₦airaland Forum

xstry:
What is UPP,
UDP
? Can it be measured with KOWA?

xstry:
by candidates, did you mean nobodies from apga that end up giving their support to pdp politicians from the north?

xstry:
2015

They are:
President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),

General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC),

Prof. Comfort Oluremi Sonaiya of Kowa Party,

Ambrose Albert of Hope Democratic Party,

Ganiyu Galadima of Allied Congress Party of Nigeria,

Rafiu Salau of Alliance for Democracy,

Godson Okoye of United Democratic Party,

Dr. Nani Ibrahim Ahmad of African Democratic Congress,

Martin Onovo of National Conscience Party,

Tunde Anifowoshe-Kelani of Action Alliance, and

Chekwas Okorie of United Progressive Party.

xstry:
the more important question is how many igbos have contested for Nigerian President, they are always crying marginalization yet they refuse to provide candidates when it's time for election.

Davifeghe:
Please someone should tells me the opposite of sorry

messenger4891:
hmmm!!

A three-time member of the House of Representatives, Ehiogie West-Idahosa, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari, to discuss and negotiate the Biafran question with the supreme leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, warning that suppressing alternative views in the name of enforcing the law makes them more dangerous.

He made the call in Abuja while addressing the media on the issue of disrespect for the rule of law exhibited by the Buhari-led government.

West-Idahosa said that based on the situation Nigerians find themselves today, the question of Biafra cannot be forced away; stressing that the right to self-determination is a universal phenomenon that must be respected.

He noted that if the agitation was an issue of involvement and inclusion in mainstream government of Nigeria, it should be negotiated and discussed.

The lawmaker expressed fears that the spate of crippling arrests and detention of authority views that oppose some policies of the Buhari administration would spell doom for Nigeria’s democracy.

He cautioned the federal government against operating democracy using a Nazi-like form of approach which aims at oppressing citizens who make social commentaries out of public concern.

West-Idahosa urged the President to accept the reality that in democracy there must be civility towards the citizens and order a policy reversal on the suppression of opposition voices; adding that it does not take long before the credibility and integrity upon which Nigerians voted him would become eroded.

He said: “For the kind of situation we find ourselves, I think the Biafra question cannot be forced away from the table. It must be discussed. It must be negotiated. The right to self-determination is a universal phenomenon. It must be negotiated.

“And, as those two eminent Nigerians said, not all Igbo men and women agree with IPOB. A few may agree with them. But the thing is that you don’t suppress
views by dragging it on the ground. You make them more dangerous. I think you should put this on the table and discuss the issues

“If it is a question of involvement and inclusion, then you have to agree on that.

“I’m sorry to say that I also entertain the fear that there is a crippling intervention of suppression of authority views and this is very sad for our country.

“When you do find the number of persons in detention for making comments – social commentaries that I believe are founded on public concerns, and the fact that the methodology used by the DSS in carrying out its duties is becoming a matter of concern.

“You don’t keep people in underground cell; you don’t avail them the opportunity of speaking to their lawyer; you don’t charge them within the requirements of the law; and, you keep them under inhuman conditions.

“This is worrisome and very antagonistic to democracy. You cannot operate democracy and at the same time operate a Nazi-like form of approach in suppressing those who do not agree with you.

“I think they need a policy reversal on this suppression. That have to accept the reality that in democracy there must be civility towards the citizens, and so you cannot continue to oppress you own citizens in the name of trying to enforce the law and you cannot illegally implement the provisions of the law.

“Once you go outside the law, you lose your moral high ground you resort to self-help against all known decorum. So, I think that they have very limited time left to tow the path of honour. It doesn’t take so much for that credibility to be eroded.”

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

Sen. Garba Marafa, Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum Downstream, on Thursday said total deregulation of petroleum downstream sector remained the best option to salvage the nation’s economy.


Marafa stated this in an interview with the newsmen on the sidelines of ongoing 16th Nigeria Oil and Gas conference in Abuja.


He said that the Senate had consented and moved for total deregulation of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol.

According to him, total deregulation is the solution and the 8th Senate is determined to give Nigerians a direction in the downstream and curb the corruption in the sector.


“We are addressing the governance aspect of the Petroleum Industry and Governance Bill (PIGB) because we know that PIGB will address the challenges confronting total deregulation of the downstream sector.


“ We have assured Nigerians that the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill will be passed latest in March. The Bill will by the end of March go through third reading.


“The Bill seeks to address all governance-related issues in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
“Once a bill gets to third reading, it is as good as passed. We are expecting the bill to be passed in March or latest by April,’’ he said.


The lawmaker said that the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) would be made stronger in order to regulate effectively.


He said that failure of the downstream sector necessitated introduction of PIGB, but regretted that the bill was not treated properly in the National Assembly for several years.


“This assembly is determined to pass it and it will be passed latest, by next month (April). We will later look at the fiscal terms and community issues.’’


According to him, President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, took it upon himself to ensure that the bill is passed this year. As a nation, we have to make deliberate and cautious decision on what we want as a people.


The committee chairman said that the Senate has ordered investigation into subsidy claims, because there were allegations that Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had collected over N5 trillion as subsidy claim from 2006 to date.



“The civil society and labour unions should frown against subsidy regime and embrace total deregulation.


“ If you combine NNPC and marketers’ subsidy claims, you will see that it is over N9 trillion in the last 10 years. This is almost twice of our national budget.


“I wondered if the common man gets value for this subsidy. If the money was directed into other infrastructure development, we would have gone far in infrastructure building.


“Diesel has been deregulated and we are better off; why are Nigerians afraid of subsidy removal? Right now, government is indirectly paying subsidy.


“We have to be realistic and take the right decision; we have to choose between building more infrastructure and consuming subsidy.


“Deregulation will promote local refining of crude oil and create more value and generate employment,’’ he said.

Marafa explained that competition would push down prices of petroleum prices in the long run and that hypocrisy of the elite was regulating the price.
“All the people benefiting from fuel importation will never let deregulation to happen,” he said.

Airborne02:
d gal at second picx.. dat wan make brain too na.. i like tall gals

100Cents:
Some people said that certificate is not important.

sarrki:
Am a patriot

I love my president and my country

naijaboy756:
He will not ni o!

He will tell you it's the hardest job on earth now. Defending Buhari.

sarrki:
Field marshal of wailers

naijaboy756:
hahahahaha.....
Sarki is still a zombie because BMC increased his allowance

tyson99:
That's ese d girl package both bumper and vboot

sarrki:
Enemies of the state are bent on causing animosity among our great leaders

Rilwayne001:
Shut up robotic-zombie!! That's a foreign media not a local one. Isn't it obvious that Buhari's body odour his totally affecting the country's situation ? Or are you going to tell me that you haven't felt any fresh air since he went out?

The Office of the Attorney General of the Federation has received the report of the investigation by the police into the crimes committed during the December 10, 2016 national and state assembly rerun poll in Rivers State, The PUNCH has learnt.

Some of the officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, high-ranking police officers, six of the dismissed police aides to Governor Nyesom Wike and others are to be prosecuted for bribery, murder, money laundering, intimidation and disruption of polls among other charges.

One of our correspondents learnt on Wednesday in Abuja that the 104-page report was sent to the AGF and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), on Monday.

This was said to have come barely one week after the police sent to the AGF a “prior notice” in the form of “preliminary report of investigation”, giving a summary of the case.

According to sources, who are familiar with the case but are not permitted to speak on it, the final report sent to the AGF was accompanied by a bulky file, containing some documentary exhibits such as photographs, witness statements, eyewitness testimonies and correspondences.

It was learnt that the report recommended three State Coordinators and 20 other officials of INEC for prosecution.

Among others, also recommended for prosecution by the police, are some police officers in the ranks of Commissioner of Police, Deputy Superintendent of Police and Chief Superintendent of Police.

Police officers also listed for trial are the six cops dismissed in January 2017 for misuse of firearms while on duty as part of security details of Wike.

Other suspects indicted by the police are some members of the state and National Assembly accused of bribing INEC officials and sponsoring two violent cult groups in the state.

The sources declined to give the names of the suspects in order not to pre-empt an ongoing review of the case file by the Office of the AGF.

One of the sources said in compliance with the directive given by the AGF, relevant officers of the Federal Ministry of Justice had begun the review of the file and “deserving suspects” would be charged before the end of March.

But the source told The PUNCH that the police recommended that the suspects be prosecuted for offences such as snatching of ballot boxes, disruption of polls, intimidation and harassment of voters, bribery, murder and money laundering, among others.

Attempt to reach the spokesperson for the AGF, Mr. Salihu Isah, for his comment on Wednesday was not successful as repeated calls made to him indicated his telephone line was unreachable.

It was also learnt that the police had submitted the report to INEC.

INEC confirms receiving police probe report

Meanwhile, INEC confirmed, on Wednesday that it had received the report of the panel set up by the police to investigate the violence during the December rerun polls in Rivers.

The Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman of INEC, Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi, told one of our correspondents on the telephone that 25 staff of the commission were investigated by the police panel.

He said the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmud Yakubu, had given the assurance that the commission would not shield any of the affected personnel from criminal prosecution.

Oyekanmi stated, “Yes, I was told that the report has now been received but I haven’t seen it yet. Our chairman has a copy of the report now; the report where they (police) said they recovered N111m from some staff. That is the one that they have given to INEC now.

“You know, the press conference you attended, it was very clearly stated that without prejudice to what the police are investigating, we will cooperate with them to carry out criminal prosecution of whoever is found culpable.”

The Joint Investigation Panel, set up by the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, said it recovered N111.3m from 23 electoral officials and two administrative officers.

The 25 INEC staff had allegedly confessed to the panel that they received the money from Wike to manipulate the rerun polls.

The police had earlier said the 25 electoral officials were released on bail to the Director of Human Resources, INEC Headquarters, Abuja.

The IG inaugurated the panel on December 22, 2016, following the violence that rocked the polls in which DSP Mohammed Alkali and his driver were beheaded and their heads thrown into a river.

The panel, which comprised 12 officers of the Nigeria Police Force and three from Department of State Services, was mandated to investigate the various infractions, incidents and violence that marred the re-run elections in Rivers State and any relevant matter.

The panel, headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Police, Damian Okoro, attributed the violence caused during the elections to lawlessness and leadership failure.

Lalasticlala ,Mynd44

A 17-year-old girl, Amina yusuf defied Boko Haram terrorists by failing to detonate bombs strapped to her body with orders for her to kill people.

Vanguard reports that the teenager made this revelation when Maj. – Gen. Lucky Irabor who is the theatre commander of Operation Lafiya Dole paraded her on Wednesday, March 1.

According to Amina, Boko Haram terrorists abducted her five years ago alongside her parents in Madagali in Adamawa state.


She said: “I was abducted alongside my parents in Madagali in Adamawa after the terrorists attacked our village. We were taken to a camp in the bush where we were forcefully indoctrinated by the group.”

She said the terrorists killed her parents after they failed to indoctrinate.

“My parents were executed because they did not join the group.


“I was married off to a Boko Haram militant with whom I lived in the camp.”

“One day I was asked to wear the bombs. I was brought to Maiduguri with an instruction that I detonate the bomb where there is large crowd of people.”

She said she refused to detonate the bomb because she did not want to die.

“They said I should press the button but I refused and allowed security men to capture me alive.


“My four siblings are still with the terrorists in the camp.”

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

The Nigeria Police on Wednesday provided reasons why it raided the headquarters of the Nigerian Peace Corps and arrested some officials.

The explanation comes a day after the police, in a combined operation with the State Security Services and the Nigerian Army, stormed the headquarters of the Peace Corps in Abuja, arresting its commandant and other national leaders.

At least two people were confirmed injured following the raid, which occurred around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday night, witnesses said.

A statement signed by police spokesman, Jimoh Moshood, said intelligence reports indicated that the Peace Corps and other similar groups “were acquiring weapons and conducting covert military training in different locations across the country.”

Mr. Moshood said such actions violated a 2013 gazette of the federal government that banned the groups and ordered them to cease operations.

The latest acrimony came weeks after the Nigerian Senate and the House of Representatives harmonised the Nigerian Peace Corps Bill to give the group, which had operated as a volunteer organisation for 18 years, government backing.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt the SSS and police submitted memoranda to the National Assembly against the establishment of the Peace Corps, but the lawmakers went ahead with the passage of the bill, anyway.

The bill is expected to be forwarded to President Muhammadu Buhari for his assent, although it is not clear if the president will support the creation of another paramilitary agency.

Read the full statement below:

1. The Nigeria Police Force in joint operations with the Personnel of the Military and Department of State Service commenced yesterday 28th February, 2017, operations to halt and rid the country of illegal/unlawful security outfits constituting National Security Threat and Threat to the protection of life and property of Nigerians across the country.

2. Credible intelligence reports at the disposal of the Force revealed that some of these illegal Security outfits have started acquiring weapons and conducting covert military training in different locations across the country.

3. It is evident that in 2013, Federal Republic of Nigeria official Gazette dissolved and proscribed illegal Security outfits such as Nigerian Maritime security Agency (NMSA), Nigerian Merchant Navy Corps and the Nigerian Merchant Navy Petroleum Security and Safety, Peace Corps of Nigeria and other quasi illegal security outfits.

4. However, it has been observed that Nigerian Maritime Security Agency NMSA, Peace Corps of Nigeria, Maritime Security Agency and National Task Force to Combat Illegal Importation/Smuggling of Arms and Ammunition, Light and Chemical/Weapons are still operating outside their mandates and purposes for which they were registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission.

5. For avoidance of doubt the Peace Corps of Nigeria under the leadership of one Akor Dickson was registered as an NGO but with brazen impunity, total disregard to the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, opened illegal training camps in some States of the Country, where thousands of youths and other persons without proper background check and screening are receiving converts Military training.

6. It is consequent upon the above and the veracity of intelligence reports from reliable sources, indicating that subversive elements/groups and terrorist affiliates have infiltrated the Peace Corps of Nigeria secretly to ruin and destroy the existing peace currently being enjoyed in the country that the Peace Corps of Nigeria secret training camps were closed down in the FCT, Kwara and Niger States.

7. During the preliminary investigation into the activities of the Peace Corps of Nigeria, it was discovered that personnel of the Corps are extorting money from unwary youths throughout the Country under the guise of recruitment; amounts ranging from Fifty Thousand Naira (#50,000) to Hundreds of Thousands of Naira are being paid by innocent Nigerians to the Peace Corps of Nigeria. Once you paid the money you are automatically recruited. Anyone who must have paid money under any pretence to the Peace Corps of Nigeria should report their case at the nearest Police Station in where they are across the country.

8. The Peace Corps of Nigeria has unlawfully turned itself into a security outfit without authorization and establishment by the Federal Government of Nigeria, as such, have deviated from the purposes for which they were registered as a Non Governmental Organization (NGO) by the Corporate Affairs Commission.

9. The Corps has no legal authority to wear uniform, parade itself as Security outfit, post their personnel on guard duties, and use ranking, insignia, badges of rank which are semblance of that of the Police, Military and other paramilitary organizations without the approval of Federal Government of Nigeria.

10. The Nigeria Police Force and other Security Agencies will not fold their arms and allow lawlessness to be unleashed on the society.

11. It is in furtherance of the above that the Nigeria Police Force, the personnel of the Military, Department of State Service, had in a joint security operations swooped on the Head office of the Peace Corps of Nigeria on the 28th February, 2017 situated opposite Jabi Lake, Utako District, sealed off the building and effected the arrest of one Mr. Akor Dickson, the Leader of Peace Corps of Nigeria and Forty Nine (49) others (on the attached list) for investigation in the interest of public safety and security. They will be arraigned in court on completion of investigation.

12. This joint security operations will be implemented throughout the country to halt the illegal activities of all these proscribed illegal Security outfits such as Nigerian Maritime Security Agency (NMSA), Nigerian Merchant Navy Corps and the Nigerian Merchant Navy Petroleum Security and Safety, Peace Corps of Nigeria and other quasi illegal security groups.

13. Parents and Guardians are advised to prevail on their children and wards to return home from the illegal military camps opened in some states of the country by the Peace Corps of Nigeria as the activities of the Corps in totality is unlawful.