CROSS RIVER ODDITY: Mbasogos plane causes stir in Calabar

LEGS REPORTS NG - The presidential jet belonging to the President of Equatorial Guinea, Theodore Obiong Nguema Mbasogo made another visit to the Margaret Ekpo International airport in Calabar yesterday and intensely stirred the curiosity of airport security, passengers and government officials. The light aircraft which bore the insignia of the office of president of Equatorial Guinea was escorted by Equatorial Guinea security agents. The presidential plane brought back the spiritual leader of Brotherhood of the Cross and Star, His Holiness Olumba Olumba Obu and a large number of his faithful from Equatorial Guinea where they were hosted for four days by president Mbasogo. The treatment of the religious leader by the Equatorial Guinean security and crewmen as well as the appearance of the Obus faithful who were all clad in white caused a big surprise among the airport officials and passengers. The jet with entirely White crew first landed at the airport last Tuesday and had on board key officials of President Mbasogos government and security details. One of the officials that accompanied the jet last Tuesday who refused to give his name said that President Mbasogo had dispatched the jet to come and convey the spiritual leader and his aides to his country for discussion on partnership and to conduct special prayers for his government. A key aide to the religious leader, Brigadier General Enang Essien (rtd) who is a bishop in the spiritual movement confirmed that President Mbasogo had actually invited the religious leader to visit his country. He said, President Mbasogo sent the presidential plane to convey our father, His Holiness Olumba Olumba Obu and some of the members of Brotherhood to visit his country and to help establish branches of the church there. According to another key member of the fold, an oil magnate Bishop Bassey Imowo, President Mbasogo has made appeasl to the religious leader to relocate to his country, pledging to donate hectares of land and other supports to enable

him establish. Imowo said Mbasogo has further promised to make the presidential jet available for the religious leader and his contingent next month when he pays official visit to USA and Trinidad & Tobago.

Daily Star
BY EYO CHARLES, 10 FEBRUARY 2013

Nigeria: Religious Leader Launches Starcross Cable TV

Calabar A new cable Television channel known as StarCross TV has been launched by a powerful religious leader based in Nigeria, His Holiness Olumba Olumba Obu of the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star. The launch was held simultaneously in Calabar and in Pretoria, capital of South Africa, where the network partners are based. The spokesman of the organization, Pastor Patrick Ibeabuchi who briefed journalists in Calabar at the weekend said viewers in Nigeria and in other countries will begin to receive StarCross TV signals in the next couple of weeks. He said the founder of the spiritual organization and sponsor of the TV stations aims to help expand more avenues of information to the yearning public by promoting programmes with godly ideals with a view to further bridging the gap of misinformation and to uniting mankind. "The launch of this international TV station by His Holiness Olumba Olumba Obu is not only to promote and strengthen the unique teachings of love and peace of

the Kingdom of God but to serve as the preferred and most credible global religious channel that encourages unity of mankind", he said. One of the representatives of the religious leader in South Africa who is anchoring other technical and collaborating details, Ogar Osim also disclosed that they were presently recruiting capable and technical hands that would manage the TV station. "Some of these technical staff are not necessarily members of this fold. They would be sent abroad for further training in different aspect of Television programming and engineering. Already, I can also confirm to you that a former general manager of NTA channel 7 in Lagos, Barrister Adedeji Ayinde is very much involved in the designing of required programmes and his pieces of advice have been very useful", he said. Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that the spiritual leader whom faithful called 'The Father' and ' King of kings and Lord of lords' has already invested substantial sum of money to float national newspaper and news magazine.