₦airaland Forum

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has requested the Senate to consider and confirm the nominations of two judges as Justices of the Supreme Court.

The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, read the letter conveying the request after the Senate returned from closed-door session on Tuesday.

The nominated judges are Sidi Bage, Nasarawa State, North Central; and Paul Jauro, Taraba State, North East.

In the letter read by Mr. Saraki, Mr. Buhari said his request followed Section 231(2) of the Constitution of Nigeria, as amended.

The President sought expeditious attention of the Senate, Mr. Saraki read.

THE Federal Government on Monday said the price of rice would start to fall from November this year.








This was revealed by the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, who said more Nigerians had returned to their various farms, adding that by the next harvesting season next month, the price of rice would start to crash.


Ogbeh said this when he met with members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development at the headquarters of the ministry in Abuja.


He said: “We will not encourage rice importation and there is no way our ministry or government can be involved in importing rice when we are working hard to be self-sufficient in local production.


“By November when the full-scale harvest starts, rice prices will fall.”


On why the ministry was yet to start implementing its capital budget, Ogbeh said: “It is about now that the capital expenditure is beginning.


“One of the reasons why money is not circulating is that we need to follow the due process on issues of procurement, advertisement and others.


“You may be surprised to know that only six to seven states in Nigeria are showing enthusiasm in agriculture.


“Some by nature don’t seem interested, while others just can’t connect with whatever we are doing at the federal level.”

The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing" - Edmund Burke

IN a country where judges are widely accused of selling judgements and issuing blanket injunctions to the highest bidders, it wouldn't come as a surprise to hear that a cash sum of N360 million was found stashed in the private residence of three senior judges, following raids by men of the Department of State Service, DSS on the residences of seven judges of the Supreme, Federal and High Courts across the country. The three judges whose houses the said cash were found are Justices Adeniyi F.A. Ademola, Nwali Sylvester Ngwuta and John Inyang Okoro.
This unfortunate development came in the wake of another similar scenario which as a result, The National Judicial Council, NJC (the body responsible for exacting discipline among members of the bench in Nigeria) ordered an immediate dismissal of three fraudulent judges over cases of bribery and corruption - Justice A.I.U Mezuruike, the Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice Mohammed Tsamiya, a presiding justice at the Court of Appeal in Kwara State and Justice Kabiru Auta, a judge at the Kano State High Court respectively.








In this happiest moment in our nation history where the once mighty and untouchable lords are being fired and arrested over corrupt practices, some ignoramus and and enemies of national development are out wailing and crying wolf when there's non in support of these fraudulent judges, including the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to say the worse. However, from whichever angle one may like to look at it, the simply truth is that our judicial system has been thrown to the dogs with judges becoming foot soldiers of corrupt government officials and any criminal with loaded cash. Therefore, getting the system back to sanity should be the topmost  priority of any well meaning government, as such the latest arrest and dismissal of these judges came even too late especially under the stewardship of the incorruptible President Muhammadu Buhari.
  
Justice is supposed to be blind in treating all citizen equally irrespective of colour, kinship, status or religion but today in Nigeria, our justice system didn't only got eyes but eagle-eyes equipped with an infrared retina, not for detecting offenders but for detecting counterfeit US dollar bills. When one thinks of court, he think of justice but here in Nigeria, a court of law takes two different meaning: for the rich, it is a place where one can bribe his way out of any case being it criminal or civil, while to the poor, it is 'money for hand justice for ground' where the poor may never get justice no matter his innocence as long as he cannot afford to hire a lawyer who will mediate between him and the judge's chamber. This is the reason why you may never get your day in court once you belong to the over 120 million Nigerians living under the poverty line of $190 per day. And to the lucky ones who do actually get their day in court, their rights are being stepped on by judges willfully violating their oath of office. Justice is not being served in an astonishing number of cases, with contradicting verdicts leaving the public scratching their heads - and not because of dandruff. 


Accused of stealing bathroom slippers, you may be giving a three year jail term apart from another three years spent awaiting trial. But accused of squandering trillions of naira from public coffers, just apply for a million naira blanket injunction banning all security and anti-graft agencies from arresting or inviting you for life, be rest assured our judges would bow to your request since they will smile to the banks. Hence offenders in both the civil and criminal circuits repeatedly continue to be bold and arrogant in breaking the law, quite knowing they can buy off cases in court. This also explains why there are over 5000 thousand pending cases before the Nigerian supreme court only and thousands being held in various prison awaiting trial.


Sadly, the only people who really can expect justice in Nigerian courts are multi-millionaires and big corporations, else, nobody really matters to Nigerian judges and lawyers. There are monumental cases of bribery in our courts, perhaps even more than in the courts of any other country in the world, and nearly all bribes given to our judges came through lawyers, the rich and mighty pay huge amounts of money to lawyers, who then walk around with huge amount of cash in their jacket and quietly pass it to the judges in their chambers. To a point the plethora of bribery that lawyers and judges commit in broad daylight became blatantly glaring even to the blind, seeing judges living flamboyantly and being extremely friendly to their rich lawyer friends who pay big bribes. Little wonder why the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) became too furious with the federal government for taken it anti-corruption war to the judiciary. Indeed, birds of the same feather flock together.


It's really disappointing so to say disgusting to see senior lawyers and the worse NBA officials becoming tools of corruption and impunity by defending their corrupt colleagues on the bench, to a stage that the whole NBA President who is a Senior Advocate of Nigerian coming out public to condemn the arrest of gorilla judges and going further to refer to the arrest process as unlawful, despite the fact that the DSS were armed with tangible and adequate prosecutable informations with equally reliable, adequate and sufficient reasons to act. It is astonishing that the NBA President wanted men of the DSS to first of all approached the judges and obtain their arrest and search warrants from them, and later placed a telephone call informing them they were coming for their arrest.


I am of the opinion that the DSS have all the reasons to conduct the raids as they did believing that the targeted judges would flee or destroy the evidences of their alleged crimes if having prior informations before the raid, which was preceded by petitions of allegations of these judges accepting bribes and perverting justice. As such, the DSS acted within the scope of their statutory assignment, in line with modus operandi to conduct operations at particular hours to prevent the possibilities of flight, or escape by the suspect, and has to ensure that proceeds of crimes are not destroyed or taken out of the jurisdiction, including other reasons in line with their code of conduct which may have perhaps prompted them to act in the way and manner in which they acted.


What followed after the arrests and the plethora of evidences emanating from the raids has vindicated and exonerated the DSS from any act of witch-hunt or false accusations against the suspected judges, it is now glaring that these judges have benefited immensely from the scale of a monumental corruption that has threatened our collective existence as a nation. The shocking findings also gave credence to earlier suspicions that our corrupt judges have joined the ranks of their counterparts in public offices who are scared to deposit their ill-gotten money in commercial banks, as the Bank Verification Number regime has made it almost impossible to save certain amount of money undetected or bank by proxies which is habitual of almost all corrupt officials, hence they resorted to agglomerating stolen public funds in stores and under their beds or buried in soakaways at their homes or farms.


It is fascinating and at same disgraceful how our perceived learned lawyers have turned into wailers overnight, buying shame upon themselves and throwing the legal system in which they operate to the dogs, and at same failing to live beyond vested interest orchestrated by a sheer greed and love for quick riches. The NBA which ought to be the biggest umbrella of upholding justice and the rule of law have now metamorphosized into a tool of shielding criminals from the paws of the law. These lawyers and their colleagues on the bench were a couple of days back hailing and applauding the federal government for it ongoing crusade against corruption, they were all smiling to the banks in what looks like the season of their bumper harvest as corrupt government officials under trial were queuing in numbers at their chambers with cash and exotic cars. But now that the anti-corruption crusade has turned it radar against the judiciary, they are all wailing unnecessarily and threatening our justice system as a whole, hence putting the Nigerian project at risk.


In a nutshell, the NBA and every other person in their support should embrace the simple reality that it is no more business as usual, they should pass it on to each and every corrupt Nigerian they knew that there is a new sheriff in town and stealing is now corruption. They should desist from shielding criminals and perverting justice, they should instead encourage whoever feel to have been treated unfairly to seek justice in the court of law if truly they are the symbol of what they claimed to be, but their recent exhibition of irresponsibility and unprofessionalism have just portrayed the Nigerian Bar Association as the most dishonest, dangerous and crookest legal body in the history of man. They should all be ashame of themselves if they knew anything called shame, else, we (Nigerians) are collectively shame on their behalf.


Usama A. Dandare, a social commentator write from Sokoto. Reach him via osadaby@yahoo.com

THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has picked up the President of Masters Energy Oil and Gas Limited, Mr. Uche Ogah, on the premises of a Lagos State Magistrates’ Court in Tinubu, Lagos Island.








Ogah was arrested as soon as he stepped out of the courtroom after the forgery charges filed against him by the Police were withdrawn on Monday.


Ogah, who was declared winner of the last governorship election in Abia State by Justice Okon Abang of a Federal High Court in Abuja on June 27 was, on June 16, arraigned by the Police for alleged forgery.


But the police on Monday morning withdrew the charges.


When the case was called, the Police prosecutor, Henry Obiazi, told the presiding magistrate, Mrs. Kikelomo Ayeye, that he had the instruction of the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to withdraw the charges against Ogah and his co-defendants.


“I am instructed by the IGP to withdraw this case, as the issue is pending with the SFU,” Obiazi said.


The charges were consequently struck out by the court.


But as soon as Ogah stepped out of the court room, he was arrested by the waiting EFCC operatives who drove him away in their van.


A source at the EFCC said the commission had received a petition from the complainant in the case against Ogah.


The source said Ogah was being interrogated, adding that others would also be invited.


The other defendants in the charge which the Police withdrew against Ogah were his company, Masters Energy Oil and Gas Limited; and an ex-employee of United Bank for Africa, Deji Somoye.


The defendants were accused of conspiring with some persons still at large to forge a Memorandum of Understanding between Masters Energy Oil and Gas Limited and Mut-Hass Petroleum Limited sometime in March 2011.


Ogah and some other persons still at large were alleged to have forged the signature of one Mrs. Bridget Adeosun.


The charges read, “That you, Masters Energy Oil and Gas Limited, Uche Ogah, and others at large sometime in March 2011 at Ikeja, in the Lagos Magisterial District, did conspire among yourselves to wit: forgery.


“That you, Masters Energy Oil and Gas Limited, Uche Ogah, and others at large, on the same date, time, place and in the aforementioned magisterial district, did forge the signature of one Mrs. Bridget Adeosun and a document known as MoU between Mut-Hass Petroleum Limited and Masters Energy Oil and Gas Limited, with an intent that it may be in any way used or acted upon as genuine.


“That you, Deji Somoye, United Bank for Africa and others still at large, sometime in August 2011, at UBA regional office, Palmgrove, in the Lagos Magisterial District, did knowing that Masters Energy Oil and Gas Limited designed to commit an offence, failed to use all reasonable means to prevent the commission or the completion of the crime.”


The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty; after which they were admitted to bail in the sum of N200,000 each, with one surety each in like sum.

THE Presidency has opened up on the raid, by operatives of the Department of State Services,DSS, on some judges, just as it gave  assurances that President Muhammadu Buhari “reserves his highest respect for the institution of the judiciary as the third arm of government. ”








The assurances came in a statement by Presidential Spokesman, Garba Shehu on Sunday.


He insisted  that “To this end, the President will not do anything to undermine its independence.”


According to the statement made available to Social Times, Shehu said “President Buhari remains a committed democrat, in words and in his actions, and will not take any action in violation of the constitution.


Shehu said “The recent surgical operation against some judicial officers is specifically targeted at corruption and not at the judiciary as an institution.


The statement said further that “In a robust democracy such as ours, there is bound to be a plurality of opinions on any given issue, but there is a convergence of views that the country has a corruption problem that needs to be corrected.


“But reports by a section of the media are giving us cause for concern.


The presidency cautioned that “In undertaking the task of reporting, the media should be careful about the fault lines they open. It is wrong to present this incident as a confrontation between the executive and judicial arms of government.


Shehu asserted that “The Presidency has received assurances from the DSS that all due processes of the law, including the possession of search and arrest warrants were obtained before the searches.


“To suggest that the government is acting outside the law in a dictatorial manner is to breach the interest of the state” Shehu said.

THE Department of State Services (DSS) in the past few days, has embarked on series of special sting operations involving some Judges of the Supreme, Appeal and High Courts.








These operations were based on allegations of corruptions and other acts of professional misconduct by a few of the suspected Judges, a statement presented to Social Times in Abuja by Abdullahi Garba of the Department of State Services said.


The statement reads:"The Service action is in line with its core mandate, as we have been monitoring the expensive and luxurious lifestyle of some of the Judges as well as complaints from the concerned public over judgment obtained fraudulently and on the basis amounts of money paid.


The judges involved were invited, upon which due diligence was exhibited and their premises searched.


The searches have uncovered huge raw cash of various denominations, local and foreign currencies, with real estate worth several millions of Naira and documents affirming unholy acts by these Judges.


Meanwhile, some of them have made useful statements while a few have declined even with the glaring evidences that were found against them in terms of material cash, documents and property recovered pointing to their compromise.


In one of the States where the Service operations were conducted, credible intelligence revealed that the Judge had Two Million United States Dollars ($2,000,000 USD) stashed in his house.


When he was approached for due search to be conducted, he in concert with the State Governor, mobilized thugs against the Service team.


The team restrained itself in the face of unbridled provocative activities by those brought in by the Governor. Unfortunately, the Judge and Governor also engaged the tacit support of a sister security agency.


The Service surveillance team noticed that upon frustrating the operation, the Judge with the active support of the Governor craftily moved the money to an unknown location which the Service is currently making effort to unravel.  


Meanwhile, large amount including foreign/local currencies have been recovered. Summaries of these include:


SUMMARY OF RECOVERED MONEY


1. NAIRA – N93,558,000.00


2. DOLLARS – $530,087


3. POUNDS – £25,970


4. EURO – €5,680


Other foreign currencies were also recovered. This were recovered from just three (3) of the judges.


These in addition to other banking documents, including real estate documents have been recovered. Meanwhile preparations are ongoing to arraign them in a competent court of jurisdiction in line with the laws of the nation.


The Service would want to clearly state that it has never invited Justice Walter NKANU ONNOGHEN for investigation, neither is he being investigated by this Service. In addition the Service would like to put it on record, that it has tremendous respect for the Judiciary and would not do anything to undermine it or its activities.


The Service will also join hands with this noble institution in its fight to rid it of few corrupt Judges whose actions is undermining not only the Judiciary but the common bond of our national life. 


Ladies and gentlemen, this current operation will be sustained and followed till sanity and sanctity is restored to the esteemed third arm of government and public confidence is regained.


Members of the public are also encouraged to avail the Service of any information which could assist in this drive to rid our nation of corrupt practices and tendencies.

THE Rivers State Chapter of  the All Progressives Congress, APC has described the alleged failed abduction of a Federal High Court Judge and the attempt on the life of Gov. Wike as false.






In a statement signed by the Publicity Secretary of Rivers State APC, Senibo Chris Finebone said “early this morning, the media space was once again putrefied with a bizarre account by Gov. Nyesom Wike of his encounter with a detachment of security personnel and how he [the governor] was allegedly manhandled.”


The statement reads: “To give the incident more prominence in the media space, the governor, through his media assistant, Simeon Nwakaudu, issued a statement which opened with an assertion that what happened was part of a siege on Rivers State by the Federal Government of President Muhammadu Buhari.


“Ordinarily, this morning’s macabre dance by Gov. Nyesom Wike should not merit any serious interest from anyone, because everyone has become sick and tired of such from him, but for the innocent people and residents of Rivers State whom he subjects to unbridled lies and misinformation under one phantom excuse or the other.


There is no question that the melodrama is just one of the many chapters in Gov. Wike’s book on political demagoguery. Or how can anyone explain the many obvious inconsistencies that fly in the face of his highly mendacious account to the media this morning?


Indeed, we ask: “How come the governor said he did not know the occupant of the house? How did he find his way to the gate of a house he did not know the occupant? Is the judge of a federal high court under the governor of Rivers State? May be, yes but why? Is the federal high court, its judges and the DSS not belong to the same federal government?


“The APC believes that the governor is once again up to his dishonest self. We do not believe his account. We believe that the bizarre stunt of bravado being peddled by Gov. Wike is just for the purpose of convincing his collaborators in the judiciary in Rivers State that he will always protect them.


“The claim by Gov. Nyesom Wike that his presence at the scene of the incident was to help resist abduction is typically dishonest. He was there to obstruct justice. Simple! And the reason is that crime connects much more than innocence does.


“But how far really can the governor go in shielding his cohorts from the law? Can the governor, for example, appear with those that have been dragged before the National Judicial Council [NJC]? Can he?


“We thank God that Gov. Wike is in a position to tell the story [for whatever it is worth] by himself. If there was a role change in the morning, the security people would not be alive to tell their story now.


“The APC believes that recklessness is a choice which attracts consequences. May be Gov. Nyesom Wike learnt a lesson or two this morning. Please, let him deal with it and stop hawking insinuations or attempt to drag the APC or Mr. President into the matter.”

THE war against corruption may gather more steam soon, going by President Muhammadu Buhari’s latest pronouncement.


 








The President has told the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti-graft agencies to probe even his own children or members of his family implicated in corrupt practices.


 


He said he would not forgive the anti-graft agency if it fails to pobe any allegation of corruption against his children and family members.


 


A sketch of Buhari’s tough anti-corruption mindset and plans was contained in a book, “Muhammadu Buhari: The challenges of leadership in Nigeria”, which is authored by Prof. John Paden.


 


The book reveals how Buhari inspired the acting Chairman of EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu as a school boy to develop anti-graft traits.


 


It adds: “Buhari’s attitude is to let the chips fall where they may in particular cases, although reform of the judiciary is one of his larger goals.


 


“Buhari has often said that if any of his own children were accused of corruption, and the authorities did not investigate, he would never forgive the authorities.”


 


It was also learnt that the President has rebuffed pressure to save his allies in the All Progressives Congress(APC) from being probed by anti-graft agencies.


 


In spite of their close family ties, it was learnt that President Muhammadu Buhari has failed to save the former National Security Adviser, Mr. Sambo Dasuki because his policy is that there should be no sacred cows in the anti-corruption war.


 


It was also revealed for the first time that Buhari does not have any grudge against Dasuki despite the latter’s involvement in the August 1985 coup, which led to the former’s removal as a military head of state.


 


“On numerous occasions, Buhari has urged public officials to do their duty without fear or favour. He has also tried to inspire younger generations to regard public service as an honest calling.


 


“For example, the current acting head of EFCC, Ibrahim Magu was a schoolboy in Borno when Buhari was military governor in 1975. Buhari gave a talk to a group of boys that included Magu and urged them to do their best.


 


“Magu was inspired and became a professional policeman.


 


“In 2015, Buhari asked Magu to head the EFCC, a dangerous job if done well. By mid-May 2016, Magu had secured 143 convictions of corrupt officials.”


 


Unknown to many, the book has revealed how Buhari resisted pressure to save his allies in APC from being arrested or prosecuted for corruption.


 


It also unfolded Buhari’s vision for a set of specialized anti-corruption tribunals to fast-track the war against corruption.


 


The book adds: “The EFCC has been functioning since the administration of President Obasanjo, when it was under the direction of Nuhu Ribadu, a policeman and lawyer who initially was effective before political pressures began to intrude.


 


“Under President Jonathan, the EFCC was directed by Ibrahim Lamorde and seemed, from the outside, to be functioning well. Inside, however, rumours of corruption among EFCC officials abounded.


 


“Under President Buhari, the acting chair of EFCC has been Ibrahim Magu, who seems to have taken his lead from Buhari’s determined fight against corruption.


 


“The widespread investigations conducted by the EFCC and the number of referrals to prosecutors have been unprecedented in EFCC’s history.


 


“In addition, Buhari discussed his anti-corruption efforts with the Chief Justice of Supreme Court, Mohammed Mahmud, who agreed to establish a set of specialised anti-corruption tribunals.


 


“These tribunals would cover both military and civilian cases. Creating such tribunals, however, requires special authorization from the National Assembly, which has been slow in coming.


 


“Although a number of senior officials have been tried for corruption prior to the Buhari presidency, the extent of current corruption court cases in Nigeria is unprecedented.


 


“That does not mean that every case will lead to a guilty verdict.


 


“All of the accused are entitled to their day in court, and are likely to have high-quality legal representation; and there will surely be appeals and possible plea bargains.


 


“Cases may drag on for years. But the fact remains: the law is takings its course.


 


“Importantly, in none of these cases (apart from certain military procurement scandals that impacted National Assembly) has the prosecution been sponsored or encouraged by President Buhari.


 


“He has kept his hands off the judiciary, despite enormous pressure for him to come to the aid of APC allies.


 


“The question will arise when criminal cases are concluded as to whether the Nigerian judiciary is up to the task of being even-handed in such high-level cases.”


 


On a former National Security Adviser, Mr. Sambo Dasuki it was revealed for the first time that the President has no grudges with the ex-NSA.


 


It says: “It is beyond the scope of this study to assess all the backstories of the relationship between Buhari and Dasuki. Suffice to say that the so-called grudge between the two has never really existed.


 


“Dasuki is 12 years younger than Buhari, even though Dasuki did participate in the 1985 countercoup.


 


“The family of Ibrahim Dasuki and the Buhari extended family have been linked by marriage for more than four decades.


 


“In addition, in his inaugural address, Buhari had professed that although “the past is prologue,” he had no time to pursue alleged “enemies”.


 


“Rumours were rife that the Dasuki trial would be held behind closed doors, rather than conducted in public.


 


“Dasuki insisted on a public trial and protested his innocence. How the judicial system handled such a high-profile case would be a major political test for Buhari.


 


“If the focus of the Dasuki case was on procurement corruption within the Jonathan military and political teams, the public exposure of the facts of the case would be in the public interest.


 


“But for national security issues that required confidentiality were involved, then a non-public trial might be warranted.


 


“The stakes were high for the Buhari administration. Buhari had insisted that legal accountability be left to the courts. He also had insisted that he was not interested in settling scores.


 


“Whether the judicial system was capable of handling such cases without fear or favour remained to be seen. The key was to deliver equal treatment under the law, and to be seen by wider public to be doing so.


 


“The last thing Buhari wanted was a show trial. His own administration would be on trial over how this matter was handled.”


 


The book has however X-rayed the complexities of the ongoing trial of some looters.

THE allegation by demonstrators in Bayelsa State on Thursday that allowances due to a former President have been stopped and his bank accounts were frozen is patently untrue, Nigeria’s Presidency said in a statement signed by Presidential Spokesman, Garba Shehu.



Though the statement did not mention the name of any former leader, it was evident that the person in question is former President Goodluck Jonathan who is from Bayelsa State.

“We have confirmed with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) that the former President and the other past leaders were paid their allowances up to the second quarter.

“The past leaders have not been paid third quarter allowances but will get their dues when remittances are received by the SGF from the Ministry of Finance.

“Also, the story of account closure is false. It is not known to the investigation agencies.

“The National Security Adviser to the President is not aware of this bank account closure; the DG SSS is unaware of it, the EFCC is unaware and the IG of Police is not in the know.

According Shehu, “With all of these agencies not being involved, how then could a thing like that happen? In a dream perhaps!

“To put it starkly, we believe there is a clear motive for the demonstration that is different from that which was being canvassed.

“This is a premeditated attempt to blame President Muhammadu Buhari for something he knows nothing about.

“These claims are false and poorly sourced to present a picture of vendetta; and they should be disregarded by well-meaning members of the public.

Shehu said “President Buhari remains committed to the ideals of justice and fairness to all irrespective of creed, religion and political leanings. His administration will not engage in vendetta.

THE Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has condemned the attack on a National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, saying: “Humiliation of Tinubu is as good as humiliation of the Yoruba race.”



Fayose said: “Even though I am not a member of APC and I will never be, I have elected to stand in defence of the Yoruba nation once again by saying no to the continuous dishonourable treatment being meted to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, having paid his dues.”

Speaking through his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose, said: “If Tinubu is allowed to be embarrassed and disgraced just the way our past leaders were humiliated by these same elements, the Yoruba nation would have been made to suffer for uprightness.”

The governor condemned the alleged Tuesday sponsored protest against the APC leader at the party’s national secretariat, saying: “It is unfortunate that Tinubu is now being vilified in a party he invested heavily in and his fellow kinsmen that he brought up politically are part of this conspiracy.

“In their desperation, they have even tried to set him against the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, by insinuating that tried to prevent his (Osinbajo) emergence as President Mohammadu Buhari’s running mate, this is sad!”

He lamented that “when other tribes protect own, it is becoming historically common among the Yorubas to allow themselves to be used against their leaders just for momentary political gains at the expense of the collective interests of the Yoruba nation.

“It should be noted that late Chief Obafemi Awolowo was sent to jail by the conspiracy and collaboration of some Yorubas with the external aggressors.

“Tinubu is a prominent stakeholder, we should not sit back and watch while those he used his own sweat to make conspired with others to humiliate him.

“Most importantly, it is my position that irrespective of political affiliation, no leader of the Yoruba nation must be vilified unduly, especially by the same people who humiliated our past leaders like Obafemi Awolowo, Adekunle Ajasin, Bola Ige, Bisi Onabanjo, Lateef Jakande and others.

“To me, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu should not be seen just as an APC leader, but acknowledged as a major stakeholder in the Yoruba nation that we must all protect beyond politics.

”It should be recalled that these were among the issues that I raised when I visited Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State few months ago on the need to work together beyond party affiliations.

“Here in Yorubaland, it is said that if a household is at peace, it is because the bastard child of the family is yet to attain the age of maturity and those people that Asiwaju Tinubu made, but are now being used against him should watch it.

“I therefore condemn this conspiracy against Asiwaju Tinubu and I admonish those that are hoping to make political benefits from it to have a rethink.”

The governor, who called for greater unity among the Yorubas, added: “We are first Yorubas before becoming members of political parties, it is my opinion that our leaders must be defended and protected not-minding the personal gains of today.”

ABDULMUMIN Jibrin, the suspended lawmaker had last week gave his colleagues in the House of Representatives three days to return all questionable allowances they paid themselves.


Mr. Jibrin accused his colleagues of raking in millions in illegal allowances, and after he indicted himself as having received N650 million illegally.


To return their loot, Mr. Jibrin advised his colleagues to individually approach the appropriate authority and make arrangement on how to pay everything back into the federal purse.


Mr. Jibrin said any lawmaker who fails to heed his call should be prepared for the backlash that would follow when he publishes details of how such official perpetrated the fraud.


Mr. Jibrin’s statement came a day after he was suspended by the House for 180 legislative days —approximately a full calendar year as the House sits three times a week— after being found guilty of violating House ethics and lawmakers’ privileges.


“I have written to the Clerk of the National Assembly to stand by in anticipation."


“In the face of the revenue challenges and biting hardship the country is currently facing, there is no better time the country needs such money than now,” he said in a statement last week.


Mr. Jibrin said he resolved to take this action after receiving numerous enquiries from different corners on the need for him to back his allegations against the House leadership and other lawmakers with evidence.


“I have come under intense public scrutiny and pressure to prove that there exists systemic corruption in the House,” Mr. Jibrin said.


Mr. Jibrin said he was specifically demanding the return of a N10 million illegal allowances his colleagues allocated to themselves while the poor were struggling to make ends meet.


Hon. Jibrin via his Twitter handle yesterday said,  "as I promised and gave a 72-hours ultimatum to the Principal Officers and one week to other members, I have forwarded to the Anti-graft agencies first batch of 50 members of the House that are involved in running cost allowances fraud."


He said for the Job to be easier for the EFCC, he will be releasing the names in batches - of 50 members each - until the list is exhausted.


The first batch includes Speaker Dogara, Deputy Lasun, Whip Alhassan Doguwa, Minority Leader Leo Ogor, Hon Herma Hembe, Hon Jagaba Adams Hon Timothy Golu, Hon Yunusa Abubakar, Hon Mukaila O Kazzim, Hon Lynda Ikpeazu, Hon Abdulrazak Namdas, Hon Osai Nicolas among others


He said after the EFCC might have concluded their investigation the world will know whether he lied or told the truth on systemic corruption in the House of Representatives.


As an insider, he urged Nigerians to be vigilant, adding that he knows how the House usually respond to issues.


“As you have started noticing, many investigative hearings and ad hoc committees are springing up like mushrooms.


“The investigative hearings are intended to blackmail the executive arm and coax them not to act on the allegations and the ad hoc committees are used to settle aggrieved members as it provides avenues to collect bribes.


“You will also see irrational grandstanding over approval of MTEF/FSP and the budget or correspondence from the President," he said.


Revealing further, Jibrin alleged that "these are legislative antics employed by the House to use the institution of the House to shield corrupt members.


“This is exactly what Speaker Yakubu Dogara and his corrupt cabal are executing presently in the House.


“The EFCC and the Police has severally been victims of this kind of tactics by the House in the past to frustrate corruption investigation


“Nigerians and the Executive arm of Govt must stand up against any blackmail from the House of Reps as they are all antics to evade justice.


"The Senate and the Executive arm of government can rely on doctrine of necessity to bypass the House in the face of such grievous allegations which has been described as the biggest corruption scandal in the history of the parliaments in Africa and the world.


"Finally, I wish to call on the Federal Govt to make me face the harshest penalty prescribed by our laws if my allegations are found to be false."

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has again commended his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, for conceding defeat in the 2015 election.








But the president said several factors, including foreign pressure and contributions by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, ensured a smooth transition.


Mr. Buhari said this Thursday at Transcorp Hilton Hotel Abuja at the Leadership Newspaper annual Awards ceremony.


The president, alongside Mr. Jonathan, and the immediate past chairman of INEC, Attahiru Jega, were honoured by the newspaper as the 2015 Leadership Persons of the Year.


“Those of us who were participating actors in the election were led by the higher ideal of the future of our great country and the well-being of our people rather than a mere desire of politicians to win elections,” the president said.


“It is therefore, our commitment to these ideal, the patriotic zeal of President Jonathan, the patriotism of the electoral umpire, INEC, and exemplary conduct of the political parties, foreign pressure and other actors that we collectively disappointed the prophets of doom, who predicted the disintegration of the country after the 2015 general elections,” the president said.


Mr. Jonathan was represented at the event by a former Minister of Special Duties during his administration, Tanimu Turaki.


Mr. Buhari commended the Abuja-based Leadership newspaper for the award.


“Our participation in today’s ceremony is therefore, a mark of confidence to the brand of journalism that is practiced by the Leadership newspapers group,” the president said.


Apart from the three awardees, several other persons, groups and corporate bodies were also recognised.


Gov. Ibrahim Dakwambo of Gombe State was named the Governor of the Year, while, the 218 abducted Chibok Girls were awarded the Leadership Young Person of the year award.


Nigerian singer, Korede Bello, was awarded the Artiste of the Year, while the victorious Golden Eaglets were of 2015 were awarded the Sports Person of the year.


Earlier, Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State, who gave the keynote address, said most people had expected the then incumbent President Jonathan to use the instrument of power at his disposal to influence the outcome of the election or challenge the outcome in the law court.


“In a moment that stands out as the crowning glory of our democracy, then President Goodluck Jonathan, putting the interest of the nation above his personal or group interest, conceded defeat to the current President Buhari, then of the opposition and now ruling party – APC even before the final figures were tallied,” he said.


Mr. Emmanuel said as Nigerian democracy is consolidated, there is the need to constantly engage the people on what government is doing to address their issues and problems.


“An engaged electorate is an informed electorate and this will eliminate apathy and a feeling of isolation,” he said.


The chairman of the occasion and former Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar, said Nigeria proved all those who aid the country could not survive the 2015 election, wrong.
Also, the chairman of Leadership Group, Sam Nda-Isaiah, who also contested the 2015 presidential election on the APC platform, paid tributes to Mr. Jonathan and officials close to him who advised him to give up power even before the final results were announced.

THE Obi of Onitsha and the Chairman of Anambra State Council of Traditional Rulers, Igwe Alfred Achebe, wants  the restructuring of the country, without which he said Nigeria would remain directionless and ineffectual state.








The monarch maintained that said that the prevailing situations and challenges across Nigeria have necessitated a review of the governance structure of the country.


Achebe spoke  in a lecture in Awka Monday  as part of activities marking the 25th anniversary of the creation of Anambra State.


Achebe in the lecture entitled, “Think Nigeria, invest in Anambra,”  said that “the present political arrangement in Nigeria had proved to be unworkable.”


The monarch said that with the growing  support  for the restructuring of the country  among Nigerians,  it was important that country restructures  to give everybody a sense of belonging.


According to him, on June 1, 2016, former vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubarkar said that restructuring would make governance less centralized, less suffocating and less dictatorial.


“For instance, former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubarkar, said the restructuring would make governance less centralised, less suffocating, and less dictatorial,” he said.


He also recalled that the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Alhaji Dahiru Musdafar,  had also advocated that the 2015 presidential election further divided the country along ethnic, religious, regional and partisan lines, as he argued that after the election, Nigerians seemed as divided as ever.


Similarly, Igwe Achebe added that many ethnic groups, including those in the Niger Delta, as well as the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, and the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, were demanding cessation over the existing imbalances in the country.


“The youths in the South East feel that they have been constitutionally marginalized compared to their counterparts in other regions. They feel that the present configuration perpetually puts them at great disadvantage, hence their demand to opt out of Nigeria “MEND in the Niger Delta also argues that the resources from their area are controlled by a very strong federal government in Abuja, while their area which produces the resources is left with virtually nothing,”  he said.


Achebe also recalled that the South West leaders sometime ago, approved a memorandum, saying that there is need for Nigeria to be restructured in a way that no ethnic group should feel marginalised.


For the monarch, there is the urgent need for Ndigbo to address their readiness to survive under any arrangement in Nigeria by investing at home.


He said that the present practice in which they concentrate their investments in other parts of the country to the detriment of their area should be truncated.


“We are individually successful, but collectively, we are very much divided. Other ethnic nationalities that share Nigeria with us are seriously maximizing their collective interests,” he said.


He urged Ndigbo not to fold their hands until the restructuring materialized, but that they should try  their best under the present circumstances to maximize their efforts to benefit their area.


Former vice president, Dr. Alex Ekwueme was among those who graced the well-attended anniversary event.

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EKITI State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has said that the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate in the Edo State governorship election, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, contested against the Independent National Electoral Commission and not the All Progressives Congress.



Fayose described the victory of the APC in the election as “victory only made possible by the use of federal government agencies to subvert the will of the people”.

Governor Fayose, who lamented that the win at all cost attitude of the APC was inimical to the sustenance of democracy in the country, said it was sad that instead of the people of Edo State electing their own governor, the APC conspired with INEC to foist its own governor on the people.

Speaking on the outcome of the election through his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose said it was unfortunate that those whose change was made possible because the then PDP government allowed the people the freedom to make a choice, have now eroded the independence of INEC.

Governor Fayose said: “The stage for the manipulation of the election was set by the use of security agencies to postpone the election, even when there was no single security threat and what was witnessed in Edo State last Wednesday was the execution of the rigging plans perfected after the postponement.”

He said it should be obvious to all lovers of democracy in Nigeria and the international community that the APC-led Federal Government will never allow free and fair election in the country as the PDP and other opposition parties now contest elections against INEC.

He noted: “The power of the people to choose their governor was completely robbed at gunpoint in Edo State.
Unfortunately too, these elements have even murdered the rights of Nigerians to protest against the subversion of their will and it is now obvious that only the insistence of Nigerians can save democracy in the country.

“Like I have said before, we are already seeing signs of what to come in 2019 and Nigerians should know by now that it will only take their insistence for their votes to count as long as these APC elements remain in power.”

FRESH crisis is brewing in the All Progressives Congress as the Ekiti State chapter has raised an eyebrow over the visit of the Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, over the weekend to Governor Ayodele Fayose in Ado-Ekiti.








The APC said such a visit to Ekiti State is a slight on the party and contempt for the party’s leadership in the state.


Aregbesola was in Ado-Ekiti on Saturday on the invitation of Fayose for the 20th year anniversary of Ekiti State.


At a public forum broadcast live on the state media, the APC quoted Aregbesola as having described Fayose as “omoluabi” and a hardworking governor who had turned around the fortunes of Ekiti State in terms of infrastructure.


Social media reports also quoted Aregbesola as saying: “Fayose is a reliable person” and that in spite of political differences, he and Fayose shared many things in common, while also reportedly saying: “Sooner than later, there will be realignment of forces.”


Scuffing at the visit in a statement by the Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, the APC in Ekiti State described Aregbesola’s visit to Fayose as a slight on party.


Olatunbosun said it signposted the contempt into which the party and its leaders were held by the Osun State Governor after Fayose had caused severe pains in the lives of APC members, some of whom had been languishing in jail for about two years for the offences they did not commit.


He said: “Aregbesola’s visit to Fayose praising him as ‘omoluabi’ and for the achievements by APC-led government is not alone embarrassing but also awful in the face of sustained attacks on APC members, some of whom are still languishing in jail for about two years over trumped-up charges by Fayose.


“It is shocking that Aregbesola as a governor and one of the leading lights in APC in the South West and indeed the nation would be visiting Ekiti State without putting the leaders into confidence, more so on a visit to a man who once wished the President dead and had done unbelievable things both in Nigeria and abroad to bring Buhari’s government down.


“Worse still, Aregbesola was praising the man who will stop at nothing to bring APC-led Federal Government down after several years of failed attempts by the progressives to win the presidency of Nigeria.”


Olatunbosun also frowned at alleged misappropriation of APC’s authority with the Osun State Governor promising realignments of forces with Fayose “sooner than later”.


He said such “unbridled” trading off of APC in Ekiti State to Fayose would never stand in the face of the governor’s molestation of APC members over the years.


He added: “We find it most embarrassing and shocking that one of our leaders would be planning a re-alignment of forces with a governor that has made life a nightmare for our members, the same members that will participate in the said re-alignment that Aregbesola is talking about, without sparing a thought for members held in jail unjustly while other APC members are routinely attacked by Fayose’s men on the streets.


“We also find it spiteful that Aregbesola would sit with Fayose on this same programme where the latter berated Buhari to no end, including describing the President’s programmes as a theory that is compounding problems for Nigerians.”


Warning that the state leaders would resist any attempt to draft the governor into any realignment with the APC in the state and foist him on the party, Olatunbosun noted that Fayose had done enough damage to the integrity of Ekiti State people.


He said now was the time for the real “omoluabi” in Ekiti State to join forces to rebuild the ruins into which Fayose’s administration had left the state.

SENATOR Shehu Sani representing Kaduna South Senatorial District, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to extend his anti-corruption war to other past governments before the Goodluck Jonathan-led administration.

The probe, he said, should be extended to both former presidents and ex-military rulers of the country, including President Muhammadu Buhari’s first coming as Military ruler.

Nigeria had earned over $3tn from crude oil sales over the last 56 years “but there is hardly 25 per cent of that funds to show for the realisation of that kind of large sum of money”, Sani told journalists in an interview last Friday.

The senator, who is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, stated that catching both “the new and the old thieves” in the current war against corruption would not only help in recovering loot to boost the economy but would rekindle the failing hope of the masses in their country.

He stated that one of the ways of fighting recession was for the Buhari-led administration to enlarge the scope of its anti-corruption war beyond the Jonathan administration to others before it, with the sole purpose of recovering the nation’s stolen wealth by corrupt-minded past administrators.

Sani said, “The fight against corruption, as it is now, is about recovery and arrest.

“If the government says the money recovered under (the administration of Goodluck) Jonathan is not enough to service the economy, then, we should move to (the late Umaru) Yar’Adua and (Olusegun) Obasanjo administrations too; move to (Abubakar) Abdulsalami, (the late Sani) Abacha, (Ibrahim) Babangida and Buhari himself as a military ruler then; and to Shehu Shagari of the Second Republic.

yns4real:
I dnt deserve to be banned. I only copied the content as gathered by d source bt later realised it's a protest letter by Mr. Timi Frank on his alleged marginalisatn in the party. I regret d inconvenieces.

THE Rivers State Chapter of All Progressives Congress, APC, notes that as mainly Christian men, women and children gathered in their different churches Sunday to pray to God and thank Him for sustaining Nigeria to the age of 56, the governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike was busy turning our recent history on its head at a thanksgiving service that took place at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church, Okrika suggesting that the present government in Rivers State inherited the high level of insecurity bedevilling Rivers State.

 

Ordinarily, the APC would have ignored the statement [since we do not expect much to come from a serial liar] but for the perplexity and surprise that much of the print and electronic media, who themselves as chroniclers of history, have expressed over the statement hence the need to straighten the records.

 

Before Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi CON assumed office as governor of Rivers State October, 2007 the art of citizens raising their hands up on the streets as ordered by security agents was a recurring daily exercise in most parts of Port Harcourt and environs; and this was due to the pervading insecurity across the State then. However, on assumption of office, the former governor announced to Rivers people and the criminals that his administration would pursue a vigorous zero-tolerance policy on insecurity and criminality.

 

A few hours after being sworn in as governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi set up a vibrant security council and took the offensive to the criminal dens and black spots across the State. The then warlords in Marine Base, Okochiri, Omoku, Ahoada, Abua, Asarama, Yeghe and elsewhere came under serious security actions. In a few months time, their ranks were decimated while their leaders scampered off into oblivion. The little criminals amongst them started taking advantage of more noble opportunities to live normal lives. Former President Yar’Adua’s Amnesty Programme equally came in handy for the ex-militants and their leaders. By 2009, Port Harcourt and most parts of Rivers State were effectively out of the grip of criminal elements.

 

However, as political activities gained momentum in 2014, words had started coming out of how the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was activating dismantled criminal gangs and rehabilitating the former warlords with the intension of acquiring their services of violence for use in the 2015 elections.

 

As campaigns intensified between 2014 and 2015, candidate Nyesom Wike and the PDP formalised their strategy by openly visiting the ex-militant leaders in Okochiri, Yeghe, Degema and elsewhere. The media feasted on the pictures of those visits without knowing the intensions behind the visits. However, the APC shouted to the high heavens that already disbanded criminal gangs were being re-assembled by the PDP and its governorship candidate, Nyesom Wike but the party was ignored.

 

As elections approached, the various gangs, re-assembled and armed by the PDP, received their green light and the killings started. Rivers of Blood was born! The rest is now history.

 

It is important to state that on the day Gov. Nyesom Wike was sworn in May 29, 2016, the various criminal and cult groups appeared in various cult colours and carried out procession on the streets of Port Harcourt as if announcing that they were now legitimate groups that they have won their legitimacy by facilitating and winning power for their own, the governor.

 

Having been sworn in, Gov Wike, in earnest, set about dismantling and obliterating the carefully organised security architecture put in place in Rivers State by his predecessor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi. Significant amongst such actions was the dismantling of the highly effective Israeli-trained C4i unit that had put crime especially kidnapping in check prior to that time.

 

 

Of late, we have watched as Gov. Nyesom Wike amuses himself about taking away the guns he gave to his foot soldiers to kill and maim for him to become governor. But what he is doing is the height of dishonesty. We ask: how do you grant amnesty to a people before retrieving arms from them?

 

The truth remains that governor Nyesom Wike and the PDP created the Frankenstein Monster of insecurity troubling innocent Rivers people and residents of the State and they are too dishonest to accept responsibility for their actions and ask for forgiveness from God – not even when they are in the house of God.

 

The APC believes that the rest of Rivers people and much of the world know the facts; needless re-emphasising it at this point. However, when those who are responsible for the insecurity bedevilling Rivers State boldly turn up in churches, look at God in the eyes and tell lies taken from the very depth of hell where Satan holds court, we cannot but state the facts for the benefit of the unsuspecting audience and posterity.

Chief (Dr) Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, JP

Rivers APC State Chairman.

The Charter for African Cultural Renaissance 2006 regard culture as the set of distinctive linguistic, spiritual, material, intellectual and encompasses, in addition to art and literature, lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, cultural beliefs, and traditions. In summary, culture is the way of life of the people!

Nigeria as a nation with over 750 ethnic groups is a very cultural, religious and conservative country. However, for decades and since the grand embrace of civilisation, there has been a sharp decline in our cultural values. That many Nigerians are concerned about our cultural heritage. The reasons for this are not far-fetched.

At Jumia Travel, we share these sentiments. In line with this, we identify some pertinent signs that Nigeria needs a cultural renaissance, rebirth, or reawakening with the hope that the government and stakeholders will take action.



Language decline

Some Nigerians are ashamed to communicate in their local dialect while others cannot even speak at all! In fact, some parents order their children not to speak their mother tongue. Rather, they must speak English. Other words, they are admonishing their wards not to be proud of their heritage. It is unsurprising, therefore, that some of these languages are in different stages of extinction! Parents should communicate more in their local languages.

Society has grown individualistic

The mind your business syndrome has eaten deep into our cultural toga that we barely care for one another unlike in the past. Then, society was closely knitted. You knew and visited your neighbours. You could scold a child for anti-social behaviour and even report him to his parents. But, this sparsely happens today when even elders are culprits.



Everything cultural is ‘evil’

Because of religion (Christianity and Islam), many Nigerians now brand our cultural practices evil. Culture is dynamic especially in a fast changing society. But that doesn’t necessarily make the practice evil. There is the good, the bad and the ugly. Let’s promote the good, reform the bad and abdicate the ugly. We can’t throw away the baby with the birth water!



Neglect of historical/cultural Assets

Recently, the Lagos State government demolished the Olaiya house (formerly known as Casa do Fernandez) which was 161 years old. It was built as a bar and restaurant in 1855 That is history gone! The status of the National Theatre is unknown whether it has been sold or not, the museums across the country require attention. The truth is Nigeria is not preserving its heritage. We wonder what will be handed over to the coming generations.

Dress culture

Nigeria has no dress culture. We simply dress to please ourselves not minding whether it is decent or not. Dress the way you want to be addressed is a forgotten mantra. Thus, we need a renaissance.

Absence of history in Nigeria school curriculum

Many Nigerians don’t know the history of the country. If you are a science student in secondary, it is worse! This is why patriotism is in the dictionary of very few Nigerians. History should be restored in primary and secondary schools curriculum!

THE Senate on Tuesday directed its Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions to investigate the alleged illegal repatriation of $13.9 billion by MTN through its bankers between 2006 and 2016 to its home country, South Africa.


So also did the Senate name the Minister in the cabinet of President Muhammad Buhari and the four banks alleged to have aided the alleged illegal repatriation of the money.


According to Senator Dino Melaye, who raised the motion, the deal was allegedly facilitated by the Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Elenemah.


The banks allegedly involved are said to be Stanbic IBTC, Standard Chartered Bank, Citi Bank and Diamond Bank.