Clay Richie

Ordinarily, the recent false publication on an online newspaper, 247ureports, alleging that Lamonde Hotel Staff receive salaries from Imo State Government, among other ruses, would have been treated with the levity that it deserves, but for the fact that a lie often repeated might well soon sound believable, even to the originator of the baseless tale.

Between January 2010 and August 2011, Lawal Olaniyi Babafemi traveled twice from Nigeria to Yemen to train with leaders of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, known as AQAP, U.S. prosecutors said in a statement.

President Jonathan finally answered the billion Naira question on whether or not he signed a one term agreement with Northern governors as claimed by Muazu Babangida Aliyu, the governor if Niger state and the Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum.

The New PDP chaired by Alhaji Baraje said it has received intelligence reports that the Presidency was putting finishing touches to what it calls “Operation Total Crackdown on G7 and their allies in the New PDP”, which is allegedly aimed at to arrest and incarcerate its leadership without charge.

President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor has said that Nigeria is facing a lot of trouble as a result of the human sacrifices and life cow sacrifices that has been made by leaders in the country.

President Goodluck Jonathan has said that the dreaded Boko Haram sect who in recent times have stepped up their killings especially in the northern part of the country cannot attack Abuja because of the security measures put in place by his administration

After carefully observing ongoing development in the crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and coming to the conclusion that President Goodluck Jonathan is not serious about reconciliation in the party, the Group of Seven Governors who broke away from the Peoples Democratic Party to form a splinter group called New PDP has reached a secret agreement with the opposition All Progressives Congress on the 2015 election.

The deadly war wages by Boko Haram against the Nigerian state continue last night in Yobe state, as scores of students of the Ccollege of Agriculture Gujba were killed in yet another attack by terrorist group.

Growing up, I was moulded by certain prejudices. I was conditioned to view different parts of Nigeria in stereotypical ways. However, a time came in my life when I began to question these inherited sentiments.

The Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, on Saturday raised the alarm over his safety and pleaded with President Goodluck Jonathan, to ensure that he is not killed.

President Goodluck Jonathan will on September 29 appear on another edition of the Presidential Media Chat and take questions on national issues. According to his spokesman, Reuben Abati, members of the public who have questions they would like the President to respond to on the programme may send them in via Twitter to @mediachatng1.

Only a dreamer will not appreciate the renewed vigour with which Igbo build bridges and work together to reposition themselves in global affairs. The new consciousness, which gains momentum by the day, is being driven by the emerging realities in our national life. Time has passed when Igbo used to sit on the fence and wait for things to happen naturally. Even Igbo elite (who used to be passive about the struggle for Igbo emancipation) are in agreement that the time has come for us to be more creative, daring (if need be) and persuasive in working for the actualization of the Igbo Project.

Fellow Africans, please forgive my lamentations today. I have more than enough reasons to behave like the Biblical Jeremiah at this moment. These troubled times have compelled me to retreat into my spiritual past to seek probable reasons and possible answers to the current despair that has forebodingly engulfed us all. The world seems to be in turmoil. Even if we are yet to witness a Third World War, the world seems to be at war with itself.

The crisis in Rivers State, caused by the battle for supremacy between the state governor, Rotimi Amaechi and the state Commissioner of Police, Mbu Joseph Mbu, took a dramatic turn yesterday as the labour organizations in the state have laid down a deadline for the removal or redeployment of the Commissioner of Police.

I’m glad that the siege is now finally over. And I pray that the souls of those who were killed may rest in peace. Amen. That said, during the whole siege (which started on Saturday), I saw so many tweets and Instagram posts from my fellow Nigerians being all shocked about what happened in Kenya. Even celebrities are on social media expressing utter shock about Kenya.  People are saying things like, “Oh, how could this happen? ….” and “Please pray for Kenya …” and “I can’t believe what is happening in Kenya” … “I am shocked at Kenya” … “Na wa o, wonders shall never end” … “How did the gun men enter the mall?” … “I can’t believe all these people died” …  What ….?!?!?!

Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has said that the late Ghanaian diplomat and poet, Kofi Awoonor and himself could have been together at the Storymoja/Hay Literature Festival held in Nairobi, Kenya.

Contrary to optimistic reports that it might soon come to an end, the management of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has said that the academic strike, which it embarked on 89 days ago, will continue.

I feel happy to be among you this evening. It is always a delight for me to interact with an audience like this – professional ladies and gentlemen striving to make our land a better one. This is a significant place for me to deliver a talk like this especially as part of the activities to mark the 53rd anniversary of our independence.

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Well, I appreciate very much the opportunity to meet once again with President Jonathan and his delegation.  Obviously, Nigeria is one of the most powerful and fastest-growing countries in the world.  I think that's testified by the fact that President Jonathan is going to have the opportunity to ring the bell at the New York Stock Exchange.  (Laughter.)  I think it signifies how important Nigeria is becoming in the global economy.

Men of the Rivers State Police Command yesterday tear-gassed and disperse about 13,000 primary and secondary school teachers newly recruited by the Rivers State government, accusing them of planning to hold a demonstration against President Goodluck Jonathan.

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) on Thursday offered an unreserved apology for the misunderstanding generated by the alleged deportation of some destitutes to Onitsha, Anambra State.

An estimated 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil was stolen from pipelines in the Niger Delta in the first quarter of this year, the report by London-based Chatham House said, not including the unknown quantities stolen from export terminals.

The reality of an exponentially growing global population has over the decades mounted severe pressure on social amenities and public infrastructures, and education being the fundamental foundation of any enviable social development has also being affected by this sad reality.

The leader of Boko Haram, Sheik Imam Abubakar Shekau who had been declared dead by Nigerian military on August 19th 2013 has just appeared in a new video, saying he is alive and shame to Nigerian government and the military.

Kelvin Ibruvwe, the Niger Delta’s most wanted kidnap kingpin and leader of the Liberation Movement for the Urhobo People (LIMUP), he has been arrested today in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State.

The President of the 68th Session of the General Assembly; Heads of State and Government; The Secretary-General; Distinguished Delegates; Ladies and Gentlemen Mr President,

The world of terror as it seems, has no borders and Nigeria is an unwilling player. No thanks to the Boko Haram insurgency, Nigeria is now prominently placed among the league of countries troubled by agents of death.

There is a lot of irritating noise coming especially from the North-West concerning the need for the presidency to return to the North in 2015.  This should be discarded as sound and fury signifying nothing.

There’s this apocryphal story that a friend of mine, an exiled Zimbabwean writer, told me a few years ago. It went like this. President Robert Mugabe had sent one of his ministers to represent him at an important state function in Japan, to which other leaders from different countries were also invited. On the day of the event, Mr. Mugabe’s representative was beset by a monstrous, migraine-grade headache. There was a danger that he would not be able to attend the event.

The Federal Government has reduced public spending on oil subsidy payments from N2.2 trillion in 2012 to N971 billion last year.

Dear President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, PhD, GCFR: Welcome to America, Mr. President. I’m glad you are not just in America but you are, as we say here in Brooklyn, in my neck of the woods.

Despite the heavy presence of security men at the premises of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) following the students' plan to protest the lingering industrial action embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Tuesday, the students have insisted that they will proceed with their demonstration regardless of the development.

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday urged United States President Barack Obama to help to “fix Nigeria.” “For you to fix the world, you must fix Africa. For you to fix Africa, you must fix Nigeria,” Dr. Jonathan told his American counterpart.

LAGOS, Nigeria — Last month, we Nigerians received some startling news from the army: Abubakar Shekau, the leader of the militant Islamist group Boko Haram, which has killed some 3,000 people in northern Nigeria over the last four years, “might have died.”

Driving around Port Harcourt city in the evening can be quite enjoyable. With an impressive new set of macadamised roads and bright street lights, one will freely explore the garden city even at dusk. However some of the streets could become unusually lonely especially when you turn off from the Aba road end into the old Government Reserved Area (GRA)

Nairobi, Kenya (CNN) -- Sixty-eight dead. At least 175 injured. About 30 hostages still inside, as well as perhaps a dozen gunmen. Those are the grim numbers, more than a day after Islamist attackers stormed an upscale Nairobi mall on Saturday, spraying bullets and holding shoppers captive.

THE Kawu Baraje-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has withdrawn its earlier allegations and condemnation of purported withdrawal of diplomatic passports of leaders and members of the National Assembly, admitting that there is no truth in the said report.

It is not every day you get driven by a billionaire. I had to enjoy the moment as Forbes’ Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, got behind the wheels last Sunday. We were heading for Victoria Island from Ikoyi, Lagos State, for a briefing on his proposed refinery. He was wearing a simple short-sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans, too simple for the wealthiest black man. I could not but ask him: “So you drive yourself?” He said, “Mostly at weekends.” He even had a story to tell me: “There was a day I was driving and the traffic lights stopped me. Some guy looked out of his car and saw me. He appeared surprised. He asked, ‘So you know how to drive?’ I simply laughed. Why would I not know how to drive?!” I teamed up with him to laugh it off.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is accusing President Goodluck Jonathan’s aides of aborting his meeting with the President to mend the crack in their Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

The second term ambition of President Goodluck Jonathan which has been dogged in several controversies and has heated up the polity in recent times may effectively commenced on October 19 as the Presidency and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has concluded plans to stage a rally on that day in Abuja.

Fellow Nigerians, you will all agree with me that the only business of politicians in Nigeria is about winning elections, by hook and by crook, in order to settle down pretty to the business of unprecedented looting and wasting of the people’s commonwealth and resources. The biggest scam in the land is the unproductive governance that makes it possible for a certified and certificated pauper of

He probably had little reason to take the challenging path of fighting the establishment, given the comport and conditions around the country’s governors. But not Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State who was nurtured in the Aminu Kano political culture of using political power to fight for the masses.

The Department of State Services has said that the killing that took place at an uncompleted building behind the National Assembly quarters in Abuja was the outcome of the exchange of fire between Boko Haram fighters and security force.

Barely two months after he stepped down for Senator Chris Ngige for the governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chairman/Campaign Coordinator of the National Campaign Committee for Anambra State Governorship election, Senator Annie Okonkwo on Thursday resigned his appointment.

Being called a politician or seen to have close ties with one is arguably the worst thing you can have on your professional résumé. As a digital strategist, the last category of clients I mention when discussing what I do are the politicians I work for. In fact, being the social media manager for a presidential candidate in the 2011 elections casted a shadow over a job interview I attended two years ago. How do you convince your would-be employers that you are honest and hardworking when you just tried to enter a sector famous for lies and profound laziness?

Mr Jeffery Hawkins, U.S. Consul-General, on Thursday, gave reasons why Nigeria was banned from participating in its 2015 Diversity-Visa-Programme registration.

A Federal Capital Territory high court has thrown out a suit filed by Lagos State governor, Raji Fashola, against Plateau Governor, Jonah Jang, challenging his election as Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF.

The Nigerian Senate, Wednesday, brushed aside public discontent with a secret federal internet and phone spy program, and gave an early approval to a legislation seeking to empower authorities to intercept electronic communications between, and from Nigerians.

Former governor of Delta state, James Ibori, now serving time in a British jail has opened up about his shares in Oando, Nigeria’s biggest indigenous oil company. In a leaked private conversation with one of his former aides in London, the convict insisted he only has 443 shares in the company and he wonders why the public was being told something else.

HIDING behind the threats of terrorism, armed robbery, kidnapping and other crimes, government officials are competing fiercely to heap bureaucratic and financial burdens on the public in the guise of combating insecurity. The latest assault is coming from the Inspector-General of Police, Muhammed Abubakar, who has decreed a biometric data capture of all Nigerians who own vehicles. He conveniently forgets, or pretends to forget, that he is merely duplicating what the Federal Road Safety Commission and the states are already doing through the issuance of new driving licences and vehicle plate numbers. The questionable scheme should be stopped.