₦airaland Forum

By Simon Echewofun Sunday



The federal government will spend over N3 billion on fuel, generators and plants across 602 ministries, departments and agencies this year.

These figures do not include money voted by the agencies for payment of electricity charges during the year.

Analysis of 2019 budget proposals has shown that only four federal agencies have zero allocation for plants and generators.

This huge figures for generators and fuel is coming at time the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola is saying that power supply had improved and that there was more power coming to the grid this year.

Fashola on assumption of office in November 2015 unveiled his “incremental, steady and uninterrupted power” agenda and last Saturday night said government had walked the talk and “fulfilled its promise.”

Statistics from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) indicates that peak electricity generation on Wednesday was 3,806 megawatts (MW), falling from the 4,687MW attained on January 1, 2019.

While the generation company capacity was at 11,000MW, what GenCos can actually deliver remains at 7,139MW; the capacity for the transmission of generated electricity was 7,500MW, but the network operational capacity for distributing the electricity is 6,500MW.

Despite this shortcoming, the national peak demand forecast is pegged at 23,000MW which is deemed to create the steady, uninterrupted power supply that Fashola seeks to happen.

But speaking on the fulfilled promise of boosting electricity, the minister who spoke on NTA last weekend said, “When one takes stock, the point to make is that we have walked our talk. We have fulfilled our promise. It is important to benchmark power not just as power electricity itself.

“It is an economic enabler and that is why it is no accident that this government is committed to ensuring that first there is incremental power, then steady power and inevitably uninterrupted power because we are committed to enabling business to be competitive, efficient, to sustain growth and to produce jobs,” Fashola said.


Health ministry leads 7-big spenders,budgets N725m

Leading the big spenders on fuelling and maintenance of generators and plants is the Federal Ministry of Health headquarters and its 58 other agencies with N725.814 million budget.

Next on the line is the Ministry of Interior and its eight agencies with N579.6 million budget; Education ministry and its 169 agencies captured in the document will spend N336.7 million this year to provide its own electricity.

The Ministry of Defence and its 14 other agencies budgeted N260 million to power their buildings. Another 23 Agencies and Departments under the Presidency followed the trail by budgeting N143.3 million for generators and their fuelling.

The Ministry of Power, Works and Housing and its nine agencies is the sixth big spender with N102.3 million budget for the alternative power supply devices while the seventh spender is the Ministry of Finance and its 47 agencies, budgeting N101.581 million for similar purpose.


Foreign affairs budget N89m for embassies

At the medium level, the Foreign Affairs Ministry is topping 10 other Ministries with N89.7 million generator expenses bill. The ministry budget also budgeted for its 47 embassies and agencies while two other had Warsaw and Canberra embassies have zero budget for generators.

Close to it is the Budget and National Planning Ministry along with its six agencies; they will expend N86.891 million to fuel their generators.

The State House and eight agencies under it was next with N85.8 million ‘generator’ budget.

About N82.4 million will be spent by the Ministry of Environment for the headquarters and its 17 agencies to maintain and fuel generators as separate budget from electricity charges.

Information and Culture Ministry will spend N57.9 million for its headquarters and 18 agencies; Head of Services has N55.1 million for it and its 13 agencies; fuelling and servicing generators will take N47.5 million for 32 agencies and the headquarters of the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry.

Equally, Justice ministry has pegged N41.5 million to run their power generators across its 10 agencies. Science Technology Ministry has N39.1 million budget for its 57 agencies and the headquarter, while Mines and Steel will spend N28.2 million across its 11 agencies.

Trade and Investment captured N25.3 million for its nine agencies and parastatals; Youth and Sports has N23.6 million for just five agencies and its ministry.

Similarly, the Ministry of Transportation has N22.7 million for just five agencies and its headquarters.

More so, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources has N22.3 million for just three agencies and its headquarters. Water Resources has N21.5 million for the ministry and nine agencies.

Communication ministry is lowest with N1.7m

On the lowest rung is the Ministry of Communication and Technology with N1.7 million ‘generator’ budget only for the ministry. It has zero allocation to the Nigeria Communication Satellite, its sole agency.

The Niger Delta Ministry has N3.3 million for only the ministry’s headquarters; National Population Commission (NPC) has N8.8 million for just its headquarters while the Ministry of Labour and Employment pegged N13 million for the headquarters and two agencies.

By Jude Aguguo Owuamanam


Arewa Christians and Indigenous Pastors Association (ACIPA) has asked Nigerians to look beyond President Muhammadu Buhari as he is not a viable president for Nigerians in 2019.

In its New Year message signed by the Coordinator, Rev. Luka Shehu, the group described years of Buhari-led administration and especially 2018 as the worst in the history of Nigeria.

The statement read: “While looking forward to a more fulfilling, prosperous and secured Nigeria in 2019 and beyond, it is pertinent to note the abysmal failure of the Buhari administration in the areas he promised Nigerians since 2015.

“The gulf between Christians and other denominations have widened with often little lip service or rhetoric, the spate of Fulani militia across Nigeria, ethnic cleansing of Christians and mainly indigenous people, the abduction of school girls at Dapchi in Yobe State, the none-negotiation for the release of Leah Sharibu, the Decmber, 2018 spate of serial attacks by well organized terrorists at Metele, Baga and other towns where soldiers were decimated and had to escape while weapons of assorted types and make where carted away by terrorists who took over towns, not to mention the horrific menace of recent killings in Kaduna, Plateau, Yobe and Zamfara states where traditional rulers where abducted and killed in cold blood, were all evidence that the Buhari administration has failed Nigerians.”

The association said that in decent societies, both the President and the service chiefs would have resigned since they have proved incapable of defending Nigerians, which is their primary duty.

By John Owen Nwachukwu




Two militant groups in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, the Revolutionary Crusaders, and 21st Century Youths of Niger Delta, yesterday accused the Federal Government of ploting to rig the 2019 election in the region.

The two groups said that the call-off of the ceasefire deal with the Federal Government by Niger Delta Creek Warriors, a coalition of militant groups, was a decoy to militarise the region and manipulate the forthcoming election in favour of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

The two groups, in a statement by “General” O I Izon Ebi, dissociated themselves from Niger Delta Creek Warriors, NDCW.

A coalition of militant groups in the region had on Sunday aborted the prevailing ceasefire, citing alleged failure of the Federal Government to meet their demands.

But the two groups said, “The NDRC and the 21st Century Youths of Niger Delta disassociate ourselves from these faceless groups that call themselves Niger Delta Creek Warriors.

“Yes, all their demands are genuine and legitimate, but it has a political coloration taking into cognizance the forth-coming general election.

“Why is this threat coming at this time? Who and who did they contact? What is the motive behind it?

“The NDRC and the 21st Century Youths of Niger Delta view it as a ploy to militarise Niger Delta and put fear into the people to rig the election for the ruling APC.

“They should be disregarded because they do not have the capacity to carry out their threat. We want to advise the Nigerian Army, other security agencies and Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to be neutral in the forth coming general election not to incur the wrath of all agitating groups in the Niger Delta.

“They should take into consideration the huge amount spent in servicing our foreign debts and our over dependence on our oil proceeds to sustain this nation, most especially, funding of the 2019 budget.

“The 2019 general election is very important and crucial to all Nigerians and we believe that it will give birth to a new Nigeria that will be fair to the Niger Delta people and enthrone equity and justice or mar and breakup this nation called Nigeria.

“We wish the nation a happy New Year and a peaceful election ahead.

“The Niger Delta struggle is all about the emancipation of the Niger Delta and cutting loose the spiritual chains of modern slavery, degradation, exploration, poverty, underdevelopment, oppression, injustice and total extinction of Niger Delta people by the activities of the multinational oil companies.

“The companies are only interested in drilling of oil with impunity and the Nigerian nation is interested in making profit, even when endangering the health and well-being of the Niger Delta people.

“The oppressive attitude of the Nigerian government and the inhumane activities of the multinational oil companies has given the Niger Delta Revolutionary Crusaders and the 21st Century Youths of the Niger Delta no choice, but to set aside their individual differences so as to focus on the great task of facing the oppressors that claim to own Nigeria.

“We warn the northern oligarchy and the Nigerian military that the people of the Niger Delta will not tolerate the unprofessional conduct of the Nigerian Army, Navy, Air Force and other security agencies any more. In the guise of looking for criminals or militants, they erase an entire community and kill our people on flimsy excuses.

“We have seen in the northern part of the country where Boko Haram operates with impunity, two distinguished Generals were brutally and shamefully slaughtered like common criminals.

“No single house or its inhabitants were killed or massacred like in the case of the genocide against the people of Odi in Bayelsa State and Gbaramatu kingdom in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State, whose wealth is used to sustain this nation called Nigeria.

“We want to warn that gone are the old ugly days such will happen again and the people of Niger Delta will still accept to be called Nigerians again in this 21st century.”

Nigerian Muslims feel marginalised. The reality of the Nigerian situation has subjected Muslims in the country to religious segregation. Today 1st January 2019 was declared by FG in recognition of the Christo-Western Gregorian calendar. This happens every year.

In essence, FG recognizes the Christian calendar but spurns the Islamic calendar despite several petitions and appeals to it dating back to the 60s. In particular, MURIC has consistently made this demand at least for the past ten years. This is religious apartheid. A society which desires peace must embrace justice and fairness. Justice is the soul of peace. Nobody can deny one and enjoy the other. It is this socio-economic imbalance that has been responsible for the absence of genuine and enduring peace in Nigeria," the statement read.


m Rights Concern (MURIC) has taken a swipe at the Nigerian government for recognising January 1 for Christians, yet failing to do same to other religious affiliations, especially Islam.

In a statement on Tuesday, Professor Ishaq Akintola, the MURIC Director, maintained that several petitions have been written for the Islamic calendar to be recognied, yet it has been consistently turned down.

According to Akintola, the recognition of January 1 "for Christians to enjoy" is "religious apartheid".

The statement read: "The Federal Government declared today, 1st January 2018, as a public holiday thereby keeping faith with the practice since colonial days into Nigeria’s post-independence period. The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has condemned the Federal Government (FG) for granting official recognition to 1st January for Christians to enjoy while ignoring the myriad of petitions from Muslims dating back to the 60s demanding recognition for 1st Muharram as the first day of the Islamic calendar.

“Nigerian Muslims feel marginalised. The reality of the Nigerian situation has subjected Muslims in the country to religious segregation. Today 1st January 2019 was declared by FG in recognition of the Christo-Western Gregorian calendar. This happens every year. In essence, FG recognizes the Christian calendar but spurns the Islamic calendar despite several petitions and appeals to it dating back to the 60s. In particular, MURIC has consistently made this demand at least for the past ten years.

"This is religious apartheid. A society which desires peace must embrace justice and fairness. Justice is the soul of peace. Nobody can deny one and enjoy the other. It is this socio-economic imbalance that has been responsible for the absence of genuine and enduring peace in Nigeria.

"Muslims suffered under colonial rule as every policy of the colonial master was designed to eliminate all vestiges of Islam. It is most unfortunate that successive post-independence regimes have pursued this lopsided policy and refused to review the situation. It is disappointing to note that Nigerian governments headed by Muslims have equally turned deaf ears to our complaints.

“From Abubakar Tafawa Balewa to Muritala Muhammad, from Ibrahim Babangida to Sanni Abacha, Musa Yaradua and now Muhammadu Buhari, no Muslim head of state had the political will to bell the cat. Though we are not unaware of the strategy of agents of neo-colonialism whose stock-in-trade is to blackmail Muslim heads of state with the ‘Islamisation’ agenda in order to put them permanently on the defence, we expect that every Nigerian leader must possess the courage to enthrone justice and equity."

The organisation applauded state governments that have recognised the Islamic calendar, and "declared 1st Muharram as holiday", and urged the Nigerian government to follow suit. It also promised to go tough if the government fails to recognise the Islamic calendar, stating that it would employ civil actions to press home its demands.

“In view of this glaring injustice and the obvious lack of political will on the part of FG, MURIC hereby calls on Nigerian Muslims to prepare for a change in tactics. From now onwards, if FG continues with its lackadaisical attitude to the demands of Muslims for parity with their Christian neighbours, we will accompany our civil rights demands with peaceful protests”, Prof. Ishaq said.

MURIC ordered all Muslims to observe a sit-at-home on 1st Muharram 1441 as the beginning of their actions to ensure the federal government recognizes the Islamic calendar and declare the first day of the calendar as a public holiday.

The statement continued: “To start with, we are instructing our members throughout the federation to sit at home on 1st Muharram 1441 which corresponds to 31st August 2019. However, Muslims will observe the sit-at-home on Friday, 30th August 2019 to give more effect to their demand for parity and civil liberty.”

“We refuse to be third class citizens in our own country. Nigeria belongs to all of us. We are not asking for any favour. We are demanding our Allah-given fundamental human right. Nobody has the right to take from us what Almighty Allah has given us. We will not be slaves in our land.

“In conclusion, we give notice to FG to brace up for peaceful confrontation with Nigerian Muslims or to grant equal status to 1st Muharram by declaring the day as a public holiday like 1st January.”

By Taiwo Adeniyi


https://cdn.dailytrust.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/An-aircraft-shaped-vehicle-by-the-manufacturer-Mr.-Durojaiye-Kehinde-Obasanjo-685x400.jpg



A Nigeria inventor and researcher, Durojaiye Kehinde Obasanjo, said he drove his locally made amphibious jet car for over 15 hours from Lagos to Abuja in his quest to meet President Muhammadu Buhari and the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

The car, which he said, moves on land, water, and air, was designed like an aircraft with wings and propellers making some residents to pass it for a moving aircraft on first sight on Abuja roads.

Obasanjo, who said he was going to Nigeria Airspace Research Management Authority to first report to the authorities, had stopovers at some bus stops on the airport road attracting the attention of pedestrians who touched, admired and took selfies with the seemingly strange automobile.

“The vehicle was designed to move on the land, sea and fly. But out of the three operations, I have achieved two, presently I moved it from the land and sea and it has been tested and drove all the way from Lagos down to Abuja for over 15 hours,” he said adding that he came to Abuja to see the president.

On why he desires to meet the president and vice president, he said “There was a car that I built to be mass produced in Nigeria to boost our GDP but some local government officials in Lagos destroyed that their boss told me it was an illegal venture.

“I reported the case to Governor Ambode of Lagos and he said they should meet with me but they ignored his directive. That is why I came to Abuja to report to the necessary quarters.

“So, I want to meet Mr President and Vice President to let them know what is going on how they destroyed that vehicle.”

He said the car, made from junks has been built for over one year in Lagos and has attracted an international audience and media houses including CNN which did a short documentary on the invention.

“That is why I go to the length of using junks so that people will see it and know what we can do. It runs on fuel and solar energy alternatively,” he said.

On his plan for commercialisation of the vehicle, “That is my intention and we want Nigeria to be the first to mass produce it for commercialisation. We want a car that moves on the land, sea and can fly. That is a breakthrough in the history of the transportation system in the world.”

He said the vehicle was installed with a floating device that makes it move on water “that is it cannot sink and it moves like watercraft when in water and moves like a normal car when on the ground and moves like aircraft when flying.

By Mayowa Tijani



The year 2018 has been very challenging and equally eventful for the Nigerian banking sector. Skye Bank morphed into Polaris Bank, while Access Bank and Diamond Bank are fixing the bolts and nuts of the biggest banking deal of 2018.

The banking sector, which controlled trillions of naira in market value and transactional strength in 2018, also had a bleeding year, as many of the listed entities had massive declines in share price and market capitalisation.

The biggest bank in Nigeria, by market cap, for 2018 is Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), with a year-end market cap of over N1 trillion at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

Unity Bank had the smallest market cap by the end of the year, but had a drastic increase in market value, with a 109.8 percent increase in share price, to lead the pack as the best performing bank at the exchange for 2018.

Access Bank, on its way to becoming Nigeria’s largest bank, come 2019, had the worst year, in terms of market value, shedding 35.05 percent of its share price in 365 days.

Since the Herbert Wigwe-led bank made the move to acquire Diamond Bank, the latter has gained more than 45 percent in market value, becoming the bride of the Nigerian bourse.

HERE ARE THE BEST AND WORST PERFORMING BANKS OF 2018

A) RANK, B) BANK, C) SHARE PRICE(N), D) SHARE PRICE GAIN/LOSS (%) E) MARKET CAP (N’BILLION)

A. B. C. D. E.
1 Unity Bank 1.07 +109.8 12.51
2 Sterling Bank 1.90 +75.93 54.70
3 Diamond Bank 2.18 +45.33 50.49
4 FCMB. 1.89 +28.57 37.43
5 Wema Bank. 0.63 +26.00 24.30
6 Stanbic IBTC 47.95 +17.38 491.04
7 Ecobank 14.00 -9.20 337.40
8 Zenith Bank 23.05 -10.10 722.12
9 First Bank of Nigeria 7.80 -11.36 285.37
10 GTB 34.45 -15.46 1,001
11 Fidelity Bank 2.03 -17.48 58.82
12 Jaiz Bank 0.50 -20.63 14.73
13 UBA 7.70 -25.73 263.38
14 Union Bank of Nigeria 5.60 -28.21 231.03
15 Access Bank 6.80 -35.05 196.71

The ranking above is basically driven by market forces and share value, it does not directly take into account corporate governance issues, non-performing loans (NPLs), and other management factors.

By market cap, the leading banks for 2018 are GTB, Zenith Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Ecobank and First Bank of Nigeria.

Banks not listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), such as Keystone Bank, were not taken into consideration while compiling this list.

By Adeyinka Aderibigbe


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Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) vehicle drivers yesterday embarked on strike over alleged non-payment of their December salary and poor working condition.

But the BRT sole operator, Primero Transport Services Ltd (PTSL), denied owing them salary, describing their action as politically motivated.

The drivers locked the gates of PTSL headquarters at Majidun, Ikorodu, Lagos and prevented other workers from entering.

They alleged that they were being owed December salary and bonuses.

One of them, who preferred anonymity, alleged that they were owed November and December salaries and bonuses, but the company “hurriedly paid November salary on Christmas Eve.”

Many commuters were stranded at bus stops because of the strike. Those who could not afford the high fares charged by other bus operators, trekked.

The yellow bus drivers increased fares by between 50 and 70 per cent. Ikorodu to Oshodi, which used to cost N200, shot up to N300. Fare for Ikorodu to CMS went up from N300 to N500.

The drivers said they would not call off the strike until their salaries were paid.

“We too have families. It is sad that the management is not bothered if our families have a bleak New Year. Let them pay us and we will return to work,” one of them said.

He alleged that two years ago, “we protested poor salaries and wages.”

PTSL’s Managing Director Fola Tinubu said no worker was being owed as at yesterday.

He said on the phone: “What they were initially owed was their November bonus, which was due on December 15 and their December salary. We paid both today, being the last day of the month. We learnt that they are now demanding the payment of December bonus, which is not due until January 15. We have explained to them that the bonus will be paid in January when it will be due.”

He said bonus was the company’s prerogative, adding that it was paid only to drivers who met certain standards every month in order to motivate them.

Tinubu alleged the politicisation of the issue.

He urged the workers, especially drivers, not to allow themselves to be used by politicians.

He enjoined them to remain law-abiding and work in the interest of all.

UNICEF says 25,685 babies will be born in Nigeria tomorrow

TheUnited Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has estimated that 25,685 babies would be born in Nigeria on New Year Day.

Pernille Ironside, UNICEF Nigeria’s Acting Representative revealed this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja.

He said that the figure placed the country’s babies as making up 6.5 per cent of the estimated 395,072 babies that would be born on the day globally.

Ironside noted that within Africa, Nigerian babies would account for almost 40 per cent of all those born in West and Central Africa, and more than 23 per cent of those born in sub-Saharan Africa.

“Globally, over half of the world’s births are estimated to take place in just eight countries, including Nigeria.

”Others are: India 69,944, China 44,940 Pakistan 15,112, Indonesia 13,256, United States 11,086, the Democratic Republic of Congo 10,053 and Bangladesh 8,428.”

According to him, on current life expectancy rates, a child born in Nigeria today is likely to live only to the year 2074 – 55 years of age.

”A child born today in Denmark is likely to live until the 22nd century.

“Only children born in three countries of Central African Republic, Chad and Sierra Leone today have a lower life expectancy than that of Nigerian children.

“We can and must do more to ensure that children born in Nigeria survive their first day of life and are able to survive and thrive for many months and years to come,” Ironside said.

The UNICEF country representative in Nigeria noted that globally in 2017, about 1 million babies died the day they were born and 2.5 million in their first month of life.

He said that in Nigeria about 262,000 babies die at birth annually thereby accounting for the world’s second highest national total, adding that 257 babies also die within their first month in Nigeria.

Ironside decried that many of these children died from preventable causes such as premature birth, complications during delivery and infections like sepsis and pneumonia.

“In Nigeria today, only one out of every three babies is delivered in a health centre, decreasing a newborn baby’s chance of survival.

“This is just one of the issues that need to be addressed in order to improve the chances of survival of those babies born today and every day.

“As the calendar turns to 2019, UNICEF calls on countries to meet every newborns right to health and survival.

“Let’s all make a resolution to fulfill right of every child, starting with the right to survive in this New Year.

“We can save millions of babies if we invest in training and equipping local health workers so that every newborn is born into a safe pair of hands,” he said.

Ironside identified 2019 as marking the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

He added that under the convention, governments committed to, among other things, taking measures to save every child by providing good quality health care.

According to him, over the past three decades, the world has seen remarkable progress in child survival, reducing the number of children worldwide who die before their fifth birthday by more than half.

“UNICEF calls for immediate investment to deliver affordable, quality health care solutions for every mother and newborn.

“These include a steady supply of clean water and electricity at health facilities, the presence of a skilled health attendant during birth.

“Ample supplies and medicine to prevent and treat complications during pregnancy, delivery and birth and empowered adolescent girls and women who can demand better quality of health services,” he said.

By Barnabas Manyam


As a result of failed attempts to impeach the Deputy Speaker and the Majority Leader many members of the Adamawa State House of Assembly exchanged blows as they struggled with the mess.

The failed impeachment was cordinated by Mr. Kabiru Mijinyawa, the Speaker who wanted to oust his Deputy, Emmanuel Tsamdu, the Majority Leader, Mamman Barguma and four other members who held other positions which Kabiru Mujinyawa wanted to remove from their positions.

In a swift reaction to the grandstanding confrontation with the speaker which led to brows flying all over the hallowed chambers of the Adamawa State house of Assembly, the deputy Speaker Emmanuel Tsamdu alongside three other Principal Officers of the sixth Assembly have dismissed the charade the led to their unconstitutional impeachment.

The Assembly held its emergency meeting on Saturday in Yola where Mr. Kabiru Mijinyawa desperately tried to get some signatures to sign for the impeachment before fight broke out and some members attempted to snatching the mess which led to a free for all fight.

After a roudy session following the adjournment of the sitting by the presiding Deputy Speaker Emmanuel Tsamdu of Madagali Constituency other members in support of the impeachment nominated Lumsambani Mijah Dilli of Demsa Constituency as Speaker pro tempo to preside over before electing new deputy speaker.

Thereafter the lawmakers elected Mr Lumsambani Mijah Dilli as new Deputy Speaker.

In a related development the State Assembly has dissolved its three principal officers following a motion raised by the member representing Jada Mbulo Constituency Hammanjoda Umar Farang during Saturday plenary session.

New Deputy Speaker Lumsambani Mijah Dilli has announced new leadership of the House with Haatyatu Muhammad Atiku as Majority Leader, Sani Shehu Mohammad Deputy Majority Leader of the House and Sufiyanu Aminu Aliyu as new Deputy chief whip.

Meanwhile the Deputy Speaker has announced Alhaji Rufa’I Umar Gombi as new Minority leader of the House.

Reacting on the development Deputy Speaker Emmanuel Tsamdu and Majority Leader Hassan Mamman Barguma described the purported impeachment as null and void as due process was not followed during the impeachment process.

Hassan Mamman Barguma and Emmanuel Tsamdu blasted the speaker Kabiru Mijinyawa for which hunting them because they we’re opposed to his failures as the speaker.

They said the speakers penchant for manipulation of events at the house cannot hold as the house a democratic one and not a personal estates of Kabiru Mijinyawa.

By YUSUF ALLI




THE next polls could turn on a number of factors: the effects of a repeat of the gale of defections witnessed in 2014; the aftermath of troubled primaries which altered the equation in some parties; and determining whether the template put in place in 2015 will be sustained or not in terms of upset and acceptance of results. For the first time in the nation’s electoral history, a ruling party was defeated by the opposition coalition.

Our findings show that in virtually every state of the country there is a flashpoint as gladiators try to outwit each other. Hitherto politically homogenous states are experiencing turbulence because of realignment of forces by kingmakers and power brokers.

Some of these gladiators include President Muhammadu Buhari, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Senate President, Bukola Saraki, National Chairman of APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.

Others include House of Representatives Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, to name a few.


Muhammadu Buhari

History was kind to Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 for winning the presidential race at the fourth attempt. He also broke records by defeating an incumbent president on the ticket of merged parties called the All Progressives Congress (APC).

After three and a half years in the saddle, the day of reckoning is here for Buhari. He faces three key challenges this time around: creating the right environment for a transparent poll as a sitting president, seeking re-election and sticking to the 2015 template which earned the nation respect in the comity of nations.

Last week, Buhari got a taste of the likely temperament of the coming poll when he was heckled by some lawmakers during the presentation of 2019 Budget to the National Assembly. It was a script hatched by the opposition to hurt his feelings but he dealt with the situation with calmness.

The 2019 poll is a major test for Buhari because his performance score card will be determined by the electorate. It is a referendum on his performance. Like a PDP governor said: “Buhari’s achievements will dominate his campaign, our party will puncture his claims and make new offers to Nigerians”.

If he wins the presidential poll, he would have survived the gang-up against him by the likes of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, ex-President Ibrahim Babangida and some former military leaders. He would have made mincemeat of those who defected from APC to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and overcome ethnic bigots who do not see anything good in him.

The odds favour him. Apart from enjoying cult followership in the North, APC is making inroads in the South-South and Southeast zones.

But if Buhari loses, a curtain would be drawn on his political career which will lead to his automatic retirement, his legacies might be wiped off and the All Progressives Congress (APC) could face the very real prospect of implosion. This is because he has become lie the glue holding together disparate political forces and interests in the party.

Atiku Abubakar

Arguably the aspirant/candidate with the oldest ambition having sought the position since 1992, ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar has coveted the presidency more than any Nigerian politician.

He has a similar history of rising and falling like Buhari in the last 30 years. He lost the presidential primaries to the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola (1992); he was defeated in 2007 poll by ex-President Umaru Yar’Adua; wounded like a lion by ex-President Goodluck Jonathan at the PDP presidential primaries in 2011; and beaten to a third place at APC presidential primaries in 2014.

For the first time in his political career, history was kind to him at the PDP national convention this year when he emerged as the party’s presidential candidate following a consensus by some founding fathers of the party like Obasanjo, Babangida, ex-National Security Adviser, Gen. Aliyu Gusau, most of the PDP governors and leaders of various organs.

The recent reconciliation with Atiku by ex-President Obasanjo was mileage that has overshadowed the past garbage the ex-Vice President was bearing. In spite of rubbishing Atiku in past memoirs, the ex-President’s reconciliation with his erstwhile deputy, has no doubt changed the tempo of electioneering for next year.

A dogged fighter, the choice of Atiku (a Muslim Northerner like Buhari) has made the turf keener than expected. His strengths are a boyish look which betrays the fact that he is in his seventies like Buhari; a claim to ability to coordinate the economy having performed that role as VP, as well as a cosmopolitan disposition to issues. He has a penchant for litigation and might not concede easily if he is defeated.

He seems to be at home in the South-South and his choice of ex-Governor Peter Obi was strategic to win over the Southeast. But rather than help, Obi’s choice has created a wedge between him and some Igbo governors – leading to a strategic delay in campaigning in the zone.

If Atiku wins in February, he would have joined the roll-call of political giants whose rise to power had been topsy-turvy. Since age is no longer on his side, this is his last presidential race, he might not be fortunate to have a shot at it any more.

A loss by Atiku will be devastating as he would go down in his as an ambitious politician who made a couple of wrong and blew the best chance he had to be president.


Olusegun Obasanjo

Since 1979 when he made history as the first military Head of State in Africa to hand over power to a democratically elected civilian successor, Obasanjo has carved a niche for himself as the conscience of the nation.

His ego was later bruised by ex-Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, who jailed him for a phantom coup in 1995. But miraculously, he rode from prison to power on May 29, 1999 as the nation’s democratically president.

After power was foisted on him in 1999 by the military, he consolidated his grip on politics such that before his exit in 2007, he had put the PDP in his pocket.

In the last 11 years, he has carved a role for himself as a kingmaker in Nigerian politics. He was instrumental to the installation of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua; the choice of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan in 2010 and his election in 2011; and he backed President Muhammadu Buhari to win the 2015 poll. He enjoys the international limelight which has turned him into a political oracle of sorts.

Seeking to play the role of kingmaker once again, Obasanjo has drawn the battle line against Buhari in 2019 by openly declaring support for the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku.

Although he claims to be non-partisan, the ex-President explained his mission as follows: “Some may ask ‘what does Obasanjo want again?’ Obasanjo has wanted nothing other than the best for Nigeria and Nigerians and he will continue to want nothing less. And if we have the best, we will be contented whether where we live is described as palaces or huts by others and we will always give thanks to God.”

At 81, the 2019 poll is his last battle to prove his worth as a kingmaker. If he succeeds in dethroning Buhari, he will go down in history as having played a key role in making five presidents (Shagari, Yar’Adua, Jonathan, Buhari and whoever defeats the incumbent in 2019).

But if he fails, he would end his political career in shame. Like in the Canticle of Simeon, Buhari and his supporters will render the Nunc Dimittis for Obasanjo. His status as a statesman would also take a massive hit given his rather vitriolic interventions in the ongoing campaigns.


Ibrahim Babangida et al

Ex-President Ibrahim Babangida is suspected to be one of the forces behind the emergence of Atiku as PDP presidential candidate.

According to a governor, who spoke in confidence, Babangida’s core loyalist, ex-National Security Adviser, Gen. Aliyu Gusau coordinated last minute deals which gave the slot to Atiku at the PDP national convention in Port Harcourt.

The source said: “Midway into the negotiation with Gusau, we saw a former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation joining to deliver a message from ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo. We all knew what the founding fathers of PDP wanted and we quickly bought into Atiku Project.”

But as a tactician, IBB likes to pull the strings from behind unlike his boss Obasanjo who wants to take credit for everything.

Babangida and some of his boys in the military, including a former Military Administrator for Niger State, Col. Habibu Shuaibu and ex-Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Ishaya Bamaiyi, had toyed with the idea of propping up a former Minister of Special Duties, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki until a superior directive came from Obasanjo.

Beyond being a life time opportunity to settle old scores with Buhari, the Babangida camp is especially uncomfortable with another term for the President. From a selfish angle, a second term for the incumbent would diminish the eight-year tenure of Babangida as a military president.

Also, Buhari has remained unbent in some of his major policies to the discomfiture of some loyalists of Babangida. It is therefore convenient to hide under “the drifting of the nation” accusation to seek his defeat at the poll.

A victory for Buhari can further demystify Babangida and his Hilltop Mansion in Minna will lose out as a choice destination for political intrigues and consultations. A loss by Buhari will make Babangida relevant and allow him wield influence in the next government.


Asiwaju Bola Tinubu

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is a peculiar Nigerian politician with a large heart which accommodates all. He builds political bridges across the nation’s geopolitical zones with an uncanny zeal. He is a leader with futuristic outlook.

When Atiku Abubakar ran into a brick wall in 2007, it was Tinubu who made the Action Congress (AC) platform available to him to contest. Atiku was hounded by Obasanjo such that he had to campaign on crutches. But Asiwaju stood like the Rock of Gibraltar behind him. He is in a vantage position to know the ex-VP’s political strengths and weaknesses. This is why his choice as the Co-Chairman of the Presidential Campaign Council of the APC for 2019 poll is also timely and strategic.

He dreams and radiates every tenets of democracy and he espouses freedom, justice and liberty. Following the annulment of the reults of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, he joined forces with other democrats to form the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) to actualize the mandate of the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola. NADECO also fought for the return of Nigeria to democracy on May 29, 1999.

His emergence as the governor of Lagos State in 1999 set a new good governance code which other 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have been struggling to emulate. Right from 1999, all the parties he joined have controlled Lagos State which confirmed his vision and commitment to sustainable development.

He is an incurable optimist whose singular efforts led to the merger of political parties in 2014 to form the coalition which defeated the then ruling PDP in 2015. The coalition, which was impossible in the First and Second Republics, redefined the nation’s political landscape.

As the Co-Chairman of the Presidential Campaign Council of the APC, the onus is on Tinubu to prove to Nigerians that APC has come to stay contrary to the insinuations of the opposition that it is convenient contrivance to keep power.

The next election will serve as a barometer to ascertain if Asiwaju and his loyalists are still in control of the Southwest – especially Lagos State. Once the Southwest votes for Buhari in 2019, the zone’s political alliance with the populous North is sealed for power shift to it in 2023.

A loss by APC at the centre and in the South-West will mark the end of APC coalition and it will be inglorious for Tinubu and his followers. The 2019 poll is significant for Asiwaju because it will define his next political move.


Bukola Saraki

Presently third in the nation’s political hierarchy, the meteoric rise of the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, between 2003 and 2018 attests to the quality of his political heritage and survivalist skills. He has weathered several storms since his ascendancy as chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) in 2007.

His management of the National Assembly, especially his dexterity in ensuring stability in the Senate, has earned him credit even from his political enemies.

Saraki, a chip off the old block, aspired to be president twice but lost – including his recent defeat by Atiku at the PDP convention in Port Harcourt. Following that setback, he has bounced back as Director-General of the PDP’s Presidential Campaign Council.

For the Senate President, the 2019 poll is not just about Atiku winning, it is a battle for his political survival. He is he caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. He underwent tribulations and legal trials under the APC administration. He felt shortchanged, humiliated and believes he must pay back the ruling party in its own coins. He has a vengeance mission which fits the agenda of the PDP to upstage Buhari.

As the DG of the PDP campaign, Saraki is a motivator and a schemer who can give APC some nightmares in 2019 because of his political network. His greatest pain is that the defection train in 2018 was not as full was the case in 2014.

If APC wins the next poll, he ceases to be Senate President because all the tricks he explored in 2015 to occupy the position are now well known to his foes.

But if PDP defeats Buhari, he has a major obstacle before him because Atiku could be uncomfortable with him as Senate President – even though he was one of those who brought up Saraki in the presidency between 1999 and 2003.

Back home in Kwara the “O to ge” (Yoruba for ‘Enough is Enough’) revolution is a headache for Saraki who has never delivered up to one million votes to any political party in his career. He is in a tinder-box in his backyard despite his pretense that all his well. Even his political structure is already fractured following the fallout of the PDP governorship primaries in the state.

Notwithstanding, he is a politician to watch whether he will stay afloat to laugh last or be a product of stupefaction. He is on a dangerous edge but it would not be new to him. The Saraki Dynasty faced similar testy moments in 1978, 1983 and 2003.


Adams Oshiomhole

Like a football coach, the 2019 poll will no doubt decide the fate of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole who was crowned as the National Chairman of APC on June 23, 2018. Since his election, APC has won some governorship elections and by-elections into National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly. But the litmus test for him is the general election.

In the past few months, Oshiomhole has battled to assert the supremacy of the party against influence-peddling by some governors. He is already pitched against two, Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun) and Rochas Okorocha (Imo), over the conduct of the governorship primaries. Barely six months in office, a plot hatched to force him to resign only collapsed because of the opposition of President Buhari.

Although the South-South zone is not a natural political habitat of Buhari, it is expected that Oshiomhole’s chairmanship will add to the vote haul from the zone for Buhari. Beginning from his backyard in Edo to Akwa Ibom, the former governor is on the 2019 radar and Nigerians will want to know if he will have a victory dance.

If Oshiomhole fails to deliver, his tenure might be the shortest in the history of the APC. Any setback could equally affect his political fortress and standing in Edo.


Rotimi Amaechi

In and out of office, Buhari believes if he looks back, he must see the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, who was a former Governor of Rivers State.

As a political Spartan, the commitment which Amaechi put into the 2015 presidential poll campaign endeared him to the President to the extent that he wasted no time in reappointing the minister as the Director-General of the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of the APC.

Despite opposition to the reappointment of Amaechi, the President stood his ground because it was a personal choice without consultations with leaders and other organs of the party. So, Amaechi is a “favoured boy” of the President.

There is an arduous task before Amaechi and his team because the scenario has changed in the party with the defection of some APC stalwarts to PDP, including his erstwhile political soulmate, Dr. Bukola Saraki.

Having been part of the “rebels” who defected from APC to PDP, Amaechi knows where and how to checkmate his former co-travelers.

The minister is a player to watch in 2019 because he has a mandate to secure the re-election victory for Buhari and to displace Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike. How he is able to accomplish these formidable targets will either make him remain relevant in Abuja and Rivers, or become a political has-been..

By ADEOLA YUSUF


https://i0.wp.com/www.newtelegraphng.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Killer-gas-cylinders.png?w=400&ssl=1


Doctors are not known to betray emotions but the Chief Medical Director of the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos, Dr Mustapha Alimi, was moved to tears penultimate Tuesday. That day, he was saddened by the increase in burns being recorded in the tertiary institution due to gas cylinders’ accidents. Like Dr. Alimi, Head of Department, Burns and Plastic Surgery, Dr Folake Abikoye, declared that management of burns from gas cylinders is very expensive even for patients who escape being burnt to death. “They cannot afford the burn management and that is the reason why the hospital management is considering setting up an endowment fund to assist the less privileged.”


Harvest of deaths

Three children of the same mother were, on Tuesday, July 17, 2018, burnt to death in a domestic gas explosion that rocked their home in Sara village, Jigawa State. Two others who were also affected sustained serious burns. A spokesperson for the Jigawa State police, ASP Abdu Jinjiri, who confirmed the disheartening incident, said that five siblings were affected by the gas explosion that occurred “in the house of one Alhaji Wada Sara.’ The following people, Zainab Wada, Abdul Wada, Aliyu Wada, Fati Wada and Abdulrahman Wada, sustained various degrees of injuries,” he began to speak in a voice laden with emotion. “They were rushed to the Federal Medical Centre Birninkudu in Birninkudu LGA for medical attention.

The incident was as a result of explosion from a cooking gas cylinder. The victims Zainab, Fati and Abdulrahman died at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital. They were of ages 3, 2 and 4,” he broke the sad news to newsmen. In Delta, a woman and her four underage children were burnt to death. The distance is, though, about a thousand kilometers from the Jigawa incident, the cause of the destruction was the same; a cooking gas cylinder!

The gas explosion, which rocked the Okwe Market, in Asaba, Delta State also left scores of persons with various degrees of burns. Earlier in August 2015, the Obidigwe family of Azia in Ihiala Local Council of Anambra State, took delivery of the bodies of nine of their children, who were roasted to death in their Lagos abode.

Fifty-one-year-old Charles Obidigwe, a patent medicine dealer and head of the family died instantly, after an unsuccessful attempt to put out a fire, which engulfed his three-bedroom apartment. While Charles, the head of the family died instantly, the other eight members of his family, including his sisterin- law and her son, who were staying with them, died later in a Lagos hospital. The fire was ignited when a gas cylinder exploded and caught fire that engulfed the entire flat when Mrs. Obidigwe was preparing lunch for the family. By the time the incident took place, no single neighbour of the Obidigwes had a fire extinguisher.

So, by the time men of the Lagos State Fire Service arrived, the harm had been done.On Sunday, July 16, 2017, the National Vice President of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), South- South Zone, Eddie Bekom, died as a result of injuries he sustained from a gas explosion. The fire, which killed Bekom, a staff of the Cross River Broadcasting Service (CRBS) in Ikom, also claimed his wife and one of his sons, while three other children sustained injuries.

Up North, a gas explosion on August 28, 2017, reportedly wrecked the female hostel in the Jos campus of the Plateau State Polytechnic. The fire, which started around 8.30 a.m., raged on till 11.44a.m., causing confusion among students and staff. Though no life was lost, the fire, which was as a result of gas explosion, the school’s rector, Dauda Gyemang, said, burnt school property and personal effects of students, who were all away to attend lectures.

The use of gas in the hostel is prohibited. Until Uche Okonkwo got married to Ifeoma, the latter never lit a gas cooker all her life. Her arrival in her husband’s modest apartment was, to say the least, a lifechanging moment for her. Since they observed their low-keyed honeymoon at home, Okonkwo was still in bed when he heard a loud bang in the kitchen. Pronto he sprang and ran towards that direction only to meet his wife on the floor of the burning kitchen.

With one hand he flung her through the door and proceeded knock off supply from the giant gas cylinder stationed outside beside the kitchen window. Once out of shock, Ifeoma explained that the first match she struck failed to light the cooker hence she went in search of another matchbox, as the failed stick was the last in the pack. By the time she could grab another match pack from the kitchen cabinet, the entire place had been filled with gas, and without any suspicion, she proceeded to light the cooker.


Cause of destruction

The Nigerian Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association (LPGA), it was, who first hit the nail on the head about sub-standard gas cylinders in Nigeria. The multi-million dollars local gas cylinder manufacturing sub-sector in Nigeria is facing the rock, President of the highest body of stakeholders in the cooking gas sub-sector, Nuhu Yakubu, declared in a chat with Sunday Telegraph. This, he said with passion, is not only a big treat to the geometric growth recorded in the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) also known as cooking gas sector in the past 10 years, it had also fuelled the availability of sub-standard cylinders in circulation across the country along with gas that no longer smells to warn of leakages.


Grounds for crisis

The difficulty buoyed by Federal Government’s inaction to end over N1 trillion average annual investments on fuel subsidy has, the Yakubu’s NLPGA, created a shortfall of 49 million cylinders in the system. And confirming the “dangerous trend” to Sunday Telegraph on the sideline of a press conference, he registered the displeasure of stakeholders in cooking gas sector with fuel subsidy.

“Many local cylinder manufacturers have closed shops regrettably due to the way government is handling the energy mix. The inability of the government to deregulate the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol has made it to keep wasting scarce resources on fuel subsidy while it keeps expending scarce resources yearly to import LPG cylinders from Turkey, China, India and other Asian countries,” he said at the press conference to herald the group’s 8th annual conference themed;“LPG diversification: Expanding the LPG frontiers in Africa.” “The last time we heard that over N1 trillion was expended to subsidise fuel. Subsidy is a killer of economy, we – as a nation – are just technically subsidising petrol for the consumption of millions in West Africa.

“We need to end fuel subsidy by deregulating petrol. Let the growth being experience the LPG market be felt elsewhere,” he said, adding that the “Nigeria’s LPG sector is fastest growing in the World. It grew between 2007 and 2017 by over a 1000th per cent growth.” “What is spectacular is the fact that it has been private sector driven. It is a testimonial that with just the creation of enabling environment with deregulation. If the LPG sector is able to grow with deregulation just imagine the level of growth if this is extended to petrol and others.”


Many steps backward

Stating that this growth rate could have been higher, the NLPGA’s boss said: “The reason LPG has not grown at the expected pace is that the sector is being pulled down by market forces from other fuels that are yet to be deregulated.” Another reason, according to him, is that the LPG we need is being flared, it is being set on fire somewhere in Nigeria and the country is not doing enough to tame this tides. “We are a net exporter of LPG meanwhile we still have a lot of LPG that is being flared. Just imagine the level of health hazards being faced by our women who still use firewood. “We don’t need subsidy in our sector. Subsidy is a killer of our economy. Even the petrol we subsidise benefits the rich and the middle class. Their number is even so small,” Yakubu said.


Going into extinction

Declaring that local “LPG cylinder manufacucturers are going into extinction,” the NLPGA boss noted that for this to be addressed, the government needs to incentivize the sector. This, First Vice President of NLPGA, Engineer Baylon Duru said, could be done through port duty reductions; tax holiday and tax reduction for local cylinder manufacturers; incentivise cylinders distribution in Nigeria; incentivise conversion of vehicles from petrol to gas and to Incentivise the cost of entry for millions of Nigeria who still face the health hazards of using the dirty fuel.”


What the Government has to say

Meanwhile, the Senior Adviser, Downstream and Infrastructure to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Brenda Ataga, was quoted as saying the government was working out a package of incentives to encourage investors in the cooking gas subsector. She said the ministry would set up a unit to liaise with the Federal Ministry of Finance to package tariff incentives for credible investors in the industry. Ataga, who during a tour of Tech-no Oil for building the gas cylinder plant, said the petroleum resources ministry was doing everything possible to encourage Nigerians to embrace LPG, also known as cooking gas. She said government was keen on ensuring that every Nigerian household embraced cooking gas rather than using firewood and other harmful energy sources. Also speaking, the Head, Gas Monitoring and Regulatory Division in the Department of Petroleum Resources, Mr Sanya Bajomo, said he was impressed with what he saw at the plant. “It is a thing of joy that we can now manufacture LPG cylinders in Nigeria, instead of importing. We give kudos to Techno Oil for preparing the ground for every household to adopt cooking gas,” he added.


Cooking gas

Cooking gas cylinders are a great relief from kerosene stoves and electric cookers in environments with limited or unpredictable power supply. Some say you haven’t lived if you haven’t blown into the dark rings of a smoking kerosene stove. These cylinders are one of the most common alternative fuel sources in the world, with millions of Nigerian households relying on this cooking appliance, according to recent study by NLPGA. In modern town planning, the use of these gas cylinders is only replaced by the expansion of town gas into buildings, as seen in Hong Kong and Brazil. When handled correctly, gas cylinders are portable, in abundant supply, convenient and affordable. When not handled correctly, they can cost your life. But the sub-standard cylinders are greater threats because whether they are handled correctly or not, they are susceptible to leaks and explosion.


Surge in cylinder’s havoc

Dr. Alimi raised the alarm over increasing cases of burns in the hospital, blaming them on what he described as ‘nonchalant attitude’ of Nigerians in the use of cooking gas. Alimi who spoke during the Hospital’s Burns Awareness Walk further maintained that the increase in burns being recorded in the tertiary institution was due to poor handling of cooking gas or kerosene, generator and the use of phone touch lights while fueling generators. He warned Nigerians against keeping their gas cylinder inside their kitchen as many may not be lucky with such act. “If you are using cooking gas or kerosene, keep it outside. Your kitchen must have a window. If kerosene finished inside the stove while you are cooking, suspend the cooking till the stove is cool before you refuel. “Don’t keep petrol inside the house, do not refill hot or working generator.

If you are living your house, switch off all appliances, if you are going to bed, switch off appliances you are not using. If you want to do electric wiring in your house get a proper electrician and make sure cable is connected properly, don’t leave cable where they can spark and kindle fire “You may get away with it today and not be lucky tomorrow, so the best option is not to try it at all. Most of the phones have a little spark when they ring, and that spark is enough to spark up a fire,” he disclosed. Corroborating his views, Head of Department, Burns and Plastic Surgery, Dr. Folake Abikoye, regretted that many Nigerians still apply things like egg, engine oil, pap among other things on burns injury which can contaminate the wound. “The best thing is to put the injury spot under a running tap to cool the temperature of the affected area and prevent the heat of initial burn injuries to continue to cause more tissue destruction. She urged people to embrace safety precaution help to save lives and prevent loss of property, “burn management is very expensive, some patient cannot afford it that is the reason why the hospital management is considering setting up an endowment fund to assist less privileged.


Last line

The Federal Government must up the monitoring of standard of imported canisters for cooking gas. All Nigerians, including stakeholders should support the efforts at mitigating the risk posed by these sub-standard cylinders already in circulation.

by Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation/Dare Odufowokan


The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democra-tic Party (PDP) may be facing an uphill task raising sufficient funds for their campaigns ahead of next year’s elections, an investigation by The Nation has revealed.



Large scale individual and corporate donors have not been forthcoming with cash to assist the parties as it used to be in the past, it was gathered.

They are said to be scared of getting trapped by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other security agencies some of which are already mounting a strict surveillance on transactions in the financial sector as the elections draws nearer.

The anti-graft agency is understood to have put a special team of detectives on standby to monitor banking transactions round the clock.

Other detectives of the EFCC have been deployed at airports and seaports to prevent importation of slush funds into the country while the agency has warned Bureau De Change operators against serving as couriers for slush cash for election purpose.

On its part, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is focusing on e-transactions than cash flow which is preferred by many politicians.

The move is to make it difficult for politicians to buy votes before, during and after elections.

Unlike what happened in the build-up to the 2015 general elections when banks were hauling cash in bullion vans and chartered planes across the country for politicians, some banks are said to be currently undergoing a cash squeeze.

It is now difficult for a bank to pay between N50million and N100million in a single transaction to any customer, individual or corporate.

The banks will rather transfer such huge amounts electronically which can be monitored by appropriate agencies like the EFCC.

Investigation also revealed that the EFCC action is a fall out of the collaboration between the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and EFCC to check money influence on the elections.

It was learnt that the scope of collaboration covers measures to stop vote buying.


Apart from monitoring movement of stolen funds kept in some private vaults, the EFCC is focusing on transactions by banks.

A well placed source said: “The campaign for 2019 general elections will be run on tight budgets because of a deliberate policy to limit cash influence and make the process credible.

“The campaign expenses of all parties and contestants are being monitored to make sure that they are in line with statutory limits.

“EFCC detectives have also been deployed in airports, border posts and seaports to checkmate the inflow of illicit funds into the country. Those who want to repatriate looted funds will go through hell this time around.

“There is pressure on the banks to make their transaction records as comprehensive and transparent as possible. There is a special team of EFCC detectives working with some sister agencies conducting 24-hour surveillance on bank transactions.

“Some of these detectives have just acquired new skills on how to track transactions even to suspected corrupt sponsors of parties and candidates.

“Any cash in transit movement by banks through companies or by bullion vans will be scrutinized henceforth to ensure that the process is legitimate to serve innocent customers and not Politically Exposed Persons. All these steps apply to all parties and office holders.”

Responding to a question, the source added: “Our target is also against vote buying. With the measures put in place so far, cash will not be available to parties for sharing at polling units. This is our ultimate goal.

“Politicians can resort to e-transactions to buy votes but we can intercept this process easily.”

On Bureau De Change operators, the source added: “The EFCC has met with them and warned against being used as couriers for illicit funds by politicians.

“At our session with these operators, they admitted that 70 per cent of them are unregistered. They alleged that most of these illegal BDCs were used during the 2015 poll. For instance, out of about 1,000 BDC operators in Abuja alone, less than 30 per cent are legally licensed.

“We are going to discuss with the CBN on how to deal with these illegal BDCs in accordance with the laws of the land.”

A top bank official said: “We are really having less cash in banks now because the CBN is encouraging e-transactions. And with electronic banking, transactions by parties, politicians, agents and sponsors can be monitored.

“When we find out, it appears the cash squeeze might be between December and till after the general elections in 2019.”



When contacted, the Acting Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Mr. Tony Orilade said: “We have started monitoring campaign funds and putting measures in place to check vote buying.

“We have our men, who have undergone special training, in charge of surveillance of banks for suspicious transactions. So, movement of funds is strictly being monitored.

“We have met with officials of Bureau De Change. Their lamentation is that most of the operators are illegal. We demanded that they should compile the list of registered members. Illegal operators can be shut down by the appropriate government agencies.”

An APC chieftain told The Nation that it is no longer business as usual for the parties mobilizing funds ahead of elections.

He said:”Campaigning for and winning a presidential election in our clime requires a lot of money. Take a large rally for example, it requires a huge amount of money to stage and we will have to stage a number of this as we continue with the campaign we just flagged off.

“Although we are the ruling party, it has not been easy mobilizing funds for the party to spend. But we are forging on largely with the support of individual Nigerians.”

Speaking in a similar vein, a source in the campaign structure of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the PDP presidential candidate, said: “most of the things you see some of us doing, we are doing with personal finance and unsolicited supports we get from friends and well-wishers. We are still waiting for the party and the candidate to come forward with needed funds.”

The cash crunch is said to be slowing down the campaign activities of the parties.

Consequently, supporters of the PDP candidate across the country are urging the handlers of his campaign to focus more on small public events and door to door drives across the country until the problem of cash drought can be resolved.

One source said:”We have been advised to plan the big rallies for the later part of the campaigns. Given the reality on ground as we speak, we may be focusing more on the less elaborate electioneering drives that are equally very effective but less expensive. Don’t forget that the PDP has been out of government for nearly four years and we have fewer numbers of governors than we had in 2015.

“The current administration too is intentionally stiffening the noose around our neck by threatening anybody who is willing to support the PDP financially with EFCC and frivolous allegations. This has made it very difficult for our party to receive the usual election time financial support we enjoyed in the past. But I can assure you that all these will not save the APC from defeat.”



It was also gathered that some Atiku support groups may resort to launching a nationwide campaign to invite donors to make financial contributions.

Bala Halilu, convener of the Atikulated Nigeria Movement (ANM), said it is not proper for anybody to expect the candidate to solely fund the election.

“If they say there is cash crunch, then it means PDP chieftains didn’t keep money away as being alleged. We truly need fun to push the campaign,” he said.

“On our own as support groups, we are seeking permission to approach the general public as regards funding. This is important because the party may not be able to raise the needed fund and we want to win this election for Nigerians. So, Nigerians must be allowed to invest into the process by helping to raise the fund we will be needing to stop the APC from continuing in office beyond 2019,” he said.

For APC, the presidential campaign committee is yet to make funds available for any major electioneering effort.

“Most of the activities you see been done across the country to propagate the re-election bid of Mr. President are being done through private initiatives,” a source said.

“It is either the Buhari Support Organisation (BSO) doing it or individual state chapters, especially in the southern part of the country, taking the initiative to do the needful. Talks are currently on about how to fund the campaigns better. But I can tell you that it is not true that the presidency or the APC has a huge war-chest in place to prosecute this election.

“This is a season when gift items and branded campaign materials are usually in the surplus. But look around you and you will agree with me that something is unusual in the way the big parties are carrying on with their campaigns this time around.

“Visit the campaign secretariats across the state and you will not see the usual hordes of rams and chickens associated with yuletide in an election year.

“Even party leaders like me are wondering why we didn’t get the usual yuletide hampers and envelopes now that electioneering campaigns are ongoing. But what we hear is that money is yet to be released for the coordinators to use. That is strange as we are barely two months to the election proper. If they are yet to fund the campaigns now, when will that be done? Or is it true that funds are not easily sourced as being alleged? This is unusual,” a chieftain of the PDP in Ogun State said.

Tony Okafor, Awka



A former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, on Saturday asked the Igbo to be wary of promises from the All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2019 general elections.

Obasanjo who spoke at a stakeholders’ meeting at Ukpor, Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State said the APC had no plans to hand over the presidency of the country to the Igbo.

He urged the Igbo to take their destiny in their hands by getting united in the 2019 general elections and make a mark.

He said, “I urged you the Igbo not to allow anybody to relegate you to the background because you occupy a place of preeminence in this country.

“The Igbo must bury their differences and work together for the actualisation of the Atiku/Obi project in their best interest.

“It’s dangerous to take the APC government seriously,” Obasanjo stated.

Describing Peter Obi as a beacon of hope, Obasanjo asked him to reach out to major stakeholders in the south East to drum support for the 2019 PDP presidential project.

“You and your presidential candidate have become the beacon of hope to all Nigerians who have had it so rough in the last four years.

“You need to think out of the box to take this country out of the woods caused by incumbent clueless administrators.

“With your pedigree as a governor, I’m hopeful that things will work again in Nigeria under your leadership as vice president.

In his welcome address, first republic aviation minister, Chief Mbazuluke Amechi, described Mr Peter Obi as a good man, adding that the Atiku/Obi ticket was needed at a time like this.

The meeting was attended by Mr Peter Obi, former minister of power, Chief Barth Nnaji, former minister of health, Prof ABC Nwosu, former Imo State governor, Ikedi Ohakim, among others.

The National Association of Nigerian Students on Saturday urged the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities to go back to negotiations with the Federal Government.

NANS was reacting to a statement reportedly issued by the ASUU where it threatened not to honour any further invitation for a meeting with the Federal Government.

“There is a need for ASUU to continue its negotiations with the Federal Government to find a common ground to resolve issues that led to the union’s ongoing strike,’’ NANS National Public Relations Officer, Mr Bestman Okereafor, said.

Okereafo, who made this known in a statement issued to the News Agency of Nigeria in Enugu, said: “We consider this decision as devilish and not in the best interest of Nigerian students.

“We wonder how the lingering disputes will be resolved if meetings are boycotted.

“We are calling on the leadership of ASUU to reverse its decision and consider returning to the negotiation table.’’

The students’ umbrella body urged the lecturers to work towards resolving the dispute and suspend the strike before Jan. 1, 2019 in the interest of Nigerian students.

By Abbas Jimoh


The alliance of 40 presidential candidates under the auspices of the Patriotic Forum of Presidential Candidates (PFPC), has collapsed over the surreptitious move by some of their leaders to adopt President Muhammadu Buhari for the 2019 elections.
Speaking on Thursday in Abuja during the meeting of a new alliance tagged Patriotic Presidential Forum (PPF), the Chairman of the forum and Presidential candidate of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), Dr. Onwubuya Breakforth, said the older forum collapsed due to the planned adoption of President Buhari, contrary to the spirit of the forum.

While he refused to name names, Daily Trust reliably learnt that, the Chairman of the PFPC and National Chairman of the Advanced Peoples Democratic Alliance (APDA), Alhaji Shittu Kabiru Mohammed, met with APC and Presidency officials on moves to adopt President Buhari.

Shittu however told Daily Trust that he would rather be on the part of patriotism and national interest than individual interests.

“This forum was formed with about 30 presidential candidates. We are looking at how we can have free and fair 2019 General Elections; engagement with INEC to ensure that INEC remains an unbiased umpire as it ought to be.

“Secondly to engage with various security agencies that they do not take side and remain neutral and also to engage the international communities like the UN, AU, EU, US and other embassies in Nigeria to beam their satellite to ensure that we have free, credible and violent-free election in 2019.

“At the end of the day, we want to be able to tell Nigerians that we are the third force. As individual candidates, we may not be able to favourably compete with the APC or PDP, but when we come together, as a strong force, we can be able to compete against the seemingly dominant parties and bigger brothers and salvage Nigeria.

“One of us who was the chairman of the PFPC derailed in choosing his alliance contrary to the spirit of the forum and the forum said no we cannot go with that form as it has been corrupted.

“As far as we are concerned, the other forum is no longer in existence as 90 percent of members of the other forum are here with us,” Breakforth said.

Also, the Vice Chairman of the new forum and Presidential candidate of the National Action Council (NAC) Hajiya Rabia Rakad Cengiz, said the forum will soon come out with details of its meeting and its resolutions.

When contacted on Thursday night, Alhaji Shittu Kabiru Mohammed, said the proponents of the new forum were free to make their choice in the spirit of democracy.

While he refused to directly respond to his reported adoption of President Buhari, he told Daily Trust that it would be better to be patriotic rather than forming another ‘third force’.

“For me, it is better to look at the interest of the nation first and do things that would make the country better and stronger,” he said.

Abuja – Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, has said that if the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) wants to make family the issue in the coming elections, the All Progressives Congress (APC) would gladly accept the challenge.

“Let this be the subject for 2019 election,” he told State House Correspondents in an interaction on Wednesday.

Reacting to various comments by several organs of the opposition party on remarks made by the President on views publicly expressed by his wife, Mrs. Aisha Muhammadu Buhari, in an interview, the Presidential Spokesman, said questions raised of the President by the PDP in regard to his wife only amounted to an own goal.

“The PDP leadership cannot afford to make family an issue in this campaign. Need I say more? The only thing I want to add is that PDP is engaging in mud-slinging because it finds it easier than speaking on their despicable 16-year record in the course of which they abused the trust of Nigerians.

“They made a mess of everything including the economy, security and infrastructure. It has come to the destiny of President Muhammadu Buhari to correct their mistakes.

“The PDP doesn’t see anything beyond grabbing power, power at all costs. As an opposition party, they have failed. They have remained disconnected with the masses of our people.

“It is an irony that a party that boasted as being the largest in Africa is now begging small parties for alliances. Even if they get all those paper parties behind them, they will still fail. A Presidential contest is more than the issuance of daily press releases containing falsehoods.

“They have launched a campaign for the Presidency, a campaign that has failed to get any traction. PDP members are themselves admitting that the campaign hadn’t made a good start, that attendance at rallies had unarguably been thin. The whole thing is not working; that President Buhari is unstoppable,” Garba Shehu said.

He continued, “rather than a so-called cabal, an imaginary creation attached to all past governments of the country, President Buhari is remote-controlled by the 200 million-plus Nigerian people whose interest is uppermost in everything he says and does.

“The PDP doesn’t have the strength and support to fight President Buhari. They don’t have the records in security, economy and the war against corruption to mount any meaningful challenge.

“They have no records of accomplishments in infrastructure. In the 16 years they held sway, they have nothing to show for the colossal oil revenues earned, including USD 16 billion doled upfront from the Central Bank for power, without a single megawatt to show for all that money. That is why they are dragging the President’s wife into their politics.”

Scores of supporters of Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode on Sunday in Lagos embarked on solidarity rally to reaffirm commitment to the election of the governorship candidate of the APC, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in the 2019 general elections.

The supporters, who marched from the state secretariat in Alausa to APC’s secretariat on Acme Road in Ogba, said there was no iota of truth in the purported alliance with the PDP and Accord Party as reported in some sections of the media.

The rally, which was organised under the auspices of Ambode Mandate Support Group (AMSG), were received by the state APC Chairman, Alhaji Tunde Balogun, alongside other state executive officers of the party.

Leader of the delegation and Director General of AMSG, Mr Akeem Sulaimon, said the solidarity walk was embarked upon to reaffirm the commitment of Gov. Ambode to the victory of the APC in 2019 elections at all levels in the state.

Sulaimon, who is also the Special Adviser to Governor on Communities and Communication, said it was also important to emphasise that Ambode had truly accepted the choice of the party, adding that any contrary information was a hoax.

”We are here because a lot of people lately seem to be talking for our principal, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, claiming to be representing his interest and we need to let the whole world know that if anyone will represent his interests, it can only be those of us that belong to his campaign.

”His Excellency, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, is a man of God; he is a man who believes that the party is supreme; he is a man who has accepted the choice and the position of the party.

”He has accepted that Babajide Sanwo-Olu is the candidate of our great party, APC and he has equally been mobilising not just members of his group but he has been mobilising the party to ensure victory for Sanwo-Olu come 2019,” he said.

Speaking specifically on the alleged declaration of support for the opposition party by some supporters of the governor, Sulaimon said though the rally was planned long before now, nonetheless there was no truth in the said rumor.

He said that the governor, as a loyal party man, would not do anything to “rock the boat.”

”We are organising this to show to Lagosians and Nigerians that our principal bears no grudge; he has no ill feelings.

”If he had wanted to fight at that time, he could have fought and so if he did not fight then, why would anybody be insinuating that he wants to fight now?

”We are here to let you know that he is not fighting. The governor’s directive to us is that we should all go out and mobilise for Mr Sanwo-Olu.

”Irrespective of how things might have happened, the governor has equally benefited from the party and he says that he will not destroy the party that he has benefited from,” Sulaimon said.

Responding, Balogun commended the supporters for showing commitment to the party, saying the rally was a demonstration of Gov. Ambode’s loyalty to the party.

”Trekking from Alausa to this place under this scorching sun is a tough task no doubt and it is a demonstration of your commitment and loyalty to this party.

”It is a demonstration of the commitment and loyalty of Gov. Ambode to APC and I want to commend you all for this,” Balogun said.

Among those who led the rally were Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Muslim Folami; Special Adviser to the governor on Civic Engagement, Mr Benjamin Olabinjo; Chairman of Lagos Ferry Service, Mr Paul Kalejaiye; APC chieftain, Chief Denge Anifowoshe, among others.

John Omachonu



Even before the combatant National Assembly (NASS) debates and passes the budget next year, the nation’s proposed estimates of income and expenditure for next year is enmeshed in fresh fears of misalignment following a cut in Nigeria’s oil production quota by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) by 3.04 percent to 1.685 million barrels per day for the first half of 2019.

The development is considered as part of efforts to reduce oversupply in the global crude oil market by the Organization.

The production cut, which is to be implemented from 2019, has cast a shadow over the 2.3mbpd crude oil production assumption on which the 2019 budget is based. Nigeria expects 52.9 percent of its N8.83 trillion proposed budget to be funded by oil revenues.

Also the retention of $60 benchmark price is considered as over ambitious and unrealistic considering further sliding of the oil price at the international market, which is currently below the budget price.

President Muhammadu Buhari presented an N8.83 trillion ($28.80 billion) budget for 2019 last Wednesday, laying out plans to drive growth to a raucous parliament that highlighted divisions two months before the election.

The spending plan for Africa’s top oil producer assumes crude production of 2.3 million barrels a day, an oil price of $60 per barrel and an exchange rate of N305 to dollar.

Another disturbing signal is the Excess Crude Account (ECA), the only buffer for the country against oil revenue volatility, which fell seventy-six percent to just above $600 million in three weeks.

The Federal Government was said to have withdrawn $1.6 billion in three months, between November 25 and December 19, 2018, thereby shrinking ECA to $631 million.

Some analysts say at the weekend that these may be signs of taste of what to expect next year, even as Nigerians are experiencing low purchasing power in the midst of rising cost of food items.

OPEC and 10 non-OPEC countries agreed earlier this month to cut oil production by 1.2 million bpd effective from January for an initial period of six months to shore up what many expect to be weakening market fundamentals ahead.

Nigeria, which was exempted from the previous cuts since January 2017,was asked to join the deal during the OPEC meeting on December 7 in Vienna.

With a reference level of 1.738 million bpd, Nigeria’s oil production is to be cut by 53,000 barrels to arrive at the new quota of 1.685 million bpd, according to a breakdown of member quotas under OPEC’s supply accord released by S&P Global Platts last week.

Ibe Kachikwu, Nigeria’s junior petroleum minister, said on December 7 that it was very difficult for Nigeria to reduce its crude oil production.

Kachikwu, who spoke on ‘Bloomberg Daybreak: Europe’ ahead of the OPEC meeting in Vienna, stated that there was a need for an extension of production cuts to stabilise the global oil market.

Asked if Nigeria would be able to reduce production, he said, “It is very difficult to do that but where we are now, everybody must be seen to contribute. Obviously, the smaller it is, the more amenable we are to participate; the larger it is, the more we will struggle to participate.

“We have got exemption three times understandably. This time round, I think there is a decision that everybody should be seen to chip in.”

Friday Ameh, Lagos based energy analyst told Sunday INDEPENDENT at the weekend that government will not be able to achieve the desired objective with the $60 per barrel benchmark.

“I consider the assumption as over ambitious and unrealistic since the sliding of the price is becoming uncontrollable,” Ameh said.

Muda Yusuf, director general of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI had last week described the budget as too small to create any meaningful impact compared with the size of the economy.

Yusuf, who spoke on Channels at 10 on Wednesday, said the budget is about five percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product, (GDP), adding that the expected revenue is too small for investment in infrastructure.

Bismarck Rewane, Chief Executive of Financial Derivatives said that “At $60, the benchmark price could be ambitious.”

Chukwudi Akasike



The Coalition of Niger Delta Agitators has accused some politicians in the country of stockpiling arms and ammunition in the oil producing region ahead of the 2019 general elections.

The militants said the move was aimed at creating mayhem in Niger Delta states, particularly in Rivers, Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom.

A statement by leaders of the coalition claimed that within the last four weeks over 48,000 AK-47 rifles and ammunition had been moved to different parts of the region.

Among the signatories of the statement issued via electronic mail on Thursday are John Duku of Niger Delta Watchdogs and Convener of the Coalition of Niger Delta Agitators; Jomo Gbomo (Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta), Mudoch Agbinibo (Niger Delta Avengers), Ekpo Ekpo (Niger Delta Volunteers), Simple Benjamin (Bakassi Strike Force) and Osarolor Nedam (Niger Delta Warriors).

Others are Henry Okon Etete (Niger Delta Peoples Fighters), Asukwo Henshaw (Bakassi Freedom Fighters), Ibinabo Horsfall (Niger Delta Movement for Justice) and Duke Emmanson (Niger Delta Fighters Network).

The statement read, “The Coalition of Niger Delta Agitators wishes to use this medium to draw the attention of the general public and the International Community to the mass movement of sophisticated arms and ammunition to the South-South zone of the country.

“This is for the sole purpose of distributing same to already recruited thugs/youths. Within the last one month, over 48,000 AK-47 rifles, pump action shotguns, pistols, ammunition and other weapons have been moved to different locations in the Niger Delta region.

“There is the proliferation of dangerous weapons in the Niger Delta region brought in by politicians to cause mayhem in Rivers and Akwa Ibom states.”

The groups explained that one of their ‘Generals’ had been contacted by a top official of a political party to “supply boys” that would be co-opted into the 3,500 thugs to be used for election violence in Niger Delta.

They disclosed that the sum of N100,000 had been earmarked for each thug while the ‘Generals’ would get N1m each on election day.

“Already, one of our Generals has been contacted by a top official of a political party to supply about 150 of his boys who will be part of the 3,500 thugs they want to use in each state of the Niger Delta region for their nefarious activities during the forthcoming elections.

“The negotiators have agreed on the payment of N100,000 per thug on election day, while the leaders (Generals) will earn N1m each.

“They have also procured fake military and police uniforms, which these thugs will wear. They are all out to foment trouble in the area, particularly in Rivers, Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom states.”

The coalition expressed concern that innocent people could be affected by the presence of arms and ammunition in wrong hands during the 2019 elections in Niger Delta.

By Samuel Ogidan


Abuja – As the 2019 budget presented to the joint session of the National Assembly on Thursday continued to generate controversy, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Organization (PPCO) yesterday to President Muhammadu Buhari to apologize to Nigerians for his alleged reliance on falsehood in his presentation.

The PDP campaign organisation has also rejected and condemned as punitive, the plans by the President to impose new taxes on Nigerians who, it said have are already overburdened, impoverished and pauperized by his incompetent, insensitive, uncaring, vindictive and corrupt administration.

PDP campaign organisation, in a statement by its Director, Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan noted that Nigerians and the international community were shocked as fact-checks reveal that a large part of the claims made by Mr. President, particularly on projects he claimed to have completed, were outright falsehood, apparently designed by the Buhari Presidency to mislead the nation and the world.

According to the party, “The fact-checks showed that most of the projects which Mr President claimed to have been completed do not have the littlest attention of his administration if they exist at all.

“Of particular reference is President Buhari’s claim that he has completed the Ugwashi-Uku Dam in Delta state; a claim, which casts a long shadow on his assertions, as the project has been abandoned since 2015.

“In fact, the Dam, which President Buhari barefacedly said that he has completed, is overgrown with weeds, while the road leading to the complex has collapsed.

“The scenario is mostly the same in other capital projects, particularly those in remote parts of the country, which perhaps, our dear President thought Nigerians will not fact-check on.

“This explained why federal lawmakers booed him during his budget presentation, a development that is unprecedented in our national history,” it said.

In his desperate plot to nudge up a trajectory of dismal perfomance, President Buhari resorted to falsification of achievements thereby violating his oath of office; the oath of allegiance to the people of Nigeria and corrupted our national performance indices.

“This elevation of lies to a standard practice of governance is embarrassing and the PPCO completely condemns it.

“All over the world, leaders of nations are expected to be truthful in their dealings, but this is no longer the case as it concerns our dear nation.

“While we do not want to call Mr. President a liar, we urge him, in his words, to tell Nigerians what he will call a person who claims to have done what he did not do, particularly, given his perception by a minority few as Mr. Integrity.”

By Felix Igbekoyi


ASABA – Following the increasing spate of kidnappings and ritual killings in Delta State, detectives attached to the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, have arrested six native doctors in Ughelli and its environs.

They are: Bernard Thomas, 52, Babalola Akin, 48, Lucky Omorofu, 47, Macauley Obaro, 52, Agbalokpe Kennedy, 49 and Chief Chiedu Agharho, 56 years.

The Commissioner of Police (CP), Mr Anthony Ogbizi confirmed the arrest, saying that the detectives acted on intelligence. He disclosed that three of the native doctors were arrested in Ughelli, while the three others were nabbed in Abraka, with strange substances including prepared charms.

According to him, the suspects have made useful statements and would be charged to court upon completion of investigations.

Investigations by Crime Tracker reveal that, some of the Yahoo boys in police headquarters in Asaba, and those hiding in some parts of the state, who mostly wear dreaded hair styles popularly called ‘Dada’ in the local parlance, shove their dreadlock hairs to evade arrest.

Some of them have also abandoned their expensive luxury cars like Benz C Wagon, Toyota Venza, that costs between N10 million and above, to further evade arrest they have gone into hidings, while many of them have also vacated their expensive apartments and fled the state owing to the arrest of their colleagues.

Subsequently, many of the abandoned cars belonging to them have been impounded since they cannot explain how the cars were acquired particularly with their young age and with no serious means of livelihood.

Further investigations by Crime Tracker reveal that, there is a Special Squad from the police high command Abuja in synergy with the Delta State Police Squad that have stepped up search their flash points and hideouts.

One of their strategies is to focus on those people with no legitimate means of living but own and drive expensive cars, who are engaged in fraudulent acts, kidnappings that are associated with yuletide.

Meanwhile, commercial sex workers in Abraka community in Delta State last week protested and blamed the current low patronage in their sex trade on the crackdown on Yahoo Boys’ in the state by the police.

The prostitutes, numbering over 30 from two well-known brothels in the area, took to various streets in the early hours of the day, in skimpy dresses that barely cover their nudity, chanting sorrowful songs mainly in Ibo language, regretting that since the ongoing crack down on ‘Yahoo Boys’ and ritualists by the police, things have not been the same in terms of the patronage they get.

The protesting prostitutes said, “the police have brought bad market for us. We no longer get patronage as we used to get in Abraka community when Yahoo, Yahoo boys were in charge. Hunger is now treating us very bad, the Yahoo, Yahoo boys pay very well better than others. They have stopped coming to our hotels, we are now suffering.”

One of the commercial sex workers, Angela Chioma, who spoke to newsmen in the area, said, “business has died in Abraka community where we used to make money, a whole day nobody comes. Our powerful customers have been driven away by the police. It is the Yahoo Boys that used to patronize us very well.

“They paid well and don’t ask for change. Every day, we will sit down without a customer; things are very rough for us. We shall soon relocate elsewhere. Some of us are not from Delta State. To make matters worse, even when we call them, they don’t pick calls and any of them who picks will issue stern warning not to call them again.”

But the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Andrew Aniamaka, who spoke to Crime Tracker in Asaba, said, “the police will not relent in doing its job. The police will ensure that all the Yahoo boys are brought to book across the state. Even the brothels, the police will soon embark on operation raid all the brothels and hotels across the state. The Yahoo, Yahoo boys are gradually relocating elsewhere, it’s a plus for the police since the crack down on them.”

Posted By: Bisi Olaniyi,


Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has declared war against Sahara Group, the company co-founded by Rivers governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Pastor Tonye Cole.

Wike, through Commissioner for Information and Communications, Emma Okah, on Friday in Port Harcourt, announced termination of the sale of the state-owned power plants to subsidiaries of Sahara Energy Limited.

Cole, a billionaire businessman, who is a Pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) declared Wike a frustrated governor playing vindictive politics.

The Rivers APC governorship candidate, who spoke through the Director, Strategic Communications of his campaign organisation, Prince Tonye Princewill, said: “This is the vindictive nature of the politics we play today and the reason why many who can salvage our analog politics stay away.

“We have said it before that politics is too important to be left to politicians.

“So, the Tonye Coles of this world should have no fear. The old way is going and the old style politicians know it. My surprise is it took this long.

“I can only imagine Wike knows that Tonye Cole will be confirmed as his opponent, he can no longer hide his frustration. “What he fails to appreciate is that no serious businessman will want to do business with Rivers State.”

Okah stated the decisions and actions were part of the resolutions at Friday’s State Executive Council meeting, presided over by Wike at the Government House, Port- Harcourt.

He told reporters at the end of the meeting: “The Rivers State government has approved the termination of the share sale contract for the sale of 70 per cent equity of the state government-owned power generation assets held by First Independent Power Limited in Omoku, Afam, Trans-Amadi and Eleme Gas Turbines to NG Power-HPS Limited.

“The Rivers State government also terminated the concession of the Rivers and Bayelsa States’ owned Olympia Hotel (in old Government Reservation Area, near Government House, Port Harcourt) to Cenpropsaroten Hotel Management Limited.

“The Rivers State government further terminated the concession agreement between the Government of Rivers State and Kild Concession Limited, in respect of the construction of a toll road and secondary developments in Abonnema Wharf, Port Harcourt.

“The three companies that had their contracts/concessions terminated are subsidiaries of Sahara Energy Limited, used by the immediate past Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, to acquire state assets.”

Okah also stated that the Rivers government arrived at the resolutions, in line with the yet-to-be implemented recommendations of the white paper on the report of the judicial commission of inquiry on the investigation of the administration of Amaechi, now Transportation Minister, on the sale of valued assets of Rivers state and other related matters under the chairmanship of Justice George Omereji.

Information commissioner added the government directed the Attorney-General to take further steps as contained in the white paper.

Buhari said “Through hard work, and by the special grace of God, we have weathered these storms”. What storm did you weather when under you, 20.93 million people became unemployed and your country became the world headquarters for extreme poverty? #Buhari2019BudgetLies

Pastor Reno Omokri Buhari’s double: Lauretta Onochie bombs Fani-Kayode over fake news Buhari said “The economy has recovered from recession and we have had six quarters of growth since then.” That is technically not true. Our population continues to grow almost 3 times faster than economic growth. Poverty is inevitable under such conditions #Buhari2019BudgetLies

We have done more work with less resources in agriculture”. Not true. More work than whom? According to the US Department of Agriculture, Nigeria now imports more food than under former President Goodluck Jonathan. We are billed two be the 2nd largest rice importer in the world next year. Google it. #Buhari2019BudgetLies

Buhari said “We have made strenuous and successful efforts to overcome the insurgency in NE”. A blatant lie. Nigeria fell in the Global Terrorism Index from #4 under GEJ to #3 this year. More soldiers died this year than at any other time eg, Metele #Buhari2019BudgetLies

Buhari said “The FG has been working in a unified and patriotic manner to tackle tension between herdsmen and farmers”. Blatant lie. 2018 has been the worst year of herdsmen killing in Nigeria’s history with over 3,000 killed and not one killer convicted #Buhari2019BudgetLies

Buhari said “The FG has also sustained its efforts to fight grand corruption”. Another BIG lie. According to Transparency International, Nigeria is now more corrupt than at any time in its history and fell 12 places from 136 to 148 in the latest CPI #Buhari2019BudgetLies

Buhari said “We recorded successes in economic management.” How can this be when in 2019 we simultaneously became world headquarters for extreme poverty, out of school kids & infant mortality? BillGates called Nigeria one of the worst places to be born #Buhari2019BudgetLies

Buhari said “We have increased foreign exchange reserves from a low of $28.57B in May 2015 to $42.92B”. Another lie. Buhari failed to tell you our debt doubled from ₦11 trillion under GEJ to ₦24 trillion today. You can’t increase reserve with debt #Buhari2019BudgetLies

said “, Nigeria was spending $5 million dollars a day on rice importation. Today rice imports have virtually stopped” This is the biggest lie of all. Only a man without shame can lie like this. Read this exposé by yourself https:///6MBzCMEhNM #Buhari2019BudgetLies

Buhari said “In the railway sector, we completed and commissioned the Abuja-Kaduna Rail”. This is an unnecessary lie. Google it. That project was completed by the GEJ Government. What was outstanding in 2015 was importation of the trains from China #Buhari2019BudgetLies

Buhari claimed the “construction of the Oju/Loko-Oweto bridge over River Benue” as his achievement. Fellow Nigerians, here is a picture of that bridge being constructed in 2013. My question to Buhari is this-are you a time traveller sir? #Buhari2019BudgetLies

Buhari said “In power, we are working on over 90 transmission projects across the country.” Notice he did not say Generation. He said ‘transmission’ (apologies to IGP Idris), because Buhari HAS NOT built even ONE power station. The last was built by GEJ #Buhari2019BudgetLies

Buhari said “we are also looking at rolling out similar off grid solutions to Universities“. What an amazing lie. Never in the history of Nigeria has education been underfunded as today under Buhari. As you read this, both ASUU and ASUP are on strike #Buhari2019BudgetLies

Buhari said “297,973 households in 26 states across the country are benefitting from the Conditional Cash Transfer program.” I don’t need to debunk this lie. If you know that President Buhari lied on this claim, simply retweet this and comment after #Buhari2019BudgetLies

Buhari said “We are most encouraged by the improved performance of the economy”. This shows Buhari is divorced from reality. In 2018, the World Economic Forum officially makes Nigeria the world headquarters of extreme poverty and he says this? #Buhari2019BudgetLies

Buhari said “we have returned to the path of growth”. You yourself know that nothing is growing. 5 days ago, Buhari himself held a close door meeting with the 36 Governors and told them “things will get worse”. This is a deliberate lie to cover failure #Buhari2019BudgetLies

Buhari said “we have since the 2016 Budget created a revenue line in the budget for stolen and recovered funds.” Another LIE. In July 2018 this govt claimed to share $330 million Abacha loot to the poor only to borrow $328 million from China in August #Buhari2019BudgetLies

Buhari boasted of a “67 percent budget performance”. Why do his handlers keep doing this to him? Please do yourself a favour and read the truth here https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/11/forget-2018-budget-it-was-a-waste-of-time-anyway-2/amp/#click=https:///A1eM2PUOUA #Buhari2019BudgetLies

Buhari said he targets “Real GDP growth of 3.01%”. What is on ground to justify this expectation? We did not even get 1.5% growth this year and the President told Governors “things will get worse”, so even he knows he is lying #Buhari2019BudgetLies

Finally, Buhari should note that when he lies so blatantly to the Nigerian public, he can deceive some of the people some of the time but he can’t fool all of the people all of the time. Everything I have exposed can be verified via a Google search #Buhari2019BudgetLies. By Reno Omokri

Deji Elumoye, Onyebuchi Ezigbo, Shola Oyeyipo, Adedayo Akinwale, Mercy Apollos in Abuja and Nume Ekeghe in Lagos

The vexed issue of subsidy for petrol was a significant part of President Muhammadu Buhari’s presentation of 2019 financial estimates to the National Assembly Wednesday, with the president earmarking N305 billion, out of his proposed N8.83 trillion spending plan, for the essential commodity.

The president told the 469-member National Assembly at the House of Representatives Chambers that government would continue to subsidise fuel price in order to reduce its burden on the citizenry.

The president’s decision, is, however, likely to generate anxiety among the nation’s 36 governors, who had in recent times opposed subsidy deduction from the Federation Account, arguing that it had remained a shadowy drain on their monthly allocation.

According to him, “We have allowed for N305 billion ($1 billion) for under-recovery by NNPC on PMS (premium motor spirit or petrol) in 2019. We will continue working to bring it downwards so that such resources are freed up to meet the developmental needs of our people.”

The president attributed the problem with subsidies in the past to abuse and corruption, adding, however, that because government through the NNPC is the sole importer of PMS, under-recovery is from the NNPC’s trading account.

He said this means the possibility of some marketers falsifying claims has been removed.

The 2019 budget estimate is N300 billion lower than the N9.1 billion being implemented for 2018 fiscal year.

According to Buhari, N4.04 trillion or 50.31 per cent is earmarked for recurrent expenditure and N2.03 trillion representing 22.98 per cent for capital projects.

Other estimates are N492.36 billion for statutory transfers, N2.14 trillion for debt servicing and provision of N120 billion as sinking fund.

He explained that the sinking fund would be used to “retire maturing bonds to local contractors.”

The 2019 budget proposal is based on an oil production estimate of 2.3 million barrels per day and an exchange rate of N305 per dollar.

Other benchmarks are real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of 3.01 per cent and inflation rate of 9.98 per cent.

The total projected revenue, according to the president, is N6.97 trillion, which is three per cent lower than the 2018 estimate of N7.17 trillion.

Buhari said the expected income consisted of oil revenue projected at N3.73 trillion, and non-oil revenue estimated at N1.39 trillion.

He explained, “The estimate from non-oil revenue consists of N799.52 billion from company income tax; N229.34 billion from value added tax, and customs duties of N302.5 billion. We have reduced our expectations from independent revenue N624.58 billion.

“Other revenues expected in 2019 include various recoveries of N203.38 billion; N710 billion as proceeds from the restructuring of government equity in joint ventures, and other sundry incomes of N104.1 billion.”

The president explained further that the total N8.83 trillion proposed expenditure for 2019 included grants and donor funds amounting to N209.92 billion.

According to him, although the 2019 estimate was lower than the 2018 budget of N9.1 trillion, it was higher than the N8.6 trillion originally proposed by the executive to the National Assembly.

The budget deficit is projected to decrease to N1.86 trillion or 1.3 per cent of the GDP in 2019 from N1.95 trillion projected for 2018.

“This reduction is in line with our plan to progressively reduce deficit and borrowings over the medium term,” he said.

On sectoral allocation, the president said the Ministry of Interior would get N569.07billion, Defence (N435.62 billion), Education (N462.24 billion) and Health (N315.62 billion).


To Set up Technical Committee on Minimum Wage

On the contentious issue of new minimum wage, Buhari revealed that a technical committee is to be constituted to advise government on mode of funding workers’ wage increase.

He said, “I am committed to addressing the issue of a new minimum wage and I will be sending a bill to the National Assembly on this. However, in order to avoid a fiscal crisis for the federal government, as well as the States, it is important to devise ways to ensure that its implementation does not lead to an increase in the level of borrowing.

“I am accordingly setting up a high-powered technical committee to advise on ways of funding an increase in the minimum wage, and the attendant wage adjustments, without having to resort to additional borrowings.

“The work of this technical committee will be the basis of a Finance Bill, which will be submitted to the National Assembly, alongside the Minimum Wage Bill. In addition, the technical committee will recommend modalities for the implementation of the new minimum wage in such a manner as to minimise its inflationary impact, as well as ensure that its introduction does not lead to job losses.”

Indication that the presentation will be rowdy emerged when the gallery of the House of Representatives, where the session was held was cleared for lawmakers to dissolve into an executive session.

There were feelers that it was an attempt to give the president free passage during the presentation.

Though Speaker Dogara said the executive session would only last five minutes, it went on for more than 20 minutes in what was an attempt to ensure that Buhari was well-received.

APC and the PDP lawmakers had earlier met on Tuesday ahead of yesterday’s budget presentation to put finishing touches to how to receive the president.

There was confusion on the floor immediately the president stepped into the House chambers as opposition PDP lawmakers started singing protest songs.

The already prepared APC members also hailed the president, assuring him that he would have another four-year tenure.

While the APC lawmakers were chanting ‘Sai Baba,’ the PDP lawmakers persisted with their song ‘freedom come by struggle.’

PDP lawmakers who were disenchanted and were apparently set for showdown continued singing their protest song ‘freedom comes by struggle,’ repeatedly, making the chamber noisy and rowdy.

Occasionally, they disrupted the president’s speech, making him stop as long as their noises persisted.

No sooner had the sitting began than fighting broke out between a PDP lawmaker and his APC counterpart in the House Chambers.

Hon. Bashir Babale of APC was engaged in physical brawl with PDP lawmaker, Hon. Douye Diri, who was preparing placards with which they planned to protest.

The lawmakers booed the Majority Leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, when he called the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, aside apparently to implore him to pacify PDP members to discontinue their aggression.

Senators too were not exempted as disagreement between Senators Sam Anyanwu and Godswill Akpabio got the two lawmakers to stand up to each other.

Bothered by the open confrontation by the lawmakers, Buhari at a point cautioned the lawmakers saying, “The world is watching us and we are supposed to be above this.”

The drama however, continued as lawmakers booed and hailed the president as he enumerated some of the achievements of his government.

They shouted words such as: ‘It’s a lie! Ah! Iro lo pa (You are lying), propaganda.”

In a deliberate attempt to disturb the president’s speech, some members tampered with the microphone to create noise.

The Sergeant-at-Arm had to direct that the microphone be put off to stop the noise.

While some lawmakers stood up to give the president a clap, some others heckled him shouting, ‘Lies, propaganda’.

One of the lawmakers called Buhari, ‘grass cutter’ in reference to the scandal, which the immediate past Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, was involved.

As the president was stating how his administration was fighting corruption, some lawmakers shouted him down, saying, ‘propaganda, which corruption are you fighting’? ‘Grass cutter’

When the Buhari concluded his speech, the session turned rowdy again.

Before Saraki and Dogara could present their speeches, APC lawmakers chanted ‘four more years,’ while their PDP counterparts screamed, ‘no more years.’

After more than 10 minutes into the drama, the Presidential Guards Brigade band began to play the National Anthem signalling the end of the programme, while Buhari was still seated.

The ceremony ended without Saraki and Dogara presenting their speeches.

Security operatives whisked the president out of the chamber leaving the lawmakers behind.

Meanwhile, protesting workers under the umbrella of Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) stayed off the National Assembly in continuation of their four-day warning strike that began on Monday.

The budget presentation, however, held amid water-tight security. All entrances leading to the complex were barricaded with multi-agency security operatives manning the gates and thoroughly scrutinising those coming in.

Officers of the Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services and other sister agencies were on the ground ahead of the president’s budget presentation, which kicked off at 12.40p.m.


Mixed Reactions Trail Buhari’s 2019 Budget Presentation

National Assembly members wednesday reacted to the 2019 federal budget estimates presented by the president with mixed feelings.

While some legislators gave the president thumbs up for the N8.83 trillion budget proposed for next fiscal year, others condemned the Appropriation Bill in its entirety.

In his reaction, Senate Leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan, while frowning at the unruly behaviour of some lawmakers while the president’s budget presentation lasted, however, saluted the courage of Buhari for coming up with a budget of hope. He assured that the legislature would scrutinise the proposals with a view to ensuring that the Appropriation Bill was passed in a record time.

Also reacting, Senate Minority Leader, Senator Biodun Olujimi, emphasised that the budget appears to be hopeless but was quick to state that the parliament will do a thorough job before passing the Appropriation Bill.

On his part, Senate Chief Whip, Senator Olusola Adeyeye, described the budget estimates as one that will turn things round for the better in 2019.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Privatisation, Senator Ben Murray- Bruce, on his part, condemned the budget proposal in its entirety saying the budget has less vote for capital expenditure.

Also reacting, Chairman of Senate Committee on Local Content, Senator Adeola Solomon, said the budget is truly the budget for the next level of economic development for the first time in Nigerian history.

A member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Olajide Olatunbosun, representing Saki West/East/Atisbo federal constituency of Oyo State said Buhari’s budget is implementable. He expressed optimism that with the administration’s frugal attitude, it would be enough for it to do more.

The PDP caucus in the House, however, disagreed with the budget presented by the president.

Led by the Deputy Minority Leader, Hon. Chukwuma Onyema (Anambra, PDP), the opposition leaders said the annual budget presentation of multi-trillion naira budget by the government has become a “hollow ritual it began in 2015,” and which has had no meaningful impact on Nigerians.

According to the lawmakers, “Again, the Buhari administration has tabled another and again, this hollow ritual it began in 2015 may soon be followed, as usual, with excuses for non-performance.

“Again too, as it has always done, the APC government known for its unique ideology of ‘blame-ology’ will start apportioning of blames to all else, except itself.”

Some economists and analysts also said the 2019 Appropriation Bill will not have any significant impact on the standard of living in the country.

They said this in separate interview with THISDAY.

To the Chief Executive Officer of FactBox Company, and an expert in data and information analysis, Mr. Jide Ogunsanwo, said the contents of the 2019 proposed budget estimates does not have what is required to alleviate poverty in the country.

He said, “When the 2018 budget was passed, Nigeria’s population was 195 million. In simple terms, last year’s budget was the equivalent of an average of N127 per person every day.

“Now, we have a lower budget for 2019 and the population has risen to 200 million, which is N120 per person per day.

“So, it is significantly lower than last year’s budget. If at N127 per person last year, more people got into poverty, what do we think will happen when we have a lower budget? So, in simple terms, this budget will not reduce the number of poverty in the country.”

To the Chief Executive Officer, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, noted that the impact of the current year’s budget hasn’t been significant.

He said, “The price of oil is the problem. Typically, over the years, the price of crude oil has always been about 20 per cent below the spot price, but today the spot price is lower than the benchmark price and with that, the benchmark price becomes meaningless.

“So, we need to reduce that and increase the deficit. We need to expand the expenditure. So, we are between a rock and a hard place. To me, what is inevitable and imminent is that there would be a supplementary budget.”

Also, a senior lecturer at the Lagos Business School, Dr. Bongo Adi, said, “There is a very huge discrepancy between the budget allocated and what is given to the ministries by the government. I don’t know how we can deal with that situation because it seems like the budgeting system has also become politicised.”


APC, PDP Trade Words over Heckling of President

The nation’s two leading political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Wednesday traded words over the heckling of President Muhammadu Buhari during his presentation of the 2019 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly in Abuja.

The president had presented the N8.83 trillion financial estimates for 2019 amidst cheering from his APC lawmakers and jeering from the opposition-led PDP legislators.

Both Senate President Bukola Saraki, who presided over proceedings, and Speaker Yakubu Dogara could do little about the situation as both parties made Buhari’s outing uncomfortable.

Reacting to the incident, the APC said the PDP legislators’ conduct was disgraceful and unbecoming of their status as lawmakers of the federal republic.

The PDP, however, retorted, saying his members were entitled to show their displeasure at what it called the compound failure of the APC-led administration.

In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Isa-Onilu, APC said by law, respect for the Office of the President or Head of Government in any clime is not a matter of choice but a civic obligation sanctioned by laws.

“We condemn in strong terms the action by lawmakers of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the presentation of the 2019 budget by President Mohammadu Buhari on Wednesday,” it said.

APC said PDP should be aware that the disgraceful conduct and actions of its legislative caucus has succeeded in eroding the remnant of the public’s respect, (if any) that the party has in the eyes of any respectable Nigerian.

According to APC, the action has further confirmed its unsavoury image in the eyes of well-meaning Nigerians, that the party is largely populated by self-serving and unpatriotic members, whose sole aim in politics is to promote their self-interests at the expense of the country’s interests.

“By law, respect for the office of the president or head of government in any clime is not a matter of choice but a civic obligation sanctioned by laws. Being an opposition party or critic is no licence for such wayward conduct by the PDP legislative caucus; most especially against the president of the country,” it said.

Expectedly, the PDP responded in kind through National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, who said, at a press conference in Abuja, that the jeering showed that Mr. President no longer enjoys the support of Nigerians across the country, adding that he no longer has any political foothold and could only awaits a crushing defeat in the 2019 general election.

According to the PDP, the spontaneous action of the lawmakers, at the joint session of the National Assembly, was a resounding and unambiguous vote of no confidence and unmistaken expression of Buhari’s rejection by the Nigerian public, across the divides, who are fed up with his incompetent, divisive and corrupt administration.

It said, “What else do Nigerians want from a president, who has openly confessed his lack of capacity to find solutions to the myriads of problems his administration brought and on that note promised Nigerians more sufferings and hardship in the coming year?

“This is more so as his scripted presentation at the budget session was full of false performance indices, claims of non-existent projects, half-truths, bogus fiscal projections, beguilement and new list of fake promises, which Nigerians have since seen through.”

The president had waded through his harassment, presenting his estimates, a key component of which was the N305 billion earmarked for the payment of fuel subsidy claims during the fiscal year, the first of such allocation since the administration took over in 2015.

Buhari also used the opportunity of the budget presentation to unveil his plan to set up a technical committee to advise the federal government on the mode of funding impending workers’ wage increase.

The presentation, which lasted for about 50 minutes was marred by hailing and booing by senators and House members.

Facts have emerged on how a middle aged man, simply known as Davy, died in a popular hotel in Lagos during a sex competition with a lady.

P.M.EXPRESS reports that the incident happened at the popular hotel located in Ikotun area of Lagos where the deceased took the lady identified as Loveth for the competitive romp.

It was gathered that the late Davy had argued with Loveth on who among the duo can last longer during a sex romp. Both claimed that they were stronger and refused to admit defeat.

During the argument, Davy staked N50,000 between him and Loveth on the condition that if Loveth will defeat him during the romp, she will take the money.

Loveth agreed knowing fully that such money was staked. She then got prepared, moved into the hotel and booked for a chalet.
It was gathered that while it lasted Davy went through to the sixth round but Loveth was unshaken till the seventh round when Davy collapsed and died on top of her.

She then raised alarm and contacted the hotel management who handed her over to the Ikotun Police Division while the corpse of the deceased was deposited at an undisclosed hospital for autopsy report.

However, Loveth was later transferred to the SCIID Panti Yaba, where she informed the police what transpired between her and late Davy.
It was gathered that the fate of Loveth will depend on the outcome of the autopsy report. From the report, it will be determined if she is culpable and may be charged to court for murder.

Jesusegun Alagbe



Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, the running mate for the Lagos State All Progressives Congress’ governorship candidate, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has suggested he was not comfortable being Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s running mate four years ago.

He said he rejected the deputy governorship slot in 2015, but accepted it in 2018 because he was more comfortable working with Sanwo-Olu.

Hamzat – who stepped down for Sanwo-Olu, who got the backing of the Asiwaju Bola Tinubu-led Mandate Movement – said this on Tuesday as a guest on ‘Arise Africa,’ a programme on Arise TV.

Speaking on why he stepped down for Sanwo-Olu, Hamzat said, “There are various things you have to consider in governance. There can only be one governorship candidate and that’s the reality. And you have to look at different dynamics in various sections of the state.

“In our country, you have to consider religion, because that’s where we are as a nation. We have to look at different parts of the state and when I looked at all of that, I realised that it’s better for me to step down for Mr Sanwo-Olu.”

He added, “I’ve known him (Sanwo-Olu) for 15 years. I see him as a friend and a strong person that has the interest of the state at heart. Don’t forget that I was offered the position of the deputy governorship candidate four years ago, but I said no.

“So for me to take up the position now, it means I’m more comfortable working with him (Sanwo-Olu). I believe that together we can do a good job and take the state higher from where it is today.”

The deputy governorship candidate, however, said he was delighted about the endorsement he and Sanwo-Olu had received from Ambode, saying all that happened in the past was all good for democracy.

Ambode’s hope of running for the governorship for second term had been quashed when the Lagos APC’s Mandate Movement picked Sanwo-Olu over him.

Speaking on the friction that occurred within the party as a result of the primaries’ result, Hamzat said, “It’s unique for a sitting governor of a state to be challenged, so this caused friction initially, but we understand that you can’t have democracy without democrats.

“The constitution says a governor shall govern for four years, which is renewable, and candidates can emerge from various parties. That was what happened and it is part of the democratic credentials we must build as a nation.

“The issue was not just with the governorship primaries; it’s the same with the House of Representatives, Senatorial and state Houses of Assembly primaries. But as a party, we’ve come together and we realised it’s better for us to work as a team to keep moving Lagos forward rather than fighting ourselves internally.”

As the presidential elections edge closer, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) has been alleged of hiring Russian hackers to compromise the polls.

The Coalition for Nigeria (CN) made the allegation in a press statement on Tuesday in Lagos.
Mr Dipo Samuel, Secretary General of the group signed the statement.
The statement read:
“When the then PDP aspirant, Atiku Abubakar, hired the United States firm and lobbyist, Brian Ballard to work for his emergence, we expressed concerns as to why the same man that helped US President Donald Trump to engage Russians in meddling with US elections has been brought into Nigeria. It is now glaring that Brain Ballard is not here to consult and deliver transparent strategy. Ballard was engaged purely to secure the services of Russian hackers to meddle in the electoral process, hack INEC, rig the elections in favour of the PDP and ply citizens with dangerous propaganda.

“As part of Ballard’s strategies being implemented, we further gathered that certain internal changes have been made at INEC to strategically position certain officials in posts that will enable them compromise that organization’s cyber security. These officials are known to be PDP sympathizers. Their brief is to make sure that the security upgrades that will ward off attempts to hack the Commission’s servers are not implemented. The plan is for them to feign administrative lapses and inefficiency that will ensure such patches are not addressed.

“We understand that Ballard’s contract is for a period of one year when the elections were a mere months away at the time he was engaged. The reason is that he is meant to stay on to coordinate a hate campaign against the government after the PDP has lost the election. This is really worrisome because such damaging campaign played a critical role in depressing Nigeria’s economy by discouraging investors’ interest in Nigeria. The PDP is again geared to repeat the same attack on the viability of the country.

“Coalition for Nigeria is therefore drawing the world’s attention to the rat infested firewood that the PDP with its Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has brought home by way of commissioning Russian agents to collapse democracy in Nigeria. We believe the whole world should be worried and seriously so:

“When the possibility of Russia’s meddling in the US Elections was first raised it was dismissed as mere suspicion by many while others placed such allegation in the realm of fiction. The picture is clearer today and there has been conclusive proofs that Russia did meddle in the process to make Donald Trump win to emerge president. What is still unfolding is the extent of damage done to the US electoral and political process as the fallouts from the interference still reverberate in that country. It has produced outcomes that are directly threatening confidence in the process while questions are seriously being asked about how to get out of the bind the incident has plunged the country into.

“ INEC must immediately take steps to guarantee the integrity of its servers and protect them from intrusions and cyber-attacks. The electoral body must also vet afresh all those that occupy sensitive positions and senior officials with decision making capacity. Once it has done the needful, INEC must then brief Nigerians to reassure citizens that it will not allow Russia repeat the stunt it pulled in the United States here in Nigeria.
“The federal government must immediately step up diplomatic efforts to get assurances from Russia that it will not, as a nation, interfere in the conduct of Nigeria’s elections while also warning its nationals against taking briefs that could jeopardize relations with Nigeria. Government must also work with other countries to put the pressure on Russia.

“The Nigerian Immigration Service in conjunction with the Department of State Service (DSS) should intensify the screening of aliens arriving the country to ensure that free passage is not given to potential hackers to come and do damage here. The screening should take into account aliens that might have already set up in the country before this discovery was made and those from countries that are proxies from Russia.
“The PDP should call off its brief to sabotage the elections and apologise to Nigerians. Where the party continues to work on rigging the elections, INEC should wake up to its responsibility and invoke the necessary clauses in the Electoral Act and INEC Act.

“We urge Nigerians to unite across party lines and condemn this evil plot. They should tell PDP and Atiku in clear terms that they have crossed the line in the matter of hiring foreigners to destroy Nigeria. It beats logic that a party can be desperate enough about winning elections that it is prepared to govern a graveyard nation.”

By Tunde Sulaiman, Johnson Ayantunji and Onyekachi Eze 


 

From all indications, campaign for the 2019 general elections will not be awash with cash as was the case in the run up to the 2015 elections.

Although the polls, especially the presidential one, will be fiercely fought and maybe the most keenly contested in the annals of Nigeria’s politics, with the gladiators throwing in everything to win the big prize, Sunday Telegraph’s investigations reveal that the campaign may be “dry”, particularly money wise.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) set the ball rolling last month when President Muhammadu Buhari launched his Next Level Campaign at the Aso Rock Villa with a lot of fanfare.

Only few weeks ago, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo joined the fray by first crisscrossing the country, handing out “trader moni” to market men and women and then becoming more formal with his door-to-door campaign which has already taken him to Abuja and Lagos.

The wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, is not left out as she, on Wednesday, launched: “Together Nigeria”, where she honoured some prominent Nigerians in the entertainment industry. The award, she said was in recognition of their contributions to the development of the country.

However, it was the Buhari Support Organisation (BSO) that was actually behind the awards.

The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) too was not left out as it flagged off its campaign with its “Getting Nigeria to Work Again” last month.
The party then kicked off its rally in Sokoto, seat of the Caliphate, before stopping over in Ilorin, Kwara State and followed it up in Ibadan, South Western part of the country early this month.

Nevertheless, after this initial flurry of campaign activities, there has been silence from both camps, which is a bit surprising, considering that the presidential poll takes place in eight weeks time.
But those who should know told Sunday Telegraph that the “pause” in both camps was actually caused by cash crunch.

“The money is not coming in as expected. By now, Atiku would have mobilised massively for the campaign, have road shows and what have you,” a source close to the campaign of the former Vice President confided in Sunday Telegraph.
It was reliably learnt that for many of those who would have come to the aid of the opposition party by donating money, the fear of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), is the beginning of wisdom. “They are afraid of the EFCC coming after them.”

A PDP governorship candidate in the South West, who spoke with one of our correspondents, confirmed this when he said that his friends, organisations, that believed in his cause, said: “They are afraid of being hunted and victimised by the ruling party. Most of those who would have funded our campaign are shying away from doing that.”

Another source said: “The party (PDP) is no longer in power. Naturally, you do not expect the party to have much. The contributions for a campaign are done by people close to the candidate, organisations, individuals and others who believe in him. The party will also put in some things. They have the governors. But the main campaign will be done by him, whether he (Atiku) likes it or not.

“Businessmen, organisations even some foreign concerns are what they lean on. A South West governor, in 2003, made an initial deposit of N1billion of his own to run his campaign.”

But the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP and a member of the Presidential Campaign Council, Kola Ologbondiyan, dismissed the claim. He said, “It is not correct. We believe that in 2019 elections, it is not only about our party, it is about the resolve of Nigerians to vote out President Muhammadu Buhari.

“Nigerians are eager to contribute money to Atiku’s campaign. Nigerians in their multitude are willing to donate their money, they are ready to donate their vehicles. Nigerians are saying they are ready to bring their N100, to support the campaign of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar who understands the plight of Nigerians, who is going to stop this bloodletting. It is the will, not about money.”

Another official who is close the candidate himself, also insisted that when the time was right for Atiku’s campaign to take off in earnest.

“I can assure you that money will not be an issue when we are ready to go full blast,” said the official, who, however, declined to say if his principal would be footing most of the bill.

“Atiku is running for the presidency on behalf of the PDP, so he will naturally have the full support of the party,” he explained.

On the part of the APC, sources who spoke with Sunday Telegraph said that the lull in campaign is as a result of Buhari “starving” the party of funds, as he has “sworn not to use public fund for campaigns.”

Spokesperson of the APC Presidential campaign, Festus Keyamo, alluded to this when he said, “No more bazaar for election. By now, there should have been bazaars everywhere. I apologise even to the press, for the press bazaar, fortune tellers’ bazaar, women’s bazaar. But this president has calmed things down. This is a departure from the past. We should praise the president for it.”
On the timing of the giving out of the “trader moni”, Keyamo dismissed the allegation that it was for campaign purposes.

“I will answer this question with a question: ‘Was the You Win campaign bribery to the people?’ Let them answer it. Was You Win a grass roots programme and social intervention a bribe to the people? Any answers they give to You Win, let them give it to Trader Moni.”
Speaking with Sunday Telegraph separately, APC National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Lanre Issa-Onilu, went even further to say that the era when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was used to provide money for the ruling party had gone.
“President Buhari has made it expressly clear that he will not allow such under his watch! And we (the party) totally agree with him.

“It is wrong for people to send notes to the CBN and take out huge sums of money to share to market women, chiefs and others just in order to win election.”
When asked if this is what has stopped the ruling party from going into full campaign mode, Issa-Onilu, who assumed office in October, insisted that funding was not the issue.

“No its not money, we are still brain storming and holding meetings in order to come up with the best possible campaign for the party. In fact, before the end of the week, we should be able to unveil our campaign programme to Nigerians,” he told Sunday Telegraph.

On how the campaign would be funded in view of the President’s disposition to using government money, the APC spokesman said they would be using every legitimate means to generate the funds they would be using for the campaign.

Issa-Onilu also explained that the billions the party realised from the sale of its forms for elective positions, is what is being used to run the affairs of the party right from national to state and local government levels.

Temidayo Akinsuyi and Tony Ezimakor



Lagos / Abuja – Details of President Muhammadu Buhari’s meeting with Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State on Monday emerged on Wednesday as sources said the president gave the embattled governor a stern warning to desist from anti-party activity in the state, Daily Independent has learnt.

It was gathered that the president, who frowned at the governor’s statement that while he will support him for the presidential election, he will not support the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Dapo Abiodun, also warned the governor that they cannot afford to lose Ogun State because it is the home state of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

Without mincing words, he told the governor that he expected total loyalty from him to the APC, adding that he should learn to sacrifice his personal desires in the interest of the party.

Amosun’s preferred candidate for governor in the state’s governorship primaries, Adekunle Akinlade, has since left the APC, having defected to the Allied People’s Movement (APM), a move Governor Amosun endorsed.

Aside Akinlade, other loyalists to the governor also dumped the APC.

According to our source, “From the feelers we got, the president did not mince words in telling Governor Amosun that as the national leader of the party, he will not support any form of anti-party activities. He told the governor that he cannot put one leg in APC by saying he will support him, while putting another leg in APM declaring support for another governorship candidate.

“The president told him he cannot claim to be working for the APC while all his foot soldiers have left for the APM and the governor also gave them maximum support.

“From what we are getting, this is the president’s final warning to Governor Amosun as the party’s campaign will kick off soon. Don’t also forget that the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) has since penciled down the governor for punishment after rebuffing the reconciliation meeting set up to reconcile aggrieved members”.

Since the governor returned to Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, the euphoria trailing the movement to APM has died down. The leadership of the APM has also postponed its campaign flag off which was scheduled to hold today.

A message sighted by our correspondent from the party leadership to party members reads, “The official flag off of our great party would not hold tomorrow (today) as earlier promised due to some contingencies as work is ongoing in the secretariat. Please bear with us and update others”.

Another source said the governor who is a close ally of President Buhari is now in a dilemma as to whether to remain in APC or join his loyalists in the APM while jettisoning his senatorial ambition.

“I believe the governor is in a dilemma now and we expect him to make a very important decision in the coming days”, he said.

It was gathered that the governor’s associates who are the major backers of the APM may have decided to postpone the meeting so as to deliberate on the next move following the governor’s meeting with the president.

While the governor’s next move is unknown, Dapo Abiodun, the APC governorship candidate, has expressed confidence that Amosun will support his candidacy at the start of the party’s campaign.

“Of course, the governor of Ogun State is the leader of the party. And when I am flagging off my campaign, it is the incumbent governor that would help me flag it off.

“I don’t have any doubt in my mind that the issues of misunderstanding would be resolved soon.

“I am sure the governor of Ogun State will help me in flagging off my campaign. And I am sure he will raise my hands up as the governorship standard bearer of the party in the state.”


Oshiomhole Stabbed Me In The Back – Shittu

Meanwhile, Alhaji Adebayo Shittu, Minister of Communications and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has opened up on the lingering crisis that trailed the primaries of the party, stating emphatically that Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, National Chairman of the party, stabbed him in the back.

He claimed that he was the first person two years ago to suggest to President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint Oshiomhole, whom he described as “former friend” as his Political Adviser but regretted the manner he was paid back by the APC national chairman.

Alhaji Shittu, who is court to secure his claim to the governorship ticket of the party in Oyo State, also dismissed as hypocritical the ongoing reconciliation of aggrieved members of the ruling party, describing it as slavish coercion.

Rather than seek reconciliation, he said, what the APC leadership should seek was restitution and justice for all aggrieved members by retiring what was stolen from them.

Recall that the party had, in the wake of the crisis that gripped it at state and national levels, set up a Peace and Reconciliation Committee that went to the various geopolitical zones. Some of the committees have submitted their reports.

But Alhaji Shittu said he would be “a bastard” if he submitted to such a committee after he was glaringly defrauded by the APC NWC.

He said the Oyo State governorship ticket was sold and paid for by persons he said had made money through shady means.

Asked if he would appear before the Governor Kashim Shettima-led reconciliation committee for the South-West, Shittu said he would pursue the alleged trading that went on during the APC primary in Oyo State to a logical conclusion.

He said: “I will be a bastard to be defrauded out of a primary process and still behave like I am a slave. I think it does not make sense.

“I have been a foundation member of APC and twice I have run the primary for governor.

“In 2011, I aspired. I was defeated by the incumbent. In 2015, I aspired, I was defrauded, and I challenged that primary that gave Governor Ajimobi a second term.

“I went to court, and I was still in court when my appointment as minister was announced.

“That meant I had to abandon that suit, but the governor, instead of thanking his God that I did not continue with that suit, sponsored a campaign to stop my confirmation.”

Alhaji Shittu claimed that Oshiomhole did the bidding of Ajimobi in foisting a newcomer on Oyo State APC and vowed to resist the ‘anti-party’ threats being dangled by the APC leadership.

“They foisted somebody who is barely two months on the party. Of course, at my level, you cannot expect me to support that person.

“I have given enough warning. Now they are talking of reconciliation. I have said this, that before you talk of reconciliation, you first talk of restitution.

“If you violate somebody’s right or you steal somebody’s property or whatever, instead of returning what you have stolen, you are talking of reconciliation,” he said, insisting that only justice would restore peace in the party.

Asked if his stand would not affect the second term bid of President Buhari, Alhaji Shittu said Buhari’s victory would transcend party affiliation, adding that even people in the opposition PDP would vote for him.

By Ismail Mudashir

Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir David Lawal was at the Presidential Villa, Abuja today, Daily Trust online reports.

Babachir who was sacked on October 30, 2017 following a grass cutting scandal unraveled by a Senate panel was among the dignitaries who attended the launch of a Together Nigeria organized by the Buhari Support Organization (BSO).

Wearing a green kaftan, he was seen with two other persons. Throughout the event that lasted for about three hours, he was not recognized by the Master of Ceremony.

This is the first time he would be seen in the Presidential Villa since his sack. President Muhammadu Buhari was among personalities who graced the event.

Babachir sack follows the report of a three-man panel led by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo that investigated him alongside the former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Ayo Oke.

He left around 10.30pm when the programme ended.

Meanwhile President Buhari has assured his teeming supporters that come 2019, hard work and loyalty would be rewarded.

” To all those who contributed to our successes in one way or the other, some of you are feeling disappointed because… I assure you this time around hard work and loyalty would be rewarded adequately,” he said.

Mr Jimi Agbaje, the governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State, on Wednesday said that the party would work very hard to ensure victory at the 2019 elections.

Agbaje made the assertion during the flag-off ceremony of the Lagos PDP “Ward-to-Ward Group’’ initiative which took place at the party’s Head Office in Lagos.

Agbaje, represented by Mr Dele Segun, identified two areas which had before now, affected the party’s victory, they include: dedicated agents and active presence at collating centres.

“The Ward-to-Ward initiative is a call to duty that will ensure our victory at the Presidential, Governorship, Senatorial and House of Assembly Elections in 2019.

“Members should come out en masse and actively engage in door to door campaigns which will not be by mouth but by our actions to ensure we succeed.

“There are two areas (the choice of agents and present cell at collating centres) where we have not done very well and we are working hard to eliminate such recurrences.

“We should, by now, begin to pick our agents and build a relationship with them and not engage in emergency agent selection.

“Also, we should be physically present at the collating centres; if it means making provisions for food, logistics, security and others, we will do,’’ he said.

The two-time governorship aspirant urged members not to take politics as a do or die affair but should be vigilant at all times.

Agbaje promised to look critically at providing logistics and mobilisation to ensure that the Ward-to-Ward achieved its objective.

Mrs Caro Osagie, the Chairperson of the Lagos Ward-to-Ward campaign, during her inaugural speech, said that all members were now campaigners.

Osagie said that the initiative was to ensure the party’s active presence at the ward level of the state to mobilise for candidates.

“The National Ward-to-Ward will be inaugurated soon, but before then, we got the go ahead from our national leader and the presidential candidate.

“We are ready to go to the streets for massive campaigns. We are rooted in the grassroots to ensure a successful 2019,’’ she said.

NAN reports that all the members that were present were sworn in as members of Ward-to-Wardcampaign group.

The Ward-to-Ward campaign will officially kick-off on Dec. 13 at the Ikorodu Constituency 1.

By Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja


The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has challenged President Muhammadu Buhari to showcase his much touted integrity by allowing an open investigation of his associates and close relatives, who were mentioned in serial looting of public resources.

The main opposition party also challenged Buhari to immediately make public the report of the investigation of the former aide of the First Lady, Mr. Baba-Inna, who was arrested in September this year, over accusations of receiving N2.5 billion as donations from politicians, businessmen and women on behalf of the First Lady, Aisha Buhari.

The Director of Media and Publicity, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement Tuesday also dared Buhari to make public the official report allegedly indicting his Presidency on the siphoning of over N11 trillion in the petroleum sector, including the N9 trillion oil sleaze detailed in the leaked memo at the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

He stated: “Having reviewed all these issues, including the lame denials by those mentioned by the suspect, as well as the failure of the security agency to allow the suspect to complete her open confession, the PDP challenges President Buhari to order an open hearing into the matter, if, indeed, the Presidency has nothing to hide.

“Our party holds that President Buhari cannot be parading himself as Mr. Integrity while condoning acts of corruption by his associates and close relatives as well as a cabal in his presidency, which the First Lady had even alluded to, if he is not directly benefiting from those sleazes.

The party said that in a bid to further conceal the sleazes of the Buhari Presidency, its handlers have gagged the confession of one Amina Mohammed, paraded by the Department of State Services (DSS), who revealed in her open confession that “persons close to President Muhammadu Buhari were involved in serial fraud and looting of public resources under official cover”.

Ologbondiyan noted that the Buhari Presidency should allow an open inquest into the alleged diversion of defence funds, including part of the $1 billion drawn from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) for the purchase of military hardware and welfare of our soldiers to fund his ill-fated re-election campaign.

The party also challenged Buhari to make public the report of the looting of over N33 billion meant for the purchase of food for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) as well as another N18 billion IDP fund discovered by the Senate to have been diverted to the All Progressives Congress (APC) interests.

He stated: “It is unfortunate that President Buhari has allowed the festering of sundry racketeering and abuse of fiscal process in his presidency, a situation, which casts a long shadow on his acclaimed integrity as a leader.

“Unless President Buhari allows an open inquest on his associates and close relatives involved in alleged treasury looting, he lacks all moral standing to seek re-election by Nigerians, who have been bearing the brunt of his misrule in the last three and a half years.”