₦airaland Forum

President Goodluck Jonathan has promised to eradicate
corruption in the nation’s oil sector in the next four
years if re-elected during Saturday’s Presidential
election.
Jonathan made the promise in Lagos Sunday evening at
a youth event, tagged, “An unimaginable feat in sports”.
The event was meant to showcase his administration’s
achievements in the sports sector.
The event which ended in the early hours of Monday
attracted sports men and women, young professionals
as well as beneficiaries of the Federal Government’s
scholarship schemes, among others.
While answering questions from one of the participants
during an interactive session at the event, the President
promised to end the stigmatisation of Nigerians in the
international community because of corruption.
He said his administration had succeeded in using
technology to tackle corruption in many areas, such as
fertilizer distribution, procurement and salary payment,
among others, and will do the same in the oil industry.
He said, “We are going into the oil sector. People talk
about the oil industry because that is an industry with a
lot of people and a lot of money is involved.
“But I promise you that in the next four years, we will
sanitise the oil sector.”
Jonathan regretted that the issue of corruption is being
over-celebrated in a manner that makes it looks as if
the whole of the country is corrupt.
He said all Nigerians must work together to ensure that
the stigmatisation of Nigerians is cleared.
The President also promised to work with the young
people because of his conviction that parents who do
not encourage young ones are preparing their families
for extinction.
Specifically, he promised that he would give more
youths under the age of 40 years more opportunities to
serve as ministers and heads of government parastatals.
He said, “Before he left to go and participate in election
as deputy governorship candidate in Jigawa State,
Nurudeen (former Minister of State, Foreign Affairs)
was a minister and he is below 40.
“Last week, we swore in the youngest female minister.
She is also about 40 years old.
“Apart from cabinet positions for under 40s, we are
also appointing young people as heads of parastatals.
“We want to continue to encourage those in youth-
dominated sectors, such as business, sports and
entertainment industries too.
“I can assure you that we shall not go below what are
currently doing. I know you want more, vote for us and
you will get it.”
Answering a question on poverty rate in the country,
Jonathan put it at 33.1 percent, as against the over 60
percent that he said some people were brandishing.
He however added that the issue is not about the
percentage but about the desire of his government to
impact more on the lives of the people.
On the health sector, Jonathan highlighted the feats
being achieved by some tertiary health institutions in
the country in the areas of kidney transplant and heart
surgeries.
He also mentioned the successes recorded in the fight
against the Ebola Virus Disease, guinea worm as well as
polio.
He promised to do more for the sector, if re-elected.
Jonathan also reiterated his promise to institute special
funds to assist sports men and women, if re-elected.
Overall, he said better days were ahead for the country
under his leadership.


source: http://www.punchng.com/news/oil-sector-corruption-to-end-in-four-years-jonathan/

It's bit absurd. ."GIANTS OF AFRICA".

Nigeria is bearing the financial burden of the operations
by multinational forces against Boko Haram insurgents,
findings by The PUNCH on Sunday have revealed.
The troops from Nigeria’s neighbours – Chad and Niger
– it was learnt in Abuja, receive N146.25m monthly as
pocket and feeding allowances from the Federal
Government.
The sum is however different from that paid by Nigeria
for fuelling of the operational vehicles of the foreign
troops and other logistics, which our source did not
state.
A breakdown of the N146.2m shows that the 2,500
troops contributed by Chad receive N112.5m monthly
while the 750 soldiers from Niger get N33.75m.
Thus each of the soldiers from the two countries gets
N45,000 monthly as pocket and feeding allowances, the
same amounts paid their Nigerian counterparts.
The joint war was initiated by the governments of
Nigeria, Chad and Niger to flush out the insurgents
from the North-East and to halt their incursion into the
two Francophone countries.
It was further gathered that the two Francophone
countries, are in addition to the allowances paid by
Nigeria, making demands for funding by the
international community.
Our source, who asked to remain anonymous because
he was not permitted to speak on the issue, said,
“Although, it is a joint operation, a kind of sub-regional
collaborative effort, Nigeria is the only country funding
the operations.
“The arrangement is not such that each participating
country funds its defence forces deployed for the
operation.
“Nigeria is funding the operation to the extent of
providing the allowances for all the Chadian and
Nigerien troops involved.
“Apart from that, the country is also providing for the
feeding of these troops and fuelling all their operational
vehicles.”
It was further gathered that in spite of the sacrifices
being made by the Federal Government, the joint
operation is being threatened by mutual suspicion.
There are allegations that reports about the conflict in
the international media are being manipulated by
Chadians in the mission area to portray Nigerian troops
in bad light.
It was learnt that the Defence Headquarters was not
comfortable with the slanting of stories to highlight
supposed exploits of the supporting countries to the
detriment of the Nigerian forces and indeed the
country.
The report that Chadian troops liberated Damasak, a
border community between Nigeria and Niger on March
9, 2015 was mentioned as one of such.
In it, the Chadians were reported to have killed 200
insurgents while liberating the town.
However, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Kenneth
Minimah, told journalists on Monday that the town was
still in terrorists’ hands.
It was further gathered that the mutual suspicion was
exacerbated by an incident which resulted in the killing
of an unspecified number of Nigerian troops by
insurgents on their way to Dikwa.
The New York Times quoted the Chadian Foreign
Minister, Moussa Mahamat, as having said that “the
Nigerian Army has not succeeded in facing up to Boko
Haram.”
He had added, “The occupation of these towns, this is
up to Nigeria. My fondest wish is that they assume their
responsibilities.
“Our biggest wish is that the Nigerian Army pulls itself
together — that it takes responsibility in the towns. We
are ready to disengage, right away.”
However, the Director Defence Information, Maj. Gen.
Chris Olukolade, who dismissed the claim on Saturday,
said, “It is not true that our soldiers are not willing to
take over such communities. There is no town that our
soldiers have liberated that is not being well secured
and well patrolled at the moment.
“We have always warned against irresponsible comments
in this collaboration and we are not ready to join issues
with anybody. We will do everything to sustain this
collaboration.”
Attempts to get Olukolade to comment on Nigeria’s
financial commitment to the ongoing operation were
unsuccessful on Sunday.
Calls to his mobile telephone number did not connect
as of the time of 8pm.


source: http://www.punchng.com/news/bharam-nigeria-pays-chadian-nigerien-soldiers-n146m-monthly/

Chadian and Nigerien troops fighting Boko Haram
insurgency in the North-East are reportedly begging
their Nigerian counterparts to take over towns
recaptured from the sect.
Nigerian authorities had announced that troops had
recaptured all towns occupied by members of the
terrorist group in Adamawa and Yobe states, remaining
Borno, the last of the three north-eastern states mostly
affected by the insurgency.
A report by The New York Times on Friday, entitled
‘Foreign troops beg Nigerian soldiers to occupy
recaptured towns,’ said foreign troops had led
journalists on a tour of the liberated towns without
Nigerian troops on the ground.
Chadian authorities were reported to be angered by
“the near-total absence of cooperation from the
Nigerians in a crucial regional battle.”
The report said Chadian soldiers were wondering why
they, and not the Nigerians, were holding towns like
Damasak, several days after the last Boko Haram fighter
has fled or been killed.
The Chadian Foreign Minister, Moussa Faki Mahamat,
was quoted as saying, “The Nigerian Army has not
succeeded in facing Boko Haram. The occupation of
these towns, this is up to Nigeria. My fondest wish is
that they assume their responsibilities.
“Our biggest wish is that the Nigerian Army pulls itself
together — that it takes responsibility in the towns. We
are ready to disengage, right away.”
Second Lieutenant Hassan of the Chadian Army was
quoted to have berated the Nigerian troops as failing in
their responsibilities.
He said, “We asked them (Nigerian Army) to come, to
receive this town from us, but they have not come. It is
because they are afraid.
“We fought on the night of the 14th, and the last attack
was on the 15th. We called them on the 16th and told
them to come; they didn’t believe we were here.
“It is up to them (Nigeria) to hold the town, not us,”
said Lieutenant Hassan, referring to the Nigerians. “Our
role is offensive. Our mission is to chase the terrorists.”
The Director of Defence Information, Maj.-Gen. Chris
Olukolade, however, told our correspondent on the
telephone on Saturday that it was not true that Nigerian
troops were not willing to take over such territories.
He said there was no town liberated by the Nigerian
troops in the ongoing offensive against the insurgents
that was not effectively cleared of terrorists’ presence
and was not being well patrolled.
He added that the collaborating nations had warned
against “irresponsible” comments involving the
operation, stressing that the military would not join
issues with anyone.
Olukolade said, “It is not true that our soldiers are not
willing to take over such communities. There is no town
that our soldiers have liberated that is not being well
secured and well patrolled at the moment.
“We have always warned against irresponsible comments
in this collaboration and we are not ready to join issues
with anybody.
“We will do everything to sustain this collaboration.”



source: http://www.punchng.com/news/nigerian-soldiers-afraid-of-recaptured-boko-haram-towns-chad/

Boko Haram fighters may be fleeing from several
locations in northeastern Nigeria, but it may not be at
the hands of the Nigerian Army.
In a major story on Friday, said only Chadian and Nigerien soldiers, who liberated
the area from Boko Haram, are on the ground with no
Nigerian soldiers to take it over from them despite being
asked.
Damask, on the border with Niger but close to
Cameroon, was a regional headquarters for the
militants.
The New York Times reporter was part of a small group
of journalists the Chadians ushered around the area to
look at their accomplishment, of which they are very
proud. It is unclear whether any Nigerian journalists
were in the group.
For now, Damask is deserted, its population of 200,000
having been dispersed or killed. And there are no
Nigerian soldiers anywhere in sight, the report said.
“Hundreds of miles away in N’Djamena, the capital of
Chad, officials are expressing anger at the near-total
absence of cooperation from the Nigerians in a crucial
regional battle, even as Nigerian officials are
discounting the extent of Chad’s role.
“The disquiet of the Chadian officials was echoed in the
words of the front-line Chadian soldiers here who
wonder why they, and not the Nigerians, are holding
towns like Damasak, several days after the last Boko
Haram fighter has fled or been killed.”
Said Second Lt. Mohammed Hassan about his Nigerian
colleagues, “We asked them to come, to receive this
town from us, but they have not come.”
And he had an explanation why: “It is because they are
afraid,” he told the reporters.
The report said the brief tour of Damask offered a rare
glimpse into Boko Haram’s northern Nigerian
stronghold, and into the dimensions, and difficulties, of
a cross-border, four-nation fight against the Islamists.

source: http://saharareporters.com/2015/03/20/foreign-troops-recapture-borno-town-boko-haram-now-begging-absent-nigerian-soldiers-come

When a pdp Governor make such statement,something is amiss.

Kaduna State Governor, Mukhtar Yero, has called for
the split of the Northern States Governors Forum into
three -North-West, North-Central and North-East.
Yero said with this, the region could be effectively
managed.
The governor, who stated this at a dinner organised by
CITAR-NGO on Tuesday night, lashed out at northern
leaders, who he accused of failing to invest in the
region over the years.
Yero said,“We must tell ourselves the truth. Myself, Yobe
State Governor and one other governor, had, in the last
northern governors meeting held in Kaduna, came up
with this idea that the meeting should be divided into
North-West, North-East and North-Central.
“This is because these three areas have different
peculiarities; the peculiarity in the North-West is
different from the peculiarity in the North-East, so also
the peculiarity in the North-Central is different from the
other two zones.”
According to Yero, the split of NSGF will bring effective
control and management of the entire northern region,
where all the three zones will pool resources together
and direct them to what he called central body of the
North.
“The governors in the South-East and South-West have
such meetings, and they are progressing because they
have a common peculiarity in their respective zones,”
the governor said.
Lashing out at northern leaders, Yero said most of the
leaders were quick to pay glowing tribute to the late
Premier of the defunct Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu
Bello, but had failed to invest to move the region
forward economically.
He said,“We, northerners, have completely destroyed
ourselves. We have missed the road to investment and
South-West, having being in control of education over
the years, is gradually taking over the political power
that the North used to control.
“This is because the people of the South-West are highly
educated but in the North, our boys are roaming the
streets; smoking Indian hemp and taking drugs, without
minding to go to school.
“But our girls are better, and I keep on saying that one
day in the North, the female ones will go to the office,
the male ones will go to the kitchen. This is the situation
we have found ourselves in the North.
“Our elders continue to talk of Sarduana, Sir Ahmadu
Bello, without putting something on the ground to build
on the development Sardauna had left behind many
years ago. None of them want to invest in the North
because they don’t want people to know that they have
money.”


source: http://www.punchng.com/news/our-leaders-have-failed-to-help-the-north-yero/#disqus_thread

Wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, on
Tuesday in Ilorin, Kwara State, said her husband was
the messiah hence she told Nigerian women not to vote
for Maj.Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), the
presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress.
“Nigerian women, if they (APC) come, tell them that
your mother said you should not listen to them. They
have nothing to offer. They have nothing to give you,
Nigerian women; because the battle has already been
conquered, God has opened the way for us. God has
brought down the messiah for us. And PDP is the
messiah. Goodluck is the messiah,” the President’s wife
said at the Peoples Democratic Party’s women
presidential rally in Ilorin.
She asked Buhari to leave politics and governance to
younger people.
“I am a person that will tell the truth. I will not abuse
people, but if you are old you are old, so leave it to
younger people,” she said in a veiled reference to her
husband’s main challenger, whom the PDP had said was
too old to occupy the President’s office.
Buhari was born December 17, 1942.
The President’s wife likened the opposition APC to an
“expired and adulterated drug” and urged the Nigerian
electorate not to vote for the party, saying it could lead
to their death.
She said God had told her that the APC would lose the
general elections rescheduled for March 28 and April
11 general elections.
Mrs. Jonathan said, “What are we going to take expired
drug to do? Have you seen anywhere where APC cured
any person? If you vote and drink it and die, it is not
my business. Do not go near APC. It is an expired drug
and an adulterated drug.”
She said the Jonathan-led Federal Government had
positively transformed the country through provision of
massive infrastructure as well as good and functional
health care and good educational system.
She also promised that the PDP would reclaim
governance of Kwara State, saying the state was stolen
from the PDP.
“They stole our mandate. This is opposition state. All
these provisions of the Federal Government, they are
claiming that they are the ones providing them,
meanwhile they are embezzling the money.
“Anyone that comes, they eat it up. This time, PDP says
no to them.”
Patience also cautioned APC leaders against making its
campaign to clash with that of the PDP. She accused the
APC of deliberately planning the political events of
Aishat Buhari, the wife of the APC presidential
candidate, to coincide with her own rally in order to
create an atmosphere for violence between the two
camps.
She said, “PDP is not shaken; as far as we are there,
there is no need for trouble. You know that Mama
Peace, your mother, is peace-loving, so the children
must also be peace-loving. Women are peace makers
and no woman that makes trouble is worth to be called
a woman.
“Before I went to Edo State, the APC was there, all to
make trouble. I have always been telling them that they
like to make trouble. I wanted to go to Edo, they were
there. Why? To make trouble. I wanted to come to
Kwara, they were there. Why? To make trouble. As I was
coming today at the airport, they were also coming so
that there would be trouble but I told my security
people that I am a mother of peace, so let them go in
peace. We, wives of political leaders should not make
trouble, so even if they come to you to make trouble,
don’t fall for their tricks.”
Mrs. Buhari’s convoy was attacked by suspected thugs
in Ilorin on Monday.
Patience added, “Kwara is PDP. They only stole the
mandate because the Government House they are
occupying today is in the name of PDP. We shall take it
over. Everyday they change from one name to another
and very soon they will change to Ebola and then death
will come. My God that I serve has told me that they
will fail. So don’t be deceived, don’t listen to their lies.
“There is office for wife of President but they were
saying there is none. But soon they brought one ‘Hajia’
as wife of the President and she is now saying, ‘don’t
worry, my husband made a mistake, we shall make
provisions as necessary.’ Don’t believe what they are
saying, hold to what you have because it is better than
what you are yet to see.”

source: http://www.punchng.com/news/my-husband-is-the-messiah-patience-jonathan-says/

Josephine Ugwu, the airport cleaner who returned a passenger’s luggage containing local and foreign currencies to the tune of N12m has been rewarded with a N7,200 salary increment.

Ugwu, who works for Patovilki Cleaning Services, a concessionaire engaged by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria tokeep the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos clean, was on a monthly salary of N7,800 before the incident.

The National Diploma graduate of Our Saviour Institute of Science, Agriculture and Technology, Enugu, now enjoys a N7,200 salary increment, bringing her new salary to N15,000.During a visit to the airport on Monday,PUNCH Metro interacted with Ugwu’s colleagues who expressed disappointment that such act of uncommon integrity was not noticed by the government.

They argued that a society that was quick to mete out punishment to offenders should also be quick to reward exemplary behaviour. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, one of Ugwu’s colleagues lamented that the government did not have a culture of rewarding and encouraging exemplary behaviour.

She said:“Some people have abused her and called her a fool for returning the bag. It now looks as if what she did was wrong. Most people will not be motivated to follow her lead when faced with similar situation. The government should have, at least, sent her a commendation letter for what she did.”Another colleague, identified simply as Faith, also expressed disappointment.

She said Ugwu had returned passengers’ luggage with money in them for a record third time and all three had gone unnoticed. She said:“Twice in December 2014, she returned passengers’ luggage with huge sums of money in them. One contained about N600,000 and the other had close to N2m.if it were to be a case of stealing and she was caught, I am sure the government would have been quick to send her to jail.”Ugwu, however, said she had no regrets for what she did, but would not mind being compensated. She said:“I believe that a good name is better than riches.

This incident has taken my name far and wide and I am happy that it is for a good cause. God’s reward is the ultimate, but if the government will give me a proper job as promised, I will be happy.

My company on its part has tried and I am grateful for the management’s action. My salary has been increased and I have also been promoted.”Mrs. Eunice Anumudu, Ugwu’s supervisor at the airport, praised her integrity and uprightness, saying that Ugwu had become a role model, not only for her colleagues, but for all Nigerians.“What she did is worthy of emulation. Many people in her shoes would have done otherwise. She is a role model to her colleagues and to all Nigerians. I will be happy if the government can do something to encourage her,” she said.





http://www.lailasblog.com/2015/03/cleaner-josephine-ugwu-gets-n7200.html

The convoy of Hajia Aishat Buhari, the wife of the
presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress,
Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari(retd.), was attacked on
Monday in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.
Mrs. Buhari, in company with her entourage, were
returning from a courtesy visit to the Emir of Ilorin,
Alhaji Ibrahim Zulu-Gambari, when the convoy was
attacked.
The APC women leaders were in the state for a two-day
voter education summit for women.
It was gathered that no fewer than 10 vehicles were
vandalised during the attack, but no report of human
casualties or injuries was recorded.
The Kwara State APC chairman, Alhaji Ishola Balogun-
Fulani, during a media briefing, confirmed the attack.
He accused a PDP leader in the state (name withheld) of
being the brain behind the attack, calling on the police
and other security agencies to be more at alert.
Balogun-Fulani appealed to the security agencies to
caution the members of the Peoples Democratic Party.
He said, “It will be recalled that the APC has repeatedly
reported to the police and other security agencies
about the plan by the PDP to cause violence and
mayhem before, during and after the forthcoming
general elections.
“A worrisome incident took place on Monday, March
16, 2015 during the visit of Hajia Aishat Buhari, wife of
APC presidential candidate. Her convoy was attacked
around a film house along Emir Road, Ilorin. About 10
vehicles were vandalised.
“We also have it on good authority that two of the PDP
thugs have been apprehended by the Police.
“We are using this medium again to call the Police and
other security agencies to be alert and caution PDP.”
The Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Salihu
Garba, confirmed the attack.
source: http://www.punchng.com/news/kwara-hoodlums-attack-buharis-wife-convoy-two-arrested/

A disaffected insider within President Goodluck
Jonathan’s administration as well as several banking
executives have told SaharaReporters that Nigeria faces
a deep economic crisis and massive social gloom after
the 2015 general elections. Speaking from different
perspectives, the sources said President Jonathan had
virtually vacuumed the Nigerian treasury to serve his re-
election campaign, leaving Nigerian banks in dire straits
and many states on the verge of failing to pay salaries
this month.
“The truth is that Mr. President has almost emptied the
treasury, and some of us close to him are even
beginning to get worried about what will happen after
the election,” said the political insider.
The bankers echoed the sentiment. “The reason the
naira has taken such a dramatic plunge over the last
three or so months is that politicians moped up the
hard currency for elections,” said one banker. “I have
never seen anything on this scale, where politicians
snatch up every hard currency in sight, whether dollar,
Euro or pound sterling,” he added. Asked who was
primarily responsible for the situation, the banker said
he would not engage in partisanship. “All I know is that
this country is now in a frightening economic position
—and all these politicians running up and down to
retain or take power have created the situation,” he
asserted.
But another banker was not shy in pointing a finger at
Mr. Jonathan. “The president has been indifferent to the
economic crisis caused by the ongoing campaigns. And
the reason he is indifferent is that he is the major
culprit,” said the executive. He added that the
distribution of largesse by Mr. Jonathan had now
become “one of the few lucrative businesses in Nigeria.”
The bankers said massive layoffs were inevitable in the
banking and other sectors of the Nigerian economy.
They said numerous companies that depended on
imported machinery or other components sourced from
abroad were bleeding cash. “Many Nigerian companies
are experiencing severe cash flow problems. Many of
them are defaulting on long and short-term loan
repayments. So the banks are suffering heavily as well,”
one banker told SaharaReporters.
Two of the bankers disclosed that the banking industry
would have laid off thousands of workers, but that
officials of the Jonathan administration pressured them
to wait until after the elections. “It will take a long time
before banks recover from the current shocks in the
system. There’s no bank strong enough not to retrench
staff,” one said.
The stress in the banking sector, with the prospective
job losses, will be compounded by massive
retrenchment in the civil service at the Federal and
state levels, one source predicted. Our source inside
the Presidency revealed that Mr. Jonathan plans to
follow former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s style by
removing fuel subsidies as one of his first economic
acts. “The truth is that it’s a must that fuel subsidy has
to go because the money is not there to continue
[paying for] them,” he said.
As part of an arrangement to receive slush funds from
oil marketers, Mr. Jonathan and Ms. Alison-Madueke
allowed numerous marketers to make fraudulent claims
and get paid for importation they never made. That
criminal collusion has put Nigeria in a situation where
the oil marketers are being owed N450 billion. “Nigeria
will have to deal with this and other debts from
fraudulently inflated invoices once the elections are
over,” one banker said.
The scam also helped create a recent fuel scarcity in the
country. As the fuel situation threatened to become a
politically costly crisis, Mr. Jonathan asked the oil
marketers to offload fuel they had been “round-
tripping” in order to collect unearned subsidy
payments.
Bankers agreed that the government would find it
extremely difficult to pay that debt after the election
without rolling back or eliminating subsidies altogether.
In recent months, oil marketers as well as operators of
the privatized power sector received massive financial
handouts from the Jonathan administration. In turn,
they donated billions of naira to Mr. Jonathan’s re-
election campaign.
President Jonathan has gone on a dollar-spraying spree
since the general elections were postponed by six
weeks. Our sources disclosed that the president had
doled out more than $200 million, using generous cash
gifts to entice various traditional rulers, politicians and
activists, especially those in the southwest and parts of
the north, to endorse him.
Several sources said much of the president’s campaign
cash is from shady oil deals brokered by Petroleum
Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke. The massive theft of
Nigeria’s crude oil remains an open scandal, and one of
the richest sources of funds for the campaigns. Last
September, Al Jazeera reported that the theft of
Nigeria’s crude oil was at its highest rate in years,
adding that several hundred thousand barrels of crude
are stolen each day.
The continuing crisis of crude oil thefts has persisted
despite the Jonathan administration’s security contract
to Global West Specialist Agency, a company owned by
Government Ekpemukpolo (popularly called Tompolo).
The contract to Mr. Tompolo’s company was for the
supply of 20 patrol vessels to enable Nigeria’s military
authorities to better secure the coastline and stem oil
theft. Mr. Tompolo’s firm was also engaged as a
consultant to prevent crude oil heists.
The rating firm of Standard & Poors yesterday said that
the Nigerian economy faced a clear and present danger.
Nigeria’s external reserves have been significantly
depleted in the past year, said a banker, adding that
many state governments were already looking for loans
to pay workers’ salaries.
source: http://saharareporters.com/2015/03/12/nigeria-faces-post-election-gloom-treasury-emptied-oil-marketers-owed-n450b-mass

The Awujale and paramount ruler of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, has told President Goodluck Jonathan, that it is not proper in Ijebuland or Yorubaland for an Oba to canvass for votes for any candidates seeking elective posts.

Rather, monarchs in Yorubaland only encourage their subjects to make their informed choices.

The monarch said this when President Goodluck Jonathan paid a private visit to him in his palace in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.

President Jonathan, who arrived the palace around 11.15am in a convoy, was accompanied by the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Adamu Mu’azu; a former governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel; Governors of Bayelsa and Ondo states, Seriake Dickson and Olusegun Mimiko respectively, among others.

The royal father said any Oba canvassing for votes for any political party’s candidate would be courting trouble. He said rather than engaging monarchs for campaign, each candidate must go out and sell his or manifesto to the electorate.

He said, “In Ijebu here, it is not possible for any Oba, not even only in Ijebu, in Yorubaland, to go out and say vote for this, vote for that; that person is looking for trouble.

“But give them the opportunity to present their programmes so that people can make up their minds on what to do. I think this is a very sound democratic principle and that is what I have decided to do, to give you the opportunity of meeting with the people.”

Oba Adetona noted that it was when the candidate would have presented the manifesto that the voters would decide whether or not to vote for him or her.

He said, “One, they see you as a person. Whether to engage with you or not to listen to you and see if there are areas where we can meet is a question for individual reason. As a result, everybody congregating belong to different groups.They are members of the PDP, the All Progressives Congress, All Progressives Grand Alliance. They belong to various interests, and when they come, they get to the gate, they shed their togas.

“The PDP will remove their PDP, the APC will remove their own. They will remove their own. They are going to the palace to meet their ruler, their paramount ruler; to receive that important august visitor who is coming to their land and give him all honour that is entitled to him.”

He, however, advised the electorates to vote for those that had the fear of God and integrity and not those who would mortgage their future, after offering them gifts.

He said, “Each time I have cause to talk to our people, I have always told them, in the churches and mosques that when you’re going to vote, make sure you back your sons and daughters who will give something back to you; not the ‘Ojelus’ (looters).

“Those who will be honest with you, who know the way of God; those are the people you should vote for; not those who will give you two, three spoons and mortgage your future. It is not right.”

The monarch, who prayed to God to guide the country right, acknowledged that he had never seen any election that was full of tension in the last 55 years like the current one coming up in less than two weeks.

President Jonathan had earlier in his speech highlighted his achievements to the monarch, which he said, cut across party, ethnic and religious lines in the last four years.

He said, “In the road infrastructure, we have tried. Railway is back, we are trying to improve our terminal buildings and security environment in our airports.

“The Health sector, we have tried both in the tertiary level, or what we call health tourism. Some of our hospitals are now open for kidney transplant and at the primary level we are able to eradicate guinea worm and we are on the way of eradicating polio completely from this country.”

President Jonathan explained that his administration’s focal activities when re-elected would be the implementation of the report of the National Confab as well as facilitate the construction of four deep sea port projects which include the Olokola in Ijebuland, that of Badagry, Akwa Ibom and the Age in Bayelsa State.

Speaking earlier on behalf of Ijebu Traditional Council, the Dagburewe of Idowa, Oba Yinusa Adekoya, had drawn the attention of the President to the non-appointment of indigenes of Ijebuland to any prominent position at the federal level.

President Jonathan who promised to correct this if re-elected, described Ijebuland “as a great land and there’s no government that will neglect the people of Ijebuland, I have to take that very very seriously.”

http://www.punchng.com/news/obas-dont-campaign-for-politicians-awujale-tells-jonathan/#disqus_thread

SaharaReporters has learned that several governors and
top officials of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are
beginning to distance themselves from what one of
them characterized as rabid vituperation from Governor
Ayo Fayose, who has become notorious for predicting
the imminent death of Muhammadu Buhari, the
presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress
(APC). Several PDP sources told our correspondent that
Mr. Fayose’s intemperate statements were now
generating negative reactions even among the fold of
the party’s governors.
Evidence of other governors’ disquiet emerged on
Tuesday at the end of a forum convened by the PDP
governors in Lagos. Some of Mr. Fayose’s colleagues,
including Governors Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom
and Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo, reflected on the
outcome of their meeting, but unavoidably commented
on Mr. Fayose’s venomous comments and incessant
castigation of Mr. Buhari during he (Fayose’s) turn to
speak at the event which took place at Eko Hotel in
Lagos. Some of the PDP governors remarked that,
rather than marketing President Goodluck Jonathan,
who is their party’s candidate, Mr. Fayose’s statement at
the forum merely attacked Mr. Buhari’s person, eliciting
repulsion from their audience.
Originally, the PDP governors’ forum was convened to
woo civil society groups into backing Mr. Jonathan for a
second term. But the agenda seemed a tough sell to
many groups that participated.
A source familiar with the organization of the forum
told SaharaReporters that the governors aimed to “sell
Jonathan” to the civil society while also using the live
televised coverage of the event to market the incumbent
president to a larger audience. However, some of Mr.
Fayose’s colleagues admitted in private and publicly that
his incendiary and uncouth remarks became a total
gaffe. One governor told our correspondent that the
Ekiti governor’s comments unfortunately defined the
event and became the highest turn-off factor for their
audience.
In his speech, Mr. Fayose disclosed that his own mother
uses sanitary diapers due to old age, and said he wished
to extend diapers to Mr. Buhari, adding that the APC
candidate’s age demanded that he be on diapers as the
governor’s own mother. The comment misfired, with
members of the chuckling uncomfortably at Mr.
Fayose’s disclosure of what should be a private matter
concerning his mother.
Although the forum was designed as an opportunity to
“interact” with civil society, and later adjusted to include
the media, some participants grumbled that there was
little or interaction allowed.
“It came out as their own [PDP governors’] talk show
where they just asked us to give President Jonathan the
benefit of the doubt for a second term,” one social
activist who took part said. He added, “They just spoke
and spoke, abused Buhari and Tinubu, took about three
questions and said we should go for lunch.” Another
participant pointed to Mr. Fayose’s statements.
“Governor Fayose shocked many of us with his
intemperate and childish remarks. He even insulted his
own mother without realizing it,” she said.
A former chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association
(NBA) in Ikeja, Monday Ubani, was among a few outside
participants allowed to make brief comments before
lunch and the closure of the forum. Mr. Ubani praised
the initiative to convene a meeting with the civil society
to get feedbacks on government programs, but
regretted that the meeting seemed to have been
narrowly shaped by the forthcoming elections.
He advocated that the forum be required to happen on
a regular basis to keep citizens informed and to
generate grassroots responses to government policies.
source: http://saharareporters.com/2015/03/11/governor-fayose-faces-backlash-within-pdp-rabid-rhetoric

The parents of the slain students of Federal Government
College, Buni Yadi, Yobe State, on Tuesday told a Federal
Government delegation that the government was one
year late.
Boko Haram sect attacked FGC, Buni Yadi, on February
24, 2014, killing 29 students in the school in a night
raid.
At the meeting with the Federal Government delegation
at GAAT Hotel, Damaturu, were some parents of the
slain students, the Parents Teachers Association
Chairman of the college, Alhaji Kati Machina,
representative of FGC’s Principal and some journalists.
The delegation was led by the Minister of Science and
Technology, Dr. Abdul Bulama.
Speaking on behalf of the bereaved parents, Machina,
who expressing the grievances of the parents, told the
delegation they were one year late.
He noted that the Federal Government was expected to
be at the forefront of bringing relief to the school as
FGC, Buni Yadi, is a unity school.
He added, “If the governor of the state can leave
whatever he was doing to visit the school a day after it
was attacked early last year, I expect that because of
the distance from Abuja, they would have been in that
school in a week or two.
“But that did not happen until now; so we felt that the
Federal Government has abandoned us.”
One of the parents, who lost his son in the school, Goni
Gujba, lamented the poor handling of the situation by
the school authorities.
According to him, some of the parents of the students
in the school had yet to reintegrate their children back
to school due to some economic challenges.
He said, “On behalf of the parents let me use this
opportunity to register our grievances with the Federal
Government. This visit of today, which is exactly one
year and three weeks (after the killing of the students)
is the first formal delegation from Federal Government.
Although there was a condolence letter, which was
unsigned, from the office of the Permanent Secretary.
“When this incident happened, the two principals of the
school were not there. In fact, there was less than 17
staff there at the school. I was there because I lost one
of my children and Buni Yadi is my home town. We
confirmed that 29 students from the list here were
dead. Some were even brought from the bush dead and
up till this point, two are still missing and we assume
they are dead.
“We want to appreciate your formal meeting with us but
it’s on record that there was poor handling of the
situation by the school administration. Up to this
moment, there is no communication to us from the
school, no formal visit to the parents or calling us, the
parents, to condole us just as a way of showing
concern.
“But I must say that on the side of the state
government, the incident occurred on the 24 and 25 of
February, 2014, the governor of Yobe State was there.
In fact, he saw the victims and he made a pledge of
N100m there and we got N1m each though after one
month.”
source: http://www.punchng.com/news/youre-late-slain-yobe-fgc-students-parents-tell-fg/#disqus_thread

A Lagos-based NGO, All Nigeria Save Democracy
Movement (ANSADEM) has launched a Public Service
Announcement using excerpts from SaharaReporters
leaked tape of the rigging of Ekiti state gubernatorial
election using creatively designed cartoon images of
former Minister, Musiliu Obanikoro and Governor
Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state with Brig. General Aliyu
Momoh was kneeling before the duo.


source: http://saharareporters.com/2015/03/03/ekitigate-rigging-video-psa-launched-lagos-ft-obanikoro-ayodele-briggen-momoh

TO WATCH IT ON YOUTUBE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe_ECnNcBgc

The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign
Council on Saturday condemned an alleged plot by the
President Goodluck Jonathan-led Peoples Democratic
Party to cripple the campaign of the party’s presidential
candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari (retd).
This was contained in a statement signed by the
Director Media and Publicity of the APC Presidential
campaign, Mr. Garba Shehu, in Abuja.
He said the APC Presidential campaign condemned the
plot by the Jonathan-led ruling Peoples Democratic
Party to clip the electoral success wings of the
opposition APC, through a proposed grounding of
aircraft and freezing of bank accounts belonging to
stalwarts of the party.
According to him, the plot to destabilise the APC and
cripple its flag-bearer, General Muhammadu Buhari,
may be linked to the global attention on its candidate’s
performance at the United kingdom’s Chatham House
last Thursday.
The statement partly read: “The hint we gather from
sources is that the government, through its agents, is
plotting to ground aircraft and freeze bank accounts of
APC stakeholders. But history has shown that the forces
of evil can never succeed against the zeal of men and
women of virtue and good deeds.”
Shehu said information at APC’s disposal had
uncovered the plot by the Jonathan administration to
use the Aviation Ministry and the security service to
hound and clampdown members of the APC, by
prospecting obnoxious means to halt and slow down
Buhari’s popularity.
“There is also a plot to block or freeze the bank
accounts of APC chieftains like Senator Bola Ahmed
Tinubu, Governor Rotimi Amaechi (Director General of
APC Presidential Campaign Organisation), and other
prominent leaders believed to be funding the General’s
campaign; and availing him their aircrafts for
electioneering purposes,” Shehu said.
The APC Presidential campaign spokesperson recalled
that private jets conveying APC Governors, Amaechi of
Rivers State and Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, were
either prevented from taking-off or landing during
crucial political occasions, particularly during the Ekiti
State gubernatorial elections that “saw PDP’s Ayodele
Fayose defeating Dr Kayode Fayemi, in a most
controversial military-assisted contest now known as
Ekiti-gate Tape.”
When contacted, the deputy National Publicity
Secretary of the PDP, Mr. Abdullahi Jalo said, he was
not aware of any such plan and challenged the APC to
produce evidence if it had any.
He said, “The PDP will remain focused on its campaign
for this election. We will not be distracted by the
opposition. If they have evidence of any such plan they
should make it public.”


source: http://www.punchng.com/news/jonathan-plans-to-freeze-tinubu-amaechis-account-apc/#disqus_thread

Several police and political sources have told
SaharaReporters that Sam Chukwu, a sinister police
officer reputed for masterminding a group of rogue
policemen who carried out kidnapping, armed robbery
and other major crimes in Enugu State, was recently
promoted and deployed to Lagos in order to fortify a
team of senior police officers charged with helping the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) carry out massive
rigging in Lagos State and other southwest states. Our
police sources named Mr. Chukwu, who is linked to a
major kidnap and murder case in Enugu, as a key player
in the scheme, whose leader is Assistant Inspector
General of Police Joseph Mbu.
“Sam Chukwu is one of the biggest criminals in the
police force. That is why Sir Mike Okiro gave him
promotion and sent him to Lagos in January,” a top
police source at police headquarters in Abuja told
SaharaReporters in a telephone interview. The officer,
who said he and numerous other officers were
incensed at the increasing use of police officers for
illegal assignments, added, “Instead of sacking Sam
Chukwu, they have sent him to Lagos today to join the
operation of rigging election.”
Prosecutors in Enugu State have accused Mr. Chukwu
of being the sponsor of a ring of kidnappers who once
menaced the state capital of Enugu and its surrounding
areas. Mr. Chukwu and his team of rogue officers were
reportedly responsible for the September 2009 kidnap
and presumed murder of Lotachukwu (Lota) Ezeudu, a
19-year old second year accountancy student at the
University of Nigeria, Enugu campus. One of the junior
officers involved in the kidnapping ring, Ernest Okeke, is
in detention undergoing trial, but another key player,
Desmond Chinwuba, remains in hiding.
Mr. Chukwu himself went into hiding for more than a
year and a half to evade a summons to stand trial in the
case. His failure to appear in court led Justice Afam
Nwobodo to issue a warrant for his arrest, with his
name appearing on wanted posters pasted in Enugu and
his hometown of Aninri in Awgu local government area.
For close to two years, police authorities claimed they
were unaware of Mr. Chukwu’s whereabouts. But in July
of 2014, with days left before his retirement, former
Inspector General of Police Mohammed Abubakar
reinstated the fugitive cop and posted him to the
headquarters of the southeast command to assume the
post of provost.
At the end of 2014, the Police Service Commission
headed by Mike Okiro, a former IG of Police, included
Mr. Chukwu’s name on a list of officers promoted to
assistant commissioner. In a secretive scheme, the
commission failed to release the names of all promoted
officers, a move meant to hide the inclusion of Mr.
Chukwu’s name, according to a senior police source in
Abuja.
With his promotion, Mr. Chukwu was posted to Lagos.
Several police sources in the state and Abuja have
disclosed that Mr. Chukwu’s assignment is to help
coordinate the harassment of voters and a series of
electoral practices aimed at helping the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) to rig the forthcoming elections
in Lagos and other southwest states. One officer
disclosed that Mr. Okiro had selected a special team of
officers with a criminal reputation and sent them to
work with Mr. Mbu to help the PDP manipulate polls in
the southwest. Top PDP officials, including Bode George
and former Minister of State for Defense Musiliu
Obanikoro, reportedly pressed President Goodluck
Jonathan to sign off on the ambitious rigging plan,
arguing that the ruling party may not be able to retain
power at the center without carrying a few southwest
states.
Our sources said, since his January 2015 deployment to
Lagos, Mr. Chukwu has been part of a group that meets
frequently with controversial Assistant Inspector
General Joseph Mbu to strategize about rigging the
elections scheduled to begin March 28. Our sources
said Mr. Okiro, Mr. Mbu and Mr. Chukwu were in
league on the rigging scheme, adding that the accused
kidnap kingpin had become notorious in Enugu State
where he helped rig elections for former Governor
Chimaraoke Nnamani and current deputy president of
the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu.
“He meets with AIG [Mbu] and it is understood that
their job is to prepare the Mopol and others they will
use to rig,” one of our sources in Lagos claimed. An
Abuja-based police source added that many officers
continued to question the reinstatement of Sam
Chukwu, and his deployment to Lagos to work with Mr.
Mbu, an officer known for his reckless willingness to do
the bidding of President Goodluck Jonathan and his
wife, Patience Jonathan. As a commissioner of police in
Rivers State, Mr. Mbu virtually went to war against
Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi who had a political
quarrel with the president and his wife.
Other sources said Mr. Chukwu has a reputation for
spearheading electoral fraud. An Enugu-based
businessman told SaharaReporters that it was well
known in Enugu that Mr. Chukwu was often hired to rig
elections for politicians. He said the rogue officer owns
numerous houses in the Trans-Ekulu area of Enugu,
adding that the properties were acquired from the
officer’s criminal activities.
In August 2005, Mr. Chukwu, who was then the DPO at
Ogui police station, was accused of ordering the
execution of a young man, Chinedu Ani, at the behest of
a then member of the House of Representatives U.S.A.
Igwesi. An Enugu-based lawyer familiar with the case
told our correspondent that Mr. Chukwu sent two
police officers after two young men who had had a
verbal encounter with the legislator. The policemen
cornered the young men in their car and opened fire,
killing one and seriously wounding the other.
The horrific daylight execution by the police, which
happened near ACB Bank on Ogui Road, Enugu, sparked
public protests. Then Governor Chimaraoke Nnamani of
Enugu State set up a panel headed by Justice Ken Ezeike
to investigate the police attack. Even though the panel
submitted a report, Mr. Nnamani’s government failed to
issue a white paper. An Enugu-based lawyer accused
then Governor Nnamani of bowing to pressure from
Senator Ekweremadu and other politicians in the state
to shield Mr. Chukwu from blame.
A human rights activist in Lagos said his group was
monitoring the activities of Mr. Mbu and Mr. Chukwu,
adding that it would take vigilance on the part of all
citizens to ensure that nobody can sabotage the wishes
of the electorate.


source: http://saharareporters.com/2015/02/27/rogue-cop-sam-chukwu-aig-mbu-plotting-rig-elections-southwest

The cinema of Nigeria , often referred to as Nollywood, grew quickly in the 1990s
and 2000s and became the second largest film industry in the world in number of
annual film productions, placing it ahead of the United States and behind only India.
I hereby present to you top 20 nollywood movies that can never be forgotten in a hush.

These films are in no particular order and there are some missing details like the year of production and some cast.please bear with me.

1. Domitila(1996) produced by Zeb Ejiro,
starring Anne Njemanze.
2. Glamour Girls (1994) produced by Kenneth
Nnebue featuring Liz Benson, Eucharia Anunobi
and Dolly Unachukwu.
3. Living In Bondage (1992) produced by Ken
nnebue and directed by Chris Obi Rapu. Starring
Kenneth okonkwo, Rita Nzelu, Kanayo Kanayo and
Francis Agu.
4. Score to Settle (1998) Produced by Sunny
Collins and directed by Chico Ejiro. Along with
other stars, Rich Azu, Liz Benson, Teco Benson,
Omotola Jalade Ekeinde and Patrick Doyle featured
in this film.
5. Hostages (1996) by Tade Ogidan. Actors
included Tope Idowu, Ofuafo Otomewo, Richard
Mofe Damijo, Bimbo Manuel, Lanre Balogun, Tunji
Sotimirin and Zainab Buky Ajayi.
6. Nneka The Pretty Serpent Directed by Zeb
Ejiro and produced by Okechukwu Ogunjiofor.
Ngozi Ezeonu, Rita Nzelu and others.
7. Most Wanted (1996) Produced by Dozie Eriobu
and directed by Tunji Bamishigbin. Featuring
Regina Askia, Ibinabo Fiberisima and Ayo Adesanya
along with Liz Benson, Antar Laniyan and
Genevieve Nnaji.
8. Diamond Ring (1998) by Tade Ogidan,
featuring Shola Shobowale, Richard Mofe Damijo,
Zainab Buki Ajayi and Teju Babyface.
9. Owo Blow (1995) directed by Tade Ogidan
featuring Adewale Elesho, Femi Adebayo, Racheal
Oniga, Bimbo Akintola, Taiwo Hassan
10. Sakobi produced by Zeb Ejiro starring Saint
Obi, Susan Patrick, Tony Umez.
11. Oleku The movie is an adaptation of
Akinwunmi Ishola’s book, Oleku. Staring Yemi
Sodimu
12. Issakaba featuring Sam Dede
13. Violated directed by Amaka Igwe and stars
acts like Richard Mofe Damijo.
14. Sharon Stone in Abuja (2003) Genevieve
Nnaji with late Enebeli Elebuwa under directives
from Adim Williams.
15. Osuofia in London (2003) written and
directed by Kingsley Ogoro and stars other acts
including Nkem Owoh, Francis Odega and Cynthia
Okereke.
16. Evil Men staring Pete Edochie
17. Aki na Ukwa (2003) directed by Amayo Uzo
Phillips starring Osita Iheme, Chinedu Ikedieze,
Amaechi Muonagor and Oby Kechere.
18. After School Hours (1999)
19. Blood Money (1997) Chico Ejiro movie that
starred the likes of Zack Orji, Kanayo O. Kanayo,
Francis Agu and Sam Dede.
20. Igodo was directed by Andy Amenechi,
starring Pete Edochie among others.
I know other good movies are not on the list but I
had to choose this few.
You could equally add yours if you wish to.

I just saw it and decided to share.If you didn't use this you probably never attend school.

We have to be PRAYERFUL, my people!!!
He was dressed in white shirt that day. While he
was crossing the road to the other side to get
some drinks for his wife, a car came and hit him
and he died on the spot.
The lady lost her senses. It was only after some
time that she recovered from her shock. The
funeral and crem...ation was the very next day
because he died horribly.
Two nights later, the lady's mother had a dream
in which she saw an old woman. The old woman
told her mother to wash the blood stains of the
guy from her daughter's dress as soon as
possible. But the mother ignored the dream. The
next night, her father had the same dream and
also ignored it. Then when the lady had the same
dream the next night, she woke up in fear and
told her mother about the dream.
Her mother told her to wash the dress which had
blood stains immediately. She washed the dress
but some stains remained.
The next night she had the same dream again,
washed the dress but some stains still remained.
The same dream was repeated the next night
again and this time the old woman gave her a
last warning to wash the bloodstains, or else
something terrible will happen. This time the lady
tried her best to wash the stains, and the dress
nearly tore, but some stains still remained...she
was very tired.
Late in d evening of that same day, while she
was alone at home, someone knocked the door.
And when she opened the door she saw the same
old woman from her dreams standing at her door.
She got very scared and fainted. The old woman
woke her up and gave her a blue box, which
shocked the lady. And the lady asked, "What is
this?"
The old woman replied, "New Improved Blue Omo
Washing Powder, it removes all stubborn
stains!!!"
I know how you are feeling now. lol..

There is a drastic pay cut for coach Stephen Keshi in
the new deal which has been prepared by the Amaju
Pinnick-led NFF. The new deal if agreed by Keshi will
see him earn three million Naira a month. That will
represent a huge pay cut from the five million Naira he
earned in his first contract.
“The new contract that has been finalized by the Nigeria
Football Federation will see Keshi earn far less than he
received in his first contract,” a top source disclosed.
“The federation is broke and they do not want to
promise what they cannot pay.”
Initial media reports had suggested Keshi could get a
pay rise and earn seven million Naira a month with the
coach himself insisting he deserves to be paid a lot
more.
Keshi’s initial three-year contract ran out after he led
the Super Eagles to the Round of 16 at last year’s World
Cup in Brazil and he has since been working without a
contract.
NFF president Amaju Pinnick told reporters he expects
Keshi to resume work as Eagles coach this week after he
would have agreed to the new contract.
“We have concluded on the contract of Keshi and if he
is fine with it, he would begin work as early as
Wednesday,” declared Pinnick.
Keshi has also been linked with the Burkina Faso top
coaching post after Belgian Paul Put was fired following
a disappointing showing by the Stallions at the recent
AFCON in Equatorial Guinea.

source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/02/nff-slashes-keshis-pay-in-new-deal/

I just saw this pic and decided to share.

The Delta State University, Abraka on Saturday
matriculated 4,361 students for the 2014/2015
academic session.
The Vice Chancellor, DELSU, Prof. Victor Peretomode,
administered oath on the new intakes in Abraka, host
community of the institution, in Ethiope East Local
Government Area of the State.
He warned the students to be of good behaviour in the
campus and shun every form of social vices.
Peretomode said cultism remained banned in the
University, adding that any student who indulged in it
would be expelled from the institution.
The VC urged the students to be diligent and observe
the rules and regulations of the University at all times.
“The University takes serious exception on issues that
bothered on indiscipline and lawlessness, particular
when such actions involve violence, cultism,
examination malpractice, indecent dressing among
others classified as breach of matriculation oath.
“Any student caught indulging in any form of cultism in
the campus will not only be thrown out, his or her
name will be published in all national dailies and the
internet,” he said.
Peretomode thanked Gov. Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta
for his show of love to the Institution.
He noted that the University had grown from a modest
beginning to a model citadel of learning and research
under the Uduaghan’s administration.
He promised to sustain the peace which had resulted in
harmonious relationship between the University and the
host community.
“On our part, we will remain focused in the pursuit of
academic excellence and ensure the prudent
management of the resources of the University,” he
said.

source: http://www.punchng.com/news/delsu-matriculates-4361-students/

A phone conversation between SaharaReporters and
Idowu Adelusi, the Chief Press Secretary for Governor
Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State, reveals the latest attempt by
Fayose’s team distort his involvement with rigging the
Ekiti State gubernatorial election last year.
Governor Fayose’s position on the audio recording of a
meeting between him, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro,
Police Minister Jelili Adesiyan, Senator Iyiola Omisore;
and Brigadier General A.A Momoh plotting to rig the
Ekiti State election has continuously evolved since
SaharaReporters first leaked the story.
The story of the plot was first broken by
SaharaReporters on February 5th, which only described
the conversation between Governor Fayose and the
others; the recording would not be released until later.
On February 6th Fayose denied that a meeting ever
took place, and that the audio was fabricated by
SaharaReporters using special computer software—this
before SaharaReporters had even released the recording
and transcripts to the public.
About one week later, SaharaReporters revealed
another audio recording of Fayose speaking at a public
rally the previous day. In it, Fayose offered a new
version of events and admitted to have participated in
the meeting with Obanikoro, Brigadier General Momoh,
and others. Fayose can be heard on that audio
recording saying “listen to the [leaked] tape, you will see
I am one accusing the army of compromise,” indicating
that he was at the meeting and that he was confronting
Brigadier General Momoh of rigging the elections.
Governor Ayo Fayose is no longer the only individual
admitting to have been present at the recorded
meeting, both Jelili Adesiyan and Musiliu Obanikoro
have said they were there but that they were not
offering to bribe Brigadier General Momoh or plotting
to rig the election. All three men now claim that
Brigadier General Momoh was taking bribes from the
APC, and that they were simply confronting him about
his compromises.
Mr. Idowu Adelusi, the Chief Press Secretary for
Governor Fayose, told SaharaReporters during a recent
interview “if you listen carefully to the audio tape you
will discover that it was Ayo Fayose was complaining
that he was accusing it. The Brigadier General Momoh
who was taking bribes from the former governor
Fayemi and APC.”
When asked whether Governor Fayose was present
during the recording, Adelusi said “Yes Fayose, I won’t
call it a meeting, Fayose was acting on information he
got on between Brigadier General Momoh and the APC
trying to manipulate the election and trying to rig the
election.”
However when SaharaReporters began quoting Fayose’s
statements on the audio about bribing INEC officials to
bring him blank election ballots Mr. Adelusi argued that
“you didn’t listen to the recording very well,” and that
“you will find the things you are saying about is not on
the audio tape.” When pushed to on the subject of
Fayose demanding to know why the blank INEC ballots
had not reached him Mr. Adelusi repeatedly claimed
that he could no longer hear SaharaReporters
questions.
Idowu’s statements become more confused when he
was asked about Fayose’s anger that Brigadier General
Momoh was not arresting APC leaders like they had
previously agreed. Mr. Adelusi argued that Governor
Fayose was demanding that Brig. General Momoh arrest
the APC leaders for trying to manipulate the elections in
Ekiti. Adelusi said: “[Ayo Fayose] as a candidate must
report to Brig. General Momoh that certain people are
trying to cause problems. And that they should be
arrested. [He has] the right to report to the head of
security.”
Idowu Adelusi could not explain why Governor Fayose
would go to Brigadier General Momoh to arrest the APC
leaders for rigging, when he had first said that the
meeting was called because they “had information” that
Brigadier General Momoh was taking bribes from the
APC.
Last week President Goodluck Jonathan told the Wall
Street Journal that the audio SaharaReporters leaked
was not worth investigating because “it’s not real.” His
statement to the Wall Street Journal, however,
contradicts the statements by Governor Fayose, Senator
Obanikoro, and Minister Adesiyan who now all admit
the recording is real.

source: http://saharareporters.com/2015/02/21/governor-fayose’s-aide-admits-again-ekiti-rigging-tape-real

An undisclosed number of inmates on Friday gained
entrance into the armoury of the Calabar Prison in
Cross River State and attempted to escape after a gun
duel with warders but were overpowered by combined
team of security agents.
The incident, which occurred at about 11:00am, was
said to have caused pandemonium as residents of
neighbouring Afokang, Iman and Jebbs areas of the
metropolis scampered for safety.
The Afokang end of the prison fence was broken during
the incident while two inmates were said to have
escaped but the Comptroller of Prisons in the state, Mr.
Clement Udosen, denied the claim.
It was, however, not clear how the inmates gained
access to the armoury, but it was learnt that a total of
53 rifles were recovered after the incident while one
could not be accounted for.
An anonymous prison official said about 17 hardened
criminals consisting kidnappers, drug barons, ex-
militants and armed robbers were brought to the
prisons two weeks ago. He said their arrival sent an
alert that something untoward might happen.
An eyewitness, Solomon Okoro, said two of the inmates
escaped through the broken fence but one of them was
apprehended by vigilant youths in Afokang Street while
the other escaped.
Reacting to the development, Udosen said, “By 11
o’clock in the morning, the DC in charge of this prison
called me that there was a serious problem. When I
came, the whole place was filled with people with rifles,
people who had come here to help us, the soldiers,
police, civil defence, state security service and others.
“Two cells of about 70 prisoners each organised
themselves and overpowered the prison staff and
rushed to the armoury, seized some rifles and went
back to fire at the staff. In that confusion they broke
other cells and the whole yard was filled with inmates.
“Luckily for now they have all been rounded up and
nobody has escaped.
“A lot of people have been injured and one staff had
been rushed to the hospital.”
source: http://www.punchng.com/news/inmates-break-into-calabar-prison-armoury/

Former Super Eagles captain Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha has successfully moved from being a retired player to an administrator as he won the election to become the Chairman of the Delta State Football Association on Friday.

Okocha, 41, polled 26 out of 27 votes to win the election and replace Amaju Pinnick, who vacated the
seat after becoming the President of the Nigeria Football Federation in September, 2014.

The former PSG, Bolton Wanderers and Hull City player becomes one of the few former footballers to enjoy such huge transition from the field into the boardroom in Nigerian football.

The three-time World Cup player is presently head of the NFF Technical Study Group.


source: http://www.punchng.com/news/okocha-becomes-delta-fa-chairman/#disqus_thread

I still believe it isn't porn.

ABUJA —THE National Assembly, yesterday, completed
the amendment of the 1999 Constitution with approval
of life pension for anybody who has held office as
President or Vice President, Senate President or Deputy
Senate President, Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the
House of Representatives.
But beneficiaries of this gesture must be occupants who
successfully concluded their terms in office without
removal or impeachment.
The amended constitution, which was presented as
motion, to the floor of the Senate by the Chairman,
Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999
Constitution, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, for onward
transmission to the president for assent, also made it
mandatory for the president to appear once a year
before the joint sitting of the National Assembly to
deliver an address in respect of the state of the nation.
But the president, in the expected constitution, loses
the power to solely assent to bills passed by the
National Assembly. The same applies to state governors.

The amended Clause read: “Any person who has held
office as President or Deputy President of the Senate,
Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the House of
Representatives, shall be entitled to pension for life at a
rate equivalent to the annual salary of the incumbent
President or Deputy President of the Senate, Speaker or
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives,
provided that such a person was not removed from
office by the process of impeachment or for breach of
any of the provisions of this Constitution.
“The president shall attend a joint meeting of the
National Assembly once a year to deliver an address in
respect of the state of the nation. He may attend any
joint meeting of the National Assembly, either to deliver
an address on national affairs including fiscal measures,
or to make such statement on the policy of government
as he considers to be of national importance.”

source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/02/nass-approves-life-pension-for-president-vice-in-new-constitution/

EUROBOMBER:
.

Gej rules?Where were you when Fayose beat up a thug before policemen? As long as people like Gen Momoh,Aig Mbu remain in service,360,000 troops won't help either.
Our Army has been politicised.

The Senate on Tuesday summoned the Chairman of the
Independent National Electoral Commission, Attahiru
Jega, to appear before it on Wednesday(today).
Jega is expected to brief senators on INEC’s readiness
for the forthcoming March 28 and April 11 elections.
The senate, which resumed plenary on Tuesday after a
33-day break, took the decision following a motion by
its Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba.
Ndoma-Egba, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, while
presenting the motion asked Jega to come with a card
reader for demonstration before the lawmakers.
The Minority Leader, George Akume, who contributed to
the motion, suggested that the service chiefs should
also be invited since they were blamed by INEC for the
postponement of the polls hitherto scheduled for
February 14 and 28.
But Senate President David Mark ruled that summoning
the service chiefs was not necessary at the moment.
The Senators, through voice vote, approved the
invitation of Jega, while agreeing that the invitation of
the service chiefs would be determined by Jega’s
submission on Wednesday.
INEC has however said that 75.94 per cent or
52,275,367 of the 68,833,476 registered voters in the
country have collected their Permanent Voter Cards.
As of February 4 when Jega briefed the Council of State
meeting in Abuja, 45, 098, 878 voters had collected
their PVCs.
INEC which will deploy 182,
000 card readers for use
during the general elections
released the fresh figure in
Abuja on Tuesday.
A breakdown shows that Nasarawa State is leading
other states with 96.29 per cent of the 1,196,583
registered voters having their PVCs.
Coming second is Gombe State where 95.05 per cent of
the 1,120, 023 voters had collected theirs.
Jigawa State came third with 93.20 per cent of the
1,831,276 voters receiving their PVCs as of Monday.
Jigawa and Katsina came fourth and fifth respectively.
While the percentage of the registered voters who have
collected their PVCs in Jigawa stood at 93.20 per cent
from 1,831,276 registered voters, that of Kastina was
put at 92.68 per cent.
This figure indicated that 2,620,829 of the 2,827,943
voters had collected their PVCs.
Coming from the rear is Ogun State where only 40 per
cent of the registered voters had collected their PVCs.
There are 1,829,534 registered voters in the state but
only 747,556 of them had collected their PVCs so far.
In the Federal Capital Territory, only 61.42 per cent of
the 881,472 registered voters had also picked their
PVCs.
The figure also indicated that in Lagos State which has
5,905,852 registered voters, 3,685,322 which
represents 62,40 per cent, have collected their PVCs.
The issue of PVCs was one of the reasons adduced for
the shifting of the elections by several groups, including
some political parties.
The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr.
Kayode Idowu, in an interview with one of our
correspondents, said the commission had concluded
the training of all ad hoc staff for the elections.
“We finished the training of our ad hoc staff on
Thursday,” he said, adding that INEC had taken delivery
of 182, 000 tested card readers to be used in 119
polling units across the country during the elections.
Idowu said, “All the card readers are already in the
possession of the commission. They have been tested
and found worthy. We have 182,000 card readers with
us.’’


source: http://www.punchng.com/news/jega-appears-before-senate-today-over-polls/

The Peoples Democratic Party Presidential candidate,
Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and his All Progressives Congress
counterpart, Maj.Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) may
meet before the March 28 presidential elections.
The PUNCH gathered on Sunday that the meeting which
might hold outside the country was to establish rapport
between the two contenders before the election.
A source close to the Presidency said, “We are trying to
broker a meeting between the two leaders.
“The way the presidential electioneering is going may
create serious divisions among Nigerians. We need to
stop this.
“Apart from this, I think there is serious apprehension
in the camp of the President that if Buhari wins, he’s
going to jail a lot of President Jonathan’s supporters for
alleged corruption.
“This is one of the issues that is causing serious tension
in the camp of the President and we also need to make
sure that in whatever we do, there must be peace in the
country.”
It was learnt that the claim by former President
Olusegun Obasanjo that Jonathan was afraid that Buhari
could jail him was real after all.
A top member of the ruling PDP, who also spoke with
our correspondent on the condition of anonymity said,
this fact could not be denied by the party and the
Presidency.
He said, “You have listened to the press conference by
our campaign office and we didn’t deny that aspect. But
we dealt with other issues.
“That statement by former President Obasanjo is real. It
is true and we all know that. But we know that very
soon, the meeting which we are hearing is being
coordinated by some concerned leaders, might address
that.”
Obasanjo had on Saturday said, ‘‘I believe the
President’s fear is particularly motivated by whom he
sees as his likely successor, that is, Gen. Muhammadu
Buhari. I believe people would have been telling him
that Buhari is a hard man; he will fight corruption and
he (Jonathan) may end up in jail if not in the grave. I
think people would have told him that sort of thing and
he is not the only one afraid of Buhari.’’
Meanwhile, the PDP has called on all political parties
and other stakeholders in the electoral process to join
hands with the Independent National Electoral
Commission to make the 2015 general elections a
success.
The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Olisa Metuh,
in a statement in Abuja on Sunday, said all parties must
come together in the interest of the nation and ensure
that measures that create the environment for credible,
free and fair elections were firmly put in place.
He said, “The responsibility of building a united, strong
and prosperous nation anchored on democratic
principles lies on all of us collectively.
“We therefore charge all political parties, other relevant
groups and all stakeholders in the electoral process to
jettison all personal/group interests and put that of our
nation and its people ahead of all.
“The future of our nation is determined by what we do
or say at this point in time. We must therefore resolve
to work together as patriotic citizens and join hands
with INEC and relevant institutions of government to
ensure credible, free and fair elections devoid of
rancour and disagreements.
“At this point, what should be paramount is the well-
being of our people and the survival of our dear nation
and its democracy.
“We must therefore close ranks as brothers and sisters
and resist the machinations of enemies of our country
who do not wish us well.”
Metuh called on the political parties to redirect their
energy to issues that promote national development,
reinforce unity among Nigerians and engender mutual
understanding and peaceful co-existence.
Metuh said, “Nigeria is a great nation. We must
appreciate the resilience of our people and their resolve
to succeed.
“Indeed, we cannot afford to fail our citizens at this
time of our national life. We must work hard to
continue to ensure that the environment that
contributed to the successes we have recorded is
adequately maintained and enhanced”.
He also called on INEC to gird it loins and appreciate
the fact that it was “saddled with an enormous
responsibility and that “Nigerians expect nothing less
than a transparent electoral process”.
Metuh said the commission should understand that
“observations by stakeholders are not intended to
castigate, weaken or destroy the electoral process but
to assist in deepening democracy so that at the end of
the day, Nigerians will be the ultimate winners”.
Also on Sunday, the National Auditor of the PDP,
Adewole Adeyanju, advised INEC to allow eligible voters
to use their Temporary Voter Cards during the elections.
Adeyanju advised INEC to commence the use of the
Permanent Voter ‘ Cards during the bye elections that
might arise from the March 28 and April 11 polls to test
its card reader.


source: http://www.punchng.com/news/jonathan-buhari-may-hold-fence-mending-meeting/