₦airaland Forum

Found, good but for how long would the process take.. 3 years or

Laboratory looting

More photos

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo led other dignitaries to the interdenominational funeral service of the Ooni of Ife Oba Okunade Sijuwade which held at Enuwa Square, Ooni of Ife's palace today August 14th.

http://www.maxgist.com/2015/08/photos-from-funeral-service-of-ooni-of.html

Real street credibility..

God bless you Fayose

Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has once again set the social media buzzing, over photos of him at Elegberun Market in Ikere Ekiti area of the state, buying some soup ingredients from the market women.
In a tweet via his handle @GovAyoFayose, Fayose said: “I am at Elegberun Market, Ikere Ekiti, today, to look at the ongoing construction work in the market. I also bought soup ingredients.”
Below are photos released by Governor Fayose where he was spotted buying animal hides and skin known locally as ‘ponmo,’ peppers, tomatoes, fishes and a bottle of palm oil.

Okay.. Let me call him on phone to confirm....

Barcanista, I have a good offer for you.. Send me a private message or any ways to reach you.. Thanks

barcanista:
Dear All,

It has become necessary to draw the consciousness of esteemed members (and guests) of this forum on the recent ploy by supporters of the APC to malign my image and misrepresent my position on issues using clone moniker "barcansta". It is over 3 hours since I drew the attention of the moderators to the shameful development yet no action has been taken. Instead, the parody account has been allowed unrestricted privileges as it goes about with its devilish scheme.

I understand that supporters and fans of the ruling APC are never at ease whenever "Barcanista" and other patriotic "Wailers" create threads and post comment(s) to enlighten Nigerians as part of our patriotic role as opposition. It is however unfortunate that the APC will adopt sinister scheme in their bid to further deceive the gullible and misrepresent the members of the umbrella family.

It is my prayer that moderators Lalasticlala, Ishilove and Obinocopy step in to arrest the ugly situation before it gets out of hand. Pending when such action will be taken, Nairalanders and Guests should note that Barcanista, was registered on May 01, 2013. He is an unapologetic fan and supporter of the PDP, and a Proud member of the Patriotic Wailers. Whoever find any disturbing comment from a "strange" Barcanista should check the profile of the "poster" and check date of registration.

Finally, I want to appeal to Nairaland administrator (Seun) to wade in and save his forum from clones and parodies.


May God Bless Us All
May God Bless Nigeria
May God Bless People's Democratic Party

@ op, listen to yourself.. A website build for 10million naira?? I don't even think Facebook page cost up to that..


Stop the hatred and get something doing before it is too late

THE trial of 11 members of pro-Biafra, group, Biafra Zionists Federation BZF, has formally been transferred from Enugu, where the sitting initially commenced, to Owerri.
The accused persons in the open court, had accused the presiding judge of bias following the ruling of the court that it would continue the trial in secret in order to protect the identifies of the key prosecution witnesses who were yet to testify as requested by the prosection.
The case transfer from Enugu to Owerri was sequel to the granting of application for transfer of the case from Federal High Court, Enugu on the ground that justice might elude them there which was demanded for, by the accused.
biafra
Counsel to the accused persons, Mr. Olu Omotayo confirmed to our reporter yesterday that “Abuja has granted the transfer request. It has been moved to Owerri. We were there, Wednesday, to take date but incidentally the Lordships are on vacation. We will get back when they resume,” he stated.
The Federal High Court 2, Enugu, presided over by Justice D.V. Agishi had on June 29, this year, withdrawn from the case.
Justice Agishi said that “in view of the fact that the accused have accused me of bias, the case file has been transferred to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to assign the case to another judge.”
The accused persons had through their counsel, Mr. Olu Omotayo sent a letter to the Chief Judge of the Federal High court Abuja, seeking for transfer of the case from the court.
In that letter dated June 23, 2015, reference number OAO/1/6/15, whcih was signed by a lawyer from Omotayo & Associates chambers in Enugu, Mr. B.N. Chukwu gave a vivid account of what led to the demand for the transfer of the case.
The eight-paragraph letter stated among others that “our clients in the open court raised up their hands and when granted leave to speak by the court, observed that the Judge was biased against them since the trial started as the Lordship had granted all applications made by the prosecution including the last one barring the public from the trial without legal authority or basis


Source: Scannews

Sweden’s second tier side Ange IF says it has signed on 24-yr-old Ghana legend, Bernard Don Bortey.
Remember Don Bortey played for Accra Hearts of Oak in the late 90s.

Bobbystanley:
Yes my brother
He is 22 this year and would be 21 by next year

Sweden’s second tier side Ange IF says it has signed on 24-yr-old Ghana legend, Bernard Don Bortey.
Remember Don Bortey played for Accra Hearts of Oak in the late 90s.

And he is 22? football and lies are like bread and butter

Some residents of a community in Ogun State have dragged the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, its General Overseer, Enoch Adeboye, and 14 others to court for alleged encroachment on a piece of land.
The plaintiffs claim that the land, located in Ilara Village, Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun State, belongs to them. Through their counsel, Kayode Akinsola, they filed a suit number HOS/130/15, dated August 10 at an Ogun High Court in Sagamu.
In documents seen by PREMIUM TIMES, the plaintiffs in the suit claim the land was sold to them by the Ilara Descendants family and receipts issued to about 150 buyers. They said they occupied the land for a while before the defendants arrived.
They said it was in April 2015 they noticed trespassers on their lands; and after inquiry they discovered the trespassers to be agents of the defendants. They said sometime in June 2015, they saw some men on their land using bulldozers to pull down their buildings. They said they discovered that the demolitions were carried out on the instruction of the Redeemed Church, one of Nigeria’s largest and richest churches.
In the suit, the claimants are demanding a declaration that they are the true owners of their respective land; an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, their agents or privies from trespassing on the land; special damages of N100 million, among others.
The court has fixed September 3 for the hearing of the case.


Source: http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/188355-community-sues-redeemed-church-adeboye-over-land-dispute.html

@ op, Amosun that I know is not that wicked. He must have announced this earlier before demolition. I witnessed him trekking from Oke Ilewo down to Itoku informing people when they were about to construct the new roads..

Are you paid for this or just decided to post what you like


Btw, I do not benefit anything from his government.. We just have to call spade a spade..

Ex militants, numbering over 200 blocked the Olu Obasanjo road in Port Harcourt , in protest of alleged deduction of their N65,000 monthly allowance by their leaders.
The protesting ex militants say a particular new generation bank connive with their leaders to short pay them.
The protest at the moment is causing major traffic gridlock on the road and other adjourning ones.

Details coming later



Source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/08/about-200-ex-militants-in-ph-protest-alleged-exploitation-by-their-leaders/#sthash.b4A3u1tB.rynRwns3.dpuf

Col Abdulmumuni Aminu rtd has come out to clear the air on the raging controversy surounding the arrest of President Muhammadu Buhari after the 1983 coup that toppled his government.While it has been repeatedly reported that former NSA Dasuki Sambo rtd was the man that led the arrest,Aminu in a chat with daily Trust stated otherwise.
Hear Him:
"I must confess that I led that operation. I went to Dodan Barracks that time in company of two other officers - then Major John Madaki and Lawan Gwadabe. Three of us went, but specifically I was the one that went upstairs to bring Buhari. With due respect, I have been reading in the papers and listening to radio, people saying that we manhandled him, we disrespected him.

That was not true. I and General Buhari are the only two who knew what transpired upstairs and there was nothing like that. We gave him his absolute respect as a superior, because even before that time, we had absolute respect for him, because of whom and what he was. We respected him a lot till today and there is no animosity between us and he knew it was a military assignment that we were carrying out from our superior. He even told me at one time. So for us, it is just like the other way round of when he came to power during the anti-Shagari coup. I was among those who played a major role in getting him to power. So, he knew the role I played. And even Buhari knew in 2003, I was arrested because of him.

That time, I supported him. I worked for him at that time, without even him knowing anyway, but he later knew.You see, once you believe in somebody and you know he has the capability, you can do anything for him without even him knowing.We did not handcuff him. It is a blatant lie. In an operation of that nature, we don’t carry handcuffs. I did not salute him because according to military tradition and norms when the flag is lowered, you can only pay compliments the way you deem fit, not salutation. We met at 2 a.m. and at that time, we don’t salute because the flag is down, until 6 am again when the flag is up. To insinuate that he was handcuffed, that is far from the truth. We only accorded him all the respects he deserved. I still hold him in very high esteem".



Source: http://www.cknnigeria.com/2015/08/i-arrested-buhari-during-coup-not.html

Ladies, which do you fancy?

SaharaReporters has obtained exclusive copies of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) nomination forms by which Senate President Bukola Saraki ran for the National Assembly election, and they unveil a pattern of lies, evasion and misrepresentation of facts on questions about his nationality and identity.

The documents come weeks after SaharaReporters provided evidence showing that Mr. Saraki is a citizen of the United Kingdom.
For instance, under “Personal particulars of persons seeking election,” the man who would become Senate President declared his nationality to be “Nigerian.” However, when answering the question, “Did you change your nationality in the past?” he indicated “NIL” or no.

As first exposed by SaharaReporters, Mr. Saraki’s passport clearly indicates that he holds citizenship of United Kingdom. Perhaps on account of this, Mr. Saraki left blank Question 10, on whether the prospective candidate has “made a declaration of allegiance to any other country.”

Mr. Saraki’s answers to these questions indicate that he is concealing the fact that he is a bonafide citizen of the United Kingdom. Knowing that it would hurt his political ambitions, he deliberately concealed the fact that he has changed the profile of his nationality in the past.

On the forms, Mr. Saraki also completely evaded question 12, which asked the candidate to specify his place of birth. Rather than declare his place of birth to be Hampstead North, of the Metropolitan Bourough of Hampstead in the United Kingdom, Mr. Saraki craftily repeated his date of birth: 19-12-1962. For some reason, INEC did not invalidate the form as it should have.

On the question of the circumstances of his birth, Mr. Saraki has also played fast and loose with the facts. SaharaReporters has obtained a copy of his birth certificate, which proves that he was born on December 19, 1962 as Olubukola Adebisi Olabowale Saraki but curiously Mr. Saraki’s birth was not registered until a year later in 1963. This is contrary to his name on his INEC documents, which he wrote as Abubakar Bukola Saraki. Our sources who have knowledge of the story say he gave himself this version in an effort to appeal to northern voters in Kwara State.

SaharaReporters contacted Mr. Saraki and his aides to offer an opportunity to them to explain the systemic evasion and misrepresentation of his nationality and citizenship in his election documents, contrary to the law. Nobody appeared willing to provide any explanation as to the discrepancies in his official records and claims as listed in this and previous SaharaReporters stories.


Source: http://saharareporters.com/2015/08/06/nigerias-senate-president-saraki-lied-his-official-election-forms

Dame Patience Jonathan, former First Lady, has caused tension in Bayelsa state in the build up to the forthcoming governorship election.

Patience is reportedly making moves to hijack the Bayelsa state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress, (APC).


Sun reports that a group simply known as the ‘Forum For Political Freedom in Bayelsa State’ (FOPOF) accused Patience for using her unlawfully acquired wealth to fund and create a power bloc in the APC in the state, using members of the defunct Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria whom she similarly used to weaken the leadership of the opposition party in the state in the period leading up to the last presidential poll which her husband lost.

Elder Adenzi Kakarite, a leader of the group has released a statement which reads in part: ”The former First Lady is very greedy and selfish by wanting to sponsor the candidates of both the PDP and the APC, so that she can continue to milk the state dry.

”Bayelsans must rise up and resist this woman, who clearly does not mean well for Bayelsa state, because she was partly the reason for the husband’s defeat in the last presidential election; and since she couldn’t succeed at the national level, she wants to come and force a governor of her choice down our throats. No, we must resist it”.


It should be noted that Bayelsa is one of Nigeria’s seven states with its own electoral calendar due to past annulments of elections.


Source: https://www.naij.com/509348-tension-bayelsa-patience-jonathans-secret-plans.html

Borno state citizens under the aegis of Borno Elders Forum, led by Gaji Galtimari, a retired ambassador, have accused the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan of deliberately allowing Boko Haram to massacre the people of Northeast Nigeria.
They therefore want Mr. Jonathan and his service chiefs tried for genocide.
The elders said the confession by the immediate Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh, a retired Air Vice Marshall, that he presided over an ill-equipped military during his tenure, has exposed the wicked motives of the federal government of Nigeria under President Goodluck Jonathan to annihilate the northeast region by pushing soldiers to fight Boko Haram with faulty weapons.
The group said Mr. Badeh, despite being a son of the northeast, did not act well by remaining in office as defence chief when he knew the soldiers deployed to combat Boko Haram had no better weapons than the enemy.
The elders also advised Mr. Jonathan to apologise to Borno state governor, Kashim Shettima, who was called all names when he blew the whistle that Nigerian solders were being outgunned by the Boko Haram terrorists because they lacked the right weapons and motivation to face the well-armed terrorists.
The aggrieved elders want a list of all Borno citizens affected by the insurgency compiled, while family members of those killed should be compensated “for the deliberate killing of their relations”.
They also lampooned the past government and the military for deliberately pushing soldiers to slaughter, even as they said all the families of the fallen soldiers must be compensated adequately and declared as national heroes.
The full text of the press statement signed by Ambassador Gaji Galtimari, as the chairman of the Borno Elders Forum, reads;
“The Borno Elders Forum has listened to live comments and read reports on Newspapers and online media platforms, observing with keen interest, some revelations made by immediate past Chief of Defence Staff, Retired Air Chief Marshall Alex Subundu Badeh at his ceremonial pull out from service on Thursday, 30th July, 2015, at a senior Military Barrack in Abuja, saying without mincing words that he (Badeh) presided over a military, that was ill equipped and its troops poorly motivated. Cover headlines of the Daily Trust, Leadership and Punch Newspapers of Friday, July 31st, 2015, adequately reported Badeh saying this, in addition to reports by Channels Television, all of which were never denied by the former Chief of Defence Staff.
“The Borno Elders Forum found Badeh’s comments very revealing, an eye opener, a precursor to judgement day and extremely disturbing.

“As Chief of Defence Staff under His Excellency, former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, Alex Badeh was not just the most senior serving military man and head of all serving military men in Nigeria, he was also in the best position to know the State of affairs regarding the provision of military supplies and motivation of troops.
“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, NTA, 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 Borno Elders Forum deliberately refused to make any comment at that time because the Forum thought that as Commander in Chief, President Jonathan was in the best position to speak on the capacity of the Nigerian Armed Forces. The Forum remained silent out of wisdom and not to complicate matters.
“To our very rude shock, it turned out on Thursday, coming from an authoritative mouth, that indeed the Governor was absolutely right after all. He has been vindicated by no less a person but the then Chief of Defence Staff who was the symbol of the Nigerian Armed Forces.
“In the light of the revelation by the former Chief of Defence Staff, the Borno Elders Forum therefore make the following demands from the Federal Government and the United Nations and the International community:
1. 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
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. The President Muhammadu Buhari administration in constitutional collaboration with the National Assembly considers the need to set up a Presidential Armed Forces Capacity Monitoring and Evaluation Unit which could be directly supervised by the President, Commander In Chief in order to at all times, have accurate data of the capacity of Nigeria’s Armed Forces, monitoring military procurements and hardwares and their deployments, so as to avert future discrepancies unless if of course, there is already an established system of this nature.
8. The current service chiefs should learn from their predecessors by building on their successes and avoiding their mistakes with regards to refusal to tell the nation the true situation of things where political leaders fail to meet critical needs of the military on matters of national security.
“Finally, the Borno Elders Forum salute soldiers who laid their lives in defense of our sons and daughters. We remember them always for their supreme sacrifices, pray for the repose of their souls and the welfare of their survivors. We also salute all patriotic officers of all categories who genuinely worked with troops leading to the liberation of all captured territories. These officers include those who worked under the administration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and those working under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
“We urge all sons and daughters of Borno State wherever they are to continually accord 100 percent support to our gallant armed forces and pray for them to succeed in their national assignment of keeping Borno safe and secured. We urge President Muhammadu Buhari to remain focused and not to be distracted in the fight against insurgency. We all Governor Kashim Shettima to continually accord complete cooperation to the Federal Government and complement the efforts of the Federal Government where necessary. We pray that peace returns to Borno, the entire northeast and Nigeria at large. May Allah bless our dear Borno State, our sons and daughters and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”


Source: http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/187850-borno-elders-want-jonathan-former-service-chiefs-tried-for-genocide.html?utm_source=&utm_medium=twitter

In 1989, Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu assembled a team of some of the best writers in Nigeria to pioneer romance journalism, a genre that explores romantic tales and relationship issues across the country.
Hints magazine, a weekly publication by Mr. Kachikwu’s True Tales Publications Limited, was an instant success in the 1990’s, especially for the youth.
On Tuesday, he was appointed the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Mr. Kachikwu, a Harvard trained lawyer, replaces Joseph Darwa as NNPC boss.
He graduated with a First Class in Law from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and the Nigerian Law School. He also had Masters and Doctorate Degrees in Law from the Harvard Law School.
Mr. Kachikwu worked as an Investment Attorney in the United States; General Counsel‎ with Texaco Upstream and Downstream in Nigeria; Executive Vice Chairman of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited; and General Counsel for ExxonMobil Nigeria affiliate Upstream and Downstream Companies in Nigeria.
In 2009, after two decades of hitting the news stand every week, True Tales Publications Limited announced that Hints magazine would become a monthly publication.
In addition to Hints magazine, Mr. Kachikwu’s media empire also comprises of Complete Fashion, Beauty Box, and Hello Nigeria.
‎In the early years of Hints magazine, Mr. Kachikwu contributed stories as well as anchored a weekly column, ‘Fatherhood with Ibe,’ where he shared with his readers his experiences as a father.
In an interview with Asabeafrika, a celebrity blog, Kayode Ajala, a former editor of Hints magazine, gave an insight into how “professional” Mr. Kachikwu was.
“As editor, I would call him to harass him that he was not meeting my deadline,” said Mr. Ajala.
“Even though he was my employer, I would tell him ‘Hey, you have two stories to give me this week and you have not done it.’ And he will rush to do it, otherwise I will make a lot of noise that he is the one slowing dowm my production.”


Source: http://www.premiumtimesng.com/features-and-interviews/187852-new-nnpc-gmd-ibe-kachikwu-is-publisher-of-romance-fashion-magazines.html

Staff of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate members of it’s own Party.

Party representatives said the Party, which is being led by its Acting National Chairman Prince Uche Secondus, amounts to little more than a house of corruption.

Party representatives made these statements during a press briefing at the National Party Headquarters in Abuja on Friday.

Detailing many crimes committed by members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Party, the workers said the NWC members collected N750m in bribes from Ndudi Elumelu with the intention of handing him Delta State governorship ticket.

They also said that the NWC have also asked the Governor of Kogi State, Wada Idris, to pay out N1bn to be included on the gubernatorial ticket for the State.

This statements are in addition to allegations that Mr. Secondus and his team wasted more than N12bn in the past nine months.


See text of press briefing:


Why NWC Must Go

Press Briefing by Staff of the National Secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the state of the Party, July 31, 2015, Wadata Plaza, Abuja


Gentlemen of the Press,

We the Staff of the National Secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have invited you here today to intimate you and through you the entire world on the grave state of affairs and the illicit manner in which the party is currently being administered.

It is no longer news that the Political Fortunes of the PDP have continued to dwindle since the coming on board of the present National Working Committee in March 2012. The Party under the current leadership of Prince Uche Secondus as Acting National Chairman and Professor Wale Oladipo as National Secretary has been systematically and deliberately dismembered and is being led to the morgue in preparation for its final burial.

Never in the glorious history of our great party has its fortunes been so hopelessly mismanaged by an inept and dishonest group whose sworn mission is to permanently destroy and liquidate the lofty organization that midwifed the current democratic dispensation.

The current National Working Committee is only hanging on because of the obscene and bizarre bazaar which they have subjected the purse of the party to.

Millions of PDP members are in great pains with the current reality of how the Party which in the recent past paraded the most decent and Nationalistic Nigerians is now being run aground by a patently incompetent and self centered sets of NWC members.

We wonder if this is the same PDP that was once led by the great Dr. Alex Ekwueme, and Chief Solomon Lar. Is it the same PDP that was led by Chief Barnabas Gemade? Is it the same Party that was once led by Audu Ogbeh and Amadu Ali? Is the party still as formidable as when it was led by Prince Vincent Eze Ogbulafor and the erudite Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo? Is it the same Party that was victoriously managed by Dr. Bello Haliru Mohammed?

In the last few days, the staff of the Secretariat were confronted by an ill digested and childish circular written by Prof. Wale Oladipo which summarily terminated their appointments.

If anybody deserves his or her appointment terminated, it is this group of fortune hunters who ruined the electoral fortunes of the party through unprecedented greed marked by extortion, graft and strange avarice.

It is curious to observe that a party which once prided itself as the biggest party in Africa could be so liquidated by such executive recklessness of its NWC members so much so that N12,000,000,000 (Twelve Billion Naira) was squandered in 9 months.

Party members will need to know why delegates were compelled to pay the sum of N10,000 (Ten Thousand Naira) each into a private account of a company called MORUFI NIG. LTD. We are aware that over N1,000,000,000 (One Billion Naira) was realized from this fraudulent exercise.

Why did the NWC compel Party members to pay sums into a company account rather than the usual party account in the same Zenith Bank?

As part of their agenda to ridicule and crumble the party, legitimate bills owed to media houses, contractors and even cleaners have not been paid till date. Most Party members who conducted congresses and primaries that generated these huge sums have also not been paid.

Will over twelve million members of PDP believe that even as we address this press conference, the NWC are still using party finances to fund frivolous personal expenses such as weddings, naming ceremonies, funerals etc to the tunes of hundreds of millions naira.

Because of these ceaseless acts of recklessness and palpable fear for their fate, they have refused to summon a meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) since the Party lost in the last elections. Shouldn't any organization with a responsible leadership call for a NEC meeting for an appraisal of what transpired months after we lost elections?

Several factors have been adduced as the reasons why the party performed so poorly in the last general elections. We make bold to say that responsibility for the abysmal outing of the party should be located directly at the doorstep of the NWC members due to the following reasons:-


i. Criminal imposition of unpopular candidates;

ii. Mind boggling extortion of aspirants. An example here is the yet to be resolved allegation by Ndudi Godwin Elumelu who paid whopping N750,000,000 (Seven Hundred and Fifty Million Naira) to the NWC to obtain the gubernatorial ticket of the party in Delta State. There are many other victims.

iii. Appointment of incompetent cronies who were specifically detailed to return unpopular candidates as officers in congresses and primaries. The same scenario is being play out in Kogi while Baylsa is in the wings.

In Kogi, it is widely alleged that the incumbent Governor was requested to cough out the sum of N1,000,000,000 (One Billion Naira) to the same NWC to retain his ticket.

iv. Non remittance of campaign funds to state chapters

v. Results submitted by Congress Committees were blatantly changed;

vi. Wholesome embezzlement of proceeds of sales of nomination forms;


How on earth will any political party undergo this level of tortuous mismanagement and expect to win elections?

These among others are some of the questions the staff of the PDP National Secretariat are asking for which their heads are being demanded by the NWC.

In view of the incontrovertible fact that the current National Working Committee has lost relevance and direction and has proven grossly incompetent of leading the party out of the present quagmire. We demand their immediate resignation.

We are surprised that while the former National Chairman, Ahmadu Adamu Muazu resigned, these harbingers of political ill-fate are still hanging on to celebrate over the misfortunes of the Party.

Nigerians will recall that in the United Kingdom, leaders of Labour and Liberal Democrats resigned honourably following the loss of their parties in the 2015 BritishParliamentary Elections. What is the PDP NWC still waiting for? To hang on and further scavenge on the party? This must stop.

We demand that the Publicity Secretary who claimed that staff of the PDP have lost touch with the state chapters withdraws the statement unconditionally. We have evidence to show that the same person who made this allegation lost woefully in his ward and polling booth in the November 16, 2013 governorship election in Anambra State where he openly campaigned for and supported the candidate of APGA against the PDP. He again lost his ward and polling booth in the state Assembly elections of April 11, 2015.

We appeal to the Board of Trustees, the National Caucus and other members of the National Executive Committee to invoke relevant sections of the Party constitution to call for a meeting of NEC since the NWC is reluctant to do so. A stitch in time saves nine.

We also call on the anti-graft agencies such as the EFCC, the Police, and ICPC to beam their searchlight on the nefarious activities of the PDP NWC before they finally take the party to the grave yard.

We demand that the National Secretary and his co-travelers in the NWC unconditionally withdraw their sadistic circular and adhere strictly to the provisions of the establishment manual should they no longer require our services.


Conclusion

Gentlemen of the press, We wish to reiterate that the greater number of members of staff has spent over 16 years working and building the PDP. We therefore remain loyal staff, loyal party members and stakeholders who are committed to retrieve the founding vision of our great party.

Thank you.


Signed:

Ngozi Nzeh Dan Ochu-Baiye

Chairman Secretary

PDP Staff Welfare PDP Staff Welfare


Source: http://saharareporters.com/2015/07/31/pdp-staff-ask-efcc-investigate-party-leadership

President Muhammadu Buhari believes Nigeria does not need foreign aid if the world powers can help her plug all the loopholes that had been used by government officials to steal her assets. A Presidency official on Buhari’s four-day visit to the United States (US), which ended on Wednesday, quoted the President, yesterday, as telling US officials that Nigeria has the resources to stand on her feet, and that the world powers should help her. In the meantime, Nigeria is to draw down investments and cash worth $13.6 billion following negotiations and understanding reached by Buhari with the American government during the visit, Sunday Vanguard learnt, yesterday.

“Buhari did not go to the US with a begging bowl. We don’t need foreign aid, he told everyone, so long as the world powers can help us plug all the loopholes that had been used to steal our assets,” Mallam Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to President Buhari on Publicity, disclosed to Sunday Vanguard.The President met with US President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, among many other top functionaries, during the visit. Whereas the President said, during the visit, that about $150 billion is stolen annually from Nigeria and many other African countries, the Presidency official said, ”Americans hold the view that between $10 billion and $20 billion dollars is lost annually through the crude oil sector alone.
” He quoted his boss as saying: ”There is no organisation or government (across the world) that can give us (Nigeria) $5 billion. If we plug our loopholes and recover stolen money stashed abroad, Nigeria will do well by herself.” -

A breakdown of the $13.6 billion earmarked for Nigeria, courtesy of the Buhari US visit, shows that $5 billion is coming for investments in the power sector, another $5 billion is to fund investments in the agricultural sector, $1.5 billion is from the Bill Gates Foundation while $2.1 billion is being provided by the World Bank. Of particular interest is the discovery that the huge sums being brought for investments into the country, according to the Presidency official, attract no counterpart funding. Similarly, in its efforts to assist Nigeria eradicate polio, the Bill Gates Foundation, which is revving its support with additional $1.2 billion, is extending its areas of coverage to four more states – Kaduna, Sokoto, Borno and Yobe. The Senior Special Assistant to the President described Buhari’s outing in the U.S as a monumental success.

According to him, no Nigerian leader ever achieved that kind of success in one visit. Shehu said: ” From our point of view, no past President of this country has ever netted these for Nigeria from a single U.S. trip. Overall, it is a resounding success. “The clamour for President Buhari was astounding. He was gone after by every member of the United States establishment. He met Secretary of State John Kerry, Vice President Joe Biden and the President of the United States, Barack Obama. “I am not sure there was any past Nigerian President who met as many a number of Secretaries of U.S. Departments as Buhari did and, in all of these meetings, the personal integrity of President Buhari came through.” -


Source: http://citifmonline.com/2015/07/27/we-dont-need-foreign-aid-buhari/#sthash.03q0WnA1.004aXg6U.dpuf

Despite elaborate efforts to sweep it under the carpet, facts have shown that a strategic alliance agreement between the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) and Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria Limited Limited (AEDCNL) has helped parties in the agreement to swindle the country. After wide-ranging investigations, Assistant Editor ADEKUNLE YUSUF uncovers the details of the deal that set back the country by about $2b.

It is an adventure laced with shoddiness. That perhaps is the most fitting silhouette for the Strategic Alliance Agreement (SAA) between the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) and Atlantic Energy Drilling Concept Nigeria Limited. From all available documentary evidence, the SAA, which paved the way for Atlantic Energy to operate some oil blocks during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, has left the country short-changed of about $2billion, excluding hundreds of millions of dollars as bank loans and money owed to workers and contractors. After four years of the alliance, everything suggests that NPDC and Atlantic Energy owe Nigerians a lot of explanations regarding how some oil blocks – OMLs 26, 30, 34, 42, 60, 61, 62 and 63 – were handled between 2011 and 2014, including outright theft of proceeds from all the millions of barrels of crude oil lifted during in the four years.

A portfolio company

Like a well-choreographed movie, it all started on a measured pace. On July 19, 2010, Atlantic Energy Drilling Concept Limited (AEDCNL) was incorporated as a portfolio company. That was barely three months after Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, former Minister of Petroleum Resources, assumed office after her redeployment from Mines and Steel Development Ministry. Curiously, the company changed its name to Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria Limited (AEDCNL) on October 27, 2011. However, Atlantic Energy, even without prior record of successful experience in the oil and gas sector, announced that it had entered into a Strategic Alliance Agreement (SAA) with the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) in April 2011. That was exactly six months before AEDCNL was legally born. In a capsule, the company that claimed to have signed the SAA with NPDC was not legally in existence when the deal was shoddily consummated in April 2011. As unknown portfolio company, Atlantic Energy was operating from a temporary office accommodation before it opened office in 2012 at 32a Adetokunbo Ademola Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, after the NPDC fortune had smiled on it. With the NPDC contract in its kitty, Atlantic Energy embarked on a massive recruitment exercise, poaching good hands in the oil industry, which it used to actualise its planned scheme to play big in Nigeria’s highly shady oil and gas sector.

But all that never dissuaded partners in the deal from embarking on a hot business romance at the expense of the country. The SAA covered 4 Oil blocks: OML 26 – FHN; OML 30 Shoreline; OML 34 – Niger Delta Oil, and OML 42 Neconde, all sold by Shell /Agip and Total. It was obvious that the NPDC granted the SAA in absolute secrecy without following any due process as stipulated in the government procurement laws and policy. With the sale of the four oil blocks, in which the Federal Government owns 55 per cent, the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), which oversees national investments in Joint Venture Companies (JVCs), Production Sharing Companies (PSCs), and Services and Services Contract Companies (SCs), transferred the ownership to NPDC as the upstream producing arm of the NNPC. Although the NPDC should have paid NAPIMS a signature bonus, no payment was made, leading to a loss of asset by the federation and loss of revenue that should have accrued to national coffers. This was confirmed by the recent PwC audit report, which audited remittances from NNPC to the Federation Account after the allegations by Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) who is now the emir of Kano. The audit findings showed that remittances into the Federation Account were not up to date.

An unholy alliance?

The SAA is to enable Atlantic Energy provide fund and technical services and lift oil. Being a funding mechanism, the SAA is meant to enable the owner (NPDC) to accept its strategic partner (Atlantic Energy) to partake in the production sharing of the oil field at a fee called signature bonus, while the strategic partner is expected in return to fund the operations and provide technical support so that it can be reimbursed directly from the production in subsequent periods. Although a good idea that is said to be critical to the survival of the country’s oil and gas industry, the SAA was obviously not managed in the national interest, for it has helped parties in the deal to embark on a stealing spree of public fund after production liftings.

Up till now, industry watchers are still in a shock over how NPDC, which is peopled with some of the best engineers and technical experts, granted the SAA to a company that paraded no track record of requisite experience in the sector – all without following any process as stipulated in the government procurement laws and policy. Besides documentary evidence, findings within the sector showed that the deal was an unholy arrangement between Alison-Madueke, top NPDC officials and the duo of Kola Aluko, who is a known business ally of the ex-Minister, and Jide Omokore, a controversial business mogul who is a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stalwart, financier and kingmaker to some governors as well as many senators and members in the House of Representatives. Aluko and Mrs Alison-Madueke have denied any business ties.

NewTable New1Of the two promoters of Atlantic Energy, Omokore had no easily traceable previous experience in the oil and gas industry, while Aluko had.

However, drawing on its connections in high places, Atlantic Energy swung into plum business, having won the hearts of those at the helms of affairs – from the ministry and the Presidency. As contained in the SAA document, Atlantic Energy was supposed to pay a signature bonus of $245 million to NPDC, but it ended up paying $135 million – no thanks to legal terminology and simple mathematics that only parties in the deal could explain. The balance was remitted to the account of unknown people.


What should have gone to Nigeria
Inside the raw deals

Atlantic Energy approached two Nigerian banks for loans. Going by the books of Atlantic Energy, the loans were meant for the payment of signature bonus and cash calls to NPDC. Therefore, in 2011, it took a loan of $490million, with First Bank contributing $370million and Skye Bank $120million. At the beginning of the deal, Atlantic Energy actually paid the signature bonus of $135 and cash calls of $68 to NPDC from the loan, totalling $203 million out of $490million lifeline provided by the two banks.

But another weighty, if not damning evidence that was to expose the shoddiness of the SAA came in the early life of the deal. In 2011, shortly after securing the juicy contract, it was NPDC that lifted crude oil (947,096 barrels) on behalf of Atlantic Energy and remitted $102m into the coffers of its strategic partner; instead of Atlantic Energy to lift oil and remit proceeds. Why? It was because Atlantic Energy, a mere portfolio company at the time it was handed the sweetheart contract, was still too new and untested to even secure an export permit for such a venture as at the time, thus showing the level of involvement of the top echelons of the Petroleum Ministry and NPDC officials.

A detailed scrutiny of the cash calls schedules and other papers also showed that the plundering galore continued till 2012 and 2013. For example, in 2012 alone, Atlantic Energy paid cash calls worth $168m, but lifted crude oil of about 3million barrels valued, conservatively at over $350 million. Despite the differentials in remittances, NPDC continued to look the other way as Atlantic Energy lifted about 2million barrels of crude oil in 2013, valued at about $240million, but paid cash calls of $68million. In 2014, records also revealed that Atlantic Energy paid zero cash calls and lifted about 500,000 barrels of crude oil, valued at $54 million, with all the funs siphoned abroad as payments for vendors sources say are phony.

Table2Again, the promoters incorporated the Atlantic Brass Development Company Limited on February 5, 2013. As usual, it was hurriedly granted another set of SAA. The SAA covered another set of 4 blocks: OML – 60; OML – 61; OML – 62; OML – 63. Unlike in the previous deals in 2011 and 2012, when it paid a fraction of obligatory funds, the company simply pocketed all the proceeds, paying pay no signature bonus or any cash calls at all despite lifting about 8 million barrels of crude oil, valued at $800 million at the time. Instead various amounts of money were transferred to the accounts and investment companies in UK, Dubai and Switzerland. They also opened mirror accounts of Atlantic Energy Brass in the UK and Switzerland (see the table on foreign accounts).

However, with the fall of the administration of Jonathan, the chicken seemed to have come home to roost, as the NPDC, which seemed to have condoned all the infractions of its strategic partner, has suddenly woken from slumber. In a letter from NPDC, dated May 6, Atlantic Energy was asked to pay its outstanding indebtedness OMLs 26, 30, 34, and 42, totalling $573,668,090 (five hundred and seventy three million, six hundred and sixty eight thousand, ninety dollars).

“This is to inform you that we have not yet received any payment on outstanding cash call obligations after our reconciliation sign-off, dated August 28, last year. Kindly remit the sum of $573,668,090 (five hundred and seventy three million, six hundred and sixty eight thousand, ninety dollars) only, being amount due to OMLs 26, 30, 34, and 42,” said the NPDC.

An analysis of the reconciliation sheet revealed that the $573,668,090 was just a fraction of the cash calls, as some huge returns that were yet to be subjected to technical and financials by the two parties were not included.

But the bad state of finances on OMLs 26, 30, 34, and 42 paled when compared with that on OMLs 60, 61, 62 and 63 where Atlantic Energy owes NPDC a staggering $1,250,644,474.54 (one billion, two hundred and fifty million, six hundred and forty four thousand, four hundred and seventy four dollars).



“This is to inform you that we have not yet received any payment outstanding cash call obligations after our reconciliation sign-off, dated August 28, 2014. Kindly remit the sum of $1,250,644,474.54 (one billion, two hundred and fifty million, six hundred and forty four thousand, four hundred and seventy four dollars) only, being amount due on OMLs 60, 61, 62 and 63,” the letter said.

Atlantic Energy has also defaulted on the bank loans from First Bank Plc and Skye Bank. Instead of moving the proceeds of the liftings to the two banks to repay the loans and pay the obligatory cash calls, Atlantic Energy has transferred the funds through various related party companies. As at now, the loans have not been paid while the mounting interest element is also long overdue.

In a letter from Skye Bank, dated April 10, Atlantic Energy was reminded of repayment its outstanding obligations ($39,232,428.16) on the $120 million loan facility it took from the bank.

“Kindly refer to our various correspondence and discussions regarding your outstanding obligations on the above subject facility ($120 million). This is to remind you that the total sum of $39,232,428.16 plus accrued interest is past overdue for payment on your facility,” the letter said.

The letter was signed by Tutu Alu, manager, corporate banking group, and Tosin Faniro-Dada, relationship officer, corporate banking group.

Another letter from First Bank, dated February 20, tacitly refused a request from Atlantic Energy seeking to restructure the loan facilities it has received from the bank, hinging it on some stringent conditions.

“We refer to the meeting held on 19th February 2015 and your request for a restructure of your facilities coupled with lenders’ consent to change the ownership structure of Atlantic Energy. We wish to state that, even as we are mindful of the set timeline, we are constrained to progress your request further until we receive the following documents: (1) copy of the executed NPDC/Atlantic Energy reconciliation, (2) copy of executed NPDC repayment plan, (3) addendum to the SAA, (4) NPDC consent to the restructure of the company.”

The FBN letter also included the following conditions that must be met before considering Atlantic Energy’s request: “provision of standby Letter of LC to secure crude oil liftings, and payment of all overdue obligations, coupled with the injection of $100 million to reduce exposure to lenders.”

The letter was signed by Deji Abisola, business manager, corporate banking group (energy and utilities), and Jide Ayeronwi, group head, corporate banking group, (energy and utilities).

Also, in spite of the billions of dollars it has enjoyed over the years, Atlantic Energy has not filed its accounts with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) as stipulated by law. Using an influential lawyer, who sources said is the company’s legal backbone, Atlantic Energy has continued to hold on to the legal advice that it is not liable to tax.

In a letter from FIRS, dated February 17 , Atlantic Energy was warned of the consequences of its refusal to submit the accounts and returns within the next ten days. It was signed by the duo of Okeowo Taiwo, and Ocheja E.F., FIRS’ manager (tax) and deputy manger (tax) respectively.

It reads: “It is worrisome to note that we are yet to receive the draft accounts/returns as promised. Let me remind you that the accounts/returns are long overdue for submission. You are advised to submit the accounts/returns within 10 days from the date of receiving this letter, failing which FIRS shall enforce compliance with the relevant tax laws.”

Transfers, cash withdrawals

Sadly, a company that could not meet its financial obligations was on a spending binge, with its directors living ostentatiously (owing private jets and armoured jeeps) and transferring huge sums – sometimes in billions and millions of naira and dollars – into accounts of both local and foreign organizations. And if the local transfers raised some red flags, so were the numerous transfers of millions to foreign accounts (see a table on foreign accounts) of Expedia Marine Company Limited, Energy Property Development Ltd, Petrochemicals Offshore, SPOG Petrochemicals Limited, Premium Aviation Services Ltd, Ibalex Nigeria Limited, and numerous others, where funds were paid at different times.

Interestingly, Atlantic Energy is enmeshed in huge debts – albeit self-imposed. But it seems the embattled company is not ready to go down alone. Not only has it closed its office, it also did not pay its staff for more than one year. It has equally defaulted in the payment of workers’ pension and PAYEs, leading to a mass resignation crisis that swept the company even before it closed its shop recently. Even business partners were not left out, as Atlantic Energy, which kept booking flight tickets and enjoying services from international and reputable companies, did not meet its obligations to its numerous clients, wrecking havoc on several businesses. Now, Atlantic Energy owes NPDC about $2billion, banks $550million, workers $5million, and other vendors $20million. This explains why the banks as well as NPDC appear helpless, as Atlantic Energy is frantically looking for investors to buy the company and the massive debts to boot.

The Nation learnt that the promoters of Atlantic Energy are negotiating a soft-landing with some people that are very close to the corridors of power with a view to refunding a paltry amount. Their stratagem is to sway the new administration to avoid the “unnecessary controversies” that a probe may generate so that they can be asked to go and sin no more. As part of a grand strategy to achieve their objective, some foot soldiers have been enlisted, including some highly-placed Nigerians, to reach out to President Muhammadu Buhari to strike a deal on their behalf, fearing that any inquiry into the books of NPDC and other agencies in the highly opaque oil and gas sector will most likely unearth a can of worms. Will President Buhari, who is widely revered as an incorruptible man, allow them to walk away free after what seems like clear financial crimes against the country? Time will tell.

Source: http://saharareporters.com/2015/07/27/between-diezani-jide-omokore-and-kola-aluko-inside-oil-deals-cost-nigeria-billions

Whynotthetruth:
And what have you achieved to ridicule and prophesy about others?...Can we Google your lineage?

Like seriously, anyways, i am not yet on google but you will soon hear about me.. Not in bad though

An explosion has occurred at a church in Jos, Plateau State.
The explosion occurred at ECWA church in Tudunwa, Angwan yashi, near the Federal Secretariat in Jos, Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau on Sunday.
A witness near the church said the noise from the “massive” explosion was very loud and that the casualty might be high as worshippers were at the church for the Sunday service.
The explosion occured one week after a similar explosion at a Redeemed Church in Yobe State claimed many lives.
The police spokesperson in Plateau could not be reached for comments as of the time of the report.
Details later…


Source: http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/186525-breaking-explosion-rocks-church-in-jos.html

After spending 72 hours with his two sons in Kano Central Prison, immediate past governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, has imputed political motives to his incarceration.

According to the former governor, he is being persecuted by those who feel that they would not be able to actualise their presidential ambition with him around the political arena.
Lamido, who spoke exclusively to Sunday Vanguard through his media aide, Umar Kyari, yesterday, drew the attention of Nigerians and the international community to the attempt being made by those he called “my political enemies” to silence him using the instrumentality of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Lamido pointed out that it was clear from the outset that there was a grand design to put him away in prison for a long time under the guise of money laundering and sundry charges so as to pave the way for his political enemies to have their way.
The former governor, whose many supporters relocated to the Kano Central Prison where they kept vigil over him and his two sons, said he was determined to prove to Nigerians that he was innocent but was merely being witch-hunted by those who feel threatened by his rising political profile.

Lamido’s spokesman said: “This current effort to frame and denigrate the former governor of Jigawa State with a view to rubbishing his high performance in office will come to naught at the end of the day.
“Lamido remains nothing but a scion of accountability and integrity who has always fought on the side of the people, particularly the downtrodden and the vulnerable, since he came into the national political scene.

“He remains unshaken over the trumped-up charges slammed on him by the EFCC knowing that he has not committed any offense to warrant being thrown into the prison over a bailable offense.

“But the refusal by his traducers to grant him and his sons bail when others charged same day and time for even more grievous offences were admitted to bail speaks volume of the intention and mindset of those who are after him.

“Nonetheless, Sule Lamido strongly believes that, after being imprisoned several times all in a bid to pave the way for sustained democracy in Nigeria, the current effort by the EFCC and others to humiliate him and his family over the so-called money laundering charges will not break his resolve to continue to fight on the side of the people.

“It is Lamido’s strong belief that having not committed any offense against the state to warrant being sent to prison, he and his two sons will be freed and vindicated against the wicked plot of their adversaries”.

Meanwhile, Lamido is said to have been overwhelmed by the large number of friends and well wishers from across Nigeria who have thronged the prison to show solidarity with him and his two sons.



A close source at the prison told Sunday Vanguard that Lamido was jolted by the show of love and solidarity that he shed what the source described as “tears of joy” on Friday.

The former governor reportedly came out on Friday afternoon in one of his best attires to the office of the prison controller with a view to getting close to all those who had thronged the prison yard to see him.

Sunday Vanguard learnt last night that Lamido and sons were likely to be admitted to bail tomorrow (Monday) as a vacation judge was most likely to hear their bail application on that day.

A source said Lamido’s associates had already prepared in many ways to meet whatever conditions the judge might stipulate for their release from prison pending the hearing of the case in September.

Lamido and his two sons, according to the charge sheet of the EFCC after what the anti-graft agency described as a thorough investigation, alleged during the arraignment of the accused persons at a Federal High Court sitting in Kano, that they laundered N1.35 billion.

They were slammed with a 28-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust.

The trial judge, Justice Evelyn Anyadike, adjourned the case till September 28 while ordering that the suspects be remanded in Kano Prison.

Anyadike, however, ruled that the case will be handed over to a vacation judge to listen to the accused persons bail application while the judiciary goes on vacation today.

Source http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/07/lamido-cries-out-from-prison-im-being-persecuted-over-2019-presidency/#sthash.40KI80Jp.dpuf

Barcanista and GEJ - Butter and Bread


GEJ has gone at least for now. Do you mean because he is no more there, Nigeria shouldn't move forward?


I bet you can never be a class captain talkless of family leader.

There have been a lot of deadly boko haram attacks in the north for two months now and more than 400 Nigerians have been killed within this time. This is a ‘disaster’

A lot of people in the north do not feel safe in their worship places. They don’t feel safe at home or at work and they don’t even feel safe when they go out to the streets. For how long will people keep living this way and what is government doing to stop this massacre?

President Buhari’s spokesman Femi Adesina, said last week that the government will consider negotiating with the terrorists in order to end the attacks.

He said: “Most wars, however furious or vicious, often end around the negotiation table. So if boko haram opts for negotiation, the government will not be averse to it. Government will, however, not be negotiating from a position of weakness but that of strength”.

Is this the way to go about solving this problem? Should the government negotiate with the boko haram and will this stop the bloodshed?

A case in point is the Niger Delta militancy that happened about 10 years ago. A group rose up and started to kidnap expatriates and bomb oil facilities to provoke government to address the problems in the region.

The crisis cost the government a lot of money because it disrupted oil supply, and although the government fought the militants at first under Obasanjo, it backed down and sued for peace later when Late Yar’Adua was president. Yar’Adua offered the militants an amnesty deal and they surrendered, and soon the crisis was finished.

That crisis is pretty different from what is happening now in the north, because the Delta militants were apparently fighting for a cause that people believed in. But boko haram is not like that. These terrorists are killing people to destabilise the government and seize control so they can cause more ruin.

People are getting killed in the north because the government has not been able to win its fight against the insurgents. So if a peace talk will end this frequent bloodshed, a lot of Nigerians (especially those in the danger zones) will be happy with the government on that.

Boko Haram has killed over 20,000 Nigerians till date and it still keeps killing people. Negotiating with these criminals will be a disappointment to many Nigerians who voted for this current president, because they believed he would lead the army to crush the boko haram.

More so, last year, reports came up that the boko haram had decided to negotiate with the government and hammer out a deal. The so called peace talk received some hype and there were positive expectations while it presumably lasted. But it turned to be a complete sham.

There were no peace talks and the terrorists began pounding the north again soon after the whole thing ended. Nigerians will be gutted to see a repeat of that under President Buhari. They have put too much faith in this administration to accept anything short of victory against these rouges.

The boko haram apparently is not interested in making a deal with the government anyway, so the president’s spokesman was just being hypothetical. However, what we now know is that these terrorists are not out to negotiate peace. They just want to go on killing and destroying.

It would be recalled that just recently, the dreaded sect has offered to release the kidnapped Chibok girls, in exchange for the militant leaders held by the government.



Source: http://www.naij.com/485977-should-buhari-negotiate-with-boko-haram.html

*** REVEALED: “In three years, NNPC generated N8.1 trn, gave Nigeria N4.3 trn, pocketed the balance”


The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, generated about N8.1trillion between 2012 and May 2015, but paid only N4.3trillion to the federation account, Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, said Monday, citing new details from the federal economic council meeting.
The balance of the oil money — about N3.8trillion — was withheld and spent by the NNPC unilaterally without approval or National Assembly appropriation, the governor told journalists.
Also, the governor confirmed at the meeting that from November 2014, about $2.1billion was withdrawn from the excess crude account without the approval of the National Economic Council, NEC.
Mr. Oshiomhole, who, alongside the governors of Kaduna state governor, Nasir El-Rufai, and Zamfara governor, Abdulazeez Yari, briefed journalists, said following the discovery, the NEC has set up a four-member committee to comb the books of the NNPC to confirm its remittances and how the excess crude account was utilised.
President Muhammadu Buhari dissolved the board of the NNPC on Friday, to pave way for full investigation of the corporation.
Mr. Oshiomhole said Monday’s meeting was the first time the NNPC and the office of the Accountant General of the Federation, briefed the National Economic Council, as directed by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The governor said Mr. Buhari “compelled” the NNPC to provide information in “black and white” on issues relating to the total sales of Nigeria’s crude oil from 2012 to May 2015.
“This has never happened before and for us this is profound. We are talking about transparency, we are talking about change. And what we saw from those numbers I believe that Nigerians are entitled to know, is that whereas the NNPC claimed to have earned N8.1 trillion, what NNPC paid into the federation account from 2012 to May 2015 was N4.3trillion.
“What it means is that NNPC withheld and spent N3.8 trillion.
“The major revelation here is that for the entire federation — that is the federal government, the states and all the 774 local governments — the amount the NNPC paid into the federation account for distribution to this three tiers of government came to N4.3 trillion and NNPC alone took and spent N3.8 trillion. Which means the cost of running NNPC is much more than the cost of running the Federal Government. That tells you how much is missing, what is mismanaged, what is stolen, they are huge figures.”
He said it had become clear that the NNPC had not respected the Constitution on how government money should be spent.
“If NNPC needs to spend money, it is obliged to prepare its budget like every other business
enterprise. That budget will be scrutinized by the executive and forwarded to the National Assembly and the National Assembly will accordingly appropriate it.
“If the federal government cannot spend without appropriation, why should any agency spend without appropriation?”
Mr. Oshiomhole said President Buhari promised that henceforth, all monies must go to the federation account.
“What you need you budget for, Nigeria cannot continue with you earn the money and spend it. Where is transparency? Where is the role of the National Assembly? So if you were doing that you won’t have a situation where the NNPC alone will spend N3.8 trillion and remit to the federal, states and local governments N4.3 trillion which means NNPC is taking about 47 per cent and that explains all the leakages you are talking about.”
He said parastatals must return to spending on a budget.
“We are not reinventing the wheel, that is the way it used to be and that is the way the constitution says it should”

EXCESS CRUDE ACCOUNT
The Edo governor also disclosed $2.1 billion was withdrawn from $4.1 billion reported to be in the excess crude account as at November 2014 without the approval of the National Economic Council (NEC). The account now has $2.0bilion.
“We looked at the numbers for the Excess crude account, the last time the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy reported to the Council and it is in the minute, she reported by November 2014, that we had $4.1 billion.
“But today the Accountant General Office reported we have $2.0 billion. Which means the Honourable Minister spent $2.1billion without authority of the NEC. And that money was not distributed to states, it was not paid to the three tiers of government. This is why the NEC has set up a panel to look at what accrued, what it was spent for, when and by whom. So that Nigerians will have the full picture of all the transactions as regards the much talked about Excess crude,” Mr. Oshiomhole said.
The four-member committee, which consists of the governors of Edo, Gombe, Kaduna and Akwa Ibom states.
Explaining further, Kaduna State Governor, Mr. El-Rufai, noted that the Federal Government had in the last year been unilaterally withdrawing from the excess crude account without consulting the other owners.
According to him “The Excess Crude account was started by President Olusegun Obasanjo around
2004-2005.
“It was an administrative arrangement to save for a rainy day. And it was meant to have very clear accountability such that every state and local government, in a particular state knows their balance in the Excess Crude Account, though you can’t spend it but you know how much of it is yours.
“That was the arrangement. And in those days, before we spend any money from the Excess Crude Account, the federal and states governments will meet and agree. That is how we agreed to build the seven power stations which is NIPP today, it was from Excess Crude Account. And we also met and agreed to build the Lagos – Kano Standard Gauge Rail Line from the Excess Crude Account.
“But what we have seen, in the last few months or years is that the Excess Crude Account was operated unilaterally by the federal government, drawings were made unilaterally without consulting those that actually own the money because the Excess Crude Account is 52 percent owned by the federal government and 48 by the states and LGA.
“So the decision of the NEC is to set up this committee of four to look at the operations of the Excess Crude Account and make recommendations to council on its future.
“The other thing the committee will do is to look at the operations of the federation accounts particularly the shortfall and again come back to council with very clear recommendations as to what to do.
“We have not been given a time frame but as you can imagine states government are under pressure, many of our state governments are unable to pay salaries on time without recourse to borrowing, so this is very important to us. This is an all governors committee, we wear the shoes we know where it pinches. So we are going to do this as quickly as possible,” he said.
The Council’s next meeting of the council is on July 23rd, and Mr. El- Rufai said he hopes the committee will complete its work and be in position to report to council on that day.
Zamfara governor, Abdulazeez Yari, said the council also agreed that the Federal Government in conjunction with the Central Bank, will see how to support financially ailing states.


Source: http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/185838-revealed-in-three-years-nnpc-generated-n8-1-trn-gave-nigeria-n4-3-trn-pocketed-the-balance.html

The Nigerian police says the British High Commission in Nigeria has confirmed that Senator Buruji Kashamu was arrested and tried in a United Kingdom criminal court.

In a statement issued on Thursday by the Police Public Relations Officer, CP Emmanuel Ojukwu, in Abuja, the police said there was enquiry concerning the status of Kashamu’s legal battles in the United Kingdom and United States.
The statement partly reads on PM news,: “The police, thereafter, sought relevant clarifications from the British High Commission.

“The commission confirmed that Kashamu was indeed arrested and tried in the United Kingdom criminal court. But the court was not satisfied that Kashamu had a case to answer.”
The police however stressed that the commission’s clarification insisted that the extradition request by United States’ relevant departments, and agencies of government in Nigeria be accepted and carried out.
The statement, PM News reports was issued in connection to the extradition battles of Kashamu with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.
Last month, the NDLEA had invaded Kashamu’s home in Lekki with plans to extradite him to the US in order to face drug offences in the US District Court in Chicago, Illinois being presided over by Judge Richard Charles Norgle.
Kashamu was under house arrest for some days until Justice Ibrahim Buba ordered the NDLEA officials to vacate his home.
A Federal High Court in Lagos state ruled that the NDLEA warrant of arrest is now being null and void, saying the agency can’t go after Kashamu.


Source: http://www.informationng.com/?p=299563