₦airaland Forum

Forget what the objective facts are, former Governor Diepreye Solomon Peter (DSP) Alamieyeseigha, who died last week at 62 years, is a candidate for official veneration.

The fact is that, in September 2005, law enforcement officers in the United Kingdom arrested DSP after finding more than a million pounds sterling in cash in a home he owned in London. Early in December, 2005, the then second-term governor, somehow slipped through the hands of British law enforcement. The story of how he eluded British police remains a mystery to this day. The absence of solid facts gave birth to a legend: that the former governor had disguised himself as a woman—and was able to walk past British detectives detailed to keep watch over him. Till his death, DSP Alamieyeseigha dismissed the narrative of his disguise, but offered no account of his mystifying escape.

The irreducible fact is that DSP somehow eluded his would-be English prosecutors. He materialized in Nigeria, compelling then President Olusegun Obasanjo, a political foe, to arm-twist some Bayelsa legislators into impeaching DSP within days of his dramatic reappearance in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital. His impeachment catapulted DSP’s then deputy, Goodluck Jonathan, into Government House, and prepared him for eventual elevation, by the selfsame Obasanjo, onto the national scene—first as Vice President, then acting President, and ultimately President.

Arrested by agents of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the high-living former governor was tried for corruption. On July 26, 2007, he admitted to six counts of corruption and money laundering. Each count earned him a two-year sentence, but the sentences were to run concurrently. The so-called punishment was a scandal and a travesty. In fact, it did not even rise to the level of a judicial slap on the wrist. The day after his sentencing, DSP regained his freedom. The trial judge had given him credit for time served since his initial arrest.

Mr. Alamieyeseigha’s fate both defined and defied a trend. It defined the trend whereby Nigeria’s most highly placed officials hardly ever pay for their crimes, including their venal preoccupation with theft of public funds entrusted in their custody. Yet, his trial and (ridiculously lenient) sentencing also represented one of the few occasions a person of his station was ever held to account, at all, for his crimes.

The fact is, Mr. Alamieyeseigha’s conviction meant that, in the eyes of the law, he was—pardon the indelicacy of language—a certified thief! The fact is, the man betrayed the trust of the people of Bayelsa State who elected him, twice, as their governor. The fact is, the former governor abandoned the noble business of leading and embraced the nefarious business of primitive accumulation.

Of course, in March 2013, former President Goodluck Jonathan made an expedient decision to pardon DSP, his former boss in Bayelsa. The invocation of clemency was symbolically designed to rub off from the public records Mr. Alamieyeseigha’s conviction. President Jonathan did not stop there. Taking cynicism to its limits, he later appointed the pardoned former governor to a body of delegates who met for several months to design a new vision for Nigeria.

Yet, no presidential machination could ever erase from public memory the fact that Mr. Alamieyeseigha was an egregious embezzler, a man caught by the British for fiddling with public funds.

Some years ago, a retired military politician, Abdulsalam Adisa, offered an interviewer a telling anecdote that captured the mindset of the species whose mis-governance has put Nigeria in such dire condition. He said that the same white man who invented the pencil also invented the eraser. His point was simple: that any unflattering account was liable to erasure, the better to implant a manipulated, heroic narrative.

In DSP’s case, we’re about to see that ritual writ large. If former President Jonathan took the first steps in the effort to rehabilitate DSP, that enterprise is set to enter a new, hyperbolic stage with the former governor’s death. This, the occasion of his death, will be turned into a season of gushing tributes.

All manner of men and women, many of them possessed of moral funds as paltry as Mr. Alamieyeseigha’s, will line up to rewrite the fallen counterpart’s story. They will tell us he was a patriot, an elder statesman, as a man who offered selfless service to humanity. They will describe him as a Solomon come to judgment, a man who so loved his people that he was willing to lay his life down for them. They will characterize him as a man of his words, a man of peerless honesty and boundless love, an icon of leadership. They will persuade us that the man was unassuming, that he was so humble that the Webster Dictionary adopted his portrait as the image illustrating the virtue of humility.

Yet, none of the words deployed in effusive praise of DSP would have the faintest chance of changing the facts as they stand. DSP and DSP alone had the duty to define himself as a man and leader. He was a woeful failure at the task. He yielded to the easy seduction of self-aggrandizement, mistaking the size of his material possession with the scale of his human worth.

Sadly, in death, the record of his life is a closed case. What remains is the verdict of history. All the expensive cars and palatial homes and designer clothes the man owned are absolutely useless to him now. They cannot testify to his nobility of mind, to his loftiness of heart. Let DSP’s fellow travelers in Nigerian politics proclaim him the greatest human who ever walked the earth, their attempts at verbal inflation will have no real effect, no traction with history. Hagiography does no man or woman any good.

In some ways, DSP’s story is akin to Mobutu Sese Seko’s, to Sani Abacha’s, to Imelda Marcos’, to Gnassingbe Eyadema. I’d propose that the central lesson of Mr. Alamieyeseigha’s exit is that it serves—ought to serve—as a rebuke to Nigerian officials who, this very moment, are singularly obsessed with the next naira they can steal, the next car they can buy, the next object they can feed to their insatiable, vainglorious appetite. The meaning of DSP’s fate is that, in the end, political chieftain or discounted peasant, stakeholder or staked to misery, rich or poor, we all die. After which, all we own—all we are ever permitted to own, really—is the name we made for ourselves, the unvarnished, un-garnished record of the life we led, the legacy we left. When a man squanders a rare opportunity to elevate the condition of his society, that man dies with little or nothing, even when—especially when—he had every manner of earthly possession.

Okey Ndibe novelist, political columnist, and essayist. He teaches fiction and African literature at Trinity College in Hartford, USA. He is the author of the novels, Arrows of Rain and Foreign Gods Inc. He tweets from @okeyndibe.

http://www.thetrentonline.com/the-meaning-of-diepreye-alamieyeseighas-death-by-okey-ndibe/

Again, the Senate has deferred the scheduled screening of former governor of Rivers State and ministerial nominee,Rotimi Amaechi.

The action of the Red Chamber, which was the second time since the screening of the first batch of ministerial nominees began, was due to the inability of the Simon Anyanwu-led Committee on Ethics and Public Petitions to submit its report on petitions against Amaechi.

Before the Senate resumed plenary Wednesday, Senator Anyanwu informed the Senate President that the report of his committee which received and treated petitions against Mr Rotimi Amaechi was still not ready to be submitted to the floor of the Senate.

The Senate President,Bukola Saraki, who presided over the plenary, asked Senator Anyanwu to ensure the committee’s report was ready the next day for subsequent treatment

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/10/againsenate-defers-screening-of-amaechi/

James Ibori demanded $4.5m bribe from me to set-up Econet in Nigeria- Strive Masiyiwa

In a series of post on corruption which he shared on his Facebook wall recently, the Chairman of telecommunications company, Econet and Zimbabwe's richest man, Strive Maiyiwa, described how former Delta state governor James Ibori, who is serving jail term in the UK, allegedly demanded a $4.5 million bribe from him to set up and successful operate his business in Nigeria, promising to send him and his company parking from Nigeria if he failed to give the bribe.

Masiyiwa in his post said Lagos and Delta state governments were co-investors when he brought the company into Nigeria. He said after he and other investors succeeded in bringing in the company into Nigeria, he was asked to pay a bribe totaling $9 million to top politicians. He also accused top politicians from Kenya, Zimbabwe, Liberia of being extremely corrupt and also demanding for bribe. He made so many accusations, your head will literally spin. Read his expository post after the cut..



Part 1
I had the privilege of making Nigeria’s first GSM phone call back in 2001 when I called the regulator to say, “We’re live!” Who would’ve believed then that Nigeria today would have more than 167 million mobile phones?!

It all started out as a very exciting new chapter for enterprise in Africa. Shortly after President Obasanjo was elected, the new government announced an incredibly transparent international auction process for three national mobile phone licenses.

To participate in the bid, you not only had to raise money, but there had to be a member of the bidding consortium who was an experienced GSM operator. Econet Wireless met the requirements because of its experience in Zimbabwe and Botswana. Our Nigerian partners, which included state governments, local banks and high net worth individuals, were financial investors. The largest shareholder had only 10%. That was the written agreement.

I managed to assemble a consortium of 22 investors to put up the money needed to bid. Our shareholders were all Nigerian, mostly institutional investors including leading banks and two state governments, Lagos State and Delta State. The license cost us $285m and was the most expensive license ever issued in Africa at the time. This was 2001.

We considered the investment not only about putting together a network, but also about building a nation. We knew it had the potential to transform Nigeria’s entire business and social architecture.

Most of our investors had between 1-10% shareholding. Econet Wireless Nigeria had only 5% of the shares, but that was fine because it was 5% ownership of a very big pie.

As the "technical partner and operator," Econet was the company with the expertise to build and operate such a business. Our financial investors recognised this, and also allowed us to receive 3% of the turnover as our fees. This was standard practice in the industry.
We were one of the winning bidders and they gave us just six months to set up business and get our network operating. We were under a lot of pressure but our network was live two days before the others! Customers were pouring in. We were number one in the market with an estimated 57% market share.

___Then came the fateful day when I was told that our company must pay a total of $9m in bribes to senior politicians (in state government) who had facilitated the raising of the money to pay for the license.
I refused to authorise the illegal payments. Meeting after meeting was held to try to get me to agree, but I would not. The money would not be paid as long as Econet was the operator and I had signing authority.
James Ibori, the Governor of Delta State, was demanding $4,5m be paid to him in his personal capacity. He was one of the most powerful men in the country and had a reputation for violence. When he heard that I was refusing to approve payment he issued an ultimatum:
___"Pay or I will chase you and your people out of the country."
I refused.

The shareholders met and voted Econet Wireless Nigeria out of management. They cancelled our management contract. James Ibori and his colleagues personally attended the meeting to remove us. After the meeting one of them (a prominent local businessman even today) came up to me and said: "Unfortunately for you, God does not have a vote."
I had to withdraw all my staff and their families: 200 people in all. We left Nigeria.
Most of our people had to be retrenched. The loss of the contract almost drove us to bankruptcy as a group.
They invited a big international operator to replace us as technical partner and operator. They changed the name of the company from Econet to V-Mobile.

Within days of their arrival, the managers of the new operator signed off the payments demanded as bribes.
Then what happened?
A few noble Nigerians had both the integrity and courage to carefully collect all the documentation on the movement of the money, and pass it all on to me.

___There’s a saying worth remembering in uncovering the trail of destruction that is corruption: “Follow the money”…
I bided my time... then I wrote a letter to the United States Department of Justice!
It was 2003.



Part 2
Nigeria has an agency known as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). After we had to leave the country, a few noble people at the company tipped off not only me but the EFCC about the payment of the bribes, which had by this time risen from $9m to $13,5m.
I had never actually heard about this agency myself until I got a call from the Nigerian Embassy in South Africa to say they wanted to come and see me to interview me as a witness.

A team of very senior EFCC officers came to see us in South Africa. They were solid and professional in their enquiry. It was clear they wanted to do something about it.

However, when these officers returned home to Nigeria, they got into very serious trouble. Their investigations into the irregular payments had been brought to the attention of James Ibori (Governor of Delta State)…
Soon thereafter, the most senior officer leading the investigation was demoted and sent to a remote part of the country as an ordinary policeman!

Agencies like EFCC in Nigeria sometimes have brave and gallant law enforcement officers. Unfortunately, as I observed, they’re often let down by their political bosses, and sometimes even by the courts. This can change if activism from the citizenry emerges to support their work.

___We should not only support official efforts to stop corruption but also help these agencies and organisations in their investigations. If you have relevant information about illegal activities, passing it on could make all the difference between impunity and imprisonment.
In my letter to the US Justice Department, I detailed the full history of the demands for a bribe. I had dates, times, records. I then reminded them that since the big international operator had a listing on the New York Stock Exchange, they were duty-bound to launch an enquiry. Why did I go to them?

The United States government has a law called the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The United Kingdom has a similar one called the British Anti-Bribery Act. Whatever you do, make sure you never fall foul of those laws because, if they ever use them to come after you, you’re a "gonner" my friends.

A few weeks later, US officials wrote back advising me that an enquiry had been launched. They contacted the big international company seeking answers to my allegations. My contacts at the company called to tell me, "All hell has broken loose at the company."
The parent company of the South African-based multinational sent external auditors and lawyers from London to Nigeria. They immediately dismissed all the senior executives sent to Nigeria to run the company, and they left in a hurry!

Although they fled the scene of the crime and returned to their country -- after admitting even to both the US Justice Department and the EFCC that the money had been paid out – the stolen funds were never returned to the Nigerian people, even to this day.
Meanwhile, the departure of the other mobile operator did not mean we could return to Nigeria. The shareholders found another operator, this time from the Middle East.

They sold this new operator the control of the company even though Econet Wireless Nigeria had the "right of first refusal" over any sale. They simply ignored that provision in our agreement. This was illegal, both according to our shareholders agreement and Nigerian Company Law. It was left for us to take up the fight in another forum, the Nigerian courts.


Part 3

The state government of Akwa Ibom held 15% of the equity in Econet Wireless Nigeria. This state was not one of the original investors but joined us later.

After five years, the governor of the state of Akwa Ibom decided to sell its stake. It had more than doubled in value in dollar terms, which meant it had been a good investment.

The state governor, an elderly gentleman called Victor Attah, sent a message through a friend that he wanted to see me in London to find out if I was interested in exercising Econet’s right to buy its shares. I agreed to meet him in London.

"I want to sell the shares to build an airport before I leave office," the governor explained.

The governor was accompanied to the meeting by a British lawyer who sat quietly taking notes. His name was Bhadresh Gohil.
With a wave of his hand, the governor said, "Mr Gohil is our legal advisor here in London. I have instructed him to handle all our negotiations with you."

The meeting did not last more than 30 minutes, as the governor was on his way to catch a flight to the U.S.
We agreed with Mr Gohil that we would meet with my own advisors a few days later to start the process.

A few days later, I went to his office with a professional banker who advised me on such transactions. We met in the lawyer's plush London offices. He was confident and smooth-spoken as he explained how much we were expected to pay. Then he explained that our money was to go to a "Special Purpose Vehicle" (SPV) before it was transferred to Nigeria. It was a sophisticated structure and he showed me a drawing of how it would work. I wrote it all down very carefully into my notebook.

___Such corporate entities as SPVs can definitely have legitimate purposes, but this one did not!
As I quizzed him about why such an unusual structure was necessary, Mr Gohil changed tact and tried to entice me with an offer I could not refuse (or so he hoped): "I'm also the advisor to the governor of Delta State, Mr James Ibori, and if you agree to pay for these shares using this structure, we will offer you shares belonging to all the state governments. In total, you can have more than 30% additional shares. It will be enough to take control of the company. My clients just want out, and they are willing to give you what you have always wanted."
I listened to him, quietly taking notes in my small notebook. I did not give away anything, but inside I was very angry. From the design of the structure, I knew immediately that it was meant to siphon off money before it reached the state governments. It was clear there was a conspiracy to steal a lot of money.

___Having already pocketed $13.5m, now the government officials could easily pocket probably another $100m through the sale process that they had developed with the help of Mr Gohil and other clever advisors in London!

When I left the meeting I immediately contacted the mutual friend who'd set up the governor's meeting. The friend was so embarrassed as I explained the corrupt structure clearly designed to steal money from the state governments. He promised to raise the issue with Governor Victor Attah. A few days later he came back and said Governor Attah had claimed ignorance about the proposal put to me by Mr Gohil. He said he would speak to Mr Gohil and tell him it had to be done properly without the structures.

We never heard from them again. Mr Gohil simply vanished. A few months later we were told that the shares had been offered to a company from the Middle East who subsequently bought them. I was not privy to how they did it except that they had violated my right to buy the shares... That is another chapter in the saga, but not for now.

Fast-forward three years, long after the sale. Our lawyers in London called me one day and asked if I could come urgently to a meeting with the Proceeds of Corruption Unit of the London Metropolitan Police: "You are not in any trouble, but I think you will find what they have to say very interesting!"

This special unit was launched by the British to investigate corruption by foreign government officials who try to launder stolen money to the U.S. and the UK.

The officers asked me to explain everything I knew about the sale of V-Mobile shares to Celtel (later Zain).
I explained the history of the entire transaction and the shareholders disputes that had led to our departure. After awhile, they asked me to focus on specific events, and, in particular, my meetings in London with the governor of Akwa Ibom, and also the meetings with Mr Gohil. It became clear to me that they had a lot of information!
"What can you tell us about this structure, using a Special Purpose Vehicle?"

I explained my understanding of it. Later on, I gave them my diary in which I had recorded the details of my meeting that day with Mr Gohil.
Below my drawing of the structure, I had written in bold letters:
"This is corrupt!!!"

Not long after my meeting with the Proceeds of Corruption Unit, Mr Gohil was arrested together with one of his partners and several others. I later learned that when the Middle Eastern company bought the shares, some of the proceeds had been diverted using the Gohil structure. Some of the money was sent to a bank in London. This large amount of money was enough to alert the British authorities that money was being laundered through their banking system.

Their investigations led them to Gohil and his associates. They raided his offices and found stashes of documents, including details of the structures. Now they were looking for witnesses to help prosecute them for corruption and money laundering.

The British authorities tried without success to get other parties, including the governor of Akwa Ibom, to come out and clear their names but they refused. Officials of President Umaru Musa Yar'Aduah's government successfully thwarted all extradition requests.

I was asked to be a witness in the trial of those who had been arrested in London. I willingly accepted. Next I will tell you about my role as a 'Witness to the Crown" on behalf of the people of Nigeria whose money had been stolen. It would be the first time that someone big went to jail (in a foreign country) for stealing money from Africans.

http://www.lindaikejisblog.com/2015/10/james-ibori-demanded-45m-bribe-from-me.html#more

Rivers orders Amaechi, others to return N97bn

Tough times await ministerial nominees in the Senate on Tuesday as the Peoples Democratic Party senators on Friday vowed not to lower their guard during the screening at the upper legislative chamber.

Saturday PUNCH reliably gathered that although some nominees had indirectly contacted the senators across party lines, their efforts had not yielded desired results.

Investigations also showed that the PDP senators might stop the screening, unless President Muhammadu Buhari presents all the 36 ministerial nominees, as against 21 he submitted on Tuesday.

It was learnt that the move by President Muhammadu Buhari, the All Progressives Congress and the senators to reach out to the PDP senators was being coordinated by his Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang.

Enang had on Wednesday jointly addressed a press conference with the Minority Leader, Chief Godswill Akpabio.

At the press conference, Enang had said, “Part of our job is to reach out to all the sections. And the past is gone, this is a new beginning. We are doing this in the interest of Nigerians.”

Akpabio, on his part, said, “Even though (we are) in the opposition party; we believe strongly in one Nigeria and we believe in the unity and progress of this country.

“Our stand is that anything that can elevate the living standards of Nigeria and improve upon the economy of the entire country, that we will do anything within our powers to play our role.

“It is our duty to rally round the President; to make the economy improve. On a personal note, I am impressed with the list sent by the President. I believe that he has kept to his words by ensuring that he sought out a lot of people of integrity that can salvage the country.”

Nothing will stop us from doing our job—PDP senator

But on Friday, the Senator representing Delta South on the platform of PDP, Ighoyota Amori, in an interview with one of our correspondents, vowed that nothing would make members go back on the modalities for screening.

He described the ministerial list sent by Buhari as a compensation list.

The lawmaker said the nomination was to compensate appointees for their role in the past general elections, which brought the APC government to power.

He said, “First, to be frank to myself, it is shocking that the first list of ministers as was read on Tuesday by the Senate President fell short of national expectations particularly with this their ‘change mantra.’

“Between both of us, the wait between May 29 when the new government was sworn in and September 30 is not worth it in a serious minded government that knows its onions. There was no need for that long wait.”

He cited Britain, where he said Prime Minister David Cameron formed a government, the next day he won an election.

Amori stated, “The election took a long time to process. You have worked with these people and you know them; you should be able in a very serious government that talks about change to have a departure from the past to this ‘change’ which is the slogan.

“The change would have been that after electing them, they formed cabinet and start working immediately. People would have clapped for them. But from May 29 to September 30 and of course, we got the list officially on October 5 and when we heard the names, it was laughable.”

He wondered why it took the President a long time to nominate those, whose names were sent to the senate.

The senator stated, “There was nothing new about them deserving of this long wait. If you take them one by one, there were people who are in the news for one corruption case or the other. For me, I do not have anything against anybody but he would not have wasted the time of Nigerians if he knew he was going to recycle the same people.

“I can call it a compensation list for those who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to help the un-organised army of people to get a victory they did not deserve. People that were used to sabotage their party.

“Look at Ameachi, would you not consider this nomination a compensation for doing a dirty job? Look at Fashola and Fayemi as well as Lai Mohammed, they are all the same. So, what is new? It is the same old story.

“But if APC wants, let them gather all the ex-convicts, we will still do our job. They have the gavel and they are very free to use it the way they like. We would resign our position to the court of public opinion. There are some we cannot oppose because we have seen something in them.”

PDP senators may reject 21-nominee list

Also another PDP senator, who confided in Saturday PUNCH, said the screening was discussed at the party senate caucus meeting on Thursday night.

He said that his colleagues also resolved to reject presentation of the list of minister nominees in batches.

They also threatened to stage a protest on the floor of the senate next week during the screening process unless President Muhammadu Buhari sends the full complements of the ministerial list by Tuesday.

They subsequently sent the Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio, to meet with the senate president and convey their message to him for onward transmission to Buhari.

Screening will be rigorous, Senate spokesman insists

The spokesperson for the senate and APC member, Dino Melaye said except for the slight modification of the procedure for former members of the National Assembly, other nominees would face rigorous screening.

He said, “We maintain that the screening exercise will be rigorous, will be expeditious, and it will be thorough.”

Melaye added that all the petitions received would be looked into, and that their veracity would guide proceedings during the screening exercise.

Also speaking with our correspondent, the Senator representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District on the platform of the APC, Shehu Sani said, “We will not lower our standards, we will follow the constitution and the rules of the Senate in the discharge of our responsibility. No one will be cleared based on sentiments. We won’t disappoint Nigerians.”

“We’ll encourage nominees to reach out to senators–Enang

Enang told reporters in Abuja, that the President respects the constitutional powers of the three arms of government- especially the powers of the legislature which approves the budget as well as screens ministerial nominees among other functions.

According to him, his office has encouraged each of the nominees to reach out to senators to smoothen the grounds.

He also explained that the nominees were being guided on the necessary documents they are expected to make available to senators to ease their confirmation.

Enang said, “We are generally discussing with them, (nominees) on matters they may wish to know more and we will work with them. We have emphasised with them that they have to consult.

“They have to go and meet their respective senators. The president nominated them to the senate; the senators representing their respective states are their first line of defence.

“They are their immediate sponsors other than the senate leader and they have to show absolute respect to all the senators and every other thing will fall in line.”

On the modalities for the screening he said, “The Senate is the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and it is free to set its criteria for the screening of the nominees appearing before it.

“Our job is to make sure that we work with the respective senators and the nominees to make sure that the senators are satisfied and agree with the nomination.”

Meanwhile, the three senators from Rivers State, who are members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, have made their intention to oppose the nomination of former Governor Rotimi Amaechi known.

One of the senators who spoke under the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, said, “How do you think we will in good conscience support his nomination when he is still in court seeking to nullify the election of our governor and ours? Besides, he has not even visited or called any of us. Put yourself in my shoes, can you support such a person?”

Speaking in a similar vein, the Deputy Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party in Rivers State, Mr. Samuel Nwanosike, said, “Amaechi does not belong to the PDP, he belongs to the APC.

“Amaechi refused to do the normal handover to Governor Nyesom Wike and we can remember that he described the panel set up by the governor as a kangaroo panel.

“We are here for change and that is why the people will not support anybody who has refused to defend many allegations against him. “

However, the State Deputy Chairman of the APC, Chief Peter Odike, said the party was not leaving anything to chance. He said the party was doing all within its power to ensure that Amaechi scales through the screening.

Odike, who spoke through his Media Assistant, Mr. Paul Osiagu, expressed confidence that there were PDP senators who were sympathetic to Amaechi’s course and would rise up to defend him when the time is ripe.

He, however, declined to give details of what plans the party has put in place to counter the PDP on the floor.

Amaechi sighted at Senate

Meanwhile, a former Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, was sighted at the Senate on Friday obviously to perfect his documentation at the office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang.

Ameachi, who drove himself to the Federal Parliament in company with the immediate past senator representing Rivers East Senatorial District, Magnus Abe, spent about one hour in Enang’s office, without granting interview.

http://www.punchng.com/news/rivers-orders-amaechi-others-to-return-n97bn/

University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, UCTH, has quarantined ten persons following the death of a patient in the hospital on Wednesday with symptoms suspected to be Ebola virus.

Dr. Queeneth Kalu, Chairman of Medical Advisory Committee of the hospital who made the revelation on Thursday in Calabar while addressing pressmen said blood samples have been sent to the Ebola Diagnosing Centre in Benin Edo State.

“On Wednesday, 7th October, 2015, we managed a patient who presented with symptoms mimicking viral hemorrhage (Ebola Virus) and have decided to take the necessary measures”.

Dr. Kalu stated that those quarantined are principally nurses who attended to the patient and those who came in contact with him before his death.

‘”The following have been informed: National Centre for Disease Control, Federal Ministry of Health, The Cross River State Government, Calabar Municipality, and the Department of State Security Services, DSS”

She said further information will be provided to the public as soon as the test results of blood samples sent for analysis in received by the hospital.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/10/ebola-hits-nigeria-again-10-quarantined-in-calabar/

God bless your home

WORRIED that some of his ministerial nominees may not scale through the Senate screening, expected to commence next Tuesday,President Muhammadu Buhari,Tuesday,begged senators of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,for a soft landing for the nominees.

The president, who is said to be highly disturbed that without personal intervention, some of his party chiefs instrumental to his success at the president election would be frustrated during the screening exercise, has asked his Senior Special Assistant to the National Assembly Matters (Senate),Senator Ita Enang, to immediate reached out to the PDP senators.

The development came just as the All Progressives Congress,APC spokesman and ministerial nominee, Alhaji Lai Mohammed engaged former Speaker,House of Representatives and current governor of Sokoto State,Aminu Tambuwal to beg the Senate President,Bukola Saraki, for a soft landing at the screening exercise

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/10/ministerial-list-buhari-begs-pdp-senators/

Three militants of the Boko Haram group died on Tuesday when a bomb they were transporting exploded in Niger’s Far East region of Diffa, local sources said.

Scene of the bomb blast at the post office area of Maiduguri in Borno State, yesterday. 17 people died in the blast.

The bomb exploded when they were about to enter Bosso town, one of the sources told newsmen, adding that the militants were planning to carry out an attack.

On Sunday, 10 people, among them one soldier, five civilians and four suicide bombers, were killed in two separate suicide attacks by Boko Haram in Diffa.

The two bombs targeted a military camp and a Mosque in Diffa, a few days after two Nigerien soldiers were killed in an ambush by the militants in the same region.

In the last seven months, Niger, like other countries within the Lake Chad basin, came under Boko Haram attacks from its bases in Nigeria.

A multinational force including troops from Nigeria, Cameroun, Chad and Niger were fighting Boko Haram as Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari vowed to beat the group.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/10/3-boko-haram-militants-killed-by-own-bomb/

The Senator representing Bauchi Central Senatorial District in the upper legislative chamber, Senator Hamma Isa Misau, said on Saturday, that Senate President, Bukola Saraki, should not be blamed for the failure of Senator Ahmad Lawan to emerge as Senate Leader of the eighth Senate.

Misau, who stated this in Abuja, said senators of the North-East collectively took the decision to hand the Senate Leader position to Senator Alli Ndume after the June 9 emergence of Senator Saraki as Senate President.

He insisted that Saraki should not carry the blame for the inability of Lawan to emerge the Senate Leader as proposed by the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

According to him, members of the North-East caucus of the APC in the Senate overwhelmingly voted against the decision to pick Lawan, adding that the senators expressed their preference for Senator Ali Ndume as the leader.

He stated that out of 11 senators, who were members of the caucus, eight voted for Ndume while three voted for Lawan and that since politics was a game of numbers, the candidate with majority of the senators emerged as leader.

He said he found it necessary to make the explanation to correct the widespread impression that Senator Saraki deliberately opposed the choice of Senator Lawan as Senate Leader to spite the leadership of the APC.

He said: “Many people do not know or understand what happened then. Truly, many of us prefer Ndume to Lawan. The fact that Ndume contested for the post of Deputy Senate President at that time and he sought the support of most senators made it easy for him to get our support.

“In any case, Senator Lawan never told anybody that he was interested in the post of Majority leader. We, therefore, voted for a person who actually lobbied and sought our support. So, we take responsibility for our decisions. Nobody should blame the Senate President.”

Misau further stated that many had misconstrued the powers of the Senate President in making decisions about the leadership of the Senate.
He said: “The Senate President is just first among equals. He represents one district like every other senator. He is not like a state governor or president who has executive powers and discretion to select ministers and commissioners.’’

The Senate President must always do what the Senators want and must even carry along his colleagues at all times. Dr. Saraki is very popular among us today because he is always respecting our opinion and usually doing what we want.

“He has a way of relating to all of us as equals that we are and trying to aggregate the overall interest and position of majority in taking decisions. So, when we said we wanted Ndume as Senate majority leader, he could not have done otherwise. Saraki has nothing against Lawan and I think, my brother Ahmed Lawan understands this.”

http://tribuneonlineng.com/why-saraki-didn%E2%80%99t-appoint-lawan-senate-leader-senator

Diezani: Three more ex-ministers risk arrest for graft, money laundering
•Disquiet in Jonathan’s camp
•How Diezani’s collaborator surrendered to UK agency
•Her business partners go underground

Three more ministers of the Goodluck Jonathan era are facing possible arrest in the aftermath of Friday’s detention of ex- Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, in London for alleged corruption.

Although Alison-Madueke and the four other suspects arrested along with her were granted bail same day, tension has already gripped the Jonathan camp following what sources described as threat by the once powerful ex-minister to open up on certain deals which she was directed to execute.

She is said to be good at keeping records, including handwritten notes.

A source in one of the anti-graft agencies said last night that Mrs. Alison-Madueke is “just one of the few cases of ex-ministers under investigation.”



“We have at least about three issues at hand but I will not disclose their names,” the source said, adding, “do not forget that these three cases are outside the matter of ex-Minister Stella Oduah which is stuck in court. We have made our position known on this.

“The depletion of the $1billion in Sovereign Wealth Fund by about $700million is one of the priority cases with anti-graft agencies. There are also the issues of reckless granting of tax waivers to oil firms.”

The ex-ministers are believed to have been implicated by Permanent Secretaries.

They are likely to be quizzed in connection with alleged reckless granting of waivers, depletion of the Sovereign Wealth Fund by $700m without the knowledge of the National Economic Council, and “questionable contracts.”

The camp of the former president was in disarray yesterday following the arrest of the ex-Minister of Petroleum Resources, investigation showed.

Sources said London was thought to be a safe haven for after leaving office in May.

Apart from being a Chevening Scholar, courtesy of the British High Commission, it was learnt that security agencies in the UK did not give her any inkling as she was shuttling between Nigeria and the UK.

A source, who spoke in confidence, said: “Those in Jonathan’s camp felt the ex-president’s visit to President Muhammadu Buhari had created a window for mutual talks and negotiation on alleged graft findings by the new administration.

“They did not know that Buhari really meant business to retrieve looted funds.

“Actually, some ex-ministers, including Diezani, have already placed their counsel in Nigeria on standby in case of any invitation by anti-graft agencies. Their plan was that the matter would be settled in Nigerian court.

“But the arrest of the ex-Minister in London has added a new dimension to the anti-corruption agenda of the Buhari administration.

“Those in Jonathan’s camp were shocked by Diezani’s arrest. They have been desperately trying to get in touch with the ex-Minister since yesterday without success.

“As at today (yesterday), they are worried that Diezani has cut off contact with everyone, creating fears that she might spill the beans.

“The fear in Jonathan’s camp is that Diezani might be given the James Ibori treatment. They are suspecting that she might be tried and convicted in the UK.”

A former presidential aide said: “None of us has been able to reach out to Diezani because all her lines are off. She has also not called to share her travails with anybody.”

How she was nabbed

It was gathered yesterday that the voluntary surrender to the National Crimes Agency (NCA) by a Nigerian oil baron laid the foundation for a comprehensive investigation, and arrest of Diezani.

The said oil baron, according to sources, was allegedly fronting for the ex-Minister and may be holding some looted funds in trust for her.

It was learnt that following surveillance and monitoring by security agencies, the oil baron confided in a former Head of State who encouraged him to open up to the NCA on all such slush accounts.

“The oil magnate voluntarily surrendered to NCA because he knew the game was up. He was not having peace where he was staying in the UK. But the former Head of State assisted in cracking this financial crime.”

Mrs. Alison-Madueke and her alleged accomplices are expected to be arraigned in a London court tomorrow.

The suspects were questioned for several hours by security agents in London.

This came four months after Prime Minister David Cameron pledged Britain’s support for president Muhammadu Buhari’s war against corruption.

Hours after the ex-minister’s arrest, operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) sealed off her high brow Asokoro,Abuja residence for a search.

Sources said the anti corruption agency had a court warrant to conduct the search.

http://thenationonlineng.net/diezani-three-more-ex-ministers-risk-arrest-for-graft-money-laundering/

WHEN the just concluded Lagos City-Wide Crusade kicked off on September 8, not many people envisaged that the General Superintendent, Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM), Pastor William Kumuyi, 74, could withstand the rigour of the 18-day non-stop event, let alone travelling from one location to the other with all the stress involved. But he did, in what some participants described as utmost sacrifice for the salvation of souls.

The results were overwhelming, as the crusade, organised by the DCLM, in conjunction with the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) recorded over 40,000 converts to the Christian faith, aside diverse miracles that took place.

In Ikorodu, alone, over 4,682 people made decision for Christ, while in Badagry, over 5,000 people received salvation. In Epe, information gathered revealed that about 4,000 people got converted, while in Agege over 1,500 people reconciled themselves with God.

In Surulere, a 22-year old man, Uche Nwaogbola, deaf and dumb from birth, spoke for the first time. His teacher in the deaf and dumb class, Ms Lovett Osondu, was amazed, saying: “It is a miracle.” Martins Nwankwo, who was paralysed and bed-ridden, was also miraculously healed at the Surulere crusade.

In Shomolu crusade, which held at the University of Lagos, a 200-level Law student, Miss Ayomide Akinbode, testified to her miraculous healing. A year ago, according to her, she noticed a lump in her breast and visited several hospitals without a solution but after Pastor Kumuyi’s prayer, the lump disappeared.

Chairman of CAN, Isolo, Ejigbo and Oshodi Province, Archbishop Peter Febusoro, who was overwhelmed with the manifestation of God’s power, pointed out that the crusade not only brought unity within the Christendom, but also helped to rebuild lives, which were in shackles.

Febusoro said: “It was a well organised crusade. Everything was in order. Everybody that came saw the presence of the Holy Spirit. I just think that such a thing could be coming up once in awhile so that people can be revived. It will help to reshape the lives of people in the state because a lot of things have been happening in terms of criminal activities, immoral acts and other vices.

“The crusade could tackle these acts. Like in Isolo, most people who attended the crusade would have by now changed from their wayward ways of doing things and come to God. Pastor Kumuyi talked on so many things that would touch the lives of the people,” the CAN chairman stated, hoping that other churches will capitalise on it to achieve what the crusade was envisioned.

“That is why I said that I hope the crusade would come once in a while because it will bring unity among the Christendom. Christians were not as united as the other religion. But with this crusade, we have seen unity. For me, it is a joy,” he stressed.

The Managing Director of Jones-Olu Nigeria Enterprises, Jones Bagbe, was particularly concerned about the follow-up of the converts to establish and sustain their conviction in Christ, noting that it would enhance positive socio-moral disposition in Lagos State.

According to him, the level of immorality, criminality, cultism and waywardness in the state is on the high side, but the crusade had brought a lease of life to many families.

Bagbe said: “The impact of the crusade can never be overemphasised, looking at the participation and the joy that pervade every arena where the crusade was held. It will drastically reduce the level of criminality in the society. Therefore, the crusade has been a huge success, judging from the report so far received and the testimonies that were shared in the various locations, as well as the response to altar calls.

“By now the first and the second batches of the crusade must have conducted their water baptism for the converts, and this is one of the ways to measure the spiritual impact of the crusade,” he noted.

The Lagos State Moderator of Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM), Pastor Joseph Fasanmi, had, earlier at a press conference, stated that the crusade was to address not only the alarming rate of robberies, cultism, drug abuse and corruption, among other ills, in the state, but also to usher people into the kingdom of God.

Fasanmi explained that respective governments in Lagos State, since the advent of democracy in 1999, had made significant efforts to improve the socio-political and economic situation, noting that their collective actions could not “sufficiently lift the state because of the people’s attitudinal dispositions, moral and spiritual make-up.”

He pointed out that unless the “heart of man was changed and turned around by God” to undertake salutary and positive designs, government’s measure would ultimately be feeble and less impactful.

According to him; “the leaders, themselves, are outcrops of a depressed environment, and cannot be expected to provide enduring solutions to the multifaceted challenges facing mankind and summed up in one word – sin. We make bold to state that it is only a completely changed heart of man by God through the gospel that can bring about a fundamental and unadulterated transformation in our broad landscape.

“All those that have conquered the basic challenges of development have done so because, at one time or the other in their chequered history, they had embraced the commanding imperatives of the gospel,” he added.

Kumuyi, while noting that the crusade was a divine assignment, stated: “I think the secret is the grace of God. This is the first time we will go through like this for 18 days non-stop, travelling from place to place in the state.

“We give the glory to God and the cooperation of the people as we have worked together in unity. There is unity in strength and I felt the unity of the people, not only Deeper Life but CAN, everybody, even the media too,” he added.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/10/lagos-city-wide-crusade-records-over-40000-converts-diverse-miracles/

Traders at Ladipo Main Market in Mushin, Lagos State, western Nigeria, were in shock and tears as bulldozer and a team of security personnel arrived the market on Thursday to demolish the market for reconstruction.

As at 4.30 pm on Thursday shops had been brought down while the exercise continues on Friday. Traders were ordered to leave the market with their goods and when they attempted to resist, the bulldozer moved in and started the demolition.

Some goods were destroyed as many of the traders were not in their shops because of the Independence Day celebration and public holiday.
Traders and the Mushin Local government had been at loggerheads over plans to re-construct the market and turn it into a modern plaza.
The traders, through their leaders alleged that they were not carried along before the plans to re-construct the market was carried out.

They expressed concern over what happened to shop owners in other markets where such reconstruction was carried out and they never got back their shops after the reconstruction.

It was because of that that they resisted the plan and went to a Lagos High Court to obtain an injunction to stop the demolition.
Following the order, the traders, developer and Mushin Local Government went into discussion and negotiation which led to a truce. And the traders, through their BOT chairman, Nnamdi Chukwuka, withdrew the matter from the court.

P.M.NEWS gathered that at the meeting it was agreed that the traders would vacate their shops on 1 October, 2015 for work to begin in some parts of the market.

It was in line with the agreement that the developer moved in and started the demolition.

The traders who spoke to our reporter said they had agreed to vacate the market on Sunday, 4 October, for work to start on Monday, 5 October.

They said they were shocked when the the government officials came and asked the traders to move out and did not allow them to remove anything in their shops before demolishing their shops.

As at the time of filing this report the demolition was still going on as traders were busy removing their goods from the rubble in their shops.

http://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2015/10/02/ladipo-market-finally-demolished/

The All Progressives Congress on Monday ordered for a fresh governorship ‎primary to select the party’s candidate for the November governorship election in the state.

National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, said this at the end of the party’s National Working Committee meeting in Abuja on Monday.

A former state governor and one of the aspirants, Timipre Sylva, had insisted that he won the primary conducted about a week ago, which was said to have ended in a fiasco, after some hoodlums invaded the Samson Siasia Stadium, Yenagoa, venue of the party election, conducted by the Governor Adams Oshiomhole-led electoral committee.

Odigie-Oyegun explained that the party was compelled to take the decision to protect its established record of free, fair and credible primaries.

The party chairman equally said the Bayelsa debacle was the main issue discussed at the meeting because the party was determined to jealously guard its records.

According to him, the NWC sees it as a duty to provide a level-playing ground for all those aspiring to offices in the party.

Odigie-Oyegun said, “Unfortunately, in Bayelsa State at Yenagoa, we had serious security challenges and so the process could not meet the standards which this party has set for itself.

“And so, we had no alternative but to stop the process by ensuring that the chairman of the panel was effectively moved out of the venue with the help of security agencies and we decided thereafter that there should be a proper, fresh primary.

“So today, the party decided; we have written to INEC appropriately. The party has decided to conduct fresh primary for the Bayelsa governorship election.

“So, for the fresh primary, the process will start tomorrow, we’ve gotten in touch with the police and other security agencies to help us.”

Odigie-Oyegun dismissed reports that the party would take disciplinary action against a member of the panel who was made to announce a result at the Yenagoa controversial election.

According to him, the man simply acted to save his life in the circumstance he found himself.

In response to a question on the role played by the party in the preparation of the ministerial list of President Muhammadu Buhari, Odigie-Oyegun said it was an internal affair.

He noted that the party would not comment on the travails of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, who is being tried by the Code of Conduct Tribunal, saying, “The matter is already in court.”

Earlier, the chairman of the APC panel on the Bayelsa APC gov primary, who is also the governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, submitted his report on the botched exercise.

Oshiomhole told reporters, “I really don’t want to go back to those issues; these are not issues that transpired in a bedroom.

“I do hope that someday, we get to a point where even the media must defend the democratic space. Concerning what happened at the stadium; gunshots were being fired, AK 47 were recovered, two of them, pump action and live ammunition.

“I am not the issue and I don’t want to be the issue; there are issues that are important to me. This one I didn’t go there as a governor, I went there as a party member on a national assignment by the party and it is a great honour.”


http://www.punchng.com/news/apc-dismisses-sylvas-claim-orders-fresh-gov-primary/

How our boss was abducted – Falae’s PA, driver

•Negotiation with abductors break down
•Abductors want N90m, family offers N2m
•There ‘ll be dire consequences if…. – Afenifere
•YUF, OPC, Agbekoyas, IPAC, PRONACO, LP decry kidnap

THE driver and the personal assistant to former Secretary to the Government of the Federation SGF, Chief Oluyemisi Falae, yesterday, gave a detailed account of how their boss was abducted by Fulani herdsmen on Monday.

Coming a day that negotiation between Falae’s family and his abductors is feared to have broken down, the aides said the herdsmen have carried out their threat of attacking Falae, which they made before the police after a recent clash.

I’m not aware of any negotiation – Raji, Falae’s PA

Speaking with newsmen, Falae’s Personal Assistant, Capt Moshood Raji (retd) said he was not aware of any negotiation with the kidnappers, noting that security operatives would be in the best position to confirm or deny if there was any breakdown in negotiation between the kidnappers and the Falae family.

He, however, said the abduction was carefully planned between the Fulani herdsmen and outside influence as there have been clashes between the Fulani herdsmen and Falae over the destruction of his farm produce.

Fulani herdsmen

According to him, four of the suspected kidnappers were armed with AK.47 rifles while the rest had cutlasses. He disclosed that only one of them, who identified Chief Falae was masked while other members were not.

He said: “About a month ago, there was a clash between the herdsmen and Chief when some cows destroyed maize on the farm. I was the one that led the policemen to arrest them. We arrested some and detained them for about four days. Chief Falae said he has no problem with them that they have to sign an undertaking that they will not go there again.

They signed an agreement that they will not go there again. The Fulani Secretary signed for them. The secretary then said I should caution Oga (Falae) that he should go and fence his farm. He said if he dared harm any cow or kill any of their cows, there would be trouble. He said that before the officer in charge of SARS.

“They have carried out the threat. What they destroyed was about N500,000.00 but N120,000 was paid and the chief distributed the money to all his workers when it was brought to him”, he added. Falae’s driver, David Ogunleye who witnessed the invasion narrated the ordeal to newsmen.

Ogunleye said he and others were sent to clear the weeds blocking the dam in the farm and on their return, they were attacked by the Fulani herdsmen. According to him, “as we were coming, we saw seven Fulani herdsmen, they attacked us. They started shooting, I tried to reverse the car but unfortunately my car got stuck. It was there they seized me and told me to take them to where our boss was.

I told them Oga (Falae) was in the farm but they would not listen. We took them to where Oga was and Chief surfaced and asked what the problem was. From there, they took him away. The manager that was even in the car was trying to escape and they used the cutlass to cut him on the head”, he said.

Contacted the Police spokesperson in the state, Wole Ogodo, said that the Command was on top of the situation and is making frantic efforts to ensure that the former SGF is rescued.

Negotiation breaks down

Chief Falae was abducted on Monday at about 1pm by some gun-wielding Fulani herdsmen, who invaded his farm located at Ilado village in Akure North Local Council of Ondo State.

Less than three hours after the former Finance Minister was kidnapped, the abductors contacted the family, demanding for N100 m as ransom. A family source said that the kidnappers made another phone call to the wife, Rachel, almost 10 hours after the initial contact on Monday and agreed to reduce the ransom to N90m from the initial N100m they demanded in the morning after much pleading.

While the family was said to have offered N2million, the kidnappers reportedly banged the phone insisting on the initial sum. The source said that the abductors promised to call the family “back today (Tuesday) but as at this moment, they have not called.”

It was also gathered that the abductors agreed to reduce the ransom by N10m because they said the Afenifere chieftain is a man of integrity and well respected in the country.

Eminent persons

The former Minister’s residence in Akure, yesterday, was thronged by eminent persons, who met with the wife. The visitors include Ondo State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Lasisi Oluboyo, who led other members of the State Executive Council; Akure Traditional Council led by the Lisa of Akureland, High Chief James Olusoga; former special Adviser to the late Chief Adebayo Adefarati on Political Matters, Chief Segun Adegoke; political office holders and chieftains of the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state.

Afenifere, OPC, S-West farmers, YUF, LP decry kidnap

Meanwhile angry reactions, yesterday, greeted the abduction of the former SGF. Among those who decried the abduction of the former Minister of Finance include, Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere; founder and President of Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, Dr Frederick Fasehun; OPC’s National Coordinator, Otunba Gani Adams, the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Pro-National Conference Organisations (PRONACO) and the Labour Party, LP.

On its part, farmers in the South West have issued a 24-hour ultimatum for the unconditional release of Chief Falae or risk the wrath of its members across the Yorubaland.

Nothing must happen to him, Afenifere warns

Afenifere warned of dire consequences if anything untoward happens to Falae. Its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Yinka Odumakin said: “Afenifere is compelled to issue this strong warning on the abduction of one of our leaders,Chief Olu Falae by Fulani herdsmen for over 24 hours now.

The statement reads: “Chief Falae has had running battles with the Fulani cattle rearers for sometime now as they continued to devastate his farmland,a scourge which farmers in Yorubaland has suffered for decades now.

“We do not imagine that some Yoruba traders would go and abduct Maitama Sule or Adamu Ciroma in the North and there won’t be a festival of blood on the streets within hours. We therefore call on the leaders of the North to reach out to these herdsmen to release Chief Falae immediately. Nobody can predict the consequences, if anything untoward happens to Chief Falae in the custody of the herdsmen.”

Fasehun orders manhunt of kidnappers

Founder of the OPC, Dr. Fasehun, has ordered OPC operatives to immediately launch a manhunt in Ondo State and beyond, for the kidnapped politician. Fasehun described the kidnap as an assault and insult on the Yoruba people, and challenged security operatives and agencies to produce Falae within 48 hours.

He said, “When we heard that Falae was kidnapped we thought it was impossible, as kidnappers would not be mad enough to kidnap a man of peace, a man who has selflessly served Nigeria. Falae is by any standard a leader of the Yoruba people, a leader of Nigeria and a significant leader in Africa. He is a leader of Afenifere. He was a leader of NADECO. And any assault on him is an assault on Nigeria and Nigerians.”

Falae’s abduction, a sin against humanity—Gani Adams

Also, Otunba Gani Adams said: “It is worrisome that the nation is descending into an era when a citizen is not safe even in his own home. The trend in which Fulani herdsmen would invade private farms in our land and vandalise it is gradually making a return.

However, we would want it to be known that the attribute of Yoruba people to be accommodating is not something that should be abused. For us, being accommodating is a virtue that was inculcated into us by our forefathers and it should therefore not be seen as a weakness by anybody.”

Falae’s abduction, a horrifying report- Ajulo, LP scribe

Also, a legal practitioner and social activist Dr Kayode Ajulo, described the act as “shocking, traumatizing and downright satanic” while also expressing dismay that the culprits even disregarded the age and position of the septuagenarian.

Security agencies

Ajulo, who is the National Secretary of the Labour Party, called on the Nigerian Police Force and other security agencies to leave no stone unturned in the manhunt for the culprits and ensure that Chief Falae is rescued and returned to his family. On its part, the Yoruba Unity Forum condemned the abduction describing it as a war.

Chairman of the group, Ayo Ladigbolu said: “The kidnapping generally is disturbing especially to any right thinking person, we are particularly unhappy that a leader of our country, among who was once a secretary to the government of this country, a man who had served as a minister in Nigeria, a leader of a national political party, a presidential candidate in Nigeria, someone who is known throughout the world as a man of peace, can be handled this way by people who were alleged to be Fulani herdsmen.”

S-West farmers issue ultimatum: Besides, farmers in the South West farmers issued a 24 hours ultimatum to Falae’s abductors within which to release him unhurt. The farmers, under the aegis of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) South West geo-political zone declared that the association was ready to mobilise all farmers in the South West region to comb all the jungles as well as the nooks and crannies in search of Falae, who is a member of the association.

The AFAN S/W Zonal Coordinator, Olusegun Dasaolu called on security agencies to, as a matter of urgency, live up to expectation and redeem their image by ensuring that Chief Falae is released unconditionally and unhurt.

Ondo House, APC task security agencies

The Ondo State House of Assembly and the chairman of the APC in Ondo State, Mr Isaac Kekemeke have called on the state government and the security agencies in the state to ensure that the abductors are brought to book. The House, at a plenary presided over by the Speaker, Mrs Jumoke Akindele called on the Federal Government to consider the 2014 confab report, which recommended state police as the solution to increasing cases of insecurity.

IPAC, PRONACO urge immediate release

Also condemning the abduction, the Inter Party Advisory Council of Nigeria (IPAC) described the abduction of Falae as wicked and barbaric and called for his immediate release.

IPAC National Chairman, Mallam Bashir Ibrahim Yusuf, in a statement, said: ‘’It is outrageous, barbaric and wicked to abduct an elder statesman for any reason or for no reason whatsoever. IPAC demands the immediate release of Chief Olu Falae to rejoin his traumatized family.

‘’Chief Falae is the National Chairman of Social Democratic Party (SDP) and a strong pillar of IPAC. He is an octogenarian whose health should be fragile. He deserves respect and honour and should be so treated by all Nigerians including the abductors.

We urge security agents to be alive to their constitutional responsibility of protecting lives and property of Nigerians in tandem with section 14 (2)b of the 1999 constitution as amended which states that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.’’

Also, Spokesperson of Pro National Conference Organisation, PRONACO, Veteran Olawale Okunniyi said: “Chief Olu Falae is too important to Nigeria and the Yoruba people for any group of people to imagine such act against him.

First he has served Nigeria in various capacities especially as number Three man, Secretary to the Federal Government at that time and Finance Minister, after which he was popularly chosen as Presidential candidate in 1999 receiving votes from all over the country and bloc vote from the Yoruba people.’’

Okunniyi warned the abductors to release Falae without delay to prevent a possible breakdown of peace in Yorubaland because ‘’the Yoruba people may not fold their arms while one of their most respected leaders is being molested and taken as a captive in their territory.’’
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/09/how-our-boss-was-abducted-falaes-pa-driver/

Gunmen on Wednesday killed two policemen and two staff of a new generation bank during a robbery operation in Ogaminana, Adavi Local government area of kogi state.

The armed robbers were also reported to have successfully carted away N25 million meant for the payment of salaries for the Local council workers.

Eye witness account said the incident occurred at about 10:00am.

The State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, ACP. Williams Aya who confirmed the incident said the police are strategizing to nab the culprit but so far no arrest has been made.

He said the command will make sure that those behind the dastardly act are fished out and severely punished.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/09/armed-robbers-kill-2-policemen-bank-staff-cart-away-n25m-lg-salaries/
http://www.punchng.com/news/kogi-bandits-kill-two-policemen-bankers-steal-n25m/

Below is the pix of a recent one in Okene. I believe the securitymen in Kogi state should up their surveillance and security, to deter future re-occurence.

THE church of Nigeria Anglican communion Wednesday went spiritual as it prayed for the quick release of the former Secretary to the Government of Federation SGF) Chief Olu Falae.

Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) Most Rev’d Nicholas Okoh led Standing Committee of the Anglican Church consisting of 180 bishops and Laity to pray and plead that his abductors should have a rethink and set him free forthwith.

Okoh was in Akure for a four day meeting of the standing committee of the Anglican Church.

Chief Falae who is a member of the Church and the chairman, local Organizing Committee ‎of the four day meeting was kidnapped on Monday, the day the meeting commenced which coincided with his 77th birthday.

Okoh appealed to security agencies to ensure that the former Finance Minister is released unhurt.

The meeting was held at the saint David Cathedral Church, Ijomu in Akure, the state capital

The primate who lauded the Federal government on the fight against insurgency in the country said the kidnap of Chief Falae ‎should be a matter of concern to all and sundry in the country.

Okoh called on the government at all levels to establish a special task force in the forest to rid the country of kidnapping and insecurity in the country and to disarm them.

He expressed concern over the terror unleashed by the insurgen‎t in the north east of the Country adding that ” Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the World”.

Speaking on the theme of the meeting ” Look and live ‎” the primate said the way for ” Nigeria and the World at large to experience God’s intervention in the crisis going on everywhere is to look up to Jesus in simple faith and obedience”

” This World is truly bitten by the poisonous serpents and like Israel in the desert, is sick and in need of divine intervention urgently

The Bishop of the Akure Anglican Diocese, Bishop Simeon Borokini was optimistic that God will put the abductors to shame by exposing them.

Borokini said the Church is praying and will continue to pray for Chief Falae until he is released by his captors.

Governor Olusegun Mimiko who attended the occasion said it was the intention of the devil to abort the meeting by what happened to the chairman, Local Organizing Committee‎ the day the meeting was to commence.

Dr Mimiko pointed out that ” as usual the devil will fail, why the kidnap the day the meeting started.

He promised that the politician would be rescued unhurt as security operatives are on the trail of the kidnappers.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/09/primate-of-anglican-church-leads-180-bishops-to-pray-for-the-release-of-falae/

El Rufai provided all the evidence used against Saraki in this trial?

Well, that's according to Senate President Bukola Saraki's Special Assistant on New Media, Bamikola Omishore. Guess we are in for more interesting days...


http://lindaikeji..com/2015/09/el-rufai-provided-all-evidence-used.html

The pro Chancellor, Kano University of Science and Technology, Wudil, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has offered to bankroll salaries and emoluments of 15 new Professors for the state owned tertiary institution for 4 years.

The Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Shehu Musa told Reporters during an interactive session to mark its 15 years anniversary, explained that the philanthropic gesture was part of effort to boost manpower of the science based institution.

Professor Musa revealed that the pro Chancellor has also elected to provide 15 housing units to accommodate the new hands settled for academic rigour.

The Vice Chancellor said Aliko Dangote has also completed arrangements to provide the university with industrial bore holes that would cater for 30,000 population.

He disclosed that Dangote has further made necessary provision that would link the University with Integrated Power Project, pointing out that before now, the science based Institution was being powered by stand by generator.

Professor Musa while cataloguing Dangote’s gesture to the University further announced plan by the business mogul to sponsor the schools Agriculture master plan that would accommodates 1 million farmers.

The Vice Chancellor commended TETFUND for its high impact intervention totalling N3billion, further stressed that the University currently boast of 56 capital projects

He said private individuals had also contributed to the University success story, as he added that Kano State Government alone invested N7billion on capital project at the institution within the past 12 months.

Commenting on the challenges confronting the University, Professor Musa revealed that the institution is been threatened by flood and erosion.

But he however disclosed that adequate representation has been made to ecological Fund for its intervention adding that “at the moment we need emergency intervention from the ecological fund to save the institution”.

Former Governor of Kano state, Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso established the University during his first term in office in year 2000.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/09/dangote-to-bankroll-15-new-professors-for-kano-university/

Nice one

nice one

Hmm

The Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has appointed 23 commssioners and 13 special advisers in his cabinet.
The governor has presented the list of cabinet members to the House of Assembly for approval. The Speaker of the House, Mr. Mubashiru Obasa, read the names on the floor to members.

The Governor is requesting for the screening and approval of 36 persons with 23 as Commissioners and 13 as Special Advisers. Amongst the names are six former cabinet members from the Babatunde Raji Fashola administration; Gbolahon Lawal, Dr. Jide Idris, Folarin Coker, Seye Oladejo, Engr. Ganiyu Johnson and Babatunde Hunpe.

It would appear that the Governor has made good his promise at the inaugural address to inject new blood on merit and professionalism as the new list depicts. It is made up of top technocrats, politicians and strategists.

The Governor has named a relatively young cabinet with the likes of Mrs. Yetunde Onabolu, Fela Bank-Olemoh, Akinyemi Ashade, a partner in KPMG; Steve Ayorinde, Alhaja Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf, a pharmacist; Kehinde Joseph and Prof. Ademola Abass, a professor of Law, whose ages range between 39 and 47 years.

Other names include Dr. Akintola Benson, Dr. Abdul-Hakeem Abdul-Lateef, Dr. Mohammed Akinkunmi, Dr. Babatunde Adejare, Dr. Femi Onanuga, Dr. Dayo Mobereola, Engr. Ade Akinsanya, Arch. Wasiu Anifowoshe, Mrs. Lola Akande, Agboola Dabiri, Ganiu Okanlomo Sanni, Anofi Elegushi, Rotimi Ogunleye, Mrs Adebimpe Akinsola, Femi Odubiyi, Alhaji Musiliu Folami, Adeniji Kazeem, Adeyemi Labinjo, Toyin Suarau, Babatunde Durosinmi-Etti, Deji Tinubu, Mrs. Mudirat Giwanson and kehinde Bamigbetan.

According to reliable sources, the screening is to commence immediately after the Sallah holidays while cleared cabinet members would likely be sworn in to resume the task of governance by Monday, 5th of October.

http://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2015/09/21/list-of-lagos-commissioners-released/

Hmmn

Senate President Bukola Saraki’s trial for alleged false declaration of his assets when he was governor of Kwara State has begun at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

The Deputy Director in the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, M.S.Hassan, filed the charges against Saraki on September 11.

Saraki is facing 13 count at the CCT.

The trial is being aired live on Television Continental.

http://www.punchng.com/news/sarakis-trial-on-false-asset-declaration-begins/

What's your comment on this

MadCow1:
Why do they need our National I.D Card though?

To move around easily

There was pandemonium on Tuesday on Ishawo Road, Ikorodu area of Lagos State, after seven operatives of the Department of State Services were killed during an encounter with suspected pipeline vandals.

PUNCH Metro learnt from both residents and sources that the incident happened around 8pm.

It is the second time in two weeks that the vandals would unleash terror on security operatives.

On August 30, four policemen from the Special Anti-Robbery Squad and Owutu Police Division, were attacked.

Three of the policemen died, while one was critically injured.

http://www.punchng.com/news/pipeline-vandals-kill-seven-dss-operatives-in-lagos/

Governor Nasir El Rufai of Kaduna State has ordered the immediate closure of two churches, a seminary and a church-owned hospitals and secondary school all in Saminaka, Lere Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

He said the closure was to avoid the eruption of violence among factions of the congregations whose leaderships’ positions he described as, “principally to preserve their personal interests with little concern for the common good, and the peace and security of Kaduna State”.

A statement on behalf of the governor sign by his spokesman, Samuel Aruwan Wednesday in Kaduna named the affected bodies as: Theological Seminary of Northern Nigeria, (TSNN), Shalom Comprehensive College, Assemblies of God Church, AGC, Nmbare all in Saminaka. The rest are: Assemblies of God Church (Jerusalem) and AGC Evangelist Hospital, also in Saminaka:

Reads the statement: “The Kaduna State Security Council at its 15th meeting, held on the 15th September, 2015, deliberated on the leadership crisis in the Assemblies of God Church, AGC, Saminaka District, Lere local government area of the state.

“The council discussed this matter in the context of preventing threats to the peace and stability of the State.
“The Council noted that the leadership crisis has led to disintegration of order in the church, and raised tensions between the followers of the rival camps.

The crisis has also widened to the students of the church-owned school and seminary, who are now split and divided on factional lines.

“The Council reviewed previous efforts made to resolve the crisis. It noted that these were aborted by those involved in the leadership tussle, principally to preserve their personal interests with little concern for the common good, and the peace and security of Kaduna State.

“The Council unanimously agreed that if left unchecked, the growing tension may degenerate into total breakdown of law and order in the said area, with the potential to spread to other parts of the state.

“Therefore, the Council has taken steps to preserve the peace. It has unanimously directed the immediate closure of the following:

“Theological Seminary of Northern Nigeria, (TSNN) Saminaka. Shalom Comprehensive College, Saminaka Assemblies of God Church, Nmbare, Saminaka and Assemblies of God Church (Jerusalem) Saminaka AGC Evangelist Hospital, Saminaka
“As a result of these measures, those who may be affected will be admitted into government schools or hospitals, if they exercise the option.

“The Council also directed that the status quo with regard to farmlands, houses and other assets of the church be upheld pending resolution of the leadership crisis, which is a matter before the Supreme Court.

“Kaduna State Government wishes to reiterate that it will not tolerate the use of religion and ethnicity to cause crisis in the state.

“The government has also announced that it will prosecute anyone, no matter his or her standing, that is implicated in fomenting crisis in whatever form in the State”, the statement concluded.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/09/el-rufai-shuts-down-2-churches-seminary-church-hospital/

President Muhammadu Buhari is reportedly concerned about the proximity of the Villa Chapel to his bedroom window and wants it relocated; a move that several Presidency officials have denied.

The chapel was built and inaugurated by ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, who deliberately built the church to be close to his official residence so that he could “enjoy worship and prayers from the comfort of his bedroom”.

President Buhari is a Muslim and has reportedly complained about the noise from the chapel. Some aides of the president had already made efforts to stop the use of the facility by Christian worshippers on August 30. As a prelude, security agents prevented the Villa Chapel choristers from entering the building for their weekly rehearsal on Saturday, August 29, 2015.

However, uproar over the development ensued, which caused Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, a Christian who also worships at the chapel, to contact Buhari before the security men gave way for service to be conducted that day.

In a move that suggests the Presidency is not giving up in its bid to relocate the chapel, the children’s church section of the chapel has been shut and some rooms have been converted to shops for storing food items.

“We had to beg them to allow us to remove our property,” said an official of the church who did not want to be named. “The children’s church has been turned into a store. As a result of the unforeseen development, we had to collapse some facilities to accommodate the children and keep our worship going. That was why the Chaplain said that the church had not been shut but ‘we only had some procedural issues that needed to be sorted out’.”

Femi Adesina, the Presidential spokesman, has denied that the chapel will be moved.

http://dailytimes.com.ng/buhari-uncomfortable-with-villa-chapel-close-to-his-window/

The League of Imams and Alfas in Ekiti has ordered Muslims in the state not to collect rams and other food items for Sallah celebration, if presented to them in any form by the government.

The league reached the decision at a meeting held on Tuesday at Ansar-u-deen Society Central Mosque Odo – Otu, Ado Ekiti, where it reviewed the “deliberate marginalisation of Muslims in Ekiti State government political appointment.”

The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs and National Council of Muslim Youth Organisation, Ekiti State, had respectively issued statements condemning Governor Ayodele Fayose for neglecting Muslims in appointments.

The All Progressives Congress in Ekiti in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, had also described “Fayose’s treatment of Muslims in terms of appointment in the state” as “the worst since the state was created.”

The party claimed Ekiti muslims were not given up to one percent of the appointments made by the Fayose administration.
In a communique issued at the end of the meeting, the league said, “Based on the above, the League, Ekiti State Council hereby resolve that: No Muslim in the State should collect rams and other food items if presented to them in any form by the government.

The communique was signed by the state’s Assistant Secretary, League of Imams and Alfas, Alhaji Quadri Oguntuase; a Representative of Ansar-u-deen Missioner, Fatai Jimoh and Chief Imam, Ilogbo, Imam Abdul Rasak.

http://www.punchng.com/news/ekiti-imams-bar-muslims-from-accepting-fayoses-rams-foods/

Congrats. Bring in more

therealdeal10:
Which person body e use??

Ask am O