₦airaland Forum

Islamic State has released a chilling video of its Nigerian jihadis carrying out a suicide bombing and showing off corpses amid a major power struggle in the terror group’s west African branch.The footage, from the Wilayat Gharb Afriqiya propaganda arm, shows militants firing truck-mounted guns before a suicide bomber drives a vehicle laden with explosives into the distance and detonates it sending the blast far into the sky.The terrorists then show off the corpses of dead soldiers and inside captured army barracks, where an enormous haul of weapons was picked up by the jihadis including machine guns and huge boxes of ammunition. It comes as two leaders of Boko Haram – the west African affiliate of ISIS – are engaged in a bitter power struggle.
ISIS said that Boko Haram had a new leader – Abu Musab al-Barnawi – and one of its magazines ran an interview with him.
The footage show militants firing truck-mounted guns.
The chilling footage was released by Islamic State's propaganda unit in west AfricaThe group rose to prominence after abducting 300 schoolgirls two years ago, leading to the Bring Back Our Girls campaign headed by Michelle Obama.But Boko Haram’s current chief Abubakar Shekau has denied the claim and insisted that he is still in control of the jihadis, who have killed more than 20,000 people.Last year the Nigerian Islamist terror grouppledged allegiance to ISIS in a chilling message to the world.The savage killers, who have been known to use child suicide bombers, announced the unholy alliance on their Twitter account.In a video message posted to the account, Shekau told the world how his murderous ‘troops’ would now work with ISIS in the country.

Ahead of Wednesday’s
national convention of the
Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP), the chairman of the
national convention
committee and governor of
Rivers state, Mr. Nyesom
Wike, has asked fellow party
men to support the
repositioning effort by the
party to reclaim power in
2019.
Speaking on behalf of the
party leadership, Wike said
that all the notable
achievements recorded by
the country in the last 16
years, including economic
and democratic gains, are
fast being eroded under the
President Muhammadu
Buhari- led All Progressives
Congress administration.
‘In only one year of APC
government, Nigerians are
yearning for the return of
the PDP to power given the
fast disappearing democratic
gains the party achieved in
16 years of its
administration. It is
noteworthy that all the
values associated with our
great country as the giant of
Africa and the fastest
growing economy in Africa is
being eroded,” he said.
More details later

The senator representing Ogun East in the National Assembly, Senator Buruji Kashamu, has said the recent call for his extradition to the United States was the fear by some politicians that his presence in Nigeria would be a stumbling block to their political ambition. Kashamu, who said he now devoted himself to finding peace in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), also accused a member of House of Representatives, Hon. Ladi Adebutu, of campaign of calumny against him over his 2019 governorship ambition. In a statement yesterday, the PDP chieftain said he had not committed any offence to warrant his extradition. “The reason for the latest onslaught is because Adebutu has declared his interest to be the governor of Ogun State in 2019 and he strangely believes that I am an obstacle to his gaining total control of the party structure that must be crushed,” he said. Kashamu, who denied that he was wanted in the United States of America, said he had not lived or visited the country all through his life. He however, admitted that he “was wrongly introduced into an indictment and was arrested and tried in the United Kingdom at the instance of the Government of the United States. After an extradition trial that lasted four years, the British judiciary – one of the best in the world – ruled in my favour twice and released me.

The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) says the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has fixed N150 per litre as the official depot price of kerosene.
Tokunbo Korodo, the South-West Chairman of the union, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Saturday.
According to him, the price will encourage more importation of the product by the marketers.
He said that most of the filling stations selling kerosene between N200 and N220 as the pump price was as a result of additional money on transportation of the product and some other levies paid by marketers.
The chairman said that at present, NNPC was the only importer of kerosene and was using private depots to sell the product.
“The NNPC has fixed N150 per litre as the new depot price of kerosene and has directed all its depots and private depot to comply with the directive.
“This did not include the transportation of the product or several levies and bank interests paid by marketers.
“Consequently, marketers will now add all these expenses to the depot price to arrive at N190, N200 or N220 depending on their locations.
“The advantage of this is that it will open door for more marketers to commence importation of kerosene just like petrol,’’ he said.
Mr. Korodo, however, commended the Federal Government for its transparent policy in oil and gas sector.
He urged the NNPC to commence loading of its products from depots nationwide, adding that the System 2B oil pipelines were saved from being vandalised.
NAN reports that the Federal Government handon Jan. 24 increased the price of kerosene to N83 per litre from N50 per litre thereby officially removing subsidy from the product.
(NAN)

Barely two days after the visit of Nigeria’s Defence
Minister and the Chief of Defence Staff to
Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, the heads of
various units of the military have converged in
the city to review their operational strategy,
SaharaReporters gathered on Tuesday.
A relatively unknown militant group, Adaka Boro
Avengers, had announced last week it planned to
declare a Niger Delta Republic yesterday, the first
day of August. That turned out to be a hoax, but
it was enough to have sent the military into red
alert, resulting in the massive deployment of men
and materials to respond to any situation.
Operation Delta Safe, the joint military force
deployed to the Niger Delta, pledged on Tuesday
to remain professional and civil in dealing with
security threats by militant groups in the region.
Rear Admiral Joseph Okojie, Commander of the
operation, said the deployment of troops and
equipment that was noticed on Monday in Kaima,
in Bayelsa, was part of normal activities aimed at
keeping the region safe.
He was speaking during a media briefing in
Yenagoa following a meeting with Unit
Commanders within Operation Delta Safe.
He stressed that Nigeria belongs to all, and that
the armed forces have the freedom to be at any
part of Nigeria at any time, and are merely
operating within their mandate.
“We were in Kaima to show that Operation Delta
Safe was on the ground to ensure that the report
by some faceless organizations about creating a
‘territory’ to themselves is not allowed to happen.
“The heavy presence being noticed in parts of the
Niger Delta is part of our routine duties to
guarantee the safety of law abiding people of the
Niger Delta and ensure a conducive atmosphere
for economic activities.”
He expressed the confidence that nobody was
molested or intimidated during the exercise, and
pledged that there is no cause for alarm.
Okojie further explained that the meeting with
Component Commanders of Operation Delta Safe
was to review the achievements of the operation
to ensure that they were mission-oriented.
Meanwhile, the Adaka Boro Avengers have said
that their planned declaration has merely been
postponed.

The National Emergency Management Agency has presented food and non-food items to the military for Operation Safe Corridor Programme meant to de-radicalise, rehabilitate and re-integrate 800 repentant Boko Haram insurgents. According to the agency, the gesture was to fast track peace process in the North East. The Director-General of NEMA, Mr. Sani Sidi, who presented the items in Gombe State, said the agency would continue to play its role in the programme by providing regular support of food and non-food items for the upkeep of the ex-terrorists. Sidi, in a statement issued by the Media and Public Relations Officer of NEMA, Sani Datti, in Abuja on Tuesday, said, “The initiative, which is in line with international best practices allowed those engaged in the fighting to voluntarily surrender and embrace peace so that they can undergo rehabilitation.” He stated that items to be released for this purpose every three months include 410 bags of rice, 400 bags of beans, 200 bags of millet, 200 bags of sorghum, 750 cartons of spaghetti, 50 cartons of Maggi cubes and 810 cartons tomato paste. Others are 101 vegetable oil in 20 litre kegs, 101 palm oil in 20 litre kegs, 50 bags of salt, 100 bags of sugar, 420 cartons of milk and 420 cartons of milo chocolate. The non-food items include 800 pieces of mattress, 500 hundred pieces of blanket, 500pieces of nylon mats, 1000 plastic buckets, 1000 plastic spoons, 1000 plastic cups, 1000plastic plates, 1000 plastic pairs of slippers, 2000 men’s wear, 63 cartons of bath soap and 1000 bath towels. Receiving the items, the Coordinator of Operation Safe Corridor, Brigadier-General, Bamidele Shafa, said the initiative was designed to de-radicalise, rehabilitate and re-integrate willing and repented Boko Haram insurgents who had come out to surrender to the military and believing that it would quicken the peace process in the North East. September last year and February this year a good number of Boko haram insurgents have come out to surrender,” he added. Shafa thanked the Gombe State government for providing the location and giving them all the necessary support.About 11 agencies of the Federal Government are directly involved in the Operation Safe Corridor programme.

vivalavida:
Buhari should better set up blood banks and make the blood less expensive because the blood in a lot of Nigerians is drying up because of this hardship.

I just hope this news is false

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Monday called on political leaders to build one Nigeria devoid of partisanship, ethnicity and religiousdifferences.Mohammed made the call when heled a team of ministers on a courtesy visit to Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State.He commended the governor for the reception accorded his entourage not minding that he is in an opposition party.Lai MohammedHe noted that political parties and their leaders must have the single goal of serving the interest of the nation.“It is unique that we are here today in Enugu, an opposition state, and since we came we have not seen any difference whether we are in APC- or PDP-controlled state.“This is very important because this is the kind of Nigeria we want to build, a Nigeria where people will have one agenda to build Nigeria,” he said.The minister thanked the governor and his cabinet members for the cooperation and support in hostingthe 5th Town Hall Meeting.In his address of welcome, the governor said that Enugu had always been the political capital of the South East from Independence,adding that the choice of the city for the meeting was not out of place.He commended the Federal Government for the initiative to engage the people and keep them informed of its activities.“This is a welcome initiative and I am sure it will be of immense benefits to all the states and the people of the South East,” he said.The town hall meeting was conceived by the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture to interact with the people on the programmes of the Federal Government.It gives the opportunity for ministers to engage directly with the people, telling them the achievements and challenges of the government and also giving answers to their questions.The ministers slated for the forum are Mohammed, Audu Ogheh, ChrisNgige, Geoffrey Onyeama, Isaac Adewole, Jubril Usman and Okechukwu Enelama.

There is palpable apprehension among senators
that the budgetpadding crisis currently rocking
the House of Representatives might spill over to
the Senate. A source close to the Appropriation
Committee of the Senate told New Telegraph that
fear had gripped some senators over the matter.
The source, however, revealed that those in the
Appropriation Committee had resolved never to
make any statements that would attract the
attention of the public to the turbulent chamber.
According to the source, senators who were not
happy with the handling of the 2016 budget by
the Chairman of the Appropriation Committee,
Danjuma Goje, have also agreed that they would
not truncate the truce recently brokered in the
Senate.
“What is happening in the House over budget
padding is not different from what would have
happened in the Senate, but experience, they
say, is the best teacher. In fact, it would have
been worse in the Senate, but for the lingering
crisis that bedevilled the place since June last
year.
“I don’t think that any senator wants to provoke
another round of crisis for any reason because
they are tired of being in the mess. From all I
have seen, the senators want to be patriotic this
time around. They want to cover whatever sins
might have been committed during the 2016
appropriation exercise.
“Remember the last effort at stabilizing the
chamber by its leadership, when Senate President
Bukola Saraki had to reshuffle some committees
to accommodate and pacify his tormentors.
So, the anticipated padding controversy may not
be seen in the Senate, but I can tell you that
some senators are jittery because of the trouble in
the House,” the source said. When our
correspondent tried to contact Goje for his
comment, his line was not going through.
A source close to him said he was out of town. As
if the lawmakers were deliberately avoiding
journalists, other members of the committee did
not pick their calls while a senator who answered
said that he was not disposed to speaking with
the press on any issue at the moment.
It will be recalled that the Senate allegedly had a
stormy executive session on April 21, when many
senators protested against the leadership of the
Appropriation Committee because of the manner
it purportedly handled the budget with so much
secrecy.
It was learnt that Goje came under intense attack
from the members of the committee during the
closed session, for allegedly excluding them from
the budget approval process. It was further learnt
that the aggrieved lawmakers called for Goje’s
removal, but later resolved to allow him remain in
office since the Senate had, as at that time,
embarked on reconciliatory moves to resolve all
grievances in the Chamber by setting up an ad
hoc committee to reconcile all warring factions.
Meanwhile, there are strong indications that the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC) may have assembled a team of detectives,
to examine a petition arising from the budget-
padding crisis rocking the House of
Representatives.
New Telegraph gathered from highly placed
sources that once the petition is found to have
merit, the commission may then commence
investigation into the allegations contained
therein.
A former Chairman of the House Committee on
Appropriation, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin has, since
his removal, sustained his allegations of diversion
of billions of naira against Speaker Yakubu
Dogara, his deputy, Yusuff Lasun; majority whip,
Alhassan Doguwa and minority leader, Leo Ogor.
But investigation by New Telegraph showed that
the anti-graft agency was in receipt of a petition.
Jibrin confirmed that his petition has since been
submitted at the commission.
One of the sources, who spoke in confidence with
New Telegraph, explained that owing to diligence
and best practice, petitions before the anti-graft
agency, are investigated based on merit, as those
found to be fraudulent are not acted upon.
“I think a team of the commission’s detectives are
now looking at the issues raised in the petition,
and this is the standard practice. The merit or
otherwise of the petition, will give proper direction
on the next action to take,” he said.
The Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Mr.
Wilson Uwujaren, could not be reached for
comment. In a related development, the Socio-
Economic Rights and Accountability Project
(SERAP) has called on Dogara and other principal
officers accused to be involved in the alleged
budget padding to step aside pending the
outcome of investigation by the EFCC and other
agencies.
The group made this call through a letter dated
July 29 and signed by SERAP’s executive director,
Adetokunbo Mumuni. The group noted that its
call followed the confirmation received from the
EFCC that it is looking into SERAP’s petition to the
body on the allegations that the leadership of the
House of Representatives padded the 2016
budget to the tune of N481 billion.
“SERAP is now writing to request you to
immediately step aside from your position as
Speaker of the House of Representatives pending
the outcome of the investigation,” Mumuni
stated.
The group also urged the speaker to ensure that
other principal officers of the House suspected to
be involved in the alleged padding step aside
from their positions to allow for the investigation
by the EFCC and other agencies to go ahead
unhindered.
“The Speaker, as the head of the House, has a big
role to play in guiding parliamentarians to
embrace transparency by sending a powerful
message that allegations of corruption will not be
condoned, tolerated or covered up.
“SERAP believes that the House of
Representatives can neither function effectively
nor enjoy public trust and confidence as long as
the allegations of budget padding continue to
trail its leadership.
“By stepping aside and ensuring that others
suspected to be involved in the budget padding
also step aside until such a time as the
investigations by the EFCC and other agencies are
completed, you will be promoting acts that would
enhance the integrity and respect for the National
Assembly, as well as strict observance of the
constitution both in letter and spirit,” the letter
reads.
Also, Chairman of the House committee on Basic
Education, Hon. Zakari Mohammed (APC, Kwara)
has denied lobbying Jibrin for the inclusion of any
project in the 2016 budget. Zakari is one of the
10 committee chairmen Jibrin has submitted
their names to the EFCC for alleged corruption.
The lawmaker explained that he never at any
time during the consideration of the budget
contacted the ousted chairman for assistance. On
the submission of a petition against him at the
EFCC, Zakari said he was ready to face
investigation or interrogation from any anti-graft
agency.
“I have no file with EFCC or its allied agency, but
the same cannot be said of the former
Appropriation Committee chairman. Nigerians
should, therefore, disregard his accusations
because they are as a result of frustration of his
removal,” he said.

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved a 13-
member Governing Council and 10-member
Board of Trustees for the cleanup of Ogoniland in
Rivers.
The Minister of Environment, Mrs Amina
Mohammed, announced this in a statement by
Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr Bukar
Hassan, in Abuja on Saturday.
The minister said the structures would ensure
inclusiveness, accountability, transparency and
sustainability of the exercise.
Mohammed acknowledged the concerns raised by
stakeholders on the perceived slow pace of the
clean up, saying “Nigerians have a right to voice
their concerns”, but called for patience.
“We have responsibility to deliver. The launch was
the first step in a 30-year journey. We continue to
make strides toward the implementation.
“We ask for patience as we lay solid foundations
for the cleanup. The context is complex and
stakeholders are diverse. All must be taken
along”, Mohammed said.
According to her, Buhari remains steadfast in his
conviction to see Ogoniland and other parts of the
Niger Delta cleaned up.
She said the ministry was working with the
Ministries of Petroleum Resources, Niger Delta,
NDDC and key stakeholders in implementing the
UNEP report.
The minister said the exercise was a collective
responsibility and urged all the Niger Delta
communities, especially the Ogonis, to support
the remediation and restoration efforts of
government.
The UN report estimated that the cleanup of
Ogoniland could take up to 30 years with the
initial remediation taking five years and the
restoration another 25 years.
President Buhari inaugurated the clean up on
June 2 at Bodo in Gokana Local Government Area
of Rivers.

The Switzerland government
has said it would soon return
the sum of $321m Abacha
loot in Switzerland as part of
its commitment towards
fighting money laundering
and other trans-national
crimes in that country.
The Swiss Ambassador to
Nigeria, Eric Mayoraz, made
the disclosure on Friday
during the signing of a
Memorandum of
Understanding on Mutual
Legal Assistance on criminal
matters, between the Swiss
government and the Federal
Government of Nigeria in
Abuja.
The ambassador, who stated
that the MOU is aimed at
fostering understanding
between the two countries
particularly as it relates to
their different legal system
said, “We are now in the
process of repatriating $
321m from the second batch
of the Abacha loot”.
He added that the country
had in 2005 repatriated $
722m in the first batch.
Mayoraz noted that today’s
event is significant in the
sense that it would eradicate
every bottleneck associated
with the repatriation of
stolen funds starched in his
country.
“Our countries enjoy
excellent relations and we
cooperate as partners in
many fields, on the return of
looted assets, migration,
human rights, humanitarian
assistance and many others.
“Today, we decide to take
this cooperation forward to
deepen it in the field of
judicial cooperation. By
signing a Memorandum of
Understanding in this
important area, our two
States further strengthen
their ties of friendship and
cooperation”, he said.
While stating that fighting
international crime, in
particular corruption, is an
important issue also for the
Swiss government as the
MoU provides for a settle
foundation to improve
cooperation, the envoy
added that it has the
advantage of bringing direct
contact through central
authorities as well.
He said the model request
attached to the MoU will help
to improve the quality of MLA
requests.

Mixed reactions have trailed
recent comment made by
renowned actor, Pete
Edochie on the alleged
moves to remove the deputy
Senate president, Ike
Ekweremadu, from his
position.
The actor’s statement
generated controversies
from a section of Nigerians
on the social media, with
some suggesting that his
comments could get him into
trouble.
He was advised to face his
acting career and stay away
from politics, if he wants to
live longer.
DAILY POST recalls that
recently, Edochie blasted the
President Muhammadu
Buhari-led government and
his party, the All
Progressives Congress,
over their insistence on the
removal of Ekweremadu as
the Deputy Senate President.
The APC leadership, including
some governors elected
under the party’s platform,
see the removal of
Ekweremadu as a task that
must be accomplished.
The respected actor in a
post on his Facebook wall
entitled: “Pete Edochie
Quotes” slammed the Buhari-
led government for chasing
shadows while the situation
in the country worsened.
He wrote in part : ‘If
Ekweremadu’s removal will
help stabilize the economy,
then, they should do all
within their power to remove
him.
“If Ekweremadu’s removal
will stop Nigerians from
losing their jobs, then,it is a
task that must be done.
“If Ekweremadu’s removal
will make Buhari to abandon
his 97% and 5% policy, stop
Buhari from seeking to turn
Nigeria to a fiefdom where
the only capable hands are
only people from a certain
part of the country, then,
Ekweremadu’s immediate
constituency should recall
him from the senate.”
Concerned Nigerians on
Facebook however
suggested that his comments
could get him into trouble.
Below are some reactions
that trailed the veteran
actor’s post on Facebook as
well as on the DAILY POST
website where what he said
was also published as news
story:
@Tman: “Anoda Igbo
supporting Nija project.
IPOB, where is your base? It
seem u are a prodigal son?”
@pando: “Tman, your
comment shows you lack
understanding and did not
understand Pete’s
message.”
@ Emakpo Yenrie Austin:
“Come Nor Be Juju Thing Or
Occultic Film Wen U Dey
Art,commot Ur Mouth 4rm Pdp
And Apc Wahala.”
@Josephat Eze: “You no go
leave them alone this one no
be acting na real life
something, oga clear oo
hmm.”
@Tolulope Yemisi: “See
,people one thing about
Nigeria is we’ll just stay
here to talk we can do
nothing. Rather,let’s pray
that things will go well in the
NASS because anything can
happen it is in the same
country that senate
president was removed what
did we do nothing.”
@Ararhure Eseore: “Mentic!
there is wisdom in his
sayings” I think the senate
leadership tussle is a
distraction and unwarranted.
They have chosen their
leaders so be it. Let them
work for they are being paid
to work for the citizens of
this country this issue has
lingered on for too long and
it’s becoming unnecessary
waste of time and energy.
Considering the time,
resources and energy put
into this project and it’s not
yielding the desired result,
it’s high time we let the
sleeping dogs lie.”
@Yusuf Babatunde Adeniyi:
“Old man,pls leave the
politicians to play their
game.where were you under
GEJ.”

(Reuters) - The United Nations has temporarily suspended aid deliveries in Nigeria's northeastern state of Borno, the former stronghold of jihadists Boko Haram, after a humanitarian convoy was attacked, the U.N. children's agency UNICEF said on Thursday.

UNICEF said in a statement that unknown assailants attacked the convoy on Thursday as it returned to Maiduguri from delivering aid in Bama, injuring a UNICEF employee and an International Organisation for Migration contractor.

"The United Nations has temporarily suspended humanitarian assistance missions pending review of the security situation," it said.

Nigerian army spokesman Sani Usman said troops were escorting the humanitarian convoy when it was attacked by "suspected remnants of Boko Haram" and that two soldiers and three civilians were wounded.

Nearly a quarter of a million children in Borno suffer from life-threatening malnourishment and around one in five will die if they do not receive treatment, UNICEF said earlier this month.

Medecins Sans Frontieres said on Wednesday that severely malnourished children were dying in large numbers in northeast Nigeria, where food supplies are close to running out.

By 2014, Boko Haram controlled territory nearly the size of Belgium in northeast Nigeria until most of it was recaptured last year by the Nigerian army and troops from neighboring countries.

More than 15,000 people have been killed and at least 2 million displaced by Boko Haram's insurgency in Nigeria. The group has carried out suicide bombings in northeast Nigeria and neighboring Cameroon, Niger and Chad.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols at the United Nations and Lanre Ola in Maiduguri; editing by Richard Chang and Dan Grebler)

Senate President Bukola Saraki, factional Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Ali Modu Sheriff; and Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio, are among 31 former governors whose alleged corruption cases investigated by the anti-graft agencies are likely to be reopened soon.

The PUNCH had exclusively reported on Tuesday that the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, had written to the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, directing the reopening of the cases of the ex-governors.

It was learnt on Wednesday that the AGF had called for the case files of the former state governors.

The PUNCH obtained the list of the former governors, who were named in the AGF’s letter, on Wednesday.

The list contains the names of Saraki, a former Governor of Kwara State; Akpabio (a former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, and Sheriff (an ex-Governor of Borno State).

Other former governors include Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia); Chimaroke Nnamani (Enugu); Saminu Turaki (Jigawa); Sule Lamido (Jigawa); Joshua Dariye (Plateau); Ahmed Yerima (Zamfara); Gabriel Suswam (Benue); Martin Elechi (Ebonyi); Danjuma Goje (Gombe) and Murtala Nyako (Adamawa).

They also include Ikedi Ohakim (Imo); Obong Victor Attah (Akwa Ibom); Achike Udenwa (Imo); Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa); Gbenga Daniel (Ogun); Jolly Nyame (Taraba); Boni Haruna (Adamawa); George Akume (Benue); Rashidi Ladoja (Oyo); Attahiru Bafarawa (Sokoto) and Adebayo Alao-Akala.

Others are Usman Dakingari (Kebbi); Adamu Mu’azu (Bauchi); Peter Odili (Rivers), and Lucky Igbindedion (Edo).

Part of the AGF’s letter to the ICPC, sighted by our correspondent on Monday, indicated that the cases against some of the former governors were 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, who 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.

Our correspondent confirmed on Wednesday that the AGF had sent a similar request to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission with the same list of former governors annexed to his letter.

The PUNCH had reported that some of the ex-governors, according to one of the sources, include some, who had been convicted for charges preferred against them by the EFCC.

Some of them also had their cases terminated before full blown trial could begin.

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 said to be serving senators.

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 of the country.

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

Another source also 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.



The PUNCH was informed 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.

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.

The AGF’s letter to both the ICPC and EFCC indicated that AGF’s request for the case files was in the exercise of his 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.

Our correspondent’s findings showed on Wednesday that ICPC and EFCC had yet to respond to the AGF’s request.

The Federal Government has confirmed that it will commence its National Home Grown School Feeding Programme in September with 5.5 million pupils nationwide.
National Programme Manager, Mrs Abimbola Adesanmi, disclosed this in Abeokuta on Wednesday.

She spoke at the opening of a two-day stakeholders’ workshop on the Ogun State Home Grown School Feeding Programme.


Adesanmi noted that the scheme “would accommodate pupils in Primary 1 to 3 at the outset, and would move to other classes once the nation’s resources improves”.

The official further explained that all the states of the federation would benefit from the social intervention programme, depending on their preparedness

The senior adviser of Lazard, who is also the Gavi board chair, has said it took Dubai over 30 years to attain true diversification, drawing lessons for Africa.

“We need to look at the area of diversification. We ask ourselves, all the time, we talk about diversification, but I think we are a little bit lazy in the way we talk about it,” she said in an interview with Africa CEO forum.

“Diversification cannot happen over four years. Look at Dubai; it took Dubai more than three decades. Now all of us are rushing there to go and do business, to go for medical check up, to go and enjoy ourselves.
“They didn’t do this overnight, they began to think about it years ago, and it took them three decades. So African countries must get serious and say now, what are the logistics? What is the infrastructure?

“What do we need and how do we concretely start one sector at a time to diversify so that we can have an economy that is less dependent.”
She highlighted the need for African countries to go beyond talking to specialising and improving on industrialisation.

“The next question is industrialisation and trade. How do we attract more manufacturing into our countries and also specialise in our trade. The trade among us is so little, anywhere from 12 to 16 percent, has not been growing much over the years.

“We are all producing the same thing, so quite apart from the logistical problems that confront trade, we have to ask ourselves, are we going to sell each other the same trade? The answer is no.

“Our trade will never grow as long as we don’t specialise among ourselves, and that means that some of us have to get into manufacturing, we have to industrialise more, so that we can send different goods to different countries. These are areas where we need to do deep thinking, not just talking.”

The Federal Government is
planning to prosecute nine
out of 26 members of the
Ekiti State House of Assembly
for alleged forgery of their
academic results, The PUNCH
has learnt.
A security source told one of
our correspondents in Abuja
on Sunday that the decision
to prosecute them was based
on the outcome of “an
intensive investigation
carried out by the
Department of State Services
into the state lawmakers’
certificates.’’
The DSS, it was gathered,
carried out the investigation
into the credentials submitted
by the politicians to the
Independent National
Electoral Commission during
the last general elections.
The PUNCH gathered that the
probe was sequel to a
myriad of petitions sent to
the agency and the Police by
aggrieved members of the
ruling Peoples Democratic
Party and the opposition
party in the state, the All
Progressives Congress.
Investigation was said to
have been carried out in
schools allegedly claimed to
have been attended by the
lawmakers and their former
places of work.
The source explained that
the files of the affected
lawmakers had been sent to
the office of the Attorney
General of the Federation for
prosecution.
The source added, “We
have investigated the
academic credentials of the
lawmakers based on
petitions sent to us by the
politicians in the state.
“The petitions were based
on alleged false declaration
of academic qualifications and
alleged age falsification in
the papers presented to the
INEC.
“We have been able to know
that petitions against nine
members of the State House
of Assembly are genuine.
“We have already presented
our report and we are
expecting the office of the
AGF to study it and prepare
the charges against the
suspects.”

A Nigerian
militant group Niger Delta
Avengers claimed
responsibility for a pipeline
explosion on Sunday at Nsit-
Ibom L.G.A in Nigeria's Akwa
Ibom state.
The group said in a
statement on their website
that they blew up Nigerian
National Petroleum
Corporation's gas pipeline at
Nsit-Ibom on Sunday at
11:30 p.m.