Gospel artist Sammie Okposo has apologised to his wife, family, friends, and fans for his recent act of infidelity.

The singer took to his verified Instagram page and Instagram story to tender the apology.

“I need to bring a very unfortunate incident to your attention as I am not proud of it but know that this is the right thing to do,” he began.

“On my recent trip to the USA (late 2021), I got intimately involved with a lady, knowing that this was not appropriate as a married man and a minister of the gospel.

“I am ashamed and regret my actions as it has caused a lot of pain to my dear wife, Ozioma, my family and I.”

Continuing, he said’ “As I work in making peace with God, repenting and asking for His forgiveness, I am suspending myself from all ministry work until full restoration as this is what is proper and what I know I owe God and His people.

“To my wife, Ozioma. I am sincerely sorry I put you through this shameful and embarrassing situation. I broke your trust and disappointed you.

“Your forgiveness of my moral failure and poor judgment is important to me. I pray I will eventually be able to build back the trust and confidence every single day for the rest of my life.

“I want to take this moment and apologise to all Fathers and Mothers of the Faith and ministers of the Gospel for my behavior and moral failure. I won’t be here if not for your investment and belief in what God has called me to do. I sincerely apologise for this embarrassing situation.

“To all that have been a part of my ministry, followed my ministry or know me personally, I am truly sorry for disappointing you.

I regret any pain or disappointment that this news of my moral failure and poor judgement may cause you and I am truly sorry for disappointing you. I humbly ask that you continue to pray for me.”

Okposo got married to Ozioma in July 2010.

Reset Nigeria calls for President of Southern extraction, threatens to vote against PDP if they zone presidency to North[/b]1

The Reset Nigeria group has called on the people of Southern Nigeria to resist the attempt by the main opposition, People’s Democratic Party, to zone their presidential candidate to Northern Nigeria in 2023.

The group called on the Party to allow fairness, equity and natural justice to prevail by allowing a president of southern extraction to take over from President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.

The spokesperson of the group, Mallam Ibrahim Mustapha in a press statement made available to newsmen said, it is imperative that power is returned to Southern Nigeria in 2023 as it has always been the tradition of the opposition People’s Democratic Party, the PDP to allow equity and Justice to prevail.

The group recalled that in 1999, both the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD) fielded Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Chief Olu Falae, respectively owing to a consensus among the ruling elite then that power should be returned to the South in 1999, apparently to calm frayed nerves among the Yoruba people who felt that they were shortchanged by the annulment of the 1993 presidential election won by Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiola.

The group frowns at any attempt by the main opposition, PDP to deny the South, a president of Southern extraction.

“The South is not bereft of competent and politically savvy Patriots to govern the country. Why should they be denied the opportunity to produce a president in 2023?”

The group threatened that if the main opposition PDP goes ahead to deny the region a southern candidate in 2023, they’ll mobilize over five million of their members to vote against the party in 2023.

The PDP entrenched the zoning formula, though not in the nation’s constitution for the purpose of equity, fairness and justice and as such, the current leadership should not truncate the gentleman agreement that the founding fathers entrenched in the party.

“The goal is to move the country forward and no nation thrives where there is no peace, equity and justice”.

The group is one of many groups that has threatened to vote against any party that goes north in picking who represents them. Also, youth groups, nationalists and statesmen have joined in that same call.

 Burkina Faso's army said it took control of the country on Monday, deposing President Roch Kabore, dissolving the government and parliament, suspending the constitution and shuttering its borders.

The coup was announced on state television by Captain Sidsore Kader Ouedraogo, who said the military had seized power in response to the "ongoing degradation of the security situation" in the country and the "incapacity of the government" to unite the population.

Sitting alongside him dressed in military fatigues and a red beret was Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba, a senior military officer who was introduced to the people of Burkina Faso as their new leader.

Damiba was promoted in December by Kabore to commander of the country's third military region, which is responsible for security in the capital Ouagadougou, according to Reuters. He studied at a military academy in Paris, and recently authored a book titled "West African Armies and Terrorism: Uncertain Responses?"

There was no mention made in the televised statement about Kabore's whereabouts. The president has not been seen in public since fighting broke out on Sunday around the presidential palace in Ouagadougou.

One of the coup leaders told CNN that Kabore was detained early Monday by soldiers that had taken control of a military base before storming the palace grounds and firing shots near the president's home. The same source said that Kabore signed his resignation and is being kept in a "safe place" in the West African country.

But Kabore's exact location remains unknown; on Monday afternoon, a message was posted from his Twitter account asking those involved in the insurrection to lower their arms.

"Our nation is going through difficult times," the tweet said. "We must in this precise moment, preserve our democratic achievements. I invite those who took arms to lower them in the superior interest of the nation. It is through dialogue and listening that we must resolve our contradictions."

The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is concerned about the whereabouts of President Kabore and is following developments in Burkina Faso closely, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a Monday statement.

Pictures from Ouagadougou on Monday showed armed vehicles and soldiers parked outside the headquarters of the state broadcaster, Radio Télévision du Burkina (RTB).

Plans for the military coup have been underway since August, hatched in encrypted messaging apps and countless secret meetings held outside the capital, one of the coup leaders told CNN, adding that the soldiers are angry at the government's handling of jihadist attacks in the country, and believe Burkina Faso is better off under military rule right now.

Civilians gathered on the streets honking car horns and cheering in support of the military following Monday's announcement.

"People are fleeing their homes and people are dying everywhere because of terrorism. The situation is not solved. If the army takes the lead I think things will go back to normal," said Oumar Junior Bahoro, who was protesting in downtown Ouagadougou.

The Economic Community for West Africa States (ECOWAS) posted a statement on Facebook Monday saying it was watching "with great concern the political and security situation in Burkina Faso, following an attempted coup d'état."

ECOWAS demanded that the "soldiers return to the barracks, maintain a Republican situation and favor dialogue with the authorities to resolve problems," adding that it held the military responsible for Kabore's wellbeing

On Monday, the French embassy in Burkina Faso posted a message on its website warning its citizens in the country that the situation "remains rather confusing."

"In the wait for a clarification, we recommend that you avoid non-essential movements during the day and do not go out at night," the message said.

Two Air France flights scheduled for Monday evening were also canceled, according to the embassy.

'Mounting dissatisfaction'

Burkina Faso has been wracked with violence linked to the Islamic State and al Qaeda that has killed thousands and displaced 1.5 million people, according to UNHCR. The military has been hard hit; last month at least 50 security forces were killed in the Sahel.

Anger has been mounting across the country for weeks. The coup comes one day after a protest in the capital demanding the president's resignation.

"This coup attempt isn't coming out of nowhere. It's building on mounting dissatisfaction within the population and security forces with the government's handling of the security crisis," said Constantin Gouvy, a Burkina Faso researcher who works for the Netherlands-based Clingendael Institute. Kabore has championed a military-first approach since being first elected in 2015 and it's not been successful, he said.

Reuters reported that sustained gunfire rang out from military camps in the West African country on Sunday, as soldiers demanded more support for their fight against Islamist militants.

Protesters came out to support the mutineers on Sunday and ransacked the headquarters of Kaboré's political party, according to the news agency.

The government declared a curfew until further notice and closed schools for two days.

The turmoil in Burkina Faso comes after successful military putsches over the past 18 months in its West African neighbors Mali and Guinea, where the army removed President Alpha Conde last September.

West Africa, which until recently appeared to have shed its reputation as Africa's "coup belt," remains susceptible to unrest.

The military also took over in Chad last year after President Idriss Deby died on the battlefield there.

Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in West Africa -- despite being a gold producer.

Its army has suffered heavy losses at the hands of Islamist militants, who control swathes of the country and have forced residents in those areas to abide by their harsh version of Islamic law, Reuters reports.

Sources: CNN

 Six people are reported to have been killed and dozens hurt in a crush outside a stadium hosting an Africa Cup of Nations match in Cameroon.

Video footage showed football fans struggling to get access to the Paul Biya stadium in a neighbourhood of the capital Yaounde.

Naseri Paul Biya, governor of Cameroon's central region, said there may be more casualties, AP News said.

Another report said a number of children had lost consciousness.

The stadium has a capacity of 60,000 but because of Covid restrictions it was not meant to be more than 80% full.

Match officials were quoted as saying that some 50,000 people were trying to attend.

Nurse Olinga Prudence told AP that some of the injured were in a "desperate condition".

The Confederation of African Football, CAF said in a statement that it is "currently investigating the situation and trying to get more details on what transpired".

The last 16 match between Cameroon and Comoros took place despite the incident and ended with a 2-1 win for the hosts.

 The Minister of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, Hajia Zainab Ahmed, said in Abuja on Monday that the Federal Government had postponed the planned removal of subsidy on petroleum products till further notice.

Ahmed stated this at a meeting held at the National Assembly.

The meeting was convened at the instance of the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan.

It had in attendance the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva and the Group Managing Director of the. NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari, among others.

The Finance Minister said the Federal Government initially had the plans to remove subsidy on petroleum products from July this year.

She said that was the reason adequate provision was made in the 2022 national budget for subsidy payment till June.

She said, “Provision was made in the 2022 budget for subsidy payment from January till June. That suggested that from July, there would be no subsidy.

”The provision was made sequel to the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act which indicated that all petroleum products would be deregulated.

“Sequel to the passage of the PIA, we went back to amend the fiscal framework to incorporate the subsidy removal.

“However, after the budget was passed, we had consultations with a number of stakeholders and it became clear that the timing was problematic.

“We discovered that practically, there is still heightened inflation and that the removal of subsidy would further worsen the situation and impose more difficulties on the citizenry.

“Mr. President (Muhammadu Buhari), does not want to do that. What we are now doing is to continue with the ongoing discussions and consultations in terms of putting in place a number of measures.

“One of these include the roll out of the refining capacities of the existing refineries and the new ones which would reduce amount of products that would be imported into the country.

“We therefore need to return to the National Assembly to now amend the budget and make additional provision for subsidy from July 22 to whatever period that we agreed was suitable for the commencement of the total removal.'’

The Senate President therefore urged the organised labour unions in the country to shelve their proposed nationwide protests as it was no longer necessary.

The meeting dissolved to a closed session and it was still ongoing as at the time of filing this report.