₦airaland Forum

The 40-year-old mother of the deceased, who
gave her name as Mary Jacob, debunked Benedict’s claim. She alleged that her son had always told her about Benedict’s efforts to lure him into the Eiye cult group.

The accused instead of carrying out his mother’s assignment had used his mother’s car to
perpetrate the crime of forcefully having sexual
intercourse with a girl, he said.

dancoolD:
When it comes to sex matter some women forget status and even their matrimonial home , God forbid disgracing wife in Jesus name (Amen)

cc lalasticlala

By Charles Kumolu
The country that Muhammadu Buhari takes control of today, in the estimation of some, has literally fallen under. It is a country where the primary ingredients of a functional state are in many cases in immeasurable deficit to the harrowing plight of the citizenry.
With all indices of human capital development indicating that the country hardly spent its huge income to bring about quality life for its over 170 million people, Nigeria is once again at a crossroads.
Interestingly, that fact was not lost on Buhari, who had variously conceded that he would be leading a nation of altered dreams and wasted journeys.

The political challenges
The challenges facing the new government are not limited to the inherited governance issues being left behind by the just exited administration. The Buhari administration is also going to grapple with the political challenges of managing its success and one of the immediate challenges before it is on how to grapple with the division among the leaders of the All Progressives Congress, APC on the emergence of the new presiding officers of the National Assembly.
It is not difficult to forget that the difficulties of the Jonathan administration were partly rooted in the emergence of Speaker Aminu Tambuwal against the permutations of the president and his party.

Perennial challenges
The enormity of the challenges is such that miracles are being expected from the man, whose electoral victory was a product of general resentment towards an administration that was largely perceived as irresponsive to the issues.
In spite of the fact that the prospects of surprises had been dashed by Buhari, who after a thorough appraisal of the Nigerian situation cautioned against such, analysts have outlined some critical spheres of the nation’s life in need of urgent attention.
The areas include; backlog of unpaid salaries, perennial fuel scarcity, fuel subsidy regime, cost of governance, size of government, review of power sector privatisation, institutionalised corruption, security votes, alleged missing oil money, national reconciliation, the Niger Delta question, insurgency, and general insecurity.
An early and as well pragmatic approach to these national challenges could go a long way in defining the direction of the new administration.

Backlog of unpaid salaries
Though the practice of not paying salaries is endemic in Nigeria’s public and private sectors, the matter is now at an alarming rate following the slump in oil prices.
Of the country’s predominantly 36 unviable states, 22 have not been able to meet their financial obligations to civil servants for months following shortfalls in federal allocations.
So pathetic are the attendant effects on federal and state workers that many want payment of salaries to top Buhari’s agenda.
The extremity of the situation came to the fore during the last May Day celebration, as government workers in some parts of the country openly grumbled at the parade ground over the lengthening delay in the payment of their entitlements.
Therefore, for Buhari’s government to hit the ground running, hard decisions that would result in generating the needed funds for this purpose must be made urgently.
Buhari is particularly expected to get the incoming and re-elected governors into prioritising the need for regenerative sources of revenue in view of the current financial crisis.

Perennial fuel scarcity
The re-emergence of fuel scarcity in Africa’s largest oil producing nation at this time, no doubt has compounded the myriad of challenges for the new government.
Since February this year, Nigeria’s struggling population has faced acute fuel crisis resulting in increase in the price of goods and services.
The fact that most homes depend on petroleum as a result of unsteady power supply underscores the agony of Nigerians at this time.
Across the country, the product currently sells betwee N150 and N300 per litre, representing over 60 and 100 percent above the official rate of N87.
Despite promises by the Goodluck Jonathan administration that the country would be flooded with petrol, the situation is deteriorating on a daily basis with people finding it increasingly difficult to buy the commodity.

Fuel subsidy regime
The new government will have to frontally address the issue of fuel subsidy which is reportedly at the centre of the crisis in the supply of fuel products. Given the general upheaval that attended the last effort by the Jonathan administration to remove the alleged subsidy in January, 2012, President Buhari is bound to be in a catch 22 situation. While it is a given fact that the subsidy regime is polluted with fraud, it is also a fact that Nigerians do not want to pay astronomical prices for the product.

Cost of governance
Buhari’s determination to force the cost of governance is not an issue with many. What, however, is of concern is the resistance of those who have been used to the system to adapt with his moves.
At a pre-election summit with governors of his party, Buhari had urged them to address the exorbitant pension scheme that many Houses of Assembly had passed for their governors and speakers.
The Buhari administration is also expected to cut down on the number of aides and ministers, but one challenge the president would face is the constitutional requirement that requires each state to produce at least one minister.
Apart from that, the ministries reportedly have about 400 parastatals. The ministries with the highest numbers are Health, 77; Science and Technology, 40; Education, 41; Agriculture, 44; Power and Steel, 27 agencies. The worsening nature of the current financial quagmire is such that Buhari’s government can’t but review this age-long practice of servicing profligacy.
However, in doing this, the new administration would need to draw blood in shedding body weight which would entail reduction in the number of staff, an action that would in the immediate future draw ill-wind from those affected and the labour unions.

Alleged missing oil/NNPC probe
Even without being persuaded Buhari has calmed fears that the allegation of missing oil money may be swept under the carpet.
He specifically vowed to investigate the 20 billion dollars allegedly missing from coffers of NNPC, with the view of bringing anyone found wanting to book.
With that came sighs of relief from Nigerians, who had thought that the matter would receive the kind of attention it got under President Jonathan.
Mallam Sanusi had last year accused the NNPC of not accounting for $49.8billion oil money. He later reviewed the sum to $20 billion after a reconciliation of the figure by the NNPC, the Federal Ministry of Finance and other government agencies. Aside the probe, many are expectant that other activities of the NNPC would be urgently looked into in order to reposition the corporation and as well restore public confidence.

Institutionalised corruption
Given that most of the challenges to be inherited by the Buhari administration were brought about by corruption, there is hardly any surprise in the urgency to curb the menace. Buhari himself had alluded to this during the campaign with his famous quote that “If we don’t kill corruption this corruption will kill us.” Among the most challenging issues on corruption that Nigerians would be expecting the new administration to tackle are the allegations of a missing $20 billion from the Federation Account, the subsidy funding scheme, among many others.

Insecurity
The security chiefs of former President Goodluck Jonathan had given the assurance that they would find the secondary school girls captured from Chibok before handing over to the new administration. However, as at press time the school girls were yet to be rescued even as the Boko Haram group has continued to rear its head here and there. Hence, insecurity is another challenge that the Buhari administration would have to put at the front burner in its efforts at restoring normalcy to the land.

National healing
The election left the country almost divided with the majority of the South-South and the Southeast almost left out of the Buhari phenomenon that squashed out the first South-South president of the country. Though a democratic expression, the new administration would have to address concerns of the people of the two regions who may feel apprehensive over their marginalisation in the government that took office today.

Nicepoker:
Even the gate man maybe having his own share.

fromnigeria:
this nonsense started when she was a young girl believe me.

farem:
Pres. GEJ NEVER, by himself, reefrs to anything he achieved in Bayelsa either in 2011 pres. campaign or 2015.

“I collected the iron from him and stabbed him with it in the neck. He fell and I rushed to him to three different hospitals, but he was rejected. He gave up and the police came and arrested me.”

kotunowo:
So in 60s na this kind men no wan retire for young and able youth to come on board. at least
retirement age is 60

gabriel74:
She is lucky the man did not shoot both of them.

Some soldiers deployed to protect President Goodluck Jonathan’s private residence in Otuoke, Bayelsa state, on Thursday harassed and detained a Punch reporter, Simon Utebor, for attempting to take pictures of the president’s house.
Mr. Utebor was arrested by soldiers from the Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta and handed over to the police at Otuoke Police Station.
Mr. Utebor was accosted by soldiers on guard duty while taking photographs of on-going work on the palatial residence constructed while the president was in office.
Artisans were seen putting finishing touches to the premises consisting of multiple blocks of two storey buildings.
Mr. Jonathan is expected to be received on Friday by the Bayelsa Government at the Gabriel Okara Cultural Centre at 3p.m. and later in his Otuoke country home by his kinsmen.
Efforts to speak with the Punch correspondent were unsuccessful as his mobile phone was switched off.
When contacted the spokesperson of the Joint Task Force, Isa Ado, a lieutenant colonel, said he was out of station on official assignment but however, pledged to investigate the report and respond as soon as possible.

mencade5:
yoruba people and adultery. chaiiiii

Idrismusty97:
And he didn't took any pictures

oluwatomisin93:
question for fellow nairalanders. this woman and jona who clueless pass abeg.

Residents of Zone 6, Dutsen- Alhaji, in Bwari Area Council of the FCT were recently thrown into
mourning after a 20-year-old student took his own life by hanging.
The deceased, Eze Ekene, suspected to be mentally unbalanced, was said to have hanged himself around 4a.m. of that fateful day with a rope suspended on a pole carrying a safety tank.
City News gathered from source close to the family that the deceased, who just completed his secondary school education, had earlier attempted suicide a day before he finally hung himself, but was rescued through the quick intervention of the elder brother.
“He had mixed cement with water and was about to consume it before the elder brother suddenly dashed into the room and snatched the container from his hands,” it added.
The source said the deceased family woke up the next day to discover he had left the house, and immediately went in search for him before they eventually discovered his body being suspended with a rope hung to the iron of the safety tank at the back of the compound.
“Initially they thought he was still alive, but when they untied the rope and brought him down, they discovered he had given up and had to rush him to the hospital where he was confirmed dead,” the source added.
City News further gathered that the mother who had been in trauma since the incident took place, had been battling with the mental condition of her son single-handedly for sometime, having lost her husband few years back.
A police officer at the Dutse Police Station, who said the corpse had since been deposited at the hospital, blamed the family over the incident, saying the deceased could not have taken his life if he was taken to the psychiatric hospital after the initial suicide attempt.
When contacted, the Divisional Police Officer at Dutse Police Station, Danladi Usman, confirmed the incident, but said it was uncertain if he truly hung himself as there was no evidence of such at the scene of the incident.

cc lalasticlala

A relative, who did not identify herself, told
PUNCH Metro that it was the second time in
three years that such calamity would befall the
family.

Our correspondent gathered that the victim’s
mother, on seeing her dead son, lost her mind.

By Abdullahi Garba
KADUNA—The Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, has accused outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan of deliberate plot to hinder the smooth take off of the incoming government of Muhammadu Buhari.
Citing the current energy crisis engulfing the nation due to scarcity of petroleum products nationwide following alleged Federal Government’s indebtedness to various groups, the ACF lamented that, “Nigerians do not deserve such a parting gift from Jonathan after he has earned himself a global applause for statesmanship.”
The ACF pronouncement is contained in a statement in Kaduna yesterday after the monthly meeting of its national executive council.
The statement signed by the ACF National Publicity Secretary, Muhammad Ibrahim, noted that the nationwide fuel scarcity had virtually crippled the economy and put untold hardship on Nigerians.
The statement read, “this has seriously affected power generation and distribution, transportation system, telecommunications, banking, water supply and other sectors of the economy.
“In fact, the situation is terrible, worrisome and capable of shutting down the country. Certainly, few days to the handover of government to the President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, the ACF and indeed Nigerians are worried and disturbed at the rate the Nigerian state is being grounded by actions and inactions of the outgoing Jonathan’s administration.
“All these unwarranted hardships including the persistent insecurity and many others which the outgoing regime will bequeath to Gen. Buhari appear to be deliberate and calculated to hinder the smooth take off of the new administration.
“After President Jonathan conceded defeat to Buhari, he has at every occasion pledged to cooperate with Buhari to ensure a smooth transition.
“However, ACF has observed with dismay the actions and inactions of the Jonathan’s administration in the last two months which have failed to make the transition smooth as promised. President Jonathan’s recent knack for sacking aides, chief executives, making frivolous appointments, awarding contracts and revoking or even relocating some projects at this zero hour of his administration, is morally wrong and a negation of his earlier statesman posture.
“The recent revelation by the Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo – Iweala that despite the huge amount ($61.7 billion about N12.3 trillion) earned from oil and other sources in the four years of President Jonathan, the Federal Government has been borrowing to pay salaries and allowances thereby incurring heavy debt for the incoming administration.

cc lalasticlala

Jacob, a 20-year-old footballer from Afikpo North, Ebonyi State, was said to have accosted the victim and stabbed him several times in the neck and head until he gave up the ghost.

By Emem Idio
YENAGOA – A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Bayelsa state and former commissioner for Agriculture, and Environment, Chief Lionel Jonathan –Omo, has appealed to the incoming president elect, Muhammad Buhari to exercise caution in probing the outgoing administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.
According to Chief Jonathan -Omo, attempts to prosecute Jonathan by the incoming administration might cause violent uprising in the Niger Delta and should be avoided completely.
Jonathan-Omo made the remarks Wednesday in Yenagoa during a chat with newsmen while presenting a 54 page letter to President-Elect Muhammad Buhari and titled, “Road map to Success.”
Addressing Buhari, he said: “As you take over power please don’t prosecute or persecute President Jonathan, you will indirectly provoke a recrudescence of violence in the Niger Delta. Young boys will hang on that as a subterfuge to cause violent uprising again in the Niger Delta. Avoid it completely.”
He said he is convince that with the antecedents of Buhari and his deep sense of integrity and discipline, he will fix Nigeria, although not immediately. “I am convinced that Buhari will succeed because of his unflagging desire to rule Nigeria. He has an internal motivation to do the job, and that internal motivation will transform to vision,” he said.

But to sum the Jonathan administration up
through the events of the last one week would be
unfair. It would amount to saying a President
who led a country for five years can be judged
according to what happened within just a week.
Yes, there has been a clear display of government
failure over the last one week but the truth is, this
administration has been failing for the better part
of the last five years.

The police in Lagos have arrested five suspected members of a robbery gang which unleashed terror on residents of Ijanikin area on Sunday, May 24.

One of the robbery suspects, 25-year-old Ajayi Solomon, told PUNCH Metro that he went into armed robbery because his parents were late and he needed to take care of his siblings.

Apart from Solomon, the other suspects arrested are Momodu Williams, 19, Kazeem Ganiyu, 19, Seun Ariyo, 20, and Elijah Dada,19.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the gang, which is said to have about 40 members, allegedly robbed residents and commuters in Ketu, Iyana Era, Alasia, Morogbo areas and environs.

Our correspondent gathered that on the night of the fateful Sunday, the gang stormed Palace Road and Amosugboro streets in the Ijanikin area, and carted away money and valuables.

The Anti-Robbery Squad from the Ijanikin Police Division, which received a distress call, was said to have attacked the gang and apprehended five of them.

Speaking with PUNCH Metro, Solomon, who hails from Oto-Awori, Badagry, said the gang had planned the robbery while they drank and smoked at the Egun festival. He added that he had five siblings which he took care of with the proceeds of robbery.

He said, “It was at the Egun festival in the Oto Awori area that we planned the operation. We drank and smoke hemp during the festival. At about 8pm, we left for the Ijanikin area. We were about 40 persons. We robbed till dawn.

“Some of the gang members entered shops, restaurants, and stores to loot property. But in the process, I was arrested by the police. It was about three weeks ago that I returned from prison. I started robbery two years ago. s

“I had no option because my parents are late and I am the first child. In 2010, I also joined a cult group in the area. I belong to the Eiye Confraternity. As a result of the death of my parents, I dropped out of school in Senior Secondary School Class 2. I tried to learn welding, but it was not successful. Then, I joined the robbery gang. I am not the leader of the gang; the name of the gang leader is simply Dollar.”

Solomon, who lived on Baale Street in the Morogbo area, added that it was a tenant who paid for his bail when he was arrested by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad sometime last year.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, had yet to get back to our correspondent.