₦airaland Forum

He was alleged to have performed some ritual activities on her late girlfriend

MadCow1:
Since when did PRAYING become a sin?


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Yahaya Umar and Abubakar Saletu – who were reportedly caught with a human head.

The economic meltdown, which is currently ravaging Nigeria and her citizens, is now taking a hard toll on the members of the National Assembly. New Telegraph learnt that unlike in previous assemblies, where members of the nation’s apex legislative institution had excess financial provisions to live in grandeur and luxury, the members of the present assembly are passing through severe financial difficulties.

Investigations carried out by our correspondents indicate that many of the lawmakers have no sufficient resources to meet up with their constituency obligations. It was further learnt that many of the legislators now avoid visiting their constituencies due to lack of funds to attend to their constituents’ ever increasing financial demands.

New Telegraph gathered that the demands being made on both members of the Senate and the House of Representatives have more than tripled what it used to be as a result of the poor state of the economy, which has reduced the purchasing power of the naira.

Although the federal lawmakers are not being owed salary or allowances, our investigations show that their monthly and quarterly emoluments are no longer adequate to cater for the demands of their constituents.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Power, Enyinnaya Abaribe, who spoke to New Telegraph, confirmed that it is true that the comatose economic situation in the country is hindering the lawmakers from fulfilling their campaign promises to their constituents.

He also admitted that some of the senators could no longer visit their constituencies because they would be embarrassed when confronted with needs, which ordinarily they would have met, but could not, as a result of the deepening economic decadence in the land. Abaribe, who is an outstanding opposition voice in the Senate, said that the prevalent economic situation had vindicated the past administration of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which was demonised by the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the destroyer of the economy.

“Nigerians can now agree that PDP is a great party and former President Goodluck Jonathan, a great man. Our economy became the strongest in Africa under PDP and Jonathan. Unfortunately, in less than one year of APC’s takeover, the same economy has crashed and gone into recession. “On senators not visiting their constituencies or senatorial districts as a result of the bad economy, I know that it is true, but I am not one of them, because I am always with my people.

“They know when I have and when I don’t have because from the beginning, I came to serve them and I don’t hide anything from them. But to say it point blank, the situation is never the same since APC came to power.

They have mismanaged the economy,” he lamented. Also, a member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Anayo Edwin, attested to the fact that the condition is not pleasant for the lawmakers anymore, noting that it is difficult for them to freely visit their constituencies without facing embarrassment from pestering constituents.

“My brother, it is true and I am not ashamed to confess that it has become very difficult for us because what we are seeing is not what we bargained for. Before I came to the House, I made some promises to my people based on the problems they are facing. “I appealed to them to give me their votes, that I am coming to tackle those problems. I can tell you that I am doing my best, but it is not enough because we now have very limited resources to meet those needs of theirs. So, lawmakers sparingly go to their constituencies because the demands are too much, compared to the available resources,” he noted.

A member of the APC from the North-West in the Senate, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, lamented that the economic situation had gone bad that he could no longer visit his constituency freely.

“You can see that we are on recess, but I am here in Abuja because I cannot go to my constituency without being ready to meet their demands. I am a grassroots politician and I love visiting my people because it is their mandate that brought me here.

Unfortunately, things have changed drastically overnight. I will not tell you lies, no senator or any member of the National Assembly will beat his chest and say that it is easy for him now because the economy is really bleeding. “As I am speaking to you now, there is an event going on in my state capital and I was duly invited, but I cannot go because I don’t have what it takes to go there,” he stated.

The lawmaker, however, expressed optimism that the hardship would not last forever, pleading with Nigerians to be patient and support the Muhammadu Buhari-led government to turn the situation around for a better Nigeria.

Corroborating this position, another Senator from the opposition party admitted that he was no longer visiting his constituency the way he was doing before the economy got worse. He said that he had to avoid regular visitation to his senatorial district because of paucity of funds to attend to his obligations to the electorate, noting that it had become difficult for them to meet their campaign promises to the people that brought them to power.

The legislator said that the situation would jeopardise the interest of the lawmakers in future elections because the electorate would think that the politicians deliberately refused to attend to their needs after being voted to power. Also, some members of the House who spoke to our correspondents confirmed that the National Assembly members were not meeting up with their constituency obligations as before because of the economic recession in the country.

A first timer in the House from Kaduna State told our correspondent that though some of them are not running away from constituents, but the unfriendly economic situation in the country makes it impossible to meet up with demands from constituents. According to him, most of them were indebted to banks and wondered if they would be able to clear their debts before May 2019.

“My brother, some of us are not really running, but we can’t attend to the deluge of demands from our people. For example, I sold my House in Gwarimpa to come to the House.

But with what we are getting today, I may not be able to build another house even if I spend eight years in the House. It is tough,” he said. Another Rep from the North-East confided in our correspondent that: “This vehicle (Prado Jeep), which I’m using, you won’t believe it, I took a loan from a bank for my campaign and I’m still paying. This is my second term, but we never experienced this during the 7th Assembly.

But things are really bad now.” As to whether some lawmakers were keeping away from constituents, he said: “It is true some of us are afraid to visit our constituencies because when you don’t meet people’s expectations, they tend to write you off and this is dangerous in politics.”

But another member of the House disclosed to New Telegraph that things are so hard that “some lawmakers no longer come to the chambers, but instead go about doing their businesses in order to meet up.” “If you look at the plenary, not many honourable members are attending sittings. It wasn’t like this in the past, but this is what change has brought us,” he said.

lalasticlala

by Precious Igbonwelundu,

The police in Lagos yesterday claimed that shallow graves were discovered at the residence of 70-year-old Prophet Emmanuel Adeyemi arrested for chaining his son and 27 others.

Police Commissioner Fatai Owoseni who confirmed the allegation said the place was raided following a tip-off that the suspect traded human parts to ritualists.

He claimed that Adeyemi who was arrested alongside his first wife on Friday, buried some dead persons in the swamps and three others at his residence.

Owoseni said: “We got a tip-off that they were people he buried in that compound and he confirmed it during interrogation.

“Because the area is swampy, the suspect had allegedly buried some people in the swamp and about three others in the house.

“When we asked him of their identities he said it was some of his patients that were brought to his home from the hospital, after they were given up for dead, who finally died in his care and were buried in the swamp.

“When we also queried him on the claims that he used the body parts of the deceased to sell to ritualists, he swore that he was only a traditional healer and not a human parts seller.”

Owoseni said Adeyemi was earlier invited for questioning after it was discovered that he put his son in chains.

The Commissioner said the suspect claimed he chained the teenager, Toba Adedoyin Adeyemi in order to cure him from stealing.

He said: “When we got information that a teenager was locked up in a house, the area G Commander invited the suspect, who claimed that his son was known for stealing and so he locked him up in chains to cure him of stealing.

“While we were still on that case, we got another credible tip off that there were other people chained up in that same house. Of course, we carried out a raid and confirmed the allegation to be true.

“But before then, we had contacted the Lagos State Government because we don’t have the facility to keep the rescued persons. His claims now that he was arrested is that he is a herbalist, but why didn’t he tell us that when we first invited him to the station over locking up his stepson? He only told us that he wanted to cure his son of stealing.”

It was gathered that one of the victims who was feeble and had sores was currently on admission at a hospital, while the others were moved to the state rehabilitation centre.

He could hardly breathe and he had bruises on his eye, his head, his stomach and his private part.

The doctor told me that the fracture on my son’s hand and leg were two weeks old, and I learnt he was not able to walk and was taken to a traditional bonesetter who obviously had not been able to fix the fracture.

By Jonathan Nda-Isaiah

Former Head of State , Yakubu Gowon on Tuesday met behind closed doors with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Speaking with State House Correspondents after the meeting, Gowon said he discussed a wide range of issues with President Buhari bordering on the anti- Corruption war, Chibok girls, fall in crude oil prices and pipeline bombings by the Niger Delta Militants.

The former Head of state also disclosed that he told President Buhari of Nigerians impatience in the fight against corruption as people are yet to see the results of the war as nobody has been prosecuted yet.

He said,”I have come to see the President, to say hello to him, I haven’t seen him for quite some  time. This time I have one to see him to pay my respect to him and to let him know that I’m going out of the country on vacation and my Programme if Nigeria Prays in the UK and the USA towards the end of this month, and early next month.

” So I have come to let him know that I would be out of the country, should in case of he wants me, he knows that I’m out and he is going to pay my way back, if he wants me back for any programmes.

He added that “And of course we discussed the general affairs of the country, the problems of the country, his fight against corruption, and all the efforts that he is making to deal with it and of course, the impatience of the public to see results of the fight which have yet to be found, since people have not been prosecuted yet, that would soon begin.”

Gowon also expressed support and appreciation towards Buhari’s determination to rid the country of corruption which according to him have created setbacks for the country both locally and international.

“These are some of the issues we talked about, one appreciates his efforts and determination to rid the country of corruption, which is one of the problems that have held the country down and has created serious set backs to the country both nationally and internationally .

On the Chibok Girls rescue, Gowon said he spoke with the President on the current situation about the Chibok girls and the efforts the government is making to rescue them.

The former head of state contended that    the government needed to get credible information about the whereabout of the girls and also those that would assist the government achieve that.

“I believe that the government is certainly determined to ensure that a number of these girls are brought back home safely as soon as possible. To achieve that, certain credibility must be established of our sources on information on their location.

“But as at yet, no one knows where these girls are, and all these information that you have been getting, I don’t  know their sources, but all efforts at engaging the international media and sources are necessary so that this matter can be resolved once and for all.

On the current hardship being experienced in the country and doubts about the change agenda of the present administration, he said “Again we talked generally on the country and efforts the government us making to give the people what they want to see that then have money.

 “Please remember we used to sell petroleum at $ 150 per barrel, but what is it today? It’s merely around $ 30 per barrel and the amount of crude oil they we used to produce over 2 million now it has gone down to about one million because of the problem we have been having when people have been blowing pipelines in the Niger Delta area. So we have problem and there isn’t enough money to be able to go round.

He expressed hope that very soon, with the efforts  the government is making to get things back to normal, making contacts with the Avengers and other aggrieved militants in the Niger Delta’ who are creating havoc there,  all will be well soon.

Nigeria’s foreign continue to depreciate in the face of economic recession, low capacity oil production and dwindling revenue profile.

As at August 17, 2016, the reserve stood at $25.209bn from about $30.837bn recorded on August 13, 2015. It represented about $5.628bn reflected in a year period, CBN data showed.

In a week, between August 11, and 17, the foreign reserve depreciated by $119.810m from $25.329bn to $25.209bn.

However in the same period of 2015, the reserve rose by $84.990million.

In the first week of August 2015, it peaked at $31.537bn as against the $30.837 recorded in the second week, by August 13, 2015.

This period largely witnessed currency control regime of the CBN which saw Nigeria’s foreign reserve to deplete hugely as the CBN struggled to shore up the Naira, a war it eventually lost to the liberation of the naira.

The CBN lately had introduced a number of measures to reduce the pressure on foreign reserve. Some of these measures including, restricting Foreign Exchange (FX) sales to 41 items, banned of sale of FX to BDCs, restrictions on daily FX spending on ATM abroad and other policies.

By Peter Egwuatu

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, yesterday, ordered Authorised Dealers (banks) to allocate 60 per cent of their total Foreign Exchange, forex purchases from all sources (interbank inclusive) to manufacturers and 40 per cent to other users for the purpose of trade and other obligations.

The CBN, in a circular titled “Foreign exchange sales to end users” signed by Acting Director, Trade and Exchange Department, W.D. Gotring said “Following the review of the returns on the disbursement of foreign exchange to end users, it has been observed that negligible proportion of foreign exchange sales are being channelled towards the importation of raw materials for the manufacturing sector.

“Against this background and in order to address the observed imbalance, the Authorised Dealers are hereby directed to henceforth dedicate at least 60 per cent of their total foreign exchange purchases from all sources (interbank inclusive) to end users strictly for the purposes of importation of raw materials, plant and machinery. The balance of 40 per cent should be used to meet trade obligations, visible and invisible transactions.”

Gotring, further stated that the Authorised Dealers should continue to publish weekly sales of foreign exchange to end users in the national newspapers and to render statutory returns on same to the CBN promptly.

In another circular titled Re: Transactions in “free funds” by authorised dealers, the apex bank stated that it has noticed that some Authorised Dealers have continued to buy and sell foreign exchange referred to as “free funds” despite the provision of the circular referenced TED/ AD/29/2004 dated March 4, 2004 on the subject.

To this end, the Gotring said “Against the background, Authorised Dealers are to note that dealing in foreign exchange without appropriate documentation which includes relevant entries, blotters, physical documents and non-disclosure to the Regulatory Authorities is a breach of extant regulations.”

lalasticlala

Sun International, with 49 percent stake in Federal Palace Hotel, says it is leaving Nigeria, owing to “challenging economic conditions and regulatory dispute”.

The hospitality and gaming company, which becomes the fourth major South African company to exit Nigeria in 2016, said the controversial detention of five of its staff by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) spurred its decision to exit Nigeria.

“Continued setbacks in Nigeria as well as the ongoing shareholder dispute have frustrated all attempts to develop and improve the property,” the hotel said in its 12-month financial statement.

“Five of our staff members who were detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission earlier in the year have still not had their passports returned to them despite no charges being laid against the individuals, the company or Sun International.

“As a result of the current environment and issues facing the company the board has taken the decision to exit our investment in Nigeria.”

It said the exit “is however expected to be a protracted process given the challenges we are facing and to ensure we receive fair value for our investment”.

EBOLA AND FOREX LOSSES
The company said it also recorded “an unrealised foreign exchange loss of $15.2 million or R207 million (R102 million attributed to Sun International) incurred on the group’s Nigerian subsidiary’s US dollar denominated shareholder loans”.

“The Federal Palace continues to operate in a difficult environment with the Nigerian economy facing a number of crises including the low oil price, Boko Haram and a weakening naira and it has still not recovered from the significant impact that the Ebola epidemic had on the business.

“Occupancy at 41.6% was 6.8% below last year with the average room rate up 3.8%. Despite all efforts to keep costs as low as possible EBITDA declined 58%.

“In addition to the problems that the country faces, there are a number of issues specific to the local Nigerian partners in the Federal Palace and these have further exacerbated the problem.

“After much consideration the Board has determined to exit Nigeria and steps will be taken to achieve this in a manner that does not erode further value.”

Truworths announced its exit from Nigeria back in February, due to the same issues, while Clover left about two weeks later.

Tiger Brands also sold off its stake in Nigeria-based Dangote Flour, following challenging economic environment in the second largest economy in Africa.

The 36-year-old lady, a mother of five, was said to be legally married to her husband at the time she started having an affair with Adeleke, but reportedly deceived him into believing that she was a widow.

“We used to have sex regularly to the level that even during her menstrual period, she would beg me to have sex with her, saying she could not keep off me.

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have begun investigation into how the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons allegedly awarded 10 contracts to companies in one day, Daily Trust gathered yesterday.

According to top EFCC sources, the agency is looking at documents alleging that the former House of Representatives chairman, Appropriation Committee, Abdulmumin Jubrin, padded the 2014 budget with projects domiciled within the National Commission for Refugees Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons and other agencies.

Copies of the letters of award of contracts made available to Daily Trust showed that on September 26, 2014, the Refugees Commission in one day awarded all the contracts to front companies allegedly provided by Jibrin.

He was copied in each of the 10 award letters signed by one Engr. Lawal A. Rasheed on behalf of the federal commissioner of the agency.

Sources said the contracts were awarded to the benefit of Kano State without naming the locations.

Those to receive items to be supplied in each contract were not named, so was also the constituency, the source said.
The EFCC investigators are also trying to establish Jibrin’s relationship to the projects.

They are also looking to unravel why the N418m contracts were given an execution period of just two weeks, the source added.

The companies which received the contracts on September 26, 2014 include Eleku Construction LTD, which was to supply Bricks/Block machines worth N49m, Sabiti NIG LTD to supply farming tools to Kano for N28m, and Sabiti NIG, to supply Kano a variety of nursery bred seedlings worth N30m. Global Legend Integrated LTD got a contract for the supply of golf cars to Kano State worth N48.7m, Eleku Construction LTD got another contract for the supply of maize and millet to Kano State worth N44m, Sabiti NIG was awarded another contract to supply Bajaj Tricycles to Kano State for N49m.

Global Legend International was also to supply Butterfly sewing machines to Kano State for N42m, Shafaha Enterprises LTD was to supply Welding Machines worth N36m. Eash Progressive Ventures LTD was contracted to supply fertilizer to Kano State for N42m and also to supply computers and accessories/printers to the state for N47.5m.

Following reports that the Federal Government has launched a discreet investigation on the possible involvement of former President Goodluck Jonathan over the spate of bombings in the Niger Delta, prominent Nigerian lawyers have thrown their weight behind the probe and suggested how it should be conducted.

Credible sources had, on Thursday, revealed that the former president was being investigated over his alleged role in the bombings of oil facilities in the Niger Delta, an action that has crippled the country’s oil industry and affected its power generation capabilities.

As well as former President Jonathan, his wife, Patience, was also reported to be under the said probe, with the same allegations also leveled against her.

Media reports had quoted an intelligence source as disclosing that it had been established that some of the oil installations bombed in the Niger Delta had actually been mined while President Jonathan was in power, by some of the militants and operatives known to be very close to him.

The news of the probe came about a week after the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) had accused the former president and some prominent politicians from the Niger Delta of masterminding the fresh attacks on oil installations in the region.
Jonathan has separately denied both the allegations by the security agents and MEND.

A Lagos-based human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Femi Falana, yesterday cautioned that whatever evidence the Federal Government might want to bring up against Jonathan over alleged relationship with Niger Delta militant groups must be “watertight.”

According to Falana, a very serious allegation on the relationship between a former president and a militant group was one that deserved to be handled carefully.
“It is a serious allegation that shouldn’t be made flippantly. The evidence should be watertight and handled carefully,” he said.
He also faulted security operatives for not acting promptly on the threats by some militant groups in the Niger Delta ahead of the 2015 presidential elections.

“During the campaigns, the groups threatened to break up the country if Dr Jonathan did not win the 2015 presidential election. Did the security forces monitor the groups after the elections? Are we not dealing with another case of failure of intelligence?

“Those who set up the Boko Haram sect are known to the state. Has the government moved against them? The militant groups in the Niger Delta were set up by politicians. Have they been asked to account? Surely, the state has lost the monopoly of violence to militant and terrorist groups. The incompetence of the ruling class has compounded the crisis of nation building,” Falana said.

Reacting to the development, constitutional lawyer and Professor of Law, Auwalu Hamisu Yadudu, said there was nothing wrong in probing Jonathan, provided the allegations leveled against the former leader were genuine.

Yadudu, however, cautioned that in view of his capacity as a former president, Jonathan should be treated with respect, dignity and should not be humiliated.

“Although some people are of the view that Jonathan should not be probed because he was defeated in election by President Buhari and so on, but in law that should not be a basis to exempt him from being probed if found wanting in committing some wrongdoings that warrant probe,” he said.

He, however, said the federal government should first establish whether the allegations against the former president were genuine or not before launching any probe.

“I will not encourage humiliating or maltreating the former president in the name of probe. Not only an ex-president, whoever is involved in this kind of situation should be treated fairly and justly.

“The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) have their mandates, so if the allegations against Jonathan fall within their mandates they should handle it,” he said.

Speaking in the same vein, another rights activist, Festus Keyamo, told Daily Trust on Sunday that the Federal Government must gather all the needed evidence to be able to prosecute the former president.
“Once the government has such evidence, it is left for it to determine what to do with it,” Keyamo said.

On his part, a constitutional lawyer, Festus Okoye, said the former president was not above the law and could therefore stand trial for breaking any law of the land.

Okoye, who is the executive director of the Human Rights Monitor, said: “As far as I am concerned, any individual that has committed any form of criminal offence or has committed any form of infraction should be investigated and tried, including former President Jonathan.

“There is no need to set up any panel, the former president is like anybody in the country, and you know that nobody is above the law. If he has a case to answer, he should be referred to either the ICPC or the EFCC, depending on his offence.”

He said the threat of secession by militants from the Niger Delta should not deter the Federal Government from looking into the activities of Jonathan’s administration, adding: “Why didn’t they threaten to do so when he (Jonathan) was our president and doing what he did. The country is for all us and we must all be seen to be working in the interest of the country. So we should not be threatened with secession.”

The Kaduna-based lawyer, added: “The fact that an armed robber is not arrested, does not mean that those who are arrested should not be tried. So, those who are saying why Jonathan alone do not mean well for the country. The fact that he was a former president makes the probe necessary.”

But another lawyer, Abeny Mohammed, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), has warned that any attempt to investigate Jonathan may be interpreted to be a witch-hunt against the ex-president.

“This is not what the country needs at this time. This country is not a nation-state, as such we are just patching its up unity. That is why we must restructure this country so that the powers and finances are not concentrated at the centre while states cannot even pay salaries.

“The PDP government, which Jonathan led, was corrupt, but the Federal Government, in the probe of the government, have in their wisdom left him out. I know that the people who asked Jonathan to reach out to Buhari (after his defeat) may have a sort of agreement that says, in any event, he must not be probed,” he said.

It’s dangerous to probe Jonathan - PDP

Voicing the party’s reaction, the spokesman of the National Caretaker Committee of the PDP, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, said probing former President Goodluck Jonathan over the Niger Delta bombings portends danger to the nation’s democracy.

Prince Adeyeye, in a text message to our correspondent yesterday, said: “It’s a pure witch-hunt and a very dangerous precedent which portends grave danger for Nigeria’s democracy.”

Endless debate over Jonathan’s probe

To many watchers of unfolding political events in the country, the recent revelation to the effect that the Federal Government has launched an investigation on the possible involvement of former President Goodluck Jonathan over the spate of bombings in the Niger Delta has only added a new dimension to an enduring debate on whether or not the ex-president should be arrested and probed by the current administration.

How it all began

Soon after his exit on May 29, 2015 and the subsequent revelations that followed, especially with regards to the $2.1 billion arms deal, there have been divergent views as to whether or not the former president should be probed. While some feel that his arrest and prosecution would give a boost to the anti-corruption war of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government, especially given the fact that most of those linked with the arms deal were officials and aides of the former president, others feel that doing so would amount to setting a dangerous precedent as no such thing had been done in the past.

At the centre of the arms deal is a former National Security Adviser of ex-President Jonathan, Col. Sambo Dasuki, who was appointed on June 22, 2012. President Buhari had ordered Dasuki’s arrest after receiving an interim report of the panel set up on August 31 to probe arms procurement between 2007 and 2015, which allegedly indicted him and others for diverting the arms purchase funds.
But the embattled former NSA, who is currently standing trial for the alleged misappropriation of $15bn arms procurement fund, denied any wrongdoing, saying he was only obeying the directive of his former boss in the disbursement of the funds from his office.

“Based on the service rules in the security circle, I owe it a duty to obey the President and Commander-In-Chief. Ex-President Jonathan approved all the expenses incurred by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA). I am ready to prove in court how we complied with the directive of the ex-president,” Dasuki reportedly told his associates during a visit to him at the Kuje prison.

In a similar vein, Olisa Metuh, a former National Publicity Secretary of the PDP during President Jonathan’s tenure, was also arrested for allegedly receiving N400m from the Office of the National Security Adviser in November 2014. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is prosecuting Metuh and his company, Destra Investments Limited on seven counts. Metuh and his firm allegedly used the fund for the PDP’s presidential campaign ahead of the 2015 election.

Like in the case of Dasuki, Metuh denied any wrongdoing, even as the allegation concerning the N400m was also attributed to former President Jonathan’s approval.
A former Senior Special Assistant to ex-President Jonathan, Doyin Okupe, who appeared before a Federal High Court in Abuja to testify in defence of the former national spokesman of the PDP, reportedly said the payment of the money to Metuh by the NSA’s office was authorised by Jonathan.

According to Okupe, the instruction given by the former president for the payment of the money to Metuh followed a presentation which his campaign team had made at the Presidential Villa, adding that Jonathan himself had confirmed to him that he indeed authorised the payment of N400m to Metuh.

Another pointer to the fact that Jonathan may have indirectly come under investigation emerged recently with the arraignment of his cousin, Aziboala Robert, and his wife by the EFCC. The anti-graft body had arraigned the duo on a seven-count charge bordering on money laundering, criminal breach of trust and corruption. They pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The EFCC had, on March 23, 2016, arrested Robert, who is the managing director of Kakatar Engineering Company Limited, and an executive director of the company, Mr. Dakoru Atukpa, over a $40m pipeline contract they received from the Office of the NSA.

Mr. Robert and wife are accused of diverting $40m, purportedly meant for the supply of tactical communication kits for Nigeria’s special forces. The funds were alleged to have been transferred from the account of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), with the Central Bank of Nigeria to the domiciliary account of their company, One Plus Holdings.

It is based on these that some analysts believe that Jonathan and his government may have already come under probe by the Buhari administration since key players in his administration, including ex-ministers and former military chiefs, were either under probe or were facing trial.

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) is one body that believes the former president has questions to answer with respect to the alleged arms purchase deal. SERAP had sent an open letter to former President Jonathan, seeking explanations from him on what he knew on the diversion and sharing of over $2.1 billion meant for the purchase of arms to fight Boko Haram.

SERAP’s executive director, Mr. Adetokunbo Mumuni, in a letter said: “SERAP considers that there is enough material in the public domain to suggest that over $2 billion meant for purchase of arms to equip Nigerians soldiers fighting Boko Haram in the North-East of the country was diverted and shared among high-ranking government and party officials under your watch as President and Commander-in-Chief of Nigerian Armed Forces.

“SERAP, and indeed Nigerians, reserve the right to pursue justice through appropriate national and international accountability mechanisms to ensure that everyone involved in this heinous crime is brought to justice in accordance with international standards of fairness…”

Jonathan himself has reportedly said he was aware that he was under investigation by anti-corruption agencies in the country. During a live interview on Bloomberg Television after delivering a speech at the London’s studios of the media organisation, the former president said: “Of course, obviously, I will be investigated. I am being investigated. Yes, investigations are going on.”

It is based on the foregoing that many analysts were not surprised with the recent media report that the Federal Government has launched an investigation on the possible involvement of the former president and his wifeover the spate of bombings that have crippled the country’s oil industry and affected power generation capabilities.

Quoting intelligence reports, a top government source reportedly said that it had now been established that some of the oil installations bombed in the Niger Delta had actually been mined while President Jonathan was in power, just before the 2015 election, by some of the militants and operatives known to be very close to him.
“The mining was meant to be a “Plan B should they be removed from Aso Rock.

The plan then was to cause confusion if the 2015 presidential election did not go as expected, in favour of the then incumbent. However, when the former president surprisingly conceded the election to President Muhammadu Buhari, there was both disappointment and confusion in the camp of those who had designed the plan, causing a suspension of the whole agenda,” the source was quoted as saying.

Earlier, MEND had declared that Jonathan was “a grand patron of the Niger Delta Avengers.” MEND’s claim was preceded by an earlier one by the Reformed Niger Delta Avengers (RNDA) that Jonathan was truly behind the formation of the dreaded group. Jonathan denied the allegations.

According to MEND, the former president was sponsoring the NDA to destabilise the government of President Buhari.
A statement signed by one Jomo Gbomo said Jonathan should not deny being the grand patron of the group, which had been blowing up oil facilities in the Niger Delta region.

“MEND cannot hold brief for the RNDA, which pointedly accused Mr. Jonathan of complicity in fueling the ongoing Niger Delta crisis and patronising the NDA, apparently for political reasons. We are, however, quick to point out the fact that the RNDA has merely vindicated MEND’s belief and conviction that the former president and his cronies, who lost the 2015 presidential election, were using the illegal and treasonable NDA platform to destabilise President Buhari’s government,” the statement had read.

‘Jonathan too decent to be linked to violence’

But the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) members believe their kinsman is too decent to be linked with violence.

The president of the IYC, Udengs Eradiri, said Jonathan was a very peaceful man who was so decent to be linked to any act of violence. Eradiri was reacting to recent media reports that the Federal Government was investigating the level of the former president’s involvement in the activities of Niger Delta Avengers.

Eradiri, in a telephone interview with our correspondent in Port Harcourt, said those insinuating that the former president was involved in the formation of the Niger Delta Avengers were criminal elements that were rotting away in prison because of the heinous crimes they committed against the state.

He said that their recent altercation linking Jonathan to Niger Delta Avengers was a face-saving mission adopted to use Jonathan as a chess pawn to secure their freedom from prison.

According to him, the Federal Government was confused on those behind the bombings of oil installations, adding that the security agents should do a thorough job and fish out those behind such act. “It is very childish to link former President Jonathan to the activities of a group that is involved in violent activities. The man in question is a very peaceful man whose commitment to a better Nigeria is responsible for the peace everybody is enjoying now,” he said.

Meanwhile, following media reports about the proposed probe of Jonathan over his alleged links with the Niger Delta bombings, the former president swiftly dismissed the allegations.

A press release issued by his media aide, Ikechukwu Eze, reads: “There is no doubt that there exist such people who may have scores to settle with the former president but are now feeling frustrated by the fact that his national and international profile has continued to rise despite their recourse to endless muck-raking character assassination. Such people will stop at nothing to continue to throw obstacles, albeit futilely, on his path.

“From what we know about intelligence gathering, there is no responsible government agency that would rush, as claimed in the newspaper stories, to adopt the accusations of a questionable rebellious organisation as its own findings without applying the professional processes of rigour and due diligence.”

by Dorcas Egede, Ugochukwu Eke And Bukola Amusan,

Two weeks after the story of the female corps member Temitope Adedewe, who was battered and her two teeth removed with a hammer by a male corps member broke, the National Youth Service Corps headquarters Abuja is yet to officially respond.

Also her NYSC discharge certificate, which was withheld for purportedly breaching the NYSC code of conduct and reporting the matter to the police in Arochukwu, Abia State, where the incident happened, is yet to be issued to her. This is despite a strong allegation that her assailant, Oluwabusiyi Adeola Bolarinde is already studying for his master’s degree at the University of Ibadan, which could not have been possible if he didn’t produce his NYSC discharge certificate.

The corps’ Director of Public Relations, Mrs. Abosede Aderibigbe was not available for comments on the issue. Efforts to reach her on phone were also abortive, as her phones were switched off and she did not respond to text messages.

A source at the Welfare Department in Abuja, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, however, admitted that they are aware of the case and have started looking into it.

He said steps are being taken to resolve the issue, and that a concrete decision is expected to be reached on the matter next week.

Our correspondent in Abia State, who visited the NYSC Zonal Office in Umuahia, reported that a source, who does not want to be quoted, told him that the matter has been taken over by the national office in Abuja.

He said an investigative team had visited the zone from Abuja on a fact-finding mission and promised to respond accordingly soon. The source therefore concluded that the case, as it is, has left their hands and pleaded that the public and all stakeholders in the matter wait for an official response from the national office.

Meanwhile, the victim of the battery, Miss Adedewe told our reporter that she is yet to get any concrete information from the Abuja office or anywhere. According to her, she only got a call from a lady, who claimed to be of the NYSC Abuja head-office. The caller who initially did not reveal her identity or position later gave her name as Benedict E. She refused to reveal her official position and requested the aggrieved ex-corps member to come to Abuja to tell her side of the story, since they have commenced investigation on the matter.

Miss Adedewe said the lady told her they had visited the Abia State Zonal office in Umuahia and the venue of the incident in Arochukwu on a fact-finding mission. She said while there, they had asked Mrs. Akuma, one of the zonal office’s staff and a principal player in the issue to send for her and that she said all attempts to reach her from Umuahia had failed.

Adedewe however revealed that she never got any call or messages from Mrs. Akuma. She also said the purported caller from the NYSC behaved in a suspicious manner by refusing to disclose her identity incomplete.

However, Mrs. Busayo Obisakin, facilitator of Women’s Inspiration Development (WID), the NGO that had originally taken up her case and petitioned the NYSC, advised her not to make any trip to Abuja but to insist on telling her side of the story on phone.

She said the caller had asked her for some phone numbers, including that of the nurse who treated her at the hospital in Arochukwu, which she said she did not have. Adedewe wondered why she didn’t visit the hospital and get the nurse’s phone number, while she was in Arochukwu.

She also told our reporter that the caller directed her to stop any media attention on it as they are already looking into the matter because they understand her plight.

By Ediri Ejoh & Iloaze Blessed-Odidi

LAGOS—The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, yesterday, blamed the continued fall in the value of the naira against other major currencies on the huge demand for foreign exchange (FOREX) necessitated by the importation of petroleum product into the country.

According to the Minister, the sector accounts for between 30 and 40 per cent of foreign exchange demand, adding that the failure of the nation’s refineries to work optimally has led to shortfall in the availability of FOREX in the open market.
Speaking in Lagos yesterday, the minister painted a gloomy picture of the industry stating that proactive steps are required to bring Nigeria’s economy back on positive track.

He said, “We need to get our refineries to work optimally, in order to inject funds back to the economy. It is taking us four to six months to go through processes and bureaucracy even to get investors coming into the country and inject money to take the refinery to the point where it is needed.

“And the reality is that unless we do that, the dream and hope I had was that in 2018 we should begin to reduce drastically petroleum product import into the country and in 2019, we should be able to exceed total local demand, and so, if we can take care of that alone, the pressure on foreign exchange will reduce. The foreign exchange conversion rate, the exchange rate will improve in favour of the Naira.

Vandalism

On vandalism and the impact on the economy, he noted that between January and June 2016, over 1,600 incidents of vandalism was recorded resulting in a loss of 109 million liters of petroleum products and 560,000 barrels of crude oil to refineries.

“An additional 1.1 million barrels of oil per day is required to be produced between now and year end to meet targeted annual production.” He explained that compared to the 2.2 million barrels per day targeted in the budget, the country currently produces 1.56million barrel per day resulting in a shortfall of 700,000 barrels per day translating to 29 per cent fall. He further added that for the desired diversification of the nation’s economy to be successful, “the government will still have to depend on the petroleum sector to provide the required funds needed for the growth.”

Cash Call

Speaking further on the sector’s performance in recent time, Kachikwu, stated that the industry is challenged by $6 billion Cash Call indebtedness accumulated over the last five years. He noted that the dwindling finances at the disposal of government, it has been unable to meet its part of Cash Call requirement leading to inadequate financing in the industry, adding that no investment has occurred in the sector in the last five years.

Gas Production

The Minister attributed colossal loss of 60 percent decline of gas production, to the activities of militants in the Niger delta area. He revealed that between 2010 and 2015, the industry recorded over 3,000 incidents.
According to him about 850 million standard cubic feet of gas production has been shut in due to impact of crises and power outage exposure of 2,700 Mega Watts to 3,000 Mega Watts.

On power

On his part, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola, stated that the government continues to work tirelessly to ensure a sustainable power supply across the country. The Minister who was represented by the Acting Managing Director/CEO of Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited, NDPHC, Mr. Chiedu Ugbo, said “the road map we are embarking on is to develop solar and other renewable energies which will also play a major role in our roadmap to incremental power. We have recently signed 14 PPAs for the delivery of 1,125MW of solar power.

“Other renewable energy projects, such as the 10Megawatt, MW wind plant in Katsina, are also in various stages of completion.”

Continuing, he argued that “this does not mean we are ignoring our gas powered plants. Indeed, my team and I recently inspected the dual fired 215 MW plant in Kaduna and the 450 MW Azura plant in Edo and both are progressing very well.

“Other Hydro initiatives such as the 40MW plant in Kasimbilla, the 39 MW in Dadin Kowa, 30MW in Gurara and the 700 MW in Zungeru are all in various stages of construction. Many of these sites had been abandoned, but workers are now back on site and work will be completed by the end of next year on some of them.

Similarly, the Gbarain Power Plant is completed while the Distribution Companies are equally encouraged to develop and procure Embedded generation in their areas of franchise. These are the strategies that we believe will add incremental power coupled with the expansion of our Transmission capacity and metering of consumers.

lalasticlala

OlalekanAdetayo, Abuja

The revelation that former President Goodluck Jonathan or some people sympathetic to him are behind the spate of bombings being witnessed in the Niger Delta was first made at a meeting inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja,Saturday PUNCH has learnt.

There have been media reports that the Presidency is in possession of security report allegedly linking Jonathan to the formation and activities of the Niger Delta Avengers.

The intelligence report was said to have confirmed that oil installations were mined before the May 29, 2015 handover to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Although Jonathan had denied the allegation twice, a top government official, who spoke with our correspondent on Friday, confirmed that such report is currently available.

The source said the revelation was first made by “those who should know” at a meeting held in the seat of power some months back.

He said the meeting was attended by some leaders from the South South, including state governors from the region.

The meeting was called as part of efforts aimed at resolving the crisis.

The source said, “You know that leaders from the region, including the governors are also affected by the violence in the region.

“The situation is affecting their revenue and they cannot meet many of their obligations. So, they were also interested in finding a lasting solution to the matter.

“It was in one of such meetings called to find a solution that that revelation was made. It was confirmed that there was indeed Plan B and that those who held the view that Jonathan must continue as President by all means were shocked that he conceded victory to Buhari.”

The source, however, said only security agencies would be able to exonerate Jonathan at the end of the day.

When asked if Buhari had indeed directed security agencies to investigate Jonathan, the source said, “The President does not have to give such order before security agencies will know that with the allegations becoming more pronounced, especially from MEND, they need to investigate.

“For a fact, this President will not stop security agencies from investigating anybody, no matter how highly placed.

“It is also in the interest of the former President that the matter is thoroughly investigated. It is also in his interest to come out clean on the matter.

“We need to know whether he is personally involved in the plan or whether it was those sympathetic to him that hatched the plan.”

But the Rivers State Governor, Mr. NyesomWike, in a telephone interview with our correspondent denied that such revelation was made at a meeting of South South leaders.

Describing the allegation as a “wicked lie”, Wike said, “There is no truth in that allegation. Those behind the allegation are suffering from acute malaria.

“Those who are spreading such a huge allegation against the former President will never know peace. They are liars.”

Also, the former President had in a statement on Thursday by his Media Aide, Ikechukwu Eze, denied the allegation, saying Jonathan’s enemies were jealous of his rising profile.

lalasticlala

Armstrong Bakam, Bauchi

The Commander, 33 Artillery Brigade Bauchi, Brigadier General Abraham Dusu, said the military has embarked  on an operation to flush out insurgents and other criminal elements in Bauchi State forests.

Dusu, who disclosed this while addressing journalists on Thursday said the “aggressive” operation was ongoing in Lame and Burra forests in Toro and Ningi Local Goverrnent areas of the state.

He said that the Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Yusuf Buratai, had directed the Brigade to carry out the operations after a series of complaints by residents of the areas about the movement of unidentified people with arms in the forests.

Dusu said, “Residents said that people carrying guns had been sighted in the forests or migrated to the state from Sambisa forest as a result of operations there.

“For the past two days operations by our officers and men have been going on.

“We are going to enter all the forests in the state and any other location within the state where there are reports of bandits, kidnappers and cattle rustlers. We have adequate troops and I will also tell you that we have air support to flush them out.”

The commander said  the operations would be extended to  every nook and cranny of the state as well as Yankari and Balmore forests, which are dense.

He  urged the residents of those areas to remain calm and report any suspicious   movement to the authorities.

Dusu told journalists that the Nigerian Army had the support of other security agencies in the state in the operation.

“The Commissioner of Police in the state gave me his word that the police will give us the necessary support we may need, he said.

It would be recalled that a Senator representing Bauchi Central, Hamma Misau, recently raised the alarm that insurgents were setting up a base in some forests in the state, calling on the Federal Government and the Chief of Army Staff to immediately intervene.

AreaFada2:
I guess the platinum digger was the first guy to accept a no sex relationship.

Our people say "person wey use goat set trap dey expect to catch a big cat/predator".

I'm sure while they were doing no sex "ish", he was digging this his "sister" with reckless abandon outside.
In real life now, I have seen a worrisome trend of no-sex courtships crashing with a a year to 2 years into marriage. Either following childless ness or story of uninspiring sex life.

We hypocritically downplay the importance of sexual compatibility. Anyone who mentions it easily becomes seen as playboy or a slut.

At a time majority of people engage in recreational sex before the age of 21, no sex relationship, though commendable, it's often just a game. A Woman banging for good 15 years suddenly start forming chaste, to impress a guy. It hardly works.

As this story has shown, not every guy values or even wants virginity.

Her poor experience in dating made her very naive. A sexy grown ass lady was brought into your matrimonial home as his sister. Haba!
By a pauper for that matter. Chai!

@OP,

My dear, as it stands, nothing you can do. Kukuma just count your loss & move on. He has chosen another over you. Apparently with his family's awareness or even blessing sef. Though he probably deceived them with stories of childbearing issues on your part.

The other lady might be pregnant, but who's to say that preggy does not belong to another man outside? A lady who "get such mind" to invade a matrimonial home can equally bang another man aside your hubby.

The electricity grid in the country rose to 4,133megawatts (mw), the first time in about six months after acts of vandalism of gas fuel channels cut supply to about 23 power plants, our correspondent gathered yesterday.

Statistics obtained from the Nigeria System Operator (NSO), an arm of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) yesterday showed that 4,133mw was the peak generation on Wednesday while the lowest generation the same day was 3,282mw.

Peak generation for yesterday (Thursday) however dropped to 3,815mw.

After the grid attained 5,074mw on February 2, 2016, series of vandalism of oil and gas pipelines brought down generation to as low as 88mw. The trend fluctuated through March to June with the highest output at an average 2,400mw.

Checks by our reporter recently showed that the grid maintained above 3,000mw for over 20 days in July. The trend continued till Wednesday when power generation crossed to the 4,000mw peak generation. However, it was over 900mw short of the historic 5,000mw attainment of February.

The total operational turbines for generating power reduced from over 90 this year to about 35 in June. The operational units however have increased to 48 last Sunday, a weekly report from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) said.

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, yesterday, disclosed how the federal government Export Grant was thoroughly abused in the past, saying that some people got export grants for exporting stones.

She spoke during a meeting with the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), in Abuja.

Her words, “On paper, why will you cancel Export Grant? The EG is set up to encourage export business.

“However, in a situation, where we do not have control, we open up doors for the kind of abuse, which are only imaginable. We have people exporting stones, describing them as high valued goods, collecting an import credit and using that to import fish.”

“We do need to look for how to support export, but we have to be very realistic in the recommendations we are coming up with.

The group met her to seek federal government assistance in making export business more attractive , among others.

She said that although the Export Grant scheme was stopped by the previous administration due to unprecedented abuse, the current government upheld the suspension in order to undertake a critical review of the policy.

She challenged the private sector body to come up with suggestions on implementable policies, in view of the current economic situation in the country.

Extending her hand of fellowship to the NESG, the Minister said the Ministry of Finance was ready to work with them and therefore challenged the private sector group to keep track of some of the recommendations to the Federal Government.

izzou:
Agbo ain't igbo sir

izzou:
Eiiyahhh

Poor girl

Watch how the Yoruba's will avoid here

But if it was drugs, Dem go dey pissss untop

Joseph Agbo, 26 and Balogun Damilola, 20, were arrested by policemen attached to the Oworonsoki Division