Nigeria2015 Transition: History is made as Buhari Takes Over

Following his victory at the recent Presidential election, Muhammadu Buhari would be sworn in as Nigeria’s president today.

He is taking over from Goodluck Jonathan who has led the country since the death of Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2010.

His swearing-in makes history as Nigeria’s first switch of power from a ruling party to an opposition.

Mr. Jonathan’s Peoples Democratic Party has ruled Nigeria since 1999 when the country returned to democracy. Mr. Buhari belongs to the All Progressives Congress.

It will also be Mr. Buhari’s second time ruling Nigeria. He seized power through a military coup in 1983 but was toppled by another coup in 1985.

Our reporters are at the venue of the event and will bring you live updates and details from the venue of the ceremony.

11.17

An APC Camel is also attending the swearing in ceremony.

11.11

President Muhammadu is now releasing white pigeons and balloons.

This would be followed by a 21 Gun salute. Guests at the square have been advised not to panick. Meanwhilethe crowd outside continue to chant Said Baba

11.04

Crowd outside the Eagle Square after overpowering security agents.

11.01

As Goodluck Jonathan and Sambo prepare to depart Eagle Square the thousands of youth gathered near the Federal Secretariat. They overpowered the security and have made their way to the square.

They have however chosen to stand behind the fence to watch proceedings.

10.55

Nigeria has successfully transitioned. Muhammadu Buahri and Yemi Osinbajo are now officially the President and Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Their starts from Now. They will be in charge for the next four years.

10.51

Muhamadu Buhari has been sworn in as the new President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He was sworn in at exactly 10:46am on Friday May 29, 2015.  

10.49

Now is the turn of Muhammad Buhari to be sworn in as President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces for the second time in his life.

Outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan has now been invited to the podium and is joined by the President elect Muhammadu Buhari as the Eagles Square erupt in jubilation and rounds of applause by the audience.

Buhari's wife Aisha, also joined the party.

10.41

After signing the dotted lines, Osinbanjo is now the Vice President of Nigeria.

10.38

First to be sworn in is Vice President Yemi Osinbanjo. He was escorted to the podium by his wife. He has already taken his oath of office and that of allegiance.

10.36

The Chief Registrar was the first to mount the stage after which he invited the CJN to join him as they prepare the documents for administering oaths on the President and Vice President.

10.33

The CJN Mahmud Mohammed and Chief Registrar Ahmed Saleh have now been called to take their positions to perform the swearing-in of President Buhari and his Vice, Osinbajo.

10.30

Opening prayers are now being offered by FCT Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria, Rev. Peter Akanji, on behalf of CAN president Ayo Oritsejafor.  The deputy Chief Imam of the national Mosque,  Ibrahim Bakari, offered the Muslim prayer.

Swearing in is next.

10.24

Yobe

Delegations from Niger Republic, China and Republic of Korea (South) formed the large number of guests that are witnessing the ongoing swearing in of Yobe state governor Ibrahim Gaidam in Damaturu the state capital.

Gaidam is being sworn in for the second time after his first election in 2011.

Outgoing Yobe Governor, Ibrahim Gaidam, on a ride while inspecting the military parade.

10.20

President Goodluck Jonathan has finally  arrived at the Eagles Square. Any moment from now Messrs. Buhari and Osinbajo would be sworn in.

10.20

Bayelsa

In the streets of Yenagoa, there is no visible evidence that Mr. Jonathan would be returning to his home state - no flagpost banners along major roads and no billboards by political support groups.

However, at the venue of the reception, opposite the Bayelsa State Government House, hundreds of women have already gathered.

10.06

Muhammadu Buhari is yet to take his seat as he is going round the state box to greet  guests.

09.53

Bayelsa

Unlike many states across Nigeria, there is no handover ceremony in Bayelsa State, but the outgoing President, Goodluck Jonathan, will be hosted to a civic reception in Yenagoa, the state capital.

Mr. Jonathan will first be received at Government House Helipad, Yenagoa, by Governor Seriake Dickson and top government officials, followed by the civil reception at the Gabriel Okara Cultural Centre.

The President will then proceed to his hometown in Otuoke where he will be received by Chiefs and his kinsmen.

PREMIUM will be bringing you live updates of Mr. Jonathan's reception events from Yenagoa and Otuoke.

09.52

President elect Muhammad Buhari arrived Eagles Square at exactly 9:40 a.m. the time of his arrival as stated in the programme of events.

09.42

Outgoing Vice President Namadi just arrived and is already standing on the stage ready to take salute but the musician at the other stage is not aware and kept singing.

09.30

Theodore Nguema,  Equatorial Guinea president arriving Eagle Square for the inauguration.

08.58

After all dignitaries arrive the Eagle Square, events proper will begin with an opening prayer by 9:55 am after which the swearing in ceremony will take place by 10am.

The swearing in ceremony would be conducted by the Chief Justice of Nigeria to be assisted by the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court.

The Vice President would be the first to be sworn in to be followed by the President.

Shortly after the outgoing president would congratulate the president and present copies of the Nigerian Constitution, The National and Armed Forces Flag to the incoming president.

After the presentation of the instruments, green and white balloons white pigeons will be released, followed by a 21 Gun salute.

After the salute, the former president and his vice would depart Eagles Square at about 10:55am.

As soon as they leave, the new president would inspect the parade and then read his inaugural address.

Closing prayer would be offered by 12:10pm and all guests would depart to the presidential villa for a luncheon scheduled for 1pm

08.38

The combined armed forces and police band is currently entertaining the gathering as more dignitaries enter the venue.

We observed that the security and logistics arrangements put in place is one of the best we've seen at government events in recent times.

07.37

Family members of Buhari and Osinbajo.

07.07

The traditional presidential inauguration Mercedes Benz arrive.

07.03

The combined band consisting of the Army, Police and others have just walked into the Eagles Square and are setting up their instrument. Military high capacity buses have also brought in Soldiers, Police, Navy and Airforce personnel who will carry out the inauguration parade.

Ushers are also here and are being assigned their assignment posts by planning officials on ground.

Based on the arrangements made by the inauguration committee, all guests attending the event have been directed to park their vehicles at the old parade ground in Area 10,  Garki, the parking lot at Ministry of Justice in Central Area and parking lots of The Transcorp Hilton and Sheraton Hotels.

Buses have been provided to convey the guests from these spots to the Eagles Square.

Immediately after the new President and his Vice are sworn in, guests would be transported to the banquet hall of the State House for a luncheon at 1pm.

07.00

Security is tight in and around the vicinity of the Eagles Square. At the moment there are well over a thousand security personnel involving Soldiers, SSS, Polce, NSCDC, and many others.

Apart from the pavilions in the square, additional canopies and tents were provided both inside the main square and directly behind the grand stand.

Also large screen panels have been erected in and around the square so that guests can follow the event from wherever they are seated.

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Mario Balotelli- Striker dispels Liverpool exit reports

Italy striker Mario Balotelli will not leave Liverpool this summer, according to his agent Mino Raiola.

Balotelli joined Liverpool from AC Milan for £16m in August 2014 but has only scored one Premier League goal in his first season at Anfield.

It has been reported the 24-year-old is a player the Reds want to move on. 

When asked if Balotelli would leave the Merseyside club in the summer, Raiola told Sky Sports: "No. We had talks with Liverpool and he will definitely stay."

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said in January that Balotelli had to work harder in training and adapt to the club's methods.

"I think Mario did adapt," Raiola added. "I can't talk about Brendan Rodgers, obviously that is something for Brendan, but I think Mario did.

"I have spoken at various times to the club and they were happy with his input and professionalism.

"Obviously we have to improve the performance but I am really confident that will happen this year."

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President takes Buhari on tour of Aso Rock [PHOTOS]

The Presidential tour was arranged as part of activities for Buhari’s inauguration tomorrow.

President Goodluck Jonathan has taken President-elect,Muhammadu Buhari on a tour of Aso Rock.

The Presidential tour was arranged as part of activities for Buhari’s inauguration tomorrow.

Vice President-elect, Yemi Osinbajo will also be taken on a tour by Vice President, Namadi Sambo.

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Open Heavens May 23, 2015

May 23, 2015: Saturday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Don’t Be Careless

Topic: Don’t Be Careless [Saturday May 23, 2015]
    Memorise: Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. - Matthew 24:42

Read: Matthew 24:37-44 (KJV)

37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark,

39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.

44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

Bible in One Year: 2 Samuel 12:24-13:39, Mark 13:3-23

MESSAGE:

While some commandments of God are very glaring, some others appear in covert mode, such that many don’t even see them as commandments. One of such subtle commandments is the commandment to “watch” (Matthew 24:42). This commandment can also be expressed this way: don’t be careless. It is unfortunate that many children of God today are careless about their Christian life, and by so doing, they have shipwrecked their faith. They live their lives as if they have nothing to lose to the enemy. Such Christians need to be reminded that they have at least one crown to protect – the crown of righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8).

The Lord in Revelation 3:11 says this to us:

    “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.”

Our Lord Jesus Christ expressly commanded us to watch. Have you pondered on why He gave us this command? It is because He knew He would not be coming back as quickly as we would expect, and that there would therefore be the tendency for us to become careless with respect to our readiness for His return.

We are all living witnesses of the spiritual decadence that is enveloping the Church today. The Lord used the experience of Noah’s period to warn us that His coming will be sudden. He said it will be business as usual for most people at this time, and they will have no inkling whatsoever of what is about to happen (Matthew 24:37-39).

When I see Christian brothers and sisters being careless about holiness, I begin to wonder whether they still believe the words of the scriptures, particularly those that came directly from the mouth of our Lord Himself. Different scriptures are being fulfilled in our time more than ever before, and so many seem not to bother!

In the early days of spiritual awakening, some Christians would not even want to marry in order to avoid the cares of this life. But these days, even some pastors are changing two, three or four women in rapid succession. It used to be that Christians dressed for the purpose of covering their nakedness, but today, we dress for “fashion”. Some Christian women even compete with call girls in their mode of dressing. This scenario playing itself out may be as a result of the “delay” in the return of our Lord. Yet, the scripture has already warned us against this in Matthew 24:43-44:

    “But know this, that if the Goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”

Prayer Point: Dear Holy Spirit, as promised by the Lord Jesus, always bring to my remembrance the need to watch and not be careless in the area of my readiness for the Lord’s return.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.

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Paul Pogba will reject Real Madrid and join Barcelona if transfer embargo is lifted

Paul Pogba wants to win titles alongside Lionel Messi at Barcelona

Catalan giants want to sign French star once transfer embargo is lifted

Pogba will snub Real Madrid and PSG advances to join La Liga champions

The front-page reads: 'Pogba: Yes to Barca', with the former Manchester United man distancing himself from Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, who reportedly have now ruled themselves out of the running for the coveted star.

Barcelona face Juventus in the Champions League final in Berlin next month, which will provide the player's agent, Mino Raiola, with the perfect opportunity to hold talks with the Barcelona hierarchy.

Sport report that Pogba would like to wait until after this mouth-watering fixture to discuss his future, but Barcelona may need to hold off until the summer of 2016 to prise him away from the Serie A champions due to their ongoing transfer sanction from FIFA.

The Spanish daily cite that a deal between the two sides would be facilitated with greater ease in 12 months' time, with Juventus said to be holding out for at least £60million.

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OPEN LETTER TO MALLAM SHEKAU: PLEASE GIVE BUHARI A CHANCE

Dear Malam Abubakar Shekau alias alias Darul Akeem wa Zamunda Tawhee
I chose to address this letter to you in English because of my poor knowledge of that your lingua franca, that means 'ba Hausa'. I know you may feel slighted that it is openly published rather than being confidentially sent to you. Again pardon me for that; you see I attempted to search and know which part of Sambisa forest you are residing, of which I would have sent the letter, but I was told your fellow patriots have rendered that part of the country incommunicado for postal agencies and other such support services. Of course I would have asked any of your brothers here to interpret for me; again this will dilute the message and possibly negate the essence of its confidentiality.
Sir, less I forget my ethics may I extend my best wishes to you , your wife(or wives) and children. I wish them peace, security and the best in life. As you know, so many families in Nigeria, especially in Chibok and other towns in the North East have not enjoyed this luxury for some years now.
I want to use this opportunity to remind you that among other things you had a communication barrier with the outgoing President Dr Goodluck Jonathan, most likely because he (like most of us) did not understand your language, and in line with your ideology, you never see English as a vehicle of communication.
Throughout the last couple of years, so many families especially in that your part of Nigeria have been rendered fatherless, motherless or child(ren)less, brotherless and sisterless, no thanks to your heroic exploits. Till date, we are aware that your authority on an issue has outweight that of other recognized authorities. It is assumed that even security agencies allegedly tremble at signals of your approach, and the near helpless citizens prostrate before you. Your voice is a command, while our soldiers' ego has been seriously deflected. I remember reading this line in an article by a colleague, “ if Boko Haram sends a threat letter to a church that they will strike on a particular Sunday, and the military tells to church to go ahead with their worship service because they've got everything under control, whose opinion will be respected by the church members?” The feeble response of the  superior federal might has not been able to put an end to your activities.
Sir, I don't know how up to date you are with developments in the country, but as a refresher, the elections in the country were held on March 28 and April 11. What this means is that our patriot and former head of state, General Muhammadu Buhari has been elected as the new President and will be sworn in on May 29, 2015. This means that a man who had been previously suggested to broker peace between you and the federal government, is now at the helms of affairs. As a consequence, you now have a man who understands your plight, shares in your history and speaks your language. That brings me to the crux of my treatise. You have had several uproars bordering on your belief and ideology.
I am not among those who have bought into the assumption that your upheaval was because you hated President Jonathan, or that you were sponsored to foment instability and insecurity. Because if you hated the President or his people, you would have at least made an attempt to attack him. You never did, neither did your attack get to people in this part (Southern) of the country. It was either Chibok, Mubi or some towns in Borno and Yobe States. That to me was a show of patriotism, a belief that 'charity' begins at home.Ete Shekau, I know that of recent, there has been a further intensity in the chase on you and your battalions by the federal and allied troupes. So you may not have the time to read the dailies or watch the news on tvs. I am sure like many others that until otherwise proven, I have no time to waste in believing that you have been threatened by the so-called clean up in the Sambisa Forest. To me, the war against you and your men is far more than relying on the feedback we get from the military mouth organ.
I know you are a man of many parts and obviously not given to long essays. Let me drive the nail straight on the head, please sir, it's high time you sheathe your sword and give peace a chance. I have heard many interpretations on your demands, prominent of which is the allegation that your sect is seeking the abolition of western education in accordance with the wish of Allah. Well, for your information, the new president who you allegedly have huge sympathy, has acquired formal education and that's what has stood him out from his contemporaries whose only literacy is in understanding the language of their cattle. I don't have a fair knowledge of what actually is contained in your holy book about education, but I am sure President-elect Buhari does. Please, bury your hatchet and allow Buhari to hit the ground running with a bang. He understands your problem, and if you are able to convince him, I am sure he will accede to your demands and ban all forms of western education in the country.
You will agree with me O ye Shekau that the last four years have rather been hectic for you and you foot soldiers, and there has been enough blood spillage on the land, enough to drown a community. What this means is that your governors, local government chairmen and even the federal government, are unable to execute projects in your areas for fear of insecurity. The money meant for taking care of the populace is frittered away to tackle insecurity, while the western part of the country, the east and Southern part of the country are a beehive of new life-enhancement projects, day after day. As it stands, you have, or your activities have reduced the life expectancy rate of your people by more than 70%. Yet your aims have not been achieved.
That reminds me Malam Sheks, will you still say that those young girls that you guys seized, sorry invited into the forest did not become a burden to you after they had succumbed to malnourishment and infections? Do you know that by destroying these young girls, your male children may have lost a chance of finding soulmates? Is it not time you make haste to release the much talked about Chibok school girls or whatever of them you have remained to go home after the mandatory one year internship programme in your camp? Now that Buhari is assuming office, it will be in your interest to encourage him to use this opportunity to correct all the 'injustices' that were inflicted on the North by successive military rulers most of who came from the north and who for 28 years failed to change the story of the people of the North positively. He is not a magician and so don't expect a miracle from him. If per chance(Allah forbid), he is unable to proffer solutions to all your desires in the next four years, then we still have IBB waiting in the wings to continue in 2019, while Abdulsalami Abubakar can return to complete his turn in 2023. So sir there is no cause for alarm as yet. Did I hear you say you want Amunesufee, no they call it amnesty

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Mourinho: Fabregas' red card was bizarre.

The Blues boss only discovered in the post-match press conference that his midfielder faces a three-game ban, and says a "top, stable" referee would have reacted differently

 Jose Mourinho says it was bizarre to see Cesc Fabregas sent off after the midfielder kicked the ball at Chris Brunt's head during Chelsea's 3-0 defeat at West Brom.

A mass brawl, sparked when Diego Costa clashed with Gareth McAuley off the ball, ended with Fabregas being dismissed by referee Mike Jones when he smashed the ball towards a group of Baggies players and hit Brunt.

Darren Fletcher raced over to remonstrate with the Spain midfielder and pushed him, and Mourinho believes the former Manchester United man was more deserving of red card than Fabregas.

Asked whether he had ever seen a red card like it, Mourinho replied: "No, and I would like to see it again because what is this for a sending off? Where is the danger of the situation? Where is the aggression in the situation? To get a red card in a friendly game almost, I really don’t understand it.

"I think Fletcher was aggressive yes, he pushed him in the chest, yes, because he is experienced and knows where he can push for a yellow card but it was much more aggressive than what Fabregas did.

"A top referee with a big personality and in control of the game goes there and says two or three words, pulls their ears and it’s done. It’s a bizarre red card."

Mourinho was also incredulous to discover that Fabregas faces a three-match ban for violent conduct, which will rule him out of the first two matches of next season.

When the severity of the suspension was put to Mourinho, he said: "A three game ban for this? Jesus Christ! Three game ban for this. Of course it’s harsh!

"Why does he have to explain anything? I haven't spoken with him yet but he doesn’t need to explain it."

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ZTE to launch Nubia line of smartphones in India on 19 May

#ZTE Nubia

Phone maker ZTE is the latest Chinese company to launch a new line of smartphones in India come 19 May. ZTE is expected to launch the Nubia line of smartphones with either the Z9 or the Z9 mini. The phones will be sold exclusively on Amazon and ZTE has also put a placeholder on the ecommerce site.
ZTE had launched the Nubia Z9 in Beijing on May 6 and it is rumoured to be its first launch (from the Nubia line) in India. There are no concrete details regarding the model number as the Amazon page just has a ‘Nubia Unlimit Yourself’ tagline beside a picture of the lower half of the phone. The ad claims that the Nubia phone comes with an SLR camera, which frankly sounds quite misleading.
Going by the specs, the Nubia Z9 sports a 5.2-inch full HD display and there are no bezels on the sides of the phone. The phone makes use of the Frame Interactive Technology (FIT) which allows you to control the phone by touching the edge of the screen.
It supports a dual nano SIM configuration. The Nubia Z9 houses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 SoC with Adreno 430 GPU and 3GB of RAM. There’s a 16MP rear camera and an 8MP front-facing camera. On the battery front, you get a 2,900 mAh battery.
Its will be made available in three variants – Classic edition with 3GB RAM and 32GB onboard storage priced at 3499 Yuan (approx. Rs 36,100), Elite Edition with 4GB RAM and 64GB onboard storage priced at Yuan 3999 (approx Rs 41,200) and the most premium top edition with 4GB RAM and fingerprint recognition at 4499 Yuan (approx Rs 46,400).
The price points put the phone in the premium segment for sure. But it isn’t confirmed if this indeed will be the phone at launch. On May 18, another Chinese phonemaker Meizu, is expected to launch its device in India.
There is no information on what device will be launched as such. But back in March, Meizu’s India Facebook page had the m1 Note FHD smartphone on the cover, so it seems most likely that this phone that will first make it to the India market.
In terms of specifications, the Meizu m1 Note sports a 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 pixel display covered by Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. It comes powered by a MediaTek MT6752 SoC with an octa-core Cortex A53 cores along with 2GB of RAM. The m1 Note runs Android 4.4.4 KitKat atop which it has its proprietary Flyme 4 skin. On the camera front, you get a 13MP rear camera with LED flash and a 5MP front-facing camera. There is a 3,140 mAh battery under the hood.
On the connectivity front, you have LTE, 802.11 b/g/n, GPS/A-GPS, GLONASS, microUSB and Bluetooth 4.0.
The Meizu m1 Note is priced at around $220 which comes to around Rs 13,800 which seems like a decent price point. However, this is just a speculation at the moment. With Meizu, India will have one more Chinese smartphone brand after players such as Oppo, Xiaomi, Lenovo and Huawei.

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