₦airaland Forum

noblezone:
Bros, calm down.

America never bothered to take Osama to talk. Osama was located by the US and was shot.

Oguche was handed over to Nigeria by Interpol, you cant just shoot him even if you want to

What you should be asking is this, who is th judge that freed him, why was he freed?

Something is wrong with the Nigerian system sir and Jonathan is the cause.
Jonathan is not the one make arrest, he cant be the prosecutor and he cant be the judge.

It is time we ask the judiciary some questions!

Agitators for the actualisation of the state of Biafra have revealed their admission as mem­bers of the Economic, So­cial and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) General Assembly of the African Union (AU). This is even as they stated that notable Igbo leaders were still in court with the Federal Government of Nigeria over rights to self-deter­mination.
Going by this devel­opment, according to a document made available on-line and countersigned by the solicitor of the In­digenous People of Biafra, Emeka Adolf Chigozie, the actualisation of Biafra is now taken up by elders and professionals in Igbo land, home and abroad, in­cluding Ohanaeze Ndigbo chieftains, using a legal framework outside the Movement for the Actuali­sation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) method.
The document read in part: “The scepticism and doubts expressed by some people, like Mr. Kalu Onu­ma, who asked the ques­tion, ‘Are you guys for real or you’ve been smoking something?” Our solicitor has decided to countersign this announcement and in­clude his professional de­tails. It is unfortunate that the pro-Biafran groups, which started the Biafran independence movement many years ago, did not follow due process of law and thereby, brought dis­grace and ridicule upon a genuine self-determination struggle of indigenous peo­ple of Biafra that should be anchored on law. At the moment, the Biafran inde­pendence movement has taken a new shape. It is no longer in the hands of charlatans and fraudsters or blind leaders of the blind. It is now in the hands of intel­lectuals, professionals and diplomats.

“We are presently in Court with Nigeria in Suit No. FHC/OW/ CS/192/2013 at the Fed­eral High Court, Owerri. We sued Nigeria in a rep­resentative capacity by Bilie Human Rights Initia­tive because Biafra is not yet a sovereign entity that can sue or be sued. We are discussing with powerful governments in the inter­national community.

“The Biafran struggle is now led by the elders of Biafra­land. The Chairman is, the Honourable Justice Eze Ozobu, OFR, the founding father and founding Presi­dent of Ohanaeze Ndigbo. The Deputy Chairman is Dr. Dozie Ikedife, Ikenga Nnewi, JP, OON; the Sec­retary is Col. Joe Achuzia. Other members of the Gov­erning Council are drawn from all parts of Biafraland, including South East, parts of South-South and parts of the Middle Belt being the land of Biafra, as shown in the Ancient Map of Biafra 1660 and 1707, which we have filed in court.”.

[b]HOW TO AVERT CRISIS :

•. Step up efforts to contain conflict in North-east and ensure elections are held in all states.

• Direct publicly the heads of the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies to act lawfully and impartially.

• Avoid inflammatory rhetoric, publicly denounce violence, pledge to respect rules.

• Respect party constitutions and particularly allow democratic candidate selections.

• Organise national, regional, ethnic and inter-faith public forums to jointly and publicly commit to non-violence.

• Ensure speedy passage of the amended Electoral Act.

• Approve urgently supplementary funds for INEC to meet its logistical requirements.

• Intensify efforts to build relations with all parties, particularly opposition parties.

• Improve security arrangements for the elections by training more personnel for election duties.

• Direct publicly all officers to ensure neutrality in relations with all parties and apply exemplary sanctions against any officer who fails to comply.

• Engage more actively with youth leaders.

• Ensure factual and balanced reporting of all election-related developments.

• Sustain ongoing capacity building programs for major institutions involved in the elections, particularly INEC and the police.

• Deploy observer missions for longer periods before and after the votes to monitor the process more comprehensively.

• Create a common donor forum for collectively messaging and pressuring President Jonathan, political parties and their candidates, security agencies and all other stakeholders to act lawfully and prevent or mitigate violence. [/b]

Meanwhile, the APC raised the alarm about the “invasion” of its ofices, in a statement issued in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, saying it is “perhaps the worst political scandal in Nigeria's history.”
But when contacted by THISDAY, the SSS spokesperson, Lagos State Command, Mr. Adetunji, said the service was not aware of the allegation invasion while the Western Navy Command noted that it had already commenced investigation into the matter.
Giving details of the raid, the APC said in the early hours of Saturday morning, a combined team of men of the DSS and OP-MESA stormed the Bola Ajibola Data centre belonging to the APC in the Ikeja area of Lagos and arrested 25 APC data agents and 3 security guards.
''In what was a gestapo-like operation, the APC membership data centre located at Number 10, Bola Ajibola street, off Allen Avenue in Ikeja, came under siege between the hours of 5:30 am and 7:30 am on Saturday. An operation of terror and brigandage was unleashed on a legitimate operation of a leading national party. They came without a search warrant for the premises. Over 50 security operatives drafted from Abuja operations blocked the two major street entrances to the APC data entry centre, pulled down the gates and spent over two hours ransacking and vandalising the centre."
It therefore called for an independent inquiry to fish out those who ordered the needless and unprovoked attack on the offices of the party and ensure that they face very serious consequences, irrespective of their status.
The party said though it had been tipped off about an impending attack on the 'secret warehouse' of the APC leader, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, ''we dismissed such plan because there was no 'secret warehouse' anywhere and also because we never imagined that the government will attack the offices of an opposition party in a constitutional democracy. Obviously, we under-estimated the desperation of the Jonathan Administration and its worsening proclivity to impunity.''
Responding to THISDAY enquiries, the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Ilesanmi Alade, said the service had already began investigation into the alleged invasion.
Also, in a statement made available to THISDAY by the Command Information Officer, Lieutenant Commander Abdulsalam Sani, the FOC said the video footage was being studied.
He said: "I want to assure you that the NN has zero tolerance to indiscipline and unruly behaviour to the general public. If confirmed that NN personnel are involved in this undesirable behaviour, they will be sanctioned and appropriate punishment will be awarded."
On the hostility against Tambuwal and his supporters, Chairman of the APC Governors’ Forum, who is also the Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, who spoke on behalf of the forum described the shutting of the National Assembly against Tambuwal and other members as a disgrace to the country’s growing democracy, and the worst known incident in the history of the country’s National Assembly.
Okorocha stated that with all that happened at the National Assembly last Thursday, the second arm of the country’s government had been made object of caricature, adding that the police should have been conscious of the institution in question and the personalities concerned in handling whatever was their reason for being there.
Meanwhile, APC has warned against any plan to arrest Tambuwal, following his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and refusal to relinquish his exalted position of Speaker of the House on the platform of PDP.
AFP quoted APC to have said in a statement: "The federal government will be pouring petrol on a naked fire by arresting the speaker."

The report also noted that deficiencies in electoral preparations were compounding the risks of violence as proposed amendments to the 2010 Electoral Act, including provisions for establishment of an election offences tribunal, intended to prevent or punish electoral offences, remained stuck in the National Assembly, while there was no certainty they would be passed in time to have meaningful impact on the polls.
“Repeated assurances by the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, that the polls will be an improvement on the past, are not entirely supported by realities on ground. There are growing fears that INEC may not be able to produce an updated and credible voter register before the polls. The commission’s decision to create 30,000 new polling units, mostly in northern states, was widely rejected by southern leaders and groups who feared Jega, a northerner, was handing his home region an electoral advantage. INEC’s decision to put the new polling units on hold has not entirely dispelled southern misgivings. Amid such lack of confidence, an election conducted with an incomplete voter register will certainly be disputed.
“Actions by the police and other security services, all controlled by the federal government, could also aggravate tensions around the polls and undermine the credibility of their outcomes.
The conduct of some senior police officers, notably in Rivers state, has raised fears that the agency could be manipulated to serve the PDP’s interests. Similarly, some actions and pronouncements by the Department of State Security (DSS) – Nigeria’s main domestic intelligence agency – have raised concerns about institutional bias. If these agencies act or are perceived to act in a partisan manner, they could undermine free and fair polls and heighten the risks of violence, particularly after the vote,” it further warned.
Even though next year’s elections are just about three months away, the report suggested a number of measures that could be taken by government, institutions, political office holders, political gladiators and the civil society to avert this dangerous scenario.
It said: “With only three months before elections, the government cannot engage in long-term structural efforts to improve the quality of the vote, but it can and must be encouraged to urgently take several steps to limit the risk of widespread violence.
“These include increasing efforts to contain the Boko Haram insurgency, paying special attention to the police to improve the security environment, reinforcing the capacities of the INEC to restore confidence in the electoral process, and along with all politicians, avoid playing the religious card and reducing tensions within and between the parties.
“The government – President Goodluck Jonathan, the federal legislature, INEC and security agencies – must bear the greatest responsibility for implementing these measures, but other national and political figures, including civil society, as well as international partners must also rally to stop the slide.”

The International Crisis Group, an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organisation committed to preventing and resolving deadly conflict, has warned that prevailing indices suggest Nigeria is heading towards a very volatile and vicious electoral contest.

Giving the warning in an executive summary and recommendation titled: "Nigeria’s Dangerous 2015 Elections: Limiting the Violence", the Crisis Group whose board is co-chaired by Lord (Mark) Malloch-Brown, former UN Deputy Secretary-General and Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and Ghassan Salamé, Dean, Paris School of International Affairs, Sciences Po, projected that next year’s general elections would be more contentious than usual.

This warning is coming two days after the Speaker of the House of Representatives Aminu Tambuwal and his supporters in the House, were denied entry into the National Assembly by the police, and on a day a major political party, All Progressives Congress(APC), alleged that operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS) and OP-MESA invaded the party’s data centre in Lagos, destroying its computers and arrested 28 people including 25 APC data agents and three security guards.

The Crisis Group attributed its warning to the, “Tensions within and between the two major political parties, competing claims to the presidency between northern and Niger Delta politicians and along religious lines, the grim radical Islamist Boko Haram insurgency and increasing communal violence in several northern states, along with inadequate preparations by the electoral commission and apparent bias by security agencies.”

The group, in the report which was released at the weekend, further warned, “If this violent trend continues, and particularly if the vote is close, marred or followed by widespread violence, it would deepen Nigeria’s already grave security and governance crises.” It said that the government, its agencies and all other national figures must work urgently to ensure that the vote is not conducted in an explosive situation as this could further destabilise the country.

Despite attempt by security operatives acting under
the orders of the Presidency, the speaker of the
House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal presided
over the plenary of the House on Thursday.

Tambuwal had reconvened the sitting of the House
from the December 3rd date to consider the request
of President Goodluck Jonathan to extend the
emergency rule imposed on the three states of
Adamawa, Borno a Yobe.

But when Tambuwal arrived the National Assembly
Complex on Thursday, he was prevented by security
operatives from gaining access to the complex.
It took the efforts of lawmakers from all divides to get
the speaker into the premises of the complex.

As soon as the speaker gained access into the
complex, the lawmakers forced their way into the
chambers, which was under lock and key.
The members held a brief sitting and adjourned the
house till December 3.

Speaking during the House plenary, Majority leader
of the House, Honourable Leo Ogor (PDP) asked that
the House be adjourned till December 3. He said the
House won’t consider emergency rule today. Ask
President to use armed forces act to deploy soldiers
in troubled areas.

However, the Minority Leader, Honourable Femi
Gbajabiamiala insisted that the House decide today
whether there should be an extension to emergency
rule or not, but Speaker Aminu Tambuwal ruled that
the House be adjourned.

The House has agreed to adjourn to December 3. We
are under siege as such we cannot deliberate on SOE,
Tambuwal said.

The House stands adjourned untill December 3,
added Tambuwal as he hit the gavel to end
proceedings.

FKO81:
My friend Anambra is second in commerial and micro banking after Lagos, make google your friend.

OkijaAmaka:
Blind bat read the bolded.

Anambra is second in both commercial and MFB, Anambra is even first because Lagos is a no man's land, nobody should lay claim to Lagos

agbobrain

Ayekotoo:
Must you involve the westerns in your mumuism news? Now tell me how many of those banks owned by Anambra by extension the southeasterns?

Oment5:
We should dredge both azumini river and river niger now that we still one 9ja.
We seriously need a functional port at both abia state and anambra state.

21.My administration has successfully completed the dredging of the lower River Niger from Baro in Niger State to Warriin in Delta State. The cheering news is that over 6.7 million passengers and over 1.6 million tonnes of cargo have been moved through this channel in less than three years.

22.I am happy to also report that our ports now operate 24 hour service, which has led to the reduction of clearing time and improved efficiency.

The United States hit back Wednesday at allegations
by the Nigerian ambassador of failing to help fight
Boko Haram militants, saying there had been “a
great deal” of US aid to his country.

In the past six months since the Islamic militants
snatched some 200 schoolgirls in northern Nigeria,
Washington has shared intelligence with the Nigerian
army, begun training a new battalion and held high-
level talks on the threat of Boko Haram, a US official
said.

In a speech made public Tuesday, ambassador
Adebowale Adefuye appeared to have taken US
officials by surprise when he launched into a tirade
against the US administration.

Nigerian leaders were “not satisfied with the scope,
nature and content of the United States’ support for
us in our struggle against terrorists,” he said.
He accused Washington of not providing the “lethal”
weapons needed to deliver “a killer punch” to the
militants.

But State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki shot
back that the US had “provided and approved sales
of military equipment to its armed forces.”
“These decisions are made, of course, after careful
scrutiny to ensure they conform with United States
law.”

But she acknowledged the US had refused to transfer
some Cobra helicopters due to concerns about the
Nigerian army’s ability to use them.

There were also “ongoing concerns about the
Nigerian military’s protection of civilians when
conducting military operations,” Psaki said, adding
these had been discussed with the Nigerian
authorities.

Adefuye told members of the Council on Foreign
Relations on Monday that allegations of human rights
abuses by the military were “rumors, hearsays and
exaggerated accounts” put about by rivals of
President Goodluck Jonathan and rights groups.
But Psaki stressed the US would not raise such
concerns “if we didn’t feel and others didn’t feel that
they were warranted.”

Washington was ready to help Nigeria train and
improve the effectiveness of its military, Psaki added,
urging the government to investigate allegations of
abuses.

FROM GEOFFREY ANYANWU, AWKA
One year after university lectur­ers under the umbrella of Aca­demic Staff Union of Universi­ties (ASUU) returned to classes after a protracted strike, the Federal Government has been accused of reneg­ing on the agreement she reached with the lecturers before calling off of the strike.

Speaking during a press briefing yesterday for one-year remembrance of the killing of former ASUU leader, Professor Festus Iyayi by the convoy of Kogi State Governor, Captain Idris Wada (retd), ASUU noted that one year after the agreement with the Federal Government, no government-owned university had received a dime from the N200 billion government said it had set aside for the revitalization of university education in the current year.

Chairman, Nnamdi Azikiwe University branch of ASUU, Comrade Dennis Aribidor, who briefed journalists alongside members of his executive and some senior members of the chapter lamented that the issues that prompted the strike were yet to be addressed in the universities and government had as usual, kept mum.

He said, “It seems Iyayi’s death opened the pandora box that suggests that ASUU’s relationship with government might seem irreconcilably hostile. While he fought for a just cause, ASUU is presently skeptical that he died in vain especially since the conten­tion over honouring the ASUU-FG 2009 agreement, which cut his life short, is still far-fetched. This position is based on some hard truths,” he noted. “No government-owned university (federal or state) has received funding to improve the teaching and learning conditions from the N200 billion earmarked for revitalizing of university education in 2014. No university (federal or state) has received money to pay arrears of earned allowances owed staff from 2009 – 2013 as agreed with government, apart from the 30 per cent released during the strike.”

Aribodor spoke further, “the most funda­mental problem bedeviling the educational system in Nigeria is that it is located within a philosophical and political economic system which emphasizes personal self-enrichment and individual aggrandizement instead of emphasizing knowledge acquisition geared towards public good and national develop­ment.”

“Nigerian educational system is character­ized by chronic underfunding, bad leader­ship, infrastructural decay, poor conditions of learning and service, promotion of mediocrity, shortage of personnel and entrenchment of orthodoxy, parochialism and chauvinism,” he stressed.

The ASUU boss insisted that ASUU would continue to reject “the ongoing systematic privatisation of education and selling off of public educational institutions. Education is a public good and should not be left in the hands of private individuals who are driven solely by profit motives.”

Also speaking, the Coordinator of the Ow­erri Zone of ASUU, Professor Ike Odumegwu accused government of frustrating efforts by ASUU to ensure that the killers of Iyayi were brought to book, saying, “The Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, took note of how Iyayi was killed, but nothing has been done. Our lawyers took the matter to court and it has been one adjournment after another.”.

Rom Oil Mills Limited was recently inaugurated as the biggest automated edible oil refinery and margarine company in Sub-Saharan Africa in Ibadan. The firm, a subsidiary company of Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, is expected to refine crude palm kernel oil, crude palm oil and crude soyabean oil into refined oil and distilled fatty acids.

Governor Ajimobi expressed satisfaction with the rate at which investors had been trooping to the state, stating that “Oyo State boasts of the presence of a leading soya milk manufacturing company in Nigeria, the largest bread-making factory West Africa, the Number One day-old chicks agricultural company in Nigeria, the biggest support service provider for the telecoms industry in Nigeria, among others.

“If you add the largest Shoprite outlet in West Africa that has been recently sited in our state, you will understand how a secured and peaceful atmosphere, as well as an environmentallyconducive state, is essential for employment-generation and indeed, the economic development of the people. “Add all these to the rebirth of night life in the capital city, as manifested in the many hospitality industries that have sprung up in the nooks and crannies of Oyo State, you will realize why development experts say that peace and security are the foundation of any society,’’ he said..

Speaking at the occasion, the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina commended the agricultural agenda of the Ajimobi administration, stressing that the governor had done a lot to assist farmers in the state, especially in the provision of tractors and other farm implements. He also said that the federal government had distributed 351,000 high quality palm seedlings to farmers in the state. He thanked the governor for ensuring that the seedlings got to the end users.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) banned the sale of dollars to importers of telecom equipment, power generators and finished products at its foreign exchange auction, instead shifting demand to the interbank market, dealers said on Thursday.
The CBN also restricted lenders and discount houses from placing more than 7.5 billion naira ($44 mln) each as deposits with the regulator, swelling interbank naira liquidity.
The naira hit a new intraday low of 170.5 against the dollar on Thursday, falling 1.87 percent as the stock market continued to slide.
Reuters

As the battle between the Nigerian military and the outlawed Islamic sect, Boko Haram, intensified in Adamawa State, some Army officers have accused their counterparts in the Air Force for bombarding checkpoints manned by Army.

One of the soldiers, who spoke on condition of anonymity to our correspondent on Monday in Yola, said “ We are 17 in number, manning checkpoints on the Mubi side, when an Air Force plane drop bombs on us. We all fled the area. Up until now, I cannot say where my colleagues are, because we ran in different directions.

“I managed to come to Yola through Cameroon, after trekking for some kilometres. I was assisted by some good Samaritan.”
Residents of Hong said an Air Force helicopter also dropped bombs on some residential houses in Shuwa village near the hometown of Nigerian Ambassador to Tunisia, Ambassador James Barka.

Meanwhile, as part of measures to contain the level of insecurity, the Adamawa State Government has banned the use of motorcycles in seven local government areas with immediate effect.

The affected local governments are Numan, Demsa, Girei, Song, Gombi, Hong and Fufore.

A statement by the Director, Press and Public Affairs, Government House, Yola, Mr. P.P. Elisha, said, “Security agents have been directed to ensure enforcement of the policy.”

The ousted regime of Murtala Nyako had banned the use motorcycles in Yola North, Yola South, Mubi and Michika and Madagali Local Government areas.

Security situation had deteriorated in the northern parts of Adamawa State with Mubi, the second largest town in the state, falling under the control of Boko Haram last Wednesday.

fitzmayowa:
Dumb post flying everywhere...I just wonder how some people reason/thinking...

Being a coward is not matter of tribe, this are soldiers who swore an oath to pay the supreme...And they were not forced to join the armed forces...

I wonder why some people will just decide to tribalise issue of soldiers fleeing...SMH

Kunle, scion of the founder and Chairman of Toyota Nigeria Limited, Chief Michael Ade-Ojo, has been elevated to the position of its Managing Director. Until his elevation, he was an Executive Director in the company. He replaces Chandrasheker K. Thampy, who was appointed MD in 2007. A statement from the company states, “As a global management associate, (Kunle) had worked extensively in different operational departments while at Toyota Motor Sales, USA and returned to Nigeria as the Business and Strategic Development Manager of Toyota (Nigeria) Limited. He rose through the ranks and was the executive director until his promotion on May 1st, 2014 to the post of managing director of the company.”
The new MD is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Reading, United Kingdom and holds an MSc. in Automotive Product Engineering from Cranfield University, United Kingdom. Kunle is the younger brother of popular fashion designer, Deola Sagoe. But for a last minute cancellation, Kunle, by now, would have been Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State’s son in-law. Kunle is one of the sons of the auto magnate who also owns the prestigious private university, Elizade University in Ilara Mokin, Ondo State.

Trut:
You forgot to list Govs of Rivers, Sokoto, Kano, Kwara and Adamawa states.