A civil liberty organisation, Movement of the People of Nigeria, on Wednesday alleged that the persons behind the lawsuit against personnel of Nigerian military authorities in the United States, were not Nigerians "but terrorists and extremists."

The group, which demanded an investigation of their real identities, however promised to raise its own team of lawyers to confront anyone desperate to rubbish the image of the country or attempts to further diminish its citizenry before the international community.

The Chairman, Board of Trustees of MPN, Dr. Innocent Oche Pita, told journalists in Abuja that the suit was aimed at causing a diplomatic row between Nigeria and US.

The suit was said to have been instituted by some persons against Nigeria's military leadership before a US District Court for the District of Columbia.

But the MPN described it as an abuse of the Torture Victims Protection Act and Alien Tort Claims Act Complaint of the United States.

"The world is aware that Nigeria has suffered in the hands of terrorists and extremists and the Biafra agitators are another brand of terrorists that must not be admitted into the United States, Nigeria or any other peace loving nation.

"It will be wise for the Donald Trump's administration and the security agencies to discretely investigate the plaintiffs as regards their activities in the United State before they become the kind of nuisance that is presently threatening the United Kingdom and other European countries", MPN alleged.

The MPN said much as it was glaring that the US courts lack jurisdiction to try such issues, there is no record or evidence that the Nigerian Military abused the rights of any citizen within or outside the territory of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The group said those who fear such "are common criminals who had held the country by the jugular in the recent past through acts like banditry, kidnaping and gun-for-hire."

According to Pita, the suit is nothing short of a calculated attempt to rubbish the US judiciary for its liberal stand on human rights and protection of lives.

He said it was to allegedly abuse the law under which the suit was filed so that it no longer serves the purpose for which it was crafted, "and to use it to cause strain in Nigeria - US relations."

MPN said, "Secrecy in a case that claims to be as grounded as the plaintiffs claimed is dubious as it implies that criminals can hide under such unanimity to further questionable agenda. The plaintiffs would only fear exposing their identities either because they are not real in the first place or that they are persons with criminal records in the US.

"Our position is that these people behind the suit are not Nigerians and should stop dragging the name of our country's military to the mud.

"This is why we are worried that even non-Nigerians can be coached to give evidence since it is apparent that the people that filed the suit are not honest enough to show themselves.

"We will raise our own team of lawyers to confront anyone or any group that is out to rubbish the image of our great country or attempts to further diminish its citizenry in the eyes of citizens of the world", the group said.


Source: http://thestreetreporters.com/terrorists-behind-us-suit-against-nigerian-military-mpn/

The Idoma People of Nigeria has distanced themselves from the inclusion of Idoma territory in the map of Biafra by the Nnamdi Kanu-led Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

The Idoma National Youth Forum for Justice said the inclusion of Benue South in the map of the defunct Biafra was a deliberate attempt by the agitators to pitch the Idoma people against the Nigerian government.



IPOB had recently claimed that Biafra spans from Itsekiri land on the western boundary with Oduduwa to Bakassi on the eastern boundary with the Cameroons, and also stretches from Idoma and Igala land on the northern boundary with Northern Nigeria to the Bight of Biafra which is South of the island of Bonny.



In a 5-point communique issued in Otukpo at the end of a meeting held by the Idoma youth, they dissociated the Benue-South zone from the “so-called Biafra.”



The communique signed by Emmanuel Omonu, president of the youth arm of Idoma national apex association said, “We will not allow any inch of our land to be part of the ill-thought-out enterprise call Biafra.”



He said, “We ask the IPOB and other secessionist groups to henceforth a halt to stop referring to Idoma community as part of Biafra as it touches on the collective sensibilities of our people and could provoke ethnic crisis.



“We are surprise that the likes of Kanu and his other Bifara supporters have not learnt their lesson after returning to Nigeria following the fall of Biafra in January 15, 1970 with tales of woes and horrors.

“The Idomas and other ethnic groups who have been carved into the maps being circulated by Nnamdi Kanu and his groups, we shall not tolerate any provocation from this group of persons as law abiding citizens of Nigeria and hereby wish to draw attention of the Federal Government and the International community to this fraud of a Biafra Republic to extort and criminalize our people.



“Our sons have held very high positions in Nigeria just like the Igbos and we see no reason for any secession anywhere in Nigeria, the right thing for all to do is to task our leaders in authority to judiciously apply the people's resources for the overall benefit of all whilst subscribing to the current administration's war against corruption.



Omonu said Kanu, who recently donned the Idoma traditional attire to a court hearing in Abuja was only using Biafra to enrich himself and family.



The group called on Benue South, political leaders and traditional rulers to “speak out now as their silence is becoming eloquent.”



“We want to make it empathetically clear that Idoma land was never and can never be part of the fraud call Biafra. We believe in one Nigeria and will do all within our power to protect the unity of Nigeria. Biafra died in 1970 and has gone into history. They should desist from dragging our name into their fraudulent business,” the group added.

Source: http://thestreetreporters.com/idoma-people-disown-biafra-struggle/

Memories of two personalities of Southeastern origin have etched on the psyche of Igbo nation and on the mind of an average Igbo man in Nigeria, including myself.

They are Chief Dr. Nnmadi Azikiwe, the Owelle of Onitsha and the Biafran warlord, Col. Chukwuemeka Odemegwu Ojukwu, the Ikemba of Nnewi.

But both represent two opposing phases in the transitional history of Igbo nation or our people. Also, each one of them made influential imprints on the lives of our people, irrespective of whether it was for good or bad.

A society or community remembers its own based on the extent anyone impacted positively on the lives of the people.

It is reason, in most Africa communities; personalities are canonized, deified or elevated to remarkable historical monuments. Legends sprout from such backgrounds.



The Ghanaians talk of the Great Kweme Nkrumah and South Africans endearingly worship Nelson Mandela. In Nigeria, South -westerners idolize Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Northern Nigerians have erected multiple monuments after the Sardauna of Sokoto and first Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello.



But I believe what is central to the erection of fond memories around personalities whether dead or alive is to espouse and enliven the progressive visions, ideas and legacies they embodied as source of inspiration to the upcoming generation. I consider it absurd and in fact, I have not experienced any community where a son or daughter who brought destruction on his people is immortalized. There is no community of sane people that propagates such retrogressive inclinations.



But I find my people, the Igbo nation attempting to consciously make this silly historical mistake. Yesterday, Nigerians converged in Abuja to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Biafra. Personally, I feel there is nothing wrong with such a gathering, to the extent it serves to remind us of the thorny road we once traversed.



The counsels at the forum by respected Nigerian like former President Olusegun Obasanjo on the further pursuit of the Biafran cause were witty and instructive. As a father to us all, he provided better insights into how we can actualize the Biafran dream that boots and guns could not accede to us as a people between 1967-70, during the bloody Nigerian civil war.



However, what I find disconcerting with my kinsmen is the latter-day resurrection of Biafran instincts by people I prefer to brand as over ambitious brothers and a few sisters in the fold. Perhaps, we have failed to learn from history why Ojukwu’s version of a republic of Biafra failed. And so we are prepared to repeat the same mistakes and thereafter, we begin to cry out to the world, about appalling mass genocide of our people.



I don’t think it’s enough for anyone to garb himself in war-like apron, grab a few desperate youths in the Southeast and arm them with sophisticated weapons and then begin the public march on streets and cities of the Southeast, proclaiming “life or death,” if Nigeria does not concede to our demand of a Biafran state.



If we are prepared to extract Biafran state for ourselves by the dictates of brute force as has become the end game of the Ralph Uwazuirike’s MASSOB or Nnmadi Kanu’s IPOB, then we must have made serious and covert arrangement for it. Only that can save us from the pitfalls that swallowed Ojukwu when he declared what he later discovered was a war he lacked the strength to prosecute to a victorious end.



On the reverse side, if we are adopting the stick approach, we must ensure it is grounded in the ethos of democratic civility, law and decency, the universal conventions prescribed by world bodies like the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU) African Union (AU) and the lot. But it is sadly not the case with today’s agitations for secession.



We are overtly applying both the stick and carrot approach simultaneously, a sign of our confusion. I am not convinced that such would work, if a Biafran state at this phase of our history is anything worthwhile to pursue with such vehemence.



But beyond this plank of reasoning, I am tempted to ask myself again, that based on the allusions of legends I made earlier in this piece, where is Ohaneze Ndigbo heading with a Biafran state now?

Of all the two most pronounced figures, (Azikiwe and Ojukwu) whose legacies are worth emulating? Is it Ojukwu who by every nuance of assessment can be described as someone who selfishly anchored the massacre of our people and the destruction of our land, human and material resources or should it be the popular Zik of Africa, who fought to his grave to accord Igbo nation an identity in the configuration and context of unity of Nigeria?



Or is it not more sensible to copy the footsteps of Zik, our modern patriarch, whose vision developed us and deposited worthy legacies of unity and human development and the relics dots our landscape today?



We are pleaded upon to be reasonable for once. I know many would chastise me for the position I have taken. But maybe, they are yet to come face to face with the harshness of the vagaries of life and so, we feel it is easy to fetch knives, bows and arrows and guns to proclaim Biafran state on the streets.

I am sure, for many more, when they hear counselling such as “no nation survives two civil wars,” like some elements in Ndigbo are pushing, so crudely, it sounds to them like echoes of distant drums.



But I wish to use this platform to remind us of our failings as a people. Any society or community that aspires to progress downplays its retrogressive past. It is not positive thinking to continue to emulate the virtues of Ojukwu.

The respected army officer has lived his life and in his own time and passed unto eternity in blissful ease. He made mistakes, committed blunders and confined us to the fate we now face, and desperately trying to extricate ourselves. But i don’t think it is plausible for us to continue to fashion our destinies after such an idol or his visions.



What has stopped us from striving to live the more positive and progressive life of the Great Zik of Africa. Today, this great nationalist and Pan-Africanist and whatever he represented; the positive values have been buried by us.

I nearly wept when I read the motion for the establishment of Nnamdi Azikiwe Foundation by Hon. Chiedozie Alex Ogbonnia.

He said: "For reasons that cannot be explained, we seem to have ignored the necessity of establishing a Foundation in memory of the great Nnamdi Azikiwe. By all definitions and descriptions, Nnamdi Azikiwe is a hero, not just in Igboland, but also in Nigeria and beyond.”



These are issue that should preoccupy our minds. A foundation was coming for Nnamdi Azikiwe decades after his contemporaries in the Southwest or the North had theirs established for them by their own people. Yet he was a son who made bold marks on the sands of time. Zik was the first President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of independent Nigeria.

He was known as a Pan-Africanist; radical and irrepressible journalist, nationalist, party leader, legislator, minister, premier, senate president, and Governor-General, who lived for Igbo nation and Africans generally.



An extremely very proud descendant of the Igbo race, Azikiwe’s lifestyle influenced and propelled hundreds of Igbo graduates enlist in the public service with his support in post- independence Nigeria.



He lived and defended the Igbo self-worth. For instance, at the 13th Annual Assembly of the Ibo Union, held in Owerri Hall, Enugu on December 19, 1954, Azikiwe decried the verbal attacks on his people and berated security for their inaction.



The Zik of Africa vehemently argued for self-determination by the establishment of an Ibo state to place the Igbos on a pedestal equal to other ethnic groupings that comprise Nigeria and the Cameroons, but emphasizing the indivisibility of Nigeria.



Desirous of development and unity among his people, Azikiwe initiated and promoted Ibo unions and town unions in all the Igbo communities, which later blossomed and embarked on development projects. These unions also assisted brilliant Igbo natives to gain admissions into Nigerian and foreign universities.



When the Biafran war raged, Azikiwe delivered a speech at Oxford University on February 16, 1969, where he outlined a 14-point peace plan for implementation by a United Nations (UN) Peace Keeping Force. He made frantic efforts to resolve the conflict, though both the UN and the federal government of Nigeria rejected the proposals as unworkable. But at least, it expressed his desire for peace.



But in contrast, Ojukwu negated all that the Great Zik represented in respect of unity, peace and development of Igbo nation. But unfortunately, we are more interested in copying his legacies. The events of January 1966 putsch led by Major Kaduna Nzeogwu could not have necessarily exploded into a civil war. But unfortunately, Ojukwu exploited this incident to settle a personal score with the then Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon.



My understanding of it was more of an egoistic battle of sophistry between Col. Ojukwu and Gen. Gowon. And he had to drag his kinsmen into it to give it a broader patronage and sympathy.



Have we imagined that it could have been excusable for Ojukwu to go to war without widespread dialogue and approval of his people?

Can we excuse him for declaring a Biafran republic which he know would lead to war, without stocking himself with arms and ammunitions or consulting widely and seeking the approval of the community he wanted to protect through war? It is the same mistake we want to repeat to today.



And Col. Ojukwu sneaked away into self-exile, when it became evident he could no longer sustain the fire he ignited; while hunger and disease perished thousands of our people as a consequence of the war. I think, we need to be more circumspect today, than ever. We have licked the dried wound of Biafra for too long.

*Maxi Igbokwe writes from Lagos.

Children at the City of Refuge Orphanage, Abuja,were full of smiles and joy after they were splashed with assorted food items and clothing from Diamond Modelling Agency (DMA Nigeria) during its visit to the home.

The Manger, DMA Nigeria, Prince Thomas, explained why they came to deliver the items to the children and the management of the orphanage said the children in orphanages deserve love and care from citizens like them.

Thomas further stated that children in the orphanages are unique and intelligent who have the potentials to move the nation forward, should be treated well as other children, and should be adequately protected by all.

He said: “We are here to be part of City of Refuge Orphanage, where the children are well taken care of, but we want to support them with this token as part of our social responsibility in reaching and touching lives, particularly these children who some people describe as less privileged and unfortunate.

“We love to see them grow and will continue to support them.

"It is everybody’s duty to take care of them with whatever little thing you have and not until you have all things before you come here to give.

"We see them as future leaders and we also want to be part of their history when they grow up to tell the story.

“We have come to give them cloths and these food items as part of our support despite their parents are not by them and also for them to have a sense of belonging", Mr. Thomas said.

The Manager disclosed that the Agency will continue to visit orphanages in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to donate food items and clothing to them.

According to the manager, the organisation was established to redefine and sanitise the modelling industry, which has some vices that have dented the image of the industry over the years through character moulding approach.

“DMA Nigeria is a modelling company that grooms,trains models to a professional standard. Looking at how the industry is there you see corruption and immorality going on in the industry is not really encouraging.

"We are looking at a way to eradicate it through our TV programme that is coming up soon, which is called ‘Next Model To Stardom’ reality TV show.

“We want to change the mentality of some models and give them positive orientation about the industry that models are not prostitutes but are public figures that will impact in the society at large.

“We also want to enlighten parents and guardians about models, which they don’t encourage their daughters to take up the career,and as a result these models go into the industry without the consent their parents or guardians because of their feelings and fears for the industry.

“With this our TV reality project and programme I believe that some parents would be convinced modelling should be taken as a profession in Nigeria and on how to make it blend with other profession.

“We are working on a platform where models will have monthly seminars on different aspects of life, personal development, we introduce courses like advance personal development, we tell them about the modelling ethics and if properly studied is far different from what is happening in the industry, where people go into prostitution, human trafficking, and we discourage such vices in our company, and encourage them acquire education”, he said.

Source: http://thestreetreporters.com/modelling-agency-splashes-food-items-clothing-on-orphanage/

For a long time, the former Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team, PRTT, Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina has been embattled and news about him had remained very sensational in the media except for a recent surprising disclosure which though interestingly shocking has been kept away from public knowledge by the media.

Without a doubt such information which undoubtedly is high quality news would have been readers’ delight especially for deconstructing a highly complex National issue but the seeming deliberate attempt to keep it under the carpet will form the focus of this discourse whilst raising queries on the sincerity the Nigerian media in news reporting.

From Maina’s feat of recovering 1.3 trillion naira stolen by pension thieves, the twisty allegations on misappropriation of 2 billion naira against him by the Senate Committee to major fallout and counter accusations of three billion naira bribery demand from him by the Senate Committee Chairman, Aloysius Etuk, and his deputy, Kabir Gaya, the narrative on Maina has no doubt been very long and complicated.

In fact, the chronicle on Maina by any credible analyst will be incomplete without recognizing how the media through very persuasive write ups incited the then Senate President, David Mark to ask the Jonathan’s Presidency for abrupt dismissal and arrest of the then Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team, PRTT.

What was the major issue of contention that would warrant such deft punishment before trial, especially on a man that has accomplished unparalleled success in decimating the pension fraud cabal in Nigeria one may ask?

Simply put, it was nothing far from what was largely termed Maina’s disrespectful conduct to Senate Committee. Even if bad as it was painted, would that have warranted the termination of a major anti-corruption vehicle that was delivering tons of stolen billions into the coffers of the Nigerian treasury?

Yes, Maina’s main crime was his poor attitude, immature approach and impunity exhibited to the Senate Committee but the twist in the story is that a little after Maina and the Senate Committee exchanged accusations, the media went bizarre with stories against Maina’s impunity with no mention of his good work as Chairman of Pension Reform Task Team.

This half-baked journalism was highly noticeable and even the much respected conservative media over looked the need to provide a balanced reporting.

On all these and more, the simple logic adduced by Maina’s sympathisers to the aggressive media trial was that it was fueled by views from mostly those that opposed to his stay as Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team, PRTT and many persons still in possession of stolen pension funds.

Even though this remains an allegation with no proof, the failed attempted murder of Maina was well documented by the police and highly suggestive that some persons wanted Maina dead.

Probably, this dastardly act might have contributed to his eventual departure from public glare to avoid extermination from the face of the earth with a preferred option of fighting his legal battles from his assumed haven.

Luckily for Maina, the court not only quashed the arrest warrant on him, but also granted an order of perpetual injunction restraining the IGP from arresting him.

Besides, the conjectures on Maina’s forced exit, I think what is important is for Nigerians to first examine the role played by a section of the media in the said character assassination of Maina before trial and then the new Government of President Buhari to examine the real role Maina played in dismantling the criminal gang of pension thieves in Nigeria, then attempt a proper analysis on what seems best for National interest.

First on the media character assassination of Maina, with the recent disclosure by the then Senate Committee Deputy Chairman, Kabir Gaya that the 195 billion naira accusation against Maina was baseless as the money was deposited in banks under the TSA scheme, what it simply affirms is that many of the issues raised against Maina were downright absurd and largely conspiratorial in their undertones for his removal.

What has been made public by Senator Kabir Gaya, though an afterthought certainly quashes the Senate Committee’s earlier allegation of misappropriation of about N195 billion naira against Maina, the chairman and members of the Pension Task Team. These are definitely thought provoking.

With no attempt of getting sanctimonious on Maina, the objective reality for Nigerians herein is that it was absolutely outrageous that the referenced Senate Committee never had quality reason and evidence to engage in what they did by prompting the police to declare Maina wanted.

Unfortunately, now that these lies have been dispelled by those that initiated them, the truth is that their effects will linger because of a biased press that engages in selective reporting, otherwise why has the media maintained a deafening silence on this issue of national interest, could it be that those that never wanted Maina around are still busy suppressing important stories that will resurrect Maina’s Pension Task Team.

Today, without no basis in fact, the press has made Maina’s name contradictorily synonymous with both an achiever in pension reform and a looter even though the evidence against him were never substantiated.

This is not only shocking especially now that the accusations on Maina have been overturned but what it clearly exposes is the existence of a skewed desire of a section of the media to condemn a man guilty before investigation.

Of course, some may disagree with this position, however, it is really unfortunate that in this era of investigative journalism the media has found it unnecessary to review an earlier misinformation they offered their readers, otherwise what stopping any credible press that carried the initial falsehood from rapidly reversing the erroneous report.

The story of deception visited upon Maina is not only strange, destructive to his personal integrity but very damaging to our collective interest on anticorruption fight.

The most worrisome part of it all is that the allegations that a section of the Nigerian press were motivated to embrace falsehoods by routinely categorizing Maina as thief without basis in order to halt the good work of the Pension Reform Task Team, PRTT might even be true especially given that Maina’s primary accusers have made public apologies and reversed themselves.

Sadly, like a well-rehearsed plot, this was rarely reported in the media and even where reported, it received minimal media coverage.

From all fair and objective intents, it may not be wrong to conclude that characterization of Maina as a criminal by the media is divorced from truth and actuality because the initial failure of the media to conduct proper investigation on such an issue as raised by the Senate Committee raises the very important question of the real role of journalists in the fight against corruption.

This is why it may be necessary for the sake of common good to open up conversation to probe why Maina’s accusers conjured phony statistics and stories, yet allowed to successfully terminate a tested and proven strategy that would allowed Nigeria recover more trillions naira in the private coffers of some pension thieves.

In fact, the reward for the termination of Maina’s Pension Task Team only favours those who are threatened by Maina’s claims that over six trillion naira can still be recovered from the 97 uninvestigated institutions.

Certainly, this is huge loss for the Nigerian nation especially under the Buhari led administration that needs to enhance its revenue especially in a recessed economy.

Another objective reality for Nigerians is that the Maina matter will for a long time be a major reference on challenges that confront corruption fight in the developing world and it is a clear instance of how corruption fight is killed and corruption fighters battled.

The fact is that what is happening to Maina is somewhat terrifying and it really does suggest that the fight against corruption and the belief that corruption fights back those that battle it are not just matters of illusion but reality.

The ready question herein is would President Buhari allow the battle against Maina be another triumph of evil over good?

This where we need a sane public conversation on Maina that will counter the earlier media treatment of Maina which is far from been sober and reasonable.

Otherwise, on the termination of Maina’s fight against corruption, the nation will be the big loser.

Now that a contrary conclusion has emerged on Maina, what next? Will his suspension be reversed? Will the previous Senate Committee’s report that has been revealed to be plagued by so many irregularities and inconsistencies be reversed or an apology offered to Maina?

Will a National Award be appropriate? Will Maina ever find courage to work again for his country under similar circumstances and inherent risks?

However, the truth is that Maina would earn much if he decides to sell his story to the International news media and publishers on how the corruption he fought, found a way to fight him back.

*Dr. Okechukwu Duru is a Public Affairs Analyst and Sub Sahara Co-ordinator, Advocates for Improved Africa, Area 10, Garki, Abuja.

A Nigerian student has graduated with a first class from the Coventry University, United Kingdom.

Queen Madonna Chenge bagged first class in civil engineering, emerging, alongside two other students, as the over-all outstanding student in the entire university.

The university is a public research institution in the city of Coventry, England.

Queen is the daughter of Dr. Roseline Ada Chenge, who is also an Engineer and a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.


Source: http://thestreetreporters.com/photos-uk-university-awards-first-class-degree-in-civil-engineering-to-nigerian-girl/

Following a meeting by the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Save Nigeria Group (SNG) to consider various petitions forwarded to it, the group has issued a 14-day ultimatum to Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State to give detailed account of federal allocations to the state and local government, including the federal government bailout fund, internally generated revenue, the Paris Club refund and all the monies accruing to the local government in the last two years.

According to a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Barrister Benedict Ezeagu, the SNG also demanded for the immediate recovery of all looted funds by the previous administration, particularly the N18 billion loan illegally obtained by the former Governor Sullivan Chime-led administration towards the end of his tenure, using the state as collateral.

“We also demand for immediate accountability on how the present government has been spending all the monies accruing to the State in the last two years, including its internally generated revenue and security vote.

"Thus, we have it on good authority that the said loan was diverted by the previous government, while the current State Government led by Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has been making frantic efforts to cover up the criminal looting of the illegally obtained loan.

"This serial looting of the state with impunity has naturally increased the population of the jobless and under employed youths, who are now in their million, who are now posing serious security threat to the society due to their exposure to crimes.”

“Besides, we’re currently investigating the reports we received on the ongoing looting of the state resources by the present state government appointees, while the Governor has continued to carry on as though all was well.

"Part of the report indicates that some of the appointees are currently building estates and buying properties in highbrow areas in the state capital and other parts of the country, while the Enugu State citizenry wallow in abject poverty, with high rate of avoidable deaths being recorded on weekly basis in the state.”

“Many have been made to believe that the state government is utilizing the state resources judiciously but the information at our disposal proves otherwise.”

The body also demanded that the Governor should immediately kick start the process of conducting the Local Government election within the next three months, insisting that “the non-conduct of Local Government election in the state is killing democracy and accountability at the grassroots level.

“In the event that the state government fails to heed to these demands, we shall have no other option than to mobilize the civil society organizations and the suffering people of the state for a massive protest that will make the state ungovernable until our demands are met.

"We shall in addition approach the relevant anti-graft agencies to commence investigation and prosecute the indicted former and serving State Government officials as well as go to courts to compel the Enugu State Government to conduct the Local Government election without further delay”, the group stated.



Source: http://unitytimes.com/2017/accountability-lg-poll-save-nigeria-group-issues-14-day-ultimatum-to-governor-ifeanyi-ugwuanyi

Coalition Cautions Enugu Indigenes over Politics of Destabilisation

Coalition of Civil Society Activists of Enugu Extraction has uncovered plot by some Enugu State politicians to destabilise the state, using the non-conduct of local government elections as a decoy.

The coalition in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Ibuchukwu Ezike disclosed that its findings indicate that some indigenes of Enugu State in different profession, including Nollywood stars, have been reached for this purpose, with the aim of creating disaffection between Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and the people of the state ahead of 2019 election.

The coalition, which has Chief Willy Ezugwu, the Convener of Save Enugu Group (SEG), as its Patron and comprises of activists from all the 17 local government councils of Enugu State, observed that the plot being hatched by some politicians who are angry that the Governor Ugwuanyi is not ready to share the state's monthly allocation, having chosen to work for the development of the state, is nothing but a selfish mission.

"During our recent on-the-spot assessment tour of the local governments in Enugu State, we noticed a departure from the usual inactivity at the local government levels as local roads and other infrastructure were ongoing across the state.

"No political issue is strong enough to be used as guise to disorganise the state and distract the government of the day, which has be adjudged to be among the three states in the country paying workers’ salaries and pension as at when due.

"For us, politics should have a human face and must be played according to the rules, rather than using uncivilised means to cause unnecessary disaffection in the polity.

"Our assessment of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi shows clearly that his government in less than two years is transforming rural and sub-urban communities in all Senatorial Districts in the state.

"We make bold to say that Enugu State as a whole is better today under the leadership of the present state administration, with the government launching a systematic war on poverty through various micro-economic agenda, including the recent flag off of raffle draw for market traders in the state under the Enugu State Traders Empowerment Scheme.

"The government has also touched the lives of the ordinary people by approving N226, 684, 216. 59 for the completion of Ebonyi River Bridge at Ikem in Isi-Uzo Local Government, completing the construction of the Inyaba Link Bridge, that connects about 10 communities in Amagunze, Nkanu East Local Government Area, rehabilitation of 9th Mile Corner-Benue State border road as well as Opi-Nsukka roads, Opi-Obollor road, Egede junction road in Udi local government, to mention but a few.

"Security has taken a positive turn since the unfortunate killings in Nimbo communities, leading to the resuscitation of the neighbourhood watch through the state to stem the Fulani herdsmen clashes, among other measures.

"It will be a disservice to Enugu State and her people for anyone, no matter how highly placed, to allow him or herself to be used as agent of destabilisation in the state at this time.

"We therefore call the attention of all well-meaning Enugu State sons and daughters to disregard this despicable handiwork of paid agents and enemies of the people, who are working for themselves and not for the people of the state", the group warned.

Here is a picture of General Muhammadu Buhari with his late wife and former First Lady of Nigeria, Hajia Safinatu Buhari.

The late Hajia Safinatu Buhari was born in Jos, Plateau State to the family of the late Alhaji Yusuf Mani (a descendant of the Fulani scholar-warrior, Shehu Usman Dan Fodio) and the late Hajia Hadizatu Mani on the 11th of December, 1952. An indigene of Mani Local Government in Katsina State of Northern Nigeria, she attended the Tudun Wada Primary School in Kaduna from 1959-1960 and later the Nasarawa Primary School, Katsina (now Dikko Memorial Primary School) owing to her father’s transfer to Lagos to work as the Private Secretary to the late Alhaji Musa Yar’adua, the Commissioner for Lagos Affairs in the Federal Cabinet of the First Republic.

Following her primary school education, she attended the Women Teachers’ College in Katsina and bagged her Grade II Teachers Certificate in 1971. When she finished from the same college at the age of 18, she married General Buhari just two days after her graduation.

The marriage produced five kids: Zulaiha (now late), Fatima, Musa (now late), Hadiza and Safinatu. In the year 1998, she was diagnosed to have diabetes mellitus in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and for eight years, she battled the condition until she breatheed her last on the 14th of January, 2006.

A foundation, the Hajia Safinatu Buhari Foundation (HSB) was formed by her late daughter, Zulaiha, in her honour.

(Current wife of Buhari is not his first wife. He has become somebody when he married Aisha Buhari after he abandoned his ex-wife)

Source: naijarchives.com

Here is a picture of General Muhammadu Buhari with his divorced and now late wife and former First Lady of Nigeria, Hajia Safinatu Buhari.

The late Hajia Safinatu Buhari was born in Jos, Plateau State to the family of the late Alhaji Yusuf Mani (a descendant of the Fulani scholar-warrior, Shehu Usman Dan Fodio) and the late Hajia Hadizatu Mani on the 11th of December, 1952. An indigene of Mani Local Government in Katsina State of Northern Nigeria, she attended the Tudun Wada Primary School in Kaduna from 1959-1960 and later the Nasarawa Primary School, Katsina (now Dikko Memorial Primary School) owing to her father’s transfer to Lagos to work as the Private Secretary to the late Alhaji Musa Yar’adua, the Commissioner for Lagos Affairs in the Federal Cabinet of the First Republic.

Following her primary school education, she attended the Women Teachers’ College in Katsina and bagged her Grade II Teachers Certificate in 1971. When she finished from the same college at the age of 18, she married General Buhari just two days after her graduation. The marriage produced five kids: Zulaiha (now late), Fatima, Musa (now late), Hadiza and Safinatu. In the year 1998, she was diagnosed to have diabetes mellitus in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and for eight years, she battled the condition until she breatheed her last on the 14th of January, 2006. A foundation, the Hajia Safinatu Buhari Foundation (HSB) was formed by her late daughter, Zulaiha, in her honour.

God works in a mysterious way; He is not a man! Those who speak evil of their leaders hardly become great. Christians and Muslims believe that power or leadership is given by God. Think of what it means to speak evil of God's appointed leader? GEJ is holing power as President on God's behalf.... if God pleases, He returns GEJ in February. #NigeriaDecides

The death of former President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has been announced four times before now but he remains alive!

Yar'Adua may well be his way to finding a place in the Guiness Book of World Records as no other sitting President in the history of the world has had his death three times while he was still alive.

In December 2006, Yar'Adua was chosen as the presidential candidate of the ruling PDP for the April 2007 election, receiving 3,024 votes from party delegates; his closest rival, Rochas Okorocha, received 372 votes.

Yar'Adua's success in the primary was attributed to the support of incumbent President Olusegun shortly after winning the nomination, Yar'Adua chose Goodluck Jonathan, then governor of Bayelsa State, as his vice-presidential candidate.

Another view of the support he received from President Obasanjo is that he is one of few serving governors with a spotless record, devoid of any suspicions or charges of corruption.

He also belongs to the People's Democratic Movement (PDM) - a powerful political block founded by his late brother, Shehu Musa Yar'Adua, who was also Obasanjo's vice president during his military rule.

In 2007, Yar'Adua, who suffered a kidney condition, challenged his critics to a game of squash in an endeavor to end speculations about his health.

On March 6,  2007 he was flown to Germany for medical reasons, further fomenting rumors about his health. His spokesperson said this was due to stress and quoted Yar'Adua as saying he was fine and would soon be back to campaigning.

Another report, which was rejected by Yar'Adua's spokesperson, claims that Yar'Adua collapsed after suffering a possible heart attack.

Get updates at www.issuesinngr.

The Acting President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, received news of the passage of President Yar’’adua with great shock and sadness.

According to statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Acting President, Mr Ima Niboro, Jonathan said Nigeria has lost the jewel on its crown, and even the heavens mourn with our nation tonight”.

Dr. Jonathan described the death of the president as sad, unfortunate
and regrettable.

“As individuals and as a nation we prayed for the recovery of Mr. President. But we take solace in the fact that the
Almighty is the giver and taker of all life”, he observed.

Dr. Jonathan offered heartfelt condolences to President Yar’Adua’s widow, Hajiya Turai Yar’’adua, the entire Yar’’adua family, the people of Katsina State, and Nigerians both at home and the world over.

As a mark of respect for our departed leader, the Acting President has cancelled all official engagements. He has also declared a national mourning for seven days. During this period, the Nigerian flag will fly at half mast.

The remains of the President would be laid to rest in Katsina on Thursday, 6th May, 2010 at about 2 p.m,

The Acting President Goodluck Jonathan is to be sworn-in at about 8 a.m. today following the death of former President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua Wednesday night.

By implication, the Acting President will attend the funral of his boss as President as Yar'Adua is expexted to be buried in Katsina at about 2 p.m. today according to Moslem rites.

The Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu is to swear-in Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, who was one of the first caller on the Yar'Adua family, as President.

A Chronicle of Mr. President’s Trips Abroad for Medical Attention as as follows:
March 6, 2007 –– Germany
April 14, 2008 –– Germany
August 28, 2008 –– Saudi Arabia
August 14, 2009 –– Saudi Arabia
November 23, 2009 –– Saudi Arabia

He was smuggled into the country last February and died at age 59.

Yar’’Adua was born into an aristocratic Fulani family in Katsina. His father, a former Minister for Lagos during the First Republic, held the royal title of Mutawalli (custodian of the treasury) of the Katsina Emirate, a title which Yar’’Adua has inherited.

He started his education at Rafukka Primary School in 1958, and moved to Dutsinma Boarding Primary School in 1962. He attended the Government College at Keffi from 1965 until 1969 and received a Higher School Certificate from Barewa College in 1971. He attended Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria from 1972 to 1975, attaining a BSc in Education and Chemistry, and then returned in 1978 to achieve an M.Sc Degree in Analytical Chemistry. During the Second Republic (1979––––1983).

Yar’’Adua was a member of the leftist People’’s Redemption Party, while his father was briefly the National Vice chairman of the National Party of Nigeria. During the Transition Programme of President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, Yar’’Adua was one of the foundation members of the Peoples Front, a political association under the leadership of his elder brother, the late Major-General Shehu Musa Yar’’Adua.

Yar’’Adua has been married to Turai Umaru Yar’’Adua since 1975; they have seven children, 5 daughters and 2 sons. Their daughter, Zainab is married to Kebbi State governor Usman Saidu Nasamu Dakingari. Their daughter, Nafisat is married to Bauchi State governor Isa Yuguda. Yar’’Adua was married to Hauwa Umar Radda as a second wife from 1992 to 1997. They have two children.

From the outset, President Umoru Musa Yar’’ Adua came across as a humble personality. This attribute contrasts sharply with that of his predecessor former President Oulusegun Obasanjo. It takes a modest mind to admit publicly that the presidential poll that produced him was flawed.

This, President Yar’’ Adua did following strident public outcry that trailed the 2007 controversial elections. Obasanjo would probably have insisted the exercise was fee and fair. He would also have predictedly called the bluff of his opponents that called for elections cancellations. Yar’’ Adua did none of that. Rather, he promised the nation electoral reforms that would guarantee free and fair elections in future. He subsequently set-up Justice Muhammadu Uwais Committee on electoral reforms.

The Uwais panel had since submitted its report and federal government had issued a white paper on the recommendations. For the process to be completed, the constitution has to be amended. However, those at the fore front of electoral reforms want a comprehensive reforms as contained in Uwais’’ report, but Yar’’ Adua’’s administration seems to be adverse to that.

At the inception of his government, President Yar’’ Adua mouthed the rule of law mantra which was virtually cast to the winds during Obasanjo’’s regime. He said his administration would operate on the principle of rule of law an not trample on it with impunity. On this promise, President Yar’’ Adua started well and indeed earned a measure of commendations. But the ovation soon died down. That the president would leave the country for medical treatment in Saudi Arabia for an indefinite period without regard to constitutional provision flies in the face of his administration commitment to rule of law.

Unlike past Nigeria leaders, Yar’’ Adua scored another first as the only one to have publicly declared his assets. Following his example, Vice President Goodluck Jonathan did same.
For the duo, it was a display of leadership by example and a public presidential stance against corruption.

Another outstanding thing President Yar’’ Adua would be remembered for is the handling of many years of youth restiveness in Niger-Delta. Again, in a marked departure from the path of his predecessor, Yar’’ Adua elected to engage militants agitating in the oil-rich region. Employing constructive dialogue, the President succeeded in making the militants surrender their arms in return for amnesty. One of their leaders, Henry Okah, who was being tried for treason was also released unconditionally. By this action, Yar’’ Adua taught the world a lesson in conflict resolution.
No doubt, a major event that will linger in the minds of all is that he set the record of being the first president to leave the country for undeterminable period of time without handling over to his deputy as required by the constitution. It is an unpresidential action that overheated the polity almost beyond boiling point.


7[b]-Point Agenda ---Rule of law[/b]

Strict adherence to the time honoured rule of law principle was one of the tenets of democracy President Umuru Musa Yar’’ Adua promised to uphold immediately after he was sworn in 2007. When he said this, the president was conscious of general mood across the nation. At the time he assumed office, the nation was still smarting from the serial disregard for the rule of law under the ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo. In demonstration of his seriousness, the president made it one fo the candid points of his Seven-Point Agenda.

There were some flashes of an administration that meant business. The first was the release of Lagos State local government fund which ex-president Obasanjo withheld because the former state governor Asiwaju Bola Tinubu Created 57 Local Government Areas. The State Government Later changed them to Local Council Development Areas LCDA after the supreme court delivered judgement on the issue. When President Yar’’ Adua released the fund to Governor Babatunde Fashola, he was roundly praised by all.

Also, when the apex court declared Governor Rotimi Amaechi as the duly elected governor of Rivers State, Yar’’ Adua ordered that he should be sworn in immediately. Under Obasanjo, when the same court reinstated former governor Rashidi Ladoja after pronouncing his purported impeachment illegal, rather than obey the court order, the then Attorney-General of the federation had unwillingly effected the judgment after claiming that the federal government was still studying the court decision.
That is the difference between Obasanjo and Yar’’ Adua government on rule of law. However, the question may be asked, was Yar’’ Adua committed to the rule of law?
His ailment that took him out of the country for a long period of time without him handing over to the Vice President probably answers the question in the negative. In the eyes of the law, President Yar’’ Adua violated Section 145 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in which says ““Whenever the President trasmits to the President of Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a written declaration that he is proceeding on vacation or that he is otherwise unable to discharge te functions of his office, until he transmit to the a written declaration to the contrary such functions shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.””
So where lies the much vaunted rule of law mentioned mantra?

The storm has continued to gather. While prominent actor and comedian Nkem Owo (aka Osuofia) was reportedly seized Saturday, the Permanent Secretary, Niger State Ministry of Youths and Strategy, Alhaji Adamu Umar, was said to be abducted Sunday night.

Umar’s wife, Maimuna, said her husband was abducted on the Dikko-Minna Road, Niger State.

According to her, he called on his GSM phone about 9p.m. to say that he had been kidnapped by a six-man gang on his way from Zaria, Kaduna State, to Minna.

She said the kidnappers later demanded for a ransom of N30 million for Umar’s release and that she would receive further instructions on where the money should be deposited.

"The kidnappers also spoke to me with my husband’s telephone and demanded N30 million ransom.

"As at the time the kidnappers spoke to me, they said they were going back to Zaria", Umar's wife said.

Police spokesman Richard Oguche confirmed the report.

He said the Commissioner of Police had directed that men be drafted to track down the kidnappers.

"We are aware of the development. We are on top of the matter as the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mike Zuokumor, has directed policemen to track down the kidnappers," Oguche said.

The Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Aliyu Barau, also confirmed the story, but declined further comments.

It would be recalled that Mrs. Umar’s mother and her daughter were kidnapped in July, this year, in Minna and were later released.

Nearly three months after Nollywood actor, Chief Pete Edochie was kidnapped at Nkpor, a suburb in the commercial town of Onitsha, another popular actor and comic star, Nkem Owoh, famously known as Osuofia has been reortedly abducted.

According to insider sources, Owoh, unarguably one of the most popular names in the nation’s movie industry, was abducted last Saturday afternoon along the busy Enugu-Port Harcourt Road.

It was gathered that the kidnappers are demanding for N15 million ransom.

Confirming the sad news, which many in Nollywood are still oblivious of, Mr. Segun Arinze, the National President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), said he received the news with a rude shock.

“I’m perplexed,” he said.

He, however, promised to issue an official statement after due consultations with his executives and members of Owoh’s family.

Also in an emotion-laden voice, Mr. Ofiafuluagu Mbaka, the Enugu State Chapter chairman of AGN, regretted the kidnappers action, describing it as devilish and wicked.

“We are on our toes here in Enugu trying our best to see how Nkem Owoh will be out of the kidnappers den unhurt. We are also in touch with his immediate family. This is a trying moment for all actors. However, we are very positive and hopeful.”

Mr. Chuma Onwudiwe, the National Secretary of AGN, while reacting to Owoh’s abduction, called on the relevant authorities to join them in securing the immediate release of the actor from his abductors.

He also assured that the national secretariat is already working with the Enugu State chapter to ensure that Owoh regains his freedom soon.

It would be recalled that another popular actor in Nollywood, Pete Edochie, was kidnapped and later released by his abductors, a couple of months ago.

Nkem Owoh, from Enugu State, gained prominence in acting with his superb role in Kingsley Ogoro’s blockbuster – Osuofia in London, a comic movie that has grossed over a million copies.

He has acted in over 1000 Nollywood movies, in a successful career spanning over two decades.

Edochie was only freed after an undisclosed ransom was reportedly paid. His kidnappers allegedly demanded 10 million naira as ransom, but no official word on what amount was eventually paid.

In what seems to be an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Deputy National Chairman, South-West, of the People’s Democratic Party ,PDP, Chief Bode Ibiyinka George and five others accused along with him by the EFCC of N85 billion fraud while they served at the Nigeria Ports Authority, NPA, have been sentenced to 28 years imprisonment without an option of fine.


Justice Olubunmi Oyewole of the Ikeja High Court convicted him Monday of sundry charges.

George who was one of the most powerful men that determined PDP's political sails was specifically convicted on 35 out of the 68-count charge which border on contract splitting, inflation, abuse of office and disobedience to lawful order.

In the words of foremost American politician and reformer, Horace Greeley, "Fame is a vapor, popularity an accident, riches take wings, those who cheer you today may curse you tomorrow, only one thing endures , character."

Justice Oyewole sentenced all the six accused persons to two years each on seven counts of abuse of office and another six months for 28 charges bordering on disobedience of lawful order.

The judge held that all the accused persons were guilty of splitting numerous contracts as members of NPA board from 2001 to 2003.

According to the judge, there were incontrovertible evidence that all the six accused persons intentionally and knowingly condoned the splitting of contracts.

Also, Justice Oyewole held that Bode George and his co-accused disregarded lawful order passed to them by the Ministry of Transport stipulating a new approval limit of contracts in all government parastatals including the NPA.

According to the judge, all the accused persons in their evidence acknowledged receiving the said order from the Ministry of Transport but chose by their own volition to disregard the order.

He, however, held them not liable for contract inflation.

Most PDP supporters in the court room burst into tears as Justice Oyewole pronounced the judgement. Most of them tried to provoke security men around the court into a fight.

In his allocutus, George’s counsel, Chief Tunji Ayanlaja, SAN, appealed for leniency as George and the six accused persons were doing the right thing but following a wrong procedure.

EFCC prosecutor, Festus Keyamo, thanked the court for a well considered judgement and said that it will serve as a deterrent to corrupt public officers.

During the ensuing melee, an elderly man fainted and he was being revived at the time of filing this report.

Anti-riot policemen at the court premises called for a reinforcement to bring the situation under control.

Bode George, Arc. Aminu Dabo, Captain O. Abidoye, Alhaji Abdulahi Aminu Tafida and Alhaji Zanna Maidaribe and Engr. Sule Aliyu have been facing a 163-count charge of conspiracy, disobedience of lawful orders, inflation of contract and contract splitting.

Specifically, they were alleged to have awarded contracts for the supply of several items and repair of some equipment worth billions of naira in foreign currencies. They were also accused of committing an abuse of office “by splitting three contracts into separate contracts; which sum was beyond your approved limits” which EFCC described as “arbitrary and prejudicial to the right of the Federal Minister of Transportation, being the appropriate authority to award contracts in excess of N20 Million.”

During the trial which lasted for 15 months, one of the major prosecution witnesses, Engr. Mustapha Bukar, a director in the Federal Ministry of Transportation, who chaired the 7-man administrative panel instituted by the Federal Government to probe the activities of the NPA, said his panel discovered that about 29,526 contracts were awarded by the management of the NPA between year 2001 and 2003.

In his evidence, the witness said that some of the contracts were split and inflated before they were awarded to different contractors by the NPA management. However, the witness, admitted under cross-examination by counsel to the defendants that there was no evidence indicating that the contracts awarded were given out or signed by the Board of the NPA led by Bode George.

Engineer Bukar, specifically, pointed to the court that the board while awarding contracts did not abide by a certain circular from the Federal Government which spelt out the limitation of the Board in award of contracts. The witness said the price intelligence units system and due process were ignored by the management in the award of contracts during the period under review.

However, under cross-examination by the defence lawyers led by Chief Tunji Ayanlaja, (SAN), Engineer Bukar admitted that one of the committee members, Greg Ogbueifon, had earlier written a petition against the NPA Board over some issues.

He also agreed that it was morally wrong for same Ogbueifon to be a member of the committee investigating the management.

Ten other prosecution witnessess corroborated Engr. Bukar’s evidence with the prosecuting team led by festus Keyamo urging the court to convict Bode George and his co-defendant as the allegations against them have been proved beyond reasonable doubt.

Counsel to Bode George, Chief Tunji Ayanlaja (SAN) at the close of his case urged the court to dismiss the charges as his client has proved his innocence.

In his joint defence with the other defendants, he argued that all the contracts awarded under his leadership in NPA were backed up by bank guarantees and irrevocable letters of credit from reputable banks. To this end, he denied that he and other defendants disobeyed any lawful order.

He told the court that there was never a time that any contract brought to the Board was split and that there were appraisal officers who carried out market survey and price intelligence before advising on what sum a contract should be awarded for and that it was not the responsibility of the Board to fix prices on contracts to be awarded.

He further said that the 2001 circular expected to guide award of contracts was never sent to NPA while he was Chairman of the Board of NPA, but that the Board got to know about the circular several weeks later through a member of the Board.

He said contrary to their expectations, the circular which was signed by the minister of finance was addressed to the Ministry of Water Resources without a covering note, adding that no such letter came from the Transport Minister who is the supervisory authority of the NPA.

He subsequently prayed the court to declare that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt on count 58-68 dealing with abuse of office in line with Section 104 of the Criminal Code Law of Lagos State and also failed to prove the case of conspiracy against the defendants as well.

George, a retired military officer with B.sc., MBA, P.Sc degrees, was born on November 21, 1945 in Lagos. He attended St. John’s Primary School Aroloya-Lagos between 1952 and 1959; Ijebu-Ode Grammar School 1960 -1964; University of Lagos 1967-70. He was at the Royal Naval Engineering College in 1972. He also attended the United States Naval War College.

He joined the Nigerian Navy on August 1, 1972 , as a Sub-lieutenant. He was promoted a full naval lieutenant in 1974; Lt. Commander, 1977 and Commander 1983. He became Director of Weapons at the Naval Headquarters in 1987 and was also appointed the Military Governor of Ondo State that same year. He was promoted to the rank of a naval captain in 1988.

He was a member of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s kitchen cabinet while he was in office between 1999 and 2007. George was appointed Chairman of the Board of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) while Obasanjo was in office. He later emerged as the National Deputy Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during Obasanjo’s second term in office.

Media revelations concerning his indictment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC) then headed by Mallam Nuhu Ribadu for fraud at NPA were rife during Obasanjo’s tenure but he was widely rumoured to have been shielded from prosecution by the former president. However, the case of fraud against him and several other former members of the NPA Board was exhumed and charged to court when the current Chairman of the EFCC Mrs Farida Waziri assumed office as Chairman of the anti-graft body.

George was very active in politics of PDP in Lagos State. Among the three prominent factions of the party in the state are his Establishment Group; the Solidarity Group led by Senator Wahab Dosunmu and the Mandate Group led by the former Works and Housing Minister, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe. At the heart of the crisis in the Lagos PDP was the leadership of the party by Setonji Koshoedo from Badagry as Chairman, In George’s camp are the incumbent state chairman, Setonji, Koshoedo, Demola Seriki, Tunde Salau, Dr Yomi Finnih and Mrs Nike Oluwole.

In Lagos PDP the battle line was drawn between the George’s camp and that of party’s governorship candidate in the 2007 election Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, Both factions had separate state executive councils.

While the Obanikoro faction insisted on the dissolution of the party executives from the wards, local government to state level, the George faction on the other hand said there was no need to dissolve the executives since they have emerged in a congresses held under the supervision of INEC and the party’s national officers.

Yobe Governor dies of Leukemia in Florida


Governor of Yobe State, Senator Mamman Bello Ali has died of Leukemia.

He died at an undisclosed hospital in Florida, USA on Monday.

Officially, Vice-President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan reportedly announced his death on Tuesday, during a National Economic council meeting in Abuja, bringing the meeting to abrupt end.

According to agency reports, the governor who worked with the old Borno State as Senior Engineer for 15 years in the Ministry of Works and voluntarily retired in 1990 holds two different degrees in Constructions and Extension from Tuskegee University, Alabama.

Meanwhile, all is set for the swearing-in of the Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Geidam, as Governor, while the Speaker of the Yobe State House of Assembly, Alhaji Usman Adamu, would be worn-in as Deputy Governor as stipulated in the Constitution.

According to Section 191 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, “The Deputy Governor of a state shall hold office of Governor of the state if the office of Governor becomes vacant by reason of death, resignation, impeachment, permanent incapacity or removal of Governor from office for any other reason in accordance with section 188 or 189 of this Constitution.”

Ribadu’s dismissal: Activists divided

By James Ezema

AS more Nigerians continued to condemn the dismissal of the former chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, from the police, activists, spoken with on the matter recently, were divided on his sack.

While president of Nigerian Renaissance Movement (NRM), Agba Justin Jalingo, said the former anti-corruption czar will come out triumphant, president  of the Arewa Youths Consultative Forum (AYCF), Alhaji Yerima Shettima, said Ribadu got what he deserved for doing the bidding of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Both men spoke in separate interviews with this writer on telephone.

To Jalingo, Ribadu’s sack has exposed the pretensions of President Umaru Musa Yar’adua administration in its avowed fight against corruption.

“Unfortunately, this latest step has driven nail into the pretentious claim of the Yar’Adua regime to fighting corruption in Nigeria. Any air of doubt about Yar’Adua administration’s inability to fight corruption has been dispelled by this calculated attempt to undermine Ribadu who has and will always remain a benchmark and hero amongst ordinary Nigerians.

“The regime should come to terms with the fact that Ribadu’s contribution to national development will not be gauged by his rank or profession but by the meritorious record and the enviable height at which he left the EFCC”, Jalingo said.

He added: “At the end of this tunnel, Ribadu will come out triumphantly. His legacy will instigate the rest of society to gear up and stay vigilant against the ‘corruption cartel’ that seems to have rediscovered their gait under Yar’Adua government”.

Shettima, however, blamed Ribadu for going to court against the police, saying he would have resigned instead.

“We saw this thing coming and I have used the media to tell Ribadu that Obasanjo will use him and dump him. So, this will serve as a lesson to our present generation and everybody in power, that you will not be in power forever. He knew he was being used. He allowed Obasanjo to use him against his political rivals.

“Nobody is saying that those he went after were all clean but if you want to fight something, you fight it holistically”, he added.

Pic below shows L-R: President, Arewa Youths Consultative Forum, Yerima Shettima and President, Nigerian Renaissance Movement (NRM), Agba Justin Jalingo

Slain PHCN Official Buried, Management Pledge Support for His Family

We recall with deep regret, the unfortunate course of events leading to the sorrowful death of our illustrious son and colleague, whose life was cut short at his prime while in active service to the electricity industry and the Nigerian nation.

His death even become more painful to his immediate family and the PHCN family at large because of the gruesome manner in which his assailants cruelly terminated his precious life in broad day light and right in the safety of his office.

Although he fought gallantly in self-defense, the viciousness of his attackers could have overwhelmed even a squadron of armed officers. Evidently, the motive for this dastardly act was premeditated and professionally accomplished, given the facts of an autopsy report as received by PHCN management.

We do know that all mortals are unavoidably indebted to death including the assailants of our late colleague. We are, therefore, consoled by the injunctions of the Holy Books on divine vengeance and retribution. But even at that, as humans, we are bound to be grieved in the circumstance of Mr. Ademolu's death such that it deserves intervention of state security agencies.

We are aware and confident of fairness in the Police investigations and the judicial process to ensure justice and equity. We shall, however, appreciate thoroughness and decisiveness to serve as deterrence to perpetrators of legal injustice and social disorder.

To the entire Ademolu family, we in the PHCN family commiserate with you and pray for your divine consolation while requesting God to grant the soul of Adetola Babatunde Ademolu eternal rest in His heavenly bosom.

To his wife and children, we ask the Almighty God to give them the solace and grace of greater achievements and protection. And to his aged parents, we commit them into God's hands to relieve their hearts of the burden of sorrow and grief even as we continue to mourn with them.

We wish to assure all the registered dependants of Mr. Ademolu prompt dispensation of his approved benefits.

Ladies and gentlemen, permit me to express the displeasure of PHCN management to the attitude of some of our esteemed customers towards PHCN staff who were usually targets of unprovoked attacks, sometimes with grievous consequences in varying degrees.

As agents of the Nigerian State, PHCN staff are merely discharging their responsibilities dutifully in the service of their fatherland.

I, therefore, seize this opportunity to appeal to any aggrieved customer to be more civil in seeking redress for perceived dissatisfaction with our service delivery and billing.

For the avoidance of doubt, we are resolved to use Ademolu's case to test the strength of the law and the Nigerian constitution to ensure fairness and public decorum.


Once more, the PHCN management mourn with the Ademolu family and request public cooperation in the Federal Government's efforts to improve the national energy infrastructures and service delivery.

We wish you all God's protection as we jointly support the Ademolu family in this their moment of distress.

Being the text an address of zonal management of Power Holding of Nigeria(PHCN) Plc. on the occasion of the burial of late Mr. Adetola Babatunde Ademolu, the slain assistant manager (marketing), Akute Undertaking, Ojodu, Business Unit on Friday 12 September, 2008 and delivered by the Chief Executive Officer, Ikeja Distribution Zone, Engr. Oladele A. Adeola. Mr. Ademolu was allegedly murdered by aggrieved PHCN customers in his office in Akute Ogun State on August 19, 2008.

Nigerian born fast, powerful and Newcastle United player, Obafemi Martins lost has lost his Mum at the early hours of today.
The aged woman died, according to family sources, as a result of shock after witnessing an early morning inferno as a result of an accident involving a fuel tanker that lost control and fell at Orile area of Lagos near the family house.
It was learnt that she woke up this morning and alerted family members of the raging inferno and asked everyone to leave the house.
"She came down through the stair case and entered her vehicle and was being driven away by the driver and suddenly she collapsed and died. I think it was as a result of shock because of the accident", a family member, Mojeem, said.

By: James Ezema
Email: jamesezema@yahoo.com

Lagos State Association of Supervisors for Education, LASEDUC, comprising of 57 local councils  education Supervisors (from 20 Local Government Area and 37 Local Councils Development Area), has presented a seven-serial book on how to teach a child from the womb to primary two.

The serial to be released to public soon was titled Spelling Bee Development Serial Books, written to take care of the education need of children at the early stages of their development.

The association also said that it has repackaged the 30-Hour Compulsory Community Service and will soon present the proposal to the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN).

In a chat with this writer, LASEDUC chairman and ex-vice chairman of Yaba Local Council Development Area, who was the supervisor for education in the local council, Hon. Oluwole Aladeteye, fondly called Olubasket, said: “The books are the first of its kind in the history of education. Now, a baby can be taught in the womb and when a pupil goes through the series from the womb to primary two that pupil will be a sound pupil in terms of spelling and reading, in fact, the pupil will be very sharp, very intelligent”.

Speaking during the presentation the books in Yaba, LASEDUC secretary and supervisor for education, Isolo local council, Hon. Prince Joseph Diala, said: “The common feature of the Spelling Bee Development Books is the ability and assurance that any child that goes through the development must develop a reading culture because the approach and techniques made the books unique and distinct from other such books”.

Aladeteye told this writer: “We were motivated to embark on the project after the July 2004 first Lagos State education summit organised by the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration to fine-tune and find away forward for Lagos State education tittled, ‘Shaping a new Vision ans Action for a more Functional Education in Lagos State’, which brought together all the 57 local councils’ supervisors for education in the state. It was quite a huge challenge and a kind of a declaration of state of emergency in the education sector in Lagos State. We told ourselves that there most be a legacy to leave behind, we must achieve something unique to uplift the standard of education in the state during our tenure. That was why we took up this research project, which today has yielded fruit as you can see”.

On how a child can be taught in the womb, he said: “Let me leak a secret of the book. I t may sound very funny. You see, the first thing is this, if you want a child to resemble anybody the woman likes, at the development stage, the first three months, if the mother picks a picture of the person she wants her child to resemble and looks at the picture with passion at least twice a day, for that three months, I’m telling you that baby will resemble the person in the picture. But it might not take up the character of the person.

Aladeteye continued: “After four months of conception, if you want to develop the brain of that child in the womb or you want to know if the brain is functioning, may be twice a day at a particular time, say every 10 a.m. and 2 a.m., depending on the convenience of the mother, if she normally sings, if she stops doing the same thing at that particular time, the baby will start kicking when that time reach. It will want to remind the mother that there is a particular activity she normally engage in at that particular time. In the same vein, the pregnant mother is the one who carries out the instructions contained in the book in case of the baby in the womb”.

The books’ title was named after the annual Spelling Bee Competition in Lagos State, an initiative of the New Era Foundation, a pet project of the former First Lady, Chief (Mrs) Oluremi Tinubu, a competition open only to pupils and students of the State Public Primary and Secondary Schools.

On the 30-Hour Compulsory Community Service where every SS 3 graduate was compelled to do some service to the local community, Aladeteye said: “We’ve taken it upon ourselves to see to the reintroduction of that programme. We’ve got the package ready. It is just like the National Youths Service Corp (NYSC) programme at the national level”.

By: James Ezema
E-mail: jamesezema@yahoo.com

First sales director Lever Brother Nigeria  Plc (now Unilever Plc) and current chairman CEO of Tuntise Investment Limited, Alhaji Sikiru Olatunji Alatise has said that for Nigerian brands to compete internationally, the problem of increasing high cost of production must first be tackled. The Alagbala Adinni of Lagos and the Otutubiosun of Ijebuland said this during the presentation of certificates to  graduating students of Institute of Sales Marketing Management (ISMM) UK in Lagos. Alatise who was chairman of the occasion frowned at the situation where local manufacturers would have to generates their own power, provide their own infrastructure,  wondering how they could possibly compete at the international market place with the increasing high cost of production. According to him, to make Nigerian brands equally competitive all over the world, “they should first do something about the problem with the Nigerian brand; the high cost of production, where you have to produce your own power, where you have to produce your own infrastructure. I think if government can do what they promised in providing power to the economy, if the infrastructure is there and there is railway system and those kind of things, the cost of local manufacture will reduce. Without this, the Nigerian brands will not be able to even compete within Nigeria against imported brands”.
Alatise added: “Then, we’ll be in a position to export and be able to compete internationally”.
By completing the ISMMD studies successfully, the eight graduates of the UK institution are automatically admitted to membership of the Institute of Sales and Marketing Management (ISMM) UK. According to George E. Thorpe, managing consultant of the accredited centre where the graduates were tutored, Market Space is interested in professionalising sales in Nigeria, hence the decision to offer a top quality internationally recognised educational programme in sales management. He added: “The accreditation of Market Space to offer the ISMM UK diploma in strategic sales with specialisation in key account management or sales management involved an audit of our faculties, training facilities and exam security”.

Being a copy of a petition sent to the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Mr. Mike Okiro, urging him to investigate the alleged deportation of An African-American prisioner, Mr Grayson Ernest Eugene, to Nigeria by the US government.


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January 11, 2008




THE INSPECTOR-GENERAL OF POLICE

Dear Sir,

LETTER OF PETITION

GRAYSON ERNEST EUGENE - A CASE OF WRONGFUL
DEPOkTATION. HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE AND DEHUMANISING
TREATMENT BY THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND
THE UNITED STATES EMBASSY IN NIGERIA.

We are Solicitors to Mr. Grayson Ernest Eugene (hereinafter referred to as “our Client”)
on whose behalf we write this petition.

Our Client claims to be a black American citizen born on the 3ff of September, 1963 in (Greensville, South Carolina. His mother̓s name is Silvia H. Atkins and until his
conviction in the United States of America, was a taxi driver living in 250 East 29, Brooklyn, New York.

Our Client has informed us of the following facts:

1. That prior to our Client̓s alleged deportation to Nigeria, he was a prisoner in a
United States Federal Prison with prison number57051-053, and in the custody of the B.I.C.E. Prison, Upstate New York, Batavia Buffalo, where, according to him, he had served his mandatory Appellate jail term and was awaiting transfer to his jurisdiction in Metropolitan Detention Centre, Brooklyn, New York. The documentation for his release from prison was to be prepared and effected from the Metropolitan Detention Centre

2. Our Client further alleges that at the hour of 8pm on 12 December, 2006, he was taken from the Upstate New York Institution where he was a prisoner. He went peacefully with them in the honest belief that he was being transferred to his jurisdiction in New York for his eventual release from prison.

3. That, rather he found himself being taken to the airport to be deported alongside
about 500 other black people. He allegedly protested and resisted this move on the
 grounds that he was an American citizen and ought not to be deported. This resulted in our client being bound, hands and feet, with chains and being bundled into the aircraft.

4. That the plane first dropped off some black people in an island, presumably in the
Caribbean, and another set of the deportees was dropped ma similar manner in
Liberia.

5. That our Client, on the I 3th of December, 2006 was brought to Nigeria against his will, to a country he had never been and knew not a soul. Still insisting on his American citizenship, he was bundled again and thrown onto the tarmac of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos and the keys to the cuffs thrown down to him, whereupon the plane left with the men who did this dastardly act.

6. That our Client bad on him only his prison uniform and the chains that were used to bind him throughout the flight. There was no documentation in relation to his illegal and denigrating depoetation or as to his identification.

7. That the staff on duty at the airport tarmac assisted our client to unlock the chains and informed him to leave the tarmac.

8 That OUT Client was reduced to soliciting funds topsy his way to the United States
Embassy at Victoria Island, Lagos where he would obtain help in returning to
America.

9 That same day, our client found his way to the America embassy but it was not till the 15di December, 2006 that he was granted audience where he appealed to have his biodata - fingerprints and DNA tests - taken to verify his citizenship claim.

10. That to his shock and amazement, rather than verify his claims of citizenship, officials of the American embassy called in the police who arrested and detained our Client!

11. That our Client was in detention from the 15th December, 2006 to 19th December, 2006, that is 4 (four) days, at the Bar Beach Police Station, Lagos, before be was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Adekunle, Lagos, where he was kept in detention until 12th March, 2007.

12 That on 12& March, 2007, our Client was finally arraigned before the Magistrate Court No. 9 Ebute-Metta, Lagos, on a charge of conduct likely to breach public peace by refusing to leave the American embassy contrary to Section 249(d) of the Criminal Code Capl7 Vol, II, Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria.

13. That our Client was discharged on the 30 of April, 2007 by the Magistrate for want of diligent prosecution. Find attached a copy of the discharge for ease of reference.

14. That our Client, having nowhere to go or anyone in Nigeria, returned to the American embassy with the fervent hope that this time his case would be looked into by the embassy He only wanted his fingerprints and DNA taken to prove his claim

15. Thai once again, the American embassy not only refused to grant our Client̓s request and plea for verification of his citizenship, by carrying out the tests, but also callously and with no human regard, called in the police again to arrest our
Client on the 20 August, 2007. On the 13 of September, 2007, our Client was again arraigned at the Magistrate Court No. 12 Ebute-Metta, Lagos on a charge of loitering!

16. I̓hat the court granted our client bail in the sum of N50, 000 (Fifty Thousand Naira Only) with sureties in like sum. Our client obviously could not meet these
bail bonds as he knew no one to stand surety for him, thus he found himself in jail again until November 21, 2007 when the Magistrate court finally discharged

and acquitted him of all charges.

Sir, the claims by our client are weighty indeed. Could it be true that security operatives in the United States abducted a prisoner, in a gangster style, and bundled him onto a plane, even with his U S prison uniform?

Again, do security operatives in Nigeria allow just anybody into the country, once they arrived aboard U.S.-owned airlines? Is there any guarantee that any such deportee is not a security risk, a spy or even a suicide bomber, who is allowed to roam Nigerian streets free?

in the light of the above and on behalf of our client, we wish to draw your attention to the plight of this man who only wishes to return home and is willing and ready to surrender himself to any examination or tests that would prove his identity and subsequently his nationality as an American citizen.

We therefore humbly seek that you use your good office to carry out a thorough investigation to verify the claims of our client as contained in the above mentioned facts
as given to us by our client. We would also urge you to liaise with the Office of lmmigratioii Department to provide answers as to how it was possible to permit our client entry into the country without regular documents as expected when one conies in from outside the shores of Nigeria. According to our client, he had no papers of identification, no visa, no ticket, nothing! Yet he was allowed into the country. The Nigeria Immigration has a case to answer.












We appreciate the fact that your investigations would be fir reaching and incisive, taking into recognition that as the Chief Police Officer for Nigeria you would enjoy international co-operation from other law enforcement agencies in the world, especially the United States of America. It is our f~rvent belief that justice will be achieved when all the facts are revealed and our client will be gven the oppoitunity to finally have his voice heard after the trauma he has undergone since 2006. We will leave no stone unturned to get to the truth behind this abuse. We have a duty to be our brother̓s keeper.

Finally, we urge you, Sir, to use your good office and the resources open and available to you in your capacity as the Chief Police Officer in our great country, Nigeria, to see that Justice is done and, if possible, avert an international disaster if this matter is not handled diplomatically. You are our client̓s hope to obtain answers to why he has undergone such degradation and deprivation in the hands of fellow human beings.

We humbly await your immediate response, as you would appreciate the urgency of the issues at hand and the fact that if our client̓s claims prove to be true, he would have been through what no human being ought never to be denied of— A home. An identity.

Thank you.

Yinka Olujimi ESQ

CC:.
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Minister of Internal Affairs
Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice
Comptroller General, Nigerian lmmigrations
Director General, State Security Services
Director of Services, United States Information Services.
Consular-General, United States Embassy

It was exactly forty days after an American deportee, Mr Grayson Ernest Eugene, who was “wrongfully” deported to Nigeria by the United States in yet to be unravelled controversial circumstances and was  last year discharged and acquitted by an Ebute-Meta Magistrate Court on a loitering charge for allegedly constituting common nuisance at the American Embassy in Nigeria, another foreigner, a Briton, one Mr. Theodore Williams, 28, was on New Year eve arraigned at a Lagos Chief Magistrate Court, Ebute-Metta, Lagos State, on a two-count charge of false information and fraud.
Williams who claims to be of the National Intelligent Agency (NIA) and whose mission in the country is still unclear at press time, was docked on Monday, December 31, 2007, before Magistrate R.O. Davis, holding brief for Magistrate F.R. Olayinka (Mrs).
The charges read in parts: “That you Theodore Williams ‘m’,  did give false information to the police, which you knew to be false, with intention of causing the person to do or omit to do anything” and that “with intent to cheat did by fraudulent trick and device obtain(ed) from one Ngozi Anyaim ‘f’ of Rockview Hotel Festac Town, Lagos, the sum of sixty five thousand naira (N65,000.00).” Both alleged offences are punishable under the Criminal Code, Cap C17, Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria 2003.
Sunday Vanguard learnt that the accused person, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, allegedly lodged in the hotel and accumulated the amount with fraudulent intent some time in December 2007.
Counsel to the accused person, Mr. Olajide Olutayo, while applying for his client’s bail, informed the court that the accused person is a foreigner and that some guests (in the hotel) have already paid part of the bill, saying that all that is outstanding is the cost of car hire service contrary to the second count where it was alleged that the accused person had cheated one Ngozi Anyaim. He urged the court to grant his client bail in most liberal terms and pleaded with the court to remand his client in police custody instead of the prison.
The prosecutor, Mr. Michael Onoh, a police inspector, who wondered where the defence got his facts, argued that if the money has been paid, the police would not have charged the accused person to court. He then urged the court not to remand the accused person in police custody, arguing that the police has no room for him as police cells in the state are already congested. Mr. Onoh, however, did not oppose the bail application, saying the offences are bailable.
The presiding magistrate, Mr. Davis, declined to remand the accused person in police custody but however granted him bail in the sum of sixty thousand naira, with two sureties, each in like sum, who must be gainfully employed and whose addresses must be verified by the court.
The accused person was however  remanded in Ikoyi prison as he was unable to meet the bail conditions immediately, while the matter was adjourned to January 21, 2008 for trial.

Perennial neglect of those who have immensely contributed to Nigerian economic well-being by successive governments in the county has led the Joint Action Committee of Pensioners of the University Teachings/Specialist Hospitals and the Federal Medical Centres (JACP) to cry out for help. The body has called on President Olusegun Obasanjo to graciously intervene in retrieving their over N1.5 billion pension arrears allegedly trapped in Niger Insurance Plc, the underwriter, since 2003, saying their members are dying.

In a chat with this writer, Friday, February 09, 2007, the acting chairman of JACP, Mr. L.B. Akinbola, who is also the chairman of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) branch, said this call has become imperative as all efforts to get their pension paid have yielded no fruits.

“We call on the president to intervene because we’ve done every thing possible to get our pension arrears and other entitlements paid but to no avail,” Akinbola said.

In a press statement signed by Mr. Akinbola and Comrade Raymond Egwuogu, JACP LUTH branch chairman and secretary respectively, stated that the body has extended its 30 days ultimatum issued to the Federal Ministry of Health to provide the ministry enough time to address the problems. They warned that the pensioners’ body should not be blamed for any action taken by their members to press home their demands from February 15, 2007.

The body in the statement demanded, among others, that an audit verification exercise be carried out in parastatals and institutions under the Federal Ministry of Health as has been done in some other ministries, with their pensions and entitlement paid.


The retirees alleged that the arrears of pension due their members range from 8-30 months, adding that gratuities from March 2002 to date, as well as increase on percentages of pension rates from 1988-2001 are yet to be paid.

Mr. O. A. O. Agbola,mni, Director Personeel Management, Federal Ministry of Health, in a letter to the Association of LUTH Pensioners, in response to the association’s ultimatum, made available to this writer and dated December 12, 2006, with reference number SMH. 494/S.9/C.5/Vol.11/20, noted with concern the inadequate funding of the pension and gratuity scheme. He also stated that the Honorable Minister of Health had directed that “intensive interactive sessions be held with the Niger Insurance with a view to ensuring effective discharge of the company’s obligations” under an existing memorandum of understanding, and the release the sum of N20 million by the second week of December 2006, been the commitment obtained from the underwriter for partial settlement of the outstanding claims.

Meanwhile, members of the Associations of LUTH Pensioners Wednesday 07, 2007 in Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, protested the non-payment of their pension arrears and other entitlement, carrying placards with various inscriptions urging the authorities concerned to come to their immediate rescue.

Note: Comments are welcome.

[b]
To insinuate in any way that the the problem of PHCN/NEPA is low price of electricity can be nothing but blatant falsehood.
The truth of the matter is that the price of electricity in Nigeria is higher than else where in the world!
I tell you why: it is only in Nigeria that consumers pay electricity bill at the end of the month without getting supply. Contrary to the law of demand and supply, Nigerians are yet to disconnet their powerline from the PHCN poles. It is only in Nigeria that people collect salaries without  working as it is in the power PHCN. It is only in Nigeria that the colossal amount budgeted since 1999 by the Obasanjo administration can be spent without result, yet no probe of the management of PHCN or the Ministry of Power and Steel. It is only in Nigeria that refurbished turbines are installed as new ones without qualms, only to work for few days and break down. It is only in Nigeria that a lawyer is made the Minster of Power while there are thousands of Electrical and Electromech engineers who can deliver in few days. It is only in Nigeria that ministerial appointments are given as political patronage to the most unqualified. It is only in Nigeria,  I can go on and on but for lack of time!

It is therefore a misinformation and a misrepresentation of facts to say that the power supply crisis in Nigeria is in anyway related to PRICE! PHCN is a MONOPOLY! If it was the case of price, they are at liberty to increase their tariff without anyone raising an alarm as they have done over the years without result. Since I was born (now 35 years) the excuses of PHCN/NEPA has always the same: water level, bird in the turbine, vandalization, militants in the Niger-Delta etc. Shame!
problem of price that made NITEL redundant until the introduction of the GSM technology into the Nigerian telecommunication market?  Nigerians are no fools!
Thanks my good friend.
Other African nations not near Nigeria in human and material resources have long overcame these problems.
Note: NIGERIA HAS THE FINANCIAL CAPACITY TO PROVIDE FREE UNINTERRUPTED POWER SUPPLY TO HER CITIZEN IF WE CAN MANAGE OUR GOD-GIVEN RESOURCES MAXIMALLY! The problems are in one word: CORRUPTION!

Is it the [/b]

May 1, 2006, while this writer was monitoring the protest organized by the members of the Nigerian Renaissance Movement (NRM) against constant power outages in Nigeria, it was shocking when the President of PMAN and the founder of Guaranga Foundation, an NGO, Bolaji Rosuji revealed that his business establishment, EVIS COMMUNICATIONS which is into studio production and other kinds of businesses, was brought to untimely bankruptcy by the then National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) and now Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc (PHCN). Rosuji who was part of the protest to the PHCN Ikeja Distribution Zone, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria, in solidarity to the organizers, said that a power surge of about 300 volts blew up all his equipment and as a result the business collapsed and have not come alive ever since.

The question now is: how many small scale businesses have gone bankrupt either because they could not provide an independent power for the cost or because they had the same experience? Yet the government of Nigeria wants economic growth and a boyant private sector in an environment where the public sector has gone under as a result of privatization (which in itself is not bad).

It is bad that a nation like Nigeria, the much talked about giant of Africa, with enormous manpower and extremely gifted human resources has continued to be classified among the poorest nations of the world. This keeps me weeping for my land of birth. Can't some one do something about this situation in which private businesses and in fact most small and medium scale businesses are going into oblivion of bankruptcy? It is more painful when you have a government that does not listen to the cry of its citizens. Like a bad father who feeds fat while the children continue to go hungry, the present regime has not listened to the call of Nigerians to give its reforms a human face!

Our earnest expectation is that a deliverer will emerge in 2007 general elections.