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 Politics › Court Okays Aisha Buhari’s Request To Serve Gov. Fayose by rommyth(op): 9:46pm On Jul 23, 2016 |
Justice Olukayode Adeniyi of a high court of the federal capital territory has okayed the request of the wife of president Muhammadu Buhari, Aisha,to serve court processes on Governor Ayodele Fayose and two of his media aides. Idowu Adelusi and Lere Olayinka. Mrs. Buhari had asked the court to for an order of substituted service on the governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose. In the ex-parte motion, dated July 20, 2016, the President’s wife begged the court to grant her reliefs to issue writ of summons against Fayose and his media advisers, Idowu Adelusi and Lere Olayinka. She had sued Governor Fayose over his repeated claims that she was involved in the Halliburton scandal even after she wrote to the governor on June 23, demanding retraction. Justice Adeniyi of the court granted all reliefs sought by Mrs. Buhari, including an order of substituted service. Counsel to Mrs. Buhari, Mary Ekpere, had in the motion prayed the court to allow the lawsuit be served on Fayose and his two aides. Justice Adeniyi while granting the order ordered that the service be done through a courier service, DHL or any media publication. It would be recalled that Fayose had in June alleged that Mrs. Buhari was the “Aisha Buhari” named in a U.S. court document, alleged to have been involved in the bribery case involving a convicted former U.S. lawmaker, Williams Jefferson. The governor, in what appeared to be an error, referred to the Jefferson bribery as the Halliburton scandal, which is an entirely different case. Fayose however insisted he was right, despite Mrs. Buhari’s denial and threat of lawsuit. The material distributed by Fayose on June 20 said the first lady was an accomplice in the bribery scandal that landed Jefferson in jail. http://leadership.ng/news/542715/court-okays-aisha-buharis-request-serve-gov-fayose
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| Politics › Hon. Jibrin Reveals Shocking Details Of Corruption In House Of Reps,dogara's Rol by rommyth(op): 8:13pm On Jul 21, 2016 |
Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin has made shocking revelations about activities in Nigeria's house of representatives. Hon. Jibrin spoke up via Twitter after it was alleged that he was sacked for betraying his colleagues. He wrote, ''I am obliged to make further statement after listening to the full statement of Speaker Dogara on why I had to leave as Chair. Appropriation. It is a fact I went up to the Speaker and told him clearly I wanted to leave.'' ''He confirmed this in his statement but it appeared he wished he had fired me instead of my personal decision to step down. Thereafter I proceeded to my office. ''I was therefore not surprised when an aide of mine walked into my office to inform me that the Speaker had announced my departure. I was relieved and went straight to address the press and released a statement. ''It was only later in the evening while monitoring the news that I watched the full statement he made on the floor. Speaker Dogara's statement was a complete misrepresentation of the facts, false, mischievous, unfair and a calculated attempt to bring my name to disrepute, blackmail, silence and use me as a scape goat. ''The plan is to execute it just before the recess so that by the time we return I would have been buried and the issue forgotten. Mr Speaker, this will never be swept under the carpet. We are closing for recess with it &we shall commence the next session with this issue. ''This was the last option they had after every attempt to find something to nail me failed. It is a known fact that I am a very blunt person by nature. I don't know how to pretend. I don't do eye service neither will I ever be a sycophant. I don't give returns. I just do my job faithfully and dedicatedly. ''My offence was asserting my independence and insisting that we do the right thing at all times and expose corrupt people in the House. Lately I openly disagreed with some principal officers on the issue of immunity for Lawmakers and budget issues. I still maintain, I will never support immunity. ''I strongly believe with every conviction that in cleaning up the budgeting system and considering what transpired during 2016 budget which I have all the facts documented, Speaker Dogara, Deputy Speaker Lasun, Whip Doguwa and minority Leader Leo Ogor should resign. ''These members of the body of principal officers were not comfortable with my independent disposition and my refusal to cover up their unilateral decision to allocate to themselves 40bn naira out of the 100bn allocated to the entire NASS. ''The 4 of them met & took that decision.In addition to billions of wasteful projects running over 20bn they allocated to their constituencies. They must come out clean. ''My inability to admit into the budget almost N30bn personal requests from Mr. Speaker & the 3 other principal officers also became an issue. I have every documented evidence to this effect. ''After the submission of the first version of the budget which was returned by Mr. President, I briefed members in executive session and told them as agreed at our pre budget meeting with chairmen and deputy chairmen of standing committees we simply adopted their reports with little amendments. Nobody faulted my submission. ''Members insisted they must know how the N100 billion was allocated. I told them the truth. Since after that meeting, Mr Speaker with the suport of the three other principal officers effectively blocked me from briefing members ensured I was not at the last executive session and refused to investigate issues I raised that I believe must be addressed if we intend to build a better budget system for the House. ''I gave Mr. Speaker statistics of 2000 new projects introduced into the budget by less than 10 committee chairmen without the knowledge of their committee members he did nothing about it because he was part of the mess yet he is talking about improving the budget system. ''I did nothing wrong. I worked within the rules of the House and instructions of Mr. Speaker. During the budget period, Mr. President graciously granted myself and Sen. Goje audience. It was a very good meeting. ''Speaker Dogara took it extremely personal that we saw the president without his knowledge and went on to scuttle all our efforts to help the president during the budget process because he wanted to be seen by the president as the only good man. ''He forgot that he sees heads of MDA's daily which he enjoys doing more than his job as Speaker for reasons best known to him anyway without Mr. President's knowledge. That is how petty and narrow minded Dogara can be. A coward, hypocrite and pretender of the highest order. ''Mr President must be very careful with him. He wines with Mr. President and dines with Mr. President's enemies. I'm glad that I am finally free from his emotional blackmail of constantly trying to make me see my appointment as chairman as a favour. ''He has failed to realise that I came a long way & even attained chairman finance when he was chairman House services before this appointment. Seeing as the Speaker claimed that they have taken the decision or were going to take a decision to replace me he now has a responsibility to tell the world why they took or were going to take such decision. ''I challenge them to tell the world why? I will be releasing a more detailed statement in due course. Meanwhile, I intend to explore all internal avenues of the House to brief my colleagues in detail and testify against Speaker Dogara, Deputy Lasun, Whip Doguwa and Minority leader Leo Ogor on why they should resign. ''If I am not allowed to exercise my privilege, I shall consider legal options. I can no longer bear the brunt of abuses and baseless allegations keeping quiet all in the name of "confidentiality" expected of an appropriation chairman. ''I will not allow anybody no matter how highly placed to destroy my life as intended by the full statement of Speaker Yakubu Dogara. Now Nigerians will see clearly the ulterior motive behind the desperate moves for immunity for principal officers of the National Assembly. https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/hon-jibrin-reveals-shocking-details-of-corruption-in-house-of-reps-dogaras-role-in-budget-padding.217650/ 1 Like
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| Politics › Re: Kwankwaso, Amaechi, Others Bought Their Way To APC With N100m Each — Bafarawa by rommyth(m): 2:07pm On Jul 21, 2016 |
Vendoor:What are you saying? is there a political party for the south? ok you mean the whole of the south should be pdp and north apc? i just dont understand you people.what will you say of sherif,ribadu and other northerners who decamped to pdp prior to the election?.what will you say about them.politics is not played the way you look at.if election should be conducted strictly between north and south without any mix up,the north will always win because they have more population.can a southerner produce the president without the support of the north?....absolute no 1 Like |
| Politics › New Twist In Edo PDP As Another Guber Aspirant Resigns by rommyth(op): 8:55pm On Jul 17, 2016 |
The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State has taken a new twist as one of the core aspirants, Chief Solomon Edebiri, who felt cheated in the last governorship primaries has resigned his membership from the party. In a letter dated 15 July, signed by Chief Edebiri, which was made available to newsmen in Benin City, Edebiri expressed gratitude to all those who contributed to his political career. He said, “After careful review of my political affiliation with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Edo State Chapter and having consulted with family and friends on recent political activities in Edo State, I hereby resign my membership of the People’s Democratic Party with effect from the date on this letter. I am grateful to all those in PDP who contributed in one way or the other to my political career development”. Meanwhile, the State chairman of the PDP, Chief Dan Orbih, according to the information reaching THISDAY in Benin City, has rejected the resignation, saying all doors are not yet shut at reconciliation. But when contacted, he refused to comment on the development. It would be recalled that after the primaries, Chief Edebiri was approached by several members who were attempting to break away from PDP and the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC) to sponsor one of the registered political parties in order to contend with the main parties which they believe have lost credibility. However, information obtained disclosed that Edebiri refused to go through with it as he was quoted to have said “I don’t want anything to dent my public image. A source who didn’t want to be named but privy to the arrangement said “The alternative platform plans did not materialise Majorly because Chief Edebiri ran on a ‘credibility and integrity’ platform. The committee he set up feels and Chief Edebiri bought the idea that going into such an arrangement will be against the image he has built for himself.” The source also said that the senator representing Edo south, Senator Matthew Urhogide and the PDP flag bearer, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu have quickly reached out to Edebiri in order to stop him if possible. Since the governorship primaries, PDP has divided against itself as members accused the party leadership of manipulating the result by making the delegates to take oaths to vote for Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu. http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/07/17/new-twist-in-edo-pdp-as-another-guber-aspirant-resigns/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebook 1 Share
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| Politics › Re: Apc Presidential Candidate Zoned To The South by rommyth(op): 1:20pm On Jul 17, 2016 |
Qmerit:the chart only showcase the result of last presidential result and the voting pattern of ss/se. |
| Politics › Apc Presidential Candidate Zoned To The South by rommyth(op): 10:46am On Jul 17, 2016 |
With the present nigeria structure where the citizens are divided along religious and ethnicity when it comes to games of politics. Overtime,majority of the SS & SE people have pledge their allegiance to the PDP which they believe represents their interests. This has widely reflected in the voting pattern at all level of election process by giving block vote to the party. The zone detest APC manifestoes, tagging it Northern Agenda. Any indegene of the zone who romance with the APC is seen as a traitor. However, a time will come where the APC presidential aspirants will be zoned to the south(SE or SS ) and PDP aspirants zoned to the North. In such scenario,How do you think the voting pattern of SE/SS will look like??
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| Politics › Apc Presidential Candidate Zone To The South by rommyth(op): 10:34am On Jul 17, 2016 |
With the present nigeria structure where the citizens are divided along religious and ethnicity when it comes to games of politics. Overtime,majority of the SS & SE people have pledge their allegiance to the PDP which they believe represents their interests. This has widely reflected in the voting pattern at all level of election process by giving block vote to the party. The zone detest APC manifestoes, tagging it Northern Agenda. Any indegene of the zone who romance with the APC is seen as a traitor. However, a time will come where the APC presidential aspirants will be zoned to the south(SE or SS ) and PDP aspirants zoned to the North. In such scenario,How do you think the voting pattern of SE/SS will look like??
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| Education › Re: Six Things That Makes Nigeria Universities Better Than Polytechnics by rommyth(m): 7:11am On Jul 16, 2016 |
Well,i had both hnd n bsc . There's a difference between the two. my observations are university tells you WHY, Polytechnic tells you HOW.-university is far tougher,university curriculum is wider,university boasts of best brain(lecturers n students),better learning environment etc. 6 Likes 1 Share |
| Politics › We’ve No Fraud Information On Buhari’s Wife –US by rommyth(op): 6:40am On Jul 13, 2016 |
The United States government says it has no information on the alleged crimes committed by President Muhammadu Buhari’s wife, Aisha. The acting Public Affairs Officer, US Consulate General, Lagos, Frank Sellin, said this in an email sent to our correspondent on Tuesday. Sellin said this in response to an enquiry made by our correspondent regarding allegations that the President’s wife was wanted in the US and was avoiding travelling to the country. In a message, Sellin said, “Thank you for the inquiry. We have no information to provide on this matter.” The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, had, last month, alleged that Mrs. Buhari was involved in the $185m Halliburton scandal. While reacting to the freezing of his Zenith Bank accounts by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Fayose claimed that the wife of the President was a wanted person in the US. He had said, “Even the President cannot claim to be an angel. The estate he built in Abuja is known to us. His wife was indicted in the Halliburton scandal. When that American, Jefferson, was being sentenced, the President’s wife was mentioned as having wired $170,000 to Jefferson. Her name was on page 25 of the sentencing of Jefferson. We can serialise the judgment for people to see and read.” Fayose repeated the claim in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi. He said Aisha refused to travel with the President to the US because of her involvement in the scandal. http://punchng.com/weve-no-fraud-information-buharis-wife-us/
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| Politics › 7 Reasons Why President Buhari's Appointments Tilt Towards The North by rommyth(op): 9:02pm On Jul 12, 2016 |
Controversies have continued to trail President Muhammadu Buhari’s appointments which many believed to be lopsided in favour a particular region of the country. Recently, the Senate rejected President Muhammadu Buhari's ambassadorial list for lacking federal character by summoning the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Onyeama Geoffrey. President Buhari had during an interview with BBC Hausa on September 8th, 2015 said the Constitution allowed him full control over the choice of his closest officials. The president assured that he was not ignoring some regions of the society in his appointments, explaining that those he appointed were some of his most trusted associates. Responding to the interviewer’s question on the controversy generated by the appointments, Buhari said “This is the nature of Nigerian politics.” Here is a quick look at the reasons why the tough ex-military commander choose to do so. 1. Buhari Believes Only The North Can Be Trusted – Due to his experience in the first coming during the Military era and the role he played in the PTDF, Buhari understands that it is better to entrust positions to his allies and trusted hands rather than conforming with the political arrangement of the country. 2. Buhari's Administration Favours Ethnic Competence to Federal Character - The Presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina said on a radio programme, Political Platform, August, 2015 on RayPower 100.5FM that “Nobody can fault the fact that the persons appointed were appointed on merits”. “In terms of the spread, the President has prerogative to appoint and he knows there is federal character. I am sure that there will be balance in the future. “These are still early days. At the end of the day, we will have a balance. "By the time more appointments are made, it will balance out. The President is trying to get the very best of Nigerians. The issue of key positions and no key positions should not be the issue”, Adesina said. 3.The Nature of Nigerian Politics is Ethic-sided – The nature of Nigerian politics at least since the inception of Democracy in 1999 has always favours the political authorities. Each making appointments towards his cliques and allies and putting majority of the positions in the hands of 'his own people'. 4. The President is Rewarding Loyalty and Faithful Followers – It can be deduced from the election results that massive number of votes came from the Northern region of the country and the President is seen rewarding loyalties for the roles they played for his emergence as the President of Nigeria. His statement during an Interview he granted BBC Hausa last year confirms this. Buhari said: “If I select people whom I know quite well in my political party, whom we came all the way right from the APP, CPC and APC, and have remained together in good or bad situation, the people I have confidence in and I can trust them with any post, will that amount to anything wrong”. “I have been with them throughout our trying times, what then is the reward of such dedication and suffering?, he asked. 5. The South is Suffering From Election Outcomes - President Buhari received the least number of votes in the South East and South South, the political stronghold of his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan. Hence, they are currently suffering from the 2015 election result which produced the current APC led administration. 6. Military Mentality: President Buhari matured from a military system where the rule of decree prevail over constitutional pronouncements. This is exemplified in his sack of university Vice Chancellors before he later rendered apology for the move after public outcry. 7. Popular Support: Despite the perceived hardship within the country, the Buhari administration still enjoys popular support from northerners and westerners. The government is viewed as a preferred alternative to the Jonathan administration and to this end, many seem not to question him except for the southerners who felt gravely marginalized. ----- With all these happenings at the political early age of President Muhammadu Buhari's administration. It is disturbing to believe in the president words as such as the popular quote that ushered him in during May 29 inaugural speech which says - “I belong to everyone and belong to no one”. https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/7-reasons-why-president-buharis-appointments-tilt-towards-the-north.216817/
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| Politics › Three-year-olds Among Ghost Workers In Adamawa by rommyth(op): 9:41pm On Jul 11, 2016 |
The Adamawa State government has said it found people aged three to 10 on its payroll. The state government said this in Yola on Monday while denying reports that it was axing workers employed by the previous administration. The state government explained that the recent review of its payroll, which resulted in the discovery of 12,000 ghost workers did not amount to the mass sack of workers employed by his predecessor. “This is totally false. However, if reference is made to the outcome of the local government verification exercise then it is necessary to observe that certain anomalies were quite manifest and require remedies which were appropriately recommended, ” the Commissioner for Information, Ahmed Sajoh, said. “No government will fold its arms and have people of ages from three years to 10 years on their payroll or nine people in one family on the payroll while only one person is working.” The government had recently explained that the audit, which led to the discovery of the ghost workers, was influenced by Governor Mohammed Jibrilla’s policy of entrenching transparency as a “cornerstone of the administration” http://punchng.com/three-year-olds-among-ghost-workers-adamawa/
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| Politics › Asari Dokubo Accuses Buhari Of Plotting Genocide In South-east, South-south by rommyth(op): 9:32pm On Jul 11, 2016 |
Former Militant leader, Asari Dokubo has issued a statement accusing President Muhammadu Buhari of plotting genocide against the South-South and South-East region. Read full statement below: The public should note that I, Alhaji Mujahid Abubakr Dokubo-Asari,Alabo Edi Abali -Abala Buruburu 1 of Kalabari had not entered, directed, appointed or delegated any person or group of persons to negotiate or enter into dialogue with any president, vice president, governor, minister, national security adviser, any committee or institution in furtherance of the Nigerian states pretension to the pursuance of peace in the occupied Ijaw, Niger Delta Region and The United States of Biafra(USB). Therefore, anybody who had presented himself/herself claiming to me or represent me in any manner of discussion, fora or conference in furtherance of this pretentious negotiation or dialogue is a fraud and therefore should not be accorded any recognition, as a person representing me, the Niger Delta Peoples Salvation Front and Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force. I am convinced and firmly believe that the occupation gambari and their collaborators in the Nigerian state led by General Muhammadu Buhari is not interested in any or in any type of peace in Ijaw, the Niger Delta Region, In the Territories of the United States of Biafra or even in any part of Nigeria. The body language of General Muhammadu Buhari is to carry out a genocide and a pogrom against the Ijaw, Niger Delta and the United States of Biafra (USB). Therefore, there is no way I will be hoodwinked to be part of any sham that the government of the Nigerian state led General Muhammadu Buhari is masquerading as negotiation or dialogue that will lead to peace in the aforesaid territories….The same way the bride Amnesty was introduced-which I and the volunteers rejected-was used to bribe the faint hearted amongst our compatriots, the cult gangs and fraternities, and the criminal elements in the Niger Delta to allow the our hydro carbon resources-which is our God given and exclusively belong to us- to be freely extracted to satisfy the extravagant and immoral appetite of the gambari and their collaborators… Today most of the recipients of the Amnesty bribe are full of regrets and wish that they turn back the hands of clock. In furtherance to the above stated reasons, I have no cause to be part of any negotiation or dialogue in the present General Muhammadu Buhari contrived crisis in the Ijaw territories to give him an excuse to carry out his well thought out plan to execute his genocide and pogrom against us….since I am not a member of the Niger Delta Avengers or any of the other internet groups trying to obliterate the shine of the heroic explores of the Niger Delta Avengers….Some people had severally opined that if I am not an Avenger I should publicly disclaim them…Why should I do so? What is my business to be a busybody in this matter? Why should I take pannadol for someone else headache? I will never disclaim, denounce or condemn the Niger Delta Avenger….For I am a known advocate of this truism that for every action there must be an equal and opposite reaction….You can’t sow to the winds and expect not to harvest a whirlwind in return. Finally, the public should know that I am not part of any negotiation or dialogue and had not mandated, nominated, appointed or authorized any person or group of persons to represent me in any dialogue or negotiation with the government of the Nigerian state led by General Muhammadu Buhari. My believe is that only a SOVEREIGN NATIONAL CONFERENCE with the resolution for a PLEBISCITE SUPERVISED BY THE UNITED NATION can lead to permanent peace in Ijaw, Niger Delta and the Biafran territories. Thank you Alhaji Mujahid Abubakr Dokubo-Asari Alabo Edi Abali-Abala Buruburu 1-of Kalabari Long live the Ijaw nation Long live the United States of Biafra(USB). https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/asari-dokubo-accuses-buhari-of-plotting-genocide-in-south-east-south-south.216719/
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| Politics › Why I Don't Attend Council Of States Meeting With President Buhari – Fayose by rommyth(op): 8:42pm On Jul 11, 2016 |
Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state has revealed reasons why he decided not to attend President Muhamamadu Buhari's council of states meeting each time its being called upon.https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/why-i-dont-attend-council-of-states-meeting-with-president-buhari-%E2%80%93-fayose.216752/ 24 Likes 1 Share
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| Foreign Affairs › Osama Bin Laden's Son, Hamza Threatens US Over His Father's Death by rommyth(op): 7:44pm On Jul 10, 2016 |
The son of slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has threatened revenge against the U.S. for assassinating his father, according to an audio message posted online. Hamza bin Laden promised to continue the global militant group’s fight against the U.S. and its allies in the 21-minute speech entitled “We Are All Osama,” according to the SITE Intelligence Group. “We will continue striking you and targeting you in your country and abroad in response to your oppression of the people of Palestine, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia and the rest of the Muslim lands that did not survive your oppression,” Hamza said. “As for the revenge by the Islamic nation for Sheikh Osama, may Allah have mercy on him, it is not revenge for Osama the person but it is revenge for those who defended Islam.” Osama bin Laden was killed at his Pakistani hideout by U.S. commandos in 2011 in a major blow to the militant group which carried out the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Documents recovered from bin Laden’s compound and published by the U.S. last year alleged that his aides tried to reunite the militant leader with Hamza, who had been held under house arrest in Iran. Hamza, now in his mid-twenties, was at his father’s side in Afghanistan before the 9/11 attacks and spent time with him in Pakistan after the U.S.-led invasion pushed much of al Qaeda’s senior leadership there, according to the Brookings Institution. https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/osama-bin-ladens-son-hamza-threatens-us-over-his-fathers-death.216680/
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| Politics › Re: "Why Past Governors, Ministers Stole So Much" - James Bawa Magaji by rommyth(m): 1:09pm On Jul 10, 2016 |
GEJmustGO:why was tinubu not arraigned by jonathan wen d guy was in opposition? Y not sue him to court if u av d evidences that he stole? |
| Politics › BIAFREXIT: 10 Reasons Why Biafra Republic May Not Work Out by rommyth(op): 5:04pm On Jul 09, 2016 |
Last week, the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, called on the federal government of Nigeria and British Prime Minister, David Cameron to organize a referendum with the slogan; ‘BIAFREXIT’ for the secession of the south-east region into the Republic of Biafra. In a quick reaction to this, Senator Ben Murray Bruce on Monday advised pro-Biafra agitators to tread with caution. Quoting him: “Brexit (has already) hit the British Economy hard. I’m sure they’ll recover. But what does it mean for Nigeria? It means we are better as one nation.” How right is Mr Bruce? Here are 10 reasons why a Biafra Republic may not work out even if secession succeeds. 1. Leadership: The African continent is in a constant milieu of bad leadership at every level of governance. This variable realistically cannot be counted out in the sojourn of any third world country and a Biafra republic will not be left out. 2. System of Government: Will it be federal or unitary, presidential or parliamentary, a strong centre or a confederation? ‘Biafrans’ will have strong and diverse opinions about this. These diversity if not properly managed may culminate in total breakdown. 3. Militancy Will Continue: An average Pro-Biafran will argue that secession is the one and only solution to their problems, the necessary and sufficient condition to end series of attacks by militants. To a far extent however, these notions are wrong and untrue. The aim of militancy goes beyond agitations and boils down to individual agenda of a few. In addition, since it worked in Nigeria, it will become an instrument which will be employed often by agitators. This will surely contribute to a fall of such republic. 4. Leadership Tussle: The road to independence may be the same road to impotency of a Biafra Republic. Prominent among the agitators today are; Nnamdi Kanu, the Okahs etc. Prominent politicians in the region may jostle for different political positions and serve as godfathers. Leadership tussle if degenerated may cause friction and subsequently perpetuate hostility which will affect negatively. 5. Over Reliance On Oil: Just like its ‘mother country’ Nigeria, Biafra Republic will continue to rely solely on oil. However, if not properly managed coupled with the fact that developed nations are doing all it could to alternate oil, such reliance may halt a ‘promising Biafra government.’ 6. Biafra May Never Come: Just like it was experienced between 1967 and 1970, a Biafra Republic may never materialize if the two parties toll the arms way. In a war which lasted for 30 months, over one million people died. Some died in the battle while others were lost majorly through famine, and hunger. There were over 50,000 casualties of soldiers both from Biafran side and the Nigerian military. A repeat of such war will not only spell doom for the Biafra but also the mother country Nigeria. 7. Spending on Infrastructure: If however the war broke out, the South East won and a Biafra Republic came to being, a reconstruction plan will cripple the republic. 8. Neo-Colonialism: In its message to David Cameron, IPOB emphasize the need for the British Prime Minister and Britain itself to intervene in their cause. This could be considered a bold move but more importantly, those who conceived the idea are oblivious of the fact that the international community is one with no permanent friend but permanent interest. If Britain has a hand in their secession, Biafrans should be ready for years of neo-colonialism. 9. Lack of Visionary Leadership: Visionary leadership have over the years eluded African nations. Nigeria with the bulk of its human and natural resources still wallow in the league of third world countries due to corruption and insensitivity of its leaders. its an epidemic and should be expected in an independent Biafra. 10. Desperate and Detrimental Moves: The agitation for the Republic of Biafra isn't coming at the right time in Nigeria's political space – not when the nation has to grapple with many pressing issues. Moves by Biafra agitators have been detrimental and desperate. For instance, the move by the IPOB's leader, Nnamdi Kanu seeking to acquire weapons to fight Nigeria, and the recklessness that has characterized some of their protests makes the cause unworthy, and may definitely mar it's independence as a nation. https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/biafrexit-10-reasons-why-biafra-republic-may-not-work-out.215667/ 1 Like
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| Education › Re: Jamb Statistic For Most Sorted After Universities In Southeast by rommyth(m): 2:56pm On Jul 08, 2016 |
How many universities dey southeast?  |
| Politics › Panic As Arms Panel Prepares To Submit Report; Dambazau, Ihejirika, Minimah Indi by rommyth(op): 7:02pm On Jul 07, 2016 |
There is tension and frantic scheming among former army chiefs and other top officers of the Nigerian Army as the Presidential Committee on Defence Equipment Procurement in the Nigerian Armed Forces concludes its task and is set submit its report of President Muhammadu Buhari in the coming days, PREMIUM TIMES has learned. A reliable source close to the committee, which was set up by Mr. Buhari to probe the procurement of arms, ammunition and equipment in the military from 2007 to 2015, told this newspaper that several top retired army officers were indicted and some were already scheming to suppress the content of the report. Our source, who described the report as “damning” and “explosive”, said retired top army officers indicted include present minister of interior, Abdurrahman Bello Dambazau, the immediate past chief of army staff, Kenneth Minimah, and his predecessor, Azubuike Ihejirika. Mr. Dambazau was particularly mentioned as trying to suppress the content of the report. He was appointed the chief of army staff by late President Umaru Yar’Adua, and served between 2008 and 2010. “The committee members are putting things together and will present its findings to the president in the next week or so,” our source said. Our source explained that the committee uncovered a whole lot of things including the outright stealing of money meant for equipment for the army, inflation of contract, diversion of money for soldiers’ welfare, money for the rehabilitation of barracks and military facilities and many other corrupt practices. In March 2016, the committee, predominantly made up of retired military officers, had summoned 292 retired and serving top army officers including Messrs. Dambazau, Ihejirika and Minimah. Last August, Mr. Buhari directed the national security adviser, Mohammed Mongonu, to set up a 13-member investigative committee on the procurement of hardware and munitions in the Armed Forces from 2007. A statement by the Special Adviser to the president on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, stated that the investigative committee’s mandate is to identify irregularities and make recommendations for streamlining the procurement process in the armed forces. The establishment of the investigative committee was in keeping with President Buhari’s determination to stamp out corruption and irregularities in Nigeria’s public service, Mr. Adesina said. “It comes against the background of the myriad of challenges that the Nigerian Armed Forces have faced in the course of ongoing counter-insurgency operations in the Northeast, including the apparent deficit in military platforms with its attendant negative effects of troops’ morale. “The committee will specifically investigate allegations of non-adherence to correct equipment procurement procedures and the exclusion of relevant logistics branches from arms procurement under past administrations, which, very often resulted in the acquisition of sub-standard and unserviceable equipment,” the statement said. In January, Mr. Buhari ordered the arrest of the former chief of air force, Adesola Amosu, and other top officers of the Nigerian Air Force after an interim report of an inquiry into the procurement of equipment uncovered widespread diversion of funds and fraud. Those indicted by the report were former national security adviser, Sambo Dasuki, former chief of defence staff, Alex Badeh, and another former chief of air staff, Mohammed Umar. All of them and other top officers are facing corruption charges in court. “The procurement processes were arbitrarily carried out and generally characterized by irregularities and fraud,” the panel said. “In many cases, the procured items failed to meet the purposes they were procured for, especially the counter insurgency efforts in the North East.” “A major procurement activity undertaken by ONSA for NAF was that concerning the contracts awarded to Societe D’ Equipment Internationaux (SEI) Nig Ltd. “Between January 2014 and February 2015, NAF awarded 10 contracts totalling Nine Hundred and Thirty Million, Five Hundred Thousand, Six Hundred and Ninety US Dollars ($930,500,690.00) to SEI Nig Ltd. “Letters of award and End User Certificates for all the contracts issued by NAF and ONSA respectively did not reflect the contract sums. Rather, these were only found in the vendor’s invoices, all dated 19 March 2015,” it said. The panel said some of the award letters contained misleading delivery dates suggesting fraudulent intent in the award process. The observed discrepancies are in clear contravention of extant procurement regulations. “The SEI contracts included procurement of two used Mi-24V Helicopters instead of the recommended Mi-35M series at the cost of One Hundred and Thirty Six Million, Nine Hundred and Forty Four Thousand US Dollars ($136,944,000.00). “However, it was confirmed that the helicopters were excessively priced and not operationally air worthy at the time of delivery. A brand new unit of such helicopters goes for about Thirty Million US Dollars ($30m),” it noted. Furthermore, the helicopters were delivered without rotor blades and upgrade accessories. “Additionally, the helicopters were undergoing upgrade while being deployed for operation in the North East without proper documentation. It was further established that as at date, only one of the helicopters is in service while the other crashed and claimed the lives of two NAF personnel. “The Committee established that ONSA also funded the procurement of 4 used Alpha-Jets for the NAF at the cost of Seven Million, One Hundred and Eighty Thousand US Dollars ($7,180,000.00). However, it was confirmed that only 2 of the Alpha-Jet aircraft were ferried to Nigeria after cannibalization of engines from NAF fleet. “This is contrary to the written assertion of the former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal AN Amosu to the former NSA that all the 4 procured Alpha-Jets aircraft were delivered to the NAF. “The non-militarisation of the Alpha-Jets made them unsuitable for deployment to the North East and they are currently deployed only for training at NAF Kainji. “Furthermore, the procurement of the Alpha-Jets was contrary to the recommendation of the assessment team. The Committee found that the conduct of Air Marshal Amosu was deliberately misleading and unpatriotic,” the panel said. http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/206535-panic-arms-panel-prepares-submit-report-dambazau-ihejirika-minimah-indicted.html
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| Politics › Poor Power Supply: Should Buhari Revoke Licences Of Power Firms? by rommyth(op): 11:32am On Jul 07, 2016 |
Energy experts speak on erratic power supply in the country Shadrack Madlion (former United Nations Environment Protection consultant) When you revoke the licences, you will kill the spirit of privatisation and send a wrong signal to the international market. It will further prove that we are not consistent with our policies. We should find another way to resolve the mistakes we must have made. All over the world, governments make mistakes. When the government takes over, how are we going to recover the loans we gave them? It makes no sense to revoke the licences. When we talk about non-performance on the part of the firms, what are we actually talking about? Ab initio, competence was not considered when the privatisation was done. It was a political compensation. Go through the names of the companies that benefited. The companies were shared; it was like those who could not get oil blocks were given the electricity sector. We never looked at those who had the capacity or any other merit. A country of 180 million people toyed with the most critical sector of economic growth. Even if we bring back the textile industry, we will not be able to compete without a functional power sector. It is cheaper to bring tomato paste from the Netherlands than to get fresh ones from Kano. We cannot throw away the child with the bath water. We should correct the problems that affect the sector even if we are going to bring in experts and make the government to be more involved. But the moment you revoke the licences, you will send a bad signal to the investment market. Nobody will touch any public asset again. We are not islands; anything we do today will be on the global archive of knowledge. And it will be used against us in the future. Muda Yusuf (DG of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry) I would rather call for the overhaul of the entire sector because the model does not appear to have worked. They have been in this for years now, and we have not seen any changes. There is serious capacity problem – technical capacity and financial capacity. They are grappling with so many problems, and many of the problems are not within their control. Many things were not factored into the business plans when they took over the assets. And it is a long chain. You start from gas, move on to generation, transmission and distribution. As they say, “a chain is as a strong as its weakest link.” Unfortunately, the majority of the challenges are not in the control of the private sector players. There is the need to revisit the entire model. I don’t want to use the word ‘revocation’. We should reassess the plan to see whether it fits into our context because the firms are suffering many losses. They are doing their best but consider the efficiency losses, technical losses and billing. There are so many factors that are not within their control. There is vandalisation on one hand; the security challenge is there on the other hand. All of these costs are put on the few consumers that are paying. A lot of inefficiency costs are put on the consumers. That is why they say the tariffs are not cost- effective. How many people pay the tariffs? We should revisit the model in a holistic manner. Also, we should consider the concept of energy mix as suggested by the minister. We need to consider the option of captive power. You can have the whole of Lekki being served by a captive power station. The national grid system is not working. It is too vulnerable. Once there is sabotage, it affects everybody. Energy is a developmental issue that cannot be left for only the private sector. The government must play a role. Prof. Adeola Adenikinju (Director, Centre for Petroleum Energy Economics and Law, University of Ibadan) I think we need to follow what the rules say. The Electric Power Sector Reform Act defines the regulations that govern the sector. Over time, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has also come up with some regulations with respect to the sector. My view is that we should follow the regulations in whatever decision we want to take. If the regulations do not capture the condition under which the licenses should be revoked, I have a strong opinion that, if the companies have not met the timelines after some years after the privatisation, the licences should be revoked. This will ensure that there is orderliness and that companies are careful before they make applications in future. Also, the NERC should ensure that they carry out due diligence to ensure that such companies are financially and technically competent. Bala Zakka, energy expert Considering where the country is in terms of power supply, it will not be advisable to revoke the licences of the power firms. Rather, let us think of a holistic way to resolve the problems. Nigeria, as far as the power sector is concerned, is in the middle of a crisis. As such, revoking the firms’ licences won’t do us any good. It will only create more crises. Let the government and the firms rub minds on the way forward. The firms thought they had the capability to deliver; they have learnt their lesson and gained more experience. So, owing to the magnitude of the problems, it will be advisable for the government to meet the firms and come up with a solution. If the ultimate solution is for them to relinquish their licences, let this be done peacefully. Also, if the solution is that the firms should go into partnership with other firms, that should be done. Considering the nature of energy supply – the capital requirement and the volatility of the naira, new partnerships should be encouraged. Tomi Akingbogun (President, Nigeria Electricity Consumers Advocacy) Revoking the licences is a justified suggestion. But we need to think about the consequences. The consequence could be a total breakdown of supply. If the government revokes the licences, who do we have on the ground to replace them? So, there will be a serious disturbance. What I think is to look into the laws that set the distribution companies up and to see where they have defaulted. Then we could apply necessary sanctions. Revoking the licences could show that Nigeria is not ready for foreign investments. Revocation of their licences may not lead to efficient service delivery. Let the government focus on one of the Discos and sanction it heavily. Then, others will sit up. Remember what happened when MTN was sanctioned. As a matter of fact, I suggest that an investigation into the activities of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission. It appears the leadership of the regulatory agency has been bought up by the Discos. So, it should be investigated. Why does the NERC keep changing the rules to the detriment of the public and in favour of Discos? The government should find out which Disco is not doing well and impose heavy sanction on it. Tokunbo Korodo (Chairman, NUPENG, Lagos) I cannot say they should revoke their licences. It is like going back and forth because it was the government that issued the licences initially. Governance is a continuum and for the efficiency to be seen, existing modalities of operation should be revisited. If we revoke their licences in order to start afresh, it will cause problems. Nigeria is not ready for protracted but immediate solutions to challenges facing the power sector. So, I don’t subscribe to revocation of licences. The problems can be solved in a better way. Compiled by Geoff Iyatse and Toluwani Eniola http://punchng.com/poor-power-supply-should-buhari-revoke-licences-of-power-firms/
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| Politics › Re: Ghana Blames Power Outage On Nigeria’s Oil Sabotage by rommyth(op): 8:55am On Jul 07, 2016 |
MyGeneration:u mean buhari is d one destroying pipelines? 158 Likes 5 Shares |
| Politics › Ghana Blames Power Outage On Nigeria’s Oil Sabotage by rommyth(op): 8:27am On Jul 07, 2016 |
Ghanaian President, John Mahama, on Wednesday said the delay in the delivery of the crude oil ordered from Nigeria had created power generation problems for his country, leading to outages in many parts.http://punchng.com/ghana-blames-power-outage-nigerias-oil-sabotage/ 1 Like 1 Share
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| Crime › Poly Undergraduate Flees After Killing Landlord by rommyth(op): 8:18am On Jul 07, 2016 |
An Abia State Polytechnic student, identified only as Abel, has killed the landlord of one of the students’ lodges in the Immaculate area of Aba, Abia State. PUNCH Metro learnt that Abel, a final year student of the Department of Architecture, allegedly stabbed the victim in the stomach during a disagreement at the lodge. Our correspondent was told that the landlord had ordered that no female visitor was allowed to spend the night in the lodge. The suspect was alleged to have breached the rule and was challenged by the landlord, which led to a fight between them. In the ensuing scuffle, the suspect was alleged to have grabbed a knife and stabbed the victim in the stomach, before taking to his heels. The landlord reportedly died on the spot. His remains were recovered by the police and deposited in a mortuary. A student of the institution, who identified herself only as Beatrice, explained that the caretaker of the lodge was the first to notice the breach of the rule, adding that he informed the landlord. She said the landlord barged into the room and met Abel and his girlfriend naked, which caused the fight. She said, “The incident happened around 9pm on June 29. The deceased had made a rule that no student living in the lodge should bring a lady to pass the night there. He also made it a rule that every visitor, be it male or female, must leave before night falls. “However, the suspect brought home a female guest in the evening and both of them went inside his room. The caretaker of the lodge saw them and waited for them to come out, but they didn’t. He then put a call through to the landlord, who hurriedly went to the building around 9pm. “On arrival, the landlord barged into the student’s room where he met both the lady and the student naked. Instead of excusing himself, he attacked the student with punches. The lady quickly grabbed a wrapper and ran out of the room into another student’s room in the lodge. “As the confrontation continued, the student stabbed the landlord with a knife, put on his boxers and fled that night, leaving the landlord dead in his room.” It was learnt that the incident threw the community into confusion as the matter was reported at a police station in the area. The police were said to have launched a manhunt for the suspect with his picture posted at strategic areas in the school. When contacted, the Abia State Police Public Relations Officer, Nta Ogbonnaya, confirmed the murder, but said he could not tell what transpired between the suspect and the deceased. He said the case file had been transferred to the State Department of Criminal Investigations, adding that the police would get the fugitive. He said, “Yes, there is a case of murder involving a student of Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, who stabbed his landlord in the stomach. I cannot, however, tell what happened between them. I also don’t know the name of the landlord and the suspect. As I speak with you, the case file has been transferred to the SDCI and we are working with the school authorities to get the details of the suspect. “I, however, want to advise him that he should submit himself to the police voluntarily. I assure that wherever he decides to go, we will get him and he will face justice.” Efforts to reach the school authorities were abortive as the official telephone line on the school’s website was switched off. A text message sent to the line had also yet to be replied to as of the time of filing this report. http://punchng.com/poly-undergraduate-flees-killing-landlord/
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| Politics › Afenifere, Ohanaeze Disagree As President Says Nigeria’s Unity Not Negotiable by rommyth(op): 8:10am On Jul 07, 2016 |
Olalekan Adetayo, Friday Olokor and Ihuoma Chiedozie President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday told militants who have continued to destroy oil installations in the Niger Delta that the unity of the country remained non-negotiable.http://punchng.com/afenifere-ohanaeze-disagree-president-says-nigerias-unity-not-negotiable/ 23 Likes
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| Politics › Buhari Using ‘corrupt’ EFCC To Fight Corruption – Fayose by rommyth(op): 6:20pm On Jul 06, 2016 |
The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari is using an “equally corrupt” Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to fight corruption in Nigeria, saying the president must start the corruption fight from his party and immediate aides since charity begins from home. “EFCC opinions remain their opinions and if they are so sure of whatever information they have, they should go to court and stop subjecting Nigerians to media trial, and no amount of media trial from the same elements that orchestrated my removal in 2006 can erode my popularity among Ekiti people,” the governor said in a statement Wednesday. He said any property that may be linked to him or his company was bought legitimately and his properties were duly declared in his assets declaration form and sources of such funds were not illicit. In the release signed by the Special Assistant to the Governor on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Mr. Fayose said his election was funded by Zenith Bank as well as donations from friends and associates, adding that; “As a promising candidate of my party, I cannot stop Nigerians from supporting my election like every other candidates of other political, including President Buhari”. He said since the money he got for his election was from legitimate sources and not from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) as being concocted, how the money was spent remained his own business and not that of anyone. The governor also debunked the allegation by the EFCC that he received bribe from any contractor in Ekiti; saying; “if they have anything against me, they should keep their gun powder dry. “Because in 2006 when they took me to court, their allegations crumbled like pack of cards because court decisions are founded on facts and law, and not on media trial as currently being done by the EFCC as teleguided by the APC in their desperation to set the people against me knowing fully that they are not on ground.” He said, “Having failed to buy the conscience of Ekiti House of Assembly members, the APC people have become increasingly afraid of 2018 and that the agencies of the Federal Government should know that no matter how hard they try, Ekiti electorate will not be deceived by their blackmail and media trial. Governor Fayose said, “The EFCC should be told in clear terms that this is 2016 and not 2006 when impeachment notices against governors were signed on the table of EFCC operatives. Those who are teleguiding the EFCC now should also be reminded that they did more than what they are doing now in 2006, yet I was overwhelmingly voted for by the Ekiti people eight years after the orchestrated impeachment which the Supreme Court declared illegal.” The governor asked; “Should Nigerians now conclude that EFCC is an appendage of APC? Is the EFCC for investigation of corrupt practices among all Nigerians or members of opposition parties alone?” The governor said; “As at today, I have not been accused of stealing a dime from Ekiti treasury. EFCC has not also said that Ekiti money was stolen and that my election was funded with Ekiti State money.” Accusing the EFCC of carrying out the APC agenda to force him out of office as was done in 2006, the governor said; “It is sad that some politicians from Ekiti State now resume and close in EFCC offices in Lagos and Abuja and we wonder whether those politicians have now taken over the job of EFCC.” He said he will continue to speak his mind on issues affecting Nigerians and can never be cowed, saying; “Nigerians are suffering. States can no longer pay workers salary, a litre of kerosene is now N220, a bag of rice is now N20,000 and some people will sit in Presidential Villa and expect that all of us should keep silent? That’s not possible! “No amount of media trial by agents of the Buhari-led APC government will make me to stop baring my mind on the cluelessness of the Federal Government.” http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/206499-buhari-using-corrupt-efcc-fight-corruption-fayose.html
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| Politics › Edo 2016: Ize-iyamu, PDP Leaders Wasting Their Time – Airhiavbere by rommyth(op): 9:40pm On Jul 05, 2016 |
Benin – Edo State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2012 general election, Major-General Charles Airhiavbere, on Tuesday described Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu’s belief that the party’s bigwigs in the state, including Chief Tom Ikimi, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion and Chief Tony Anenih, would help win the September 10 election for him as hope in futility, a joke and a waste of time.http://independentnig.com/2016/07/05/362860/ 3 Likes 2 Shares
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| Politics › Ondo APC Primary:50 Aspirants Battle For Ticket by rommyth(op): 10:42am On Jul 02, 2016 |
Some weeks to the primary of the All Progressives Congress in Ondo State, in the build-up to the November 26 governorship election, the number of aspirants seeking the party’s ticket has reached 50. More aspirants are still expected to emerge. The rise in the number of the governorship aspirants seems to be giving the party’s leadership a serious concern. It was gathered that the issue of how the governorship candidate will emerge in a rancour-free atmosphere has become what one of the APC chieftains termed as a must-not-fail assignment of the party’s National and State Working Committees. But with the way things are going on within the party, post-primary crisis appears inevitable because all the aspirants seem desperate to get the ticket. The aspirants are sure of securing the party’s ticket, thereby giving no room for consensus or imposition of candidate by the party’s leadership. The desperation of the aspirants followed their conviction that the ruling party in the state, the Peoples Democratic Party, has lost its popularity among the people. Each of them had expressed the belief that any candidate presented by the APC for the forthcoming election would have an easy ride to the Alagbaka Government House, Akure, on February 24, 2017. Some of the leading aspirants of the party are a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN); Senator Ajayi Boroffice, Mr. Segun Abraham, Chief Olusola Oke, former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Mr. Victor Olabimtan, Mr. Bode Ayorinde and Chief Bukola Adetula. Others are Mr. Boye Oyewumi, Moyosola Niran-Oladunni, Niran-Sule Adesuyi, Foluso Adefemi, Dele Alade and Senator Tayo Alasoadura, who currently represents Ondo Central Senatorial District at the Senate. In a bid to emerge as the candidate, many of the aspirants were said to have met with the national leaders of the party to have their “blessings” while various party leaders, both men and women across the 18 local government areas of the state, seem not to be experiencing the current economic downturn in the country as a result of the money being showered on them by various aspirants who regularly visit them for endorsement. They now laugh all the way to the bank courtesy of the largesse from the governorship aspirants. It was gathered that the party too as a whole had enjoyed some benefits from the aspirants as some of them had bought new vehicles for the branches of the party in the 18 LGAs in the state. The party secretariat on Oyemekun Road, Akure, now wears a beautiful look courtesy of some of the aspirants. However, the ugly aspect of these developments is the incessant clashes by supporters of the aspirants whenever they meet during ongoing familiarisation tours of their principals, who are visiting party leaders and members across the 18 LGAs. One of such occasions was the clash between the supporters of Senator Borroffice and that of Segun Abraham in Iwaro Oka-Akoko in Akoko South West Local Government Area of the state last year. Many supporters of Abraham were allegedly attacked by supporters of Boroffice. Though the senator had since denied being the sponsor of the attack, the bottom line is that there was an attack against an aspirant, where many vehicles were damaged and many supporters of Abraham were injured. Aside from the physical attacks, the supporters had also taken the fight to the social media, particularly Facebook and Twitter and with a series of sarcastic write-ups to discredit any aspirant perceived to be the opponent of their principals. In fact, some state executive members of the party have openly shown their bias towards some of the aspirants, thereby polarising the leadership. Another controversial issue in the party is the senatorial zone that will produce the candidate. It was learnt that this is also causing internal ripples within the leadership of the APC in Ondo State. A source within the party said the APC leaders were divided over this issue. While some said the party had zoned the candidacy to the Northern Senatorial District, some believe the candidate should come from any part of the state, as far as the candidate is sellable. The position of some of the leaders is that the candidate that will emerge must be a politically experienced member from the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria. This, they said, would ensure that the person would be loyal and have respect for the party authority if he eventually becomes the governor of the state. A source within the leadership of the party said, “The party leaders both in the state and at the national level know where they are going over the issue of candidacy; they know who they want to be the candidate of the party in the election. When the time comes, the boys will be separated from the men among the aspirants. Let them continue to come out, it is a welcome development for the party, it shows that our party is a beautiful bride in the state now. “I am very sure the 50 aspirants will not contest the primary, but let the party’s guidelines for the election come out first, some of them will eventually fall by the way side.” The source disclosed that the guidelines of the party for the primary would prune the number drastically, adding that it was after then that the primary would be held where the “favourite” candidate would emerge. However, the chairman of the party, Mr. Isaac Kekemeke, had insisted that the party had no anointed person among the aspirants. He had said the party would take the necessary procedures to ensure the candidate emerged through a free, fair and credible primary. He said, “Even though the responsibility of organising primary elections rests on the National Executive Council members, the election will be free, fair and transparent and whoever will emerge victorious, will win fairly, while those who will lose will also lose fairly. “This would make the election credible as the party would do everything within its power to ensure a free, fair and transparent primary. It is within the rights of any member to support any aspirant of his or her choice, but no individual has the power to impose any candidate on the party, not even the chairman, the deputy chairman or the secretary has such powers.” It is also believed in some quarters that the APC in Ondo State might be torn apart after the primary, sequel to the intending process through which the winner would emerge, which might be controversial and capable of causing grief among many of the aspirants. It was learnt that some of the aspirants, who might perceive malpractices at the primary, were already looking out for alternative political parties under which they could run for the governorship election. Meanwhile, one of the aspirants, Moyosola Niran-Oladunni, during an interaction with our correspondent, reacted to the emergence of the numerous aspirants of the party. He had said the APC guidelines for the primary would definitely reduce the number of the aspirants. He said, “The party has not even come up with its guidelines for the primary. I can assure you that we have some of these aspirants without tax-clearance. There may be some of them that are not even registered voters yet. There are standard requirements. “The party will soon set up its guidelines for the primary; that will be the first step towards reducing the number of the aspirants. The truth is that the number of aspirants we have today is good for our party. I do not know why people keep expressing reservation about the number of aspirants in the APC. “It is a way of showing the popularity of the party. We have a party in this state that does not have up to five aspirants. What that means is that the people do not trust the party that it has any chance of winning. “We have internal mechanism within the party that will resolve whatever form of disagreement that comes out of the primary. Let us leave that to the party. I believe we are not going to have any problem with our primary because we are looking forward to a credible primary that will produce a popular candidate.” It was gathered that all hands are on deck by the party’s leadership to ensure the primary is conducted in a free, fair and transparent atmosphere to avoid post-primary crisis just like it was done in Edo State.http://punchng.com/ondo-apc-primary50-aspirants-battle-ticket/
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| Education › Jubilation In OAU As FG Dissolves Governing Council by rommyth(op): 10:23am On Jul 02, 2016 |
Femi Makinde and Sodiq Oyeleke Workers and students of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, on Friday jubilated following the dissolution of the university’s governing council by the Federal Government. The dissolution of the governing council headed Prof. Ndoma Egba was said to have been announced on the Nigerian Television Authority late night Thursday. The Public Relations Officer of the OAU, Mr. Biodun Olanrewaju, also confirmed the dissolution in Osogbo on Friday. “I also saw the advertorial announcing the dissolution,” Olanrewaju said. The Chairman of the Non Academic Staff Union in the university, Mr. Wole Odewumi, told our correspondents that members of his union and those of the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities had been jubilating following the dissolution. Odewumi said the appointment of the new Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ayobami Salami, had also been nullified. He said the Federal Government would appoint an acting vice chancellor to direct the affairs of the university pending the constitution of a new governing council which would appoint a substantive VC. The NASU chairman said workers had shut down the university’s senate building with the aim of preventing vital documents and property of the university from being stolen. He said, “We are very happy today. We have been jubilating since we heard the announcement. “Yes, it is true that the Federal Government has dissolved the governing council. “We are still monitoring activities at the university’s senate building; we don’t want anything to be stolen from the place.”http://punchng.com/jubilation-oau-fg-dissolves-governing-council/
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| Politics › Ex-adamawa Acting Gov, Fintiri, Gets N500m Bail by rommyth(op): 7:33pm On Jul 01, 2016 |
A Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday granted bail to a former Acting Governor of Adamawa State, Umaru Fintiri, who was remanded in Kuje Prison on Thursday, in the sum of N500m. Justice Ahmed Mohammed in his ruling, held that the bail should be guaranteed by two sureties in the sum of N500m each. This followed Fintiri’s arraignment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on five counts of money laundering involving about N1.9bn alleged proceeds of corruption on Thursday.The EFCC had on Thursday arraigned Fintiri along with Mayim Constructions and Properties Limited (the second defendant). Shortly after Fintiri pleaded not guilty to the charges on Thursday the trial judge, Justice Mohammed, heard his bail application but remanded him in Kuje Prison to await the court’s ruling on the bail application on Friday. Ruling on the bail application on Friday, Justice Ahmed dismissed the objection by the prosecution to the bail application, noting that it failed to show reasonable cause why the defendant should not be granted bail. The judge rejected the claim of the prosecution counsel, Mr. peters Aso, who had alleged that the accused would likely jump bail. The judge held that the claim by prosecution did not hold water as the defendant did not jump the administrative bail granted him by the EFCC before his arraignment. Other conditions attached to the bail included the seizure of his passport by the court pending the period of his trial and so would not be allowed to travel abroad without the permission of the court. The court also ordered that each of the two sureties to be produced by the defendant must have proofs of ownership of property in Abuja. The sureties were also to deposit title deeds of the property with the court alongside two recent passport photographs. The judge fixed October 6 for commencement of trial.http://punchng.com/ex-adamawa-acting-gov-fintiri-gets-n500m-bail/ |
| Politics › BREAKING: Sierra Leonian Deputy High Commissioner Abducted In Kaduna by rommyth(op): 7:23pm On Jul 01, 2016 |
The Sierra Leone Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Maj. Gen. Alfred Nelson (retd.) has been kidnapped along Abuja-Kaduna Expressway. Nelson was abducted on Thursday by unknown persons while going to Kaduna to honour an invitation by the military for a programme that could not be immediately ascertained. It was learnt that efforts to reach the envoy on his GSM phone since Thursday by the Sierra Leonian embassy officials have proved abortive. http://punchng.com/breaking-sierra-leonian-deputy-high-commissioner-abducted/
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| Politics › Buhari DID NOT Apologize To The Senate - Ita Enang by rommyth(op): 7:15pm On Jul 01, 2016 |
The Senior Special Assistant to the president on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Ita Enang, has refuted reports that he apologized to the senate on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari.According to him, reports that he apologized were a misrepresentation of his comments. Ita Enang said he only apologized to the senate over remarks made by Okoi Obono-Obla, a special assistant to the president on prosecution to a senate committee on Thursday. “I apologise for his comments. From what I heard, he was not complimentary to the senate,” Mr. Enang said. “We didn’t need to cause more trouble between the presidency and the Senate.” Mr. Enang, therefore, urged Nigerians to dismiss reports that his apology was on behalf of the president, saying doing so, in this case, “would be terrible”. “The president has not apologised. It is me that is apologising for the inappropriate action of the person representing the Attorney-General," he said.https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/nigeria-buhari-did-not-apologize-to-the-senate-ita-enang.216023/ |
| Politics › 2 Aspirants To Contest Edo Guber Ticket Under Sheriff-led PDP by rommyth(op): 12:32pm On Jun 26, 2016 |
As the leadership crisis rocking the National leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), continues to fester, an aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party in the forthcoming governorship election in Edo State, Matthew Iduoriyekemwen, has disclosed that he would be participating in the party primaries under the Ali Modu Sheriff-led PDP. Iduoriyekemwen, who took part in the PDP primaries held last Monday has also rejected the outcome of the party’s primary, which produced Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu as its candidate. Leadership Sunday also learnt that the member representing Egor/Ikpoba Okha at the national assembly, Hon E.J Agbonyinwan has also bought nomination/expression of interest form for the primary. Iduoriyekemwen also pledged his loyalty to the Ali Modu Sheriff leadership of the party and added that he would participate in the primary election of the group scheduled for June 28 The former Majority Leader in the state House of Assembly, who spoke in Benin, the state capital, described the primary election as a “comedy” which was “clinically manipulated” to favour the preferred candidate of the state leadership of the party. He said, “Having looked at all the processes, starting from the clinical manipulation and rigging of the primary, I hereby fully dissociate myself from every process that led to that so-called primary which ended on June 20. “I and members of my team across the state reject the outcome and we pledge our loyalty to the authentic leadership of the party headed by Ali Modu Sheriff. They have drawn up the programme for the PDP primary and I hereby declare that I and my team are participating in that primary. “I and members of my campaign team have met, we have tried to review all that transpired and we have come up with the fact that what transpired that day could best be termed a comedy, in the sense that the processes that led to the event of that day were clinically planned and orchestrated like the party had indeed endorsed a candidate.” http://leadership.ng/news/539232/2-aspirants-to-contest-edo-guber-ticket-under-sheriff-led-pdp
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| Politics › Biafra: IPOB Sends Strong Warning To British Prime Minister Cameron by rommyth(op): 11:23am On Jun 26, 2016 |
The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, have accused British Prime Minister David Cameron of exhibiting hypocritical attitude towards the Biafran course. In a statement made available by the spokespersons of the group, Barrister Emma Nmezu and Dr. Clifford Chukwuemeka Iroanya, the group tagged Camoeron as a racist who connived with the Nigerian government to deny their independence. The statement read in part: “The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) congratulates the Government and people of Britain for organizing the BREXIT vote and applaud the British Government for respecting the wishes of her citizens. “However, it smacks of hypocrisy that the same David Cameron that initiated the BREXIT vote has been propping up the Buhari‘s Government in their murderous acts of suppressing the quest by Biafrans to exit from Nigeria. This leaves Biafrans to ask if David Cameron’s hypocrisy is because Biafrans are blacks and if black Africans are inferior to white British people? “Why does David Cameron think that what is good for the white British people is not good for the black people of Africa especially Biafrans? Mr. David Cameron, in organizing BREXIT is taking advantage of the rights of people to make their choice. The group however called upon the British PM to intervene in the ongoing Biafran agitation if the he wants peace for his country. “From the success of BREXIT, we call upon the incoming Prime Minister to work with Buhari to speedily organize BIAFREXIT. “In addition, we warn the incoming Prime Minister that failure to probe the criminality of Buhari against the Biafrans will make Britain culpable in the re-enacted 21st century Biafran genocide.” https://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/biafra-ipob-sends-strong-warning-to-british-prime-minister-cameron.215495/
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