₦airaland Forum

The House of Representatives shut its plenary on Wednesday and dramatically adjourned sitting till Thursday (today).
The House abandoned at least five motions listed on the Order Paper, as the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, suddenly called off Wednesday’s sitting.
Dogara said he was adjourning the sitting to enable him to attend a meeting of the Council of State on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The Deputy Speaker, Mr. Yusuff Lasun, who would have presided over proceedings in Dogara’s absence, is away to Geneva, Switzerland.
Under the rules of the House, only the Speaker or his deputy can preside over the plenary.
The PUNCH learnt there were initial speculations that the House shut its plenary in solidarity with the Senate, which also called off its sitting on Wednesday.
The Senate had called off its sitting in solidarity with its President, Senator Bukola Saraki.
He had appeared before the Code of Conduct Tribunal in continuation of his trial over alleged false declaration of assets.
However, in the case of the House, the absence of Lasun seemed to give “justifiable grounds” for shutting the plenary since Dogara had already explained that he (the Speaker) would be attending the Council of State meeting.
The Speaker had merely asked the clerk to present seven new bills to the House, preceding the sudden adjournment.
But, two important bills listed for debate on General Principles on Wednesday were abandoned.
One of the bills was titled, “A Bill for an Act to Amend the National Industrial Court Act and for other Related Matters.”
It was sponsored by a lawmaker from Delta State, Mr. Nicholas Ossai-Ossai.
The second bill was, “A Bill for an Act to Establish the Federal College of Medical Laboratory Science, Jos, and to Provide for Courses Leading to the Award of Degrees, Fellowships, Diplomas and Certificates in Medical Laboratory Science, Biomedical Science and other Related Courses and for other Matters Connected Therewith.”
It was sponsored by a member from Plateau State, Mr. Gyang Dung.
One of the five motions abandoned was on a “Call for a New Revenue Allocation Formula.”
The motion was listed against Mr. Rotimi Agunsoye.
Another one was on “Call for the Rehabilitation of Lagos-Badagry Expressway,” which had the name of Mr. Bamgbose Joseph as the sponsor.

www.punchng.com/news/reps-shut-plenary-abandon-bills-for-saraki/

President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministerial nominee from Imo State, Prof. Anthony Anwuka, was on Wednesday thoroughly quizzed by members of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions over his tenure as the Vice Chancellor of the Imo State University.
Four different groups had petitioned the Senate, demanding the withdrawal of his nomination on allegations that he had been indicted by a White Paper issued by the state government sometimes in 2005.
Specifically, he was accused of awarding contracts unilaterally without a recourse to the Governing Council of the university as well as withdrawing funds from the university’s purse to buy a bus for himself.
Anwuka was also accused of being nominated by Governor Rochas Okorocha because he is an in-law to the governor.
In his defence, however, the nominee told the committee that he was aware of the petitions, but had not seen a copy, though he could answer questions based on their contents.
Anwuka said, “I brought some documents to justify my explanations and had handed them over to the committee. I was the Vice Chancellor of Imo State University from 2000 to 2005, before I went on sabbatical.
“A visitation panel was constituted to probe the varsity when I was on sabbatical but they saw nothing incriminating against me. I inherited N40,000 but left over N840m at the expiration of my tenure.
“They later came back and raised issues over vehicle given to me as parting gift from the university, being my entitlement. I was supposed to collect a N4.8m 406 Peugeot car but I requested for a N3.8m 13-seater bus, which was cheaper than the car they wanted to buy for me.
“I had exhibited financial discipline in order to encourage sincerity. There was no written directive to the bursar on my intention to exchange the Peugeot 406 for the bus because I was not in the country.”
“Anwuka explained that the Body of Vice Chancellors of the Nigerian universities agreed on gift of vehicles for outgoing Vice Chancellors.
He also said the contract for the repair of the perimeter fence of his residence, which collapsed when he travelled to South Africa, was a verbal instruction to the university’s bursar since the N800,000 cost was within the N1m he could spend as vice chancellor.
The ministerial nominees added, “They also accused me of being too big to teach the undergraduates. There was a directive that some of us be retired but we went to court to challenge the order and there was a judgment that nullified my indictment of the White Paper.”
On the allegation that he was an in-law to the governor, he said, “I am not a nominee of the state executive but a nominee of the President of Nigeria; so the issue of power sharing being obstructed does not exist.
He said, “On being the in-law of the Imo State Governor, the governor made me the Director-General of the campaign organisation. He once asked me what position I wanted after the election.
“He announced me as the Secretary to the State Government. It was towards the end of my tenure that my son in the United States, a medical doctor, saw the daughter of the governor and informed me that he would want to marry her and it happened.
“I am my own person and my own self. I couldn’t have turned down President Buhari’s offer because my son married the daughter of a governor.”

www.punchng.com/news/senate-panel-grills-ministerial-nominee-on-tenure-as-vc/

VICE President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) is to
oversee Nigeria’s economy and also co-
ordinate the activities of the entire
ministries and soon to be inaugurated
federal cabinet in addition to his
schedule as the Number Two citizen of
the country.
This revelation emerged yesterday at the
opening plenary of the 21st Nigerian
Economic Summit Group (NESG) yearly
meeting in Abuja where professionals
from all walks of life have congregated
to articulate possible quick solutions to
Nigeria’s fiscal and monetary challenges
in the next three days.
Announcing the new role of Co-ordinator
for the Economy attached to his office,
Vice President Osinbajo said President
Muhammadu Buhari had mandated him
to take charge of the economy by
supervising the activities of all the
ministers and assured Nigerians that
with diligent implementation of the
tough choices which the administration
had already articulated in its economic
blueprint, Nigeria’s economy will be
prevented from going into a recession.
Meanwhile, in his earlier presentation, a
renowned audit firm, KPMG, boss, Mr.
Kunle Elebute, had said Nigeria’s
economy risks recession if not urgently
checked and may end up in total slump,
a situation he said, is better imagined
than experienced.
Elebute, who noted that the four to five
per cent growth rate recorded by Nigeria
could still be achieved if timing and
sequencing of reforms proposed by the
All Progressives Congress (APC) is well
articulated, said the negative growth
currently being experienced in the
country signals a decline, adding that
effective utilisation of proceeds of the
boom enjoyed in the last 20 years or
more should have been used to cushion
the effects of oil gloom in the world
market.
We’ve had a boom for more than 20
years. Nigerian economy is in decline.
We may end up in recession if we don’t
take steps to reverse the trend. And from
recession, we may end up in a slump.
We need to start driving growth on
sustainable basis. Timing is of the
essence in the reforms that government
wants to champion. We need to have
fiscal multipliers and increase inputs
under our control such as taxes in order
to provide efficient services”, he said.
But Osinbajo while reacting to concerns
raised by some Nigerians and in fact the
alarm raised by Elebute, said the APC-led
government would work hard to stabilise
the country, saying long-term and short-
term measures have been put in place to
stabilise the country.
The Vice President, who represented
President Muhammadu Buhari at the
summit, stated that he had been given
the mandate to supervise the nation’s
economy to ensure rapid recovery,
adding that the Federal Government is
currently partnering with seven state
governments on developing agricultural
and mineral resources domicile in their
domains to boost GDP. He said what
Nigerians want to see is better life for
majority of people of the country, and
that the President and himself had
decided to set examples by declaring
their assets publicly to send a message
that the government of the day is one
that is built on trust and integrity.
On the issue of time running out before
the government is able to effect change,
the VP said the government of the day
was determined to actualise promises to
better the lives of Nigerians.
On the fight against corruption, the Vice
President said government is determined
to deal with the menace through top to
bottom approach, saying that
government recognises that corruption is
not only in the public sector but in the
private sector and is doing all that is
necessary to encourage free operations
of the nation’s anti-graft organisations
in the country to effectively fight
corruption.
Elebute stressed that in developed
countries, huge percentage of the Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) is usually
invested in infrastructure development,
as opposed to 10 per cent spent on
infrastructure in the country, adding
that the country’s taxation system is still
below world standards.
He said what Nigeria needed to do to
stave off recession is to eliminate
revenue leakages in addition to
diversifying the economy and making
sure reforms are effected in key sub-
sectors such as education and health to
encourage growth of the economy.
The KPMG boss stated that Nigeria is
better off if the railways, airports and
the ports are run by private investors, as
this will increase efficiency and revenue
levels where government can collect
taxes to provide better services.

www.ngrguardiannews.com/2015/10/osinbajo-to-head-nigerias-economic-team/

I av d believe DAT dis man will perform well as a minister

Baba PMB u cannot satisfy everybody jst do ur best and God will crown ur effort

nice one, Saraki my man, Saraki as SP till 2019

Hameed Ali, comptroller-general of Nigeria
Customs Service (NCS), has warned officers and
clearing agents to shun corruption or risk the
consequence of involvement in such practices.
Speaking in Lagos on Monday during his maiden
working visit to the Apapa area command, Ali
said his mandate as head of NCS was to reform
and restructure the service.
He promised to ensure that all acts of cutting
corners by some importers and agents were
stopped, warning that anybody culpable risks
being jailed.
“The days of corruption are gone. Anybody
caught shall not be left to go scot-free,” he said.
“I am a stickler for the enforcement of the
law. There is need for law and order, and it is
important to follow the rules as they are so that
we all do not have problems.”
He said it was possible for customs to clear
goods from the port within 48 hours if there were
no falsification of declaration of goods.
He said non-compliance with the rules of
operation had been a challenge in the service.
Ali also urged the agents to ensure that they get
properly trained by way of capacity building, to
help them function adequately as demanded by
new technologies.
He said he had not come to make things difficult
for operators but to ensure orderliness and
conformity to the law to promote trade.
Stakeholders raised issues on challenges they
were facing in carrying out their operations.
Kayode Farinto, the public relations officer of the
Association of Licensed Customs Agents
(ANLCA), raised concerns over obsolete and
faulty scanners at the ports.
He also complained about incessant alerts
coming from multiple sources, as well as the
challenge of opening Form M due to the
forex restriction by the Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN).
“We want the comptroller-general to look into
the problem of obsolete scanners being used at
the port,” he said.
“It is also a problem now to raise Form M due to
the CBN restriction on FOREX. All these cause
delays in clearing cargo, so cargoes are trapped
in the port and we all know what that means.”
He urged the customs boss to make trade
facilitation a cardinal point of his administration.

www.thecable.ng/ali-corrupt-customs-officers-wont-go-scot-free

tommykiwi:
Go give am na make we see....nonsense!

Oga u don press control P?

chukwudi44:
Yesoo Minister of nkwobi and isiewu

lolz I knw wat u mean to say is minister Niger delta

chukwudi44:
Amaechi had better start planning for how to contest councillor elections since that is the only thing position left for him t

Amaechi is a minister already dey jst dey make noise

Senators from Rivers State on Saturday insisted that they would oppose the nomination of a former governor of the state, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi.

The Senator representing Rivers-East Senatorial District, Senator George Sekibo, told SUNDAY PUNCH on Saturday that the petition against the ex-governor was “supported by the three senators from the state.”

He also said they would insist on the report of the Senate committee on public petitions currently investigating allegations against Amaechi before he could be cleared by the upper chamber of the National Assembly.

Meanwhile, Amaechi, has told his successor, Mr. Nyesom Wike, to go to court over the recommendations of the Justice George Omereji-led Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the sales of valued assets belonging to the state by the last administration.

Amaechi said in a statement issued from his Media Office on Saturday that rather than engage in theatrics and ‘childish’ tantrums, Wike should prosecute him if there was any case of corruption against him.

The state government had on Friday, while briefing journalists, declared that the commission of inquiry had indicted Amaechi and asked the ex-governor and others to return the sum of N97bn belonging to the state.

The government also directed its Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Chinwe Aguma (SAN) to begin a process of prosecuting Amaechi and others indicted by the panel should they fail to return the said sum.

But Amaechi specifically stated that from the way the panel conducted its probe, it was obvious that Wike established it (panel) with a mission to indict him, maintaining that the outcome of the Omereji commission was not surprising to him.

He said, “Indeed, the Wike panel was an inquisition against Amaechi. Wike should go to court if he has any case of alleged corrupt activities against Amaechi. His panel is not and can never be a law court.

“Wike’s regular childish tantrums, theatrics, comedy and drama of screaming huge bogus and phantom figures of missing or stolen or misappropriated billions of naira by the Amaechi-led administration have become a silly and sickening distraction.”



www.punchng.com/news/ministerial-nomination-we-wont-endorse-amaechi-rivers-senators-insist/

The Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum,
Alhaji Abdulazeez Yari, on Tuesday appealed to
all Nigerians to join President Muhammadu
Buhari in his dream to rid the nation of
corruption.
Yari who is the Zamfara State Governor spoke
with State House correspondents at the
Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He noted that the country is making steady
progress under Buhari, hence the need for all
hands to be on the deck to ensure that the
administration succeeds.
He asked that all hands be put on the deck to
support the President in achieving the change he
promised the nation.
The governor said the President cannot achieve
his aim alone.
“All of us need to put our hands on the deck and
make sure we support this government to fight
corruption that leads to money laundering,” he
said.
Yari asked Nigerians to put politics aside and join
in the fight against what he called the nation’s
common enemy.

www.punchng.com/news/support-buharis-corruption-war-yari-begs-nigerians/

opineflu:
this is criminal...dat amaechi guy left so many project undone...it evident he is corrupt...seeing him in dat list make me lost interest in buharis administration....don't we have competent proffessionals to handle dis ministries instead d old,used,criminal nd bloodsucking politicians.. Business as usuall...4...APshit

wen we are talking of politics many tins are possible and don't 4get Dias no saint in politics weda ur a pastor or an Immam 1c ur in politics
or is dia a saint?

katazozo:
He fund his campaign with stolen money from the state treasury ,he sucked Rivers state dry without paying salary for many months.

agreed so if he is to b taken to court or persecuted will oga Buhari be left out?

Frankiss44:
All noise.. All wike needs to survive 2019 is to deliver and the masses will come out for him... Ameachi and APC is hatred with passion down here and 2019 wont be different.

Dont be deceived by what you hear.. APC doesnt have a structure down here in Rivers State

so are u telling us DAT Amaechi did nothing in rivers?

Eziachi:
I thought I was told for months that it was Tinubu that funded him or was it Okorocha at some point, plus the Arab league?This sponsors changes by hour.

we are guessing tho

yanabasee:
Ofcoz we do... Average Nigerians do... But our politicians don't... But Buhari wants us to believe he's a simple and easy going man with good motives and with conscience, when he's not... He said he's following the constitution gradually and wouldn't want to go against it.

it is only wen our leaders starts to use d constitution as appropriate dat is wen Nigeria will be beta.because in Nigeria influential ppl are above d law, if its a sane world many politicians are suppose to b flexing in kirikiri by nw BT instead dey will always find a way to scale through na common man dey 4 trouble

yanabasee:
The Nigeria constitution says thus:
No person shall be appointed as a Minister of the Government of the Federation unless he is qualified for election as a member of the House of Representatives.

Amaechi isn't qualified.. He has issues and scores to settle over his excessive looting of river's money! Buhari should be smarter...

BT do we actually follows d constitution?

Most Nigerians only became aware of the need
to always wash their hands when the Ebola virus
disease invaded the country sometime last year.
But if the scary experience taught us anything,
it’s the fact that through hand-washing, we can
prevent even the worst of infections from
afflicting us.
Many people think it’s only children that should
wash their hands because they play with dirty
things. But experts say adults must also wash
their hands all the time.
Hand-washing is one of the most effective
means to reducing the spread of infectious
diseases, germs, bacteria or viruses. It also helps
protect against food-borne illnesses.
Scientists at the Centres for Disease Control and
Prevention say approximately half of all food-
borne illness outbreaks are due to people not
washing their hands properly. They say the first
line of defence against many infectious diseases
is as simple as washing your hands.
Dirty hands kill!
The human hands happen to be the worst
repository of germs. This is because we contact
virtually everything we come across with our
hands. The United Kingdom-based Health
Protection Agency notes that typically, there are
between 10,000 and 10 million bacteria on each
hand, and that damp hands spread 1,000 times
more germs than dry hands.
HPA warns further that the number of germs on
your fingertips doubles after you use the toilet,
and that’s why no one can underrate the
importance of hand-washing!
According to the Managing Director, Unigloves
Medical Limited, Mr. Kevin Onah, washing hands
to prevent infectious diseases dates back to the
19th century. Indeed, medical history notes that
in the 1840s, a Hungarian physician and an early
pioneer of antiseptic procedures, Ignaz
Semmelweis, was able to prove that hand
hygiene could prevent diseases.
As a physician in the Vienna General Hospital’s
First Obstetrical Clinic, Semmelweis examined
why death from puerperal fever was considerably
higher in a ward where doctors and medical
students worked, compared to another ward
where midwifery students were being trained.
Through assiduous research work, Semmelweis
discovered that physicians had been shuffling
germs around simply because they weren’t
washing hands in-between patients or after they
had finished their schedules for the day.
The online portal, wikipedia, notes that
Semmelweis was fondly described as the
“saviour of mothers” because he discovered that
the incidence of puerperal fever (also known as
‘childbed fever’) could be drastically reduced by
the use of hand disinfection in obstetrical clinics.
Onah says puerperal fever was common in
mid-19th-century hospitals and often fatal, with
mortality at between 10 and 35 per one hundred
mothers. To curb the trend, Semmelweis
proposed the practice of washing hands with
chlorinated lime solutions. That was in 1847.
“When physicians imbibed this practice, the
result was resounding. Death rates were cut
down phenomenally to just about one in a
hundred! So, without doubts, hand-washing may
be the miracle drug that doesn’t need doctor’s
prescription; it is free, cheap and you cannot
overdose on it!” Onah notes.
The company executive says Unigloves Medical
Limited believes in the efficacy of hand washing,
hence its decision to participate in the Global
Handwashing Day — established in 2008 by the
Global Public-Private Partnership for
Handwashing with Soap, to motivate and
mobilise millions around the world to wash their
hands with soap. It comes up every October 15.
“The campaign is dedicated to raising awareness
of hand-washing with soap as a key approach to
disease prevention. This year’s theme for Global
Handwashing Day is ‘Raise a hand for hygiene!’”
Onah says.
In general, physicians lament that, so far,
compliance with recommended hand-washing
practices is still very poor.
“Careful hand hygiene in medical field is set to
become even more important in the future in the
provision of high quality patient care. Those in
the hospital and health sectors, hotels, food
manufacturing companies and those in related
fields must tap from the experience of
international experts by adopting products such
as hand hygiene disinfectants and accessories,
skin disinfectants, wound care products,
intravenous, administration sets lines, instrument
disinfection and sterilisation, surface and medical
equipment disinfection products, medical
instruments, sharp boxes, specimen transport
bags, repose material, etc. in the discharge of
their duties as health care providers.
“This will cut down the rate of hospital-acquired
infections and also save medical workers from
being infected through unnecessary contacts
with patients’ symptoms,” Onah submits.
The Hygiene Council says we need to wash:
Before eating, feeding children, applying contact
lenses, or giving medication or First Aid.
After using the toilet or changing a child’s nappy,
handling domestic animals, contact with blood or
body fluids, coughing, sneezing, or blowing your
nose.
Before and after handling raw food or tending to
someone who is sick.
Here’s how to do it properly:
Step 1: Wet your hands with clean running water
and work up a generous lather of soap. If there’s
anti-bacterial soap to hand, so much the better.
Step 2: Rub together your palms, wash the backs
of your hands and fingers, wash between your
fingers, and clean your nails by softly scratching
them on the palm of your hand.
Step 3: Rinse and wipe with clean cloth.
Where there’s no water and soap, use hand
sanitiser
It’s also vital to use sanitisers to wipe objects
that we interact with on a daily basis, including
computer keyboard/mouse, cell phones, TV
remote controls, etc.
The bottom line: Basic hand hygiene gives you a
better chance at keeping a host of nasties at
bay.

www.punchng.com/health/healthwise/hand-washing-is-a-do-it-yourself-vaccine-use-it/

Omotayor123:
Make we dey observe!

Abi oo 2day na 2day e no go be 2mao

yanabasee:
How will Buhari appoint Amaechi as a minister despite the looting of public facilities and siphoning of state funds which took place during his administration.

why wunt he appoint Im as a minister? don't 4get he funded his campaign

INTROVERT:
if he survives this tribunal... 2019 will be hotter for wile cos rotimi WILL BE BACK with a bang.

I see im surviving all dis noise in fact e will hold an important ministerial appointment
politics is all a game of deceit

even if he is interested will he tell us?

The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has insisted that he has no interest in the appointment of his predecessor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, as a minister.

Wike was reacting to claims by the All Progressives Congress that he was orchestrating a protest against Amaechi’s expected appointment as a minister.

Speaking through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Opunabo Inko-Tariah, in Port Harcourt, on Monday, the governor described the claim that he was working against Amaechi’s likely emergence as a minister as spurious and malicious.

He maintained that the appointment of Amaechi had nothing to do with the governance of Rivers State, adding that it was the right of the President to select those that would work with him as ministers.

“It is not only spurious, but fatuous and malicious. Governor Wike has no cause to orchestrate a protest against the appointment of Rotimi Amaechi.

“Let me reiterate for the umpteenth time that the governor has no nexus with the appointment of Amaechi or otherwise. It is the right of the President to appoint anybody of his choice provided such an appointment is in sync with the relevant laws.

“The appointment of Amaechi will definitely have no bearing on the governance of Rivers State. There are crucial issues the governor is more concerned with which are issues of the state and not trifles like the appointment of Amaechi.

“It is apparent that the APC in Rivers State has exhausted its basket of lies and barren propaganda but still wants to be heard or noticed despite its waned popularity in the state,” Wike said.

He condemned the allegation by the APC, adding that the spreading of falsehood as a stratagem by the party had failed.

“Governor Wike’s concern now is to clear the rubbish Amaechi left behind in his eight years of maladministration that impoverished the state and the people.

“Therefore, if the APC is dispensing such unfounded falsehood as a stratagem, it has failed. Or, is the APC distraught that Amaechi might not scale through the screening because of his antecedents?

“If that is the problem, it (APC) should think of how to sort it out and not spread falsehood to gain sympathy. Governor Wike is not interested in Amaechi’s matter because it is inconsequential,” he added.


www.punchng.com/news/im-not-interested-in-amaechis-appointment-wike/

jkendy:
I disagree wit him on dat.

You're not after anybody but you're after everybody.

Hahahahaha...... Wat a sudden turnover of "I belong to no one nd belong to everybody"

Abi oo e is nt after anyone but some politician don dey nearly urinate for body

warrior01:
Please the presidency needs an interpreter. Enough of these nonsense

u can submit ur CV as well

A Former Governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva, has emerged the candidate of the All Progressives Congress for the December 5 governorship election in the state after winning the party’s primary. Sylva polled 981 votes to defeat his distant rival, Mr. Godknows Powell, who scored 39 votes in a peaceful primary conducted at the state secretariat of the party in Yenagoa on Wednesday. The primary was conducted by a seven-member electoral committee led by Brig. Gen. Mansur Dan-Ali (retd.). With this victory, Sylva will face incumbent Governor Seriake Dickson, who defeated him in the 2011 governorship election. A two-time former member of the House of Representatives, Warman Ogoriba scored 28 votes. Another aspirant, Diekivie Ikiogha, scored 22 votes while Ebite Williams got nine votes and Charity Valdego scored seven votes. Messrs Preye Aganaba and Febo Austin scored eight and seven votes respectively, among others. Out of 1,147 total votes cast at the poll, the chairman of the panel declared 1,120 votes valid and declared 27 votes invalid. The rescheduled primary was peaceful and largely devoid of rancour and violence which characterised the initial exercise that was held on September 22 at the Samson Siasia Sports Complex. Delegates conducted themselves in an orderly manner from 11pm on Tuesday till Wednesday afternoon when they cast their votes after accreditation. There was, however, a brief protest at the venue of the election when Ikiogha led some aggrieved aspirants to the area, accusing the panel of shutting them out of the exercise. For about an hour, Ikiogha and some other aggrieved aspirants kept the panel chairman busy with their complaints. Ikiogha said the panel came to the state without meeting with them to intimate them on the modalities for the election, alleging that the committee came with a mandate to stop them from partaking in the exercise. He said, “This election is worse than the previous exercise that was cancelled. We are aware that a new list of delegates was compiled the previous night for the purpose of the election. This is not the change we advocated for. We are appealing for the cancellation of the election.” But the committee chairman insisted that the process was transparent and appealed to the aggrieved aspirants to maintain the peace. After lodging their complaints, the angry aspirants walked out of the venue of the exercise and refused to come back till the end of the election Sylva, who was declared winner of the primary around 4pm by Dan-Alli, thanked the delegates for electing him for second time. He also commended the electoral committee members for a job well, saying that politicians still had had a lot to learn from the military. Apparently alluding to Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, Sylva lampooned the governor for alleged inability to conduct the primary. He said, “I am very happy today to accept this victory that you have given to me for the second time. I will like to tell all of you today that this is only the beginning of the journey. Today, I have seen that we politicians have a lot to learn from the military. “What a great and serving governor of a great state of this country was incapable of doing just a few days ago has been achieved by a retired general and his team. This tells me that we have a lot to learn from the military.” Meanwhile, one of the topmost contenders for the APC governorship race, Chief Ndutimi Alaibe, withdrew from the contest.
www.punchng.com/news/bayelsa-2015-sylva-to-face-dickson-again/

ORACLE1975:
Are u sure

even if he is after anyone will he tell d public?

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari in his
Independence broadcast on Thursday (today)
assured Nigerians that his government was not
persecuting anybody but said all must be ready
to account for their deeds.
Borrowing from his inaugural speech on May 29,
Buhari said, “I bear no ill will against anyone on
past events. Nobody should fear anything from
me.
“We are not after anyone. People should only
fear the consequences of their actions. I hereby
invite everyone, whatever his or her political
view, to join me in working for the nation.”
Nigeria today marks 55 years of independence,
having secured its freedom from the British
colonialists on October 1, 1960.
The President said the citizens needed to
celebrate notwithstanding the situation in the
country, thou he regretted that we had not fully
exploited unity of purpose as a nation blessed
with vast human and natural resources.
Buhari told Nigerians: “We have all the attributes
of a great nation. We are not there yet because
the one commodity we have been unable to
exploit to the fullest is unity of purpose. This
would have enabled us to achieve not only more
orderly political evolution and integration but also
continuity and economic progress.
‘‘Countries far less endowed have made greater
economic progress by greater coherence and
unity of purpose.
‘‘Nonetheless, that we have remained together is
an achievement we should all appreciate and try
to consolidate.”
He again paid tribute to former President
Goodluck Jonathan for conceding defeat in the
March 28, 2015 election.
“We have witnessed this year a sea change in
our democratic development. The fact that an
opposition party replaced an entrenched
government in a free and fair election is
indicative of the deeper roots of our democratic
system.
“Whatever one’s views are, Nigerians must thank
former President (Goodluck) Jonathan for not
digging-in in the face of defeat and thereby
saving the country untold consequences,” he
said.
The President, in his review of his government’s
five months in office, acknowledged Nigerians’
expectation for the government to hit the ground
running and that he had taken some steps to
meet such expectations.
Buhari said, “Every new government inherits
problems. Ours was no different. But what
Nigerians want are solutions, quick solutions not
a recitation of problems inherited.
“Accordingly, after consultations with the Vice
President, senior party leaders and other senior
stakeholders, I quickly got down to work on the
immediate, medium-term and long-term
problems, which we must solve if we are to
maintain the confidence which Nigerians so
generously bestowed on us in the March
elections and since then.
“As you know, I toured the neighbouring
countries, marshal led a coalition of armed
forces of the five nations to confront and defeat
Boko Haram. I met also the G7 leaders and other
friendly presidents in an effort to build an
international coalition against Boko Haram.
“Our gallant armed forces under new leadership
have taken the battle to the insurgents, and
severely weakened their logistical and
infrastructural capabilities. Boko Haram are
being scattered and are on the run.
“That they are resorting to shameless attacks on
soft targets such as Internally Displaced Persons’
camps is indicative of their cowardice and
desperation. I have instructed security and local
authorities to tighten vigilance in vulnerable
places.”
The President said government officials had held
a series of long sessions on the best way to
improve the nation’s power supply “in the safest
and most cost effective way” and that a
moderate improvement in electricity supply had
been achieved.
The President said improvement had also been
noted in the supply of petrol and kerosene to the
public and that early signs indicated that within
months the whole country would begin to feel a
change for the better.
Buhari also said preliminary steps had been
taken to sanitise the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation to curb its inefficiency and
corruption.
“Those of our refineries which can be serviced
and brought back into partial production would
be enabled to resume operations so that the
whole sordid business of exporting crude and
importing finished products in dubious
transactions could be stopped,” he added.
The President said that he had also ordered the
complete audit of government’s other revenue
generating agencies, mainly the Central Bank of
Nigeria, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, the
Nigeria Customs Service and the Nigerian
Communications Commission to achieve better
service delivery to the nation.
The President’s address further read, “Prudent
housekeeping is needed now more than ever in
view of the sharp decline in world market oil
prices. It is a challenge we have to face
squarely. But what counts is not so much what
accrues but how we manage our resources, that
is important.
“We have seen in the last few years how huge
resources were mismanaged, squandered and
wasted. The new All Progressives Congress
government is embarking on a cleanup,
introducing prudence and probity in public
financing.
“At an early stage, the Federal Government
addressed the issue of salary arrears in many
states, a situation capable of degenerating into
social unrest. The APC government stepped in to
provide short-term support to the owing states
and enabled them to pay off the backlog and
restore the livelihood of millions of Nigerians.”
The President also spoke about public anxiety
concerning his delay in appointing ministers. He
said his government had chosen not to rush
forming a cabinet without a clearer picture of
what was bequeathed to it by the past
administration.
He said, “Our government set out to do things
methodically and properly. We received the
handover notes from the outgoing government
only four days before taking over. Consequently,
the (Ahmed) Joda Transition Committee
submitted its report on the reorganisation of
Federal Government structure after studying the
handover notes.
“It would have been haphazard to announce
ministers when the government had not finalised
the number of ministries to optimally carry the
burden of governance.
“Anyway, the wait is over. The first set of names
for ministerial nominees for confirmation has
been sent to the Senate. Subsequent lists will be
forwarded in due course.”
The Senate president, Bukola Saraki, announced
on Wednesday that he had received the
ministerial list from the President and that the
Senate would commence deliberation on it on
Tuesday.

www.punchng.com/news/we-are-not-after-anyone-buhari/

There is uncertainty over President Muhammadu
Buhari’s promise to form his cabinet at the end
of September as Senate President Bukola Saraki,
who will lead the screening of the nominees, is
facing allegation of false assets declaration,
It is not certain that the much awaited cabinet
expected to assist President Muhammadu Buhari
to implement policies aimed at developing the
country will be inaugurated before September 30
as promised by the President in many of his
public outings.
Four days before the end of the month, followers
of political activities in the country are worried
that the current ordeal of the Senate President,
Dr. Bukola Saraki, may force the President to
alter the deadline for the cabinet constitution.
According to them, having full cabinet members
in place involves sending their names to the
Senate for screening, confirmation and their
actual inauguration for allocation of portfolios by
the President.
For Buhari to achieve these processes before
the expiration of the September 30 deadline he
had given himself, commentators believe that the
President might need to mend the perceived
strained relationship between him and Saraki,
whose roles and those of his supporters are vital
to the screening of the would-be cabinet
members.
Saraki’s ordeal was believed to have started
when he emerged as the senate president
against the directive of his party, the All
Progressives Congress, which preferred another
candidate, Alhaji Ahmed Lawan, to occupy the
position.
The commentators said little did Saraki know
that his emergence as the Senate President
would haunt him not long after.
From then on, Saraki’s supporters are of the
opinion that the APC have yet to forgive the
senate president. According to them, the current
ordeal Saraki is passing through before the Code
of Conduct Tribunal over allegation of false
declaration of assets was deliberately planned by
the party’s chieftain to remove him from the
position of the senate president.
They said that Saraki was being persecuted for
defying his party’s directives on the zoning of
the senate leadership positions. Leading the pro-
Saraki supporters are 50 senators loyal to him,
who alleged that a cabal in the Presidency was
behind the senate president’s ordeal.
After painstaking arguments by both prosecution
and the defence teams over the nature of the
allegation, the tribunal adjourned trial till October
21, 22 and 23.
Political watchers are, however, expressing worry
on the implication of the CCB and Saraki saga on
the polity. A social analyst, Mr. Victor Iyoho,
sympathised with Nigerians who he said might
need to endure another four years waiting for the
change they had voted for to come. Hence,
Iyoho foresaw a shift in the constitution of the
cabinet members by Buhari.
He was not sure Buhari would get the cabinet
ready by September 30 as promised by the
president because the ministers must first be
nominated, screened and confirmed by the
senate before they could be inaugurated.
Iyoho said, “If Buhari fails to fulfil his promise to
constitute his cabinet by September 30, it will
not be a new thing. I don’t see him constituting
the cabinet as promised. According to the
constitution, for the cabinet to be constituted,
members must be screened by the senate and
as of now, the senate is not at peace or divided.
“When there is no peace, don’t expect any good
thing or healthy deliberation on national issues
from the senate. The senate president is trying
to fight the battle of his life; he has to survive
first before he thinks about Nigeria.”
The analyst believes that the involvement of
Buhari could not be completely ruled out in
Saraki’s ordeal and as a result the senate
president might want to retaliate.
Iyoho said, “We cannot completely rule out the
involvement of the President from what is going
on. I think Saraki too might want to draw his own
pound of flesh. One of the ways to do it is to
declare an indefinite recess for the senate. He
too will have to fight because the scenario
appears like an eye for an eye. If he survives this
now, he may definitely want to retaliate by
making sure that Buhari does not achieve what
he promised Nigerians.”
He said unless the frosty relationship between
the President and Saraki is mended now in the
interest of Nigerians, the citizens would continue
to wait for the change that might not come.
Iyoho said, “Unfortunately, when two elephants
fight, it is the grass that suffers. In this situation,
Nigerian masses will suffer because the current
crisis in the senate is not a good omen for
Nigeria. Even the APC will want to blame the
non-constitution of the cabinet on the division in
the senate.”
Explaining his understanding of cabinet
constitution, the analyst said, “It is about getting
the President’s team ready to work. Buhari is
just a man; he does not know it all. He needs to
bring in cabinet members as promised Nigerians
because they need to help him in their respective
capacity to actualise his political vision for the
country. Already, the country has lost four
months and if you take four months away from
four years, it means we have lost a lot of
ground.”
While agreeing with the anti-Saraki group that
the senate president’s ordeal was not a political
persecution but an attempt to fight corruption in
the country, Iyoho said, “The fight against
corruption should be systematic. The President
cannot just be fighting everybody at the same
time. If he thinks he can throw the dragnet and
get every corrupt person at the same time, he
would be heading for a bigger trouble.”
Similarly, a political scientist, Mr. Tayo Akinyemi,
said though the Presidency had denied
involvement in the Saraki’s saga, the timing of
the trial suggested otherwise.
Akinyemi expressed doubt that Saraki would be
willing to screen Buhari’s ministerial nominees
now going by the stress he is undergoing over
allegation of false declaration of assets.
He said, “It is necessary for Buhari to take his
job seriously now. If he is comfortable working
without ministers, he should tell Nigerians, but
there must be no excuse for failure.”
But a rights activist, Mr. Babatoyin Adeleye, did
not foresee any shift in the constitution of the
cabinet. He believes that the senate can still
screen the nominees if the President sends their
names to the Red Chamber within the next four
days.
Adeleye said, “Though Saraki may be angry with
the Presidency because of his current ordeal,
that does not mean he should abdicate his
responsibility as the senate president,
notwithstanding the battle of wit between him
and his party.
“What Nigerians demand from the government,
including the senate is a healthy anti-corruption
war devoid of intimidation of opponents either
real or perceived. So, if Buhari fails to constitute
the cabinet before the deadline the President
himself has set, I expect Saraki to prove his
maturity by pressurising the President to honour
his promise; I don’t expect him to declare recess
for the senate as a form of hitting at the
Presidency.”
Meanwhile, Saraki’s ordeal has elicited divergent
views in Kwara State where he was governor
between 2003 and 2011.
Many residents of Kwara State especially
members of the APC expressed their opinion that
the senate president was being persecuted
because of his stand on national issues. They
also said Saraki should not be distracted from
his avowed commitment to work with Buhari to
reposition the country, as the former governor
transformed Kwara from a civil service state to
an economic hub and flourishing economy in the
North-Central geopolitical zone of the country.
The pro-Saraki group include the National
President, Ilorin Emirate Descendant Progressive
Union, Alhaji Abdulhamid Adi; Saraki’s former
aide on Political Matters, Alhaji Kayode Yusuf;
the spokesperson for the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji
Salihu Woru; the Speaker, Kwara State House of
Assembly, Dr. Ali Ahmad; a former Speaker of
the state House of Assembly, Mr. Razak Atunwa;
and a Labour Party governorship candidate in the
last general elections, Dr. Mike Omotosho.
But many others, mainly from the opposition
Peoples Democratic Party differed over the
matter. Some of them even called for the
resignation of Saraki not only as the senate
president but as a senator representing the
Kwara Central Senatorial District.
The anti-Saraki campaigners include two former
PDP governorship aspirants, Mr. Dele Belgore
and Mr. Sunday Babalola; the state PDP
Chairman, Chief Iyiola Oyedepo and the state
PDP spokesperson, Chief Rex Olawoye.
Adi, a frontline pro-saraki voice in Kwara,
described the senate president’s ordeal as purely
politically motivated and wondered why the CCB
failed to raise any issue concerning his asset
declaration forms since 2003.
He said, “I see it more or less as a political
persecution. May be there are some political
opponents that are trying to get at him.
“We believe Saraki will come out of it. You are
presumed innocent until proven otherwise.”
Adi urged the CCB not to be used to achieve
personal political gains by some external
elements.
Yusuf, a former political adviser to Saraki, said
all residents of Kwara State were solidly behind
the Senate president in his current travail, adding
that nobody would even recall him from the
senate.”
He stated that the charges were only allegations
which were not enough reasons to call for his
resignation or even attempt to impeach him.
He said political upheaval was not strange to the
Saraki dynasty as Saraki’s father, the late
Olusola, had his own political challenges during
his time.”
However, Belgore said people’s concern should
be for the office rather than the occupier of the
office. He stated that it is the collective
responsibility of Nigerian citizens to protect the
office from being tarnished.
He said public officers take oath upon
assumption of office to protect the integrity of
their office and not to protect their own interest
at the expense of the office.
According to him, the issue right now is neither
about guilt nor innocence.
Belgore said, “Just in July this year, Lord Sewell,
the Chairman of the Ethics and Standards
Committee of the British House of Lords
resigned after a scandal over his private life.
“In his resignation letter, he claimed that the
question of whether his behaviour breached the
parliament’s Code of Conduct was a technical
one, but the bigger questions are whether his
behaviour is compatible with his office and
whether continuing in that office would damage
and undermine public confidence in it.
“He therefore chose to resign to limit and help
repair the damage to an institution he holds dear.
Lord Sewell was just a second-tier politician in
British politics. How do we want the rest of the
world to see us?”

www.punchng.com/politics/waiting-for-buharis-ministers-amid-sarakis-ordeal/

aldough am nt in support of corruption but as tins are going I see Saraki completing his tenure as d SP and d case myt b swept unda d carpet.and if care is not taken APC myt loot im to PDP