Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said that Nigerians still want the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to return to power in 2019. He therefore appealed to the party’s members to rebuild it.

Mr. Jonathan said this on Monday evening as he led other party chieftains to a meeting of Expanded National Caucus of the party at its Wadata Plaza national secretariat.

Mr. Jonathan also assured that many members of the party who left it as a result of its internal crisis would return.

The former president, who arrived at the venue to a loud ovation, assured party supporters that the PDP has gone past ‘its worst moment.’

“The first thing we need to do is to rebuild the party because when the party is strong, everything will be added to that.

“Whether you have individual or group interest, as a politician, you must serve. These are very basic things. But first and foremost, we must strengthen the party.

“Let us cooperate with the Caretaker Committee and make sure that PDP is very cohesive. And when that happens, people who stepped aside may step back.’’

PDP had been factionalised since its national convention which held in May 2016 in Port Harcourt leading to numerous court cases that ended last week at the Supreme Court.

With the affirmation of Ahmed Makarfi as its authentic chairman by the apex court, the crisis that had ravaged the party was finally laid to rest.

In reaction to an alleged FG’s plan to stop shooting music abroad, Nigerian singer Mr. Peter Okoye, Paul Okoye’s twin brother went to his Instagram handle and wrote:

The fractures within OPEC's precarioua
production cut agreement are
becoming increasingly more visible.

Following last weekend's report that
OPEC will invite Nigeria and Libya - two
cartel member states whose output
was not capped as part of the Vienna
agreement - moments ago Nigeria's oil
minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu has politely declined such an overture,
saying that his country will "miss" the
ministerial meeting in Russia on July 24,
adding that it will eventually find the
time to meet Saudi and Russian oil
ministers (just not now), and that his country has no set timeframe to join
OPEC oil production cuts.


And while Kachikwu said that Nigeria
will support a cap on its production, this
won't happen for a while: he said that
while his country is currently producing
1.7mmbpd of crude, it will (maybe?)
impose a cap only when it can stably pump 1.8 million barrels per day. He
also said that he will hopefully know in
"two to three months" whether oil
output has stabilized before agreeing
on production cuts. Faced with the prospect of even more
supply output out of Nigeria, oil is once
again on the back foot.

The National Drug Law Enforcement
Agency, NDLEA, on Monday denied
allegations that it was “harassing” a
former first lady, Patience Jonathan.

In a statement by its spokesperson,
Mitchell Ofoyeju, the anti-narcotics
agency said it did not harass citizens.

Jonathan had petitioned the House of
Representatives last week alleging
harassment of her family by security
agencies. She had included NDLEA and
the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC in the charge.

Bright Tamuno, the lawmaker
representing Okrika Federal
Constituency in Rivers State, had made
the claim while presenting the petition
at the House’s plenary last Thursday.

“No former first lady has been harassed
like this before, and in view of the
sacrifices that her husband has made
for the country, the House should
consider and call the security agencies
to order”, he had stated.

The letter to the lawmakers came six
months after the former first lady
wrote a similar petition to the
lawmakers making the same claims.

In its reaction, the NDLEA maintained it
always takes appropriate action
against anyone or group of persons
who contravene the NDLEA Act Cap
N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria
2001.

“This is done through painstaking
investigation, arrest and prosecution of
suspected drug traffickers. All
operations are conducted in
compliance with the rule of law and
global best practices,” Ofoyeju added.

Lawyers representing Senator Dino
Melaye on Monday said they have
served the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) with an
order restraining it from continue with
the senator’s recall from the Senate.

Melaye’s lead counsel, Chief Mike
Ozekhome (SAN), told our
correspondent that INEC was served
with the order on Monday morning.

“The clear order was duly served on
INEC this (Monday) morning.

“INEC, has therefore, been restrained by
Justice John Tsoho from taking any
steps on the matter of Senator Melaye’s
recall till the hearing and determination
of his motion on notice for interlocutory
injunction against INEC.

“The application, along with another for
joinder by some persons, was fixed for
September 29, 2017,” he said.

Justice Tsoho made the order on July 6.

He granted an interim injunction
restraining INEC or its agents from
acting on a petition allegedly submitted
by Melaye’s constituents, pending the
hearing and determination of his
motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.

The judge also barred INEC from
commencing or further continuing with
the process of recalling Melaye or acting
on the petition pending hearing and
determination of his motion on notice.

Justice Tsoho further restrained INEC
from conducting any referendum based
on the petition until Melaye’s motion on
notice for interlocutory injunction is
heard and determined.

“The suit is adjourned to the 29th of
September, 2017 for hearing of the
plaintiff’s motion on notice and the
application for joinder,” Justice Tsoho
added.

The Southern Leaders’ Forum has called on Acting President Yemi Osinbajo to address the nation on measures being taken by the federal government to protect the Igbos and other southerners from attacks by Arewa youths.

They reminded Osinbajo that October 1, 2017 ultimatum would elapse in less than 2 months.

The leaders, who met in Lagos at the residence of Chief Albert Korubo Horsfall, also stated that Nigeria must be restructured by December 2017.

A communique read by Senator Bassey Henshawat the end of the meeting reads: “The leaders noted with gratitude the statement by the Acting President that the issue of restructuring would be addressed soon and urged him to act on the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference.

“The 16-point agenda submitted by the South-south leaders to the president should be acted upon immediately to avoid a resurgence of youth restiveness in the region and sustain the current peace.

“The leaders noted that the issue of restructuringand change was an important part of the All Progressives Congress’ manifesto.

“The meeting also noted with great concern the continued menace of armed Fulani herdsmen in the southern part of Nigeria and the proliferation of Fulani settlement in the south and alert the Nigerian authority and the world at large to this dangerous development and call on the federal government to make an official statement on thisand take appropriate action to check it.

“They reiterated and reaffirmed the decision taken at their meeting of June 18 on the unity of Nigeria and the need for restructuring and the solidarity of the entire south.

Among others in attendance were Dr Okey Anueyiagu, Mr Yinka Odumakin, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, General Alani Akinrinade, Obong VictorAttah, and Mr. Ledum Mitee.

Former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, has revealed those against restructuring of Nigeria.

Fani-Kayode, on Monday in his latest article sent to DAILY POST, said those resisting the idea of restructuring and that said no to the conducting of a referendum on self-determination by the ethnic nationalities in Nigeria were arch-conservatives that seek to preserve what the French call the “ancien regime”.

‘Ancien Regime’ a political or social system that has been displaced.

He added: “They are people that have fed fat on Nigeria and the very idea of dismantling and reforming our constitutional structure, redefining our nation and allowing the will of the people to be done terrifies them beyond belief because they stand to lose everything.

He added: “They are people that have fed fat on Nigeria and the very idea of dismantling and reforming our constitutional structure, redefining our nation and allowing the will of the people to be done terrifies them beyond belief because they stand to lose everything.

“They are ignorant, self-serving, reactionary, godless and cruel people that are still living in an inglorious, inequitable and unconscionable past. Worst still, they are suffering from chronic delusions and they are out of touch with reality.

“They are modern-day slave masters who seek topreserve and protect a cruel, moribund, retrograde, unjust and failed system which serves their interest alone and which cages and destroys the future and destiny of our people.

“They use childish tales about the horrors of war to deter us from insisting on our rights and fighting for our freedom.

“They insist that we must accept the fact that we are slaves and second class citizens, that the “Christians are nothing” and that Nigeria was bequeathed to them and their misguided and servile friends and allies by our erstwhile and ever so reactionary British colonial masters.

“They use the security agencies, the Armed Forces, the traditional rulers, the media, the rulingclass, the political elite and all the other tools of oppression to intimidate and demonise us, paint us black, stand in our way and drown our voices but in the end they will fail and we shall prevail.”

Former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, has mocked President Muhammadu Buhari who has been in London for medical check-ups since May7 and Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, as they were conspicuously absent at the G20 Summit taking place in Hamburg, Germany.

Femi-Kayode, writing on his Twitter feed, stated that Presidents of fellow African nations like Senegal, Ivory Coast and South Africa are present, but Buhari is “missing” and Osinbajo was not invited.

He tweeted: “G20 meets. President of Senegal, Ivory Coast and S.Africa are there. Nigeria’s Pres. has gone missing and her Acting Pres. was not invited!”

The G20 is a forum, that gathers world leaders from the top 20 of the world’s most successful and emerging economies.

This year’s annual summit is being held between July 7 and July 8.

ImadeUReadThis:


How?

FNN is already in the dustbin.

AOL Time Warner are considering pulling the plug on the gay news network

It is with moral decorum and unbiased reportage, that i call to question, CNN's Richard Quest Business Traveller's terrible depiction of Nigeria's Eco-climate. In Quest's latest business show, the English reporter focused on the Nigerian business climate. His show was inaccurate, myopic, untruthful, but worse was sectoral. Either by design or by error, the host painted the economic sector has been dominated and facilitated by the South West. He supposedly interviewed the movers and shakers of the business sector. All the CEO's and proprietors were all suspiciously from the Southwest.
Starting with Lai Mohammed and moving to Mo Abudu and Nike studios, only one or two individuals were not of the southwest.
I believe this is wrong and does serious damage to business savvy investors who are interested in Nigeria and those already operating in Nigeria. It could also bring about friction within the country.
If Nigeria really wants to grow and bring forth prosperity by bringing in foreign investments, then it has to do so by equitably presenting the SWOT capabilities of all the tribes that makeup Nigeria.
In the future such a mistake shouldnt occur

Newmanluckyman:
...was there a referendum in your constitution when a plebiscite was conducted if people wanted a mid west to be carved out of the old western Nigeria?

Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has claimed that Oduduwa Republic will be created 6 months after Biafra becomes a sovereign nation.

Fani-Kayode, who has been publicly supporting Biafra’s movements for secession from Nigeria, took to his Twitter page on Friday, to insist on a referendum.

He wrote: “‘Treat the surrendering Biafrans well or risk their children rising again’- Gen. Phillip Effiong, 1970. Prophetic words.


“Oduduwa Republic shall be established no more than 6 months after Biafra has been created. Then we shall be free. TIME FOR REFERENDUMS!”

Yesterday, Fani-Kayode said Nigeria should be begging Igbos for forgiveness and not threatening them.

According to Fani-Kayode, the people from the South East need to be apologized to, after “we killed 3 million Igbos in the war including 1 million children.”

Larryfest:
This has got to be the most useless statement of this century he spoke only as a citizen of hausa land rite or what nonsense is this man saying.....for God sake he is the president of all not just any other citizen.

A senator has defended President Muhammadu Buhari’s controversial use of Hausa language in his Sallah message to Nigerians Saturday.

Shehu Sani, a senator from Kaduna State, joined Kola Tubosun, a language teacher, and other commentators to play up the bright side of the ailing president’s action, which has been widely criticised.

“There’s nothing wrong with the President sending Sallah message in Hausa language,” Mr. Sani said in a Facebook post.

Mr. Sani, a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress, said Mr. Buhari was not speaking in his capacity as Nigerian president but as a private citizen, since the country already has an acting leader in place.

“He is on medical vacation. He has transferred power to the Acting President. It’s the Acting President that is bound to act ‘officially’ on state matters, including speaking in ‘our official language, English,” he said.

But the senator admitted that the controversy sparked by Mr. Buhari’s use of Hausa was “avoidable” in the light of recent tensions in the country.

A civil rights organisation, Campaign
Against Military Impunity, has raised
the alarm over alleged recruitment
scandal in the Nigerian Air Force.

The organisation alleged that the Chief
of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Sadiq
Abubakar, had compromised standards
in the recruitment exercise for non-
commissioned officers from the core
North.

“Presently at the Airforce Base in
Kaduna, there is ongoing pre-training
formalities and tests for successful
recruits, where 80 per cent of them are
Northerners”, CAMI said.

Executive Director of CAMI, Victor Coker,
told journalists in Abuja yesterday, that
the government should carry out an
audit of the exercise and courses going
on in all the military training
institutions.

“To unravel this misnomer, there
should be an audit of the courses going
on in all the training institutions. The
audit should look at the composition
and last three batches of those in
training”, he stressed.

“They were supposed to take 68
persons in each state; but after the
normal recruitment, the Chief of Air
Staff now brought over 2,000 names
spread across the core Northern States.

“Out of this figure, only 30/40 was
given to the South. This is not the first
time it is happening. Such things have
been done in DSS, EFCC, and even
police, Army and the Navy.

“We keep on preaching One Nigeria,
One Nigeria. But behind the empty
slogan of One Nigeria lies bare-faced
hypocrisy and grand design to
sentence part of the country to
perpetual slavery.”

“How can the desert be more
populated than the tropical rain forest?
This was how the population census
was done before independence”, he
queried.

The Majority Leader of the House of
Representatives, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila,
has faulted President Muhammadu
Buhari for using Hausa language to
convey his Sallah message to Nigerians.

DAILY POST reports that on Sunday, the
Presidency had, first time since the
President went on a medical vacation
to London 51 days ago, released an
audio message containing Buhari’s
message to Nigerians to mark the Eid- el-Fitr, commemorating the end of
Ramadan.

Reacting to the controversy trailing the
audio message, Gbajabiamila flayed the
President’s handlers for his choice of
language in conveying his message to
Nigerians.

Gbajabiamila, who is also the All
Progressives Congress caucus leader in
the House, told Punch that the
criticisms by different groups and
individuals were not unfounded.

He admitted that the President’s
handlers should have ensured that the
language of communication was
English.

Gbajabiamila stated, “The criticism is
not unfounded, but I am the leader of
the House in charge of government
legislative business not a Presidential
handler.

“I think that question should be
directed to those who handle Mr.
President.

But as a matter of opinion, I
would have preferred he spoke in
English. But, again, not every Nigerian
speak English, not everyone is literate.

“Yes, at this critical time and with all
that is unfolding, it would have been
better to speak in the official language.

“However, moving beyond the form to
the substance, at least now, we have
heard Mr. President speak.”

The pan Igbo socio-political organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has berated President Muhammadu Buhari for addressing the nation in Hausa language.

Buhari in his sallah message to Muslim faithfuls had spoken to Nigerians in Hausa, a situation that has caused outrage in the country.

The Presidency had released the audio to debunk report that Buhari was suffering from speech impairment.

Reacting to the audio message by Buhari, Deputy Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chuks Ibegbu said Nigeria has descended to the level of a ‘Banana Republic.’

Addressing newsmen in Enugu, on Sunday, Ibegbu said the authenticity of the audio message should be investigated.

According to Ibegbu, if the audio was found to be authentic, then there was a big problem.

He said, “First of all, we have to ascertain the veracity of the voice because in these days of technology, a lot of things can be cloned, including human voice.

“But if it is true that Mr. President addressed Nigerians in a local language, it means something is wrong somewhere.

“I want to believe that the voice is not real, but if it is Mr. President that actually spoke, then, it means that we have descended to the level of a Banana Republic.

“The Federal Government should tell Nigerians whether it is actually Mr. President’s voice, or not.”

The Ohanaeze spokesperson stressed that the address couldn’t have been meant for Nigerians if it was delivered in Hausa.

“Which message; message to who; in what language? Is Hausa our lingua franca? If Mr. President wants to address us, he should talk to us in English, which is our lingua franca,” he said.

A former Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Alani Akinrinade (rtd) has compared agitation being led by Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, and Ken Saro-Wiwa, late leader of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP).

Akinrinade told Punch that the latter went about his agitation in an intellectual context which attracted sympathy from many Nigerians and the international community.


Ken, writer and environmental activist, was killed alongside his colleagues in 1995 by the Abacha government.

The chieftain of the defunct National Democratic Coalition, NADECO, was reacting to federal government’s handling of the agitation.

He, however, warned that Biafra and other agitators should not be treated as hoodlums.


His words: “It is usually treasonable to take up arms against one’s country – even to have violent demonstrations. But, one must keep asking oneself: why?

“Why would a normal person, especially from the educated class, participate in anything that would be either illegal or dangerous?

“It is not good for us to look at these people (pro-Biafra agitators) as just hoodlums. We know how Isaac Adaka Boro was treated.


“He didn’t have military knowledge. If he did, Nigeria would have been a different place today. So, eventually he died.

“The next charge was led by an intellectual (Ken Saro-Wiwa) and it’s not different from what these boys (pro-Biafra agitators) are doing now and asking for – except that he put his own in a very intellectual context and tried to make us reason with him.

“What did we do? The government hanged him, hoping his ideas would die with him in the noose. That’s where we still are today.

“Therefore, whether Nnamdi Kanu embarked on his agitation the right or the wrong way, the question is: what prompted such agitation?

“Why would anybody keep talking about Biafra after the carnage, the wanton destruction of lives and properties and the psychological trauma brought upon Nigerians, not just people from the East?

“I don’t have the mind to condemn the Indigenous People of Biafra, the (Niger Delta) Avengers, and other groups. Who created the situation for these people to think differently from us?” Akinrinade said.