₦airaland Forum

A Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on Wednesday fixed Monday for ruling on the bail applications filed by the immediate past National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), a former Governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa, and their co-accused who are together being prosecuted on 22 counts of misappropriation of about N13bn meant for purchase of arms by the office of the NSA.
Justice Peter Affen after hearing the bail applications on Wednesday ordered that the accused persons be remanded in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission pending when his rulings on the motions for bail would be delivered on Monday.
Others who were on Tuesday arraigned alongside Dasuki and Bafarawa and were also on Wednesday ordered to be remanded in EFCC custody to await rulings on their bail applications are, a former Director of Finance and Administration in the Office of the NSA, Shuaibu Salisu, a former Minister of State for Finance, Bashir Yuguda; Bafarawa’s son, Sagir Attahiru, and a firm, Dalhatu Investment.
Meanwhile, Justice Yusuf Baba of the same FCT High Court in Maitama, had also on Tuesday fixed Friday for ruling on the bail applications in separate case involving Dasuki as an accused person with 19 counts of alleged misappropriation of about N32bn arms fund preferred against him and his co-accused.
A former Director of Finance and Administration in the Office of the NSA, Shuaibu Salisu, who is a defendant in the 22 counts features in the case involving 19 counts.
Other accused persons in the case are a former Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Aminu Baba-Kusa and his two companies, Acacia Holdings Limited and Reliance Referral Hospital Limited.
At Wednesday’s hearing before Justice Affen, Dasuki’s lawyer, Mr. Ahmed Raji (SAN), urged the court to grant bail to his client on liberal terms as he is presumed innocent.
The various defence lawyers separately representing Bafarawa, his son, Yuguda and Salisu also maintained that the allegations by the prosecution that the accused persons would escape and frustrate their trial if granted bail were speculative.
They also denied an allegation by the prosecution that their clients would interfere with further investigation into the arms procurement scam.
They also said their clients were eager to defend themselves and prove their innocence and so would never interfere with prosecution witnesses as alleged by the EFCC in its opposition to the bail applications.
EFCC counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), in opposing the applications accused the defendant of compromising the security of the nation. He noted that their action was tantamount to economic sabotage through their alleged diversion of funds meant for the procurement of arms to fight terrorism.
Jacobs said going by the weight of evidence against the accused persons and the likelihood of their conviction, there was high probability that they would jump bail.
He urged the court not to grant bail to Dasuki, whom he said “will escape from the jurisdiction of the honourable court from Nigeria,” adding that “the applicant will not be available to stand trial if released on bail.”
He also said both Dasuki as a former NSA and retired colonel and Salisu as a former Director of Finance and Administration in the NSA office, had the capacity to intimidate the prosecution witnesses who were civil servants that had worked under them.
The accused persons were arraigned on 22 counts of misappropriation of about N13bn between August 2013 and May 7, 2015.
They pleaded not guilty to 22 counts of conspiracy, dishonest receipt of stolen property in breach of sections 97 and 317 of the Penal Code Act as well as receipt of proceeds of criminal conducts in breach of section 17(b) of the EFCC Act.
https://www.today.ng/news/national/53226/court-remands-dasuki-bafarawa-others-in-efcc-custody-till-monday

Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu will be receiving 10 new exotic vehicles for his convoy at over N300 million as part of a multibillion naira acquisition by the National Assembly management, for senators.
Premium Times reported that the purchases are coming despite the difficult economic situation Nigeria continues to face, with workers unpaid for months in some states, and governors considering reducing the national minimum wage or sacking civil servants.
The acquisitions are also coming at a time National Assembly support staff have yet to receive their November salaries.
The contract was estimated at nearly N5 billion. But new details computed show the actual amount may be in excess of that amount.
Also documents have shown that the deputy senate president, Mr. Ekweremadu, will be receiving 10 new vehicles for his convoy, the number Saraki is getting.
The cars include a Mercedes Benz S550, four Toyota Prado SUVs, four Toyota Hilux vans and a Toyota Hiace Bus.
Based on the cost of the vehicles, it is estimated that the Senate will be spending about N329.5 million on Ekweremadu’s convoy alone.
A Mercedes Benz S550 2016 goes for $95,650, which translates to N23,912,500 and addition of 105 per cent (duty, levy and profit margin) takes the total cost of the car to about N49, 020,625.
For the Toyota Prado SUVs, each unit costs $73,000, which equals N18,250,000, while a 105 per cent addition of levy, duty and profit would put the cost of each at N37,412,500.
The total cost of the four Prado SUVs being acquired for Ekweremadu is N149, 650,000
Also proposed for the deputy senate president’s convoy are four Toyota Hilux SS, Auto vehicles, each costing $50,150.
At N250 to the dollar, each Hilux Van would cost N12,537,500 and an additional 105 per cent would raise the price of each unit to N25, 601,875.
The sum of the proposed four Hilux brands is N102.4 million.
The last vehicle under consideration is a Toyota Hiace Bus 2016 model, which by our findings, could go for as high as N28.4 million.
The acquisition of cars for senators is a violation of the monetisation policy of the federal government, which debars government bodies from purchasing vehicles for its officials.
The policy instead allows public officers and political office holders to receive 250 per cent of their annual basic salary as motor vehicle loan, which translates to N5.07 million for each senator.
Sources at the National Assembly said the senators got these loans before also proceeding to acquire these new Toyota Land Cruisers.
Also, like Mr. Saraki, the 10 vehicles proposed for Mr. Ekweremadu far exceeds the six allowed the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission for the two offices respectively.
Individually, they are entitled to two official cars, one pilot car, one protocol/press car, one ambulance and one security car.
In its response to our earlier story, the senate struggled to justify the purchases, claiming the vehicles would serve committee needs, a deceitful argument the Senate and the House of Representatives have used in the past to defend similar procurement.
The spokesperson for the Senate, Aliyu Abdullahi, said in a statement on Sunday that it became necessary to replace Saraki’s vehicles because he was using his personal vehicles and older brands inherited from his predecessor.
“With respect to the official vehicles of the senate president, it should be noted that majority of the vehicles in his convoy are his personal vehicles while some of the vehicles that he inherited, including his official vehicles and the backup car, are so old that they are already developing faults and not fit for long journey.
“We can recall that on several occasions, his official car broke down. Three instances will suffice here. I remember on a visit to Nasarawa state for a wedding of the daughter of a colleague. Other occasions were at the National Mosque three weeks ago and at the Abuja airport.
“The implication is that the vehicles in his official convoy are so old that they are already causing embarrassment for the Senate. The media should know that a man of his antecedent will not at this point be excited with purchase of new cars. His official cars are really long overdue for replacement,” Mr. Aliyu said.
Aliyu could not be reached for comments regarding the purchases for Mr. Ekweremadu.
https://www.today.ng/news/national/53263/ekweremadu-to-get-10-new-exotic-vehicles-despite-cash-crunch

The result of the November/December 2015 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) will be released on Thursday.
The release of the private candidate examination will be the first major assignment of the new Head of National Office (HNO), Mr. Isaac Adenipekun.
The Deputy Director, Public Affairs of WAEC, Mr. Yusuf Ariu, said the HNO will address the media on the release of the result will brighten the chances of some candidates who will need it to process their admission.
It is expected that within 24 hours, candidates can access the result.
Source: https://www.today.ng/news/national/52908/waec-releases-2015-novdec-wassce-result-thursday

The National Union of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE) on Wednesday appealed to the Federal Government to give 18 months’ extension to local tomato processing companies to source for production materials.
Mr Mike Olarenwaju, Head of Education unit of the union, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
Olarenwaju spoke against the backdrop of the listing of tomato paste among the 41 items banned by the Central Bank of Nigeria from accessing foreign exchange from the official window.
“We have written to the government to give local producing firms at least one and a half years to source for their raw materials locally to remain in business.
“Some manufacturing firms in Nigeria do not have money to buy the machine that produces the paste,’’ he said.
He said that the inability of tomato-processing companies to import paste and other raw materials used in their production process had drastically affected them.
The union leader said that Nigeria’s climate could help the cultivation of tomatoes, but processing them into tomato paste was a different kind of business.
Olarenwaju said that those who were packaging tomato paste depended on output from those who were processing them before they could package them.
He added that many manufacturers did not have the machine.
He said that the jobs of the workers were already at stake unless the ban was reversed and that manufacturers who could not get the raw materials were beginning to close their firms.
https://www.today.ng/business/52686/forex-ban-union-appeals-to-fg-for-extension

The Comptroller General of Nigerian Customs Services, Col. Hamid Ali (retd.), has yesterday read riot act to men and officers of Adamawa/Taraba Area Command adding that henceforth, indiscipline, corruption, bribery and other vices would be seriously punished.
Addressing stakeholders in Yola Ali noted that very soon, drug addicts, kidnappers and armed robbers would be fished out from the system.
He noted that the failure of the system to conduct background checks before recruitment was responsible for employing all manner of criminals in the system with its attendant consequences.
Ali noted that unlike in the past where background checks are conducted to verify the character of those to be employed, corruption and indiscipline has bastardized the process leading to the problems the service was contending with.
He noted that promotion in the service would henceforth be based on hard work , which must be acknowledged by the supervisor of employees unit noting that “survival in the Nigerian Customs Service would be through performance, “.
He noted that the NCS is seriously reviewing its laws to meet the dynamics of modern day customs operations and to curb leakages and wastages from the system.
The CG promised the officers of better working environment provided that they would tighten their belts to improve revenue generation noting that with the free fall of oil prices, the NCS would have to do much to compliment the revenue drive of the government.
Decrying the welfare of the officers, Ali promised to look into accommodation and other vital infrastructure of the employees with a view to boosting their morale.
Ali noted that henceforth, the service would make sure that transparency, integrity and honesty are its watch word noting that any officer that does not inculcate such values, would be shown the way out of the services.
https://www.today.ng/news/national/52564/we-shall-weed-out-drug-addicts-criminals-from-customs-soon-hamid-ali

Former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday visited Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State and urged the All Progressives Congress (APC) government to fulfill all campaign promises made to the people during the campaigns.
The elder statesman, however, explained that his visit to Benue State was propelled by the development initiatives of the Ortom administration geared towards ensuring industrialisation of the state.
Obasanjo stated this at a dinner organised for him by Governor Ortom at the new Banquet Hall of the Benue Peoples’ House, Makurdi. He further appealed to the people of the state to support the governor to deliver good governance and enjoined farmers in the state and country to unite in order to provide food security, jobs and wealth for the nation’s growth.
According to him, he has confidence in the ability of Governor Ortom to deliver selfless service to the state and tasked the governor to uphold the core values of the blueprint of his administration.
“I believe that Governor Ortom is sincere. He wants practical development and I urge you people to constantly remind him of his promises and but support him to succeed,” he stated.
https://www.today.ng/news/national/52575/obasanjo-urges-apc-to-fulfill-campaign-promises

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday in Abuja said his administration will soon introduce more policies to further ease the process of doing business in Nigeria.
Speaking at a forum on how to enhance Nigeria’s trade and economic competitiveness at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the President said the new policies will be focused on increasing efficiency and transparency in government operations, and the blocking of leakages from revenue generating agencies.
Buhari, in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said his administration was fully committed to closing all the loopholes in the revenue generating agencies, increasing their efficiency in trade facilitation and ensuring transparency in all government businesses so as to attract greater foreign direct investments into the country.
The President added that the Nigeria Customs Service, Ministry of Trade and Investment, Ministry of Finance and other relevant agencies will be encouraged to adopt some of the positive ideas contained in the presentation for implementation next year.
A representative of the company that made the presentation, Mr. Lim Chee Boon, had told President Buhari that virtually all the countries that implemented its solutions have successfully reduced corruption in their import and export processes.
https://www.today.ng/news/national/51766/new-policies-to-boost-business-coming-soon-buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday declared that there will be no friend, no foe in the fight against corruption and that Nigeria must resolve to curtail corruption in all facets of the society for there to be significant success in the fight to eliminate it.
He stated this in his keynote address titled, “Incorruptibility: a Spiritual Premise for Material Wellbeing”, at the annual Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe Foundation lecture held yesterday at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.
According to the president, “The topic of discourse at this session, which is corruption, significantly ties into my vision for our great country, Nigeria, that we must kill corruption before corruption kills us.”
The President said: “In Nigeria, two problems stare us in the face. First is that our laws need to be strengthened if we must realistically contend with the haze of corruption. The second is that we must correct the gaps in our legal system that are exploited to frustrate the process of justice. A number of anti-corruption cases have been rendered inconclusive due to legal limitations.”
Dealing with corruption requires the collective will of every Nigerian, he said.
“Without our collective will to resist corrupt acts as a people, it will be difficult to win the war. We in the leadership will provide the right example. We will not pay mere lip service to corruption. We will eschew it in every aspect of our lives. However, we are but few, in a country of more than 170 million people. We need the mass army of Nigerians to rise as one man, and stand for probity in both public and private lives. It is only then that we can be sure of dealing a mortal blow on corruption, which will engender a better country.
“Quite frankly, the anti-corruption war is not strictly about me as a person, it is about building a country where our children, and the forthcoming generations, can live in peace and prosperity.”
Corruption, Buhari said was responsible for dilapidated infrastructure round the country; poor healthcare; collapsed education; lack of public utilities; decayed social services, stressing that they “are all products of corruption, as those entrusted with public resources put them in their private pockets.
“That must stop, if we want a new Nigeria. And that was why I said at another forum that people need not fear me, but they must fear the consequences of their actions. Corrupt acts will always be punished, and there will be no friend, no foe. We will strive to do what is fair and just at all times, but people who refuse to embrace probity should have every cause to fear.
“Look at the corruption problem in the country, and tell me how you feel as a Nigerian. Our commonwealth is entrusted to leaders at different levels of governance, and instead of using the God-given resources to better the lot of the citizens, they divert them to private use. They then amass wealth in billions and trillions of naira, and other major currencies of the world, ill-gotten wealth which they cannot finish spending in several lifetimes over. This is abuse of trust, pure and simple. When you hold public office, you do it in trust for the people. When you, therefore, use it to serve self, you have betrayed the people who entrusted that office to you.”
He wondered how Nigerians feel “year after year, when Transparency International (TI) releases its Corruption Perception Index and Nigeria is cast in the role of a superstar on corruption.”
The President continued: “In 2011, out of 183 countries, Nigeria was 143 on the corruption ladder. In 2012, we were 139th out of 176. In 2013, we ranked 144 out of 177, and in 2014, we stood at 136th out of 174. Hardly a record to inspire anyone. In fact, it is sad, depressing and distressing. Our country can be known for better things other than corruption.”
In the process of trying to recover stolen funds now, he said the government was seeking the cooperation of the countries were these loots were taken. “Time it was, when such nations may have overlooked our overtures for assistance to fight corruption. However, we now live in an era where corruption is anathema, looked upon as something that should be tackled head-on because the actions of the corrupt can have global impact.”
Resolving the problem of corruption, he said transcended merely arresting and trying people that have held public office, “because, to curtail corruption, we have to reorder the mindset of all. Empirical facts have shown that even those who are critics today are most times not better than those they criticise.
“When they are availed the same or similar opportunities, they act likewise. In other words, those who didn’t have the opportunity criticise and blow whistle but when they get into office; they become victims of the same thing they criticise.
“Nigeria must grow beyond that point, and be populated by people with conviction, a new breed without greed, radically opposed to corruption. This points to the fact that curtailing corruption might require a more broadened social engineering. It, indeed, requires conforming with every mindset in the social order to the moral tenets in which propriety anchors as a way of life.”
Nigeria, the President said had been brought almost to her knees by decades of corruption and mismanagement of the public treasury.
“We must come to a point when we all collectively say Enough! That is collective will, and that is what will bring us to a new state and status. If this country will realise her potentials, and take her rightful place in the comity of nations, we must collectively repudiate corruption, and fight it to a standstill. It remains eternally true: if we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria.”
The President noted that his presence at the lecture was deliberate “as it emphasised the resolve of this government to interface with initiatives that are fundamentally patriotic and assisting in our path to socio-economic and political recovery.”
Nigerians, he said sent a strong signal during the last general elections that they “needed leadership that could be relied upon to tackle the orgy of corruption in the country.”
He lauded the Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe Foundation “for its impact on the development of ideas through its annual lecture series.
The President said, “The fact that the themes of the lecture series have focused on critical puzzles bordering on human development lend credence and justification for the sustenance of the lecture series.
“The decision of the Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe Foundation to choose corruption as the topic of discourse at this session is, therefore, encouraging to this government, pursuant to our vision that winning the war against corruption requires our synergy, a collectivisation of our resolve that corruption must be eliminated in the social psyche of the Nigerian nation.
“It is no doubt that an event like this demands a lot of sacrifice financially and otherwise. Apart from the contribution of the lecture series to human development, it has also unveiled the genius personality of Emmanuel Onyechere Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe, whose philosophical insight is gradually finding place in the psyche of academics globally, particularly at a time when Africans are determined to rewrite their own history.”
https://www.today.ng/news/national/50805/no-friend-or-foe-in-the-fight-against-corruption-buhari

Former Niger Delta militant leader, Chief Government Ekpemukpolo a.k.a Tompolo, has gone into hiding in the creeks of Bayelsa State for fear of arrest after being summoned by the Economic and Financial crimes Commission (EFCC), a report said.
“There, he is being attended to by his coterie of militant boys, shielding him away from any eventual attack, which may possibly lead to his arrest,” reports Nigeria Standard.
It would be recalled that the EFCC had earlier this week given Tompolo one week to report at its head office annex on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, or risk being declared wanted.
A letter from EFCC said the commission is investigating Tompolo for unclear dealings involving the sale of parcels of land worth about 13 billion Naira to the Federal Government under the last administration.
Tompolo is expected to appear at the EFCC training room on Thursday, December 17.
A similar invitation was extended to Tompolo in November by the Head of Operations at the EFCC, Iliasu Kwabai, but he failed to appear and no correspondence was received from him.
https://www.today.ng/news/top-news/50779/efcc-tompolo-goes-underground-to-evade-arrest

The Court of Appeal sitting in Owerri, the Imo State capital, on Thursday nullified the election of Senator Mao Ohuabunwa of the Peoples Democratic Party and ordered a rerun election within 90 days.
A former Governor of Abia State and candidate of the Progressive Peoples Alliance in that election, Dr. Orji Kalu, had challenged the result of the Abia North Senatorial District poll, alleging unprecedented irregularities.
Accordingly, Justice I. G. Mbaba directed the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct a fresh election to determine the authentic winner because the initial process was fundamentally flawed in all respective matters concerning the exercise, pointing out that the tribunal on Abia North Senatorial District poll erred in its verdict by upholding Ohuabunwa’s election.
Reacting to the ruling, Kalu said: “This is victory for democracy aimed at the restoration of the people’s will, which was trampled upon through the abuse of fleeting power by those who thought they could mortgage the conscience of Abians. What the appeal Court has succeeded in doing is the liberation of Abians from the shackles of authoritarianism and the associated power rascality.
“Abians and I are now going to win, by God’s grace, by a landslide margin much more than we did in the last election which outcome was brazenly manipulated against the wish of our people. This same thing happened in 2011 when my mandate was recklessly upturned by persons who had special relationships with the immediate-past president of the country.
“We are ready for the rerun. I congratulate the Appeal Court on this decision. It is a testament to the robust vibrancy of our judiciary, which remains the last hope of the oppressed. This, again, is victory for Nigerians generally, Abians particularly and democracy.”
The National Coordinator of Abia Youth Vanguard, Maxi Alex Ugo has applauded the judgment of the court.
Ugo acknowledged the forthrightness and patriotism of the three-man appellate panel led by Justice Mbaba in upholding the will of the people.
According to Ugo, in a statement made available to the press on Thursday, the Court of Appeal has given hope to the hopeless despite threats by enemies of progress.
He said: “Every day for the thief, one day for the owner. The people of Abia State had during the March 28National Assembly thronged out in large numbers to cast their votes for the preferred candidate, Dr. Orji Kalu of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA). It was indeed unfortunate when the PDP and its paid agents falsified the election results despite resistance by the returning officer, Prof Ihekweaba Chukwugoziem. We voted for our choice, a friend of the people, OUK.
“It is end time for political jobbers who have nothing to offer. They inflicted pains on Abians from 2007 through 2015. The era of invisible so- called legacy projects is over. Democracy has now come to stay in Abia with today’s appeal court judgment. It is a clear testimony to the fact that the future is bright for Nigerians.
“As future leaders and good ambassadors of Nigeria, we the youths, firmly believe in in Nigeria’s judiciary anchored on transparency and equity. We will again come out en masse to cast our votes for Orji Kalu. We would not allow anyone intimidate us as we are ready to defend our votes with the last drop of our blood.”
In a similar development, stakeholders in Old Bende have commended the three-man appellate panel headed by Justice Mbaba.
In a statement signed by Chief Godwin Kalu, the stakeholders described the decision of the Court of Appeal as good for democracy.
According to Kalu, lawlessness is the foundation of Nigeria’s problem.
He said: “The last national assembly election in Abia North Senatorial District was characterized by massive ballot snatching, rigging and falsification of results. The peoples’ mandate was not allowed to count. With the decision of the court, the people’s will have now prevailed. Whenever the fresh election will hold within the stipulated 90 days, I want to urge the electorate to come out en -masse without fear to vote for their choice, it is a new era.”
https://www.today.ng/politics/50246/appeal-court-sacks-abia-pdp-sen-ohuabunwa

President Muhammadu Buhari has accused the Goodluck Jonathan administration of “several abuse of trust” in the billions of naira that were spent in procuring equipment for the military’s fight against Boko Haram.
The President, who stated this while addressing members of the House of Representatives on Wednesday, regretted that the wanton abuse cost the nation lives and equipment.
He went on to call on the legislature to collaborate with the executive arm of government to secure the country and effectively manage it, stressing that: “There are a lot of obstacles to be crossed. The objectives we have are to secure this country and effectively manage it.”
Noting that the major challenge in the security of the country was the threat posed by the Boko Haram insurgency, he stressed that the leadership of the country had set clear targets toward the re-organisation, retraining and re-equipping the military to neutralize Boko Haram.
Buhari disclosed that his administration had hoped that at the end of the rainy season organised attack would be launched against the insurgents. He added that government had equally raised the morale of the soldiers to tackle the challenge.
He revealed that his administration uncovered that the previous administration expended “billions of Naira and hundreds of millions of dollars to acquire military equipment but with several abuses of trust.
“There were abuses of trust and that cost Nigeria a lot of lives and a lot of goodwill’’ he stated.
The President regretted that Nigeria, which had earned a reputation in the fight against criminal activities and defence of territories abroad, could no longer defend a few local government areas occupied by insurgents.
“I seek your understanding,” he said, urging the legislators to think about the consequences of not acting in tandem with the government as Nigerians were wiser to know those who represent them well.
Buhari stressed that he took the initiative of seeking the collaboration of the international community to be able to win the war against terrorism, adding that Boko Haram’s attempt at dividing the country was a miscalculation.
He clarified that the sect’s claim to be fighting for Islam was both misleading and working against God, asserting that the group was gradually being decimated and were finding it difficult to recruit while the military was doing well.
In his response, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, said that the support of his colleagues would be total to ensure that the government bequeathed something meaningful to posterity.
“What bothers me is the legacy we are leaving behind. After we exited, what will our children and grandchildren say about us,’’ he said.
Noting that there was bound to be disagreements between the executive and the legislature, beginning with the handling of the provisions of the 2016 appropriation bill, Dogara assured that the issue would be handled in the interest of the public.
According to him, “Your hosting us today shows that there will be a seamless interface between the three arms of government to deliver to the people.
“We support you, like many Nigerians will support you because there is nobody that will be in doubt that you will rid this country of corruption.”
The Speaker, who insisted that the time to restructure the economy was now, said: “These four years are very critical. If you don’t get it right under us, this generation will forget about getting it right.
“We will support you regardless of our political differences and we have to leave something to our children and posterity,’’ he stated.
https://www.today.ng/news/national/50190/jonathans-govt-randomly-abused-trust-in-billions-spent-on-arms-buhari

Lagos State government yesterday shut 29 churches and six mosques across the state over noise pollution and other environmental offenses.
The clampdown, carried out by men of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), also closed about six hotels and nightclubs, three factories, four companies and a few residential apartments.
Managing Director of LASEPA, Adebola Shabi, said the exercise was to enforce state environmental laws that prohibit air and noise pollution on account of religious activities, use of the public addressing system, and activities of power generating sets in residential and industrial areas.
Shabi said prior to the forced closure, affected churches, mosques, companies, among others, had been invited for sensitisation to make them know standards in the state and given directives to comply.
But most of the public complaints kept coming back as if the agency and government were not responsive, so “we have to act and enforce the law.”
Among the churches shuts for noise pollution was Christ Apostolic Church, Ireti Ayo, Idimu; Cornerstone Youth Church, Surulere; Anglican Church of Nativity, Okota; Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Jakande Estate, Lekki Expressway; Redeemed Christian Church of God, Kayode Street, Onipanu (for noise pollution and refusal to honour invitation).
The list also included Prophetic Intervention Ministry, Ogba; Land of Oil Prophetic Ministry, Ifako-Ijaye; The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Ministry, Ojokoro, Lagos; Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministry, Adekunle, Yaba; Lifeline Assembly Church, Okota, Isolo; Jesus the Burden Bearer, Okota, Isolo and Believers’ Inn International Church, Ifako-Ijaye among others.
The religious centres, depending on size, are liable to a fine of N50,000 to N100,000. About 100 out of the 6000 religious houses in the state have been shut in the last couple of months.
The General Manager added that Lagos has its laws and standards on environmental issues, which include acceptable standard noise levels. During the day, approved standard is 55 decibels for residential areas and 45 at night.
The standard is 90 decibels in industrial areas during the day, and 80 at night.
In mixed residents where there are both residential and commercial set ups, it is 65 during the day and 55 decibels at night.
https://www.today.ng/news/national/49841/lagos-shuts-religious-houses-hotels-over-noise-pollution

Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, says he does not regret supporting President Muhammadu Buhari during the electioneering, adding that Nigeria would not have survived four more years of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s rule.
Soyinka added that the revelation of stolen loot such as the arms purchase fraud justified his position that Nigeria was being run aground by the last administration.
The Nobel laureate said this during a programme titled: “Channels Book Club” on Channels Television on Tuesday.
The playwright confessed that he used to have a bad impression of Buhari who he once described as a “devil for whom in my calculation, no spoon existed long enough to justify the risk even of an impromptu snack”.
However, Soyinka said many of his trusted companions were able to convince him during the electioneering that Buhari had changed and that the highhandedness that characterised his military rule in the 1980s could not be repeated during a democratic rule.
He said: “We were left with two credible contestants in terms of catchment area in the nation. We had reached, in my view, the bottom. I became convinced that if this country underwent four more years under President Jonathan, the country would run aground completely. I looked at the record and said this cannot go on, this has to stop.
“Then I looked at this man who had contested elections three times before and said he would not contest anymore and then decided to throw his hat in the ring. I talked to people and I said do you know what you’re doing?
“And after weighing all the options, I said let’s try a new one. And since in electoral terms, he was the one, I guardedly, with reservations, announced that no, not a continuation under Jonathan.
“And so very reluctantly, I want this on record, because I made it quite clear, I weighed the two of them and I said this nation stands a better chance under Buhari. And what has been coming out now? Look at all that has been coming out? Look at the figures (loot) which virtual hammer one into the ground just the sheer enormity of the robbery of this nation that is getting exposed progressively. It shows that we did not make a bad choice.”
When asked if he was completely satisfied with Buhari’s six months in office, Soyinka said: “Not totally but Buhari has proven that there is such a thing as a born again democrat.”
Asked his opinion of the recent pro-Biafran agitations, Soyinka said there was a need for the government to meet with pro-Biafran groups to understand the real problem.
The playwright said the government should convoke a fresh National Conference, which would address the feelings of pro-Biafran elements.
The octogenarian said the government could not wish away with the idea of Biafra because ideas could not be killed.
He said the government should treat the matter dispassionately as there was nothing evil about secession.
He noted that Nigeria even ceded the Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon.
Soyinka said: “So, let us sit down, let us talk once again about restructuring the nation in a way that no one will want to leave. The agitations, for me, are not surprising. It was expected that it would happen sooner or later.
“So, I am referring to a genuine and authentic National Conference. Not like the one that former President Olusegun Obasanjo called which was meant to try to perpetuate himself in office.
“The one under Jonathan was extensive; it covered lots and lots of ground. It proposed some far-reaching changes, not far-reaching for me, but far-reaching. It is about time we went back to efforts like that; genuine ones like that.”
https://www.today.ng/news/national/49289/nigeria-wouldnt-have-survived-if-jonathan-was-re-elected-soyinka

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, says the Federal Government would re-introduce highway tolling to raise additional funds to finance road infrastructure and ensure efficient road maintenance.
Fashola said this on Tuesday in Abuja during his first news conference tagged “Setting the Agenda for Delivering Change”.
He said that adequate funding of the nation’s road infrastructure would generate job opportunities and reduce unemployment in the country.
“Maintenance would be our watchword. We are setting up a robust maintenance regime to keep our highways in good shape.
“This shows that tolling is necessary to support government funding. So, it will not be too much if we ask every road user to pay little to augment government funding for road maintenance.
“It is the eminent common sense for us to find that money. We will use technology; so if we don’t pay cash, you will pay by tokens or tickets and the money is accountable and it will go to the right place.
“We will manage that fund properly and we will hold those who we put there to account.”
He said that as a short-term strategy, the ministry would start with quick completion of ongoing inter-state roads in order to facilitate connectivity, before working on those that bear heavy traffic.
“We commit all our skills, energies, and collective integrity unreservedly to playing our part, but how much success we deliver is dependent also on the citizens’ commitment to their own part.’’
The minister observed that lack of funding had caused many construction companies to retrench their workers due to the huge debts owed them by the various tiers of government.
He said that with adequate budgetary allocations, the three ministries have an enormous role to play in repositioning the economy and creating jobs.
“Clearly, good roads will help reposition and grow our economy, reduce travel time, cost of transportation of goods and services, and restore jobs that have been lost to transport-dependent services.
“Some of the numbers from only four construction companies that were sampled, suggest that at least 5,150 workers have been laid off as at March 11, 2015.
“If each contractor has only 100 employees at each of the 200 contract sites, it means at least that 20,000 people who lost their jobs can return to work, if the right budget is put in place and funded for contractors to get paid.
“The possibility to return those who have just lost their jobs back to work is the kind of change that we expect to see by this short-term strategy.”
Fashola further said that the ministry would soon embark on enforcement of the right of way by dismantling all illegal structures infringing on the highways.
He advised persons infringing on the right of way to voluntarily dismantle the inappropriate structures before the government commenced the demolition of such structures.
“In order to make the roads safer, we intend to re-claim the full width of all Federal roads, representing 16 per cent and about 36,000km of Nigeria’s road network.
“We are immediately now asking all those who are infringing on our highways, whether by parking, trading, or erection of any inappropriate structure to immediately remove, relocate or dismantle such things voluntarily.
“This will be the biggest contribution that citizens can offer our country as proof that we all want things to change for the better,” the minister said.
https://www.today.ng/news/national/49030/fg-to-re-introduce-tolls-to-raise-funds-for-road-infrastructure-fashola

President Muhammadu Buhari has recounted how he and some opposition leaders were forced to make sacrifices that led to the merger arrangement that produced the All Progressives Congress, APC, explaining that they had to do this to prevent the country from going under.
He stressed that with the desperate situation the country found itself, the leaders of the opposition at that time had no other alternative than to sacrifice and join hands to build a party that would take out the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Buhari made this assertion during the launch of a book, titled: ‘From Opposition to Governing Party: Nigeria’s APC Merger Story,’ written by one of the founding fathers of the APC, now Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu.
According to the President, the leaders of major opposition parties realised that it would be extremely difficult for PDP to be ousted from office without their coming together as one, hence their decision to jettison their positions and advantages to form the merger.
“We realised in 2015 that unless we come together, the PDP will succeed in killing Nigeria and we had to make sacrifices,” he said.
Tracing the origin of his relationship with Onu to his days in protective custody when Gen Ibrahim Babangida (rtd) held sway as military Head of State, Buhari revealed that Onu was among the few Nigerians who stood by him during his trying days.
“My relationship with the author is cordial. When I was placed in protective custody, he was sending people to greet me regularly. That was how the relationship developed,” Buhari stated.
While welcoming the President to the book launch, Onu urged him to factor in the grievances of the protesting youths in the South-east, even as he told the restive youths that the APC government meant well for them.
“In the South-eastern part of the country, there is a growing protest. It is important that all regions are represented in an orderly manner that represents all interests. Buhari understands the plurality of Nigeria and will do everything to accommodate all.
“The Igbos need Nigeria just as Nigeria needs the Igbos. We must assure the youths of the South-east that the administration of President Buhari means well for them,” Onu stated.
But the President was however silent on the point raised by the minister on the issues that may have led to the recent wave of agitations by pro-Biafra youth groups which have crippled economic activities in South-east zone and parts of South-south.
President Buhari however, missed a golden opportunity to address the ongoing pro-Biafra protests in the South-eastern part of the country, which have crippled economic activities in the geopolitical zone and in other parts of the South-south.
https://www.today.ng/politics/48901/we-formed-apc-to-stop-nigeria-from-going-under-buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has reiterated the commitment of his administration to the protection of free speech in keeping with democratic tradition.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu said this while reacting to the public hostility towards the social media bill being debated by the Senate.
He said that President Buhari has sworn to defend the constitution of Nigeria and would not lend his hand to anything that is inconsistent with the constitution, “but he is not averse to lawful regulation, so long as that is done within the ambit of the constitution which he swore to uphold.”
The President said free speech is central to democratic societies anywhere in the world. The President explained that without free speech, elected representatives will not be able to gauge public feelings and moods about governance issues.
“As a key component of democratic principles,” the President acknowledged that people in democratic societies “are so emotionally attached to free speech that they would defend it with all their might”.
Mr Garba Shehu explained that President Buhari is fully aware of the public reservations about the proposed legislation, but assured that there is no cause for alarm “because the Senate is a democratic senate.
“The President won’t assent to any legislation that may be inconsistent with the constitution of Nigeria.”
https://www.today.ng/news/national/48535/president-buhari-restates-commitment-to-free-speech

Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has congratulated the Bayelsa State Governor and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Seriake Dickson, for having the people of Bayelsa behind him during the state’s governorship election, which was on Monday, declared inconclusive by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, even as he described Bayelsans as “worthy heroes of democracy, for showing that their power is more than that of the Abuja political oppressors.”
Fayose alleged that the failed attempt by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to manipulate the Bayelsa State governorship election was a clear invitation to anarchy, even as he said Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari was fast becoming a shame.
The governor, who said it was shameful that the two elections conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under Buhari’s kinsman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu were inconclusive, called on all well-meaning Nigerians and the international community to rise up in condemnation of the APC government’s plot to destroy democracy in the country.
Speaking through his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose who said everything under Buhari was becoming inconclusive, added that “If in three days, INEC could not conduct credible elections in Bayelsa State of just eight local governments, one wonders what will happen during the general elections in 2019. The simple reality is that INEC under this Buhari’s
kinsman Prof Yakubu, who is fast becoming the classical example of incompetence cannot guarantee free and fair elections in this country.”
He saluted the courage of the people of Bayelsa State, describing them as “worthy heroes of democracy that stood their ground against agents of darkness that were prepared to short-change them by imposing a governor they do not want on them.”
Governor Fayose also congratulated the Bayelsa State Governor and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Seriake Dickson for having the people of Bayelsa behind him, adding that “the people of Bayelsa have shown that their power is more than that of the Abuja political oppressors.”
He urged the governor and Bayelsa people not to lose their guard, saying; “Now that they have failed in their bid to use one local government to rig themselves to power, they will surely go back to their evil drawing board to plan fresh assaults.
“Therefore, Bayelsa people must henceforth sleep with their two eyes opened because the APC thieves come not only to steal, but to kill and that can be seen in the way and manner they murdered over 20 people just because they wanted power at all cost.”
While warning on the consequences of destruction of the legacy of free, fair and credible electoral process bequeathed on Nigeria by Dr Goodluck Jonathan, Governor Fayose said “Nigerians, especially we in Ekiti State are already taking a cue from the Kogi and Bayelsa States experience and are getting prepared for future elections.”
https://www.today.ng/politics/48668/fayose-hails-bayelsans-says-nigeria-under-buhari-becoming-a-shame

The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has claimed that about $1bn went missing every month under former President Goodluck Jonathan.
The former apex bank governor, said this during a programme entitled ‘How a cancer of corruption steals Nigerian oil, weapons and lives’, which aired on The PBS NewsHour, an American daily evening television show.
The monarch said many dirty and shocking deals took place under the immediate past Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke, who is currently being investigated in the United Kingdom.
His words, “In Nigeria, there is no accountability at all and that is why I think Nigeria’s corruption is worse than corruption in most parts of the world. It is the worst type of corruption. It’s stealing.
“Frankly, I think a billion dollars under Jonathan a month was about what we were losing.”
Speaking further, the emir claimed that during Alison-Madueke’s tenure as petroleum minister, people paid as low as $50m for access to crude oil blocs valued at over $2bn.
Sanusi said, “Basically, all it does is allow a group of people, who themselves don’t have any kind of operating background, to pay $50m for access to the crude oil in blocs, valued at over $2bn and they just take the crude oil, ship it out and don’t return the money and there is no trace of where the money has gone.
“Someone gets a contract to lift crude from the terminals to the refineries and in between, that crude is stolen; it is stolen on the high sea.”
“If she goes to court and is jailed for example, it sends a signal; I think that there is a day of reckoning,” he said.
The US television show quoted United States and UK authorities as saying that Alison-Madueke might have “personally overseen the stealing of $6bn”.
“The most common method is awarding oil contracts to companies owned by friends,” it added.
https://www.today.ng/news/national/48335/emir-sanusi-about-1bn-went-missing-every-month-under-jonathan

The Minister of Information, Culture, Alh. Lai Mohammed has showered praises on Nigerian soldiers for their gallant fight and bravery in dislodging the elements of Boko Haram, particularly in Bama and Konduga Local Government Areas of Borno state, saying that the December deadline will be realistic.
The Minister gave the commendation, Sunday, during an official visit to Bama and Konduga Local Government Councils of Borno State.
Mohammed, who led a team of information, reporters to the visit said, he was humbled by the high scale of destruction and damages left behind in the areas of the insurgents.
He commended the Nigerian army for making an impact in rooting out the insurgents and making more efforts in recapturing the remaining areas before the December deadline.
‘‘They are very happy about what we are doing and are very committed to restoring peace in North-East and unity of this country. We went to Bama and Konduga and saw first hand, the scale of damage and destruction that the Boko Haram terrorists left behind.
‘‘It humbled many of us, and we all came back very sober. I hope that with this visit, my colleagues in the media will show more restraint, more understanding in reporting the efforts being made in the war against terrorism. We are also confident that by today, we are much more informed about the corrupt war,’’ he said.
On the visit to the IDP camp in Bama, where the team saw the victims of the war, old people, women and kids, the Minister lamented the impact of the war on the victims, and promised that the government would do everything possible to rehabilitate them soon.
https://www.today.ng/news/national/48156/nigerian-soldiers-are-unsung-heroes-minister

The Ekiti State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Owoseni Ajayi, has expressed concern over the Anti-Media Bill proposed by All Progressives Congress (APC) Senator Bala Ibn Na’allah, saying, “the National Assembly must not allow itself to be used to bring back Decree 4 that was used against the press between 1984 and 1985, when President Muhammadu Buhari was military Head of State and the Sedition Law that the British Colonial Masters used against our fathers, who fought for the independence of Nigeria.”
The Attorney-General, who declared that holders of public offices must be answerable to the people at all times, added that, “those of us holding public offices must be mindful of the temptation of seeing ourselves as being above the people. We are not God that cannot be questioned. In fact, nothing should be private about us that the public must not know.”
In a statement issued in Ado-Ekiti on Sunday, Owoseni Ajayi, who said the Ekiti State government was against the bill in its entirety, noted that “that bill proposed by Senator Bala Ibn Na’allah is not different from Buhari’s Protection Against False Accusations Decree 4 of 1984, which was considered as the most repressive press law ever enacted in Nigeria.”
He said Nigerians were not unmindful of the fact that the APC rode to power on the back of free press and credible electoral process that was allowed by the Peoples Democratic Government of Dr Goodluck Jonathan, adding that, “the APC as a party must be ready to accommodate even more than the media attacks it gave PDP when it was in the opposition.”
The Commissioner for Justice said: “Isn’t it funny that the same media, especially the social media that the APC used against the PDP has now become an enemy that the APC led federal government is desperate to suppress? What are they afraid of?
“It is painful that anyone could bring such bill to the Senate, and even more painful that the bill was allowed to pass through the first reading.
“However, let those seeing the bill as a means of protecting themselves realise that they won’t be in power forever. They should therefore refrain themselves from acts capable of taking Nigeria back to those years of dictatorship that journalists were jailed indiscriminately and media houses shut for years. They should remember Tunde Thompson and Nduka Irabor of The Guardian newspapers.
“Most importantly, the Senate should be mindful of the fact that the offences the proposed bill seeks to criminalise already exist under Nigerian laws, including those of treason, defamation and libel.
“Lastly, let those supporting the obnoxious bill know that under a democratic government, there cannot be criminal libel or defamation. There can also not be a return of Decree 4 of 1984 and the Sedition Law of the Colonial days.”
https://www.today.ng/news/national/48136/social-media-bill-apc-bringing-back-buharis-decree-4-of-1984-ekiti-govt

In an apparent move to live with his promise and the change agenda of the present administration, the new Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, says he will use only made in Nigerian vehicles as long as he serves under the present administration of Change.
This was gathered from a reliable source in the Ministry, who said that the Minister had already listed Innoson Motos and PAN Nigeria as the only companies to supply his preferred vehicles.
According to the source, the Minister took the decision to encourage made in Nigeria goods and reduction in the high rate of consumption of foreign goods, as part of the administrations’ resolve to diversify the economy and empower Nigerian people.
Meanwhile, the Minister has assured Nigerians that the present administration through the ministry of science and technology would reposition Nigeria and make it become a scientifically and technologically advanced country.
He made the pledge on Friday when he met with members of the Joint Union Negotiating Council (Federal Ministry of Science& Tech. Chapter) in his office.
https://www.today.ng/news/national/48148/minister-pledges-to-use-only-made-in-nigeria-vehicles

The Freedom of Information Coalition in Nigeria says it plans a one million-man march across the country against the proposed bill to gag the social media in Nigeria, describing it as draconian and anti-masses.
The Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Coalition, Walter Duru, disclosed this while addressing newsmen in Calabar, Cross River State on Saturday.
Duru described the Senate’s move as irresponsible and aimed at consolidating the dictatorship in Nigeria.
He called on all Nigerians to resist it.
He said: “Nigeria is gradually drifting to dictatorship.
“The proposed bill is not only irresponsible, but geared towards taking the country back to the dark days.
“It contradicts the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, as well as the Freedom of Information Act, 2011.
“The bill simply shows that some members of the National Assembly are self-serving in their endeavours and exposes the bad intentions of the sponsor(s).
“The guilty are afraid.
“It is either that those behind the bill have committed one atrocity and are afraid that it might be blown open soon or they plan to secure this draconian law as a cover for a planned evil.
“They plan to turn this country into a banana republic.
“This will not work.”
Continuing, Duru disclosed that nationwide mobilization is ongoing to shut down the country in the coming days in protest against the unpopular bill, even as he urged the National Assembly leadership to withdraw the bill in the interest of the nation.
He said: “We are mobilizing Nigerians across the country against this draconian bill.
“The oil subsidy protest will be a child’s play, compared to what will happen.
“Beginning from next week, the 8th National Assembly will realize that they are representatives of the people and not mere self-serving individuals.
“Whoever that does not want to be discussed in public should stay away from public offices.
“This shows how insensitive our leaders are.
“Nigerians are hungry and the economy is going down by the day as a result of poor leadership.
“How does this bill put food on the table of Nigerians?
“The focus now should be on legislations and steps that will improve the socio-economic well-being of the people, enhance security and check corruption and not this evil ploy.
“We have sufficient laws that regulate media practice. This bill is simply evil,” he fumed.
He further warned that the FOI Coalition will stop at nothing in stopping the bill.”
Duru, who is also Executive Director of the Media Initiative against Injustice, Violence and Corruption, urged the Kebbi-South constituents of the lawmaker and sponsor of the bill, Senator Ibn Na’Allah, to commence the process of his recall in the interest of the country’s democracy, describing him as a national embarrassment.
It would be recalled that a bill seeking a two-year jail term for any person who makes allegations or publishes any statement or petition in the newspaper, radio or medium of whatsoever description against another person, institutions of government or any public office holder, passed second reading in the Senate last week.
The bill also prescribed that anyone or group of persons who send any false text message or post false messages on the social media against another person shall be jailed for two years upon conviction by the law court.
The bill, tagged: “A bill for an Act to Prohibit Frivolous Petitions and other matters connected therewith,” sponsored by Na’Allah, compels petitioners to accompany petitions with the sworn court affidavit, failure of which attracts a six-month imprisonment upon conviction.
In the social media, the bill reads: “Where any person through text message, tweets, WhatsApp or through any social media post any abusive statement with intent to set the public against any person or group of persons, an institution of government or such other bodies established by law shall be guilty of an offense and upon conviction, shall be liable to an imprisonment for two years or a fine of N2,000,000.00 or both fine and imprisonment.”
The bill, said it shall be an offence for any petition to be submitted without a sworn affidavit from the law court.
It has generated public outcry since its introduction.
https://www.today.ng/news/national/47568/notosocialmediabill-coalition-plans-one-million-man-march

The office of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State has been set ablaze by unknown persons.
The News Agency of Nigeria learnt in Lokoja on Friday that the office was burnt with materials to be used for Saturday’s supplementary governorship election in the area.
NAN reports that Dekina Local Government Area is among the places where the supplementary election in 91 polling units is scheduled to hold.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner in Kogi State, Malam Halilu Pai, confirmed the incident but added that the incident, suspected to have occurred at 2am, would not affect the election.
Pai said the burnt election materials would be replaced and that INEC had relocated to a temporary office in the area.
He said: “We will not succumb to the undemocratic antics of some few.
“Replacement of the election materials are already on the way.
“The election will go on as scheduled.”
https://www.today.ng/politics/47118/inec-office-in-kogi-set-ablaze-with-election-materials

Chairman, Arewa-APC, Lagos State, Alh Mohammadu Dandama-Yabo, has de­fended President Muham­madu Buhari over recent criticisms credited to the Ekiti State governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose.
Fayose had published in some national newspapers that Buhari administra­tion in six months is clue­less and has only recorded tremendous achievements in areas of political per­secution, disobedience of a court order and desperate bid to turn the country into a one-party state.
Following these allega­tions, the Lagos Arewa-APC chairman, however, refuted the claims, stress­ing that Fayose is always opposing the presi­dent in every move as he is best good at propaganda.
Dandama-Yabo main­tained that the Buhari-led APC government is clean­ing up the 16 years mess of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP which has left the country in its present condition of quagmire.
He said for meaningful change to be made in any country six months is too small to assess and hasti­ly passed judgment of fail­ure on any government especially one confronted with myriad of challenges as Nigeria.
“Six months is not enough for any individual with sincerity of heart to assess and accuse any government of failure, especially when such ad­ministration is faced with numerous problems.
“The past administra­tion and the PDP left the country in the mess we find ourselves today and that is what the president is trying to clean up.”
Defending the recent overseas travel of Presi­dent Buhari in recent times, the chairman said the moves are imperative as the rationale behind them is to facilitate sup­port of international com­munity in order to rake in the looted funds that are stuck in foreign banks by corrupt public officers in the past administrations.
He, however expressed optimism that Buhari and the APC government would deliver their elector­al promises in due course.
https://www.today.ng/politics/46616/buhari-is-cleansing-16-year-of-pdps-mess-arewa-apc

The Senate on Thursday passed into second reading a bill seeking two years imprisonment with an option of N2 million fine for any Nigerian who posts “abusive statements” on the social media.
The bill, which was sponsored by the Deputy Leader of the Senate, Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah, is seeking to provide punishment for frivolous petitions‎ by making sure that only credible and verifiable petitions are presented for public use.
According to the bill, any person who through text messages, tweets, What’sApp or any of the social media posts any abusive statement knowing same to be false with intent to set the public against any person and/or group of persons, an institution or Government or such other bodies established by law shall be guilty of an offence and upon conviction shall be liable to an imprisonment for two years or a fine of N2 million or both such fine and imprisonment.‎
Na’Allah said: “The bill, which appears “Sunset” in its nature, consists of four sections, which in clear terms spelt out the punishment for frivolous petition, what constitutes frivolous petition.
“The bill seeks to provide punishment for frivolous petition by making sure that only credible and verifiable petitions are presented for public use.
“The utility of the bill is to equally save the time for good governance and resources that go into investigating frivolous petitions.
“The bill would equally assist in shaping our negative thinking by elevating hard work over and above sycophancy and indolence.‎”
https://www.today.ng/news/national/46360/bill-to-curb-abusive-statements-on-social-media-passes-second-reading-in-senate

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Tuesday said it is taking steps to develop a regulation that will deal with unsolicited text messages and illegal data charges to service consumers by telecommunication service providers in the country.
Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Umar Danbatta, disclosed this in Abakaliki during the First Ebonyi Youth Summit on refocusing talented Ebonyi youth for sustainable national development in training and capacity building through ICT revolution.
“The commission is taking steps to develop a regulation that will deal with unsolicited text messages and illegal data charges,” he said.
He explained that the NCC has been proactive and efficient in mediating between telecommunication service providers and the service consumers.
Represented at the training by Austin Chucks Odoh, a Director in the Commission, the Executive Vice Chairman urged the telecom service consumers to take advantage of the toll-free numbers provided by the commission to lodge their complaints.
https://www.today.ng/tech/45779/ncc-moves-against-unsolicited-text-messages-by-service-providers

Google Maps in Nigeria’s new added feature shows traffic conditions in real time, represented by three colour codes: Green, Orange and Red.
Green portrays a free flow of traffic; orange means the traffic is not so bad; and red indicates terrible traffic flow.
Google analyzes data transmitted by the GPS locations on commuters’ mobile phones. The mobile phone location has to be turned on for this to work. Google then generates the live traffic map by calculating the speed of users along the length of the road. Raw data from the mobile phones are processed and “anomalies such as a postal vehicle which makes frequent stops are excluded.”
However, for now this feature is very imperfect. If the large number of people going to anywhere at a time is not connected to the internet or do not have their mobile phone’s GPS turned on then the overlay would be green, showing a misleading representation of the traffic condition of that road if it were otherwise congested.
As such, the traffic data were only as reliable as the amount of people using Google Maps at the time. Therefore, the fewer the number of users the lesser the quality of traffic prediction.
Like Google, Microsoft is also working on its own Traffic Prediction Project. Microsoft will work with select partners and the aim of the project is to be able to predict traffic “up to an hour in advance.” It will make use of data from Microsoft’s Bing traffic maps and the social networks of drivers.
It’s important to note that all this is based on participation of the mobile phone users, so both Google and Microsoft’s traffic predictors cannot function well without their tacit or implicit permission.
https://www.today.ng/tech/41440/google-maps-now-features-live-traffic-data-for-nigerian-cities

The Federal Government is currently reaching out to some leaders of thought in the South-East to intervene in the growing pro-Biafra protests in that part of the country.
President Muhammadu Buhari has also received the assurances of state governors in the geopolitical zone that the issue has being adequately addressed.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said this in an interview on Saturday.
Adesina was responding to a question on whether the President was considering inviting leaders of the protesters for talks or will use South-East governors and other leaders of thought to reach out to them.
The presidential spokesman said the President was concerned about all parts of the country and would always follow due process and the rule of law in tackling any issue.
He said the protests formed part of the agenda of the last Council of State meeting.
He said during a discussion on the matter, a governor from the region assured council members that the issue was being handled.
Adesina said, “Government is in communication with credible leaders of the South-East on the Biafra issue.
“At the last Council of State meeting, one of the governors from the region assured council members that the issue was being looked into.
“The leaders of thought are working already. The President is concerned about every part of the country, but he will always respect due process and rule of law.”
Pro-Biafra supporters have been protesting the continued detention of the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.
https://www.today.ng/news/national/44700/buhari-in-talks-with-igbo-leaders-over-pro-biafra-protests-presidency

The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has described the six months of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration as that of “deceitful change”.
Fayose lamented that the President was destroying the image of Nigeria and its people for cheap international recognition.
The governor, who also described the claim by the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, that the ministry does not have details of any fund recovered from officials of the immediate past government of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan as a vindication of his position that Buhari was not saying the truth, tasked Nigerians to ask the President where the so-called looted fund was paid and who made the payments.
He said: “If the Ministry of Finance is not aware of any recovered fund, it is either those who purportedly made the refund did so by loading cash into Ghana-Must-Go bags and dropping the bags in the President’s bedroom or the fund was lodged into the Central Bank without records.”
Speaking through his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose said: “The only areas President Buhari has recorded tremendous achievements are areas of political persecution, disobedience of court order and desperate bid to turn the country to a one-party state as evident in the Kogi State election, which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), headed by staged managed and muddled up.
“In the last six months, a section of the judiciary has been so openly manipulated by the Buhari’s administration, such that different judgments were given in similar cases, with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) getting negative judgments while the All Progressives Congress (APC) secured positive judgements in cases with similar facts and evidences.”
While sympathising with Nigerians, who were deceived to vote for the All Progressives Congress and are now bearing the brunt of the six months of Buhari’s administration’s cluelessness Fayose said: “It is painful that Nigerians are being made to suffer great hardships from fuel scarcity, thousands of people are still being killed in the North by Boko Haram, Chibok Girls are still not found, power supply has dropped, and above all; the unity of the country is being threatened as admitted by the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, yet all our President does is junketing around the globe.
“Honestly, this change promised by President Buhari and his party, APC, is nothing other than ‘one chance change’ and this has been attested to even by highly respected international news media.
“For instance, Bloomberg, in a report two days ago said hopes have fizzled in Buhari’s ability to turn around Nigeria and that money that flowed into stocks and bonds in Nigeria, which McKinsey & Co. says could become one of the world’s 20 biggest economies by 2030, is now fleeing as growth prospects diminish along with oil prices.
“Under President Buhari, the United States-based investment banking and financial services multinational J P Morgan ejected Nigeria from its Government Bond Index for Emerging Markets (GBI-EM) with effect from the end of October this year.
“Under Buhari, the future of workers are being threatened by the APC government plot to reduce minimum wage and retrench workers.
“Under Buhari, oil subsidy is to be removed next year January, thereby causing further hardship for the people.
“Under President Buhari, multi-national companies are laying-off thousands of workers while contractors working for the Federal Government have left their sites. Yet, what the President does is to junket from one country to another to cast aspersion on Nigeria and its people and one wonders how foreign investors will come to a country that its President says is peopled by rogues.”
https://www.today.ng/news/national/44515/buhari-has-had-six-months-of-deceitful-change-fayose

I have been amused, reading a number of jokes concerning the frequency of the President, Muhammadu Buhari’s foreign trips.
Questions have been raised about why so many visits, and what are the benefits Nigeria is getting?
I will make it clear from the beginning that the critic is entitled to his and her opinion and nothing said here is intended to silence him or her.
Criticism goes with the territory and as it is often said in a wisecrack, if you don’t like the heat, get out of the kitchen.
President Muhammadu Buhari came into office under the mantra of change. While Nigerians are yearning for change, you need someone who will set up the infrastructure, both at home and abroad for it. President Buhari is busy doing that.
The change is manifest in where he visits and what he does.
In the delegations accompanying him abroad, President Buhari has slashed the numbers, bringing them down to a tolerable or the bearable minimum.
He went to the United Nations General Assembly in September with an unbelievable 32 officials in his delegation. These included his cook, his doctor and luggage officer.
His predecessor in office went to the same meeting with 150 officials and family members the year before.
Wherever they are given government accommodation and feeding, members of President Buhari’s entourage receive reduced allowances, thereby saving the government some money.
In public diplomacy, experts say that it is better conducted through face-to-face interaction than through third parties. This is even moreso at the level of heads of state. To do by it by proxy is to miss the effect of fostering strong interpersonal relations between leaders, by which nations benefit.
President Buhari has so far visited Germany, South Africa, USA, Niger, Tchad, Cameroon, Benin, Ghana, South Africa, India, Iran and Malta, where we are presently for the Commonwealth Summit. Mostly, these were due to either the United Nations, EU, African Union or energy and security-related summits. They were mostly undertaken to attend specific meetings, not State Visits. Looking at these assignments, the trips are inescapable for the President. What would Nigerians say of their leader when see the array of world leaders assemble, as they would shortly be doing discussing climate change in Paris on Monday and their own President is missing from the table?
Those of us who were around under Abacha read all the taunts about him being a sit-at-home leader. Abacha was despised for not representing his country abroad.
President Buhari’s foreign visits have been marked by punishing schedules. They are always business-like and results-oriented.
All trips have been marked by tight schedules. Meeting after meeting, happening back-to-back morning, afternoon and evening. The President has had to travel overnight for some of these meetings.
The visit by any president to another country is the highest act in international relations.
It sends out a message that that county is important to the visitor.
It is not like your usual vacation abroad. Official discussions involving political leaders, the military, the diplomats and at times, business people are held at multi- track levels. In foreign policy you stand on a quick sand of events and you slip up if take a rest or lose focus. Governments also know that their achievements at home will be meaningless if they cannot project them abroad. Who or where are the foreign investors, whose hand you are seeking if you can’t travel to meet them? Will they come if they don’t know about the country? President Buhari demonstrated a keen understanding of these when in the first week of his taking the office, he brought together foreign policy and all three cardinal objectives of his administration-security,economy and war on corruption- by embarking on visits to neighboring countries.
In our recent history, much of the West had ignored Nigeria under the corrupt PDP administration for many years, which warranted the country’s tilt towards some Asian countries.
As a consequence, this country has suffered past isolation of various types, including the denial of access to the arms-purchase market.
As a member of the then Standing Committee of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, I remember being in a delegation that visited the Aso Rock Villa, to beg the government at that time not the execute the writer and activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa.
At the meeting with the Number Two man in that government, Major-General Oladipo Diya, he announced to everyone’s shock and disbelief that Ken had been executed. “Honestly,” he muted, “I think he has been executed about two days ago.”
What followed that pronouncement was a global outrage.
The then Foreign Affairs Minister, Arch. Tom Ikimi representing Nigeria at the Commonwealth meeting in New Zealand, shattered the feelings of the leaders of those countries when he announced to them that he had not been briefed about the executions and begged for time to talk to the leaders back in Nigeria.
Nigeria faced an imminent expulsion from the group and would have been so sacked but for the intervention of the then President of South Africa, late Nelson Mandela.
In place of this extreme form of sanction, a suspension and and a barrage of sanctions followed and remained in place until an appreciable remorse was was shown and progress made towards the return to democracy by Nigeria.
Throughout that period of time, it was difficult being a Nigerian in the international space.
As council members of the UN Human Rights Commission, Africans would caucus in Geneva without us Nigerians. Like lepers, we were shunned wherever we showed up.
I mentioned this short narrative to illustrate two things: one, for a country to do the right things all the time and two, you don’t know the joy being a part of international gatherings until you suffer the pain of exclusion from them.
Short of begging the world, there was nothing that the Abacha government didn’t do to be taken back into the Commonwealth.
Read more..
https://www.today.ng/blog/44421/buharis-trips-are-not-for-enjoyment