₦airaland Forum

The Senate on Wednesday adopted a motion demanding the immediate sack of the Chairman of the Pension Reforms Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, for gross misconduct.
After more than one hour deliberation on a motion sponsored by its majority leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, the Senate also asked the Federal Government not to accord Mr. Maina any right and privileges public officials in his position are entitled to after service.
The senate also asked the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, to appear before it to explain why the police failed to act on the warrant of arrest issued on Mr. Maina for repeatedly refusing to honour a Senate invitation over the controversial N195 billion pension scam.
Should the police boss fail to honour the lawmaker’s invitation, the Senate threatened to pass a vote of no confidence on him.
Before the resolution, several members who spoke accused the Federal Government and President Goodluck Jonathan of collaborating with Mr. Maina to perpetrate the crime against Nigerians.
“Maina has scored an own-goal against Nigeria and Nigerians. Maina is working for the Executive and the President is the Chief executive. It means the executive is collaborating with him. The President must move to equalize the own-goal and go ahead to score the winning goal to restore the credibility of the government,” Olubunmi Adetumbi (Ekiti) said in his contribution.
Smart Adeyemi (Kogi) also condemned the executive for failing to honour previous senate resolutions.
“We have no reason to be here. If we will pass resolutions and the executive will not implement them, then what are we doing here,” he said.
It is not clear if President Jonathan will honour the resolution on Mr. Maina. An earlier one by both chambers of the National Assembly on Arunma Oteh, head of the Security and Exchange Commission, was not honoured.
Ms. Oteh is still in office while lawmakers have refused to appropriate money to her commission.

By SaharaReporters, New York
President Goodluck Jonathan has applauded the “exemplary wisdom and courage” of Pope Benedict XVI in voluntarily relinquishing the Papacy on account of his advanced age and growing inability to keep up with the physical and mental demands of the office.
The Pope yesterday announced he will be retiring at the end of this month.
In a statement by the presidency today, Mr. Jonathan wished Pope Benedict a very peaceful and restful retirement.
“The President trusts that even in retirement, Pope Benedict XVI will continue to contribute to the spiritual well-being of the world inevery possible way and that he will continue to offer prayers to God Almighty for global justice, equity, peace and progress,” the statement said.
He also prayed for wisdom and divine insight for the College of Cardinals to elect a worthy successor who will build on Pope Benedict’s commendable achievements as head of the Catholic Church.

kettykings: The Title should have read Muslim Brotherhood meets tomorrow to Determine how they will share Niger Delta Oil Wealth

brownlord: As far as this news is not about adeboye, oyedepo orisejafor, CAN or relating to jet or GEJ, I would not expect all the boko haram children on Nairaland to comment and condemn the evil act their religion is making their animal in human form broders to do up north, journalis talk, aboki wen no dey hear English go kill innocent people, Kai 72 virgins seeker make una easy

The police in Kano yesterday arrested three staff members of Wazobia FM 95.1 Kano and a former director general, Kano State censorship board, Rabo Abdulkareem over a radio programme which may have instigated the killing of eight female and one male polio vaccinators.
LEADERSHIP recalls that on Tuesday 6, Radio Wazobia, Kano on its popular Hausa magazine programme ‘ Sandar girma’ allegedly aired a particular scandal about the refusal of polio vaccinators to access the house of Rabo Abdulkareem. They also shared a conflicting stance about the polio vaccine which they believe was laced with chemicals that were likely to cause infertility and hence reduce population.
In the wake of the event, unknown gunmen stormed polio vaccine centres at Tarauni Local Government in the state killing nine female polio vaccinators and injuring many.
A member of staff of Wazobia FM, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told LEADERSHIP that Malam Gama Muhammad, Mubarak Muhammad and the host of the programme ‘Yakubu Musa Fagge’ were arrested by the team of policemen.
He confirmed to us that as at the time of filing this report, Gama Muhammad has been released.
Also, a source close to the police revealed that the federal government has interest in the arrest.
LEADERSHIP gathered that Rabo Abdulkareem may be indicted over his alleged view that “I will always be defiant to Polio vaccination because nobody will convince me that it wasn’t an act that goes against the will of Allah and it wasn’t a deliberate western conspiracy against our children.”
In continuation of the fight against polio, the government of Engr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso is executing the programme in stages.
The state government constituted a committee of medical, legal and jurisprudence experts to study and investigate the contents of polio vaccine.
When the committee finally submitted its report to the chairman of the state council of ulama who initially condemned the polio vaccine he made a quick u-turn and announced that “after careful investigation we have come to the conclusion that there is nothing harmful with polio vaccine.”

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
Senator Annie Okonkwo who represented the All Progressive Grand Alliane at last Wednesday’s conference where the new opposition party was revealed has pronounced APGA as dead.
Reacting to comments by some national executive members of APGA disassociating the party from the merger, Okonkwo said that they have the option to join the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, or any other party of their choice as the decision to join the mega party had become a concluded one.
He cited as his proof the fact that Governor Okorocha who he described as a leader of the party had endorsed the involvement of the party with three other parties last Monday.
“When the governor of the party has come up to say openly that he is part of the merger, who has the party? Do you know that the truth of the matter is that a lot of PDP people are going to be involved here?
“It is a mega party being formed, it is a merger, don’t be surprised that you will see some ACN people trying to say thatthey don’t want to be involved and they want to join another party or the PDP. This is the way the leadership of the party moves.
‘’If some people are saying that they will join the PDP what willyou do? Will you go and force them? With this merger, all the parties involved have ceased to be. Is APGA bigger than ACN, or is it bigger than CPC or ANPP,” he rhetorically asked.
He said that the APC will give the country purposeful leadership where people will be proud to say that they are Nigerians.
Senator Okonkwo also said that it was certain that the PDP willgive President Goodluck Jonathan the ticket to contest the 2015 presidential election and that it is only in the APC that the people from the South East will realize their ambition of producing a president of Igbo extraction.

The Senate panel investigating the fresh N195 billion pension scam has said that the chairman of the Pension Reforms Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, is ridiculing the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.
The vice chairman of the Senate Joint Committee on Public Service and Establishment and State and Local Government Administration, Senator Kabiru Ibrahim Gaya (ANPP, Kano South) told journalists in Abuja yesterday that Maina had by ignoring the panel and suing the Senate and the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, showed that he was proving to be too powerful.
According to Gaya, if Maina escapes man’s judgment over the alleged pension fraud, he cannot escape God’s.
He said: “We asked the police to arrest Maina for severally refusing to appear before us on. The Senate president issued a warrant of arrest and we learnt that the police declared him wanted, but the following day, Maina told journalists that he was around and that the police could arrest him if they wanted to do so. But up till now, we haven’t heard of his arrest.
“How can an ordinary assistant director be so powerful that when we asked the permanent secretary in the Office of the Head of Service to re-assign him to another position, he (the permanent secretary) said he could not do so unless he was cleared from the above? Where is the above? If an ordinary assistant director could have the gut to sue the Senate president, the entire Senate and even the Inspector-General of Police; that is ridiculing the government.”

By Ben Agande, Abuja.
President Goodluck Jonathan is sending a high-powered delegation to South Africa to boost the morale of the super eagles and cheer them to victory in their final games against Burkina Faso on sunday.
A statement issued by the special Adviser to the president on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati Friday said the delegation will be led by the President of the Senate, Senator David Mark while members include Governors Peter Obi of Anambra, Isa Yuguda of Bauchi and the Minister of State (Foreign Affairs) Prof. Viola Onwuliri, the Minister of Police Affairs, Navy Capt. Caleb Olubolade and the Minister of State (Works), Ambassador Bashir Yuguda.
Nigerian players pose prior to the 2013 African Cup of Nations semi-final football match Mali vs Nigeria on February 6, 2013 in Durban. AFP PHOTO
The statement said President Jonathan would have loved to be present in South Africa but his official commitments in London and Paris have made it impossible for him to lead the cheering for the Super Eagles.
The president charged the delegation to ensure that the members of the team are properly motivated and in the best possible spirits to win a resounding victory for the nation on Sunday.
“They are to also inform the team that President Jonathan willhost a dinner reception for them at the State House Banquet Hall at 7pm on Tuesday, February 12, 2013 to personally thank and honour them for their positively transformed performance in South Africa which has undoubtedly re-established Nigeria as a major power in international soccer.
“The President charged the team to go out against Burkina Faso on Sunday with the greatest determination to win a final victory that will bring immense joy and happiness to the millions of Nigerians at home and abroad who have had their pride restored by the triumphs against Ethiopia, Cote D’Ivoire and Mali, and are praying for ultimate success at South Africa’s National Stadium” the statement said.

olabukola: Nigeria is a member of OIC courtsey of IBB so GEJ being at the conference is no mistake. Isha Allah he will convert to islam and we will give him the support he needed for 2015.

A new twist was added on Thursday to the controversy surrounding the mystery corpses found floating on the Ezu River three weeks ago, when the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra claimed that the corpses belonged to itsmembers arrested and detained by security agencies in AnambraState.
In its first reaction to the discovery of the corpses, MASSOB said the corpses were bodies of its members, who were never released from detention or charged to court by the police.
The Director of Information, MASSOB, Mr. Uchenna Madu, said the movement had petitioned the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon; President Barack Obama; the United Nations Human Rights Commission; and Amnesty International, protesting the mass killing of its members by Nigerian security agencies.
He gave the names of MASSOB members the movement suspected to be among those killed and dumped in the Ezu River to include Basil Ogbu, Michael Ogwa, Sunday Omogo, Philip Nwankpa, Eze Ndubisi, Ebuka Eze, Obinna Ofor, Joseph Udoh and Uchechukwu Ejiofor.
He said they were arrested at MASSOB security office at Onitsha Anambra State on November 9, 2012, by a combined team of thearmy, police and State Security Service men and handed over to the State Anti-Robbery Squad headquarters, Awkuzu Anambra State, where they were detained until their disappearance.
He said, “Efforts by our counsel to secure their bail from the police proved futile. Our demands for their arraignment before a competent court of law were frustrated by SARS officers. They claimed that the court was not sitting because of Christmas.
“We got information from an insider at SARS headquarters, Awkuzu, that armless MASSOB members detained at SARS were secretly killed alongside other robbery suspects.”
The Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Emeka Chukwuemeka, however dismissed the claims of MASSOB, saying the police were still waiting for the report of the autopsy carried out on the corpses dumped in the river.
Meanwhile, an Onitsha Magistrate Court, presided over by Mrs. E.O. Ughanze,has ordered the police to issue a hearing notice to Directorate of Public Prosecution in a case involving the Region 4 Administrator of the movement of MASSOB, Chief Arinze Igbani,
Igbani and two others (Ugwu Chikezie and Chukwudi Udemobi) were on Thursday arraigned at the magistrate court on a two-count charge of conspiracy, aiding and abetting.

Henry120: @Fkaz, that na why I provide pictures to buttress my point. Abi you blind? You wan see all the 1200 troops before you believe.

The most important thing is, I have provided images to show that nigerian troops have since began patrols, picture still shows our fighter jet, and our C-130 Hercules plane. E dey left to you to believe wetin you wan believe.

Henry120: Don't be silly. Stop talking like a poorly bred child. There are currently 1200 troops in mali, including 300 air force special forces. 4 alpha jets have been deployed to naimey in niger republic, 2 MI-35p attack helicopters, 1 C-130 stretch transport plane and 1 G222 medium transport plane. Nigerian troops are in high morale and are currently based in banamba mali. NTA defence correspondent in mali mohammed abdulkadri showed all nigerians images of nigerian troops in mali

Director for Defence Information, Brigadier General
Mohammed Yerima, who refused to speak about the
training and readiness of troops, said the ministry
only becomes responsible for the soldiers after they
(soldiers) have been handed over for deployment.
“At present there are 162 soldiers in Mali. We will
deploy more as soon as they are handed over to us,” he said.

The_King'sQueen:
Sensible people are no more talking about the end of Nigeria as a country, they are talking of how to move the country forward. Brother, don't let the progress-train leave you behind.

Black Peni5: Yoruba is crying marginalization (Nobody in Power Apex), Ibo is crying marginalisation (Bad Roads and No president for Over 50 years), even they Hausa say they are marginalized (Presidency is our right).

Who is enjoying the dividends of democracy now...Militants?