el-Rufai was arrested in the early hours of yesterday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on arrival from the United Kingdom, UK.

He was said to have returned from a trip undertaken with the CPC presidential candidate in the April polls, Maj. General Muhammad Buhari, and his running mate, Pastor Tunde Bakare, who were at the Chattam House in London, to make a formal presentation about the polls which result they have rejected and are contesting at the presidential election tribunal.

In a statement, the SSS linked the arrest to “recent articles in the cyber and print media which have been considered by well-meaning Nigerians to be inciting, inflammatory and grossly misleading”. El-Rufai’s media aide corroborated the claim when he hinted that his principal may have been held over his allegation in the media that the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) was allocated N208 billion in the 2011 budget.

dayokanu:

Fresh Air

So Odechukwu is using SSS to harass citizens?

wesley80:

Anyone that has been reading El Rufai's articles ought not to be surprised at this. El Rufai has been propagating hatred and inciting violence with every opportunity he's got all in the name of being a social critic and its about time someone did something about it. It's pretty obvious that people like him that have fed fat off the back of govt can not stomach being sidelined and wld go to any length to make themselves relevant.

“Got detained by the SSS on arrival at Abuja Airport. No reason given. On our way to the Headquarters. Will keep you posted if phones not seized”

‘We have arrived safely at SSS HQ. They are polite and courteous, so far…’

”Taken up three floors to see the DG. He was my director of security in FCT, 2003…decent man then, will soon know if fresh air has got him.’

‘Phone battery going down…no tweets until i charge….sorry guys, ladies, ’

enyojo:

OAM4j, I got those from Vanguard.
I think they should have checked and cross-checked b4 publishing it on their site:
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/07/sss-arrest-nasir-el-rufai/

BIGER BOY:

what is hatred and inciting in this article, i wish we had more of him. they say the only thing necessary for evil to reign in the land is for good men to do nothing,
please read his last article on thisday yesterday by mallam el rufai,


[b] This year, every Nigerian - all 162 million of us - man, woman and child will “pay” the sum of N27,685 each to help run the Federal Government.

What we cannot afford, government will borrow on our behalf to pay for its activities. That is why the Federal Government, on behalf of you and I will spend the sum of N4.485 trillion (over N4,000 billion) in 2011.

This is against the backdrop that our entire oil earnings for the year cannot pay the generous salaries and allowances of politicians on the one hand, and the meagre pay cheques of other public sector workers on the other, while infrastructure and unemployment are barely getting attention.

When you walk into a government office to request a basic service, the member of staff you meet may not even bother to reply to your greeting and barely has time to listen to you; the policeman that should protect you on the road block, stops you and demands for bribes and has no qualms shooting dead any motorist that refuses to give him N20; the customs officer at the border who is supposed to stop smuggling takes a bribe and actually connives with the smugglers to bring in banned products into the Nigerian market, while harassing the traveller entering Nigeria with two new pairs of shoes; the hospital staff member that, contrary to every professional oath, refuses to attend to dying patients because they are on strike; the soldiers who get so bored that they occasionally go on a rampage, using policemen for target practice.

With live ammunition, of course; the politician who rigs himself into office then proceeds to loot the treasury: these are all the people whose standard of living we are spending nearly 75 per cent of the 2011 budget to pay for - and borrowing some after spending all our collections from oil and taxes!


It will cost nearly N2.5 million this year on average to pay for the salary and upkeep of each of Nigeria’s nearly one million federal public sector workers – in the police, civil service, military and para-military services and teachers in government schools and institutions.

Whether this amount justifies the service that is rendered is left for Nigerians to decide. In all, the 49 line ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) specifically mentioned in the 2011 Appropriations Act will each cost an average of N49.49 billion to run.

We elect a total of 360 members to the House of Representatives and 109 senators to make laws and enhance good governance by checking and balancing the excesses of the executive arm of government.

For this privilege, the 469 members of the federal legislature and their support staff at the National Assembly will spend N150 billion this year.

It is worth noting that the National Assembly only passed eight bills as at the end of May 2011. So assuming that they manage to pass another seven bills before the end of this year, it would cost the Nigerian citizen an average of N10 billion to pass a single bill! This implies that to pass the 2011 budget (which allocates N150 billion to the National Assembly), Nigerians paid N10 billion.

An even more interesting statistic is the cost of maintaining every legislator every year. It works out to princely N320 million per legislator per annum. At this rate, every four-year stint at the National Assembly works out at N1.28 billion per legislator. No wonder machetes, guns and thugs are used at will to "win" primaries and the elections.

How many new businesses can achieve a turnover of N1.28 billion within four years with a net tax-free profit in excess of 50 per cent? Is this social justice?

For the National Assembly, even the amount of N150 billion above is just what we can see easily but is not broken down for further analysis or accountability.

There is a bit more hidden all over the Appropriation Act - another N1.595 billion was tucked away for "In-lieu of accommodation for the Seventh Session of National Assembly" and another N200 million for "Funding of House Resolution Mandates." What these two provisions mean is best explained by those that legislated them and the executive that will release the sums! What is clear is that none of these will ever be accounted for or audited!, [/b]

read on at http://www.thisdayonline.com/

apoti:

Reading this piece confirms my belief El-rufai is far better than the eediiots we have in Aso Rock. In his entire political career, GEJ has not made a quarter of the impact El-rufai made as FCT minister.

Let them crucify him for telling the obvious truth. They will only end up making him a hero, making him more popular and a voice that people want to listen to.
Choosing GEJ over Buhari based on sentiments is a grave mistake and Nigeria will pay the price for the next four years.

wesley80:

Anyone that has been reading El Rufai's articles ought not to be surprised at this. El Rufai has been propagating hatred and inciting violence with every opportunity he's got all in the name of being a social critic and its about time someone did something about it. It's pretty obvious that people like him that have fed fat off the back of govt can not stomach being sidelined and wld go to any length to make themselves relevant.