₦airaland Forum

Achuwa1:
fake source & fake news

The Niger
Delta Avengers, a group that has claimed
responsibility for a recent spate of attacks on oil
and gas facilities in Nigeria's oil hub, on Monday
rejected calls from former militants to join talks
with the government.
On Sunday, the Movement for the Emancipation
of the Niger Delta (MEND) -- one of the largest
militant groups until it signed up for a
government amnesty in 2009 -- urged the
Avengers to negotiate and halt attacks that have
cut Nigeria's crude output to a 20-year low.
The ex-militants said they had chosen a team of
negotiators to participate in the government
initiative to start talks over their demands for a
greater share in oil wealth and a reduction in
pollution from oil spills in the impoverished Niger
Delta.
Nigeria's government has moved army
reinforcements into the swampy Delta region in
response but Western allies have said that
widespread poverty and oil spills there must be
tackled to defuse the militant problem.
Nigeria was long Africa's biggest oil producer until
the wave of attacks by the Avengers pushed it
into second place, behind Angola, in recent
weeks.
MEND has said some of its former commanders
and fighters make up the Avengers, which has
been denied by the group. Security officials have
also linked a MEND commander to the Avengers,
although he denies this.
"MEND is a phased out body," an Avengers
representative told Reuters in a text message,
saying the group had been defunct since
participating in the amnesty scheme.
"It's just some political jargon ... to confuse the
general public," he said of MEND's intervention,
before questioning the ex-militant group's right to
be involved in a committee aimed at quelling the
current insurgency.
The Avengers said they would not cooperate with
government when the idea of negotiations was
first mooted last week.

By Bolaji Adebiyi and Ejiofor Alike
Prospects for peace in the troubled oil-rich Niger
Delta region brightened at the weekend as the
federal government, using back channel
communications, may have established contacts
with the militant group, the Niger Delta Avengers,
whose violent activities had shut in about
800,000 bpd of the country’s crude oil
production.
Faced with the huge production setback resulting
in huge revenue losses to the nation’s purse, the
federal government had set up a team under the
auspices of the National Security Adviser, Maj-
Gen. Babagana Monguno, and the Minister of
State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, to
reach out to the militants and other relevant
stakeholders and discuss ways of appeasing the
restive youths and bring peace to the region.
To pave the way for the work of the committee,
Acting President Yemi Osinbajo had met with the
governors of the region, including Seriake Dickson
(Bayelsa); Adams Oshiomhole (Edo), Ifeanyi
Okowa (Delta); Nyesom Wike (Rivers) and
Olusegun Mimiko (Ondo) last week, stating the
federal government’s position to stand down the
military that had been drafted to the area to
enforce law and order.
Thisday learnt yesterday that the peace efforts
were yielding fruits as Kachikwu might have
established some contacts with some of the
commanders of the NDA, who had initially
repudiated the move, preferring to hang on to its
demand for self-determination for the Niger Delta.
The contacts, Thisday further learnt, might have
been responsible for the cessation of bombings of
oil installations in the last few days, as the
avengers were being prevailed upon by FG’s back
channels contacts to give peace a chance by
embracing dialogue.
Sources close to the process, told Thisday that
evidence that progress was being made was the
Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta’s
(MEND) consistent calls for dialogue instead of
violence.
Using its own channels, MEND was said to have
intervened on behalf of Kachikwu’s team,
reaching out to its fellow militants to give the
federal government a listening opportunity.
MEND said yesterday though that it was taking
advantage of the olive branch offered by the
federal government for dialogue and had
appointed a former Minister of State for
Petroleum, Odein Ajumogobia; a former senator,
Florence Ita-Giwa; Bismark Rewane and four
others as members of its team that will hold talks
with the government on the crises in the Niger
Delta.
The spokesman for MEND, Jomo Gbomo, said in a
statement yesterday that it looked forward to the
talks, stating that while Ajumogobia would
represent Rivers State in the negotiating team,
Rewane and Ita-Giwa would represent Delta and
Cross River States, respectively.
According to the statement, other members of
the team, it tagged Aaron Team, are Timipa
Jenkins Okponipere (Bayelsa); Ibanga Isine (Akwa
Ibom); Ledum Mitee (Rivers) and Lawson
Omokhodion (Edo State).
It said the seven provisional members had
accepted to serve on the team, adding that the
remaining members of the team would be made
public in due course after due consultations with
relevant stakeholders.
“Following useful exploratory discussions held
with high ranking officials of the current
administration, the Movement for the
Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has
constituted ‘Aaron Team 2’ to dialogue with the
Federal Government on the immediate, medium
and long-term future of the Niger Delta region,”
the group said, adding: “The team is made up of
patriotic and selfless men and women of proven
track record, integrity and character; and drawn
from different parts of the Niger Delta region,
members of the MEND Aaron Team 2 are by no
means members of MEND.”
MEND recalled that it had in the past 10 years of
its existence taken up arms against the federal
government and the International Oil Companies
(IOCs) with a view to bringing to national and
international attention, the pitiable paradox of the
Niger Delta region.
It said it declared a ceasefire on 30 May, 2014 in
response to former President Goodluck Jonathan’s
Democracy Day speech of the previous day.
According to MEND, the ceasefire was an
indication of the group’s belief in dialogue and
diplomacy as means of settling disputes.
MEND invited the NDA to agree to a ceasefire and
join in the negotiation with the federal
government, warning that unless they both
embraced peace, the Niger Delta’s struggle for
development would be hijacked, once again, by
selfish interests for their own personal
aggrandizement.
It cited the recent purported demand of the NDA
made through the region’s governors that the
federal government should drop charges of
corruption against certain individuals and
politicians from the region as an indication that
the struggle had been hijacked and described the
demand as absurd, ridiculous and far removed
from the Niger Delta struggle.
MEND said: “Our message to the Niger Delta
Avengers (NDA) is simple: The Niger Delta
struggle is beyond attacks on oil installations.
Indeed, prior to the MEND ceasefire; the group
had, among numerous daring attacks, on
Thursday June 19, 2008 successfully carried out
the spectacular attack on Royal Dutch Shell’s
offshore Bonga oilfield, which is located at a
whooping distance of 120 kilometres (75miles)
south-west of the Niger Delta.
“However, with the benevolent benefit of
hindsight, the group realised that, after the initial
euphoria of each successful attack, the
gargantuan problems which confront our region;
including environmental pollution and political
corruption, increased geometrically. If indeed
your cause is to avenge the injustice done to the
Niger Delta region; then, we urge you to agree to
a ceasefire and join us on the table of negotiating
with the Federal Government.”

Ijaw communities in
Gbaramatu kingdom , Warri
South West Local
Government Area of Delta
State, yesterday appealed to
the NDA to accept the
Federal Government ’ s
ceasefire and stop the
attacks on oil facilities . The
appeal is coming on the heels
of renewed hostilities by the
militants despite the Federal
Government ’ s readiness to
hold talks with the people of
the region .
The spokesperson for the
communities and Chairman of
Kokodiagbene community , Mr
. Sheriff Mulade , said the
communities were the ones
bearing the brunt of the
incessant attacks as they
were already making lives
unbearable for the people.
He said: “Our position is that
the continued bombings of
the region in view of the
ceasefire arrangement are
highly condemnable. They
are technically crippling the
economy to enable them to
get what they want . So, they
should not personalise their
Niger Delta demands .
In a related development,
The United Kingdom has
indicated its preparedness to
enhance security in the Niger
Delta through job creation
and tackling environmental
pollution . The country also
pledged to seek ways of
boosting the economy of the
Niger Delta region . The
British High Commissioner to
Nigeria , Mr . Paul Arkwright ,
gave the indication during a
courtesy call on the Bayelsa
State Governor , Henry
Seriake Dickson in
Government House, Yenagoa
. He was accompanied by Mr .
Edward Dunn, Political
Secretary , Niger Delta and
Mr . Osaro Odemwingie,
Senior Political Adviser of the
High Commission.
A statement issued
yesterday by the Chief Press
Secretary to the governor ,
Mr . Daniel Iworiso- Markson
, quoted the envoy as
saying his visit to Bayelsa
State was part of efforts to
explore the Niger Delta, with
a view to understanding the
challenges facing the people .
Arkwright said: “ Part of my
job is to try to encourage
British companies to come
and invest in Nigeria , the
Niger Delta region and
indeed in Bayelsa State and
help create jobs and
employment opportunities to
see what we can do on the
security front in broad terms

The Nigerian Military finally worked up the courage to purge itself of political officers with the announcement that swept out several of such questionable officers. Details are still emerging but the sack which has the approval of the Army Council was attributed to “service exigencies”.
Even though a statement issued by the acting Director of Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman did not specify the crimes of the sacked military officers, the affected persons have done a lot of massive self- reporting to confess their crimes. Details of their crimes were outed in online media platforms that are sympathetic to their cause or serving the same principal as the affected persons.
One of such sites went to town with the screamer, “FG Sacks 200 ‘Pro-Jonathan’ Military Officers”. The site thankfully went on to confirm that “loyalty to former President Goodluck Jonathan during the 2015 general elections” was the alleged grounds on which they were sacked. Nigerians must be reminded that the military is sworn to protect the country and the office of the president symbolises the country but nothing in that oath of allegiance mandates any officer to pursue the political ambition of the individual occupying the office. That would be playing party politics and it is clearly forbidden even if done in furtherance of the current office holder’s interest.
The responsible media organisation provided better insight that linked the sacked officers with defence contracts. The Presidential Committee investigating defence contracts had of course made indictments with of these sacked persons already being tried by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) just as another panel that investigated military partisanship during the 2015 general elections made its own indictments.
The veiled threat to the nation contained in how the retirement of these officers was reported by their media allies therefore showed that not only were they culpable of what they were indicted for they have also shown no remorse about it and have continued along the same track by presenting the consequences of their ill thought actions as political witch-hunt.
For instance, the headline cited earlier followed with a narration that “The list showed that they were mainly from the South East, South South and a small percentage of them were from the North Central region of the country.” The impression created by this is that the South West, North East and North West zones were not affected because officers from these areas were-not pro-Jonathan. This line of thinking failed in its deficit of reasoning to realise that it is indicting the South East, South South and a small part of the North Central as the parts of the country that produce unethical and unprofessional officers who are also kleptomaniacs that cannot keep their hands out of the public till. All the decent Nigerians from these areas, including former military officers who served meritoriously, should rise up and condemn this callous criminalisation of their ancestry.
But to a more serious dimension. The Army waited too long before acting as the issue was one that threatened and has continued to threaten our democracy. If the delay in showing these errant officers the way out was to allow for thorough investigations, then that is fine. But what must be avoided going forward is tarrying on crucial decisions because of political consideration as this amounted to playing the game on the terms of the rogue officers. In the time between when they were investigated and when action was finally taken, they have been able to poison more minds within and outside the institution, which is why their media were able to claim that the development was causing ripples in the military.


I dare describe them in harsh words because of the jeopardy they put the country into. The military is an institution and the Presidency is an office with clear cut constitutional provisions guiding the roles of each. The personnel of the institution and the holder of the office swore to suppress personal interests in the discharge of their duties in the various capacities. For some personnel to have acted contrary, driven by ethnic and pecuniary interests, equals to treason. Had they succeeded in their political foray, wouldn’t we today be under a military government by proxy contrary to our collective avowal for a representative democracy? The concept of separation of powers must be clearly adhered to for the insulation of our military against partisanship.
In recent history, countries whose military officers became openly political like the sacked ones here have been plunged into intractable crises. This fact is what these card carrying members of political parties should bear in mind whenever they are tempted to delude themselves into thinking they have been unfairly treated. What would have happened if officers from the other regions had also been unprofessional and backed an alternate political party? It would have been the perfect trigger for a civil war. Purging them out of the institution would no doubts bring about a strong and apolitical military. This is a great achievement and if it is the only thing President Muhammadu Buhari can do for Nigeria then we should be very happy that our journey to nationhood has started.
The cheap attempt at blackmail does not detract from the reality that crimes were committed – violation of oath of allegiance, breach of laws relating to elections, theft and other crimes. The relevant agencies must therefore commence their trial while the military makes public a declassified version of the report that indicted them for Nigerians to appreciate the need to get rid of these compromised officers. In fact, anyone of them that feels he was unfairly fired should take advantage of a trial to reverse the situation.
The military and the Federal Government must however be proactive in dealing with a bigger problem. The sacked officers must be placed under constant security watch because of other prevailing variables. As at the time these officers were committing these heinous acts, miscreants in the South South and South East were making threats of a break up against the country if the permutation goes against their shared interest. Today, the threats have given birth to terrorist separatist groups that are killing security agents and destroying economic assets. Even from within the Niger Delta, some ex-militants have identified some sacked politicians from the previous dispensation as sponsors of the attacks.
This is why we must be vigilant because the sacked officers were neck deep in politics and the billions stolen from defence contracts means they are also stupendously rich. A combination of their military experience, diverted weapons and stolen money flowing into an already problematic South South and South East regions would produce another monster, something like “Military Avengers ” that will either intensify the blowing up of oil and gas pipelines or even print the currency for one of their separatist groups to secede. The objective would be nothing less than the ridiculous demand from some regional leaders that charges be dropped against people standing trial for attacks in their areas to stop. The sacked persons, some of them also standing trial, would be additional incentives for more attacks.


As a country, we must now immediately begin damage control while hoping that it is not too late. While we were all focused on nation building these elements were busy perfecting their plans for the breakup of the country – the separatist groups have activated and their well-trained military counterparts may be on the way to joining them in insurrection with all their wealth of experience and material if nothing is done to neutralize their capacity to sink the country as they had promised.

The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, hassaid that the Federal Government plans to relocate some of its Ministries, Agencies and Departments (MDA) into some recovered looted properties.Mrs. Adeosun said this on Friday in Abuja while briefing journalists after the Steering Committee of the Efficiency Unit meeting.The government says in the last one year it has seized billions of naira in cash and properties from corrupt public officials.The Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyorsand Valuers had been advocating for adequate utilisation of confiscated properties.Mrs. Adeosun said the move to relocate theagencies was to reduce waste since the properties were empty.“The issuance of price guidelines and initiatives for reducing expenditure on rent on office and residential buildings will be the primary focus areas of the efficiency unit in coming months.“You may want to know that the average annual expenditure on rent for a three year period of 2012 to 2014 was N3.55 billion.“And to achieve that, we are already looking at using properties that were forfeited from recoveries and moving some of our agencies to occupy those properties rather than paying rent,’’ she said.Mrs. Adeosun said the Efficiency unit had already recorded success in cutting government overhead cost in areas such astravels, welfare, honorarium, sitting allowance, training, adverts and publicity as well as refreshments.“Major savings are expected when on-goingengagement with the Bureau of Public Procurement on the pooling of MDAs demands for standard products such as vehicles, computers, diesel and others.“We plan to secure large discounts from suppliers and the issuance of Price Guidelines are developed and implemented.“Price Guidelines will ensure uniformity in the price at which MDAs purchase items, aswell as transparency and value for money inthe procurement process.’’Mrs. Adeosun said she was working with states to ensure that they all established Efficiency Unit since 47.32 per cent of revenue that accrued to the federation goesto the states and local governments.President Buhari had set up the Efficiency Unit to review all Federal Government’s overhead expenditure to reduce wastage, promote efficiency and ensure quantifiable savings for the country.The Minister of Finance, Head of Service of the Federation, Accountant-General of the Federation, Auditor-General of the Federation and Director, Budget Office of the Federation are members of the committee. (NAN)

Contractors who executed federal government’s road projects over the past three years were not paid for their job, Babatunde Fashola, the Minister of Power, Works, and Housing, has said.
Speaking at the inaugural “Buharimeter” town hall meeting in Abuja, Thursday, Mr. Fashola said the contractors had, nonetheless, continued to work with the present administration based on their credibility.
“As far as my ministry is concerned, I think the best way to understand where we are is where we came from,” Mr. Fashola said at the meeting organized by the Centre for Democracy and Development.
“If you look at the budget of the country from 2007, a country that was making a minimum of $100 per barrel for almost a decade, we shouldn’t be here. But the reality is that in 2007 we spent only N41 billion on roads in Nigeria. The highest we spent between 2007 and 2015 was in 2009 when we spent N195 billion on roads.
“After that the figures started declining, and the last three years are significant, today I mentioned where we are, we spent N65 billion on roads, I think Lagos state government alone spent as much if not more on roads.
“In 2014, we spent N45 billion on roads, for the whole country. And we spent N18 billion on roads in 2015.
“Now the fallout of meetings with our contractors, generally, is that they have not been paid for three years. But budgets have been made for the last three years.”
Mr. Fashola said despite non-payment of the contractors, work would soon begin on the Jebba-Ilorin road as well as the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
“The Jebba-Ilorin road is a very significant road,” he said.
“If you haven’t passed through it, perhaps you will not understand how significant it is for the prosperity of Nigeria, because that is where farmers mainly move their trucks and their goods, their vegetables, their cattle through. And that is where fuel comes through from the tank farms in Lagos to many parts of the north of Nigeria.
“That road used to take four days simply because a section of barely about 100 kilometres was unmotorable. The trucks used to turn.
“Now on the basis of just our credibility, that I stuck my neck out and I told the contractor ‘please go back to this site. Go and work.’ We have stabilized that road. We haven’t finished repairing it but we have stabilized it, that section is now motorable and provision is now made for some parts of it in this year’s budget.
“Now compare this with a government that was in power, budgeted for that road, and did not even release the money.
“This is what has happened in our meetings with our contractors, just on the basis of our credibility, our collective integrity, saying to them ‘go back to site.’
“Our contractors will go back to site on Monday next week, they told me, for the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. They haven’t been paid. But that is what ‘change’ is, that this government is credible and believable. If we say we will pay, we will pay,” Mr. Fashola said.
Four other ministers, including Lai Mohammed (Information and Culture), Udo Udoma (Budget and National Planning), Amina Mohammed (Environment), and Audu Ogbeh (Agriculture and Rural Development), also participated in the town hall meeting.
Mr. Ogbeh said some states had donated land for cattle grazing, adding that the herdsmen crisis would soon end.
The minister also said the government was working on improving farmers’ access to credits.
“We have no access for credit for farmers,” Mr. Ogbeh said.
“We are about to restructure the Bank of Agriculture and we want farmers to be the biggest shareholders so we can actually lend to farmers. Our target is five percent on Agriculture.
“No other country that wants to develop agriculture is lending money to farmers at 18 – 25 percent. That figure may be wonderful for growing cocaine, but certainly not for rice and beans and sugar.”
He urged the youth to engage in agriculture as a way of reducing the rising unemployment.

“Young people, please, we shall be holding an evening with the minister shortly, think of doing something in Agriculture,” he said.
“Even if you are based in the city, go home and start a plantation. I started one many years ago and now I’m a cashew farmer with 14,000 trees in the village. So come around let’s talk about this. You have to feed yourselves.”

The Ministries of Niger Delta Affairs and Youths and Sports, in partnership with St. Georges UK, are sending 100 Niger Delta youths to European countries for a programme tagged `Train and Engage.’ The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr Usani Usani, made the disclosure during interview with newsmen in Abuja on Thursday. According to him, the ministry is set to address the major problems confronting the region. “No fewer than 100 Niger Delta youths will be sent abroad for training as we have entered training agreements with various European institutions, including United Kingdom, for that purpose.’’ The Minister added that the trainees would be readily absorbed and constructively engaged upon completion of their studies abroad. Usani said that the local content office of the Africa House in UK had entered into collaboration with the ministry to train the youths on NV Q Model Design. “NV Q Model Design is to train the youths in oil and gas industry need basis and youths from the Niger Delta will be given that special training”, he said. The minister, therefore, called on the restive youths of the region to put an end to destruction of national assets and embrace peace, adding “we can together achieve much in peace than in war.” The Federal Government is already in discussion with relevant stakeholders from the region on how to stop vandalism of oil pipes and other infrastructure in the region.

President Muhammadu Buhari
on Thursday forwarded
names of 47 ambassadors to
Senate for confirmation.
Details later…

for the confirmation
of the nominees.
Some of the names of “the
career diplomats” who will
head Nigeria’s missions
abroad when confirmed by
the senate are Obinna
Chukwuemeka, Okeke Vivian,
Ngozi Okeje, Bello Kazaure,
Garba Baba, Umar Salisu,
Kadiri Ayinla Audu, Ibrahim
Isa, Bankole Adeoye,
Ibrahim Hamza, KC
Nwachukwu, Olufemi
Abekoye, Adekunbi Abibat,
Salisu Umoru, Liman Munir,
Mohamm

Five federal ministers are
participating at today’s
inaugural town hall meeting
tagged ‘Buharimeter’ holding
in Abuja, according to the
Centre for Democracy and
Development, CDD.
Lai Mohammed (Information
and Culture), Babatunde
Fashola (Power, Works, and
Housing), Audu Ogbeh
(Agriculture and Rural
Development), Amina
Mohammed (Environment),
and Udo Udoma (Budget and
National Planning) would
represent the government
delegation.
‘Buharimeter,’ is aimed at
assessing the one year in
office of President
Muhammadu Buhari and his
All Progressives Congress
(APC) government.
PREMIUM TIMES’ reporters
are in Abuja to bring you live
updates of the session.
The following social media
platforms will be used to
enhance citizen’s
participation, especially
those outside the venue:
Twitter (@buharimeter),
Facebook
(www.facebook.com/
buharimeter), Instagram
(Buharimeter), and Google+
(Buharimeter).
The hashtag is #
buharimeter.
Live Updates
11:26
Lai Mohammed says his only
“sin” was speaking too much
before the election (laughter
in the hall).
He describes the Buharimeter
idea as a “very good idea”
for the government to
engage directly with
Nigerians.
“Long before the first year
anniversary we had
embarked on our own town
hall meeting to give the
citizens feedbacks on our
achievements.
“The first one was held in
Lagos.
“Any meaningful assessment
must be situated within the
right context
“We campaigned on three
broad areas, corruption,
revamp the economy and
security.
Have we met our targets? If
you ask me, I will say we are
on track.
Insecurity: The most
daunting security challenge
we faced when we came in
was the Boko Haram
challenge. Today it had
receded and it is not by
accident.
Mr. Mohammed goes on to list
the president’s strategy in
scaling back Boko Haram
attacks, including relocation
of the command office to
Maiduguri.
Corruption: It was corruption
that prolonged the war
against Boko Haram.
It was corruption that gave
nigerians darkness instead
of light, despite sinking
millions of dollars into the
sector.
The money recovered so far
is a tip of the iceberg.
Economy: He says oil price
had crashed from over $100
per barrel to about $28.
Funds that would have found
their way into private
pockets are now accruing to
government courtesy of the
TSA.
This administration neither
lacks the political will or
discipline to fulfil its electoral
promises.
In the coming weeks, the
conditional cash transfer will
commence, the free meal,
vocational training and so on
would also begin.”

The government of the United Kingdom
wednesday refuted reports in some national
dailies alleging that President Muhammadu Buhari
was in London at its instance to meet with former
president Goodluck Jonathan with a view to
adressing the current crisis in the Niger Delta
region.
The refutal was contained in a terse statement
issued by the Press Officer of the British High
Commission in Abuja, Joe Abuku.
Buhari is currently in London to take care of
minor health issue.
The statement read: “Media reports suggesting
that the British government has set up a meeting
with President Buhari, former President Jonathan
and representatives of Niger Delta groups to
discuss a solution to recent violence in the Niger
Delta region are incorrect.
“We are aware that President Buhari is currently
in London seeking medical attention. We are not
aware of any meetings on the Niger Delta while he is there"

Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of an Abuja Federal High Court on Wednesday granted the cousin to former President, Goodluck Jonathan, Mr Roberts Azibaola and his wife Stella, bail in the sum of N500m. The Judge in his ruling ordered the couple to provide two sureties who must be land property owners in Abuja. He held that the couple be held in prison until they meet their bail conditions. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had arraigned Azibaola alongside his wife on a six count charge bordering on fraud and money laundering for allegedly diverting the sum of $40m EFCC claimed that the couple used their company, Oneplus Holdings to divert the sum of $40m which they allegedly received from the embattled former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki(rtd). Justice Dimgba who had yesterday remanded Azibaola in Kuje prison pending the determination of his bail application, on Wednesday, said the accused person was entitled to bail because he had not been proved guilty. Also, the couple had pleaded not guilty to charges when they were read to them.

The Minister for Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, Tuesday, assured Nigerians that the proposed Lagos-Ibadan segment of Lagos-Kano rail line project will be ready and operational within the next two and half years.

Also to be ready within the projected period, according to Amachi, is the Port Harcourt-Calabar rail line. Both rail lines will, daily, move thousands of passengers across the affected cities.

Amaechi, who disclosed this at a maiden lecture series, themed; “Migrating workforce: the challenges of mass transportation,” organised by the Lagos Traffic Radio (96.1 FM), at Lagos Television, LTV, ground, Ikeja, said the aim is to reduce the current pressure on road infrastructure with resultant accidents and avoidable loss of lives, properties.

The minister also directed the Railway Command of the Nigeria Police Force to stop forthwith, the practice of passengers hanging on moving trains to avoid loss of lives.

The minister said it is the responsibility of the government to protect lives of its citizens,and that it will be better to allow passengers who cannot afford the transport fare to sit in the train than for them to lose their lives.

According to the minister, the rail lines apart from easing transportation difficulties on the affected axes, will also throw up other opportunities including jobs and auxiliary services that will add to boosting the economy.

Amaechi told the audience that the federal government plans to open up the rail transportation system to the active participation of the private sector. He said a bill to realise this had been forwarded to the National Assembly and currently receiving consideration.

The minister said the plan is to ultimately ensure that the rail system takes the centre stage in the nation’s public transportation system, with the private sector playing a pivotal role, unlike in the past where this segment of transportation was the exclusive of the public sector.

According to Ameachi, there are also plans to further open up the maritime space for private sector involvement.

He disclosed that proposals had been received from entities indicating interest to ply the water transportation system, and called on the Lagos State Government to take advantage of the open window by partnering with the federal in the development of the inland waterways.

Speaking on the theme of the lecture, Amachi noted that the process of migrating workforce and people who commute from one location, area, state to another for the purpose of engaging in employment is still very difficult in the country, saying the present government is making frantic effort to make transportation easy in the country.

The minister said, “In fact, as families migrate due to employment purposes, they are compelled to move with children who require transportation to attend schools. Where transportation is lacking, the level of distress for the working parents and children becomes increased.

“Studies of the travel behaviour of the migrating workforce in the United Kingdom, UK, and US10 for example show that Migrants are concentrated in metropolitan areas where public transport provision is high.

“In the UK in particular, 40 percent of the non-EEA migrant population live in London compared to UK Nationals. Researchers in the US on the other hand reveal that migrants would prefer residential locations that are well served by public transport.

“The research further reveals that in developing countries, Migrants’ travel is strongly associated with the use of non-car-driving modes of travel, which include: public transport such as buses, trains, underground/light rail, walking, cycling and car sharing.

“Therefore, availability of efficient and affordable transportation in a location is a major consideration for the choice migrants make to look for employment and places of residence.”



According to him, as far as mass transportation is concerned, there is evidence to show that inadequacy in transport infrastructure and services had contributed significantly to the prevalence of poverty across various Nigerian communities in both urban and rural areas.

The minster explained that the problems of Nigerian transport system cut across various sub-sectors, including; air, water, rail and road transport.

Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Dayo Mobereola, highlighting plans by the state government to grow the sector, said an inter-modal transportation master plan is already being implemented to link the rail, road and water such that by 2032, no resident of Lagos will need to walk more than 80 kilometres from his home to board any means of transportation.

Mobereola said apart from the blue line rail ongoing on Orile-Mile 2 corridor, six other light rail systems and a monorail line had been identified, with 20 water routes, 14 Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and 450 routes for high capacity buses, aimed at changing the face of public transportation in the megacity.

‘All these routes in water, road and rail will connect to different communities across Lagos,” said Mobereola. He added this will ensure that travel time for residents is reduced to maximum of 60 minutes from the current average of three to four hours.

The Nigerian Navy said on Tuesday said it had apprehended the coordinator of series of attacks on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Chevron oil and gas facilities in Delta.
The Commander, NNS Delta, Commodore Raimi Mohammed, disclosed this to newsmen at the Warri Naval Base, adding that the suspect was apprehended on June 2.
Mohammed, who presented the suspect alongside others allegedly involved in the act of vandalism and criminal activities in the maritime sector, described the arrest as a major breakthrough.
He, however, said the identity of the suspect would not be disclosed now.
“I am pleased to announce that after several weeks of persistent effort the Nigerian Navy, in collaboration with other security agencies, have arrested the main coordinator of attacks on NNPC and Chevron oil and gas facilities.
“The attacks were the bombing we witnessed since May 4 with the attack on Chevron Okan valve platform offshore in Escravos in Warri South-West.
“We have recovered some Impoverished Explosive Devices (IED) for blowing up and vandalising pipelines.
“We have decided not to give out the name of the suspect because he is helping us with useful information that could lead to the arrest of others,’’ Mohammed said.
The Commander said the suspect was deeply involved in pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft, saying that his arrest came after several weeks of trailing and arrest of some of his foot-soldiers.
“The suspect has stolen crude oil from about 35 abandoned oil well heads and crude oil pipelines in Okpoko and Obodo in Warri South-West Local Government Area,’’ he said.
Mohammed also said that the navy had apprehended another suspect identified as Michael John, who allegedly murdered three soldiers in Jones creek and one soldier and a policeman in Batan community.
“The suspect has confessed to the crime,’’ he said.
The commander also said that another suspect was being quizzed for alleged involvement in the June 3 attack on the 48 inches crude oil pipeline in Forcados oil terminal.
The crude oil pipeline is operated by Shell Petroleum and Development Company (SPDC) at Ogulagha in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta.
He said the suspect had provided useful information that would facilitate the arrest of the other culprits by the Command.
While commending the Delta Government for its cooperation, Mohammed assured that the navy would continue to protect the nation’s territorial waterways.
Items recovered from the suspects included rolls of cables, two car batteries, three Shovels, Hammers, Saw, suspected dynamites, cutlass, among others.

The Federal Government on Monday said it had
evolved two strategies – engagement and
security – to halt attacks on oil installations in the
country as a result of the renewed insurgency in
the Niger Delta region.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo disclosed this on
Monday at the State House during a meeting with
a delegation of the European Union, led by the EU
Ambassador in Nigeria, Michel Arrion.
A new militant group, Niger Delta Avengers,
recently vowed to bring Nigeria’s oil production to
“zero” point, having carried out audacious attacks
on installations belonging to international oil
companies, including Eni and Shell.
The renewed insurgency in the oil-rich region has
impacted negatively on the economy, affecting
gas supply to power plants and drastically
reducing the country’s oil production to as low as
800,000 bpd.
Mr. Osinbajo said government was engaging
leaders and people of the Niger Delta regarding
the spate of attacks on oil installations, an act he
described as economic sabotage.
But besides reaching out to the people of the
area, Mr. Osinbajo assured, government was also
beefing up security in the region.
Mr. Osinbajo added that “government is working
round the clock to minimize the losses arising
from the attacks.”
‘We are talking, we are ensuring that we minimize
losses and we are stepping up security. We are
also engaging the international oil companies,
IOCs, to see what options exists,” Mr. Osinbajo
said.
According to him, the focus of the Buhari
presidency “is to ensure that the man on the
street in the Niger Delta receives the benefit from
all that is available there.”
He also called on leaders in the region to be
accountable to the people.
Further on economic issues, the Vice-President
restated government’s commitment to driving its
diversification policy and encouraging investors
from European countries to take advantage of the
situation especially in the agro-allied processing
industry.
He restated the determination of the
administration to ensuring that Nigeria’s ranking
in the World Bank ease of doing business survey
goes up by at least 20 steps.
To this end, he said the President had approved
the composition of a Presidential Commission on
the matter to be chaired by himself, the VP, and
the Industry, Trade and Investment Minister,
Okey Enelamah, as Vice Chairman.
“In the next few months, we should be seeing
some changes,” he said.
Mr. Osinbajo also commented on the failure of the
government to disclose names of those who
returned loots.
Releasing the names of persons from whom the
Federal Government recovered looted funds and
assets may jeopardize ongoing investigations, Mr.
Osinbajo said.
While the government released a list of sums of
monies and assets already recovered in the last
one year, names of individuals involved were not
included.
“We have released the list of recovered loot, we
know people are asking for the names, but
releasing the names may jeopardize ongoing
investigations,” the Vice President said.
Earlier, Mr. Arrion said he came to consult the
Vice President as a follow-up on President Buhari’s
meeting with EU leaders during his visit to the
continent, adding that “Nigeria has a huge
market we can invest in. It is also a place we can
export from.”
Both Mr. Osinbajo and the European Union envoy
also discussed the EU trade deal with ECOWAS,
the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA),
which was also one of the main issues tabled at
the meeting of West African leaders over the
weekend in Dakar.

The Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, had insisted in an interview he had with journalists that the President is not ill.Adesina made the statement shortly after Buhari’s brief interaction with journalists at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport Abuja, on Monday.President Muhammadu Buhari departed Nigeria for London where he is expected to see specialists over what the Presidency described as “persistent ear infection.”Adesina said although the President has ear infection, that had not in any way stopped him from performing his duties as the President of the country.He said, “The buzz going round town is that the President is ill, but ‘ill’ will be a misnomer,it should not be the right word to use.“The President is going for a 10-day rest and during that period he will see specialists whowill look at his ear because he has been treating that ear locally for sometime.“Nigerian physicians have looked at it and now they have said ‘you are going to UK, now that you will be there. let specialists look at the ear.’“They have treated it locally so it is not a question of whether the President is ill. If he is ill, it presupposes that there are certain things that he cannot do.“But till the very last minute that he is traveling, the President performed the duties and functions of his office as the President. So illness is not the issue.”Adesina however said as a human being, Buhari was entitled to a vacation.He said with the latest vacation, the President would have rested for only 15 days since he assumed office.He urged Nigerians to pray for Buhari so that God will take care of him and the country.“As a human being, yes he can rest. He has been President for one full year, you know that in February he took five days leave, he is taking another 10 days now. That means 15 days leave in one year.“You and I take more than that. So it is naturalthat the President, as a human being, is taking 10 days rest but he is not ill.“We need to underscore that. Rather than going into a frenzy I will urge Nigerians to just show goodwill and patriotism, they should pray for him and wish him well.“Things about health life and death are in the hands of God, but I believe that all is well withour President and God will take care of him and take care of the country,” the presidentialspokesman said.

The Indigenous People of
Biafra, IPOB, has responded
to the directive by the
Inspector General of Police
Mr. Solomon Arase ordering
that police officers should
disarm and clamp down on
pro-Biafra agitators in the
South East.
The pro-Biafra group
warned that should the
alleged clamp down lead to
death of any agitator, there
will be dire consequences.
In his reaction, the
spokespersons of the group,
Dr. Clifford Iroanya warned
that no one takes the life of
a Biafra agitator and “goes
scot-free.”
The group averred that the
police boss displayed gross
incompetence and ignorance
by lying that IPOB members
were armed and attacked
Nigerian police officers.
IPOB said the IGP should
have conducted a thorough
investigation and should
have equally checked with
the Commissioner of Police in
Anambra state before
ordering a clamp down on
pro-Biafra agitators.
According to Iroanya, “But
you issued tissues of lies
which you called press
statement even after your
policemen and Nigerian
soldiers killed unarmed
Biafrans some of them in
their sleep inside a church
as they prepared to
remember their fallen heroes
and some of these fallen
heroes were similarly killed
by Buhari in 1968 at Owerri.
“The restoration of the
nation of Biafra is an
ideology and no human being
born of a woman has ever
defeated or exterminated an
ideology.
WHO SAYS BALDNESS
HAS NO REMEDY? See
how I grew back my
bald hair in 29 days
“For those of you who
participate in the wanton
killing of Biafrans, there shall
be consequences and the
boundary of these
consequences is limitless and
can include members of your
family both immediate and
extended. No one takes a
Biafran life and gets away
scot-free.”

Ekiti State governor, Mr Peter Ayodele Fayose, has
said that the parlous state of the nation’s
economy will continue throughout the tenure of
President Muhammadu Buhari, causing the All
Progressives Congress (APC)-led government to
fail woefully.
He gave this assertion in his address during the
thanksgiving service marking the first anniversary
of the fifth assembly of the Ekiti State House of
Assembly at the Government House Chapel, Ado-
Ekiti, on Sunday.
Fayose said he decided to go on solidarity strike
with the workers in the state when it dawned on
him that the Federal Government had failed and
would continue to fail in revamping the nation’s
economy. “I am not a prophet of doom, but I
must tell you the truth. It is this economic
downturn that will pull down the Buhari-led
government. Mark my word. The economy will
improve, but it will be too late in the life of the
Buhari-led government. God is angry with the
Buhari-led government. It is shedding the blood
of too many innocent people.
“Soldiers would enter the home of poor village
people and gun them down in cold blood. There is
too much of blood-shedding. Look at what they
did to that innocent woman in Kano. I am telling
you that God allowed them to get into
government so that they would be exposed; so
that everyone would see their inability and
hypocrisy,” he said. Further details later

EFFORTS by the Federal Government to deepen
the use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)
popularly called cooking gas may have suffered
some setback following allegation of diversion of
LPG vessels to a private terminal.
Executive Secretary of Nigerian Association of LPG
Marketers (NALPGAM), Mr. Bassey Essien,
yesterday told Daily Sun that the development
has led to a disruption in the LPG supply chain
leading to skyrocketing prices.
He said the disruption in supply has led to a
12.5kg cylinder of gas selling for N3, 500 as
against the initial price of N2, 500, warning that,
if not addressed, the price could hit N4, 000 next
week.
‘‘The development has led to the gradual rise of
20 metric tonne of gas from N2.4 million to N3.5
million in a spate of one week. And that is why we
are using the opportunity to alert the concerned
authorities to the effect of this unpatriotic trend
because if we keep quiet, the price may hit N4
million for 20 metric tonne by Friday,’’ he
warned.
Essien alleged that officials of the Marine
Transportation Department of the Pipelines
Products Marketing Company (PPMC) in
connivance with a private gas terminal- NAFGAS
owned by ALGASCO, a subsidiary of the Vitol
Group, were frustrating the efforts of gas
marketers to have access to cheap products.
He explained that, rather than vessels berthing
and discharging at the PPMC terminal, its officials
deliberately create bottlenecks that would make it
extremely impossible for vessels to discharge
forcing them to use the facilities of the private
terminal, which in turn would use the opportunity
to hike prices.

Troops of the Nigerian Army currently prosecuting
the counterinsurgency operations in the
country’s Northeast on Thursday announced the
killing of 19 Boko Haram fighters.
Among those killed, according to a statement by
the spokesperson for the army, Sani Usman, was
a notorious Ameer (leader), Abubakar Gana, in
whose hands hundreds were reported to have
been slaughtered.
Those who understand Boko Haram’s internal
workings say it is customary in Boko Haram circle
that a member only achieves Ameership position
after killing at least 50 persons and or after
personally slaughtering his parents or a member
of his family.
Mr. Gana is said to have achieved that rank many
years ago, before assuming his position as chief of
the sect’s killer squad.
It was in line with his attribute as a fearless and
“merciless” killer that he led a group of fighters,
despite the continuing defeat his group suffered
in the hands of Nigerian troops, to stage an
ambush on advancing troops of the Nigeria Army
on Friday, near Chukungudu village of Borno
State, officials said.
Mr. Usman, a colonel, said, “A carefully planned
and deliberate attack comprising troops of 22
Brigade Garrison, and 153 Task Force Battalion of
7 Division and 8 Task Force Division as well as
Nigeria Air Force Intelligence Surveillance
Reconnaissance (ISR) and some Civilian JTF, was
carried out on Boko Haram terrorists stronghold
and camp at Chukungudu on Friday 3rd May
2016.
“While advancing to the location, the troops
encountered Boko Haram terrorists ambush
positions at Muskari, Gilam and Hausari before
descending on their main objective at
Chukungudu.
“During the encounter at the camp, the troops
killed 19 Boko Haram Terrorists including their
notorious leader in the area called Ameer
Abubakar Gana. They also discovered and
destroyed the terrorists Improvised Explosive
Devices (IEDs) making factory, discovered and
successfully detonated 4 primed IEDs. The troops
also recovered 2 Anti-Aircraft Guns, 1 AK-47 Rifle,
a Pistol, 1 Rocket Propelled Gun (RPG) Bomb, 1
AK-47 Magazine, 267 rounds of 7.62mm (NATO)
metal links ammunition and 23 rounds of
12.7mm belt ammunition. Other recovered items
include a Canter truck, 1 Gun truck, 1 Land Rover
vehicle and a Toyota Hilux vehicle.
“Unfortunately, 2 soldiers suffered gun shot
wounds as a result of enemy action. However, it is
gratifying to state that both of them are very
stable and responding to treatment at the Field
Ambulance”.
Sources from within the Civillian-JTF, who spoke
to our reporter on condition of anonymity, said
the death of Ameer Gana was a major setback to
the deadly sect “because he was among the few
lieutenants that have direct communication link
with the group’s leader, Abubakar Shekau.”

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, on Thursday said it was untrue he described the 2013 privatisation process for successor generation and distribution companies of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) as illegal, saying the newspaper report which attributed it to him was not factual.He said in an emailed statement from his senior aide on communications, Mr. Hakeem Bello, in Abuja that he did not makesuch remarks at a Senate public hearing on electricity tariff.The Minister in the statement distanced himself from the alleged pronouncement. He said in presentations he made before the Senate Committee, he never used the word ‘illegally’ to refer to the privatisation of the PHCN by the federal government.He said rather, a verified playback of a videorecording of the session, showed he said, “…as minister, I inherited a power sector where government interests had been legally sold…”The minister’s clarification of what he said at the session with the Senate has however coincided with reactions from operators of electricity generation companies (Gencos) and distribution companies (Discos) on the report, with some of them expressing their willingness to give up their assets and claim compensation from the government ifit decides to reverse the transaction.According to the statement, Fashola in tracing how the country got to this point in her power sector, referred to the privatisation law made in 2005.He was quoted as saying: “The people of this country through their parliamentarians made a verdict in 2005 when you passed that law that things must change, the law was passed in 2005 and the process was completed in 2013, I wasn’t here, some of you were here, if the process is bad where was the oversight.”He also reportedly said to the Senate: “I will commend to this committee the report of the House of Representatives that investigated the matter. I will also commend to you sirs, some of the reports that have been made by the Senate committee on privatisation. The basic reason for the passage of the power sector reforms bill that was passed in 2005 is that we all know that the government was not doing its business well.”Fashola, it said defended the reform law when he reportedly said the Senate: “These decisions were taken before any of us was here. If it was working why change it, who were the people that were employed to make it work, it was our employers in the TUC and other unions, and if they complain that the dam was not working and the power plant was not working, that was why they were hired.”According to the statement, Fashola further described the power sector reform law as a great law.

Nigeria’s electricity generation has inched up to 2,820 megawatts (mw) from the 1,400mw recorded last week.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), which made this disclosure in its daily operation report released on Tuesday, put the country’s peak demand forecast at 17,720mw.

TCN, while also putting installed electricity generation capacity at 11,165mw, noted that the country has only been able to generate 5,500mw of power in February, which remained the highest since 2014.


According to the statement released TCN and signed by the Asst. General Manager (Public Affairs), Clement Ezeolisah, the downward trend of electricity generation was due to constraints in the thermal power stations, which have prevented the generators from producing at optimal levels.

Corroborating TCN, the Federal Ministry of Power stated in its energy generation report released on Monday that out of the total energy generated, the country was only able to send out 2,529.88mw.

The country’s electricity generation has failed to peak since privatisation, leading to over reliance on generators.

The nation generates most of its electricity from gas-fired power plants, while output from hydro-power plants make up about 30 per cent of total generation.

Electricity supply to households and businesses across the country has worsened in recent weeks on the back of renewed attacks on oil and gas installations in the Niger Delta by militants.

Nigeria attained a new record peak generation of 5,074.7MW and highest maximum daily energy wheeled nationwide of 109,372MWH in February, 2016.

Throwing more light on the country’s electricity generation profile, Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), in its latest energy watch listed the constraints to regular power output to include gas, line limitation and water management.

The gas constraint remained the highest power generation challenge in the country, leading to a shortfall of 3,568mw of electricity as at May 22.

NERC put the total energy constrained on May 16 at 4,904mw; May 17, 5,666mw; May 18, 4,265mw and May 22, 4,497mw.

Thirteen power plants have been struggling with gas constraints, including five that were built under the National Integrated Power Project, which was conceived in 2005. Olorunsogo’s unutilised generation capacity was put at about 480MW; 355MW of Geregu’s capacity has also been idle; Omotosho is struggling to generate any megawatts from its 360MW actual capacity; Sapele’s unutilised capacity was about 337.5MW, and Ihovbor’s 277.4MW has not in use.

Others with unutilised generation capacity due to gas constraints were Omotosho I (228MW); Delta Gas (220MW); Olorunsogo I (266MW); Sapele I (110MW); Egbin (816MW); Rivers IPP (160MW); Trans-Amadi (20MW) and Geregu I (54MW). Three power plants, namely Odukpani, Trans-Amadi and Omoku in Rivers State were constrained by line problems/rejection by Discos, while Jebba and Shiroro’s 470MW capacity were unused due to water management/maintenance.

Speaking on Africa energy deficit at the African Development Bank’s yearly meeting in Lusaka, Zambia, Chair of the Africa Progress Panel, Kofi Annan, said that Africa energy sector bottlenecks and power shortages cost the region two to four per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) yearly.

He said that this situation also consistently undermines efforts to promote growth and create jobs, at a time when the continent faces a huge youth bulge with millions entering the job market every year.

Annan, a former Secretary-General of the United Nations, stressed the need for African governments to create the right policies and enabling environment that would lead to regular electricity.

The Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole has explained why many states in the country are struggling to pay their civil servants’ salaries.
He attributed the current economic challenge to the misrule of the past administration led by Goodluck Jonathan.

He said even governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, which ruled the country in the last 16 years agreed with their colleagues from other parties that the “challenge today is as a result of abuses of yesterday”.

Oshiomhole spoke with State House correspondents shortly after a meeting he had with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He said he and five of his colleagues had earlier met with Buhari on Tuesday to discuss the huge challenges being faced by many of the states.

Part of the problem, he said, was that many workers were not being paid.

According to him, once salaries wee not paid, the situation creates a vicious circle with landlords not getting their rents and market women unable to sell, leading to a depressed economy.

He said, “These issues were discussed yesterday (on Tuesday) and as usual President Buhari has been extremely supportive even though we all agree including PDP governors among us that the crisis that we are being faced was as a result of the misrule of the past.

“The challenge of today is as a result of the abuses of yesterday.

“But inspite of that, President Buhari has been very helpful. But for that, many states would have gone into crisis. I don’t know what you will call a state that is completely insolvent and bankrupt.

“We have to appreciate the President for the leadership he has provided; ‎I mean we all have a greater sense of security today than was the case around this time a year ago.”

The opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has threatened to ensure two of its members who defected Tuesday, lose their seats in the House of Representatives.

The two members, Tony Nwoye from Anambra and Udende Emmanuel from Benue had on Wednesday declared their intention to defect to the APC.
They sent separate letters which were read by the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, on the floor of the House, in which they cited division in the PDP as the reason for their defection.

They also said the PDP had broken into three factions headed by Ali Modu Sheriff, Ahmed Makarfi and Jerry Gana, respectively, and that they did not wish to belong to any faction.

But in a swift reaction also on Wednesday, the party said there was no faction in the PDP.
In a statement signed by the Secretary of the Board of Trustees, BoT, of the party, Ojo Madueke, PDP said there was only one approved National Convention which took place in Port Harcourt on Saturday 21st of May, 2016, which, it said, was, in accordance with the PDP Constitution.

The statement added that the party “approved some far reaching resolutions that had the unanimous support of those who attended the Port Harcourt Convention with subsequent endorsements of another PDP political meeting that took place in Abuja on the same day”.

The statement added that the conveners of the Abuja meeting had since integrated their positions with the structures and resolutions of the Port Harcourt Convention.

“Subsequent meetings of, first, Board of Trustees members, and secondly, meetings with Governor’s Forum, Leadership of National Assembly and Former Ministers in PDP Government Forum, and a PDP Former Governor’s Forum, held, and decided to work together,” the party said.

It also added that aggrieved members are being reconciled across the length and breadth of the country.
“The rank and file of the Party have resolved to work together, and PDP has never been stronger than it is now since its entry into the honourable role of a robust and principled opposition.

“Any suggestion of a faction, is at best ill-informed and ignorant, and at worst, is part of a grand plan to decimate the only political platform today, that is ready, experienced and able to honour the nation’s invitation to have a credible opposition party that will hold Government of the day accountable and thereby strengthen and nourish our young democracy.
“Let it therefore be understood by those of our members in the National Assembly who may be tempted to jump ship, or have already jumped, that on the basis of clear decisions of cases decided in the Supreme Court, they stand the risk of losing their seats in Parliament if they went ahead with their latest indulgence,” PDP said.
PDP said it will insist on a declaration of vacancy and subsequent elections in affected constituencies in the event of such “misguided defections”.
“The pattern of PDP electoral victories all over the federation since the 2015 General Elections shows that where there is election arising from such vacancies, PDP will return a more credible and more loyal representative of the people,” the statement said .

The Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) DELTA, has interrogated seven suspects over various criminal activities in the coastal region of Delta.Muhammed Garba, Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Central Naval Command, told journalists on Wednesday at the Warri Naval Base that the suspects were apprehended in the last one week in Batan community and environs, Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta.He said five others were yet to be interrogated, while seven Cotonou boats and 490 metric tons of illegally refined diesel were also apprehended in the period.Mr. Garba said five of them were interrogated for alleged involvement in the recent bombing of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) installations.The Naval boss explained that one of the suspects was involved in the alleged killing of two soldiers on May 10 in Batan community, while the last suspect was being quizzed for extortion.He said that the suspects would be handed over to the relevant authority for prosecution after the preliminary investigation by the navy.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a roll of cable, car battery and dynamites recovered from the suspects were also displayed to journalists.While stressing the determination of his men in combating crime, the FOC said the activities of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA)would not deter the Command from carrying out its statutory obligations of providing security in the territorial waterways.He said that the Command had made “tremendous achievement” in recent times.“The Central Naval Command has made a lot of progress relating to pipeline vandalism, sea robbery and attacks on ships.“The Command’s operation has resulted in the seizure of five vessels, a tug boat, five barges and 72 Cotonou boats and were consequently destroyed.“Others include the seizure of 22 speed boats and destruction of 73 illegal refineries, 154 crude oil pits, 531 surface tanks.Mr. Garba said the command was determined to protect the maritime domain against criminal activities.‘`We will continue to protect lives and properties and also ensure safety in the maritime domains for economic activities to thrive,’’ he said.Mr. Garba warned criminals operating in thecreeks to desist, adding that the command was poised to rid the waterways of criminals and saboteurs.“They knew that if they have been caught with those items on board, there will be no excuse for them and they quickly threw them overboard, my men got divers to recover them from the sea bed,’’ he said.

An ethnic militia from
Langtang South local
government in Plateau State
have raided 13 villages in
Ibbi local government area of
Taraba State.
The secretary and the
chairman of Ibbi citizen
Forum, Mallam Garba Ibbi and
Adamu Inusa, recently stated
that the militia teamed up with
a militant group from Wukari
area to carry out their
deadly activities that claimed
the lives of several persons.
The incident has been
confirmed by the Taraba
State Government.
Governor Darius Ishaku on
Monday said he was aware
of the sacking of communities
in Ibbi, adding that he had
contacted the Plateau State
governor over the matter.
“I informed my Plateau State
counterpart over the matter
and we arranged to meet
along with Nasarawa and
Benue state governors to
discuss and resolve the
matter,” Darius said.

The power sector has been losing an average of N2bn daily since the resurgence of pipeline bombings by militants in the Niger Delta, latest electricity supply statistics have shown.

This is coming as the number of functional gas-fired power generating turbines across the country has dropped from 50 that were operational in April to about 30 as of the end of last week.

In a report by The PUNCH late last month, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, had stated that out of about 140 power generating turbines in the country, only 50 were functional, adding that the facilities were not working because there was no gas to fire them up.

“The power being generated comes from only about 78 turbines out of 140, and they are largely fired by gas. Now, power has gone down because we have gas outage due to the failure of pipelines. And as a result of that, 78 turbines dropped to may be about 50 because there was no gas,” Fashola had said.

Confirming the minister’s position on lack of gas for the power generating plants, latest data on the industry obtained on Monday showed that the country lost 3,748 megawatts of electricity due to gas constraints on Saturday.

Nigeria could not generate 92MW and 127MW of electricity due to line and water management constraints, respectively, while only 2,461MW hour of energy was sent out.

“The power sector lost the equivalent of N1.904bn on May 28, 2016 due to constraints,” the report stated.

An analysis of statistics showed that on the average, the power sector has been losing about N2bn daily as a result of constraints to electricity generation, while the major challenge, according to the report, is inadequate gas supply.

On Friday, the report revealed that the power sector lost N2.117bn, while 3,849MW of electricity could not be generated as a result of gas constraint, as only 2,163MwH of power was sent out to consumers across the country.

Additional data from the System Operator of the Transmission Company of Nigeria showed that the country’s power generation hovered between 2,300MW and 3,000MW for several weeks, but this fell drastically to 2,020.1MW on Saturday, a development that was largely attributed to the heightened bombings of pipelines by militants.

It was further gathered that the drop in the number of functional gas-fired power turbines was due to the fact that some of the facilities get their gas supplies from oil companies whose facilities were attacked by the militants.

Sources at the Power ministry and the Presidency told our correspondent that the destruction of pipelines belonging to oil companies was not only affecting the firms, but also hampering power generation.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday hosted members of the State House Correspondents to an anniversary lunch with a challenge for journalists to always conduct research on crime-related issues before publishing. The President said the call had become imperative in order to ensure accurate and factual reportage of such issues. Buhari made reference to the ongoing efforts by the Federal Government to recover Nigeria’s stolen funds. He said only investigative reporting of the events would enable the public to understand and appreciate the implications of such criminal acts. ``How do you define change? Luckily, our party identified three major items, security, economy and corruption. ``So, please when next you want to interrogate out visitors try and do some research so that when they are coming next time, they will do research themselves’’, he said. He, however, stated that efforts had been intensified to get the international community’s support towards full recovery of the diverted 2.1billion dollars meant for purchase of military hardwares to fight insurgency. ``People were trusted and the most recent one which we haven't recovered from is the 2.1billion dollars given by the government then, to the military to buy hardwares to fight the insurgency which had taken over part of the country. ``They just sat, just the way you are sitting now, and shared the money into their own account. ``They didn't even bother. So, we are still trying to get the cooperation of the international community and we have to do it with a lot of respect to the judiciary. ``We cannot go out and talk too much. We have to allow the judiciary to do their work. We will give them the facts, the name, country, bank account. ``If you talk too much, technicalities will come in, then, we will realise less than what we want to realise,’’ he said. Buhari described the first one year in office of the All Progressives Congress-led administration as a tumultuous year for everyone in the villa. ``I will talk about my experience here in Aso Villa. I underrated the influence of the PDP for 16 years watching from outside ar eight consecutive governments.

Head of President
Mohammadu Buhari’s
Committee on Corruption,
Prof. Itse Sagay, SAN, said
yesterday that governor of
Rivers State, Nyesom Wike
deliberately set up an
investigative panel to probe
his predecessor, Rotimi
Amaechi, and subsequently
issued a white panel on the
probe in order to hinder him
from being appointed a
minister.
Amaechi is now
Transportation Minister and
represents Rivers State in
the Federal Executive
Council, FEC.
Sagay further disclosed that
in the next six months, all
corruption cases in court will
be concluded.
He was speaking on a
television programme titled,
“Assessing the
government,” on Sunday.
When asked why current
members of the All
Progressives Congress,
APC, formerly in the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, were
not being persecuted, he
said, “If anybody has any
evidence against any APC
members, suspected to have
looted public fund should
come forward and report
such a politician, assuring
that investigation would
commence.”
He said Wike’s panel’s
report on Amaechi was not
recognized by the Economic
and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC, because
according to him, “the panel
lacked credibility.”

Nigerians
have given
President
Muhammadu
Buhari 64 per
cent average
in its overall
job
performance
rating after
one year in
office.
The latest
polls results
by NOIPolls
Limited
released on
Monday
revealed that
President
Buhari’s
approval
rating
between June
2015 and May
2016 ranged
from his
highest of 80
per cent in
October 2015
to the lowest
of 42 per cent
in April 2016.
NOIPolls
regularly
conducts
periodic
opinion polls
and studies
on various
socio-
economic and
political
issues in
Nigeria.
Compared to
one year ago,
the poll said
44 per cent of
Nigerians now
believe the
country was
currently
moving in the
right direction
under
President
Buhari,
against the
opinion of 37
per cent of
the sample
population
that said the
country was
moving in the
wrong
direction.
Only 19 per
cent said the country
was neither moving in
the right nor wrong
direction.
Further analysis of
specific indices of the
study showed that
Nigerians rated as
average at 55 and 47
per cent the
president’s
performance on
corruption and
national security
respectively, while 14
per cent rated very
poorly his
performance on job
creation and handling
of the economy (21
per cent).
On the most
important issue(s)
the administration
should focus its
attention on over the
remaining three years,
the poll said Nigerians
identified
unemployment (21
per cent), power (17
per cent), and the
economy (16 per cent)
as top priority areas.
Details of the findings
based on geo-political
zones indicated that
the North-West and
North-East geopolitical
zones with the
highest proportion of
respondents gave the
president 81 per cent
each, while the South-
South and South-East
zones accounted for
the highest proportion
of respondents who
disapproved the
president’s
performance with 35
per cent each

Nigerians
have given
President
Muhammadu
Buhari 64 per
cent average
in its overall
job
performance
rating after
one year in
office.
The latest
polls results
by NOIPolls
Limited
released on
Monday
revealed that
President
Buhari’s
approval
rating
between June
2015 and May
2016 ranged
from his
highest of 80
per cent in
October 2015
to the lowest
of 42 per cent
in April 2016.
NOIPolls
regularly
conducts
periodic
opinion polls
and studies
on various
socio-
economic and
political
issues in
Nigeria.
Compared to
one year ago,
the poll said
44 per cent of
Nigerians now
believe the
country was
currently
moving in the
right direction
under
President
Buhari,
against the
opinion of 37
per cent of
the sample
population
that said the
country was
moving in the
wrong
direction.
Only 19 per
cent said the country
was neither moving in
the right nor wrong
direction.
Further analysis of
specific indices of the
study showed that
Nigerians rated as
average at 55 and 47
per cent the
president’s
performance on
corruption and
national security
respectively, while 14
per cent rated very
poorly his
performance on job
creation and handling
of the economy (21
per cent).
On the most
important issue(s)
the administration
should focus its
attention on over the
remaining three years,
the poll said Nigerians
identified
unemployment (21
per cent), power (17
per cent), and the
economy (16 per cent)
as top priority areas.
Details of the findings
based on geo-political
zones indicated that
the North-West and
North-East geopolitical
zones with the
highest proportion of
respondents gave the
president 81 per cent
each, while the South-
South and South-East
zones accounted for
the highest proportion
of respondents who
disapproved the
president’s
performance with 35
per cent each

Nigerians
have given
President
Muhammadu
Buhari 64 per
cent average
in its overall
job
performance
rating after
one year in
office.
The latest
polls results
by NOIPolls
Limited
released on
Monday
revealed that
President
Buhari’s
approval
rating
between June
2015 and May
2016 ranged
from his
highest of 80
per cent in
October 2015
to the lowest
of 42 per cent
in April 2016.
NOIPolls
regularly
conducts
periodic
opinion polls
and studies
on various
socio-
economic and
political
issues in
Nigeria.
Compared to
one year ago,
the poll said
44 per cent of
Nigerians now
believe the
country was
currently
moving in the
right direction
under
President
Buhari,
against the
opinion of 37
per cent of
the sample
population
that said the
country was
moving in the
wrong
direction.
Only 19 per
cent said the country
was neither moving in
the right nor wrong
direction.
Further analysis of
specific indices of the
study showed that
Nigerians rated as
average at 55 and 47
per cent the
president’s
performance on
corruption and
national security
respectively, while 14
per cent rated very
poorly his
performance on job
creation and handling
of the economy (21
per cent).
On the most
important issue(s)
the administration
should focus its
attention on over the
remaining three years,
the poll said Nigerians
identified
unemployment (21
per cent), power (17
per cent), and the
economy (16 per cent)
as top priority areas.
Details of the findings
based on geo-political
zones indicated that
the North-West and
North-East geopolitical
zones with the
highest proportion of
respondents gave the
president 81 per cent
each, while the South-
South and South-East
zones accounted for
the highest proportion
of respondents who
disapproved the
president’s
performance with 35
per cent each

The immediate past Minister of National Planning,
Prof. Abubakar Suleiman, on Sunday gave kudos
to President Mohammad Buhari for his fight
against Boko Haram terrorists in the country.
Suleiman gave the commendation in llorin while
reacting to President Buhari's speech in
commemoration of Democracy Day and one year
of his administration.
He noted that there is now peace in parts of the
country that hitherto had recorded mass
casualties and displacement due to attacks by
the insurgents.
The former minister urged the government to
consolidate on the achievement recorded so far,
to engender development in the area.
He noted that no meaningful development could
be attained in an atmosphere of rancour, hatred
and acrimony.
Suleiman, a Professor of Political Science at the
University of Abuja, advised Buhari to bring his
ministers closer to him, to be able to get direct
information on issues affecting the country
including the feelings and aspirations of
Nigerians.
Suleiman suggested the inclusion of more
economists into the administration, to fast track
the country's economic recovery.
Meanwhile, Gov. Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto
State, has appealed to Nigerians to offer prayers
for the President to succeed in building peace,
progress and political stability in the country.
Tambuwal, who made the appeal in Sokoto while
distributing inputs to farmers groups in the state,
said that the prayers would guide the leadership
to perform creditably.
He said that the inputs were procured at the cost
of N159 million under the Fadama III programme
to boost irrigation in the state.
The governor said that the items include rice
tilling machines, water pumps, seeds, chemical,
animal feeds among others, which would be sold
to farmers at 75 per cent discount.
He explained that the gesture was to encourage
the youths and women engage in all-year
farming.
Tambuwal called on the beneficiaries to utilise the
facilities provided for them to produce enough
food for local consumption and export.

The Nigerian Army has arrested 10 suspected members of the militant group, Niger Delta Avengers .

The suspects were said to have been arrested at about 1:40am on Saturday, in Oporaza community, Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State, following a cordon and search operation conducted in the community.

Several oil installations in the region have been vandalised by militants suspected to be members of the Niger Delta Avengers, threatening the production and supply of oil and gas in the country.

‎The Commander of the 4 Brigade, Brigadier-General Farouk Yahaya, who paraded the suspects on Sunday in Benin, the Edo State capital, explained that there had been several cases of sabotage by suspected militants and vandals in Delta State since January 1, 2016‎, as well as further warnings and threats “to shut down all operations” in the sector.

He, however, noted that‎ several items were recovered from the arrested suspects.

They include 28 detonator cords (also known Detonator 33), one pistol, two empty pistol magazines, 196 rounds of 7.62 special ammunition, one round of nine-millimetre ‎ammunition, a live cartridge and five daggers.

Also recovered were 15 handheld radio sets, 18 phones, 203 SIM cards of three major network providers, ‎five swimsuits, two headlamps, a laptop, two ipads and a camera.

Others are seven wraps of substances suspected to be Indian hemp, five speedboat throttle cables, six pairs of hand gloves‎, N23,000 cash and a cheque book.

He said that although investigation would reveal the true identity of the suspects, recent explosions carried out by the Niger Delta Avengers suggested that the arrested suspects may be connected to the group.

He added, “Within the period under review, you can see that the Niger Delta Avengers have claimed virtually all acts of criminal activities against oil and gas and they continue threatening a shutdown of the whole sector. So, most likely, they (suspects) will be the people, who else would they be?