₦airaland Forum

Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja

The Presidency on Saturday said President Muhammadu Buhari’s extended family was bereaved with the deaths of two members in quick succession.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, announced this in a statement made available to journalists.

“President Muhammadu Buhari’s extended family has been struck by the loss of two senior members who died within a few hours of one another,” the presidential spokesman said.

Shehu identified one of the deceased as Hajiya Halima Dauda.

He said the deceased who was buried in Daura on Saturday morning was the President’s niece and younger sister to his close associate and nephew, Mamman Daura.

“She died at about the age of 56, leaving behind 10 children, four of them male and six female including one of President Buhari’s Personal Assistants, Mohammed Sabi’u Tunde,” he added.

He said the burial was attended by a Federal Government delegation led by the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari.

Others on the team were the Minister of State, Aviation, Hadi Sirika; two businessmen- Alhaji Isma’ila Isa and Sayyu Dantata; three Senior Special Assistants to the President -Sarki Abba, Ya’u Darazo and Shehu; the Director General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Ahmed Rufa’i Abubakar, the Permanent Secretary, State House Jalal Arabi and the State Chief of Protocol, Ambassador Lawal Kazaure.

Shehu said the Buhari family had earlier on Friday buried Hajiya Ai’sha Alhaji Mamman on Friday.

He identified the second deceased as the wife of the President’s older brother, Alhaji Mamman.

Receiving condolences, Malam Mamman on behalf of the family and the Emir, Alhaji Umar Faruk for the people of Daura Emirate thanked God for the lives of the deceased and all the visitors for sharing the moment of grief with them.

Among those received by the family in Daura were the Governor of Bauchi State, Mohammed Abubakar, the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris; Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu; and a former Military Governor of Kaduna State, Brig.-Gen. Jafaru Isa (retd.).

http://punchng.com/buhari-loses-two-family-members-in-quick-succession-presidency/

Elders in the All Progressives Congress in Plateau State on Friday said President Muhammadu Buhari never promised Nigerians a rosy passage.

The elders, under the aegis of APC Elders Advisory Council of Plateau State, said when Buhari took over governance, he admitted that Nigerians would face challenges in the short term and then rejoice in the long run.

Speaking in Jos, the state capital, Chairman of APC elders, Capt. Joseph Din, also endorsed Buhari for a second term.

Din said the President has done very well in tackling insecurity, corruption and poverty; while he has also “improved the economy by battling recession, brought youth empowerment and created jobs.”

According to Din, “We hereby unanimously endorse President Muhammadu Buhari as President of Nigeria come 2019 and Rt. Hon. Simon Bako Lalong as governor of Plateau State come 2019.

“We all know that this country was heading into economic recession already when Buhari took over in 2015.


“It was largely due to the falling prices of crude oil in the international market and the long-term mismanagement of the economy by previous governments.

“Nevertheless, this government has been able to steer us away from recession within the shortest possible time.

“When President Buhari was taking over, he did not promise Nigerians that it was going to be rosy all through. He admitted that Nigerians were going to face challenges in the short term and then rejoice for a long time.

“Due to his economic policies, we have started seeing the difference. For instance, Nigeria produced 15 million metric tonnes of rice in 2017 alone. We are the highest exporter of yams the world over and we are the largest producer of cassava the world over. This has reduced the country’s food importation bill.

“We in the Plateau State APC Elders Advisory Council call on President Muhammadu Buhari Governor Simon Bako Lalong to run for a second term in 2019 in order to complete the good work they have started.”


http://dailypost.ng/2018/02/09/buhari-didnt-promise-rosy-change-apc-tells-nigerians-endorses-president-second-term/

A former minister of Aviation, Femi Fani Kayode has reacted to the killing of Officer-in-Charge of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, Saki Unit in the Oyo State Police Command by Fulani herdsmen.

The SARS boss was reported to have been macheted to death by the Fulani herdsmen during an operation in a forest on the Saki-Ogbooro Road in Oke-Ogun area of the state.


Reacting , Fani Kayode said law and order had been broken in the country as no one was safe, even security agents, from Fulani herdsmen whom he described as ‘Bloodsucking’.

On his official twitter page, he wrote “A SARS police officer was cut into tiny pieces with matchets by Fulani terrorists in Saki, Oyo state yesterday. Law and order has broken down and even our security agents are being targeted and slaughtered in open daylight by these bloodthirsty and bloodsucking Fulani herdsmen.‎”

http://dailypost.ng/2018/02/07/fani-kayode-reacts-killing-sars-boss-fulani-herdsmen/

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to lead the consultation, reconciliation and confidence building efforts toward improving cohesion within the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The information is in a two-paragraph statement issued by Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity in Abuja on Tuesday.

According to the presidential aide, the assignment will involve resolving disagreements among party members, party leadership and political office holders in some states of the federation.

The News men reliably gathered that the Kano State APC crisis involving supporters of former Gov. Rabiu Kwakwanso and the serving Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, is one of the tasks of the Tinubu reconciliation committee.

It would be recalled that the Presidency on Jan. 29 summoned Gov. Ganduje and Kwakwanso over the aborted Jan. 30 visit of the former governor to Kano to avert breakdown of law and order in the state.

The governor, accompanied by two serving senators and two members of House of Representatives from the state met with the Chief of Staff to the President, Malam Abba Kyari at the Presidential Villa.

Ganduje, however, declined to speak to State House correspondents after the closed door meeting.

The Tinubu committee is also expected to reconcile other APC members in Kaduna, Zamfara, Oyo, Kogi and other states of the federation.

http://thenationonlineng.net/buhari-apc-reconciliatory/

The media aide to former military president, Ibrahim Babangida, Kassim Afegbua, would present himself to the police on Wednesday, his lawyer, Kayode Ajulo has said.

The lawyer in a statement on Tuesday morning explained that his client was not invited by the police before he was declared wanted by the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, on Monday.

He stated that Afegbua has been “advised of his rights and remedies available to him, as a law-abiding citizen of Nigeria, he has elected to make himself available to the police on Wednesday once he returns from his trip.”

The IG had ordered Afegbua’s arrest for “making false statements, defamation of character, and for an act capable of inciting public disturbance.”

The order for the arrest of the former journalist followed two statements purportedly written by the former military dictator, which bordered on the 2019 elections, herdsmen/farmers’ crisis and other issues plaguing the nation.

http://punchng.com/breaking-afegbua-would-present-himself-to-police-on-wednesday-lawyer/

Pastor Enoch Adeboye on Friday night led members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) to pray against people shedding blood in Nigeria, their protectors as well as their sponsors at the church’s February Holy Ghost Service held at the Redemption Camp.

Members of the church in 198 countries participated in the programme through viewing centres. They prayed for the killers and their collaborators to be exposed and dealt with.

The pastor will also hold special three-hour prayer session for Nigeria‎ at the Redemption Camp of February 13.

Explaining why he had not personally commented on the widespread killings in the country despite calls by people for him to speak out, he said he belongs to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) ‎both of which have leaders who have spoken on the issues on behalf of their members, including himself.

But last night he decided to talk about the killings to members of the church in his capacity as their General Overseer. He chose to address the issues mathematically by reducing them to simultaneous equations to derive an answer.

Pastor Adeboye, a former university teacher, has a doctorate degree in mathematics. The equations, according to him, are:

· There are certain problems beyond man

· There is no problem beyond God

· Man can hide from his fellow man

· No man can hide from God

· Security agents can be compromised

· God cannot be compromised. His holiness is not negotiable and cannot be compromised.

· Man can sponsor evil

· God cannot sponsor evil

The answer to the equations solved simultaneously, he said, is just one answer; which is that “a prayer warrior is more effective than an activist”.

He described the correlation of answer to the tendency of enemies and some children of God to underrate the power of prayer. He then led the congregation in a series of prayers for the killers, people who connive with them and their sponsors to be exposed by God and dealt with.

Praying in a similar vein earlier, his wife, Folu Adeboye, who led congregational prayers for nations, pleaded for God to grant Nigeria victory over its challenges this month of February.

In his main sermon, which was a continuation of the church’s sermon series, titled “stronger than the enemy,” the General Overseer, likened the problems of individuals and nations to mountains, which can be moved by faith.

Recalling one of his prophecies for the year that “erstwhile stubborn mountains will move,” he called on the congregation to tackle their mountains head on.

He then highlighted the strategies to deal with mountains, leading the congregation in aggressive prayers to activate each of them at the service, which was largely devoted to prayers.

He advised strongly against tolerating one’s mountains because that makes the mountain remain; rather they should be confronted. “Don’t pretend there is no mountain, don’t ignore your problem, confront it,” he stressed.

He also advised against the practice of taking problems to fellow men always, instead of God. He cited the example of a barren woman who a pastor was ‎avoiding, but had 5 children after crying out directly to God.

According to the General Overseer, “A woman who had destroyed her womb during an attempt to abort a pregnancy gave the testimony. She had messed around, become pregnant and, because she tried to hide it from everybody, she tried an abortion which went wrong.

“When she was rushed to hospital, the doctors decided the only way to save her life was to remove her womb, which they did. And of course, she knew the result of that action when she got married – no babies.

Later, she became born-again and heard that God can do anything. So she started going to a man of God (I won’t mention names) to say, “Please, pray for me. I need children.”

“After many prayer sessions, the problem remained the same, even as other barren women were getting pregnant. So the man of God asked her to tell her story, and when she confessed her womb had been removed, the pastor started avoiding her. During one of her visits, she saw the pastor sneaking out to avoid her.

“From then, she decided to cry out to God directly. Then one day God visited her. She had a dream, in which she was stark naked, with a man holding an animal skin walking towards her. She became afraid but she was rooted to the spot, shaking; she couldn’t run. And when the man got close to her, he wrapped the animal skin round her and disappeared. The woman woke up sweating but she knew that she had been given a new womb because her menstruation resumed.”

The second strategy, he advised, is to talk to the mountain with faith as ‎Jesus admonished us to. “Engage your mountain in a conversation – tell it that between the two of you, one has to move, but it can’t be you because according the scriptures the Lord is always with you and you will not be moved; and He is your fortress so you cannot be shaken; and because you trust in the Lord you are as secure as Mount Zion.

Thirdly, he said, you need explain to the mountain that it is blocking your view, making it difficult to have a vision, then command it out of your way or even decree it to move.

However he said one has to live right with God to be able to issue decrees to problems, a reason he said, “I am crazy about the need to stay holy.”

In a testimony, he spoke about a tree in the middle of a major road in Lokoja, Kogi Sate, some years ago, which residents said could not be cut down for spiritual reasons. He said he took note of that and went ahead with the programme of the church. That night, he recalled, there was a rainstorm and by daybreak the tree was on its side, completely uprooted

Pastor Adeboye also advised that specific mountains should be identified in prayers and where they should be moved to be mentioned – cast it into the sea as in the example of Jesus.

He said when it is all done, one shouldn’t boast about it but should as a matter of urgency, return the glory to God.

After the prayers, he asked the pastors of the church to lay hands on everyone in the congregation to confirm the prayers and to ensure the mountains don’t return if people live right with God.‎

While that was going on, he went to a section of the altar to pray for people with special cases, he had asked to be brought during the Holy Ghost Services.

As is usual with the services, there were testimonies galore – of healing and even some members raising people from death with blessed handkerchiefs and anointing oil.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/257466-i-refused-speak-killings-nigeria-pastor-adeboye.html/

Despite condemnation across Nigera that the Buhari government’s promise of stipend payment to unemployed graduates has not been fulfilled, Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, insists the money is being paid.

She however did not state whether the supposed receivers get the money monthly or annually.

Adeosun spoke on Friday in Abuja while receiving a Progress Report by the National Tax Policy Implementation Committee on tax law reforms.

She said that the government was laying emphasis on tax because it was the only reliable source of revenue to achieve its developmental goals.

“I want to underscore that this government led by Muhammadu Buhari, came in at a time when oil price was as low as 28 dollars per barrel.

“This led us in search of a revenue base that is sustainable, predictable and can deliver development and succour to the masses.


“One of the functions of the tax system, which many people overlook, is that it is the most reliable tool for government to use to redistribute wealth from rich to poor.

“Many of the programmes we are undertaking will do exactly that, whether it is fixing our roads, or our social interventions like N5, 000 Conditional Cash Transfer to the poorest.

“There is also the N30,000 to some of our unemployed graduates or the school feeding programme.

“These are all methods of redistribution of wealth from the rich to the poor and that is one of the functions of a good tax system,” Adeosun added.

http://dailypost.ng/2018/02/02/buhari-govt-paying-unemployed-graduates-n30000-adeosun-claims/

Ayodele Fayose, governor of Ekiti, says the non-payment of N11 billion to the state by federal government is the “wickedness” of Kayode Fayemi, minister of mines and steel development.

Fayemi is the predecessor of Fayose.

Speaking with journalists on Wednesday, Fayose said Fayemi instituted a case against the state at a court in Abeokuta, seeking an order to stop the payment of N11 billion due to Ekiti as refund for construction and rehabilitation of federal roads.

He described the alleged action of Fayemi as wickedness taken too far on Ekiti people.

The governor wondered if it was by this means the All Progressives Congress (APC) “intend to realise their tall dream of taking over Ekiti state by force.”

“When I said that I won’t leave office as a debtor of salary, going by the efforts I have made, I was sure that the over N12 billion owed the state by the federal government on construction and rehabilitation of federal roads will be paid to Ekiti like other states this month,” Fayose said.

“However, I am shocked that in their usual characteristics of working against every effort to alleviate the sufferings of the people, Dr Fayemi, through his former commissioner for Finance, Dapo Kolawole, instituted a case against Ekiti state at Abeokuta, seeking an order to stop the payment of N11 billion due to Ekiti as refund for construction and rehabilitation of federal roads.

“One wonders why a case involving Ekiti was instituted in Abeokuta when we have a Federal High Court here. It is clear that this is an attempt at shopping for court order to prevent Ekiti people from getting the refund due to the state.

“Sadly, the N11 billion refund that should have been paid to Ekiti state this month is said to have been stopped by the federal government, relying on the court action.

“My question is; must Ekiti people, especially the workers be made to suffer just because of desperation of the coming governorship election? I consider this as wickedness taken too far against one’s own people.

“My salary as a governor is under one million naira, now imagine those workers that will suffer from this wickedness all in the name of opposition politics. They believe that when they strangulate this state in terms of finances, they will be able to have an inroad into the state.”

He said it was the APC government of Fayemi that plunged the state into huge debt which led to irregular payment of salary.

“It is equally unfortunate that despite being in charge of the ministry of solid minerals, his office has not benefitted Ekiti regarding the available minerals resources in the state. No single road project has been done in this state since the beginning of the APC federal government,” Fayose said.

“It is my belief that the well-being of the people should be the utmost concern of all of us irrespective of our political affiliation. Ekiti people must not be made to suffer just because anyone has political issues with me.

“Even though I remain undaunted, I just have to place it on record that once again, the collective interest of Ekiti and its people is being sacrificed on the altar selfish political interest.

“However, I wish to assure our workers that I will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the evil plans of these political desperadoes in the APC do not materialise. I will use all legal means to stop this wicked plot to deny our state its legitimate entitlements.”

https://www.thecable.ng/fayose-non-payment-11bn-refund-ekiti-fg-fayemis/

Matthew Kukah, the Catholic bishop of Sokoto diocese, said fighting corruption and fixing Nigeria requires more than a God-fearing leader.

Kukah said this on Tuesday at the launch of a book titled ‘The Shadow List’ written by Dr Todd Moss.

He said to fight corruption and build the nation is not just about goodwill but about getting to the root of the matter and tackling it head-on.

“I have said it severally; let Nigerians keep saying they want a God-fearing leader,” he said.

“Nigeria does not need a God-fearing leader, because God-fearing has become an excuse to appeal to Nigerians and win elections.

“Governance in Nigeria is a criminalized enterprise and a criminalized state cannot progress; so we must come to terms as to why it is that this country is in such low portion.

“Fixing this country requires much more than that; national cohesion, holding our country together is the most fundamental project if we are to fix this nation.

“This is what we need because I am aware of how angry and frustrated Nigerians have become, especially in an environment where people are intrinsically not concerned about corruption but about their inability to access.”

Kukah said it is wonderful to talk about fighting corruption but that Nigerians cannot fight it if they had not diagnosed the environment “as to why and how about corruption”.

He said it is sad that Nigerians are always excited about a new administration but the excitement never lasts because bad governance often sets in.

The cleric said nobody would have imagined that three to four years down the line, Nigerians would be feeling the way they were feeling now.

He said: “If you know Nigerians well, rather than thinking about the solution to the problem, we are waiting for a few men who govern Nigeria to tell us they have found a silver bullet and then we all gather around.

“We will now pass through the motion pretending to be conducting election when as it is from 1999, we always have an idea of who the president will be even before the election is conducted.”

Kukah said quite a number of Nigerians had decided to make peace with the situation because they had decided that “the building called corruption is too big for them to break down”.

He said unless the building or system which was not serving the people of Nigeria was broken down, citizens, whether Christians or Muslims, would continue to feel the way they were feeling.

https://www.thecable.ng/kukah-nigeria-does-not-need-a-god-fearing-leader/

The Army said it had arrested a native doctor, Tordue Gber (Tiv Swem), who allegedly acted as spiritual counselor to the wanted armed criminal militia, Akwazar Terwase (alias Gana), in Benue.

A statement by Brig.-Gen Sani Usman, the Director of Army Public Relations, on Tuesday, said the suspect was picked up in Tor-Dunga town in Katsina-Ala Local Government Area of the state during a raid on his shrine.

Usman said troops of 707 Special Forces Brigade arrested Gber on Monday during the operation.

It will be recalled that Terwase was declared wanted by the security agencies and has been at large since 2016.


“Preliminary investigation shows that Tordue Gber (Tiv Swem) acts as spiritual counselor that provides Gana with “diabolical” powers and the shrine serves as hideout for wanted armed militia, meeting and planning point for operations and logistics base for the criminal armed militias that operate in Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba States.

“The native doctor was arrested along with one of his accomplice, Atoo Kuwe Francis, while planning to carry out an attack and abduct one Mr. Zaya at Tse Bente village in the same local government area,” he said.

The army spokesman, however, said Tordue was shot dead “during the struggle to disarm him.”

Usman said the troops recovered a locally fabricated pistol, two baretta Pistols, 11 rounds of 9mm ammunition, three motorcycles and assorted charms from the shrine

Other items recovered, he said were nclude clothings for concealing weapons, two mobile telephones and three power generators, amongst other items at the hideout. (NAN)

http://thenationonlineng.net/troops-raid-shrine-benue-arrest-chief-priest/

- Senator Biodun Olujimi, representing Ekiti south, denies asking her aide to assault a member of the Parliamentary staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN)

- The Ekiti state senator also notes that she was never slapped at any point

Senator Biodun Olujimi, the Senate deputy minority whip on Monday, January 29, denied reports that she was slapped by a staff of the National Assembly, just as she said that at no time did she ask her aide to slap anybody, Vanguard reports.

NAIJ.com gathered that the Ekiti state senator speaking with journalists on what happened, said: “I went for a public hearing and I understood that there was another meeting upstairs so I got into a lift, yes it was a staff lift and I thought that everyone should be able in it and my security stood in front of me.

“Some gentleman and women came in and were abusing asking why he will shield anybody, get out this is our lift. One of them just pushed him and then they had altercation, I just came out and told them that it was wrong and that is what happened.”

On if she asked her aide to slap anyone, she said: “Could I have done that, is it possible, how can I ask anybody to slap. The boy came, and they brought him and I told him he should go because he knew that he didn’t do well. You didn’t do well because you were the one that slapped him. I didn’t even say a word all through because I stood at the back.

It wasn’t my business it was the business of the security man. Yes I was in the staff lift. But what says we cant go in staff lift. When I see people standing outside in distinguished senators lift, I also saw them to come in because I believe that is the way it should be. How could i have slapped anybody at my age, and level. That is not possible.”


According to an earlier report by NAIJ.com, Biodun Olujimi, senator representing Ekiti south, on Monday, January 29, allegedly asked her aide to assault a member of the Parliamentary staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) at the national assembly.

The lawmaker was reportedly angry by the decision of the PASAN member to ride in an elevator with her.

https://www.naija.ng/amp/1149031-how-i-slapped-age-level-senator-olujimi

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA OWERRI — For fears that they might be members of the dreaded Boko Haram, Imo State government, weekend, sent back to Katsina about 84 persons.


The deportees, mainly youths, had been in Imo State for eight days under-going skill acquisition training when the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state raised an alarm that they might be Boko Haram insurgents. The young Muslims, who had spent about eight days in the state, were quartered in the premises of Imo Newspapers Limited, on Egbu Road, Owerri, which is now renamed “Imo College of Advanced Professional Studies, ICAPS.” A security man on guard in the premises, who spoke on strict grounds of anonymity, explained that government had no other option than to send them safely back home.

“The alarm by PDP raised palpable fears that people could descend on the innocent students. Government had to cut short their training and sent them back to their state,” the man said. Speaking to inquisitive journalists in Owerri, the Director General of ICAPS, Mr. David Day, confirmed that the establishment trained youths on skills and leadership programmes. “We do not train miscreants, criminals and members of Boko Haram in ICAPS. We had to cut short the training of 84 literate youths from Katsina State, as a result of the alarm, which obviously put their lives in danger,” Mr. Day said.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/01/imo-govt-deports-84-boko-haram-suspects-katsina/

THE National Chairman of Fulbe [Fulani] Development Association of Nigeria (FULDAN), Malam Ahmad Usman Bello, has declared the Fulani as too good to be beaten by any other ethnic groups in the country.

In what appears to be an assertion of the supremacy of the Fulani ethnic group over all others in the country, he said his ethnic group remained unbeatable and any ethnic group that fights it would be doing so at its own peril.

Bello made the remarks while speaking with Saturday Tribune in Kano on Thursday evening against the background of the national outcry against the murderous activities of Fulani herdsmen in Benue, Plateau and Taraba states and many other parts of the country.

“Take it or not, Fulanis have remained unbeatable; no ethnic group can fight us face to face. Any ethnic group that fights us will learn a bitter lesson,” the leader of the apex Fulani association in the country said.

He, however, said it was in the interest of the Fulani, which he described as “the largest ethnic group in Nigeria and, indeed, West Africa,” for all Nigerians to continue to live in peace and unity.

According to him, should a civil war break out in the country, the Fulani would be the biggest losers because they have more people than any other ethnic groups in the country.

“It is in our own interest that the country lives in peace [and for the country] to be united. If anything happens in Nigeria, we are the ones to lose because we have more people than any other ethnic groups. When you have more people, if any war occurred, certainly we Fulanis would have more dead people to record. And we are not beggars as we are equally blessed with wealth,” Bello said.

In an apparent reference to the Benue State people, he stated that if the Fulanis wanted to take other people’s land, they could have done so in the past “when these people did not know how to wear clothes.”

Tracing the origin of the Tiv, Bello said the progenitor of Tivs hailed from Katsina State and had married a Junkun woman who gave birth to those who are today referred to as the Tiv people.

He declared the name of the father of the Fulani as Muhammad Katsina-Alla who, he said, had come to the present-day Benue and married a Junkun woman and fathered the Tiv.

“If one follows the history of all peoples in the world, they migrated from somewhere. Take America for example, the Europeans migrated to America about 500 years ago. Can you then call them white American settlers? The Europeans also migrated to Australia and to South Africa with many years of struggle with the black majority to gain independence from them. Now, supposing they were majority, would you call them settlers?

“I want Nigerians to understand that wherever Fulanis settle, they always mind their business. It is wrong to refer to them as settlers because those who call us Fulani settlers are the ones to be called settlers.

“Igbos claim they descended from Jews but settled in Nigeria. Even Yorubas also claim they came from the Middle East, while Hausa people equally claim to have originated from Abyssinia, the modern Ethiopia,” Bello said.

He claimed that while Yorubas are “asking for a country to be created for them and Igbos are using arms and ammunition to try to secede from Nigeria, Fulanis, in the various places they have dominated for centuries, have never asked to secede from the country.”

He added: “Fulanis have never referred to any group as settlers but instead they have carved out places for non-indigenes to go about their normal businesses without harassment or intimidation.

“Even in Kano, Sabongari was carved out for mostly non-Muslims resident in the state. Those that went for the Second World War, when they came back, in order not to contaminate those indigenes on ground, a place called Brigade was mapped out for them to reside.

“We Fulanis welcome others but, unfortunately, Fulanis, despite being the largest ethnic group in Nigeria, in West Africa as a whole and perhaps even on the continent, we do not discriminate.”

http://www.tribuneonlineng.com/buhari-signs-law-conferring-immunity-lawmakers/

As part of efforts to ensure smooth implementation of the open grazing prohibition law in Taraba state, governor Darius Ishaku on Friday swore in two Special Advisers on herders and farmers relations.

Those sworn in were; Abubakar Zubairu, Special Advisers on Herders Relation and Abdulrahman Biyams Adamu, Special Adviser on Farmers Relation

At a brief ceremony which took place at the EXCO chambers of Taraba State Government House, Jalingo, Ishaku said the move was part of his resolve to ensure smooth implementation of the open grazing prohibition law so as to end incessant conflicts between herders and farmers in the state.

He maintained that the Special Advisers would be charged with the responsibility of ensuring good relationship between farmers and herders in the state.

“The scale of conflict in the state and indeed the country is on the increase and my administration can not sit and watch this to continue. I charge you to immediately swing into action and visit all areas earmarked for pilot ranches in the state.

“All that you may require for the establishment of the pilot ranches have been provided, so, I urge you to carry out the assignment diligently and without fear or favour,” he said.

http://punchng.com/taraba-gov-swears-in-special-advisers-on-herders-farmers-relations/amp/

Seun, mynd44, lalasticlala

President Muhammadu Buhari will Friday depart for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to participate in the 30th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, AU.

A press statement by his spokesperson, Femi Adesina, on Thursday says the highlight of the president’s engagements during the visit will be his statement under the historic theme for the AU Summit, namely: “Winning the Fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation.”

“This is the first time in the 54-year history of the AU that anti-corruption will be made a theme of the gathering of the regional leaders,” the statement said.

On July 4, 2017 during the 29th Session of the AU, African leaders unanimously endorsed Mr. Buhari to champion the fight against corruption on the continent.

“ The endorsement was in recognition of his personal commitment and widely acclaimed anti-graft drive at the domestic level,” Mr. Adesina said.

On July 25, 2017, the president in a letter to President Alpha Conde of Guinea, who is also the out-going AU Chairperson, formally accepted his nomination to lead members of the AU on this crucial crusade against a veritable socio-economic vice that is anti-development.

While thanking his colleagues for the honour, he reiterated his “commitment to contribute towards our collective efforts to strengthen good governance and development on the continent.”

Apart from anti-corruption, other issues lined for consideration by African leaders and their delegations include, peace and security (transnational terrorism); institutional reforms of the continental body; free movement of persons; climate change; trade; aviation; education; gender and development.

President Buhari will also hold bilateral meetings with some of his colleagues on issues of common interests.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami; the Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Danbazau; the Minister of State (Aviation), Hadi Sirika; the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno; and the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu are in the president’s delegation to the Summit.

Many months after being watch-listed, Esther Oba, ex-First Lady Patience Jonathan’s sister has been arrested by the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) and handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

EFCC investigators are to interrogate her in connection with the alleged laundering of over N359, 397,458.26 through two firms linked with the former First Lady.

The companies are AM-PM Global Networks Limited and Finchley Homes Limited.

About N317,397,458.26 was traced to the suspect in AM-PM Global Networks Limited. She is expected to explain how she came about the management of N42million in Finchley Homes Limited.


Esther Oba was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport at about noon on Monday, shortly after arriving from Dubai in company of her husband, three children and a house help.

Upon ascertaining that she was the person watch-listed, the Nigerian Immigration Service alerted the EFCC whose operatives immediately took custody of her.

Clad in a flowery green Ankara with a touch of yellow, the woman was seen yesterday being relocated to a female cell at the EFCC headquarters.

EFCC sources said the suspect is central to the ongoing probe of the former First Lady.

One of the sources said: “We have been looking for her but she has been faceless. We watch-listed her for arrest by any security agency.

“Fortunately at about noon on Monday, the Nigerian Immigration Service(NIS) contacted us that she was arrested while returning from Dubai with her husband and three children. She was arrested at Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport.


“Her name featured in the operation of one of the accounts of ex-First Lady Patience Jonathan. The account is in the name of AM-PM Global Networks Limited which is domiciled in Stanbic IBTC. It is one of the accounts we have frozen. She is the sole signatory to the account of this firm suspected to have been used for money laundering.”

The source gave an insight into the preliminary findings of the EFCC which necessitated Mrs Oba’s investigation.

The source added: “From our findings, the closing balance in the account was N317,397,458.26 as at August 10, 2017. The inflows came without a clear narration as to the source. However, investigation is being intensified in that direction. Her claim is that the company was owned by their mother who is deceased. However, major inflows into the account occurred after the demise of their mother, Mrs. Esther Fynface Charity Oba.

She claimed that transactions were continued by her late brother, Mr. Tamuno Mohammed Tonye(who was buried in December 2017), but in an attempt to regularise the account at the advent of the of BVN, a board resolution was submitted to Stanbic IBTC requesting that Esther Oba should be the signatory to the account.

“She took charge of this account on 3rd February 2016 and between March and May 2016, the account had an inflow of N350m but she said she does not know the source. She is attributing the source to her brother.”

The source quoted Mrs Oba as saying: “It is only my brother that can explain the source of the cash and he is dead.”

Another source said: “We are suspecting that she and others became involved in money laundering in their quest to mop up money after they left office.

“For instance, on the same day February 3, 2016, another board resolution was submitted to Stanbic IBTC by Finchley Top Homes Ltd authorising the same Esther Oba to be the sole signatory to the company’s account which had about N42million.

“ The signatories to the Board Resolution were Ama Emilia and Ama Ada who are reasonably suspected not to be in existence.

“When confronted, she said she doesn’t know the signatories to the Finchley Homes Board Resolution. She told investigators: ‘I have never seen them in my life.’

When we showed her the international passport of Ama Emilia, she said she cannot remember the face.”

http://thenationonlineng.net/patience-jonathans-sister-held-airport/amp/?

The House of Representatives on Tuesday amended the Electoral Act to change the sequence of elections in Nigeria with the presidential election coming last. Adopting the report of the committee on Electoral Matters chaired by Rep Aisha Dukku (APC, Gombe), the lawmakers said the elections into the 109 Senate and 360 House of Reps seats will come first in the sequence.

This will be followed by the governorship and state assemblies’ elections, while that of the president will come last. Daily Trust reports that the election sequence before now is in such a way that the presidential and National Assembly elections come first on the same day, while that of governors and state assemblies come last. The consideration of the report, which seeks amendment to many other sections of the Electoral Act, is ongoing at the time of filing this report. Details later...

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/amplite/2019-elections-presidential-poll-to-come-last-as-reps-amend-electoral-act.html?

Nigerians in the United Kingdom, on Monday, staged a protest against the killings by the suspected Fulani herdsmen in various parts of Nigeria, especially in Benue State, at the Trafalgar Square, London.

killings by the suspected Fulani herdsmen in various parts of Nigeria, especially in Benue State, at the Trafalgar Square, London.

The organisers of the protest, the Mutual Union of Tivs in the United Kingdom (MUTUK), led other members of the Nigerian community in the United Kingdom to the Nigerian High Commission and later to the British seat of government at 10, Downing Street, London.

The protesters holding placards with different inscriptions like “Nigerian Government stop your silence on Fulani herdsmen,” “Stop killing Nigerians, Enough is Enough,” expressed disappointment on the silence of the Nigerian government.

Vice President of MUTUK, Dr. Kohol Shadrach Iornem, speaking on behalf of others, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to offer a lasting solution to the killing of innocent people in Benue State.

“We are here today because of the current problems we are facing in Nigeria in the hands of the Fulani herdsmen who have continued to massacre our children, brothers, sisters, mothers, and fathers.

“We are here because our people back at home have done everything within the law to bring an end to this ethnic cleansing. Our people back at home in Benue State have protested, they have held press conferences, they held meetings with community leaders to discuss the solution to these attacks, they have passed the anti-open grazing bill.

“Our leaders back at home have even visited President Muhammadu Buhari to plead with him to take decisive actions. It is sad that
immediately after their visit, the Fulani herdsmen terror group killed at least six persons in the same Guma and Logo Local Governments where over 70 people were initially massacred and given state burial.

“We believe the international community does not know about the current genocide in Nigeria and that is there has been no reaction from them. We are here today to let the British Government know about this terror group, who has killed more Nigerians than the Boko Haram.

“It is the responsibility of any government to protect the lives and properties of its citizens and the government have failed us in this regard. In developed countries, the President ought to have tendered his resignation for failing the people who elected him. He is the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and not the president of a particular ethnic group.

“We ask the Federal Government of Nigeria to consider implementing the “anti-open grazing bill” all Nigerian state. Provide advice to the Federal Government of Nigeria on finding ways to deal with the political and economic dimensions of pastoralism by reducing conflict with farming communities.

“The government should also understand that pastoral nomadism is no longer practicable in this era of rapid population growth and climate change.

“The Nigeria government and the international counter-terrorism coalition should investigate the possible link between the Fulani terrorists and Boko Haram insurgency and the inflow of illicit arms from failed states in the African sub-region, with emphasis on the nexus with Libya and Niger.

“This is just the beginning. If President Muhamadu Buhari does not take immediate action to address the brutal killings of our defenceless people, Nigerians will come back here again. Enough is Enough,” Iornem said.
The protesters in a letter submitted to the Prime Minister called on the British Government to intervene in what it called “systemic ethnic cleansing in the country.

“Intervene in this systematic ethnic cleansing because our security forces have been compromised – an appeal to the British Government on behalf of our defenceless fellow Nigerians is a desperate plea.

“Evoke the necessary international mechanisms to establish the veracity of the substance of this petition.

“Highlight the problems and humanitarian needs of the displaced populations, particularly women, children and the aged and support for voluntary organisations to provide assistance through self-help,” MUTUK said.

Meanwhile, the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Americas (NIDOA) has urged the Federal Government to check the activities of armed herdsmen in Nigeria, saying they pose a security threat to the country.

NIDOA, in a statement by Mrs Patience Key, Chairperson of NIDO USA and Dr George Nwogu, Public Relations Director, NIDO Americas Board of Trustees, condemned what they termed the needless and mindless killings of innocent Nigerians by armed herdsmen.

“It is appalling that in spite of the country’s strict gun control laws, persons purported to be herdsmen carry and use military-style assault weapons openly with impunity.

“These highly armed herdsmen pose terrorist threats to all law-abiding unarmed Nigerians and they must not be allowed to carry on unchecked.

“Armed herdsmen’s terrorism against Nigerians should be condemned by all decent and peace-loving people.

“The continued bloodletting must be stopped immediately. The government should disarm all armed herdsmen as they have no right to carry sophisticated weapons in the guise of shepherding cattle.

“We strongly condemn these barbaric acts of violence by these reckless armed herdsmen and urge the perpetrators of these heinous acts to be brought to book and face justice.

“The continued audacious actions of the herdsmen without regard for human lives and the laws of our land represent a clear and present danger as well as threat to the peace and unity of the country,” it said.

NIDOA asked the government not to waver but deploy all instruments of state security forces not only to punish the perpetrators but to prevent future wanton killings of innocent Nigerians.

It called for efforts to regulate the open cattle grazing method in the country to modern standards that utilise ranches as done in other countries and ensure respect for the dignity of human lives and property.

The group offered its condolences to the people of Benue, Taraba and Nassarawa state as well as all other Nigerians who had lost loved ones to what it termed “wanton criminal acts”.


http://www.tribuneonlineng.com/herdsmen-nigerians-protest-uk-submit-letter-pm-charges-buhari-stop-killings/

I will tackle epileptic power supply across the country

Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is leading Nigerian delegation to Davos, Switzerland, for the 48th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting taking place from Tuesday to Friday.

According to a statement on Monday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, the Vice-President who left the country earlier in the day, would be proceeding to Davos from Monrovia where he had earlier witnessed the inauguration of Mr. George Weah as the new Liberian President.

According to Akande, theme of this year’s edition of the WEF is “Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World”, with emphasis on finding ways to reaffirm international cooperation on shared interests on matters such as the global economy, international security and the environment.

He disclosed that while in Davos, Osinbajo will hold a number of bilateral meetings with representatives of other countries, international business interests and development partners.

He said there would also be a special forum specifically for Nigeria, which involves engagement and interaction with Development Finance Institutions and Global Institutional Investors in support of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan of the present administration.


The statement read, “The Vice President will also participate in other meetings and events at the WEF billed to be attended by several heads of governments from around the world.

“The Nigerian delegation at the World Economic Forum will include the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okey Enelamah, and the Special Adviser on Economic Matters to the President, Dr. Adeyemi Dipeolu.

“From Davos, the Vice President will depart for the United Kingdom by the weekend where he will deliver the keynote address at the Warwick Africa Summit, which will focus on exploring the potential of the continent’s overall development.

“Prof. Osinbajo departs Abuja this (Monday) morning and is expected back by the weekend.”


http://punchng.com/osinbajo-leads-nigerias-delegation-to-economic-forum-in-davos/

The Permanent Secretary in the State House, Jalal Arabi, yesterday said rodents and other pests are in the Presidential Villa because of its location and availability of what he called “eatables”. He spoke when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Federal Character and Intergovernmental Affairs. Arabi was responding to a question by a member of the committee, Senator Joshua Lidani (PDP, Gombe).

Lidani had said: “On a lighter note, have you made provision for fumigation? Because there were reports that rodents invaded the president’s office last year.” Responding, Arabi said: “You know Abuja is so blessed with so many eatables, attracting rodents and other animals. You know where the Villa is located, it’s on a valley.

You can’t restrict their movement because of the international convention on animals,” he said. The president couldn’t operate from his office when rodents were said to have damaged furniture and fittings in the office last year. His Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Garba Shehu, issued a statement on this. On the State House Clinic, he said there was a general misconception about the medicals, saying over 44,000 Nigerians received free medical service including drugs. He said against zero capital allocation to the Hospital in 2017, N698m had been earmarked for it this year.

“In all we do, we don’t charge a kobo. I don’t think there is any health facility that you just walk in without paying. The bottom line is because services are freely offered and the hospital relies on subvention, the challenge will be there,” he said. The committee chairman, Senator Tijjani Kaura (APC, Zamfara), urged the government to reconsider its position on offering free medical services at the hospital. “Why should it be free 100%? If in order to get rid of the problem, why can’t you come up with little charges? It shouldn’t be free,” he said.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/amplite/why-we-have-rodents-in-aso-villa-perm-sec.html?

Daura Emirate Youth Progressive Movement, on Sunday, said it would purchase nominations forms for President Muhammadu Buhari and Gov. Aminu Masari of Katsina State to enable them recontest in the 2019 general elections.

Malam Abdulkadir Lawal, the chairman of the movement, disclosed this in Daura at a rally, which was attended by thousands of youths from the five local governments areas under Daura Emirate.

The five local governments areas under of the emirate include Daura, Baure, Zango, Mai’adua and Sandamu.

“We will purchase the forms as part of our contribution to support the two political leaders to recontest during the polls.”

He said the movement decided to purchase the forms following Buhari and Masari’s exceptional performance in office.

Lawal said the two leaders had brought rapid development in their respective areas of jurisdiction, especially in security, agriculture, among others.

“Gov. Masari has succeeded in transforming education, infrastructure and health sectors in the state within the last two years,” he stressed.


He described Buhari as God sent, stressing that prior to the advent of his administration, people in the northeast were experiencing hell due to the activities of Boko Haram insurgents in the region.

Lawal commended Buhari’s effort to diversify the economy and instilled discipline in public life.

“The anti-corruption crusade of the Federal Government has been yielding results as looted funds are being recovered.”

The Commissioner for Justice, Ahmad Al-Murzuk and his counterpart for Youth and Sports, Alhaji Abu Dankum, in their speeches, described the decision of the movement as timely.

The commissioners attributed the relative peace and stability recorded in parts of the country to government’s efforts to bring sanity to the system. (NAN)

http://punchng.com/2019-elections-daura-youth-to-purchase-nomination-forms-for-buhari-masari/

In less than three years of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, some of his core supporters have been writing open letters, expressing their disapproval of his government. According to political analysts, this scenario may affect the President’s chances in the 2019 election should he decide to re-contest, writes JESUSEGUN ALAGBE

In one of her speeches, American philosopher and author, Shannon Alder, said , “When you give yourself the permission to communicate what matters to you in every situation, you will have peace despite rejection or disapproval. Putting a voice to your soul helps you to let go of the negative energy of fear and regret.”

Perhaps this could be true of a few supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari, who, in less than three years of his administration, have communicated to him via open letters how disappointed they were in his performance.

Some of the President’s once strong supporters did not only express their disapproval of his administration, but also regretted voting for and mobilising other citizens to vote for him in the 2015 presidential election.

For instance, in his open letter to President Buhari on January 6, 2018, one of his core supporters and publisher of Ovation Magazine, Chief Dele Momodu, asked the President to perish the thought of running again in 2019.

Momodu argued that since assuming power in 2015, the situation of the citizens had gone worse under the President’s leadership and party “that almost literally promised heaven and earth.”

From alleged indiscipline in the President’s government, to the Herculean task of defending his administration, and so on, Momodu said the Buhari government had done badly by regularly feeding the people with “impotent” excuses.

“Your Excellency, it has become very difficult, if not impossible, to defend the excessive shortcomings of your government… My prayer is that you will find the courage and selfless spirit to quit the stage while the ovation is loudest,” excerpts from Momodu’s letter read.

This would, however, not be the first time Momodu would write an open letter to the President.

In June 2015, a month after Buhari was sworn in and the President was saying time and time again that he had inherited an empty treasury, Momodu wrote, “Sir, let me say right away that the goodwill garnered during your campaigns and the jubilation that heralded your recent victory are fast fading and you need to, as a matter of urgency, convince the people of Nigeria that you are now ready to hit the ground running.

“They are not going to listen to excuses since you had 30 years after quitting the high office to onerously prepare for the job again. For them, it is immaterial that you met an empty treasury or that you are mostly surrounded by selfish, corrupt influences and impostors.”

Five months later, in November 2015, Momodu wrote another memo — titled, Nigerians are unhappy with you — to the President, explaining how the APC’s promise of change was almost becoming a mirage.

At that time, the economy was sliding into recession; the Boko Haram insurgent group was carrying out deadly attacks, contrary to Buhari’s promise of defeating the sect within a few months of coming into power, and the President was junketing around the world amidst the crises in the country.

To all of these and more, Momodu said in his letter, “They [Nigerians] are worried that the mandate of four years they gave you is being unwittingly frittered away and before you know it, all the goodwill you garnered would have evaporated and vamoosed. Time, they say, waits for no man!”

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Oneze Okocha, said there would not have been the need for open letters to the President if he had met the people’s expectations.

Citing the flaws in the anti-corruption war, fuel scarcity during the Yuletide, increasing unemployment and massive closure of companies, Okocha said with the open memos, Buhari might not have a dog’s chance in the 2019 presidential election if he decided to re-contest.

He said, “It is surely an era of open letters to the President and we cannot blame those who have written them. Everyone has the right to free speech. Open letters are ideal when you are calling the attention of someone to an issue that you want to be addressed.

“If you noticed the letters, they were written because this government has fallen short of the people’s expectations. People are dissatisfied; they are not happy. My opinion is that these letters might shape public discourse and opinion about the candidacy of President Buhari in the 2019 election if he decides to re-contest.

“But, apart from the open letters, the index to judge a candidate’s chances in an election is his track record if he had not held a public office before. If he had been in office before, his performance would be the yardstick for voting for him again.

“As for President Buhari, I have never seen a government that offers no hope to the electorate as his. Our economy is worse than what it was in 2015. Look at the plight of the people and you would understand. Look at the fuel scarcity situation; look at the unemployment situation. Even without open letters, the electorate is better informed today and I think this would reflect in next year’s elections.”

Asked if the President could regain his goodwill, Okocha advised Buhari to change his leadership style to make a better impact within the next few months of his being in office.

“Buhari should advise himself and change, but if he cannot, let him step aside for those who can change our lives for good,” Okocha said.

In the meantime, Momodu would not be the only core supporter of President Buhari to write an open letter or publicly criticise his actions.

A hitherto vocal supporter of the President and leader of the Adoration Ministries, Enugu, Enugu State, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, asked Buhari to change his leadership style, warning that if he did not, Nigerians would “change” him in 2019.

Faulting the President for appointing the wrong people in his Cabinet, listening to the wrong advice, floppy anti-corruption war, among others, the priest said on New Year’s Day that it was unfortunate that a cabal had “kidnapped” the President, thereby foisting hardship on the people.

Just like Momodu, Mbaka cautioned Buhari against seeking a second term in office, warning that he risked being “blown away shamefully” by the wind of change which he set off when he defeated former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015.

Mbaka said, “President Buhari must wake up and sit up immediately. Heaven demands Buhari, our President, to change all those who are holding and caging him in captivity. If he will not change them, he will be changed.

“Change or you will be changed; after all, you were the one who introduced change as your mantra.”

Mbaka had also in August 2016, amidst recession and hunger, warned President Buhari that Nigerians might not vote for him again in 2019 if he did not address the high level of hunger and suffering in the country.

“The President should know that there is trouble; if things continue like this, in the next election, nobody will vote for him,” the cleric had stated.

A lawyer and human rights activist, Mr. Jiti Ogunye, viewed open letters as a means of expressing criticisms and suggestions to the government by the citizens, adding that they were a good way of holding the government accountable.

“Those who are writing open letters to the President are expressing their opinions. They have the right to express themselves and air their views of discontentment with those in power. And most importantly, apart from those writing the letters, the media also have the right to hold the government accountable under Section 22 of the Constitution,” he said.

Just a day before Momodu wrote his latest open letter to Buhari, on January 5, 2018, a former Nigerian Ambassador to Mexico and Canada, Prof. Iyorwuese Hagher, also wrote one titled, You have betrayed democracy and promoted genocide.

Hagher , a Second Republic senator and President of the African Leadership Institute, United States, specifically criticised President Buhari for the way he had handled the killings by Fulani herdsmen in Benue State.

Over 50 persons had been killed in attacks on Benue communities by suspected Fulani herdsmen after they invaded some parts of the Guma and Logo local government areas of the state on New Year’s Day.

Expressing disappointment, Hagher said if the President had heeded his previous warning in a letter he wrote to him in July 2016, the situation might have been averted.

The don wrote, “I had warned you of the possibility of a horrendous genocide in Benue, Plateau, Taraba, Kaduna, and Adamawa states. I asked you to be proactive and stop the genocide that had been ongoing but which would burst out into the open and shock the world within 18 months.”

Just like Momodu, Hagher also asked the President to step aside for a better leadership structure for the country.

“Step aside and open the political space for another person to continue your war against corruption with a more comprehensive development programme that Nigeria needs and deserves,” he said.

Also, a one-time Buhari’s running mate in the 2011 presidential election and Serving Overseer of the Latter Rain Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has also at some point in time pointed a finger at the President for the poor state of the country’s economy.

For instance, in his 2017 State of the Nation address, the cleric told Buhari, “We have no more time to waste. Mr. President must galvanise his team to get the job done; square pegs in round holes must be removed or put in appropriate places.”

Another once core supporter of President Buhari prior to the 2015 elections was a former Minister of Education and convener of the Bring Back Our Girls Group, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili.

But in less than three years, from stating that the President had made the economy worse than he met it, to not fulfilling his campaign promise of rescuing all Chibok schoolgirls within few months into his administration, to the army’s invasion of the South-East in September 2017, Buhari seems to have lost favour with Ezekwesili.

In April 2017, artiste Charles Oputa, popularly known as Charly Boy, also wrote an open letter to the President, criticising him for being unable to alleviate the suffering of the people.

Other citizens had at one time or the other also written several open letters to the President to express their frustration with the “bad” situation of the country despite Buhari’s promise of change.

The President of the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria in Lagos, Dr. Saheed Ashafa, said the widespread writing of open letters was as a result of the poor condition of the people, among other issues.

He said, “Truly speaking, most of us are not satisfied with the present situation of the country because there is unease in most aspects of our national life. But you will agree with me that there is no controversy about the integrity of the President, even though some of those around him in governance are mostly not reliable. For those who are writing open letters, they know best why they are doing so.”

Ashafa, however, opined that despite the open letters and criticisms, they might not affect the President’s chances in the 2019 presidential election if he decides to re-contest.

He said, “You would recall the series of blackmail he [Buhari] faced in the media and everywhere before the 2015 general elections, but in the end, we have him as the President.

“What matters to us is how he manages the situation, especially by way of the necessary Cabinet reshuffle and other agencies of government. He must take total control of the government because we voted him for his integrity. He must make meaning out of the remaining period of this tenure.”

A Port Harcourt, Rivers State-based political scientist, Dr. (Mrs.) Pauline Udoh, said if the President had performed well in office, there wouldn’t have been the need to write open letters to him.

She said, “The letters are rushing out because of the way the President has been running the affairs of the country. It is too bad. The contents of some of those letters are things the President promised to address when he was campaigning, but he failed the citizens.

“I think the President should cultivate the habit of listening. If he does, there won’t be any need for open letters. Then, another reason why the open letters are rampant is because of a cabal which does not want the people to communicate to their leader.

“They are blocking the people from having access to Buhari. I just hope the President is even aware of all the open letters. The cabal might have also blocked the his access to the Internet. Who knows!”

http://punchng.com/complaints-discontentment-in-open-letters-to-buhari/

President Muhammadu Buhari admitted on Thursday night that he was reckless as a young officer, particularly during his stint as a military Head of State from 1983 to 1985.

The military regime he headed was accused in several quarters of human rights abuse after several politicians that served the county in the Second Republic were jailed for corruption.

His administration also enacted the obnoxious Decree 2 which gave the state security and the chief of staff the power to detain, without charges, individuals deemed to be a security risk to the state for up to three months.

The regime was also accused of cracking down on public dissent by intimidating, harassing and jailing individuals who “broke the law.”


The President spoke when he hosted All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders to a dinner at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He also recounted his experiences in the Nigerian electoral processes and his victory in the 2015 presidential election.

He said: “I keep telling people that while I was in uniform, quite reckless and young, I got all the ministers and governors, and put them in Kirikiri. I said they were guilty until they could prove their innocence. I was also detained too.

“I decided to drop the uniform and come back. Eventually, I am here. So really, I have gone through it over and over again. This is why I am not in a hurry virtually to do anything. I will sit and reflect and continue with my clear conscience.

“The PVCs worked well in 2015. That was why when the former President rang me, I went temporarily into a coma. I will never forget the time. It was quartet after 5:00 p.m. and he said he called to congratulate me and that he has conceded defeat. He asked if I heard him and I said yes and I thanked him for his statesmanship.

“The truth is after being a deputy governor, a governor, Vice-president and President for six years, and he took that decision is great. He could have caused some problems. He had stayed long enough to cause problems.


“I am the only politician that ended up three times in the Supreme Court and still virtually refused to give up.

“There is one thing that disabused my mind in a dispassionate way about ethnicity and religion across the country. You know that tribunal for presidential election started at High Court of Appeal. The President was my classmate. I missed only four of the court sittings.

“For that first phase in 2003, we were in court for 30 months. My legal leader was Chief Ahamba (SAN), an Igbo man. He asked the panel of judges to direct INEC to produce the voters register to prove to you that the election was done underground.

“When they came to write the judgment, they completely omitted that. Another Igbo man, a Roman Catholic, in the panel of judges wrote a minority report.

“I went to the Supreme Court. Who was the Chief Justice? An Hausa Fulani, a Muslim from Zaria. After 27 months, Ahamba presented our case for two hours and 45 minutes. The Chief Justice got up and said they were going on break and when they return the following day, they will deliver the judgment. They went away for three months. That was what made it 30 months.

“And when they came back, they discussed my case within 45 minutes. In 2007, who was the Chief Justice? A Muslim from Niger State.

“The third one, who was the Chief Justice? My neighbour from Jigawa State. The same religion and the same tribe.

“Finally, the determination of our people and technology: the Permanent Voters Cards made it possible for us to be here.

“Voters’ education is important. Let people be educated that it is their right to choose leaders of their choice.

“There is something that hit me very hard and I am happy I hit it back at somebody. Seven states of the North are only represented in my cabinet by junior ministers, ministers of state. In South East, I got 198,000 votes but I have four substantive ministers and seven junior ministers from there.

“You are closer to the people than myself, now that I have been locked up here, don’t allow anybody to talk of ethnicity. It is not true.

“I felt I should invite you and eat together and to tell you that as I am sitting here, I am very much aware of the problems in this country and that I will always reflect on the historical antecedents before I arrived here.

“I thank you for honouring my invitation and I am telling you that if I don’t ring you or call you, it is not because I ever forgot how you supported me at one stage or the other over the years from 2003 till now.”

The APC National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, said “I was very touched by what you said. I hope it is understood in the proper perspective.

“It indicates quite clearly that you have listened to what people are saying. It has been such a terrible misrepresentation. You have seized this opportunity to say that you are not what people are saying.

“There are so much misconceptions. Look at the example you have given that those who stood by you through the periods of problems and struggles are not people of the same religious persuasion.

“You have said it that you are not an ethnic jingoist. I know this because I have known you for a very long time.

“For some of us, when these things are said, we find it painful but I hope there will be proper rendition of what you said today and it will start clearing the air.”

http://thenationonlineng.net/reckless-military-uniform-buhari/amp/

The Governor of Oyo State, Abiola Ajimobi, has said that the state will appeal the judgment of an Ibadan High Court which set aside the review of the 1957 Olubadan Chieftaincy Declaration and Other Related Chieftaincies.

The governor said this on Friday during the inauguration of a block of classrooms donated to the Community Secondary School, Ajara, in Lagelu Local Government Area of the state by a former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Akinlolu Olujinmi, in Ajara.

Mr. Ajimobi used the opportunity to restate his earlier position that the review, which culminated in the August 27, 2017 installation of 21 new obas, was an altruistic gesture that was for the overall good of Ibadanland.

Among the newly installed kings were some erstwhile high chiefs and baales in Ibadan land.

“Today’s judgment on the Olubadan Chieftaincy review will be appealed against immediately,” he said.

“Let me reiterate here that the review was an exercise that was well thought out. It is for the development and progress of Ibadan land and the people therein.

“We will not relent in our determination to make Ibadan great and the greatness shall come through various ways; one of which was the Olubadan chieftaincy review that was conducted by a judicial commission of inquiry.

The truth is that people are normally opposed to change and radical policies that will eventually be beneficial to them, but we shall get there. We will not be deterred or allow retrogressive tendencies to override the progress Oyo State is currently making.”

An Oyo State High Court had earlier on Friday nullified the chieftaincy review.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/regional/ssouth-west/256093-ibadan-kingship-controversy-ajimobi-vows-appeal-court-judgement.html/

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) in Ondo State yesterday ordered the closure of filling stations across the state.

This followed the reported arrest of its members.

It was learnt that there was a confrontation between fuel dealers and the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Governor on Special Duties, Doyin Odebowale, in Akure, the state capital.

The State IPMAN Chairman Adejimi Adedapo, who gave the directive, said the action of the SSA and his team was a sabotage and arbitrary punishment of marketers and the public.


He said the association recently ensured that the residents got Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), or petrol, at all cost, despite the challenges they encountered in getting the product.

The IPMAN chairman said the PMS was N165 per litre from the depots, with other factors, like haulage, overhead cost and others not included.

One of the leaders of the association, who was arrested, Bayo Olowookere said the action of the governor’s aide was unwarranted.

According to him, his wife and some workers of his filling station were harassed before he was ordered for arrest alongside his wife.

A former IPMAN Chairman, who spoke in confidence, said majority of the filling stations were disrupted and their fuel dispensed indiscriminately.

He said members of the association in the state could not continue to bear the hardship, adding that attempts to meet with the state government on the matter were rebuffed.


Olowookere urged union members to stop selling fuel to customers in the 18 local government areas of the state.

There had been an outrage from the public over the hike in fuel price between N200 and N220 in the state without the intervention of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) officials.

The development prompted the recent action of the state government in the interest of the residents.

http://thenationonlineng.net/ipman-orders-members-stop-sale-fuel-ondo/

The trial of a former Group Managing Director GMD, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Andrew Yakubu, continued on Tuesday before Justice A. R. Mohamed of the Federal High Court Abuja with the EFCC’s third witness telling the court how foreign currencies believed to be proceeds of crime were recovered in a fireproof safe in an apartment belonging to the former NNPC boss in Kaduna.

The witness, Ahmed Yahaya, an operative of the EFCC Kano Zonal Office, gave details of how he came across the $9,772,500 and 74,000 pounds sterling in the said apartment.

This is according to a statement by Samin Amaddin, acting Head, Media & Publicity of the EFCC.

He said, “On 3rd February, 2017 my Head of Operations called me and informed me that a team of operatives attached to Intelligence Special Operations Section (ISOS) are coming from Kaduna on special assignment and they are coming back with a fireproof cabinet safe and that I should make arrangements for collecting the exhibits recovered by the team.

“At about 1830HRS, the team arrived with the recovered exhibits and the caretaker of the said exhibits by name, Bitrus Yakubu.

“The recovered fireproof safe made by ‘Gubabi’ which was opened by experts contained monies. The monies were counted in the presence of the investigating team, including the Zonal Head of Operations, Deputy Zonal Head of Operations and the said Bitrus Yakubu.

“At the end of the counting, a total sum of 97,725 pieces of 100 notes of United Stated Dollars was discovered valued at $9,772,500 m; 6 pieces of 50 notes of U.S Dollars valued at $300 and 1,480 pieces of 50 notes of sterling pounds valued at 74,000 sterling pounds were found in the safe,” he said.

Mr. Yahaya further told the court that the monies were duly packaged and registered in the court exhibit register. He added that, on February 13, 2017, he received a court order by the Legal Department and investigating team informing him of the interim forfeiture of the recovered amount.

He also told the court that after all relevant investigations, the whole monies were carried to CBN Kano Branch on March 17, 2017 for safe keeping and the monies were also counted by CBN experts and the bank issued certificate of delivery which was duly signed by both staff of EFCC and CBN.

The safe, which is already an exhibit; the interim order made by the Federal High Court, Kano; the exhibit registration form and the certificate of delivery were identified by the witness and admitted in evidence.

Under cross-examination by Mr. Yakubu’s counsel, Ahmed Raji, Mr. Yahaya told the court that he did not know if any insurance policy was taken by EFCC against the money apart from the certificate of delivery given to EFCC which serves as gate way to the money.

When asked how safe the money was in CBN, he said, “as far as I am concerned, the monies are safe in the CBN, although I don’t know the day-to-day running of the bank.

Mr. Yakubu, is facing trial on a six-count charge, bordering on money laundering and false declaration of assets.

Mr. Yakubu, who admitted to be the owner of the monies, claimed it was gifts given to him by friends and well wishers and also savings accumulated over a period of years.

The case has been adjourned to February 28 for further trial.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/255892-recovered-dollars-pounds-fireproof-safe-ex-nnpc-boss-apartment-witness.html/

The Ekiti state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) says Ayodele Fayose, governor of Ekiti, has taken ignorance to a ridiculous level.

On Monday, Ekiti barred Kayode Fayemi, minister of mines and steel development, from holding public office in the state for 10 years.

The government based its action on the report of the judicial commission of inquiry, which indicted the minister over alleged mismanagement of the state’s finances between 2010 and 2014.

But Fayemi has described the restriction as a “big joke.”

In a statement on Tuesday, Taiwo Olatunbosun, spokesman of the APC in the state, said neither Fayose nor the state government could bar Fayemi from holding public office only a competent court of law.

Olatunbosun said the governor is the person to be banned from public office because of alleged financial misappropriation.

“His so-called white paper is not only laughable but also a disgrace to all Ekiti people home and abroad with the way that Fayose has taken ignorance, vendetta and debauchery to a ridiculous level because we knew all along that this is what Fayose wanted to do,” the statement read.

“We had expected his attorney-general, if he knows his onions, to have advised him that only a competent court of law can bar Nigerians from holding public office under the Nigerian constitution.

“A situation where Fayose assembled PDP members and pliable civil servants as a panel with a strict directive to indict Fayemi at all costs and thereafter issue a White Paper banning him from holding public office cannot hold water in a society where the law works.

“With the way he is conducting himself desperately to stop Fayemi from holding public office, we are convinced that Fayose is seriously going through a political haemorrhage and therefore his resorting to political desperation and unconstitutional means to nail our leader and a serving minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by any means possible.

“Neither Fayose nor Ekiti state government has the power to bar or prevent Dr Fayemi or any other citizen from holding public office but a competent court of law. Such wishful thinking cannot stand judicial scrutiny and we advise Fayose and his pitiable undertakers to read the supreme court judgment and Atiku Abubakar in a similar matter.

“This is executive recklessness and political rascality taken too far by Fayose and his kangaroo panel. We wonder where he got the power to bar a leading member of the opposition in a democracy.

https://www.thecable.ng/apc-fayose-taken-ignorance-ridiculous-level-court-can-bar-fayemi/

The Nigerian Senate has reacted to a statement credited to Senior Pastor of Latter Rain Assembly, Tunde Bakare, where he claimed that president Muhammadu Buhari’s government has failed.

DAILY POST recalls that Pastor Bakare, on Monday attacked Buhari over corruption and unemployment rate in the country.

Reacting, Spokesman to the senate, Senator Sabi Abdullahi told Channels Tv that Buhari has performed very well and has not failed Nigerians compared to the problems his government inherited from PDP administration.

“Pastor Tunde Bakare is totally entitled to his opinion and he has voiced his opinion but as far as I am concerned, APC has not failed.

“The number of years we have spent, looking at the problems we met on the ground, I think we are doing very well in trying to get Nigeria back on track.

“We are not saying that we couldn’t have done more but then, what we have done so far is within the context of the situation we have found ourselves and we have done very well.”

Speaking on herdsmen attacks in some states of the nation, Abdullahi said the National Assembly was worried about the situation.

“The Senate and indeed the National Assembly is equally very worried about the whole situation and let me reiterate the fact that as representatives of the people, any single part of this country that is affected by any form of crisis definitely gets the National Assembly worried and let me say that for us, we are more than ever ready to respond accordingly based on the mandate given to us as legislators,” he added.

http://dailypost.ng/2018/01/16/senate-responds-tunde-bakares-attack-buhari-insists-president-not-failed/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

John Charles, Makurdi

A state of unease pervades Benue State capital, Makurdi, as youths engage security operatives at Wadatta area, a suburb of the capital city.

Source told our correspondent that some youths had gathered in a particular place, with policemen and soldiers suspecting they could cause havoc, hence the decision to engage the youths.

It was gathered that some suspected miscreants at Wadata started gathering around 8.00pm on Sunday (today) and security operatives were said to have been alerted immediately.

Reasons for their gathering could not be ascertained as at the time of filing this report.

Both Tiv and Hausa youths had caused mayhem on Saturday, which led to several persons being injured and currently receiving treatment in hospital in Makurdi.

The youths were said to be on a mission to avenge the death of their kinsmen.

A resident of the area who spoke to our correspondent said shootings were still going on as at 9.00 pm


Since the attack in some parts of the ancient town, soldiers have been stationed in Wadatta area to quell any possible outbreak of riot

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Moses Yamu, who confirmed the report, said the command received a report that some cult members were gathering around Wadataa and security men were promptly drafted to the area.

“We learnt that some cult members were gathering at Wadatta and we have drafted security men to the area.”

When asked if gunshots were still ongoing at the time of filing this report, Yamu said “there was no cause for alarm.”

http://punchng.com/breaking-benue-youths-police-in-a-shootout/amp/

Femi Falana, senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), says Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), agreed to speak to the press under the assumption that his release is imminent.

El-Zakzaky briefly addressed journalists on Saturday to disprove claims that he was dead and to say he was “getting better”.

According to Falana, the Department of State Services (DSS) told the Shi’ites leader that the federal government was ready to let him go after over two years in custody.

The lawyer called on the government to therefore release him from incarceration “without further delay”.

He said El-Zakzaky has lost his left eye and government has ignored specialists’ advise that he should be taken abroad “to save the right eye”.

Falana said the Shi’ites leader’s wife has “been subjected to excruciating pain as some of the bullets deposited in her body on December 14, 2015 during the military invasion of their home in Zaria have not been removed”.

In a statement released on Sunday, Falana said: “Last week, it was widely rumoured in the social media that Sheik Ibraheem Elzakzaky had died in the illegal custody of the State Security Service. Although I was compelled to dismiss the dangerous rumour via a public statement I requested the federal government to release the Shiite leader and his wife for urgent medical attention.

“Instead of acceding to my request the State Security Service misinformed Sheik Elzakzaky and his wife of the readiness of the federal government to release them after a media parade to assure the Shia community that the Sheik is alive and well. Hence, they agreed to the media parade which lasted for one minute and 20 seconds (yesterday) in an undisclosed detention custody at Abuja.

“But contrary to the official claim that the Shiite leader is hale and hearty he is currently wearing a neck collar support which was procured for him when he fell sometime last December.

“That was when his personal doctor was allowed to examine him for the first time in his over 2-year detention period. Before the neck injury he had lost his left eye while the recommendation of eye specialists that he be flown abroad to save the right eye and prevent him from going totally blind has been ignored by the federal government.

“In fact, the medical state of his wife is by far worse than his. She has been subjected to excruciating pain as some of the bullets deposited in her body on December 14, 2015 during the military invasion of their home in Zaria have not been removed. Hence, the organisers of the media parade deliberately prevented her from addressing the media representatives even though she was present at the so-called press conference.

“Having paraded the couple before the media, albeit illegally, the federal government should immediately proceed to purge itself of the aggravated contempt of the Federal High Court by complying with the order for their release from the illegal custody of the State Security Service.

“The order which was made on December 2, 2016 has not been set aside by any higher court. Yet, the federal government which claims to operate under the Rule of Law has ignored the court order. However, if the federal government does not want to end the official impunity of treating a valid and subsisting court order with disdain it should release the Elxakzakys to their children who have applied to take them abroad for urgent medical treatment.

“This request is in line with Nigerian Prison Regulation 12 which stipulates that even convicts shall be released to their relatives or friends if the prison has no facilities for treating them. In Fawehinmi v The State (1990) 1 NWLR (pt 127) 486 the appellant was granted bail and released on bail pending trial by a military junta. The situation should not be worse under a democratic dispensation.

“In the instant case, the Elzakzakys have not been charged with any criminal offence whatsoever. The spurious claim of the federal government that the detainees are held “in protective custody” was poohpoohed and dismissed by the Federal High Court (per G. O. Kolawole J.). Instead of chasing the shadow by subjecting the couple to illegal media parade the federal government should direct the State Security Service to release them from illegal incarceration without any further delay.”

https://www.thecable.ng/falana-el-zakzaky-agreed-to-media-parade-after-dss-told-him-he-will-be-released/amp?__twitter_impression=true