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ALTHOUGH there are speculations that President Muhammadu Buhari will soon return home from his medical vacation in the United Kingdom, a selected number of governors left the shores of Nigeria on Tuesday night to pay the recuperating President a solidarity visit.

Zamfara State Governor and Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, Abdulaziz Yari is leading the delegation of governors which also includes Ebonyi – Dave Umahi, Kano – Umar Gandoje, Borno – Kassim Shettima, Benue – Samuel Ortom, Akwa Ibom – Udom Emmanuel and Oyo – Abiola Ajumobi.

The presidential media team, comprising Garba Shehu, Femi Adesina and Laolu Akande briefed State House correspondents of the latest development on Tuesday.


When asked why Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose who had been quite vocal on the state of health of the President was not among the delegation, Shehu explained that the visiting team was at the discretion of the governors forum.

“The selection was by the governors forum and you will see that the delegation is headed by governor Yari who is chairman of that forum. So that question should go to the forum,” he stated.

According to the SSA the governors were simply embarking on goodwill visit and “there was nothing more to that.

“I believe Nigerians in various positions have been yarning to go visit the President and at some point this obviously has not been permitted.

“But given the change in circumstances you can see that is coming from London itself and from the President is welcoming. Is a goodwill visit”.

As a means of justifying the visit, he described Nigerians as cultural people who normally visit somebody that may have been discharged from the hospital.

“Nigerians visit people leaving hospital and I’m sure the president himself will be delighted to see people coming from the six geo-political zones, coming to convey the goodwill of Nigerians”.

Asked why the President’s media handlers were not part of the visiting team, Shehu again absolved his colleagues, saying the President’s Personal photographer Bayo Omoboriwo was part of the delegation and would dish out pictures to Nigerians when he returns.

“Well, how about you thinking about it this way, probably we will be saving money. Let me tell you, you know I have respects for photographers, we all do and the cameramen. Bayo Omoboriwo is on the flight which is more important than me being there, which he is.

”They say pictures convey more than a thousand words, Bayo will be there and I think it will be more beneficial to Nigerians than if the Special Adviser was on that trip without a cameraman” he said.

The media team was also prodded on the rationale for the governors to pay another visit despite the possibility of the President returning soon since he has been confirmed to be recuperating well.

Adesina rose to the defence, saying “It should be the other way. Instead of being curious it should be the right time for the visit like Garba said earlier. When somebody has recovered or something or the other happened, it is in our culture for us to visit such a person.”

The visit comes a few days after some APC leaders and governors visited the president on Sunday.

Mr. Buhari has been in London for over 70 days for medical treatment.

SIX governors are set to travel to London to visit Nigeria’s ailing President, Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday.

This was disclosed by three presidential spokespersons, Femi Adesina, Garba Shehu and Laolu Akande, at a media briefing in Abuja.

The governors are to be led by Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara and include governors of Ebonyi, Kano, Benue, Akwa Ibom, and Oyo.


The visit comes a few days after some APC leaders and governors visited the president on Sunday.

Mr. Buhari has been in London for over 70 days for medical treatment.

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BUKOLA Saraki has clarified that reports that the Senate has softened its position on the confirmation of presidential nominees are not particularly correct.

Saraki’s explanation followed a Point of Order by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South) that the actual position of the Senate on confirmation of nominees.

Abaribe noted that if the Senate has actually soft pedaled on confirmation of nominees as widely reported the pending confirmation of Abia State nominee for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) should be carried.

The Senate President who quoted Sections 153(f) of 1999 Constitution (as amended) said that the Senate resolved to foreclose all confirmation requests.

He noted that there were confirmation requests specifically listed by the Constitution to do.

Saraki said that the confirmation of ministerial nominees, ambassadorial nominees, confirmation of the Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman, RECs of INEC, were clearly stated in the Constitution for the Senate to carry out.

He said that resolution to suspend confirmation requests was specifically targeted at requests created by Acts of parliament because there were issues to resolve.

KIDNAP kingpin, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, popularly known as Evans, has been transferred from Lagos to Abuja, a Police source has said.

This is coming amidst reports in a national daily in its Saturday version, Saturday Sun, that Evans whereabouts is unknown, suggesting that he has espaced or died.

However, Assistant Commissioner of Police Abba Kyari, on his twitter handle on Saturday in Abuja, described the alleged disappearance of Evans as “fake news’’, and urged members of the public to disregard it.

Also, an online news portal, Premium Times quoted police spokesperson, Jimoh Moshood, to have said that the story was laced with “blatant falsehood”.

“Evans is intact in police custody, “He did not vanish anywhere,” Moshood said.

Mr. Onwuamadike, 36, was arrested by anti-kidnapping officers in Lagos on June 10.

He was remanded in the custody in Lagos for weeks after his arrest amidst, during which he led officers to different locations he used for his criminal activities.

The online news portal quoting another police source reports that Evans had indeed been moved from Lagos to Abuja as indicated in The Sun’s report.

The move, it reported was to put an end to the frivolous media coverage of his stay in custody for proper interrogation.

“We moved him from Lagos to Abuja this week.”

“This will allow us to properly interrogate him,” the source said.

“But the notion that he had somehow disappeared from custody or that police were not willing to give updates about his whereabouts is simply absurd,” the official added.

Mr. Moshood confirmed earlier reports that the police have a warrant that will enable them to keep Mr. Onwuamadike for the next three months without necessarily charging him to court.

LALASTICLALA

POLICE authorities on Saturday dismissed insinuations that the suspected kidnap kingpin, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, popularly called Evans, had vanished from police custody in Lagos.

A national daily on its Saturday’s cover page alleged that Evans had been moved from his cell by about 30 heavily armed policemen, giving room to further speculations on the social media that Evans might have died in custody.

“The secrecy surrounding his whereabouts in the official quarters baffles those who have closely followed his story since his arrest.

“Some senior police officers who spoke to Saturday Sun on condition of anonymity expressed fears that Evans might not make it to the court,’’ the newspaper reported.

However, Assistant Commissioner of Police Abba Kyari, on his twitter handle on Saturday in Abuja, described the alleged disappearance of Evans as “fake news’’, and urged members of the public to disregard it.

According to him, investigations into alleged criminal activities of Evans are being carried out across three countries.

The tweet, which was being re-tweeted in the social media said: “Please disregard the fake news that Evans in police custody has vanished. Investigation covering three countries still in progress – ACP Kyari.’’

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Kyari headed the Inspector-General of Police team that apprehended Evans at his residence in Magodo area of Lagos.

It would be recalled that a Federal High Court in Lagos has fixed July 13 for hearing in a suit filed by a Lagos based lawyer, Olukoya Ogungbeje, seeking N300 million damages against the police for alleged unlawful detention of Evans without trial.

Evans, however, was reported to have disassociated himself from suit, saying he did not authorise anybody to take legal action against the police over his detention.

Lalasticlala

FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo on Friday disagreed with those calling for the restructuring of Nigeria, saying the same social crises bedeviling the country would persist in a restructured country associated with injustice, impunity and bad governance.

Obasanjo, who was guest of the Chairman of Lee Engineering and Construction Company Limited, Chief Leemon Ikpea, spoke at the palace of the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Ikenwoli, in Warri.

The ex- President said he sees nothing wrong with a united Nigeria.

Reacting to a speech delivered on behalf of the monarch by Chief Brown Mene, during the reception organized in his honour, Obasanjo commended the Itsekiri people for their perseverance and decision to stand against any divisive agitation, despite their complaints against marginalisation and demand for better treatment and equity.

He restated his believe that the country’s problems could be resolved through dialogue and negotiations and not through secession.

Obasanjo said: “I believe that we can solve all our problems through dialogue, engagement, discussion and conversation. As you rightly remarked, I participated in the civil war and I said never again will I participate in any civil war again in my life.

“It was gruesome, it was destructive and it was deadly. The people who are now clamouring for whatever they are clamouring for don’t even know what war means. They don’t. Anybody who has seen the devastation of war, the destruction of war and the mindlessness of war will never want to see a war again and may we never have another war again.

“The answer to most of our problems is mindset change and change of mentally. If we need any restructuring, it is the restructuring of our mindset and mentality. How will anybody in his right senses believe separation is the way out?

“We have passed that stage. We have problems, there are many ways we can solve them. It is our diversity that makes us a great country. I won’t want a Nigeria where we dance same juju, or wear same attire. Our strength is in our diversity.

“Some progress is being made in spite of our difficulties and problems, we need to make greater progress than we have made before. If we do that we’ll have good governance, there’ll be no impunity, everybody will have a sense of belonging and a stake in this project called Nigeria. Nothing is wrong with Nigeria, rather a lot is wrong with Nigerians. We need to correct what is wrong with Nigerians. Some of us have to speak up because if things are wrong and you don’t speak up, then you have become an accomplice.

“Dismemberment of Nigeria is not good enough. Harmony and cohesion in Nigeria is what we should substitute for dismemberment. Inequity, injustice or unfairness are not good enough, we should substitute them with equity, fairness, good government and lack of impunity.”

AYODELE Fayose, Ekiti State governor, on Friday in Benin called on Nigerian youths to brace up and take over the leadership mantle of the country, declaring that Nigerians are suffering today because of the grave mistake they made in 2015 of voting President Muhammadu Buhari into office knowing full well that he had reached a stage of diminishing return.

Governor Fayose also admitted that he is a controversial person because he does things other people dread to do “because they lack courage and are afraid.”

The Ekiti Governor who made the declaration in Benin while delivering the convocation lecture of the Benson Idahosa University (BIU), said the time for young Nigerians to pilot the affairs of the nation was now, adding that under his watch, nobody above the age of 50 will become a council chairman while the maximum age for a councillor will be 35.

According to the governor, “you can only give your best at your best. Our president is at diminishing return as at today. I should be quoted; we cannot all sleep and face one direction. Idahosa did not do these things when he was close to his grave; he did them at his prime when he had the energy to make a difference.

“How do you give laptop or ipad to a seventy-something years old man? How can we continue to struggle with our sons for positions meant for them?”

Governor Fayose who also called for the review of the revenue allocation formula pointing out that a situation whereby the federal government pockets 52 per cent of the allocation was awkward because the challenges facing the country reside in the states.

He said, “How will the federal government take 52 per cent when the problems are in the state? The federal government must shed its weight and allow states do the works for them.

“Federal government must take 22 per cent and states take 52 per cent. The federal government has taken more than he can do, more than they can deliver.”

The Governor praised the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, saying “he is our leader in Yorubaland, forget politics and it does not matter he is in the APC.”

‎He revealed that the late tele-evangelist, Archbishop Benson Idahosa, got his father converted to a born-again Christian at a crusade in Ibadan, Oyo State, in 1980 and that his father later sowed the family’s only car to propagate evangelism.

‎He charged the management of BIU to sustain the vision of the late Archbishop Idahosa, saying the man of God could see far beyond his peers when he was alive.

Fayose said handlers of the education sector must live their words and put those concerned on the driver seat, “I withdrew my sons from Olashore International School in Osun State and put them in SUBEB Schools in Ado-Ekiti.



” My sons attended institutions in Nigeria. Many people in the country say something and do other things.”

He also advised youths not to inherit the enemies of their political leaders they know nothing about.

On how he would actualise his dream of leading the country, Fayose said he would only align himself with God’s power, saying “with God nothing is impossible.”

KIDNAP kingpin, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, popularly known as Evans, has said he did not receive any major reprimand from his mother or move to find out what actually transpired when she saw bullet wounds on him.

Evans said his mother only told him to stop whatever he was doing that led to his being shot.

In an interview he granted New Telegraph Newspaper, Evans blamed his father and step mom for who he grew to become and his present predicament.

Evans was injured in what has now turned to controversial circumstances in Lagos from gunshots.

While the police alleged that he was shot following disagreement with his gang members over the sharing of money made from a robbery operation, Evans said he was only at the scene of the shooting to settle a feud among members of a robbery gang he knew.

However, the location of the shooting was the same for both the police and Evans: Lagos.

Reacting to multiple questions on what transpired that led to the shooting, Evans told the Newspaper, “It happened in 2008. A friend of mine invited us to come and make peace. They were having issue of money. When we got there, he started shooting everybody.

“The matter was between Emeka, Iyke and others. I tried to intervene and Iyke started shooting everyone. He shot so many people.

“Nothing led to it! I told you it was an issue over money.

“It was not a bank robbery. The major issue was between Emeka and Iyke. It was Emeka and Iyke that were having issues.

“Along the line, myself and others decided to intervene in the matter. Iyke now decided to call everyone in order to make peace. But on getting there, Iyke and his friends, Jude and Humphrey, started shooting at us.

“I wasn’t shot on my shoulder. I was shot on my hip (Lifts his shirt to show the scar). They were having issue over sharing of money.

“It was money they made from robbery. The money was from robbery of a filling station. They said they went to Con Oil Filling Station in the night to rob. It happened in 2008.

“No! I didn’t go. I was not part of them. I was called to come and intervene in the issue, to make peace. Iyke called his friends to come and take their share of the money after the robbery. Later, Emeka now called me that they were having problems with Iyke seriously. He said that Iyke didn’t want to give them their share of the money. Emeka said that Iyke carried out the operation with his instruments (weapons) and as such, Iyke was supposed to give him part of the money. But Iyke didn’t want to share with Emeka, so I was called. It was supposed to be a peace talk.

“I was shot by Iyke. I can’t really say how many people he shot and killed on that day. I only know that after he shot me, I ran out of the place.”

Reacting to a question on the reaction of his mum was when she saw the bullet wound, Evans said: “She didn’t say anything. She only advised me to stop what I was doing.”

He said he is one of the six children his mum had for his dad, who also had another wife, both of whom he blamed for his predicament.

He said further: “I’m the first son. My father will not tell me today that he trained or catered for me. But if there was any way my father and step mother wronged me, I have forgiven them.”

THE Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) has threatened a showdown with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over its accusation that the NGF Chairman and Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, diverted part of London-Paris Club refunds.

The governor has been under EFCC investigation for some time now as he has been severally accused of using the proceeds of the alleged crime to buy himself choice properties in United States and Nigeria.

The governor has denied the allegations and is currently in court against the agency to prove his innocence.

However, the forum of governors said on Thursday that since the EFCC has refused to back down in “the needless harassment and embarrassment” of its chairman and some other members of its forum across the 36 states of the federation, it has no other option but to fight back with all it has.

As a first step, the‎ governors said they will formally write to the Federal Government to complain about the antics of the commission and its chairman, Ibrahim Magu, against them.

At a press conference with select group of journalists in Abuja, Governor Yari said the EFCC since its inception in 2004 has be intimidating and harassing state governors.

“We are going to ‎write to the Federal Government that enough is enough; that either the EFCC do their work or we should engage in a showdown with them because nobody became governor to be intimidated, to be harassed, to be abused by a deputy commissioner of police,” he said.

He said the EFCC has since abandoned the fight against corruption in pursuit of personal vendetta orchestrated by some politicians who are not comfortable with the progress being made under the current administration.

The NGF chairman said since it is not possible for any governor to walk into any bank and take money out of the vault without assistance from bank officials, the EFCC should have proved its sincerity to the fight against corruption by arresting and bringing to public knowledge any bank official who is found to have helped any particular governor siphon money.

The EFCC was lampooned for always rushing to make a show of any highly placed individual who has a frivolous petition written against him, without the anti-graft agency doing a proper investigation.

The anomaly, he said, accounts for the retinue of losses the EFCC has been recording in courts in the process of prosecuting people suspected of corruption.

According to the governor, the basis of accusation against governors, especially as it has to do with project pricing has always been wrong.



“I believe the EFCC‎ does not have its own engineers to quantify, to know what is exactly on the ground. And a project that is done in Rivers State for N2 million, in Zamfara it will be about N150, 000.

“You cannot say the price of things in Rivers should be the same in Zamfara or somewhere else. The terrain is entirely different and the cost is different, so the risk as well is entirely different, so all these are taken into consideration.

“If there is a project which is being suspected to be over-inflated, there are quantity surveyors. You can’t just because somebody wrote a petition then you say you are working on it without doing your own due diligence,” he noted.

“The problem with the EFCC is they only want to know they invited governor, one former governor is arrested and they will not tidy their work before going to court‎; they go to court and lose all the cases because of the way they initiated the case, they never initiated to achieve success, rather they want to make publicity stunts.

“You can’t fight corruption that way and forever they will not achieve anything”, he said.

A Federal High Court in Abuja has halted the ongoing process of recalling Senator Dino Melaye, representing Kogi West in Nigeria’s upper legislative chamber.

This is according to a tweet sent out by the senator via his Twitter handle.

Already, the red chamber has said those involved in the porcess of recalling Dino Melaye, senator representing Kogi west, are wasting their time as they should have channeled it into more “ important things”.

Melaye had told his colleagues that Yahaya Bello, governor of Kogi state, was behind the move to eject him from the upper legislative chamber.

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ROCHAS Okorocha, Imo state governor has said that there is no single Federal Government presence in the whole of South-East region of the country.

Okorocha stated that South-East has been neglected overtime politically, economically, socially and otherwise.

Okorocha, Chairman of Chairman, All Progressives Peoples (APC) Governors Forum, stated this in an interactive session with members of State House Press Corps.

He also noted that the neglect of the region’s youths was responsible for the agitation in the South -East.

“…you cannot pass Port Harcourt road, Enugu road, Aba Road, Bayelsa road and all the roads. You can hardly see federal government presence in the South- East, all the things you see are through self help. Even the Onitsha Bridge has been a theoretical talk, fabrications which does not represent realities. So, this is a mix up,” he said.

“…We must understand that our young men are frustrated; if they are as comfortable as we are they will not be able to say those things they are saying.

“So whether we like it or not, this nation must make provision for the future generation who are now IT compliant, social media compliant, who have now access to all the goodies in the world without touching it. They smell it but can’t feel it so they are asking why. You can understand their frustrations and so they no longer want to take the stories from us.

“Even in families right now, my children want to push me out of the system, when you are talking they say no, we know it better. So we must just accept the realities of times and see what we can do for the youths of the federal republic of Nigeria. I think the ministry of Youth must be given attention now to engage them productively,” Okorocha stated.

On why Nnamdi Kanu who is a principal character in the new trend of agitation for Biafra was not invited for talks with the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo when the latter met with Igbo leaders from the region, the governor said Kanu does not represent the Igbos describing him as a young man seeking relevance and agitating for whatever he believes in.

“…what he stands for must be treated separately from the entire Igbo nation. The question is does Nnamdi Kanu have the capacity to lead Igbos to war? Or lead me and the governors to war? So you mean I will stand now and Nnamdi Kanu will tell me stand up let’s go to war?”

IF Nigeria must avoid the break-out of another civil war then the agitation for Biafra led by Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) must be stopped, Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo has advised the Federal Government.

Speaking at the launch of the biography of late Brigadier Zakariya Maimalari on Tuesday, Obasanjo warned that failure to do so could lead to a repeat of the 1966 coup and the events that led to unprecedented bloodshed in the country.

The former president said the top most lessons for Nigerians to learn from unfolding events in the country are that the nation has had enough of tragedies.

“So far, since 1999, it seems that we have got it right. Let us hope that we continue to get it right and learn that Nigeria has had enough of bloodshed, enough of sacrifices by those victims, that Nigeria deserves peace, unity and progress,” he stated.

Obasanjo also called for the removal of soldiers who have the backing of political office holders from the army in order to prevent the occurrence of another civil war.

This order won't be complied with because some of the recovered funds were planted by the government.

They are known for flaunting court orders.

You the judge that gave that ruling watch your back because they will surely hunt you down.

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos today ordered the Federal Government to “immediately release to Nigerians information about the names of high-ranking public officials from whom public funds were recovered and the circumstances under which funds were recovered, as well as the exact amount of funds recovered from each public official.”

The judgment was delivered today by Hon Justice Hadiza Rabiu Shagari following a Freedom of Information suit number: FHC/CS/964/2016 brought by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).

The suit followed disclosure last year by the Federal Government of funds recovered from some high-ranking public officials and private individuals.

In her judgment, Justice Shagari agreed with SERAP that “the Federal Government has legally binding obligations to tell Nigerians the names of all suspected looters of the public treasury past and present.”

Joined as Defendants in the suit are the Minister of Information Alhaji Lai Muhammed and the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture.

Justice Shagari also granted the following reliefs:

A DECLARATION that by virtue of the provisions of Section 4 (a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2011, the Defendants are under a binding legal obligation to provide the Plaintiff with up to date information relating to the following:


To widely disseminate including on a dedicated website information about the names of high-ranking public officials from whom public funds were recovered since May 2015.

The circumstances under which stolen public funds were returned

SERAP is now processing a certified true copy of the judgment.

Timothy Adewale, SERAP deputy director who argued the case on behalf of SERAP and was in court this morning when the judgment was delivered said “This is a victory for justice, rule of law, transparency and accountability in this country. The judgment shows the way forward in the fight against corruption and impunity of perpetrators. We will do everything within the law to ensure full compliance by President Muhammadu Buhari and Acting President Osinbajo with this landmark judgment.”

It would be recalled that the Ministry of Information last year published details of the recoveries, which showed that the Nigerian government successfully retrieved total cash amount N78,325,354,631.82, $185,119,584.61, £3,508,355.46 and €11, 250 between May 29, 2015 and May 25, 2016.

Also released were recoveries under interim forfeiture, which were a combination of cash and assets, during the same period: N126,563,481,095.43, $9,090,243,920.15, £2,484,447.55 and €303,399.17. Anticipated repatriation from foreign countries totalled: $321,316,726.1, £6,900,000 and €11,826.11.

ALSO READ: For Stealing Sandals Court Sentences Man To Four Strokes Of Cane

The ministry also announced that 239 non-cash recoveries were made during the one-year period. The non-cash recoveries are – farmlands, plots of land, uncompleted buildings, completed buildings, vehicles and maritime vessels.

Subsequently, SERAP issued an FOI request and gave the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Muhammed 14 days to disclose the names of all suspected looters.

The request reads in part: “While we believe that suspects generally are entitled to be presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction, SERAP opposes blanket non-disclosure of names of high-ranking public officials from whom some of the funds were recovered.”



“SERAP insists that the public interest to know is greater than any other legitimate interest that the government might wish to protect. The Nigerian government has an obligation to balance whether the risk of harm to the legitimate aim (that is secrecy of ongoing corruption investigation and presumption of innocence) from disclosure of the names of public officials is greater than the public interest in accessing the information.”

“According to public interest test, even if the government demonstrates that the publication of the names of public officials would substantially harm a legitimate interest, it is nevertheless obliged to disclose the requested information if, as it is the case here, the public interest in disclosure is sufficient enough to overweigh the harm.”

“SERAP believes that the recoveries, specifically from high-ranking public officials (and not private individuals), are matters of public interest. Publishing the names of those public officials will provide insights relevant to the public debate on the ongoing efforts to prevent and combat a culture of grand corruption and the longstanding impunity of perpetrators in the country.”

“The gravity of the crime of grand corruption, the devastating effects on the socially and economically vulnerable sectors of the population, and the fact that recovery of huge funds from high-ranking public officials entrusted with the public treasury raise a prima-facie case and therefore amount to exceptional circumstances that justify naming those high-ranking officials in the public interest.”

“SERAP also argues that Nigerians are entitled to the right to truth derived from the obligations of the government to carry out an investigation of violations of human rights and crime of corruption committed within its jurisdiction; to identify, prosecute and punish those responsible; and to ensure that victims have the simple and prompt recourse for protection against violation of fundamental rights, as well as to ensure transparency in public administration.”

“SERAP believes that the right to truth allows Nigerians to gain access to information essential to the fight against corruption and in turn development of democratic institutions as well as provides a form of reparation to victims of grand corruption in the country.”

“Publishing the names of public officials involved could go a long way in preventing senior public officials from turning the public treasury into a private cashbox. SERAP argues that the public interest in publishing the names of the high-ranking government officials from whom funds were received outweighs any considerations to withhold the information, as there would be no prejudice against those whose names are published as long as the information is appropriately framed and truthful.”

“There is a general public interest in promoting transparency, accountability, public understanding and involvement in the democratic process. While the government in some limited cases can legitimately place restrictions on the public’s right to access certain information, attempts of the Nigerian authorities to justify the total closure of information related to the names of public officials from whom funds were recovered on the basis of “ongoing criminal investigation” and “presumption of innocence goes far beyond the limitations allowed under international law, and would promote secret recoveries.”

“The information being requested is not related to detailed investigatory activities of anticorruption agencies regarding the recoveries so far made. Similarly, the mere fact that the information being requested is related to ongoing investigation does not necessarily mean that the information could not be disclosed. In addition, governmental agency has the obligation to prove that the disclosure of the names of public officials would disrupt, impede, or otherwise harm the ongoing or pending investigations or presumption of innocence.”

THE All Progressive Congress (APC) will engage the Leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, among others in talks in its bid to ensure true federalism it promised Nigerians.

The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, stated this at the early morning popular programme (Arise) on Channels Television.

He however noted that the party does not reckon with the widely bandied word of “restructuring”, which could be subjected to various interpretations.



He also assured that the party would adhere to the dictates of its manifestoes.

According to him: “What is more important is to fix the economy. It is contentious and a lot of people talk about restructuring without any commonality. We have stated clearly what we want to do, devolution and true federalism. We really avoided the word restructuring because it means so many things to so many people.

“We are coming to that but our priority for now is to fix the economy, restore hope and provide jobs to the teaming millions of our youths all over the country. So, it is a matter of priority.

“I think in the process, we will talk to everybody who is able to have an impact on the situation and everybody that claims to have an answer to the problem, including Nnamdi Kanu.”



On whether there was need for referendum to determine the secession of the South-East geo-political zone, he said: “ I don’t think we have got to that stage yet. The current furry is the kind of verbiage that is coming out from there. It is a bit violent. If you read the social media and hear them on their radio and their television, it is a bit worrisome.”