Marvangel Kids: Arts display

Today was the successful event of Marvangel Kids just like it promised to be, Kids displayed crafts as prepared.

See photos below

President Buhari Hosts Tinubu, Awujale In London

President Muhammadu Buhari, on Thursday, played host to the leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona in London, United Kingdom.

The President shared photos of their visit via his Twitter handle on Thursday.

President Buhari has been away on a 10-day medical vacation to take care of an ear infection.

L: President Buhari with Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; R: President Buhari with the Awujale of Ijebu land

He was scheduled to end the vacation on Friday but would be arriving Nigeria on Sunday, June 19.

The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, disclosed this to State House correspondents just before the National Executive Council meeting on Wednesday.

Japan Advises Nigeria To Adopt Renewable Energy For Electricity

The Japanese government has advised Nigeria to adopt renewable energy for the provision of electricity in the country.

The leader of a Japanese delegation to Nigeria, Mr Shinichi Kitaoka, gave the advice in relation to the continuous militant activities which is disrupting gas supply for the generation of electricity.

He addressed the issue during his visit to a solar power plant built by the Japanese government to ease water supply in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

Mr Kitaoka, after a tour of the facility with his team, explained that investing in renewable energy to provide stable electricity supply will help encourage industrialisation in the country.

The Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, immediately took up the challenge and promised to embark on similar projects to ensure increase in electricity supply across the country.

The Director of Renewable and Rural Power Access at the Ministry of Power, Mr Abayomi Adebisi, assured the Japanese delegation that the Nigerian government would explore the idea.

The solar power project, when completed, would provide electricity for the lower Usman dam which supplies water around the Federal Capital Territory.

The Executive Director of the FCT Water Board, Mr Hudu Bello expressed happiness that the project would help save cost and eliminate challenges of poor power supply which the agency has grappled with over the years.

FG To Speed Up Work On Four Hydropower Plants – Fashola

The Federal Government has promised to speed up work on four hydropower plants in order to boost power supply in the country.

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola (SAN), who made the pledge Thursday, listed the hydropower plants where government would speed up work as Gurara hydropower plant phase one and phase two, Zungeru, Dadin Kowa and Mambilla power plants.

According to Fashola, continuous vandalism of gas pipelines and infrastructures across the country had forced government to divert attention to other alternative sources of energy to meet the country’s power needs.

The destruction of pipelines in the Niger Delta conveying gas to some of the gas-powered plants in the country has seen power generation drop to its lowest in recent times.

However, speaking at the launch of Building Energy Efficiency Guideline (BEEG) for Nigeria, the minister assured that embarking on alternative sources of energy by government would make it impossible for anybody to hold Nigeria to ransom in future by controlling any particular source of fuel for electricity.

The minister said: “We have seen from events that started from around the 14th of February this year, repeated acts of vandalism on our gas pipelines and infrastructure that renders us clearly vulnerable to one source of fuel for our energy development.

“That has challenged us to develop options, alternatives – solar in particular and of course hydropower plants in more quantitative response. So we will be accelerating work on project like Gurara hydropower plant phase one and phase two. Work has started on Zungeru hydropower plant. We will also be accelerating work on Dadin Kowa power plant, as we will on Mambilla power plant which will give us the biggest single electrification source over a period of seven years that it is estimated to take to conclude it.

“To us, this is a journey of diversification, a journey of electricity security for Nigeria, it is a journey that has already started and it is a journey that will ensure that in future, it will be impossible to hold this country to ransom by controlling any particular source of fuel for electricity”.

Lagos State Government Seals Company Producing CWAY Bottle Drink And Others

Lagos State agencies in charge of Quality, Standard and Regulation in the state have sealed off the premises of CWAY Nigeria Drinking Water Science and Technology Company Limited and Figol Water in various locations in state in its determination to ensure compliance with the State Groundwater Quality Control Regulation and the State Drinking Water Quality Standard.

Executive Secretary, Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission (LSWRC), Arc. Ahmed Kabiru Abdullahi, who led the team on the compliance and enforcement exercise, also visited Nigerian Breweries Limited, La Casera, Cascade Waters, 7up, Coca cola and Guinness Nig. Plc. and said CWAY Limited, was sealed for non-declaration of all its facilities and non-compliance as stipulated in the regulatory guidelines of the Lagos State Water Sector Law (LSWSL) 2004.

Ahmed opined that “this move is in line with the vision of the state government to curb the occurrence and spread of water borne diseases in the state, as well as, improve the standard of living and promote safety culture at all times. The State Government is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that all stakeholders in the water sector comply with the guidelines and regulations for water abstraction/consumption as stipulated by the law.”

He stated further that “the administration of His Excellency, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, being a very responsive and responsible government, would no longer fold its hands and watch the pollution of the groundwater through indiscriminate abstraction and illegal borehole drilling that is polluting the groundwater on a daily basis.”

He revealed that the 1st and 2nd aquifers of underground water are the worst hit and that the state government is taking adequate steps to ensure the preservation and conservation of all the aquifers of underground water to ensure safety of lives, provision of portable water that is of good quality and a water sector that is sustainable and viable.

Ahmed said that a sustainability plan by the state government would soon be launched by His Excellency, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode and it will involve corporate private sector participation.

While acknowledging the challenges associated with the supply of water to residents of the State, Ahmed said the intention of government is to ensure a well regulated water sector devoid of abuse by all stakeholders, adding that this will ensure the attractiveness of the sector to participation by the private sector.

He stressed that by the year 2020, the present 33% water provision would rise to 100% when the sector is expected to be fully compliant with the regulations.

He reminded all borehole operators to regularize and get permits for drilling boreholes for water abstraction and that all water service providers and borehole drillers should obtain requisite licenses for their operations, adding that the government is set to implement the provisions of the Lagos State Water Sector Law (LSWSL) 2004 to the letter.

Constitution Review: NASS is Not Trying to Dent the 1999 Constitution Integrity – Saraki

President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has said that the ongoing process of reviewing the 1999 Constitution was not intended to dent the solemnity, integrity and infallibility of the Constitution.

Saraki made this known on Friday at a two-day retreat in Lagos organised by the Senate Ad hoc Committee on Constitution Review, with the theme, “Towards Ensuring Governance Accountability in Nigerian Federalism”.

He said that the National Assembly was by the process, celebrating and affirming the inviolability of the Constitution and its integrity, adding that the process was in no way a ritual or routine.

“This National Assembly is seeking to further consolidate and entrench the essence of our Constitution as the only basis for the exercise of all powers under a constitutional democracy forged under the rule of law.

Since independence, our nation has sought to develop for itself workable constitution on which her unity can be perfected. Other nations have trodden a similar path.

For instance, following the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War in 1776, the original 13 States of the United States of America operated an Article of Confederacy.

This is a necessary but unwieldy document that institutionalised a central government. The Article lasted for eight years before it was jettisoned for the current Constitution of the United States,” he said.

Saraki explained that constitution making had always been a challenging issue in any polity.

According to him, it is because it is expected to put together the aspiration, commitment, values and agreement of different communities.

He said that debates on constitution could be polarising and contentious.

He added that as polarising as the issues could be, “with robust engagement, inclusive participation and process-led initiatives, we can resolve the contentions and agree on some of the issues”.

The president of the senate urged the review committee to concentrate on the 4th Alteration Bill before dealing with other proposals.

He also urged them to pay attention to the alteration in view of the immense work and national consensus garnered in determining it.

According to him, it will help the committee in concentrating its effort on agreed areas and few exceptional issues that were integral.

He said that it would help to deliver a more acceptable constitution before the commencement of political activities in first quarter of 2017.

Saraki recalled that the 7th National Assembly obtained national consensus on key challenges to the operation of the Constitution for national development through its work on the bill.

He said that the legislature was poised toward proffering workable solutions for freedom, abhorrence of discrimination, enthronement of the rule of law and accountability as well as continuity of governance.

He remarked that although some national questions would remain contentious and unresolved in spite of the review, they would help in cementing the process and deepen constitutional framework through a second phase of amendment.

Saraki expressed optimism that with the crop of participants at the retreat, there was no doubt that the deliberations would be robust and the recommendations far-reaching.

In his remarks, Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, lauded the effort of the national assembly and other stakeholders at reviewing the Constitution.

The governor, who was represented by the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Adeniji Kazeem, said that the process would deepen democracy, adding that, Constitution was the guiding principle for good governance.

“The Fourth Alteration to the 1999 Constitution by the 7th National Assembly is commendable and the effort to review it again shows that the legislature is living up to expectation,” he said.

Ambode expressed hope that the retreat would further enshrine the culture of transparency and accountability in realising “the true federalism of our dream”.

Niger Delta Avengers Meet Kachikwu, Tompolo Reportedly Appears

Following the concession between the Niger Delta militants groups and the Federal Government of Nigeria to enter into a negotiation to end the crisis of the destruction of oil facilities in the region, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu visited Asaba in Delta State where he met with the stakeholders in the region.

The meeting took place yesterday, 16th of June, 2016 ath the office of governor, Ifeanyi Okowa with the representatives of the notorious Niger Delta Avengers group in attendance. It should be noted that oil production in Nigeria has dipped to 680,000 barrels per day from the usual 2.2 million which spells doom for the country.

A copy of the communique of the meeting obtained by SaharaReporters shows that the meeting also had in attendance the Delta State Governor, Patrick Ifeanyi Okowa; an Itsekiri leader, Ayirimi Emami; a representative of Gbaramatu Kingdom, Michael Johny; and two persons representing the interest of the Niger Delta Avengers: Gbeneka Godspower and Dan Ekpebide.

The meeting resolved that Mr. Kachikwu would visit Gbaramatu to show good faith by the federal government to reinstate the “Maritime University” project, which is one of the key issues in the conflict.

As a result, the Minister traveled to the kingdom yesterday and met with various stakeholders. A source told the online news platform that while in the area, Kachikwu also met with wanted Niger Delta militant, Tompolo, but the information couldn’t be verified. In previous statements, Tompolo had stated that he was not in the area, and he has recently been reported to be abroad.

A source at the meeting said that from all indications at the meeting the Delta State Governor and Mr. Kachikwu clearly knew who the ND Avengers are, and had brought in Ayiri, as a way of reconciling both sides.

See copies of the communique:

2Baba’s List of Honours Keeps Growing as a Street in Lekki Gets Named After Him

Fresh of his Kenyan Safari trip with his lovely wife Annie, 2 Baba received a nice surprise when Haven Homes named a street in his estate after him.

He shared his excitement with a video of him standing in front of the “Innocent Idbia Street” signpost and captioned it “Yes ooo! Innocent Idibia street. One love and a big thanx 2 Haven Homes for the honour. Now you know where to find me”

Indicted House of Reps Member Writes U.S Govt to Produce Video Evidence of the Alleged ‘Sex Scandal’

The US ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, had written to House of Reps speaker, Yakubu Dogara with the allegations as the ambassador’s letter was later leaked to the press and went viral.

In a swift reaction of the alleged s*x scandal, Gbillah, one of the names reps, has written to the ambassador to protest the allegations, and has asked the US to produce CCTV footage to support claims that he was involved in the scandal.

He demanded for the “full video/CCTV footage covering the period of our entire stay at the hotel; this should clearly show the movements and activities of every member of the group throughout the hotel”.

Below is the full text of his letter;

It has come to my attention that via correspondence from your good self to His Excellency, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (a copy of which I also received), you made very serious allegations against me and other members of the House of Representatives group that visited the United States in April 2016 as part of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP).

In your letter you claimed that I was identified as one of the members of the aforementioned group who asked for the assistance of a hotel parking attendant to solicit for prostitutes at the Residence Inn Downtown Cleveland Ohio.

I am extremely shocked, upset, irked and embarrassed by your letter and want to categorically state that these allegations are completely false, unfounded, malicious and a calculated attempt to malign and cast aspersion on my reputation and character as a Nigerian citizen and Honourable Member of the House of Representatives and to bring disrepute to the hallowed institution of the National Assembly and the entire nation of Nigeria.

Considering the enormity of these allegations it is instructive to note the following:

1) The US State Department and the US Embassy in Nigeria appear to have concluded on the accuracy of these allegations based on the testimony of the employees of the hotel without recourse to a response from the accused individuals or a proper forensic investigation. Paragraph 5 of your letter clearly states that ‘The US Mission took the pains to confirm these allegations and the identities of the individuals with the employees of the hotel in Cleveland’. The Embassy claims the accused individuals were identified by the hotel employees from a photograph of the group. Is this the manner in which such allegations against any US citizen (not to mention Members of the US Congress) are investigated and prosecuted in the United States or does the US State Department and Embassy have so much disdain towards Nigeria and her citizens that they did not bother to carry out a proper investigation? For a country that prides itself as the bastion of Democracy, justice, the rule of law, fair hearing and human rights it is quite alarming that allegations of this magnitude can be made and confirmed without allowing the accused individuals to respond.

2) Without conclusive evidence of any sort or contact with any of the accused individuals the US State Department and US Embassy in Nigeria have less than six days after your letter to the Speaker gone ahead to revoke the US visas of accused individuals based on hearsay from the employees of the hotel in Cleveland. Affected individuals received correspondence from the US Embassy on Wednesday 15th June 2016 indicating the denial of their US visas and requesting that they bring their international passports with current US visas to the Embassy.

3) The accused individuals were not accosted with these allegations while in the US so they could immediately defend themselves, the hotel employees conveniently refrained from making these allegations while the members of the group were in the United States and curiously decided to do so after our departure. What is the reason behind their not reporting these incidents immediately they occurred and why are we only being informed about these allegations two months after our return from the US?

4) None of the members of the group was driving a vehicle while at the hotel and would therefore have had no cause to interact with the car park attendants as the Residence Inn car park is not in front of the hotel but somewhere behind and some distance away from the hotel. You will have to go out of your way to go to the car park so video footage should clearly indicate whether or not any member of the group interacted with a hotel car park attendant.

5) Other groups comprising African Americans and other ‘people of colour’ were also occupying the Residence Inn while this group of House of Representatives members was visiting Cleveland because of the scheduled basketball game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Atlanta Hawks at the Quicken Loans Arena which is just across the road from the hotel. What is the certainty of the ability of the probably caucasian hotel car park attendants to accurately identify the specific members of any of the groups at the hotel as being responsible for the purported infractions?

6) The US border agency has it on record that I came into the US with my wife and baby on this trip and although the organisers did not allow them to stay with me in the hotel I was always communicating with my wife on facetime whenever I returned to the hotel. I stayed indoors on the days we had a break from our usually hectic schedule and only had cause to go to the grocery store to pick up items for my room. I wonder when it was I found the time to solicit for prostitutes from a hotel parking attendant and how I intended to bring a prostitute to my room when I had a regular facetime schedule with my wife which we never concluded until I was ready to turn in. This can very easily be verified from my log in activity on the hotels Wi-Fi service.

7) I have visited the US and several countries in the world countless times over the last several years and have stayed at countless hotels all over the world and want to dare the US government to find any instance where I have previously solicited for prostitutes from a hotel employee even when I was not a married man. I am a Hilton HHonors Diamond Member with over 1,500,000 reward points, an Intercontinental Ambassador Platinum Elite Member, a Ritz Carlton Rewards Silver member, a Marriott Rewards Member, a Starwood Preferred Guest Member and a Fairmont Presidents Club Member.

I am a member of two of the rewards programs of the parent hotel brand of the Residence Inn (Marriott Rewards and Ritz Carlton Rewards) and the record of my previous lodgings at all the hotel brands can be obtained to ascertain whether or not I have ever solicited for prostitutes from any hotel employee. Although it is very easy to obtain the previous travel history and track record of accused members, it is obvious the US State Department and the US Embassy have presumed our guilt without proper investigation because of the disdain and disrespect they have towards the average Nigerian citizen even when such citizens are Members of the Nigerian House of Representatives, a treatment they will never mete out to an ordinary American citizen who is not even a member of the US Congress.

8) It is noteworthy that a member of our group made a formal complaint to the organisers of the programme about his being defrauded to the tune of about $100 at the Renaissance Hotel Dupont Circle Washington DC but neither the US State Department nor the US Embassy in Nigeria has deemed it fit to take any action or initiate any investigation in this regard. Members of the group also expressed their dissatisfaction, displeasure and disappointment with the organisers of the programme over their inability to organise a single meeting with any member of the US congress and constraining members to meet with only one State Representative and several County Representatives and officials contrary to the initial objectives of the programme. Perhaps there are other underlying reasons behind the lacklustre attitude of the US State Department and the US Embassy towards ensuring proper investigation of these allegations.

Your Excellency, this unfortunate and malicious situation has further been exacerbated by the fact that your Embassy by omission or commission has allowed your correspondence to the Speaker to fall into the hands of the print media in Lagos without fair hearing or upholding the rights of the concerned individuals; an employee of one of the national dailies intimated me about this and their desire to publish the story.

This story was indeed published in the New Telegraph of Thursday, 16th June, 2016 alleging that related Members of the House of Representatives were involved in a sex scandal.

You can imagine the incalculable damage to my reputation and image with the publication of these spurious allegations especially when I unequivocally know that I am completely innocent.

It is also unfortunate that at a meeting with your Deputy Chief of Mission in Abuja the attempt by members of the group to express their exception to and displeasure with these allegations, the lack of proper investigation and the tainting of the image of the entire group was considered to be a very negative reaction by your Chief of Mission and your good self.

I suppose the US Embassy expected renowned personalities in Nigeria like Members of the House of Representatives to accept complicity in such malicious and spurious allegations without proper investigation or evidence or any opportunity to defend themselves.

Considering the psychological trauma, irredeemable defamation of my character and reputation before my spouse, children, family, colleagues, leadership, constituents and the general Nigerian and global public and the incalculable damage to my political career, I intend to take the following actions:

1) Institute legal action in the United States against the Marriot Hotel Brand, the Cleveland Council of World Affairs and the US State Department requesting for damages, comprehensive investigation of these allegations to exonerate myself and a formal globally publicized apology.

2) Institute legal action in Nigeria against the US Embassy in Nigeria also requesting for damages, comprehensive investigation of these allegations and a formal globally publicised apology.

3) Demand that the US Embassy and the US State Department (regardless of your revocation of my US visa) allow me to travel to Cleveland even at my own expense to confront my accuser and confirm my innocence. I otherwise have no desire to travel to a country that appears to pay only lip service to the ideals they claim to uphold.

4) Demand for the full video/cctv footage covering the period of our entire stay at the hotel; this should clearly show the movements and activities of every member of the group throughout the hotel.

It is unfortunate that I have to write to your good self under these circumstances but I believe you will use your good office to redress this very grave injustice and redeem the image of your country.

Reps Sex Scandal: US Revokes Lawmakers’ Visas for Soliciting Sex from Prostitutes

United States Embassy in Nigeria, the US Government has revoked the visas of the affected lawmakers for engaging in gross acts of misconduct and soliciting for s*x from prostitutes. The allegations came to light yesterday after the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James Entwistle accused the lawmakers of trying to r*pe and have s*x with prostitutes in the United States.

NewTelegraph revealed that one of the accused lawmakers, Hon. Mark Gbillah confirmed the latest development. He said they “received correspondence from the US Embassy on Wednesday, June 15, 2016 indicating the denial of their US visas and requesting that they bring their international passports with current US visas to the Embassy.”

Also, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, yesterday, demanded an investigation into the matter as it concerns respected members of the National Assembly.

It would be recalled that in a letter dated June 9, 2016, the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James Entwistle, alleged that three out of 10 members of the House had, on an official trip to the US, indulged in attempted r*pe and soliciting for prostitutes from staff of a Cleveland hotel in Ohio. The three members, according to the Ambassador are: Hon. Mohammed Garba Gololo (APC, Bauchi), Hon. Samuel Ikon (PDP, Akwa Ibom) and Hon. Mark Gbillah (APC, Benue).

The Ambassador alleged that: “Mohammed Garba Gololo allegedly grabbed a housekeeper in his hotel room and solicited for s*x. While the housekeeper reported this to her management, this incident could have involved local law enforcement and resulted in legal consequences for Representative Gololo. “Mark Terseer Gbillah and Samuel Ikon allegedly requested hotel parking attendants assist them to solicit for prostitutes.”

He also had in the letter revealed that visas granted to the lawmakers indicted would be revoked. He wrote: “… Such conduct could affect some participants’ ability to travel to the United States in the future. U.S. visa holders are expected to observe U.S. law while in the United States.

“If it is determined visitors have violated U.S. law, their visas can be revoked, even if their behaviour did not result in arrests or convictions,” Entwistle had said.

Meanwhile, two of the indicted lawmakers have written to the ambassador in response to the allegations. In his letter to the Ambassador dated June 15, 2016 and copied to the speaker, Gbillah who allegedly requested hotel parking attendants to assist him to solicit for prostitutes, threatened legal action against the US government.

Gbillah’s letter titled: “Allegations of impropriety against honourable members of the Nigerian House of Representatives by the US Embassy in Nigeria and the US State Department” was copied to Dogara, the United States Secretary of State, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Cleveland Council of World Affairs and the President and CEO of Marriott International.”

He wrote: “It has come to my attention that via correspondence from your good self to His Excellency, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (a copy of which I also received) you made very serious allegations against me and other members of the House of Representatives’ group that visited the United States in April 2016 as part of the International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP).

“In your letter, you claimed that I was identified as one of the members of the aforementioned group who asked for the assistance of a hotel parking attendant to solicit for prostitutes at the Residence Inn Downtown Cleveland Ohio.

“I am extremely shocked, upset, irked and embarrassed by your letter and want to categorically state that these allegations are completely false, unfounded, malicious and a calculated attempt to malign and cast aspersion on my reputation and character as a Nigerian citizen and honourable member of the House of Representatives and to bring disrepute to the hallowed institution of the National Assembly and the entire nation of Nigeria.”

Gbillah noted that: “I have visited the US and several countries in the world countless times over the last several years and have stayed at countless hotels all over the world and want to dare the US government to find any instance where I have previously solicited for prostitutes from a hotel employee even when I was not a married man. “…I am a member of two of the rewards programmes of the parent hotel brand of the Residence Inn (Marriott Rewards and Ritz Carlton Rewards) and the record of my previous stays at all the hotel brands can be obtained to ascertain whether or not I have ever solicited for prostitutes from any hotel employee.

“Although it is very easy to obtain the previous travel history and track record of accused members, it is obvious the US State Department and the US Embassy have presumed our guilt without proper investigation because of the disdain and disrespect they have towards the average Nigerian citizen, even when such citizens are members of the Nigerian House of Representatives, a treatment they will never mete out to an ordinary American citizen who is not even a member of the US Congress.”

He informed that “a member of our group made a formal complaint to the organisers of the programme about his being defrauded to the tune of about $100 at the Renaissance Hotel Dupont Circle Washington DC, but neither the US State Department nor the US Embassy in Nigeria has deemed it fit to take any action or initiate any investigation in this regard.”

He said in view of the damage done to him, he intends to “institute legal action in the United States against the Marriot Hotel Brand, the Cleveland Council of World Affairs and the US State Department requesting for damages, comprehensive investigation of these allegations to exonerate myself and a formal globally publicised apology.

His words: “I will institute legal action in Nigeria against the US Embassy in Nigeria requesting for damages, comprehensive investigation of these allegations and a formal globally publicised apology.

“I demand that the US Embassy and the US State Department (regardless of your revocation of my US visa) allow me to travel to Cleveland even at my own expense to confront my accuser and confirm my innocence. I otherwise have no desire to travel to a country that appears to pay only lip service to the ideals they claim to uphold.

“Also, I demand for the full video/CCTV footage covering the period of our entire stay at the hotel; this should clearly show the movements and activities of every member of the group throughout the hotel.”

Also, Gololo, who was alleged to have grabbed a housekeeper, in his letter to the ambassador, which was copied to the speaker, warned the US Ambassador of the consequences of his petition.

He said: “There is the example of Mr. Strauss, the former Managing Director of the IMF, who was involved in similar allegations, but the evidence was clearly brought showing what he did in the hotel room. So, I demand video or any similar evidence of my alleged misbehaviour.”

Gololo, in the letter dated June 13, 2016 and titled: Re: Allegations over troubling behaviour at Cleveland, Ohio, said: “May I remind your excellency of the recent case in your country where the great wrestler, Hulk Hogan, was similarly falsely accused and he went to court and got $140 million in damages. Gawker has applied for bankruptcy because of the case.”

In his reaction, Ikon, who was also accused of soliciting for prostitutes, said in a short message that: “I wish to state unequivocally that this is false and definitely not me.

“This, to me, is a case of mistaken identity and I have already instituted measures both legally and diplomatically to clear my name and the institution I represent.”

Niyola clears up the Rumours “I don’t live in Banky’s house and no we never dated”

EME’s First Lady Niyola had a chat with the Genevieve Magazine team recently and while there she talked about those Banky W rumours, the fact that some people say she is underrated, her beauty regimen and more.

See excerpts below.

On her current challenges as a woman: Being expected to see myself as incomplete because I am not married or remotely bothered that I am not and being pressured to feel so.

On if she is dating: I am very single.

On if she dated Banky W: I don’t live in Banky’s house and no we never dated.

On being described as underrated: As I always say , success is relative . I know my fans love and appreciate my art. My music is not for everybody and so it’s ok if a select number appreciate it.