NNPC denies Kachikwu's sack

NNPC denies Kachikwu's sack
Unconfirmed reports have it that Minister for
Petroleum Dr Ibe Kachikwu has been
replaced as the GMD of NNPC.
According to Business Day in a tweet via
their official Twitter handle, his position has
been taken over by Maikanti Baru but he will
however retain his position as Minister of
State for petroleum.

NNPC denies Kachikwu’s sack
However, Premium Times reports that the
NNPC has described as “completely false”
the widely circulated report that Kachikwu,
has been relieved of his job by President
Muhammadu Buhari.
According to the report, the Minister of State
for Petroleum is still carrying out his duties
as assigned to him by the president.
Speaking to the media outfit in a telephone
interview, Garba-deen Mohammed, the group
general manager, public affairs division of
the NNPC, said the news is untrue.
Mohammed said : “The story is completely
false. It should be ignored by all Nigerians.
“The minister is currently in his office and has
continued to function in the roles assigned to
him by the president.”
A look on the website of the NNPC shows
that the bio-data and photograph of
Kachikwu still remains intact.

P-Square, Davido nominated for music AWARD


– P-Square and Davido have been
nominated alongside other African stars for
the 2016 Namibian music awards
– The Okoye brothers continue to shine
despite their public fall out in the early
months of the year
– With this comes further recognition for
Davido who is already flying high thanks to
his deal with Sony music
P-Square has been nominated for the 2016
Namibian Annual Music Awards alongside
Nigerian pop star Davido. This brings yet
another major recognition for Skelewu singer
Davido who is currently enjoying great global
recognition following his music deal with
Sony.
The Nigerian entertainers were nominated in
the category of Pan African Artiste of the
year alongside South African music stars
AKA and Heavy K as well as Zambian
musician Roberto.
P-Square and American rapper TI with whom
they collaborated on the Eje Ajo in 2014.
This comes as a major boost for the Okoye
brothers who have maintained dominance in
the news in the last few months as a result
of a lingering disagreement between them
and elder brother and manager Jude.
The full nominations list for the awards is as
follows:
Best Male Artist of the Year
Big Ben – Back To The Basics
Exit – Black is Boss
LMPC – Wish Me Luck
The Dogg – Respect My Hustle
Swart Baster – The Wait is Over
Valentino – Lava Since 94
Best Female Artist of the Year
Ann Singer – Bulletproof
Chikune – In With The New
Female Donkey – Pulling Up My Socks
Freeda – Chronicles
Sanet Lambrechts – Rooi Kalaharisand
Treasure – Koskola Hwepo
Best Duo/Group of the Year
Paradox – Catch 22
Stupet Jones & Denzo No Stress – Red Cupz
& Music
The Multi Talented – Closer To My Dreams
TKB – Kawe
Tswazis – Go Getter
Ramas,
Best Newcomer of the Year
3DB – Dreamz X Realities
Ann Singer – Bulletproof
Christopher The Grand – Let Me Go
LMPC – Wish Me Luck
Msunday & J.S – Real
Best Afrikaans
Christopher The Grand – Kuier
Sanet Lambrechts – Sonskyn en Heuning
S-Man – Dwall ft. Cinty
Tabakans – Die Hele Nag
Tiro – Gee My Jou Hart
Best Afro Pop (inclusive of Township Disco)
Ann Singer – Diminengepo
Big Ben – Omedi
Freeda – Mutjaka
Swart Baster – Tukale Hamo ft. Thommy
TKB – Chuchu ft. Tequla
Best Collaboration
Freeda – Lisigenge ft. Jericho
N.I.A – Better Dayz ft. Desmond
Paradox – Mr Well Done ft. Riky Rick
Shaeto – Fast Car ft. Lilfazi & Jeff A.D
Swart Baster – Tukale Hamo ft. Thommy
Best Damara Punch
Female Donkey – Choma
Georgie !Obogos – Maris ft. DIOP
Msunday & JS – Namibia To Dubai
Ome Backos – !Nae ra |gireb |guib am|ne-e
ra ho ft. Boli
Wiseman – Au Wise //Gau Khoena
Davido at a performance. Credit: Getty
Images/ Rollingstone
Best Gospel
D-Naff – Hallelujah ft. Taz
N.I.A – Heavenly Father ft. Ponti
Monica Mouton – Worship Heart
Sanet Lambrechts – Echo From The
Mountains
Satlam – Hallelujah Amen ft. Tequila
Best House
Makurunganga – Wakudhima
The Dogg – The Kings ft. Speedy
Tswazis – Xuro ft. Angelo
S-Man – Aunt Popie se Kind
Vuza – Mini Skirt
Best Kizomba
Christopher The Grand – Maria Nela
Dama Monique – Heena ft. Cellestino
Mentality & Cardo FB – First One
Best Kwaito
Dik Bones – I’m Still Rocking ft. Skelm
Exit – Omandjebele ft. Dicksampama
Sunny Boy – Permanent ft. The Dogg & Tate
Buti
The Dogg – Got It All
The Multi Talented – Kwaito Fan ft. Exit
Best Music Video
Freeda – Mojo
Gazza – Kuna M’kweni (Remix)
KK & Desmond – Already
Lize Ehlers – Everything Happens For A
Reason
The Dogg – The Kings
Best Song with a Message
Hilifia94 – Freedom Ain’t Free
KP Illest – No One’s Laughing
N.I.A – Better Dayz ft. Desmond
Ras Sheehama – Song For You
Sunny Boy – Enough Is Enough ft. Sally Boss
Madam
Best Oviritje
DIOP – Ondjona Otopa
Otjinate – Manjara
The Wire – Vuma The Wire
Triple ‘T’ – Maria
YPS – Ondadjile Ko Kule
Best RnB
3DB – I Got You
Ann Singer – Bulletproof
Chikune – Take It Slow
Kanibal – Double Life
LMPC – Too Much ft. Jaleel
Best Rap/Hip-Hop
Hilifa94 – Freedom Ain’t Free
KP Illest – No One’s Laughing
N.I.A – Better Dayz ft. Desmond
Stupet Jones & Denzo No Stress – Do That
Valentino – Take You Down ft. Shaeto
Best Reggae
3DB – Lomlikwe
Allex & Shyer – Through Thick n Thin
Freeda – Toxic Love ft. Araffath
Lando – The Lord is My Shepherd ft. Chikito
& Eddy Man
Ras Sheehama – Nakambalu Reggae


South African hip hop star Kiernan Forbes
also known as AKA
Best Shambo
Christmas – Oshambo
D-Naff – Hu Twaza ft. Christmas & Yashe
Tati Pii
Laviyalava – Makenyato
Treasure – Okokule
Vorticella – Farm Galo
Best Single
Doris – Kissing
Jaleel – Deuces
KK & Desmond – Already
Lize Ehlers – Hayiwena
VMSIX – Nowhere
Best Soukous/Kwasa
Ama-Daz-Floor – True Colour ft. Dama
Monique
Dama Monique – Give Me
DIOP – Batho Bame
Grootman – Omvula Ompe
Waka – Ileni ft. Newturn
Best Traditional
Bertholdt Mbinda – Ti Xuro ft. Boli Mootseng
& Loxer
Big Ben – Ovombo
Christmas – Omagumbo
Phono – Dậni-e
Swart Baster – Makongo ft. DR
Radio Song of the Year
Gazza – Oshimaliwa
The Dogg – Shuukifa Kwii
Oteya – Choma
Kalux – Ayeeko
Sally – Kukutika
Song of the Year
Gazza – Oshimaliwa (SOY1)
The Dogg – Shuukifa Kwii (SOY2)
Oteya – Choma (SOY3)
Kalux – Ayeeko (SOY4)
Sally – Kukutika (SOY5)
Pan African Artist of the Year
Davido – Nigeria (AAY1)
P-Square – Nigeria (AAY2)
Roberto – Zambia (AAY3)
AKA – South Africa ( AAY4)
Heavy K – South Africa (AAY5)
Best Live Performance of the Year
EES – Afrika Karibik Festival 2015 (BLP1)
Lize Ehlers – Windhoek Jazz Festival (BLP2)
Ras Sheehama – Lucky Dube Celebration
Concert (BLP3)
Tswazis – NAMA 2015 (BLP4)
VMSIX – VMSIX Acapella Evolution (BLP5)
Best Musical Event of the Year
Makurunganga – Katondo CD Launch
(BME1)
Ngutti Fruit – White Party (BME2)
Van Die Mooi Entertainment – Namibian
Celebrity Music Weekend: WashingtonDC
(BME3)
Radio DJ of The Year
Belinda Miss Bee Apollus (RDJ1)
Hishia Nashuuta (RDJ2)
Johannes Orr Joe The Prince (RDJ3)
Leizy Demaestro (RDJ4)
Taeni Real (RDJ5)

Entertainment Journalist of the Year
Mauritz Goaiseb (EJY1)
Rinelda Mouton (EJY2)
Selma Neshiko (EJY3)
Gordon Joseph (EJY4)
Best Album of the Year
Ann Singer – Bulletproof
Big Ben – Back to the Basics
Chikune – In With The New
Exit – Black is Boss
Freeda – Chronicles
The Namibian Annual Music Awards is an
opportunity to reward outstanding musicians,
both individuals and groups, in the continent
for the past year.
Now in its sixth year, the 2016 awards show
will hold on Friday, April 29 and Saturday,
April 30 at Ramatex Windhoek.

UNIZIK students make mini bus from local material

UNIZIK students make mini bus from local
material

Change call for innovation, and innovation leads
to progress - Li Keqiang, Chinese politician.
The time for Nigeria to look inwards is now. We
have all the resources, both human and material,
to be great.
To ensure that Nigeria is counted among
automobile manufacturers in the world, an
industrialist, Mr. Innocent Chukwuma, chairman
of Innoson Group of Companies, took a bold step
by investing in the Automobile sector. The
Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing (IVM) Company
has made Nigeria proud.
Today, they design and manufacture Hummer
buses, Waste vans, Luxury buses, Hilux vans,
Saloon cars, Jeeps and so on in Nigeria and by
Nigerians.
Engineering students
Following in Innoson’s footsteps, seven final-year
engineering students of Nnamdi Azikiwe
University, Awka, Anambra State, designed and
constructed a mini bus from scratch with locally
sourced materials made specially to suit
Nigeria’s topography and climatic condition.
“The bus was constructed from start to finish at
the University’s workshop, using all necessary
design software and Computer-Aided Design
(CAD) tools. We constructed the chassis, down
to every single part of the mini bus,” said
Callistus Ezeigwe, one of the seven.
The group, known as the Autozik Group, was
made up of six males and a female including
Callistus Ezeigwe, Victor Obinani, Ifeanyi
Ezeanolue, Ogbu Ikenna, Fidelis Ominigbo,
Nnamdi Nwobodo and Chinaza Okoro, was
supervised by the then Head of Mechanical
Engineering Department, Dr. C.H. Achebe.
“We made the mini bus using mere hand tools.
This means we did all of the constructions and
folding, with our hands, since the university could
not provide us with ground equipment, as used in
most automobile companies,” said Ezeugwu.
The mini bus which took about five months to
complete, has a beautiful finishing so that people
find it difficult to believe it was made in Nigeria.
Ezeigwe said the aim was to construct a mini
bus using locally sourced materials, which is
more durable and can better stand the test of
time, compared to other brands out there.
“We named it Autobully ,” said Obinani Victor,
explaining that the brand name, coined from the
normal bullion van, fits the shape of the mini
bus.
The challenge: There is no doubt that Nigeria has
talents but the challenge is how to tap harness
them for the good of the nation. These youths
have been able to achieve this feat with no help
from expatriates. They have shown some sense
of doggedness and proficiency and they must
not be allowed to be swept away by the tide of
brain drain.
Also in the same institution, five final-year
engineering students produced a Formula 1 car
(Racing car).
They appealed to the government to invest in
these youths and channel resources to the
Automobile sector as they seek to diversify the
economy. They also appealed to the public to
buy made in Nigeria products to grow the Naira.

The first African-American to appear on U.S. paper currency

Harriet Tubman becomes new
face of the $20
– Harriet Tubman, civil rights activist and
abolitionist, is the first African-American to
appear on U.S. paper currency
– She replaces former President Andrew
Jackson and becomes the new face of the
$20 bill

American abolitionist leader Harriet Tubman
(1820-1913) led many slaves to safety using
the abolitionist network known as the
Underground Railroad
Harriet Tubman is to grace the front of the
$20 bill, becoming the the first African-
American to appear on U.S. paper currency
and the first woman in more than a
century! The earth shattering news was
announced by U.S. Treasury Secretary
Jacob Lew on Wednesday, April 20.
He said: “We are putting a woman on the 20,
the 10, and the 5 and we are going to move as
quickly as we can get all of these bills out
there. With this decision, our currency will
now tell more of our story and reflect the
contributions of women as well as men to our
great democracy”
The $5 and $10 bills will also be redesigned
over the next four years, they would
feature renown suffragists, whose
movement gave women the right to
vote; the Lincoln Memorial depicting
crucisl historic events such as Martin Luther
King Jr.’s 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech and
other.
The front of the new $20 will bear the
portrait of Harriet Tubman, whose life
was dedicated to fighting for liberty.
pic.twitter.com/8lAEkoD78p
— Treasury Department (@USTreasury)
April 20, 2016
The new designs will start to go into effect
in 2020, however, when the new bills will
enter into circulation is unknown.
Harriet Tubman was an African-American
abolitionist, humanitarian, and a Union spy
during the American Civil War. Born a
slave Tubman escaped and subsequently
made some thirteen missions to rescue
approximately seventy enslaved families and
friends.
She is known for using the network of
antislavery activists and safe houses known
as the Underground Railroad. In the post-war
era was an active participant in the struggle
for women’s suffrage. After she died in 1913,
she became an icon of American courage
and freedom.

NFF Appoints Amodu Shuaibu as Super Eagles coach

NFF Appoints Amodu Shuaibu
as Super Eagles coach


– Amodu Shaibu has been drafted to take
over the Super Eagles coaching job
– He will lead a team of five to prosecute
two friendly games in May
Former Super Eagles handler Shuaibu Amodu
has been appointed the new interim coach
of the national team, the Nigeria Football
Federation (NFF) technical sub-committee
has announced.
Amodu Shuaibu
The new coaching crew which include Salisu
Ibrahim, Alloy Agu, Imama Amakapabo and
Kennedy Boboye will prepare the team for
the two international friendly games against
Mali and Luxembourg .
Samson Siasia and Emmanuel Amuneke who
were in charge before now have returned to
their categories as Dream Team VI and
national U-20 coaches respectively, but Alloy
Agu remains the goalkeeper trainer.
“Part of the recommendations we gave to the
executive committee of the federation is that
Amodu will supervise the technical crew to be
headed by the Salisu,” a source told
Leadership.
“We also recommended the drafting of two
league coaches into the crew and we went for
Rangers and Abia Warriors chief coaches, just
as we settled for Agu as the goalkeeper
trainer.
“We went for the two league coaches to
expose them with those two matches. I know
that Nigerians will ask why Siasia and Amunike
did not continue with the team, but we all
know that they are very much engaged and
committed with their teams.
“Our plans and expectations will be to provide
every help to Siasia to win the Olympic Games
trophy. The appointment will be for the two
friendly matches, after which we will continue
with the hiring of a substantive coach for the
team,” he added for
Amodu’s first test will be in May when
the Super Eagles take on the Eagles of Mali
and the national team of Luxembourg in two
international friendly matches in Europe in
the next FIFA window
The three-time African champions take on
Mali, ranked four places above them at 63,
at the Stade Robert Diochon in Rouen,
France on Friday, May 27, 2016.