abu99err:


Edo man! can you please just list one thing that Edo State benefited from the PDP at the Federal and state level?

Edos are more practical that emotional.... we no be Ibo or Hausa people o.

And what had Edo benefited from the APC at the federal level? All Edo lands had been taken over by Fulani cattle rearers, since Buhari took over, raping our women and killing our men. We are not blinded. We will treat Oshomhole Bleep up in February. His betrayal of his fellow Edo man, Oyegun can never be forgotten.

PHILipu1:

Lol.
I guess you are from another Edo state and Edo north and not my Edo north that I am now.
If Atiku get 20% here he try.

You think the national chairman of APC will lose Edo state to PDP?

The days of PDP allocating figures in south south and south east are over.

Buhati will see Edo state and Delta.

White it down.

Hahahaha!! I laugh in afenmai! Which Edo north are ypu talking about?? Buhari will loose in iyamho! Write it down. The era of voting along religious line in afenmai land is over. Remember the two candidates are Muslims.

Edodefender:
In Edo state, I haven't seen any atiku billboard or posters, it's just buhari and next level logo.

In Edo north.

It will be a walk over for atiku.

In Edo central.
A walk over for atiku

In Edo south.
A walk over for atiku.

Atiku will get like 70-85% of votes here

Atiku does not need billboard to thrash buhari in edo state. Infact any candidate from any of the parties will beat buhari in edo state.

Just checked their website. The op is right. They have not correct it. A party that competence is not their watchword will always make errors like that.

The late Oba Erediawa contributed to the disunity of the Edo people. Whereas the Oba should see himself as the oba of all Edos, Erediawa was narrowly concentrating on the Benins alone. Antagonising other Edo tribe, while guiding that of the Benins. Else, why did he fight the late Alli and Anenih?
If the present Oba can unify the Edo nation, i am very sure that he will get the deserve respect and honour from all Edos. But if he continues with his late father's narrow perspective, then i am sorry, 'to your tent oh Edos'!

It is not known to this column how close Brigadier Sani Abacha was to Major General Muhammadu Buhari by December 1983. It was Abacha who announced at the end of a few minutes of martial music on new year’s eve that the government of President Shehu Shagari had been thrown into the dust bin of history. Buhari became the fulcrum of that history as Nigeria’s head of state. On August 27, 1985, there was another game, the Revolving Doors’ game. Buhari was out, thrown out, while Ibrahim Babangida, was in, thrown into the pinnacle of political power in Nigeria. Babangida clamped Buhari into the dungeon for some months where he cooled his feet, while his colleagues were bestriding the Nigerian political and military firmament like they owned the world. Babangida left or was forced to leave the throne after eight years of dangerous foot work. He called Chief Ernest Shonekan, a successful private sector entrepreneur, to come and take the baton of leadership.

He took it and as he was trying to hold it in his hand firmly, Abacha who had been eyeing the coveted prize greedily grabbed it in 1994. He immediately increased the price of petroleum products. The public rolled out a series of protests. As an appeasement measure, he set up the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) as an intervention development agency to bring succor to the people especially in the rural areas. He made Buhari the executive chairman of the Fund which he ran for five years (1994-1999).

Why did Abacha appoint Buhari the Executive Chairman of PTF? Was it as an atonement for the sin of standing by while he was overthrown by the Babangida Boys? Or was he just sympathetic seeing that the man had been left in the cold by Babangida since his ouster on August 27, 1985? Or was Abacha simply looking for a fabled disciplinarian who didn’t love money too much or the dirty part of it? Buhari needed that rehabilitation, physical, financial and reputational. He was eager to come in from the biting cold and be seen as a man who, despite the overthrow and detention, had kept his dignity and integrity such that Abacha who was Babangida’s man, could trust him with the big-wallet job.

The Petroleum Trust Fund was to intervene in such areas as roads and waterways, supply of educational materials, rehabilitation of educational infrastructure, food supply, health, water supply, etc. Buhari set up a capricious management structure and appointed Afri-Project Consortium (APC) led by a 42 year old man, Salihijo Ahmad. This Consortium was the sole manager of the PTF projects. Ahmad had admitted to Newswatch in an interview published by the magazine in its April 19, 1999 issue that it was APC that wrote the proposal which defined the mandate of the PTF. It suggested the criteria, procedure for selection and appointment of contractors, consultants and suppliers. It also worked out the monitoring mechanism adopted by the PTF. The APC had some 620 consulting firms reporting to it. It was the sole management consultants to the PTF. Most Nigerians had no idea how the PTF was run. It was when President Olusegun Obasanjo took over in 1999 and set up an interim management committee (IMC) headed by Dr Haroun Adamu to wind down the PTF that the worms crawled out of the can. That Interim Management Committee appointed three technical consultants to investigate various aspects of the PTF management. Their findings conducted independently were damning. When I read President Buhari’s remarks a few weeks ago in which he crowed about the achievements of the PTF under his leadership, I decided to do a facts-check since I knew that Newswatch had done a cover story titled “How Buhari ran PTF” which was published in its March 13, 2000 issue. This story was the product of a thorough investigation into the mammoth fraud as discovered by the technical consultants hired by the IMC. Details of the IMC report are distilled for you here. The findings: N144.51 billion had been given to PTF by the Federal Government during its lifetime; A residential estate was to be built at Wuse, Abuja, for N703 million but the technical consultants hired by IMC put the realistic valuation at about N328 million; Between July 1994 and July 1999, about N25 billion was either stolen or improperly expended; Extension of PTF headquarters was to gulp N650 million; Expired HIV/Aids drugs and kits worth N28 billion was supplied to several hospitals nationwide. This was confirmed by the Nigerian Guild of Medical Directors whose Secretary, Mr. Rowland Ogbonna, asked the Federal Government to withdraw the drugs immediately from all hospitals in the country. Many projects were abandoned while the completion rate of other projects was put at 30%; the sum of N500 million that the PTF deposited in a bank disappeared as soon as the IMC was announced. The bank agreed to pay the money after President Obasanjo read the Riot Act to the bank officials. On taking over, IMC discovered that there were no contract documents, drawings or specifications relating to projects. The APC could and did award contracts and vary the pricing without any reference to the PTF. Mr. Ahmad had asked the IMC officials to come and collect some documents in connection with all the transactions. On the day of the appointment he collapsed and died. The other members of the APC team claimed that they were not in a position to supply the documents.

There were more sordid revelations. The Afenifere did an analysis of the siting of the projects. The consumption of petroleum products by the South was 70% while that of the North was 30%. However, the distribution of the PTF projects was a reversal of the consumption pattern: 70% to the north and 30% to the south. All southern states had 4,440.43 kilometres of roads rehabilitated (24%) while states in the north had 13,870.47 kilometres rehabilitated (76%). Teaching Hospitals’ rehabilitation: South 38%, North 62%; Specialist hospitals: South 29%, North 71%; Food supply: South 17%, North 83%; National Health and Educational Rehabilitation Programme (NHERP): South 0% and North 100%; Vocational Programme: South 3%, North 97%; Primary School rehabilitation: South 12%, North 88%. Haroun Adamu acknowledged the gross imbalances in the sharing of the projects but regretted that his committee could not do much to remedy the situation since by the IMC mandate they could not embark on new projects.

From the findings there was massive fraud in PTF, fraudulently masquerading as achievements. The institution was a government intervention agency but run without the regulatory checks and balances that undergird the implementation of government projects. The Afri-Projects Consortium was just on its own, a loose canon with no authority to check it. Buhari was the Executive Chairman but he was absent-minded and had capriciously surrendered the operational powers of the PTF to APC without diligent supervision. The boys looted the place dry and there was no evidence that Buhari had an inkling of the huge corruption under his feet. Sometime before the IMC takeover, a newsmagazine, TheWeek, had interviewed him about the swirling corruption allegations. He said allegations of corruption against him were false. “My integrity is intact.” His friends said so too and even insinuated that Dr. Adamu was going after Buhari because the former dictator had detained him in 1994. Adamu told Newswatch: “I am not here to probe Buhari, No, that is not our mandate. Whatever happened when he was head of state is long forgotten. He is my friend.”

Buhari’s personal integrity was not soiled by the Petroleum Trust Fraud but he displayed supreme incompetence as a manager. As an Executive Chairman the buck stopped at his desk and no matter how you want to slice it he takes vicarious responsibility for the humongous fraud that took place in that institution. Secondly, the grossly lopsided distribution of the PTF projects between North and South is an awful testimonial for a man of his national standing to whom the nation through the coup makers had given the highest position in the land. His lopsided appointments today constitute a déjà vu.

When I read what he said about Abacha I was sorry for him. He said to a delegation, Buhari Support Group led by Comptroller General of Customs, Hameed Ali. “I don’t care about the opinion you have on Abacha but I agreed to work with him and we constructed roads from Abuja to Port Harcourt, Benin, Onitsha and so on. We also touched education and health. One of the former Heads of State was bragging that he spent $16 billion on power in Nigeria. Where is the power?” The emerging confrontation between the two former dictators, former friends and former allies and now fierce foes, Obasanjo and Buhari, will receive the attention of this column in due course. For now, I think President Buhari’s open veneration of the kleptocratic and autocratic Abacha is a cause for nausea. At the 10th anniversary of Abacha’s death Buhari had given the fantastically corrupt Abacha a clean bill of integrity. Even at that time, Nigeria was running all over the world trying to retrieve the billions Abacha had scattered in several banks in several countries and several continents. The horrifying stories of the elimination of prominent politicians and businessmen by Abacha constitute a notorious portion of our national narrative. No matter how hard Buhari tries, no matter what he thinks of the despicable, despotic Abacha, no matter why he thinks the man was a saint he will never succeed in winning Nigerians to his side. He will only wake up with fleas since he chooses to be in bed with dogs.
https://guardian.ng/opinion/petroleum-trust-fraud

Ismaila Funtua has always been a big player before 2015. Remember a friend telling me that whenever he's travelling through the airport, he personally hands over crisp 100 k to each agency at the airport. He is the chairman of Bullentine construction company. Bullentine is a big player in the road and building construction industry in Nigeria. Infact it's one of the companies handling the Abuja/lokoja road project. Awarded by Obj in 2006. So before this regime, he was already a billionaire.

One of the two controlling pmb. He is the owner of Bulletine. One of the construction companies handling the abuja - lokoja road.

Introduction
Recently, a shocking story came out to public knowledge about how Keystone Bank and 9Mobile were acquired in controversial circumstances by the business interests of one Alhaji Isa Funtua, a close friend of President Muhammadu Buhari, via the instrumentality of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON). As the smoke raised by the scandalous story is still swirling in the air, with some public groups challenging the government to come out clean on what could be a serious dent on its anti-corruption stance, there is indeed no smoke without fire. For starters, it is a confirmed fact that the son-in-law of Isa Funtua, Ahmed Kuru, is the current CEO of AMCON. Before him, the previous CEO, Chike Obi, was a first-class gentleman and technocrat who was strangely removed from office before the expiration of his term and was replaced with Kuru, the son-in-law of Isa Funtua.
Now, let us get into the insider details of how Funtua bought Keystone Bank and 9Mobile in the most bizarre of dealings that circumvent the laws of the land. Keystone Bank was sold by the current CEO of AMCON to his father-in-law, Funtua, without any AMCON Board’s approval and with the active connivance of CBN and NDIC at a grossly undervalued price of 25 Billion Naira. To put things in context, let us recall that Enterprise Bank was sold for over 60 Billion Naira and Mainstreet Bank was sold for over 100 Billion Naira under the former CEO of AMCON.
Before the sale of Keystone Bank to Isa Funtua, all bad debts in the books of the Bank were taken over by AMCON. So, it was a clean Bank with all the Assets and no Liabilities that was sold to the Buyers. The Executive Management of AMCON was coerced into approving the transaction and those who were willing to submit a much higher bid were disqualified under a most opaque, suspicious process that lacks all transparency. The process was just manipulated in favour of the father-in-law of the AMCON CEO.

The Corrupt Payment for Keystone Bank
The most disgusting part of the entire sale of Keystone Bank is how the 25 Billion Naira sales price was paid to AMCON. The Isa Funtua Team paid 5 Billion Naira to AMCON, and then the balance of 20 Billion Naira was later paid through the most criminal and corrupt approach ever perpetrated by AMCON in favour of the Buyer. What happened was that AMCON moved 20 Billion Naira of their own funds as a fixed deposit at GTBank to Heritage Bank. Heritage Bank then paid the 20 Billion Naira on behalf of the Funtua Group to AMCON. In other words, AMCON used their own funds as a collateral for a loan to the Funtua Group for 20 Billion Naira!

When the Funtua Group took over Keystone Bank, they went borrowing immediately at the Interbank Market for 20 Billion Naira to refund AMCON’s funds. This has left a hole in Keystone Bank’s Balance Sheet and makes the Bank one of the most undercapitalized Banks in the Country as at today.
The evidence of this highly compromised acquisition process can be obtained from the current and former staff of AMCON, from NDIC, CBN and from the current staff of Keystone Bank itself. The story has been all over the place and it is quite shocking that some political parties and public interest groups are just picking it up now.

The Unholy Sale of 9-Mobile
Another suspicious acquisition scandal surrounding the Funtua Group is about the untidy way 9-Mobile, formerly known as Etisalat, was bought. It is Mr. Adrian Wood of Teleology Holdings, a very sound telecoms professional, who collaborated with the Funtua Group for the acquisition of 9-Mobile. The problem with their bid was the lack of a qualified Operator to support the bid which was one of the minimum conditions of NCC. Adrian Wood alone was not a substitute for an Operator.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) gave several conditions that must be met by the Ultimate Buyer of 9-Mobile to ensure the protection of shareholders value, prevent loss of jobs, protect the telecoms industry from slipping into a crisis and ensure transparency and professionalism in the post-acquisition entity.
The conditions listed by NCC that must be met by the Buyer are Strong Telecoms Operating Experience, Strong Financial Capabilities, Strong Technical Knowledge and Strong Administrative Skills.
The first thing that happened once Teleology was announced as the preferred winner was that the Funtua Group edged Adrian Woods out of Management and turned him to an Insignificant Shareholder. The second development was that the Funtua Group raided Keystone Bank again and forced the Bank to Pay 50 million Dollars as down payment for the acquisition of 9-Mobile. The third issue was that Teleology Nigeria replaced Teleology Holdings to remove any influence of Adrian Woods from 9-Mobile totally. The fourth step taken the Funtua Group was to borrow 260 Million Dollars from African Exim Bank. The fifth thing was to coerce NCC to approve the sale at all cost without meeting 90% of the conditions set up ab-initio by the NCC. The sixth strange action of the Funtua Group was to force the board of NCC to approve the sale through the influence and pressure from the Presidency. And the seventh Funtua infraction was to use the influence of CBN to force the Banks to the table and waive their own conditions of sale of 9-Mobile to the Teleology Nigeria group.

Conclusion
So far, the problem with the sales of the above mentioned assets is that all the processes and conditions were brazenly circumvented and Keystone Bank was forced into a deeper pit by the greed and recklessness of the Funtua group.
Today, AMCON as presently constituted is just a tool in the hands of the Funtua Group to acquire peoples’ businesses without paying for it or using AMCON’s money to pay for the Funtua Group. Even indigenous airlines like Arik and Aero Contractors, like many other companies under AMCON, are being considered for nepotistic acquisition in the near future. Of course, the Funtua Group has been penciled down as the preferred bidders. The devious plot is that if the Buhari government secures a second term and starts the tenure, all other companies under AMCON will be sold by hook or crook to the favoured Funtua Group. Meanwhile, the Management and Staff of AMCON along with the Board have all been intimidated into silence. In fact, the Board is dead and ineffective. And the other Supervisory Bodies over AMCON are just rubber stamps because the fear of Katsina power brokers is the beginning of wisdom.

https://naija247news.com/2018/12/31/exclusive-how-isa-funtua-fraudulently-acquired-keystone-bank-and-9mobile-using-amcon-md/

What then stopped you from using the system that started working after 2015 to jail him and his former boss? Hypocrites!

Christians are not deceived! Singing merry Christmas because of election

Contrary to claims by the Nigerian government that no local government in Nigeria is under Boko Haram occupation, the House of Representatives have discovered that at least 17 local government areas are still under the occupation of the terrorists.

In June, at the 2018 World Congress of the International Press Institute in Abuja, President Muhammadu Buhari reiterated that Boko Haram had been degraded and was no longer in control of any part of Nigeria.

“Your annual congress is holding in Nigeria during a period of global terrorism. Nigeria experiences that scourge through Boko Haram which has been technically degraded and has no territorial hold anywhere anymore in its North-East operational base,” he said.

But in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service on Tuesday, the chairman of the House Committee on Internally Displaced Persons, IPDs, Sani Zorro, gave a shocking revelations that 17 local government areas are occupied by terrorists.


He said the lawmakers discovered this during a recent oversight function in Nigeria’s North East.

“I assure you that 17 local government areas of Borno are still under Boko Haram. They have control in many areas, collecting all many of taxes. In some local government areas, they would go to where people draw well water and ask people to give them certain amount of money in three days. And the locals would comply and give them the money.

“So whoever says Boko Haram is not occupying and administering those areas is telling a lie.

“It is better they (Nigerian authorities) stop claiming that Boko Haram is not occupying any territory. Those living in the rural areas of the affected states hear all manner of tales. Why are trenches dug to stop infiltration of insurgents into areas protected by the military?


“For instance, about three days ago, the terrorists invaded Abadam and Kalabalge, leading to the UN refugee agency’s withdrawal of its aid workers. This is where two nurses were killed.

“The question now is, if you say Boko Haram is not holding any Nigerian territory, where are they coming from and where are they taking the hostages they abducted?” Mr Zorro asked.

He told the BBC that no success was recorded in the resettlement of displaced persons to their communities as most of the displaced persons who were either forced or persuaded to resettle have fled their communities again.

“We were in Bama on 5th November, in the report we submitted, we said in conservative estimate that there are not more than 200 people living in Bama. But I believe there are not more than 50 people living there today. We traversed everywhere in Bama including their hospital, military base and the palace of the emir. I can tell you that even vultures have fled the palace of the emir,” he said.


DAILY NIGERIAN gathered that Bama has a population of 269,986 people, according to 2006 Census.

https://dailynigerian.com/17-local-government-areas-in-borno-still-under-boko-haram-reps-discover/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

No, we will need 1 million vehicles with 1.5m drivers! BUNCH of thieves

I ply this road on weekly basis. Nothing is being done on this road. The portion they are showing is the leveling of Ewu hill and between Auchi and Oshomhole village, iyamho. The contractors have been on these portion for more than 4 yrs now. From lokoja through okene to Oshomhole village, no on - going work. Every of my passengers rain curses on PMB and APC every time we are passing this lokoja/Benin road. Whenever i land, it's straight to my mechanic: shocks, suspension, tyres,stabilizer, etc, problems.

APC and lawlessness are Siamese twins!! Separate them, impunity is unleashed!! Bunch of broom waving idiots. This is what you get when you entrust leadership to street sweepers!

This same guy was killed last year, 2017 by the airforce. Did he resurrected.

Here are some of the prominent names that helped send Buhari to Aso Rock.

1. Dr. Oby Ezekwesili
2. Fela Durotoye
3. Atiku Abubakar
4. Omoyele Sowore
5. Donald Duke
6. Chief Obasanjo
7. Professor Charles Soludo
8. Pastor Tunde Bakare
9. Pastor Sunday Adelaja
10. Father Ejike Mbaka
11. Professor Pastor Yemi Osibanjo
12. Professor Tam David West
13. Professor Wole Soyinka
14. Rev. Chris Okotie
15. Professor Pat Utomi

These people actually believed that Buhari had what it takes to lead Nigeria into a first world.

These people went to school. Many are professors. Some claimed to have direct access to God.

Some are gifted with "prophesies".

They read history. They understood international relations. They understood how societies work or so we thought.

They were more than 20 years old in 1983 when Buhari shot himself to power.

They saw Buhari murder innocent Nigerians in 1983

They saw Buhari destroy the economy in 1983

They saw the role Buhari played in Abacha's government.

They read all the threats of violence by Buhari against the nation.

They saw Buhari harass Lam Adesina the Oyo State Governor due to Fulani herdsmen conflicts with locals in Oyo State.

They saw Buhari led the sharia protest that claimed the lives of innocent Nigerians in 2001.

They saw Buhari and his minions open the gate of hell on innocent Nigerians when he lost the presidential election in 2011.

If Buhari was not speaking and defending his Fulani heritage he would be fighting to defend his religious heritage.

Never for once did he defend Nigeria or gave interview on how to rebuild the economy, education, power, health etc.

They saw everything this man did. They knew him too well to miss the little details of his violent life.

But they were united in hatred.

Hatred for Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. One among the few Nigeria leaders that actually wanted Nigeria to work.

Hatred became a unifying force to push forward a false narrative.

They exploited his humility.

They exploited his kindness.

They exploited his humanity

They danced and made merry in Ojota. They ate, drank and danced away the destiny of a nation.

Saints Tinubu, Amaechi, Fashola etc led the chorus against corrupt Goodluck Jonathan.

Tinubu a private jet owner and owner of Lagos, Amaechi a private jet owner and funder of Buhari campaign, Atiku a University owner paid with his civil service allowance etc wanted corrupt Goodluck Jonathan out.

But the people did not see the moral paradox because you see - hate is a unifying factor.

They mobilised thugs to stone a sitting President.

They harassed his family wherever they went.

Because they are from the hated minority who must not be king.

For Kings must come from the Fulani lineage. Jonathan is Ijaw. Ijaws should not be Kings.

Jonathan must not loot also.

For looters must come from enablers of evil.

These are intellectuals.

Amongst whom are Pastors and Prophets

Wisdom failed

Prophesies failed

If WAEC issued fake WAEC attestation to Buhari

It is possible many Nigerian "intellectuals" are working with fake certificates.

The tragedy of a people

The tragedy of a country

Nigeria is calling

Nigeria is dying

Whether you are pagan - it doesn't matter.

Whether you are Christian - it doesn't matter

Whether you are a Moslem - that is not important

Whether you are a traditionalist - you all are needed

As long as you are human and still care for humanity - You are needed

For a country without soul is dangerous to human habitation.

And a nation without conscience is a curse to its people.

We all are standing on the podium of history.

Humanity beckons.

Surely our children will read the roles we played in the salvation or annihilation of humanity
Copied.

Thanks for this post. I arrived Benin city on Tuesday to meet total black out. Till this moment no power in Oko Central. What could be responsible.

I am presently in Benin. Since i arrived on Tuesday, it's been total black out. What exactly is the problem. I am staying in Oko Central

Because the Benins were the major traders in slavery. They were forbidden to sell any Benin sons or daughters into slavery. Instead they were raiding other tribes and selling them to the Europeans.

This piece in The Nation Newspapers as written by Sam Omatseye, Chairman Editorial Board and a close ally of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu encapsulates, the very end of the unholy matrimony between the Tinubu camp and the Buhari hegemony....

If we remember, Sam Omatseye was the chief, arrowhead and pointsman of the media heist that brought the same Buhari to power... For this piece to be written in this very firm, unmistakably derogatory and belittling way, the honeymoon is not only over, but a certain and evident antagonism has commenced.
This piece was written in January this year. Between then and now, Nigerians please, tell me what has changed in PMB to change Tinubu's mind to support him for a second term.

The president has always seen silence as a mark of dignity in a time of crisis. When he opens his mouth eventually, he spews out venom that neither gives him nor the office he occupies any form of dignity.
Tall, gaunt, lean of face with a straight stare and loping strides, his smile comes across more like a lickspittle than a royal. Yet, behind that simpering exterior is a granite heart. However, little cunning or high thinking dresses up his hearty resolves. So, in the final analysis, what we have is not the Buhari of nobility but a pretension to the high moral act. Sometimes that façade confronts us in the form of silence.
Occasionally he does speak. When he breaks his silence, he ruptures not only peace but logic. As I have noted in the past, Buhari’s soul is a battle between the martial impulses of his breeding and the entitlement of his ambience as a Fulani hierarch. And then there is a third. He has managed, since his ouster from power as head of state, to cultivate the talakawa . So, he sees himself as a sort of royal with a common touch. He is simultaneously on top and at the bottom, a prince and pauper, a head and herdsman, at once erupting from the floor and swooping down from heaven.
How does such a man operate in a democracy? Well, unless democracy tames him, he will see it as his right to tame democracy. That is the war going on with the man we elected president. His silence on the N9 trillion scandal only portrays his contempt for institutions and persons who want to tame him like colt to the discipline and humility of popular persuasion. If democracy is about the triumph of popular persuasion over collective will, Buhari is bending to the side of the will. As French philosopher Jean Jacque Rousseau has argued, collective will often cloaks despotic arrogance. Robespierre and Danton, even Napoleon, were culprits.
As a soldier Buhari works with diktat. As a royal, he sees the world from the hill top. As a talakawa patron, he gives them love in his own light. In return, they give him worship. Democracy therefore will work for him the way he operates with the talakawa. He expects us to bow down to him. He is the king of our democracy. He abides the contradiction. Men like Churchill or General Dwight Eisenhower had high-born sensibilities, but hey were cowed by the institutions of democracy. Buhari acts otherwise. The thing is that Buhari is not high-born, he has acquired the streak by age and his rise in the military and social graces of the land. When you expect to give, it means you define the love in your own image. The targets of your love only do one thing: worship you.
What we have is the making of the Aristotelian tragic flaw. Like Sophocles’ Oedipus and Shakespeare’s Macbeth , Buhari’s flaw is hubris. That explains why his speeches and comments in times of crisis tend to be condescending.
We witnessed it early in his tenure when he would not set up a cabinet. Or when his wife rattled him, or when he reacted to the scandal around his army chief, or when recently he fouled the air when he returned from his medical leave and came down in primitive anger against the Southeast. There are some storms he has never found worthy of his tongue. Chief among them is the poisonous lop-sidedness of his appointments. He is still mum on Babachir Lawal and Ayo Oke, and even the rumbles among his principal officers in the presidency. Some jump out of the shadows. Like his request to a World Bank chief that the institution should focus work on the north.
This perhaps explains why he has been frozen from the neck up in spite of the uproar over his NNPC appointments. So, following from that, why would we expect him to say something about the new tempest on Nigeria’s oil. All he did was retreat to is familiar terrain on the N9 trillion ambush of our national treasure.
Now, he may see his silence has golden, as a way of standing above the rolling waters, of asserting his rectitude. But that could be so if he has come out with a line of wisdom through his lieutenants. His lieutenants have actually been quiet, too. It was all left in the hands of the culprit-in-chief to hand over the boil to his appointee, Maikanti Baru.
If his explanations had found traction in reason, we could have pardoned the president. We could say, well, it was all a case of mistaking a mouse for an elephant. But the big elephant in the room has remained one man: Muhammadu Buhari.
He acts as though it is mere matter. It will pass over, his image as a man of purity will shield him, so he does not have to be above board.
After all, some of his followers have been treating him as a god. They swear by him, they risk cholera by drinking water on dirt roads, they worship head on the ground as though on prayer ground. So how can he submit to mere mortals to explain.
He does not need to explain when Baru says he sought permission from him (Buhari) to make such a consequential decision. He does not need to react when he bypasses the man he appointed to the position as board chairman of the NNPC. He does not see it fit that he set up a board that the NNPC Act invests with powers and a mere mortal he puts there as GMD subverts their authority and boasts about it in Buhari’s name. Does he not know that as president, the only person to whom he can hand over authority is a minister or vice president?
The constitution says so. Or does he read the constitution? If he cannot delegate to himself since he is oil minister, he automatically hands over to his minister of state. By bypassing that, he has violated due process. And he does not want to talk about it? By the way, is it damning to note that these contracts were purportedly signed when he was on medical leave? He himself had said his men brought him files to sign in London. If he did not sign Baru’s, did he give him a nod. If he did, he violated the oath of office, and is that not enough for him to resign, or for impeachment proceedings to begin?
Does he not know that matters like this should involve the BPP? Did he not hear the voice of Oby Ezekwesili on that? Did he not hear his GMD draw false equivalences by saying that Kachikwu did the same thing, therefore there was nothing wrong? Is that the way to fight corruption?
If a man like Baru can play fast and loose with our endowment as a people, where do we place those who are faithful like Dakuku Peterside in NIMASA and Professor Ishaq Oloyede at JAMB. The president was quick to order the probe of the predecessors and rightly so. But he is easy on the humongous erring of his “man” Baru. They say it is not cash contract, and so not contract “as such.” Abi dem think say we be mumu?
As far as this column is concerned, unless Buhari reviews and annuls the contracts, his war on corruption is melodious lie, an exercise in hypocritical grandstanding. He is therefore hiding in silence. The silence is roaring, and our ears are full with its every decibel.

http://thenationonlineng.net/silence-means-contempt/

How true is this news? Hope it's not another rumour. Like Shonekan own ooh!!

https://twitter.com/AMADICHIMA/status/1055750852353425408?ref_src=twcamp%5Ecopy%7Ctwsrc%5Eandroid%7Ctwgr%5Ecopy%7Ctwcon%5E7090%7Ctwterm%5E3

KILLSHOT

Hi Festus, I woke up the other day to a Tweet by you referring to my party as “Lootocrats” and challenged Nigerians to question the source of wealth of those who want to serve them. Very well Festus. Ordinarily, I would not have engaged you for three reasons:

1. I don’t respond to aides
2. I believe the candidate of the party has capable persons who can deal with you
3. The unwritten convention is that those from our tradition do not battle each other.

However,I have taken the task to have this talk with you given that you are not an aide in the truest sense of the word but promoting a candidate .Also,since the PDP candidate has warned his aides to refrain from going low with the likes of you, you may likely get away with this
arrogance , but you see, I am not an aide of Atiku and not even an official of the party so,we can dance.
Thirdly, I will have to throw the code for activists overboard Cos by maligning my party, you also insulted those of us from the same tradition that happen to call the PDP home.

Now, that I am done with introduction, can we now get right to it, shall we? Festus, for years now we have been letting you feed fat with a reputation as an “anti military era activist and human rights defender”. But Festus, let’s let the cat out of the bag.
In reality, you were a military apologist or your actions portrayed you as one.

Festus, when Gani Fawahinmi, Femi Falana, Baba Omojola, Segun Mayegun and others were arrested by the junta in 1992 and a decision was to be taken by the mass of students at a Congress in Ekpoma for a protest to be undertaken to ask for their release,did you not vehemently argue against it?Did you not mobilize to frustrate that move via counter revolutionary arguments until your plot was frustrated by the dialectical superiority of radical progressive elements on ground?
Chief Gani Fawehinmi overlooked this early trait of your treachery and still gave you a place in his Chambers following your call to Bar. How did you reward him?.

While you go about telling spurious stories about your fall out with Gani,isn’t it indeed true that at the heart of the kerfuffle was Gani’s disenchantment with the way you were handling the legal tussles and struggles with the military? Isn’t it true that Gani suspected that due diligence was not being applied in matters that involved the military which you were handling? This trait followed you in life and I will come to that.

While others in the Chambers who Gani asked to leave went quietly, were you not thrown out ? Did you not mount an unbelievable campaign of calumny and hate against Gani? What kind of names did you not call the great man? You would call press conferences everyday to heap insults on Gani , calling him unprintable names. The same way you wake up to insult everyone right now! Wasn’t Gani moved to the point of cursing you?

Somehow, Festus, you have built your career around destroying Great people!
Where is your buddy, Fryo, these days? How a man who self-confessed to killing the Great Uncle Bola Ige became your client is still a stuff of legends. Festus, how is it that you relish handling cases many reactionary lawyers won’t touch with a long pole?

It was not enough that You took Fryo as a client but were you actually prepping him to blackmail people you wanted to use to rise to fame? It is still the same Gani you maligned early in your career that came to your rescue after forgiving you of your transgressions. Perhaps, your love for the dark art Of the legal profession has something to do with your sudden wealth?

You asked us to interrogate the source of wealth of people, so let me start with yours.Nice houses you have in Maryland in Lagos and Zone 5 in Abuja.

Is it mere coincidence that you started rolling in cash after you became an EFCC prosecutor? Yes, the same EFCC you insulted many of your colleagues for representing, calling them thieves and vowing NEVER to have anything to do with them. Shortly thereafter you swallowed your vomit and became their lawyer. Was that when you “blew?”

Or was It after your deal with Chief Kenny Martins? Remember him? I am sure you do, 200m and a Prado Jeep is not what one forgets easily. Kenny Martins swore to an affidavit that he gave you those and you still came back for more as an EFCC prosecutor. A case you lost.

Festus, You not only served EFCC but you worked under the administration of one of the most notorious person’s to Head that agency. Indeed, is it not true that staff within the Commission were suspicious of your moves given that you lost virtually all the cases involving huge sums assigned to you?

Festus, can you tell the world your role in the Ladoja/Oyo state Airtel Shares sales? Do we tell the world about a certain $200,000 under the table payment? We have names too if you want us to go that far.I am asking, can your source of wealth be directly traced To this period? Just asking. You shamelessly call the PDP an assemblage of “Lootocrats” but had no qualms to work for a PDP government appointee, someone the PDP government fired for allegations of corruption.

Festus, you have come full circle. While we are at this, can we tell The world why you can no longer visit your ancestral home freely? The APC you defend right now was the same you called “frauds” in 2013 during a press conference in Benin following your loss of the party gubernatorial ticket. What changed? New paymaster maybe?

Finally, Festus, when you live in a glass house, beware of stones. I know you will come for me, and I happily await you, my records are there but, before you act be advised thus: what I just brought out now is a compromise following calls by friends that know you. If you Choose to escalate,I will go further down low.We may have to tell the world certain other stories you will certainly not like. For example, that your closely guarded secret of your real crew. You know what I mean? Or how you became SAN.And some other things we shall keep secret.

Secondly, I am also loaded enough to get the best of lawyers , so don’t even try your ’we meet in court nonsense’. It will be a pleasure to show the court that you lack any modicum of reputation to protect .

My advice: defend your candidate and promote your candidate, no shame In that but, you cannot insult people and hope to intimidate everyone into silence with your rabble rousing noise. I am not Sowunmi, I fight dirty and clean. You decide the one you want. This is my Killshot!

The Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar , has criticised the Federal Government for lack of coordination and the nation ’ s security agencies for not working for a common purpose .
As the 2019 elections drew nearer , the Sultan also warned that politicians might want to orchestrate the type of violent crisis that rocked Kaduna last week in which over 50 persons were killed by hooligans .
This , he said, would be done to scuttle the elections or to give the masterminds an advantage over their opponents .
READ ALSO : British govt informs Nigeria of plans to issue travel document to Kanu –Source
Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday at the ‘ National Dialogue for Democratic Stability ’ organised by the Alumni Association of the National Institute , Abubakar said things were not right with the country , citing the increased level of crime and criminality across the federation .
The Sultan said , “ I cannot say things are right with Nigeria ; things are not right with Nigeria. We all know that and that’ s why we have these security issues , kidnappings , killings , everywhere , everywhere you find a community .
“ One of the saddest things that have happened in the last five days is the killing in Kaduna . If you know how these killings started , you would feel so bad . It is not a religious crisis; it was caused by people who don ’ t have jobs , they are hungry , they want to lead a good life .
“ You would find that all that took place was the looting of shops, that ’s all , nothing more . There was no burning of churches and mosques . People were going about killing people , breaking cars .
“ As we inch closer to elections, we are going to get worse scenarios because politicians would definitely use it to do whatever they want, to scuttle elections or to make sure they are at an advantaged position ”
No coordination in government
Citing the Interfaith Initiative for Peace conference held in Abuja last week which was attended by President Muhammadu Buhari and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, the Sultan complained that its outcomes had not been implemented.
He also came hard on the current administration , stating that there was no coordination in the government , noting that the security agencies also were not working for a common purpose .
He lamented that there was little cooperation among the heads of the security outfits.
https://punchng.com/things-are-not-right-with-nigeria-says-sultan/

The Spiritual Director, Adoration Ministry Enugu Nigeria, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka has said that while President Muhammadu Buhari is “change,” former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is “bureau de change.”


Mbaka described Atiku as bureau de change, according to him, because of the foreign currencies that allegedly exchanged hands at the National Convention of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, before the ex-VP emerged the party’s presidential candidate.

Mbaka however predicted that Atiku will defeat Buhari in 2019 but warned him not to emulate Buhari if he is elected the president.


The fiery cleric said this while addressing his congregation at the Adoration Ground.

“So let the will of God be done in Nigeria. It is like what I have been saying Buhari change or you will be changed”

Mbaka said that Buhari had all the human and material resources at his disposal to make the country better but rather chose to play ethnic, despotic politics.


“What will it take you; change the Chief of Staff, change B, change C, change this and change that; even if it will take 20 Igbo men or 20 Yoruba men to change Nigeria; take all of them. Look at what (Chukwuma) Soludo did in the Central Bank; he has assured Nigeria and the whole world that there is nothing like bank collapse again.

“An Igbo man did this, why can’t Buhari take Soludo for the economic revival and revamping of Nigeria’s economy? And you are busy talking about corruption, playing game with the lives of Nigerians from the issue of Fulani herdsmen to Boko Haram to Jos killings. You said somebody stole, what did he steal?

“Someday, they said the government has spent trillions of naira on social investment scheme and I want to know who are the people they were spending the money on; the Vice President said they are giving N10,000 to small scale businesses and I asked, is this how they will transform Nigeria? You give somebody N10,000 for business, what type of business will N10,000 start?

“Somebody will have billions and want to take the one belonging to the public while hunger will be killing his people. Look at the type of money they shared during the primaries to the extent that they brought Bureau de Change. They said Buhari is change, but Atiku is bureau de change. They were sharing the money in dollars and it was going out in millions of dollars in Nigeria where hunger is killing people; where you don’t have food to eat.

“If they spend such monies to get ticket, how do you think that when they get into power they will rule, of course, they will first recover the money they have spent but the worst is that the money was not being shared to the poor,” he lamented.

Speaking further, the prophet described the cost of APC Expression of Interest and Nomination forms as outrageous.

According to him, if the leadership of the party had conscience, they would not have collected N24 million from people to obtain the forms.

“There are some people that sold their land to pay for this form because of the promise they were made. I don’t think these politicians were thinking of heaven that is why they are ready to kill anybody that stands on their way,” he said.

Mbaka said that Atiku may not be able to solve the problems of Nigeria if he emerged victorious.

“If anybody is thinking that if Atiku becomes the President of Nigeria things will get better, ‘who born you’ because for this country to be good it is easier for a carmel to pass through the eye of a needle than this country to be good,” he said, urging that Nigerians must do their part to make Nigeria the nation of their dream.

The fiery preacher predicted defeat for the APC but said that there was still opportunity for change.

“There are no people that will develop this country that are not in Nigeria. We have people who will develop this nation; but our President left the same type of people who don’t have the same type of vision around him and everything they do is in your head.

“After you are removed, they will bring people that will flog you because you messed up the opportunities because you didn’t listen to the word of God. You didn’t listen to the man of God you have and you were disobeying him.

“The price of disobedience is disgrace,” he declared.
http://dailypost.ng/2018/10/20/2019-presidency-father-mbaka-attacks-buhari-atiku-predicts-winner-election

I just received a call from my brother Nnamdi Kanu. I am delighted that he is alive and well. I commend his strength and courage even as I marvel at the loyalty, resilience and commitment of his lawyer Ifeanyi Ejiofor and IPOB. We have agreed to work together to VOTE Buhari out.

Caught the last few minutes of the altercation between the spokesmen of Atiku Abubakar and Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign organizations, Segun Sowumi and Festus Keyamo on ChannelsTV this morning.

In dismissing the debt cancellation feat of the OBJ govt on Ngozi Okonjo -Iweala’s watch as Finance Minister, Keyamo said there was “no wizardry” about it as it was a mere decision of G8 countries to grant debt forgiveness to some African countries in 2005 and Nigeria simply benefitted. He said it was by no effort of the OBj govt etc etc. He went on to challenge Nigerians watching to google the info and find out. He kept emphasizing that there was nothing to it.

I followed the news at that time 2005) and could remember how things went but I googled all the same. Information is power.

And so I found that the G8 debt cancellation for the 18 countries was a VERY different matter from the Nigeria debt write-off negotiation by OBJ’s govt with the London and Paris Clubs of creditor nations. Two entirely different cases.

An article from 2005 from Stanford Graduate School of Business said, “Under the G8 proposal 18 nations (Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guyana, Honduras, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia) as a group will be spared $1 billion to $2 billion per year in debt service for loans from lenders like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.”

I didn’t see Nigeria there.

And then I searched further. The internet is man’s greatest resource. If you know how to search and separate fact from nonsense, no-one can ever deceive you. So I saw this from Proshare:

“In a statement conveying the cheering news to the Federal Government, the Paris Club said that in arriving at the debt forgiveness option for Nigeria, it took special cognisance of the economic reform programmes of President Olusegun Obasanjo\'s administration.

“Only recently, the Group of Eight (G- richest nations wrote off $40 billion debt of the world\'s poorest countries, 14 of which are in Africa.”

“Nigeria was completely excluded from the G-8 largesse, but officials of the Federal Government and some foreign financial agencies like the World Bank had assured that the nation was being considered for debt pardon under a special package.”

The last two paragraphs here show Keyamo to be either such a blatant liar (in his attempt to deceive) or one so ignorant as not to be trusted with even the most basic of information. Which is a pity.

Again and again I tell Nigerians: Verify, Verify, Verify! Don’t swallow anything they give you. Verify! And if you find they’ve lied to you on any matter, re-evaluate your support. You should give yourself some self-worth, I think.

Have a great week.
#copied

Interested. where in Abuja? is the price negotiable? what is the condition of the laptop?