Amber Rose and her boyfriend Alexander Edwards loved-up in new pictures

And Amber Rose and her boyfriend Alexander Edwards looked more loved-up than ever as they walked hand-in-hand at the Def Jam Pre Grammy Party in LA on Friday.

The model, 35, showed off her famous curves in a figure-hugging Fendi ensemble with branded leggings and a matching t-shirt.

Rap artist dies in car crash on the way to a university gig

A British rap artist has died in car crash while travelling in a taxi on the way to perform a concert at a university.

Blaine Cameron Johnson, who used the stage name Cadet, was a passenger when the vehicle he was in was involved in a collision with a van in Betley, Staffordshire.

The 28-year-old musician from South London was due to play a concert at Keele University. He died at the scene of the accident. The two drivers were taken to hospital with serious injuries, while three other passengers travelling with the rapper were also taken to hospital with injuries.

A statement on Cadet’s Instagram page said: “We, the family of Blaine Cameron Johnson, known as Cadet (Underrated Legend) would like to share the sad news that during the early hours of 9th February, 2019, he passed away as a passenger in a taxi, en route to a performance.

“Right now we the family appreciate your patience and will share with you any information as and when we can. Thanks for your support in advance.”

Fellow rappers paid tribute to Cadet, describing him as “positive” and “humble” man who had an exciting career ahead of him.

Cadet had toured the UK supporting fellow rappers Krept And Konan on their ‘The Long Way Home Tour’.

Krept, who is Cadet’s cousin, posted online: “My life will never be the same again… I can’t believe it. I am heartbroken.”

Yahaya Bello’s wife involved in accident in LG where Osinbajo’s chopper crashed

One week after the helicopter of Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo crash-landed in Kabba, Amina Bello, wife of Yahaya Bello, governor of Kogi state, has been involved in a car accident in the area.
Onogwu Muhammed, Bello’s chief press secretary, disclosed this in a statement.
Muhammed said the accident happened around Oshokoshoko area of Kabba while the governor’s wife and some aides were on their way to Isanlu for an All Progressives Congress (APC) woman rally.

He said the aides with the governor’s wife were Kenechi Ajayi, senior special assistant on women and children to the governor; Ejura Edward, senior special assistant to the wife of the governor on women affairs; and Adesoro Olamide.
The chief press secretary who described the accident as “minor” said they all came out unhurt.
“In appreciation to God Almighty for his faithfulness to the New Direction family, the Kogi state government wishes to announce that three aides to the governor and his wife survived an accident this morning,” he said.
“The government appreciate God once again, that all persons are in perfect condition.
“The governors wife’s door-door campaign train continues with their rally to the western senatorial district after a successful two days outing in Kogi east.”

Election: PDM Endorses Atiku, Says, He’ll Get Nigeria Working Again

The Peoples Democratic Movement, a pressure group founded by the late Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, has endorsed Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The group endorsed Atiku as its choice presidential candidate after a meeting which held in Abuja on Thursday.

“After a careful observation of the socio-economic situation in the country, we have come to the inevitable conclusion of endorsing the candidate of the PDP former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar as our consensus candidate,” it said in a communique signed by Dapo Sarumi, its chairman, among others.

The group expressed confidence in the ability of Atiku to “get Nigeria working again ”

It also urged Nigerians to “look at the condition of the country today in relation to the economy, unemployment, foreign affairs and other sectors and vote overwhelmingly for Atiku.

Also known as Yar’Adua Political Family, PDM called on the nation’s security operatives to be impartial, especially regarding the elections.

The communique lists other resolutions reached by the group to include: “That politicians should refrain from making insidious statements and anyone caught going against this should be duly prosecuted.

“That we demand of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) complies strictly with the provisions of the relevant laws in its conduct of the upcoming series of elections.

“That election monitor groups and other watchdog agencies in the conduct of the election must conduct themselves above board and ensure a hitch-free election in February 16 and on March 2, 2019.

“That Voters should as well conduct themselves in orderly manner by casting their votes and be willing to stand to protect their votes.”

The group was formed in 1987 under the able leadership of Yar’Adua “to be the conscience and voice of the masses.”

Nigeria’s presidential election is a choice between dictator and Kleptocrat – Bloomberg Businessweek

What’s a Nigerian citizen to do when there’s a presidential election coming up and the two leading candidates are a former dictator who’s presided over four years of lackluster growth and an alleged kleptocrat of international repute?

This is the choice facing Africa’s largest oil producer, and by some measures its largest economy, in the Feb. 16 vote. Although the field is crowded, incumbent Muhammadu Buhari, 76, faces his strongest challenge from Atiku Abubakar, 72, who served as vice president from 1999 to 2007 and has tried and failed several times already to secure the top job.

Buhari, who led Nigeria briefly in the 1980s as a dictator, came back to power four years ago via the ballot box. After military rule ended in 1999, he contested several elections unsuccessfully before finally becoming the first opposition figure to win the presidency. (He describes himself as a “converted democrat.”) Voters and pundits alike were optimistic that he could diversify the oil-dependent economy, tackle graft, and end Boko Haram’s deadly insurgency. While the stern former general has succeeded in stamping out some of the corruption that’s long blighted Nigeria, critics say he’s been selective, mostly targeting his political opponents. They also say he’s failed on other issues, nicknaming him “Baba Go-Slow” in reference to his age and sluggish response to crises.

Nigeria’s economy is still smaller on a per capita basis than it was in 2014, when it was hammered by the crash in crude prices. Unemployment has surged to a record 23 percent from 6.4 percent at the end of 2014. The stock market has been the world’s worst performer since Buhari came to office, falling more than 50 percent in dollar terms. Boko Haram militants, some affiliated with Islamic State, continue to wreak havoc in the northeast. Other parts of the country have been roiled by a conflict between farmers and herders that’s led to thousands of deaths.

Abubakar, widely known as Atiku, is a father of 26 who has business interests ranging from oil and gas services to food manufacturing. He’s pledged to loosen the state’s grip on the economy, end the naira’s peg to the dollar, and privatize companies including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp., which dominates the local energy industry. But for all his market-friendly talk—he admires the late Conservative U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Many Nigerians think he used his past positions in government to enrich himself.

“It’s like a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea,” says Andrew Niagwan, 36, a teacher in the central city of Jos who doesn’t know if he’ll vote. “Buhari’s got good intentions, but he doesn’t seem very capable. Our living standards have dropped in recent years. As for Atiku, Nigerians are wary because of all the allegations surrounding him.”

A U.S. Senate report in 2010 concluded that Abubakar and one of his wives had wired $40 million of “suspect funds” into American accounts and said that his business dealings “raise a host of questions about the nature and source” of his wealth. Although he has denied the claims and has never been indicted at home or abroad, Abubakar hasn’t been able to shake the perception of impropriety. In January he met with lawmakers in Washington after having been banned from the country for more than a decade under a State Department edict against politicians linked to foreign corruption, according to former U.S. officials. (A spokesperson for Abubakar’s campaign denies he’d been banned from the U.S., and the State Department declined to comment on the visit.)

Investors expect Nigerian assets to rise if Abubakar wins. “As much as Buhari has done in terms of tackling corruption, under his guidance the economy has been quite stagnant,” says Christopher Dielmann, an economist at Exotix Capital in London. “The perception is that, under Atiku, a degree of corruption could return to the country, but that might bring with it higher economic growth.”

Still, any bounce could be short-lived. Abubakar may not risk the political fallout from trying to sell state assets or, as he’s also promised, removing a cap that keeps Nigeria’s gasoline prices among the cheapest in the world.

“I’m doubtful there’d be any great change with the economy, no matter who gets elected,” says John Campbell, a former U.S. ambassador to Nigeria who’s now a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. That’s a major problem, he says, as the United Nations projects Nigeria’s population will double, to 410 million, by 2050. “How on Earth can you grow an economy fast enough to accommodate those numbers?”
New York-based risk consultant Eurasia Group, which included Nigeria on its list of the top 10 global risks for 2019, predicts Buhari will be re-elected. But even if steadier oil prices mean the worst is over, it won’t be an easy four years. “The country might just muddle through for now,” says Amaka Anku, head of Africa at Eurasia. The next election, in 2023, could be an inflection point, she says. “There’s a real chance that a reformist government emerges then.”

BOTTOM LINE – No matter who wins Nigeria’s presidential election, the economy is unlikely to improve, setting up the nation for a humanitarian catastrophe in the coming decades.

I didn’t ask Nigerians to kill any foreigner they see – Gov. El-Rufai

The Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has said he never told Nigerians to kill foreigners during elections.
This was in an attempt to clarify a recent statement where he was said to have threatened foreign observers ahead of 2019 presidential election.
Governor El-Rufai had in an interview on NTA during the week, threatened that foreigners who intervene in the forthcoming general elections will “go back in body bags.”

But speaking on Oath TV on Friday evening, the Governor said he had not asked any Nigerian to kill any foreigner they see during elections.
According to him, “The government of Nigeria must invite observers. But if we notice, there is a coordinated plan to delegitmize the election; to already declare the election illegitimate even before they were conducted.

“And it has the support of Nigerian collaborators and foreign interest. And we must speak out.

“We must speak out. And that is what is appearing to be the way the PDP is hobnopping with some of the foreign interests here, we have to make the observation.
“They are here to observe. They are not here to intervene. They are not here to lay the foundations for crisis in Nigeria. Which is what the PDP are preparing for as their last ultimate option and we are aware of it.

“This is the essence of my statement and I don’t want anyone to confuse what i said to mean that Nigerians will kill any foreigner they see.”

Reign of King Pharaoh in Kogi State is coming to an end – Dino Melaye tells Gov. Bello

Senator representing Kogi West, in the National Assembly Dino Melaye has said that the autocratic reign of Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello will soon come to an end in the State.
The embattled Senator who described the governor as another Pharaoh assured Kogites that the Egyptians they see today, they shall see them no more.
Melaye, while addressing newsmen in Lokoja on Friday, described the senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Smart Adeyemi as his ‘political wife’.

He assured electorate in the state that their votes will count as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will frustrate all rigging plans in the forthcoming elections.

The embattled Senator was in Lokoja, the state capital, in continuation of his ‘Thank You’ tour of all political wards in Kogi West. He toured communities in Kogi/Koton Karfe local government area of the state on Thursday.
He told the cheering supporters at St. Luke Primary School Adankolo that his opponent, Smart Adeyemi is his good ‘customer’.
“The forthcoming Kogi West senate election is between me and my political wife, Smart Adeyemi. He is my wife. He is a good customer.

“I want to assure you all, by the grace of God, PDP candidates will emerge victorious in the forthcoming elections. Please, let us defend our votes, after voting don’t go home, stay and count your votes. After counting, stay for the announcement. They cannot intimidate us. The reign of King Pharaoh in Kogi state is coming to an end and these Egyptians you see today, you shall see no more. We are going to defeat them mercilessly,” he said.
He expressed confidence that President Muhammadu Buhari will lose the next presidential election.

Melaye said the large crowd of voters that graced each venue of the ‘thank you’ tour is an indication that the people are tired of the Federal and Kogi state governments.
“I feel very happy. The responses across Lokoja are positive. It shows that the people are not happy with the government. This is a referendum against the federal and Kogi state government.

“From the responses so far, it is obvious that the people are living in pervasive hunger. It shows that the non-payment of salaries and pensions have completely disconnected the people from government. It shows there is a lot of work to be done by us when we win elections. We will correct the anomalies.

“The people have decided and we will not allow our elections to be rigged. We have credible information that they sowing military and police uniforms. We will defend our votes, we will defend our votes and PDP will be victorious,” he added.