₦airaland Forum

“My husband, who married me as a virgin, stopped making love to me three-months after our wedding.

Okechukwu Nnodim, Abuja

In a bid to check the arbitrary increase in the pump price of kerosene, the Federal Government has placed an order for massive importation of the product, oil marketers have said.

According to them, the government has also ordered huge importation of Automated Gas Oil, popularly known as diesel. They further stated that with the increase in the supply of the United States dollars by the Central Bank of Nigeria, the price of Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise called petrol, will not be hiked as earlier anticipated.

Last week, oil marketers had told The PUNCH exclusively that the actual cost of petrol should be N151.87 per litre.

They said the calculation was based on the ex-depot price of the commodity and the scarcity of forex.

To avert the hike, the government had met with the marketers last week and it was learnt that the CBN might intervene.

Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday during the inauguration of the Eastern Zonal Executive of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, the association’s Chairman, Board of Trustees, Mr. Abubakar Usman, said marketers would start getting large volumes of kerosene and diesel as the government had ordered for increased importation of the commodities.

He said, “There is something that I am going to tell you that shall make you happy. Very soon, the products, DPK (Dual Purpose Kerosene) and the AGO, will be in circulation under the leadership of Chinedu Okoronkwo. Those that are not aware are aware now. Sooner or later, I cannot say today or tomorrow, but very soon, the AGO will arrive. The DPK will also arrive in the country.”

I told IPMAN members that the current scarcity of kerosene would soon be a thing of the past as the product would circulate sufficiently when delivered.

He noted that upon arrival, no member would be required to lobby or bribe to secure allocation.

Usman said, “And when it arrives, each and every one of us will get his allocation. You don’t have to come to Abuja to give bribe looking for allocation of two or three trucks. Just go to your depot manager, go to your zonal chairman and you will get it. You don’t have to waste time going to Lagos or Abuja for the product.”

When asked to state the price the product will be sold when it arrived, Okoronkwo said, “It will be lesser than what the NNPC retail outlets will be selling.”

On the possible increase in the pump price of the PMS, he said that the move by the CBN to increase marketers’ access to foreign exchange would lead to price stability, adding that the intervention would warrant an appreciation of the naira.

He said, “Right now, you are aware that some Bureau De-Change operators have qualified to get the forex. And very soon, there will be forex in the system where people can now leverage. And if we have enough forex, it means that the price at which people are getting it now will drop.

“This will impact in every other business. Very soon, the CBN will release dollar and that will make the naira to appreciate. For marketers, importers and manufacturers, everything will come alive again.

“The IPMAN will also leverage this window to ensure that our products come at prices that members of this country will enjoy.”

He said, “I got to know about the incident from a friend, who is a neighbour of the couple. I learnt the husband had a quarrel with a woman who followed the assassins to deal with the family. His wife was raped and given matchete cut and the killers went with their three children. The woman has been arrested.”

A 49-year-old businessman, Mr Andrew Ndubisi, on Wednesday prayed an Igando Customary Court in Lagos State to dissolve his marriage to his wife, Saraphina, for allegedly being promiscuous.

The petitioner also said that his wife was secretive, as she had two previous children to two other men before they were married.
Andrew said she failed to bring it to his knowledge.

“My wife had two boys from two men but did not tell me before we married.

“After our marriage, she brought them to live with us and I was paying their school fees.”

“My wife is promiscuous, she dates different men,” Ndubisi told the court.
He also alleged that the wife had an affair with their pastor.

He accused his wife who had a daughter for him in their four-year marriage of adultery.
“My wife is a flirt, she dates different men. I have caught her severally with some of her lovers.

“She is also having an illegal affair with our pastor.

“I got to know when her cell phone rang and she left our room to receive it.

“I trailed her behind without her knowing and l eavesdropped; she ended the call with, ‘I love you’.

“When she returned, I secretly copied the number unknown to her and saved it on my cell phone.

“When I dialled the number on my cell phone, it was our pastor’s name that appeared on its screen.”

He said that Saraphina was too demanding adding that despite the fact that he was always meeting her needs, she was in the habit of stealing his money.

“She once absconded with my daughter to an unknown destination and demanded N30,000 from me before she returned with her.

“I had to send her the money”.

He urged the court to dissolve the marriage, alleging that his wife could infect him with sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV due to her adulterous acts.

Saraphina, 42, also a businesswoman, however, denied all the allegations, saying that instead she had been faithful to her husband.

“I have been faithful to my husband since we got married. I am not dating our pastor, he is just a spiritual father to me,” she said.
She told the court that her husband was hot tempered and was always beating her.

“My husband was always beating me at any slightest provocation; I had suffered injuries in my eyes on three occasions from his beatings.

“He once stripped me naked in public and beat the hell out of me.

“There was a day he beat and pushed me down from the staircase and l lost my two-month-old pregnancy.”

She said that her husband also had three children from different women.

It was my husband, Andrew that sent me packing from our matrimonial home after he threatened to kill me.

“I left his house with my daughter then. He later begged me to return which I did and he forcefully snatched my baby from me.
“Up till today, I have not set my eyes on my daughter,” she said.

The president of the court, Mr Adegboyega Omilola, adjourned the case till Aug. 23 for hearing.NAN

The Niger Delta Avengers has agreed to hold talks with the Federal Government to resolve the lingering crisis in the Niger Delta region.

The spokesman for the Dialogue Group, Mr. Ballantyne Agiri, said this in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday.

Agiri said that the NDA had constituted a contact and dialogue group to engage the Federal Government in meaningful dialogue as part of the initiatives to resolve the crisis.

He added that the group was determined to come out with results that would yield lasting peace, equity, justice and harmony among all ethnic nationalities in Nigeria.

“The body has collectively and willingly agreed to heed the clarion call of eminent Nigerians and international community to dialogue with the Federal Government,’’ he said.

He urged Nigerians and the international community to follow developments on the issue closely and watch out for which side would violate the terms, rules and spirit of the dialogue.

“The Federal Government should from the inception of the dialogue rule out from the agenda any monthly monetary inducement or stipend for the NDA.

“The Federal Government should be ready for structural changes that should be human and development-oriented.

“Members of the avengers’ group (who will participate in the dialogue) have already been selected, each based on his integrity, forthrightness, honesty and life track records.

“The names of members of the group for now shall not be made public for personal reasons until they begin functioning in few days ahead,’’ the spokesman said.
NAN.

lalasticlala

The founder of Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministries Church fondly called MFM, Daniel Kolawole Olukoya, has alerted Christians to be wary of false prophets who go around performing fake miracles.

The pastor recounted the story of a woman who was tagged ‘barren’ and how a so-called pastor had sex with her on the grave yard in her quest for a child.

Olukoya, speaking at the weekend at the MFM headquarters along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Ogun State, said many fake prophets were on the street, on the television and on radio today.

He said, “When you see someone from nowhere or someone just appears from nowhere, when you can’t identify the church where he got born again and you cannot even trace his roots to any church, then you should be very, very careful to associate with such a ‘man of God’.

“These men are always in suits and they see visions. They speak strange languages that are very uncommon and they called it speaking in tongue, these people are always seen vibrating, while preaching.

“The same fake prophets are the same sleeping in hotels with the wives of church members.”

The cleric buttressed his points with an illustration of how a woman who had been begging God for a child went to one of the fake prophets for prayers.

According to him, “The man asked her to sleep with him in a cemetery and the lady slept with him on a grave.

“But the woman saw a padlock in his hand when she was having sex with him and the padlock was locked during the ejaculation and since then, the woman’s womb was blocked. Her problem multiplied.

“Another fake prophet told someone to come to Nigeria, that he must have sex with her before she could prosper.

“How could a man ask his church members to deposit water in bottles in the church for seven days?” he quizzed, adding that many of these things were now happening in Nigeria, and many signs and wonders we see in Nigeria now are sings of disobedience ‘fast means’.

Niyi Odebode, Fidelis Soriwei, Olalekan Adetayo and Eniola Akinkuotu

There were strong indications on Monday that the Federal Government was in a dilemma over the faction of the Boko Haram sect, it should hold talks with.

The PUNCH gathered that the Federal Government had in the past four months been holding talks with members of the sect with a view to securing the release of the Chibok girls.

It was, however, learnt that the matter came to a head two weeks ago with the factionalisation of the sect.

A top government official, who confided in The PUNCH, said that contrary to the belief of many people, the release of the girls was uppermost in the mind of President Muhammadu Buhari.

He admitted that there had been offers by some members of the sect to release the girls, but the government was being careful.
The source stated, “We do not want to make the mistake the past administration made when its negotiation with the sect did not lead to the release of the girls. We are still in a dilemma on which of the two factions should we negotiate with. We must confirm that the offers are genuine.”

The sect had on August 3 split with the ISIS naming Abu Musab al-Barnawi as the new leader of Boko Haram.

In an interview with al-Barnawi in its
Al-Naba online weekly magazine, ISIS introduced him as Boko Haram new leader.

But a few days later, following the new appointment, the erstwhile leader, Abubakar Shekau, released an audio message in Arabic and Hausa languages accusing al-Barnawi of trying to stage a coup against him.

Shekau dismissed el-Barnawi “as an infidel who condones living in an un-Islamic society without waging jihad.” He also claimed to have been tricked by some of his followers.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in an interview with State House correspondents after a workshop organised for top security chiefs on how to respond to emergency situations such as terrorism and flood inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Monday, said the government must first ascertain the authenticity of those it was talking with.

He said, “The government’s position is clear that we are in touch with them. We are just being careful and cautious to ensure that we are talking to the right people especially with the news that there is a split in the leadership. But what is important is the safety and security of these girls.

“The thrust of my statement (on Sunday) was to assure the nation that we are on top of the situation. We are not even just reacting to the video, we have gone far beyond the video in talking to the group already. Until you are able to ascertain the authenticity of those you are talking to, you don’t go into details,” he said.

The minister said the position of government was that there could not be an end to the issue of terrorism until the abducted girls were rescued.

On the reported plan by the
BringBackOurGirls coalition to again match on the Presidential Villa, Mohammed said, “We appreciate their commitment to the return of these girls but there are few things we need to do behind the scene. What we are saying is that the government is committed to doing everything to rescue these girls.

“We are engaging them. By saying we are talking to them, I am talking from a point of knowledge. It does not matter what other people say. I know that the government is in touch with the group…

“Until the release of this video, the effort is not attracting any attention. But every day, the Office of the NSA and others concerned are working on it.

“For us, it is not just because of the release of the video but because of our belief that there will be no final closure to Boko Haram until we are able to resolve the issue of these girls.”

On his part, the Chief of Defence Staff, Lt. Gen. Abayomi Olonishakin, also in an interview with journalists at the event, said the demand that the Federal Government swap detained Boko Haram members for the Chibok was a political decision that would not stop ongoing military operations.

The BringBackOurGirls group and the parents of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls had on Sunday demanded that the government heed the call for a swap following the video of the girls released by the sect on Sunday.

Olonishakin told reporters that he would not stop the ongoing military operations against the insurgents which he said were going on smoothly.

“That (call for the swap of the girls with Boko Haram fighters) is a political decision to be taken. The military decision is that we are going ahead with our operations. The operation is being conducted appropriately,” he said.

The CDS however promised to analyze the video with a view to taking a position on it soon.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army has interrogated two of the three people it declared wanted on Sunday over a Boko Haram video showing the Chibok girls.

While a woman lawyer, Aisha Wakil, was quizzed at the Defence Headquarters, Abuja, Ahmed Bolori was interrogated at a military barracks in Maiduguri.

It was gathered that Wakil was interrogated at the Directorate of Military Intelligence at the Defence Headquarters.

The Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, said on the telephone on Monday that Wakil had reported to the military authorities to shed more light on what she knew about the Chibok girls.

When asked whether Wakil was to be detained at the Directorate of Military Intelligence, he said that the issue had to do with getting more information from the lady and not detention.

He said that it was the view of the Army that the three persons who were declared wanted on Sunday were not saying all they knew about the truth concerning the Chibok girls.

The Acting Army spokesman said that it was wrong for some persons to withhold information on the girls for pecuniary benefits.

Usman also denied the claim by Wakil that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, refused a request from her to meet him with some commanders of the Boko Haram as part of the efforts to resolve the crisis.

He said, “She (Aisha Wakil) has reported to the military. Nobody told you about detention. No. The thing is that she should come and shed more light on the things they know. From all indications, they are not saying what they know.”

Bolori on his facebook page on Monday said that he reported at the military barracks in Maiduguri at 10am.

According an online medium, The Cable Wakil had earlier in a statement on Monday said that the military knew where to find her.

She said that she was surprised that the army took the action despite knowing where to find her, adding that she knew the Boko Haram boys.

Wakil, in her statement, said she once met “the Chief of Army Staff and offered to bring along Boko Haram commanders for dialogue, but the army “chose to do things their own way.”

The third person, Salkida said in a statement made available to an Abuja based media consultant outfit to security agencies, the PR Nigeria, that if the Army buys him a ticket, he will visit Nigeria to honour the invitation.

lalasticlala

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, SAN, yesterday lamented that the All Progressives Congress, APC-led federal government has started covering up cases of corruption like the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, government it ousted from power.

He declared that the decision of the National Assembly to unilaterally insert constituency projects worth about N100 billion in the 2016 budget was “a clear case of conspiracy, fraud, forgery and corruption”, citing different sections of the 1999 Constitution and Fiscal Responsibility Act to buttress his point that the padding of the 2016 budget was illegal and unconstitutional.

Disclosing this in a statement personally signed by him, Falana claimed that about 20 legislators in both chambers of the National Assembly altered the budget by “inserting constituency projects worth N100 billion in the 2016 budget. Both the Senate and the House allocated to themselves N60 billion and N40 billion respectively.”

The human rights activist noted that if “it is established that the alterations were effected after the passing of the budget by both houses the issue at hand goes beyond padding. A clear case of conspiracy, fraud, forgery and corruption can be established against the suspects.”

He explained that padding “takes place when legislators resolve to rewrite the budget by introducing new items outside the estimates prepared and presented to them by the president.

“The controversy over the padding of budget was laid to rest with the enactment of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007 which has imposed a duty on the finance minister to source input from certain institutions including the national assembly during the course of preparing the budget.

“That is when negotiations and horse trading with the executive by the legislators is allowed. But neither the Constitution nor the Fiscal Responsibility Act has empowered the National Assembly members to rewrite the national budget by including constituency projects whose costs are arbitrarily fixed by the legislators.”

Under section 81 of the Constitution, Falana pointed out that only the president “is given the exclusive power to cause the budget to be prepared. Upon the preparation of the budget by the executive, it shall be laid or presented to the National Assembly by the president.”

He argued that in debating the Appropriation Bill, the legislators might reduce the estimates if there “are errors or inflation of the cost of items or if certain items provided for has been purchased before or for any other genuine reasons.

“But the National Assembly cannot increase the budget in any manner whatsoever. So, the unilateral introduction of constituency projects is totally illegal and unconstitutional. By introducing new items, the National Assembly has usurped the powers of the President to prepare the budget.

“In other words, the legislators would have prepared the budget and laid it before themselves and then passed it. That is a negation of the doctrine of separation of powers. The appropriation bill or amended appropriation bill is not like other bills.

Whereas other bills shall emanate from either of the two houses, money bills shall emanate from the President.

“So a money bill is a special bill which cannot be subjected to additions by the national assembly because it has no power to prepare it. Padding is an unconstitutional infraction when the estimates are increased on the floor of the House. The infraction becomes criminal when the Appropriation Bill is altered by a few legislators after it had been passed by both houses of the national assembly.”

He, therefore, said the speaker claimed that the padding of the 2016 was not a criminal offence, noting that Dogara’s confidence “is likely to have been anchored on the statement credited to the presidency that the budget was not padded in any material particular.

“Before then, the All Progressives Congress (APC) had decided to follow the discredited path of the PDP by treating the serious allegation of monumental corruption as a family affair of the ruling party.”

But unlike the PDP, Falana noted that the APC government failed “to act timeously. In other words, a cover up is no longer possible at this stage as the cat has been let out of the bag. For now, Dogara has no choice, but to defend the criminal allegations.

“Contrary to Dogara’s misleading contention, the Legislative Houses Powers and Privileges Act has not conferred immunity on him with respect to allegations of criminal offences. Since the immunity conferred by the Act is limited to contributions to debates by members of the National Assembly, he cannot ward off the invitation of the Nigeria Police and the EFCC to react to the criminal allegations leveled against.”

The Senior Advocate cited what happened when the 2005 appropriation bill was under consideration in the Senate, noting that some senators including the then Senate President padded the budget of a ministry after collecting N55 million bribe from a minister.

He said the scandal led “to the removal of the senate president who was later charged with his indicted colleagues and the minister. The Supreme Court has recently ordered that the suspects be tried for corruption having thrown out the preliminary objections filed against the charges by them at the trial court.”

Elders  of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Kogi State, North-central Nigeria, have tasked President Muhammadu Buhari on the need for a replacement of late James Ocholi who died as minister of state for Labour and Employment.

Ochili, a Senoir Advocate of Nigeria who represented Kogi State in the Federal Executive Council (FEC) died in a ghastly motor accident alongside his son and wife on Kaduna – Abuja Expressway, early this year.

In a letter signed by, Isa Sani Omolori on behalf of Kogi State’s APC Elder’s Vangauard, and addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari, which was obtained by LEADERSHIP, the elders noted the importance of filling the vacant position created as a result of the demise of the late minister.

They expressed concerned that  many months after the sudden death of the minister, who represented the slot of Kogi State in line with the principle of Federal Character, a replacement is yet to be made.

The elders, however, warned the president not to appoint someone who is not a member of the legacy parties that formed the APC in Kogi State as Ocholi’s replacement. They also urged the President to be guided by the agreed zoning formula of sharing political positions in the state as fashioned by the late party leader, Prince Abubakar Audu.

The elders noted in the letter that since the late James Ocholi was of the defunct Congress For Progressive Change (CPC), it will only be fair that the slot is retained by the CPC in the state.

The Kogi elders listed three nominees from which President Buhari should choose the replacement, among whom are Alhaji Idris M. Usman, state coordinator, Buhari Solidarity Organisation (BSO) who they said has been in

the opposition for the past 17 years, Mallam Ahmed Kokoli and Hon Jibril Yusuf.

According to the elders, “Since the demise of our beloved minister, James Ocholi , there has been a general clamour for his replacement from various interest groups in Kogi Sate, but there is need to be aware of the gentleman agreement reached during the formation of APC, chaired by late Prince Abubakar Audu.

“Since James Ocholi of blessed memory is only few months into his tenure, it is only fair, that his slot goes back to CPC. A meeting of CPC was convened and we zeroed on three CPC members from the three senatorial districts. Also, any appointment should recognise the geographical equation for equity.”

A democracy rights activist and All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant in Ondo State, Dr. Tunji Abayomi, has described APC "National Leader," Bola Tinubu, as a man who frustrates the democratic aspirations of Nigerians through his dictatorial tendencies.

Abayomi, who admitted he has great admiration for Tinubu’s contributions to the return of civil rule and his political sagacity, dropped the bombshell in a letter to the APC chieftain titled “The Tonic Of Democracy Is The Right Of The People To Choose Their Leaders,” the letter traced the history of the duo through the days of struggle for democracy under the military to the return of self-rule and Abayomi’s decision to join the Alliance for Democracy (AD), the political platform under which Tinubu became the governor of Lagos state in 1999.

The lawyer said there are hints that Tinubu is about imposing a candidate on the APC branch of the party in Ondo state before its August 27 primaries and warned him to stop his bid to tamper with the will of the party.

According to Abayomi, some APC leaders met with Tinubu on July 31 at a meeting, he alleged, was held to ensure that the primaries will be a procession for Tinubu’s candidate rather than a free and fair contest among aspirants.

“We share the struggle for democracy which conjured regard for the independent right of our people to vote and to make leaders for themselves. So close it seems, is the relationship that as you told me you were once approached by yet another old friend, President Olusegun Obasanjo, to convince me to work for him. Then and for a long time, at least up to 2004, when I decided to join the AD, I opted to be a go-between the poor masses; poor because they were in truth betrayed by leadership and the powerful few that control the apparatus of power in our land,” Abayomi wrote.

The lawyer added that despite Tinubu’s lack of conviction in the candidature of General Muhammadu Buhari for the presidency, he accommodated his view that Buhari was the man capable of winning last year’s presidential election. Tinubu’s decision on Buhari, notwithstanding, Abayomi said the former Lagos State governor has a major failing, which has become recurrent in his politics: a disdain for popular will.

“There are, however, certain principles that I believe form elements of democratic government, which I think you often violate. Considering that you fought for democracy, I wonder why it has become normative,” wrote the lawyer.

Abayomi instantiated his allegation with his experience in 2007 when he made a bid to be governor of Ondo State, an attempt snuffed out by Tinubu’s alleged imposition of his friend, Rotimi Akeredolu on the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

“You invited me, I think, the only aspirant for the purpose, to appeal for my support and understanding for your decision. The first question I asked then was: Who were the leaders who chose a candidate for our people without the input or the breadth of even the deaf and dumb of Ondo State?” he wrote.

Abayomi explained that he found Tinubu’s response to his question unconvincing and made it clear to him that it was a violation of the right of the people of Ondo State.

He explained that he had to stand against the Akeredolu’s emergence because he believed the procedure adopted was a violation of the people’s right to constitute government over themselves by their votes.
The people, he added, have been excluded since independence in 1960 from the decision to elect their rulers, a development that has predisposed them to desperate want.

“Now, our people have no houses in Victoria Island or Maitama, no land in Dubai or Johannesburg, no private jets or jetty. They don’t even have the money to sink boreholes to get little water or to buy good food. They have no passable road from home to farm or from farm to home. Their children have no worthwhile access to basic education or well-being,” he stated.

He warned Tinubu that the people could one day rise against the abridgement of their democratic right to choose leaders that will create possibilities and better their lot instead of the malicious governance they have experienced.

“But if we thought, we can win for them the right to vote, and through their votes, to raise good government and bring down bad government, then, they can change their misfortune under leadership, that, in our land, has often been corrupt and pitiless, to evolving hope, substitute their despair for possibility and long unrealizable desires for reality,” he declared.

He expressed concern about the entrenchment of oligarchic tendencies that have appropriated the people’s right and their wealth. The oligarchs, of which he hinted Tinubu is a member, are minded to buy off what is left of the people’s assets, voting right, with money stolen from the people.

“When we see for example, what is going on in the National Assembly among the constituency of political leaders that make up the Assembly, we see how unfortunate our people truly are. A Senator is alleged to make over N29,479,749 per month as against N18, 000 made by the common man he represents. Thus it will take not less than 1,638 years of hard work for the common man’s labour to acquire the annual worth of a senator. In one case that came to my attention a governor spent N1billion for the first year anniversary while a woman he governs over begged helplessly for N200 to buy ‘pure water’ for her daughter to go to school the next morning,” Abayomi added.


Bola Ahmed Tinubu
Tunji Abayomi
Dear Asiwaju Tinubu,

THE TONIC OF DEMOCRACY IS THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO CHOOSE THEIR LEADERS


The ignorant may not actually know our relationship. We share the struggle for democracy which conjured regard for the independent right of our people to vote and to make leaders over themselves. So close it seems, is the relationship that as you once told me you were once approached by yet another old friend President Olusegun Obasanjo to convince me to work for him.

Then and for a long time, at least up to 2004, when I decided to join the Political Party AD, I opted to be a go-between the poor masses, poor because they were in truth betrayed by leadership and the powerful few that control the apparatus of power in our land.

I have never hidden my appreciation for your political intelligence, accommodation of a different opinion, a great attribute you demonstrated when you accepted my totally separated and independent view, that in the struggle for the Presidency of Nigeria in 2015, when it came to winability, there was no substitute for President Mohammed Buhari.

Now Asiwaji, friendship must of course be based on mutual respect. You have visited my original house in Okeagbe just as I have often visited your home in Lagos. In 2013 when my son got married, you stood by me.

In the same manner on several occasions when men rose against your honour I raised a bastion to defend you. But my character is to stand on truth, offer sincere opinion to my friends unconcerned by the prestige of office or the character of personality. My understanding of friendship is to stand on something instead of falling for everything. And I believe in the many years past some have come to appreciate my preference for respect instead of love.

There is yet another product of conscience which your illustrious rich and exalted life has demonstrated - a non-conformist generosity that has lifted so many people up.

There are, however, certain principles which I believe form elements of democratic government which I think you often violate. Considering that you fought for democracy, I wonder why it has become a normative.
In 2007, I ran for Governor of Ondo State. You would recall that you invited me to your House in Bourdilon to break the news to me that certain leaders of the Party had picked a candidate for us in Ondo State.

You invited me, I think, the only Aspirant for the purpose to appeal for my support and understanding for your decision. The first question i asked then was who were the leaders who chose a candidate for our people without the input or the breadth of even the deaf and dumb of Ondo State?
Unconvinced by the responses, firm and total in my commitment to the democratic rights of our people, I made it clear then, that I could not and will not support your decision as I considered it wrong in principle and violative of the rights of citizens and that of the people of Ondo State.

In taking my stand against the procedure of picking a friend to represent our Party in the 2012 electoral contest I stood on the principle that I believe will advantage the common citizen’s right, that is the right to constitute government over themselves by their votes.

The sinews of national development, politics and in particular economy, had excluded the common man in Nigeria since 1960. Tormented by the grave denials, wants and ultimate desperation, all of which are symptoms of uncaring poverty foisted on our people by poor leadership, people like us, children of the “MEKUNNU” decided to fight for a most fundamental right, that is, the right of the common man to vote for the construction of leadership.

Now, our people have no houses in Victoria Island or Maitama, no land in Dubai or Johannesburg, no private jets or jetty. They don’t even have the money to sink boreholes to get mere water or to buy good food. They have no passable road from home to farm or from farm to home. Their children have no worthwhile access to basic education or well-being. But if, we thought, we can win for them the right to vote, and through their votes, to raise good government and bring down bad government, then, they can change their misfortune under leadership, that, in our land, has often been corrupt and pitiless, to evolving hope, substitute their despair for possibility and long unrealizable desires for reality. The strength of our abnormal determination to win democracy against the terror of military rule, a determination that led us to multiple jail terms, was actually defined by this organic vision.

You were, to some extent, part of that struggle to win for the people their right to vote, to make and create leadership. It was certainly our hope then and now that this right will neither be adulterated nor polluted by abuse of influence or money by leadership. Since 1960 the present Federal Government that you clearly helped to bring about makes the very first time, the votes of our people would effectively count in raising government.

I am greatly disturbed that the political oligarchy in charge of power in our Nation, having taken every wealth of the people for themselves and their offsprings appear determined to buy, with the people’s money already embezzled by them, the only valuable political asset the people have - their voting right.

When we see for example, what is going on in the National Assembly among the constituency of political leaders that make up the Assembly we see how unfortunate our people truly are. A Senator is alleged to make over N29,479,749 per month as against N18000 made by the common man he represents. Thus it will take not less than 1,638 years of hard work for the common man’s labour to acquire the annual worth of a Senator. In once case that came to my attention a Governor spent N1,000,000,000 for the first year anniversary while a woman he governs over begged helplessly for N200 to buy “pure water” for her daughter to go to school the next morning. In spite of these abnormal indifferences, corruption prevails over the land among political leaders to the helpless and hopeless desire of the common man.

As a prominent leader in the past in the struggle for the undiluted and unpolluted right of the people to vote, I had hoped you will ALWAYS allow the due process of voting to control political struggles. Indeed this was the essence of our 3 hour dialogue and disagreement when you and perhaps others placed over the people of Ondo State a candidate that was not chosen by us or for us through our votes in the Governorship Election.

With regard to the present struggle or contest for governorship in Ondo State, whether some of our party leaders came to you to choose for them as some have alleged or you invited our leaders on 31.7.2016 as some have averred, what we expect a democrat to do was to respect the right of the people to choose their leaders through and unduly influenced free and fair primary electoral process. My deepest disagreement with you, which has arisen on many occasions in the past years, inspite of much respect for your contributions to National development, have grown from my perception that in your high station, you are doing too little to honour the end of our struggle for democracy, which, as I see it, hangs on that cardinal right of the ordinary people to vote or be voted for or the need to ensure that government of the people, by the people and for the people, instead for the leaders and actually prevail and triumph in our land.

When votes don’t make decisions in a democracy the masses become victims of their leaders who take advantage of their poverty and despair to exercise illimitable and unlimited power over public wealth.

You can see this in the tragedy of wealth and poverty under the last Federal Government. For me, out of
stubborn effort in struggle, I became what I am so that I can speak my mind even to my friends. I became what I am so that I can speak my mind even to my friends. As I verily believe that without dutiful regard and respect for the right of our people to make government, change that enhances hope will NEVER triumph in Nigeria.

You have sacrificed much for democracy, committed much of your time, energy, wealth, will and worth to it. You can only be truly honoured when you respect and raise her ideals one of which is the right of our people to choose their leaders. You can only be truly honoured when you respect and raise her ideals one of which is the right of our people to choose their leaders. You can only be diminished when you wrong democratic ideals and due expectations.

I desire, as a friend, that you retrieve or at least reduce your tendency to dictate the end of democratic struggles which is what I see in the diction to the people of Ondo State of a particular candidate before the August 27, 2016 All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship Election Primary.

Please kindly do accept assurances of my highest regards.

Yours truly,
OLATUNJI O. ABAYOMI (DR)

Fidelis Soriwei, Abuja

The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, has said that the Nigerian Air Force would soon launch an aerial operation to protect critical infrastructure and the people of the South South.

Abubakar said that having substantially addressed the security situation in the North East, the main focus focus of the NAF was to prevent the destruction of the nation’s infrastructure.

The Air Chief made the comment at the quarterly route march for personnel of the NAF in Abuja on Saturday.

He challenged the officers and men of the service to be ready at all time to respond effectively to the task of defending the territorial integrity of the country.

He said, “Be ready that at any time you are called to serve in the defence of the Nigerian state; you will be willing to do so out there and do it with every sense of patriotism.

“The challenges in the North East have been substantially addressed, so we are not too worried now about the North East.

“Our main focus will now be to protect the territorial integrity of Nigeria in the South South and to ensure that oil and gas infrastructure are not destroyed by any group or group of individuals.

“Very soon we will launch an exercise in the South South also and the aim of the exercise is to protect our people and to protect the infrastructure of Nigeria.”

He explained that the route march was organised to give the leadership of the service the opportunity to have an appraisal of the tasks given to younger officers.

Abubakar said that the service was keen on a perfect state of health for its personnel as the current security challenges facing the country required the best form of health and physical well-being to tackle.

Meanwhile, the NAF has launched aerial patrol of the FCT, the Abuja-Kaduna High Way, Birnin Gwari-Kaduna High Way, the Falgore Forest area, Minna general area and the Kano-Kaduna High Way on Saturday.

The Chairwoman Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), Deaconess Joan Ayo, has said the on-going staff audit has revealed some irregular or unauthorised appointments which have been declared null and void.

FCSC spokesman, Dr. Joel Oruche, quoted Ayo as saying the staff audit was aimed at fishing out the irregular and unauthorised appointees and delisting them from the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS).

“This action is necessary because the appointments are not backed by any vacancy from the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and as such, were not budgeted for. Besides they are in gross violation of the Federal Character principle,” Ayo was quoted to have said.

She said declared vacancies from the HCSF would soon be advertised and assured that all Nigerians who are qualified would be given the opportunity to compete for the available jobs while selection would be strictly based on merit within the context of principle of federal character.

The chairwoman assured that the FCSC would continue to ensure that promotion is strictly based on merit, adding that the guidelines for appointment, promotion and discipline is being reviewed to meet the increasing demand of present reality.

Lagos State Emergency Agency (LASEMA) on Friday said it received a distress call about diesel theft around Ibadan and Abeokuta Street, Ilasamaja Oshodi Isolo Local Government, Lagos.

Investigation by the ERT at the scene of the incident revealed that some houses in the area had knowledge of a well filled with diesel.

LASEMA spokesman, Kehinde Adebayo, in a statement to DAILY POST, said “further probing into the incident revealed a case of bunkering as eyewitnesses gave reports of trucks coming in at night to load diesel”.

“The affected area has been cordoned off, while occupants of the affected houses were asked to vacate immediately to avoid any disaster.”

General Manager LASEMA, Michael Akindele said that the Lagos State Government will soon come out with further action to be taken on the matter.

Others involved at the operation were Lagos State Commusioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, Commander RRS, Commander NSCDC – Anti-vandals, DPO Ilasamaja, Environmental Officers from Isolo LCDA, among others.

A pastor, identified as Kingsley Amayo, has been arrested by the police in Edo state in connection with the death of his wife, Faith Amayo.

The deceased’s family had written a petition to the Zone 5 Police Headquarters in Benin, Edo State, alleging questionable circumstances surrounding the death of their daughter.

The police swooped into action and reportedly arrested Amayo, the pastor of a popular Pentecostal church in Uromi town, Esan North-East Local Government Area of the state.

He was arrested alongside three other pastors of the church.

The Zonal Public Relations Officer, ZPRO, DSP Emeka Iheanacho, who confirmed the arrests to newsmen in the state on Thursday, said the discrepancies in the report made to the police on the death of the 38-year-old woman informed the investigation.

According to him, a case of motor accident was reported at Ekpoma Police Division by the pastor while the family of the deceased wrote a petition to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in the zone, alleging murder.

Iheanacho said, “The matter was reported at the Edo State Command where initially they were investigating a fatal motor accident, before the family of the late woman, Faith Amayo initiated a petition to the office of the Assistant Inspector-General of Police alleging foul play.

“So the petition before AIG is from the family of the deceased where they suspected that the husband must have used the woman for ritual. So, that is the matter we are investigating presently.

“Officials of the Zone 5 Police Headquarters arrested Amayo and three other pastor of his church which will not be named until investigations are complete.

“The investigating team will unravel the circumstances of the woman’s death,” the ZPRO assured.

Speaking before newsmen, the embattled brother of the deceased, Engineer Fidelis Evbuomwan, said the deceased who was yet to have a child was properly married to Pastor Kingsley Amayo in 2011.

He said, “On Tuesday, July 26, 2016, Pastor Kingsley Amayo had through his elder brother, one Chief Iso, informed the family that their daughter, Mrs Faith Amayo, had died in a motor accident at Ujogba, while her husband was driving her to Benin City.

“We had to instruct our lawyer to initiate a petition when Amayo gave conflicting accounts of how our sister, his wife died in an accident he was also involved in.

“Our findings revealed that no case of accident was recorded at Ujogba nor reported at Ekpoma Police Division in charge of the area that fateful day.

“There was no report of the other vehicle which was allegedly involved in the head-on collision with Pastor Amayo’s Sienna car.

“Who rescued them and the hospital where my sister was pronounced dead, who embalmed her corpse before she was taken to mortuary in Uromi?

“Why was it not reported to the police or why did they not wait for her family members to see her,” he quizzed as he appealed to concerned authorities to ensure that justice prevail in the matter.

The All Progressives Congress said it would not sanction House of Representatives Speaker, Mr Yakubu Dogara, or Rep. Abdulmumuni Jibrin over allegations of budget padding in the lower chamber.

Deputy National Chairman of the party, Mr Lawal Shuaibu, said this while briefing newsmen at the National Secretariat of the party on Thursday in Abuja.

Quoting Article 7, sub-section 5 of APC Constitution, Shuaibu said that the party had the power to do certain things but that whatever was going to be done would not be revealed to the public.

He said, “what is padding? The party does not sanction anybody on that.

“What concerns us is where any member contravenes the party’s Constitution by his conduct. That is why I refer you to Article 7 sub-section 5 of our party constitution.

“We are not a law enforcement organisation; we don’t enforce laws. We only ensure that the Constitution is complied with.

“Any member of the party is answerable to the party and answerable to its Constitution.

“The two members that are subjected to this are elected or appointed members of the party, including those that are holding public office.”

He said that although the party would not sweep the matter “under the carpet, it won’t be in the public gallery’’.

Clearing the air on its main source of finance, the deputy chairman said that the party solely relied on the N100 registration fee from about 12.7 million members in its data base.

“We have a credible source of funding; every member of APC in this country is expected to pay N100. So far, on our data base we have 12.7 million registered members.

“Others are still waiting for us to just open our portal to do their membership registration.

“Assuming those on our data base paid their membership levy, just multiply N100 by 12.7 million members and you know how much we get. So, we have our way of sourcing for fund.’’

On the recent outburst of a Kano-based chieftain of the party over President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, Shuaibu said “that man who claimed to be our chairman in Kano is unknown to us as a party.

“Go to the directorate of organisation of our party here and demand to know who our state chairman there is; if you check our data base you will see the name of our state chairman in Kano state.

“That person who made that statement is not our member; we actually don’t even know him, to be very honest.”

He announced that a committee had been set up to review the party’s constitution before a mini-convention will hold.
NAN

Nigeria can no longer boast to be the biggest economy on the African continent, as it lost the spot to South Africa after the naira plunged to new lows.

With a gross domestic product (GDP) of $296 billion, according to Bloomberg and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Nigeria dropped to become Africa’s second largest economy, after holding the position for two consecutive years.consecutively.
Here are five reasons why Nigeria lost its place:

CRUDE OIL CRASH

According to Lukman Otunuga, research analyst at FXTM, the crash in oil prices on the international market is the prime reason Nigeria, an oil-dependent nation, lost its place to South Africa.

“The extended periods of depressed oil prices and persistent global uncertainty have caused the world’s previous largest economy in Africa known as Nigeria to lose its title to South Africa,” Otunuga said in a note to TheCable.

Oil prices have fallen by over 65 percent since 2014, having a direct toll on the Nigerian economy.

NAIRA ‘FLOATING’ DEVALUATION

South Africa’s economy regained the position of Africa’s largest in dollar terms, due to the crash of the naira against the dollar. As the naira fell against the dollar, the South African rand — on the other hand — appreciated against the dollar.

In 2016 alone, the rand has appreciated by over 10 percent against the dollar, while the naira has fallen by over 40 percent.

Analysts believe that if the naira was floated earlier in the life of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, the over 40 percent drop from 197 to 310 against the dollar could have been avoided.

INFLATION

In 2016 alone, NBS figures show that inflation in Nigeria has spiked by over 71 percent, moving from 9.6 percent in January to 16.5 percent by June.

As the inflation spiked, some businesses went down and many jobs were lost.

According to NBS, over 1.5 million people have come into the unemployment bracket in the past year. As inflation spiked, Nigeria lost some economic activity, which hitherto kept the economy robust.

GOODLUCK JONATHAN AND FOREX SCARCITY

Foreign exchange still remains a scarce commodity, following a number of questionable decisions from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) monetary policy committee.

The naira was pegged at 197/$1 for 16 months without reflecting the reality in the falling crude oil price.

In 2008, when the global economic crisis was biting hard, Nigeria still maintained a GDP growth of 6.3 percent, due to fiscal buffer (in foreign reserves and excess crude account), saved from the Obasanjo days.

If the Goodluck Jonathan administration saved as much as the Obasanjo days, the 2014/2015 crude oil crash would also have had little or no effect on the Nigerian economy. Forex scarcity would not have surfaced at all.

SLOW POLICY DECISION AND DIVERSIFICATION

President Buhari said before and after his election into office that he was going to diversify the Nigerian economy away from oil.

He seems to remain resolute to his plans, by broadening the tax base through the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), while pursuing agriculture and mining.

But like Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former minister of finance, said, Nigeria and other African countries are lazy about the diversification talk, failing to recognise that it takes decades to fully diversify.

With slow diversification in trying times, coupled with slow economic decisions, the economic fall seemed inevitable.

According to Otunuga, “although this new development may dampen sentiment, it should be kept in mind that Nigeria is in an ongoing quest to diversifying away from being heavily export reliant.

“This year, 2016, has been a challenge with the nation descending into a technical recession while inflation skyrocketed to shocking levels. Steps have already been taken to jump-start economic growth in the long run with optimism that the nation could reclaim its previous title as the largest economy in Africa.”

When interviewed about the motive behind his actions, the suspect blamed the devil for his action, while pleading guilty.

He further promised not to commit such crime again if set free.

He told the court that the man, infuriated by his wife’s refusal, beat her to submission and forcefully had sexual intercourse with her, all of which led to her death.