₦airaland Forum

By Dirisu Yakubu

ABUJA- Nigeria’s immediate past President Dr. Goodluck Jonathan has expressed his willingness to work with with party leaders that would emerge at Saturday’s elective convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

In a goodwill message issued Friday by his media adviser, Mr. Ikechukwu Eze, the former President said the convention would reposition the party to ” Regains its pride of place in the affairs of the nation.”

Dr. Jonathan also said he had no preferred candidate, stressing that he is prepared to work with all those that would emerge as new leaders, in the interest of the party and nation.

“As the father of the party, ex-President Jonathan has no preferred candidates for any of the positions, and is prepared to work with all those that will emerge as members of the new National Working Committee to ensure that the party regains its pride of place in the
affairs of the nation.”

“The former President is pleased with the dedication and enthusiasm of all party members towards building a strong PDP and wishes all participants successful deliberations, as they seek to freely elect members of the National Working Committee, that will lead the party for the next four years.

“Dr. Jonathan is impressed with the level of preparations for the convention, especially with the number of the candidates and the spread and vibrancy of the campaigns, which has established a new paradigm for intra-party elections, in the country,” the statement read in part.

It further noted that “Contrary to speculations and permutations by some interest groups,
Dr. Jonathan has never discussed or plotted with others against the ambition of any of the candidates, as is being falsely reported by those who are adept at spreading negative stories against the immediate past President.

“The former President is therefore optimistic that the convention will produce a positive outcome that will help the PDP consolidate its position as the party with the best democratic ideals in the country.”

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President Muhammadu Buhari has challenged those who want to contest against him in 2019 to an integrity test.

Speaking at an interactive session with community leaders and stakeholders at the Coronation Hall of the Kano Government House to round off his two-day visit to the state, he said Nigerians would not let treasury looters return to power.

He said: “Those who ruled Nigeria without vision and looted the nation’s treasury are the same people boasting that they will displace the APC government and return to office.

“We will wait and see, if they think Nigerians are ignorant. They have the guts of declaring their intention to reclaim office.”


The President cautioned the opposition to be ready to respond to questions from Nigerians on how they governed for 16 years without genuine development.

The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it will be returning to power in 2019 because, in its view, the APC is not doing well.

Buhari said: “Public office holders involved in sharp malpractices would incur the wrath of God. “Those assigned into public positions of trust were mortals, they will transit and appear before their creator to answer for the misdeeds carried out while holding forth the position entrusted in their care by the populace.”

To the President, “it is infuriating that those tasked with the administration of criminal justice in Nigeria were detected to be engaged in criminal acts”. “Diplomatic passports, huge amount of foreign and local currencies were found in the possession of a judge; how does this sound?”

Buhari also alleged that “from 1999 to 2014, Nigeria exported over two million barrels of crude oil daily at the cost of 100 USD, the monies realised were squandered and looted. They failed to save for the future and this is where we are today.”

He lamented that “corruption and corrupt practices have assumed a frightening dimension” and explained that “the fight against corruption is the most difficult task of the present administration’s agenda since its inception over two year ago”.


All the property recovered from treasury looters will be sold off and the proceeds remitted to the Federal Government’s coffers for use to provide the good things of life for Nigerians, he said.

Selling off the properties would serve as deterrent to politicians who want to steal, the President added.

Giving reasons for his thinking, Buhari said it was to avoid the mistake he made as a military ruler when the stolen assets he confiscated were returned to the owners after he left office.

President Buhari thanked Kano people for their warm reception and promised to play a part in the state’s development.

Buhari said: “The mammoth crowd, including children, women and youths who thronged the streets to catch a glimpse of me, is a signal to those on the other side of the divide that I am still popular and relevant at home.”

Emir of Kano Muhammad Sanusi 11 raised the alarm on the “danger lurking ahead over the massive importation of cheap beverages into the country”. I urge the Federal Government to do something urgent to stop this ugly trend.”

He called for the review of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) charter, saying the liberalisation agreement of cross-border trade does not favour Nigeria as massive smuggling of sub-standard products, such as rice, textile materials and beverages have continued to kill the nation’s economy.

Stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state adopted the President as their candidate for the 2019 general elections.

They also expressed their commitment and support for Governor Abdullahi Ganduje as their candidate for 2019.

According to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the President did not say he accepted and did not decline the endorsement even after the party leaders promised to procure the nomination forms for him and threatened to sue him if he declined.

President Buhari merely beamed with smiles and went on to underscore the need for unity in the party and among the diverse peoples of Nigeria.

The APC stakeholders meeting was attended by Governor Ganduje, his deputy Prof Hafizu Abubakar, the state Chairman and the members of the State Executive Committee and members of the National Executive Committee of the party from Kano State.

Also present were two of the state’s senators; members of the House of Representatives from the state, the Speaker and 34 of the 40 members of the Kano State House of Assembly and the 44 party chairmen, their deputies and the Local Government Area secretaries of the APC.

It was witnessed by Jigawa State Governor Muhammed Badaru Abubakar.

The state chairman of the APC, Alhaji Inuwa Abbas hinged their endorsement of the President on his achievements in the last two years especially on security, the war against corruption and the restructuring of the economy.

Speaking on a humorous note, Ganduje said the party was prepared to drag the President to court to force his acceptance of the second term ticket.

Buhari said he understood the clamour by the ordinary people on the streets who raised four fingers on each arm, ”meaning four-plus-four”.

He, however, stressed the need to sanitise party politics by ridding it of vote buying and violence.

“What I saw in the elections in Kogi, Bayelsa and Rivers, the use of money and those headless bodies really upset me. I don’t wish to see that anywhere. I would not have won if money and killing was the modus of operation. That is my view of politics,” the President said.

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Justice Ilevbare

Ahead of Saturday’s national convention of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the senator representing Ogun-East senatorial district, Buruji Kashamu has called on party delegates, leaders and stakeholders to reject candidates undergoing corruption trial at the various courts.

In a statement he issued in Abuja on Thursday, the senator warned that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was planning to arrest some of the candidates with corruption cases.

Kashamu said, “While it is true that an accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty, our great party cannot afford to close its eyes to this potential threat.


“It is a no-brainer that if a national chairman with a corruption case is elected, the party will literally be put on trial with him.

“This is one avoidable risk that is too much to take. You can be sure that a corruption trial of the national chairman of an opposition party will come with a lot of bad publicity that will sound the death knell the party”.

Kashamu pleaded with delegates and stakeholders, particularly those from the Southeast, to support the quest by the Southwest to produce the national chairman in the interest of equity and justice.

“Our brothers and sisters from the Southeast need to be categorical now in support of the Southwest on the ongoing national chairmanship tussle between the Southwest and the Southsouth.

”The implication of this avoidable tussle is to make uncertain the settled Southeast vice-presidential quest in 2019. If the Southeast expectedly takes a principled stance in support of the Southwest, naturally as a reliable race in adherence to agreements, the Yoruba people would reciprocate without any prompting.

“What is currently happening is glaringly an orchestrated assault on the Southwest to end up with nothing in 2019, just like we did when our party was in power. This is a dangerously illogical political permutation for 2019 national elections”, the senator added.


Kashamu said without prejudice to the right of others to seek elective positions at the convention, he however said such should not be done at the expense of established norms and agreements.

The senator said, “Without prejudice to anybody’s right to aspire for party positions, it is an open secret that the PDP national chairmanship had been conceded to the Southwest pre-Port Harcourt convention.

“It was because of this that the other positions zoned to the Southwest are innocuous deputies to substantive offices except the National Treasurer.

“All these are because of the fact that the national chairmanship had already been conceded to the Southwest.

“It is in the light of the above that I wish to reiterate my call on our notable leaders, elders and delegates to put the interest of democracy and the future of our great party above any pecuniary interest or considerations. This is the time we have to rebrand our party and reposition it”.

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QueenEsther Iroanusi

A former Senate President, David Mark, has called for a peaceful national convention on Saturday of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party.

Mr. Mark urged the delegates to right the wrongs of the party’s past by allowing the will of the people to prevail at the elective gathering.

In a message to the delegates, the senator admonished “true faithful of the PDP to try and restore the dignity of the party, urging them to shun ills such as imposition of candidates and impunity he said ruined the chances of the party in the previous elections.

“We have seen what the imposition of candidates caused us in the past. We cannot travel the same route anymore.

“I am sure we have learnt some useful lessons from our electoral misfortune in 2015. We now have the opportunity to right the wrongs of the past by allowing the will of the people to prevail at the convention,” he said.

While expressing confidence in the Governor Ifeanyi Okowa-led National Convention Committee to do a good job and return the PDP to the people, Mr. Mark enjoined party faithful to adhere to the rules of the game in order to guarantee a smooth convention “because only the rule of law and adherence to the principle of Democracy endures.”

Advising contestants for the various party offices to accept the outcome of the elections in the interest of all, he said: “Win or lose, we are still one family. All we need to do is put our house in order in the interest of the party and its members because I can see a bright future.”

Mr. Mark also welcomed former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and others back to the party and urged all those who defected to return home because “PDP is still the only national party and a home for all.”

The PDP National Convention on Saturday will witness the emergence of a new chairman, deputy chairman among other party officers.

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Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday said nobody could disabuse the minds of Nigerians on his clear intentions for the country and its citizens concerning his electoral promises ahead of the 2015 presidential election which he won.

According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the President spoke while paying homage to the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, at the start of his two-day state visit to Kano.

“The three things we said in our campaign on security, economy and fighting corruption, nobody will be able to successfully disabuse the minds of Nigerians on our clear intentions for our country and our people,” the President was quoted as saying.

Buhari assured all Nigerians that the fight against the degraded Boko Haram will be sustained, in addition to the positive trends in the economy and the fight against corruption.

He recounted his fond memories of Kano as a symbol of peace, trade, commerce and industry in Nigeria.
“If there is a problem here, the whole country has a problem. I remember the industry and employment people get in Kano.

“Before the problem in the North East, I remember the number of articulated vehicles that left this city to Maiduguri and the Cameroons, and the number of vehicles that came in from Chad and Niger, providing millions of jobs to Nigerians.

“A lot of people in Nigeria didn’t realise how much the instability in the North East has cost the people and the industry here,” the President said.

Meanwhile, Buhari has reaffirmed that his administration will pursue prison reforms and decongestion with greater vigour.

He spoke at a ceremony in Kurmawa Central Prison Kano, during which 500 inmates were either pardoned or set free upon the payment of fines by the state governor, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje.

The President lamented that some of the freed inmates were young and charged prison authorities to make every effort to make better citizens of prisoners.

He promised that prisons reforms and decongestion would continue to receive prompt attention from his administration.

The President stressed the need for prisoners to receive proper care, support and rehabilitation to make them better citizens after serving their prisons terms.

“I am pleased with this visit and I have learnt a bit more about the conditions of the prisons and inmates.

“This building in front of us was built since 1910. Rehabilitation of prisoners and training of inmates is very important to us and we would continue to invest more on this.

“I asked one of the inmates (released) how old he was and he told me he is only 19 years old.

“If we have people of 18 and 19 years in the prison, and there is no continuous training, then their lives will be completely destroyed. We will invest more in education and vocational training,” he said.

The 500 inmates granted pardon, including men and women, were drawn from various prisons in Kano State, including Kurmawa prisons, which has 1,398 inmates as opposed to 750, the established capacity.

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The Supreme Court on Wednesday fixed March 2 next year for judgment on an appeal by former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki, challenging his alleged indefinite detention.

The panel of five Justices, led by Dattijo Mohammed, gave the date after counsels to the parties in the case adopted their addresses.

The ex-NSA had on June 15, 2016 at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, lost his bid to enforce his freedom after securing bails on all the charges against him.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Dasuki is standing trial for allegedly mismanaging 2.1 billion dollars meant for purchase of arms to fight the Boko Haram insurgents.
Dasuki’s counsel, Mr Joe Daudu, argued that the decision of the Court of Appeal was erroneous, adding that it was incumbent on the Supreme Court to restore the integrity of all courts.


Daudu submitted that it was out of place for the court of appeal to scuttle the fundamental rights of a citizen after well-considered decisions of four courts that admitted the applicant to bail.
He said that his client needed the bail to prepare his defence, adding that he could not have access to security documents while in detention.

“My Lords, Dasuki is already being treated as a convict, even when none of the charges brought against him has been concluded.

“We sincerely pray this esteemed court to do the needful by setting aside the decision of the lower court.

“We also pray the court to momentarily halt the applicant’s trial until the Federal Government obeys the bail order of court,’’ Daudu said.

Mr Rotimi Jacobs, counsel to EFCC, opposed the appeal, saying that it lacked merit and should be dismissed.

He said the bail condition granted Dasuki was perfected on Dec. 29, 2015, adding that a warrant of release to that effect was served on the Comptroller of Prisons in Kuje, upon which he was released.


Jacobs said the Federal Government had not violated his rights, adding that the applicant was only re-arrested by the operatives of the DSS over other fraud allegations.

He said that it was unfair for the applicant to consider his re-arrest as a disobedience to court’s order on his bail.

He said that no court bail was targeted at the DSS when granted.

“The EFCC which put Dasuki on trial on criminal charges at the FCT High Court cannot be held responsible for the action of the DSS on the ground that the two agencies are different entities.

“Besides, My Lords, the appeal court has said there was no existing order against the re-arrest of Dasuki.

“Suffice to say that there cannot be a disobedience to a non-existing court order.

“We pray the apex court to affirm the decision of the lower court which ordered the continuation of the applicant’s trial even while he remains in detention,’’ he said.

Dasuki had approached Supreme Court praying it to set aside the decision of the Court of Appeal which exonerated EFCC from his re-arrest shortly after he perfected his bail conditions.

He further asked the court to void the ruling of the Federal High Court.

The trial court had held that DSS and EFCC were distinct agents of the Federal Government, which is the complainant in the charges against the applicant.

Dasuki had alleged that such pronouncement had given the two agents of government handling the trial to act at variance and against justice.

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Lalasticlala Mynd44

Evelyn Okakwu

An Abuja Division of the Federal High Court has again adjourned hearing in the trial of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, following a request by the prosecution.

Mr. Kanu and three others, David Nwawuisi, Benjamin Madubugwu, and Chidebere Onwudiewe, are facing trial before Justice Binta Nyako for alleged treasonable offences.

Mr. Kanu, the first defendant in the matter, was granted bail on health grounds in April, but disappeared five months later with no trace yet of his current location.

His lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, accused the Nigerian Army of arresting Mr. Kanu during an invasion of his residence in Abia State, but military spokesperson, John Enenche, denied the accusation.

The court had in a previous hearing in October given Mr. Kanu’s sureties some conditions over his disappearance.
Reacting to an application by one of the sureties, Eyinnaya Abaribe, through his lawyer, Ogechi Ogbonna, that he should be relieved of his role as Mr. Kanu’s surety and that the court withdraws its order for a bond of N100 million, Mrs. Nyako said only the appearance of the defendant would prevent a possible forfeiture of the bond.

The sureties were expected to appear in November, but that hearing was stalled due to the engagement of Mrs. Nyako at a conference of judges in Abuja, hence the matter was postponed till Tuesday.

But according to Mr. Kanu’s lawyer, Mr. Ejiofor, when his team of lawyers arrived the court on Tuesday, they found that the lead prosecution counsel, Shaibu Labaran, had written the court seeking an adjournment on the grounds that he had a seminar to attend and would not be able to appear in court on Tuesday.

“The principal state counsel on the matter, Mr. Labaran, wrote the court seeking an adjournment. He said he had a seminar to attend. Subsequently the matter was adjourned till February 20, 2018,” Mr. Ejiofor told PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr. Labaran could not be reached immediately for comments on his mobile phone.

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The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party Caretaker Committee, Ahmed Makarfi, has said he could still contest the party’s presidential ticket in spite of the defection of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to the party.

In an interview in the current edition of The Interview magazine, Mr. Makarfi said, “Atiku left before, he’s on his way back before the (party’s) Convention.”

It is widely believed that Mr. Abubakar’s may be gunning for the PDP’s presidential ticket.

In response to a question about his own interest, Mr. Makarfi said, “I have heard the rumour, it has been there since 2007…I have thought of it. By the time I leave as caretaker committee chairman on 9th or 10th, there’ll still be ten months to the party primaries. By any law or the party’s guidelines, I’m not excluded.”

In a statement, the MD/Editor-In-Chief of The Interview, Azu Ishiekwene, described the edition as “the most revealing disclosure yet of the inner workings of the opposition trying to come to terms with its uncertain future.”

Even though the PDP has zoned its presidential ticket for 2019 to the North, Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti is playing the wild card.

Mr. Makarfi told The Interview that Mr. Fayose’s declaration of interest in the party’s presidential ticket, “is uncalled for and unhealthy.”

Apart from his comment on the build up of interest in the party’s presidential ticket, Mr. Makarfi also said the PDP was expecting a harvest of defections, after Mr. Abubakar’s move from the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC

“For some strategic reasons,” he said, “don’t expect a lot of people to move to the PDP now. People are in APC for different reasons. Wait for the time when everybody will be on his own, you will see the influx of people into the PDP.”

He spoke on the bitter contest for the party’s chairmanship, probably the most dangerous threat since the Supreme Court ruling saved the party from extinction; and on his rival former Governor Ali Modu-Sheriff, whom he said had sponsors in the APC.

Mr. Makarfi, who came close to being the PDP’s presidential nominee in 2006, revealed, for the first time, how former President Olusegun Obasanjo schemed him out, even though an internal party assessment had returned him as the most favourable candidate.

Also in this edition, former resident electoral commissioner for Ondo and Lagos states, Akin Orebiyi, shared insights on his experience, while ex-Nigerian national team captain, Segun Odegbami, revisited the COJA scandal, describing it as “the looting of our commonwealth.”

Ikeogu Oke, the NLNG Literature Prize winner explains, in great detail, why it took him 27 years to write his winning entry.

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Samusu:
Dis Buhari just de fresh since he returned back from London

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has thrown a challenge to President Muhammadu Buhari, declaring that unlike what happened in 2015, he would defeat the president in the coming presidential election.

The Wazirin Adamawa hinged his assertion on his claim that many of the president’s men were unhappy with his handling of issues even though they would not tell him, but would rather wait to take their own pound of flesh during the coming elections.

The former vice president added that President Buhari had squandered the goodwill that helped him to win the 2015 election, a fact that had weakened his political base.

The governing All Progressives Congress (APC) has, however, faulted Atiku’s position, saying Nigerians will overwhelmingly vote for President Buhari because of the sterling qualities they saw in him in 2015.

LEADERSHIP Sunday recalls that Atiku had, last Friday, resigned from the APC, citing alleged failure by the current administration to improve the quality of life of Nigerians and neglect of the youth by the administration.

In an interview with Mr Dele Momodu for his column which was published yesterday, Atiku said he would get government working from day one if Nigerians vote for him in 2019.

“I will definitely beat him this time,” Atiku said. “He has wasted a lot of his massive goodwill. A lot of people are disgruntled but (are) keeping quiet and lying low.

“Our youths are suffering terribly and now they are being sold into slavery.”

While stating his leadership credentials, Atiku said: “Everyone knows my track record of inviting and attracting a good team and giving them the opportunity to work professionally. Nigerians are tired of leaders who cannot think big and work big.”

But speaking for the ruling party, the APC national publicity secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi said President Buhari would easily defeat the former vice president should he stand for re-election.

“I believe that the reasons Nigerians voted for President Buhari in 2015 are still pertinent. They voted President Buhari because they needed a leader who has integrity, strong on corruption and capable of defeating Boko Haram.

“If he stands for election in 2019, we believe Nigerians would still vote for him,” Bolaji said.

On his part, an APC chieftain, Alhaji Umar Duhu said it was ‘absolutely preposterous’ for Atiku’s to think that he could ever defeat Buhari in any political contest.

Duhu also declared that Atiku had not an important figure even in Adamawa politics, hence he could not be a stumbling block to President Buhari should he decide to contest the presidential election.

Duh said, “The president has defeated him in so many instances and they are there in public domain. He (Atiku) is not a factor in the Adamawa politics, much less to pose a serious threat to the president.

“He can never defeat the president in any election and that is sufficiently clear.”

PMB Was Never Banned From Entering America – Presidency

The Presidency has described as fictitious the claims by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar that President Muhammadu Buhari could not enter America for about 15 years on account of religious considerations.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar made this claim in an interview published yesterday.

However, a statement by the special adviser on media to the president, Femi Adesina, said President Buhari was at no time ever prohibited from entering any country in the world.

Adesina said: “This fictional concoction being passed off as truth is mind boggling, coming from a former Number Two man of Nigeria, who should know the truth. At no time was President Buhari, as a private person, ever forbidden from entering any country in the world.

“Rather, the rest of the world has always held Muhammadu Buhari as a man of sterling qualities, strong on integrity, transparency and accountability. The same testimony is still borne of the Nigerian president by many world leaders today.”

The presidential spokesman observed that the former VP Abubakar had been asked why he had not visited America for over a decade, something that had been a stubborn fact dogging his footsteps, but that instead of answering directly, he said that Buhari also had been disallowed from entering the same country for 15 years before becoming president.



US Ban: Atiku’s Claim Baseless, Unfounded – Buhari Media Group

The Buhari Media Support Group has dismissed as baseless and unfounded the allegations by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar that President Muhammadu Buhari was banned from entering the United States because of his purported extremist religious views.

Reacting to the allegation in a statement in Abuja yesterday, the Buhari Media Support Group said it was shocked by Atiku’s curious and spurious allegations, explaining that there was no time Buhari was ever banned from entering the US or any Western country because of any alleged or perceived extreme religious views.

According to the BMSG, “the former Vice President appears to have his facts or information mixed up somewhere” and that “he must be confusing someone else with Buhari.”

The group said Buhari has enjoyed, and continues to enjoy, enormous international goodwill, explaining that he had no reason to be in the United States after he finished from the War College.

It added that in 2016 Buhari was invited to deliver a lecture at the Woodrow Wilson Centre in the United States and that he was also at the Chatam House in London.

According to the statement, Buhari could not have visited a country where he was officially banned because of any so-called extreme religious views. It, however, challenged Atiku to publish any such record if he had any.

The BMSG advised the former vice president to play fair politics and avoid dragging the president’s name in the mud for political advantage.

It said political leaders should lead by example by being truthful and avoiding the spread of unfair and unfounded rumours against perceived opponents.

The BMSG explained that President Buhari bears no ill will towards Atiku in the pursuit of his ambition, but requested the former vice president to reciprocate that gesture by stopping the spread misnformation against the president.

Convention: S’West PDP Leadership Crisis Resurfaces

Less than seven days to the national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the party’s leadership tussle in the South-West appears to have resurfaced.

This is as Chief Makanjuola Ogundipe-led South-West Zonal Executive has asked for an adjournment of the hearing of an application seeking the stay of execution of the order of the Federal High Court, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.

The Ogundipe leadership stated this in a letter to the presiding justice of the Court of Appeal, Ado Ekiti Division.

The Eddy Olafeso-led faction of the party in the zone had appealed a November 8 ruling by the Federal High Court, Ado-Ekiti, which declared the Ogundipe-led executive as the authentic leadership of the party in the zone.

It also asked the Olafeso-led group to desist from parading itself as members of the South-West zonal exco and for it not to participate in the forthcoming national convention as representatives of the zonal exco.

But, in a letter dated 30th November 30, 2017 and addressed to the presiding justice of the Court of Appeal, Ado Ekiti Division, the Ogundipe-led executive said it was seeking a postponement of the hearing of the motion brought by the Olafeso faction on Monday, December 4, 2017.

Ogundipe added that at no time were they or their counsel served with a notice of appeal before the records were compiled and transmitted from the trial court to the appellate court.

The letter reads in part, “As the matter stands, the 1st to 5th respondents (Ogundipe, Pegba Otemolu, Lanre Orimoloye, Supo Ijabadeniyi and Femi Carenna) have not been served with the Notice of Appeal and I have been advised that the notice of appeal, being an originating process, ought to be served on us personally.

“Secondly, the implication of fixing the case for Monday 4th of December, 2017 (having served its former counsel at about 4pm on Thursday, 30th November, 2017) is that the 1st to 5th respondents would be unable to brief a lawyer to file any response to the two motions before they come up for hearing before this honourable court.”

The letter added that it was public knowledge that the 1st of December, 2017, was a public holiday in Nigeria, while the 2nd and 3rd of December, 2017, are non-working days, being Saturday and Sunday respectively.

It, therefore, submitted that the hearing of the Appellants’ motions on the 4th of December, 2017, in the present circumstances would definitely violate the 1st and 5th respondents’ right to fair hearing.

“It is in the light of the foregoing that I humbly request that you use your good offices to have the hearing adjourned to another date to enable the 1st to 5th respondents instruct counsel and be prepared for the hearing,” it said.

LEADERSHIP Sunday recalls that the Federal High Court had ordered the Olafeso faction to stop parading itself as executive members of the party in the South-West.

The order of the Ado-Ekiti Division of the Federal High Court was based on the fact that the Lagos Division of the court had in June 2016 nullified the congress that produced the Olafeso group, having been held in violation of subsisting orders of the court.

The court had also held that the four-year tenure of the Ogundipe-led zonal exco expires in 2018, having been elected in October 2014.

The order and judgement are yet to be set aside on appeal, yet the Olafeso group want a stay of execution of the consequential orders.

It is also praying the appellate court to halt further proceedings in Suit No. FHC/AD/CS/18/2017.

It filed processes at the Court of Appeal, Ado Ekiti Division on the November 29 and the hearing has been fixed for December 4 (today).

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Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi State says he will pay all salary arrears of civil servants and the pension arrears before the end of 2017.

Bello also said that he would commence prompt payment of salaries of workers in the state public service from January 2018.

He made the promise on Saturday at the commemoration of the 110th birthday of the Odeyani-Anebira, Alhaji Audu Otonoku and his eight years on the throne as the Otonoku in Lokoja.

“As from January next year, we shall be paying all our cleared civil servants’ salaries as and when due.

“I want to appreciate God that good days are coming to the people of Kogi,” he said.

The governor traced the genesis of the delay in the payment of workers’ salaries to huge debts which he claimed his administration inherited from the immediate past administration.

http://punchng.com/i-will-pay-workers-salaries-pension-arrears-before-2018-gov-bello/amp/

Josiah Oluwole

The Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has described Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, as ignorant of the contents of restructuring, which informed his comments against the call for a review of the nation’s economic and political structure.

The secretary of the group, Bashorun Arogbofa, told PREMIUM TIMES on Friday in a telephone interview that the Boko Haram and almajiri phenomena would not have existed if the country was properly structured to tackle all the problems now facing it.

Mr. Shettima had on Thursday downplayed the agitations for the restructuring of the country, saying it was a “madness” that could be stopped by good governance.

Mr. Shettima, who spoke at the launching of the book “On a Platter of Gold,” by former Minister of Youths and Sports Development, Bolaji Abdullahi, in Abuja, said if jobs were created and the economy made better, the calls for restructure would stop.

“People are talking about artificial intelligence, other nations are talking about nano technology or robotics engineering but unfortunately, the topical issue in Nigeria is restructuring. Restructuring my foot! To hell with restructuring,” he said.

“Let us improve on governance, let us work for the people, invest in education, create jobs for our people, this madness will stop.”

Mr. Arogbofa, who also authored a book on restructuring, titled, “Nigeria-The Path We Refused to Take,” said Mr. Shettima did not have the understanding of the meaning of restructuring.

“If he said all those things it means he didn’t understand the meaning of restructuring,” he said.

“Because if he understood the meaning of restructuring, he would have known that it would ensure the development of the country and move the nation forward. He would have known that it was the way forward for the country and meant respective for one another.

“With restructuring we can grow and use our initiative and the issue of all powerful centre in the federation will not be there. Where children will be given the right type of education.

“It was the absence of restructuring that indirectly led to Boko Haram and almajiris going here and there. If restructuring had taken place, those who are ruling them would have known that education mattered most for the development of the individuals and they would have taken the children to schools.

“So, I don’t think the governor understood the meaning of restructuring.”

“Are we saying that the country should break? No! Afenifere doesn’t want that, but we want every component of the country to be able to live comfortably within its own means and each part to grow at its own pace and develop its own wealth.”

Also, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, South East socio-political group, also chastised the Borno State Governor for his comments, saying he is only “begging the issue.”

The spokesman for the group, Uche Achi-Okpaga, said the process of restructuring had been ongoing for a long time and the present call for restructuring should not be seen as a strange thing.

“Restructuring is something you cannot avoid,” Mr. Achi-Okpaga said. “We either restructure peacefully or restructure in pieces.”

According to him, when states were created, it was a kind of restructuring and no one should be scared of it because it would help the country to become better.

He further said those who are resisting restructuring “know the truth, but are scratching the surface to create distractions.”

“But the truth is always there and you cannot run away from it,” he added.


https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/251211-afenifere-ohaneze-slam-gov-shettima-restructuring-outburst.html/amp

European and African leaders have set themselves a tall order to stamp out horrific abuse of African migrants, some of them Nigerians in Libya, where thousands are suffering in a vast, lawless territory.

On Thursday, a summit of the African Union and European Union set a goal of immediately repatriating 3,800 migrants languishing in a camp near Tripoli.

Hundreds of thousands more — “400,000 to 700,000,” according to AU Commission head Moussa Faki Mahamat — remain stranded.

But experts point to a daunting array of hurdles, from extracting migrants in perilous situations to giving them incentives to stay put when they return home.

Even so, the summit’s commitment, initiated by outrage over a CNN television report on black Africans being sold as slaves in Libya, is being welcomed.

“It is a step in the right direction,” International Organisation for Migration Europe Director Eugenio Ambrosi told AFP by phone from Brussels.

“It is a little bit too much to think it will solve the slavery issue, but it would definitely mitigate (it) to some extent,” Ambrosi said.

He said the summit also showed there was now “international watchdog pressure” that can be brought to bear on the criminal gangs, but it must be “sustained.”

The drive was announced at a meeting on the summit sidelines organised by French President, Emmanuel Macron.

It brought together eight other EU and African countries as well as the AU, EU and UN representatives.

Macron said the UN-backed Libyan government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj had identified and granted access to the worst camps to enable the returns of people who want to go home.

The Macron group also decided to work with a task force, involving the sharing of police and intelligence services, to “dismantle the networks and their financing and detain traffickers,” he said.

They pledged to freeze the assets of identified traffickers. The AU will set up an investigative panel and the UN could take cases before the International Court of Justice.

While saluting this as progress, commentators pointed to big practical problems, which begin with the need for African countries to respond rapidly to the need for travel documents so that evacuees can leave quickly.

“Something has to be done for people in this situation, obviously, but from an operational and logistical point of view, the evacuations are very complicated,” said Matthieu Tardis, a researcher at the French Institute of International Relations in Paris.

“Doing it on a major scale raises the question of cooperation with the Libyan authorities and of their authority across the country,” he said.

“On top of that, it’s hard to see how you can walk into unofficial camps and other places to evacuate migrants, especially when they are controlled by traffickers.”

There is also the question of support for those who go home — an influx that adds to a poor country’s economic and social burden.

Yves Roland Houeto, coordinator of an Ivorian NGO called the Pan-African Association of Children and Young Workers, said he saw no signs West African governments were ready to offer serious economic prospects to keep the young at home.

Governments cannot just offer returning migrants some money and supplies when they land back in their country’s airport, he said.

“As soon as their supplies and money run out, they will leave again,” Houeto told AFP in Grand Bassam, a coastal city of 80,000 people less than an hour’s drive from Abidjan. Every month, around 10 young people leave the area for Europe, he said.

In Nigeria, the National Emergency Management Agency on Friday said 1,295 nationals who were stranded in Libya while trying to get to Europe had returned home voluntarily in November.

http://punchng.com/400000-nigerians-others-still-stranded-in-libya-au-commission/amp/

By PAUL UWADIMA, Abuja

The founding national chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the current national chairman and founder of United Progressive Party (UPP) Chief Chekwas Okorie has clarified that the late Biafran leader and Ikemba Nnewi, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, joined APGA six months after the registration of the party and denied claims that Ojukwu was the founder of the party.

Chief Okorie in a statement entitled, “I Am The Undisputed Founder Of The All Progressives Grand Alliance – APGA” and made available to newsmen, yesterday in Abuja, narrated how he founded the party and
brought in the former Biafran leader to join the party and become its presidential candidate.

He said, “INEC announced the registration of APGA, NDP and UNPP on Saturday 22nd June, 2002 and I received the Certificate of Registration of APGA on Monday, 24th June 2002 in an impressive ceremony at INEC Headquarters presided over by late Dr. Abel Guobadia, the Honourable Chairman of INEC at the time.”

He further revealed that it was about six months later that Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu was persuaded to dumb APP for the APGA. He said, “On the 24th of December 2002, he (Ojukwu) agreed to become a member of APGA after I had consented to propose him as our presidential candidate for the 2003 presidential election.

This took place at his No 4 Isiuzo Street residence, in Independence Layout, Enugu, in the presence of Justice Eze Ozobu (rtd), Dr Joe Nwaorgu, Prince Richard Ozobu, Chief H.B.C Ogboko and Chief Onwuka Ukwa. On the 26th of December 2002, I proposed Dim Odumegwu-Ojukwu as our presidential candidate in a well-attended World Press Conference at the Zodiac Hotel, Independence Layout Enugu. On the 10th of January, at the Old Parade Ground, Garki, Abuja, I proudly raised the hands of Dim Odumegwu-Ojukwu and Alhaji Sanni Bayero as our presidential and vice presidential candidates respectively.”

Okorie blamed the distortion of the history of APGA on the former national treasury and national chairman of the party, Chief Victor Umeh who he accused of deliberate distortion of facts. He insisted that when APGA was formed Umeh was still a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“I wonder why any person with any sense of proportion would want to ascribe the founding of APGA to Dim Odumegwu-Ojukwu. The Eze Igbo Gburugburu I associated with for a long time never for a moment laid claim to founding APGA. God knows that I genuinely and loyally added appreciable value to Dim Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s political profile. I deserve nothing but gratitude,” he added.

He noted that “Section 18(1) of APGA Constitution registered with INEC which was there before Umeh joined the party states as follows. ‘The Founder of the party Chief Chekwas Okorie shall hold the office of the national chairman of the party for an initial period of four years and may hold the office for a second term of four years if he so desires’. Umeh aided by sponsors from the Obasanjo Presidency, struck when I was mid way in my first term of four (4) years.”

He expressed happiness that none of the children of late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu has been tempted to ascribe founding APGA to their noble father, Late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, Eze Igbo Gburugburu, a man of immeasurable integrity would never desire to be dressed with borrowed robes. “I am unable to come to terms with the reasons why his wife Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who is aware of the veracity of the above narrative would want to join in denigrating the image of the great leader by dressing her late husband in borrowed robes as if he needed it to compliment his historic and noble accomplishments. This is an obvious and regrettable disservice to the personality of the sage.

“The incontrovertible fact is that I, Chief Dr. Chekwas Okorie am the Founder of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA 2002 and the United Progressive Party, UPP 2012. By this feat I proudly join Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Mallam Aminu Kano and Alhaji Waziri Ibrahim, all of blessed memory, as one of four Nigerians who founded two political parties each in their life time”, he added.

http://leadership.ng/2017/12/01/ojukwu-not-found-apga-okorie/

Union Bank of Nigeria Plc on Thursday asked Justice Saliu Saidu of a Lagos Division of the Federal High Court to vacate an interim order of forfeiture placed on Flat 7B Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos where the sums of $43,449,947, £27,800 and N23, 218,000 (about N13 billion) were discovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on April 12, in iron cabinets and “Ghana-must-go” bags.

The judge had on November 9, made the order while granting an ex-parte application filed by the anti-graft agency.

A firm, Chobe Ventures Limited, was joined as the respondent in the suit.

Granting the ex-parte order, Mr. Saidu directed the EFCC to notify the respondent in whose possession the property was found to appear before him in a fortnight to show reason why it should not be permanently forfeited to the federal government.

The anti-graft agency was also directed to publicise the interim order in a national daily for the respondent or anyone interested in the property to show cause within two weeks why a final forfeiture order should not be made on the property.

However, at the resumed hearing of the matter on Thursday, Union Bank through its lawyer, A. A. Aribisala, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, drew the court’s attention to an application seeking to vacate the interim order of forfeiture.

In an affidavit in support of the application deposed to by one, Alfred Olukayode Edun, the bank argued that the forfeited flat was part of the property situated at 16 Osborne Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, belonging to Adamu Muazu, by virtue of a certificate of occupancy dated 27th September 2009 and registered as 97/97/2009 in the Lands Registry Office, Alausa, Lagos.

The bank said Mr. Muazu, a former Bauchi State governor and former Chairman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, had mortgaged the entire property to it by virtue of a Tripartite Deed of Legal Mortgage dated November 1, 2011, in order to secure a loan granted to his company, Tripple A Properties & Investment Ltd.

The bank further claimed that the original title deed of the property had been vested in it while the loan is yet to be liquidated till date despite the fact that its tenor has expired.

The bank further claimed it sold the property to Chobe Ventures Ltd to liquidate the loan.

However, in its counter affidavit to the application, the EFCC argued that the bank lacks the ‘locus standi’ to challenge the forfeiture of property “reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities of Ambassador Ayo Oke and Mrs. Folashade Oke.”

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/251132-ikoyi-money-union-bank-wades-ownership-building.html/amp

Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari will on Saturday and Sunday join other Heads of State in Aqaba, Jordan, to review strategies in fighting terrorism, and reinforce joint security structures that will be more proactive in preventing attacks.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

Adesina said the meeting tagged, AQABA RETREAT, hosted by King Abdullah II of Jordan, is expected to be attended by West African Heads of State, representatives of governments of 48 countries and a number of key Non-Governmental Organisations. He said Buhari would at the meeting, share Nigeria’s experience on terrorism and its spread across West Africa.

He added that the President will solicit more support for pre-emptive measures that will neutralise the activities of insurgents in the sub-region.

The statement added, “The Nigerian leader will also hold bilateral meetings with some Heads of State to strengthen relations. “President Buhari and his delegation will attend the official dinner to be hosted by King Abdullah II in honour of visiting Heads of State and their delegations.

“The President will be accompanied to Jordan by the governors of Kogi, Osun and Niger States; the Ministers of Defence, Education, Foreign Affairs; the National Security Adviser, and the Acting Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency.”


http://punchng.com/buhari-travels-to-jordan-to-discuss-terrorism/amp/

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) says it has arrested and detained four Commissioners in the administration of former Governor of Kogi State, Idris Wada, over alleged fraud.

Spokesman of the commission, Rasheedat Okoduwa, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

Mrs. Okoduwa identified the ex-commissioners as Kayode Olowomoran (Culture and Tourism), Abdulrahman Wuya (Transport); Godwin Onama (Works) and Ali Ajuh (Budget and Planning).

She said the suspects’ arrest followed ICPC’s investigations into an alleged misapplication of a N2 billion SME loan they secured from the Central Bank of Nigeria on behalf of the state.

According to her, they acted in connivance with the former governor, his Accountant-General, Ibrahim Idakwo, and a former Permanent Secretary in the state Ministry of Commerce, Frank Onoja.

“Preliminary investigations by the Commission also revealed that the suspects allegedly partook in the mismanagement of another N8 billion bond that was raised to fund 57 projects across the state.

“The large sums of monies released for the projects were allegedly far beyond the levels of work done.

“Furthermore, the suspects are alleged to have benefited from illegal deductions to the tune of N1.3 billion made from the funds of 21 local government councils of the state by the same administration,” she said.

The ICPC spokesperson said the suspects would remain in custody until they fulfilled the administrative bail conditions granted them by the commission, while investigations continue.

(NAN)

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/251099-icpc-arrests-4-ex-kogi-commissioners-alleged-fraud.html/amp

Only former Vice President Atiku Abubakar possesses the political sagacity, exposure and wherewithal to challenge President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019, a political strategist, Dr Abbati Bako, has said.
Speaking on the resignation of Atiku from the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bako said the political space in the country would soon take shape as alignment and realignment were on-going underground.

He claimed that the failure of President Buhari to fulfil his campaign promises to Nigerians had brightened the chances of Atiku and the opposition to clinch power in 2019.
“The failure of the present administration to fulfil its numerous campaign promises has brightened the chance of Atiku. If he (Atiku) plays his cards well, he will defeat Buhari in 2019 election,” he said.
Aside Atiku, Bako said none of the powerful politicians in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) could slug it out with President Buhari and defeat him.
Bako, who described the on-going realignment by the heavyweight politicians in the country as a good omen, said it would spur the ruling party to wake up from slumber and work for the masses.
“Some heavyweight politicians, including governors and senators are going to join Atiku in weeks to come. This will reshape the political atmosphere for the benefit of the masses. As we all know, at the moment our economy is in bad shape, corruption is still rife and we are not out of recession as they claim,” he said.
On the statement of Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai on Atiku’s resignation, he said the governor was totally wrong.
“You cannot just say a giant politician like Atiku should go. No, it is very bad of the governor to say so. Politics is a game of negotiation, a game of alignment and realignment. Nigeria’s political setting will change. El-Rufai and co would be shocked,” he said.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/only-atiku-can-challenge-buhari-bako.html

TheHistorian:
Thank God!!!

I hope this triggers Oyo state owned institution(s) to suspend their internal strike action too.

Once again,I'm super elated.

We hope the Governor listens to their demands

Akinola Ajibola

National President of ASUP, Mr Usman Duste, announced this on Wednesday during the union’s 14th National Delegates Conference at the Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic, Bauchi state.

He said the decision to suspend the strike followed the series of meetings held between the leadership of the union and the Federal Government.

According to him, both parties agreed to a Memorandum of Settlement and Action (MoS) on each of the issues raised by the union.

“The union considered the suspension to give an opportunity for implementation of the content of Memorandum of Settlement and Action, and shall be reviewed according to the timelines outlined in the MoS,” Duste said.

More to follow…

https://www.channelstv.com/2017/11/29/15-days-after-asup-suspends-nationwide-strike/amp/

STRIKING staff of tertiary institutions owned by Oyo State Government has sought the intervention of the state House of Assembly in the impasse with the government over the restoration of 100 subventions and payment of salary arrears running between seven and fifteen months.
This formed the basis of a protest of the affected staff led by Chairman, Joint Action Committee of the five trade unions of the six Oyo State-owned tertiary institutions, Mr Babatunde Adeniyi, to the House of Assembly, on Tuesday.
Backed by staff bearing placards with inscriptions like, “We are suffering, our people are dying, please pay our salaries, Oyo State tertiary institutions workers plead with you; We’ve been earning 25% salary for 15 months, pay our 100% salary, Governor Ajimobi, do you take 25% salary too?,” Adeniyi said that there was no going back on the four weeks old strike until their demands were met.
Speaking, Adeniyi chided the stance of the state government that it only gave subvention as support or grants, noting that the state deducted 100 percent pay as you earn tax upfront contrary to the no tax deduction requirement for the release of grants or support.
The protest coincided with a matter of urgent public importance moved by Honourable Afeez Adeleke of Iseyin/Itesiwaju constituency at Tuesday’s plenary, calling on the executive to pay all outstanding arrears of the six state-owned tertiary institutions.
Noting several resolutions since 2016 when the subvention was reduced to 25 percent, the Assembly called on the executive to make provisions for the payment of 100 percent subvention to the institutions.
Adeleke, who is Chairman, House Committee on Education, Science and Technology, said the appeal had become expedient owing to the profoundly negative effects of the reduction in subvention on education sector of the state, especially in tertiary institutions.
Adeleke, who spoke after meeting with the staff unions, assured that the assembly would work with the executive arm, and especially call on the Permanent Secretary and Commissioner for finance, Accountant General with a view to restoring 100 percent subvention.
Meanwhile, the Assembly has stepped down the “vote of no confidence” slammed on State Commissioner for Education, Science, and Technology, Professor Adeniyi Olowofela, over his conduct at its November 23, 2017, plenary.
This followed the consideration of a letter of apology sent by Olowofela to the Assembly with ref number, Edu1691/TI/15, captioned: “Re: School Feeding programme.”
Speaker of the Assembly, Honourable Micheal Adeyemo lauded Olowofela’s demonstration of maturity and honesty, adding that the Assembly had been vindicated by the apology letter.
The letter read in parts, “May I refer to the 23 November 2017 proceeding before the Oyo House of Assembly and first express my sincere apologies to the Speaker and members of the Oyo House of Assembly for what happened when I appeared before the House with officials of my ministry.”
“I hereby withdraw any negative innuendoes the House might have read into my comments. I hold the House in high esteem and will not say or do anything to undermine the integrity and powers of the House.”
Responding on when the main issue of investigation into school feeding programme would be addressed, Adeyemo said, “we will write the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology, through the business committee, which is responsible for drawing up the activities of the house, then they will write to the ministry and we will find another time to invite them.”
The Oyo State Meat and Abattoir Regulatory Authority and Connected Purposes Bill 2017 was also passed into law at the day’s sitting.

http://www.tribuneonlineng.com/oyo-striking-staff-protest-seek-lawmakers-intervention/?amp_markup=1

Agency Report

The federal government on Tuesday reiterated its commitment to reward and protect whistle-blowers who provided information that led to recovery of stolen funds or assets.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, stated this during a visit to the head office of Leadership newspaper in Abuja.

Mr. Mohammed, who was responding to a question on the stash of money recovered from an apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos, said the whistle blower would get the due reward.

He clarified the compensation modality as contained in the framework, saying any whistle-blower whose information led to recovery of up to N1 billion would receive five per cent of the amount.

He said the reward for any amount between N1 billion and N5 billion was five per cent for the first N1 billion and four per cent of the remaining N4 billion.

The minister added that any amount above N5 billion would attract 2.5 per cent reward.

Mr. Mohammed noted that the policy of government was to keep the identity of whistle blowers secret.

He described as unfortunate the situation where more than one person came out as whistle blowers for the Ikoyi recovery.

He disclosed that the federal government had come up with comprehensive strategy to tackle violent extremism across the country.

He said the strategy was contained in a document entitled “Policy Framework and National Action Plan for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism” launched by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Mr. Mohammed said the document was developed after consultations with agencies of government, civil society organisations, the media and academia, as well as the international community.

He also spoke on the various policies and programmes of government at revamping the economy, building infrastructure and creating jobs.

On the fight against corruption, Mr. Mohammed said government was winning the war having succeeded in driving the menace under the table.

He hailed Leadership newspaper for carrying out its duties professionally.

(NAN)


https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/250939-ikoyi-n13-billion-nigerian-govt-laments-emergence-whistle-blowers.html/amp

MetroBaba1:
This Is What You Get When You Reside In A LAWLESS Country.

SMH

May God help us

Aminu Adamu

Scores of protesters on Tuesday morning blocked the Zuba-Kaduna highway in Abuja to protest what they said was the excessive granting of land to the Army in the Nigerian capital.

The protesters carried placards with diverse inscriptions and halted movement of traffic on the usually busy highway.

The protesters said they are original indigenes of Abuja and that their farmlands had been given to the army without adequate compensation.

The vice chairman of Zuba council, Kasimu Muhammed and the Emir of Zuba, Bello Muhammad came to the scene of protest to address the natives appealing to them to not block the highway.

According to Mr. Muhammed, a committee has already been set up to discuss the issue.

“The committee has been set up to discuss this issue. It includes the chief of army staff, the (FCT) Minister and the Emir of Zuba”, he said.

The Emir of Zuba also expressed shock at the development.

According to him, the army should be held responsible if the protest degenerated into a free for all.

“I expect the Nigerian Army to be law abiding people. If there is any violence in the course of this protest by the youth, the Nigerian Army is to blame because the committee that was set up to deliberate on this matter includes the Chief of Army Staff himself. Resolution has not been reached yet but the Nigerian Army has started working on the land.

“We are not anti-development, if the federal government wants to cede the land to the Nigerian Army, let there be consultations so that the people are relocated and compensated adequately”, he said.

A former vice chairman of Zuba, Abdullahi Alhassan, said that it was during the Babangida regime that some parts of the land were ceded to the Nigerian Army to build barracks as a security measure. He said since then, there has never been any official letter from the government to the natives ceding the ”whole land to the Nigerian Army.”

The chairman, FCT Koro Youth Association, Adamu Isyaku, said the Nigerian Army had taken over their land which covers areas from the FCT College of Education Zuba to Giri, Iddo and the airport road, ”without any reason and without due consultations.”

“From FCT College of Education, Tunga-Mage to Giri and Iddo to Airport road all round. The Nigerian Army is taking over our land beqeathed to us by our forefathers without any reasons and consultations. We did not buy this land. We own it as fellow Nigerians have their own lands in other states and local governments.

“A year ago, we channeled our grievances through our village head, district and paramount chiefs, through the minister to the federal government and the federal government ordered the Nigerian Army to stop the work. They stopped the work.

“As a result of that, the federal government has just constituted and inaugrated a committee. If the indigenes are patiently waiting for the outcome of any resolution by the federal government with regards to this land, then why shouldn’t the Nigerian Army patiently wait?”

He said the protests would continue until the army ceased work on the said land.

Effort to speak with the defense spokesperson, Rabe Abubakar, proved abortive as he did not pick his calls.

The protesters later dispersed and opened the road for human and vehicular movement again.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/250933-updated-abuja-indigenes-protest-invasion-land-army.html/amp

By Andrew Essien, Abuja

The Igbo community has begun campaigns for the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari ahead of 2019, just as it advised a former governor of Abia state, Orji Uzor Kalu to desist from speaking in a manner that suggests that President Buhari may not be interested in running for the presidency.

Speaking on Sunday at the inauguration of the Abuja chapter of the pro-Buhari group, Ndigbo for Buhari 2019, leader of the group, and an All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Prince Paul Ikonne urged the Igbo to work with the mindset that the president is standing for a re-election and must be supported.

Ikonne also took exception to Kalu’s comment that President Buhari is not interested in a second term automatic ticket, asking the former governor to keep quiet as “he is not the spokesperson to the president.”

He said : “As a leader of APC in Abia State and a staunch supporter of Mr. President, I feel compelled to advise Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu to desist from acts and utterances capable of discrediting Mr. President and our great party APC. The APC is not PPA and as such, the state chairman of APC in Abia State should give Orji Kalu the APC Constitution to read, because I can see he joined APC with PPA Constitution in his mind”, he said.

“It is unfortunate that Orji Kalu is speaking this way. Just few days back, the same Kalu was calling on the Abia state governor to join APC and get automatic ticket. Today he is now saying that Mr. President is not interested in an automatic ticket; if you are calling on someone who is not a member of APC to come and get an automatic ticket and you are saying a founding father of the party is not interested in automatic ticket, then where is the justification? Is it because my leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has said it that is why Kalu is saying the same thing?

“On the 2nd of June 2017, former Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, used his social media account to publish a document titled ‘My Contract with Nigeria’. The document essentially detailed his manifesto as an aspiring presidential candidate of APC. Some weeks back, the streets of Abuja, Abia, Lagos, Imo and others were defaced with 2019 campaign posters of Orji Uzor Kalu which he confirmed seeing ‘on his way to the airport’ and later disclaimed as the handiwork of his phantom political opponents. But few days ago, he enumerated the benefits and how the posters has made him more popular, saying, ‘by their mischief, PDP was only making me popular and eager to produce an Igbo President’. So it is obvious that Kalu, in his usual way and manner, printed and circulated the posters as a way of testing political waters, which is typical of the Kalu that we know.

“Most recently, Orji Kalu made utterances bordering on giving an automatic ticket to Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu if he joins the APC. Kalu had said, ‘the ruling party will give an automatic ticket to the current Governor of the state, Okezie Ikpeazu if he chooses to defect from the Peoples Democratic Party PDP’. For us, this is not only an exhibition of ignorance of party rules, but it is disturbing, distractive and against the party’s Constitution.

“We call on well meaning Abians, the supporters of Mr. President, APC in Abia State and south –east in general to ignore Orji Kalu and his mindset as we continue to support Mr. President for his second term”, said Ikonne.

http://leadership.ng/2017/11/26/presidency-south-east-begin-campaigns-pmb/?utm_source=&utm_medium=twitter

- Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari says about N25 billion monthly is being saved by his administration

- The president said this was made possible by stopping unnecessary allowances for government officials

- President Buhari also said his government has tackled corruption effectively

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that his administration saves the nation about N25 billion monthly, Premium Times reports.

NAIJ.com gathered that President Buhari stated this on Saturday, November 25, in Jos, at the graduation ceremony of Senior Executive Course 39 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) Kuru, Plateau state.


Represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Buhari said his government was able to achieve this through the stoppage of unnecessary allowances for government officials and blockage of other financial leakages in all its agencies.

The president also scored his government high saying the administration has effectively tackled corruption, adding that said the government will not relent in its fight against graft.

The vice president said the ongoing elementary school feeding programme has targeted 5.5 million children to be captured in 19 states before the end the administration’s tenure.

He also said the challenges being faced concerning power supply in Nigeria will soon be history.

He urged authories of NIPSS to improve on recommendations made by its participants while discussing national economic development.

He assured that the federal government would make ”good use of recommendations of the course participants on agriculture.”

NAIJ.com previously reported that the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration recorded laudable achievements, in spite of terrible economic downturn and an empty purse foisted on it.

The minister said this at the inauguration of a book chronicling the administration’s achievements in Abuja.

The minister said through commitment to discipline, determination and transparency, the administration recorded landmark achievements that were putting our country on the path of sustainable growth.

https://www.naija.ng/amp/1137218-every-month-government-saves-nigeria-n25-billion-buhari.html

President Muhammadu Buhari has condoled with the government and people of Egypt over the heartless attacks on a mosque in North Sinai that left over 200 dead after Friday prayers.

Buhari’s condolence message was in a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Friday.

The President condemned the dastardly act, saying the incident further reinforced the position that terrorism has no respect for any religion, and should be visited with the full wrath of the law.

He reiterated that the workable panacea to such mindless and irresponsible attacks on citizens would be “a global joint action that continually shares intelligence, simulates scenarios and regularly updates on both local and international threats.’’

President Buhari prayed that the almighty God receive the souls of the departed and comfort the families of those directly affected. (NAN)

http://punchng.com/buhari-commiserates-with-egyptian-govt-over-mosque-attacks/amp/

A former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, on Friday announced his withdrawal from the governing All Progressives Congress, APC.

In Friday’s announcement, Mr. Abubakar said he was still pondering his next political move. But if he ends up returning to the major opposition Peoples Democratic Party as he is widely expected to do, it will be the third time that Mr. Abubakar will be returning to the party after defecting to other parties.
He was a founding member of the PDP in 1998.

1999-2006.

Mr. Abubakar was elected governor of his home state, Adamawa, in 1999 on the PDP ticket.

Before he could be sworn in as governor, he was picked as running mate by Olusegun Obasanjo who secured the PDP presidential ticket. The ticket proceeded to win the presidency, with Mr. Abubakar becoming Vice President from May 29, 1999 and for a second term in 2003.

2006-2009.

Before the end of their second term, however, Mr. Abubakar left the PDP for the first time in 2006 and joined Action Congress, AC, after years of internal battle with Mr. Obasanjo.

The influence of Mr. Atiku in the PDP was systematically eroded through fresh membership registration that saw most of his supporters pushed out of the party, all in a bid by Mr. Obasanjo to ensure that he was not nominated as his successor.

Mr. Abubakar thus defected to pick the AC ticket to run for president in the 2007 election.

He was in AC from 2006 to 2009. Following disagreements with one of the leaders of the AC and former governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, the former vice president dumped the AC and returned to the PDP in 2009.

2009-2013

Mr. Abubakar ran for the PDP presidential ticket in the 2011 election and lost to incumbent Goodluck Jonathan.
Following the success of the PDP in 2011 and the appointment of Bamanga Tukur as the national chairman of the PDP, the party was engulfed in a serious crisis.

Mr. Abubakar alongside seven governors eventually staged a walk out of a PDP national convention in August 2013, accusing the leadership of the party and then President Jonathan of impunity.

They eventually formed the ‘new PDP.’

2013-2017

After efforts to reconcile with the Bamanga Tukur-led PDP failed and their push to stop Mr. Jonathan from running for election also failed, Mr. Abubakar and five of the governors and others announced in November 2013 defected to the APC.

Mr. Abubakar and a former Kano State governor who was also in the ‘new PDP’, Rabiu Kwankwaso, ran for APC presidential ticket and lost to Muhammadu Buhari who eventually won the 2015 election.


Mr. Abubakar remained in the APC but has been consistently absent in many of the party’s activities at the national level.
The former vice president had complained that Mr. Buhari and the party had been side-lining him.

November 2017-

Mr. Abubakar eventually defected from the APC on Thursday, November 24. Reports suggest that he has done so because he has received commitment of the PDP to give him its platform to again run for president in 2019.

The former vice president has, however, not formally declared for the PDP, nor has he declared he would run for the 2019 presidency although he is expected to do both.

Whether he will remain in PDP or his new party for long remains to be seen, given that he had announced on September 2014 that “As for me, as far as I am concerned, APC is my last bus stop.”

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/250477-atiku-abubakar-timeline-serial-defector.html/amp