Nigeria’s power generation drops to 2,800MW

Nigeria’s total electricity generation has dropped to a meagre 2,800 Megawatts, the lowest in nearly a year, as Nigerians struggle with mini-heat waves due to rising temperature.

The Ministry of Power said Thursday that power output dropped from a recent peak of 4,500MW on April 3, to 2,800 as of March 30.

Godknows Igali, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry blamed the huge cut on “vandalism of gas pipelines”.

Mr. Igali spoke at a meeting with the Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Ade Abolurin, where he called for increased protection of Nigeria’s power infrastructure.

He said the affected pipeline is the Escravos route.

“As at April 3, which is the nearest reference point for us, we were able to generate about 4,500MW on the grid, but as at this morning we had gone down to about 2,800MW.

“So you can see how much power we have lost as a result of vandalism, that is why power supply has become very bad all over the country because of these strange Nigerians that continue to deliberately blow up our gas pipelines,” Mr. Igali said.

All Nigerian cities, including the capital Abuja and Lagos, have witnessed one of the worst electricity supplies in recent years, with power available for less than five hours a day in many areas.

The supply has dropped even more in the last weeks as many Nigerians struggle with rising temperatures.

The permanent secretary decried the activities of the vandals and described their action as national economic sabotage.

He said the ministry of power was working more closely with the security agencies, especially the NSCDC to adequately protect power infrastructure across the country.

Mr. Igali said the damaged pipelines were being repaired to boost power generation and distribution across the country.

Earlier, the Civil Defence boss, Mr. Abolurin, who strongly condemned the activities of the vandals, said personnel were working to curtail the menace of pipeline vandalism in the country.

He said the NSCDC had acquired more vehicles, boats and gadgets to aid its operations, especially in the Niger Delta region.

Mr. Abolurin said in 2015, about 50 culprits have already been convicted by the law courts while several others had been arrested and awaiting prosecution.

He said the NSCDC would not relent in his effort to ensure adequate security and protection of critical power infrastructure across the country in line with its mandate.

The NSCDC chief also appealed to the private investors operating the power infrastructure to make their own provisions for security to compliment government’s effort.

Learnt from Premiumtimesng

Mo’Cheddah, Stephanie Coker, Noble Igwe, Toke Makinwa & More Attend the Wana Sambo Store Launch

Wana Sambo & Eva Alordiah

One of the fab events held over the weekend was the store launch of Nigerian womenswear brand, Wana Sambo and the official release of its Resort 2015 collection titled ‘Modern Elegance’.

The event was attended by Toke Makinwa, Mo Cheddah, Eva Alordiah, Stephanie Coker, Vimbai Mutinhiri, Latasha Ngwube, Ezinne Akudo, Maria Okarende, Theodora “Doranne beauty” Mogo, Sika Osei, Andrea Manuela Giaccaglia, Zina Anumudu, Noble Igwe,Tracy Nwakpa , Sinem Bilen-Onabanjo, Suby Onabanjo and many more.

Guests got an opportunity to shop fab pieces from the collections while sipping on Cointreau Fizz cocktails including the Classic Cointreau Fizz, Strawberry Mint & Cucumber Basil by Cointreau, treated to delectable sweets from Cake Poptastic and finger food from Cafe de Viande.

The Wana Sambo doors are officially open!!

Store Location: No. 24 Fola Osibo Street, Lekki phase 1, Lagos, Nigeria.

Contact number: +234 (0) 815 313 1533

Instagram: @WanaSambo

Website: www.wanasambo.com

Check out the photos from the event!

Learnt from BN

Fuel Scarcity: Marketers Yet to Receive Payment from FG | Vow to Continue Strike Until Money Arrives

On Thursday, it was reported that the federal government promised to pay oil marketers N156 billion as arrears of their subsidy claims.

However, Executive Secretary, Depot & Petroleum Products Marketers Association(DAPPMA), Odufemi Adewole, told Premium Times that marketers are yet to receive any money from the government, and as a result, the strike would continue until the money is received.

“The money government said it was paying to marketers has not yet hit our accounts. So, there is little we can do about the situation. The money the Minister of Finance promised to pay us last February did not get into our hands till about four or five weeks later. If all members are not getting the money today, it means we have to wait till Monday. But, the truth is that nobody is going to call off the strike till the money is paid,” he said.

Noting that the the government is actual owing oil marketers a total of N256 billion, Adewole asked, “Who is going to pay that (remaining) N100 billion for subsidy?

Learnt from BN

[Video] How B’Haram members fled Sambisa forest during military bombardment

Learnt from Channelstvnews

Brain dead woman gives birth to miracle baby after doctors keep her alive on a ventilator for seven weeks - then allow her to pass away

The child's mother Karla Perez, 22, complained of a severe headache before collapsing at her home in Waterloo, Omaha, Nebraska, in early February. 

Doctors diagnosed Ms Perez with a intracranial haemorrhage and after conducting several tests they determined that she was brain dead.

Scroll down for video 

Angel Perez, pictured, was born seven weeks after his mother Karla, 22, was declared brain dead 

Staff at Methodist Women's Hospital, pictured, said Angel was too small to survive when his mother died

However, members of Ms Perez's family urged doctors at Methodist Women's Hospital to do everything possible to save the unborn child. 

At the time Ms Perez was declared brain dead, the foetus was just 22 weeks old and too young to survive outside the womb. 

Dr Todd Lovgern of Methodist Women's Hospital told local TV station WOTV: 'Karla was at home, noticed she had a headache and needed to lay down and take a nap. She woke up later that evening around 10:30 or 11 and noticed the headache had become progressively worse and told her family she needed to go to the hospital.' 

Initially doctors feared Ms Perez had suffered a stroke but a CT scan showed that she had bleeding in the brain. 

Dr Lovern added: 'At 22 weeks a baby can't survive outside of the uterus or outside of the womb and so if we were going to give baby Angel any chance of survival we were going to have to prolong Karla’s pregnancy as long as possible with the minimum being possibly 24 weeks.'

Ms Perez's parents Berta and Modesto said that their daughter's first pregnancy proceeded without any problems and she gave birth to a healthy baby girl Genesis, who is now three.' 

For seven weeks, baby Angel continued to grow but on April 4, Ms Perez's body began to shut down forcing medics to perform an emergency caeserean section. 

Baby Angel was born weighing just 2lbs 12.6oz. The tiny infant was rushed to a special neonatal intensive care unit and was fitted with a breathing tube. 

It took a team of more than 100 doctors and nurses to monitor Ms Perez's condition while her baby continued to grow. 

Angel's grandmother Berta said: 'Thank God. He's doing very well. He's growing and I'm very happy about it. I come to see him every day. I get him dressed, I give him baths, I change him, I hold him. I have no words for the attention and how they took very good care of my daughter.'

After the delivery, Ms Perez's family donated her organs which were then used to save the lives of three other people.  

Sue Korth, vice president of the hospital said Ms Perez was the first person in the United States since 1999 to be kept on somatic support. Medics managed to continue the pregnancy for 54 days. 

Berta Perez, pictured, said she is very happy that baby Angel survived despite the tragic loss of her daughter

Mrs Perez said she visits her grandson in the hospital on a daily basis and gives him regular baths 

She said: 'Our team took a giant leap of faith. We were attempting something that not many before us have been able to do. I couldn’t be more proud of our medical team and the more than 100 staff who were a part of her care. Karla’s loss of life was difficult, but the legacy she has left behind is remarkable.'

After medics determined the extent of Ms Perez's brain damage, Dr Andrew Robertson of the hospital said: 'It was then that we had decisions to make.

'Karla’s baby was fine, but its gestational age was too young to consider delivery. That’s when the team and Karla’s family agreed to attempt to provide somatic support and maintain Karla’s pregnancy until her baby reached a viable gestational age.

Dr Brady Kerr from the hospital neonatal intensive care unit said: 'Angel’s condition remains very stable. He has no severe complications. At this time he is still in an incubator and has a feeding tube – he is not yet feeding by mouth. It’s hard for us to know the long-term outcome due to the rarity of the situation, but we are cautiously optimistic.'

Baby Angel, pictured, was just 2lb 12 ounces when he was born on April 7 in Methodist Women's Hospital

Learnt from dailymail

Zimbabweans angry over Mugabe’s tribal comments

Zimbabwean President, Robert Mugabe

Many Zimbabweans reacted angrily on Thursday to reports that President Robert Mugabe had called members of the Kalanga tribe uneducated crooks at a SADC summit this week.

Video footage of the 91-year-old president on Wednesday saying that Kalangas were widely regarded in the past to have engaged in petty criminal activities in South Africa is being circulated widely in Zimbabwe.

Many Kalangas live in Zimbabwe’s south-western Matabeleland provinces, where rates of migration to South Africa are highest.

Responding to questions from journalists on the xenophobic attacks that hit South Africa this month, Mugabe said: “The Kalangas were very notorious in South Africa.”

He said Kalangas were reputed to have been crooks and weren’t “educated enough to assume … jobs.”

Twitter user @MariaZest1 says: “Anyone who’s still believes Mugabe is a unifier is deluded. I’m offended #PartKalanga #PartShona #PartNdebele.”

User @PRONKOMO says: “Mugabe has showed his tribalistic side… he is not well informed about Matabeleland people… people he supposedly governs.”

Some Zimbabweans have pointed out that a number of Mugabe’s ministers may have Kalanga roots. Common surnames that can indicate Kalanga heritage include Moyo, Mpofu, Ngwenya, Dube, Gumbo and Sibanda.

“Wonder how SK, a big Kalanga, feels after the boss said Kalangas are uneducated tsotsis,” asked Ncube Njabulo. SK is Simon Khaya Moyo, a former Zanu-PF chairperson and ambassador to South Africa who is now the ruling party’s spokesperson.

A Facebook user, identifying herself as Zimbabwean socialite Nomathemba Primrose Ndebele, posted: “Did the president truly say those of my tribe are uneducated (KALANGA)… my uncle was the Attoney General … my aunt is the police commissioner… I’m educated”.

Mugabe’s criticism of those who flock to South Africa – he complained that migrants saw it as “heaven on earth” – has rankled many in Zimbabwe. There are at least one million Zimbabweans in South Africa, only 900 agreed to board state-provided buses home in the wake of the attacks in Durban and Gauteng.

The Zimbabwean president told heads of state and delegates at Wednesday’s summit that foreign nationals in South Africa were there “voluntarily”. But critics of the Zimbabwe government, including former education minister David Coltart, claim that thousands more Zimbabweans left as a direct result of Mugabe’s controversial policies during the economic and political crisis years after 2000.

@ZimMediaReview accused the official Herald newspaper, which is the voice of Mugabe’s government, of trying to “sanitise… with little success” the president’s Kalanga jibe. The newspaper said Mugabe cited Matabeleland South “as one area where there was emigration to South Africa.”

Meanwhile, Zimbabwean Information Minister Jonathan Moyo launched an attack on a Twitter user who said Mugabe had called Kalangas uneducated “idiots”.

“The uneducated ‘idiot’ bit is of course your creation & [you] should be ashamed but then you’re shameless!” Moyo tweeted.

When asked whether he had Kalanga blood, the minister did not reply.

Other Zimbabweans argued that Mugabe was merely sharing his memories of how Kalangas were perceived in the past.

Learnt from Punchng.com

Watch and laugh out loud... AY live as Jega... see Orubebe too... Happy Worker's day!

Hilarious!!! you need to  see this election skit by AY live... The translator was something else... I wonder what he was translating and gesticulating...

Shocking Images Of Sambisa Forest Survivors – SEE KWASHIORKOR PHOTOS!!!

 Nigerian Army Releases Shocking Images Of Sambisa Forest Survivors – SEE KWASHIORKOR PHOTOS!!!!

The Nigerian military has released heart-wrenching images of what it says are survivors rescued from the notorious Sambisa forest where they were held hostage by Boko Haram insurgents.

The military released the images on Thursday. The images show women and children, most of them malnourished, suggesting the survivors were kept under extremely terrible conditions.

Learnt from chat212

Bullion Van Kills 22 Year Old Man In Abeokuta Yesterday

A 22 year old motorcycle rider has been allegedly killed by a bullion van at Oke Ilewo area of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

The incident reportedly caused violent reactions from some residents of the area.

According to eyewitness accounts, the middle aged man, simply identified as Gbenga Okesola, was on an errand for his elder brother when he was hit and killed by the bullion van.

The alleged nonchalant attitude of Policemen following the bullion van towards the deceased irked the residents who took to the streets to protest the death of the young man.

Normalcy, however, returned to the scene of the accident with residents of the area going about their normal businesses after the initial violent reaction which trailed the death.

Learnt from Channelstvnews & eyewitness accounts

Clippers force Game 7 with 102-96 win over Spurs

Blake Griffin did everything in his power to keep the Los Angeles Clippers alive in their first-round series against the San Antonio Spurs on Friday morning, forcing a game 7.

Griffin propelled the Clippers with a game-high 26 points, had 12 rebounds as they beat the reigning champions 102-96.

It was a must-win game for the Clippers, who will have a chance to close out the series in front of their home crowd on Sunday morning.

It became clear early in the game that Clippers were in San Antonio to compete.

Despite Chris Paul finishing the first-half 0 for 7 from the floor, Clippers and Spurs went for a break tied at 51-51. That was a good sign for the Clippers.

Then, Paul stepped up in the second half to go with 19 points and 15 assists, while Italian Marco Belinelli scored 21 of his 23 points from the three-point line.

“My teammates just told me to keep being aggressive,” Paul said after the game. “We just showed a lot of fight. We never gave up. Blake was unbelievable tonight, he won this game for us.”

How did the Clippers overcame an imminent elimination situation?

“Before the game I told our guys the we should focus on execution. Don’t use the word elimination. I thought our guys did a very good job,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said afterwards.

What many predicted is now official.

The Chicago Bulls will face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the semifinals of the Eastern Conference in one of the highly anticipated match-ups in the postseason.

It was not even halftime and the Chicago Bulls had already secured a ticket to the second-round after leading the Milwaukee Bucks by as many as 34 points.

The Bulls started the way they were expected to do, instilling a suffocation and intense defense on the young Bucks just to enter the NBA history books with the third largest win margin in the playoff history by trouncing Milwaukee 120-66.

Offensively the Bull were 8 for 16 from the three-point range, while the Bucks missed all their five three-point attempts before the break.

The Bucks only scored their first three-pointer by Jared Dudley with 2.38 left in the third quarter.

By the final buzzer, no Bucks player scored in double figures, while all Bulls starters scored eleven points or more.

Everything seemed to be going Chicago’s way, including the moment, in which Giannis Antetokounmpo was ejected from the game after delivering a flagrant foul 2 on Mike Dunleavy.

Dunleavy, who finished the first half with 19 points, was 4 for 5 from the three-point range, Jimmy Butler went for break after making 2 of this 4 tree-pointer to help the Bulls lead the entire contest.

For Bucks rising star Antetokounmpo, the season ended the worst way possible with just 5 points, and a ejection, which will certainly mark his NBA playoffs debut.

Despite the loss, home fans gave the Bucks a stand ovation, chanting MILWAUKEE! MILWAUKEE! MILWAUKEE!

Learnt from supersport