₦airaland Forum

Kogi State Coordinator of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Oludolapo Ahile, yesterday condemned the manner in which corps members deployed as ad-hoc staff for the general elections were being treated. She lamented that their safety and security concerns were being taken for granted even as the rescheduled polls get closer.

Speaking at a stakeholders meeting to sensitise members of the public on its readiness for the election, she said the corps members were not given adequate security cover, as they were subjected to inhuman treatment at the Registration Area Centres where they were deployed.She added that parents of corps members were now unwilling to allow their wards participate in the exercise due to fear of the unknown, yet they are expected to report for duty during the election on Friday.

Ahile noted that she was standing in for the corps only if the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) promises to provide adequate security for the corps members’ safety.

Also, INEC in Bauchi State said it has begun sorting sensitive materials for distribution to the 20 local government areas of the state ahead of Saturday’s polls.Acting Head of Voter Education and Public Enlightenment, Ahmed Waziri, disclosed this yesterday at the Bauchi branch of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

He said all the sensitive materials for the state have been received and will be distributed across the councils on Thursday.“We are here with all the electoral officers and political parties and we are sorting out the sensitive materials based on local government areas. “What we have are the sensitive materials including ballot papers and result sheets and all the materials are intact,” he said.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/02/2019-poll-kogi-nysc-charges-inec-on.html

Despite the promise by the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, in October 2018 that nationwide power supply could get better with the anticipated addition of 945MW of electricity into the grid before the end of the year, the average power supply in January 2019 was below the December 2018 level, Akelicious’s investigation has revealed.

A data obtained from the office of the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, showed that the average power generated and distributed to Nigerians in the first one month of 2019, was 3,952 megawatts (MW), representing a decline from level of generation in December 2018, by 141MW or 3.4 per cent.


According to the data from the Advisory Power Team in Osinbajo’s office, electricity supply in December 2018, averaged 4,093MW.

However, 3,020MW was constrained from getting to homes and offices in the country, while an average of N44.9 billion worth of revenue was not earned by the market.

To attain this level of generation, 22.713 million standard feet per day (mmscfd) of gas supplied.

However, in January 2019, the average volume slightly dropped to 3,952MW with 2,782MW constrained, N41.3 billion unearned and 21.472mmscfd of gas supplied, indicating a drop in gas supply to power plants by 1.241mmscfd.

Fashola had promised that the nationwide power supply could get better with an additional 945MW of electricity expected to be added to the national grid before the end of 2018.

The minister had while speaking at a business breakfast meeting of the Nigeria-South Africa Chamber of Commerce in Lagos which was themed: ‘Power Sector and the Way Forward,’ said then that additional power would be generated to the national grid from the 450MW Azura Edo power plant; 215MW Kaduna power plant; 240MW Afam-V power plant; and 40MW Kashimbilla hydro plant, by the end of 2018.

He had stated that the power sector had recorded successful improvements in its generation, transmission and distribution subsectors.

But the January power supply data showed that only the 450MW-capacity Azura Edo power plant was on to the grid while the other three are not.

Azura had, however, in April 2018, announced the completion of its plant, indicating that all of its three turbines with a collective output of 450MW have been deployed in Nigeria’s national grid.

Additionally four existing plants – Sapele; AES; ASCO and Olorunsogo NIPP plants were shut down within the period of January 2019, while power supply in 12 out of the 31 days in the month were below 4,000MW unlike in December 2018 when it was below 4,000MW only two days.

Akelicious gathered from the data that in January that the sector recorded a lot of water management issues, which according to experts, could have resulted from the gravity of water levels in the country’s hydro power plants, while other grid-related constraints also persisted during the month under review.

https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2019/02/05/despite-growth-promise-power-supply-averages-3952mw/?amp

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on Tuesday said that Nigeria earned $640.35million from the export of crude oil and gas for the month of October, 2018.

NNPC Monthly Financial and Operations Report for October 2018 that contained this, according to a statement of the Group General Managing, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, said the total export receipt of $640.35 million recorded in October 2018 was higher than the $527.70 million logged in September 2018.

It explained the receipt showed $450.44million accrued from crude oil sale with gas and miscellaneous receipts standing at $173.92 million and $15.99 million respectively.

The statement noted the downstream sector, the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a downstream subsidiary of NNPC, posted a receipt of ₦231.33billion from sales of white products in the month of October 2018 compared with ₦150.25 billion sold in of September 2018.

Total revenues generated from the sales of white products for the period October 2017 to October 2018 stands at ₦2.684Trillion, where PMS contributed about 88.32 per cent of the total sales value of ₦2.371 Trillion.

The corporation raised the alarm on increasing incidents of pipeline vandalism across the country, saying in October last year its pipeline network suffered a 42.9 per cent increase in the incidents of pipeline vandalism compared to the previous month during the year.

He said the corporation recorded 219 pipeline vandalized points in the month under review, compared to 125 incidents it suffered in September of the same year.

He said the findings that were captured in the NNPC Monthly Financial and Operations Report for October 2018 revealed that among the breaches, four vandalized pipeline points failed to be welded and one point was ruptured.

The report stated that cases of vandalism of pipeline facilities were high along Ibadan-Ilorin and Aba-Enugu axis, accounting for 81 (40%) and 39 (18%) vandalized points respectively.

The spokesman stated despite the challenge posed by pipeline vandalism, the NNPC kept an eye on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) stock level to ensure zero fuel queue across the nation.

To ensure continuous increase of PMS supply and effective distribution across the country, a total of 1.66 billion litres of petrol, translating to 55.50milion liters/day, were supplied for the month under review.

The report noted that out of the 1,066.88 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (mmscfd) of gas supplied to the domestic market in October 2018, about 627.33mmscfd of gas representing 58.81 per cent was supplied to gas-fired power plants to generate an average power of about 2,349MW compared with the September 2018, where an average of 615mmscfd was supplied to generate 2,303MW.

The balance of 439.35mmscfd or 41.19 per cent was supplied to other industries.


Similarly, for the period of October 2017 to October 2018 an average of 1,188.58mmscfd of gas was supplied to the domestic market, comprising of an average of 744.06mmscfd or (62.60 per cent) as gas supply to the power plants and 444.52mmscfd or (37.40 per cent) as gas supply to industries.

About 3,096.18 mmscfd or 89.58 per cent of the export gas was sent to Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG) Bonny.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/01/nigeria-earned-64035m-from-oil-gas-in_15.html

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja yesterday granted bail to Dr. Doyin Okupe, a former Senior Special Assistance to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, in the sum of N100 million.

Okupe, who was dragged to the court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), is facing a 59-count charge bordering on money laundering involving several millions of naira.


Justice I.L Ojukwu, who granted the bail, ordered the suspect to produce one surety in like sum.

The judge ordered that the surety must have landed properties within the jurisdiction of the court.

He also ordered that the accused person must deposit his international passports with the court’s Registrar.

Granting the defendant’s application for bail, Justice Ojukwu held that the court possessed the discretion in granting bail, which must be exercised judicially and judiciously.

Ojukwu then adjourned the case to February 27, 28 and March 6 for trial.

The accused had pleaded not guilty to the charges when it was read to him.

According to the details of charges the accused had, between August 3, 2012, and October 8, 2014, in Abuja, allegedly used different companies to commit the offenses.

After the change sheet was read ,counsel to the defendant, Tolu Babaleye, in application, prayed the court to grant the accused bail on liberal terms since he was still presumed innocent.

Objecting to the bail application, counsel to the EFCC, Ibrahim Audu, argued that the court should not grant the accused bail because he had jumped bail when he was granted administrative bail by the commission in 2016.

He said Okupe was later tracked to his country home in Lagos State last year by the commission.

https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2019/01/15/jonathans-former-aide-okupe-gets-n100m-bail/?amp

The Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) has re-fixed the arraignment of Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, to Jan. 22.

The change of date for Onnoghen’s arraignment followed argument by the defence counsel that the CJN was not properly served.

Lead prosecuting counsel, Mr Aliyu Umar (SAN), conceded that Justice Onnoghen, was not properly served with the summons to appear before the CCT in Abuja on Monday.

Umar conceded that the CJN was not personally served with the charges and the court’s summons as required by the law.

He, therefore, requested the three-man tribunal led by Danladi Umar to direct a fresh service on the CJN.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Onnoghen was absent from Monday’s proceedings scheduled for his arraignment before the CCT on charges of non-declaration of his assets.

NAN also reports that 45 Senior Advocates of Nigeria and 55 senior lawyers represented the CJN at the tribunal.

The tribunal chairman upon inquiry about Onnoghen’s absence from court, discovered from the defence team, led by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), that the CJN needed not to be present having filed a motion to challenge the tribunal’s jurisdiction.

Olanipekun said he and other defence lawyers only appeared in court in protest against the jurisdiction of the tribunal.

He also said from the account given by the court official earlier in the proceedings, the CJN was not served with the charges and and summons personally, but through his aide.

Olanipekun insisted that the law requires that the defendant be personally served.

But the prosecuting lawyer said the law only requires the defendant to be aware of the pending charges, and that it was the CJN’s choice to ask his aide to receive the charges and summons on his behalf.

After series of argument which lasted for about 45 minutes, the prosecuting counsel conceded that the service of the charges and the summons ought to have been personally served on Onnoghen.

“By what the registrar has said, although the defendant was the one who directed his personal assistant to accept service on his behalf and what the law says is that he must be personally served.

“We agree that that the service should be properly done. The processes should be served personally on him.

“If, after the service is done, and the defendant is not present, we can then argue whether or not he needs to be present on the grounds that he has filed a motion challenging the jurisdiction of the court.”

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/01/just-in-cct-re-fixes-onnoghens.html

Top 15 Patience Jonathan’s English Blunders
Please Read:


1. My husband and Sambo is a good people (Imagine)

2. The President was once a child and the senatorswereonce a children.

3. My fellow widows.(Is her husband dead?)

4. A good mother takes care of hischildren.(Hischildren? Like Seriously?)

5. Mr Principal na only you Waka come.(Smh)

6. Yes we are all happy for the effort, it is not easy tocarry second in an international competition like thisone,(addressingpress men after Female Under-19FIFAWorld Cup).

7. The bombers who born them? Wasn’t it not awoman? Theywere once a children now a adult nowthey are bombing women and children making somechildren a widow.(Is she a literate?)

8. My heart feels sorry for these children who havebecome widows for loosing their parents for one reasonor another. (Lmfao….)

9. We should have love for our fellowNigeriansirrespective of their NATIONALITY(Lwkmd)

10. Thank God the Doctors and Nurses are respondingtotreatment. (Doctors and nurses?)

11. I would rather kill myself instead ofcommittingsuicide. (What’s the difference?)

12. Ojukwu is a great man, he died but his manhoodlives on. (Manhood?)

13. On behalf of 2million, I donate my family. (Laughwan tear my belle o)

14. Why will bokharam bomb last churches onchristmas day, theydon’t have respect for Jesus, theyare a very bad person,infact I’m a sadder woman rightnow and Mr.President ismore saddest(Sad,sadder,saddest…)

15. We All have HIV

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/01/top-15-patience-jonathans-english.html

Four non-governmental organisations have petitioned The Netherlands government over their case against Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDS) acquisition of the OPL 245 oil and gas field in Nigeria.

The groups, Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), Global Witness, Re:Common, and The Corner House, noted that RDS “is currently on trial in Milan in relation to the OPL 245 deal and the prosecution is the outcome of an investigation by the Milan Prosecutor’s Office, which was initiated as a result of a complaint submitted by three of our organisations.”

They expressed worry over an approach adopted in a recent out-of-court settlement of a major Dutch money laundering case involving ING Bank N.V.0 and said it should not be used in their own case.

“In September 2017, we submitted a complaint to the Prosecutor’s Office in The Netherlands requesting a criminal investigation of RDS, Shell Petroleum N.V. (“Shell Petroleum”) and Shell executives for offences under Dutch law relating to the deal.


“As plaintiffs, we consider ourselves to be stakeholders in the case. We are aware of the recent out-of-court settlement of a major Dutch money laundering case involving ING Bank N.V.

“For some reasons, we are concerned that a similar approach may be taken with RDS and Shell Petroleum. We hold that this would not be in the public interest unless stringent conditions are attached.”

The groups, which said they were not opposed to out-of-court settlements in cases where the defendant is ineligible for a custodial sentence, however, argued that “any settlement that does not produce a remedy proportionate to the alleged crime could not be seen as just.”

Their petition to The Netherlands Minister van Justitie, Mr. Ferdinand Grapperhaus, on Janusry 9, 2019, reads in part: “In this case, RDS and Eni are accused of paying over a billion dollars into a vast bribery scheme to pay off Nigerian officials in exchange for extremely favourable access to one of Nigeria’s most promising oil blocks.

“The cost to Nigerians of this ‘smash-and-grab raid’ on the Nigerian government (to use the phrase of the UK Crown Prosecution Service) is vast. Indeed, for some reasons, we would contend that there are strong grounds for rejecting a settlement with Shell.

“Firstly, as far as we are aware, neither RDS nor Shell Petroleum appears to have done anything to ‘earn’ an out-of-court settlement. In the recent settlement with ING Bank N.V., ING co-operated with the Prosecutor’s Office. By contrast, neither RDS nor Shell Petroleum has ‘self-reported’ any crimes that they view as related to the OPL 245 deal.

“Similarly, there are no public reports of their having co-operated with the criminal investigation into OPL 245. On the contrary, they have vigorously denied any criminality. As a consequence, the Prosecutor’s Office has had to undertake a wide-ranging investigation, presumably at considerable cost to the Dutch taxpayer.

“Should the companies now belatedly acknowledge criminality – a necessary part of any settlement – it would, in our view, be perverse to reward them by agreeing to terms that would allow them to avoid a criminal conviction by the courts.

“Secondly, a settlement with Shell would establish an undesirable precedent by signalling that the Dutch justice system is prepared to tolerate corporate recidivism. At the time that the OPL 245 deal was negotiated and bribes were allegedly paid, RDS was a party to a Deferred Prosecution Agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice following an earlier Nigerian bribery scandal.”

The groups also said any settlement without a full and clear statement of facts and admission of guilt would be contrary to the interests of open justice.

“An admission of criminality by RDS and Shell Petroleum in this case would be an admission to participation in one of the most egregious bribery schemes in history, a scheme that defrauded Nigeria of billions of dollars. The beneficiaries were two of the richest companies in the world. The victims were some of the poorest people on Earth: Nigerians.”

The petition was signed by Nicholas Hildyard (The Corner House), Luca Manes (Re:Common), Olanrewaju Suraju (HEDA) and Simon Taylor (Global Witness).

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/01/groups-petition-netherlands-over-case.html

The year 2019, to so many Nigerians, promises to be an eventful one. This year is unlike any other. It is an election year, carrying along with it, all the trappings and vagaries that accompany such monumental events. They include anxiety, uncertainties, delayed investment decisions and, in some cases, apathy, among other issues that will impact the economy and polity this year

Apart from the fact it is an election year, there is however the belief among the citizenry that 2018, despite the fact that the nation’s economy finally moved out of recession, was a challenging and difficult year in which several unpleasant events shaped the landscape of the country.

It is against this background that some Nigerians say, beside the general clamour for free and fair election, which begin next month, there is need for the outcome to produce a president and indeed leaders who are genuine, willing to take responsibility for the present situation and conditions we have found ourselves.


They are also demanding for emergence of the man or woman who is willing to accept the challenge of nation-building—to face it head-on with integrity of heart and skillfulness of hand.

According to them Nigeria is blessed with leaders who have only what looks like integrity of heart, but lack skillfulness of hand! To truly move Nigeria forward, we need a president who has both qualities comfortably residing in him, they further argue.


They are also canvassing for a president that empathizes with the masses and works to diminish the huge socio-economic disparities in the country, with a believe in restructuring so as to make the states viable and responsible, rather than depending on monthly allocations from Abuja

Nigeria needs a president that is willing to invest in education and general manpower development, urgently transit from dependence on petrodollars, build national cohesion by investing in collective heritage projects as well as being savvy as its obtainable globally to drive state architecture and resources in collaboration with sophisticated private sector for vibrant economy for the benefit of all.

Adeola Elliott, former Chairman Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Agric and Agro Allied group said, “The global demand for savvy head of government as seen in US, Finland, France, Ethiopia etc, to drive state governance architecture and resources, in collaboration with sophisticated private sector, to produce vibrant economy, that ensures prosperity and well-being of the people has become inevitable in Nigeria.

In the light of the above, Nigeria cannot be an exception. Otherwise, we will continue the downward economic trend witnessed since 1960 to date.

We require a President that is well informed and very articulate to steer Nigeria’s economic ship. Education and exposure are germane.”

Wale Oyekoya, managing director, Bama Foods, says the country needs a visionary leader that will listen to his people and govern with conscience


“Nigeria has been labeled as the poverty capital of the world, overtaking Indians and worst place to do business successfully. Most of our leaders are arrogant and see themselves as emperors stealing our common wealth to other countries. We need a president that will not be sectional or regional leader. President that will tackle youth unemployment with human face, improve on our educational, health and agricultural sectors. President that will believe better infrastructures is our right and not privileges. I don’t expect miracles from any of the two major presidential candidates either APC or PDP because both are old and tired and should go home,” Oyekoya said.

Olusegun Oshinowo, former director-general of the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), says whoever becomes the next president must pay a closer attention to infrastructure in order to attract new investments.

Oshinowo pointed out that the Nigerian economy is bleeding from over-regulation, as multiple regulatory agencies created by the government— most of which have duplicated functions and now see themselves as existing only for revenue drive.

He said rather than support and aide enterprise, the agencies have become a cog in the wheel of economic growth, as businesses in many respects are hounded, thereby discouraging investments.

The consequence of this, according to Oshinowo, is that business expansion is hampered by negative impact on employment generation.

The former DG spoke during a valedictory press conference, saying in other climes regulatory agencies play critical roles in the encouragement of growth and sustenance of enterprise. Oshinowo retired from NECA last month after 19 years of service in the association.

“Unlike in other environment where regulation is used to encourage and aide the growth of enterprise, regulatory agencies in Nigeria have actually become killers of businesses,” said Oshinowo at a valedictory press conference last week.

According to him, the continued dependence of the federating states on the monthly federal allocations makes nonsense of the idea of a federal structure that Nigeria had set out to operate.

“Nigeria must restructure to allow states take responsibility for certain aspects of this economy. Even if you have zero-level corruption, best economic policies, if you don’t restructure to allow state create wealth for the people, those policies won’t work,” he added

He decried the present situation where only Lagos and Abuja are the centres of attraction.

“Today, it is only Lagos and Abuja that things seem to be happening. There are no economic opportunities for the citizens in other states. So, what you find is a situation where Nigerians are moving out of those states to Lagos to find means of livelihood. This is not good for the economy. The federating states must be able to create opportunities to engage their citizens and fight poverty.” He further said.

Nnimmo Bassey, an environmental activist and Executive Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) says a president that is emancipated from neocolonial hangups and can inspire citizens to productive action is needed for the country. According to him, he or she should work to enthrone a pro-people constitution, cut down on executive luxuries, promote a lean, part time legislature and provide basic social services and security for the citizenry, among others.

According to Lagos based energy analysts, who pleaded for anonymity, what Nigeria needs now are leaders and not Politicians.

According to him, it is the absence of leadership that is causing a lot of challenges for the country, adding that the country is blessed with resources which are being wasted to poor leadership.

“Most states in Nigeria are rich with natural endowments, but they being administered led by those who are poor in integrity of heart and skillfulness of hand,” he said.

In fact, the New Year poll report by NOIPolls revealed that most Nigerians want the government to mainly focus its attention on education (49 per cent), security (44 per cent), electricity supply (36 per cent) and economy (32 per cent), amongst other sector/areas in 2019.

The report stated that it was not surprising that education topped the list this year given the series of challenges facing the sector. For instance, it noted that poor funding was one of the major reasons for the deterioration and challenges in the education sector, especially tertiary education, which has led to frequent strikes by academic and non-academic staff since the early 1990s.

The federal government’s allocation to education in the last 10 years has been inadequate as only a total of N3.90 trillion or an average of 7.07 per cent has so far been allocated to the sector out of a total budget of N55.19 trillion.

Also, a Demographic Health Survey (DHS) conducted by the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) and the Nigerian government, had revealed that the number of out-of-school children rose from 10.5 million in 2010 to 13.2 million in 2015 in Nigeria.

On security, the survey showed that 44 per cent of Nigerians reported that they expected the government to improve on the issue of security in Nigeria as they believed it has not fared well in 2018.

The nation witnessed a drastic breakdown of internal security challenges in 2018, ranging from terror strikes in the north-east to herdsmen and farmers conflicts in the north-central to militants operating in the south-south.

“This crisis comes in several forms such as communal, religious, political and socio-economic with varying degree of casualties mostly civilians.

“For instance, the tension between herdsmen and farming communities saw a dramatic escalation in the first quarter of 2018 especially the attacks that occurred in some local government areas in Benue, Plateau, Adamawa, Nasarawa and Taraba states which involved the loss of lives and properties leaving many people displaced from their homes,” the report added.

The survey opinion on power revealed that 36 per cent of the respondents expected the government to significantly focus its attention on the sector, considering that this sector has faced huge challenges over the years.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/01/2019-presidency-qualities-of-president.html

The title of our first conversation this year is a result of the last flurry of accusation and counter accusations with which the two leading presidential candidates in the coming 2019 elections ended their campaign in 2018. Their accusations and counter accusations on integrity and corruption leave us the citizens with the question about who is lying and who is faking integrity.


To be precise, these accusations and counter accusations were made by their spokesmen and various surrogates. We note that there is a new vogue in town, since close to four years now: spokesmen now say a lot whilst their principals say very little directly.

The accusations of corruption hovering around the PDP presidential standard bearer Atiku Abubakar is not new. For over 10 years, there had been rumours about Atiku’s not very cleaned hands; there have been tales of indecent and opaque privatization, direct looting and bribery whilst he was in office as vice-president of Nigeria. The biggest tale of course is the one with the American flavour. I deliberately call these allegations tales and rumours because in fairness to Atiku and objectively speaking, no court or committee or report has come out in clear terms to name Atiku guilty or wanted for any crime.

Regardless of what one feels about the man Atiku, his tenure in office as vice-president or his prospect as presidential candidate, one must objectively note that if Atiku is truly a looter then there is something very wrong with our judicial and political system.

A judicial system that hears that a man who has been out of office for over 10 years is a looter and cannot find or does not have within the system a policeman, an EFCC agent or a judge to bring such person to trial for definite conviction or acquittance is not a system in good shape.

Let us not forget that Atiku just like Buhari is a serial presidential aspirant, they have both ran on more than one political platforms. A political system that hears or suspects that a man who has been out of office for over 10 years is a looter and has never denounced him, reported him or even disqualified him from contesting on its political platforms is not a system in good shape.

Thanks to the political system in Nigeria, Atiku’s corruption seems to be like an air-conditioner: its temperature depends on where you stand. It is cool when you are in the room and hot when you are outside the room.

Atiku and indeed his whole team, past and present, too has not helped matters. How can you keep running for president and it has not occurred to you to clarify this matter of corruption once and for all?

Unlike Atiku, Buhari holds the premium prize for being one of the very few Nigerian public office holders that has covered various positions under various administrations and yet can be tagged as “Mr Integrity,” and even allergic to corruption. It is not a small feat and Nigerians really appreciate such achievements. As I have had course to note elsewhere, most Nigerians that voted for Buhari and indeed many of those that campaigned against him did so because they see him as an epitome of anticorruption. The consensus is that the man Buhari, unlike most politicians, is rather averse to corruption and therefore will fight corruption with all his might and that those under and around him will not dare do dodgy things. Any serious analyst will readily tell you that for Nigerians, good a man as Buhari is, he is no Barack Obama and his oratory skills were never his attraction for most Nigerians. Experienced as he is on Nigerian affairs and governance; most Nigerians do not associate him with dynamic and innovative economic policies nor do they associate Buhari with great diplomatic skills: His anticorruption credential is his greatest asset.

And therein lies the rub, as the bard would say, for if what the Atiku and the PDP people are saying has any iota of truth in it and it turns out that Buhari is not Mr Squeaky Clean, then we have a serious problem in our hands. We are not all the same though and reactions to the accusations and counter accusations show where we are and who we are.

Who are you?

The partisan, followers, believers and supporters of political leaders and parties have no problem. For them the messenger is more important that the message. To them anything that comes from the other side is untrue and only tarnishes the image of their hero. To them anything said by the other side is irrelevant for their hero is ever flawless. It won’t matter that a presidential candidate cannot freely travel to the USA or if he never had a certificate he claims to have obtained decades ago.

To the active militants and beneficiaries or agents of political leaders and parties, anything goes. It doesn’t matter if it is true, false, defamatory to a person or group or deleterious to our socio-political system and image. What matter is to find a way to defend and spin the issues to favour their own side and narrative. History means nothing and institutions do not matter to them.

Free unaffiliated citizens and objective analysts do not trust or loathe anyone, they wait to see where the truth lies regardless of who is saying what.

In this zero-sum game of accusations and counter accusations, the two sides cannot be right: Atiku’s camp is either made of desperate liars trying to tarnish Buhari’s image just to show that all politicians are the same or Buhari is a mega hypocrite and conman who in reality is far from what he publicly he stands for.

Eventually history will judge but investigative journalism and law suits against those who make unsubstantiated claims can help us understand in the short term.

Prof Kila is Centre Director, Centre for International Advanced and Professional Studies

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/01/2019-presidency-is-atiku-liar-and.html

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it would devolve Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) collection to Registration Areas and Wards across the country, from Jan. 16.

The commission said in a statement by Mr Festus Okoye, National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, on Friday, in Abuja, that deadline for collection of PVCs was Feb. 8.

The statement said that decision on the issues was taken at the commission’s weekly meeting held on Thursday in Abuja.

It recalled that INEC carried out Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) between April 27, 2017 and Aug. 31, 2018 during which a total of 14, 281,734 new voters were registered.

It stated that subsequently, the commission printed the PVCs of the new registrants and delivered them to the states.

It said “collection of PVCs by the public which is being done presently at the Commission’s Local Government offices is to be devolved to the 8,809 Registration Areas/Wards from Jan. 16 to Jan. 21 (including Saturday and Sunday).

“After Jan. 21 collection of PVCs will revert to the Commission’s Local Government Offices and other designated centres to be determined by the states until Feb. 8, being the last day for collection.

“There will be no extension for the collection of PVCs after Feb.8. All uncollected PVCs will be retrieved and kept in a secured place until the general elections are over.

“There shall be no collection of PVCs by proxy.”

The commission said that in the spirit of transparency, it would give account of the number of PVCs collected and the balance from previous registrations.

It urged all registered voters yet to collect their PVCs to seize the opportunity to do so.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/01/feb-8-deadline-for-pvc-collection.html

Nigerian singer, Blackface has vowed not to grant any interview about 2face Idibia until the case is concluded.

The former Plantashun Boyz member made this known on his Instagram handle stating that the decision was made by his lawyer.

In a press release attached to his post, his lawyer stated that they are only protecting their client’s legal copyright.

He wrote: As e be na im e be still but I no go talk to una journalist again if na those 2 people una ask about.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/01/i-wont-grant-any-interview-if-its-about.html

The wife of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hajiya Titi Atiku Abubakar, has asked the Nigerian electorate to vote out President Muhammadu Buhari in the February 16 election.

She said the president lacks the knowledge and capacity to meet the expectations of Nigerians.


Mrs. Abubakar who spoke yesterday in Abuja at an event with the theme: “Kick Out Hunger, Kick Out APC”, also said that Buhari lacked knowledge of the economy and should not be allowed by Nigerians to realise his second term ambition so as to avoid shutting down the country.

“The President himself, I don’t think he knows the economy. The government has devastated the economy and we must reorganise Nigeria by bringing in competent managers,” she said.

She said the All Progressives Congress (APC) has crippled the country’s economy and brought hunger and poverty to Nigeria, but assured that if elected, Atiku would “get Nigeria working again.”

She added, “We are going to get Nigeria working again; people are hungry. Hunger is causing many of our children to go into prostitution. It has become clear that the current political establishment has lost its way and Nigerians have to endure the epic disappointment.

“We want Amina Zakari out of that place so that everybody will be Atikulated. Why did Buhari refuse to sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill into law? It is because of the rigging they want to do. But we should vote on that day and defend our votes; we must ensure our votes counted.

“We are flagging off a campaign on how women, especially those at the grassroots will vote during the elections.”

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/01/buhari-lacks-capacity-to-fix-nigeria.html

Adamawa State students under the aegis of National Union of Adamawa State Students (NUADSS), staged a protest Thursday in Yola, the Adamawa State capital, against the strike by their lecturers, saying they have had enough of it and asking the Federal Government to resolve the issues involved without further delay.


The lecturers, rising under the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), started the strike on November 4, 2018, over non-implementation of a Memorandum of Action (MOA) signed with the Federal Government.

In their protest, the members of NUADSS, students of Adamawa state origin spread in universities across the country, reiterated that it is imperative on the lecturers and the Federal Government to be quick in coming to an agreement and letting normal academic activities resume.


Expressing their frustration during the Thursday protest l at the Ahmadu Ribadu Square in Yola, the students chanted, “We say no to this! We say enough is enough!”

The President of the National Union of Adamawa State Students, Ashraf Usman Marafa, said contemporary students could not tolerate people in leadership positions who would not ensure the smooth delivery of education that they enjoyed while they were in school.

“It is disappointing to see people who were beneficiaries of free and qualitative education deny students theirs,” he said.


Insisting that the students had taken enough of the ASUU strike, Ashraf said, “We all know that for 10 weeks today, ASUU has been on strike. We’ve been tired of this for a long while now.”

He gave the Federal Government the alternative of either meeting the demands of the lecturers and getting them back to work or losing the electoral goodwill of students, specifying, “All we are saying is there are alternatives and with our large voting block, we will take a step should the strike continue. No vote for the incumbent should the strike linger.”

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/01/adamawa-students-protest-ASUU-strike.html

One of three journalists, who were shot on Tuesday at the flag-off campaign of Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Temitope Ogunbanke, a News Telegraph correspondent, has recounted his experience.



Ogunbanke said he was hit on his neck and stomach by the bullet. According to him, the bullet touched his stomach and fled past him, saying he felt the touch of the bullet on his stomach while it pierced his face.

He said: “I thank God I am alive. When I felt the bullet in my stomach, I thought I was dead. It was when I opened my eyes and touched the stomach and saw no blood that I knew I was still alive, but I was scratched by the bullet on my face.”


The journalists hit by bullets were Ogunbanke, Emmanuel Oladesu, the Group Political Editor of The Nation newspaper, and Ibile Television cameraman, Abiodun Yusuf.

The crisis broke out at the rally when rival groups of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in the state went for each other’s jugular, leading to the death of one Issmaila Azeez Ibrahim, popularly known as Legacy and the stabbing of the NURTW Lagos Treasurer, Musiliu Akinsanya, also known as ‘MC Oluomo’.

It was gathered that the rival groups have been on each other’s neck since Oluomo declared his ambition to become the state chairman of the union, while others said a faction of the union were still bitter that the governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, was not allowed to run for a second term in office.

The police command in Lagos has declared one Mustapha Adekunle, aka Seigo, a chieftain of the union, wanted in connection with the incident, while two suspects have been arrested.

Meanwhile, the Association of Practitioners of Community Media in Nigeria (APCOM), the registered umbrella body for community media practitioners in Nigeria, has denounced the outbreak of violence at the rally.

In a statement signed by APCOM president, Dayo Akintobi, the body condemned the unwarranted assault on their colleagues while in the line of duty.

“The Association demands that the perpetrators of the dastardly shootings be apprehended and made to face the full wrath of the law. Of the eight persons reported to have been transported to hospital from the scene for treatment, three were journalists. This speaks to the dangerous nature of journalists’ jobs and makes a case for why extra security measures must always be in place to protect them during potentially volatile assignments like coverage of political rallies.”


The body advised that to keep violence in check and inhibit a repeat occurrence of the mayhem, political parties should do more to keep their supporters docile, even rival factions and contending caucuses. “Security agencies also need to step up, first and foremost taking steps to keep weapons out of rally venues and keeping a close watch on warring factions to quell minor skirmishes before they escalate into full-blown confrontations.”

Also in its reaction, the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) yesterday announced the donation of N500,000 to the journalists injured during fracas. A statement issued in Abuja by the coalition’s first national spokesperson, Ikenga Ugochinyere, said the donation was meant for the medical treatment of the injured journalists.

He claimed that the current administration was more focused on how to rig the forthcoming elections, instead of working towards solving the security issues currently disturbing the nation.

More details yesterday emerged on how Oluomo was stabbed with a poisoned knife. According to an APC chieftain who pleaded for anonymity, Oluomo was stabbed twice with a poisonous knife called Makenje, which means don’t touch blood. “All the VIPs were spirited out of the venue by security personnel. It was like a war zone with sophisticated guns and machetes on display. We heard some people are still angry that Ambode was schemed out of the 2019 governorship race and disgraced.

“It was well planned by top politicians. The plot was to disrupt the rally and turn attention away from the candidate Sanwo-Olu. And you have to say they succeeded to some extent”, said the source who added that MC Oluomo wasn’t supposed to be rushed to the hospital after being stabbed, because he supposedly wears a spiritual armour that shields him from gun, knife and other dangerous weapons.

“The knife used to stab him was a poisoned one. He was expected to be inured from the venom of a poisoned knife. Because Oluomo was ‘unkillable’, the only way they could break through his skin was to poison the knife and as I speak with you now, native and medical doctors are battling to keep him alive by extracting the venom from his body.”

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/01/i-thought-i-was-dead-when-i-felt-bullet.html

As the race to 2019 general elections hits up, political actors are resulting to last minute moves to raise funds to support their various campaign projects.

The Presidential and National Assembly elections are slated for February 16 while the governorship and states assembly elections are to hold on March 2.

President Muhammadu Buhari has remained adamant to various overtures by party leaders to use government resources to fund his re-election campaign and that of other candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Realisation of this fact is however pitching party members against one another thereby creating discontentment within the party hierarchy especially among the APC governorship candidates in states governed by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

It was reliably gathered that APC governors are going to contribute money for President Buhari's re-election campaign while other candidates especially the governorship candidates of the party are to source for campaign funds through their own means.

This development it was learnt has left many governorship candidates of the party stranded. Despite INEC lifting the ban on political activities, some APC campaign offices at state levels are still inactive with docility as there is no money to fund their political activities.

The situation is so tense in Enugu that the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Ayogu Eze have to agree to mortgage Enugu State to APC National Leader, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu in exchange for election campaign funds.

According to sources familiar with the deal, Tinubu did not reject Eze's request to fund his election but told him the terms and asked if he could keep them to earn his support?

The source however said, he was suprised that Senator Eze could agree to all the terms without opting to negotiate any of them with Asiwaju.
He said "When candidates come here to ask for election money, Asiwaju normally tell them the condition before accepting to fund their election but sometimes candidates are also given the option to object any terms not favourable to them as was the fact in the case of the former governor of Kogi State, Prince Abubakar Audu who requested for money to fund his election in 2015." The source said the former governor bargained with the national leader and at the end, Mr. James Faleke was given to him as running mate before he died in the cause of the election. But this time, it is a different kettle of fish in the case of that man from Enugu, he never objected any of the terms even when Asiwaju expected him to do so."
Asked to comment on some of the terms, the source said Senator Ayogu Eze will have to increase tax in Enugu if he wins and that Tinubu's tax collecting company, Alpha Beta Company Limited will be the sole tax collecting firm in the state and that 40 percent of the total revenue collected which will be known as Internally Generated Revenue will go to Tinubu while the state retains the remaining 60 percent.
Another condition according to the source is that, Mr. Eze will have to give all the construction works in the state to construction companies owned by Tinubu as it's been done in the Southwest states where Tinubu-installed governors are calling the short.
The term also include that Mr. Eze will have to use the state resources to support Tinubu's 2023 Presidential ambition under APC platform and that he will also help him to mobilize Southeast leaders against Rochas Okorocha who has also declared interest to run for president in 2023.
The agreement it was learnt is different from the initial Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO) earlier signed with Tinubu and other leaders of the party before the ticket of APC was given to him upon defection from the PDP as against the interest of the long standing members of the party in the state who had worked very hard to introduce the party to electorates in the state.
According to an informed source, part of the (ISPO) agreement is that 35 percent of the Federal Allocation to Enugu State will be paid to Tinubu and other party leaders in Abuja for three years.
Where the money is not available, Mr. Eze will have to take loans from banks using the state as collateral security to fulfill this obligation.
It was later learnt that Mr. Eze signed the agreement to surrender the state's treasury to Tinubu on December 23rd, 2018 when he went to Lagos under the guise of meeting with Enugu State indigenes in the state.
Several efforts to get confirmation from the national secretariat of the APC about the secret deal proved abortive as several calls and texts messages sent to the phone number of the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Yekini Nabena did not get reply before press time.
However, the question on the lips of many stakeholders who are aware of the deal is whether the state will survive such capital flight because Enugu State is just number three on the list of states in Nigeria with megre federal allocations from Abuja.
Since 1999, Enugu has never had a political godfather outside the state, but whether this new political experiment with the imperial majesty of Lagos State will stand depends on who the electorates choose to vote for on March 2nd.
Mr. Brown Justice, an Investigative Journalist files this report from Lagos.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/01/revealed-real-reason-behind-ayogu-ezes.html

Since President Muhammadu Buhari announced his decision to place a former governor of Lagos State, Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in full charge of his re-election campaign at the inauguration of All Progressives Congress (APC) 2019 Presidential Campaign Council in Abuja on Monday, it has thrown up several interpretations from political observers.

Some believe that Buhari might have taken the decision to express a loss of confidence in the Director-General of his re-election campaign, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, over the recently leaked controversial video where the Minister of Transportation allegedly says the president does not listen and neither takes advice nor reads to acquire information. Others are of the view that the decision must have been made based on the conviction that the national leader is of more value to the president’s re-election bid than the former governor of Rivers State.

Other observers say it was a ploy by Buhari to get Tinubu more committed to his re-election ambition, knowing fully that his (Buhari’s) popularity has drastically dropped and he needs the national leader’s ‘political wand’ to win the next presidential election, just as others says it was an attempt by the president to avoid the Presidential Debate slated for January 19.


Buhari had consistently contested the presidential seat from 2003 to 2011 and lost until he finally entered into a merger with the Tinubu-led Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) party to form APC in 2015 before he won. But as sooner as he became president (as is usual between political godfathers and their protégés in Nigeria), Buhari allegedly turned his back on the national leader for almost three years until it dawned on him that the Jagaban means more to his re-election ambition if he intends to win.

The relationship between Buhari and Tinubu was so sour that Buhari’s wife, Aisha, and Tinubu’s wife, Remi, cried out at some point. While Aisha alleged that some cabals in the Presidency had sidelined those who really contributed to her husband’s victory in 2015, Remi raised the alarm over the unfair treatment meted out to her husband in the party since APC came to power, saying her husband had been ‘thrashed’.

The rift between the Presidency and Tinubu went from bad to worse and it forced the national leader to go on self-exile until the tide suddenly changed in his favour. This was probably when Buhari realised the impact the former governor of Lagos played in the political re-engineering that led to his emergence as president in 2015.

However, some categories of observers are of the review that Buhari simply expects Tinubu to repeat the ‘victory magic’ he (Tinubu) applied in the September 2018 gubernatorial election in Osun State, where the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was coasting to victory until the tide changed after the re-run, thanks to Tinubu.

While Tinubu was undergoing ordeals with the Presidency, Amaechi and other cabals in APC were having it smooth and allegedly doing everything possible to undermine the national leader, in collaboration with the immediate past National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun. There are speculations and insinuations emanating from the decision, with some saying that President Buhari would not entrust the strategic role of mobilising support and allies to Amaechi, who is like ‘a general without soldiers.’

‘General’ Amaechi lost grip of critical political structures since 2015 when he failed to install his successor in Rivers State through APC. Former President Goodluck Jonathan, using federal might and the powerful influence of his wife in the state, Dame Patience Jonathan, with a formidable and well-funded political structure of Nyesom Wike, displaced Amaechi in a bloody gubernatorial election in 2015.


Some critics have postulated on Amaechi’s political career and came off with the notion that he had never maintained a widespread political popularity in his state, let alone in the South-South geo-political zone; that his ascendancy to governorship was a gift of the gods, so to say. A former governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili, who Amaechi served as a Personal Assistant in his small private in Port Harcourt, was said to have railed-road him into the politics of the state by recommending his appointment as a Special Assistant to Governor Rufus Ada George in the ill-fated Third Republic.

Odili was said to have again been instrumental to the court victory that got him into Rivers State House of Assembly, where he ended as Speaker. Odili, it was also said, “donated” and propelled him to head the Forum of Speakers of Houses of Assembly in Nigeria, after then Dr. Olorunimbe Mamora, and ensured that he was the sole candidate at Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primaries at the Isaac Ada Boro Park in late 2006, a leap that made him governor via a Supreme Court verdict.

Wike, then a local government chairman, helped with him a second term mandate in 2003, in appreciation of the contributions of Amaechi, reportedly “put his life on the line, posted Amaechi into exile, and fought the battle of wits that made Amaechi the governor of Rivers State in 2007 through the courts, the second time.”

It is, therefore, still held by some analysts that Amaechi only won one election, the one Wike won for him as the Director-General of his gubernatorial campaign. His first job then as Buhari’s Director-General was helped by his understudying of Wike’s campaign strategies.

Similarly, the 2015 presidential election that ushered in President Buhari derived the bulk of votes from the North and Southwest, as the votes from the Southeast and South-South zones mainly went to ex-President Jonathan, which confirms the weak political structure and influence of Amaechi on his home turf, a situation that easily recommends him as a political lightweight.

Based on the foregoing, President Buhari is said to be much more comfortable delegating authority to Tinubu, who is perceived to still maintain substantial political stronghold in the Southwest, with equally financial muscles to deliver good results compared with Amaechi, who, nonetheless, is the campaign director-general.

Using the SWOT analysis, the Southwest geopolitical zone, apart from the North, which is considered a sure support base for Buhari’s ambition, is the strongest area of strength for the Buhari’s second term ambition because of the vice presidential office occupied by Professor Yemi Osinbajo. Choosing a campaign strategist from such a zone is not only politically expedient, but also rationally calculative.

It must, however, be noted that Buhari’s handing over the re-election campaign to Tinubu is not the first attempt by the president to woo the national leader back to his side. Several steps have been taken that indicated his readiness to do everything possible to pacify the former governor of Lagos and his Southwest base ahead of the 2019 election. One of the steps included the appointment of Tinubu by Buhari to head the party’s reconciliation committee, which eventually did not achieve much before the party’s ward and state congresses held in May last year.

Also, Buhari deliberately succumbed to Tinubu’s and his adherents’ insistence that Odigie-Oyegun must leave while a national congress was held against the suggestion of some party members that the tenure of the Odigie-Oyegun-led National Working Committee (NWC) be extended. Initially, the president approved the tenure extension suggestion only to make a U-turn and succumb to Tinubu.

It is not also out of place to say that the emergence of the incumbent National Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, is the desire of the national leader with the consent of Buhari. It is, therefore, not strange that Buhari handed over full control of his re-election campaign rein to Tinubu on the premise that the national leader still has a strong footage in the Southwest, which is essential to his (Buhari) second term ambition.

While making the announcement, Buhari promised to ensure that governance and his work as president of the country do not suffer within the next 40 days despite the task ahead.

He acknowledged that the campaign would be grueling, and directed the national leader of the party and co-chairman of the exercise, Tinubu, to take charge of the project and keep a 24-hour vigil over it.Buhari had said, “Though we will all be deeply involved, I would like to assure the nation that I would do my part without making governance or my work [to] suffer. Tinubu, my co-chairman, will be fully in charge, and is going to be on 24-hour vigil.”

According to Buhari, the operational buck of the campaign stops at Tinubu’s table. He urged all in the leadership and those in field operations on the campaign trail and in the secretariat to consult with the former Lagos State governor whenever guidance is needed.

However, what is the guaranty that Buhari may not yet again sideline Tinubu after he would have clinched the Presidency a second time and deal Tinubu a worst hand than the first since Buhari would have nothing to lose or gain from Tinubu. The president’s perfidy has become legendary as evidenced from his campaign promises of 2015, which most Nigerians agree he was yet to keep. Sadly, Tinubu cannot say nay to Mr. President either because he needs to show good faith with Buhari else what scorecard made him to go into self-exile could be shown him again.

Buhari said the campaign council was constituted with the conscious determination to ensure inclusiveness and excellence, and he expected to conduct the campaign based on “our modest achievements to turn around the beleaguered country from insecurity, stagnation and massive abuse of scarce public resources.”

Meanwhile, the president has been accused of taking the decision with the motives to garner votes from the Southwest. The Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, said the development was deceitful and tantamount to wanting to rig the next general election.In a phone conversation with The Guardian yesterday, the spokesperson for the group, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, said any attempt by Buhari to avoid the presidential debate slated for next week could spell doom for his re-election bid. Odumakin said the appointment smacked of deceit, noting, “I think the whole thing is just to make Tinubu feel good and think he is being reckoned with. But in any case, it is said that those who don’t learn from history will repeat it.

“This confirms that there are political forces that see some personalities at desperate times as people they can just toy with and once they dangle some carrots before them, there will be no problem. But if he (Buhari) tries to avoid the debate, it cannot work. Nigerians will not be unwise to vote for anybody that is not ready to debate.”


Read full details at https://www.akelicious.net/2019/01/how-buharis-re-election-campaign-team.html

The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Ibrahim Idris, has appointed Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG Frederick Taiwo Lakanu as the new Force Secretary and member of the Nigeria Police Force Management Team. The appointment takes immediate effect.

The new Force Secretary took over from AIG Abdul Bube, who retired from the Force on 31st December, 2018 after 35 years of service.

Details of Lakanu’s educational qualification and positions held in the Force before his recent appointment is contained in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday by the Force Spokesman, Ag. DCP Jimoh Moshood.

Until his latest appointment, he was the AIG in charge of Zone 7 headquarters, Abuja comprising the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Niger and Kaduna States.

He was born on 12th October, 1959, in Lagos Island, Lagos State. He holds B.A. (Hons) Philosophy and LL.B. (Hons) from the University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos State, and Master in Law from the Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds, United Kingdom.

According to the statement: “The new Force Secretary is a self-motivated, experienced and versatile law enforcement officer, offering hands-on proven expertise gathered from all geo-political zones of the Country in Community Policing, Strategic Planning, Coordination, Supervision and Implementation, towards achieving higher levels of community service, public safety and security in Nigeria.

“He attended several courses within and outside the Country, including Crime Investigation Course at the Police Staff College, Jos, and Developmental Course at Kofi Annan Centre for Peace Keeping, Accra, Ghana. He is also a fellow of National Defence College, Abuja.

“He served in various capacities in the Force as AIG Federal Operations, Force Headquarters, Abuja, Commissioner of Police in Imo and Ekiti States, Commissioner of Police Airport Command, Lagos, Principal Staff Officer to the IGP (Force Headquarters Annex, Lagos) among others.”

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/01/igp-appoints-lakanu-as-new-force.html

The “I am Ready” campaign group, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) dedicated to the promotion of good governance and democracy in Nigeria, says all is set for nationwide mobilisation of Nigerians to actualise the objectives of the group.

The group’s Secretary, Mr Solomon Uwagabai, in a statement in Abuja, said the rally which starts on Tuesday, was in continuation of supporting the re-election bid of President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed Feb. 16 for Presidential and National Assembly elections.

According to Uwagabai, the group plans to organise series of rallies tagged “Drive 4 Buhari-Osinbajo”, across different cities in the country to promote the ideals of the Buhari presidency and take Nigeria to the next level.

“The FCT leg of the rally which holds on Jan. 8 is the first of the many drives through rallies to be held in Lagos, Oyo, Kogi, Ogun, Ondo, Kaduna, Osun and Ekiti states amongst other cities.

“Nigerians from diverse socio-political and religious backgrounds will participate in the rallies to be held in other centres and on days to be announced in due course,’’ he said.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/01/drive-4-buhari-osinbajo-rally-starts.html

There are reports of military coup in Gabon, as the military seized the state-owned radio station in the capital Libreville and a soldier read a speech, condemning President Ali Bongo’s new year speech.

The soldier identified as Lieutenant Kelly Ondo Obiang announced the creation of a “National Restoration Council”, Radio France International reported.

RFI reported that the military had arrived at the office of the broadcaster at about 4 am local time. Tanks and armoured vehicles can be seen on the streets of the capital Libreville.

Obiang said he was reading a communique on behalf of the army.

The communique said that a New Year’s address by President Ali Bongo “reinforced doubts about the president’s ability to continue to carry out of the responsibilities of his office”.

Stroke-hit Bongo is at present not in the country.

Gabon’s President Ali Bongo Ondimba was hospitalised in Riyadh on 24 October.

The 59-year-old president is currently undergoing a recovery treatment in Morocco.

President Ali Bongo took over power in 2009 from his father.

He had sought to put an end to the rumours about his health with a televised New Year message in which he said he was feeling fine.

Soldiers said they had been disappointed by the message, calling it “a pitiful sight” and a “relentless attempt to cling onto power.”

The insurgents called on soldiers to take control of the transport system, ammunition reserves and airports “for the good of the country”reports Radio France Internationale.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/01/breaking-coup-in-gabon-army-seizes.html

The lawmaker representing Anambra Central Senatorial District, Senator Victor Umeh yesterday noted that Anambra will join the league of oil producing states in the country with full entitlements soon.

Umeh made the disclosure in an interview with Akelicious, noting that the Senate Committee on Petroleum Sector (Upstream) was working to resolve the dispute between Anambra and her neighbours, Kogi and Enugu states, who were laying claims to the oil deposit in the state.


During the interview, Umeh said the boundary crisis had come up at the national assembly once and was referred to the senate committee on petroleum sector (upstream), which I am also a member.

He said, “We have looked at it. Very recently, the committee met. We have involved even the National Boundaries Commission. By the time we settle all these, we will be able to achieve that status (oil producing state) completely.

“The oil deposit in the Anambra basin was a reality and no longer in doubt. For Anambra to be classified as an oil producing state, there is a production output to be met. That will have been attained if not because of the claims by the sister states, which affected our production.

“Oil exploration has been going on there. I think Anambra started with 80,000 barrels per day. We should have advanced now, but the Kogi people are laying claims to the area, and also the Enugu state; the Uzo Uwani area.

“There is no argument if we have oil in the Aguleri area any longer, except that what is affecting it now is the disputes. Once all these are settled, Anambra will fully assume the status of oil producing state, with all the accruing benefits.”

full report at https://www.akelicious.net/2019/01/senate-to-resolve-anambra-enugu-kogi.html

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, on Friday said former President Olusegun Obasanjo would not escape prosecution if President Muhammadu Buhari decides to probe the power sector.


Oshiomhole stated this in Jos, during the opening of Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong’s reelection campaign, at the Rwang Pam Stadium.

“Obasanjo said in 1999 that if he was elected President with his Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, he would fix the power sector in six months and that there would be electricity supply all over Nigeria. Many years later, we realised what he meant.


“He and his Vice-President spent $16bn on power sector, after eight years there was more darkness in Nigeria than when they assumed office. So when President Muhammadu Buhari took over in 2015, he asked a question: where is the power? If Mr President pursues the answer to that question to its logical conclusion, he must put Obasanjo on trial,” he said.

Oshiomhole expressed regrets that those he said supervised the collapse of the power sector and other sectors of the economy, had regrouped to return to power.

He urged Nigerians to reject them in the forthcoming general elections to enable the country to move forward.


“Atiku is from the customs and (Peter) Obi is a trader. Their ticket is part of Obasanjo’s PDP. They can never change their colours.

“Already, Atiku has said he would sell the NNPC if elected. If given the chance, I’m sure he would sell the country. So, Nigerians should not vote them during the next election,” the former Edo Governor added.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/01/2019-oshiomhole-reveals-what-buhari.html

Stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Anambra State have accused members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of being desperate for power.

They said the February presidential election had exposed PDP office seekers and their supporters, adding that APC would not give them any opportunity.

The APC Senatorial candidate for Anambra Central, Sylvester Okonkwo, and another party chieftain, Modestus Umenzekwe, said the PDP’s scheme would be in vain.

Umenzekwe said the achievements of President Muhammadu Buhari in Anambra and Southeast had led PDP to such jealousy and desperation.

According to him, PDP and its candidates wanted to return to power to start siphoning the country’s treasure, which this administration had been trying to put in order since 2015.

Umenzekwe said no right-thinking person would vote for another party considering the work Buhari and his government did in the state; from Zik’s mausoleum, second Niger Bridge, among others.

Okonkwo said he was going to the red chamber to provide for his people.

He regretted the lack of adequate representation from those who had gone there, except Dr. Chris Ngige, accusing them of looking after their pockets without considering the people who voted for them.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/01/pdp-desperate-for-power-apc.html

The U.S Embassy in Abuja and the Consulate General Office in Lagos will remain open in spite of the U.S. Government shutdown.

A statement from the Information Office, Public Affairs Section, Abuja, for the USCGLagosInformationSection, said on Wednesday that normal services at the Consular Sections were ongoing.

The statement explained that speculations of alleged closure of the embassy in Abuja and consular office in Lagos were incorrect.

It however, said: “American Centers and EducationUSA offices operating on embassy and consulate grounds that are managed by Mission Public Affairs Sections will remain closed throughout the shutdown.

“American Spaces, such as American Corners operated by partner institutions and located off embassy or consulate grounds, however, will remain open,’’ the USCGLagosInformationSection says.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/01/were-open-for-business-us-embassy-in.html

The Katsina State Government on Wednesday lamented that the state was under siege by bandits, armed robbers and kidnappers.

Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State said this during the opening ceremony of an extra-ordinary security meeting in katsina.

“The citizens are on daily basis being harassed by bandits and kidnappers that are on rampage in the state.

“The Katsina Government organised this one-day joint security and stakeholders meeting to proffer solutions to the state’s current insecurity challenge.

“Our state is currently under serious siege by armed robbers, kidnappers and armed bandits who arrest rural people at the grassroots at will and demand ransom, which if not paid, they kill their victims.

“The people of Katsina in the 34 local governments now sleep with one eye closed and the other opened.

“Our state is in a dangerous situation. Travelers are afraid of being stopped on the highway and arrested by kidnappers who demand ransom,” Masari said.

Masari said the situation was so bad that some thieves stole some electrical equipment near the Government House at the Government Reserved Area (GRA) in Katsina.

“I am calling on all stakeholders to come out with solutions that will assist the security agencies to discharge their duties,” he said

The governor urged the stakeholders not hide any criminal, and reveal vital information about criminals during the meeting.

“This time around, we should be able to make sacrifices that will make our state safe and will allow people to go about their lawful business without fear of being arrested by armed bandits and kidnappers.

Soldiers, the Police, Department of Security Service (DSS) and other security outfits and traditional rulers attended the meeting.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/01/katsina-under-siege-by-armed-robbers.html

The outcome of this year’s presidential elections has already been foretold with a cleric, Prophet Valentine Alloysius, of Father’s House International, saying the presidential polls would favour the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.


This is coming as the Founder of Divine Hand of God Prophetic Ministry, Abuja, Prophet Emmanuel Omale, has predicted a peaceful election and victory for President Muhammadu Buhari.

However, Alloysius predicted that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would shun the popular choice of Nigerians and announce the All Progressives Congress (APC) standard bearer and incumbent, President Buhari as winner.

The cleric added that “Buhari and his cohorts will not hand over power peacefully in 2019 as erstwhile President Goodluck Jonathan did when he lost in 2015.”

According to him, because of INEC’s vested interest, results in some states, which do not favour Buhari will be annulled on the excuse that there was violence in such states which hindered the smooth conduct of the polls.

Alloysius who reeled out series of predictions for 2019 at the 2018 crossover prayer session in Calabar, Cross River State capital, yesterday also predicted unprecedented bloodshed before and after the polls.

He added that “because God will be unhappy over the manipulation of his will through the choice of the people, which has not been carried out, Osinbajo and not Buhari will complete the 2nd term.

“I want to dismiss the current political permutations touting former Lagos governor, Bola Tinubu as Buhari’s successor in 2023. He would not be president; tell Tinubu to forget 2023 presidential bid because it is beyond him.”

On what will transpire and be the likely outcome of the polls in some South-south states, he stated that, “in Akwa Ibom, there would be a do -or- die battle but Udom will ultimately triumph. Wike should be ready to fight the political battle of his life and many people would die but Wike will emerge as governor.”

He, however, warned that the situation in Cross River State is very dicey and the state is in play. According to him, “we have to pray very hard because the APC are making serious inroads and look set to take the state if care is not taken. The two parties have equal chances of winning the state to produce the next governor.”

In a related development, the Founder of Divine Hand of God Prophetic Ministry, Abuja, Prophet Emmanuel Omale, has predicted a peaceful election and victory for President Buhari in next month’s general elections.

The prophet in his 2019 prophesies also predicted a massive resurgence of Boko Haram attacks, while also urging the federal government to handle the Shiites uprising carefully, saying he sees the balls of fire in various cities in the country as a result.

According to him, “There will be a peaceful election process, we should not be afraid. Though there shall be pockets of skirmishes, the general outlook still looks good and quite far from the negative mindset prevailing,

“Atiku will show amazing efforts in the coming elections but I see President Buhari ruling again. However, President Buhari would require serious prayers for his health as this could be an avenue to sway a judicial victory in favour of Atiku.”

“What Nigerians should worry about is a massive resurgence of terrorist attacks; early morning train passengers should be vigilant and prayerful always.

“All service chiefs will be changed to avert a likely mutiny. We should pray for the military. I see the junior officers killing the generals. A lot of them will run away from the force.”

Omale revealed that the fight to eliminate and discourage corrupt practices would get a boost, while the current Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, would be confirmed, adding that he must exercise care among his trusted lieutenants against sabotage.

He also revealed that a very wealthy oil billionaire from the eastern part of Nigeria may lose his life in a botched assassination and kidnapping and this would spark violence that would result to the burning of a popular market

Omale revealed further that Tinubu requires urgent and fervent prayers against an illness that could incapacitate him.

Omale added, “Nigerians should pray against a health epidemic worse than Ebola. Even livestock may be affected. In 2018, we warned about the floods that ravaged the Country. In 2019, people should work and pray to avert draught and fire outbreaks.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/01/atikull-win-presidency-inec-will.html

Nigeria’s crude oil daily production recorded an upward swing of about 2.09 million barrels in 2018, translating to a nine per cent increment, compared with the 2017 average daily production of 1.86million barrels.

Pitched against the low-level daily crude oil production in 2016 and what obtains now, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s (NNPC) Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, said the nation had maintained a line of consistent year-on-year improvement.

For the crude oil increment and other milestones recorded by NNPC in 2018, Baru, who made the submission in a comprehensive end-of-year message to staff of the corporation, touted the new business models his team has emplaced in the national oil company’s old and new business entitles as raison d’être for the giant strides.

A statement issued yesterday by NNPC’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, said the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), Nigerian Gas Company (NGC), Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Duke Oil, NIDAS and Integrated Data Services Limited (IDSL), were among the re-engineered companies.

Ughamadu said Baru singled out NPDC, the corporation’s upstream flagship company, as the major contributor to the industry’s success story in 2018, expressing enthusiasm on the 52 per cent daily crude oil production growth by the company vis-à-vis its 2017 performance.

Baru explained that the average production from NPDC’s operated assets alone grew from an average of 108,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) in 2017 to 165,000bod in 2018, describing the feat as the strongest production growth within the oil industry in recent times, even as he added that it was worth being celebrated.

Baru added that NPDC’s equity production share, which stands at 172,000 bpd, representing about eight per cent of national daily production, was no less impressive.
Baru made the promise that NNPC would stick to the Repayment Agreement with the JV Partners while transiting to self-funding IJV modes with the corporation’s partners, saying that tiding up the cash call issues has led to increased commitment and enthusiasm to invest in Nigerian oil and gas industry even as it has also boosted NNPC’s credit profile internationally.

Baru concluded the achievements of NNPC in the upstream sector by listing other milestones achieved by his team to include: reduction in contracting cycle for Upstream Operations to nine months from an average of 24, even as the corporation targets a six months cycle; lowering of production cost from $27 per barrel to $22 per barrel; and improving on the security situation in the Niger Delta through constructive engagement and dialogue with relevant stakeholders.

Baru revealed that in the frontier basins, NNPC has intensified explorations activities in the Benue Trough, with the expected testing of Kolmani River Well 2 on January 19, 2019.
He explained that activities would resume in the Chad Basin as soon as there is a green light on the security situation in the enclave.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/01/crude-oil-production-rises-by-9.html

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) said the Air Task Force (ATF) of Operation LAFIYA DOLE has neutralised several Boko Haram fighters at their hideout near Baga in Northern Borno.

NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, said the operation was carried out on Saturday.

He explained that the attack was conducted after a NAF Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) platform spotted the terrorists assembled under some trees around the Fish Dam near Baga.

Daramola said the ATF therefore, dispatched an Alpha Jet aircraft to attack the location.

” The aircraft multiple attack passes, killing several of the terrorists and causing serious injuries to others.

“The surviving terrorists were mopped-up in subsequent follow on strikes,” the spokesman said.

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/12/air-force-bombs-boko-haram-fighters.html

Economic experts at Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) have expressed concern over the ability of the 2019 budget to finance infrastructure investment.

In a business and economic review for 2018 and outlook for 2019, the experts led by the LCCI Director General, Muda Yusuf, raised doubt over N8.8 trillion budget, insisting that debt service to revenue ratio of 31 per cent; and debt service to capital expenditure ratio of 75 per cent in the budget proposal are on the high side with implication on the country’s ability to deliver infrastructure investments.

The Debt Management Office (DMO) had put the nation’s total debt stock (federal, FCT and states) at N22.38 trillion, about $73.21 billion as at June 30, 2018.

“We are concerned about the fast-growing public debt profile and the country’s fiscal sustainability in the medium term,” they said.

They noted that with the limited progress in the ongoing effort to diversify government revenue sources, the performance of the oil and gas sector would remain a critical factor that would shape the outlook for the economy in 2019. The Federal Government has pegged this year’s budget on $60 per barrel for 2.3 million barrels per day.

According to estimates by Capital Economics analysts, every $10-per-barrel fall in oil prices will cause a 3-5% decline of GDP in most of the Gulf economies, and a slowdown of 1.5-2% of GDP in Russia and Nigeria on an annualised basis.

“The outlook will therefore depend to a large extent on developments in the oil and gas sector and the political will to undertake far-reaching reforms, beginning with the oil and gas sector,” it showed.

After 18 consecutive months of decline, inflation rate began to rise in August 2018 with headline inflation of 11.2 per cent in October 2018 compared to 15.13% in January 2018 and 18.7% in January 2017. Following the diminished high base effect in August 2018, the country is likely to see headline inflation trending up in the early part of 2019,” they noted.

Policy rate normalization in the United States of America, which led to the US FED hike in policy rate triggered capital flow reversals. The contagion effect spread across emerging economies, including Nigeria, with foreign investment outflows leading to pressures in the forex market. Consequently, in a bid to support the value of the Naira, the CBN sustained its intervention in the forex market.

The economists noted that the sharp fall in oil prices, if sustained could lead to new pressures on the naira exchange rate as well as worries about the sustainability of current frequency of interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to stabilise the market.

“The improvement in liquidity and relative stability in the forex market witnessed by businesses in 2018 may be threatened if oil price declines continues. This will have profound impact on the prices of imported goods and services leading to a rise in the level of inflation. The fiscal operations of government would be adversely affected. This may further escalate the deficit in the budget,” they also noted

The experts urged the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, remove the discriminatory VAT imposed on locally sourced LPG, while imported LPG does not attract VAT, which offered weak incentive regime; to facilitate the penetration and use of LPG in the country; passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB); adding that as the downstream sector as currently constituted is unstructured and largely uncompetitive and needs the country to align its laws to the new global reality and need for regulation covering renewable energy.

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/12/2019-budget-debt-service-casts-doubt-on.html

The Action Democratic Party (ADP) governorship flag bearer in Rivers State, Hon. Victor Fingesi, has unveiled a four-point developmental agenda.

Fingesi, who flagged off electioneering campaign at his home town in Okujagu-Ama community in Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State, said he would provide alternative to Rivers people.

He said his party had come to provide alternative to Rivers people in view of what he described as the reckless behaviour of “the so-called major political parties that had held the people of the state to ransom.

He said the major parties had embarrassed Rivers people by promoting violence, internal bickering, running the state as their private estate with no vision to transform the lives of the people.

Fingesi said the four-point developmental agenda of the ADP-led government in the state would be focused on empowerment of Rivers’ people, reduction of poverty, provision of standard and qualitative education and food sufficiency through agricultural programmes.

He said God had heard the prayers of Rivers people, adding that the major political parties which do not have the interest of the state at heart are being removed.

The gubernatorial candidate said the APC was entangled in litigation which had foreclosed their participation in the 2019 elections, arguing that a serious legal issue was also erupting in the PDP.

He said the development would make way for the ADP to emerge as the alternative party and clinch the governorship seat.

Earlier, the ADP deputy governorship candidate, Mr Onwusameka Ogbowuokara, said the administration would give consideration to the environment.

https://www.akelicious.net/2018/12/rivers-adp-governorship-candidate.html

- As PDP shops for new guber candidate

By Chibueze Emenike, Owerri and Robert Osakpolor, Abuja

The plan by the governorship candidate of the People's Democratic Party, PDP, in Imo State, Chief Emeka Ihedioha to draft the Mbaise Nation into his political ambition has hit the rocks as the apex socio-cultural group in Mbaise, Ezuruezu Mbaise, on Friday, during the 2018 Mbaise Day Celebration, vehemently opposed and unanimously defeated the motion for his adoption as the preferred candidate of Mbaise for the 2019 Imo governorship election.

Crisis erupted when some ostensibly rented political loyalists of Chief Ihedioha invaded the Ezuruezu Mbaise Hall and tried to harangue the audience into adopting their principal. Their motion was roundly rejected, even as reputable opinion leaders warned desperate politicians to desist from plotting to hijack a non-partisan platform like Ezuruezu, which should be a free space for cordial brotherly interaction on behalf of the progress of the entire Mbaise Nation.

It had earlier been speculated that the whole essence of this year's Mbaise Day would be to endorse Chief Ihedioha's serial governorship ambition.

A source within the leadership of Ezuruezu who spoke to us on condition of anonymity fumed that it would be unreasonable of the Mbaise Nation to make one mistake twice.
"In the past, this same idea was sold to our people, that this particular candidate was adopted by Nde Mbaise. Nobody queried anyone. We all swallowed it hook, line and sinker. But now our people have become more discerning. They now ask some vital questions.
"Our people now want to know why Ihedioha should be adopted even when some other illustrious sons of Mbaise are also candidates in the same election. Does it mean Ihedioha is more Mbaise than the rest of them? In what areas can we say he is more qualified than the others. If anything, he is the least qualified. Why would someone who openly told us that when he was Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives he collected N4 billion just to construct the roundabout at Ahiara Junction come back to us for endorsement? What we have realized is that our people have not occupied the place of pride we deserve in the scheme of things in Imo State because we have almost always allowed a few kingpins to lord their parochial interests over us and present same as our collective aspirations. We must put a stop to that," the source vowed.
Meanwhile some Imo PDP stalwarts have initiated moves to replace Chief Emeka Ihedioha as governorship candidate of the party. A close source to the PDP Presidential Campaign Council on Wednesday in Abuja revealed that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the party's presidential standard bearer, has been approached by a group of renowned PDP stakeholders from Imo State with a request to drop Ihedioha. The source further disclosed that the delegation from Imo which was made up of opinion leaders, statesmen, politicians and technocrats met with the former vice president over what they termed "the unelectability" of Chief Ihedioha.
"They were very clear and explicit in their request. They first assured the Turakin (Atiku Abubakar) that they would deliver him in Imo State but pleaded that the Turakin should graciously accept and support whoever they would nominate to be delivered as governor. They bitterly complained that most of the LGA Chairmen of the Party are now openly working against the party because they are not satisfied with the choice of Ihedioha as their governorship candidate."
It has however remained unclear who the PDP might choose to adopt in Imo State but strong indications exist to support the thinking that they will settle for a candidate without any blemishes, and who also will fulfill the yearning of the people for a youthful technocrat.

Read more at https://www.akelicious.net/2018/12/imo-2019-mbaise-people-reject-ihedioha.html

President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, said he has delivered on his campaign promises in spite of doubts by the opposition.

Buhari stated this in Uyo at the flag-off of the All Progressive Congress (APC) presidential campaign in the South-South geo-political zone.

According to him, Nigerians would not regret voting for APC candidates in next year’s general elections, saying he had specifically delivered in the area of security, economy and fight against corruption, in line with his promise to Nigerians.


The President said although the menace of Boko Haram remained a challenge in some parts of the country, the insecurity posed by the group would eventually be eradicated.

While acknowledging that unemployment remained a challenge in Nigeria, he said his administration was working to tackle the problem, just as it had ensured food security and encouraged Nigerian farmers to achieve food security.

Buhari said his administration would continue to fight corruption, if voted into office for a second term next year, adding: “We are arresting corrupt people and prosecuting them and we will not stop. I assure you that we have collected property and collected cash.

“We have put the money into the Treasury Single Account (TSA) and all are going into government account, which can be traced and accounted for.

“Nigerians will be informed from time to time how much we recovered and from who and how we are going to use it to develop the country.”

He said APC’s campaign was based on three fundamental issues of enhancing the economy, ensuring security and fighting corruption, noting that Boko Haram had no stronghold in any local government area in Nigeria at the moment.

The President assured Nigerians that Boko Haram would be “a thing of the past” if he is re-elected.


But the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the Presidency and APC of secretly drawing over N478 million from the coffers of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to rent a crowd and offset bills in the President’s expensive re-election campaign rally held in Uyo, the Akwa-Ibom State capital, yesterday.

The party, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, also accused the President of directly appointing serving ministers and heads of government agencies as members of his campaign council, so as to continue to use them as conduit pipes for the diversion of public funds to finance his campaign.

The statement added: “Our party is also aware of the protests by some eminent Nigerians, including foremost businessmen, who were named as members of the APC Campaign Council without their consent, in a desperate bid to showcase an impression that they are supporting Mr. President’s re-election bid.

“The N478 million NDDC funds, which was originally budgeted for development projects in the Niger Delta, was diverted to renting and transportation of crowd from other parts of the country to the rally to create an impression of popularity for Buhari in the region.”

The PDP also said information at its disposal showed that the said N478 million was part of the wholesome sum of N1.2 billion allegedly siphoned in tranches from the NDDC treasury by the cabal at the Presidency and APC leaders, who, it alleged, have been stealing money from various government agencies to finance the President’s campaign.

“Our party also has it on good authority that this ignoble scheme of siphoning NDDC development funds to finance his campaign was the main reason Buhari foisted an unpopular leadership at the management of the NDDC, despite the protests by critical stakeholders in all the states of the Niger Delta.”

Read more at https://www.akelicious.net/2018/12/i-have-delivered-on-campaign-promises.html