₦airaland Forum

THE Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has explained that the looted fund recovered so far by government is a far cry from what the country needs to revive the economy.








The minister said this on Friday when he appeared on a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja.


According to him, the amount of money recovered is always being made public.


“What we have recovered and if my record is right is about N78 billion, and 3 million dollars.


“We have been able to block various accounts in which about 9 billion dollar is found but those are not money available to us because we are still in court over them.


“The government spends N165 billion every month to pay federal civil servants, even what has been so far recovered will not even pay 50 per cent of the salaries in a month.’’


Mr. Mohammed assured Nigerians that every penny recovered will be judiciously spent and nobody could re-loot what had been recovered under the administration.


The minister further explained that Nigerians should understand that what had been recovered was so little compared to what the people needed on a continuous basis.


On budget release, he recalled that the Federal Ministry of Finance released N400 billion for capital projects, mostly on roads, railway, and power.


“N400 billion seems a lot, but you must also understand that for three or four years contractors were not paid.


“So, when we paid this money to contractors, they also use part of it to settle their own debt, they use part of it to recall laid off staff.


“But the truth of the matter is that many of them have been paid, they are yet to mobilise to site and they cannot do so until the rains are over.


Mr. Mohammed said what the government owed the contractors was about N2trillion.


PDP’s call for Buhari’s resignation a huge joke


The Minister also said the call for resignation of President Muhammadu Buhari by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the economy is “preposterous”.


Mr. Mohammed said “it is very painful in a situation where the armed robber is now the one sympathising with the victim.


“I read in the dailies that the PDP said that the president must resign because of the economy.


“While we are not going to indulge in blame game, I think we should also be honest enough to admit that we will not have been where we are today if they had done what they ought to do.


“For the party to ask the president to resign is just a big joke.”


The minister said though the government was not interested in blame game, it was important to set the records straight.


He said that “agree that Nigeria is not the only country hit by the recession and crash in price of crude, but other countries made savings.



“Saudi Arabia today has about 600 billion dollars in reserve and this is by planning and saving for the future which the past administration failed to do during surplus.


“This is not about blaming other administration, but we believe that one should be honest when criticising.”


Mr. Mohammed assured that the Federal Government would do everything possible to bring the country out of the economic situation.


The PDP new Media Director, Deji Adeyanju, had in a statement in Abuja, asked the president to resign “for destroying” the economy.


Mr. Adeyanju was reacting to the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) issued on Wednesday which stated that Nigeria was in recession.

THE Rivers State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has hailed the revolution in the rail sector engendered by the Muhammadu Buhari Administration through the Ministry of Transportation ably led by Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi. The party in a statement signed by the State Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, expressed the hope that the Administration would in time fully revive and reposition the transportation sector as well as the entire Nigerian economy.








The commendation came ahead of the signing, on Thursday by the Federal Government, of contracts for the Port Harcourt – Calabar coastal rail line project expected to be completed in 2018 and the impending signing of contracts for the Kano – Kaduna railway project before the end of the week. 
 
“We heartily congratulate the Muhammadu Buhari Administration for this revolution which it is executing through the Ministry of Transportation headed by our Leader, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi. We are convinced that this is just the beginning of greater things to come from the Ministry and the Buhari Administration,” Rivers APC said in the statement issued on Thursday in Port Harcourt.
 
It noted that the Kaduna – Abuja railway earlier commissioned by the Buhari Administration has already created 700 jobs, while the Lagos – Ibadan railway project will start before the end of the year, and will be completed in two years time. “If this is not revolution then we will like to know what revolution is. Truly, we have moved away from the PDP corruption economy to production economy,” the party said.


Rivers APC expressed happiness that Amaechi has taken his revolutionary trends to the national level and reassured Nigerians that they will witness greater feats before the end of the Buhari Administration. “The feats of Amaechi in Rivers State speak volumes and we are happy that he has not disappointed us and the entire country. We congratulate President Buhari not only for his faith in Amaechi but also for giving him the conducive environment to operate and achieve all these feats,” the party said.


It also congratulated Nigerians on the discovery of high grade nickel in Kaduna State, describing it as “a major discovery for the Ministry of Solid Minerals, which is also planning to start the production of iron ore, lead, zinc, bitumen, coal, and gold in the next two to five years. The diversification effort is already gathering pace.”


Rivers APC urged Nigerians to continue to have faith in APC and President Buhari to turn around the fortunes of our country and not to be not be overwhelmed by the present economic challenges, which the party described as temporary.

THE #BringBackOurGirls​ group​ has rescheduled its rally to the ​p​residential ​villa, Abuja​, till Tuesday.








The march was billed for Friday, but the group said postponing it will allow Muslim members ​attend Juma’at prayers.


​The group is campaigning for the release of over 200 schoolgirls abducted by the extremist group, Boko Haram, in 2014.


The ​new round of protest march began August 23 after Boko Haram released a video indicating the girls were alive.


The group said it would only exchange the girls for their members detained by the government across the country.


Although President Muhammadu Buhari said he would be willing to concede to the demand, the BringBackOurGirls group says the government has not done enough to rescue the girls.


After the release of the last video, the group vowed to march to the presidential villa every 72 hours until the government makes clear what steps it was taking to get the girls back.


Security operatives were seen at the Unity Fountain venue of the BBOG sit-out ​on Friday.

Full statement by Abdulmumin Jibrin over the press conference addressed by nine members of the Appropriation Committee of the House of Representatives

All the accusations they leveled against me are not in any way different from the bunch of lies contained in the shameless statement released by Speaker Dogara and the 3 other principal officers through Hon Namdas which I have fully provided response to. But to prove my innocence, I have resolved that I will respond to any accusation or allegation leveled against me, unlike the corrupt Speaker Dogara, who rather than respond to the 25 allegations I leveled against him and others, has resorted to use legal gimmicks to stall the allegations. Mr Speaker, you cannot sweep such hefty allegations under the carpet. You think Nigerians are not watching?
First, only 9 out of the 40 appropriation committee members agreed to participate in such a dishonorable press conference after shamelessly collecting $20,000 each distributed to them two days ago at the Speaker’s residence by his Deputy Chief of staff Hon CID Maduabum. My same Deputy Hon Chris Azubogu (you will remember his history with Hon Hembe in the 7th Assembly) who was used to organize the press conference was clearly on camera almost crying at the press conference where I announced my resignation. It took a couple of minutes before I could calm him down, get him seated for me to commence the event. See attached documents showing his greedy demands for insertions 111 projects into the budget which I turned down. You can imagine the pressure I went through. The 9 of them are a disgrace to their constituents.

On the lies that I never conferred with committee members or excluded them, here is the fact. The members of appropriation committee were fully carried along except those periods that the Quartet of Speaker Dogara and others took away the entire secretariat from me. When the appropriation bill passes second reading and is referred to the appropriation committee, a meeting with standing committee chairmen, their deputies and principal officers is usually held to discuss the guidelines for the committee work. We held that meeting on Wednesday January 27th 2016 With Mr Speaker in attendance. (see attached for document showing agenda of meeting and guide lines provided to standing committees).

The 40 members of the appropriation committee are grouped into sub-committees and allocated a number of standing committees to supervise. Their role is so important such that they must first agree with the report of the various standing committees they supervised before the report of such committees are considered, deliberated and adopted by the appropriation committee. The implication of that process is that every member participated and endorsed the reports. God so kind, the entire session was recorded publicly. I will release the videos so that my Hon colleagues and the general public will see videos of appropriation members in action. And the 9 members of the appropriation committee with short memory will be reminded.

No report of a standing committee of the house was received without the approval of members of appropriation committee. See attached for document showing full list of members of appropriation committee, distribution into sub committees, secretary of each subcommittee, contacts and meeting rooms. Interestingly, the distribution and allocations was done by this same Deputy chairman of mine! Where is his honour?

Again they tried to drag the entire house and body of principal officers into this matter. I have stated categorically clear several times that my allegations are not against the House as an institution or the entire body of principal officers but specifically on Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Deputy Speaker Yusuf Lasun, Whip Alhassan Doguwa and Minority Leader Leo Ogor and few other members.


It is also a blatant lie that I disappeared. I was always at home since we were on a short break. Even more shocking is the fact that my Deputy Hon Chris Azubogu who was regularly at my home during that period can go on national TV for a price of $20,000 to tell such shameful lies. Well, CCTV don’t tell lies. The period that my colleagues didn’t see me was the two occasions that Speaker Dogara and the others took away my secretariat. At least, now you know that your budget was with Mr Speaker not me.

On the issue of pressure by members against me, I have explained that countless times. Who can blame them when they do not have the facts of the matter. All they know and hear is Hon Jibrin. This is in addition to a well-orchestrated blackmail by Speaker Dogara and his cohorts to spread false hood and effectively block me from briefing members. The conspiracy of silence by the few committee chairmen who are culprits didn’t help my case. Well, now the whole members are getting to know what transpired.
The contradictions in all your statements are too much. Here you are talking about sack. What do we believe after the Speaker first admitted that I resigned? Again, on one hand you say Hon Jibrin padded the budget, on the other hand you say nothing like padding in the entire budget. Which do you want us to believe? Yes we have complete powers of appropriation but the intention of the constitution is not to say you should exercise that power in a senseless manner, okay?

The mother of all contradiction, is when you said no breach was committed so there must not be any external probe but internal. So if there has been no breach what so ever in the budget process, why are you accusing me of committing so many offence in that regard? And what do you intend to probe internally?

My dear colleagues, you all know me very well and my bluntness and anti-corruption stance in the House. We will all die and meet our God. Feel free to play politics but remember posterity will judge.

I urge you all to join hands and do the Honourable thing by asking Speaker Yakubu Dogara and the 3 other principal officers to reconvene the House and step down with immediate effect to face prosecution. They have all lost the moral grounds to call themselves presiding and principal officers of the House. The more they cling on to power, the further the image of the House will be battered.

I wish to inform you that I have officially approached the EFFC and the ICPC to come in and decisively deal with this matter and other corruption cases in the House. Kindly note that the allegations must be externally investigated.

This is a defining moment for the House of Representatives. It will never be business as usual.

Thank you

THE Leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by the Chairman of the National Caretaker Committee, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, CON has reacted to the Ruling of a Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday July 28, 2016, presided over by the controversial Judge, Justice Okon Abang describing it as objectionable, questionable and very strange to say the least in the history of Nigeria Judiciary.








The Party in a statement by its Spokesman, Prince Dayo Adeyeye declared that what Justice Okon Abang did today is to Seat on an Appeal over the Court of competent and coordinate jurisdiction and that’s what makes his Interlocutory Order very strange. The Judgment of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt was very clear that the National Caretaker Committee was duly constituted and recognized; and in line with that, the scheduled National Convention for August 17, 2016 still holds.


"We have just received information that Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja has granted an Order of Interlocutory Injunction stopping our scheduled National Convention in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, but we want to state that the Judgment of the 4th of July, 2016 supersedes any Ex-Parte Order or Interlocutory Injunctions. So, our National Convention will hold as scheduled in Port Harcourt, Rivers State" Prince Adeyeye said.


Let Nigerians recall the two former Judgments before the Port Harcourt Judgment, declared that Senator Sheriff is not qualified to be a National Chairman given that the PDP Constitution 2014 which he claimed brought him to power is not in existence and therefore, null and void.


The PDP wants Nigerians to know that Justice Okon Abang is deliberately engaging in acts of derailing the Country’s democracy given the fact that his Court is not an Appeal Court that can set aside any Judgment. He has penchant for abuse of court processes and actions of legal impunity. This Judge Nigerians will recall, issued Judgment against the Governor of Abia State that led to INEC re-issuing another Certificate of Return to a man who did not contest election thereby causing unnecessary hardship on the people of that State. He also issued an Order to INEC to recognize Senator Sheriff’s candidates in Edo and Ondo states before they could even plan their purported congress in Edo.


In today’s Case, this same Judge out rightly denied the PDP representation in Court which is unheard of by serving the Plaintiff (Sheriff & Co.) who instituted the Case also as PDP (defendants). His excesses are extremely absurd, strange and unbecoming of a Judge who enjoys putting the Judiciary on the spot. We therefore bring this matter before the highest level of Judiciary in the Country to stop this Judge forthwith from waging war against the PDP.


We are equally calling on Nigerians and the international community to compel Nigeria Judiciary to address Justice Abang’s excesses before he kills our hard earned democracy.


However, the Party is law abiding and therefore, will apply for Stay of Execution of this Order and also Appeal it.


Finally, the Party calls on all its members and teaming supporters nationwide to remain calm and law abiding and be rest assured that the PDP National Convention will hold as scheduled and all preparation towards the August 17, 2016 National Convention remains the same.

THE Niger Delta Avengers has revealed that the Federal Government is using the said Peace Talk purportedly going on as a delay tactics pending when it purchased drones from the United States will arrive.



The Avengers spokesman, Brig. Gen Mudoch Agbinibo, made the disclosure in statement yesterday.

“The NDA intelligence agency gathered that the said peace talk or dialogue by the federal government is  a delay tactic employed by the federal government, to enable their purchased drones that are said to arrive latest end of August from the United State.

This whole thing makes us to wonder what kind of country is this? We can all see that President Buhari led government is fraud. They are not serious about any dialogue and made it seems the Niger Delta Avengers are the ones not ready for dialogue," the statement said.

The NDA, further said despite government purchasing the drones, it won't stop them from bringing down the country's economy.

“Mr. President you can purchase all the drones in Europe and Untied State. It won’t stop the Niger Delta Avengers from bringing the country’s economy to zero.

“The worse you can do is to kill poor innocent people which the military is good at but know the Nigeria Economy will suffer. Also noted, you will not be able to export one litre of crude in the Niger Delta. Just intensify the oil exploration in the North East as for the ones in the Niger Delta forget about it because the Nigeria government won’t export a drop from our land,” the statement concluded.

STATE governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress have resolved to do all within their powers to ensure that Senator Ike Ekweremadu is removed as the Deputy President of the Senate.









This was the fallout of the two-hour meeting the governors had with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Tuesday, Punch reports.


The Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum and Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, had initially told State House correspondents at the end of the meeting that the governors had decided to intervene in the crisis in the National Assembly, without giving details of their intervention.


But a source at the meeting told ThePunch Newspapers that the consensus at the meeting was that it was an aberration for Ekweremadu, who is a Senator from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, to continue in office as Deputy President of the Senate.


The source stated, “The governors sympathised with the President (Buhari) for working with a National Assembly that is largely seen as unfriendly.


“Particularly, they observed that in the absence of the President of the Senate, the next person is his deputy. They therefore agreed that it was an anomalous situation for a PDP person to continue as the Deputy President of the Senate.


“They sought and got the President’s permission to intervene in the matter in their own way.


“They argued that the truth of the matter is that rarely is there any Senator that emerged without the backing of their governors, hence the governors have some levels of influence on the federal lawmakers.”


Okorocha had, on Monday, said Ekweremadu should get ready to vacate his seat as the Deputy Senate President.


Okorocha had added that a candidate of the APC, Benjamin Uwajumogu, who contested in the last Saturday’s rerun senatorial election in Imo State, would displace Ekweremadu as soon as he joined the Senate.


The governor had said, “The position of Senator Ike Ekweremadu as the Deputy Senate President is at the moment under heavy threat because in no distant time, the APC senator-in-waiting from Imo State, Benjamin Uwajumogu, will take over the seat on the grounds that it is an aberration that a PDP senator from the South-East is deputy to an APC Senate President because, before now, APC could not produce a Senator from the South-East zone.”


It was further learnt that Buhari at the meeting approved the release of N2bn each to all APC states.


Another source, who attended the meeting, said the decision was based on what happened during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.


The source claimed that Jonathan had, before leaving office, released N2bn each to the PDP states at the time from the Ecological Fund.


He was alleged to have exempted APC states and PDP states, whose governors were at loggerheads with him, from the gesture.


“That issue was brought to the President’s attention and he has ordered the release of N2bn each to the APC states that did not benefit during Jonathan’s administration,” the source said.


To further cushion the effects of the downturn in economy on the states, Buhari was also said to have, during the meeting, approved that 50 per cent of money spent by states on federal roads be released to them.


Okorocha had, while briefing State House correspondents after the governors’ meeting with Buhari, said the state governors from the ruling party were concerned about the incessant happenings in the National Assembly and had resolved to look into the matter.


The two chambers of the National Assembly have continued to witness crisis since inception following the emergence of leaders, who were not the preferred candidates of the ruling party, the APC.


Crisis is currently brewing in the House of Representatives following an allegation by a former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin, who accused the leadership of the House of padding the 2016 budget to the tune of N40bn.


Okorocha added, “We have come to reassure Mr. President that the APC governors are solidly behind him in his fight against corruption; his fight against insurgents and all his laudable projects.


“We are concerned about the incessant happenings in the National Assembly and we have taken it upon ourselves to look into the matter; that is the crisis in the National Assembly.


“We are going to look into the matter because we need a strong and vibrant National Assembly to make things move fast in the country.”


Okorocha defended the recent decision of the Nigeria Governors Forum for six state governors to travel to Germany for what they called “vocational training.”


“There is nothing like jamboree trip. We are going to Germany because we cannot do everything here without exchanging ideas. Everything you do in your home and your business, you share ideas.


“So, we want to see how they have done what they have done to succeed. It is the aspiration of Nigeria to be like other countries of the world,” he said.


When asked if the trip would be funded by states, some of who owed workers’ salaries, Okorocha responded, “So, who will fund it, you!?”


Despite the continued hardship in the states, the governor stated that a lot of improvement had been recorded in some states.


He noted that what the states were getting from the Federation Account was close to what they were collecting when crude oil was selling above $100 per barrel.


Other governors, who attended the meeting, included those of Kaduna, Kwara, Zamfara, Benue, Kano, Sokoto, Plateau, Niger, Ogun, Borno, Osun, Edo, Kogi, Adamawa, Nasarawa and Kebbi.


The meeting was also attended by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal; and the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, among others.


Ekeweremadu, however, declined to speak on the plans being hatched by the APC governors to remove him as the Deputy Senate President.


One of his aides, who was contacted by one of our correspondents on Tuesday night, said he had no comments until he was well informed on the matter.

Lalasticlala, mynd44

According to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) zoning arrangement‎, the media aide of Ekiti State Governor, Lere Olayinka has lost his ambition of becoming the party's mouth piece.


‎

THE Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has stated that it will continue to declare elections in the country inconclusive until votes from every polling unit is accounted for.








According to INEC Chairman Prof. Mahood Yakubu “the concept of inconclusive election is that every polling unit must be accounted for”.


“It is most regrettable that aside sponsoring violence, ballot snatching, mutilation of election results and other vices, politician are also trying to take over election in the field.


He said elections in Nigeria has become “too tight and keenly contested”, such that the commission can no longer declare anybody winner when result from even a single polling unit is cancelled.


He also insisted that politicians should be blamed for the recurring cases of inconclusive elections in the country.


He spoke at a dialogue session between INEC and over 60 Civil Society Groups monitoring elections in the country. He was represented at the event by INEC National Commissioner, Mrs. Amina Zakari.

THIRTY former Governors may be in fresh troubles ahead as the Federal Government through the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abukakar Malami, is set to reopen corruption cases for which they were earlier investigated by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission.








Quoting an ICPC sources on Monday Punch Newspapers reveal that the commission had, last week, received a letter from the office of the AGF, giving the anti-graft agency a directive to that effect.


Some of the ex-governors, according to one of the sources, include some, who had been convicted for charges preferred against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.


Others are currently undergoing trial on charges initiated against them by the EFCC at either the various divisions of the Federal High Court or the High Courts of their home states.


There are about five of the former governors, who are now serving senators.


Some of them had served as senators after completing two terms as governors.


The sources did not disclose the names of those on the list so as not to bungle further investigations where necessary.


The affected personalities, it was learnt, served as governors for either one or two terms between 1999 and 2015, and are from all the six geopolitical zones in the country.


It was also confirmed that majority of those on the list belonged to the two dominant political parties, the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party.


Another source, however, confirmed that a former Governor of Delta State, James Ibori, who was convicted in the United Kingdom for fraud-related charges and still serving his prison terms, was on the list.


Apart from Ibori, two former governors from the South-South, are said to be on the list.


Five of the former governors are from the South-East, and three from the South-West.


It was gathered that the ex-governors, whose cases would be reopened, included six from the North-West; six from the North-East, and eight from the North-Central.


Part of the AGF’s letter indicated that the cases against some of the former governors had been investigated some years ago but charges were never filed against them.


The letter partly  read, “It is clear that some of these governors and other politically-exposed persons have not been charged to court despite the fact that the ICPC has concluded their investigations concerning allegations levelled against them for one reason or the other.


“It is the position of the present administration that all ex-governors that the ICPC had long concluded investigations into the various allegations levelled against them should be immediately prosecuted.”


The letter also gave the Chairman of the ICPC a 14-day ultimatum to “remit the duplicate case files concerning the politically-exposed persons investigated by the ICPC over the years” to the office of the AGF.


The letter indicated that this was in the exercise of the powers vested in the AGF by Section 174(1) of the Constitution as well as sections 105 (3) and 106 (a) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.


The AGF’s letter also requested files of other high-profile cases involving politically-exposed persons.


The AGF letter defines high-profile cases as cases “involving alleged misconduct amounting to economic sabotage; involving complex financial transactions or property movement; involving any of the suspects, who is a politician, a public officer or judicial officer; and where the subject matter involves government or corruption of its official or involves the abuse of office.”


Such judiciary officers, it was learnt, would include judges allegedly involved in economic sabotage, including financial transactions.


It could not be confirmed on Monday whether the AGF’s office had received any response from the ICPC regarding the request.


The Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the AGF, Mr. Salihu Isah, could not be reached on Monday as his telephone line indicated that it was switched off.

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has said he will not hesitate to prosecute party loyalists and those who supported his Presidency bid during the 2015 presidential election if any of them was involved in corrupt practices.





[img]http://.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/buhari-4.jpg[/img]


He also said that some unnamed persons pressurised him to contest the 2015 presidential election which he won.


He said the pressure mounted on him was too enormous that he could not resist it.


Buhari spoke in an interview he granted a magazine, The Interview.


Buhari, while faulting claims that he had been sparing those who sponsored his campaigns and members of his All Progressives Congress in his ongoing anti-corruption war, said he would come down hard on any of his backers that cases of corruption could be established against.


The President said, “Do you just grab people along the road and take them off to court for trial just because you want to create a semblance of balance?


“First, there has to be an accusation which must be properly investigated, and when a prima facie case has been built, you prosecute.


“If any of my backers or party (APC) members has anything established against them, let’s see whether I will shield anyone from prosecution.


“There seems to be a preponderance of the People Democratic Party members standing trial because they had been in power for 16 years, they had access to the public treasury and abused the trust reposed in them.


“You can be assured that anybody caught in corruption will answer for it irrespective of party, tribe or religion.”


He said those who pressurised him did so because of their belief that he was in good stead to rescue the nation which he said was falling apart at the time.


He said, “You will recall that shortly before the 2011 presidential election, I had said it was the last time I would offer myself for elective position and I meant it, but the following years, we saw our country virtually falling apart on all fronts.


“People felt a rescue exercise was necessary and a large number believed I could do it.


“They made overtures to me and the pressure was so enormous that I could not say no. As they say, the rest is history. “


Responding to criticism that his administration had been slow, Buhari said there was no wisdom in rushing things.


He said anybody who rushed things would end up with avoidable mistakes and regrets.


“There is still a lot of wisdom in the saying, ‘slow and steady wins the race.’


“If they say we are slow, do they also say we are steady?


“Then, it means we will win the race eventually.


“There is no wisdom in being in a rush and messing up everything. You will make avoidable mistakes and end up with a lot of regrets,” he said.


Buhari also said he would wait for the advice of the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), on whether to prosecute those who voluntarily returned looted funds or not.


“We will note the recommendation of the Attorney General of the Federation. We do not want to deliberately disgrace people. All we want is public money back,” he explained.


The President also justified his allocation of three ministries to the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), saying the man did well as Lagos State governor.


“The economic realities demanded that we merge ministries and we did.


“Putting three critical ministries under one man was determined by the ability to perform.


“This is a man who had ruled a state excellently for eight years and as they say, the reward for hard work is more work,” he said.

Henry Ebireri, the Chief Press Secretary to Monday Igbuya, the Speaker of Delta State House of Assembly, has further refuted reports alleged rapist, John Olose, is an aide to the Speaker.

In a new twist to the tale, Ebireri alleged Olose was a “committed” member of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“He is not a political aide to the Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly. The political aides of the Rt. Hon Speaker are highly responsible people. The Office of the Speaker is staffed by professionals,” insisted Ebireri.

He thus advised the public to disregard the news story by a media publication linking the embattled politician to the office of the Speaker.

Ebireri said the alleged criminal action of Olose should not imputed on Ibuya for the mere fact he is representing Sapele State Constituency in the Delta State House of Assembly.

He said that would be “standing the law on its apex.

Ebireri said the media publication had deliberately and repeatedly misinformed the public concerning issues affecting the Delta State House of Assembly and the person of the Speaker.

THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Friday released a former Deputy Governor of Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore, after 19 days in detention.



It was learnt that Omisore was released on bail by the commission after meeting his bail conditions.

The former deputy governor, who was declared wanted by the EFCC in May, was arrested on July 3, 2016 after N1.310bn was traced to the accounts of five companies allegedly belonging to him.

The money was said to be part of the N4.7bn allegedly disbursed by a former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro and his two sons, Gbolahan and Babajide.

The N4.7bn was said to have emanated from the account of the Office of the National Security Adviser in 2014 and then transferred to the Diamond Bank account of Sylvan McNamara, a company in which Obanikoro’s sons are the signatories to its bank account.

Omisore allegedly received the funds in four tranches from Sylvan McNamara between July and August 2014, a few weeks before the Osun State governorship election which he lost.

A document detailing the transaction showed that the money was paid into accounts of three companies allegedly belonging to Omisore.

A detective at the anti-graft agency explained, “On July 9, 2014, N150m was paid into the bank account of Sawanara at First Bank. On August 1, 2014, N300m was paid into Sawanara Limited.

“On August 8, 2014, about N160m was paid into the bank account of Fimex Gilt Limited domiciled at UBA. On the day of the election, August 9, 2014, N350m was paid into the First Bank account of Metropolitan Consortium.”

Omisore had, however, denied receiving any money from the ONSA.

The former deputy governor had also sued the EFCC for N10bn and prayed a Federal High Court in Abuja to grant him an order of perpetual injunction restraining the “defendants (EFCC) either by themselves, their agents, officers, servants, privies or otherwise however called from making such or similar defamatory publication of and concerning the plaintiff (Omisore) to any person or persons.”

Meanwhile, it was learnt that the anti-graft agency will soon charge Omisore alongside Mr. Abiodun Agbele, an aide to Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State.

Agbele is alleged to have received N1.219bn from Obanikoro on behalf of Fayose during the build-up to the June 21, 2014 governorship election in Ekiti State.

A source at the EFCC said, “We have already started putting the charges together because we have virtually completed investigations and we are lining up witnesses against them. They will be charged for fraud very soon.”

The Comptroller General of Customs, Hamid Ali, a well known ally of President Muhammadu Buhari, was spotted on Tuesday flying first class on British Airways flight from London to Abuja, in clear violation of President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive banning public officials from flying first class.
The BA flight BA83 which took off from Gate 43 of Heathrow Terminal 5, London, on Tuesday, nearly an hour behind its scheduled 10.43pm departure time, arrived the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Wednesday morning at about 5a.m, with Mr. Ali on board.
The reasons for Mr. Ali’s travel to London remained unknown as at the time of publishing this report, but customs insiders said the trip was official.
Several passengers on the flight told PREMIUM TIMES they saw Mr. Ali seated in the First Class compartment of the aircraft during the flight.
“It was a major talking point among some passengers whether the policy (barring public officials from flying first class) is being implemented with exceptions or whether it is meant for the shelves,” one passenger on the flight told this newspaper.
There were notable Nigerians on board and a number of them confirmed to this newspaper that the customs comptroller-general was in the first class cabin of the aircraft during the flight.
A first class ticket to and from London costs $11,423.23 (about N3.4million).
Besides being a close friend of Mr. Buhari, Mr. Ali, a retired army colonel, is a man seen by many Nigerian as frugal and incorruptible.


When PREMIUM TIMES contacted the customs spokesperson, Wale Adeniyi, on Thursday, he confirmed Mr. Ali was on the BA flight, but that he travelled on a business class ticket.
Mr. Adeniyi was not on the flight, and he responded to our reporter’s enquiry without checking with Mr. Ali.
But our sources, some of whom travelled business class, said Mr. Adeniyi’s claim was inaccurate.
“That is not true,” one passenger said. “I was on business class, and I was awake most of the flight. So if you line up those on business class during that flight, I can identify them.”
President Buhari had in April caused the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, to issue a circular to all government agencies barring top officials from travelling first class.
The measure was to cut the high cost of travelling by public officials, Mrs. Adeosun said.
The minister said even travels with Business Class tickets remained strictly restricted to only ministers, permanent secretaries, chairmen of Federal Government committees as well as chairmen and chief executives of parastatals and agencies.
That means other categories of government officials, including directors and special assistants, are to travel on economy tickets.
Mrs. Adeosun said the measure was part of the recommendations by the Efficiency Unit of her ministry to cut travel expenditure by about 20 per cent.
The recommendations were as a result of the review of the provisions of some extant government circulars on overhead expenses on official travels, the minister said.
The review was carried out in collaboration with the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF).
Administration insiders said the appointment letter issued to Mr. Ali by the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation indicated clearly that he could only fly on business class tickets.
It however remained unclear Friday how the Ministry of Finance is monitoring and enforcing compliance with the circular on travel expenses by officials.

THE Court of Appeal, Makurdi Division on Friday upheld the election of David Mark as the senator representing Benue South Senatorial District in the February 20 rerun legislative election.



Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Obande Ogunya affirmed the judgment of the tribunal, which dismissed the petition of Daniel Onjeh of the All Progressives Congress against the former Senate president.

Ogunya made it clear that the lower tribunal was right to have struck out Onjeh’s petition for being statute barred.

According to him, the Interpretation Act cannot apply in this case due to sui generis nature of election matters.

He explained that the 21 days allocated to a petitioner to file his case started counting from the date of declaration of results.

The judge, Justice Oyebisi Omoleye, and a member of the panel, Justice Cecilia Jumbo, both agreed with the lead judgment read by Ogunya and accordingly disallowed the appeal.

Onjeh had earlier filed a fresh petition before the tribunal asking for his declaration as the winner of the poll instead of Mark, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party.

But the tribunal, Chaired by Justice Abdullahi Sanya, struck out the petition on June 30 for being filed out of time.

Reacting to the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Onjeh expressed disappointment, but stated he would accept it in good faith since legislative matters could not go beyond the Court of Appeal.

FOREMOST Ijaw youth organization, the Ijaw Youth Council has said President Muhammadu Buhari was deceiving Nigerians and the international community about being in talks with Niger Delta militants.



President Buhari had on Thursday said his government was negotiating with Niger Delta militants through International Oil Companies and law enforcement agencies.

He spoke during a farewell audience with Michael Zinner, outgoing German Ambassador to Nigeria.

Reacting to the position of Buhari, IYC’s spokesman, Eric Omare, said it was ridiculous and laughable for the President to claim the government was in talk with the militants through the IOCs.

The IYC said the action of the government amounts to surrounding the sovereignty of Nigeria to IOCs
.
The group expressed concern that with the development, the Buhari administration may have returned Nigeria to pre-colonial and independence Royal Niger Company days where international companies governed Nigeria.

The statement said: “The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) worldwide says that President Buhari and the federal government of Nigeria should stop deceiving Nigerians and the international community about talks with Niger Delta militants on how to stop attacks on oil facilities in the Niger Delta region.

“It is highly ridiculous and laughable for President Buhari to say that his government is negotiating with Niger Delta militants through oil companies and law enforcement agencies during the farewell audience with Mr. Michael Zinner, the outgoing Ambassador to Germany on Thursday, the 21st of July, 2016.

“It is even embarrassing for the President of an independent nation such as Nigeria to say that it is oil companies that are negotiating for peace with Niger Delta agitators which in effect amounts to surrounding the sovereignty of Nigeria to international oil companies.

“The IYC wonder if Nigeria is back to the pre-colonial and independence Royal Niger Company days where international companies govern Nigeria.

“The point must be made that the issues at stake are completely beyond the capacity of oil companies to resolve.

“For the umpteenth time, the IYC call on the Aides and Advisers to President Buhari to properly advise him on how to solve the current hostilities in the Niger Delta region and equally display a determination to resolve the problem as his predecessors did.

“Only a sincere and holistic dialogue with the people of the Niger Delta region which is aimed at addressing the remote causes of recurrent militancy can bring permanent peace to the Niger Delta region.

“This can only happen when President Buhari as the political leader of Nigeria come down to the negotiation table.”

THE Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), says on Thursday it distributed the sum of N559.032 billion to the three tiers of government. This makes it highest allocation since the APC led administration of President Muhammadu Buhari took over power 12 months ago.



The Excess Crude Account (ECA) has also increased from $2.61b to $3.094 billion.

Minister of Finance and Chairman of FAAC, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, who chaired the meeting said that the gross statutory revenue of N538.788 billion received for the month was higher than the N237.466 billion received in the previous month by N301.322 billion.

She attributed the improvement in the revenue to the non oil sector especially the Federal Inland revenue (FIRS) which she said has increased its collection by N165 billion as well as the Nigerian Customs Service.

Giving the breakdown of the distributed figures, the Federal Government received a total of N209.46 billion inclusive of its 52.68 percent and 15 percent Value Added Tax (VAT).

The State government received a total sum of N133.671 billion VAT inclusive while the Local Government Councils got the sum of N100.759 billion VAT inclusive.

According to the Minister, Crude oil export volume increased by 1.9 million barrels in March, 2016 despite the subsisting Force majeure declared at Forcados Terminal, Shut-in and Shut down of pipelines at other terminals due to leakages, vandalism and turn around maintenance.

The average price of crude oil increased from $32.26 in February to $38.64 in March, 2016 resulting in $92.99 million increase in Federal Export Revenue.

There was an outstanding increase in Companies income Tax (CIT) and Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) with complementary increase in Import Duty and royalties.

The sum of N6.330 billion was refunded by NNPC to Federal Government of Nigeria, while N9.923 billion Solid Mineral Revenue generated from 2007 to 2014 was also distributed.

Also there was exchange gain of N79.272 billion which was proposed for distribution.

ANTI-CORRUPTION Czar, Nuhu Ribadu has returned to the All Progressives Congress (APC).


The former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman got a letter from Adamawa State chapter of the party seeking his return to the party.

He is going to be readmitted with a former governorship candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria( ACN ) in the state, Mr. Marcus Gundiri, with their supporters.

But former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, Adamawa State Governor Jibrilla Bindow, and two others have protested to National Chairman John Odigie-Oyegun and the National Working Committee (NWC) against Ribadu’s return.

The APC leadership told Atiku, the governor and others that the constitution allows an individual to join a party of his choice.

Once a state chapter of the party is receptive to anyone’s membership, there is a limit to which the National Headquarters can do, they were told.

Ribadu accepted to return to APC following overtures from the leaders of APC at the national level, ex-Governor Murtala Nyako, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation Babachir David Lawal, the state and local government chapters of the party.

A June 22, 2016 letter by the Adamawa State chapter, signed by the Acting State Secretary, Alh. Saidu Naira invited Ribadu back to the party.

The letter reads: “We the entire APC Adamawa State chapter wish to invite you back to your “Home party”, APC.

“Given your track records and progressive nature, we strongly believe APC is where you belong to.

“We are also mindful of the efforts and contributions you made during the merger without which the merger would have been difficult.

“To this end, we reaffirm our request for you to come home to APC and assist and contribute to the success of the APC government both at the state and national levels.”

A party source said: “We decided to invite Ribadu to return to APC because he was frustrated out by some PDP elements who defected to our party during the merger and countdown to 2015 elections.

“Ribadu did so much for APC in Adamawa State but the setback which made him to go to PDP was frustration following a disagreement with some of our leaders, like ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar, on the impeachment of ex-Governor Murtala Nyako. Ribadu worked tirelessly to save Nyako from impeachment but our leaders paid lip service and stoked the fire which made ex-Speaker Umar Fintiri to remove the former governor.

“The insincerity of APC leaders in the state made Ribadu to defect to PDP against his own volition. So, he left APC as a result of local politics. It was a state affair but today things have changed.

“When Ribadu was pushed to the wall, he had no choice than to pitch tent with the PDP which needed a credible candidate. Ribadu was frustrated out of APC for being a true party man to save Nyako.

“And the PDP elements, who joined APC, were uncomfortable with the anti-corruption stance of Ribadu and his acceptance in the party. So, it was convenient to hatch a plot to kick him out of the party.

“Today Nyako is vindicated and Umar Fintiri is under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission( EFCC).

“We are now out to correct the past by asking him to return to APC because Nyako has been vindicated. The court said his removal was wrong. Ribadu has also been justified because he insisted that Nyako was a victim of political vendetta and abuse of power. Nyako is back.

“We have realised that we have all wronged Ribadu. We want him back.”

Asked if Ribadu has accepted the offer, the source said: “He has agreed to return to our fold. We are all happy with him.”

Atiku, Bindow, the Secretary to the Adamawa State Government and the Chief of Staff on Monday protested to John Odigie-Oyegun and the NWC.

The four-man delegation met with Odigie-Oyegun and his team.

It was all about Ribadu, a source said.

The source, a member of the NWC, said: “We were all shocked that the ex-VP came with the governor and two others to prevail on the leadership of the party not to readmit Ribadu into APC.

“They spoke of the need for party discipline since Ribadu contested on PDP platform against Bindow. They said Ribadu’s coming back will spell doom for APC unity in the state.

“They all forgot that they were once in PDP too before defecting to APC. Bindow is a former PDP senator.

“Some of us spoke about added value which Ribadu can bring to our party as one of the brains behind the merger politics which led to the birth of APC.

“Contrary to their mission, the leadership at the national level and stakeholders are extremely excited about the return of Ribadu. He is a progressive in thinking and action. The APC needs his service. We became suspicious because no leader of APC at the state level followed them.

“At the end of the day, the party said constitutionally you cannot stop anybody from joining a party. We told the delegation that it is a state issue. If the state executives of APC accept Ribadu, we cannot reject him.

“We will however do our best to reconcile all members of the party, whether old or new. Our ultimate target is to keep the APC family united.”

It was also gathered that President Muhammadu Buhari’s supporters endorsed the return of Ribadu.

CONSTITUTIONALLY, these are steps on how to recall a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.








Section 69 of the 1999 Constitution provides 10 clear but tortuous steps on how a senator can be recalled from the Senate.


The steps are:


1 More than half of the registered voters in the Senator’s senatorial district write, sign and send a petition to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC alleging their loss of confidence in the senatorial


2 The petition must be signed, and arranged according to polling units, wards, Local Government Areas, and constituency.


3 INEC notifies the Senator sought to be recalled, stating that it has received a petition for his or her recall, if the petition is valid


4 INEC issues a public notice or announcement stating the date, time and location of the verification of signatures to the petition


5 INEC verifies the signatures to the petition at the designation. The signatories must be individuals who appear on the voters’ register.


6 INEC conducts a referendum if more than one half (50% + 1) of the signatories are verified


7 INEC writes to the petitioners stating that the minimum requirements for a referendum were not met, if the number verified is less than one half of the registered voters in that constituency. The petition will therefore be dismissed.


8 INEC conducts a referendum within 90 days of receipt of the petition if the minimum requirements for a referendum are met. The referendum will be a simple yes or no vote on whether the Senator should be recalled, and will be decided by simple majority of the votes of the persons registered to vote in that Senator’s constituency.


9 If majority of the voters in the constituency vote ‘yes’ the Chairman of the INEC will send a Certificate of Recall to the Senate President to effect the recall.


10 The Senate President will show affected senator the way out of the Senate.

THE Federal Government has denied it is probing  probing of oil swaps and crude oil lifting deals entered into by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation under the tenure of the Dr. Ibe Kachikwu as the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.








Kachikw combined the post of the GMD, NNPC with the post of Minister of State for Petroleum Resources until recently when President Muhammadu Buhari announced a new GMD and appointed Kachikwu to the position of Chairman of the NNPC.


Reports indicated that the Buhari presidency is prying into the deals entered into by the NNPC with the  international oil companies  and local oil cabals under Kachikwu.


But reports indicate that the IOCs and their local agents are mounting intense pressure on the administration to truncate the probe idea.


Sources indicate that the probe is centred on finding out why some of the companies involved in the different deals are companies discredited by the present government as having fraudulent deals with the past government, and why the NNPC cancelled the swap deals by the last government when the new government came to power, while claiming that  the deals were fraudulent only to re-engage some of the companies they claimed were corrupt.


 


But a statement  by Femi Adesina special adviser on media and publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari, on Tuesday, described the probe investigation as untrue.


According to the presidential spokesman, “reports, particularly by online media, that the immediate past Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), who is also Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, is being investigated over crude oil swap deals and gas liftings during his tenure as GMD of the petroleum corporation, President Buhari appealed for decent and civilized comments, particularly when it has to do with the integrity of those who are serving the country.


“Terrible and unfounded comments about other people’s integrity are not good. We are not going to spare anybody who soils his hands, but people should please wait till such individuals are indicted,” the President said.


He however reiterated President Buhari’s commitment to probity, accountability and integrity, stressing that transparency would remain “a watchword, which would never be trifled with”.

THE Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, today, July 19, apologised for the role it played in raising animosity within the Nigerian political space, saying it would henceforth concentrate on proffering useful solutions to the issues plaguing the country.




In a statement released by the party on Twitter, the PDP said the level of toxicity in the political space had led to drowning of otherwise patriotic conversations, in screams and shouts.

The PDP said the tension in the political space has also led to the burning of bridges, untold strain on personal relationships, and patriotic discussions on how to move the nation forwards, being overtaken by the same tension.

The party apologised for its role in building up the tension, promising to henceforth focus on providing cogent and competent solutions to the issues Nigeria faces.

Calling on its supporters to show more restraint and maturity, the PDP did not fail to mention that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari posses many flaws, and has failed in many aspects.

It ended the statement with a quote from President Abraham Lincoln of the United States, who said “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection”.

The party recently announced the reshuffling of the handlers of its social media handlers.

See the full statement below:

Good morning, Nigeria

We have noticed, with a growing sense of dismay, the level of toxicity that pervades the political space with respect to discussions on national issues.

This toxicity, some of which finds expression in discussions across social media platforms, has reached the level where bridges are being burnt, personal relationships are being strained and an unnecessary tension fills what should ordinarily be patriotic and enlightening conversations on how to move the nation forward.

We are dismayed that this tension has reached the level where the finer points of our national conversation are drowned out in shouts and screams across the political divide.

We accept responsibility and apologise for whatever role we have played in reaching this level of toxicity.

Henceforth, we commit to focusing only on the issues and proffering cogent and competent solutions to the issues facing the nation.

We urge our supporters and the believers in the ability of our party to provide these solutions, to henceforth show more restraint and maturity as we point out the many obvious flaws of this administration and proffer solutions and alternatives to their many failures.

We will end this admonition by quoting one of our favourite quotes from Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States of America.