started a romance with Babatunde Fashola and Kayode Fayemi designed clearly to sideline the Jagaban.  While these former governors were previously members of Tinubu’s inner-circle, they had since run out of patience with the heavy handedness of their boss.  Therefore, during the election campaign, both of them campaigned for Buhari above and beyond the call of party duty.

Fashola, in particular, was clearly fed up with being under Tinubu’s political shadow.  In the struggle for who would be the APC governorship candidate in Lagos State, Tinubu did not allow Fashola to choose his successor, in the ignoble tradition of Nigerian governors.  While Fashola favoured Dapo Sasore, the former Attorney General of Lagos State, Tinubu railroaded in Akinwunmi Ambode as the APC candidate.

While again, in the ignoble tradition of Nigerian politics, governors promptly transform themselves into Senators when their term as governor ends, this option was closed off to Fashola because Tinubu had already installed his wife as the Senator from Fashola’s constitutency.  The only option left for Fashola politically was presidential ministerial appointment and, even there, Tinubu had put up a road block against him.

Tinubu prefers to nominate political nonentities for higher office in the South-West, so that he would be the only Iroko tree in the forests of the region.  Therefore his candidates for ministerial appointment from Lagos were his little nationally-known former commissioners, Wale Edun and Yemi Cadosso, who could pose no threats whatsoever to his ascribed South-West political supremacy.

Alarm bells:But when Fashola and Fayemi accompanied Buhari to the G7 meeting in Germany in June 2015, alarm bells started ringing in Tinubu’s Bourdillon Road mansion in Lagos.  This was clearly a signial that these former governors were intent on by-passing the official godfather of the South-West by applying to be members of Buhari’s kitchen cabinet on their own recognisance.

The Tinubu brigade would have none of this.  Therefore, a campaign of calumny was launched to cut Fashola in particular to dimunitive size.  Suddenly, the “memo” was sent out implying the former governor had developed political leprosy.  When two books were launched simultaneously celebrating his achievements as governor, none of his APC colleagues from Lagos dared to attend for fear of entering the bad books of the dreaded Jagaban.

In order to nail the coffin on Fashola’s ministerial aspirations, it was leaked to the press that a whopping 78 million naira of public money was spent on the construction of his personal website.  139 million naira was also alleged to have been spent on two boreholes constructed in Government House, Lagos during his tenure.  The intention here was to ensure that Fashola becomes ineligible for ministerial consideration on grounds that he would not pass Buhari’s anti-corruption integrity test.

However, Buhari was apparently unimpressed by these political shenanigans.  When his list of ministerial nominees were unfurled, Fashola and Fayemi featured prominently among Buhari’s “first eleven.”  None of Tinubu’s nominees made the list.  Other nominees from the South-West were precisely the kind of people Tinubu did not want in Buhari’s team; people who would not be indebted to Tinubu but  to Buhari.

While Buhari completely ignored Tinubu’s candidates, he included that of another South-West bigwig.  Obasanjo’s favourite-son, Prince Olagusoye Oyinlola, former governor of Osun State, was included in Buhari’s list.  Thereby, the president asserted the saliency of Obasanjo’s South-West influence in Aso Rock over that of the Jagaban.  He even pointedly appointed Obasanjo as his special envoy to Guinea-Bissau.

This is certainly not what Tinubu bargained for when he decided to pitch his tent with Buhari and the APC.  If he were to be furthermore overlooked in the appointment of BOT chairman of the APC, the marginalisation of the Jagaban in the post-election APC would be complete.

Comeuppance: Some of us saw this coming.  In the heady early days of the APC coalition, we warned that Tinubu would be used and dumped.  But we were labelled as PDP lapdogs and charlatans.  That is why I say today: let no one cry for Bola Tinubu.

Anyone who hears Tinubu’s recent vicious attack on Saraki would realise these are the tokens of a frustrated man.  Tinubu could not attack the President, therefore he poured all his venom on the Senate President.  He accused him of indiscipline and disloyalty; the very things he celebrated in the PDP rebels who joined forces with him against their party in 2011.

Face saving device

The recent declaration that Buhari appointed Babachir Lawal as Secretary to the Government of the Federation at the instance of Tinubu is a face-saving device.  The Tinubu camp forgot to tell us this until now.  At the time of new SGF’s appointment, all the uproar was about the Northern lopsidedness in Buhari’s choices.

Observing the sidelining of Tinubu by Buhari, Senator Femi Okunroumu said: “I am having a good laugh. This is what I expected. In any case, Tinubu is stretching his luck too far as he wants to dictate who will rule Nigeria. Tinubu’s wings need to be clipped. With the ministerial list, Tinubu has been dumped. He should not just be dumped, he should be disgraced.”

On his part, Afenifere chieftain, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, said: “APC is not a party; it is a gang  of people whose sole aim was to remove Dr. Goodluck Jonathan as president. In a  real party, you share the spoils of office before elections not  after elections. This is what  is  happening in APC. We warned our people, but they failed to listen.”

In the new politics of today’s APC, it is better to be the enemy of Bola Tinubu than to be his friend.  The enemies of Tinubu become Senate presidents; they become Speakers of the House of Representatives; they become ministers of the Federal government.  But the friends of Tinubu are sent to Siberia.

The Jagaban of Borgu himself has been slain politically upon his high places.  How are the mighty fallen!

Reps want FG to search for Chibok girls, others

The House of Representatives on Tuesday revisited the plight of the over 200 abducted schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State, in 2014, calling on the Federal Government to set up a situation/control room to search for the missing girls.

In a resolution passed on Tuesday, the House said the control room should be manned by a crack team of specialists drawn from the Department of State Services, the Police and the Armed Forces.

The resolution added that all Nigerians abducted by Boko Haram insurgents should also be rescued by the team to be so established.

The resolution followed a motion by the lawmaker representing Chibok in the House, Asabe Bashir.

Bashir’s motion partly read, “The House notes that the girls, as Nigerian citizens, deserve to have their right to life, freedom and dignity protected by the government of Nigeria.

“Concerned that there is no clear indication of any further efforts aimed at rescuing the abducted girls.”

The House urged that as part of efforts to find the girls and other abducted Nigerians, the government should offer “financial inducement” for any information that would be helpful in rescuing the victims.

It also noted that the report of the Presidential Fact-Finding Committee on the Chibok girls should be made public.

Similarly, the House asked for financial support for the families of the girls to “cushion the hardship and trauma the insurgents have brought upon them.”

Members also urged the government to “sponsor the education of at least one child” from the families of the abducted girls.

Reps tell ministry to absorb 176 NIS tragedy victims

The House of Representatives on Tuesday asked the Ministry of Interior to “immediately” comply with the presidential directive to employ the victims of the 2014 Nigerian Immigration Service recruitment stampede in order to put an end to the national embarrassment caused by the tragedy.

A three-man panel of the House headed by the Majority Leader, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, gave the directive in Abuja, asking the ministry to liaise with the Immigration/Prisons Service Board to ensure that the victims were absorbed into the NIS.

Other members of the panel are the Minority Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor; and former Chairman, House Committee on Judiciary, Mr. Aminu Shagari.

Fifteen job seekers had died nationwide during the stampede in March 2014, while 131 others sustained injuries.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan had directed that three members of the family of each dead victim should be given employment while those who sustained injuries among the job seekers should be offered automatic employment.

The NIS calculated the total number of the beneficiaries to be 176.

However, the presidential directive had not been complied with over one year after the incident, forcing the beneficiaries to protest to the National Assembly on Thursday last week.

It turned out that though some of the beneficiaries actually got letters of employment, the process was not formalised.

The House panel gave the directive on Tuesday after it heard “shocking” comments by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Interior, Mr. Abubakar Magaji, who claimed that the presidential directive was not backed by a “letter of approval.”

Speaking for the panel, Gbajabiamila expressed disbelief that a government agency would sit on a presidential directive on the excuse that it was waiting for another approval.

He said, “It is in your own interest to give effect to the presidential directive by employing the 176 beneficiaries immediately.

“Work out their salaries and include everything in your 2016 budget and forward to the House.

“We will withhold your 2016 budget if it comes without a provision for these 176 stampede victims. You are advised.”

Ogor also noted that the interior ministry, the board and the NIS should be “ashamed” of the national tragedy instead of allowing “unnecessary technicalities” to stall a presidential directive.

“All you are saying are technicalities; what happened that day was an embarrassment to the whole nation. This was an issue of an abnormal situation. There was a presidential directive, which was not obeyed,” the lawmaker said.

The permanent secretary had defended the non-compliance with the presidential directive on the grounds that there was no formal letter of approval from the former President to back the directive.

He claimed that the letters of employment being bandied by some of the victims were “ceremonial” and were only given out in the hope that they would be formalised by a “final approval” from the President.

“The letters issued were ceremonial; symbolic, but I asked the board to quickly follow it with a letter to Mr. President to formalise the appointments so that salaries can be processed for these people,” Magaji stated.

But, the House committee members disagreed with him, saying that it was taken for granted that there was a budget for the recruitment before the NIS embarked on it.

Gbajabiamila stated, “This thing is taking a whole new dimension. Don’t allow people go away with the impression that the original immigration recruitment was a scam.

“Where were you supposed to get salaries in the first place to pay those to be recruited?

“Why are you now saying that there should have been another presidential approval before you could process salaries for the 176 victims?”

But, Magaji stood his ground, arguing that having worked in the civil service for about 32 years, he knew there was no way the victims would get a salary without the presidential approval.

He explained that this was due to the fact that the case of the victims was handled by the Presidential Committee on Immigration stampede and not the board.

He added that in a situation where the function of the board was taken over by a committee, any recommendations of the presidential committee would revert to the President for approval before payments would be effected by the Budget Office of the Federation.

The House panel will report its findings and recommendations to the House on Thursday (tomorrow).

No plans to slash petrol price —NNPC

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has debunked claims that it is planning to slash the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise called petrol, to N57 per litre.

This was in reaction to social media reports of a reduction in current pump price of petrol from N87 per litre to N57.

Describing the reports as false, the corporation advised members of the public to ignore such tales, adding that the price of petrol remained N87 per litre.

In a related development, a major step towards ensuring zero fuel queues throughout the country ahead of the forthcoming Yuletide and beyond started on Monday with a meeting between the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, and members of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria and Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers’ Association at the NNPC Towers, Abuja.

At the end of the session, the NNPC and the key downstream operators reached a consensus to work together to eliminate all obstacles that could hamper the free flow of petroleum products across the country, a statement by the spokesperson for the NNPC, Mr. Ohi Alegbe, indicated.

Addressing the downstream stakeholders, Kachikwu was quoted as stating that the issue of uninterrupted supply and distribution of petroleum products across the country was of utmost importance to the present administration, noting that government was willing to do everything possible to ensure that members of the public did not go through any form of hardship in accessing petroleum products, particularly PMS.

On the protracted subject of outstanding payment to the oil marketers, he promised to work with other relevant Federal Government agencies to fast-track the payment of the debt, promising in the interim to arrange for a meeting with the relevant creditors to ease off pressure on the marketers and extend their credit lines.

He noted that several financing mechanisms were being explored to offset the commitment to the oil marketers, hinting at the possibility of exploring the monthly payment option.

“In the future, we may explore some creative means to prevent backlogs,” Kachikwu added.

The Secretary General, MOMAN, Mr. Femi Olawore, commended the GMD for his support and pledged the readiness of the marketers to work with the Federal Government in ensuring zero fuel scarcity across the nation during the forthcoming Yuletide and even beyond.

Olawore called on the NNPC boss to facilitate the constitution of a special committee to verify and authenticate the current national PMS consumption figure of 40 million litres per day.

Also, the Chairman of DAPPMA, Chief Dapo Abiodun, commended the NNPC for what he termed improved services at various PPMC product loading facilities and urged the new management of the company to sustain the tempo.