Russia cuts off gas to Bulgaria and Poland in response to sanctions over invasion of Ukraine

 

Russian energy giant, Gazprom today halted gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland for failing to pay for its gas in roubles after President Vladimir Putin gave the order. 

 

The decision is the Kremlin's toughest retaliation yet to international sanctions over the war in Ukraine.

 

Poland confirmed that supplies had been cut, while Bulgaria said it would find out soon. Both accused Gazprom of breaching longstanding supply contracts.

 

"Because all trade and legal obligations are being observed, it is clear that at the moment the natural gas is being used more as a political and economic weapon in the current war," Bulgarian Energy Minister Alexander Nikolov said.

 

Gazprom said in a statement it had "completely suspended gas supplies to Bulgargaz and PGNiG (PGN.WA) due to absence of payments in roubles," referring to the Polish and Bulgarian gas companies.

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded that buyers from "unfriendly" countries pay for gas in roubles or be cut off, starting from the date payments are due for April. The European Union has rejected this demand as rewriting contracts that called for payment in euros.

 

Poland receives its Russian gas through the Yamal-Europe pipeline from Russia's huge gas fields in the Arctic far north, which continues west to supply Germany and other European countries. Bulgaria is supplied through pipes over Turkey.

 

Polish state-owned PGNiG (PGN.WA) confirmed its supplies from Gazprom had been cut but said it was still supplying its own clients as needed.

 

"Cutting gas supplies is a breach of contract and PGNiG reserves the right to seek compensation and will use all available contractual and legal means to do so," the company said.

 

Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said Russia was "beginning the gas blackmail of Europe".

 

"Russia is trying to shatter the unity of our allies," Yermak said.

WATCH ABEG.........APC National leader, Bola Tinubu, spotted in Mecca (video)

 

APC National leader, Bola Tinubu, was spotted in Mecca for this year's Umrah. He was seen having a discussion with former EFCC boss, Nuhu Ribadu.  watch

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc2PUYFgSwg/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_video_watch_again

Doing business in Nigeria is easier now than before - President Buhari

 

President Buhari has said that the ease of doing business in Nigeria is better now than before.

 

A statement released by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Buhari, Femi Adesina, said the president said this during Iftar with members of the business community and the leadership of political parties in Abuja on Tuesday night, April 26.

 

The president said his administration had done “exceedingly well” in improving the business climate of Nigeria. The president asked the private sector to complement government’s effort in poverty reduction and job creation for young people. In 2020, Nigeria ranked 131 globally on the World Bank’s ease of doing business index. The country moved up by 15 places from its previous position — 146.

 

‘‘No administration has done as much as we have done in the creation of a climate best suited for business, big and small, to thrive. The business index that is globally recognized has acknowledged that the ease with which business is carried out in the country has never been better than it is today. We will continue to make it better.

We will equally continue to count on the support of the private sector to improve economic growth and create new job opportunities for our teeming population.

Employment is critical to stability and prosperity of our country. Government and the private sector, working together, have an opportunity to transform the lives of people in ways that was hard to imagine in the past.”the President said

 

''You don't get that in Heathrow"- Caucasian man visiting Nigeria commends Nigerian Immigration officers for always being cheerful and polite at the airport

 

Nigeria's Country Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society, Andrew Dunn, has commended the staff of the Nigeria Immigration Service at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja for always being cheerful and happy as they discharge their duties.

 

Posting via his Twitter handle, Dunn said the immigration officers are always happy and polite. He said when he arrived in the country this morning, an Immigration officer told him ''welcome home'', something he said had never happens at the Heathrow airport in the UK.

''Why is it that when I land back in Abuja, staff from the Nigeria Immigration Service @nigimmigration  are always the most cheerful, polite and welcoming staff in the whole airport. This morning one lovely Immigration lady told me 'welcome home'. You don't get that in Heathrow.''he tweeted

 

He went on to say that even at 6am, the officers remain cheerful and happy. See his tweets below...

 

 

'I was so ashamed of my beard' Woman says she has now embraced her beard and is more confident after spending years hiding her facial hair

 

A woman, Gennevieve Vaillancourt has come out to reveal her struggle with accepting her facial hair.

According to Vaillancourt, she spent years desperately trying to hide her facial hair but she’s now decided to let her beard grow and is more confident than ever.

Aged 34, from Ontario, Canada, Gennevieve says she started growing hair around her chin and upper lip from the age of 16, and was later diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome, which caused the excessive growth.

 

 

She says she had to shave every day, but on the second day after shaving the hair was already growing back.

‘I was so ashamed of my beard,’ she said.

‘I was bullied through school because of it and kids would tell me to shave or asked if I knew how to.’

‘When I received my PCOS diagnosis, I felt relieved to have something to research and to know there was a reason why these things were happening to me.

‘I also felt the loss of hope at the thought of not being able to be a mum in the future because it is one of the top causes of infertility in women

‘Another symptom was weight gain and of course, the growth of facial hair.

‘PCOS made me want to hide and I felt robbed of my femininity.’

She says it wasn't until the pandemic  that Gennevieve began to experiment with letting her facial hair grow.

After giving birth to her son, Duncan, now aged three, it pushed the mum to embrace her looks.

‘I wanted to lead by example,’ she said. ‘I couldn’t teach him to love every part of himself if I wasn’t doing the same.’

She began to share photos of her beard online, which helped her confidence to grow, until she was finally inspired to go out in the world as a bearded woman by an interaction with her family.

‘As soon as my facial hair started to grow when I was 16, I knew that it would eventually become a full beard and I knew that I wanted to get to a place where I was brave enough to grow it out and wear it in public,’ said Gennevieve.

 

‘I just needed to learn some tools to be able to do that.

‘The main turning point for me was when I ran into one of my aunts while I was waiting in the car outside of the supermarket.

‘I hadn’t shaved in probably about three days and I gave her a warning that I had my beard and she told my uncle not to come over because he “didn’t need to see this”.

‘I saw my aunt’s shame, but it also made me realise that I deserve to be seen!

‘This really fuelled me to take the leap to be seen. I have been growing my beard out since September 2021.’

 

‘I have been able to accept myself for who I am and can walk around in public with my beard with confidence,’ she said.

‘Surprisingly, since fully growing out my beard I haven’t faced any backlash or bullying.

‘It’s obvious that I am a woman, so I could see the confusion on people’s faces. I was watching them go through a whole process of trying to understand.

‘All of the positive experiences I have had since showing off my beard have spurred me on to keep going.

‘I feel more confident than I have ever felt with my beard. When I wasn’t able to be my true self and I was hiding away, I was filled with so much anxiety.

‘Showing off my beard has been liberating.’

Nigerian man vows to break the heart of a lady who turned him down when he had nothing but wants him now because he is made

 

A Twitter user has vowed to break the heart of a lady whom he professed love to a long time ago but got rejected. According to him, the lady in question rejected him because he was still struggling at the time.

 

He said after rejecting him, she began to see a young man who relocated to Dubai and started sending her gifts. According to the Twitter user, the Dubai-based man later dumped the lady, and then she turned her focus to him after she discovered he has started making money.

 

He vowed to break her heart after messing around with her. Read his tweets below...

 

 

Nigerian Pastor allegedly charges his members N310k to 'fly them to heaven' (videos)

 

A Nigerian Pastor identified as Ade Abraham of Christ High Commission Ministry, also known as Royal Christ Assembly, Kaduna State, is making headlines after being accused of convincing his church members to relocate to a camp in Ekiti State with him in order to “prepare for the end of the world” and also allegedly charging them N310k to 'fly them to heaven'.

 

A church member told FIJ that Pastor Abraham first relocated to Ekiti State from Kaduna State, where he was formerly based, in 2020.

 

Upon returning to Kaduna State in April, he allegedly asked members of his church to pay him N310,000 before they would be allowed to follow him to Omuo-Ekiti, where “the gate of heaven will open for all of them to fly to heaven”. He allegedly assured his members that they would all ‘ascend to heaven together from the location in Ekiti’.

 

A source told the news outlet; 

 

“My relative has also asked her daughter, who is studying abroad, to return to Nigeria, or else the pastor (Abraham) would make her commit an offence over there that would see her go to jail.”

 

A Whatsapp chat backed the claim and it captured what the pastor’s follower told her daughter.

 

It read; 

 

“Daddy Abraham said I should tell you to come back, that he is the one who makes you to come down to Nigeria, and I was the one who gave you the chance to return back there, that I should also know how you will come back or he will make you to commit an offence over there and they will put you in prison. That he probably send you down so you will achieve your goals. 

“Please Elizabeth, if there is how you will help yourself to come back, I will be glad. Don’t let daddy put any one of you in trouble.”

 

 

Another member of the church who is currently in camp in Ekiti said that Abraham’s campers still go about their normal businesses on regular days.

 

The follower also said “saved members” left their “past lives” behind in Kaduna to join the pastor in Ekiti on April 6. He confirmed that they would be at the camp with the pastor “until the day of rapture”.

 

 

According to the member, Abraham still holds regular church services on Sundays and Wednesdays.

 

The member added; 

 

“We are not coming back. I can’t explain in details.

“We are going to make rapture from here. We are going to a heavenly place.” he told the publication

 

Your father would have been very proud of you - Bianca Ojukwu celebrates her twin children on their birthday

 

Bianca Ojukwu, widow of late Biafran leader, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, has celebrated her twin children, Chineme and Afamefuna, on their birthday.

 

Chineme, a PhD student and Afam, an Engineer, turned a year older on Tuesday, April 26. Their proud mother took to Facebook to pray for them. 

 

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY UMU EJIMA : CHINEME AND AFAMEFUNA ODUMEGWU-OJUKWU.

God is simply awesome! Where would I be without these precious gifts, first on the list of my greatest achievements in this life? Chi fondly called Nne m o, mummy’s PHD student..kind, considerate, patient and resourceful.

 

"And Afamefuna, the young Engineer...diligent, principled, calm and focused. Your father would have been very proud of the accomplished, yet humble individuals you have become . I thank God for the privilege of being your mother

 

"May the good Lord continue to envelop you in his love and care, guide and protect you both, and shower you with abundant blessings ALL the days of your lives. Happy Birthday, Twins."

THIS LADY IS ASKING WHAT DO MEN REALLY WANT ?

 

Riken

@callme_Riken

·

Apr 27

But Yul no need anymore family than this nau, sometimes I wonder what some men really want

THIS TWITTER USER SAYS YUL IS NOT A TRUE CATHOLIC

 

I am not religious and I also support polygamy if you can afford it … it’s not for everyone but Yul Edochie with his rosary wearing, committed Catholic Christian lifestyle one would never think he will go against the Catholic marriage code to have a second wife!

"They are my sisters, I have every right to discipline them" NSCDC official allegedly says after brutalising his sisters for keeping male friends

 

An officer of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Ugwueze Ezekiel, has allegedly said he has the right to discipline his sisters after photos of the injuries he inflicted on his teenage sister went viral.

 

Over the weekend, Ugwueze Ezekiel was accused of torturing and brutalising his 19-year-old sister, Amarachi Ugwueze, a microbiology student of the University of Abuja, for refusing to surrender her mobile phone to him after he accused her of having a boyfriend. 

 

The incident, which occurred at Aviation Estate in Kuje Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on Wednesday, left the young lady with multiple injuries. 

 

 

He was also accused of being in the habit of torturing his two sisters over suspicions that they had boyfriends. 

 

The latest incident occurred on Wednesday, April 20.  Ugwueze Ezekiel reportedly returned from work and ordered Amarachi to bring her phone with the aim of going through her text messages but she refused.

 

Angered by this, the NSCDC personnel allegedly attacked her and forcibly seized the mobile phone. 

 

 

He then allegedly locked her up in a room throughout the night where he physically assaulted her.

 

The victim told SaharaReporters: "After he seized my first phone, I retrieved my SIM to get my contacts back with another phone my friend, Chisom, gave to me. 

 

"Last Wednesday night when he came home, he asked for the new phone my friend gave me but I refused to give him. He immediately started hitting my head on the wall, slapping and using a stick to hit my legs. I had to bring out the phone because the beating was much.

 

"After that, he asked me to lie on the floor and was flogging me with a cable and belt and sized my admission letter and certificate." 

 

Amarachi and her sister, Chidinma Ugwueze, 21, later fled the house over fears of further torture from their brother.

 

After photos of the injuries inflicted on Amarachi went viral, an NGO stepped in to seek justice for the sisters.

 

 

Tracy Mcwary, founder of an eponymous foundation, took to Facebook to reveal that she has spoken with the sisters and also with their brother, the NSCDC official.

 

She added that she has everything recorded and that the brother said: "They are my sisters and I have every right to discipline them. I only flogged them with belt."

 

Terrorists release new photos of abducted Abuja-Kaduna train passengers

 

Terrorists have released new photos of the abducted Abuja- Kaduna train passengers.

 

The three photos currently trending on social media are believed to have been released on Monday night, April 25. 

 

“They want to tell the world that the abducted passengers are alive and in good condition." a security expert, Abubakar Ahmed told Nigerian Tribune. 

 

However, a family member of one of the victims said that they have been disturbed since the photos emerged.

 

“We have been praying for him and others day and night," he said.  

 

Another family member of one of the abducted passengers who gave his name as Yunusa Mohammed, said: "We are really disturbed when we saw her picture. How can we be happy? We just want her to be released with others unhurt.”

 

It was gathered that some of the elderly among the abducted passengers have complained about their deteriorating health conditions.

 

A disturbed relation also told the publication that his uncle was among the abducted passengers and his health is worsening.

 

"He spoke when the second video was released on the need to hasten their release in view of the fact that his health is deteriorating. He was among the elders in one of the pictures,” he said. 

 

Russia threatens to strike military sites in Britain and other NATO countries because of their support for Ukraine

 

The Kremlin has warned it could target military sites in the UK and other NATO countries because of their support for Ukraine. 

 

Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, suggested that strikes could be authorised against NATO states who provide arms to Ukraine. 

 

She warned: 'Do we understand correctly that for the sake of disrupting the logistics of military supplies, Russia can strike military targets on the territory of those Nato countries that supply arms to the Kyiv regime?

 

 'After all, this directly leads to deaths and bloodshed on Ukrainian territory. As far as I understand, Britain is one of those countries.'

 

Her words came after Britain's Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said that the UK backed Ukrainian airstrikes on Russian infrastructure.

 

He added that it would be 'completely legitimate' for British weapons to be used in such attacks, even though none are currently thought to be.

 

Heappey also said that Britain would re-start the training of Ukrainian troops inside Ukraine if the conflict became 'frozen' in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

 

But his remarks were seized upon by the Kremlin, with the defence ministry accusing him of 'provocation'.

 

In a significant escalation of tensions, Moscow also warned that it would be prepared to strike back at 'decision-making centres' in Kyiv in retaliation even if British and other Western diplomats were present.

 

Reacting to the threats, Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the defence select committee, said Heappey's remarks had the 'potential to invite retaliatory attacks into Poland'.

 

He also warned that Russia could hit western targets outside Ukraine and told The Times that the West was becoming 'increasingly involved in a proxy war'.

 

This comes after Boris Johnson last week announced that Britain will reopen its embassy in Kyiv two months after staff were evacuated as war broke out. The embassy is due to open this week 'dependent on the security situation'.

"Strangers have advised me to kill my son" Jodie speaks about the challenges of raising a special needs child in Nigeria as she calls for support for special parents

 

Kuchi Kuchi singer, Jodie, has opened up about the realities of raising a special needs child.

 

The mother-of-one — whose 6-year-old son Chinua lives with cerebral palsy —  revealed in a touching post that the hospital where she had her son is to blame for his condition.

 

She added that she would have gone to a general hospital if she knew how things would turn out.

 

The singer, whose birth name is Joy Eseoghene Odiete, said that because of her son's disability, she cannot keep a relationship as her "soul is shattered".

 

She explained that her son's health condition has turned her into a beggar.

 

She wrote: "My finances have been swallowed. My friends have abandoned me because I'm a beggar. My debts are new every morning."

 

She disclosed that special needs children don't eat regular food and need special care and this drains finances of parents.

 

She added that many have advised her to kill her child, Chinua, "because such children are sent to swallow up finances."

 

She said she has done all sorts of jobs to provide for her child but the expensive child care takes it all.

 

She added that her son's situation makes her fall ill "almost every 3 weeks due to stress".

 

The singer then said that her and other special needs parents have suffered alone for too long because they have been ashamed of the stigmatisation.

 

But she says this shame has to end so they can get help for their children.

 

"We are now shameless. We are now helpless. We have gone mad... We need a permanent solution," she wrote.

 

She then called on the government, non-governmental organisations and other authorities to provide a "permanent solution" for the care of special needs children so that parents will not have to go broke to care for their special needs kids.

 

She concluded: "My head is heavy. My eyes hurt, because I cry every night. Don't wait for singer of Kuchi Kuchi to die first before you do a memorial service while her child is left to suffer. Do not spend a dime when I'm dead. Do all you can about it now while I'm alive. I beg you Nigerians."

 

Jodie was married to actor David Nnaji, the father of Chinua, but the marriage went South shortly after the birth of their son. David then welcomed a baby girl with another woman.

 

Read Jodie's full post below.

 

I don’t owe anybody allegiance outside my oath of office – Osinbajo

 

Vice president and 2023 Presidential hopeful, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, has said that he owes no single individual any allegiance asides from the oath he swore to Nigerians when he came into office in 2015.

 

Osinbajo said this on Tuesday April 26, during his political consultations in Ogun state. He stated this amidst reports that his decision to run for President was a betrayal of his former principal and erstwhile political godfather, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who had also declared his presidential aspiration ahead of 2023. 

 

Speaking to his supporters in Ogun, Osinbajo said

 

''After all I have learnt, if called upon to serve the nation, should I say No? I have decided that I will run for the office. I have sworn an oath to the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is an oath to our people; our children and the future of Nigeria. I owe nobody else any allegiance outside the oath.”

Any architect or accountant without a job is not because of the devil. They lack integrity - Pastor Ibiyeomie (video)

 

Clergyman, David Ibiyeomie, has said that any architect or accountant that doesn't have a job isn't because of the devil but because they lack integrity.

 

Speaking during a church service recently, Ibiyeomie said;

''Any builder not getting jobs is not the devil. It is integrity that is your problem. All architects, all builders, civil engineers, if you are not getting jobs..there are too many jobs. It is not because there is no jobs, You lack integrity. 

You are so good...anybody that is good and is not getting jobs...any accountant that is not employed lacks integrity. The first qualification of an accountant is integrity. The second qualification is integrity, the third is integrity. Not ICAN. An accountant's qualification is not ICAN. ICAN without integrity, you are in the CAN.''

 

Woman shocked as someone in Port Harcourt hotel calls her and other guests out for morning prayers (video)

 

A woman who lodged in a hotel in Port Harcourt,  Rivers state, revealed that guests were called out of their rooms for early morning prayers.

 

She explained that she heard a knock on her door early in the morning and when she answered, she was told to come down for morning prayers.

 

She thought it was a joke but she realised it wasn't when she heard claps and songs from the compound and noticed guests and staff having morning devotion.

 

She took to Twitter to share a video from the hotel and wrote: "I lodged at a hotel in ph, this morning, I got a knock on my door that I should come for prayers, I think say na joke, I didnt reply, next thing is a loud clap and songs from downstairs. It's still 7:30am and na rest I come rest here oo, what's all this one now."

 

I am deeply hurt and embarrassed - Victoria Inyama addresses Pete Edochie after his son, Yul announced that he has welcomed a child with his second wife

 

UK-based Nollywood actress, Victoria Inyama has addressed Pete Edochie after his son, Yul announced that he has welcomed a child with his second wife. 

 

Fidelis Chidi blog reported earlier that Yul Edochie welcomed a child with actress Judy Austin Muoghalu who he described as his "second wife".  His wife of over 17 years, May Yul-Edochie who was in the comment section of the post, expressed how hurt she is with the development by writing "May God judge you both."

 

Reacting to this, Inyama shared a screenshot of a post on polygamy from one of Pete Edochie fan groups on Facebook. 

 

It read; 

 

Marrying two wives doesn't mean you are a man, it just means you are about to suffer and breed confusion among your generations

 

Tagging Pete Edochie to the post, Inyama wrote; 

 

Thank U Sir @peteedochie .......
This hurts...I am deeply hurt and Embarrassed

 

My marriage collapsed after my wife slept nak£d behind her mother – Man alleges

 

A man who resides at Kumasi Metropolis in Ghana, has narrated how his marriage of four years collapsed after his wife slept naked behind her mother.

 

Speaking on Oyerepa Afutuo radio show, Agya Wusu said he and his wife, Jamila, were enjoying their lives together until his mother-in-law paid them a visit.

 

Wusu said on the third day of Jamila’s mother’s visit, he and his wife went out to a bar and returned late at night. He claimed that even though his wife never took any alcoholic beverage, he saw her naked behind his mother the next morning. 

 

He stated that their once-happy marriage has been in a state of extreme crisis since the incident, and they've had to deal with a slew of difficulties. 

 

Wusu said; 

 

“I had my mother-in-law come for a few days. Three days later, my wife and I went to a local bar to listen to some live music, which we enjoyed. We arrived at our destination rather late. We were in the same room, but the following day I discovered her laying behind her mother, which I thought was strange. I’m not sure how she arrived at that place.

“Since that incident occurred, we have experienced a number of difficulties. As of right now, our marriage has come to an end.”