₦airaland Forum

Mr. Ribadu says the Mr. Alamiyeseigha’s state pardon will kill the morale of anti corruption organizations.
The presidential pardon granted to ex-Governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, is demoralizing to those who sacrificed their lives to fight corruption, Nuhu Ribadu, the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, said.
Mr. Alamieyeseigha, a man convicted in 2005 for robbing his state blind and acquiring property well above his income as governor, was on Tuesday granted state pardon by the National Council of States headed by President Goodluck Jonathan.
This singular act of mercy by the president has infuriated many Nigerians making them doubt the president’s commitment to his famous slogan, transformation agenda.
One Nigerian who is embittered by the move is Mr. Ribadu. It was under his dispensation as the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in 2005 that Mr. Alamiyeseigha’s dirty deals and massive stolen asset were brought to the fore. He was also convicted that year after the EFCC’s findings got him in court.
Mr. Ribadu, who spoke to BBC Hausa service, Wednesday, also said the president’s action is a big setback to the fight against corruption.
“I am highly disappointed by the president’s decision,” he said.
Mr. Ribadu added that Mr. Jonathan’s decision to pardon those who were arrested and prosecuted by relevant anti graft agencies sends the wrong signal to those agencies and will kill their morale.
The Council of State on Tuesday granted state pardon to Mr. Alamieyeseigha; Shettima Bulama, another ex-convict prosecuted by the EFCC under Mr. Ribadu for misappropriating money belonging to the then Bank of the North; and others.

ABEOKUTA – Reactions have started trailing the decamping of2013 Batch A, female corps member, Ms Tolu Ekundayo, by the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, Ogun State for wearing skirt at the Shagamu orientation camp.
In a press conference organised by Ekundayo’s church, Faith Revival Apostolic Church, FRAC, in Lagos, the expelled corps member said she was asked to leave the camp at about 11.00pm on March 8, 2013 by the Ogun State NYSC Co-ordinator, for her refusal to put on trousers.
She explained that her refusal to wear trousers was not in disobedience to NYSC authorities but in line with her belief and faith in God.
Also speaking, Apostle Paul Adenuga condemned the mannerin which Ekundayo was expelled from the camp in the dead ofthe night without considering her safety and called on the Director-General of NYSC and the federal government to look into the matter before it gets out of hand.
“I call on Nigerians, mostly Christians that stand for the truth, not only to jointly condemn this barbaric and bestial act but toengage in constructive dialogue with the concerned authority for the change of such policy if it is official.”
Corps members
NYSC reacts
When contacted, the Ogun State NYSC Co-ordinator, Mrs T.I Anosike maintained that the Service did not expelled anybody. According to her, Ms Ekundayo opted to go instead of abiding by the rules and regulations of the scheme.
She said wearing anything outside approved NYSC kits during the orientation programme was not allowed in the camp. This she said was the reason why every corps member was made to signed undertaking on cultism and dress code.
“Nobody asked her to leave. She was asked to comply with the NYSC directives or leave. So she decided to leave. When she said that she won’t comply, we asked her to put it in writing which she did. So we didn’t expel her, she left on her own.”

By Prince Osuagwu
Blackberry and the Lagos State Innovation Advisory Council have teamed up, and last week signed a Letter of Intent outlining their intention to build a BlackBerry Apps Lab in Lagos.
According to Blackberry’s Managing Director West, East and Central Africa, Waldi Wepener “With over 250 Nigerian developed applications already available on the next-generation BlackBerry 10 platform, Nigeria’s software development community is clearly demonstrating impressive growth and innovation.
“Following a series of BlackBerry developer events and local partnerships in Nigeria, our commitment to build an apps lab in Lagos is a clear demonstration of our long term approach to support the development of a sustainable ecosystem in Nigeria.”
Meanwhile, Gov Babatunde Raji Fashola, of Lagos State said that “innovation is at the heart of our approach to developing Lagos into a Mega City. We are very pleased BlackBerry has chosen Lagos State as a partner.”

lillyveezy: where is ur Nigerian savvy ense?Original Nigerians never ever use any electronics witthout a good stabilizer,how much less a refridgerator.Guy park well go buy stabilizer.Meanwhile PHCN has greatly improved in my area of Lagos.

Omexonomy: under the help and support of the APC (pain killer) 5oothousand doller largesse.

Omexonomy: . We know their sponsors. APC GOVERNORS 5ooHUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLAR LAGEESE to revive BH in borno is not a small money.

.Garri (x7):
PDP is‎​ Boko Haram - Azazi

Boko Haram is‎​ in my Government - President Goodluck Jonathan

Boko Haram is‎​ fighting for justice - Bamangar Tukur

taharqa: MUMU-ish, shee GEJ became President in 2009 in yr demented Alter-reality, abi??

Isi-EWU, you dont seemd to get it: a corrupt Govt would not be exposing the corrupt acts done mostly by former Admins (or even a few during its time) all by itself and trying to fix it. A corrupt Admin would in fact do every thing possible to cover former corrupt activities and ensure tat there are no changes to the way things have been done so that the corruption wud continue ad infinitum.

Got it now, DUNCEHEAD.

taharqa: Dont be an ANIMAL, my frnd. The report is from 2005-2011.

And it is Jonathan's admin that is exposing these entrenchd corrupt practices that hv bn going on for like foreva (unlike odas that connive'ly' coverd it) and trying to clear d accumulatd MESS. So shut it, Okpee..

The report accused the NNDC management of non-cooperative attitude by refusing to provide records of some critical financial transactions.

The Minister of Interior, Mr Abba Moro, has promised to offer “automatic employment’’ to any applicant with information linking government officials to the alleged money-for-job scandal in his ministry.

Moro announced the reward in Abuja on Tuesday during the Senate public hearing on employment irregularities, abuse of federal character and money-for-job scam in Federal Government establishments.
The public hearing was organised by the Senate Joint Committee on Federal Character and Inter-Governmental Affairs, Labour and Employment.
He said till date, no one had come forward to name officials allegedly involved in the scam in spite of complaints over recruitments in establishments under the ministry.
He said the arrest and prosecution of government officials allegedly involved in the job scam would serve as a deterrent to others.
The minister also denied allegations that the ministry had created a job recruitment website that aided recruitment scam.
The Chairman of Federal Character Commission (FCC), Prof Oba Abdulraheem, had made the allegation on Monday on the first day of the public hearing.
But Moro said, “to the best of my knowledge, as minister of interior, we have not established any website asking for placement of either CV or applications.
“I have never officially asked anyone to place applications online.’’
He, however, said the ministry had requested approval from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) to engage a “private partner in e-recruitment in the Ministry of Interior’’.
He said the partnership, expected to cover various federal establishments under the ministry, would instill transparency in the recruitment exercises.
“We believe that with the process we would be able to avoid the stampede that occasioned the death of many persons when NIS advertised for recruitment recently,” he said.
Moro also said Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) recently arrested some persons involved in the money for job scam and that some had been jailed.
“The records are there for everybody to see. The Ministry of Interior under my watch has not been engaged in any unwholesome employment.
“We have made very strenuous efforts to ensure that we do not short-change Nigerian unemployed youths.
“I have said time without number that it is criminal for anyoneto take money to employ unemployed youths,’’ he said.
The minister also alluded to the recruitment crisis that rockedthe Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) last year.
He said the recruitment was stopped because of the interim report he received on the process leading to the exercise.
He said till date no recruitment had been carried out for the 4,500 vacancies for which the NIS received a waiver from FCC.
“We are waiting for the conduct of this exercise so that we renew our approval to re-conduct the process for engagement into the NIS,’’ he said.
In his remarks during the hearing, Abdulraheem said issues oflopsided recruitments, allegations on money-for-job was very “prevalent’’ in paramilitary organisations under the ministry.
He identified NSCDC, NIS, Federal Fire Service and Nigeria Prisons Service as the culprits.
He said recent replacements done in the paramilitary organisations had always been the source of scam.
“Those replacements were done outside the purview and supervision of the FCC and they also practice under-declaration of vacancies.
“The president approves 3,000 vacancies, they declare 1,500 and the rest they operate as replacements,’’ he said.
He said chief executives of MDAs were liable for any employment irregularities under their watch and not necessarily the ministers, who were “political heads’’.
Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of the Joint Committee, Sen. Awaisu Kuta (PDP-Niger), accused MDAs of submitting false recruitment documents to the committee.
He said in the course of the public hearing, intended to last for two months, the committee would invite some heads of federal establishments to defend their submissions.
He also expressed concern that no one had come forward to testify of having paid money for job placement in any federal establishment since the public hearing commenced.
He appealed to those who wished to testify in camera to contact his office or the committee. (NAN)

Abuja – President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja on Tuesday said that the administration would end corruption, ensure probity and accountability in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Jonathan made the promise when he received the report of the Presidential Monitoring Committee on the NDDC submitted at the State House by the Chairman, Chief Isaac Jemide.
The report indicated that the NDDC abandoned many projects and engaged in unjustifiable astronomical variation of contract sums.
The reports, which monitored projects awarded in Cross Rivers, Edo and Rivers between 2005 and 2011, accused the commission of engaging incompetent contractors, approval and execution of projects outside its statutory operational scope and cover up, among others.
Jonathan said: “the report is very comprehensive, we have to thank you and we will look into it and make sure things are correctly done for the future of the Niger Delta.
“The NDDC was set up because of the militancy in the Niger Delta. Youths in the area feel aggrieved on developmental issues.
“That means that the NDDC must be properly focused to address these issues and there must be efficient management of fund and resources.
“If it is not done that way, then of course, the purpose of setting up the NDDC will not be realised.
“Government will look into some of these issues raised and look at what led to the abandonment of projects and the failure in completing some of the projects.
[b]“We will look at the issues of variations and will find out whether those variations are done in line with the laws because there are procurement laws that guide any variation.
“We will also look at the issue of renovation of Port Harcourt Club because it is privately owned but renovated by the NDDC. We will find out why that was done,’’ he said.
The president tasked the committee to ensure that the report for 2012 was ready and submitted in two months.
On his part, Jemide said that the committee inspected and evaluated 609 projects spread across the three states.
According to him, 222 (36.5 per cent ) were completed, 102 (16.7 per cent) were ongoing and 285 (46.8 per cent) were abandoned at various levels of execution.
He said the monitoring of 1,510 projects for 2005-2011 in the remaining six NNDC states had been completed and the reports being compiled.
The committee accused the NDDC of complicity in the abandoned projects and not recovering the funds by using EFCC and ICPC.
It indicted NDDC for its failure to complete all civic centre projects and all shoreline protection projects over an operational period of 12 years.
The NNDC was indicted for failure to complete universities hostel projects over an operational period of 10 years.
It said that most water projects embarked upon by the commission were non-functional, and added that the Federal Government allocated billions of naira to the projects. [/b]
It observed the “unjustifiable introduction of astronomical variations on the contracts sums of most projects awarded by the NDDC over short periods of time.
“Some of these variations are effected prior to project commencement,’’ Jemide said.
The report accused the NNDC management of non-cooperative attitude by refusing to provide records of some critical financial transactions.
“In view of the negative weight of the above issues on the overall development of the Niger Delta region, the presidential monitoring committee shall appreciate Mr President’s intervention,’’ Jemide said.
He thanked the president for the opportunity given to members of the committee to serve the nation. (NAN).

The question on the lips of most people regarding the Presidential visit is whether the President will do better than the APC Governors as father to all or they will once more receive theNamadi treatment.

Barring any last minute change of plans by the Presidency, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is set to visit Borno and YobeStates on Thursday.
Borno and Yobe States have been devastated by the Jama’atu ahlus Sunnah lid Da’awati wal Jihad (Boko Haram) insurgency forthree years running.
Thousands of lives have been lost and properties, private and public, in the region of hundreds of millions have been destroyed. The social fabric holding society together has been broken, economic activities halted.
Borno State, the most hit of the two, has also been the most lucky because the Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, has made concerted efforts towards improving the situation in Borno State through his exposure, experience and education.
However, the people of the States have all these while lamented the perceived insensitivity of the President to their plights as he neither visited to sympathise with them nor send a strong delegation to give them hope and a sense of belonging.
This was why their joy knew no end when 10 Alliance for Progressive Change (APC) Governors visited last week in solidarity and sympathy walked over a kilometre through the Maiduguri Monday Market, a big revenue spinner before the insurgency, devoid of security where they shook hands and discussed with traders.
Even though the APC Governors collectively donated two hundred million naira to the two States, what really touched the people was the courage of the Governors and show of solidarity with the beleaguered people.
Alhaji Babagana Aisami, a resident of Maiduguri was so full of happiness and praise “for the singular courage of the Governors” that he said cannot be compared to an earlier visit by the Vice President, Arch. Namadi Sambo, “whose visit caused the entire town to be locked down resulting in loss for all, taxi drivers, traders, artisans, etc”.
The question on the lips of most people regarding the Presidential visit is whether the President will do better than the APC Governors as father to all or they will once more receive theNamadi treatment.
According to Hajiya Maira Budum, the visit of the Governors definitely put pressure on the President “who has all along given us the step child treatment” but, she added, “will the visit be worth it, done because someone has done it?”
But Malam Bomoi Adamu, a resident of Potiskum, a town in Yobe, where three North Korean Medical Doctors were slaughtered about a month ago, and countless houses burnt, was optimistic that the President’s visit may be a cause for many who have lost loved ones and properties to get compensation.
“Didn’t you see what happened at Madalla when the President visited after the Christmas bombing or when he went to Bayelsa after the flood disaster? We look forward to his visit”, he smilingly said. .

Dozens of bodies found floating in Ezu River, at the border between Anambra and Enugu states, were men seized and extra-judicially executed by a deadly police special anti-robbery squad, a civil society network has said in a report.
The International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law said its findings showed the bodies were those of illegally arrested members of the public, robbery and kidnapping suspects, and members of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB.
The victims were executed without investigation, prosecution, and sentencing, the non-governmental organization, which has carried out several reports and evaluation of police abuses, said.
The unidentified bodies were first found on January 19 as villagers of Amansea, the community near the river, went early morning to fetch water from the community’s only drinking source.
The horror has shocked the nation and the world, but surprisingly the federal government has yet to make a pronouncement on the case.
While the villagers said the bodies numbered more than 30, police insists they were less than 20.
MASSOB had earlier claimed the bodies were those of its members who went missing months after police took them into custody. Police has denied the claim.
The International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law said it spoke with several relatives of missing family members, and community sources which pointed at the SARS, a deadly unit of the police often accused of abuses.
“What are the whereabouts of the nine MASSOB activists transferred to SARS from the Onitsha Area Command since 8th day of December, 2012? Were they granted interim bail? If yes, who were their sureties and where are the records with which they were granted bail,” the group asked in a report signed by its chairman, Emeka Umeagbalasi.
“Were the detainees arraigned in either courts of inferior records or in courts of superior records? If yes, which divisions of the courts in Anambra State and at what dates?
“What was their fate after the courts’ charges or arraignments? Were they granted bails or remanded in prisons’ custodies? If yes who were their sureties or which prisons or police stations were they remanded and by which courts and dates? Are they still being detained by SARS without being charged to, or arraigned in courts? If yes, which of the SARS units are they being detained?”
 The group called on the federal government to make a categorical statement on the case, and order investigation while ensuring payment of compensation to the families involved.

According to him, “You traders should thank your creator that it is Lagos state government. If it were other states, the government may not create a platform for the traders and its officials to meet and discuss issues concerning the market.”

He urged the marketers to urgently evacuate the dirt, saying “the sooner the traders complied with the state government directives, the sooner the market would be re-opened”.

liberty300: Please op, where in his statement did he "beg"? Why are you this misleading?

, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, has been urged to re-open the market to guarantee the survival of the traders and revenue by the state

Rexsul: yea i knw bt @ least ds is where we cn get d fairest result. 1 man 1 vote

Says Ojukwu remains party’s National Leader
Some leaders of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) took to the podium yesterday in Awka in a last ditch move to save the party from going under.
Led by Bianca, the widow of the late Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, national leader of the party, the APGAleaders issued a clarion call to supporters to keep it afloat.
The occasion was what the party called ‘the mother of all rallies’ to mark the first year remembrance of the late Ojukwu.
Bianca, Nigeria’s ambassador to Spain, speaking in Igbo, said, “Today marks one year that my husband and our National Leader was laid to rest. I thank all of you that made today possible. This rally is a wonderful one.
“Nobody can remove our flag from INEC. Don’t allow this party to die and don’t allow this party to be put to shame.
“I have pleaded with Governor Peter Obi to conduct the local government election and he has agreed to do so. Those who don’t want to continue in APGA will be given a befitting send off but the era where one or two persons were taking decisions on our behalf in the party is over.”
She condemned the recent destruction of the Ojukwu Library in Owerri by unknown persons.
Governor Obi who is the National Deputy Leader of the party, reading what he called resolutions passed by those at the rally said the late Dim Ojukwu remains the National Leader of APGA.
The party, he maintained
He said: “We stand by our earlier resolution to continue to support His Excellency President Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan . We state that our great party remains committed to good governance in Nigeria at all levels of government.”
He said APGA is out to win more states in 2015 and mentioned in particular Ebonyi, Enugu and Abia.
Obi said the rally was an opportunity to celebrate Dim Ojukwu for what he was to the Igbo people and to invoke his spirit to continue to be with, and guide APGA as it embarks on the process of rebuilding and strengthening the party.
Other speakers at the rally included Dr. Tim Menakaya, Maxi Okwu and Odi Nwosu.
They all expressed happiness at the rejuvenation of APGA and asked supporters to embrace the new spirit and work hard for the growth of the party.
At the rally were : Anambra State Deputy governor, Emeka Sibeudu; Chinwe Nwebili, Speaker of the State House of Assembly and her deputy, Chukwudi Orizu; Dr. Tim Menakaya, BOT member; Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu, Prof. Dora Akunyili, Ambassador Odi Nwosu, Obinna Obiegue, Ochiagha Reagan Ufomba, Chuma Nzeribe; former members of APGA National Working Committee now functioning on interim basis, namely, Chief Chris Uche, Alhaji Garba Barne, Chinyere Okeke, Bernad Akoma, Sunday Obaslam, Chief Dickson Osu, Tondo Joseph, Ella Nwabueze, Ferguson Okpara, E.A Shonubi, Dr. Gbenga Afeni, Abubakar Adamu, Dr. Sagir Auwal Maidigu, Lawal Barma, Alfred Nwosu, Dr. Isa Jiga, Mrs Victoria Oyeng, Ambassador Frank Ogwuewu, Chief Reagan Ofomba, Okey Udeh, and Chief Okey Ezeibe,

gramci: What do you expect? He's the president.

I just hope buhari won't bring back some of his boys on training in mali to welcome GEj.