meforyou1:
Who are u hosting in which south west? Lagos is no man's land

nwafuluozoh:
The man is likely to lose his job and dignity. All because he allowed his hatred to blind his reasoning. I pity him.

OREMUSSANCTUS:
Say no to "change"
We nid transformation
I pray and hope we won't regret voting out transformation

Minister of agriculture and rural development, Dr
Akinwumi Adesina, has debunked allegations of
granting waivers on rice import duties to some
companies, saying only the president can grant
waivers.

He insisted that any company which imports above
the approved allocation must pay for such.

Akinwumi who spoke when he appeared before the
House of Representatives AD-HOC Committee on
Rice Imports Quota and Duty Payments yesterday,
said that “any miller importing above the allocated
quota must pay the outstanding because Nigeria is
not a banana republic”.

LEADERSHIP recalls that in May 2014, a new rice
policy was approved by President Goodluck Jonathan
to encourage investment in local rice production and
milling through the introduction of an import duty
differential on imported rice.

The conditions preceding import quota allocation
include having milling capacity with verified
Domestic Rice Production Plans (DRPP) which allows
investors to enjoy an import duty of 10 per cent and
levy of 20 per cent while traders (importers) will pay
an import duty of 10 per cent and levy of 60 per cent.
According to Adesina, the rice import policy was
created to boost local rice production, farmers
productivity, create jobs, increase income and
revenue generation and reduce import demand for
rice locally.

He added, “Since the commencement of the policy,
total integrated milling capacity had increased from
70,000 to 800,000 and brought 2.6billion USD
investment into new commercial rice farms and rice
milling capacities”.

The minister had in January raised the alarm that
Olam Central Trading and Export, a popular farm and
mills enterprise, and three other companies owed the
Nigerian government N36.56 billion for rice
importation above their quota allocation.

He said, “I cannot be corrupted and I cannot be
bought; I do not collect money from individuals or
companies; anybody who owes should pay”.

Also speaking with journalists after the hearing,
deputy House leader and chairman, House of
Representatives Committee on Rice Imports Quota
and Duty Payments, Leo Ogor, said, “As per the issue
of waiver in respect of whatever anybody is owing as
import duties, nobody can waive that; these funds
are funds that go into the federation account and the
resources belong to the three tiers of government”.

Reacting to the possibility of the companies refusing
to pay, he said, “There is no alternative to it; they
must pay. It is binding and the funds must be
recovered, and if they go beyond what they are
doing, these funds must be recovered with interest.”

http://leadership.ng/news/431264/i-did-not-grant-waiver-to-anybody-adesina

Justice Rita Ofile-Ajumogobia adjourned for judgment after parties in the suit adopted their final written addresses.
She also granted Fani-Kayode’s prayer to substitute one of his sureties, Wale Ajisebutu with one Ogbor Elliot, following Ajisebutu’s request to withdraw his suretiship for the accused.

The senator-elect for Lagos West Senatorial District and Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts, Solomon Adeola has called on the incoming federal government and relevant financial and auditing regulatory bodies to appropriately sanction auditing firm, PriceWater House Coopers (PWC) for misleading and deceiving Nigerians on the issue of the missing $20billion NNPC fund as alleged by the former CBN governor and present Emir of Kano, Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.

Speaking to journalists against the backdrop of revelations from the ‘Forensic’ Audit Report of the Missing NNPC $20billion and the disclosure by PWC that it did not really audit NNPC accounts contrary to impression created, Hon. Adeola said his committee addressed the media on the need to make the report public as there appears to be many shortcomings in the procedure for engaging PWC and its subsequent work has been vindicated on its alarm that an unprofessional work might have been done to deceive Nigerians on the weighty allegation of missing billions of dollars.

“From the disclosures by PWC on its work, there is no audit report on the missing money much less a ‘forensic’ audit report. From what was done by PWC, only a review and compilation of some figures was done resulting in different figures from $1.4billion to $4.3billion being bandied for refund by NNPC to the coffers of the Federation Accounts” he stated that, PWC not only misled and possibly defrauded Nigerians by purporting to have undertaken a forensic audit report and collecting fees for same but may have abetted a criminal cover up of fraud in its role in the investigation.

The senator-elect called on the incoming Federal Government to investigate the PWC for it role in the shady saga that has now unfolded and report them to such bodies as International Federation of Accounts (IFAC) and ICAN to face disciplinary actions, adding that, the accounting firm should be suspended and prevented from further participation in similar exercise undertaken by the Federal Government.

“For such a highly rated auditing firm to release such a report is dangerous and unethical. Indeed all other reports by PWC for the Federal Government should be investigated as they were also involved in the Fuel Subsidy Investigation and they should be made to refund money for work not done or not done appropriately,” Hon. Adeola stated.

Adeola commended the incoming administration for its promise to revisit the issue of missing NNPC fund as a step in the right direction, noting that, the deceptive cover up role of PWC in this investigation must not be overlooked as it strikes at the heart of our constitutional provisions and the development of Nigeria.

“We are talking about $20billion and not millions. This is almost the budget of Nigeria for about two years” Hon Adeola stated.

http://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2015/05/03/probe-pwc-for-deceiving-nigerians-hon-adeola-tells-buhari/

rexbuton:

YES of course.. it is very logical that we examine the two sides of the coin.. Boko Haram has to be thoroughly investigated, but I would wager a bet any day that it was a northern scheme.. The west chose not to vote Jonathan, I have no ill feeling towards them, that is why I am crying to my brothers down south on the need to vote our own.. Let the southerners shun logic and embrace instinct because that is what is happening all over the country.. The people in the middle belt have genuine reasons to be angry, because the PDP governments in their states failed them, either by defaulting on salaries or trying to politicise genuine agitations of the masses. But we also have some PDP states in the north that their governors did exceedingly well and Jonathan also treated well, did they vote Jonathan? They voted Buhari and voted unproven people who were flying the APC flag or put more succinctly, bearing the Sai Buhari Standard.. Let us not deceive ourselves any further by trying to rationalise the irrational

rexbuton:

JUSTICE Mohammed Yunusa of a Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered Coscharis Motors Limited to release information as regards the two controversial bulletproof cars purchased by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) for a former Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah, in 2013.

Justice Yunusa made the order of mandamus in a judgment delivered on Tuesday, in a suit filed by a non-governmental organisation, Enough-is-Enough.

Enough-is-Enough had, through its counsel, Mr Ayodeji Acquah, approached Yunusa, seeking an order compelling Coscharis Motors to make available to it, documents on the two cars, numbered WBAHP41050DW68032 and WBAHP41010DW68044, purchased for Oduah for about N256 million.

The organisation claimed to have commenced the action, following the refusal of the company to honour its request via a letter dated October 28, 2013.

Yunusa, in his judgment, however, assumed jurisdiction and holding that the provisions of the FOI Act was binding on Coscharis, while he subsequently ordered the automobile company to furnish Enough-is-Enough with information and documents pertaining to the cars.

http://tribuneonlineng.com/content/oduah-court-orders-coscharis-release-documents-bulletproof-cars

Excerpt from Ifeanyi Uba Interview

Many commentators are of the view that Ndigbo put all their eggs in one basket by solely supporting President Goodluck Jonathan. Now that Jonathan has lost, how do you see the life of Ndigbo in the opposition?

The Igbo voting for Jonathan was not unexpected. Ndigbo had quite a number of opportunities in his administration. Even though Jonathan did a lot for the Igbo, most of the things he did as president, went to the north. He did more in the north. For example, the Kashbila Dam is the biggest project handled by Jonathan’s administration, all the railways, Abuja, Kaduna and the rest of them. You know, all these dams and hydro-power projects are multi-billion dollar projects. They were all done in the north. Irrespective of that, the Igbo are still appreciative of the much Jonathan did for us. My position is that General Buhari should think of the Igbo and make them his friends, and if possible, do more than Jonathan did for us.
Coming to Lagos, Ndigbo have been in Lagos since the creation of Nigeria. Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, the great Zik, is the only Igboman that had represented Lagos in the legislature. Since then, no other Igbo man has been voted into the Lagos State House of Assembly. For 16 years that AD/ACN/APC have been in power, they never cared about giving an Igbo man a slot to vie for in the Lagos State House of Assembly, or to represent it in the House of Representatives, while we have Ndigbo everywhere in Lagos.
So, if truly you claim that you are a democrat, you need to practice it. If the APC has not given Igbo that opportunity in Lagos, then we think there is still animosity against the Igbo. There is a large population of Igbo in many parts of Lagos, like Surulere, Ikotun, Ojo, among others. So, it is expected that the political parties should factor them in their choice of candidates for elective offices. What we have therefore done is not something that we want the Lagos State government, or any person whatsoever, to be angry with. It is democracy in action.
They should take this as an opportunity to go back to the drawing board and see how we can be accommodated. That is all that we ask for; to be involved in the scheme of things.
I want the parties to recognise Ndigbo as part of the government. Nigerians are members of parliament in the UK. Why can’t people be elected in places where they have spent all their lives? We are not only talking about Igbo, we want this for all Nigerians, no matter where they come from. Igbo are spread all over the world like the Jews. The elections have come and gone. We should go back to being our normal selves by going back to the drawing board, to plan for the next line of action till the next election comes in. I am grateful to the residents of Lagos who by their votes showed that it is the candidate that matter and not where he comes from. The voters, by their votes, showed that the Igbo and other ethnic nationalities can call Lagos their home. I am grateful to Lagosians, who deemed it fit to vote for non-Yoruba, including some Igbo that were elected into the l House of Representatives for Lagos and also the House of Assembly in Lagos. This is a giant step forward for the nation.

What is your advice for Ndigbo now in the unfolding Nigerian politics? How can they return to the mainstream politics?

Well, I will try to balance things. My advice is not to Ndigbo alone, but to the Nigerian government as well. The government should embrace all Nigerians irrespective of their tribe or tongue. Our leaders must build a nation where people get what they deserve and are not deprived of what they rightly deserve on account of where they come from or do not come from. People must also live in peace wherever they find themselves. They must also respect the culture of their localities.

That is the incoming government?

Yes, they should balance Ndigbo first, by giving us additional states, making us to be like others, and stop marginalising us. That is one thing that is very important. If you do this to Ndigbo, there is no way, you will not be appreciated. Ndigbo are not asking for so much from government. We only ask for good governance, infrastructural development of Igboland, a merit-based society, conducive business atmosphere, level playing field, and security of lives and property. You know, they voted Jonathan, because, his government guaranteed them these. So, if they say we are going to give you an additional state, so that you have six states, like the other zones. For example northwest has seven states. We don’t want seven. Just give us six, like others. We will, like others, need to be reassured that we are part of this federation.
The second way to assure Ndigbo and cultivate their trust is to make them an integral part of the in-coming government. This is of utmost importance. In any case, I wonder how any government, which excludes Ndigbo or ‘punishes’ them because they did not vote for the President, will function. Such a government will unfortunately portray itself as petty and vindictive. I however do not think General Buhari will be persuaded to exclude or ‘punish’ Ndigbo. He does not strike me as such a person. He is a great Nigerian with exceptional leadership qualities. Ndigbo have a special gift, which any government will be glad to tap into. You cannot do without the Igbo or indeed any ethnic nationality in the scheme of things in Nigeria. So, it is my opinion that General Buhari and APC need to show love to Ndigbo. Once you show any Igbo man that you accommodate him, you can’t imagine what he will do in return. Four years is a long time to reach out and make new friends....

http://dailyindependentnig.com/2015/04/buhari-cant-rule-without-ndigbo-ifeanyi-uba/

kenbee:
He is only taking a wise step to protect his business interest afterall, Politics is a game of interest.

GboyegaD:
This is a childish act. The general and his advisers should please grow up.

Mallam Adamu Adamu

A renowned public analyst and columnist with Daily Trust, Mallam Adamu Adamu, to many, needs no introduction. He is a public commentator with a distinct style – fearless, educated and bold enough to express his views and opinions both locally and internationally. An indigene of Bauchi State, Adamu was one of the few who constantly criticised the government of former Governor Adamu Mu’azu, now the PDP national chairman.
Beyond his state, he has written on so many issues happening in other states of the country. He has also written so many times on international politics. He has been an ardent follower of Buhari for many years and was indeed, part of those who accompanied the General to Bauchi State during the 2007 elections to sell the candidacy of Governor Isa Yuguda as the then ANPP gubernatorial candidate.
By virtue of his relationship with Buhari, many see Adamu as anti-PDP. He was even said to have once boasted that if the 2007 elections were rigged, he would be on the street demanding for justice. Adamu was very critical of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. He is on board on account of his relationship with Buhari, and he is secretary of the committee.

Boss Mustapha

Mr. Boss Mustapha was one of the governorship candidates in Adamawa State. Although he did not clinch the ticket eventually, he remains one of the architects of the APC success in the state. In fact, he was said to be one of those who enjoined many of PDP members to pitch tent with the APC.
He is said to have been shortlisted on the committee on the grounds of his contribution to the success of the party, in addition to fulfilling the quota requirement. He is also said to a strong believer of the Buhari project, a major factor said to have enhanced his membership of the committee

Ogbonnaya Onu

Chief Ogbonnaya Onu was born on December 1, 1951 to a family of His Royal Highness, late Eze David Aba Onu, Eze Adul of Uburu in Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
He obtained grade one with distinction in his West African School Certificate examination at Izzi High School, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State. He also obtained distinctions in physics and chemistry at the Higher School Certificate examination at the College of Immaculate Conception (CIC), Enugu. Onu went ahead to study Chemical Engineering at the University of Lagos, graduating in 1976 with a first class honours degree in Chemical Engineering. For emerging tops with first class honours, Onu enrolled for his Doctorate degree in Chemical Engineering without passing through a Master’s degree at the University of California, Berkeley, United States of America.
Onu continued in pursuit of his academic career, taking up teaching appointment at St. Augustine’s Seminary, Ezzamgbo, Ebonyi state and later at the Universty of Port Harcourt. He was appointed the first head of the department of Chemical Engineering. He later acted as Dean Faculty of Engineering and was later elected into the Governing Council of the University. Onu has held many administrative positions and served on the boards of several establishments. He was President Raw Materials Society of Nigeria and Visitor, Abia State University, Uturu.
The APC chieftain began his political life in 1991, when he was elected first governor of the old Abia state. He later became the first Chairman Conference of Nigerian elected Governors in 1999. The former governor also emerged as the presidential flag-bearer of the then All People’s Party (later known as All Nigeria Peoples Party). He and other progressive politicians initiated the process of merger of a coalition of opposition political parties in the country which has metamorphosed into the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi

Outgoing Rivers State Governor and Director-General of the Buhari Campaign Organisation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, played more than just the role of an average party man in the success of the Buhari election. Amaechi, among others, was believed to have put in huge financial commitment to the Buhari campaign, aside buying into the vision of change. It is not expected, therefore, that he would be part of the Buhari presidency from the scratch.
Although from the South-south region as President Goodluck Jonathan, Amaechi, against the many labels of a traitor, greed and over-ambition, was the first to wage a potent war against his own, citing incompetence, corruption and orchestrated security to cow and intimidate the opposition. His idea of change seemed impossible ab initio; he however trudged on until the dream was realised on March 28.

Senator Hadi Sirika

Senator Hadi Sirika, a former pilot and senator from Katsina North Senatorial District, is currently the vice-chairman of the Senate Committee on Millennium Development Goals (MGDs). A very close ally of Buhari, Sirika is one person who stayed the course, despite the menacing challenges.
Also a member of the Senate Committee on Aviation, Sirika always believed that President Goodluck Jonathan lacked the gravitas to run a complex nation like Nigeria but has a rather poor grasp of his brief and a number of topical issues. He has always hoped that whenever Buhari emerges president, things might begin to take a different turn. He is close and honourable enough to deserve membership of the transition committee.

Solomon Dalong

Fifty-one years old Solomon Dalong is the son of a retired Director of Health in the Taraba State Civil Service. Immediately after passing out from the Law School, he took up a job as Personal Assistant to the late Chief Solomon Lar. He was then appointed Adviser Emeritus to President Olusegun Obasanjo. This job lasted till 2003. In 2004, he took up an appointment with the Faculty of Law, University of Jos, as a lecturer. As a lecturer, he has had the opportunity of attending leadership trainings, courtesy of international human rights organisations.
In 2005, Dalong combined his job as a lecturer and study while pursuing a post-graduate degree in Law. His LLM programme successfully ended in 2007 and he was appointed Chairman of Langtang South Local Government Area the same year. His tenure as council chairman ended in May 2008. He then returned to the University of Jos. He made an attempt at representing Langtang North and South at the National Assembly but lost.
His condemnation of the political class is a family thing, as power abuse is said to irritate him. He is coming on board the committee on the strength of credibility and personal recognition.

Abubakar Malami

Abubakar Malami, SAN, was born April 17, 1967 in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State. He attended Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto. Between 1995 and 1996 he worked as Magistrate II, Kebbi State Judiciary. He was a member of the Local Government Election Tribunal for the 2003 Election and National Publicity Secretary, Muslim Lawyers Forum of Nigeria - 2002 - 2004. He served in various capacities including being a state counsel and magistrate in Kebbi State and teaching law at the Usman Dan Fodio University before going into private legal practice. He was also the National Legal Adviser to the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).

Audu Ogbeh

Audu Ogbeh, an Idoma, was born on July 28, 1947, in Otukpo, Benue State. He attended King’s College, Lagos (1967 - 1968), then studied at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (1969 - 1972)
He also attended the University of Toulouse, France (1973 - 1974) before returning home to commence a teaching career at the Institute of Education, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (1972 - 1976) and headed the Department of Humanities, Murtala College of Arts, Science and Technology (1977 - 1979).
Ogbeh began his political career in 1979 when he ran for office in the Benue State House of Assembly on the platform of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), becoming deputy speaker of the Assembly. In 1982, he was appointed Federal Minister of Communications, and later became Minister of Steel Development. His term of office ended in December 1983 when a military coup brought Major-General Muhammadu Buhari to power.
Ogbeh’s political influence blossomed when he was appointed National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in 2001 replacing Chief Barnabas Gemade. He held this position until January 2005, when he was forced to resign due to his criticism of President Olusegun Obasanjo’s handling of a crisis in Anambra State. He returned to his farming career afterwards. As at 2009, he was chairman and managing director, Efugo Farms, Makurdi, and a member of Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships Incorporated, based in Philadelphia, United States of America. Ogbeh later became a member of the Action Congress of Nigeria ( ACN) and played a prominent role in the merger that gave birth to the APC.

John Odigie Oyegun

Chief John Odigie Oyegun was born on August 12, 1939 in Warri, Delta. He attended St. Patrick’s College, Asaba and proceeded to the University of Ibadan where he obtained Bachelor’s degree in Economics. Oyegun served as a federal civil servant and in various capacities as a development planner. He served in the Federal Civil Service for 13 years and was appointed Permanent Secretary at the age of 36, thus making him the youngest at that time. In 1985, Oyegun retired voluntarily from the Civil Service.
The former Edo governor was to have his first taste of politics in 1992. After retiring from the Federal Civil Service, Oyegum. was elected the civilian governor of Edo on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) under the transition to democracy launched by the then Military ruler, General Ibrahim Babangida between January 1992 to November 1993. Oyegun joined forces with Pro-democracy activists who campaigned for a return to civil rule using the umbrella body of NADECO. He later became a prominent member of the now defunct All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) and chaired the technical committee set up by the party to advice it on sensitive national issues. But in 2012, Oyegun parted ways with the ANPP and joined the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and shortly afterwards, they went into merger talks with ANPP, Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). On June 13, 2014, the former governor was elected the first substantive national chairman of the APC.

Behold the men and women who will chart the course for the government of General Muhammadu Buhari, who assumes office on May 29. These men, made up of a blend of old and new generation, were chosen after weeks of consultation and character evaluation and were drawn from the country’s six geo-political zones to make up the transition committee

Ahmed Joda
The chairman of the 18-member transition committee, nominated by the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, and Ahmed Joda is an administrator, journalist and politician. He is a former permanent secretary in the Northern Nigerian public service, Federal Ministry of Information, Ministry of Education and the Federal Ministry of Industries.
He was among a class of super permanent secretaries in the 1970s that played a major role during the Nigerian Civil War. In the 1960s, he worked with Ahmadu Bello in the Northern regional government.
In 1999, he headed a committee on assessment of Federal Government parastatals and also a panel on poverty alleviation. He currently serves as the chairman of ABTI-American University of Nigeria, Yola and is the principal founder of Benue Valley Farms.
Joda was born in Girei in Adamawa State. He attended Yola Elementary and Middle schools before proceeding to Barewa College. In the 1950s, he attended Pitman College, London and gained practical experience in journalism while staying in Britain.
After completing his secondary education in 1948, he was admitted to Moor Plantation, Ibadan. He worked briefly at an agricultural centre in Yola before entering the field of journalism at Gaskiya Corporation, Zaria. He later worked for the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission serving as the editor of NBC Kaduna and then joined the Northern Nigeria civil service as Chief Information Officer and later permanent secretary in the regional Ministry of Information. In 1967, he became a federal permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information and subsequently moved to Lagos.
After, the civil war, he was seconded to the Ministry of Education when the ministry was involved in rehabilitation of facilities in the old East Central State, launching of the Universal Primary Education and the establishment of the Nigerian Universities Commission. In the mid 1970s, he became permanent secretary in the Ministry of Industry at a time the Nigerian government was trying to launch a national steel programme. He has also served as chairman and board member of various bodies including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Nigerian Communications Commission, Pastoral Resolve, SCOA, Nigeria, Chagouri and Chagouri Construction, Flour Mills, Nigeria, and the Nigerian LNG.

Doyin Salami
Dr. Doyin Salami, the vice-chairman of the committee, holds a PhD from Queen Mary College, University of London.
He is a member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria and had been a member of the Federal Government’s Economic Management Team.
He is currently a full-time member of the faculty at Lagos Business School (LBS), where he is senior lecturer. In addition, he is also an executive director of the UK-based African Business Research Ltd. At LBS, he leads sessions in economic environment of business and had also served as director of programmes for five years until January 2005. Dr. Salami’s research interests include: issues in corporate long-term financial management; macroeconomic policy; corporate competitiveness and risk management; and characteristics of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
In addition to teaching, Salami is a consultant. His consulting activities included assignments for the Department for International Development (DFID), World Bank, United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Presently, he is retained as a consultant by British American Tobacco (BAT), BGL Securities Ltd; Coca-Cola Nigeria and Equatorial Africa (CCNEAL), Kakawa Discount House and he has facilitated or participated in corporate retreats for Zain Nig Ltd., MTN, and African Petroleum Plc., among others.

Tam David West
Prof. Tam David West is a former minister of petroleum and energy under General Muhammadu Buhari military government between 1984–1985, and minister of mines, power, and steel under the regime of General Ibrahim Babangida (1986). He was eventually removed as minister and arrested by the Babangida regime for allegedly contributing to the economic adversity of the country. He was discharged and acquitted of these charges by Nigeria’s Special Appeal Court on August 8, 1991.
He had earlier served as commissioner of education and a member of the Executive Council of Rivers State (1975–1979), as a member of the 50-person Constitution Drafting Committee for the Federal Military Government of General Murtala Muhammed .
David-West was born in Buguma, Kalabari, in what is now Rivers State. He received his higher education at the University of Ibadan (1956-1958) and earned a BSc degree at Michigan State University (1958–1960), an MSc degree at Yale University (1960–1962), and a PhD degree at McGill University (1964–1966). David-West was consultant virologist and senior lecturer at the University of Ibadan in 1969 and was subsequently promoted to professor of virology in 1975.

Festus Odimegwu
Another member of the transition committee, Mr. Festus Odimegwu, is a former Managing Director of Nigeria Breweries Plc and immediate past chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC). He replaced Chief Samaila Makama at NPC.
Odimegwu was an appointee of President Goodluck Jonathan after he helped to rally the organised private sector to support the enthronement of the Umaru Yar’Adua presidency in which Mr. Jonathan served as vice president.
He remained close to President Jonathan, who appointed him chairman of the National Population Commission. He however left the position in controversial circumstances after he made comments considered critical of a section of the country.
While at the Nigerian Breweries, he embarked on a modernisation programme that has further strengthened the distance between NB and its competitors.
He also served as a Director of Dangote Cement Plc until March 2012. He served as Director of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc between 2004 and December 31, 2011. He served as Director of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc. He graduated with B.Sc Chemistry from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and M.Sc Brewing from Beriot Watt University, Edinburgh, UK.
He was Chairman & CEO, FS Group of Companies Ltd and a non-executive Chairman, Royal Lifestyle Services Group of Companies Ltd. Odimegwu was also a non-executive chairman of Quintessentially Nigeria Ltd.

Nike Aboderin
Nike Aboderin, a member of the committee is also a representative of the private sector on the transition committee.
Her private sector experience was majorly in the banking sector where she rose to the position of Group Head, Large Corporates at Skye Bank Plc in 2014. She also had a stint at Citibank Nigeria.
She was Special Adviser to the Ogun State governor between July 2011 and August 2014. She was a member of the executive council and was responsible for the trade and investment portfolio, reporting directly to the governor.
She was once Head, Treasury/ Financial Services of Premium Securities Ltd. (FBN (Merchant) Bank Ltd.)

Olawale Edun
Another private sector operator on the committee list is former commissioner of finance, Lagos State from 1999-2004. He has considerable experience in Economics and International Finance at national and international levels.
He worked at Chase Merchant Bank Nig. Limited (later Continental Bank Plc) – including spells at Lehman Brothers and Chase Manhattan Capital Markets, New York, USA and The World Bank / International Finance Corporation, Washington DC, USA .
He returned to Nigeria in 1989 as co-founder and executive director of Investment Banking and Trust Company (now Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc. He is the founder and current Chairman of Denham Management Limited (now Chapel Hill Denham Group). He serves on the board of African Paints Nigeria Plc, among others. He is also the Chairman, LiveWell Initiative, a health education and literacy non-government organisation (NGO) as well as Sisters Unite for Children – another NGO which assists street children.

Bola Adesola
Bola Adesola is a banker and a lawyer by profession. She joined Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited in 2011 as the managing director/chief executive officer. Her main responsibilities include the provision of leadership for the Group in Nigeria, through the development of overall country strategy/direction; the provision of leadership on corporate governance issues; and the achievement of the overall country’s financial and headcount budgets.
Prior to joining Standard Chartered Bank, Adesola served in senior leadership capacities in Citibank, Nigeria and Tanzania for a period spanning over nine years. She also served as Managing Director of Kakawa Discount House Nigeria and executive director in First Bank Nigeria, with responsibility for managing the business in the Lagos Directorate including retail, corporate and commercial banking.

Muhammed Hayatudeen
Muhammed Hayatudeen is remembered as perhaps, the first Nigerian bank managing director to turn around a sick and dying financial institution.
He used his wealth of experience in 1992 to transform the hitherto dormant Federal Savings Bank into a thriving commercial bank.
His effort led to the establishment of the now defunct FSB International Bank.
Hayatudeen is one of the moving spirits behind the Nigerian Economic Summit that has set the agenda for restructuring the Nigerian economy and putting it on a firm foundation. The Nigerian Economic Summit served as a precursor of the Vision 2010 where Hayatudeen also played a prominent role.
He had earlier worked in the Northern Nigerian Development Company where he retired as managing director. He set up a private consulting firm which he managed before coming to FSB. He is an Economics graduate of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria.
He served as member of numerous regulatory bodies such as the Technical Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation (TCPC)

ABUJA-Governor Willie of Anambra State on Friday visited the President-Elect, General Mohammadu Buhari in his Aso Drive residence, Abuja.

Obiano’s visit came when speculations were rife that he was planning to defect to the All Progressives Congress, APC from the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA where he was elected.
But speaking to Journalists at the premises of General Buhari, who said that his mission to the president-elect was to congratulate him.

Buhari Will Get 100% Support From APGA, Says Obiano
The Governor of Anambra State and the national leader of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Willie Obiano has said the state and party will give total support to the incoming administration of General Muhammadu Buhari.

Addressing journalists shortly after a congratulatory visit to the President- elect at his Aso Drive residence in Abuja Friday, he said though he does not intend to leave APGA, the state government will give its support and cooperation to the APC government at the centre just as it did to the out-going PDP administration.

Obiano who was by a gleefully looking President- elect, said their discussion during the meeting centered on requests of the people of the South East to be carried along in sensitive appointments and projects execution particularly the building of the Second Niger Bridge.
Details later.

Mogidi:


What is nice in rewriting history? Buhari gave our fertilizers to Niger, when did Niger become part of Nigeria?

Movie producers and actors in the entertainment industry on Monday besieged the office of the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola protesting against the incessant cases of piracy in the movie industry.

Top on their demands was the call for stiffer penalties against piracy and other forms of intellectual theft.
The practitioners, numbering about 100, made the call while drawing attention to the perennial threats piracy poses to their profession.

According to them, piracy is a major albatross to the growth of the movie industry as it discouraged investments in film making and undermine creativity.
Speaking during the protest, ace movie Producer, Tunde Kelani, said the trend had gotten to a dangerous dimension requiring a quick check.

Kelani said: “The trend of piracy we are witnessing now has assumed a dangerous level where films produced in Nigeria, still showing in the cinemas, are pirated and released, sold on the streets of Lagos before official release by the investors.

“This is destroying lives, property, business and the industry as a whole,” Kelani said.
Kelani who is the brain behind Mainframe Productions, also sued for the elevation of piracy to the same level as armed robbery, financial crimes and narcotics.

Another producer, who claimed his latest film- “October 1” had
just been pirated before official commissioning, Kunle Afolayan, lamented the situation and called for serious legislation.

“I feel very perplexed because I have a distributor I work with. He distributes all types of films and he released my previous films- Phone Swap, Figurine, Irapada.

“We were just about to finalise on the distribution of my latest film titled ‘October 1’ when he (distributor) got a text from an informant at Alaba that those guys were about to release the film.

“I sent a text to some people in authority even to the governor but the guys still went ahead,” he said.
Afolayan advocated severe punishments for offenders, saying the existing legislation against the problem was too weak to serve as deterrence.

State governor, Babatunde Fashola responding to the aggrieved movie makers, assured of the state government’s collaboration in the fight against piracy.

He described the industry as a self-driven one that thrived even without any take-off grant from government.
Fashola saluted the courage of the film industry stakeholders to tackle the menace head-on.

He, however, described the issue of piracy as a global problem which no nation had successfully eradicated.

According to Fashola, “Piracy is a global phenomenon, not just a Nigerian problem but what has been done in other climes is that they have been able to reduce it to the barest minimum.

“Perhaps, more defining is that we should not leave the business of lawmaking to lawmakers alone.

Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) has again called on the United Na­tions (UN) to pass a resolu­tion recognising the South- East of Nigeria as a State of Biafra.

This, the organization said, would be in conformity with the recognition given the ter­ritory in the late 60s by some countries during her struggle for self-determination.

National Assistant Director of Information of the move­ment, Sunday Okereafor, in a statement, said the out come of the 2015 general elections in the country was nothing but a repeat of the 1960s in which two of the three major blocs in the country conspired against the South-East, cul­minating in the civil war that claimed the lives of many Igbo.

He stated that with the present political marriage be­tween the North and South- West, Ndigbo had no place in the political arrangement of today’s Nigeria, emphasising that in the present circum­stance, it would be expedient for the UN to recognize Bi­afra as a sovereign state.

basilo101:
Welcome to noman's land

The Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) on Sunday commended its efforts in breaking the over 70-year-old jinx of electing non-indigenes to represent Lagos State in both the national and state assemblies.

A statement issued by TAN’s Director of Media, Afam Ilounoh, urged every state of the federation to emulate the feat recorded in Lagos in providing a level playing field for all residents in their states.

The statement quoted Ilounoh as saying that TAN decided to use the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as a platform to achieve the record because the party is more accommodating than any other party.

“The PDP understood the cosmopolitan nature of Lagos State and keyed into it. The 2015 general elections might have come and gone but the ripples generated by the polls will abide with us for quite some time.

“One of such ripples is the feat achieved by the TAN toward the election of non-indigenes to represent the cosmopolitan Lagos State in the national and state assemblies.

“The international NGO in its characteristic manner threw in everything into canvassing support for the best candidates whether indigenes or non-indigenes during the campaigns.

“At the end of the day, non-indigenes who arguably constitute a major block in Lagos can now have a voice and representation in the national and state assemblies,” the statement quoted Ilounoh as saying.

It recalled that the last time a non-indigene was voted to represent Lagos in any form of representative capacity was over seventy years ago, when the legendary Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe was elected in the state.

That was during his (Azikiwe) great partnership with great Adeniran Ogunsanya, which spanned their political lives.

“Moments after that election, the nation fell abysmally into a political set-up where primordial and other sentiments started playing crucial roles in getting a candidates elected into office at the expense of competence and capability.

“The implication of the ugly development is that round pegs continued to find themselves in square holes while mediocrity instead of meritocracy became the order of the day.
“This has affected the growth and development of the country negatively.

“With the significant contribution of TAN towards redressing this anomaly, starting with the National Assembly election in Lagos, it’s obvious that the advocacy group has indeed played a pivotal role in deepening democracy in Nigeria.

“This positive development has taken shine off the dreaded monster of political discrimination which has bedevilled the nation for long,” the statement further read.

It noted that Nigerians irrespective of the state of origin should participate actively in the affairs of their host communities.

Abuja-based professionals has added voices for the call for the appointment of the Kano State governor of Kano and Senetor-elect, Kano central senatorial district, Engineer Musa Rabiu Kwankwaso as the next minister for the Federal Capital Territory.

According to the spokesperson for the group, Ben Agarry, they are eagerly desire a minister who will replicate what the former minister of the FCT, Mallam Nasir el Rufia did to sanitise the Federal Capital city when he was the minister. He said FCT would have long witness more development than it is, if had el-Rufia remained as the minister all these years.

He said since it is not possible to have el-Rufia reappointed as the FCT minister because of his election victory as Kaduna State governor-elect, the next person that can do as much as him is Kwakwanso. “We have seen what he did in Kano state. As far as we are concerned he is the best governor in the whole of the Northern region, and FCT deserve a person with such proven integrity and track record.

“I was amazed with the kind of structures I saw in Kano when I visited the last time. I mean tangible things you can point to as development. And you hardly see him go to the television to make noise as some other governor do,” he said.

Agarry maintained that they would not rest in the demand for his appointment when the president-elect, General Mohammedu Buhari forms his cabinet after he is sworn in as the president of Nigeria May 29th.

“We are very serious with our demand and we will not rest until we see it come to pass. We are tired of ministers who end up doing nothing all through their tenure. In fact there was one who only built bumps throughout the roads of Abuja. This is not what we want, we want meaningful development and that is what Kwankwaso will give to us,” he concluded.

http://leadership.ng/news/426746/give-us-kwankwaso-as-fct-minister-abuja-professionals-begs-buhari