Education Minister debunked rumours of scrapping NECO, UTME and Others.

Nyeson Wike

Filo: The National Examinations Council (NECO), Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and other similar examination bodies are not under any threat of being scrapped, the Federal Ministry of Education said yesterday.

Speaking in Abuja, while briefing the Senate Committee on Education, the Minister of State for Education, Mr Nyeson Wike, said the federal government was shocked to read reports that it would scrap the examinations.

Kiyo: At least students who have paid to obtain forms offered by JAMB for the 2013 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations can now heave a sigh of relief.

So what happened to the White Paper recommendation?

14 year old Terkura Unongo launches website for social networking

Kiyo: A 14 year-old boy, Terkura Unongo, has launched a website, www.theimongo.com, for social networking.

Terkura, who hails from Benue State, says, “Well, I think I became IT-savvy right from the day I started using a computer, as my parents provided the atmosphere for me to acquire various computer devices. But my potentials got sharpened in 2011 when my computer teacher basically showed me the fun in HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language).

According to him, the name, “Imongo”, is taken from the Tiv native dialect which simply means, “Gathering,” He explains that he picked the name because he feels it really described his main objective of connecting people to enable them to meet one another, keep in touch with those they already know, and make new friends at the same time staying entertained and informed.

“I felt I could do something positive, and then I decided to create something that would impact the lives of potential members from all over the world. So I went on to work on Imongo, and I am still working on it to take the online social experience to a whole new level” he said.

Filo: The chap is simply multi-talented. Wait a minute, at 14 what was I doing? 

Culled from Punch

BOVI HIT ON KIM KARDASHIAN

Filo: Watch Bovi do his thing.

Omotola Listed as One of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People In the World

Filo: Not mincing words, the Queen of Nollywood as Time Magazine puts it is listed among Time's 100 Most Influential People In The World.

Check the details out on TIME 100

Kiyo: Proud of you, congrats.

Hackers take down Nigerian Entertainment website 'TheNetng.com'

Filo: Imagine waking up in the morning not being able to assess your site; before you say Jack Robinson, an email shows up from the hackers demanding a ransom. Well, it’s not a movie script, it happened to Nigerian Entertainment website TheNetng.com today.

Kiyo: This is ‘Cyber Kidnapping’

Okonjo-Iweala's interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour

Filo: Don’t miss this for anything else.

Gay couples celebrate as New Zealand says yes to same-sex marriage

Engaged

Kiyo: On Wednesday April 17, seventy seven out of 121 members of parliament voted in favour of amending the current 1955 Marriage Act to allow same-sex couples to marry, making New Zealand the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to do so. This generated excitement, applause and the singing of a traditional Maori celebratory song from the public gallery.

Filo: That means New Zealand is now the 13th country to legalise same-sex marriages, after Uruguay passed its own law last week. Countries where such marriages are legalized include Canada, Spain, Sweden and Nigeria. Ahhh! Sorry we don’t do that in NIGERIA.

Gay right supporters celebrating

South African Lesbians Protest for Their Right

Filo: South African Lesbians are protesting against Government policies that do not recognize their Individual rights.

Kiyo: Just picture gays protesting nude.

GIRLS GO WILD ON IYANYA IN DALLAS

Kiyo: Iyanya’s Dallas performance was graced with girls going wild and crazy as the kukere singer thrills his fans with songs from his latest album. The event was hosted by two US-based Nigerian comedians ‘Seyi Brown and Wamilele’.

Filo: This na your time, enjoy it while it last.

More Pix On The Flip

WHAT IS THIS GUY THINKING?

Kiyo: This guy is obviously missing something, what do you think is his problem?

MY HUSBAND CALLS ME OROBO – MERCY JOHNSON

Filo: Mercy’s hubby has a hilarious way of appreciating his wife’s new status as a mother. This is what mercy tweeted ‘So my husband just lukd @ me now and goes “orobo ye, I no go fit carry my orobo but sha we don marry”in sound sultan’s voice. Gym here I come’

LAGOSIANS BE PREPARED FOR TRAFFIC TODAY

Kiyo: Consequent upon two major events happening in and around Lagos today, 18 April 2013, Lagos residents might be in for another long day.

President Goodluck Jonathan, GCFR, would be commissioning Wempco Steel Mills Ltd located at KM 8, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway; on the other hand, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), according to its National Publicity Secretary - Lai Mohammed, would be holding her National convention at Onikan stadium in Lagos.

Filo: Also heard from another source that the first lady, Patience Jonathan would be in Lagos for a different function. Earnestly today should be declared public holiday for Lagosians.

Tonto Dike Flirty Pictures

Filo: The actress cum singer shared the photos on her instagram and twitter page, tagging one “feelinflirty”

I guess she meant feeling funny, cause that’s how the pictures look, what do you think?

More pix on the flip

TINSEL'S STARS ENE and CHUKS TIED THE KNOT

Kiyo: Tinsel’s stars, Florence Nkechi Uwaleke (Ene) & Iyke Okechukwu (Chuks), tied the knot today April 17 2013 at a church in Surulere, Lagos.

Filo: And the soap continues at home, congrats.

TONTO DIKEH - Am Not Representing Nigeria At Big Brother

Filo: Our imagination ran wild when news filtered that this year’s Big Brother Star show would see Tonto Dikeh as a house mate. However, in her usual style, Tonto debunked the claim in a manner that suggests antipathy for bloggers “If u a blogger n u ve a story on mii goin 4 Bb8 den u shld b ASHAMED of ursef Profezzionally az always**, she said.

Kilo: The organisers should have a rethink, we need Tontolet in the house.

Margaret Thatcher Funeral Service Inside St Paul's Cathedral

Kiyo: Lady Thatcher, Britain's first female prime minister, was borne to St Paul's Cathedral for a ceremonial funeral as thousands lined central London's streets to witness her final journey.

Filo: Bidding farewell to the Iron Lady

Airport worker resigns with his resignation letter iced onto a cake

Kiyo: Have you heard of cake resignation letter before? Well, that was exactly what Chris Holmes, a passport control employee at Stansted Airport did.

He wanted to leave his part-time airport job on good terms, so he baked a cake and iced it with his entire resignation letter.

Holmes decided to leave his passport control job because he wanted to devote himself to his business and his new family.

Filo: That was creative; another angle to viral marketing

Aki stars in new MNET drama series

Filo: Chinedu Ihedieze popularly known as Aki said he had just taken part in the shooting of a TV sitcom for MNET, an exotic blend of comedy and family drama titled The Johnsons.

Although he did not say if his alter-ego, Osita Iheme, was a member of the cast of The Johnsons, Aki seemed assured that the sitcom would ‘steal the show’ from other TV soap operas currently running on MNET channels and draw a lot of attention from the viewers.

Kiyo: He has been off the scene for some time, anyway welcome back.

Psy's new music video 'Gentleman' surpasses 100 million YouTube hits in just 4 days

Filo: The Gangnam Style rapper is set to make history again as the music video for his new single "Gentleman" is fast becoming a global sensation. Four days after it was released, Gentleman music video is close to 115 million YouTube hits as of early Wednesday morning.

Kiyo: This guy is simply unstoppable; it took Gangnam Style more than 50 days to surpass the same amount of views.

ON A DAY LIKE THIS: APRIL 16th

1973 – Akon, Senegalese R&B and hip hop recording artist, songwriter, record producer and businessman was born.

1965 – Martin Lawrence, American actor was born.

1960 – Rafael Benitez, Spanish football manager, and currently interim manager of Chelsea was born.

1945 – More than 7,000 people die when the German refugee ship Goya is sunk by a Soviet submarine torpedo.

1853 – The first passenger rail opens in India, from Bori Bunder, Bombay to Thane.

Beyoncé begins 'Mrs Carter Show' world tour

Filo: Beyoncé, 31, kicked off her ‘Mrs Carter Show’ world tour on Monday evening in Belgrade, Serbia, where she stunned concert goers in a gold sequin-encrusted bodysuit adorned with a pair of trompe l'oeil breasts - complete with protruding nipples.

The singer has 64 more shows on the tour which will see her travel across Europe, North America and South America.

Kiyo: The fans expected her to do a new song to herald the possible release of her fifth studio album, but they went home disappointed after the over two hours show.

Or maybe she's waiting for the American leg.

More pix on the next page

Matt Damon and wife Luciana renew their marital vows in intimate beachfront ceremony

Filo: After eight years of marriage, Matt Damon and wife Luciana Barrosso renewed their wedding vows in a romantic ceremony on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia.

Matt and Luciana Damon met in a Miami bar in 2003. She was working as a bartender at the bar, while he was shooting his comedy flick Stuck on You. Two years later, the lovebirds became husband and wife with a winter wedding in New York.

The couple have gone on to raise four beautiful daughters together, Isabella, six, Gia, four, two-year-old Stella, and Luciana's daughter Alexia, 14, from a previous relationship.

Kiyo: Never knew Jason Bourne was romantic, thought he was just an MIA assassin.

More pix on the next page

Dangote To Build $8 Billion Refinery

Filo: Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has announced plans to construct an $8 billion refinery in Nigeria later this year, according to a report by Nigeria’s Leadership newspaper.

Dangote made the announcement last week in Lagos during a breakfast meeting with some senior editors of various Nigerian media organizations to commemorate his 57th birthday. While Dangote did not disclose the planned location of the facility or its capacity, he said his Dangote Group, will start work on the refinery as soon as the company secures final approval from the federal government and other related agencies.

Kiyo: Shrewd businessman, he would obviously get a consortium to finance the project, which invariably would mitigate tax liability because of interest charges; and Nigerians would celebrate him for creating employment opportunities, which in turn would garner more goodwill for his business group. At the end, it is still the rich getting richer.

I gave kidnappers information on Okonjo-Iweala’s mother –Palace servant

Kiyo: Chiejine Onochie, a former servant at the palace of the traditional ruler of Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State, where the mother of the Minister of Finance was kidnapped has confessed that he gave the kidnappers the necessary information for the job.

Onochie also said the kidnappers collected N13m as ransom before the 83-year-old Prof. Kamene Okonjo was released last December; however he claimed the kidnappers did not give him any money and therefore, was not culpable.

Filo: Guy, since you gave out requisite information needed by the kidnappers you are an accomplice, so no excuse.

WAEC withheld his results five times, now LASPOTECH’s best student

Kiyo: Bakare Opeoluwa’s courage to stand strong in the face of adversity is legendary. Five times, he sat for the West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination and five times his results were withheld. Not because he was involved in any examination malpractice, but for reasons best known to the West African Examination Council.

After his sixth attempt, his full result was however released. He cleared all his papers and applied to the university to read Computer Engineering, his dream discipline. But this was not to be, as his score was below the cut-off point. That is why he opted for polytechnic education and eventually got admission to study Computer Engineering at the Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu.

But in spite of his challenges, Bakare, who had lost his father, graduated on Thursday as the best LASPOTECH graduating student during the institution’s 21st convocation. With a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.97 out of a possible 4.0, Bakare bagged a Higher National Diploma certificate in Computer Engineering. He also made history by becoming the all-time best graduate of the polytechnic.

Filo: Dreams come true; waiting for WAEC to tell us why his results were withheld.

Punch