₦airaland Forum

Since the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial candidate in Lagos state Jim Agbaje and the party elders have not issued any denial statement over the Monday (OPC) riot in Lagos state. Can we safely conclude that PDP sponsored the violent event?

Since the national leader of All Progressive Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has also not been able to provide evidence over his treasonable allegations against the present government on the interim government proposal to him. Can we safely conclude that Tinubu was just crying foul because negotiations broke down?
I miss Gani Fawehinmi.

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The First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, has advised the people of Rivers State not to vote for the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), retired General Muhammadu Buhari on the March 28 election, because if he wins he will imprison them.

She added that Buhari would fill all the prisons in the country by jailing anybody he perceives to be his political enemy, saying that once a dictator, he will remain a dictator.

Mrs Jonathan, who spoke yesterday in Port Harcourt, during the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) women presidential campaign rally, said the APC presidential candidate does not have what it takes to fight corruption, saying: “Whenever he (Buhari) comes to you again, ask him what he did for Rivers State when he was Head of State.”

The First Lady warned the women not to sell their permanent voter cards (PVCs) for any sum of money, noting that it was within their power to vote out the “expired drug called APC.”

Dame Jonathan, who enumerated the achievements of the Federal Government in the state, said PDP would install Barrister Ezebunwo Nyesom Wike as the next governor of the state.

“PDP will install Nyesom Wike as governor because President Jonathan is a lion and he gave birth to a lion,” She said.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/03/patience-jonathan-to-rivers-people-buhari-will-put-you-in-prison-if-he-wins/

The national leader of All Progressive Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has challenged the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to charge him to court over its allegation that he embezzled the state’s resources.

He disclosed this at the 14th Town Hall meeting of Lagos central senatorial district tagged: “Treading the Path To Prosperity,” organised by Senator Oluremi Tinubu on Wednesday.

According to him, if they were feeling the pain of Bola Tinubu, they would not attack me. This is eight years I left Alausa as governor, they should go to court and prosecute me if I have embezzled the state’s fund.

“They said I acquire Lagos funds, this is my stomach still flat. Afterall, I did not tell the electorates that I did not have shoe before I was voted in the office,” he said.

The former governor of Lagos State said that this was time for PDP to leave the seat of power, saying thousands of graduates died in the name of fighting to secure job.

www.Monitor9ja.com

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega has stated that next week’s elections will hold as scheduled.

He made this statement in Abuja on Wednesday at a dialogue session with civil society organizations under the Election Situation Room hosted in Abuja by the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC).

He said: “We are adequately prepared for the rescheduled elections, I have not seen any indication from anywhere for further postponement.”

While addressing some of the issues facing the commission, he said the last batch of the 500,000 voters’ cards would be ready before Saturday

With regard to security,Jega said: “No public officer should be accompanied by armed or uniformed security to the polling unit on the Election Day”

He insisted that it shouldn’t be an excuse for unjustifiable movements and said the only challenge faced is with so-called high profile people and top government officials who break this rule

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/03/march-28-general-elections-will-hold-jega/

The Lagos State Government on Tuesday rejected the decision of a Federal High Court which cancelled human and vehicular restriction during the monthly environmental sanitation.

The state government added that it had already commenced filing an appeal against the decision of the trial court before a Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos, noting that the trial judge, Justice Mohammed Idris erred in cancelling the monthly exercise.

The state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeola Ipaye, disclosed this in a statement he issued yesterday, noting that the judgment was unjust, unreasonable and unwarranted.

The attorney-general added that the state government “will immediately challenge the decision of the trial court at the appellate court. We are of course not satisfied with that decision of the Federal High Court looking at the density of Lagos being the highest in Nigeria.”

Ipaye explained that the sanitation exercise “had made Lagos the toast and pride of Nigeria with many States coming to understudy how Lagos is achieving success in the sanitation exercise.

“This exercise and our sanitation programme in general have made Lagos the envy of other states, many of whom have sent their officials to understudy it. We strongly believe that it is a necessary rule in a society such as ours. We are therefore filing an appeal immediately.”

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/03/lagos-rejects-court-decision-on-environmental-sanitation/

Senate President, David Mark, on Monday said the Senate observed its principles on the screening of former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, contrary to opinions being peddled in the public.

According to him, the Senate found itself in conflicting situations and the only option available to it in that circumstance was to put the matter to a voice vote as it did.

“We will like to state without any form of ambiguity that the President of the Senate complied with all the legislative practices and procedures in the confirmation of all the ministerial nominees who appeared before the Senate.
“It is strange that those who hold contrary views have laid claims to the tradition of the Senate that where three senators are opposed to a nominee, such a nominee is automatically disqualified and cannot be confirmed by the Senate. This is misplaced.

“It is important to state that the Senate found itself in a situation where two of its traditions were in conflict. There exists a tradition of permitting nominees who had served as Senators or member of the House of Representatives to take a bow and go without being questioned.

“The Senate also has a tradition of stopping any nominee who fails to secure at least two of the three senators. Where the Senate was faced with this conflict, the option available to the President of the Senate, as the presiding officer, was to put the question to the floor and rule applicably.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/03/mark-we-didnt-flout-senate-tradition-on-obanikoro/

The Lagos State Government has threatened to enforce no-work-no-pay policy on members of the Medical Guild who have embarked on an indefinite strike in the state to press home demands for their payment of outstanding four months salaries.
The state government in a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Aderemi Ibirogba, said the current action was illegal.
“On previous occasion, the doctors went on what they called a “sympathy strike” at the request of their professional association, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) which then had a dispute with the Federal Government.

“They had no trade dispute with the State Government (their employer),” he said, adding that doctors in private employment, who are also members of the NMA, did not join the so-called ‘sympathy strike.’

According to him, it is a fact that those health workers who did not work during the stated period were not paid.

“This “no work no pay rule” is not just a policy of the State Government as alleged. It is in line with international employment practices and the Trade Disputes Act, a federal legislation, which is binding on all authorities and persons in Nigeria. For the avoidance of doubt, section 43(1)(a) of the Trade Disputes Act provides that:

“Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or any other law, where any worker takes part in a strike, he shall not be entitled to any wages or other remuneration for the period of the strike, and any such period shall not count for the purpose of reckoning the period of continuous employment and all rights dependent on continuity of employment shall be prejudicially affected accordingly,” he said.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/03/lagos-state-government-threatens-striking-doctors-no-work-no-pay/

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, has replied critics pushing for his ouster, saying that he will not resign his appointment, as he has a job to do.

Also the INEC chairman expressed satisfaction with the security situation in the northeastern part of the country, adding, however, that soldiers were never allowed at the polling units in past polls and would not be allowed during the forthcoming elections.

Speaking at a town hall meeting organised by Reinvent Media in conjunction with Ford Foundation and Kukah Centre in Abuja on Monday, the INEC chairman while responding to questions, stressed that he intended to superintend the polls, has a job to do and would remain focused to ensure that the job is done.

“I am not under pressure to resign. It would be unfair for me to say that I will resign when I have a job to do. I remain focused,” he said.

He also said that there was no truth in the insinuation that he was being forced to proceed on a terminal leave, adding that, “Terminal leave is an option, a grace period given to anyone to go on leave before he finally leaves office. As I have said earlier, I have a job to do till April 11.

“Terminal leave is not an option. Nobody has asked me to proceed on terminal leave other than what I read in the newspapers.”

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/03/jega-i-wont-resign-i-have-a-job-to-do/

Former Ekiti State governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has declared that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has evidence to back up its claim that President Goodluck Jonathan was allegedly planning to constitute an interim national government.

He said the allegation by the APC national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu – that his life was under threaten – was a pointer to the desperation of the Jonathan-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government.

Fayemi made this comment at the weekend in Aramoko Ekiti, headquarters of the Ekiti West local government area of the state, during the 40-day Fidau for the late Pa Jejelola and Mrs Raliat Akingbolu.

Tinubu, it would be recalled, had last week claimed that he had been invited by President Jonathan to be part of a proposed interim government in case the rescheduled polls were not held.

He also raised the alarm that his life was being threatened by the federal government over his support for the presidential bid of Major Gen Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), his party’s flag bearer.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/03/fayemi-jonathan-is-planning-an-interim-national-government-we-have-evidence-to-proof/

All Progressives Congress (APC) vice presidential candidate, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, yesterday said the Nigerian judiciary system has contributed greatly to the high rate of corruption in the country and the country must as an urgent national assignment, undertake the reform of the administration of justice to enable it to successfully prosecute corrupt individuals and move the country forward.
Prof Osinbajo stated thi in an address he delivered at the public presentation of a book titled, “For the Love of Their Nation: Lawyers as Agents of Change”, written by a journalist, Adekunle Ogunsakin, in Lagos.
He also stressed that the country has suffered setbacks as a result of corruption which the judicial system as presently administered has failed to curb especially at the national level.
“No one is in doubt that a nation can do little if the judiciary is not functioning. Our legal system has not been reformed at the national and state levels but more importantly at the national level. The frustration to reform it came from the federal government and when you fail to reform the system, corruption increases,” he said.
Osinbajo stressed that, “The masses have lost interest in the judiciary because delays in administering justice is on the increase making people to lose faith in the system. We must deal with law reforms and with a new government like that of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the centre, there will be change.”
He urged lawyers to take the lead in stamping out corruption. He also blame the elites, and religious leaders for failing to take responsibility in making sure corruption is wiped out in the country.
He said, “Lawyers must regard themselves as agent of change. The Nigerian elites must hold themselves accountable for the present state of the nation.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/03/osinbajo-advocates-judicial-reforms-to-tackle-corruption/

Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola (SAN) has said that the fear of losing the forthcoming elections informed People’s Democratic Party (PDP) objection to the use of the Card Readers introduced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to curb electoral rigging in the country.

Fashola stated this yesterday during the gubernatorial campaign rally of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at Ilasan in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of the state.

The governor, while addressing party faithful at the rally, said the PDP’s stance against the use of the card has placed a moral burden on the PDP-led government since the proposal by INEC) to use the card was funded by the Federal Government.

Fashola said, “The PDP-led government is afraid of defeat that is why they are kicking against the use of card reader. Jonathan’s government funded and promoted the idea of PVC when INEC proposed it. Now, having realised that it will be difficult for them to rig the election if the card is used, the party want to change the rules at the middle of the game. It is not possible. Card reader will help prevent rigging.”

The governor also took a swipe at the PDP governorship candidate in Lagos, Mr. Jimi Agbaje over his comment on a live television programme in which he reportedly said the entire Lagos landmass belongs to the Federal Government.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/03/why-pdp-is-objecting-the-use-of-card-readers-fashola/

A Federal High Court in Abuja has joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) as defendants in a new suit filed by a group, Society for Advancement and Protection of Public Right, seeking to, among others, prevent the deployment of the card reader machine for the next general elections.

In a related development, a group, Peoples Democratic Party integrity Vanguard on Friday called for a forensic examination of the logistics and technologies of INEC, alleging that the data base and other electronic devices of the commission had been compromised.

Also, all those accused of being behind the April 14, 2014 bomb blast at a well-populated bus station in Nyanya, Abuja, including Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche were formally arraigned after series of postponements and they pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Justice Gabriel Kolawole, in a ruling yesterday, granted applications by PDP and APC to be made parties in the case seeking to stop the use of card readers and PVCs for the general election. Both applications were not opposed by the plaintiff.

SAPPR had filed a similar suit which is before Justice Abdulkadir Abdulkafarati (another judge of the same Federal high Court, Abuja).

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/03/court-joins-pdp-apc-in-case-to-stop-inec-from-using-card-readers/

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has embraced the recent decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to stop the bi-weekly sale of foreign exchange through the Retail Dutch Auction System (RDAS) and Wholesale Dutch Auction System (WDAS).

According to the IMF, unifying the RDAS and interbank forex markets would help cushion external shocks from dwindling commodity prices.
The IMF stated this in its “2014 Article IV Consultation with Nigeria,” concluded on February 27, 2015, a copy of which was posted on its website on Thursday.

The CBN had shut down the RDAS, effectively stopping the sale to manufacturers and oil marketing companies at the hugely subsidised official rate, and directed all authorised dealers and members of the public to channel their foreign exchange demand to the interbank market.
Some oil marketers, who had taken advantage of the wide disparity between the closed RDAS and the interbank market foreign exchange rates and were suspected of round-tripping, had cited the closure of CBN official window as one of the factors responsible for the petrol shortage.
However, the IMF report stated: “Directors welcomed the recent unification of the foreign exchange rates, noting that greater exchange rate flexibility could help cushion external shocks.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/03/imf-endorses-cbns-unification-of-foreign-exchange-markets/

The chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Usman Jibrin has disclosed that Nigeria loses about N1.18 billion to oil theft daily, leading to an estimated loss of about N433 billion to the country annually.

He explained further that due to surveillance of security agents at the waterways, about 100, 000 barrels of crude oil are stolen on the nation’s territorial waters.

Jibrin, who was speaking at the Senate when he appeared before the senators to defend the 2015 budget of the Navy before the Senate Committee on Defence (Navy), however attributed the information to Chatham House’s recent disclosure.

The view expressed by the Navy boss, who was represented by the chief of Logistics of the Navy, Rear Admiral Peter Agba, contradicts the position of the Ministry of Finance which stated that about 400,000 barrels of crude oil is stolen per day.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/03/oil-theft-nigeria-loses-n433bn-yearly-naval-chief/

Former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and legal luminary, Mr. Olisa Agbakoba has urged the Federal Government to establish a Maritime Bank to boost activities in the maritime and shipping sector of the economy.

Agbakoba, while addressing journalists yesterday in his Lagos office, yesterday, said the situation where the Federal Government is reaping bountifully from the ports without any corresponding development in the sector is unacceptable.

He wondered why the Cabotage vessel Finance Fund (CVFF) has not been disbursed by the management of the Nigerian Maritime Administration And Safety Agency (NIMASA) and called for the establishment of a Maritime Bank to boost activities in the sector. He said cabotage enforcement is a huge job that must be taken away from NIMASA.

NIMASA, Agbakoba said, has too much burden as it is presently constituted, hence, the need for the agency to be unbundled for it to perform efficiently and effectively. “I still hold the view that NIMASA should be unbundled. NIMASA was first the National Maritime Authority (NMA), and, then, it swallowed the Government Inspector of Shipping. Even in the original NMA Law, there were too many things inherent in it- there was cabotage, ship development, cargo allocations. Safety and security was the Government’s Inspector of Shipping, but NIMASA swallowed it,” he said.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/03/agbakoba-unbundle-nimasa/

THIS is to remind all the candidates who purchase the Jamb 2015 Form that the reprinting of their examination slip has commenced.

If you recall, the Jamb-2015-Photocard reprinting was initially scheduled to begin on 23rd of February, 2015. But the Jamb Board suspended it and announced the new date which is 2nd March.

Important Notice: You may not be able to reprint your JAMB photocard from your personal computer or Laptop, if it is not registered with JAMB.

According to reporting reaching us, all reprinting of UTME photocard can be done via any of the official JAMB registration centres or you can visit the centre you registered at the initial stage to reprint yours.

www.Monitor9ja.com

Five petrol stations found to have been selling petrol above the official N87 pump price and creating artificial scarcity have been shut down by the Ekiti State Government.

Making the disclosure in Ado Ekiti on Monday, the Chairman, Ekiti State Petroleum Consumers Protection Agency, Mr. Adeyemi Adebayo, said the stations were selling between N100 and N110, which he said was tantamount to extortion.

This was part of the efforts of the state government to ease the hard-biting petrol scarcity that crept into the state since last Wednesday.

The agency also alleged that the fuel stations were hoarding petroleum products, thereby subjecting motorists to hardship and unwarranted queues at the stations.

According to him, each of the affected stations were to pay a fine of N500,000 each to the Ekiti State government’s coffers to serve as punitive measure.
Adebayo gave the names of the five fuel stations to include Prosperous filling station, Isan-Ekiti, Iroporal filling station, Iropora-Ekiti; Ferbason filling station, Ado-Ekiti, MNPC, Ado-Ekiti as well as Montel filling station also in Ado-Ekiti.
He vowed that the affected stations would not be re-opened until they revert to the normal price and stop further hoarding of the product. Adebayo expressed regrets that some petrol dealers have chosen to make life difficult for people at a time when government was trying to make things easy for them.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/03/petrol-scarcity-ekiti-govt-shut-down-five-petrol-stations-for-sell-above-pump-price/

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) at the weekend disclosed how the anti-graft agency saved N100 billion for the federal government in the Ministry of Finance after it discovered 45,000 ghost workers.

Making this disclosure while defending the commission’s budget before the Senate Committee on Drugs, Narcotics, Financial Crimes and Anti-corruption in Abuja, ICPC Chairman, Mr. Ekpo Nta, said the move was possible because of its sound relationship with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and careful scrutiny of Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).

“Of course you know what we have done in the Ministry of Finance on the issue of ghost workers where over 45,000 ghost workers were discovered. That has saved over a N100 billion.

“We have a robust relationship with the FIRS. We have actually jailed some of their staff that are not doing the right thing and of course the Bureau of Public Procurement. We work hand in hand with them now.

“So if anyone provide false statistics through bidding exercise, they will refer you to us and that has now started cleaning out that sector,” Nta said.
Nta also disclosed how it tracked down 50 of the 156 major companies which secured contracts from the Federal Ministry of Works using forged t tax certificates.

Read full story
http://monitor9ja.com/2015/03/icpc-how-we-blocked-n100bn-leakages-for-fg/

Against the backdrop of the postponement of the February election, the Nigerians United for Democracy (NUD), a coalition of civil society groups, has said that the statement attributed to the INEC chairman that only the service chiefs can guarantee the March general election is a great disservice, adding that by that statement, Prof Jega surrendered INEC’s constitutional powers to the service chiefs.

A statement signed by the NUD coordinator, Kano wing, Dr Abdullahi Baffa Bichi, said the March 28 election is still not sacrosanct considering Jega’s submission before the Senate last week, and called on the National Assembly to extract a firm undertaking from the national security adviser and security chiefs that the election would not be further postponed.

For more up-date on the 2015 elections
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We must commend Mr President and his armed forces for their belated onslaught of the insurgents and subsequent reclamation of our lost territories. If same can be done with our power before May 29th then you can be sure of my vote in 2019 if you decide to contest but if you can do it before March 28th this year, then you can be sure of my vote in the next general elections and not only that, but your name may also hold the record of best injury time president the world ever produced.

Thank you sir,
Prince’s Library.

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The Nigerian Army on Wednesday announced a special promotion for all soldiers involved in liberating Baga in Borno from Boko Haram insurgents.

The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Kenneth Minimah, announced the promotion while addressing the soldiers during an official visit to Baga in Kukawa Local Government Area.

Minimah said the promotion was to reward the soldiers for their gallant effort in flushing out the insurgents.

He added that soldiers who died in the battle with the insurgents would also be promoted posthumously.

“The entire country is singing praises of Nigerian soldiers for the bravery exhibited in the fight against the insurgents.

“I urge you to keep the tempo by striving hard to record more successes’’, Minimah said.

He expressed optimism that insurgency would end in the next couple of weeks.

“Never again will Nigerians suffer this kind of large scale destruction in the name of insurgency’’, Minimah said.

He said his visit was aimed at boosting the soldiers’ morale and building more confidence in them.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/02/soldiers-fighting-boko-haram-insurgency-to-get-special-promotion/

A new survey released by Bloomberg has projected that Nigeria, China, the Philippines, Kenya, India and Indonesia will rank among the 20 fastest growing economies in world this year.

In an accompanying chart by the New York-based financial newswire service, Nigeria with an expected growth rate of 4.9 per cent was ranked sixth behind China (7 per cent), the Philippines (6.3 per cent), Kenya (6 per cent), India (5.5 per cent) and Indonesia (5.4 per cent).

Other countries that made the list of 20, dominated by emerging economies in Asia and Africa, include: Malaysia in seventh place, Peru, Thailand, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kazakhstan, Colombia and Saudi Arabia.

Others are Taiwan, Turkey, South Korea, Poland, Mexico, Ireland and Singapore.

According to Bloomberg, “Emerging markets in Asia and Africa still reign supreme: They’re at the top of global growth projections over the next two years.

“The world is expected to grow 3.2 per cent in 2015 and 3.7 per cent next year after expanding 3.3 per cent in each of the past two years,” according to a Bloomberg survey of economists.

“China, the Philippines, Kenya, India and Indonesia, which together make up about 16 per cent of global gross domestic product, are all forecast to grow more than 5 per cent in 2015.”

By comparison, the United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK), which combined account for about a quarter of global growth, are expected to grow 3.1 and 2.6 per cent this year respectively, said Bloomberg.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/02/nigeria-listed-among-20-fastest-growing-economies/

As part of efforts to fulfill his promise to Nigerians that his administration will flush out the Boko Haram insurgents before the coming general elections, President Goodluck Jonathan sneaked into Yola unannounced today 26/02/2015 and proceeded to Mubi to encourage soldiers of 155 Special Task Force battalion in Mubi town of Adamawa state.
The president also paid a courtesy call on the Emir of Mubi, Alhaji Abubakar Isa, to sympathize with and strengthen the morale of the people of Mubi over the loss of their love ones and properties destroyed by the insurgents.

The president who landed in Yola International Airport around 11 am amidst tight security boarded a helicopter to Mubi along with Service Chiefs and the Inspector General of Police.

The president’s chopper landed at the Mubi army barracks from where the president took a ride to the emir’s palace where he met the Emir and members of Mubi Emirate traditional council.

A resident of Mubi, Idris Buba, said there was heavy security in Mubi during the president’s brief visit.

“When the President and his entourage left the emir’s palace, they headed to Vimtim village, the home town of Chief of Defence Staff, Chief Air Marshall Alex Badeh, who is also in the president entourage”, Buba said.
According to him, the president also held a closed door meeting with the three Service Chiefs who were already in Vimtim Village ahead of the president.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/02/president-jonathan-sneaks-into-yola-visits-mubi/

The move to impeach the deputy governor of Niger State, Ahmed Musa Ibeto has suffered a setback as the state’s High Court has restrained the attorney general (AG) of the state, the chief judge, the speaker and six others from initiating any process aimed at impeaching Ibeto.

Justice Aliyu Mayaki, in a ruling on Monday, also restrained the state’s AG, the chief judge and seven others as well as their agents from obstructing the deputy governor from discharging his functions.

The ruling was on an ex-parte application filed by Ibeto, through his lawyer, Mohammed Magaji (SAN) seeking interim injunctions against the nine defendants in a suit he filed, seeking among others, to void the letter of handover given the speaker by the governor to act in his absence and the alleged plot by the governor to impeach him.

Defendants in the suit include the state’s Attorney General, the Commissioner of Police, Niger State, Director, State Security Service, Niger State, the Speaker, Niger State House of Assembly, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Chief Judge, Niger State, the Niger State House of Assembly, the Clerk of the House and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/02/court-stops-impeachment-move-against-niger-dep-gov/

The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Wednesday gave the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance , Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, one week to furnish it with the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) forensic audit report on the alleged un-remitted $20 billion by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

This follows a resolution mandating PAC to look into the matter last week.

The report to be submitted to the House “must include the Initial Draft Report, the Executive Summary and Management/Internal Control Letters.”

Hon. Solomon Adeola Olamilekan (APC, Lagos), who is PAC’s chairman, told journalists that since the release of a “condensed version” of the report to the public through a press conference addressed by the Auditor-General of the Federation with the highlight that Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) should remit a minimum of $1.48 billion to the Federation Account, several demands for the full report by the committee did not yield any good result.

He said: “Given the weighty allegation of possible loss of $20 billion to the Federation Account arising from alleged non-remittance by NNPC through the ministry of finance, it is curious that the forensic audit was commissioned and appointment of auditors was made by the minister of finance, an indictable official, if allegation is proven, without the involvement or at least input of the Auditor-General, whose office is eminently and exclusively empowered for the duty by the 1999 Constitution.”

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/02/house-to-okonjo-iweala-you-have-one-week-deadline-to-submit-forensic-audit-on-nnpc/

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC), and Consumer Protection Council(CPC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU to bring mortgage, on-line forex and other scammers of consumers to book.

The MoU, which was signed by the Director General of CPC, Mrs. Modupe Atoki, and the Executive Chairman of EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde at the EFFC’s headquarters, Abuja, was initiated to tighten the loose ends in the protection of consumers with the might of the enabling Acts of the two agencies.

Speaking at the event, the Director General, CPC, Mrs. Modupe Atoki said evidently, the need for joint investigation and enforcement cooperation between the two agencies of government cannot be overemphasized, particularly on matters affecting consumers economic and financial well being.

She added that the MoU became inevitable in order to curtail the sharp trade practices of unscrupulous providers of goods and services, which often lead to financial losses to consumers in the country.

She explained further that while the EFCC law punishes the offender with jail terms or fines and confiscates the ill gotten booty, it is a legal fact that prosecutions do not translate to redress for victims of criminal breaches, therefore consumers who are usually the victims of most of these scams and fraudulent business practices in Nigeria are usually unable to access redress under criminal prosecution.

Mrs. Atoki said: “Over the years, the Council has received a large number of complaints from consumers bordering on fraudulent savings and loan schemes, deceptive and misleading mortgage schemes, fraud scams emanating from online forex trading companies, fraudulent education admission/scholarship opportunities, deceptive business practices and pyramid sales/marketing schemes, aimed at defrauding unsusceptible and vulnerable consumers with consumer losses at several million of naira.

“It is the CPC law that clearly stipulates redress and compensation for consumers/victims of obnoxious practices or unscrupulous exploitations. The synergy created by this CPC/EFCC MoU is such that while the EFCC focuses on the criminal prosecution of offenders, both agencies will work together to ensure that consumers/victims receive appropriate redresses, restitution and compensation in a competent court of law.”

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My attention has been drawn this morning to an article entitled: “Jonathan Replies Soludo over “missing N30 trillion” claim”— extracting from Mr. President’s interview as published by Thisday newspaper. ThisDay quoted Mr. President as saying that “Soludo said that under Ngozi’s watch they stole N30 trillion” but that since the sum of the federal budget over the last four years was less than N30 trillion, such an amount could not have been “stolen”. According to the President, “it is all political”. I had earlier stated that I would not make further comments on the issues until probably after the elections but since Mr. President has decided to join the fray, I am constrained to make a further brief clarification. For me, President Jonathan is a gentleman and a friend but I have a fundamental disagreement on his management of the economy. On the issues at stake, I believe that the pressures of office and the hectic electioneering campaigns have not allowed him time to read my articles or that his staff have not explained the contents to him hence he totally missed the point in his comments. For the avoidance of doubt, let me clarify as follows:

1. In my article entitled “Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the Missing Trillions”, I presented some rough calculations covering: oil theft, money that ought to accrue to stock of foreign reserves, unbudgeted oil subsidy payments, customs duty waivers, leakages through the self-financing government parastatals, unremitted sums by NNPC, etc. I concluded that section of my article by noting that: “I have a long list but let me wait for now. I do not want to talk about other ‘black pots’ that impinge on national security. My estimate, Madam, is that probably more than N30 trillion has either been stolen or lost or unaccounted for or simply mismanaged under your watchful eyes in the past four years”.

2. It is evident that the monies I referred to are “off-budget”. These are monies that did not make it to the budget. I find it funny that the Government deliberately avoided the issues raised above but instead has sought to divert attention by focusing on the “federal budget”. Let me state for the record that I believe that the amount of resources that are either stolen from the economy or out-rightly mismanaged by government far exceeds the federal budget per annum. Ours is about a N100 trillion economy, and I will be shocked if the government pretends that it does not know that currently about 10% of the GDP falls into a ‘black hole’ on annual basis. We have not added figures based on counterfactual analysis such as the cost to the aggregate economy of bad or misguided economic policy.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/02/charles-soludo-president-jonathan-missed-point-missing-n30-trillion/

The Senate, yesterday, accused the minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, of failure in implementing the 2014 budget and withholding funds meant for executing capital projects.

The senators made this known during the consideration of the 2015 budget proposals of the various ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of government as well as their budget performances for 2014.

The lawmakers, who had earlier met behind closed doors for about two hours, concluded that they have to improve their oversight function to ensure that funds are released by the officials of government as and at when it is due this year and to take appropriate steps against any official who deliberately refuses to release funds to execute projects already approved.

A senator who spoke on the executive session on conditions of anonymity said, “Most of the MDAs could not execute any reasonable capital projects this year because the little money released to them by the finance minister was not enough to pay the contractors who had executed projects for them in the past.”

Also of concern to the senators was the meagre allocation of N387 billion for capital projects in the 2015 budget while the recurrent component was allocated over 90 per cent of the N4.3 trillion budget. At the close of the meeting, the lawmakers resolved that the committees should liaise with the various MDAs to cut down on the recurrent votes in order to make more fund available for projects.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/02/senators-accuse-okonjo-iweala-poor-implementation-2014-budget/

There was wild jubilation in Minna, the Niger State capital yesterday, when the National Assembly Election Tribunal Sitting in Minna granted a consequential order to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue a certificate of return to Barr David Umaru of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the duly elected senator for Niger East Senatorial District, after nullifying the election of Dr Shem Nuhu Zagbayi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last year’s Niger East bye-election.

Delivering judgment at the Niger State High Court 7 in Minna, yesterday, chairman of the three-man tribunal, Justice Ibrahim Bako said the order was given based on the malpractices and non-compliance established by the petitioners (David Umaru and the APC).

The tribunal in the judgment granted all the prayers of the petitioners, except the prayer to declare Zagbayi of the PDP as not qualified to run for the election because he was not duly nominated. The tribunal considered it and ruled that Zagbayi was duly nominated by the party.

It ruled after analysing the cases of malpractices as presented by parties involved, “that an order is hereby granted nullifying the results of 100 or so polling units of the polling units that were affected by the noncompliance, we order for the deduction of the scores from the final scores of the parties.”

Justice Ibrahim Bako said after the deductions that Umaru scored 79,779 votes as against Zagbayi’s 68,525 votes of the scores from the final scores of the parties.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/01/tribunal-declares-apcs-david-umaru-winner-niger-east-election/

Former military president, Gen Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida has cleared the air on his preferred candidate in the forth-coming presidential election saying that he endorses all the candidates.

Babangida made this known yesterday in a CHANNELS Television talk show programme, Straight Talk where he said all the candidates have shown passion for the unity of the country.

Asked by the programme presenter, Kadaria Ahmed if he actually endorsed President Goodluck Jonathan as was reported in the media, Babangida said he actually alluded to it. “I did allude to that, I said I found him as someone who has a very strong belief about the unity of this country.

“Those of us who fought the civil war, I still carry a bullet here as a permanent reminder in me, anything that talks about Nigeria’s unity, I get impassioned about it. So what I said is that the president believes in the unity of this country and any other person who believes in the unity of this country should support the president to keep the country one.

“Well, as far as 2015 is concerned all the presidential candidates, 14 of them have my blessing. The only difference, I did mention it, is that, I have not been able to read what they have to offer to this country and I am going to do that. Whoever offers what I was looking forward to I will cast my vote,” IBB said

http://leadership.ng/news/407167/presidential-candidates-blessing-ibb

http://monitor9ja.com/2015/01/ibb-presidential-candidates-blessing/

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday took his campaign train to the city of Maiduguri, Borno State capital, where he told the electorate that his re-election would, amongst other things, bring about a speedy end to the ongoing Boko Haram insurgency.

At the palace of the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Shehu Garba El-kanemi, where he went to pay homage, the president told the royal fatherthat his administration would raise one billion dollars to support over one million victims of Boko Haram. He also added that destroyed communities would be rebuilt. He also promised to do everything possible to rescue the abducted Chibok schoolgirls.

The president said if given a second chance, he would provide special interventions that would provide job opportunities for the people of the state especially those affected by insurgency.

Jonathan, whose aircraft arrived Maiduguri at about 1pm, was received by a mammoth crowd of supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by the minister of Power and Steel, Barrister Muhammed Wakil as well as former governor of Borno State, Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff.

Vice President, Namadi Sambo and the National Chairman of the PDP, Adamu Ahmed Muazu were conspicuously absent during the visit.

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http://monitor9ja.com/2015/01/president-maiduguri-promises-1bn-boko-haram-victims/