₦airaland Forum

CJN on Court Of Appeal Conflicting judgements three weeks ago, any keen legal observer would have deduced the Supreme Court intended to correct these errors when the cases came to them. The Supreme Court is not interested in what's right or wrong but in interpreting the law based on the facts before it. The amended electoral act places the burden of proof squarely on the petitioner and not the respondents or INEC.
Kudos to the learned justices.

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, is not happy at alleged inconsistent decisions of the nation’s courts especially on election petitions.

The CJN is said to have taken note of   public complaints about contradicting decisions, particularly by divisions of the Court of Appeal, and fears the situation is capable of eroding public confidence in the Judiciary.

The CJN suggested to the Appeal Court to create “an internal law report for Justices to access either electronically or in print in order to reduce the avenue for conflict in its jurisprudence.”

He also drew the attention of Justices of the Court of Appeal to the suggestion made in 2008 by a retired Supreme Court Justice,  Niki Tobi, to the effect that “immediately a decision is given in one division, it should be sent to the other divisions without delay.”



Justice Mohammed spoke in Abuja last week at 2015 edition of the Annual Conference of the Court of Appeal.

The CJN argued that judges, being guardians of the law, “must not only be just, but also convey certainty in our justness.”

His words: “It bears reminding that the overriding objective of every legal system in the world is to do justice. However, this cannot be achieved where there is confusion as to the state of the law as pronounced by the court.

“As your lordships will agree, where an aggrieved person perceives, whether rightly or wrongly, that they will not receive justice, such a situation can indeed bode ill for the community in which he lives and can lead to acrimony and anarchy.

“We must not ignore the negative perception that is occasioned by conflicting judgments delivered at various divisions of the Court of Appeal.

“Such judicial contradictions only result in untold hardships to litigants in their quest for justice. They further cast your lordships in an unfavourable light and leave the judiciary at the mercy of inuendos, crass publications and editorials.”


http://thenationonlineng.net/cjn-unhappy-over-conflicting-decisions-by-appeal-court-divisions/

Excerpts from a 2013 Sun Profile of the man himself

He’s certainly not a short man, yet Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), renowned legal luminary and Pro-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, is amazingly down-to-earth.

Blessed with a successful career and a great family, (his wife, Lara, is an Offa princess while his four children are all lawyers), the Ikere-Ekiti born former president of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) is also a philanthropist. Many are those individuals, groups and institutions that have profited from his large-heartedness.

He’s not a social critic, but when he speaks, you cannot miss the profundity of his thoughts. He’s not one of those lawyers with the title, social critic. But one thing that is evident from his mien is that right now, Chief Olanipekun is angry.

We’re running an unhealthy system

Is he as angry as he looks today? “Yes, I am not comfortable with the situation of things in the country,” he admits. “We are running an unhealthy system. It is worrisome that Nigeria does not have a system; we are running people’s affairs like a game of chess. You practise whatever catches your fancy and impose it on the people. And bad enough, the constitution is in a terrible state of health.

“Where are the schools we attended? Where are the values that we keyed into? Where are the teachers, the role models? Where are the politicians? In secondary schools, we used to read the Hansard of the parliament. People like you might not know how fluent people like S.L. Akintola and Anthony Enahoro were. A lot of people would think that Akintola was only versatile in Yoruba. We were reading their Hansard. See how Awolowo would marshal his points, research-oriented, research-based. Are we improving? No. And yet you and I would come together and say that the fault is in our time but not in us. Yet we are the cause too.”

He has little faith in current attempts by the National Assembly to tinker with the 1999 constitution. “The effort will take us nowhere,” he asserts.

So what solution would he proffer?

“We have to sit down to chart a new course for our future. Let us forget about the contentious word, ‘sovereign’ and let us sit down to talk. We must not allow the disintegration of this polity.”

There are indeed, a number of issues that give Chief Olanipekun the jitters. He’s worried that most politicians in the country don’t seem particularly concerned about the country, seeking to feather their own nests at every opportunity while Nigeria plunges down the hill.

Groups without ideologies

“Do we have political parties,” he wonders. “All we have are groups without ideologies. I respect personalities, but the general run of the dramatis personae in our political arena today is there to capture power without any clear-cut intention to serve the people. The Federal Government would say they want to ‘capture’ Lagos. Party ‘A’ would say ‘we want to capture this state. Rather than argue based on facts and criticise, our politicians would be cursing themselves. It is disheartening that the word, ‘capture’ has assumed pre-eminence in our political lexicon. These are among the issues that have coalesced into an Albatross on our necks.”

He’s also not pleased that some governors have not been at their desks for months, forcing such states to remain helpless and directionless. “It is the height of irresponsibility,” he avers. “If you volunteer to throw your hat into the ring in a bid to serve your people, it is unequivocally irresponsible for you not to be at your seat for four months. The constitution makes it clear that for any political office especially, there shall not be a vacancy for a split second. Patrick Yakowa, the late Kaduna State governor died in that unfortunate crash. Even before his remains were taken to Kaduna, his deputy was sworn in because political offices, like nature, abhor a vacuum. And sad enough, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is urging us to sympathise with them. Why did they not say that during the case of Yar’Adua?”

State Houses of Assembly are lily-livered

He describes the Houses of Assembly in the states as toothless dogs that neither bark nor bite. “The National Assembly is far more independent than all the state Houses of Assembly combined,” he submits. “They are lily-livered. Many go into the assembly without any idea or ideology. All they need is a sponsor whose bidding they will get there to do.”

Judiciary has fared well

But in spite of what anyone might say, Chief Olanipekun would give the judiciary a pass mark, insisting that it has fared better than the other two arms. In his view, the judiciary is being overwhelmed by problems created by the other two arms. Noting that every election in Nigeria is contested by the losing party or candidate up till the Supreme Court, he informs that judiciary ultimately get overburdened.

He’s not amused at the statement credited to former President Obasanjo alleging corruption among some judges. He says such a statement should be investigated.

“I am a Yoruba man and Obasanjo is older than me. I am a boy to him, but the truth needs be told. In an ideal situation, Obasanjo would have been invited to come and name names and give instances. If he does so and the instances are investigated and corroborated, then, he would be charged and prosecuted for being an accomplice, an accessory, because he knew but did not report. Obasanjo should apologise to Nigeria and Nigerians.”

We’re not fighting corruption

The distinguished lawyer believes the nation is yet to start a real fight against corruption. According to him, so many accusations and counter accusations are going on, yet the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) isn’t saying a word.

“See what has been going on between Oby Ezekwesili and the Federal Government over our foreign reserve – stinking startling revelations of unbridled corruption. What is the EFCC doing? You don’t say you rely on activists or private prosecutor; you rely on the system to prosecute all corrupt people. Look at the third-term agenda of Obasanjo for which people are saying that money passed round; why are we not investigating it? Why are we trying to wish it away as if it never happened?”

[b]Why my clients are in all political parties

Chief Olanipekun’s clientele is spread across all the political parties. He’s one of the very few lawyers in the country that would be defending a Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) governor in Nasarawa against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yet he would be defending the PDP in Abuja against the CPC. He would defend an Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in the morning against the Federal Government, and two hours later, he would be holding brief for President Jonathan in a case instituted against him by some opposition party.

Even at the peak of the bile and bitterness that accompanied last year’s governorship election in Ondo State, the esteemed lawyer was very close to the leading personae in all the feuding political camps. Not a few people have wondered how he keeps such relationships going.

“A lawyer must be sure-footed and creative,” he explains. “He must be a doctor, a psychologist; he must be the melting pot of all the professions. Above all, he must be close to God and always ask for the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. Here, we employ knowledge and fidelity to law and what is good. And in any event, we don’t win all our cases; we lose some.

“The only CPC governor in Nigeria, I led the team for his defence in Nasarawa, from the Tribunal up to the Supreme Court. Yet, I was counsel to Jonathan against CPC. Despite that, CPC had confidence in me.

“The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and PDP are not the best of friends. On November 21, 2011, the Federal Government charged Bola Tinubu, the ACN national leader before the Code of Conduct Tribunal. I led his very formidable team to ask the Tribunal to discharge and acquit him. I finished my submission around 12.30 pm that day. By 2.30 pm same day, I was in the courtroom of the Court of Appeal in the same Abuja to join my colleagues on the leadership of the defence team of the Jonathan election petition. It was the same day; defending Tinubu in the morning and Jonathan in the afternoon. That is the joy of the profession.

“I heard from the rumour mill that some people went to tell Jonathan that Wole is Tinubu’s friend and so on, but Jonathan reportedly told them: ‘Leave Wole. I have implicit confidence in him; the man will never compromise your case.’

“Although I work for President Jonathan, I don’t go to Aso Rock; I’m not a contractor. Tinubu respects me and I respect him too."[/b]

Me and Mimiko

The lawyer also explains his special affinity with Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State. “He is not just my client, he’s my soul-mate. When my mother was alive, I would be in Ilorin, he would leave his town, Ondo, for my house at Ikere and my mother would cook for him. He is one of my few friends who have shared same bed with me. The process of Mimiko becoming governor started when both of us were commissioners in the old Ondo State in 1992/93. I constituted and led the team of his election petition four years ago. We have been that close. He respects me and he will dare not ask me about my association with Tinubu or others. I don’t do the politics of my clients; I handle my job uncompromisingly. For me, my career is a covenant. If I have chosen to handle a case for a Fulani man, whether or not he has paid, me, if I betray him, God will punish me. That is my attitude to my work. No matter how close we are, the day you abuse that relationship by asking me to drop a case for unethical reasons is the day you will see the reddish part of my eyes. We as lawyers must appreciate our calling as a covenant with God.”

Day I confronted Gowon

In his undergraduate days at the University of Ibadan, Chief Olanipekun was an activist. He recalled an encounter he had with the then Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon. “When we were students at the University of Lagos, I led a group of student activists to the University of Ibadan. That was on April 1st, 1974. We were going to Adekunle Adepeju burial ground at Molete area. We were chanting peaceful songs. Military must go, democracy we want! Then the police came and started throwing teargas at us. We retaliated by throwing pebbles at them. We were eventually rounded up and put in the Black Maria, about 20 of us. We were kept in the Black Maria for one night. From there, they took us to Iyaganku prison. But we were sending out letters and relating with pressmen. The National Union of Nigerian Students (NUNS) mounted national and international pressure that the police wanted to kill us. We were held in that prison form April 1 to April 28. Then General Gowon made a national broadcast to announce that he had given us a state pardon.

“Then, I led the University of Lagos students to Dodan Barracks to protest what he meant by state pardon. I confronted the head of state, General Gowon. I said, what do you mean by state pardon? And he said to me, ‘my boy, do you want to go back to where I put you? You enjoyed the place?’ Then we started talking, and he accommodated us. He listened to us. But when we were going, Gowon said, you young men, you protested against the NYSC that I introduced, and you are protesting again. Don’t you know that you are the leaders of tomorrow?’ He pointed to me and said. “You in particular, you will be great because of the courage with which you addressed me.’

“Years later, I was flying to Rivers to defend Gov. Donald Duke, and Gowon and I were on the same plane. I greeted him and he was just looking at me. After sometime, he said, ‘where did I know you?’ Then I reminded him. And he said, were you that boy I prayed for? And he said you have to come and pay me royalties.”

My encounter with OBJ

The former NBA president would also not forget an encounter with then President Obasanjo when he led a team of lawyers to Aso Villa. “Before we left for Abuja, my brother, Femi Falana called to caution me to be careful with how I addressed the president. I prayed and waited on the lord before I went there. And when we got there, Obasanjo said, Mr. President of the NBA, can we send out the press? But I said, ‘they can’t misquote me. I have a prepared speech.’ I began to read my speech. The first thing I said was that the condition of the police was deteriorating. I said we have to address the situation. Then Obasanjo said, where did you get your facts? He said, ‘the money I spent on the Nigerian Police Force, I didn’t spent up to that prosecuting the civil war.’ And I said, ‘Mr. President, are you General Gowon?’ I didn’t say more than that, because he wasn’t the head of state during the war. And at a point, the president got angry and was banging the table. And he was really furious. He was talking and talking. But I didn’t say a word. But when it was getting too long, I stood up and said, Mr. President, can we take our leave? I said, ‘I didn’t bring myself here, and I can’t be talking back at you. You are old enough to be my father, and you are my head of state. And I said sir, I am very sorry to say this, my parents never harassed me. I am not used to being harassed. Can we take our leave?’ Then, there was pin-drop silence. Debo Akande started nudging me. Then after sometime, Obasanjo calmed down and said, okay let us continue.

“I understand that when we left, he was asking, who elected that rascal as president of NBA? Then Kanu Agabi replied him and said, that is one of the most serious-minded, intelligent lawyers Nigeria has ever produced. He is not a rascal.”

Me run for Ekiti governor? Never?

Hundreds of people from all walks of life have benefitted from Chief Olanipekun’s large heart and deep pockets. Last December, he donated an exquisite, multi-million naira auditorium to the Faculty of Law, University of Ibadan. In his Ikere-Ekiti homestead, and indeed, across Ekiti state, thousands of students have benefited from his scholarship scheme, while he still pays the tuition of hundreds. Of late, the rumour mill has been agog with news that Olanipekun has his eyes on the Ekiti governor’s seat. Will he take a break from his legal practice for a shot at Oke Bareke?  He can hardly hide his anger.

“That is preposterous,” he says. “I can never nurse that aspiration owing to several reasons. I am a core professional and I’m committed to my calling. I will never do anything that will distract me or take me out of the sacred calling I have embraced to serve humanity. God has not called me to go into politics. I’m not among those who would say God has spoken to them to become governor or president.

“And as a Yoruba man, one has to respect oneself. Look at those who have been governor of the state. Niyi Adebayo and Ayo Fayose are in their early 50s. Segun Oni is in his mid-50s. Governor Fayemi is a young man. At 61, I should be a senior brother to them. I should be their counsellor, advising them, not competing with them.”

It’s more blessed to give than to receive

So, if he’s not interested in politics, why is he such a cheerful giver? He says giving is his own way of spreading the gospel of Christ. “The Bible says it’s more blessed to give than to receive,” he replies. “Every wealth belongs to God and God gives people money for a purpose – to contribute to making the society better. Today, if I get to the University of Ibadan where I’m Pro-Chancellor, I’m glad because God has used me to change the face and texture of governance there without taking a dime.

“I once received text messages from two law students. I never met them. All they said was that they were in the Law School and in dire need of their tuition fee. I contacted the authorities there and paid their fees into the school coffers. When they were through, they sent me messages again, praying for me. When I clocked 20 years at the Bar, I instituted an endowment fund for young lawyers, both in Lagos and Ilorin. These are aside from the scholarship that I instituted in my state 16 years back. I recall all these among many others to convince privileged Nigerians that selfishness is no virtue in the eyes of God. As for me, I have chosen the path of selflessness because I spend from God’s pocket; no going back because it is my own way of spreading the gospel.”

Happy, sad moments

What was his happiest moment? “I have a couple of them,” he responds. “The day I got married, when I had my first baby and the day I took the SAN. When I became a lawyer, I was looking up to the Rotimi Williams, Tunde Ajayi and  the Ibekwes. And we were seven when I took the wig, without knowing anybody. Four of us were from Ondo then. Nigeria was still a country where you got it on merit though it was under the military.

“My saddest moment was the day my mother died. We were having an NBA function in Osogbo when the message came that her condition was deteriorating. She was in one hospital in Akure. I dashed down and the doctor advised that we should take her to the University Teaching Hospital. I carried her to the hospital and the doctors were trying to assist. We took her to the theatre. She just beckoned to me and held me and looking at me, closed her eyes and passed on, in my hands.”

http://sunnewsonline.com/new/wole-olanipekun-though-i-work-for-jonathan-i-dont-go-to-aso-rock/
Lalasticlala, obinoscopy

I don't think any lawyer has argued major cases before the Supreme Court as much as this legal guru and he has a very impressive track record and he doesn't restrict himself to any party.
Today, He is representing both Ikpeazu(PDP) in the Abia gubernatorial case and Umana Umana(APC) in the Akwa Ibom case...
He also led Nyesom Wike's successful appeal.
He led Yar’Adua's legal team to successfully defend the flawed 2007 election winning a narrow 4-3 Supreme Court victory.
In 2011 he defended GEJ's victory at the Supreme Court......
He provided legal advice for Buhari et al during the certificate scandal and lead Tinubu's libel suit against AIT as well as led his team that quashed his CCT case.
MTN recently hired him to lead their team of lawyers challenging NCC's fine although the case is being settled out of court.

Can't think of a more adept lawyer in Nigeria today than Chief Wole Olanipekun(SAN),
His track record alone sends shivers down the spines of his opposing counsels and he reportedly commands a hefty fee.
Let's see how his Supreme Court cases go today.

CFCman:
It's next Tuesday

Oops...thanks
Who are you rooting for? Bernie I guess

nonsoroyalty:
trump is an official looser

He'll win NH, Iowa was always going to be close because of Ted Cruz's strength with Christian Conservatives

Donald Trump remains the favorite for the New Hampshire primary in 2 weeks

DES MOINES — Senator Ted Cruz of Texas prevailed in the Iowa caucuses on Monday, handing a humbling setback to Donald J. Trump, according to The Associated Press.

Mr. Cruz, a Tea Party favorite who built a strong operation in the state, stressed his conservative credentials as he sought support from Iowans who lean to the right, including Christian evangelicals.

His victory is a deflating moment for Mr. Trump, the billionaire real estate mogul, whose celebrity and showmanship have dominated the Republican race, but did not translate into overwhelming support from caucusgoers.
http://www.nytimes.com/live/iowa-caucus-2016-election/ted-cruz-wins-republican-caucuses-in-iowa-according-to-a-p/

The first Nigerian full rank General who wasn’t a military head of state.
For a man who was loyal to GEJ to fault, GEJ didn't stand by him when the hawks called for his removal and fired him.
Notably, he and Rotimi Amaechi were close friends and his firing accelerated the eventual fallout between GEJ and Amaechi.
Funny enough, the moment he left, GEJ's govt started to unravel.
RIP Gen Andrew Owoye Azazi.....the finest soldier to come out of the Niger Delta

Austerity beckons

Lalasticlala, obinoscopy, mynd_44

Mr Buhari won elections last year by promising to root out corruption and he has launched an aggressive crackdown since taking office, promising to recover “mind-boggling sums” he says were stolen under the watch of his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan. 

But the new government is also facing questions about its handling of the economy. Capital controls introduced last year have weighed on growth and the IMF has called for Mr Buhari to pursue alternatives. 

The central bank introduced the first controls before Mr Buhari took office last May, but many new measures have been imposed since and the president has repeatedly voiced his support for them. 

During a January visit Christine Lagarde, the IMF’s managing director, urged the government to allow the naira to trade more freely so that it could help absorb economic shocks. “It can also help avoid the need for costly foreign exchange restrictions, which we don’t really support," she said in an address to parliament.

Some see a growing case for outside help. Nigeria’s current economic troubles are “exactly the situation an IMF loan was created to deal with”, said John Ashbourne, economist at Capital Economics. Although Mr Buhari has promised reforms, they would take time to work and “getting money from abroad would help him do that”, he said.

But Mr Buhari and his government are likely to resist a full IMF rescue programme. The former military ruler butted heads with the IMF while leading the government in the 1980s and many observers believe he would be reluctant to invite the fund in again.

The World Bank loan would come as part of its “development policy” lending, which the bank uses to lend help to countries facing short-term financing difficulties. Such loans, known as “development policy operations”, often come alongside formal IMF bailouts, but they can also be independent of the IMF.

During the 2008-09 crisis the World Bank used such loans to help developing countries, including Nigeria. And because of the growing problems facing many commodity-producing emerging economies, bank officials say they are seeing demand rising again.
https://next.ft.com/content/aeb1a978-c832-11e5-be0b-b7ece4e953a0

Lalasticlala, obinoscopy

Saatah Nubari continues his 2016 Budget Analysis.
In the Eighth of the series, the budget for the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) is considered.
“Seeing the quagmire the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, has found himself in, we will do good to pay attention to this particular agency and see if anything really “Changed” from what we had in the past.”
OFFICE OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER
The agencies/institutions that can be found under the Office of the National Security Adviser are as follows: National Security Adviser, Directorate of State Security Service, National Intelligence Agency, and the Presidential Air Fleets (State House).  The total allocation to the Office of the National Security Adviser is 90,350,068,052; 57,730,068,052 is for “Recurrent Expenditure” while 32,620,000,000 is for “Capital Expenditure.” 
Analysis below:
7,180,489 will be spent on “Subscription to Professional Bodies.” What “Professional Bodies” does the Office of the National Security Adviser belong to? I don’t know of any.
The National Security Adviser will spend 9,065,996,000 to “Construct Stravisnky Project” and 8,721,364,000 to “Develop All Eye Project.” I do not know what these projects are and if they are worth the amount that has been budgeted for them, so I cannot say much about them.
1,015,000,000 on the other hand, will be used to “Renovate/Furnish ONSA Annex Office.” If we can spend this huge amount to “Renovate/Furnish” a building, what will happen when we will have to construct new buildings? Will we have to dedicate our entire National budget to it?
737,150,500 is budgeted for the “Procurement of Medical Equipment for the Service Medical Centre” by the Directorate of State Security Service. That is more than what 15 Teaching Hospitals in the country will spend on “Medical Equipment” combined: University of Uyo, University College Hospital (Ibadan), Lagos University, Ahmadu Bello University, University of Nigeria, University of Benin, Obafemi Awolowo University, University of Ilorin, University of Port Harcourt, University of Calabar, University of Maiduguri, Usman Dan Fodio University, Aminu Kanu University, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, and the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital.
These fifteen Teaching Hospitals I just mentioned will spend a cumulative total of 680,700, 840 on “Medical Equipment,” less than what the Directorate of State Security Service will spend on the same item.
It is quite startling, the priorities or scale of preference the drafters of our budget work with.
The National Intelligence Agency will spend 123,128,961 on the “Purchase of Sporting/Gaming Equipment.” That is almost double the amount of what the Federal Ministry of Sports and Youth development, the Nigeria Football Federation and the National Institute for Sports will spend on the same item. The people at the National Intelligence Agency should decide if they want to gather actionable intelligence that will help our security agencies protect the territorial integrity of this country, or participate in the upcoming Olympics.
The National Intelligence Agency also budgeted 167,000,000 for the “Construction/Provision of Sporting Facilities” and another 398,395,500 for the “Construction/Provision of Recreational Facilities.” We need to find out what the people at the National Intelligence Agency actually do, because their budget looks like one for an expensive private secondary school.
The National Intelligence Agency also budgets a total of 533,395,500 for the “Construction/Provision/Rehabilitation/Repairs of Fire-Fighting Stations.” The Federal Fire Service on the other hand will spend 749,943,030 for the “Rehabilitation of Fire-Fighting Equipment (Abuja-Lagos).” Juxtaposing with the budget for the same item in the National Intelligence Agency, nothing justifies that amount except they somehow managed to open the fiery gates of hell, and are now battling the flames, or maybe they have just decided to play with fire this year.
The National Intelligence Agency (with all their intelligence) probably did not think the budget would be scrutinised, so they budgeted 2,479,581,721 for “Refund to State for Federal Government Road Projects.” You read it correctly. That item, of all places to be found, ended up in the budget for the National Intelligence Agency and not the Ministry of Works. If you are wondering what the National Intelligence Agency does, just know that their job is simply to gather foreign intelligence. So the questions now should be; why on earth should the National Intelligence Agency have a budget for the “Refund to State for Federal Government Road Projects?” Are they the Ministry of Works? Do they construct roads? Of what concern are road projects to them? Is it part of their job description? The best answer I can give to these questions is that, someone was definitely not intelligent enough in trying to fix in the budget, figures to be diverted to personal bank accounts.
The National Intelligence Agency will spend 1,331,033,200 on “Open-Source Internet Monitoring System.” Now, www.opensource.com defines Open-source software as “…software that can be FREELY used, changed, and shared (in modified or unmodified form) by anyone.” Wikipedia defines Open-source as “a development model [that] promotes universal access via a FREE license to a product’s design or blueprint, and universal redistribution of that design or blueprint, including subsequent improvements to it by anyone.” I hope you paid attention to the capitalised words in both definitions. Now, what kind of “Open-source Internet Monitoring System” are we PAYING 1,331,033,200 for? They also budgeted 1,250,000,000 for “License for Microsoft Application and Other Software.” Not only does this smell of graft, in total, it is almost the entire budget for the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.
“Fellow Nigerians” the Presidential Air Fleets have a budget of 3,652,577,943, that means 10,007,062 will be spent on the President’s Air-Fleet every single day till the end of 2016. 1,059,064,752 will be for the “Maintenance of Aircrafts,” 10,123,841 for “Generator Fuel,” 2,654,864 for “Honorarium and Sitting Allowance.” 235,970,921 is the budget for “Tools for Fixed Wing and Helicopter,” and 1,986,304 for “Plumbing Tools.”
And..
The in-between for today is: 500,000,000, the amount the National Hajj Commission will spend on the “Rehabilitation of Reception Centre.” Have a wonderful day!
- See more at: http://www.thewhistleng.com/post-dasuki-onsa-2016-budget/#sthash.RdU77jvN.dpuf

Tompolo.....the Warri strongman.

Cc lalasticlala, obinoscopy

He staunchly refused to answer any questions on Dasukigate insisting it would be prejudicial to the current investigation. He refused to criticise nor praise Buhari's fight against Boko Haram or answer any question about the Buhari administration insisting he won't criticize the president as he has access to the president if he wants to make any point...He said the PDP would rebound and there'll be congresses and convention in March.
He was evasive but lucid.....

On Wednesday night, former President, Goodluck Jonathan was a guest on a programme titled, ‘Focus on Africa’ aired on an international news and current affairs television channel based in Paris, France 24.

While failing to speak extensively on the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, Jonathan spoke on other issues of national interest.

Watch below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3Bg7jk_dvE



http://ynaija.com/as-a-former-president-its-not-proper-to-discuss-nigeria-watch-jonathans-interview-on-france-24/

ABUJA – The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has approved the redeployment of nine Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) among whom is Mrs Gesila Khan, who was the REC in Rivers state.

Khan had been in the eye of thee storm even before the conduct of the 2015 General Elections, with the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state calling for her redeployment.

In her stead, Ikoiwak Aniedi Abasi was moved from Delta to Rivers.

However, in a circular tagged INEC/SEC/402/I and dated 27 January, 2016, Secretary to the Commission, Mrs Augusta Ogakwu described the exercise as routine.

In the redeployment chart, Lawrence Azubuike moves from Ebonyi to Anambra state; Ogbudu Gabriel Ada from Imo to Akwa Ibom and Sylvester Okey Ezeani from Cross River to Abia.

Others are Sam Olumekun from Ekiti to Edo; Austin Okojie from Akwa Ibom to Bayelsa; Baritor Kpagih from Bayelsa to Delta and Habu Zarma Hinna from Yobe to Taraba.

According to Ogakwu, the re-deployment takes effect immediately with the handing over to be concluded by Thursday the February 2.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/01/‎inec-redeploys-rivers-rec-eight-others/

madridguy:
If I may ask you, who appointed Mahmud Mohammed GCON (Chief Justice of Nigeria) ?

Goodluck Jonathan appointed Justice Mahmud to replace Justice Aloma Mukthar in Dec 2014 so eat that

FORGET what everyone tells you—the only foreign view that really matters to many powerful people in Africa is America’s—loved and loathed on the continent in equal measure.

Despite what the media might have you think, a lot of diplomacy—the boiler room stuff— goes on well out of sight. And while by day Africa loves taking a pop at the US these days, though they have largely given the incumbent president Barack Obama a pass—the continent’s leaders cavort with its envoys by night, when big deals—both economic and geopolitical—are struck.

Because when all is said and done, what remains is that everything is all about interests.   

As part of diplomacy training at the Foreign Service Institute (FSI), American envoys often narrate their experiences in the course of advancing their country’s interests and helping shape world history.

Through a special public-private partnership with the FSI, which includes advising US foreign service personnel on how to publish their experiences, the independent nonprofit Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training, keeps records.

The recollections make for riveting reading, more so the entries on Africa—from which we learnt a few things: 
[b]Nigeria’s Moshood Abiola suffered a heart attack while meeting with US diplomats
Following Sani Abacha’s death from a heart attack in 1998, the general who succeeded him, Abdulsalami Abubakar, allowed Thomas Pickering, the Under Secretary for Political Affairs, and Assistant Secretary Susan Rice (today Obama’s National Security Adviser), to see the incarcerated Moshood Abiola.

Abiola, a businessman and philanthropist, had been jailed by Abacha in 1993 when he appeared to have won the popular vote in the election, with the ballot then annulled.

Together with US ambassador Bill Twaddell, Abiola and Rice drank tea from the same teapot—important because the Americans were initially suspected of poisoning him through the tea. Pickering recalls that Abiola “suddenly became quite incoherent and distracted and didn’t seem to understand what we were saying…”

He asked to use the washroom, and then came out without his shirt on—“unusual for a Muslim man in the presence of a woman [who wasn’t his wife]. Abiola then sat on couch, slumped down and slid on the floor.”

Efforts to resuscitate him at the presidential clinic failed, and the American envoys had to work their socks off to avoid being left carrying the bag over the death of an immensely popular man, including summoning internationally-renowned forensics officers and appearing at a series of press conferences detailing what had happened.

The autopsies found that Abiola had died of massive heart failure. [/b]
Robert Mugabe has not always been anti-US
The antipathy by the Zimbabwe leader towards the West is well documented, but it has not always been so. Between 1980-2000 Mugabe oversaw a country that was a political and economic leader in Africa, including being a breadbasket for most of its neighbours and exports of tobacco only second to the US. 

In 1991 Zimbabwe replaced Ivory Coast on the UN Security Council, worrying president George H.W. Bush who felt that due to Mugabe’s friendship with Iraq’s Saddam Hussein under the Non-Aligned Movement, he would vote against the US waging war with Iraq. Under this context, Assistant Secretary of State Herman Cohen travelled to Harare to get Mugabe’s support.

“In view of his Non-Aligned leadership, I expected to be thoroughly harangued. I made my pitch and waited for Mugabe’s hammer,” Cohen says.

“[But] he thought for a while and then made a response that blew me away: ‘Secretary Cohen, I don’t approve of strong powers invading and occupying weaker powers. Iraq must be forced out of Kuwait. Tell President Bush that I am fully on his side on this question.’ Wow! That was an unexpected surprise.”

Mugabe was true to his word, and his intelligence services even intercepted Iraqi assassins who had arrived in the Zimbabwean capital to reportedly kill the US ambassador, with the additional bonus of delivering them into waiting US hands in Cyprus.

Mugabe also was key in convincing Mozambique’s RENAMO leader, Afonso Dhlakama, with whom they share the same Shona heritage, to enter politics, a task that had totally eluded the US, and leading to the vital 1992 peace deal in Rome.

Ethiopia: Haile Selassie was deposed in a ‘creeping coup’
Few figures are as central to the shape of the pan-African unity as Haile Selassie, whose country remained a symbol of African independence all through his long reign. In the end he ruled for too long, and while single-handedly hauling his country into modernity, he ultimately lost to the same intellectual forces he had created space for.


Emperor Haile Selassie (centre) with Ato Tedla Bairu, Chief Executive of Eritrea on 11 September, 1952. At left, the Empress of Ethiopia. (Photo/UN)

Americans working at the embassy between 1962-66 give us a glimpse of what the emperor was like:

He was a mixture of both authoritarianism and benevolence, but regarded himself as an emperor, not a king, and held court regally, including personally handing out pieces of gold to those seeking his help.
He modernised public education and the system of government, but retained total control in a feudal manner, despite American attempts to talk him into full land reforms. He shifted ministers and governors frequently to avoid them building up power bases, and at one time had four intelligence systems at the same time to spy on everyone and each other.
Realising the strength of the African independence movement, he cleverly brought African leaders, including many regional enemies, together and persuaded them to sign the OAU charter, which he had modelled on that of the Organisation of American States. He ended as the continent’s “father figure”.
But a 1960 coup attempt punctured the aura of mystique that had seen his subjects view him as God. Rifts in the military and security forces were then exposed, among other simmering social cleavages. 
He made the miscalculation that a pesky insurgency in Eritrea would never amount to much. 
He established a university in opposition to the wishes of the nobility, but this led to young students being radicalised and seeking a change to democracy. The 1960 coup had wide support from both university students and graduates who had gone abroad including to military schools—a programme he sponsored.
The US embassy tried hard to get him to abdicate in favour of his son when it became clear he was struggling with age. He did even not protest American plans to leave the Kagnew station, a military base in Asmara that was key for US interest in Ethiopia—and it is felt the drawdown in 1977 allowed the revolution to spiral out of control.  
Army units sent representatives, many of them radicals, to Addis Ababa initially to present their grievances to the emperor…but sensing the weakening centre they formed the “Derg” or committee. It was a slow “creeping” coup unlike what other African countries at the time experience. By the last days the Derg were running the country, having successfully exploited the vacuum. 
[b]Kenya’s Moi was ‘corrupt to his soul’
The tough-as-nails Prudence Bushnell was posted to Nairobi in 1996, much to Kenya’s president Daniel arap Moi’s acute displeasure.  “Initially, he [Moi] wouldn’t see me. I was the second consecutive woman ambassador [after Aurelia Brazeal], and Moi was not at all pleased to have another female,” Bushnell recalls. 

She was the third woman in the most recent four US ambassadors to Kenya, interrupted only by the scrappy Smith Hempstone.

“Moi was convinced that the US Government was intentionally sending him women as a message that he was just not good enough to merit a white male,” Bushnell, who once walked out on Liberia’s Charles Taylor for  repeatedly calling her “my dear” (it turned out Taylor called almost everyone that), she later said.

But they eventually started to have discussions as a precedent. She recalled some of their interactions:

‘He would fly into tantrums sometimes, or just get mad and cranky. I’d bring him up straight by asking point blank, “Why are you yelling at me?”

Once I stopped an argument in mid-stream and asked if he enjoyed fighting with me. “Yes,” he responded, “I am a democrat.” I think he rather enjoyed our interchanges…. ‘

She says Moi believed he was loved by his people, having surrounded himself with sycophants, but he had his value to the US—in the Cold War he was in the American corner, playing off Washington and Moscow deftly, and his aspirations to be a regional statesman came in handy, where he intervened with Somalia’s warlords and in Sudan, and would even talk to Zaire’s Mobutu Sese Seko on America’s behalf.

One time, in an attempt to rein in the regime’s rampant corruption, the US voted no to a crucial $100 million World Bank loan to the energy sector, generating a lot of attention.

The only way out was by channelling the money through a private sector bank for transparency. Moi and Bushnell met at his private residence to sort out the problem.

The diplomat recalled: 

He said to me, “If I agree to this it’s going to set a precedent, and I’m worried.

I said, “You’re right, it will and I’d be worried about it too if I were you, because it means doing business differently.”

He said, “I don’t want to do business differently.”

And I said, “Then you’re not going to get the money. There you are, Mr President, you need to choose. I know life is unfair and this doesn’t seem good and right, but you need to understand our perspective and you have a choice to make. That’s what leaders do, they make difficult decisions.”

He called me after I got home, about an hour later and said, “I’ve decided to do it.” And I said, “Good for you, Mr President, you’ve made the right choice.”

“I felt like a life coach.”[/b]
http://m.mgafrica.com/article/2016-01-21-tales-about-africa-by-us-diplomats

Cc lalasticlala, obinoscopy

FOREIGN-exchange controls implemented by Nigeria’s government over the past year are hindering the ability of US companies to do business in Africa’s largest economy, according to Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker.

US companies have “been quite explicit it’s a barrier to trade,” Pritzker said in an interview in the Nigerian commercial capital, Lagos on Monday.

The policies also hurt Nigerian manufacturers because they import about 52% of their inputs and need dollars to pay for those, she said. Pritzker will raise the issue with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in Abuja, the capital, on Tuesday.

Nigeria’s central bank, with Buhari’s backing, has tried stop the currency weakening amid a rout in prices of oil, which provides Africa’s largest crude producer with almost all export earnings, by restricting imports and foreign exchange trading.

The regulator has effectively pegged the naira at 197-199 since March. Foreign investors have sold naira bonds and stocks to avoid a devaluation they see as all but inevitable. Forwards prices suggest the currency will weaken 20% to 249.5 per dollar in three months, while the black market rate fell to a record 305 this month.

“It sounds like you’re starting to see factory lay-offs,” Pritzker said. “That’s not good for Nigeria. And, of course, President Buhari is focused on inclusive growth. So, pointing out some of the contradictions between objectives and policies is part of the conversation we’ll have.”

Largest investor
The US is the largest foreign investor in Nigeria, according to the State Department. Bilateral trade was $18.2 billion in 2012, according to US trade data, in favour of Nigeria.

American foreign direct investment is concentrated largely in the petroleum/mining and wholesale trade sectors. 

US exports to Nigeria include wheat, vehicles, machinery, oil, and plastic, while importing cocoa, rubber, returns, antiques, and food waste. 

Nigeria is also eligible for preferential trade benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). 

—Bloomberg, additional reporting by M&G Africa
http://m.mgafrica.com/article/2016-01-25-you-are-hurting-our-business-interests-us-tells-nigeria

Cardinal Okogie has been a thorn in every govt from Abacha, to OBJ to Jonathan now Buhari.

.

Shortly after that botched MEND meeting in July, Delta state governor Ifeanyi Okowa arranged a meeting between Buhari and Tompolo and there was a temporary truce until December again

ASABA—THE Federal Government, under former President Goodluck Jonathan, actually approved the payment of N11 billion to ex-militant leader, Chief Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, out of which he collected 90 per cent of the money, but it was not for land deal as claimed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

A reliable source told Vanguard, yesterday, that the money paid to Tompolo was for purchase of the buildings and other facilities at the International Diving School he built at Kurutie, Gbaramatu Kingdom, Warri South-West Local Government, Delta State, allegedly valued at N15 billion, which the Federal Government acquired for the Maritime University, Okerenkoko.

The buildings include lecture halls, multi-purpose pavilion, administrative block, vice chancellor’s lodge, lecturers’ lodge and hostels for male and female students.


*Tompolo
He said: “Tompolo has no problem with President Muhammadu Buhari but some people are trying to use the EFCC against him. He (Tompolo) met with President Buhari after his swearing in and assured him that he accepted amnesty under the late President Umaru Yar’Adua and would work with his government. It was a very good meeting.”

The source added, “It is a known fact that he started building a diving school in Warri South-West, Delta State some years ago, to fulfil his vision of creating educational opportunity for youths interested in the maritime sector and to meet the work force requirement in the field. The buildings were completed.

“Last year, some officials of Delta State Government, I do not want to mention names because everything is now politics, visited Gbaramatu Kingdom and Tompolo took them round the diving school. It was well reported by the media. So the diving school was there but yet to commence. The officials who came commended him for his vision.

“However, when the Federal Government wanted to set up the Maritime University at Okerenkoko, government officials found out that he had built structures for a diving institute at Kurutie and felt that government should acquire and use them for the take off of the university.

“They approached Tompolo, I think it was NIMASA people that raised the matter. He was not interested in jettisoning the project because the diving school was a long-term dream for him, but because of the way they spoke to him, insisting that it was also for the development of the area, he accepted and invited estate valuers to value the project, which was put at N15 billion.

“Officials from the Ministry of Lands later came to value the projects and put the value at N13 billion, which is contained in the letter to the Federal Executive Council to approve the purchase.

“Let me tell you, it was not Tompolo that wanted to sell the buildings, it was government that indicated interest and informed him. The transaction was never for land as the EFCC is claiming, but for the buildings.

“The FEC met on the matter and the N13 billion came down to N11 billion after removing VAT and other things. So far, government has paid him 90 per cent of the money. What is illegal in this and why is the EFCC talking as if he was involved in a fraudulent deal? They should check their facts well.
“They should go and find out what it takes to reclaim a swampy location and put structure on it.

“Tompolo did not really see anything that should trouble him in the matter even when sometime in August, the EFCC froze his business account. He indeed, took it as a joke but all the same, contacted some top persons to find out what was wrong. They told him that he should not worry, that it was political and he should wait for some time.

“He waited and when there was no result, he took the commission to court in October to explain why it froze his account. EFCC refused to come to court, but invited him on November 24 to appear before it on November 25. He told them through his lawyer that he took them to court and they should wait for the court to determine his case.

“The commission then came to court November 30 without filing any paper and requested that the matter be adjourned to December 17, same date that they wrote a reminder, dated December 9, report at the commission, failing which they would declare him wanted.

“Tompolo still does not think that there is any big deal about the matter because government underpaid him for the property bought from him.

“He, however, got suspicious when the EFCC renewed its aggression after he refused a request by a top government security official to join the All Progressives Congress, APC and help its candidate in Bayelsa State to win the governorship poll in the state.”
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/12/alleged-n13bn-land-deal-tompolos-real-transaction-with-jonathans-govt/

Wow...to think I used to respect Dambazau.
Lalasticlala

.

obailala:
...Rufai may not be a bad president, but there would be an unavoidable and impossible to ignore public outcry over one hausa-fulani handing over to another hausa-fulani president. And t :Dhat is when Nigeria will eventually split

El Rufai has probably been Nigeria's most competent public servant along with Fashola since democratic rule began...two southerners Obasanjo and GEJ have already served the most since 1999 so the outcry might be less. I like El Rufai although he has his flaws but he is very competent.