Buhari Reassures Nigerians Fulfilment Of Campaign Promises

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Staff Reporter

President Muhammadu Buhari has assured that Nigerians will soon see the fulfilment of his election campaign promises. He spoke on Wednesday in Abuja while receiving university students.

The president assured Nigerian youth that his government’s anti-corruption campaign would secure their future.

In an address to members of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) who marched to the presidential villa to pledge their full support for his anti-corruption campaign, President Buhari promised that he will do his best to place Nigeria well on the way to becoming the nation of their dreams.

“Everything you have asked for are the things that will make for a good country, and what we are after is a good country, a country where our youths can have a future and a hope,” the president said.

Read More: premiumtimesng

Cash Coming For ‘Extremely Poor’ Nigerians- Osinbajo

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Government has revealed two of its key programmes to fight the scourge.They are, one-meal-a-day for school pupils; and Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) for 25 million “extremely” poor households.

To benefit from the CCT, there are two conditions. Beneficiaries must be vulnerable and fullfil their civic responsibilities. They must participate in polio vacination, school enrolment and support other government programmes.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who spoke on the administration’s plan, said the government would carry out “social sector investment”.

Osinbajo spoke at the 45th Annual Accounting Conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in Abuja on “Repositioning Nigeria for Sustainable Development: From Rhetoric to Performance”.

Read More: thenationonlineng

Sola Ajibola: The Case For Youth Inclusion in Top Government Positions In Nigeria

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Staff Reporter

To many Nigerians, ‘Change’ has finally come and to some others, every move by the new government must be critiqued.

The overall interest of Nigerians is priority and as such, it is important that we do not take the usual route of praise singing or blind criticism of the current administration, but point out salient issues that have held the nation bound for years.

The general elections has come and gone, but it is safe to say the campaign period did not only leave a bitter taste in the mouths of some potential political neophytes, but also laid emphasis to the marginalization of the youth demographic (between the ages of 25-39) holding elective positions across the country.

There were many debates about the impact of age and effect of youthful ideas as it affects governance during the campaigns and anyone who is truthful will know that Nigeria ignores the input of the youth in politics and especially in governance.

The case for socio economic inclusion cannot be overemphasized, there is an urgent so need for youth participation in government both at the state and federal level.

Anthony Enahoro was 27 years old when he led the struggle for independence after the death of Herbert Macaulay. The late sage Obafemi Awolowo was 37 and Nnamdi Azikiwe was 42 at the time.

Nigeria’s political history cannot be written without the contribution of the youth, from the time of the 1966 coup led by Ifeanyi Kaduna Nzeogu who was 29 to the time of President Muhammadu Buhari who became a governor at 24 and at 31, was already a head of state.

Many of the military administrators who governed the states under the successive military regimes were below 30 years of age at the time. A number of them are still relevant even up to the current administration.

Even the brief democratic dispensation which interjected the military interregnums also saw the House of Representatives in particular populated majorly by members under 30.

Today, Nigeria’s growing youth demographic make up over 40% of the population with little or no significant representation in government. As much as the wisdom of the elderly is needed in the nation building process, the strength, ideas and versatility of the youth cannot be overlooked.

The world is changing fast and Nigeria need not be left behind.
The power of the youth was brought to bare in the last elections which visibly changed the dynamics. The youth took the campaign to social media, facilitated voters registration and created voter monitoring awareness platforms which clearly determined the eventual winners.

Consequently, It is only natural to have fair representation of the youth in government based on the value added during the elections.

Nigeria is losing out by failing to harness the untapped potentials of this vibrant 40%. At this point in our democracy, it will not be out of place to have a law in the constitution that ensures youth inclusion in government especially leadership roles such as; Cabinet/Ministerial positions, MDA heads, commissioner roles among others.

In the absence of a law however, it is not too late for progressive change.

In mentoring the next generation of leaders, It is imperative going forward that the President Buhari led Federal Government lead by ensuring there is significant youth representation in his cabinet.

Same can be done at the state level for example, in cosmopolitan Lagos led by Governor Ambode and even Govenor el-Rufai in Kaduna who both have shown to be of progressive mindsets.

The inclusion of intelligent young people in cabinet positions will send a clear message that the youth will no longer be taken for granted and are partners to effect positive change by bringing fresh ideas to governance.

We all are aware of the stellar
performances of former Governor of Cross River State Donald Duke and former EFCC boss Nuhu Ribadu who held top government positions at a young age and performed exceptionally.

In conclusion, it is essential that we earnestly tap the ideas of the younger generation by ensuring they have greater opportunities to participate in governance and decision making after all, it is popularly said that the youth are the leaders of tomorrow.

Sola Ajibola

(ajibosola@gmail.com)

Views expressed are solely that of author and does not represent views of www.omojuwa.com nor its associates

Fani-Kayode Bares His Mind On PMB’s New Appointments, Mocks Nigerians

Posted on August 28, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Femi Fani-Kayode has reacted to the latest appointments made by President Muhammadu Buhari, which favoured only the North.

Reacting to the development, he posted this on his Facebook page:

“NIGERIANS WANTED ‘CHANGE’ AND NOW WE HAVE GOT IT. NO-ONE SHOULD COMPLAIN BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT OUR PEOPLE WANTED. THOSE OF US THAT WARNED THE COUNTRY THAT THIS WOULD HAPPEN WERE INSULTED AND LAMPOONED. NOW WE HAVE TO LIVE WITH THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR CHOICE FOR THE NEXT FOUR YEARS. WELCOME TO THE NEW NIGERIA. WELCOME TO ‘CHANGE’

Uproar On Twitter As Nigerians React To Buhari’s New Appointments

Posted on August 28, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Seems the latest appointments by President Muhammadu Buhari is causing an uproar on twitter. Nigerians are exercising their civil rights by expressing mixed reactions toward the newly appointees. Most of the issues surrounding these reactions involve federal character and ethnicity. Read tweets below:

https://twitter.com/Ibrahiim_B/status/636979137656324096

Apart from their states of origin, how much do you know about Buhari's appointees?

— FOLA FOLAYAN (@TheFavoredWoman) August 27, 2015

https://twitter.com/88ideass/status/636980029570854912

Buhari is setting a terrible precedent which could spell doom for this country with a fragile unity.

— Emma ik Umeh (Tcee )?? (@emmaikumeh) August 27, 2015

Am I disappointed with buhari appointment so far? No man of integrity and competence in the south?@MBuhari @apcyouthomoodua @AsiwajuTinubu

— Abiola (@Sirjacobs_114) August 27, 2015

I hope the south has learnt a bitter lesson .Any southern who will shout #sai buhari in 2019 if he doesn't change his posture is a big fool

— latigbo (@latigbo) August 27, 2015

Nwanne kwusi egwuregwu a iwe Buhari na ewe m.@Uchez2: Federal character, Buhari is a TRUE democrat. He love one Nigeria

— KINGDOM OF GOD FIRST!! MTT 6:33. (@onyeka60) August 27, 2015

?"@Jydeskillz: Under buhari Nigeria will work..its only if u chose to b blind dt u won't want to notice d changes since buhari took over"

— Darknbold Babatunde (@darknboldgold) August 27, 2015

Nigeria Passing Through Crucial Moment, Says Ban Ki-Moon

Posted on August 24, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, has said Nigeria is currently passing through a crucial moment.

He, however, said that he was happy to know that despite this, the country was facing all the challenges with the needed vigour.

The UN scribe spoke in Abuja when he held a meeting with Nigerian governors under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors Forum on Sunday.

He pledged the support of the UN to the desire of the leadership of the country’s leaders to move the nation forward.

Ki-Moon said governors also played pivotal roles in the country and the world, noting that they made policies and implement programmes for the people.

He said, “This is a crucial moment for Nigeria. And you have to take crucial steps to move the country forward. The United Nations is ready to help you. We have to work together to move the country forward.

“You (the governors) understand the peoples’ challenges and you have the power to help the people on education, power, development, institution building, security and others

“Nigeria occupies a pivotal place in the comity of nations. This is time of hope when we have a lot of challenges.

“I want to commend you for a successful election. Elections should serve as a rallying point for the people. But most often, it serves as a means of destruction but Nigeria has done well.”

He said he hoped that the governors would use the sustainable development goals for the development of their states.

While saying that local governments also play important roles in the implementation of the policy, he reminded the governors that no leader had the capacity of achieving this alone, and that leaders must carry the people along.

“No country or leader can do it alone. You have to build a relationship with the people to achieve your aims,” he said.

The governors in their welcome address, told Ki-Moon, that there had been no case of polio in the country for the past one year.

The Chairman of the Forum, who is also the Governor of Zamafara State, Alhaji Abdulazizi Yari, stated this while welcoming the UN scribe to the meeting with the governors.

He assured Ki-Moon of the resolve of the governors to eradicate polio from the country.

Yari said he was happy that the NGF was a product of the success recorded in the last general elections and that the governors had come together irrespective of party affiliation, to cooperate, collaborate and share ideas on how to bring development to Nigerians.

Yari said, “Let me reassure Your Excellency of the collective resolve of the governors to eradicate polio from our country, our states and local governments.

“In this wise, I’m delighted to inform Mr. Secretary General that since the last time you were here, Nigeria has made unprecedented strides in the fight against this scourge.

“In fact, this month marks one full year without any report of a new case of polio in any part of the country.”

He said governors and other stakeholders were already “working tirelessly through the instrumentality of campaigns, through vaccination, and the development of critical resources to ensure that by 2017, Nigeria will be certified polio-free.”

The Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, spoke on the challenges facing states, using his state as a case study.

The visiting Secretary General and the governors later went into a close-door meeting.

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday play host to Ki-Moon at the Presidential Villa, Abuja at noon on Monday (today).

According to a media advisory signed by Mr. Oche Egwa on behalf of the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Buhari and Ban Ki-Moon will address a joint press conference at the end of their closed-door session.

Ban Ki-Moon, according to the statement, will later return to the Presidential Villa for a dinner to be hosted in his honour by the President by 7pm.

With Buhari, Our Dreams Of Nigeria May Be Coming True – Obasanjo

Posted on August 22, 2015 by Staff Reporter

While receiving the executives of the National Association of Nigerian Students at his hilltop home in Abeokuta, Ogun state earlier today, Former President Olusegun Obasanjo said with President Buhari as the leader of Nigeria, the dreams of a better Nigeria may be coming true.

“There is no angel here on earth. none. For me there is no messiah except Jesus Christ. but for me there are people, there are leaders who are mindful of what is required for the majority of this country and they are ready to take out time to do it. I believe that God has given us such a leader in this man. What we have seen in the last two and a half months is an indication that our dream may be coming true” he said.

CBN Begins BVN Registration For Nigerians Abroad

Posted on August 20, 2015 by Staff Reporter

As part of its efforts towards the full implementation of the BVN project, the central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, in collaboration with key stakeholders in the Nigerian banking industry has finalized the guidelines for the enrollment of Nigerian banks’ customers in Diaspora.

The plan is to roll out this operation in 12 locations in the first phase. These locations are Leicester, New York, Atlanta, Washington DC, Houston, Johannesburg, Beijing, Shangai, Ghuanghzou, Dubai and New Deihi. The second phase will include locations with lower concentrations of Nigerians which will be accommodated through schedule sessions for defied periods.

This was contained in a circular obtained from the CBN website yesterday signed by its director of Banking and Payments System Department, Dipo Fatokun, with Ref: BPS/DIR/GEN/05/009 addressed to all deposit money banks and the general public.

The circular, which provided the framework for the enrollment of Nigerian banks’ customers in Diaspora for bank verification number issuance, stated that Nigerian banks customers in Diaspora could present themselves for enrollment for the BVN without travelling to Nigeria.

The CBN advised customers of Nigerian banks to present themselves to the offshore branches/subsidiaries of any Nigerian deposit money bank, where such facilities have been made available for the enrollment for the BVN.

Read More: nigerianpilot

110 Million Nigerians Are Poor- Osinbajo

Posted on August 20, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo yesterday said there are 110 million poor Nigerians.

He added that some past polices and planning, including budgeting, did not reflect the needs and conditions of the people, who have become disempowered.

He spoke while receiving the Alumni Association of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS), in Abuja.

Expressing concern about extreme poverty in the country, Osinbajo said two third of the population had become disempowered following the policy formulation in the past.

“When you look at the economic and social policies, and you look at the level of illiteracy, some are extremely bad and some with cases of about 80 or 90 per cent of children out of school, and other cases of unimaginable decayed infrastructure,” he said.

Read More: thenationonlineng

Buhari Orders Probe On The Sale Of NITEL By The Last Administration

Posted on August 19, 2015 by Staff Reporter

While receiving members of the Ministry of Information at the presidential villa today August 18th, President Buhari ordered a probe on the sale of NITEL to private investors in 2014 by the last administration, stating that he wants to know if Nigeria was short-changed.

According to the permanent secretary of the ministry Tunji Olaopa who spoke to state house correspondents after the meeting, President Buhari said the documents for the privatization should be handed over to him

“The president was also concerned about the liquidation of NITEL. He is not opposed to its privatization but he wants to know… and he wants us to bring a memo on how the whole transaction was undertaken so that he would know whether Nigeria was short-changed,” he said.

NITEL and its sister company, MTEL, were bought by a consortium owned by Skye Bank’s chairman, Tunde Ayeni, the founder of Sahara Energy, Tonye Cole, and two other companies for $242.3 million (about N42.4 billion) in December 2014.

Ugochukwu .J. Amasike: Reconstructing Nigeria For Progress

Posted on August 17, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The foundation of our problems as a Nation is our distorted national Political and Economic Architecture, it sustains vested interests, rewards laziness and places premium on ethnicity over Merit, and this naturally breeds corruption.

However, the direct and indirect beneficiaries of this flawed political-economic structure, choose to continue to turn a blind eye to the futility and folly of trying to maintain such a system, choosing as it were to postpone the evil day; but sooner or later, the chickens will come home to roost, and it is already happening as exemplified by our current economic fortunes nay misfortunes, with the Federal Government of Nigeria having to at some point borrow money to finance its recurrent expenditure and with state governments needing “financial bail-out’s” to meet the most basic of their duties: the payment of worker’s salaries.

President Muhammadu Buhari, as patriotic and determined as he is, can not succeed in his noble and desirous ambitions of changing Nigeria, under the current political and economic architecture we inherited from the Military Dictators of our chequered past; they are stifling. This military-tailored system, which was designed specifically for the purpose of the maintenance of “Command and Control” is obsolete, and was never intended to deliver the dividends of democracy to the long suffering people of our beautiful and beloved Country, Nigeria.

The people of Nigeria have wallowed long enough at this mountain of stunted development, occasioned by the bequest of a flawed and downright corrupt political-economy bequeathed to us by our military adventurers. If Nigeria is to emerge from the doldrums of darkness, and stagnation, and make meaningful and sustainable progress, then it must do away with all stifling national legislation that sustain and facilitate corruption and inefficiency, while simultaneously inhibiting it’s development as a modern State.

Thus, it behoves on Nigerians to see to the amendment of its Constitution and the adoption of a truly Federal Constitution, that encourages the creation of wealth, rewards hard-work and industry, and places more premium on Competence and Merit rather than fraudulent census figures, religion and ethnicity.

Nigeria’s current quasi-federal nay Unitary 1999 Constitution (as amended),has effectively set Nigeria up for failure and mediocrity. A constitution that ensures that component States remain dependent appendages of Mummy – Federal Government, even at a time, when they are full grown “adult State Governments” that should be catering for themselves, their children (Local Governments) and contributing to the up-keep and welfare of Mummy- Federal Government. Instead, we are treated to the unseemly and abominable sight of adult State Governments fighting over who gets to get the largest share of Mummy Federal Government’s “national cake”.

The foundation of this aberration is effectively captured and provided for by Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) which provides thus:

(1) The Federation shall maintain a special account to be called “the Federation Account” into which shall be paid all revenues collected by the Government of the Federation, except the proceeds from the personal income tax of the personnel of the armed forces of the Federation, the Nigeria Police Force, the Ministry or department of government charged with responsibility for Foreign Affairs and the residents of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

(2) The President, upon the receipt of advice from the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, shall table before the National Assembly proposals for revenue allocation from the Federation Account, and in determining the formula, the National Assembly shall take into account, the allocation principles especially those of population, equality of States, internal revenue generation, land mass, terrain as well as population density;

(3) Any amount standing to the credit of the Federation Account shall be distributed among the Federal and State Governments and the Local Government Councils in each State on such terms and in such manner as may be prescribed by the National Assembly.

(4) Any amount standing to the credit of the States in the Federation Account shall be distributed among the States on such terms and in such manner as may be prescribed by the National Assembly.

The foregoing Section of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) effectively turned Nigeria into a Unitary State, and it is the foundation of the lazy mindset of many Governors nay “Stewards” of otherwise co-ordinate component States of the federation; they simply get elected and eagerly await the monthly CREDIT ALERT from Mummy (Federal Government); there is no reason to think creatively or outside the box when there is oil money to be distributed by Law!

The only State that has strived to wean itself off the apron strings of Mummy-Federal Government, is Lagos State, which has greatly increased its internally generated revenue (reportedly generating one billion dollars from taxes in the year 2014 according to the British weekly publication – The Economist) and has since been making considerable and concerted progress at becoming self-sufficient.

However it is to be noted that even Lagos State was forced to look inwards in the year 2004, when the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo withheld its “share” of the Federal Allocations, when the former, in contravention of the wishes of Mummy-Federal Government created additional Local Government Areas. Thus, necessity forced Lagos to grow up and it hasn’t looked back since then.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Nigeria can not achieve its famed great potentials by practicing a corrupt system, a system that rewards the indolent, and punishes the industrious; a society that places more premium on ethnicity rather than merit, no society progresses without Justice and ours is an unjust set up that and supports and facilitates nepotism and corruption. This situation must thus be rectified if we are to survive and thrive as a modern Nation.

President Muhammadu Buhari won the elections on the back of his famed anti-corruption credentials and his integrity, and his actions and statements reveal his aversion for corruption and he is clearly poised to help reset Nigeria to a path of development and progress.

However, in spite of President Buhari’s best efforts to eradicate corruption and place Nigeria on the path of greatness, no matter how concerted, he stands little chance of lasting sustainable success, IF he does not see to the reconstruction of our national political-economic architecture by seeing to the amendment of our Constitution and taking due cognizance of the feelings and thinking of the over 250 distinct ethnic groups in Nigeria who sent in memoranda and Representatives to the 2014 National Conference convened by former President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan.

The perceived disposition of the new administration to discard everything from the past Administration led by Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is unhelpful; for all of its gross failings, (and they were many), there were some few positives, such as the Report and Recommendations of the 2014 National Conference, and the amended version of the now famous or infamous Petroleum Industry Bill, (depending on which side of the divide you stand).

The Report and the Recommendations contained in the Report of that Conference may not be perfect, but its nationalistic intent leaves no one in doubt, and within it, we find a sound template for the demolition of this corrupt structure that has stifled our development for decades, and beyond that, we were also given an excellent template for the reconstruction of our national and economic architecture for the attainment of growth and development, under terms that are agreeable to ALL Nigerians who make up this great Country.

It is the considered opinion of this writer, that President Muhammadu Buhari should use his influence and powers as a Nigerian statesman and as President of Nigeria to push for the implementation of the Recommendations of the 2014 National Conference and by necessary extension the amendment of the 1999 Constitution or the enactment of a new and better Constitution, that will form the foundation of a new and progressive Nigeria.

If Nigeria is to continue to survive and if it is to thrive, then we must reconstruct our political architecture and revert to the practice of fiscal Federalism, a system that served us well in the 60’s and 70’s (even if it’s implementation is in to be done in phases and stages), this is the ONLY way Nigeria can make sustainable progress and the only way to administer a multi-ethnic society like ours; and eliminate or reduce to the barest minimum the scourge of nepotism, corruption and the shameful scars of poverty and under-development that dis-figures our national landscape and has turned us into a laughing stock among the comity of nations.

In conclusion, I borrow the words of President Buhari during his inaugural speech, wherein he quoted Shakespare’s “Julius Caesar”, “there is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and miseries…We have an opportunity, let us take it. “

A word is enough for the wise.

God bless Nigeria

Thank you.

Sign: Ugochukwu .J. Amasike Esq.

(Lagos, Nigeria)

@AMASIKE

ugoamasike@yahoo.com ?

Views expressed are solely that of author and does not represent views of www.omojuwa.com nor its associates

NNPC Retires 1000 Staff

Posted on August 17, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Over 1000 workers of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) will leave service any moment from now, Daily Trust has learnt.

More than 200 of them are middle level officers that are caught up in the ongoing restructuring that has seen the exit of top management staff and nine heads of the corporation’s subsidiaries.

About 800 others are those that will attain the mandatory retirement age of 60 years or 35 years in service in the next one and a half years.

The new NNPC boss, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu has said all staff retiring by 31st December 2016 should go
now as a result of the downsizing, a source said.

The source said those to be affected are from the subsidiaries, especially pioneer workers of the refineries.

As at January this year, the Corporation has about 9,500 workers in its services.

The New Group Managing Director announced the disengagement of 38 management staff last week and said the on-going retirement of the Corporation workers will go down to the lower cadre.

‘It’s A to zero restructuring. I’ve done the first three layers which is going from the Group Executive Directors to Group General Managers and General Managers. You’re going to have a lot more now. The NNPC isn’t public service. It’s a corporation and we run like a company generating money for the people of Nigeria. So, the whole concept of anything goes should stop,” he had said.

Already there is agitation from the staff due to the on-going reforms alleging that it was not following due process.

They cited the example of recruitment of about 12 top management staff into corporation and deploying them in key positions without any employment notice or consultations of relevant stakeholders.

They also accused the new management of punishing some staff that insisted on due process.
Last Friday the two unions in the oil industry, the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (NUPENG and PENGASSAN) warned that the reforms are exposing their members to danger.

“The on-going exercise portends a great danger in the Oil and Gas Sector, if workers are meant to bear the brunt of Government current action where the fight on corruption is now used as an act of vindictiveness against workers.”

Meanwhile, the management has scheduled a meeting with the oil unions tomorrow as part of the efforts to carry them along.

The Management further said the reforms were free from ethnicity or any agenda but mainly to enshrine professionalism in the system in a statement issued recently.

I’m Not on Mass Retrenchment Binge – GMD
The Group Managing Director has said his mandate was to put in place efficient, transparent and profit-oriented processes and not to embark on a mass retrenchment of the workforce.

Dr. Kachikwu stated that the mandate given to him by President Muhammadu Buhari is to turn around the entire commercial processes and procedures in order to impact on the growth trajectory and operations of the Corporation.

A statement from the NNPC yesterday said the reduction in the directorate from eight to four (4) at the top management cadre of the NNPC is to refocus and sharpen the business aspiration of the Corporation, adding that training and retraining of members of staff to align with the new vision is the next stage of the ongoing reforms.

The NNPC helmsman noted that all Production Sharing Contracts, Joint Venture Agreements and all other contracts between the NNPC and its various partners would be reviewed to reflect current day realities in the global oil and gas industry.

Dr. Kachikwu reassured that the recent repositioning is to put in place the right set of skills for performance stressing that the new arrangement provides a veritable vista for upcoming professionals in the Corporation to have a speedy career path.

He stated that the NNPC under his watch would put in place mechanisms that would plug all revenue leakages in the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors while adding that all crude oil proceeds due for the Federation Account would be remitted accordingly.

Source: DailyTrust

Kano Plans Weigh Bridges To Curb Overloading

Posted on August 14, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Governor Ganduje of Kano State, while receiving FRSC Corps Marshal, Oyeyemi, promises to construct weigh bridges to prevent overloading by articulated vehicles.

Details later

President Buhari Gives Service Chiefs 3 Months Ultimatum To End Boko Haram

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Staff Reporter

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday morning charged the service chiefs to map out strategies to defeat Boko Haram in three months’ time.

President Buhari gave the charge at the Presidential Villa in Abuja while decorating the service chiefs with their new ranks.

Buhari also told them that they must be accountable for all men and equipment under their commands.

The service chiefs are Chief of Defence Staff Major-General Abayomi Olonishakin, Chief of Army Staff Major-General T.Y. Buratai, Chief of Naval Staff Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas and Chief of Air Staff Air Vice Marshal Sadique Abubakar.

Bukola Saraki Joins Nigerian Youths To Mark International Youth Day

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Staff Reporter

As the world marks the International Youth Day, Senate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki today joined Nigerian youths to mark the event.

The Senate President received members of All Progressive Youth Forum (APYF) at his office in the National Assembly and cherished the moment with a series of selfies as depicted in the pictures.

The Senate President took to his Facebook page to write: “I wish the youth of Nigeria a successful commemoration of International Youth Day (?#?IYD2015?).

“I join you all in celebrating your industry, perseverance and courage. Based on the theme of #IYD2015, every young person in Nigeria must continue his or her commitment to civic engagement.

“When you, as young people, succeed politically, socially, and economically, we all succeed as a nation.”

In his tweet, he commended the APYF for having representatives in all 774 LGAs of Nigeria which made the party pick 3 of the members as BOT of the party an indication to other youth groups that “If you #TakePart, you can #TakeCharge.”

Muhammad Sageer: Understanding Corruption Beyond Currency Units

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Staff Reporter

“keeping an average Nigerian from being corrupt is like keeping a goat from eating yam” Professor Chinua Achebe”

The general default of the average Nigerian is indiscipline and corruption and to tackle this menace properly we must define corruption in its larger context of making it all inclusive to accommodate the leaders and larger society in all spheres and scope

There is actually nothing new to say about corruption in Nigeria, the practice of which in the Nigerian context can produce without doubt a handbook on how to raise corrupt leaders and sustain corruption. We must begin as a people to do a practical appraisal of our resolve to collectively tackle this corruption malady by giving attention to the corrupt practices traceable in our immediate domain.

If you properly articulate the level of corruption and its general acceptance or docile reactions in Nigeria, you will agree with me that the first ready attitude of the heart in any attempt to tackle it is to fail initially and then gradually rise to condemnation and finally ask that all should be left to GOD. That GOD wants us out of this self-inflicted poisonous situation cannot be over emphasized, but we need to march our disdain for this menace with actions articulated to produce some long term change in the psyche of the coming generation.

So much is said about corruption in Nigeria and presently, President Buhari is investing a lot of effort towards the reduction of this endemic cancer worm that has eaten deep into the fabric of our culture and is spreading like wildfire all over our future in Nigeria making it an uphill task to eradicate. There is this misconception among Nigerians – they believe corruption stifling Nigeria is top-down. They believe our new president who is an anti-corruption czar will change the corruption attitude of Nigerians. In the famous statement of President Buhari” If Nigeria does not kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria”

One of the curses of Nigeria is Indiscipline and until we change our attitude, no real progress can be made. No matter the fierce fight President Buhari would put up, corruption will continue to grow if we don’t change our attitude. Nigerians must exclusively understand that Currency units are not the supreme expression and measure of corruption despite the ignorance of bleeding hearts. Now, I need to jog the memory of Nigerians by taking a walk down memory lane to buttress my position.

If late General Sani Abacha’s only sin is that he stole billions of dollars allegedly, then he is a nicer guy than General Gowon and Late Obafemi Awolowo who allegedly didn’t steal a kobo.

GENERAL GOWON

Gowon as head of state took some measures to address foreign ownership of Nigerian companies. At the time, 65% of Nigeria’s economy was foreign owned and controlled by the European conglomerates, Lebanese, Syrian and Indian traders. General Gowon announced the indigenization decree and forced foreign owners to sell shares of their businesses to Nigerian elites instead of the Nigerian masses. The shares of foreign companies indigenized found their way into the hands of General Gowon’s friends and associates. It will interests Nigerians to know that the wealth of several well known Nigerian families today can be traced to the indigenization decree of General Gowon.

LATE CHIEF OBAFEMI AWOLOWO

The indigenization decree of General Gowon was headed by Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo who at that time was the highest ranking civilian in General Gowon’s military government. Obafemi Awolowo as finance minister was responsible for giving back to the Igbo’s all monies they had left in their bank accounts before the Biafra War. He made a dreadful decision as finance minister that all Igbo’s will be given twenty pounds each no matter what amount they had previously saved in the bank pending investigations into the actual amount each person had in the bank. These investigations never took place. With Obafemi Awolowo’s dreadful action, all Igbo’s who saved money in the bank had to start from scratch. The Igbo’s were left out in the indigenization decree of General Gowon.

A CAVEAT; I am an unabashed citizen of the federal republic of Nigeria, using General Gowon & Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo I know will not go down well with my fellow Nigerians from the North-central and South-West. I don’t mean to infuriate anybody. However, the truth has to be told no matter whose ox is gored.

Corruption in Nigeria must be exclusively understood beyond currency units. Not everything that counts can be counted. The average Nigerian citizen has by way of silent contribution, partial, or proper involvement overtly or tactically endorsed the act of corruption. Nigerians are good in raising points of moral decadence while sweeping under the carpet their major nature of inherent corruption. The societal wreck in Nigeria is a tragedy of sorts in that we have to break laws and expect others to keep them. Our present leaders did not fall from sky, they were once followers. We are our own greatest enemies.

The issues of ethnicity, religious bigotry have drowned the essential pursuit in character formation for our citizens, thereby negating the need for the development of a national conscience. Moral institutions as it were have gradually left our schools. It is a paradox that our schools now make us stupid; we have more degrees but less sense and ostentation has replaced the good old life of contentment. We have as a people gradually allowed the culture of corruption both in and outside public service to become an accepted style of living.

The average Nigerian will pay touts for ticket, pay touts for vehicle particulars, pay money to be released from police custody rather than stand up for what is right. We are obviously in too much of a hurry to realize that every act of corruption that we engineer or allow to dictate us destroys a milestone in the future of our collective psyche. We must redirect our compass from mainly concentrating on criticizing and exposing corruption in government institutions to contribution of the followership in the corruption menace. We must tackle the psyche of our people through the foundation of followership. We must face the hard fact that the leaders we have today were once part of the followership and they failed and are still failing because they were not groomed to become the leaders we want. Nothing will ever change until we change ourselves, we must learn to speak the language of Nigeria in patriotism.

Nigeria needs people ready to stand in and stand out by saying “No We Can’t, we love Nigeria, we can’t chicken-out, we want a better society and a future for our children”. Nigeria needs citizens who will understand that the battle against corruption is not the duty of President Muhammadu Buhari alone. The battle against corruption is a battle for our soul and our nation. The citizens of Nigeria must resist and overcome corruption and this will not come by criticism alone. Nigeria needs people who will expose corruption no matter whose ox is gored. Nigeria needs people ready to obey the laws of the land and asking questions when corruption presents itself in the form of noble gratification. Nigeria needs law abiding citizens ready to say no to police extortion. Nigeria needs law abiding citizens in the civil service who will question inappropriate approvals and resist moving files with money. Nigeria needs representatives in the National Assembly who will resist committee allowance outside legally stipulated ones. Nigeria needs lawmakers that will make laws favorable to the masses. Nigeria does not need multi-millionaire lawmakers living in Porsche houses and presidential suites in five star hotels. Nigeria needs an independent judiciary.

A new Nigeria is possible if we change our old ways, we can do it and we must start inward. REVOLUTION STARTS WITH THE INDIVIDUAL. It doesn’t matter whether you are in government, civil service, corporate world, military, police, politics, school or a hawker in the streets of Lagos, Kano, Bauchi, Jos, Enugu, Port-Harcourt, Minna etc. What matters is that you are a Nigerian and a glorious and happy Nigeria is what you have to advocate and defend for. Let’s come together as Nigerians to wage war against corruption. We have slumbered enough, we must go in and get involved or we will go down in history as people who came, saw and complained without raising a finger. “If Nigeria does not kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria”

With the above statement from Nigeria’s anti-corruption czar, President Muhammadu Buhari, I rest my case. Thank you and God bless Nigeria.

@muhammadsageer is my twitter handle

Views expressed are solely that of author and does not represent views of www.omojuwa.com nor its associates

“NNPC To Become Sole Importer Of Petroleum Products” – Godwin Emefiele

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Staff Reporter

PAYMENT of subsidy on fuel importation and Foreign Exchange (FOREX) differentials on bank loans granted to marketers by the Federal Government are to end soon.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, said the government was doing everything to ensure that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) become sole importer of petroleum products.

Members of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) have been on a running battle with the Federal Government over subsidy claims running into several millions of dollars.

But Emefiele said President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the NNPC to cut down on importation by reactivating the four refineries and ensuring they function at installed capacities.

Speaking in an interview with Financial Times of London, the CBN chief said: “The President came on board and said that we will work very hard to reduce importation of petroleum products by ensuring that our refineries work. Our refineries are working now.

“The Warri and Port Harcourt refineries have started producing. They have not obtained the optimal capacity but they will. The Kaduna refinery will start working this month.

“Now, there are other actions that the Presidency is putting in place to ensure that we reduce importation of petroleum products where the NNPC will solely, almost solely be responsible for procuring refined petroleum.

”Those who are importing petroleum products will only just need to go to the NNPC and pick up petroleum products.

“So, in that area, I would say that we are already moving in the direction of reducing the import of petroleum products. And we will achieve it.”

On the efforts being made by the President to recoup stolen oil revenues believed to have been deposited in foreign banks, Emefiele said the issue was still being looked at, assuring that “as the Central Bank, we will also assist in drilling them once we get to that stage, and we will be happy to have that money back because it will improve our reserves”.

“Nigerian Police Force Needs Financing To Carry Out Recruitment” -IG

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, has said the Force is making moves to raise funds to recruit more Nigerians into the organisation.

Arase said this on Wednesday in Abuja during a world media briefing to announce the forthcoming National Summit on Security, put together in conjunction with the Sun Newspapers.

The IG, who was represented by the Force Public Relations Officer, Emmanuel Ojukwu, said Nigerians desired a mass recruitment of personnel to bridge the huge deficit of policemen to secure the large population in the country.

He pointed out that the summit would address issues affecting the police, adding that the aim of the event was to let the nation know that everyone had a role to play in policing the country.

Arase said, “We are making moves for funding to embark on recruitment. Recruitment is good for everybody, it will help the general system. So many youths who are not employed can be recruited and the more number we have, the better.

“But the emphasis of this summit is that every Nigerian is actually a policeman; you have a role to play; there is no way you are going to have policemen enough to police the country. There are many issues plaguing this country now and I know that if you solve the security aspect, a lot more will be appropriately dealt with.”

In another development, the police have renewed its Memorandum of Understanding with the authorities of a private university, Novena University, Ogume, Delta State.

According to a statement by Ojukwu, the move became necessary due to the desire of the IG to equip police officers with “the knowledge that will put them ahead of criminals, in fields such as intelligence and security studies.”

Stolen funds: South African Online Platform Mocks Nigeria

Posted on August 12, 2015 by Staff Reporter

A South African online media outfit, Mail and Guardian Africa, came after Nigeria on Tuesday, saying, “The money ‘eaten’ there is bigger than the Gross Domestic Product of 38 African nations.”

If the stolen funds estimated at $50bn were a country, the online medium reported, it would be Africa’s 11th biggest economy.

“Some estimates put the ‘lost’ funds at $50bn. If it were a country, it would be Africa’s 11th biggest economy, at par with Tunisia’s entire GDP and larger than the economic output of Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, Ivory Coast or the Democratic Republic of Congo,” the online report said.

It quoted a Nigeria’s transparency watchdog as saying that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation diverted more than $30bn oil revenue since 2009. This figure, it said, was bigger than the

annual production output of “half of the nations in Africa.”

Mail and Guardian Africa said the financial shortfall caused by the theft, added to the falling prices of oil, had put Nigeria – a country where “about two-thirds” of the population live on less than a dollar per day – in a financial strait.

For Nigeria’s investment in the NNPC, the report said, the country had gained nothing but terrible disclosure records and absence of accountability.

“For all its importance to Nigeria, the NNPC is largely inscrutable. It had the worst disclosure record among 44 energy companies analysed in a 2011 report by anti-corruption non-profit organisations, the Transparency International and the Revenue Watch Institute.

“The NNPC consistently denies any wrongdoing. Allegations of missing funds go back as far as when President Muhammadu Buhari was a petroleum minister,” the post recalled.

While it admitted that the country’s oil sector needed an urgent reform, the online news organisation said history was not on the side of Buhari’s push to split the corporation.

It described the NNPC as the largest government-owned company, saying Buhari may not succeed in his plan to unbundle it. Arguing that the establishment was synonymous to corruption, it recalled that it had faced allegations bordering on financial frauds since 1978.

“A Lagos-based newspaper reported in 1978, a year after the NNPC took its current name, that the company failed to remit an equivalent of about $3.5bn it owed the treasury. In the 1990s, a military-sanctioned investigation discovered that $12bn oil revenue was unaccounted for under the regime of Gen Ibrahim Babangida (retd.).

“The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative said, at least, $23.2bn due to the government was not deposited into the federation account from 2009 to 2011. Recently, the then-Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, alleged that the corporation retained as much several billions of dollars that was due to the government,” the report said.

Back home, there is so much to read on digital media about corruption, the pains it has inflicted on the masses and how it could be tackled. Recent media reports on government’s plans to probe key past public projects and investments merely fuelled the online discussion.

The government revealed that it was scrutinising bank accounts where the stolen funds had been kept. Following the statement, bloggers and social media users have been urging government to also look into highbrow mansions in Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and other major cities.

In recent times, several hashtags drawing government’s attention to such houses have been trending. The stolen money, according to social media posts, could be hidden in houses belonging to relatives, wives and concubines of former public office holders.

Blogging on this on Tuesday, one Chukwudi Enekwechi said, “Recently, a huge sum of money was being frittered away by relations, concubines and wife of a politician. Even more interesting is that locations where such money is hidden are listed online. For example, Lekki Phase 1, Ikoyi and Victoria Island, Port Harcourt, Maitama and Asokoro were mentioned.”

Source: Punch

Praiz, 9ice, Pasuma And Others Set For Battle At The Celebrity Fans Challenge!

Posted on August 12, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The biggest and most exciting celebrity football party is back!Kiibati Bankole presents another exciting edition of her novel celebrity football contest- Celebrity Fans Challenge; and this time around, it is bigger than ever, as some of Nigeria’s biggest names in entertainment go head to head for bragging rights and the title of Nigeria’s biggest celebrity SUPERFAN!The celebrities include 9ice, fuji ace- Pasuma, Reminisce, Praiz, Gbenga Adeyinka(GCON), Illbliss, Nollywood stars Segun Arinze and Fred Amata; and representing the ladies- Simi (Jamb Question).

They will do battle in front of a live audience at the Blue Bar and pool area of Fourpoints by Sheraton, Victoria Island, Lagos from 4pm on Saturday- the 29th of August 2015.

They will be judged by a panel of celebrity judges- Korede Bello, ex-football international- Sam Sodje, Mr. Kingsley Ogoro and popular sports OAP Biola Kazeem.

The participating celebrities will represent the football club they each support and will lock horns with a celebrity representing an opposing team.

Each bout will take place in 5 rounds of exciting debates and challenging tasks set by the organisers, with a winner emerging after each match.

They represent the following football clubs:

9ice – Chelsea FC
Segun Arinze -Chelsea FC
Reminisce – Manchester United
Simi – Manchester United
Pasuma – Arsenal FC
Gbenga Adeyinka – Arsenal FC
Illbliss – Arsenal FC
Fred Amata – Arsenal FC
Praiz– FC Barcelona

Some of the matches include:
Reminisce VS 9ice

Pasuma VS Praiz Gbenga Adeyinka(GCON) VS Segun Arinze Illbliss VS Simi etc.

The winner after each bout will be awarded a trophy and exciting prizes from the sponsors.Tickets for the event can be purchased at all branches of SLOT in Lagos.Celebrity Fans Challenge will be the football event of the year and we can’t wait!!!!!!!!

Meet Adebayo Ogunlesi The Nigerian Who Bought Gatwick Airport For £1.5 Billion

Posted on August 11, 2015 by Staff Reporter

A Nigerian is reported to have acquired and now runs London Gatwick Airport. Adebayo Ogunlesi, 56, is the chairman and managing partner, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), an independent investment fund based in New York City with worldwide stake in infrastructure assets, is the new owner of the London Gatwick Airport.

Adebayo Ogunlesi attended the prestigious King’s College, Lagos. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar Association. He was a lecturer at Harvard Law School and the Yale School. Ogunlesi has lived in New York for 20 years and is active in volunteer work. But he also cultivates his ties to Africa. He informally advises the Nigerian government on privatisation.

Prior to his current role, he was executive vice chairman and chief client officer of Credit Suisse, based in New York. He previously served as a member of Credit Suisse’s Executive Board and Management Council and chaired the Chairman’s Board. Previously, he was the Global Head of Investment Banking at Credit Suisse. Since joining Credit Suisse in 1983, Ogunlesi has advised clients on strategic transactions and financing in a broad range of industries and has worked on transactions in North and South America, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Listen to how Ogunlesi sounds so refreshing in his interview prior to taking over at Gatwick airport. Pay attention to how he proposes to solve the problem of delays. This is a classic >> Watch Here

Source – www.myafricanow.com

659 Teachers Sue Adamawa State Government Over 29 Months Unpaid Salaries

Posted on August 11, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Teachers in Adamawa state have dragged the state government to court over unpaid salaries. The teachers, 659 of them, were recruited by Adamawa state Government in 2012 and have worked without pay for 29 months.

The teachers sued the Adamawa State Government as 1st respondent, Ministry of Education 2nd respondent, Post Primary School Management Board 3rd respondent and the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice as 4th respondent.

The teachers, through their Counsel, A.B Babakano, sought a declaration that their appointment was valid, lawful and not illegal, having worked for a period of 29 months.

They also sought a declaration that having worked for the defendants for the period of months were entitled to the payment of their salaries/wage, allowances and entitlements totalling N638,966,400.00.

A spokesperson for them also said they resorted to legal action after all efforts, including peaceful demonstration, to have government pay their salaries for the months they had worked failed.

Abdusalami Peace Committee In Closed-Door Meeting With President Buhari

Posted on August 11, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Members of the National Peace Committee for the 2015 General Elections led by a former Head of State, Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar (retd.), are currently meeting behind closed-doors with President Muhammadu Buhari inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Buhari and former President Goodluck Jonathan signed a peace agreement ahead of the March 28 presidential election at the instance of the committee.

Those who are attending the meeting alongside Abubabakar and Buhari include the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’Ad Abubakar III; the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor; Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Most Revd. Nicholas Okoh; Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan; a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mrs. Priscilla Kuye; and Senator Ben Obi among others.

The meeting is coming a few days after Jonathan paid a secret visit to Buhari inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Details later.

“I Am A Nigerian, Without A Political Party” – Obasanjo

Posted on August 11, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said he remains a ‘party-less Nigerian’ but will continue to be a statesman.

He said this on Monday at his Abeokuta Hilltop residence when a delegation from Kogi State, led by the state Governor, Captain Idris Wada (retd.), paid him a courtesy visit.

The former president, who was the former chairman, Board of Trustees, the Peoples Democratic Party, said despite not playing active partisan politics anymore, he would continue to work with any Nigerian with good intention and leadership traits to develop the country.

He noted that the personality and performance would normally rank above the party platform.

He said, “We should understand first that, not the party makes the person, but the person makes the party. It is who you are that you bring into the party.

“Though for now I remain a “party-less” Nigerian, but I will continue to welcome any Nigerian with good leadership qualities.

“It does not matter which party you are, either the PDP, the APC, Labour, APGA or any party at all, As long as you are committed, sincere and a purposeful leader, I am ready for you.”

Obasanjo, who commended Wada for engendering peace in Kogi State, said he was providing purposeful leadership.

He said, “Everybody is welcome. But, they must be with good leadership traits, with genuine intention to improve the country.”

Wada, on his own part, described Obasanjo as a father of the nation, stressing that those who believed in him would continue to learn from his commitment and dedication to the growth of the country.

He said, “Everywhere we meet Baba, we learn a lot and we shall continue to learn from him. He is a father of the nation. He is a figure we admire.

“We pray that we all will be like him, because he is a committed Nigeria who has devoted himself to the growth of the country. So, why not, if some of us decide to emulate him, be with him and appreciate him.”

Among those who accompanied the governor was a frontline women leader of the PDP in Kogi State, Olori Margaret Orebiyi, who also described Obasanjo as the landlord of the Nigerian nation.

ATM Withdrawal Limits Reduced By Banks

Posted on August 11, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The battle for defence of the Naira value has widened, affecting existing withdrawal limits on Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) and foreign transactions on all existing Naira debit cards (ATM cards).

In the new arrangement, all ATMs that were hitherto enabled for domestic and foreign transactions have been restructured to limit Naira cash withdrawal at ATMs to N60,000 per day while foreign currency is $300 per day. Hitherto, the domestic withdrawal limit was N150,000 per day.

The new arrangement has separated traditional ATM from MasterCard credit card where the former has now been deactivated and can no longer be used for transactions abroad. Hitherto, a single ATM card serves for transactions for both domestic and abroad.

Also, the restructured cards now have spending limits on POS/eCommerce (online shopping) pegged at $300 (about N60,000) per day. Before this, the limit was N2 million per day.

In the new arrangement, a bank customer with multiple debit cards (ATM cards), only the one linked to the primary transactional account will be enabled for use abroad. Hitherto, such customers could transact with any of the cards that is funded.

However, banks are putting in place alternatives in these adjustments to address the concern of customers who are now being directed by their banks to reapply for a new card arrangement to suit their purposes.

For instance, Standard Chartered Bank has asked its customers to request a complementary ATM card for domestic use only so that the original N150,000 daily cash withdrawal limit can be restored and also reactivate POS/online purchase limit of N2 million per day.

The bank also required their customers to apply for a foreign currency denominated ATM linked to domiciliary account which would be enabled with no daily or annual international transaction limits.

Earlier, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc had informed its customers of its decision to reduce the daily international spending limit on their Naira MasterCard to $300 with effect from yesterday.

In a communication to the customers, the bank explained: “In view of the increased difficulty in sourcing foreign currency to settle international transactions on Naira MasterCards, we have reduced the daily international spending limit on your Naira MasterCard to $300.This means that you can only spend up to $300 daily when using your GTBank Naira MasterCard for international payments via POS and online.

“You will, however, continue to have the option of paying for medical bills, school fees, mortgages and credit cards using Form A, as these are eligible transactions for foreign currency. Simply visit any GTBank branch to complete a Form A along with the required documents to make these payments.”

These developments were coming on the heels of Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) statement on Sunday that all legitimate requests for foreign currency for eligible transactions, normally referred to as “invisibles,” such as remittances for school fees, student maintenance allowances, BTA, PTA, medical and other eligible transactions, shall be fully met at the official/interbank exchange rate.

A statement from the CBN added that already all the legitimate demands for such transactions through recognised channels have so far been fully met by CBN.

The statement stated: “The CBN hereby directs all authorised dealers in foreign exchange in Nigeria to henceforth treat as top priority all legitimate demand for foreign exchange for eligible transactions.

“The CBN once again advises individuals that wish to source foreign currency for such eligible transactions to approach their banks with their legitimate demand as the CBN has made adequate provisions of foreign currency for all such legitimate and eligible purposes.

“Furthermore, holders of Naira denominated debit and credit cards shall continue to have access to the use of their cards at ATMs in any part of the world but subject to the annual limit of $50,000. ATM withdraws shall continue to be a maximum of $300 per day.”

– Source – www.vanguardngr.com

No Man Turns Me On Except My Husband- Omotola Jalade Ekeinde

Posted on August 10, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Ex-model and award-winning actress Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde in a new interview with New Telegraph said she has never been attracted to any man other than her husband. She also made known her wish to have Buhari scrap NYSC. Excerpts:

Have you ever been been attracted to any man apart from your husband?

No! I’ve never been attracted to any man other than my husband. My husband is sweet; he’s very cute, handsome and attractive. He’s the one man I have always been attracted to all my life.

What do you have for those who have been wishing that your marriage had hit the rocks a long time ago?

They should keep wishing. That’s all I have to say.

Three things you cherish about your husband.

Oh my hero, my pillar of support, my ever cute captain. I admire and respect him for his calmness, dignity and his love and fear for God. So much I cherish about him, he’s one in a million.

Do you still wash your husband’s clothes and cook for him?

Well, he’s sitting next to me (pointing at her husband). Maybe, you should ask him.

What advice do you have for President Muhammadu Buhari?

He should scrap NYSC. It’s not useful, he should please do that for Nigerians. Our children don’t need it anymore.

Why do you want NYSC scrapped, knowing fully well it’s a national orientation programme?

I have looked at the programme thoroughly and exactly what it’s supposed to have achieved over the years. Believe me, there is no credible or tangible result. It’s a total waste of time and resources and I think all the time and resources should be channelled into something more resourceful.

For instance, I have had situations where some members of my staff, in the name of NYSC, left for a year only to come back and their spaces had been taken by another. You can imagine. NYSC is not just adding any value to our society or even to the lives of our children. I am of the opinion that it should be scrapped.

So what other useful and relevant programmes do you suggest?

Skills acquisition. We have had situations whereby the young ones, after graduation, are with no jobs. They start roaming the streets or even go into crime to survive. This is an urgent situation that needs to be addressed.
Let us make good plans for our children, instead of going to waste a whole year of their struggle, claiming they are serving their fatherland. They should be trained and equipped with skills. That way, their future is secure.

If you were offered a ticket to contest for the seat of a governor in your state and it’s confirmed you will win, would you consider the offer?

I won’t accept the offer; but maybe, if it’s in Lagos, I will accept the offer

Non-Payment Of Salaries, Osun Legislators To Rescue Aregbesola

Posted on August 10, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Bothered by the plight and inability of Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun state to pay workers and pensioners salaries, both the National and State Assemblies legislators will this tomorrow organise a conference aimed at salvaging the state government from the present predicament.

Tagged “Osun Stakeholders’ Conference – Our State, Our Stake,” the forum would bring stakeholders, including present and past leaders as well as religious leaders together.

Addressing a press conference at the weekend, members of the House of Representatives from Osun state led by Hon, Mrs Ayo Omidiran, said that the aim of the conference is to deliberate on how to liberate the state from the present situation. We hope they succeed at it

One Stabbed As Nigerian Prostitutes Election Turns Bloody In Lagos

Posted on August 10, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The 2015 election of National Association of Nigerian Prostitutes, NANP, has been marred with violence.

DAILY POST gathered that violence broke out Sunday after former secretary of the association, Jessica Elvis was declared winner of the keenly contested election, which took place at a popular hangout, along Lasu-Iba road on Saturday.

It was gathered that Elvis polled 300 votes to defeat the incumbent, Madam Felix Efoyo, who garnered 153 votes as well as Nasarawa State Coordinator, Tamar Tion who got 63 votes.

However, the incumbent rejected the outcome of the election, claiming that the election was marred with irregularities.

Shortly after the 2015 electoral committee chairman, Franca ‘Top Up’ Chikam announced Elvis as the winner, the incumbent, Madam Efoyo revolted and ordered for a fresh election on the ground that she was rigged out.

In the cause of the argument, fight broke out and one person believed to be loyal to Efoyo broke a bottle and stabbed one of their members.

Increment Of Workers Salary ‘ll Reduce Corruption – NLC

Posted on August 7, 2015 by Staff Reporter

THE Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC has demanded for a review of the present minimum wage paid to workers in accordance with the economic realities.

The Comrade Ayuba Wabba-led faction of NLC yesterday in Abuja after its National Executive Committee, NEC, meeting also said that an increment of workers salary would help to reduce corruption in the polity.

He said that it was unacceptable for Nigerians including the labour force to live in abject poverty while few privileged people continue to steal the nation’s resources and starch it in foreign banks.

Comrade Wabba who assured that the labour movement would lead the protest to ensure that the federal government recovered the looted funds said that NLC would organise a symbolic national one day protest to ensure that such funds in the hands of individuals were recovered.

He explained that the NEC would demand from government and the tripartite partners for the review of the minimum wage.

He also noted that the pitiable state of the nation’s economy has become of great concern to the labour union as it has affected the working class and had led to many states not being able to pay salaries as at when due.

While appreciating the efforts of the Council of States for approving the bailout for states that had been unable to pay salaries to workers, he said that NLC was disturbed that despite the federal government gesture, the effect of the bailout was yet to be seen.

According to him, while in some states relative progress had been made, few states had remained chronic, adding that the Central Working Committee, CWC of the union was of the view that payment of salary should be a matter of national priority and that the NEC would not fold arms watching workers not to be paid as at when due.

For the states that had received the bailouts, Wabba called on the Federal Government to also put in place mechanism to monitor how the funds were utilised and also frowned at the development where some banks withheld the bailout fund as a result of the indebtedness of some the states to the banks.

NLC condemned the waiver granted to some establishments in the country which had denied the country money while workers were subjected to pay taxes, and said that nobody should be allowed to evade taxes in any form.

He urged the judiciary to hasten the trials of those indicted for looting the nation’s treasury and other allegation of treasury and also told the anti-corruption agency to always device a process to promptly responding to allegations of corruption.

Ex-Bankers Get 91 Years In Prison For N114.6million Fraud

Posted on August 7, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Press statement from EFCC below…

Justice Ibrahim Mairiga of the Kebbi State High Court has convicted Suleiman Ibrahim Musa, Bilyaminu Usman and Lawal Suleiman on a 16-count charge bordering on conspiracy, forgery, theft and criminal breach of trust brought against them by the Economics and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC and sentenced them to 91 years in prison.

The convicts, who are former members of staff of FinBank Plc (acquired by First City Monument Bank Plc in 2011), Birnin-Kebbi branch in Kebbi State, were first arraigned on July 21, 2010, and had pleaded not guilty to the charges. Musa, who was then the head of operations, defrauded the bank of N101, 707,000; Usman and Suleiman, both tellers connived to defraud the bank of N6, 627,500 and N6, 267,500 respectively. The crimes were committed between 2008 and 2010.

They had at different times debited the bank’s customers by carrying out unauthorized withdrawals. They were arrested by EFCC operatives following a petition by the bank’s management, after several customers lodged complaints alleging fraudulent deductions from their bank accounts.

They had backed up their claims with various documentary evidences – stamped deposits and investment certificates. After five years of trial, Justice Mairiga, having been convinced by the evidence brought before him by the prosecuting counsel, Aisha Habib, found them guilty of the charges. “By considering the amount involved and weight of evidence presented before the court by the prosecution, which was never challenged by the defence, it shows that their wrongful act caused a great injury to the bank,” the judge said. “I therefore, find the accused persons guilty as charged, and so convict and sentence them to 55 years, seven years and 29 years imprisonment respectively without an option of fine, with the jail term to serve concurrently”, the judge ruled.

The judge also ordered the convicts to return the stolen money to the bank.
Wilson Uwujaren
Head, Media & Publicity 6th August, 2015

Nigerian Troops, Boko Haram Members In Gun Battle In Yobe

Posted on August 6, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Nigerian soldiers and Boko Haram members Were engaged in a gun battle after the sect members attempted to capture Gandaka community in Yobe state yesterday night. Three fighter jets have been deployed to engage the sect members who arrived the community in a large number.

CBN Bans Cash Deposits Into Domiciliary Accounts

Posted on August 6, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The Central Bank of Nigeria has banned the payment of cash into domiciliary accounts in the country, TheCable reports.
In a circular released on Wednesday and signed by the Director of Trade and Exchange, CBN, Olakanmi Gbadamosi, the central bank said its action followed recent statements by individual banks suspending the payment of foreign currencies into domiciliary accounts.
Gbadamosi wrote, “The Central Bank of Nigeria has considered the recent statements by Deposit Money Banks concerning the large volume of foreign currencies in their vaults and the decision to stop accepting foreign currency cash deposits into customers’ domiciliary accounts as a welcome development.
“Therefore, in its continued efforts to stop illicit financial flows in the Nigerian banking system
which aligns with the anti-money Laundering stance of the Federal Government, the CBN hereby prohibits from the date of this circular the acceptance of foreign currency cash deposits by DMBs.
“For foreign currency cash lodgements made prior to the date of this circular, the account holder has the option to either withdraw his or her foreign currency cash or the Naira equivalent. For the avoidance of doubt, only wire transfers to and from Domiciliary Accounts are henceforth permissible.
“The CBN advises individuals that wish to source foreign currency for eligible and legitimate purposes such as BTA, PTA medical, mortgage, school fees, goods etc. to do so through recognised channels with the use of Form ‘A’ for “invisible” and Form ‘M’ for ‘visible’ transactions. By this circular, those who deposited foreign currencies into their accounts before the directive will now have to withdraw the cash as they are not going to be allowed to transfer the funds.”

Source: The Punch

Prepare For Drought, NEMA Cautions Nigerians

Posted on August 6, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), advised Nigerians to prepare for possible drought in the country. NEMA’s warning followed the prediction of heavy rainfall by the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET).

The North West coordinator of NEMA, Musa Illalah, gave the advice in Kaduna during a workshop on liquid and solid waste management in the context of flood mitigation.

Represented by the director, Administration of the agency, Amina Ahman, Illalah said the implication of the NIMET alert was that the rain may exceed the normal rate and states in the North ought to anticipate drought. “The implication is that there might be water surplus and increase in stream flow which will affect dams storage for municipal water supply, may affect hydro power generation and irrigation.

“Therefore, the development and regular maintenance of dams for dry season irrigation and water supply must be accorded high priority during this time.

“In the same vein, there may be shortage of rainfall; we must also be prepared for drought and the mitigation of its impact.’’

He said that the workshop was to articulate the problem of solid waste management which exacerbate negative impact of flooding in the country.

Read More: leadership

President Buhari Brought N2.7 Trn Investments From US Visit – Presidency

Posted on August 6, 2015 by Staff Reporter

An estimated N2.7 trillion ($13.6 billion) worth of direct investment is part of the immediate benefits accruing from President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent state visit to the United States, the Presidency claimed yesterday.
The presidency also affirmed that the visit cost the Nigerian treasury less than N220 million contrary to assertions in some sections of the media. It further explained that President Buhari’s son, Yusuf, did not receive any estacode for the trip even as it contended that great savings were made by members of the delegation against previous visits.
The five governors who were in the delegation, the presidency said, paid their way while permanent secretaries and other senior government officials only received their entitlements.
File: US President Barack Obama speaks with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, July 20, 2015. Obama welcomes Nigeria’s freshly elected president after the country’s first ever democratic transition. AFP
File: US President Barack Obama speaks with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, July 20, 2015. Obama welcomes Nigeria’s freshly elected president after the country’s first ever democratic transition. AFP
The presidency’s explanations followed news reports in some sections of the media that the visit was wasteful, cost N2.2 billion and was not in anyway beneficial.
In a statement, yesterday, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said besides the economic benefits, plans were already in motion to lift hindrances to the flow of military support for Nigeria’s war against insurgents in the North-East.
Some immediate benefits
According to him, “some of the more immediate benefits of the President’s trip to the US include: the proposed $2.1 billion fund from the World Bank for the re-development of the northeast battered by Boko Haram; $5 billion from US investors in Nigeria’s agriculture sector; $1.5 billion investment in the Nigerian’s health sector; and another $5 billion investment from the US in our country’s power sector.
“Also, as things stand, the embargo on weapons sales to Nigeria is in the process of being removed. The trip to the US by President Buhari was definitely very successful and beneficial to Nigeria. Only those rabidly determined to find faults unnecessarily will cook up falsehood in a futile effort to rake up murk where none exists.
“It is very sad that in this age of free-flowing information and in this era of change, a media organisation would make itself available as a vehicle to peddle a lie of such low and ignominious quality.
“Contrary to the newspaper’s assertions, the total cost of the trip to the Nigerian taxpayer was at the most minimal, in line with the policy of this administration to cut waste and extravagance.
Buhari’s son didn’t receive estacode, govs paid their way
“In point of fact, the total amount expended on the trip by the office of the President amounted to nothing near 10 per cent of the speculated figure.
“Owing to the free accommodation provided by the host government, all the personal staff who accompanied the President on the trip received reduced allowances.
“His son, Yusuf, received neither allowances nor estacode. The five governors on the trip each paid their way. Permanent Secretaries who travelled on the delegation did so in accordance with extant rules and none of them exceeded their estacode entitlements.
“Apart from the Nigerian pilot’s mischievous mathematics, it is shortsighted and misleading of the newspaper to have claimed that President Buhari’s trip to the US achieved nothing.
“Nigerian-US relations had suffered severely over the past few years. That relationship has now been reset. The benefits of this symbiotic relationship will become more and more evident as the Buhari administration continues to tackle the challenges of corruption, security and the economy.”

Borno Elders Demand Apology From Jonathan Over Killing Of State Residents By Boko Haram

Posted on August 5, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The Borno Elders Forum have demanded an apology from former President Jonathan over the death of Borno state residents during the various Boko Haram attacks under his administration.

The Elders in a statement signed by their chairman Amb. Usman Gaji Galtimari released today August 4th, said the recent remarks by immediate past Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh showed that the Nigerian military were not adequately equipped by the Jonathan Administration in the fight against Boko Haram.

The elders say they were baffled that their state governor, Kashim Shettima was rebuked by the former president when he also reported that the Nigerian troops sent to Borno state were not adequately equipped

“What particularly baffles the Borno Elders’ Forum was that at some point in 2014, the Governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima, had said it publicly after assessing the true situation as the man on ground that troops deployed in the fight against insurgents seriously lacked and required better military equipment and that those at battle fronts were poorly motivated. Several voices were raised in support of the Governor’s position. The Governor’s comments were completely rebuffed by the then President of Nigeria who went as far as threatening to withdraw soldiers from Borno as he spoke on live television interview relayed by the Nigerian Television Authority, at a Presidential Media Chat. Not only did the President rebuke the Governor and by extension, the people of Borno State, his aides followed suite and roundly condemned the Governor,” the statement said.

The elders made the following demands:

– A National Judicial Commission of Enquiry under an incorruptible judge from preferably the Southern Nigeria be set up to ask the immediate past President questions on why his administration refused to provide the military with the required functional and superior equipment whereas our sons and daughters were exposed to mass murder, severe injuries and grave destructions of our communities
– If the former government is found wanting it should be charged for genocide against the people of Borno State or at least criminal negligence at the International Criminal Court of Justice.
– The retired CDS retired should also be asked why he kept silent when the military under his command was not provided with the right equipment. He had the option of speaking or resigning as he ought to have done in order to draw attention of the world and by that he would have saved lives of Borno people.
– A list of citizens of Borno State killed from the time the issue of military capacity became in question, is compiled and relations of those killed are fully compensated for the death of their loved ones as a result of criminal negligence.
– A list of soldiers sent on missions without being properly equipped and exposed to death at different battle fronts in Borno State, is also compiled and that they are specifically celebrated with their survivors fully compensated since their bread winners died not just in combat but out of negligence of those in authority.
– An unreserved apology is tendered by the immediate past President and his service chiefs to the people of Borno State, especially those lost relations and also to Governor Kashim Shettima for all the humiliation he was made to suffer for telling the truth about capacity of the military at that time.

PDP’s Olisa Metuh Explains How Cold It Is Being In The Opposition

Posted on August 5, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Olisa Metuh, has explained how cold it is to be in the opposition. Speaking in an interview with Sahara Tv yesterday, Olisa said;

“It is cold out here. It is cold because people that have been with you for the past 10 years now decided to change because we are no longer in power. It is cold out here because people allowed themselves to be used against the party. It is cold out here because you are subject to the machination and conspiracy of the ruling party. But in terms of service, being in the opposition renews your commitment.

“The week that we lost the presidential election, some members changed. They are no longer committed and even the staff of the party are no more disciplined because there is no benefit to get. This has, however, separated those who came to reap from the PDP and those who want to really serve. Politics is about service. Those who want to serve will remain.”

Lawyer Sues President Buhari Over Scarcity of Petroleum Products

Posted on August 5, 2015 by Staff Reporter

A lawyer and rights activist, Kabir Akingbolu has dragged President Muhammadu Buhari before a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos over his failure to make adequate provision for the production and supply of petroleum products to all citizens at regulated prices.

Akingbolu, in the suit, has the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, as the second defendant.

The lawyer is contending that considering the nature and extent of inconveniences which the citizens of the country were being subjected to by the lack of petroleum products, especially the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), the failure of Buhari, as the Chief Executive Officer of the country, to act by making the products sufficiently available, was capable of causing breach of peace and serious
discomfiture for the citizenry.

He is praying the court to determine whether the failure of the president to address the scarcity by the President was a breach of the oath of office he took on May 29, 2015 and a violation of the clear and unambiguous provisions of Section 130 (1) & (2) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

Akingbolu is asking the court to declare that the failure of the defendants (Buhari and AGF) to make available petroleum products as a breach of oath of office, and that the failure to fix the refineries in the country was equally a breach of the constitutional obligation of the president.

Source: Vanguard

“Nigeria’s Military Needs Training, Not Arms” – US Legislature

Posted on August 5, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The United States is ready to provide military training to help Nigeria’s battle against Islamic terrorists, Boko Haram according to the leader of a U.S. Congressional delegation.

According to Rep. Darrell Issa: “Nigeria’s military is not outgunned by Boko Haram and needs training, not arms, to defeat the insurgents blamed for the deaths of thousands in three countries”

Issa spoke after his four-person bipartisan delegation met with President Muhammadu Buhari and military service chiefs.

The statement by Issa contradicts President Buhari who asserted, after meeting President Barack Obama at the White House last month, that the United States is aiding Boko Haram by refusing to sell attack helicopters to Nigeria.

The U.S. Leahy Law prohibits all aid to specific military units which have been found to violate human rights. In the case of Nigeria, U.S. officials have said that some units have been vetted and deemed eligible for assistance, and others have not. Amnesty International has accused Nigeria of killing without due process an estimated 8,000 people suspected of involvement with Boko Haram.

“The number one thing we bring is professional training to help the Nigerian forces fight Boko Haram and to advise them how to treat insurgents and civilians captured in the war zone”, said Issa who is a Republican from California and member of the House Subcommittee on Terrorism.

He continued saying: “Nigeria’s military doesn’t lack basic firearms … it lacks training in military strategy and in international and humanitarian laws. This is a military that was allowed to fall into disrepair during the previous administration. Morale is low when training is low,”

He said Obama’s pledge to give whatever training is needed signals “a new day” in U.S.-Nigeria relations. Buhari has since pledged to annihilate Boko Haram and fight Nigeria’s serious corruption problem.

“I Would Rather Burn In Hell Than Worship A Monster Called God” – Stephanie Rose

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Nigerian transgender Stephanie Rose, is full of hatred for the Lord our God and is coming out again to insult him and call him a monster.

Stephanie, who was born a man named Dapo Adaralegbe, was expelled from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife, where she was studying Law due to her homosexuality. She later underwent surgery to become a woman.

In her latest rant, she has taken to her Facebook page to share a post by an avowed atheist, Amenhotep Kingsagreed, where she thinks that God is the devil himself.

Follow the jump to see what she says about God and why she believes God is the devil as she quotes from the Bible. (This is one of those times you’ll see why our people say “even devil know Bible pass any man”). See her Biblical claims after the CUT:

“I’m amazed that people who claim to read and worship the words of the bible tend to be so ignorant about just what the bible says. I wonder how many of them know that god is quoted many times in the bible admitting that he is in fact evil. I will list those passages below.
Isaiah 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
Exodus 32:14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
Joshua 23:15 Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all good things are come upon you, which the LORD your God promised you; so shall the LORD bring upon you all evil things.
Judges 9:23 Then God sent an evil spirit
1 Samuel 16:14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
2 Samuel 12:11 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house
1 Kings 9:9 …therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil.
1 Kings 14:10 Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam
2 Kings 6:33 …Behold, this evil is of the LORD;
2 Kings 21:12 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle.
2 Kings 22:16 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place
Nehemiah 13:18 Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city?
Jeremiah 4:6 Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.
Jeremiah 6:19 Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people
Jeremiah 11:11 Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them
Jeremiah 25:29 For, lo, I begin to bring evil
Jeremiah 35:17 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them:
Jeremiah 44:2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Ye have seen all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon all the cities of Judah
Jeremiah 45:5 …behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD
Jeremiah 49:37 …I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger, saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them
Micah 1:12 …. evil came down from the LORD
Micah 2:3 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil
So as you can see, Jehovah god admits that it is he that does all evil, not some “fallen angel” who gets the blame.
The reason Satan gets the blame is solely so that the Christians can convince themselves that it’s not god doing it. But if you claim that god is not capable of committing evil acts then you are “giving false witness” and committing “blasphemy” against god and his character.
Now I ask you, why do you feel that this “god” is deserving of worship? Even if you believe that he does exist, after all he has done and all he admits, why would you want to devote your life to him? Of all the men who have lived not one of them can come close to the evil that this god is. No one has caused as much death and destruction that this god claims to have done.
It’s funny, the relationship that people have with this god reminds me of battered wife syndrome. He’ll beat you into submission, threaten you with terrible punishments if you don’t comply, convince you that you deserve that horrible treatment because your bad deep inside, then tell you he only does it because he loves you. Actually it’s not funny after all. It’s pretty damn sad.
Which ‘other uncontrollable devil’ is humanity searching for when the creator and inventor of evil has declared itself? The position of evil can not be checked because the same God is the creator and inventor of all evil.
Evil started from the same hopeless and foolish God because such useless and senseless God is evil. They do not go to Heaven and they do not go to Hell fire, the same God is the exact devil that deceived all religions about an untrue Heaven and untrue Hell fire!
Hell fire is a fallacy of imagination. NO BODY GOES TO HELL FIRE.”

Rose also has a book she has written titled: “NO BODY GOES TO HEAVEN BECAUSE NO BODY GOES TO HELL FIRE”.

Dencia Reveals She Never Graduated from College on Instagram

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Beauty super star Dencia may have a certain level of success but in a society that preaches school and education as a base for becoming what you want in life, Dencia has definitely proved them not totally correct in her quest and achievements she is sitting on top today.

According to her, this happened because she didn’t need graduation ‘cos at the end of the day, unless you are studying medicine, law or a licensed profession, your degree is almost worthless (as was in her case).

She shared her true story on instagram and i must say this should definitely inspire someone out there today.

Nollywood: The Story Behind Nigeria’s Domestic Movie Industry By Abba Makama

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Despite having only 14 cinemas in a country of 170 million people, Nigeria’s film industry, dubbed “Nollywood”, churns out as many as 50 films a week, sometimes for as little as 18 million Naira a project. Many are released straight to DVD and sold cheaply on the streets for as low as 100 naira, with video rentals being the major source for people to get the opportunities to view such movies.

When it comes to sheer volume, the $5bn film industry makes more films than the US and is only rivalled by India, the world’s biggest movie industry.

So, how did Nigerian films become so popular?

Abba Makama has a story to tell from his angle and that of other video directors in the industry. What makes the Nigerian movie scene the third biggest in the world Behind Bollywood and Hollywood? what it entails, and what plans they all have for the nearest future . These Stories are truths that may inspire us to more greatness and more perfection because it is a major contributor to income for the nigerian and african populace from production, distribution and consumption.

Watch video below and drop comments

President Buhari Appoints Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu To Head NNPC

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Staff Reporter

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of the Executive Vice Chairman of ExxonMobil Africa, Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, to head Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Kachiku has taken over from from Joseph Darwa at the NNPC headquarters in Abuja around 3:00 PM Nigerian time today.

Kachikwu, a trained lawyer, was born and raised in Onicha Ugbo in Aniocha North local
government area of Delta State.

More details to follow later……..

Cameroon Expels Thousands Of Nigerians As Part Of Fight Against Boko Haram

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Cameroon officials say they have expelled more than 3,000 Nigerians as part of the fight against the Nigerian-born Islamic extremist group which has launched attacks across borders.

Midjiyawa Bakary, governor of Cameroon’s Far North region, says authorities have also arrested hundreds of Cameroonians and Nigerians accused of collaborating with Boko Haram. He said they deported Nigerians who said they were refugees but were not staying at refugee camps and did not have identification papers.

Bakary said Tuesday that women, children and men were taken to Nigeria’s Sahuda village in Mubi, along the border.

In Nigeria, many said they were forced to flee quickly over the weekend. Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency chairman Haruna Hamman Furo said 800 people have been registered. He said 12,000 Nigerians may eventually be sent back.

Credit: usnews

Photos From Vice President Osinbajo’s Visit To Zambia To Commission Dangote Cement Factory

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo arrived Zambia yesterday for a one day visit where he will be joining the Zambian president, Edgar Chagwa Lungu to commission a 1.5Mt Dangote Cement plant and 30MW coal-fired power plant in Ndola, Zambia. Edo state governor, Adams Oshiomole and some top Nigerian businessmen are in Zambia for the commissioning. More photos below…

“President Buhari Suggests New Books For Islamic Religious Knowledge (IRK) School Curriculum at Book Launch”

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Staff Reporter

So we heard around the media and blogosphere yesterday about President Buhari Introducing Islamic Religious Knowledge Books into the curriculum of schools in Nigeria and rumors flew about president Buhari planning to islamize Secondary Schools round Nigeria which was one of the propagandas levied around by the opposition before the march 2015 elections .

President Muhammadu Buhari urged the Federal Ministry of Education to include these two Islamic Studies books written by the late Justice Muhammad Bashir Sambo in the secondary school curriculum for all Federal Government Colleges.

Represented by Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State, the President noted that such books had become essential in the face of declining moral and religious values in the country.

But In a reaction to this sensitive statement Sources close to the president have debunked such rumors saying, president buhari asked such books be introduced only to islamic curriculum of schools which have been practicing Islamic Religious Knowledge as a subject before now, citing the need for these books to enhance learning of the religion and essentials of the moral system the islamic Religion has to offer and is not compulsory for all Nigerian Kids to use this book since they haven’t been practicing the religion of islam before now.

Kanu Nwankwo’s Hotel Shut Down By Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The Hardley Apartments, on Victoria Island owned by Kanu Nwankwo was among other hotels, churches and mosques sealed across the state on Monday over alleged air and noise pollution.

No fewer than 30 facilities were shut in areas, including Ketu, Ikorodu, Ibeju-Lekki, Victoria Island and Surulere.

LASEPA said the owners of the facilities had been contacted several times in the last one year, adding that they refused to fully complied with LASEPA’s instructions.

At a mosque in Ketu ? Olorunkemi Mosque ? the leaders claimed to have taken down their speakers as instructed by the agency almost immediately.

However, the mosque was sealed for allegedly not complying fully with LASEPA’s instruction.

Other places also sealed include the Rain of Power and Miracles Ministry Church, Lekki; Christ Apostolic Church, Lekki; Duckland Hotels and Suites, Ikorodu; and Mela Rossa Club, Victoria Island.

At the Hardley Apartments, it was noticed that the generators powering the hotel had large exhaust pipes facing the road.

The Director of Enforcement, Kayode Bello, ordered that one of the generators be tested, and it was discovered that it gave off thick gaseous emissions.

Bello said, “Even the sound is going to be more than 45 decibels at night. We want you to comply ? that is the reason we are here. We have been on this for more than a year.”

The doors and gates of the hotel were subsequently chained, and plastered with the LASEPA seal.

Later at a press briefing in Ikeja, LASEPA General Manager, Rasheed Shabi said, “The environment belongs to every one of us. Lagosians need to live in peace. A survey was carried out by an international organisation and it was discovered that 60 per cent of Nigerians have hearing problem.

“LASEPA, in the last two to three years, has been conducting surveys on religious houses, and our findings revealed that 95 per cent of them do not have approval to operate in Lagos.

“Most houses and club houses do not have fiscal planning approval. Before you can build any hotel anywhere in the world, there must be an environmental impact assessment.

“Most of the markets we have in Lagos State; we have people using trucks to sell their products with speakers to disturb the peace of Lagosians. Soon, we will tow as many trucks as possible to get them off the streets.”

Shabi said the owner of the places sealed would sign an undertaking that they would comply with instructions meant to clean up the environment.

“After today, the enforcement unit will go round. Anybody that breaks the seal has violated the Lagos State law. We will then involve the Ministry of Justice,” Shabi added.

Opposition Within APC: What Buhari Should Do By Zayyad I. Muhammad

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Staff Reporter

One of the biggest political challenges that President Muhammadu Buhari is facing is the opposition within his party- the All Progressives Congress (APC), especially at the National Assembly. How Buhari tackles the ‘rebellion’ will determine how smooth he will run his government, the fortunes of his party- the APC, especially in future elections, and how members of the APC will view the supremacy of the party.

Being the President of the nation, Buhari enjoys the support of his party leadership most importantly, that of the party leader, Ahmed Bola Tinubu and other senior party stalwarts, thus Buhari has upper hands against the opposition within the APC. Having opposition within a political party is natural and healthy for a democracy, however what is happening in the APC is unique- the ‘rebels’ have their calculations linked to future elections and are in close romance with the ousted external opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Buhari has some very strong and reliable weapons to tackle this opposition within his party; first, he must make sure that procedures and laid down processes are followed to the letter in every aspect of government business including in the legislature- especially when it comes public fund expenditure. Secondly, Buhari’s posture of ‘no more business as usual’ should be unfailingly adhered to. These two are strong weapons because a lot of individuals in the National Assembly who are aligning themselves to the ‘opposition within’ are doing so hoping that when the ‘kill’ is ready, they will enjoy the ‘spoil’.

Most crises in the National Assembly have been connected to struggles by the actors to be part of those who will enjoy political spoils. The ‘rebellion’ against the APC leadership by some of its members in the National Assembly cannot also be far from that. A closer look at the APC legislators in the National Assembly whom the public see as major forces behind the rebellion reveal old termers in red and green chambers, who fully understand and have tasted the ‘honey’ that comes with being close to the leadership of the National Assembly. When things are allowed to work as they ought to and the expected ‘spoils’ no longer come, Nigerians will be relieved and most of the actors will sheath their swords.

Some people are suggesting that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC should send for the ‘like mind actors’ and dig into their past. Definitely something can be found out against most of them; however there will be backlash and accusations of political witch-hunting and misuse of security agencies. In fact, using the EFCC to resolve political issues is a wrong and condemnable. Buhari should rather firmly stand on his vow to allow process and procedures to follow laid down rules. Toxic politicians in the National Assembly and even in the executive will come back to their senses when this is done.

Fourth, Buhari should take the path of reconciliation and employ the spirit of give and take: This is would be the best for all the parties- the APC, its leadership and Buhari would be appeased, while the APC caucus of the National Assembly will be crisis free. But would the gladiators, especially in the Senate submit to party supremacy, which they preached to the masses during election? There are reports that Senate President Bukola Saraki is seeking the blessings of the Emir of Ilorin to intervene between him and Buhari. This means Saraki is now more worried, having seen the Dogora group in the House of Representatives bow to party supremacy. Having seen the writings on the walls and the growing public anger, the group acceded to the party’s decision and announced Femi Gbajabiamila as the house leader. Bukola can also thread the same path.

Some observers are saying Saraki’s strong romance with the PDP, the commitment he has to his like-minded colleagues and the politics of 2019 make this a difficult path for him. One may understand Saraki worries, he traded off the position of the deputy senate president to the minority PDP, and many see that as desperation to be senate president and also a betrayal of his party leadership- no party leadership can condole such act.

Looking at Buhari’s position on the crisis, one can say Buhari has no issues with any of the actors, the President is rather asking them to follow and accept the supremacy of the party which was sold to the masses during the 2015 elections. Anybody the All Progressive Congress (APC) presented was voted for, and most of the actors were beneficiaries of the APC sack.

Zayyad I. Muhammad writes from Jimeta, Adamawa State, zaymohd@yahoo.com, 08036070980. He blogs atwww.zayyaddp.blogspot.com

Nigerian Refineries Low On Petrol Production

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Current data on refineries production in Nigeria indicate that more heavy or fuel oils (low and high fuel oil/black oil) are being produced from the four refineries than other high demand products like premium motor spirit, PMS, otherwise known as petrol. The revelation comes despite assurances by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, which said last week that two of its refineries were working between 60 and 80 percent of their installed capacities.

NNPC had promised that the four refineries would be re-streamed by July end, when the turn around maintenance, TAM, of the hitherto almost comatose refineries would have been rounding up, thus, buoying high hopes for imminent relief from products scarcity in the country.

Capacity utilisation

However, status of the refineries operations as at July 31, 2015, exclusively obtained by Sweetcrude, indicate that the refineries cannot still meet the daily consumption requirement of between 40 and 42 million litres/day for petrol. For now, the Port Harcourt Refining Company, PHRC 2, is only able to produce about 39million litres of petrol, i.e. 38,906 x 1000 = 38.906 million compared with fuel oil, which is in low demand of about 49 million litres.

This is because aside from the PHRC 2, the fluid cracking catalytic units, FCCUs of the other refineries are still under rehabilitation. But succour is expected from the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company, WRPC, once its FCCU has been fully rehabilitated, to produce additional 30 million plus litres, while capacity utilisation in the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company, KRPC, remains nil.

KPRC only produces automotive gas oil, AGO, also known as diesel, and dual purpose kerosene, DPK, which can be used as both aviation fuel/Jet-A1 and household kerosene, HHK Nigeria has four refineries with combined capacity of 445,000 barrels per day, bpd, comprising: PHRC 1 – 150,000bpd; PHRC 2 – 60,000bpd; KRPC – 110,000bpd; and WRPC 125,000bpd.

But current status data put the Crude Distillation Unit, CDU,capacity utilisation in the four refineries as, PHRC 2 re-streamed on July 20th -60.40 percent; PHRC 1 under rehab – nil; KPRC re-streamed July 30th – 64.4 percent; and WRPC – 62 percent.

Nigerian Army To Review Case Of Soldiers Condemned To Death For Mutiny

Posted on August 3, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The Nigerian Army has ordered a review of the courts-martial of more than 600 soldiers and officers condemned to death for mutiny and deserting the battle against Boko Haram in the North East.

AP reports that a statement released signed by army administrator, Maj. Gen. A. B. Abubakar yesterday August 2nd, states that all the accused and condemned soldiers will appear before a committee that will sit and review their cases in Kaduna state from Aug. 7 to Aug. 24.

The soldiers had at different times revolted against their commanders over lack of weapons to fight Boko Haram members. Seems like former Chief of Defense Staff Alex Badeh now agrees with them.

Akon And Lighting Africa Team Meets Lagos Governor, Ambode

Posted on August 3, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Akon and his Akon Lighting Africa Team met with Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode yesterday August 2nd at the State House. Also at the meeting was the artiste May D and Akon’s Rep in Nigeria Ayo Shonaiya. Another photo below…

Naira To Rise Further As Banks Reject Dollars

Posted on August 3, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The United States dollar will further tumble against the naira at the parallel market this week as Deposit Money Banks continue to reject cash deposit of foreign currencies into customers’ domiciliary accounts.

The naira had appreciated against the dollar from 245 to 220 at the parallel market last week after banks started denying their customers opportunity to make cash deposits of dollar, pound and euro into their domiciliary accounts.

Foreign exchange dealers told our correspondent on Sunday that the naira would likely appreciate further against the dollar at the black market this week.

A forex trader, who chose to speak under the condition of anonymity said, “We expect the naira to

appreciate further this week at the parallel market.

“Banks have flooded the market with dollars and other foreign currencies. This is making the naira to appreciate. There is still a huge stock of dollars out there that the banks will be pushing into the parallel market this week.”

The Acting President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, also noted that large amount of dollars in the market would make the naira to appreciate further at the parallel market this week.

Banks had last week told customers that they would no longer collect cash deposits into domiciliary accounts.

Fidelity Bank Plc, in an email to customers, said the policy came from the Central Bank of Nigeria and it was only a temporary measure to curb speculative activities.

Guaranty Trust Bank Plc also told customers about the development in an email statement.

“Banks no longer accept dollar cash due to large speculation on the currency,” the Chief Executive Officer, First City Monument Bank, Mr. Ladi Balogun, told a conference call last week

He said the lenders would continue to receive dollar transfers from other banks.

The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, had two weeks ago said the naira was “appropriately priced” at its current level of 197 to the dollar on the interbank market.

The local currency has lost around 15 per cent against the dollar over the past year, with an official devaluation in November and a de facto one in February.

The naira had weakened on the parallel market, falling as low as 245, on persistent dollar shortages after the central bank last month limited importers’ access to dollars in order to save the external reserves.

Early last month, the central bank fixed the spread at which bureaux de change operators could sell dollars to individuals, and also limited the amount that bank customers would spend using their debits cards abroad.

Although the restrictions have angered investors and frustrated companies that need dollars for imports, Emefiele has rejected the idea of loosening the curbs, saying the central bank could not adopt an “indeterminate policy” of currency depreciation.

Global ratings agency, Standards & Poor’s, had also said Nigeria would have to devalue its currency at some stage, possibly by more than 15 per cent, though it saw the adjustments as likely to be gradual.

FCMB’s Balogun had also noted that the parallel market was beginning to see a reversal in the naira’s weakness as banks stopped taking dollar deposits.

Niger State Government House : ‘No Money Is Missing’ – Dooba

Posted on August 3, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The attention of Niger State government has been drawn to a statement credited to the APC state publicity secretary, alleging that N150 million had gone missing from the government house; however, our checks have revealed that this was a complete fabrication.

When the chairman of the party, Engr Muhammad Jibril Imam, was asked to confirm if the story indeed came from the party secretariat, he said it did not. “I’m the party chairman and I know nothing of any missing money,” the chairman said. “The party didn’t discuss anything like that and therefore couldn’t have approved such a statement to be issued. We can only commend the governor for his people oriented actions and policies of the past couple of months,” he said.

As critical consumers of information, the people are therefore urged to treat such allegations with caution, because in the eyes of the law, the person who creates libelous material, the person who publishes it and the person who repeats or shares it, are all legally answerable. The logical thing is to ask the individual who made the allegation for evidence, if not, we may irreparably damage the names of good people.

Further, it would really be surprising for such a thing to happen in our government house, because besides the fact that the governor is an economist, he’s also well known as a prudent manager of resources. Most of the time, it’s difficult for even money expended on a pen in the government house to escape his notice.

Dr. Ibraheem Dooba
Chief Press Secretary

Boko Haram Commander Captured By The Military, 178 People Rescued From Sect’s Camp

Posted on August 3, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The Nigeria military has captured Boko Haram Commander and rescued 178 captivities in Bama axis, Borno State.
The development was sequel to the ongoing operations to clear Boko Haram terrorists in its area of operations, the troops of 21 Brigade in conjunction with elements of 151 Task Force Battalion of 7 Division, Nigerian Army have conducted offensive operations along Aulari in Bama axis.

The troops successfully cleared terrorists’ camp in Fadan, Shuwarin, Wulari, Ngoro Dauye, Jidori, Alikashiri, Kalzamari-Shuwa and Kalzamari-Kanuri amongst others.

During the offensive operations, 178 people held captives by the terrorists were rescued. They include 101 children, 67 women and 10 men.

Also, three Boko Haram flags were recovered while five motor cycles were burnt by the troops. In addition, one Boko Haram commander was captured alive and is presently undergoing investigation.

Kaduna Refinery Begins Production, To Hit 2m Litres Daily By October

Posted on August 1, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The Kaduna Refining and Petrochemicals Company (KRPC), is now refining of about 60,000 barrels of crude per day following the rehabilitation of two of the company’s production lines.

The company said it was currently working with a target to release two million litres of petrol daily into the market by October.

The Managing Director of the company, Mr. Saidu Muhammed told THISDAY ON Friday that the company was on phased rehabilitation, with a target to hit 60 per cent of its local refining capacity, which is about 2 million litres daily, in the next few months, stating further that there is no reason why the company cannot achieve 6 million litres by early next year.

“We are doing alot at the moment to make sure that we achieve 80 per cent of refinning capacity.”

He assured that the KRPC’s production level would hit 90 per cent by the second quarter of 2016.

The company has an installed production capacity of 110,000 barrels of crude per day. The managing director said rehabilitation work on the remaining two production lines of the company would be completed by March 2016.

Freedom Online, however, quoted the Mohammed as urging the Federal Government to safeguard the oil pipeline from Warri to Kaduna from activities of vandals in order to sustain production.

According to him, vandalism remained a major threat to smooth transportation of crude to the refinery. Muhammed, therefore, advised the Federal Government to deploy military personnel to provide maximum security to pipelines in the area. The facility upgrade of the refinery, which started in October 2014 under the Jonathan administration, is to cover 18-months.

The work entails phased and simultaneous rehabilitation of all refineries in the country using in-house and locally available resources and manpower in line with the Nigerian Content Law.
It also involved the use of Original Equipment Manufacturer representatives to effect major equipment overhaul and rehabilitation.’

The KRPC boss said the resumption of production would open employment opportunities in both formal and the informal sectors as well as address the lingering fuel scarcity in the northern region.

Muhammed explained that thousands of transporters would resume lifting of the product, thereby providing employment to truck drivers and other stakeholders. According to him, the development will also boost other businesses including the banking sector.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), on Wednesday announced that the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries had resumed full production after the phased rehabilitation.

NNPC operates three refineries with a combined capacity of 445,000 barrels per day (bpd). They are the 210,000bpd Port Harcourt refinery, the 125,000bpd Warri refinery and petrochemical plant, and the 110,00bpd Kaduna refinery and petrochemical plant.

The commencement of operations at the Port Harcourt and Warri plants will boost the country’s local refining output and reduce the volume of petroleum products imported into the country.

Robbers Employ New Tactics To Rob At ATMs – Nigerian Police Warns

Posted on August 1, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The Police on Friday advised members of the public using ATM at various banks to be security conscious as some criminals now disguised as customers queuing to withdraw money.

This is contained in a statement on the Nigeria Police Force website exposing the antics of criminals.

The statement noted that on July 30, at about 12.10 a.m., a male bank customer went to withdraw money from one of the ATMs at the Central Business District (CBD), Abuja.

It stated that three young men who pretended to have come to withdraw money also were on queue with the plan to attack the man.

“The victim raised an alarm which attracted nearby Police Patrol team to the scene. The hoodlums took to their heels upon sighting the advancing policemen.

“One automatic pistol fell from one of the suspects and was recovered by the police and the victim was safely rescued.

“However, another male victim was unlucky as hoodlums attacked him and snatched the N500,000 cash he withdrew from ATMs on July 28.

“Police responded to his distress call and one of the suspects was arrested. Efforts is on to apprehend other gang members,’’ the statement said. (NAN)

Female Suicide Bomber Apprehended After Failed Suicide Attempt In Cameroon

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Staff Reporter

This female suicide bomber was arrested after her failed attempt to bomb a market in Marou, Cameroon this morning See another photo below…

Male Suicide Bomber Dressed As A Female Arrested In Chad

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Staff Reporter

A male suicide bomber who disguised as a female was arrested after his attempt to bomb Djembe market in Chad this morning failed.

House Leadership: S’East Reps Grumble Over Exclusion

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Staff Reporter

THE two All Progressives Congress members of the House of Representatives from the South-East geopolitical zone on Tuesday grumbled over their alleged exclusion from the House leadership positions by the party caucus.

The South-East Reps rejected the argument that they were first-timers hence not qualified to hold principal office in the lower federal chamber.

They argued that the Senate Minority Leader, ex-Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio, was also a fresh member of the upper chamber.

One of the South-East Reps, Chuka Okafor, who had been initially nominated by the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, at the height of the leadership crisis in the House to serve as the Deputy Whip spoke on Thursday on behalf of the zone.

Okafor said, “You may recall that the South-East APC had nominated me for the post of deputy majority whip, a nomination that was duly accepted by the presiding officers of the House.

“As you already know, the final position is that the South-East is the only zone that is excluded from the leadership caucus, while one zone has two plum positions.

“On principle, I accept the outcome of that session in good faith and sincerely congratulate the new leadership of the House as presently constituted.”

He urged the national leadership of the party to stop placing the South-East on the fringes in the scheme of things, adding that as far as the Nigerian project was concerned, every region must count, if things are to go right.

He said, “If indeed our ideology of leadership involves, even in the minutest way, the integration of every section of our country, Nigeria, then our pontificating on Federal Character should go beyond lip service and rhetoric to practical embrace of every section of the country in the spirit of the change which we have promised.

“A number of persons hold the erroneous view that the APC did not have a good outing in the South-East but every sincere Nigerian that understands the politics of the region can attest to the fact that the party in the South-East fought against stupendous odds and the statistics are there to prove it. It is needless to mention that the region has been a stronghold of the PDP since 1999. In the last election, PDP in the South-East states merely managed a paltry average that was less than half a million votes due to the efforts of APC faithful in the region.

“In that election, APC in the South-East exhibited the highest level of courage, doggedness and fierce loyalty to the party; in most cases to the point of risking their lives.”

The complaint from the South-East lawmakers came even as Dogara and his erstwhile “enemy”, now the Majority Leader, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, said at the end of the APC caucus meeting midnight Wednesday that the leadership crisis in the party had been “buried for good.”

Dogara and Gbajabiamila had emerged from the APC caucus meeting smiling and holding hands.

The meeting, which was called by Gbajabiamila, was the first after the speaker conceded to the Lagos lawmaker’s nomination by the leadership of the party as the House leader on Tuesday.

“The closed-door meeting was attended by all members of the now collapsed factions in the House. It was to discuss as one family and strengthen the party as the majority party”, one member told The PUNCH on Thursday.

“You can see that all is now well. We are a family and we are better now,” Dogara also said.

On his part, Gbajabiamila, who was full of smiles, admitted that “APC has come out of the crisis, better and stronger.”

Facts however emerged on Thursday on how the warring factions resolved the leadership crisis in a last-minute decision to avoid going for caucus elections.

Read full story here http://www.punchng.com/news/house-leadership-seast-reps-grumble-over-exclusion/

I Am Praying For Buhari That God Will Protect Him – Rev Fr Mbaka

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Founder of the Enugu Adoration Ministry, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, while preaching at a special mass organized to celebrate his 20th anniversary in priesthood yesterday July 29th, offered prayers to God for President Buhari, asking God to protect him from enemies. He also offered prayers to God for the Enugu state governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi that God will not allow occultic men steal his vision

“I am praying for Buhari, that God will protect him so that enemies will not destroy him. I also pray for Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi so that God will not allow occultic men to steal his vision.”

The outspoken cleric who was very critical of the Jonathan administration, says the last 20 years for him has been of good health and miracles from God. He said there were times he suffered blackmail but he remained in God’s hand

“I am not tired after 20 years, 20 years of good health; 20 years of miracles from God; 20 years of hard apostolic work; 20 years in the hand of God. There was a time they blackmailed me; they were saying such things like ‘Mbaka why? Mbaka this, Mbaka that’, but I have remained in the hand of God.”he said

President Buhari yesterday released a statement congratulating the outspoken cleric for his 20 years Anniversary in priesthood.

PDP Broke? We Warned Earlier On That Being In Opposition Is Not A Walk In The Park – APC

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has denied the allegation by the PDP that the Director-General of the Department of State Services, DSS, Mr. Lawal Daura, is a card-carrying member of the party (APC), calling the accusation absurd and frivolous.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party challenged the PDP to publish any evidence it may have to confirm the allegation, adding: ”After all, it is trite that he who alleges must prove.”

”In the absence of that, the PDP must call another press conference to publicly apologize to all Nigerians for engaging in barefaced lies,” it said.
APC expressed shock that the PDP has started exhibiting all the symptoms of hallucination so soon after its gravy train derailed, saying it’s obvious that the party has now started hearing voices.

”We know that the psyche of the PDP has been badly affected by its loss of power at the centre. Even the party itself has admitted that much. That situation has now been compounded by the fact that the party is broke. It is therefore not a surprise that it is no longer able to think straight. The reality of its new situation is just beginning to dawn on it.

”But we warned the PDP early on that being in opposition is not a walk in the park. We warned that while the party was used to eating its bread with butter on both sides, it will now be lucky to even have bread to eat,” the party said.

It warned the PDP to spend more time in patching its tattered and battered umbrella than acting as a cog in the wheel of progress of the new Administration

PDP Announces Reduction Of Staff Strength, Salaries And Allowances

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Barely two months into its new status as the opposition political party, having governed the country for sixteen years, the Peoples Democratic Party, has started struggling with the challenge of being an opposition, as it yesterday announced that the party will reduce allowances, staff strength by 50%.

The party has also said it would reduce the salaries and allowances of its staff by 50%, even as the allowances of members of the National Working Committee, NWC would be slashed down by 50%.

In a letter signed by PDP National Secretary, Professor Wale Oladipo and addressed to all director and administrative staff of PDP, the leadership of the Party would also reduce the number of its security by 50%.

The letter dated 29 July, 2015 with reference number PS/DD/AD/HOD/SAs/PAS and obtained by Vanguard, the Secretary who noted that the decisions were reached at the 406th meeting of the NWC yesterday, stressed that the party’s Research Directorate has also been abolished and functions of the Directorate transferred to the Peoples Democratic Institute.

The copy of the memo, entitled “Reorganization and Restructuring of Staff at the National Secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party”, read in full, “The NWC, at its 406^th meeting held on 29^th July, 2015, considered the Report on the reorganization and restructuring of staff at the National Secretariat and approved the

following: i. Reduction of the allowances of all NWC members by 50%.

ii. Reduction of the number of personal staff of the NWC members by 50%

iii. Reduction in the number of security personnel attached tAnnoo the National Officers by 50%

iv. The reduction of the salaries and allowances of all staff (Establishment and

Staff of NWC members) by 50% effective August, 2015.

v. Abolition of the Research Directorate and transfer of its functions to the Peoples Democratic Institute.

“Furthermore, Establishment staff who would remain are required to obtain individual letter of revalidation from their State Party Chapter within one month of this circular as to their suitability for service at the National Secretariat.”

Source – vanguardngr.com

Oil Worth $13.7bn Stolen Under NNPC, Says NEITI

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Hajiya Zainab Shamsuna-Ahmed, on Wednesday said between 2009 and 2012, about 160 million barrels of oil valued at $13.7bn was stolen under the watch of the national oil giant, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

She also said that subsidy payment from 2005 to 2012 indicated that $11.63bn had been paid to the NNPC but that “there is no evidence of the money being remitted to the federation account.”

The NEITI boss, who called on the Federal Government to privatize the refineries, stated this during a courtesy call on Governor Nasir el-Rufai, at Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House, Kaduna, on Wednesday.

El-Rufai is among the four governors appointed by the National Economic Council to scrutinise the accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and the Excess Crude Account managed by the administration of Goodluck Jonathan.

Part of the terms of reference was to unravel the N3.8trn not remitted to the Federation Account by the national oil giant between 2012 and May 2015, as well as $2.1bn said to have been deducted from the Excess Crude Account.

Governors of Akwa-Ibom, Edo and Gombe states were members of the team.

Hajiya Ahmed said, “Crude product swap of $866m was lost from 2009 to 2011 and $8243m in 2012. Total amount expended in subsidy payment from 2005 to 2012 as captured $11.63bn have been paid to the NNPC. However, there is no evidence that these amounts were remitted to the Federation Account,” she stated.

Meanwhile, Governor El-Rufai disclosed that since he called for the scrap of the NNPC, the corporation has being sponsoring articles in the media to attack him to fight on till NNPC will be killed.

He added that the corporation would be made to pay all monies it owed before its final death.

El-Rufai said, “NNPC has become a monster that is too powerful. I will continue to fight NNPC till it dies for Nigeria to survive.

“It is either Nigerians kill NNPC or NNPC will kill Nigeria.

“Since, I called for the death of NNPC, the corporation has sponsored articles attacking me, but I am telling them my skin is thicker than an elephant.”

Port Harcourt And Warri Refineries Commence Preliminary Operations

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has announced that the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries have been successfully re-streamed after a nine-month rehabilitation exercise conducted by its in-house engineers and technicians.

The corporation, in a statement, noted that both plants commenced preliminary production of petroleum products after successful test-runs, adding that while PHRC was ramping up its operation to about 60 per cent of its 210,000 barrels per day capacity, WRPC production was projected to hit 80 per cent of its installed 125,000bpd capacity.

The NNPC said the Port Harcourt refinery was projected to boost the nation’s local refining capacity
with a product yield of five million litres of petrol per day, while Warri refinery would contribute 3.5 million litres of petrol.

Providing insight into the rehabilitation exercise, the NNPC noted that it had to adopt the phased rehabilitation strategy after the Original Refinery Builders, who were initially contacted for the project came up with unfavorable terms.

It said, “Though a decision was taken in 2011 to rehabilitate all the refineries using the ORB of each of the refineries, we were impelled to switch strategy after the ORBs declined participation and nominated some partners in their stead who came up with outrageously unfavorable terms.”

The NNPC stated that the nominated partners, as sole-bidders, came up with humongous price offers after two years of thorough and exhaustive scope of work definition and price negotiations.

It added that the proxies were also unwilling to provide post rehabilitation performance guarantees.

The corporation said, “The phased rehabilitation strategy which entailed phased and simultaneous rehabilitation of all the refineries using in-house and locally available resources in line with the spirit and letter of the Nigerian Content Law, also involved the use of Original Equipment Manufacturer representatives to effect major equipment overhaul and rehabilitation.”

The national oil firm said the phased rehabilitation programme, which started in October 2014 after the required funding stream was established, created a 70 per cent reduction in costs which helped largely in mitigating the financing challenges of refinery rehabilitation.

It observed that with the successful re-streaming of the PHRC and WRPC, attention has now moved to the 110,000 barrels per day Kaduna Refining and Petrochemicals Company which was billed to come on stream soon.

In a related development, NNPC disclosed that it had successfully recovered the System 2B Pipeline which was breached last week at Arepo, Ogun State.

The corporation stated that its team of engineers, who were deployed to the scene of the incident, were able to access the pipeline after the fire was put out and commenced repair work immediately.

It said, “We wish to announce that the vital System 2B Pipeline which was breached at Arepo last week has been fixed and brought back on stream. Pumping of products through the system commenced on Monday upon successful completion of repair work over the weekend.

“We also wish to call on all those engaged in the criminal acts of pipeline sabotage and oil theft to desist in order to avoid such horrendous deaths as was witnessed in the recent incident.”

Source: Punch

Yar’Adua Cancelled Sale Of Refineries, Refunded Dangote’s $750M – Obasanjo

Posted on July 29, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has explained that the sale of two of the nation’s oil oil refineries had been concluded before he exited office in 2007, saying his successor, the late Umaru Yar’Adua, reversed the sale due to “pressure”.

Obasanjo said this in his serialised interview with ‘Book Club’, a programme on Channels Television, monitored in Lagos on Wednesday.

The ex-President said business mogul, Aliko Dangote, leading a consortium of investors, had paid $750m for two of the refineries, as the Federal Government was finding it difficult managing the facilities at the time.

He, however, regretted that instead of the Yar’Adua administration to consolidate on the sale so that the investors could turn around the fortunes of the refineries, his successor succumbed to pressure and reversed the sale of the oil facilities.

Obasanjo equally revealed that not only did his successor canceled the sale, he also refunded the $750m paid by the investors.

He added, “The refineries are old and Dangote and some investors paid $750m for two of the refineries. My successor came to office and reversed the sale; he even refunded the money they paid.

“So, I went to him and said ‘why did you do this’? He said it was because of pressure. So, I said ‘so the pressure of some people was more important than the interest of the whole nation’!

“Right now, you will hardly be able to sell the refineries for more than $250m because they are very old.”

Obasanjo explained that most people, especially leaders, failed to analyse the decisions of those before them before upturning those decisions, pointing out that most leaders yielded to sentiment than informed opinions

Source – punchng.com

News Alert!! Godswill Akpabio Emerges Senate Minority Leader

Posted on July 28, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Former Governor of Akwa Ibom state, Godswill Akpabio has been named the minority? leader of the senate.

THE CABLE reports that Akpabio was nominated by the south-south caucus of the PDP in the senate. His nomination, however, is against the standing rules of the senate, which exempts first-term senators from holding principal positions.

More details later.

A Lot Of Knowledgeable Nigerians Have Been Compromised, Buhari Explains Why It Is Taking Time To Appoint Ministers

Posted on July 28, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Buhari has once again explained why it is taking him time to appoint ministers, saying that a lot of knowledgeable Nigerians fit for the position have been compromised and it is very risky to appoint such people into office. He explained that appointing ministers who will be taking instructions from ‘powerful people’ outside the cabinet will take Nigeria back to square one and that is part of what he is running from. Read his exact words below…

“From what I have seen so far, we need very patriotic Nigerians (to be ministers); Nigerians that can work very hard with knowledgeable experience; committed Nigerians to be in charge of ministries.

“A lot of institutions in Nigeria are compromised, everybody for himself and God for all of us. It is most unfortunate. We have people, educated and experienced people, but everybody seems to be working for himself on how much they could get away with as soon as possible.

“We have to look for technocrats and politicians. We have to look out for decent people in this class to give them the responsibility of being in charge of ministries and important parastatals.

“It is taking so much time (to appoint ministers) because a number of knowledgeable people have been compromised. They have been compromised by people who will like to depend on them to damage our economy and security; a lot of them have been compromised.

“The worst thing that I think can happen is to get a compromised person to be in charge of institutions. There is no way he could be efficient or patriotic. Somebody behind the scene will be manipulating him at the expense of the nation.

“This is what we are trying to avoid and I assure you that so much damage has been done to Nigeria. We cannot rush to give this responsibility to people that have unfortunately been compromised.

“This is because there is no way you can effectively supervise, let’s say 20 ministries, you have to give it to people you trust and you allow them to perform according to the Constitution of the country. If you appoint compromised people, then we will be back to square one and Nigeria will be the loser.”

EFCC Arraigns Six Persons For N31m Fraud

Posted on July 27, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Friday, July 24, 2015, arraigned six persons before Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye of the Lagos High Court, Ikeja on a 17 count charge bordering on conspiracy, stealing and forgery.

The six accused persons – Festus Onile, Olawale Garuba, Abiodun Afainiya, Jayeola Afolabi David, Yewande Adeyemi and Adetoun Kammal, were arrested by the Commission sequel to a petition from a new generation bank which alleged fraudulent transfers and withdrawals of N31 million through ATM and Point of Sale, POS, from the account of one of its customers.

One of the counts reads: “Festus Onile, Olawale Garuba and Abiodun Afainiya between the 14th December, 2012 to 18th December, 2012 at Lagos within the jurisdiction of this honourable court with a dishonest intent stole the sum of N5,513,519.98 (five million, five hundred and thirteen thousand, five hundred and nineteen naira, ninety eight kobo) through point of sale terminals (POS) from account no. 0038253607 belonging to late Shodiya Wemimo Agnes.”

The accused persons pleaded not guilty when the charge was read to them.

In view of their plea, the prosecution counsel, Abba Mohammed, prayed the court for a trial date and to remand the accused persons in prison custody.

However, Seun Adenuga, counsel to the first accused asked for a short adjournment to enable him file for bail. He also prayed the court to remand the accused in EFCC custody.

Justice Ipaye however ordered that the accused be remanded in Kirikiri prison pending the determination of their bail applications and adjourned the case to October 9th, 20th and 21st for trial.

Source: PM News

I Was Under Pressure To Convene Meeting – Tompolo

Posted on July 24, 2015 by Staff Reporter

LEADER of the defunct Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger-Delta, MEND, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, aka Tompolo, explained, Friday, that he summoned Saturday’s meeting the of the militant group in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, because of the overpowering pressure mounted on him and other MEND leaders by ex-agitators and other beneficiaries of the Amnesty Programme.

Tompolo confirmed there was apprehension in Ijaw land over the continued delay by the Federal Government in paying monthly stipends to the beneficiaries, adding that whilst some of them, leaders, understood the reason for the noticeable delay apparently caused by the scrutiny of government agencies, including the Amnesty Office, majority of the beneficiaries did not see it in that light.

His words, “While a few see the delay in the payment of their monthly stipends in the light of the need for the current government to settle in properly, others see the delay as a template to stop the programme. The expulsion of some students (home and overseas) by their schools and training institutions particularly has heightened these fears.”

The ex-militant leader, who is the Ibe-Ebidouwei of Izon nation is, however, flabbergasted that a section of the media mischievously linked the meeting to the stoppage of the his pipeline surveillance contract, even though payment had not been made for the services rendered in the renewed contract, or termination of appointments.

Describing is it as highly provocative and despicable; he said he was considering calling off the meeting, if anything, to show that he had no bad intention and would want Niger Delta to remain peaceful under the President Muhammadu Buhari government.

Vanguard gathered that leaders across the region had called Tompolo, yesterday, advising him to cancel the meeting, as the intention was likely to be misconstrued.

However, the group of MEND, which refused to disband after Tompolo and others disbanded the militant group in 2009, yesterday, in a statement by Jomo Gbomo, distanced itself from the meeting.

Source – vanguardngr.com

Ex SEC DG, Arunma Oteh Appointed VP And Treasurer Of The World Bank

Posted on July 24, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Former DG of the Security and Exchange Commission, Ms Arunma Oteh has been appointed the Vice President and Treasurer of the World Bank. Congrats to her.

I Did Not Indict US Over Boko Haram, Says Pres. Buhari

Posted on July 24, 2015 by Staff Reporter

President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday said there was no truth in claims in the local and international media that he accused or indicted the United States Government of helping the terrorist group, Boko Haram.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, the President described the reports as widely off mark.

He described the reports as unfortunate misinterpretation and distortion of his remarks at the United States Institute of Peace during his official visit to Washington DC.

He said he made it clear in those remarks, copies of which were circulated to the media, that he was convinced that the United States could never support groups such as Boko Haram.

The statement read in part, “The regrets expressed by President Buhari at USIP about the impact of the application of the Leahy Law on Nigeria’s war against Boko Haram and terrorism cannot be construed as an indictment of President Barack Obama and the United States Government who have publicly and privately declared their preparedness to give the Buhari Administration the fullest possible support and assistance.

“Within the context in which they were made, President Buhari’s comments on the adverse effect of the Leahy Law on Nigeria’s efforts to contain Boko Haram’s atrocious acts of terrorism should only be taken as a passionate appeal for even greater understanding and support from a very powerful and longstanding ally.

“President Buhari has nothing but the highest possible regard for President Obama, the United States Government, the people of the United States, their laws and institutions.

“The President had very successful and useful talks with President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry, other high-ranking US government officials and members of United States Congress during his visit to Washington DC.

“It is his expectation that those talks will lead to better mutual understanding and a further deepening of bilateral relations between Nigeria and the United States, especially in Nigeria’s current priority areas of defence and security cooperation.”

Source – punchng.com

Basketmouth Accuses Jonathan’s Govt Of Stealing

Posted on July 24, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Popular stand-up comedian, Basketmouth (real name Bright Okpocha), is in the news again. This time, it is because he has taken a swipe at the government of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Midway into his show, tagged BM Uncensored, which held in Houston, Texas in the United States, a few days ago, the comedian accused the Jonathan administration of doing nothing else other than “stealing” money during its six-year tenure.

A copy of the video posted on Youtube shows Basketmouth, who was dressed in a sleeveless top and dark trousers, speaking his mind about the high level of corruption that prevailed in the country under Jonathan’s watch.

In the video, the comedian said, “The funny thing is that Buhari is now in power and everyone is hating the guy under two months. I am normally into politics, but when I see some s..t I say it. Goodluck was there for six years and all they did was steal money.”

The statement has since gone viral on social media, with many users openly chiding Basketmouth for opening his mouth ‘a little too loud’ and others rising in his defence.

On the same day, the comedian also threw playful barbs at Davido, who emerged winner of the 2015 MTV Africa Music Awards in the Best Male Act category in South Africa last weekend.

Basketmouth had said,“Davido won above Wizkid? It’s quite strange, but it’s allowed… it’s allowed.”

Ever since the video appeared online, the comedian’s actions have been the subject of a debate among critics who are worried that he is becoming quite vocal about issues not related with comedy.

EFCC Arraigns 10 Persons For Oil Bunkering

Posted on July 24, 2015 by Staff Reporter

EFCC Press statement below…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arraigned 10 persons and a vessel, MV Peace for their alleged involvement in illegal oil bunkering before Justice Muhammad B. Idris of the Federal High Court, Lagos on a three count charge bordering on conspiracy and illegal dealing in petroleum products.

MV Peace and its crew members – James Abatan, Wasiu Abdul Owonikoko, Patrick Ameh, Johnson Ademola, Felix Otto, Chigozie Oguike, Olu Salisu, Jomo Gadagbe, Kunle Oba Saheed and Rasheed Adio were intercepted about five nautical miles off Lagos Fairway Buoy by the Nigerian Navy Ship Ikot-Abasi on the 4th of April 2015 on suspicion of illegal dealing in petroleum products.

Count one and two of the charge reads:
Count 1:
“MV Peace, James Abatan, Wasiu Abdul Owonikoko, Patrick Amen, Johnson Ademola, Felix Otto, Chigozie Oguike, Olu Salisu, Jomo Gadagbe, Kunle Oba Saheed and Rasheed Adio on or about the 4th day of April, 2015 in Lagos within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court conspired amongst yourselves to commit an offence to wit: dealing in petroleum products without appropriate licence and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 3 (6) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Cap M17, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 and punishable under Section (1) (17) of the same Act.”

Count 2:
“MV Peace, James Abatan, Wasiu Abdul Owonikoko, Patrick Amen, Johnson Ademola, Felix Otto, Chigozie Oguike, Olu Salisu, Jomo Gadagbe, Kunle Oba Saheed and Rasheed Adio on or about the 4th day of April, 2015 in Lagos within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court without appropriate licence dealt with 200 Metric Tons of Petroleum product and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section (1) (17) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Cap M17, Law of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.” The accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charge when read to them. In view of the plea of the accused, the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo prayed the court for a trial date and to remand the accused in prison custody. However, counsel to all accused persons, Dada Awosika said he had filed an application for bail and prayed the court for a short adjournment for hearing. Justice Idris ordered that the accused persons be remanded in Ikoyi prison and adjourned the case to Monday 27 July, 2015 for hearing on the bail application.

Wilson Uwujaren
Head, Media & Publicity 23rd July, 2015

I Will Work Very Hard To Sustain Goodwill Of Nigerians – Buhari

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Staff Reporter

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday in Washington, United States, said he would work very hard to sustain the goodwill his government had received at home and abroad. The President was answering a question after his address at the United States Institute for Peace. He was asked how he intended to leverage on the enormous goodwill being enjoyed by his administration and meet the huge expectations of the people.

He said despite his perceived slowness and the reality of lack of resources, he would work very hard “so that people will see and believe that we are trying and can deliver and hopefully become less critical.” Buhari acknowledged the huge challenges confronting his administration such as the crash in the price of crude oil, its theft, and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta, hostage taking and insecurity in the North East.

He restated his determination to sustain the goodwill by working very hard. “And I believe I will succeed.” Earlier, the President said “despite our current challenges, Nigeria’s commitment to good governance, anti-corruption, democracy and security of lives and property remains firm.

“Similarly, I must reaffirm that despite the current challenges that we face domestically, we are ready and willing to face our duties – fixing Nigeria’s problems as formidable as they are the responsibility of Nigerians.’’ According to him, international community can only assist, but the hard work belongs to Nigerians and their government.

“I will, as President, lead from the front, but all Nigerians, including the opposition parties, civil society organisations, business and religious leaders, public servants, labour unions, the youths and professional associations, all have important roles to play to get our country back on a sound economic footing’’, he said.

Former US Secretary of State for African Affairs, Amb. Johnnie Carson had described President Buhari as a “very humble and strong personality with enormous integrity and commitment to good governance and uplifting the lives of the citizenry.’’

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Carson moderated the interactive.

– Source – www.vanguardngr.com

Controversial Cut-Off Mark: What Candidates Should Do – JAMB

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Against the backdrop of controversy trailing move by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to post students rejected by
some universities to other schools, on the account of increased cut-off mark, the apex examination body has stated affected candidates
should check its website on Friday, August 5, 2015 to know the schools they are posted to.

Reacting to Wednesday’s protest by candidates billed to participate in UNILAG’s 2015/2016 post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination
(post-UTME), JAMB spokesman, Mr. Fabian Benjamin told Vanguard that the Board has entered into an agreement with the school to post the rejected students to other schools in Lagos environs.

According to Benjamin, “Admission is not the way people think. We have Merit, Catchment and closeness to a state. Those are the criteria we
are following to arrive at that list we sent to UNILAG. It’s not about the cut off point, there other considerations.

“UNILAG has only 9000 capacity in this year’s admission exercise and that is why we are trying to push the others to other universities.
They will not understand we are trying to send them to schools that will admit them because UNILAG can only take 9000 candidates. But the
students are not being patient with us to get this information across to them.”

He added that “We sympathise with them but wish to state categorically that the national cut-off point is just the minimum expectation that
each candidate desirous of university admission should have. However, universities are at liberty to go higher than 180, depending on their
peculiarities and the performance of candidates who chose them.

“For instance, if over 10,000 candidates who made UNILAG their first choice scored 250 and above, it will be difficult for them to go lower than 250 when they are to admit only about 9000. I wish to state that a time will come when some universities will go up to 300 as their
cut-off mark, depending on the performance.”

JAMB’s image-maker further explained that because of the development, the board decided that some of the candidates who chose such
institutions but fall below their cut-off marks should not miss out, hence the need to send them to other schools

NAFDAC Reacts To Reports Of Misappropriation Of Funds By Its DG, Says Allegations Are False

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Staff Reporter

There were reports last week that the Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control NAFDAC, Paul Orhii, misappropriated some of the agencies funds by way of fictitious contracts as well as inflation of contract fund. The agency this morning released a statement on its Facebook page, discrediting the report

Six Nigerian Girls Rescued From Prostitution In Burkina-Faso

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Six Nigerian women have been sent back to the country from the Burkina Faso where they were allegedly taken to for prostitution by a woman, named Balikis.

While re-uniting the girls with their parents in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Wednesday, the Comptroller of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Oyo State Command, Innocent Akatu, said the girls were tricked to leave Nigeria, adding that the victims did not tell their parents about the journey.

Akatu said the girls refused to engage in prostitution in Ouagadougu, Burkina Fasso, and were locked in a room by the trafficker.

He added that their journey back home after three weeks began when one of them escaped and alerted the Burkinabe police. He said:

“The victims, after being smuggled to Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, discovered that they were going to be used for prostitution. They were not even told that they were going to Burkina Faso. These girls were told that they would be given lucrative jobs abroad; one of them was told that she was going to manage a jewellery shop owned by her trafficker.

“One of them was taken from her home in Ikorodu, Lagos State, and driven to Saki in Oyo State. When she asked why it had taken them so long to reach the airport, she was told that the plane had left and that they would have to travel by road.

“The Nigerian embassy assisted in arranging emergency travelling documents for them to return to Nigeria after their lucky escape. We have taken them to the hospital for screening and they are HIV negative.”

One of the returnees, Ganiyat Samuel, said she lived with her grandmother in Ikorodu before she embarked on the journey.

She said, “A woman, called Balikis, came to me and said that I would make more money as a fashion designer if I travel outside Nigeria. I told her that I had no passport, but she said that she would take care of it. I did not tell any of my parents.

“When we got to Saki, she said she could not get a passport for me because the office had closed. We travelled for two days to get to Burkina Faso. She took me to her house and told me that I would have to do HIV test. The test revealed that I was pregnant, but HIV negative. She told me that she brought me to the country for prostitution and that I would have to abort the pregnancy. I refused and she locked me in a room. When she brought another Nigerian a week later, I helped the girl to escape and she alerted the police. The police rescued us and arrested the woman.”

Samuel’s mother, Olasunkanmi Afuwape, said her father had died and after she re-married, she took the girl and her brother to live with her mother in Ikorodu.

Culled from Punch

First Class Graduates, Polytechnic Distinction Holders To Now Serve In Varsities

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The Director General of the National Youth Service Corps, Brig.-Gen.Johnson Olawumi, has said that prospective corps members with First Class degrees would now be posted to universities for their primary assignments. He also mentioned that corps members who graduated with distinction from polytechnics will also be posted to universities to carry out their primary assignments.

Pres. Buhari Accuses U.S. Of Aiding Boko Haram

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The United States isn’t exactly blameless in the continued rise of the Boko Haram terrorist sect, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has said.

Speaking on Wednesday in Washington DC where he addressed a section of the audience at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) as part of his four-day trip to the U.S, Buhari frowned at the use of the ‘Leahy Law’ by the US government to deny Nigeria weapons based on unsubstantiated human rights abuses by the Nigerian military.

Buhari demanded that America provides Nigeria with “far more substantial counter-terrorism assistance with minimal strings”, because the African giant has since rejigged its rules of engagement to better protect the rights of non combatants and civilians as it wages a war with the mindless terrorist sect.

Buhari said: “In our efforts at combating the activities of Boko Haram, the new Government has sought and obtained the support of not only our neighbours, but other international friends and partners.

“Regrettably, the blanket application of the Leahy Law by the United States on the grounds of unproven allegations of human rights violations levelled against our forces has denied us access to appropriate strategic weapons to prosecute the war against the insurgents.”

Continuing, Buhari said: “Our forces have remained largely impotent because they do not possess the appropriate weapons and technology which they could have had, had the so-called human rights violations not been an obstacle.

“Unwittingly, and I dare say, unintentionally, the application of the Leahy Law amendment by the U. S. Government has aided and abetted the Boko Haram terrorist group in the prosecution of its extremist ideology and hate, the indiscriminate killings and maiming of civilians, in raping of women and girls, and in their other heinous crimes.”

Consequently, the Nigerian president appealed to the Executive Arm and the US Congress to examine how the US Government can provide Nigeria with far more substantial counter-terrorism assistance with minimal strings.

Police Recover Unexploded Bombs in Damaturu

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Yobe State Commissioner of Police, Mr Marcus Danladi, told reporters that six more unexploded bombs were discovered in the vehicle, after a thorough search by men of the Explosive Ordinance Department of the command.

Mr Danladi explained that in Damaturu, the capital of Yobe State in Nigeria’s north-east region, four pieces of 81 mm Calibre capable of travelling 1,000 metres radius and two other improvised ones were retrieved and effectively diffused at the scene.

He stressed further that a woman in the Jeep was carrying with her, a bag containing six unexplored Mortar Bomb, which she was still holding at the scene of the blast.

According to the police boss, “the woman that was crying for help at the scene of the blast was aiming to trigger the Mortar Bomb capable of travelling 500 metres radius to claim more lives, but her mission was fruitless as she was ignored by the officers and men on ground having known her mission”.

Mr Danladi added that the woman later died at the scene as a result of the injuries sustained in the blast, confirming that the Mortar Bomb in her custody were recovered and successfully diffused.

He also said that men of the command on patrol at Bara in Gulani Local Government Area of Yobe State recently engaged the Boko Haram militants and liberated an evaded Village Market from possible attack.

Items recovered in the operation included a General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG), Tow AK 47 rifles with 2 AK 47 loaded magazine, 60 rounds of ammunition, an Improvised Explosive Device and 500 units of GPMG life ammunition.

Source – Channelstv.com

Kendrick Lamar Joins Jidenna On ‘Classic Man’ Remix #Video

Posted on July 22, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Dressed for a gentleman’s club, Jidenna is back on the scene with the “Classic Man” remix and is accompanied by the Hip-Hop heavyweight Kendrick Lamar. Groomed and polished with a perfect hair swirl, Jidenna bounces over the beat with the same vibe felt in the original “Classic Man.” Jhene Monae and Ty Dolla $ign make guest appearances as well as some nice classic cars. A good jam to end the summer “Classic Man” remix will continue to keep the party going with Jidenna’s addictive chords and Kendrick Lamar’s rough raps that pleases R&B listeners, Hip-Hop heads, and partygoers.

The party will also continue for Iggy Azalea who receives royalties for her “Fancy” sample in “Classic Man.” Last year was her year with “Fancy”and “Black Widow” and with her sample being used for the chart topper “Classic Man”, the same can be said for this year.

Bayelsa Women Protest Dismissal Of Ex-Militant Pilot Trainees

Posted on July 22, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Scores of women from Niger Delta on Tuesday staged a protest against the dismissal of 13 youths being trained as pilots by the Lufthansa Airline Training School, Frankfurt, Germany.

They said the youth were disgraced out of the school due to the alleged refusal of the Federal Government to pay the Amnesty training fees and scholarship grants.

It was learnt that the 13 ex-militants undergoing the training were last week sent away from the institution over non-payment of fees.

Other ex-militant youths from the region have also been sent packing by their various institutions in South Africa, Russia, Germany, Ukraine and European countries.

The protesting women, from some coastal communities, during their protest, who marched to the office of the Leadership, Peace and Cultural Development Initiative in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, said President Muhammadu Buhari should be held responsible if there was a resurgence of violence in the Niger Delta.

They warned Buhari that as mothers, they were already feeling the heat and the gathering of disgruntled youths in their communities, saying the government’s refusal to pay the training fees was creating serious tension.

One of the protesting women, Madam Ebiere Ankiomete, warned that though President Muhammadu Buhari’s actions so far had given more hope to the people of the region, but his refusal to appoint a substantive Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Committee to liaise with Ministry of Finance to pay the training fund was a serious concern to them.

She said, “If the appointment is delayed till September, the Amnesty beneficiaries in institutions abroad would have been denied approved trainings.”

Addressing the aggrieved women, President, LPCDI, ex-militant commander, Pastor Reuben Wilson, appealed for calm.

He called on Buhari not to allow the PAP to disintegrate owing to starving of fundings to meet the aims and the objectives of the peace offered to ex-agitators in the region to pave the way for harmony and smooth operation of oil production.

Wilson said, “The passionate appeal comes on the heels of avalanche of complaints received by the indigent parents of the Amnesty beneficiaries, home and abroad, that their children and wards are currently experiencing hardship due to lack of funds for the programme.

“President Buhari should not lose sight on the germane issue that brought about the PAP and save it from total collapse.

“Mr. President, we use this medium to remind you and the good people of Nigeria of promises to the people of Niger Delta about positive changes. Nigerians have since voted you into power because they need change, but from what we have seen so far, we have reasons to doubt how soon, if at all, the change will come.

“The peace we are enjoying in the Niger Delta area today is because of the Amnesty Programme initiated by President Umaru Yar’Adua because he had the interest of the Niger Delta people at heart.

“You will also recall that as a result of the Amnesty offer, the country went from producing 900 barrels to over 2million barrels of crude oil per day.”

Wilson said the parents who were infuriated at the attitude of President Buhari administration, since more than one month of assuming power, wondered if his words at inaugural speech of strengthening PAP was just lip service and deceit.

He said the truth was that anybody who meant well for the people of Niger Delta would not delay the payment of the Amnesty monthly stipends for a period going to three months now.

JAMB Pass Mark: A Leeway For Complacency By Ololade Ajekigbe

Posted on July 22, 2015 by Staff Reporter

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I received the news about the decision of the Joint Admission And Matriculation Board (JAMB) to reduce the cut-off mark for candidates seeking admission into Nigerian Universities for degree programmes in the 2015/2016 academic session from 200 to 180 out of a possible 400 marks with some measure of puzzlement and amazement. I tried to find out what could have informed such a decision but could not really get any plausible explanation from all the news I read or heard. What is certain is that from October this year or thereabout when the next academic session would commence, schools are required to implement the new rule with regard to the admission of students. One can only assume that the officials of JAMB were convinced that they were taking the right step to help majority of University hopefuls whose hopes are dashed perennially having failed to make the previous pass mark of 200. I unequivocally disagree with this point of view. In fact I believe the education sector has just suffered a setback.
The increase in the failure rate in both the JAMB and WAEC examinations over the years most certainly calls for concern as well as a long lasting solution. An analysis of the results of the 2014 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) shows that out of the 990,179 candidates who applied for the Pencil-Paper Test (PPT), 828,296 of them scored less than 200 which translates to about 83 percent failure rate! The 2013 examinations were even worse as they were marred by widespread cheating in many centers. Fake answers were distributed to desperate candidates by scammers. Teachers, invigilators and even parents assisted candidates to cheat thereby resulting in mass failure, hence the introduction of the Computer Based Test, CBT in the 2015 examinations which has so far reportedly helped to reduce the incidence of examination fraud.
However, when a gathering of Professors and “learned fellows” adjudge that the only way to better the lot of prospective undergraduates is by scaling down the pass mark into higher institutions, one cannot help but wonder what they hope to achieve and if they stopped to consider the long term implication of their decision. The Nigerian education system is in troubled waters no doubt, but lowering standards in the name of increasing candidates’ chances gaining admission into higher institutions is not the way to go in reviving an ailing sector. The resolution reached may result in more candidates making the cut-off mark and eventually securing admission into a higher institution of learning, but it will also mean that we are encouraging mediocrity and a lassez-faire attitude to education in our future leaders.
Generally, failure rate in schools and national examinations are not as a result of tougher examination questions, rather it is an aftermath of the poor quality of education which has been on a steady decline through the years. This should not surprise anyone who is domiciled in these climes. Our undergraduates spend more time at home than in school due to incessant lecturer’s strikes. Poor parenting and guidance, population explosion, indiscipline and inadequate funding in particular are all factors militating against the standard of education in Nigeria to the extent that the highest ranked University in Nigeria occupies an unacceptable eighth position on the African continent.
Today, we have Teachers and Lecturers who have lost the zeal to impact knowledge in the wards entrusted to them but rather are more interested in extorting students through the sale of compulsory handouts and textbooks. This has in turn resulted in our Universities and Polytechnics churning out half-baked graduates in the mould of Mechanical engineers who cannot repair their own cars when it develops a fault and would rather patronise the road side mechanic who never passed through the wall of a school, Agricultural science graduates who cannot so much as cultivate maize all because somewhere along the line we stopped paying the required attention to a highly sensitive sector.
The decision of JAMB passes only one message across- We would rather lower the standards to accommodate mediocrity than tackle the root cause of the problem and achieve excellence. Already, the crop of young people we have now are more interested in the virtual world of the social media than any activity that may involve critical thinking or studying. It is not uncommon to come across high school leavers, undergraduates and even graduates of reputable Universities who cannot string a correct sentence together either in oral or written English.
While I was serving, I remember being approached by a fellow youth corp member who asked me what “Maiden name” meant. We were in a banking hall where we had been given a form to fill as part of the requirements for opening an account where our monthly allowance was to be paid when she came across the field which required ones mother’s maiden name to be filled in and she had absolutely no idea what it meant. I was taken aback that a graduate of a University had never heard or come across the term and wondered how she scaled through school. Now, that’s only one of several examples. I have since ceased to be amazed at any disappointing or below par display by any supposed graduate having come across many others.
By reducing the pass mark, JAMB is invariably giving a carte blanche for laziness and complacency. How are candidates supposed to be motivated to give their best when we are saying that a 45 percent pass mark is good enough to gain entry into the highest level of the education system? If candidates keep failing, do we continue to lower the standard? At a time when the nation is supposed to be going through some positive changes in various sectors of the economy, the education sector being one of the key sectors that will ultimately define our future as a country surely shouldn’t be left out. Officials of the Ministry of Education and by extension JAMB should be more proactive about putting pressure on the government of the day to increase the percentage of the budget allocation to education in the 2016 fiscal year with a view to providing adequate equipment and infrastructure in schools, as well as ensure that lecturers are well paid, so that the incidence of strike actions can be a thing of the past rather than choose the easy (but on the long run costly) way out.
Developed economies like the USA, China, Germany and Japan are driven by both prudent economic policies as well as technological innovations and inventions which their students are an integral part of. Students are supposed to be taught to be solution providers and not just consumers. This should be Nigeria’s goal if we intend to experience an upward mobility from our perpetual ranking as a third world country anytime soon.

Ololade Ajekigbe
l_ajeks@yahoo.com

Views expressed are solely that of author and does not represent views of www.omojuwa.com nor its associates

How Cameraman, Police Saved Lives From Damaturu Suicide Attack

Posted on July 21, 2015 by Staff Reporter

But for the extra vigilance of a cameraman and police officer at the scene of a suicide attack that killed eight persons at the outskirts of Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, yesterday, more lives would have been wasted if one of the injured suicide bombers had succeeded in igniting a handbag filled with more bombs.

A group of suspected Boko Haram suicide bombers yesterday came in a convoy of two vehicles, a Toyota Highlander with a Bauchi State number plate -and a Ford Galaxy mini bus marked 2B 2108 and approached from Maiduguri towards Damaturu.

But police officers at the checkpoint stopped the two vehicle, as they curiously noticed the car leading the convoy with a strange tourists number plate. Upon interrogation, the visibly dishevelled
looking passengers claimed to be foreign diplomats travelling from Maiduguri to Damaturu.
Dissatisfied with their conduct, the police officers insisted on taking them to the station for proper interrogation.

But within seconds, the Toyota Highlander went off in massive explosion and flung most of the passengers out of the jeep in their dismembered form. Only the female passenger survived the explosion with an injury on her waist.

Four of the passengers inside the jeep were killed instantly alongside the three police officers who were closed to the jeep.
As more security operatives, aid workers and journalists arrived at the scene, the injured woman was seen on ground lying almost lifeless, as she intermittently called for help in Hausa language.

A camera man who was filming the injured woman that was moving suddenly sighted her trying to drag a reg handbag in front of her. But the cameraman quickly alerted a nearby police officer over the bid of the woman to hide the handbag under the veils she was wearing .
“As we sensed she was up to something sinister by trying to conceal the handbag under her veil, we immediately sensed she was trying to detonate bombs hidden inside the handbag”, said a police officer who sought anonymity.

“All threats to make her hand over the handbag proved abortive. So one of our men had to fire a shot at her from a distance in order to disarm her.
“And to our dismay, when the bomb experts from the Explosives Ordnance Department came and carefully opened the bag, we found five unit of live mortar explosives inside the handbag. It took extra care to defuse the explosives, because it is capable of causing massive destruction”.

No Secrecy In NASS Budgets, Salaries – David Mark

Posted on July 21, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Immediate past President of the Senate, David Mark, reiterated yesterday that the budgets and salaries of Senators and members of the House of Representatives were open, just as he stressed that there was no secrecy in the affairs of the National Assembly.

He said that the Senate was the first to cut its 2015 budget and asked Nigerians to appreciate what the lawmakers have been doing.

He said: “I can put my hand on my chest without fear of contradiction to say we make a lot of sacrifices in our budgetary systems.”

According to Senator Mark, parliamentary practices and procedures dictate that all issues are carried out in the open, even as he described as sad and ridiculous, impression by people that the National Assembly budget had continued to increase annually, adding “this is not correct. It is unwarranted and needless accusation.”

Senator Mark boasted that in 2008, the National Assembly, under his leadership, returned N7 billion unspent funds to the national treasury during late President Umaru Yar’Adua’s administration, which would have been stolen by some.

Senator Mark maintained that such allegation was borne out of deliberate mischief, blackmail or outright ignorance.

According to him, “How can anyone claim that the National Assembly budget is secret. Or that our earnings are secret. The National Assembly’s budget is part and parcel of the Federal budget. It is not a separate document. If anybody is in doubt, he or she should get a copy of the National budget and clarify. It is a public document.

“Every time you hear people talk about National Assembly budget as if it is independent of the Federal budget. For heaven’s sake, the National Assembly budget is an open document. It is a public document. Unless you are saying you have never seen the National Budget.

“The National Assembly budget is in the open. Anybody can access it . We don’t fix our salaries. Appropriate federal government agency does. What we earn is open. I think we should put an end to this cheap blackmail.

“I make bold to say that the National Assembly under my leadership was bold, courageous, steadfast and truly patriotic. We stood on the side of the people, the truth, transparency and above all in the interest of the nation.

“We were the first to cut our budget in 2015. People should appreciate what we are doing. We tightened our belts more than any other ministry or parastatal today. I can put my hand on my chest without fear of contradiction to say we make a lot of sacrifices in our budgetary systems.

Sokoto Government To Make Education Compulsory And Punish Parents Who Don’t Comply

Posted on July 21, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The Sokoto State government is now seeking to make education compulsory and punish parents who refuse to comply with the law.

The decision was made known by the state governor, Aminu Tambuwal, who has right now forwarded a bill in that regard to the Sokoto State House of Assembly.

According to the governor, the new rule is aimed at boosting school enrollment and providing quality education to every child as required by local and international laws. As part of measures to enhance implementation of the new policy, the Sokoto government says it will build and equip 240 primary and tertiary healthcare centres in the three senatorial zones of the state.

Mr. Tambuwal while addressing religious, traditional and political leaders from 11 local government areas of the state who paid him a sallah visit in Sokoto on Moday, said the policy is necessary in view of the high percentage of parents who deliberately frustrate government efforts to educate children.

He said the state government has already made adequate arrangement to cater for the educational needs of its citizens, adding that anyone caught flouting the new regulation will not be spared. The governor also noted that the founders of Sokoto Caliphate made their marks in the areas of education and scholarships, as such, there’s no excuse if their successors failed to provide at least basic education to the future generation.

According to him, if the state gets its education priorities right, many ills of the society will be taken care of. While appealing to his visitors to support the new initiative, Mr. Tambuwal said vocational training centres and employment opportunities will be created to cater for the youth and other vulnerable members of the society.

Veteran Nollywood Actor, Bruno Iwuoha Goes Blind, Cries For Help

Posted on July 17, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Nigerian Actor Chief Bruno Iwuoha Goes Blind, Battling Diabetes, Needs N3.5Million For Eyes Surgery

Another Nollywood actor needs help urgently to restore his sight.

Veteran actor Bruno Iwuoha was a guest on a radio station in Abuja recently where he opened up on his current battle with a life threatening disease.
The talented actor talked about his battle with diabetes and how he has been battling Glaucoma for years without money for corrective surgery.
Mr Iwuoha who said diabetes has claimed his sight told the host of Brekete Family Program on 104.5FM in Abuja that he never knew he had diabetes until a violent armed robbery attack that
landed him in hospital.

A series of test carried out on him revealed that he has diabetes and since then he has been managing it until the condition affected his sight.
Hear him:

“I’ve gone to so many places; within the country, outside the country for treatment, until finally…finally, the thing [diabetes] claimed one of my sight. As I look at you now, I’m using only one sight. They call that glaucoma. And gradually, it’s affecting the other one [eye]. So, naim make, apart from places…the people who call me atimes, both the little cash they can give me…drugs and all that…but I discovered that this thing [the illness] is a lifetime something.

And it has robbed me of the job [acting]. And now, if I get a script, it will be hard for me to read it very well. And if I read it, if I strain my eyes for so long, it would look as if someone would lead me around the house or anywhere I want to go because it will affect the only one [eye]. So that’s my problem.”
The actor said he needs the help of kind-hearted Nigerians because he has been referred to a US-based hospital where he is required to have N3.5million.

So far he has about N200,000.

He said he got to know that Jonathan gave AGN money but Ibinabo Fiberesima never assisted him with any money when he reached out to her.

To help Chief Bruno, please contact the Brekete Family at Suite F9, Sheriff Plaza, Wuse 2, Abuja or Call +234-80-33-22 11-49, BBM PIN: 2BD26968
Thank you.

“Your Patience Is All I Plead For” , Pres. Buhari Begs Nigerians

Posted on July 17, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Against the backdrop of criticisms that he has been too slow since he assumed office on May 29, President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, begged Nigerians for patience, saying he has been working meticulously to tackle the many national challenges which he identified.

In his message to commemorate this year’s Eid-el-Fitr celebrations marking the end of the Ramadan Fast, President Buhari stated that though there were heaps of misdeeds of the past administration, his government would ensure that every wrong of the past was corrected. He added that stamping out corruption still remained one of the cardinal objectives of his administration.

According to him, there is much work to be done and every step would be correctly taken to ensure that there would not be “business as usual.”
He, however, appealed to Nigerians to continue to pray for his government, saying that he would not fail them.

His words: “I remain wholly committed to giving the required leadership towards undoing the wrongs of the past, ensuring that Nigeria truly begins to unlock its great potential and that the benefits of our immense national resources are shared and enjoyed by all, not just by successive cabals of corrupt leaders and their cronies.

“I was aware of your high expectations when I assumed office and I reassure you, my fellow citizens, that since my inauguration on May 29, this year, I have been working with utmost dedication to meticulously plan and tackle the many national challenges which we identified and promised to resolve.

“To succeed, however, I need your continued support, understanding and patience.
“I fully understand and share the thirst of my long-suffering compatriots for corruption-free government institutions that work efficiently to deliver visible development for the benefit of all citizens.

“I also share the feelings of those who think that we should be moving faster. But I urge them and all Nigerians to trust that my commitment to real and positive change in our nation is as firm as ever.

“There is indeed much work to be done, but we must do it well and carefully to ensure that the great opportunity which we now have is not lost to the “business as usual” group who selfishly or shortsightedly prefer a status quo that panders to their personal or group interests.

“The adverse effects of years of rot, corruption, inept and bad governance on our nation are immense, but certainly not insurmountable if we all resolve now to place the well-being of our nation above all other considerations and work whole-heartedly with the present administration to achieve greater peace and security across the nation, and reposition our country for faster economic development and progress.”

Former NSA Sambo Dasuki Arrested

Posted on July 17, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Immediate past National Security Adviser, Col. Sabo Dasuki (rtd.), has been arrested and whisked to an unknown destination, a report from Abuja said.

He was arrested Last night, according to a report in the blog, Per Second News. “According to credible security source, the soldiers attached to the residence of the embattled NSA had been withdrawn on the orders of the president paving the way for his arrest yesterday evening,” the report said.

Soldiers had earlier been reported to have surrounded Dasuki’s residence. It is not yet clear why the Muhammadu Buhari administration moved against Dasuki but reports spoke about petitions against
him bordering on alleged financial impropriety.

Missionary NGO Busted For Child Kidnapping And Trafficking

Posted on July 17, 2015 by Staff Reporter

A child trafficking syndicate that specialises in bringing underage children from the northern part of Nigeria to serve as house-helps, has been uncovered by the State Security Service (SSS) in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

While parading the suspects on Wednesday, the spokesperson for the State Director of Security, Friday Onuche, revealed that the group usually deceived the parents of the children by promising them that the children would get a better living condition and education.

He said: “There is need, therefore, for members of the public to be sensitised on the need to be circumspect in the way they give out children or take in children from such unscrupulous modern day slave traders.

The victims comprising 12 males and 24 females, whose age range between five and 14 years, have been brought into Bayelsa State to serve as maids.

The amount expected to get one of these kids as a living maid is the sum of 25,000 Naira.

According to reports, the syndicate is made up of four persons, three men who claimed to be pastors at a popular Nigerian church and a lady.

They are: Pastor Anthoy Onuibiyie (54) from Enugu State, Pastor Bala (41), Pastor Dauda Garda (32), both from Kebbi State and Miss Tonbra Alazigha (38) from Bayelsa.

Pastor Anthony Onuibiyie, who is said to be the leader of the group, travels to states to bring the children after those interested in the services of the children have made a payment of 12,000 Naira to cover the transportation.

It is also reported that this is not the first time the syndicates were being arrested by law enforcement agents, as they have been arrested by the Anambra State Police earlier in the year.

Miss Tonbra Alazigha is a single mother of five biological children. She is a proprietor of Christian Heritage School in Biogbolo, Yenagoa.

She has a charity organisation that is in charge of distributing the children to the different homes that they will serve. She has within the space of six months distributed 16 children in the state.

Some of the children, who narrated their ordeal to reporters, said that the missionaries, who arranged with their parents to place them in choice schools, handed them to foster parents.

“The pastors came to our villages in Zaria and convinced some parents, who are unable to train their children in schools. When we got to Bayelsa they took us to different homes.

“The woman I was asked to live with used to assign me to the farm and I also sold water for her. I no longer went to school. I started school at the beginning of the term but she told me to stop school now,” one of the children said.

Source: Channelstv

Emir Sanusi, Ganduje, Lead Prayers For Buhari, Nigeria

Posted on July 17, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Hundreds of Muslims including the Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II and Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, on Thursday offered special prayers for sustainable peace and stability in Kano state and Nigeria.

NAN reports that the special prayer session, held at the Kano Central Mosque, was led by the Chief Imam of Kano, Prof. Sani Zaharaddeen.

The prayer, organised by the Kano State Government in conjunction with the Kano Emirate Council, was attended by Imams of all Juma’at Mosques in the state.

It featured the recitation of the Holy Qur’an, followed by special prayers for Allah’s intervention to bring about lasting peace, stability and security nationwide.

In his remarks Governor Ganduje said said the current security challenges in the country necessitated the prayers, adding that it was principally aimed at seeking God’s intervention for sustainable peace in the state and Nigeria at large.

Similarly, the Emir prayed for President Muhammadu Buhari to steer the country out of its present economic predicament.

He also prayed for the new service chiefs and the military to win the war against insurgency in the country.

Emir Of Zaria Cancels Sallah Durbar Due To Security Challenges

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The Emir of Zaria, Alhaji Shehu Idris has cancelled this year’s Sallah Durbar. According to BBC Hausa, the emir cancelled it due to security reasons. Recall that over 40 people were killed in a suicide attack in Sabongari, Kaduna state on July 7th.

Presidency Dismisses Claim On Anti-Igbo Sentiments By Buhari On BBC

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The presidency on Wednesday dismissed the claim by a pirate radio station that President Muhammadu Buhari expressed anti-Igbo sentiments in a recent interview with BBC Hausa Service.

A statement issued by Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said the claim was “completely false, malicious and slanderous.”

He said the voice being ascribed to President Buhari in the recording repeatedly played back by the station was definitely not the President’s voice.

He said the claim that the station got the recording from a BBC interview was also totally untrue.

“No one should be deceived by the pirate radio station’s hate propaganda against the President.

“President Buhari has not had any interview with BBC Hausa Service since his assumption of office as alleged by the agents of disunity behind the pirate radio station’s inflammatory and divisive broadcasts,’’ he added.

Shehu noted that the last interview the President had with the BBC Hausa Service, lasting not more than five minutes, was on the day he was declared winner and given his certificate of return as President-elect by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

“Thankfully, the BBC Hausa Service Editor, Mr Mansor Liman has distanced the BBC from the false interview clip being ascribed by the pirate radio station to President Buhari.

“President Buhari is the President of all Nigerians and will continue to treat all citizens on the basis of fairness, equality and equity,’’ he said.

He, therefore, enjoined Nigerians to ignore all propaganda designed to sow seeds of discord among them and promote a separatist agenda against national unity, solidarity and progress.(NAN)

One Minute Extra With Jess : Managing Proud People #Vlog

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Staff Reporter

On this final Episode of One Minute Extra with Jessica we close this first season with managing proud people either in our place of work, social circle or family.

I am very grateful to everyone who has been watching my Vlog and I am also super excited that I get to share my insights knowing that it is helping other people by means of the feedback I have received.

Let’s do this in season two and let’s have more fun while becoming better persons. Thank you for staying with me through this first season. I love you dearly.

Jessy Joseph

What I Will Discuss With Obama – President Buhari

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Press statement from the Presidency …

President Muhammadu Buhari will depart Abuja Sunday to Washington DC on a four-day official visit during which he will hold high-level talks with President Barack Obama and other senior officials of the United States government. Topmost on the agenda of President Buhari’s talks with President Obama and United States Government officials will be measures to strengthen and intensify bilateral and international cooperation against terrorism in Nigeria and West-Africa.

President Buhari who will meet with President Obama at the White House on Monday, July 20, will later hold further discussions with the Chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey and the Deputy Secretary of Defence, Robert Work on military and defence cooperation.

The President will also meet with Vice President Joe Biden and confer with the US Attorney-General, Loretta Lynch, the US Secretary of Treasury, Jack Lew, the US Secretary of Commerce, Penny Pritzker and the US Trade representative, Michael Froman on United States support for his administration’s war against corruption as well as fresh measures to boost Nigeria-United States trade relations.

The President, who will be received by the United States Secretary of State at the State Department in Washington DC, will later hold meetings with the United States Senate and Congressional Committees on Foreign Relations, as well as the Black Caucus of the United States House of Representatives. Before leaving Washington DC, President Buhari will address the United States Chamber of Commerce and Corporate Council for Africa.

The President, who will be accompanied by the Governors of Imo, Nasarawa, Edo, Borno and Oyo States as well as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and Permanent Secretaries of the Federal Ministries of Defence, Foreign Affairs, Industry, Trade and Investment, will also host an interactive session with Nigerians in the American Diaspora.

The US trip will also afford President Buhari the opportunity of a reunion with members of the American War College Class of 1980 in which he was a distinguished participant. He is due back in Abuja on Thursday, July 23. Femi Adesina Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity) July 15, 2015

Senior Civil Servants Demand A Minimum Wage Of N46,000

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The Association of Senior Civil Servants demanded a minimum wage of N46,000 for workers.
The union’s Secretary-General, Mr. Bashir Lawal, in Lagos State, on Wednesday, said that the existing N18,000 minimum wage was too little to meet the socio-economic demands of workers.

According to him, they arrived at a minimum wage of N46,000 per month after the union met with the National Public Service Joint Negotiating Council.
He said,

“In the past one year, we presented a proposal for salary review to the Federal Government but the government said that the price of crude had fallen. “We argued that if the price of crude is 30 dollars per barrel and the resources of the country are well managed, money will be enough to pay workers decent salaries.

“From the memo we submitted to the NPSJNC, we computed what it will take for an average worker to survive and we arrive at N66,000. “So, we took 75 per cent of that and we arrived at N46,000 minimum wage.

Lawal said that the new minimum wage demand will not cause crisis in the economic sector, he said:

“If the government believes that the amount will create crisis, we will tell them what to do to ensure that everybody will be carried along.”

I Chose Yar’Adua Because Others Were Corrupt – Obasanjo

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo said on Wednesday that he chose the late former President Umaru Yar’ Adua as his successor because the others who wanted the post were corrupt.

Obasanjo said one of the people who wanted to succeed him in 2007 was “stinkingly corrupt” and that the only way he (Obasanjo) could justify himself before man and God was to go for Yar’Adua, who, he said, was the only one among the contenders then who was not corrupt.

The former President, who spoke in an interview with a private television station, Channels
Television, in Abeokuta, did not mention the ‘corrupt’ Yar’Adua rivals.

Among the prominent presidential hopefuls in the Peoples Democratic Party in 2007 were Obasanjo’s deputy, Abubakar Atiku; and ex-Governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili.

Atiku later abandoned the PDP to contest the presidential election on the platform of the defunct Action Congress while Odili’s ambition fizzled out with the nomination of Yar’Adua.

The AC later metamorphosed into the Action Congress of Nigeria, which later merged with the Congress for Progressive Change and the All Nigeria Peoples Party to form the now ruling All Progressives Congress.

Obasanjo’s choice of successor died on May 5, 2010 from heart-related ailments. Many condemned Obasanjo for choosing a man who was manifestly sick to lead the country.

But in the Channels interview, PUNCH reports that Obasanjo said he only acted based on the information made available to him. He said:

“Even if you take your son as your successor, you are not sure of what he will do when he gets there. Don’t ever kid yourself. What do I know about any successor? What he presents. When he gets there, he presents it differently.

We did our best, but if you say our best is not good enough, I will say, when it comes to your turn, do better. With all the people that are available for successor, what we came up with was about the best that we could think of at that time.

One of those who wanted to do the job came to me and said, ‘Sir, I like your job, but I cannot do it the way you are doing it.’ Now, if he had told me that, should I then come and say, ‘okay, come, let me give you the job?’ He had told me that, ‘I like your job, but look, the way you are doing it, I haven’t got the stamina to do it that way.’ Then, what do you expect me to do?

Or the one that I know that, oh!, this one, before he gets the job, he’s stinkingly corrupt. Now will I be able to defend myself before God and man if with what I know I give this job or I encourage the man to have this job?”

CBN Has No Option But To Devalue Naira – S&P

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The Central Bank of Nigeria will have to devalue the naira at some stage, possibly by more than 15 per cent, global ratings agency, Standard & Poor’s, has said.

The agency, however, said on Wednesday that it saw the adjustments as likely to be gradual.

Local and foreign investors have seen a devaluation of the naira as long overdue for Nigeria, which has been battered by the recent tumble in crude oil prices.

Following the naira devaluations in November and February, the CBN has recently focused on curbing access to foreign exchange at the interbank market for importers of some goods, introducing stringent restrictions three weeks ago.

But the Director, Sovereign Ratings, Standard & Poor’s, Ravi Bhatia, said the recent measures by the

CBN including stopping the sale of forex to importers of 41 items at the official forex markets could only delay the inevitable, Reuters reported.

“Another devaluation is inevitable… they will have no option but to devalue,” said Bhatia at a media briefing.

Many investors are positioning for a devaluation of around 15 per cent. Bhatia said that sounded “reasonable”, though even more might be needed.

Non-deliverable forwards – derivatives used to hedge against future exchange rate moves – reflect expectations of currency weakening: six-month NDFs price the naira at 233 per dollar, some 18 per cent weaker than the CBN’s pegged rate of 196.95 on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the naira hit another record low of 242.5 against the dollar on the parallel market operated by dealers in bureau de change, down 0.42 per cent from Tuesday.

The naira has been hitting record lows at the parallel market since the latest central bank measures introduced three weeks ago.

Bhatia did not expect the adjustment to be done in one go.

“I think at this stage the plan is to move in increments, not to do a ‘one big step’ devaluation like they would in the old days,” he said.

The central bank has said it is in no mood to devalue the naira, given the risks to inflation from a weaker currency, and that it will not be focusing on the thinly traded parallel market when determining the exchange rate.

Local and foreign investors have also been nervous that Nigeria may lose its place in the benchmark GBI-EM local currency debt index. Bhatia said this was a “real possibility”, although he expected the government to adjust policy enough to maintain its membership.

“At some point they have to decide: do they want to go with their policies or do they want to stay in, and at the moment they are trying to do both, and it has worked,” said Bhatia.

“But there are issues there, and it is a concern.”

JPMorgan warned in June it could eject Nigeria from its benchmark index by year-end unless it restored liquidity to currency markets in a way that allowed foreign investors to transact with minimal hurdles.

In March, Standard & Poor’s cut its rating on Nigeria to B+, changing its outlook to “stable”.

I Know What I’m Doing, Pres. Buhari Tells Dele Momodu

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Prominent magazine publisher and former presidential aspirant, Dele Momodu, was at the State House, Abuja, on Wednesday for talks with President Muhammadu Buhari, and explained his recent outburst against the President’s style of governance.

A strong supporter of Buhari during the presidential campaigns, Momodu recently wrote a widely publicized, scathing criticism of the President’s actions and inaction since assuming office.

Emerging from the meeting with the President, Momodu told journalists that Buhari invited him for a chat and expressed appreciation of the roles of writers, columnists and journalists like him in society.

On his criticism of Buhari as being too slow since assuming office, the publisher of Ovation magazine said: “You know on social media, people can post anything.

“I actually wrote him a memo and one of the things I told him was that the job of a columnist is that of an adviser who is not paid.

“In fact, journalists do more work than those paid to advise the President, and that it is good to listen.

“And I know he reads voraciously and that was one of reasons he was able to invite me because I wrote what I called a desperate memo to President Buhari.

“Of course, people slanted it, some people said maybe we are no longer supporting him and all that, but if you like someone you must be able to tell him the truth at all times.

“What I have realised in so many years of interacting with people in government is that once you get to power, people stop telling you the truth, they tell you only what they think you want to hear.

“And I’m happy he said we should argue with him, tell him the truth, if things are going wrong and we should not be afraid of telling the truth.

“And for a man who has been maligned for so many years that he doesn’t like the press, it is a welcome development that he is able to reach out to members of Fourth Estate.”

The President responded that he was sure of what he was doing, said Momodu, who said Buhari encouraged him to continue to constructively argue with the powers that be and point out any wrongdoings to him.

According to Momodu: “We discussed different issues affecting our country and I gave him my own idea as a publisher, journalist, a columnist and the way forward for Nigeria.

“We spoke about security and the efforts he is making; we spoke about anti-corruption crusade and I must say, today, he reassured me that not only does he know what he is doing, he is determined to make Nigeria work.”

He said the President laughed and found his theory interesting when he called for having more women in government as part of efforts to fight corruption.

“I said women must be involved in the governance of Nigeria, and he looked at me. I said, ‘Sir, women cannot marry two husbands but a man can have four wives and 10 concubines.’ He laughed so much and almost choked.

“I said, ‘So, when you talk about corruption, the needs of women are not as big as that of men,’ and he said that was a very interesting theory.”

Source: Daily Independent

Cameroon Bans Use Of Muslim Veil After Series Of Boko Haram Attacks

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The governor of far north region of Cameroon, Midjiyawa Bakari has banned the use of Burqa, a face covering apparel worn by Muslim women. The Governor said the ban is as a result of last Sunday’s suicide attack carried out by two women wearing Burqa.

Announcing the decision yesterday July 15th, the governor said

“I took this measure because of the security situation prevailing in the region. No one suspected them and that is why we have ordered women to stop wearing veils and the police and military to arrest all women wearing veils,” he said.

Last month, Chad banned the use of full-face Muslim veil throughout the country due to increased female suicide bombing attack.

Oliseh- “I Have Come To Serve My Country, Not To Wage War”

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Former Super Eagles’ captain Sunday Ogorchukwu Oliseh resumed life as Head Coach of the team on Wednesday, with a clear message to the generality of Nigerians: “I come to serve my country, not to wage a war.”

There were several questions and insinuations at Wednesday’s colourful official presentation ceremony bothering on Oliseh’s perceived ‘stubbornness,’ but the former captain swiftly differentiated between being principled and being stubborn.

“I have come to serve, and the NFF has promised to give me all the support I need to succeed. They are the employers and I am the employee. That distinction has to be appreciated at all times.

“I have had meetings with members of the Technical and Development Committee, led by Chief Anyansi-Agwu, very knowledgeable people all. I have met members of the Executive Committee and the General Secretary. I believe we will all work together excellently. It is a huge honour to be the Head Coach of Nigeria.”

NFF President Amaju Pinnick presided over the event, supported by Vice Presidents Seyi Akinwunmi and Shehu Dikko, Executive Committee members Anyansi-Agwu, Yusuf Ahmed Fresh, Dilichukwu Onyedinma, Babagana Kalli and Ahmad Kawu, General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi and other members of NFF management, including Technical Director Shaibu Amodu.

As Pinnick announced to the audience that the NFF would immediately pay three months’ salary of Oliseh and his assistants in advance, the member of the FIFA Technical Study Group opened a window on his philosophy for player-selection.

“My assistants and myself will not invite to the camp of the National Team of Nigeria, any player who is not playing in the top division in the recognised Leagues of the world, including Nigeria. The only exception would be those players from any of the age-grade National Teams that we find exceptional and deserving of an opportunity to try and win shirts in the senior team.

“One thing I will say, dear compatriots, is that I am not a Messiah. I have come to do my very best, give 150%, to take Nigeria football to the next level, with the support of my assistants, the NFF and relevant stakeholders. I am optimistic that we will lift the Nigeria game to a new height.”

The NFF leadership later presented Oliseh and his assistants to the Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Mallam Alhassan Saleh Yakmut.

Petrol Dealers: We Can’t Sell At N87 Per Litre

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The Petroleum Dealers and Owners Association in Ondo and Ekiti States monday declared that it cannot sell fuel at the government approved price of N87 per litre.

The position of the association, was expressed at a news conference addressed by members against the sealing of their stations by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), for selling fuel above the government recommended price.

Addressing journalists, the Chairman of the association, Mr. Jimi Oladapo, said due to non-availability of products at the depots of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC),
members had been sourcing products through other means with attendant cost.
The dealers said rather than forcing them to sell at unrealistic price, the federal government should deregulate the downstream oil sector to enable them sell at appropriate prices.

According to the petroleum dealers true cost per litre of petrol varies from the source.

Specifically, Adedapo said total cost per litre of fuel from Lagos ranges between N104 and N108 while the landing cost per litre from Ogara/Warri in Delta State is between N105 and N108.00 per litre.

He said the landing cost is exclusive of operating expenses such as diesel to run the station, staff salaries and wages, strategies, office and pump maintenance.

“From the analysis, you will agree with us that it will be impossible for us to sell at the government approved price of N87 per litre,” he said.
Adedapo also disclosed that even when NNPC gives out fuel, the cost to them at their stations are above N89 per litre.
“One wonders how as businessmen with responsibilities can sell below cost price. The ordinary law of supply and demand will not allow it,” he said.

Adedapo lamented that despite their plights as highlighted, the regulatory authorities most especially, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), in Akure rather than facing the reality of the situation, have resulted to sealing of stations in Ondo and Ekiti States and vowed not to open until they complied with directives of selling at the government recommended price.

“Rather than running our stations at a loss, since most of us are on loan from financial institutions, we have resolved not to procure the products until it is readily available at NNPC depots,” he said.
The petroleum dealers said the so-called subsidy was nothing but fraud, saying it had become a conduit pipe through which nation’s resources are being siphoned.

“Let the marketers go and source for the products, if this is done fuel cannot be up to N87 and it will further go down to about N50 due to the falling crude oil price.

“Everybody knows that kerosene is being subsidised, but how many people get it to buy at N50 per litre recommended price.
“We want members of the public to help us tell the federal government to remove the fuel subsidy so that we can sell fuel at appropriate price and remain in business. subsidy is a fraud,” Adedapo stated.

He therefore told the people of Ondo and Ekiti States to prepare for the hard times on fuel supply because they cannot sell below the cost price, saying if the landing cost from NNPC depots is N89, how would they sell at N87?

Source: ThisDay

Igbo Group Calls On Ekweremadu To Step Down As Deputy Senate President

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Staff Reporter

A Southeast group, under the aegis of The African League Organisation (ALO), has called on the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu to “step aside” to allow another senator from the region replace him.

The group made this call while addressing journalists in Abuja on Monday.

It alleged that as Deputy Senate President in the past eight years, he had been passive as no tangible progress had been made in the Southeast that could be linked to his name.

The group said it had written Ekweremadu to quit.

According to the group, “The only noble way forward is that you should immediately step aside for one out of the remaining 14 distinguished senators from the five states that make up our zone to immediately step in to accomplish our Southeast dreams”.

The letter was signed by Chief Kingsley Okafor of National Progressive Coalition, Mazi Sunny Chijioke of Southeast Professionals in Commerce, Sir Okay Nwaneri of Ibos in Politics, Ike Ikemefuama of Ibos in the Diaspora and Chief Anya Onyeije of African League Organisation.

Copies of the letter were forwarded to the President General, Ohanaeze-Ndi-Igbo, the Chairman, Southeast Council of Traditional Rulers, all Southeast governors and senators.

The group hinged its call for Ekweremadu’s resignation on his alleged failure to use the position to advance the course of the Igbos for eight years.

They said: “We are deeply worried that while our area has been sidelined and unrepresented under your leadership as the Deputy Senate President for these eight years under review, you on 9th June, 2015 assumed the same position in the 8th Senate may be for another period of four dark years. God forbid”.

ALO noted that despite the Southeast zone producing the deputy senate president in the person of Ekweremadu in the last eight years, all that Igbo youths had gotten was unemployment, poverty and stress.

The letter further reads. “As a leader in the Senate occupying the number two seat and Chairman, Senate Committee on States Creation, with all emoluments, entitlements and paraphernalia of the exalted office pencilled for the Southeastern zone, we expect total protection, representation on the scheme of things concerning us all.

“You failed to mobilise other 14 senators from Southeast Zone and other senators from other geo-political zones to support the Southeast cause. During this period, senators from other zones ordinarily could not have led or championed our cause without your leadership.

“Unfortunately, our zone with its numerous and peculiar problems is sidelined, marginalised and abandoned to its own faith not by the Federal Government but by its own due to lack of leadership.

“The direct effect is that our area is left unrepresented by leaders like you who ride on their back to stupendous wealth with all accolades of great life, including national honours and uncountable number of chieftaincy titles within this period”.

Yakubu Dogara Condemns Refining Oil Outside Nigeria

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, on Monday said it was illegal for the crude oil produced on the shores of Nigeria to be refined outside the country.
Dogara who stated this while addressing National Executive of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, led by its President, Chinedu Okoronkwo, expressed regrets over the failure of past administration to encourage domestic refining of the nation’s crude oil.
He said that singular act by the previous administration could make the country a laughing stock in comity of nations.
According to him, “I don’t know if there is any country that produces the kind of oil that is produced in Nigeria that refines outside its products own shores. For me, it is kind of illegal. This is most inexcusable because we have turned this nation into a laughing stock.
“Why is it that we can’t refine this oil here? Why is it that in an oil producing country our brothers and sisters have to queue for nine hours to buy a product that should just be there? This is something that I believe that with your expertise you need to leverage on.”
On the removal of oil subsidy, the speaker said: “As a legislator, I can tell you there is something about subsidy removal that we are not looking at.
“There is a Price Control Act; if you look at the PCA, section 4 talks about regulating or controlling the prices of products that are listed in the first schedule of that act.
“One of the products listed in the first schedule is petroleum products, so by law in this country, we must control the price of petroleum products.
“But the law as passed by parliament gives a window and prescribing, vesting the responsibility of adding up items on the schedule of the giving items to the price regulating board and I am not sure we have that board in place.”

Damasak People Flee Homes, As Nigerian Army Fails To Deploy

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Residents are fleeing from Damasak village in northeastern Nigeria as soldiers from Niger and Chad threaten to leave following the failure of the Nigerian army to deploy in the area.

A source told Reporters that the allies have given the Nigerian army an ultimatum to occupy the village within three days or the coalition troops would abandon it, leaving thousands of residents vulnerable to renewed attacks by Boko Haram, which is based in the region.

Boko Haram militants were forced out of Damasak, located in Borno State, by coalition troops in March of this year.

Source – Sahara Reporters

We’ll Strengthen Amnesty Programme – Buhari

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Staff Reporter

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday said that his government will not totally discard the amnesty programme for Niger-Delta region but will build on the good aspects of the Programme.

This is even as he assured both foreign and local investors of his readiness to implement far-reaching reforms which he said will boost accountability and transparency in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

Buhari spoke at a meeting with senior officials of Chevron led by the company’s President for Africa and Latin America, Mr. Ali Moshiri at the presidential villa, Abuja.
The president also promised to effectively address the myriad of challenges in the sector.

“We understand the situation in the industry and we will do our best to address the challenges
affecting exploration, production and distribution of oil products in the country,’’ the President told the delegation.

A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu stated that president Buhari acknowledged that the Amnesty Programme was initiated by President Umar Yar’Adua to reduce violence in the Niger Delta region.

The statement added that “his administration will also implement other measures to enhance security in the Niger Delta and optimize investments in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.”

Speaking earlier, chevron president, Moshori urged President Buhari to restore the confidence of international investors in the industry even as he “identified improved security in the Niger Delta as key to increased investment in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria.”

According to him, “Chevron which has 36.7 percent interest in the West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited, was keen to support Nigeria’s gas sector and bring more electricity to Nigerian consumers.

Naira Drops To A Record Low: N241 Against The Dollar

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The naira hit another record low of 241 against the dollar at the parallel market on Monday as the Central Bank of Nigeria’s restrictions on foreign exchange sale fuelled unofficial trade in dollars, Reuters reported.

The ban on importers from accessing the Nigerian foreign exchange markets for the importation of 41 items had led to the volatility of the naira-dollar exchange rate at the black market.

Since June 23 when the new forex rule became operational, the naira has fallen by 10.5 per cent from 218 to 241 against the greenback.

Foreign exchange dealers said the artificial scarcity of the United States currency still pervaded the market.

The new forex rule had led to huge demand at the parallel market, causing dealers to hoard the dollar in anticipation of further fall in the naira

Economic analysts had said the CBN needed to devalue the naira to allow the local currency achieve an equilibrium price against the dollar.

The central bank had however said it would not be focusing on the thinly-traded parallel market when determining the exchange rate, adding that people preferred to use the unofficial market for undocumented transactions.

Foreign investors had been on the sideline, waiting for the CBN to devalue the naira before investing in naira-denominated assets.

Local and foreign analysts had predicted that the naira might hit 250 against the dollar at the parallel market any time soon if the artificial scarcity trend continued.

The central bank appears to be in a fix as the spread between the official and parallel market continues to widen by the day.

Meanwhile, stocks fell to a more than three-month low and the naira on Monday, Reuters reported.

The local bourse, which has the second-biggest weighting after Kuwait on the MSCI frontier market index, dropped for the ninth consecutive day as investors shed banking, consumer and oil shares.

Okonjo-Iweala Responds To Oshiomhole’s Accusation That She Spent N1bn Of Govt Money On GEJ’s Re-Election

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Oshiomhole accused the former minister of spending $1billion of government money for Jonathan’s re-election. She has responded.Read the press statement below…

Another false, baseless allegation against Okonjo-Iweala by governor Oshiomhole

The allegation by Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State that former Minister of Finance Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala spent $1 billion out of the Excess Crude Account to fund the re-election bid of former President Jonathan is the kind of ludicrously false statement that has unfortunately become a trademark of the Governor in his public campaign of falsehood against Dr Okonjo-Iweala.

The statement is just another example of the numerical diarrhea that seems to have afflicted His Excellency in recent times in his effort to damage the reputation of the former Minister.

He has, within the last few months, asked Dr Okonjo-Iweala to explain all kinds of totally wild and unsubstantiated figures, ranging from $30 billion, $20 billion, $2.1 billion, N720 billion and now $1 billion.

To say the obvious, the accusations are totally lacking in credibility.

Governor Oshiomhole’s published comments also contain other falsehoods. For instance, he quoted Dr Okonjo-Iweala as saying that she and the Finance Commissioners of the 36 states approved the spending of $2.1 billion out of the Excess Crude Account, adding that the Commissioners had disowned the statement. This is also a complete distortion.

Dr Okonjo-Iweala never said the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) approved spending out of the ECA. Rather as the Commissioners themselves stated, the former Minister of State Finance informed them that former President Jonathan approved the expenditure to end the debilitating fuel queues across the country.

As Nigerians know, the Finance Ministry under Okonjo-Iweala regularly published details of revenue allocations from the ECA in national media. So Oshiomhole’s tortured “calculations” based on his “four figure tables” are mere political numbers conjured to achieve a political purpose. Nigerians can see through the elaborate antics.

Governor Oshiomhole’s latest statement, like earlier ones, labours to give the impression that the entire FAAC process which involves the Federal Government and the 36 states of the Federation is a personal monopoly of Dr Okonjo-Iweala.

This is, of course not true. FAAC is a long standing national platform for allocating revenues chaired by the Minister of State Finance. The governor’s insistence on pushing this clearly fictional narrative underscores his desperation.

It is instructive that Governor Oshiomhole is a key member of the committee set up by the National Economic Council to investigate the ECA spending. His continuing attacks against Dr Okonjo-Iweala seem to suggest that he has lost confidence in this platform which he deployed to make some of his initial false and baseless allegations. The Governor does not seem to appreciate that he is undermining the very credibility of the committee.

Once again, we ask: why are Oshiomhole and his cohorts so ready to sacrifice truth, precedent and decency in this political witch hunt against Dr Okonjo-Iweala?

We are confident that they will fail because truth will triumph.

Paul C Nwabuikwu

Media Adviser to Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

‘NNPC Must Die!’ – Governor El-Rufai

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Staff Reporter

“NNPC (Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation) must die!” were the stern words of the Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, on Monday in Abuja.

A visibly angry El-Rufai, while speaking on Monday at the 7th Wole Soyinka Centre Media Lecture Series, lambasted the national oil firm, stressing that he was hopeful that the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari would kill the corporation.

The Kaduna State governor called for the setting up of another national oil firm as he argued that the present NNPC would kill Nigeria if it is allowed to continue running as the country’s oil firm.

“If you don’t kill NNPC, it kill Nigeria,” El-Rufai said.

Details to come…

News Alert !! President Buhari Appoints New Service Chiefs

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Staff Reporter

President Muhammadu Buhari has promptly announced replacements for the service chiefs sacked this morning.

A statement by President Buhari’s special adviser on media and publicity, Femi Adesina said Major-General Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin is now the new Chief of Defence Staff, while Major-General Tukur Yusuf Buratai is the new Chief of Army Staff.

The duo replaced Alex Badeh and Kenneth Minimah, former CDS and former army chief.

Adesina also unveiled Buhari’s pick for the post of Chief of Naval staff. He is Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas. He replaces Vice Admiral Usman Jibrin.

Air Vice Marshal Sadique Abubakar is the new Chief of Air Staff, replacing Adesola Amosu, while Air Vice Marshal Monday Riku Morgan is the Chief of Defence Intelligence.

Major-General Babagana Monguno from Borno state is the National Security Adviser, succeeding Colonel Sambo Dasuki, who was appointed by former President Goodluck Jonathan.

The new Chief of Defence Staff, Maj.-Gen. Olonishakin (N/6901) hails from Ekiti State.

Until his appointment as Chief of Defence Staff today, he was the Head of the Nigerian Army Training and Doctrine Command in Minna, Niger State.

The new Chief of Army Staff, Maj.-Gen. Buratai hails from Borno State. Until his new appointment today, he was the Commander of the Multinational Joint Task Force which has its headquarters in N’djamena.

Maj-Gen. Buratai has previously served as Commander of the Nigerian Army’s 2nd Brigade in Port Harcourt and Commander of the Nigerian Army School of Infantry in Jaji, Kaduna State.

The new Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Ibas (NN/0746) hails from Cross River State.

He enlisted into the Nigerian Defence Academy as a member of the 26th Regular Course in 1979 and was commissioned as a Sub-Lieutenant in 1983. His previous appointments include: Naval Provost Marshal, Chief Staff Officer, Naval Training Command, Chief of Administration, Naval Headquarters, Flag Officer Commanding Western Naval Command and Chief of Logistics, Naval Headquarters.

Until his appointment as Chief of Naval Staff, he was the Chief Executive Officer of Navy Holdings Limited.

The new Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Abubakar (NAF/1433) hails from Bauchi State. His previous appointments include: Chief of Standards and Evaluation, NAF Headquarters; Chief of Defence Communications and Air Officer Commanding, NAF Training Command.

Until his new appointment today as Chief of Air Staff, he was the Chief of Administration, NAF Headquarters.

The new Service Chiefs will hold their appointments in an acting capacity until confirmed by the Senate.

President Buhari thanks the outgoing Service Chiefs and National Security Adviser for their services to the nation and wishes them well in their future endeavours.

Culled from www.thenewsnigeria.com.ng

Governor Kashim Shettima Insists On Amnesty For Boko Haram

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, yesterday once again asked that the federal government grant pardon through a programme of amnesty to Boko Haram members

According to Thisday, Shettima’s support for an amnesty programme for the terrorist group was re-emphasised at an interactive session organised by his Special Adviser on Communications and Strategy, Mallam Isa Gusau, with selected journalists in Abuja.

Gusau said Shettima’s call was scientific and had been vindicated by a very desperate effort of Boko Haram leaders to stop their fighters from leaving their fold when a group of 16 members renounced the sect’s ideology in Borno State following which they were slaughtered by the sect’s leaders.

He said: “Governor Kashim Shettima was misunderstood by many Nigerians when in his May 29 inaugural remarks revisited his stance on the need to apply a political solution to fighting the Boko Haram by way of granting a window to admit those willing to surrender their arms and renounce the Boko Haram ideology.

“Shettima has held this position from his campaign days ahead of the 2011 elections for his first term. He had always advocated a combination of three approaches, which are: the military which is what we have in place, an economic approach which is aimed at providing jobs for people and discourage citizens that Boko Haram terrorists are recruiting.”

“It is important to note that the governor has always advocated that the three approaches should be applied together not exclusively. However, the amnesty issue has been the controversial one. The governor is not really talking about dialogue as a start, what he is advocating is to create an opening for those ready to abandon the sect to be able to do so freely, so that the sect can be broken.

“He is very particular about hundreds, if not thousands of members that were conscripted or forced to join the sect and became killers against their wish. If attacks on all communities can be efficiently done, then there wouldn’t be need for any debate on amnesty but we all have seen that many communities have continued to suffer from these attacks because the communities are so much, not only in Borno but round Nigeria and we don’t have the right proportion of security personnel to secure all communities.”

“When insurgents attack communities, they mostly target male youths, they arrest them and guard them into bushes. In most cases, even before taking them out of the towns they attacked, they preach in support of their ideology with promises of heaven for adherents and then openly ask aloud if any of the youths is willing to join them or not and whoever said he is not ready to join them, they slaughter him right there sometimes in the presence of his parents or they lay them on row and shoot all of them in matter of seconds targeting their skulls.

“We have seen many of these instances in videos recorded in Gwoza and other parts of Borno State. Now, what Governor Kashim Shettima has been saying is that hundreds of these forcefully arrested and initiated young men may want to run away and drop their arms and there should be a policy and programme to admit them so that insurgents lose members and their strategy of arresting youths and forcing them to join them which is what they apply in sustaining their membership, can be deflated and I think the governor’s call on May 29 has been vindicated less than two weeks ago.

“You might have read it on most news platforms that on Friday, July 3, 2015, Boko Haram insurgents beheaded 11 of its members who renounced their ideology. According to accounts by some locals, what happened was that some members of the sect who are indigenes of some villages in Damboa Local Government Area indicated interest in abandoning the ideology but most of them were afraid of the consequences. Out of them, 16 summoned courage to renounce the ideology and they moved to Miringa village in Biu Local Government Area of Southern Borno. They wanted to join some communities like Ajigin and Talala in Damboa.

“The 16 insurgents went to Miringa on Friday, July 3 according to locals, then at night, commanders of Boko Haram sent a team to Miringa to fish out the 16 members that denounced the sect. The team went from house to house and got the 16 members intact. They didn’t fire any shot in order not to attract soldiers. They took the members out of Miringa and slaughtered 11 of them and went away with five. The bodies of the 11 executed members were found the following day while the other five were not seen,” he said.

Culled from Thisday

No Misunderstanding Between President Buhari & Bola Tinubu – Presidency

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The Presidency has rubbished claims that there is a misunderstanding between Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari and a national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, over the leadership crisis in the National Assembly.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media, Garba Shehu, told newsmen in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital that the challenge before the APC goes beyond the leadership tussle in the National Assembly.

“There is absolutely nothing like that, Shehu said, noting that, “The President maintains excellent relationship with his friends and who are these people? They include Baba Bisi Akande, one of the most respected individuals that you see around the President; Asiwaju Bola Tinubu who, a week or so ago, was in Aso Rock and had a hilarious discussion with the President. Just two days ago, they were inquiring about former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to attend the Ramadan breakfast. The President keeps his friends..

“Sometimes, the things we read in the press amuse us because, as far as the personal relationships are concerned, nothing has dented the political family that the President keeps. All these persons I have mentioned realise they have a political party to build and they have work to do. They have obtained the mandate and they know they need to fulfill certain obligations to Nigerians. The expectations are high. So, they are not mistaken about the assignment,” Shehu added.

Shehu then stated that the perception by some Nigerians at home and abroad that the President is slow in effecting change is misunderstood as he was taking his time to sort out the huge mess left behind by the Jonathan administration. He said Buhari had been busy working out an action plan that would include “taming the monster of corruption, assets recovery and making the power sector functional”.

President Buhari Clears Out NSA, Service Chiefs

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Staff Reporter

President Muhammadu Buhari has sacked the National Security Adviser, NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki, (retd) and other service chiefs.

They are; Alex Badeh, Chief of Defence staff; Usman Jibrin, Chief of Naval Staff, Kenneth Minimah, Chief of Army Staff and Adesola Amosu, Chief of Air Staff.

FG Slashes Import Licenses To Oil Marketers From 43 To 29

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The Federal Government has issued licenses to import refine petroleum products to 29 marketers in a bid to end the fuel scarcity witnessed across the country.

The third quarter approval for import allocations to 29marketers signaled a significant reduction in the number of marketers previous issued with such allocations.

Previously, 43 marketers were given import allocation but the significant reduction may be seen as a way of blocking leakages in oil andgas sector as promised by President Muhammadu Buhari.The 29 marketers include the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) which in the last couple of months struggled to sustain supply.

It was gathered that the approval was given by President Muhammadu Buhari to the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) to allow NNPC and other oil marketers to import fuel into the country this quarter.

The third quarter import allocation is thought to be around 1.6 million metric tonnes of petrol, a source in PPPRA disclosed.

NNPC,NIPCO Plc, Oando Plc, Conoil, Mobil Oil, Masters Energy, Techno Oil and Folawiyo Oil and Gas, Total Nigeria Plc and Mobil Oil Plc are some of the companies granted imported allocations.

Although the PPPRA was yet to issue an official statement on the third quarter import allocation, another source in PPPRA said the agency now expects major oil marketers to resume importation of petrol after extracting a promise from the government that outstanding claims on subsidies will be paid.

An industry source who pleaded anonymity confirmed the allocation to the Tribune Online in a telephone conversation.”We got our allocation on Friday and I’m sure there are 29 of us as against the previous 43 marketers issued licenses to import,” he said.

President Buhari Replies Nyiam: I Am Not Caged

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Apparently reacting to a statement credited to Col. Tony Nyiam {retd} that he has been caged, President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, declared that he was not caged by any group or individuals and that he was in firm control of the presidency and the country.

Nyiam, had in an interview with a national daily, said President Buhari was caged by some powerful forces around him who now dictate and determine most decisions of the President, especially in the areas of political appointments, adding that the appointments by the president were lopsided.

Reacting to the statement, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said though individuals are entitled to their opinions, the comments credited to Nyiam were not true.

According to him, if Col. Nyiam admitted to have a vast knowledge and workings of the President in the past and also spotted his impeccability, he was in a better position to tell other people that President Buhari cannot change.

Said he: “Well, Col. Nyiam is just an individual. He is entitled to his opinion. But his opinion is not necessarily right. The fact that he said it does not mean it is true.

“I am happy that he knows the person of President Buhari deeply. If that is the case, he cannot easily admit that the man he spoke glowingly about cannot change or be influenced by anybody.

“Everyone in Nigeria knows President Buhari. He had been a Head of State and we saw how he dealt with corruption and even now, he is not relenting. As a matter of fact, he made corruption the chief issue among his campaign promises and he is dealing with that.

EFCC Must Do More To Win Cases – Lawyers

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Three prominent Lagos-based lawyers on Sunday said that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) needed to do more in the area of prosecution and win cases, to justify its establishment.
The lawyers told NAN in Lagos that further EFCC loses in court would mar its popularity.
They said the commission needed to be more diligent in its prosecution of alleged corrupt public officials as a way to support the Federal Government’s anti-corruption crusade.
Mr Jiti Ogunye told NAN that the EFCC needed to be more committed and diligent in its investigation and subsequent prosecution of those accused of fraud.
Ogunye said the way the charge against Mr Femi Fani-Kayode was prosecuted by the EFCC had revealed the need for a review of its handling of the prosecution of suspects.
The EFCC s dilatory and cavalier prosecution ended up telling Nigerians that it was not sure of what it was doing.
The way the charge against Fani-Kayode was being changed showed that not much was properly done by the anti-graft agency.
It has an advantage as both the investigating and prosecuting body and so will not be excused for failure to bring those charged with corrupt enrichment to answer for their deeds.
The anti-corruption body ought to know the strength of the cases they are taking to court on the basis of their investigations, he said.
Ogunye said that the EFCC could justify its funding through tax payers’ money by ensuring that it gets guilty judgments, especially against those charged with public embezzlement.
Facts must be properly substantiated in the eyes of the law by the agency. The EFCC needs to carry out thorough investigation and painstaking, diligent and conscientious prosecution of its cases.
It must not allow extraneous factors, influence or pressure to affect the performance of its statutory duties, Ogunye saisaid.
Similarly, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Prof. Taiwo Osipitan, urged the EFCC to streamline the counts it brings against suspects.
The EFCC is fond of going to court with so many counts as charges. It is an indication that the prosecution is unsure of what it is doing when it brings about 40 to 50 count charges against a person.
One can almost assume that perhaps the prosecution is playing games or gambling with so many charges against one person.
The onus is on the prosecution to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt and you don’t need too many charges to accuse someone of theft or fraud.
The judge in Fani-Kayode s case correctly stated that the principle of law is that an accused person is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
You really do not need several counts to convict someone because it ends up being bulky and time- wasting.
In the UK, USA or Canada, you will only find public prosecutors going to court with a maximum of six counts, Osipitan said.
To the Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (Ikorodu Chapter), Mr Adedotun Adetunji, the EFCC needed to improve on its investigation of allegations against suspects.
The agency has to be more diligent in the investigation of financial crimes and the prosecution of offenders.
It needs to ensure more diligence so as to be able to prosecute more efficiently and effectively, Adetunji added.

PDP Vows Not To Play Fair, If APC Holds Majority Leader Election

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The fair thing would be for the Peoples Democratic Party to not interfere with the Majority Leader election of the All Progressives Congress.

That would be the fair thing, but politics is far from fair and it appears PDP is out to take more blood from a badly wounded APC.

The former ruling party’s caucus at the House of Representatives, has threatened to participate in the election of the Majority Leader of the House and other principal officers of the All Progressives Congress.

PDP insists that if APC fails to settle its crisis borne out of the sharing of principal offices in the House,- it would get involved.

The immediate past Deputy Majority Leader, Leo Ogor, is the bearer of this threat.

He revealed to Punch that all party caucuses would participate in the election, stressing that the leader had responsibilities beyond “just being a member of the majority party”.

Ogor said: “If they say they are going for election, all of us will participate. We are talking about the election of the House leader, not the election of the leader of a political party.

“Since the leader is not just for the APC but for the whole House, there is no way they can conduct the election on the floor of the House without our participation.”

Ogor also used the constitution of the House to defend his stance.

Rule 27(1) of the Standing Orders of the House says that the leader should be nominated from among the members of the majority party but all party caucuses would have to vote for such a leader to emerge in the case of an election, he argued.

Source – ynaija.com

Refineries To Produce 20% Of Petrol Consumed Daily – NNPC

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Staff Reporter

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The 125,000 bpd Warri refinery which resumed last week after maintenance is expected to run at 60,000 bpd, the NATION says.

Group Executive Director of Refining and Petrochemicals, Ian Udoh said six cargoes are expected to be received a month of Nigerian Bonny Light and Escravos crude oil to run 180,000 barrels per day (bpd) or 40 per cent, of Nigeria’s total refining capacity.

The Port Harcourt complex will start ramping up over the next two weeks but only the newer of the two plants at the site is functional and at 90,000 bpd versus its 150,000 bpd capacity.

Mr Udoh said he expected to produce 8 million litres a day of petrol, accounting for about 20 per cent of the estimated consumption.

The last refinery to restart will be the Kaduna Refinery as it will take about two more weeks to repair the pipeline bringing crude from the oil-rich delta in the South south.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) hopes that its domestic refineries can cover 20 per cent of domestice product needs, as Nigeria has wholly depended on subsidised fuel imports and crude-for-product swap agreements and suffered acute fuel shortages since February.

Source – www.nigerianbulletin.com

List Of Nigerian Ambassadors Sacked By President Buhari

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Staff Reporter

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday recalled top ranking members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who were appointed ambassadors by former President Goodluck Jonathan.

They were recalled after three years of service abroad. Among them are:

Former Foreign Affairs Minister , Chief Ojo Maduekwe (Canada);
Chairman of the Jonathan Presidential Campaign Organisation in the 2011 election, Dr. Dalhatu Tafida (UK);
Professor Ade Adefuye (USA);
widow of the late Ikemba Nnewi, Chief Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Bianca (Spain);

Former deputy governor of Oyo State, Mr. Taofeek Arapaja (Jordan).
Former aviation minister, Mrs. Fidelia Njeze (Switzerland);
Ex-General Manager, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Ibadan, Mr. Yemi Farounbi (Philippines);
A one-time governorship aspirant in Lagos State, Mr. Olatokunbo Kamson (Jamaica);
PDP front liner in Ondo State, Mr. Cornelius Oluwateru (UAE);
Alhaji Abubakar Shehu Bunu (Saudi Arabia);
Former Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General in Benue State, Mr. Chive Kaave (Argentina);
former financial secretary of the PDP, Alhaji Tukur Mani (Iran);
former permanent secretary, Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA Biodun Nathaniel Olorunfemi (Namibia).
Chief Asam Asam (SAN), (Russia);
Mr. Okwudili Nwosu (Burundi);
Mr. Okeke Chukwuemeka (Vatican);
Mr. Eric Aworahbi (Italy);
Dauda Danladi (Pakistan);
Mrs. Katherine Okon (Czeck Republic);
Mr. Nwofe Alexander,;
Princess Victoria Bosede Onipede (Republic of Congo);
Senator Haruna Garba (Kuwait);
Mrs. Nonye Rajis-Okpara (Singapore);
Chief Eddy Onuoha (Hungary);
Mr. Adamu Babangida Ibrahim (Syria);
Dr. Sam Jimba (Poland)

They were among the 93 envoys posted out in June 2012.

Nigerian Students In The UK To Be Banned From Working And Forced To Leave When Their Course Ends

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Foreign students are to be banned from working in Britain under a fresh crackdown on immigration ordered by Home Secretary Theresa May. When their courses finish, they will have to leave the country before reapplying to return for a job.

Ministers say the new rules, which will apply to all those from outside the European Union, will stop colleges being used as a ‘back door to a British work visa’.

Official figures show that 121,000 non-EU students entered the UK in the 12 months to June last
year, but only 51,000 left – a net influx of 70,000. The government also estimates that the number of foreign students coming to the UK will rise by more than 6 per cent a year up to 2020. Home Secretary Theresa May has taken action against 870 bogus colleges, banning them from taking foreign students.

They want to stop student visas being used as an easy way to enter the UK before getting a job and claiming benefits. Under the new rules, non-EU students will be denied the right to work while in the UK and will not be able to apply for a visa extension when their course finishes.
Students will have to leave the country before applying to return under a work visa.

The length of stay is also expected to be cut to two years when the plans are unveiled this week.

But universities have warned that any clampdown could damage the sector and business leaders are also wary of the move, warning it could rob Britain of vital skills. DailyMailUk reports that Seamus Nevin, head of employment and skills at the Institute of Directors, said:

‘The Business Secretary’s proposals to eject foreign students after graduation are misguided and would damage the British education system, our economy and global influence.

Britain already makes it difficult and artificially expensive for international students to enter and stay, and now these proposals would eject them ignominiously when their studies are finished.

Restricting talented workers from staying on in the UK would damage business and lead to a loss of important skills. Shutting the door to highly-trained international graduates at a time when our economy needs them most would be hugely damaging for UK businesses.

In the interests our education sector, our businesses, and our international standing, the Business Secretary should reconsider this proposal.’

APC, PDP Battle Over $5.5bn NLNG Funds

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Staff Reporter

THE All Progressives Congress (APC), yesterday, asked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to account for $5.5 billion realised from Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) since 2004.

In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party also called on the Federal Government to urgently unravel what happened to the past Company Income Tax/Education tax as well as dividends paid to the Nigerian government by the NLNG, against the background of published reports that the funds were never paid into the Federation Account as they should have been.

Reacting to the question, the national leadership of the PDP said the APC was lying. It dismissed as untrue, accusations that former President Goodluck Jonathan had anything to do with the accounts of
the NLNG, saying that PDP-led governments before the present saved the money for reinvestment.

PDP is grandstanding

However, the APC described as a glaring example of grandstanding, the attempt by the PDP to distort the facts about the source of the $2.1 billion that was approved for sharing by the three tiers of government by President Muhammadu Buhari.

It said: “Whereas the Presidency corrected the initial erroneous report that the shared money was sourced from the Excess Crude Account (ECA), the skittish opposition continued to insist it was from the ECA and that it was part of the ‘savings’ by the Jonathan Administration.

“Well, we can tell Nigerians that the $2.1 billion was sourced from the $1.6 billion Company Income Tax/Education Tax paid to the Federal Government on June 17, 2015, over two weeks after the Jonathan Administration left office, as well as the $500 million tax paid by Shell. We can tell Nigerians that this is the first time the payment of the Income Tax/Education Tax by the NLNG was being disclosed by any government, in addition to paying it into the Federation Account for sharing, hence those who call it their ‘legitimate’ earnings should be asked why they did not demand the sharing of such ‘legitimate’ earnings in the past.

“We can tell Nigerians that apart from the said $1.6 billion NLNG payment for 2015, NLNG also paid $1.4 billion as Income Tax/Education Tax in May 2014; paid $0.3 billion as Education tax to the Federal Government in 2011, 2012 and 2013 and $1.2 billion in VAT and With-holding Tax to the Federal Government since 2009. These payments are just those made in the past six years alone, hence there were other payments before then.

“In addition, dividend payments totalling $4,728,136,946 was paid to the Federal Government between 2004 and 2009, out of which only $127,851,348.19 was credited to the FG’s Independent Account with JP Morgan, leaving a balance of over $4 billion. The questions to ask therefore are why all the past taxes and dividends were neither fully paid into the Federation Account nor shared by the three tiers of government and what happened to the funds,” it said.

APC said now that President Muhammadu Buhari has started to ensure that all funds due to the Federation Account are paid in there as well as plugging all financial leakages, in an effort to restore transparency to the system, it is important to let Nigerians know why all due funds were not paid into the Federation Account in the past and what happened to such funds.

Where is $5.5bn NLNG dividend?

The party also said that as part of the investigation, the PDP must be asked where it kept the $5.5 billion which it said was the dividend paid to the FG by the NLNG before the May 29 handover.

“Since, according to the PDP, President Goodluck Jonathan asked that the money be ‘left for the incoming administration to manage’ it is important for the party, therefore, to tell Nigerians in which account the money was ‘saved’ because it is definitely not in the Federation Account,” it said.

APC insisted that for any opposition to be credible, it must not only be factual and truthful, it must eschew pandering.

“Had the PDP embraced these cardinal principles, it would not have, in the rush to belittle the package that was approved for the states by President Buhari and to discredit his administration, engaged in outright lies and selective perception. While the PDP became fixated on the source of the money shared by the states, it forgot that there were other measures in the package that included a special intervention fund of between N250 billion and N300 billion from the CBN as a soft loan available to states to access for the purposes of paying backlog of salaries.

“The PDP also forgot the debt relief programme designed to assist the states to restructure their commercial loans of N660 billion, with a view to extending the life span of such loans and reducing the states’ debt-servicing expenditures. That way, the states are freed from their perennial inability to pay workers’ salaries, and more funds are available to the various governments to use for the benefit of the people. They have forgotten that the only time in the country’s history that this kind of rescue package was made was also during the tenure of Muhammadu Buhari as military Head of State,” the party said.

It advised those who are showboating and distorting facts to tarry a while, as what they are seeing is just the first step in a long journey to clear the rot left behind by years of purposeless governance, plug all financial leakages, ensure that all funds due to the Federation Account are paid in there for the benefit of all Nigerians and bring to justice all those who have mismanaged or looted the commonwealth.

“The revelations concerning the deep rot in the system that will come in the weeks and months ahead will shock even the most ardent critics of the Buhari Administration’s salvaging efforts,” APC added.

Stop lying to Nigerians –PDP

Countering, the PDP in a statement by its National Publicity secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, urged the APC to desist from misleading Nigerians on the NLNG, saying no government before now touched the money.

The statement read: “Our attention has been drawn to the misleading and outright falsehood by the APC. The truth is that the NLNG had been on a 10-year tax haven until 2014.

“Within this period, successive governments, right from President Olusegun Obasanjo never shared nor tampered with the cumulative dividends. Whatever taxes paid from the NLNG go through the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) and recorded as part of the income of the Federal Government.

“It is imperative to note that by the end of the tenure of President Goodluck Jonathan, NLNG dividends had risen to a cumulative $5.6billion and not a single cent was ever taken from the funds.

“Although it is within the rights of the APC administration to spend the funds in any way they may decide, it is however, cruel for them to inflict on us all such malicious falsehood while the current Presidency, without the benefit of economic advisers and relevant statutory organs of government unilaterally decided to deplete the funds without thinking of the attendant future investments and financial obligations of Nigeria in the NLNG project.

“The APC must note that there is a limit to propaganda and lies. Now is the time for governance and this government has shown total unpreparedness to face the challenges of governance at the centre.”