₦airaland Forum

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders are still quarelling over the choice of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as Acting National Chairman.

Some former ministers and members of the Board of Trustees (BoT) have raised a committee to meet with ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, who is to be told —reject Sheriff or face a mass exodus. The deadline is March.

Sheriff barged into a BoT session yesterday but members only promised to get back to him on his plea for acceptance.
The BoT resolved not to endorse Sheriff. It may advertise the job, a source hinted.

But the anti-Sheriff forces in the party and some members of the National Working Committee(NWC) are pushing for the tenure of the acting chairman to end in March.

Sheriff succeeded Adamu Mu’azu whose tenure ought to end in March.
The team will tell Dr. Jonathan of the “grave implications”of picking Sheriff to lead the PDP.
The former ministers and BoT members pledged not to attend any meeting with Sheriff or his representatives.

A source said: “We have asked a team to meet Jonathan and draw his attention to the grave implications of having Sheriff as PDP national chairman.

“We believe the ex-President was ill-informed.We want Jonathan to withdraw his backing so that Sheriff can step aside in March.

“ We have weighed all options and the only midstream approach now is to prevail on Sheriff to complete Muazu’s tenure and quit in March.
“So Jonathan has to choose between the larger interest of the party and Sheriff.”

An ex-Minister said: “Well, at our session, some of us made it known that we cannot even wait till the end of March to determine our stay in PDP. Once Sheriff is in charge, we will abandon PDP for another party.

“The truth is dawning even on some of the governors and NWC members that Sheriff’s selection was unpopular among Nigerians. We now have deficit in the opposition politics we are playing because we have to seek equity with clean hands. This is why he should step down in March.”

A party source said Sheriff is thinking of completing his tenure in 2018 – when PDP would have been in good stead to confront the All Progressives. Congress (APC) at the polls in 2019.

The source said: “Pro-Sheriff governors and leaders want him to stay till 2018 in line with the “secret agreement” which led to his selection as the new PDP chairman.

“They said they will not allow any subtle plot to force Sheriff to step down in March. This is the situation we are now. No doubt, there is tension in the party. We are sharply divided.”

Despite the opposition against Sheriff, two former Ministers( Bala Mohammed and Ibrahim Shekarau) have visited to congratulate him.

“At our meeting, some members expressed reservations on these ex-ministers’ visit to Sheriff,” another source said.

President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, said his government cannot afford to fail the huge expectations of Nigerians, who expect it to lead the country to greater heights.
In a keynote address at the public presentation of a book, ‘Nigerian Century’ written by Dare Babarinsa at Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, President Buhari said with the proper harnessing of abundant human and natural resources in the country, it would attain its greatness.
The President, who was represented by former governor of Ekiti State and deputy chairman of All Progressives Congress in the South, Segun Oni, noted that only a Nigeria could have given meaning to the indomitable spirit, boundless energy, collective creativity, cultural diversity and unique sense of enterprise of Nigerians.
He said: “Yes, our land is blessed by providence with riches in oil and gas, iron ore, gold, limestone and almost all the minerals of this earth.
“Our soil can grow almost any crop and our vegetation supports animal life as varied as creation can manifest. Our rivers and coast lines are rich with fishes and various kinds of life. Yet, despite these bounties from nature, I have no doubt that the greatest blessings of Nigeria are the people of Nigeria, the wonderful people that give expression to the grandeur and majesty of our beloved country.”
President Buhari recalled that though Nigeria was born in adversity, nurtured to adolescence in the turbulence of the colonial period and its majesty was forged in the furnace of hard experience of the post-colonial era, the country had been able to overcome its challenges to emerge as the biggest economy in Africa.
He said: “Today, our country has the fastest growing economy in Africa and one of the fastest in the world. Our dominance is not so much because of our wealth, but because of the tremendous energy and resourcefulness of our people.
“How many countries of the world can parade the likes of Professor Wole Soyinka, Jay Jay Okocha, King Sunny Ade and Alhaji Aliko Dangote literally under the same roof?”
Pays tribute to pre-independence leaders
While paying tribute to the nation’s pre-independence leaders, the President equally hailed former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan for nurturing the country’s democracy for the past 16 years.
He said: “We are in debt to the founding fathers of our Republic, Herbert Macaulay, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and many other heroes of the anti-colonial struggle.
“They hoisted for us the banner of freedom that we are still enjoying till today. As President, the experience of each of my predecessors as Chief of State has provided a guiding map for us in moments of hard decisions and when we have to embrace the loneliness of power.
‘’The 12 men: Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa-Balewa, General J.T.U. Aguiyi-Ironsi, General Yakubu Gowon, General Murtala Muhammed, General Olusegun Obasanjo, Alhaji Shehu Aliyu Shagari, General Ibrahim Babangida, Chief Ernest Shonekan, General Sani Abacha, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, Mallam Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, each had the unique experience of modulating and moderating the sometimes turbulent temper of our great country.”
In his remarks, former President Obasanjo, who was represented by Prince Julius Adelusi Adeluyi, enjoined all Nigerians to contribute to the greatness of the country.
According to Obasanjo, “as long as Nigeria has life, we should give it hope; we should all resolve to heal Nigeria.”
lalasticlala,obinoscopy

Liberia’s central bank confirmed Thursdayit has appointed the son of
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as interim governor despite his previous
suspension from the institution for failing to properly declare his
assets.
Charles Sirleaf was deputy governor of the bank until his promotion to
interim governor on Wednesday, but in 2012 was temporarily suspended on
his mother’s orders for breaching declaration rules.
The bank confirmed the appointment to AFP on Thursdaybut would not
comment further.
It was unclear how long he was expected to remain in the interim governor
post or when a permanent replacement would be named.
His appointment has raised fresh allegations of nepotism against Sirleaf
following the short-lived appointment of another son, Robert Sirleaf, to
the National Oil Company of Liberia.
Robert Sirleaf was forced to resign in 2013 after attracting heavy
criticism, and went on unsuccessfully contest a Senate seat in 2014.
The outgoing governor of the central Bank of Liberia, Mill Jones, resigned
his post two weeks ago to enable him to stand for the presidential
elections due to take place in 2017.
Jefferson Knight, head of human rights monitoring at the influential
United Methodist church in Liberia, told AFP he believed Charles Sirleaf
was appointed primarily due to his name.
“There are so many Liberians who are qualified for that post, why it is
only he who will be elected? This is nepotism,” he said.
“I am sure the president is testing the water and I hope she will do the
right thing by appointing another person. Though we don’t know for how
long her son will remain as interim head, this is not smelling good,”
Knight added.
“Liberians spoke against it until Robert resigned. That will also be the
case with Charles Sirleaf’s appointment.”
Ordinary Liberians were also quick to express their anger Thursday.
“This is the same nepotism Leymah Gbowee was referring to when she
resigned her post from the government,” said Patrick Tokpah, an educator.
Gbowee, a Nobel Laureate like Sirleaf, resigned as head of Liberia’s
reconciliation commission in 2012 accusing President Sirleaf of failing to
fight graft.
In a 2013 Transparency International survey, 96 percent of respondents
said they felt that Liberia’s lawmakers were corrupt or extremely corrupt,
and 77 percent reported paying a police bribe in the last year.
Lalasticlala

Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike and his Ekiti State counterpart, Ayo
Fayose were the masterminds of the emergence of a former governor of Borno
state, Ali Modu Sherrif as the new chairman of the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP), investigations have revealed.
Their action, now causing a whirlwind of protests in the party, was also
said to have the backing of some members of the PDP National Working
Committee (NWC) in a move seen by close watchers of the party as capable
of decimating it.
Already, feelers from the party last night indicated that the emergence of
Sherrif was threatening mass defection as some key members of the PDP
remained adamant not to accept him as chairman of the party.
The leaders of PDP who spoke on the condition of anonymity claimed that
Sherrif’s emergence would cause more trouble for the party than solve as
they unanimously rejected him.
Several knocks have trailed the announcement of Sherrif as the new
chairman of the PDP, largely seen as an “outsider” in the party on account
of relative short span of his membership, having decamped to the party
towards the last general election.
Ali Modu Sherrif was until then a leading member of the All Nigeria
Peoples Party (ANPP), who also played key roles in the merger of legacy
parties that formed the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Much of the criticisms and rejection of his choice were traced to his
political antecedents which were said to have raised questions about his
suitability to lead the PDP at this period as an opposition party. Some
PDP leaders who spoke with our correspondent last night also considered
his political baggage not only in Borno State but in national politics as
“limiting factors.”
He lost Borno State to the APC in the last election.
Sources claimed that his political antecedents were the main issues why
key members of the party were against his choice and not surprisingly that
members of the BoT staged a walkout when his choice was made known last
Monday.
A source informed that the PDP BoT will not ratify the choice of Sherrif
given his antecedents and going by the negative reactions that have
trailed his emergence.
His choice has also polarized the entire North East where he hails from, a
major issue of contention because lack of consensus from the zone meant he
lacked the home support.
“Our leaders will do everything to save the party. They know that the
choice of Ali Modu Sherrif was the handiwork of a few governors and some
NWC members who do not mean well for the party. All they are interested in
is to advance their own selfish agenda”, the source said.
Lalasticlala

EKITI State governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, has raised the alarm over the imminent collapse of the county’s economy, saying the Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) government was yet to show any sign that it has any solution to the dwindling economy.

The governor, who called on Nigerians to prevail on President Buhari to stay at home and govern the country, said it was the height of insensitivity to the plight of Nigerians that the president, who just returned from trips to France and United Kingdom, would again be travelling to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar from February 20 to 27, spending seven days out of the country in what they called “three-nation tour.”
Speaking through his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, the governor lamented the lack of a clear cut economic direction from the Federal Government, saying “it is worrisome that President Buhari does not have any economic team and there is no policy direction yet, despite spending close to nine months in office.”

He said the implication of the development and resultant effects are human right abuses, escalation of prices of goods and services, daily retrenchment of workers, folding up of businesses, states finding it difficult to pay workers’ salary and the Federal Government not being able to prepare what he termed common budget.

The governor said with President Buhari, Nigeria is definitely “having a square peg in its round hole.
“Dollar has gone double since Dr Goodluck Jonathan left office, with United States Dollar exchanging for N350 as of today. Foreign reserve is declining on a daily basis, Boko Haram insurgents have come back, even stronger than they were when Buhari assumed office and Nigerians are now being made to pay more for electricity that is not available for them to use.

“Most importantly, prices of foodstuffs, newsprint, medicine, among others have gone over the roof. Should we still continue to attribute all these to Jonathan or the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)?

“Even former Central Bank Governor (CBN) Governor and Emir of Kano, Lamido Sanusi, is saying President Buhari’s anti-corruption stance is totally inconsistent with the forex regime he supported and that the Federal Government forex policy encourages corruption and rent-seeking.”
While urging the president to focus more on the dwindling economy and stay at home to attend to critical issues, Governor Fayose said “travelling from one country to another won’t solve any of our problems, because I have not seen where foreigners assist any nation to develop.”

Yakubu Dogara, Speaker, House of Representatives, has called on the critics of the All Progressives Congress-led administration to stop blaming the government for the current economic challenges facing Nigeria.
Dogara made the call in a statement signed by Mr Turaki Hassan, his Special Adviser, Media and Public Affairs and issued to newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja.
It said Dogara made the statement when he received unemployed Aeronautic Engineers and Pilots from Bauchi State who paid him a courtesy visit.
He said that instead of the blaming the APC-led government, the people who brought Nigeria to its current state should be blamed.
Dogara said that the Buhari-led government was working hard to sanitise the system, adding that it would take some time to achieve the objective.
“You know that we are facing challenges in the country at the moment.
“Even though people do not want to talk about on the ground that we campaigned that we are going to fix the country,’’he said.
“We have sowed in the wind and we are now reaping whirlwind and as long as the earth abides, there will be seed time and harvest time.
“We do not want to dwell in the past, we are facing the future,’’ he said.
The speaker urged unemployed youths in the country not to despair and assured them that government was doing everything possible to create job opportunities.
“Investment in education, skills and knowledge is never a wasted investment,’’ he said and expressed optimism in the ability of the government to reduce unemployment in the country.
“Don’t despair because no training is wasted; but it is our responsibility to open the private sector for job opportunities,’’ he said.
He urged Nigerians to join hands with the government to sanitise the system to enable it create job opportunities, especially for the youth.
“If youths are not employed, it will be a disservice to the society as well as discouragement to the graduates, ’’he said.
Speaking earlier, the leader of the team, Capt. Bala Jibrin, said that the pilots and Aeronautic Engineers, who were sponsored by Bauchi State Government to acquire knowledge in the United States, graduated in 2011.
Jibrin, who said that the pilots and Aeronautic Engineers had been unemployed since their arrival in the country, requested the speaker to facilitate their employment.
He said that Bauchi government spent N1 billion to train the 20 youths drawn from the 20 Local government areas of the state. (NAN)
lalasticlala

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested one Roberts
Obuoha, a director in the project management department of the Niger Delta
Development Commission, NDDC.
The spokesperson for the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, said in a statement
Tuesday that Mr. Obuoha, an engineer, was arrested for attempting to bribe
the EFCC Zonal Head (South-South), Ishaq Salihu.
Mr. Uwujaren added, “The suspect, who is under investigation with the
commission, was invited to write a statement in a case of contract
Splitting and over inflation.
“He was quizzed and offered administrative bail, but when he reported the
next day to perfect his bail, he went to the Zonal Head’s office and
offered him the sum of N150,000 (One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira) to
buy recharge card.
“The suspect claimed that he offered the said money to Mr. Salihu in order
to build a good relationship with him.
“The suspect will be charged to court as soon as investigation is concluded.”
lalasticlala

A former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mr. Austin Oniwon, confirmed on Tuesday that there was no formal contract between the NNPC and trading companies that lifted $24bn worth of crude oil from the country between 2011 and 2014.
Oniwon told the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on Crude Oil Swap that a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, merely granted the “extension” of an earlier contract.
He said the extension was not a formal contract before he (Oniwon) left office in 2012.
The committee is chaired by an All Progressives Congress lawmaker from Kwara State, Mr. Zakari Mohammed.
“There was an approval for the extension by the minister; I believe the records are with the NNPC,” he added.
The NNPC began taking 445,000 barrels of crude daily in 2010 for refining in a bid to meet the country’s local demand of petroleum products.
But when the country’s refineries failed to run, the NNPC resorted to exchanging the crude (swap) for refined products through an arrangement with appointed crude trading firms.
The original (first) contract was signed between the NNPC and two crude traders, Duke Oil and Tranfigura in 2010 to last for one year. It expired officially in 2011.
However, Alison-Madueke reportedly granted an extension of the contract without the NNPC formally signing another contract on the new (second) deal.
The committee had earlier heard from the firms that crude lifting indeed continued till 2014 before a contract was formalised.
One of the lawmakers, Mr. Michael Enyong, said, “These companies had lifted crude worth $24bn before the contract was signed in 2014 and backdated to look like it was signed in 2011 when the first one expired.”
The committee had put Oniwon under pressure after he consistently told members that there was no “breach” in the exchange arrangements throughout his tenure.
When he was reminded that there were evidence indicating that the contract expired in 2011, but it continued to run till 2014, Oniwon replied that Alison-Madueke “approved” the extension.
Oniwon also argued that as GMD of the NNPC, he did not require a presidential and Federal Executive Council approval to enter into the swap arrangements.
According to Oniwon, the 445,000 barrels of crude were the property of the NNPC, which it bought from the Federal Government at the prevailing rate for refining.
He added that the swap crude was different from the Federation Crude, the latter being entirely the property of the government.
Besides, he stated that only 150,000 barrels out of the 445,000 were traded under the swap deals.
He added, “I am not a lawyer, but I didn’t need anybody’s approval to take crude to the refinery for refining if the refineries were running.
“This crude had been paid for by the NNPC. If I needed to take the crude for exchange, I am not going to write the Federal Government. It is NNPC’s decision on what to do to guarantee regular supply of products in the country.
“That was the whole essence of the swap arrangement; to ensure that we had adequate products, which we achieved successfully.”
However, the committee insisted that the NNPC under Oniwon and the former minister breached procurement procedures by engaging in a transaction worth well above N100m without FEC’s approval
lalasticlala

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has said that mere sacking of the Director General of Budget, Yahaya Gusau and appointment of new one would not erase the national embarrassment generated by the errors of the 2016 budget, insisting that the budget must be withdrawn from the National Assembly and a new and error free one represented.
In a release issued by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose said
what the controversial 2016 budget required was a holistic approach, not just making one person scapegoat.
He maintained that padding of the budget with strange figures, now being denied by Ministers was a clear intention to steal in advance, adding that;
“Though it is good that the President listened to my call for the punishment of those responsible for the
national embarrassment, mere sacking of officers at the Budget Office will not remove the stain splashed on Nigeria by the shameful budget.”
The governor said; “Sacking one or two persons on this budget scam is just like using some people as cover-up for the national embarrassment caused by the President himself. Even the President himself signed a letter wrongly dated as October 22, 2016 and one is tempted to ask who the President will sack for these avoidable errors.
“Or was it the sacked DG of Budget Office the one who unilaterally put all those bogus figures like N3.8 billion for Aso Villa Clinic, N780 million for website in one single ministry, and others in the budget?
“In my own opinion, it is necessary that those handling the President should bring it to his consciousness that he is not God that cannot make mistakes and this budget scam must be seen as part of the mistakes that President Buhari is capable of making.
“By doing this, the President will be provided with another opportunity to re-present the Budget because I wonder how Nigeria can operate on a budget already disowned by notable ministers, including the government’s spokesperson.
“Or what remedy can anyone do to a budget in which 2015 budgetary allocations of an agency was reproduced verbatim? Even N180 million was discovered to have been allocated to NIMET twice.”orate bodies to get funding for some of our projects

The Police in Anambra state arrested a 22 year old man, Chigozie Ugwu, for stealing no fewer than 52 women’s underwear.
Ugwu was among the 15 suspected cult members and armed robbers paraded at the state’s command headquarters on Tuesday.
[image]
He was also said to be involved in burglary, stealing items valued at N500,000 from a shop along Emma Nnaemeka street in Awka, the state capital.
Parading the suspects, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ali Okechukwu, thanked the people of the state for giving the police useful information that resulted in the arrest of the suspects.
Also paraded was one Christopher Onwe, 24years, said to have been arrested at Nkpo in Idemili North Local Government Area of the state.
The PPRO said three of Onwe’s gang members were at large.
The police spokesperson said at the same Nkpo, one 21-year-old, Ugochukwu Nwagu and Ebuka Amaechi, who is 18 years old, were arrested while having their cult initiation meeting at a joint, while other members took to their heels.
He said the suspects confessed to being members of Viking Confraternity, noting that items recovered from them were two cut-to-size double barrel guns and five cartridges.
Others paraded include four females. Three of them were secondary school students (names withheld), also paraded for cult related offenses.

suwonpo:
[s]@acadollar, why did you proceed in making submission for admission since you fully knew that all the requirements needed by the school to grant him admissions are not meant due to the errors in his documents as you said above, the house has failed to ask you these question except[/s] justwise, I guess they are afraid...

acadollar:
Well done bro, as at yesterday night 8:51pm, feb 12th.
OP was here ranting whereas Benjamin sent me this!

acadollar:
More truth will come out by monday!

Maduh:
Guys you don't need any one's help to secure an admission into an undergradute, master's, or phd programs in korea. Look for universities, check their admission requirements, prepare your documents and apply in time. They need international students. Many universities offer from 30 to 100 % tuition waiver plus monthly stipends( depending on your korean proficiency at times)

zioncity555:
My fellow brothers of Narialand I greet you all. This guy (Acadollar), is a Crooked human. He told me he can help me get Addmission in south korea. I gave him $400 including the house contract fees, and is Charges. For doing it. After receiving the money, he told me that Deahan university, have problem with immigration, over in South Korea, that if they issued me admission, that at the Embassy in Nigeria will not grant me Visa, alright i told him to send me back my money, he said he can apply for another school for me, I agree, And also bring in one of my Guy too to apply through him also, my guy also gave him $400 too, later he started bring out issue of problem documents, both me and my Guy too, saying our document is not okay. Then we try and make all our documents okay. And the ones he required from us too, Both the one needed to be done in court too. After all the process, he told me that they refuse me Admission, both they have giving my guy Admission, we later found out that the Admission letter which he send to my Guy email was (FAKE document). Everything was Diffident from the Real school information (Kyonggi University). Different : phone num, email address, And Diffrent school Address, Also Diffrent bank account num. Everything was different which he send to my Guy email, that he should pay school fees, And which is wrong account num, Different from the Original school account num. Pls house bear my long typing, but I just have to expline so you all get it better, Before he will be saying different thing to you people painting him self good as the most Saint in Heaven on Narialand, Whereas is Heart is darker than the pit of Hell. Am letting the house to know this cause of others people that will want Or may be doing anything with him should be (careful), not to fall prey. Cause he is not what he paint him self to be. HE IS A SCAMMER. A (wolf) under a sheep clothing. That is who he his.

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, on Friday evening suspended the state’s Commissioner for Finance, Dr. Fred Kpakol, and the Accountant General, Sir Abere Dagogo.
Wike, in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Electronic Media, Simeon Nwakaudu, said the two officials’ suspension was with immediate effect, without giving any reason for the action
lalasticlala

Optimisticgondy:
hmmm...no judgement for now until Acadollar comes with his own side of the story

moneybag100:
Which one be your own na...are you accadola? You are neither the complaint nor the accused....so I don't understand you trying to calm the room or defending anyone.

jugreency3:
Oga moneybag take an easy na. If u have been following this thread, you will notice that something happened that made accadola stop replying us here before the issue was sorted out. This thread is dear to me and i dont want such thing agaib to repeat it self. And to answer your question, the both of them are my pales and we are close outside nairaland.com. So i hail u bros.

tahir01:
Special adviser on what?

AsanwaKC:
special adviser to bed matters...