₦airaland Forum

Police in Zone 2, Lagos have arrested a 39 year old woman, Mrs. Oluwatobi Obogo, for allegedly defrauding people by presenting a Local Purchase Order (LPO ) and issuing dud cheques.

The Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG ) in charge of Zone 2, Abdulmajid Ali, yesterday paraded Obogo and other suspects at the zonal command headquarters, Onikan, Lagos. Obogo allegedly issued a dud cheque to Mr. Kennenna Nwosu, who bankrolled an LPO presented by the suspect to the tune of N 38 million.

On July 16 and 17, the suspect allegedly collected the amount and issued a dud cheque to mature in 12 working days The LPO was for the lifting of 300,000 litres of diesel valued N38million. She reportedly offered to pay the amount plus interest of about N3million to Nwosu at the completion of the supply order in two weeks. But Ali said Obogo disappeared into the thin air after the transactions until she was arrested by policemen attached to Area ‘E ’ FESTAC Command.

It was learnt that apart from the said transaction, she reportedly used similar tricks on many innocent Nigerians who she gave false LPOs and post- dated dud cheques. Ali urged the public to properly check individuals they are involved in transactions with. According to him, Obogo is not alone in the crime. But Obogo denied having any intention to defraud Nwosu.

She said she had collected LPOs and sourced financiers more than 20 times at Apapa depot. She said: “I am not a fraudster; I gave him a building as collateral for his money. Someone introduced him to me before the transaction took place.”

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“Why is your thing (private part) dropping like this, haven’t you done it in recent time.

The last is yet to be heard on the militancy in the Niger Delta as another group has emerged.

This time, the group which prides itself as Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate, NDGJM, has threatened to bring down the Refinery in Eleme, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, as well as the Warri Refinery.

They equally vowed to bring down the Utorogun gas plant in Otu-Jeremi in Ughelli South Local Government Area, Delta State in few days should the federal government fail to listen to them.

Making their grouse known, the group which is not happy with on-going negotiations with other militant groups said, “the federal government and oil companies have started yet another round of negotiation with the Ijaw front, in the name of all the people of the Niger Delta. This will not work.”

They have, therefore issued a 48-hour ultimatum to oil multinationals still in the upland of the region, especially in the Ogba/Egi axis of Rivers state, Urhobo/Isoko/Ndokwa axis of Delta state and other upland oil producing areas to evacuate their personnel.

They decried that all the people of the upland Niger Delta, under whose watch the largest and most critical oil assets are located, have been ignored over the years as government and the oil companies pander to every whim and cough of those who have violently engaged the state.

In a statement by its Spokesman, self-styled Gen. Aldo Agbalaja, he declared that “We have keenly watched developments in the country in recent times, developments that are most depressing, very much depicting the marginalization and subjugation of the hapless people of our region.

“We have thought very deeply about the ongoing shenanigan and play-acting going on between the federal government and some self-styled ‘Niger Delta agitators’ and thought if we fail to make our own statement now, then there will be no future for the larger Niger Delta region.

“For the avoidance of doubts, the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate is not in the mold of the various criminal gangs that have so far paraded themselves as fighting for the interest of the people of the Niger Delta, but who indeed have been engaged in fight for personal enrichment.

“We are not one of them. We are out to tell the world that there is a Niger Delta that is made up of many tribes and tongues, the people of whom have so far suffered both local and national oppression.

“We have come at this point to ensure that our oppressors, being the federal government, the state governments in the six core Niger Delta states who have received billions of dollars over the past years but have brought little or no development to the region and the so-called super-ethnic nations, who have yielded to greed and wickedness and have exposed the rest of us in the oil-rich, but deeply impoverished region, to crippling squalor.

”The Federal government and the oil multinational companies have been making a very grave mistake by equating the interest of the Ijaw people as that of all the tribes of the region. Indeed, this is a mistake that is about to take a more devastating toll than has ever been seen or experienced in the history of Nigeria.

“Any moment from now, we shall be making a loud statement which we believe should be loud enough for all to see and take seriously and then afterwards state our demands.

“We have considered this ‘coming statement’ reluctantly inevitable because of the recalcitrance of federal authorities, as well as oil giants; they both have decided to ignore calls to reason and have made violence the only option.

“Just as in the 2009 experience, the federal government and oil companies have started yet another round of negotiation with the Ijaw front, in the name of all the people of the Niger Delta. This will not work. Since they do not regard the assets in our areas important enough to be protected, we shall root them all out of the length of the Niger Delta. We don’t want to make this mistake any longer, violence pays as it has become the only voice that government gives hearkens to.

“Finally, we are asking all the oil multinationals still in the upland of our region; AGIP, TOTAL, SHELL, MOBIL, SHORELINES, NECONDE, E.D WESTERN, SEPLAT and others to commence the evacuation of their personnel from the region, especially in the Ogba/Egi axis of Rivers state, Urhobo/Isoko/Ndokwa axis of Delta state and other upland oil producing areas, within the next 48 hours.

“We also want to bring it to the attention of the federal government and the NNPC that the refineries in Warri (Urhobo land) and Port Harcourt (Eleme) and the gas plant in Otorogun will all come down in few days from now.

“We just hope that the Nigerian government will continue ignoring us so that we can perfect what those in the riverine area started”.

Justice is gradually coming the way of the 15-year-old girl, Uzoamaka Chukwu, the orphan girl who was stripped naked and tortured by a man who claimed to be her father because she allegedly had sex with her boyfriend, as the Ebonyi State Police Command has moved in to arrest the perpetrators of the dastardly act » that went viral on social media.

The suspects turned out to be the Coordinator of Ohaozara Development Centre, Ogbonnaya Ene Odi , two police officers who took part in the dehumanizing act on the girl who is a Junior Secondary School Two (JSS2) student, on the orders of Odi.

The arrest, according to the member of the House of Representatives representing Onicha, Ohaozara and Ivo Federal Constituency, Hon. Linus Abaa Okorie, who had vowed to make sure the perpetrators of the act are brought to book, came at the instance of the State Police Commissioner, Peace Ibekwe Abdallah , who dispatched a team of police officers to the community to get the culprits.

According to sources in the community, the incident took place in the sitting room of Odi in the presence of other men who had great fun recording the torture of the girl and later posted it on social media.

A police source in the state command confirmed the arrest of Odi, adding that the CP is not taking the matter with levity and has vowed to bring the culprits to book if they are found guilty after investigations.

“He (Odi) has been arrested. The Governor told the CP to make sure all those involved are arrested and brought to book. The police officers involved have also been arrested."

"The police has since commenced investigation in the matter but we are still waiting for the victim, Ukamaka, to come and identify the suspects at the command today; that is stalling the investigation a little bit.

By tomorrow we are expecting her back to the state from Abuja.”

By Ejiofor Alike in Abuja and Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa

As part of the efforts to address frequent disruptions to the supply of crude oil to the Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company (KRPC) as a result of the Niger Delta militancy, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is considering importing crude oil from Chad and Niger Republic, investigations by THISDAY have revealed.

This is coming as the President of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Qatar’s Energy Minister, Mohammed Al Sada, has stated that oil prices would rebound during the third and fourth quarters of 2016.
NNPC, it was learnt, is also considering the option of using railway transportation to move crude from the Niger Delta to the refinery complex.

A top official of the NNPC, who spoke to THISDAY on the condition of anonymity, disclosed yesterday that the corporation might refit the Kaduna refinery to be able to process Nigerien and Chadian crude grades, following the incessant attacks on the pipelines that feed the plant with Nigerian Bonny Light crude.

According to him, the refinery was originally designed to process Nigerian crude and foreign heavy crude at the ratio of about 70:30.

“The original design capacity was 60,000 barrels per day of light crude. So in order to process paraffinic based crude oil from Venezuela, Kuwait or Saudi Arabia, the capacity was later increased to 110,000bpd.

“So apart from having the capacity to refine Bonny Light, the plant can also process heavy crude oil from Kuwait, Lagomar crude from Venezuela, Arabian Light from Saudi Arabia and Urals from Russia.

“But for it to refine crude from Chad or Niger, the plant requires some form of refitting so that it can use crude specification from those countries as well. The refitting does not involve complex technology,” he explained.

Spokesman of NNPC, Mr. Garuba Deen Muhammad did not respond when contacted by THISDAY, but the Public Affairs Manager of KRPC, Mr. Idris Abdullahi confirmed that the options of importing crude from Chad and Niger, as well as using rail lines were actually being considered.
“We will choose from the two options but it depends on the financial viability. The refinery had rail lines right from inception. The rail lines were used to bring in materials and equipment during its construction.

“They have never been used to transport crude to the refineries. We get crude from Warri through the pipelines. But we are now thinking of using the lines to bring in crude from the Niger Delta because of the vandalism of the pipelines.

“The second option being considered is importation from Niger and Chad. We are considering the two options and the option we will choose will depend on the viability,” Abdullahi explained.

Inadequate maintenance and vandalism of crude oil pipelines have led to the sub-optimal performance of the country’s 445,000bpd capacity refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna.

Barely one month after the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, had re-commissioned the 46-km Escravos-Warri pipeline repaired by Ocean Marine Solution in April this year, thus restoring crude oil supply to Warri and Kaduna refineries, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), which has claimed responsibility for a series of attack on oil and gas assets, bombed the pipeline.

While Nigeria is battling with militancy in the oil-producing region, Chad is facing the dreaded Boko Haram insurgency and other security threats around its border with Nigeria, Libya and the Central African Republic.

From a production capacity of around 100,000 barrels per day in 2014, Chad had set a target to increase production from 130,000 bpd by the end of 2014 to 260,000 barrels per day in 2016 from the Mangara and Badila oilfields, which are operated by Glencore Xstrata, and another field managed by a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

Niger Republic had a set target of increasing production from 20,000 barrels per day to 80,000 bpd in 2016, with the country’s refinery consuming 20,000 bpd, while 60,000 bpd will be exported through Cameroun and Chad.

A Nigerian delegation had in November 2011 represented former President Goodluck Jonathan when Niger Republic inaugurated the 20,000 barrel-per-day Soraz refinery near Zinder, very close to the Nigerian border.

The refinery is 60 per cent-owned by Chinese state oil company, CNPC and 40 per cent by Niger Republic.

In a related development, the President of OPEC is forecasting that the price of crude oil will rise during the third and fourth quarters of 2016, said a statement posted on the cartel’s website.

“Expectation of higher crude oil demand in the third and fourth quarters of 2016, coupled with decrease in availability, is leading the analysts to conclude that the current bear market is only temporary, and oil price would increase during later part of 2016,” Al Sada said.

Militants Kill Soldiers

Meanwhile, suspected militants yesterday ambushed a location of the Joint Task Force (JTF) in Nembe town, Bayelsa State, killing three soldiers and carting away several arms and ammunition belonging to the security outfit.

During the incident which occurred at about 9.30 a.m., the gunmen made away with military gunboats after they sacked the operatives of the JTF stationed at the checkpoint in the waterways of the state.
The checkpoint, it was gathered, is located at the entrance of the community and has existed since the outset of the armed agitation in the Niger Delta region.

The gunmen were reportedly disguised as mourners in order to deceive the security operatives and let out several gunshots on the unsuspecting officers, killing three instantly and injuring several others, including civilians.

Many residents of the area, it was gathered, became apprehensive when they heard the sound of gunshots which unsettled the community during the surprise attack that lasted for about 30 minutes.
The gang, which operated in several gunboats, caught the soldiers unawares and left no chance for a quick response, a source said.

A resident of the area said many people started fleeing for fear that the military might return for a reprisal attack.

“The attack was deadly and well planned. Nobody had expected that such a thing would happen at such a time when the jetties are busy with people preparing to go about their normal business activities.
“I am sure even the soldiers did not expect this to happen at that time. Some persons who were already sailing out of Nembe said they saw the gunmen but dismissed them as mourners because they were dressed in white robes,” he said.

The source further said that following the incident, some residents in Nembe fled the community while others locked themselves indoors following widespread fears of a reprisal.

It was learnt that the incident occurred at the same military checkpoint where five soldiers were shot dead and heavy guns carted away in November last year.

Officials of the state government were said to have sent a delegation to the area while the JTF deployed more men to the scene and on the trail of the violent gang.
A statement later yesterday by the acting spokesman of the JTF, Lieutenant Commander A. Ahmed, said the security operatives vowed to go on the offensive against the suspects.

“Some suspected gunmen believed to be militants at about 10 a.m. on 8th of August 2016 attacked the 343 Artillery Regiment, a detachment of Operation Delta Safe deployed in the Nembe jetty in Bayelsa State.

“During the incident, three soldiers lost their lives. The commander of Operation Delta Safe, Rear Admiral Joseph Okojie, has consequently deployed a reinforcement team to apprehend the perpetrators of this heinous crime.

“He further warned that henceforth, Operation Delta Safe will go on the offensive to fish out all criminals in the region.
“It should be noted that the attack by militants was as a result of the ongoing operations of the Joint Task Force, Operation Delta Safe, aimed at flushing out all forms of criminality, especially pipeline vandalism and the destruction of illegal refineries within the region.

“The command wishes to assure the law abiding public, particularly the Nembe community that Operation Delta Safe is mandated to ensure conducive and safe water ways for legitimate businesses in the joint operation areas”, the statement said.

Ex-militant Picked to Battle Vandalism
However, before yesterday’s attack at the Nembe creek, the Bayelsa State Government at the weekend began the implementation of its new strategy to end the menace of militancy, pipeline vandalism, pirate attacks, kidnappings and other criminal activities along the waterways and creeks of the state.

The governor of the state, Mr. Seriake Dickson, inaugurated a former militant leader, Mr. Africanus Ukparasia, popularly known as ‘General’ Africa, as the chairman of the state Waterway Security Taskforce.

At the inaugural ceremony, which reportedly took place at the Banquet Hall, Yenagoa, Dickson mandated the taskforce to provide the security agencies with the required intelligence to deal with criminals.

The ceremony which later moved to Africa’s home attracted youths and leaders from different parts of the state, including the state chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Tiwe Oruminighe and the state secretary of the party, Mr. Marlin Daniel.

In his remarks, Africa assured the government of adequate security and intelligence gathering along the waterways of the state. He said criminals would no longer be allowed to take over the waterways to kill innocent people and subject travellers and traders to untold hardship.

He warned sea robbers and other criminals operating in the state to leave the creeks or face tough times. Speaking on the choice of Africa, Oruminighe hailed Dickson for the appointment and said though the ex-militant leader is a member of APC, matters of security cut across party lines.
He said Dickson, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), recently visited Buhari to seek ways of solving the Niger Delta problem.

Timi Frank, deputy national publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has scolded Abdulmumin Jibrin, former chairman of the house of representatives appropriations committee, for flouting the party’s order of “ceasefire” and commenting on the budget padding allegations he levelled against Yakubu Dogara, the speaker, and 11 others.

In a statement on Sunday, Jibrin
levelled fresh allegations against the speaker.

The party, through Lawal Shuaibu, deputy national chairman (north), had ordered the former appropriations to stop issuing statements on the budget padding allegations.

But reacting to the outburst in a statement on Monday, Frank said it was obvious that Jibrin lacks respect for the leaders of the APC. He added that Jibrin could be sanctioned if he continued disobeying the party.

“It is now obvious how disrespectful, mannerless and desperate Hon. Jibrin could be even to the leaders of our party, including the national deputy chairman north, national secretary, national treasurer and others who have been working to ensure that peace return to the house,” he said.

“But if Hon. Jibrin does not have respect for Speaker Dogara as a person, it is expected of him to respect the office of the speaker, the number four citizen of our party and the country.

“Jubrin should also be told that he has shown clearly shown disrespect for President Muhammadu Buhari who is the leader of our party by this singular act.

“It is high time Hon. Jibrin kept quiet and stopped this public show of shame before his excesses will be made known to Nigerians and the whole world.”

Frank added: “His continued show of shame does not only stop at him but has great negative impact on the party, its members and the President Muhammadu Buhari’s government.

“He should be also aware that disobeying party in this manner may attract sanction if the party deems it fit.”

By Soni Daniel, Northern Region Editor, Emman Ovuakporie & Johnbosco Agbakwu

ABUJA— As investigation into allegations that Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, and four other principal officers injected projects worth N281 billion into the 2016 budget continues, indications have emerged that President Muhammadu Buhari is unwilling to assist the suspects from being prosecuted.

This came as it emerged that 262 members of the House have backed the signature drive in solidarity with the speaker. Besides, northern youths, under the aegis of Northern Youths Integrity Forum, NYIF, have written the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, calling for the arrest and prosecution of former chairman of House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, Abdulmumin Jibrin, over his role in the controversy surrounding alleged padding of 2016 budget.

However, in the heat of the controversy and summons from a special probe panel raised by the Inspector-General of Police, Dogara, last weekend, met Buhari but Presidency sources confirmed to Vanguard last night that Buhari was non-committal.

A senior aide of Buhari, who is privy to what transpired at the meeting, said the President did not offer to help the embattled speaker but asked him to cooperate with the probe panel so as to prove his innocence and clear his name.

The aide, who pleaded anonymity, said it was not in the character of the President to interfere with any criminal investigation in line with his anti-corruption posture and would, therefore, not offer any form of assistance to anyone undergoing investigation or trial over graft.

“This is not about Dogara or anyone in particular. This President will not intercede to stop the investigation or trial of anyone,” the presidential aide said.

The refusal of the President to intervene has opened the prospect of a criminal indictment and prosecution should the Modu Ali probe panel establishes sufficient evidence of budget padding against them.

No one'll be spared —AGF

The development comes as the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, awaits the outcome of the police report so as to press criminal charges against those found to have padded the budget both in the National Assembly and in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government.

The minister confirmed to Vanguard last night that his office would not hesitate to file charges against anyone found to have committed budget fraud against the interest of the nation.

Malami said the report of the police probe would be ready in a matter of weeks and that necessary steps would be taken to deal with the situation in the interest of justice.

The minister said: “We will investigate the executive and legislative conspiracy as it relates to the constituency projects, with a view to measuring the act of execution of the padded projects over the years and in so doing, learn a lesson therefrom in the budget and its implementation as a law with an aim to prosecute infractions and block leakages inherent in the padding process."

262 members back Dogara

Dogara has come under intense scrutiny and pressure to quit or defend his name based on allegations by the sacked chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Abdul-mumin Jibrin, that he and four other principal officers of the House were involved in budget padding.

But Dogara has fought back, mobilising majority of his loyalists in the legislature to append their signatures in his support to stave off imminent removal and replacement.

He is reported to have so far secured the signatures of no fewer than 262 of the 360-member legislature.

The 262, according to sources, have already signed a register opened by Dogara to keep track of those backing him. The signature drive is being collated across the six geopolitical zones on a state by state basis with support for Dogara said to be very strong in five zones with the Southwest being the exception.

Dogara and his co-accused are expected to appear before the police team this week. Their accuser, Abdumumuni Jibrin, has already met with the panel and submitted documents to the team.

Northern youths call for prosecution of Jibrin

Meanwhile, Northern Youths Integrity Forum, NYIF, has written to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, calling for the arrest and prosecution of Jibrin, over his role in the controversy surrounding alleged padding of 2016 budget.

In the letter to the Chairman of EFCC, the group said it would be willing to provide evidence of wrongdoing by Jibrin, if invited to do so.

The letter, signed by the NYIF Coordinator, Kabiru Amadu, further stated that members of the group strongly believed in kindness, transparency, commitment and the leadership of Dogara, claiming that the speaker had never been involved in any corruption cases or convicted by any court of law.

“But this stealing of fund is not possible without the active connivance of some members of the executive arm,” he stated.

daylife7:
Ur judgment is dat of a guy looking 4 a feminine sympathy. .... weitein d woman fyn go her husband phone

Among PDP leaders arrested and detained by the EFCC are former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col . Sambo Dasuki ; former PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh ; former Deputy National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus ; former Director of Publicity of PDP Presidential Campaign , Chief Femi Fani- Kayode; former Chairman, PDP Board of Trustees (BoT ), Dr. Haliru Bello Mohammed; Chairman of Daar Communications, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, among others.

samzzycash:
carry your wahala and go..

The Chief Whip of the House of Representative, Mr. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, has said the crisis rocking the House had gone beyond the All Progressives Congress.

Allegations of budget padding and corruption leveled against the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, and the leadership of the House by a former Chairman of its Appropriation Committee, Abdulmumin Jibrin, has led to tension.

An intervention by their party, the APC, which has seen Jibrin stop his public attacks on Dogara, is not expected to change much, especially as Jibrin had already submitted petitions against the House’s leadership to anti-graft agencies.

Ado-Doguwa, who is one of the four principal officers accused by Jibrin, said while the intervention of the All Progressives Congress was appreciated, the matter was strictly not a political party’s case, but about the integrity of the legislature.

He said, “Of course, we would have always loved to respect any intervention by our great party (APC).

“But, the problem we have at hand is unfortunately not a political party’s case. It is not about Speaker Dogara; it is not also about Honourable Lasun or my humble self as the Chief Whip of the House, either.

“This matter is critically fundamental as it relates to the institutional integrity of the House of Representatives and National Assembly at large. You must therefore, understand that it is not purely an APC business.

“We would certainly have our hands tied in the event where the APC comes up with any so-called ‘political solutions’ that may contravene our institutional legislative codes.”

The matter is already being investigated by the police and that both Dogara and Jibrin did not honour the invitation to appear before the police team investigating the allegations on Friday, it was gathered.

A senior police officer, who is familiar with the ongoing investigation into the budget padding saga, said the police would continue with the probe regardless of the political solution being adopted by the APC.

The senior officer said it would be unfortunate if Nigerians allowed the allegations against the House leadership to be swept under the carpet.
It was learnt that the police will issue fresh invitations to Dogara and Jibrin this week.

samzzycash:
Pics of the lecturer and student unclad in an hotel room or adonbilivit

Strong indication emerged yesterday that the new Boko Haram leader, Abu Musab al -Barnawi, is the son of the group’s founder, Mohammed Yusuf, according to a Boko Haram insider. The source told Cable Network news (CNN) that al-Barnawi, who is about 25 years - old was the second son of Yusuf, who founded the group in 2002 and was captured and executed after a clash with Nigerian security forces in 2009.

The insider said there was a split in the ranks of the Boko Haram terror group three months ago, which led to Barnawi, known as Habib Yusuf within the group, to leave the Sambisa forest where the sect are believed to be hiding out.

He re-emerged this week after he was introduced as the new leader of the terrorist sect in an interview in the ISIS’ magazine al -Naba. Boko Haram has long had links with ISIS, pledging allegiance to the group in March. Similarly, al - Barnawi in an interview published by an online news portal, The Japan Times, had revealed that his major targets, is to bomb churches and kill Christians, while ending attacks on mosques and markets used by ordinary Muslims. In the interview, al-Barnawi said under his leadership, the militants would work to seize back territory.

Even though al-Barnawi is now supposedly the leader of Boko Haram , the source told CNN that the group's long - time leader, Abubakar Shekau, still has the larger number of followers in the Sambisa forest and crucially has control of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls.

The schoolgirls are seen as a powerful bargaining chip for the terrorist group, whose base has been significantly weakened. Western intelligence sources close to negotiations believe, however, that the defection of manpower and erosion of support leaves Shekau more exposed and could possibly lead to a breakthrough in the search for the abducted girls.

The Boko Haram source told CNN that al- Barnawi was Boko Haram’s head of armoury before he fell out with Shekau and left with some followers. The source said: “ Shekau is seen as erratic and disorganised and Habib didn't agree with a lot of his decisions anymore."

Despite efforts by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to broker a truce between Speaker Yakubu Dogara and erstwhile chairman of the appropriation committee Abdulmumin Jibrin, the embattled Speaker has devised a survival strategy in the event that things get out of hand, Daily Trust has gathered. The relationship between the two went sour since July 20 when the speaker sacked Jibrin from the chairmanship of the appropriation committee, seen in political circles as a ‘plum’ appointment.

Jibrin subsequently opened a can of worms, accusing the Speaker, his deputy Yusuf Suleimon Lasun, Chief Whip Alhassan Ado Doguwa, and Minority Leader Leo Ogor, of failed attempts to force him to include projects worth about N30 billion for them in the budget and allocate to them another N40 billion out of the N100 billion meant for constituency projects for members of the National Assembly. The quartet has consistently denied the allegations.

Concerned by the allegations and counter-allegations that went on for about two weeks, the APC met with the duo separately on Tuesday, in an attempt to find possible solution to the matter. The party had on Thursday barred Dogara and Jibrin from making any further public comment on the matter. But different sources told Daily Trust that Dogara is not leaving anything to chance, as he has been restless since the day Jibrin began his allegations.

Part of Dogara’s strategy, it was gathered, as the recent resort to the collection of signatures among members in order to pass a vote of confidence on him for Nigerians to see that his seat is not in any way under threat.

The chairmen of the 96 standing committees of the House, alongside their deputies, were first targeted to sign the document, thereby giving the speaker a 192-member advantage from the beginning, it was gathered. The Dogara men were said to have been targeting at least 250 signatures.

The collection of signatures, which began last weekend, was further taken down to states’ and zonal caucuses of the House, but some members were said to have demanded for “reward” before they could sign any such document. For this purpose, some of the Dogara men had to break their ongoing recess to return to Abuja to carry out the assignment.

“They’re there, generating signatures for votes of confidence. Dogara is contemplating two things: one is to recall members from recess to pass vote of confidence on him. Two, thereafter he’ll announce that he has dissolved all committees,” a source familiar with the matter told Daily Trust.

However, the source added, passing a vote of confidence on the speaker, who is facing allegations of corruption, could amount to voting for corruption, which could affect lawmakers’ images among their constituents and Nigerians as a whole.

The source added: “That (vote of confidence) will be equivalent to voting for corruption. That will be the interpretation of the constituents. Nobody would want to be identified with corruption, when the whole world knows that these people are facing such allegations. Again, if he dissolves committees, he will become more vulnerable. They used some chairmen and deputy chairmen to generate signatures. When he eventually reshuffles the committees, they’ll feel threatened and then they’ll go and align with others.”

“If he does that, it’ll give those that they’ll be targeting that momentum to join forces and fight him. So, the truth is that the smart way for him is to resign. He should give the reasons that a fellow colleague has tarnished his image. That is the practice and tradition in other democracies. He’ll step down in order to clear his name. But there are forces manipulating him and they won’t allow him to do that. Some people are making a hell of money from him, but all that will boomerang,” said the lawmaker, who preferred not to be named.

Another lawmaker told our correspondent that “What [Dogara’s camp] doesn’t know is that some of us will sign the document, but we’re not with them. Of course, some of us are operating underground due to our own strategic reasons.”


Schemes and more schemes
One of the strategies employed by the Dogara men, it was further gathered, was to meet lawmakers known to be staunch opponents of the Speaker to persuade them to sign the document under the pretence that it is to pass a vote of no confidence on the speaker.

“They don’t know that whatever they do, we get to know. I know nobody will meet me with such document. If anyone brings such paper before me, I’ll throw it back to him. Nobody can come to me under the pretence that we should sign to remove the man only for him to go and use it for another purpose,” said the lawmaker.

But a lawmaker close to the speaker said Dogara was not in any way under pressure and that the allegations against him remain “mere allegations.”

“Remember we have the numbers. All those making noise are few. They can’t influence anybody to do anything. So, they’re just making noise. For us, Dogara’s seat is not in any way under threat,” the lawmaker said.

Already, the North-East caucus of the House has declared support for the Speaker following a meeting at a hotel in Abuja. Also, majority of lawmakers of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which has about 140 members, are said to be strongly backing Dogara.

One of the lawmakers who attended the North-East caucus meeting told Daily Trust that “We won’t allow the Speaker to be removed, as he’s done a lot for the North-East since his assumption of office last year. This is a man that initiated the bill on the North-East Development Commission, which was given accelerated passage by the House. This is in addition to many other interventions that he personally spearheaded for the region. Is this the type of man whose ouster we would support? Certainly not.”

“Again, we believe he has been carrying everyone along. So far, we have achieved 95 percent of endorsement for the speaker among members from the North-East. We’re not just working on our region, we’re also working closely with our colleagues from other regions to ensure that they do same. For us, nobody can remove Dogara.

In fact, apart from the block support he has from PDP members, he also has large support from the members of his own party, APC. So, all the noise about his removal amounts to nothing,” the lawmaker said.

Dogara, it was learnt, also devised a way of breaking into the ranks of the two new groups that emerged within the House last week, the Transparency Group and the Integrity Group, both of which oppose the Speaker in a way.

While the Transparency Group demands an external probe into the allegations levelled against Dogara and the three others, the Integrity Group said the probe should include all the 10 principal officers of the House, all of whom were said to have got more than N1 billion each for constituency projects, while the other lawmakers got between N40 million and 50 million.

The House had said last week that its committee on ethics and privileges would investigate the matter upon resumption from annual recess in September. The speaker was said to have planted moles in the two groups with the aim of feeding him with information about their activities and strategies. Thus, it was learnt, Dogara is in the know of every move that the two groups make.

Similarly, the Dogara men are said to be in touch with some state governors and other powerful men within different states to prevail on their lawmakers not to take any action against the man. Specifically, some lawmakers have been delegated to meet with the powerful men in order to curry their favour.

‘Strategy OK, but...’
A former ranking member of the House, who did not want to be named, told our correspondent that Dogara’s strategy was OK, but that in politics, anything could happen. The ex-lawmaker who gave the example of the case of former speaker Patricia Etteh, said the allegations against her were not as damning as Dogara’s, “but she had to go.”

Besides, the lawmaker added, it would be difficult for Dogara to get “genuine” 250 lawmakers to sign the document for him at this time going by recent happenings.
“I know the House very well. Both the Dogara and other camps cannot boast of 250 members. It’s a very difficult thing.

Don’t forget the way the man emerged. The difference was just 8 votes. Although someone may argue that he was able to get some people to his side after emergence, he also lost the support of some lawmakers that voted for him.

“So, in the House of Reps that I know, anything can happen. However, I have to say this clearly. It’ll be extremely difficult to impeach the man. You can only achieve resignation, which he is not ready to do. If you look at the history of the two speakers that left the seat - Salisu Buhari in 1999 and Etteh in 2007 - they were not impeached.

They were somehow forced to resign. But I don’t see Dogara resigning based on these allegations. However, like I said, anything can happen in politics, especially in the House of Reps,” the lawmaker said.

Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP ), Chief Bode George said former members of the party who left for the All Progressives Congress (APC ) are mere tenants who are already on their back to the PDP.

Chief George, who picked up the PDP chairmanship nomination form for the August 17 National Convention on Friday, said he would bring the party back to its winning ways if he wins the vote.

“It takes an experienced captain to stabilise a ship hit by a tornado . And if you know the crisis in PDP , that is the position the party is facing right now.

“But I am happy that all is not lost, and the condition has been enhanced; zoning has gone extremely well. I have paid my dues in this party and I should not be afraid of anybody,” he said.

Chief George promised to bring every member of the PDP on board if he emerges, adding, “even those of our friends who were angry and left for APC, they are tenants there because they are landlords in PDP.

“If we are lucky and we get the right leadership who is fair and just and committed in the party, they will come back. ”

He warned the ruling party, the APC to get ready for serious engagement because PDP has started a cohesive battle ahead 2019 general elections.

Ovie Okpare, Warri

Ijaw national leader, Chief Edwin Clark, on Friday said he was supporting the anti-corruption fight of President Muhammadu Buhari the same way he supported previous administrations, including that of President Goodluck Jonathan.

This, according to him, is because corruption is the bane of development in the country.

Clark said this in Warri, in reaction to a publication in a national daily on Thursday in which he was criticised for failing to speak against corruption during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

He told journalists that contrary to the claims by the writer of the article, he had always spoken against corruption.

The former federal commissioner for information said those accusing him were unpatriotic and vicious, adding that he was at the forefront of calls for the trial and subsequent imprisonment of former Delta State governor, Chief James Ibori.

He said, “Ordinarily, I shouldn’t have replied, because whoever is the author (of the article) is vicious, wicked and not a patriotic Nigerian. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have written that I never spoke against corruption during the time of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

“I said the author is being vicious because I have been talking about corruption even before the time of Jonathan. In the first place, I talked about corruption during the time of erstwhile President Obasanjo and Yar’Adua.

“I remembered at that time, I was in the forefront of fighting our former governor, Chief James Ibori, leading to him being sentenced in the UK. Every Nigerian is aware of this. I led the crusade against him especially when a judge dropped the charges against him.”

He added that under Jonathan he wrote open letters and held private talks with the former president on corrupt governors in the country, noting that some of their cases were still pending in various courts.

Clark restated his support for Buhari’s anti-corruption war, saying the President was sincere in his desire to tackle it.

lalasticlala

Babatunde Fashola, minister of power, works and housing, has denied making promises of better power supply.

Speaking in an interview with Channels television, Fashola said that his plans did not consider vandalization of pipelines because he was always focused on power generation.

“Let us be careful when you claim that I made promises because I am ever so conscious of the things that I say and I believe that if I recollect correctly, it was when I was unveiling my ministries, probably sometime late December last year, and it is unlike me to make promises on things I don’t control,” he said.

“If you check the words I used, I shared with you our plans if it worked and where we will be. Those promises don’t factor in vandalisation. You know when they teach you how to generate power in school, they don’t teach you how to deal with vandalisation.

“When they teach you how to do banking, they don’t teach you about round-tripping so those are the assumptions that things would remain normal. There is no nation in the world that wants electricity that vandalizes the assets that produce electricity; it doesn’t make any sense.

“I can control what my team does, I can promise you what my team efforts will produce but I can’t control behaviour that is counterproductive. Those pipelines are national assets; they were built with our common wealth, the people whose territories it passes are custodians of it.

“Let us assume that the people who are also custodians of Jebba, Kainji and Shiroro dams go to break them down because they are angry, then who gets power?”
The former governor of Lagos state also said that the short-term objective of the ministry is to increase production to enable better power supply.

“We want to get incremental power first, short-term objective. Energy anywhere, we can get it because the energy is not enough.

“Five thousand megawatts, which was our peak production in February this year, is not enough for a country of over 100 million people. We will get it from everywhere — from gas, solar, hydro from nuclear and biomass.”

lalasticlala

A woman, Mrs. Adiza Umoru, was arrested for using rented twins to beg on the streets of Lagos. Umoru’s arrest came barely a week after three women were arrested by the officials of the state Ministry of Youth and Social Development for using rented babies to beg for alms.

This was as the Commissioner for Youth and social Development, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile Yussuf, yesterday urged the residents to stop giving alms to beggars especially those with babies, so as to discourage the begging. Umoru, who was caught using twins for begging at Costain area of Lagos, claimed that her younger sister, Aminat, was the biological mother of the babies. However, according to the beggar, who hails from Niger State, she pays per time whenever she uses the twins to beg.

At press time, efforts were still on to locate the real biological mother of the babies. Sources in the ministry told New Telegraph that the biological mother of the twins might have fled her residence for fear of being arrested. Akinbile- Yussuf described Umoru’s arrest as a follow up to the zero tolerance of alms begging.

The commissioner said giving alms was a good gesture, but it should not be brought to the streets. She said: “It is an established law in Lagos State; Section 168 of Criminal Code of Lagos State 2015 amended prohibiting street begging. We don’t want anyone going on the street and be begging.

We have told people times without number that it is illegal to be begging on the streets of Lagos. If anyone wants to give, they should go to government resettlement centres.”

Half-naked women on Tuesday protested over alleged night attacks by herdsmen on Ninte village in Godogodo Chiefdom of Jema’a Local Government, Kaduna State.

The women from Ninte and surrounding villages staged the protest at the palace of the Chief of Godogodo.

The women demanded government intervention to stop the alleged increasing cases of night killings, rape, burning of houses by some assailants in the area.

Spokesperson of the protesters, Mrs. Deborah Reuben, accused the government of insensitivity to their plight since the incident started in May.
“The situation is unhealthy as it is no longer safe.

“The government we voted into power has left us at the mercy of armed herdsmen, farms cannot be cultivated in the face of high level of impunity,” she lamented.

Responding, the Chief of Godogodo, Malam Iliya Ajiya appealed to the protesting women to remain calm as everything possible was being done to bring the situation under control.

When contacted, the Interim Chairman of Jema’a local council, Dr. Bege Katukah confirmed to NAN in a telephone interview that security men had been mobilised to the affected community.

NAN learnt that residents of the affected villages have been relocating to Godogodo, Antang and Gidan Waya, for their safety.
NAN

cktheluckyman:
How can a thief sue for defamation and character assasination?