₦airaland Forum

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has called for measures to make the anti – corruption war of the federal government more effective and ensure the safety of Nigerians in midst of security threat.
Obasanjo spoke on Saturday in Abeokuta, Ogun state, at a gathering to mark his 79th birthday during which many eminent Nigerians eulogised him.
The ex – President who took a brief look at what used to be the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) under the Pioneer, Mr Nuhu Ribadu, and what it is today, concluded regrettably that the Anti – graft agency has become a “toothless bull – dog.”
He explained that there was the need to do an appraisal to know why the EFCC which was dreaded because of its effectiveness during his administration, began to lose courage.
According to him, the appraisal is crucial so that the nation does not take one step forwards and take three steps backward.
Obasanjo also recommended the deployment of technology to fight insurgents both at local and global levels.
He said: “the good thing is that we all enjoyed the work and we all felt that we were contributing our own meaningful quota to the development of the country.
“As all know, when Nuhu Ribadu was handling the EFCC, he handled it in such a way that people coined the saying that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of Ribadu.
” And the thing you will ask is how did we go down, how did we lose that, how did we? Nuhu Ribadu is still here, he is still alive, the institution that we started together is still there, what made the institution to become a toothless bull dog.
“We need to work things out so that we don’t take two steps forward, one step and three steps backward.”

Governor Adams Oshiomhole says Senator Dino Melaye only displayed his
hollowness by delving into a matter as private as his marriage to his
heartthrob.
In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Peter Okhiria, the
Governor said “Our attention has been drawn to the unprovoked verbal
assault launched by one Senator Dino Melaye on the Governor of Edo State,
Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, while making a contribution on the floor of the
Senate on the need to patronize made-in-Nigeria goods.
As a “nephew” of the Governor and members of the same party, we expected
Senator Melaye to tender an unreserved public apology to the Comrade
Governor, to no avail. It is an open secret that Senator Melaye cannot
maintain a decent matrimonial home hence he could descend to this
pedestrian level of using the hallowed chambers to “cargorise” women as if
they were pieces of items for purchase.
Any responsible individual that is truly worth to be called a Senator, a
position that convokes respect, decorum and decent public conduct, should
know the limits of his verbal diarrhea. The liberty of free speech
guaranteed in the hallowed chambers does not impose lunacy on anyone to
disparage other Nigerians, let alone pry into their matrimony in a very
derisive manner.
We had intended to ignore this uncomplimentary comment as one of the
several empty displays of the Senator, but the fact that it tends to
reduce women to pieces of tissue calls for this response.
As we probed into Dino Melaye’s humanity, we were reminded that he is a
man known for his vainglorious rodomontade and the childish display of his
ostentatious lifestyle complements his love for foreign items. Many of
such euro-centric mentality he has persistently displayed on social media,
to underscore his materialistic eccentricity, hence his dialectical
opposition to made-in-Nigeria goods.
But an attempt at making women wear the garb of goods to be picked off the
shelves was to take the issue to a ridiculous and irresponsible level.
By delving into the private affair and marriage of the Comrade Governor,
Senator Melaye has exposed himself as a simpleton and a court jester whose
words and tactlessness cannot be taken seriously by matured people.
We advise that Melaye should mend his ways with his ex-wife and concubines
before coming to the village square to display his crass ignorance and
emptiness to the Nigerian people.
If he has anything to offer, Dino Melaye should concentrate on making good
laws for the people of Nigeria rather than descend to a ridiculous level,
thus displaying to the whole world his unworthiness to sit in the hallowed
chambers of the Nigerian Senate

The police have said that they are still awaiting the result of the medical examination carried out on Ese.
The police spokesperson, Olabisi Kolawole said the force has yet to get the medical report, noting that it was not ready yet.
Reacting to speculation that Ese is pregnant, Kolawole said this has not been determined.
“It is the result that would show the medical condition of the teenager and for now, the report is not ready, so it is unfair to speculate that Ese is pregnant when the result of the medical examination has not been released to us,” she said.
http://www.punchng.com/justiceforese-we-are-awaiting-result-of-medical-exam-police-say/
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Schoolmates and friends of Ese Oruru on Wednesday said they were still in shock over her abduction and forceful marriage to a Kano-based man.
When The Nation visited the Central Epie Secondary School, Opolo, where Ese was an SSS 1 student before her sudden disappearance, normal academic and social activities were ongoing in the school.
There were indications that the abducted girl must have lived a quiet life in the school as most of the students claimed they did not know her.
After making inquiries, a student took our correspondent to three students in SSS 1 whom she identified as Ese’s friends.
The friends, who identified themselves simply as Faith, Esther and Ebiyomi, said they were shocked at the way their friend was taken away.
However, Faith said she was happy that the puzzle about her disappearance had been resolved and she was on her way back.
She said they had made an arrangement to go to the girl’s house and receive her.
“We have missed her. I am happy we are going to see her again. I was very shocked when I heard about the story, though I did not believe it at first.
“After school that day I rushed to her parents’ house to confirm what I heard in school. When I got to their house I met her father who narrated the story to me. It was really sad,” she said.
Faith said it was not true that Ese eloped with the Kano-based man, adding that she never discussed anything relating to love with them.

An Ogudu Magistrates’ Court Lagos, on Monday, ordered a commercial driver, Kolawole Olumide, 25, to sweep the Ogudu Police Station for five days for driving against traffic.
The Magistrate, Mrs O. Sule Amzat, pronounced the sentence after the driver pleaded guilty to the three-count charge of driving without a licence and causing willful obstruction on the highway.
Amzat ordered Olumide to sweep the police station for a minimum of two hours for the duration of the five days and to pay N5, 000 to the Lagos State Government for each of the counts of the charge.
The magistrate said if the driver failed to comply with the community service imposed, he would be taken into custody for at least six months.
She also ordered that the vehicle – a Volkswagen LT bus with reg. no: KRD 833 XH – should be released to the convict upon completion of his sentence.
Earlier, the prosecutor, Sgt. Lucky Ihiehie, had told the court that Olumide drove against traffic on the highway.
He said the driver also caused willful obstruction on the road, having no regard for other road users.
The offences committed contravene Schedule 3, items 1, 24 and schedule 1, item 45 of the Lagos State Traffic
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/02/commercial-driver-to-sweep-police-station-for-traffic-offence/
lalasticlala

A House of Representative committee has revealed in an interim report that the N3.6 trillion ($12 billion) standard coastal railway line contract awarded before the 2015 elections did not follow regulations guiding contract award.
The contract awarded by the government of the former President, Goodluck Jonathan to the Chinese construction giant, CCECC is alleged not to have gone through the appropriate channels.
The rail line is to run from Calabar, through the Ex-president’s native village of Otuoke in Bayelsa State to Lagos.
However, the interim report of the House Ad-hoc committee, which is investigating railway contracts from 2010 to 2014, has discovered series of breaches of the Public Procurement Act and other laws.
The committee, which is headed by Rep Johnson Ehiozuwa (PDP, Edo), was set up to look into the activities of the Federal Ministry of Transport, the SURE-P programme and the management of Nigerian Railways Corporation from 2010 to 2014.
A kin look at the 20-page report, Daily Trust gathered, revealed that almost 40 railway contracts reviewed were breached in one way or the other.
The abnormalities include, multi-billion contracts awarded without competitive bidding; contractors without verifiable cognate railway experience or using the names of international companies to secure contracts but executed without their involvement.
The report is also showed with proofs, contracts awarded without proper documentation and at inflated costs, as well as contract manipulation without the involvement of the Board of the Nigerian Railway Corporation.
In the case of the N3.6 trillion costal rails the report revealed that there was no competitive bidding even as the cost was inflated.
The report also, revealed that there was no cogent feasibility study or independent technical assessment or advice and no front end engineering design (FEED) or even preliminary design.
The Contract is said to not have received the mandatory approval of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) for major contracts, which the bureau had refused to accord it due to the inflated cost and lack of funding plan.
It is reported also that Contracts bypassed the compulsory approval of the Federal Executive Council.
The Report has it that the Jonathan government allegedly went ahead and signed the contract even without the approval of both the bureau and the FEC.
“FMT (Federal Ministry of Transport) entered into a commercial contract with CCEEE/CRCC on November 19, 2014. The award did not obtain a ‘no objection’ certificate from the BPP due to the absence of a verifiable funding plan”, the report stated.
It added: “It was not presented to FEC (Federal Executive Council) and there was no constitutional approval for this contract; indeed the contract was signed a week after the BPP refused a ‘no objection’ certificate and insisted it was overpriced.”
This, according to the report, is contrary to the preamble in the contract document which claims that all due process steps were complied with and that the BPP issued a no objection certification no: BPP/DG2014/2162 dated November 12, 2014

The immediate past Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, was on Monday remanded in Kuje Prison by Justice Anwuli Chikere of the Federal High Court in Abuja over his alleged complicity in a N676m immigration recruitment scam. Also remanded in prison custody was ‎a Deputy Director in the ministry, Mr. F. O Alayebami.
The court took this decision after he pleaded not guilty to an 11-count criminal charge that was preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
Justice Chikere, however, granted administrative bail to the 2nd defendant, Mrs. Anastasia Daniel-Nwobia, who was a former ‎Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Interior when the alleged fraud was committed.
Mrs. Daniel-Nwobia who is nursing a baby persuaded the court, through her lawyer, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, to allow her to go home to take care of her baby.
The EFCC earlier told the court that ‎one of the accused persons, Mahmood Ahmadu, who was a Director at Drexel Tech Nigeria Ltd, a firm that was allegedly used to perpetuate the botched March 15, 2014 Immigration recruitment exercise that killed no fewer than 20 job seekers across the country, is currently at large. The charge against the accused persons borders on obtaining by false pretence, procurement fraud and money laundering. ‎
The anti-graft agency categorically alleged that the defendants defrauded 676,675 Nigerian applicants of N676,675,000 (Six Hundred and Seventy Six Million, Six Hundred and Seventy Five Thousand Naira) as each of the 676,675 applicants were charged N1,000 each for participating in the ill-fated Immigration recruitment exercise.
The defendants were also alleged to have flouted the Public Procurement Act, No. 65 of 2007 in the award of the contract for the organisation of the recruitment test to Drexel Tech Nigeria Ltd.
The EFCC stated that its investigations revealed that the firm which it said was not validly registered to operate in Nigeria, never bided for the contract, adding that the contract was awarded through selective tendering procedure by invitation of 4 (Four) firms without seeking the approval of the Bureau for Public Procurement, contrary to sections 40, 42 and 43 of the Public Procurement Act, No. 65 of 2007 and punishable under section 58 of the same act.
Meanwhile, the case has been adjourned by Justice Chikere till next week Wednesday to consider whether or not the ex-Minister and his alleged accomplice should be released on bail pending their trial.

The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, says the country is in a difficult but encouraging situation.
Tinubu said although the journey to economic recovery would not be easy, there was hope for the country.
This was contained in a speech he delivered on Saturday after receiving a honourary Doctor of Business degree at the 15th- 20th convocation ceremony of the University of Abuja.
He said, “Nigeria stands in the corridor between greatness and failure; between progress and collapse; between hope and despair. Our fate depends on whether we would summon the courage to take the bold steps and move in the direction. We must turn our present challenges into opportunities for the reengineering of our nation’s economic challenges.”
The APC leader, however, noted that Nigeria needed some fundamental restructuring, both politically and economically, in order to actualise the desired change.
Tinubu advocated a return to agriculture, noting that a vibrant agriculture sector would produce enough food for domestic consumption and for export, while creating more jobs.
He also reiterated his confidence in the Federal Government’s commitment “to a new era of discipline and prosperity.”
He added, “If you ask me to describe the state of the nation, I would say it is a difficult but encouraging one. We are emerging from a period of great moral uncertainty, where vice and virtue were too often indistinguishable and too often confused, one for the other.
“The journey we have embarked upon will not be easy. It requires all of us to make sacrifices and persevere until we achieve. Nigeria needs some fundamental restructuring, both politically and economically; not the constant tinkering and patch-patch we often resort to.
“We must therefore begin with fundamentally restructuring of the economy if we are to rid ourselves of joblessness.”
While commending the university for its achievements and the award, Tinubu said despite the challenges of infrastructure and funding, the University of Abuja must not compromise its academic standard.
“The university must seek to pursue initiatives that will make it overcome the ever present and common limitations,” he stressed

A former governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, on Saturday, tasked President Muhammadu Buhari on how to restructure Nigeria, laying emphasis on populist governance, agriculture, education, infrastructures and industrialisation.
Mr. Tinubu spoke at the combined convocation ceremony of University of Abuja where Honorary Doctor of Business Administration, DBA, was conferred on him by the institution.
Affected by years of poor management and academic strife, the University of Abuja held its 15th-20th convocation ceremony for five sets.
At the occasion, Mr. Tinubu said Nigeria’s future depended on the will and courage of Mr. Buhari’s government to turn challenges into opportunities.
“Nigeria stands in the corridor between greatness and failure, between progress and collapse, between hope and despair,” he said, adding that “Our fate depends on whether we summon the courage to take the bold steps and move in the direction. We must turn our present challenges into opportunities for the re-engineering of our nation’s economic challenges. The University and our educational system have a role to play here.”
“Nigeria needs some fundamental restructuring both politically and economically,” Mr. Tinubu said.
This restructuring, he stressed, should not be the “constant tinkering and patch-patch” Nigerian government often resorts to.
“Agriculture remains a key pillar in our development. We must return to the days when Nigeria had surplus and exported food. Now we import too much food for our own good and security.
“Our small farmers sink under the reality of rising costs and too little income from the crops they raise.
Moreover, we annually lose arable land to desert encroachment. I believe the current administration under President Buhari has set its priorities right in this regard. Our farmers will once be proud again. We believe farmers need to earn a sufficient enough income that will bring prosperity back to their families. They must be encouraged and supported,” Mr. Tinubu said.
He said Nigeria must also improve its capacity to provide jobs for growing urban population.
Speaking further, he highlighted how the APC Government would be lifting 20 per cent of Nigerians out of poverty.
“As a progressive government we have as one of our top priorities the lifting of 20 per cent of Nigerians out of poverty within the first four years of our administration.
“To happen, the state must be a catalyst for job creation and economic development that touches all the people not just a narrow growth that benefits a small number.
“We shall do this by implementing a national industrial policy linked to a national infrastructural plan and a national employment strategy.”
Mr. Tinubu also stressed the importance of education.
“Our position is that we make a special effort to draw all children to school, particularly the poor. We cannot afford to allow poverty to keep children out of the classroom. If so we are suborning a life of ignorance and poverty for millions of our young ones.”
He said Nigeria faces multiple challenges but assured APC Government could combat them.
“We have demonstrated the courage and determination to change a non-performing government through a democratic election. This electoral success has brought new challenges.
“These challenges are numerous and we must brace up and confront them.
Lalasticlala
http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/199192-buhari-restructure-nigeria-tinubu.html

Any citizen of Ekiti State who has attained 18 years but has no Permanent Voters Card (PVC) would henceforth lose his rights and privileges, the state government has said. Governor Ayodele Fayose, who stated this yesterday at Aramoko Ekiti while commissioning a water reticulation project, said not having a PVC could mean that such citizen offers no civic responsibility to government and will be deemed as having nothing to enjoy from the government.
At Awo in Irepodun/Ifelodun local government during the flag-off ceremony of the 14.5 km Awo-Ara-Ijero road, Fayose said: “Very soon about 10,000 people will benefit N10,000 monthly in our social security scheme.”
Fayose also said the road was constructed when he was in government in 2003 and since then nothing has been done on it. I promised during my electioneering campaign that I will do this road and what we are doing today is a promise kept.”

Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai has said the Nigerian military has entered mop up phase in the fight against Boko Haram and that it would soon release all captives, including Chibok girls.
Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai said this in Maiduguri while meeting with Borno Elders Forum as part of measures adopted to consolidate on the gains recorded in the counter-insurgency operation.
“We were given three major tasks, and we have made efforts toward achieving two”.
“The first task is to defeat Boko Haram, and I want to tell you that as at today Boko Haram has been defeated”.
“When I say defeat, it doesn’t necessarily mean that there won’t be hitches here and there. We have entered the mop-up stage of our operation”.
“The second task is to support the civil authorities in caring and protecting the Internally Displaced Persons and to help the civil authorities in restoring normalcy and rebuilding those areas that have been liberated.
“It has already commenced in places like Bama, Gamboru Ngala, Baga, Mongonu and most of those areas are deserted because they are afraid that they could be attacked.
“So, we will embark on confidence building to encourage them to come back by assisting the civil authorities”.
He acknowledged the support of the elders and urged them and the entire Borno people to be patient with the military particularly on measures initiated to tackle the insurgents.
He said measures such as the closure of markets and curfews were all taken to address gaps observed in the military operation.
Chairman of the Borno Elders Forum, Amb. Gaji Galtimari appreciated the efforts of the military in containing the menace of insurgency in the north-east.
He said that the military had succeeded in decimating the insurgents to the extent that the regular bomb and gun attacks were limited in parts of the region.
Galtimari said Borno elders were in support of measures adopted by the military in finally ending the menace of Boko Haram and pledged to do more to support the military

Ndigbo Cultural Society of Nigeria (NCSN) has called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to spare the life on Rev. Chukwuemeka Ezeugo, the General Overseer of Christian Praying Assembly.

Leader of the group, Chief Udo Udeogaranya, made the appeal after the Supreme Court threw out Rev King’s appeal against the death sentence passed on him in 2007 by a Lagos High Court presided over by Justice Joseph Oyewole.
The group begged President Muhammadu Buhari to “commute the sentence and grant him pardon as Nigeria stands to gain nothing by shedding blood.”

“This plea is premised on the ground that many Nigerians still hold Rev. Ezeugo as their spiritual leader even in various prisons and that the initial trial in Lagos as purportedly put forward by his lawyer Mr. Olalekan Ojo and published by national dailies was a miscarriage of justice in which the lawyer made certain points that demanded a second thought.

“Ojo argued that his client did not commit the crime and was not at the scene of the incident.
“He insisted that the deceased, Ann Uzoh, had in two statements she made after the incident and before her death, stated that she got burnt in a generator accident and that the cleric was not responsible for her injuries.
“Ojo said the Investigating Police Officer, IPO, had tendered statements which stated that Ezeugo was not responsible for the burns that led to Uzoh’s death.

“He alleged that the trial Judge refused to admit in evidence, the statements he said exonerated Ezeugo of the crime.
The lawyer further contended that “had those ‘vital exhibits’ been admitted rather than expunged by the trial judge, they would have operated to cast serious doubt on the case of the prosecution.
“He maintained that Justice Oyewole’s refusal to admit the exhibits in evidence ‘occasioned a great miscarriage of justice’ against his client.”

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, Friday. said that he would commence a 10-day working break from Monday to enable him rest.
‎He said the Deputy National Chairman, South, Engr. Segun Oni, would act on his behalf during the vacation.
Chief Odigie-Oyegun addressed journalists at the APC National Secretariat to clarify the reports that he would go on a month-long vacation that could signal the beginning of his disengagement from the party.
He said despite his health challenge, he managed to attend last Wednesday’s meeting of the party’s key leaders at the State House, Abuja.
He dismissed the media report suggesting an “internal strife” in the party and a move to “ease” him out of office.
He said, “I have been chairman for how long now? It’s going to two years. It has been very intense prior to building the party- a very intense period putting government together up to this point. All that has happened is that I think I deserve a bit of a break. That will start effective Monday. In my absence, my deputy, Engr Oni, will cover my beat. It is that simple, it is that straightforward. Any speculation about not being in the office is of no consequence.
“On Tuesday, I was down with malaria. I managed on Wednesday to attend that crucial meeting at the presidency. On Thursday, I had to go to the hospital just to be sure. Today (Friday), I am at work, full stop.”
When asked about the duration of the break, he said, “Ten working days (two weeks). So, if you start counting from Monday, you should know when I'll be back. The meeting on Wednesday has such important national issues that chairman or no chairman position has nothing to do with such serious issues of national importance. It’s very serious that select group like that was put together to address so nothing as mundane as whether the future of the chairman is in doubt or not….
Asked to speak on the date for the constitution of the APC Board of Trustees (BoT), Chief Odigie-Oyegun said the Board would meet on March 22, the day before the National Caucus would also hold its meeting.
He added that the National Executive Committee (NEC), which is the highest decision-making body of the party, would meet on March 24.
Chief Odigie-Oyegun said President Muhammadu Buhari was currently talking to those who had an impact in re-arranging the international economic realities to change some of the current dynamics made oil collapsed “in such a precipitate manner”.
He said the president’s trips and investment drive were necessary because Nigeria needed good prices for oil so that it could implement its own national development plan

The tension generated by the emergence of Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff as National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was on Tuesday doused with key organs of the party approving a three-month tenure for the embattled party chairman.
The decision was reached at an enlarged meeting of the PDP Governors’ Forum, the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT), the National Assembly Caucus, the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) and state caucuses.
Rising from the meeting, which was held at the Ondo State Governor’s Lodge, Asokoro, Abuja, the party leaders said the decision to allow Sheriff stay for three months was a unanimous one.
Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, who addressed journalists shortly after the meeting, said the decision to stand by Sheriff was taken in the best interest of the party.
He said Sheriff had been mandated to put in motion preparations for the party’s national convention to elect new members of the NWC to run the party.
Also commenting on the outcome, the Acting Chairman of the BoT, Senator Walid Jibrin, announced the concurrence of the BoT with the decision.
According to him, Sheriff was given two weeks within which to produce a timetable for the next convention to be convened in May.
He expressed the optimism that the lingering crisis in the party would be resolved within three months.
On the rejection of Sheriff by the party’s ex -ministers, Mimiko said they are members of the state caucuses headed by chairmen of their various state chapters.
This, according to the governor, automatically makes them a party to the decision.
Mimiko, however, said the various party organs would still reach out to the ex-ministers, with the view to bringing them on board.
Those at the meeting included governors of Ekiti, Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Bayelsa States.
Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu; Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio; his counterpart in the House of Representatives, Louis Ogor and Dr. Ahmadu Ali among others, were also at the meeting

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has commenced action on a petition against the new Ooni of Ife, new Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi and his Company named Metropole Interproject Limited over an alleged N400 Million forgery.
The alleged forgery involved the immediate past Ooni of Ife, Late Oba Okunade Sijuade Olubuse’s Business Empire.
The anti graft agency has invited a human rights activist and Executive Chairman, Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRSJ), Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman who petitioned the agency to substantiate the allegation raised in the petition.
Speaking on the development through a signed statement, which made available to newsmen in Lagos, Comrade Sulaiman revealed that he received a phone call with no-“080385………” from an official of the anti-graft body (EFCC), called her name “Ronke,” saying that the group’s petition Letter to the Commission was ready for investigation to authenticate the veracity of the allegations in the petition.
Sulaiman said that the EFCC official informed the group through him to report at the Economic and Governance Crime (EGC 1) department of the Commission whenever they came to the Commission’s office for the interaction on the matter.
It would be recalled that the Petition Letter dated Monday 2nd November, 2015 entitled: “Request for Prosecution of Prince Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi and his Company named Metropole Inter project Limited for the Offence of forgery, Fraudulent Conversion and Obtaining the sum of N400million by false Pretence”, and forwarded to the Chairman of the EFCC and a copy was also sent to the President Muhammadu Buhari.
Also, the anti-graft body received the CHRSJ’s Petition letter on the subject matter on Friday 6th of November, 2015.
Copies of the petition were also forwarded to the Transparency International (TI) office and Embassy of the United Kingdom (UK), United State of America (USA) and Republic of Canada for their notification of the development.
The petition, supported with the series of evidences, including the petition letter dated 7th September, 2015, authored by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Rotimi Jacobs

A Saudi who kidnapped and tried to rape his employer was put to death on Tuesday in the kingdom’s 64th execution of the year.
Mufrih bin Ahmed Khamis worked as the victim’s driver, the interior ministry said in a statement.
A court found that he consumed alcohol before abducting her and her baby, “taking advantage of the fact that he drove her to the school where she worked,” it said.
“He beat her, handcuffed her and placed tape over her mouth. He then drove her to an isolated location and tried to rape her.”
After stealing her money and telephone, Khamis abandoned the woman and child, the ministry added.
After his trial and conviction, Khamis was executed in the southwestern city of Abha.
Most people sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia are beheaded with a sword.
The kingdom executed 47 people in a single day on January 2 on “terrorism” charges.
In 2015, Saudi Arabia executed 153 people, mostly for drug trafficking or murder, according to an AFP count.
Amnesty International says the number of executions in Saudi Arabia last year was the highest for two decades.
However, the tally was far behind those of China and Iran.
The kingdom has a strict Islamic legal code under which murder, drug trafficking, armed robbery, rape and apostasy are all punishable by death.
It is the only country in the world that bans women from driving, forcing them to rely on male relatives or hired drivers

The Northern States Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) on Monday reacted to an allegation by the Christ Redeemers’ Union (CRU) that President Muhammadu Buhari was planning to install a northerner as CAN President.
Treasurer of the Northern CAN, Pastor Haruna Karatu said it would not be abnormal for a northerner to become CAN President, warning against accusing Buhari wrongly.
“There is nothing wrong with having a Northerner as CAN President; after all CAN started from the North. The Presidency of CAN is not for the South only.
“Buhari has nothing to do with CAN, it is just a blackmail by mischief makers who want to drag the name of the President into their gimmicks,” he said in Kaduna.
Similarly, the immediate past Chairman of the North-East CAN, Rev. Shuaibu Byal recalled that “CAN started in the north in 1964 and became national in 1976.
“Since then, Northern Christians have never shown interest in the leadership of CAN, apart from John Onaiyekan who is from Kogi State.
“All we do is to support anybody, in the believe that Christians are one. We back any president regardless of tribe or region.”
He pointed out that: “Obasanjo was President of Nigeria when Peter Akinlola became the President of CAN, both from Ogun State. Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor became CAN President from the Niger Delta region at the time Goodluck Jonathan was President of this country.
“So, it is unfortunate for any group to come out and say President Muhammadu Buhari is trying to install a Northern as CAN President. That is a divisive language and we don’t encourage such.
“We have Igbo people who became CAN chairmen in the Northern States. We supported Ayo’s emergence as President, so if one of us wants to succeed him, how is it a crime?” Byal quipped

The Chairman of Capital Oil and Gas, Ifeanyi Ubah on Monday said he had what it takes to restore the naira to 200 against the dollar in one month, if consulted by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Speaking with Channels Television, Ubah, however, dismissed the insinuation that the short fall in naira was as a result of the activities of the Bureau De Change, BDC, operators.
He said, “Look at the economy, look at the position of the naira today; some of us have ideas on how we can restore this.”
“It won’t take me one month, if Buhari gives me part of that consultancy, and naira would come back to 200.
“I can bet my life with it, naira would come back to N200. If you call me for that consultancy, I would put naira back to 200.”
“Look at the economy, look at the position of the naira today; some of us have ideas on how we can restore this,”
“Do you know how many Burea De Change people who food has been taken out of their families because of this? If you say they are the ones causing it, then where are you today?
On how he intends to go about achieving such feat, Ubah said: “Don’t worry, that’s my business and business is secret.”

The Nigerian military has said it is yet to confirm the speculation over an arrest of Boko Haram kingpin popularly known as Bashir Sarkin Yanka, which, in Hausa, means Bashir the King of Slaughter and who had been acting as Abubakar Shekau in some videos on the social media.
Local security volunteer group known as Civilian JTF in Konduga Local Government Area of Borno State claimed that it had arrested the notorious Boko Haram kingpin.
The arrested suspect was reported to have confessed to the Civilian JTF that he had acted as Boko Haram leader, Shekau, in some videos and was responsible for the death of his (Bashir’s) mother, two sisters and brother apart from engaging in mass slaughter.
However, spokesperson of Operation Lafiya Dole in the North-East, Air Commodore Dele Alonge, said the military could not confirm the arrest of the Shekau’s actor yet.
He said the military had sustained its counter-insurgency operations where some terrorists had been eliminated and others apprehended in the North-East.
Alonge said: “As you are aware, the Nigerian military has succeeded in routing out terrorists from some of their hideouts in the North-East, and, in the process, some were eliminated and others had been arrested.
“We cannot at the moment provide the identities of those in our custody or in other places until after we have conducted thorough investigations,” he said.
Speaking further, he said the military arrested two suspects, Audu Umar and Hassan Umar for smuggling themselves among the Internally Displaced People (IDPs) brought from Pulka to Gwoza IDPs Camp in Borno State.
He said the male suspects who gave their names as Audu Umar and Hassan Umar were undergoing interrogation by the military and intelligence operatives

The spokesperson for the Senate Unity Forum, Senator Kabir Marafa, on Sunday demanded the immediate suspension of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, for allegedly creating controversies around the 2016 budget in order to blackmail President Muhammadu Buhari.
Marafa, who is also the Chairman, Senate Committee on National Identity and National Population, told a group of select journalists in Abuja that Saraki and his loyalists in the red chamber were condemning the budget in order to protest his ongoing trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
He added that the budget controversies could be linked to the pending trial of Saraki at the CCT.
The Senate President, according to him, through the aid of fifth columnists, had been shouting at different times that the budget was missing, doctored or padded, hence, could no longer be passed as earlier planned.
He said, “Honestly speaking, if I am to comment on the controversy that has been trailing the 2016 budget in the Senate, I will say it is all the work of the fifth columnists there.
“We woke up one day and the Senate President just came and said there was no budget and that the budget was stolen, thereby embarrassing everybody. But the following day, the Speaker said his own was not stolen.
“Next, they said the budget is doctored; next, they said the budget is padded; next, they said there are discrepancies all over the place. We knew how they came into the leadership of the National Assembly or the Senate.
“Was it a coincidence that the issue of padding and everything just came up after the Supreme Court said go and face your trial?
“Suddenly, we started hearing that we cannot pass the budget as we promised, because there are discrepancies and so on and so forth.
“In a nutshell, all the noise about the budget is all about this issue of corruption trial or CCT trial. That is all; no more, no less.”
Marafa insisted that nobody in the Senate could suspend him over the interview he granted and published in theSunday PUNCHedition of February 7, having read the contents several times and became convinced that he did nothing wrong.
He said, “Nobody, I repeat, nobody in that Senate, can suspend me over those remarks I made in the said interview. Rather, it is the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, that should be suspended by the Senate for turning things upside down within the last eight months.
“He started with the forgery of Standing Orders to illegally increase the number of standing committees in the Senate from 57 to 65 with attendant violation of ranking rules in their compositions.
“Above all, the Senate President should be suspended for refusing to resign as the Senate President in the face of trial on corruption charges at the Code of Conduct Tribunal and invariably battering the image of the Senate.
“… the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria gives us the right to say our opinion. We can air our views and nobody can deny us that one.”
Marafa, again, pledged to make himself available before the Senate Ethics Committee whenever he was invited because of his respect for the Senate as an institution.
He added that the committee actually invited him to appear before it last week Thursday but that he could not make it because he was in Kaduna to commiserate with his friend, Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi, who lost his mother

The Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, has carpeted his critics who accused him of mismanaging the state’s resources, saying, “I’m not a hungry governor.”
The governor, who stated this in a media chat at the Governor’s Lodge, Amawbia, said he was an accomplished person by dint of a good career he had in the banking industry.
He said, “Look, let me tell you, I’m a wealthy person before I came here as a governor. I didn’t come here to steal, because there is nothing here for me to steal.
“I was enjoying my wealth in the United States of America with my family before I was approached to come and do this job as a governor.
“I had already made good money before venturing into politics. I was relishing in the comfort of my house, with swimming pool, basketball court and other good things in the United States before providence brought me here.
“I’m an accomplished person by every measurement. Providence brought me here as governor to serve the people.
“In terms of enjoyment, there is none here to enjoy as a governor, with all this protocol restricting my comfort.”
Obiano had been under criticism over alleged profligacy in the handling of state’s resources, including mismanaging N75bn allegedly left in the state’s coffers by his predecessor, Mr. Peter Obi.
But Obiano, in the media chat, said because of his banking background, he had maintained financial prudence and transparency in the management of the state resources.
He said in just two years in office, he was being rated with those who spent eight years in office as governor.
He boasted of his administration’s achievement in security, describing it as outstanding. According to him, Anambra State has now become an investment destination.
The governor said he had built the longest bridge in the state to link Anambra with other states, noting that the bridge would shorten journeys to Nsukka, Abuja and so on.
He added that the three flyovers in Awka under construction would be ready by April.

TheSultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III yesterday branded child begging, otherwise known as Almajiri in the north as un-Islamic.
The monarch who is also the President General of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), who spoke at a meeting between representatives of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Northern State Governments and the Sultan Foundation for Peace and Development on development of girl child in Nigeria also dismissed refusal to educate a girl-child in the name of religion as a total misconception.
The Sultan said Almajiri has nothing to do with Islam.
“We talk about Almajiri in the North, and we keep on seeing it as if it is a religious issue. ‘Almajirinci’ has nothing to do with Islam,” he said.
“It is an issue of poverty and nothing more, and the earlier we all recognized this fact, the better for us.”
He, however, stressed the need for the girl-child to be educated, saying:”we believe an educated girl is better in bringing up better family and citizenry to the world because we all know the importance of our mothers.
“They trained and brought us up. If you check the lifestyle of an individual, if it’s good, check the family background; and if bad check the family background. The women play that important role of bringing up the society.
“Here in Northern Nigeria, we don’t pay much attention to girl-child education. As we all know an educated woman is more an asset than uneducated one or even educated man, you must be knowledgeable to lead. To rule you must be knowledgeable.
“The girl-child education has become very important especially now that the world is facing social problems, and Nigeria is part of that global village,” the Sultan stressed.
In her remarks, the Country Representative, UNICEF Nigeria, Jean Gough described education as the cornerstone of everything, and without education, there cannot be reduction in poverty in any country.
Education, according to him “is the hardest sector to transform. Children in the Northeast have lost two years of education. We know Nigeria is working to achieving the goal of President Muhammadu Buhari in transforming the education sector. We hope this year 2016 will be a year of true change.
“Change can only happen when leaders in Nigeria are in partnership with all second of education and when proper action is taken.”

FOR transforming the face of governance in Edo State and for the developmental projects across the state, a former governor of the defunct Mid-West region and Bendel State, Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia, has pledged to support Governor Adams Oshiomhole for the rest of his life, saying, “I will continue to work with you until my grave.”
Dr. Ogbemudia, during a visit by Governor Oshiomhole in his residence, in Benin City, said: “I have withdrawn my membership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, so, I am at home as a non-partisan politician. But every human being is a political animal, and I cannot say I have left politics.”
Elated by the governor’s visit, he said: “But as I have said, I have been with you from the day you started helping me when I was the Minister of Labour. That day I called you, and you asked me, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ and I said, ‘I don’t want strike throughout my tenure’, and you said, ‘we were elected to cause you discomfort, and if I don’t do it again, it means I am failing in my duty.’ I said, ‘No, you won’t fail.’ And throughout my tenure there was no strike and we worked well together.
“So, as you have come here, I didn’t see any other way to thank you than to make sure I work with you, and I will continue to work with you until I go to my grave.”