₦airaland Forum

Biafra is a meal ticket to some people suffering from "defeat hangover" even ojukwu used his people for the same reason and later term them as miscreants

A Catholic Priest in Enugu, Ejike Mbaka, has condemned the recent agitation and protests for Biafra nation describing the action as ‘evil’.
Mr. Mbaka made the condemnation in Enugu on Saturday in a sermon at his weekly Adoration Ministry.
The cleric urged youths in the South-East and South-South to go back to their business as the protest could lead to their death.
“Locking up your shops and disrupting economic activities will not add any naira to your pocket, whatever grievance you have could be resolved through dialogue,’’ the cleric said.
He lambasted those leaders that were behind the agitation and protests, saying they should use their children for the struggle.
Mr. Mbaka commended President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing ministers from the zone and assigning them with good portfolios.
“President Buhari’s action has proven that the South East has not been marginalized. I would have reacted if no minister emerged from the zone,’’ he said.
He said the five states in the zone had minister each as prescribed by the Nigerian constitution as well as other key security and protocol officers serving under the president and his wife.
The reverend father attributed the recent free health screening initiative by the wife of the president, Mrs Aisha Buhari, in Enugu to her love for the people of the region.
He blamed Igbo leaders for not living up to the expectation of the people of the area, adding that past governors, National Assembly members failed woefully in discharging their mandates.
“President Buhari is not the cause of poor roads, unemployment and other decay infrastructures in the south east, we should blame our leaders.
“Most of the roads had been awarded but our leaders squandered the fund, even the university teaching hospital in Enugu is a no-go area and our leaders are not concerned about it,” he said.
Mr. Mbaka called on the new Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, to use his office to employ youths in the zone, adding that it would stop what he called another Boko Haram in the south east if not curtailed.
He praised Buhari’s war against corruption, saying it had enthroned due process and sanity in governance.
The cleric, however, urged Nigerians to be patient with the president as he had good plans for the country.

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/regional/ssouth-east/193153-father-mbaka-praises-buhari-says-pro-biafra-agitation-protest-evil.html?utm_source=&utm_medium=twitter

Biafra is a meal ticket and a tool for blackmail to get attention, how can state like a bit, an am bra, ebony survive without FG allocation? Oil producing states no longer want to be associated with the fraud.
Ojukwu of all people used same tool to blackmail the state and later changed his step and now one retard and a psychopath wants to follow the same path.
Let them start the war and see whether it's a movie
Ask the people of NE about insecurity not even war
Ask Syria about war without end
For the past 40years, with both state and federal allocation what did their leaders achieve to them?
Hate to discuss this Topic

Former Biafran President General Ojukwu met with the US Consul General in 2003 as detailed in Cable ID: 03LAGOS2354_a. We have extracted valuable excerpts from this document as reveal Ojukwu’s invaluable opinions

Consul General and POLOFF (notetaker) met with former Biafran President General Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu and his assistant Prince Bob J. Onyema on 10 November, 2003.

Ojukwu discussed court cases contesting the results of the 2003 national election; the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) party’s consultations with the [Buhari] All Nigeria’s People’s Party (ANPP) and the 2007 presidential election; national reforms and economic development; Biafran independence groups; and politics of the South-South and South-East.

I Oppose Obasanjo…Buhari Would Need Competent Judges To Win In Court



“I oppose the presidency of Obasanjo, that is what I do generally,” was his opening greeting to the CG when asked of his current activities. Ojukwu speculated on pending court cases contesting gubernatorial elections, believing that the results could be overturned in APGA’s favor in two states in the South-East and one in the South-South. He commented that Governor Muhammadu Buhari’s contest of the 2003 presidential election “will take a long time” because there is “no capable judge or one who has the courage to pronounce” a decision against Obasanjo. Ojukwu prophesied a two-year court battle, resulting in no “dramatic change.” Ojukwu concluded by saying that the President’s People’s Democratic Party (PDP) “didn’t do very well; they won, but they didn’t do very well.”


Buhari with his supporters including General Ojukwu take to the streets in protest against then President Obasanjo’s impunity. Anti-riot police tear-gassed both leaders and others with them
We [APGA] Are Considering Working With Buhari’s ANPP To Battle PDP In 2007

Ojukwu turned his attention to the 2007 presidential election. He does not believe that Buhari and the ANPP will win the national election, but believes the party will consolidate its position in the North. A “viable alliance” between the north’s ANPP and the east’s APGA might improve ANPP’s chances and he stated that APGA is already “seeing what we can do.” Although Ojukwu said there are many things that the ANPP and APGA agree upon — such as stamping out corruption — he foresaw stumbling blocks in regards to economic development, and appointments based on quotas instead of merit. Furthermore, Ojukwu does not believe there can be any compromise on Shari’a between the devoutly Catholic Igbos and northern Muslims and he questioned why Nigeria should be a member of the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC). On the economic front, Ojukwu said that the continued marginalization and slow to non-existent economic development in the Niger Delta and South-East would not be alleviated by the ANPP. However, Ojukwu views the consultation between the ANPP and APGA positively and believes that continuous dialogue will improve conditions in the long run, despite their disagreements.


Ojukwu, Buhari, Ngige, Babangida, Oji Kalu at Igbere Ezumezu 2005: Igbere.com
We Must Stop Putting Ethnicity First: We Need To Redesign Nigeria Via National Conference

Everything in Nigeria is destroyed, because Nigerians first think of their ethnicity and not of their country no matter how large or small the event is. “Until we can find that polity, we will not progress. We need a national conference to redesign Nigeria for Nigerians as opposed to a patchwork of Nigeria to suit British commercial interests. We were handed Nigeria in that form and we are too shy to do something fundamentally different.”

Optimism: Nigeria Can Be Best African Country; We Must Decentralize This Country

Ojukwu showed great optimism for Nigeria, believing it could become “the biggest and most dynamic country in black Africa, but first it must become a cohesive nation. No one can do it for us, but ourselves.” He stressed the need for constitutional reform and decentralization, saying “it should be written into the constitution that there must be a constitutional review every five years. If we don’t, we are mortgaging the future of the next generation based on the ignorance of the previous one.” However, Ojukwu expressed sadness in the fact that any cause he were to champion would be colored by the Biafran War and perceived as a means to lead Biafrans again. Nevertheless, Ojukwu concluded, “I am still alive. I am still Nigerian and I will continue to make suggestions.”

Biafra Agitators Are Hungry, Frustrated Youth; Obasanjo Should Help Them Or Niger Delta Crisis Would Be Child’s Play in Comparison

When asked about Biafran independence groups, Ojukwu said that they represent mostly youths exercising freedom of expression. He did not believe that they can succeed in the short-run and was not alarmed by their assertions. He did, however, describe this movement as a reflection of the frustrations of the people in the region, highlighting the economic deprivation and unemployment that plagues the nation and the Igbos of the East. “Even in democratic practice, we should learn to tolerate things unpleasant,” Ojukwu opined. He recounted that in a meeting with President Obasanjo, Ojukwu could not denounce these groups as “they are Igbos and have some justifications.” He advised the President to listen to them and find ways to alleviate their problems. “It is a cry; and as a President you should do something to help them.” In the east, the most dangerous development is hunger. Ojukwu observed that distended stomachs were becoming a common sight in the East and he worried that when properly enraged, these people may make the troubles in the Delta seem minor by comparison.


Obasanjo and Jonathan left the East marginalized
Conclusion: Nigeria Will Be  Beacon In Africa, But Must Decentralize Government

Anambra, in Ojukwu’s opinion, reflects a core problem in Nigerian politics — too much power rested in the Federal Government. Ojukwu heavily advocated decentralization, saying that states only exist when based on constitutions that derive power from within the state, not from a “proclamation from the center.” He identified a first step as giving powers to the already existing zonal structures, or regional groupings of states. In reflection, Ojukwu tied decentralization to his own political ghost of Biafra, believing that the GON’s biggest but erroneous fear is that decentralization would reopen these old national wounds. “That was not the reason for the war,” he pronounced. Ojukwu concluded that when politicians and individuals accept responsibility and address problems that need to be addressed, “Nigeria will stand as a beacon to the rest of Africa. I want to tell the people who are living here now that we haven’t arrived there yet, but we will.”


General Ojukwu was buried in Nnewi in March of 2012 mjemagazine.com
Cable



Read more: http://newsrescue.com/wikileaks-cables-unveil-ojukwus-solutions-for-nigeria-support-for-buharis-candidacy/#ixzz3rRtDCcL9

It is me or PMB trying to adjust to democracy after spending half of your life in regimented service?
I wish the man will first clear with his media aide before going public for the sake of having two voices parallel to each other.

Hail the president of the federal republic of "will" Nigeria
Good things are on the way
So, don't touch that dial
Democracy is at work
Dictatorship is gone for good

President Muhammadu Buhari will assign portfolios to all his 36 ministers, the Presidency told Daily Trust yesterday.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, stated this in a telephone interview with our correspondent yesterday.
The president had reportedly said Friday that not all the 36 nominees would be ministers as some of them would only sit in the cabinet in order to meet the constitutional provision which stipulates that each state of the federation must have a representative in the cabinet.
Buhari was reported to have disclosed this during an interview he granted the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and Channels Television shortly before he left New Delhi where he participated in the third summit of the India-Africa Forum.
But the presidential aide stated that all the 36 ministerial nominees that had been screened by the Senate would be assigned portfolios.
Shehu clarified that what President Buhari meant was that not all the ministers would have full control of the ministries.
He said the president would retain the structure in which there are substantive ministers and ministers of state.
According to the presidential aide, it is not possible to have a more ministries than   the number of ministers.
Shehu said: “You know we have a structure of government in place in this country whereby there are substantive ministers and ministers of state.
“What the president meant (in the interview granted) was that not all the ministers in his cabinet will have the full control of the ministries. You know it is not possible to have the number of ministries more than the number of ministers. Even former President Goodluck Jonathan had 28 ministries and 42 ministers.
“So, what the president meant was that some of his cabinet members would be ministers of state.”
Asked whether this implies that all Buhari’s ministers will have portfolios, Shehu answered in the affirmative, saying: “Yes, that is what it means. But not all of them (the ministers) will have the full command of the ministries”.
Meanwhile, the president was  reported to have disclosed in the interview that the country would be lucky if his administration is able to have half the number of the 42 ministers that operated under the last administration.
“There was no reduction of ministers to 36. What the constitution says, and we cannot work outside the constitution, is that there must be a cabinet representative from each state. Yes, there used to be 42 ministers, I think we will be lucky if we can have half of that now because we cannot afford it. Others may not be substantive ministers, but they will sit in the cabinet because that is what the constitution says and we cannot operate outside the constitution,” Buhari was reported to have said.
A source in the presidency told Daily Trust last week that the president may assign portfolios and swear in his ministers on Wednesday.
But the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, said the president could communicate when to inaugurate his cabinet.

Source: http://dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/all-ministers-will-get-portfolio-presidency/117612.html

If you are a ministerial nominee who endured many months of agitated suspense, followed by the excitement of hearing your name being read on the Senate floor as a ministerial nominee, quickly followed by days of tension at the snail-slow pace of ministerial screening, succeeded by the anti-climax of taking a bow and go when you had spent many nights rehearsing, then the tense wait for the President to return from India, swear you in and allocate to you a Cabinet portfolio, how do you now feel at the prospect of being a siddon look member of the Federal Executive Council?
I know that the forgoing is the longest sentence I ever wrote but I seek the forgiveness of English teachers all over the country. It is because I cannot remember a time when a Nigerian minister’s high anticipation was punctured so rudely. President Buhari’s interview with two Nigerian television stations in New Delhi has halted the euphoria and marred the celebratory mood in many political camps ahead of this week’s anticipated swearing-in of ministers.
The hint that Buhari dropped in that interview was worse than letting a cat among the political pigeons. Already, before we got to this stage, many citizens were unhappy that it has taken more than five months to constitute a Cabinet. Foreign and local investors are unhappy that the government’s economic direction is not known and business plans are at a standstill. When the ministerial nominees were finally revealed, ruling party bigwigs in many states were disappointed that they didn’t get to nominate the candidates. Some pundits were distressed that Buhari did not name portfolios along with the nominees, as is done in the United States. Many reporters were disappointed by the Senate screening sessions, described in most cases as a farce. And now, this.
The president said many things in that short interview, some of them realistic, others a bit puzzling, still others a little bit outrageous. He said he will reduce the number of Federal ministries. Most citizens will approve of this, although in practice it does not translate into much savings because only a couple of directors will be reduced. Not many permanent secretaries will be shed because, as with ministers, federal character trumps need. In fairness to the Federal Government, it has maintained a fairly stable number of ministries over the years, unlike some state governments that more than doubled the number of their ministries in the last two decades. What is not understandable is why the president did not go ahead and reduce the number of ministries long before now, so that they would have settled down before the arrival of ministers.
Buhari said the number of ministers under the PDP regimes, 42, is too many. Again most Nigerians will agree, though not the politicians who spent fortunes and sleepless nights in the campaign. Those ones will not mind if the president appoints 100 ministers. If 42 are too many, what does he think is the right number? Buhari said, “There used to be 42 ministers but we will be lucky if we can have half of that now…” There are many problems with that number. First we don’t know the number of ministries and we expect each ministry to be headed by a minister. Buhari has already nominated 36 ministers, all of whom have been screened and confirmed by the Senate, so how on earth can we have 21 ministers now?
Some people were asking at the weekend if a ministerial nominee already confirmed by the Senate can be dropped. The answer is yes, though at some cost to the president’s image. Becoming a minister is a four-step process: nomination, Senate confirmation, appointment, and then swearing-in. Even if one is confirmed the president can refuse to appoint him. In 2007, Chief Godsday Orubebe was confirmed and actually appointed by President Umaru Yar’adua but when he arrived for the swearing-in with a huge entourage of drummers, he was told to leave the hall.
President Buhari gave an inkling into his current, somewhat controversial line of thought when he said, “Others may not be substantive ministers but they will sit in the cabinet because that is what the constitution said and we can’t operate outside the constitution.” He seems to be saying here that the constitutional provision will be satisfied if some people sit in the FEC to represent some states even though they are not heading any ministries. It is doubtful if this is what the Constitution said. It talked about a minister from each state; it expects ministers to head specific ministries; and it talked about ministers constituting the FEC. I don’t think the constitution envisaged a siddon look minister who is not heading any ministry but only comes to town for FEC meetings.
Quite alright, there were Ministers Without Portfolio in the First Republic. In the North and in the West, these were prominent traditional rulers who were heading their own Native Authorities. In the Second Republic, only Oyo State Governor Bola Ige appointed a traditional ruler as a Commissioner Without Portfolio, and the media ridiculed him for that. If President Buhari intends to have 21 full ministers, the safest thing to do is to make the remaining 15 to be junior ministers or what is called Minister of State. In 1983 President Shehu Shagari tackled this same problem by appointing Ministers of and Ministers for; the former were the senior ones and the latter were the junior ones, though all were members of FEC.
President Buhari’s main reason for toying with the idea of having siddon look ministers is lack of money. He said Nigeria is broke and does not have the money to pay so many ministers. The truth is that ministers’ salaries do not cost all that much, no more than a million naira a month each. Surely the Federal Government can afford that. It is their perquisites that are much more expensive and Buhari should trim those. Official ministerial perquisites too are insignificant compared to hidden ministerial costs, such as N10 billion spent by NNPC to charter planes for Madam Diezani.
If Buhari’s change regime actually manages to do away with the hidden ministerial perquisites as well as the Nigerian system where a minister must shovel money to his party and constituents, the president will find that ministers are not all that costly.
By Mahmud Jega( editor in charge of dailytrust.com.ng paper)

http://dailytrust.com.ng/news/columns/nominated-screened-confirmed-siddon-look/117326.html

Creating more unemployment than employment.
Well all good things normally start with a shaky and uncertainty but at the end if all things being equal; there will be light at the end of the tunnel.

Following the voluntary retirement of five Deputy Comptrollers-General of the Nigerian Customs Service, NCS, and 35 other officers last week, there are indications that another 400 officers will soon leave the service for various reasons ranging from corruption, insubordination, indiscipline to absenteeism.

Customs CG, Hameed Ali inspecting Guard of Honour at Customs Headquarter
Also, some of the officers pencilled down for next round of retirement were said to have flouted re-deployment directives as well as influenced their promotion even when they were not due to be promoted.
Vanguard gathered that some of these officers refused to report at their new postings and instead obtained notes from legislators, who lobbied customs management to stop such re-deployment.
Industry executives said the sudden retirement of Deputy Comptrollers–General appears unsettling as the development had brought public attention to happenings NCS.
Stakeholders believed that though the retirements will create room for Customs Comptrollers who have been idle for some sometime to be posted or deployed to commands, it would also give rise for Deputy Comptrollers to be promoted as some of them had been on same rank for a long time.
The alleged voluntary retirement of five Deputy Comptrollers-General is unprecedented in the history of the service.
The retirement letter read in part: “We, the under listed officers currently on the rank of Deputy Comptroller-General met today, October 29, and unanimously agreed to voluntarily retire from the service of the Nigerian Customs Service having risen to the privileged rank of Deputy Comptroller-General.
“We thank the President for giving us the opportunity to serve our great nation.”
Spokesman of the service, Mr. Adewale Adeniyi, a Deputy Comptroller, denied knowledge of any government reports on the affected officers.
When Vanguard contacted him he said: “I do not know what you are talking about.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/11/customs-to-axe-400-more-officers/

Customs on auto pilot since the inception of this administration of Hamed the clueless one, how can you sack all those that knows the dont's and cons of the service and expect miracle over night. None of them was either indicted of corruption or wrong doing, impunity in it finest at best. Hope they will prove me wrong but this a wrong move that will cause the nation a huge collosal lost of huge revenue

34 OFFICERS RETIRED IN CUSTOMS RE-ORGANIZATION

As part of on-going re-organization in Nigeria Customs Service, 34 Senior Officers have been retired from Service with immediate effect. The re-organization of the Service is one of the core mandates of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd).

2. Those affected in the exercise are five Deputy Comptrollers-General of Customs (DCGs) who have earlier given notification to the Comptroller-General for voluntary disengagement. They are John Atte MFR, Ibrahim Mera OON, Musa Tahir mni, Austin Nwosu and Akinade Adewuyi.

3. Three others, of the rank of Assistant Comptroller-General are also affected in the re-organization exercise. They are Madu Mohammed mni, Secretary to the Nigeria Customs Board, Victor Gbemudu, Zonal Coordinator Zone ‘A’ and Bello Liman, Assistant Comptroller-General, (Headquarters). The rest are of the rank of Comptrollers serving in Customs Headquarters, Zonal Offices and various Area Commands.

4. The Comptroller-General of Customs stated that the retirements were part of measures to kick-start the repositioning of the Service for improved performance.



SIGNED
Wale Adeniyi
Public Relations Officer
For: Comptroller-General of Customs

The course looks bright and easy for the lion of Niger delta to conquer after the long battle at the hallowed chamber coupled with the new flame and new found love with Nigerians.

All hail the fighter that never gives up
All hail the nationalist
All hail the man that never takes bribe
All hail the man that was never indicted

The Rivers state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) says Nyesom Wike, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate whose victory at the April governorship election was nullified on Saturday by the state governorship election petition tribunal, is “planning to run away”. The party also said it had been vindicated in its persistent claim that the election was a sham and that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) erred in declaring Wike governor. It maintained that there was no way under the heavens that Wike could have defeated its candidate, Dakuku Peterside, in a free and fair election. “Though, we were expecting total ban of Chief Nyesom Wike from further participation in the politics of Nigeria seeing the orchestration of the number of death of Rivers State people in order for him to be installed as a Care-Taker Governor, all the same, we thank the Justice Mohammed Ambrusa-led tribunal for restoring hope to the downtrodden people of Rivers State who have borne the brunt of Wike’s illegal and visionless administration in the past five months,” Rivers APC said in a statement issued in Port Harcourt and signed by its vhairman, Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, immediately after the tribunal judgement. “We thank the tribunal for allowing itself to be used by God to uproot the impostor governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, who has these past five months brought monumental suffering to our people in cahoots with some mischievous and misguided politicians whose only understanding of governance is blackmailing and the looting of our common patrimony. “Wike’s tragic entry into the Brick House seat of power has only succeeded to bring back criminality in various forms in the once peaceful Rivers State as kidnapping, robbery and organised crimes have being on the increase since his evil arrival. “For the first time in the history of our dear state, a government without any vision or blueprint assumed office, thereby collapsing all the systems of governance. On 22nd October, 2015, 19 students on the scholarship of the Rivers State Government, through its agency, the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA), were forced to abandon their studies and return to Nigeria because the State Government had not paid their fees and upkeep in the United Kingdom. Those in Canada and other locations are also expected to return soon for same reasons. “Earlier this week, the RSUST Chapter of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) went on a protest march and warning strike due to the mindless hiking of fees of the university’s primary and secondary demonstration schools by the clueless Wike administration. Local Government Councils in the State have been unable to pay their staff salaries for August and September while some, such as Opobo/Nkoro, owe their personnel salaries from July 2015 to date. “In the area of sports, our twin pride Sharks and Dolphins, may be relegated from the Nigerian Premier League for the first time in so many years. While Wike was busy looting and wasting Rivers State resources in pursuit of his failed project to destroy his benefactor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, he abandoned governance and now that he has been sent packing, he should summon courage and face the wrath of the law by accounting for the death of our people killed to install him as Care-Taker Governor.” Rivers APC appealed to the relevant security agencies “to keep close watch on Chief Wike as we are reliably informed that he is planning to run away from facing the wrath of the law for his corrupt practices and for supervising the death of over 100 APC members just because of election. Anything short of this will keep the souls of our people restless”.

Read more at: https://www.thecable.ng/.Vit8kNfp6Sk.twitter

Fayose always on the news for not just cause, he was at the meeting but didn't raise any objection to it and now he is running his gutter mouth for talking sake. Hmmmm
I smell "pay time" after the recent panel raised by army to look into what happen both in ekiti n osun
#EkitiGate

A mild drama occurred on Thursday as one those arraigned in court by the Federal Government, over the bombing of Nyanya and Kuje towns in Abuja on October 2 pleaded guilty.

Nasiru who was arrested alongside other accused persons behind Military Cemetery along Airport Road in Abuja on October 6 pleaded guilty, saying he had in his possession materials used for making Improvised Explosive Devices and 12 already made ones.

The accused who was the fourth in the charges, had along with the fifth accused person, ‎Abdullahi Nasiru, pleaded with the court to allow the charges to be interpreted to them in Pidgin English.
He was repeatedly asked if he understood the charges and he maintained that he was guilty.

‎The others identified as Abdulazeez Muhazab, Ishaka Salihu and Mohammed Jimoh however pleaded not guilty to the rest of the charges.

Justice Abdukadir Abdulkafarati‎ ordered the accused persons to be moved from police custody to prison.


http://dailypost.ng/2015/10/22/suspect-responsible-for-nyanya-kuje-blasts-pleads-guilty/?wt=2

Police have charged  20 pro Biafra supporters who were part of the protest by the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB,  Monday,  in Port Harcourt, among other things, for treasonable felony at a Magistrate’s court in Port Harcourt.   Chief Magistrate Andrew Jaja remanded the suspects in prison custody and adjourned the matter to Tuesday October 27 for their counsels to argue issues bordering on their bail application.   Those arraigned in court were : Benson  Sunday (21), Emmanuel Ali (25), Ukeme  Monday (32), Chibuzo Ezechina (33), Charles Eze (29), Egbo Okechukwu (24), Chibona Ifion (47), John Douglas (20), Ezenwa Alphonus (51), Wori Endurance (30), Chinomere Nwolu (25), Henry Eze (36),Friday  Uzunwa (22), Igodo Abio (34), Akaniyene Uwem (22), Eni Iboro (27), Obinna Stephen (26),  Monday  Ocha (37), Obinna Ibekwe (27), and Kingsley Ezengorie  (24)   They were charged for  treasonable felony after allegedly destroying the national flag hoisted at the premises of a bank during their protest and  chanting hate songs against the Nigerian state.   The three- count  charge  against them read in part, “…on October 20 2015, at about  2:00p.m., at Ikwerre Road in Port Harcourt,  the suspects and others now at large, did conspire amongst yourselves to commit felony to wit: Treason and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 37(2), of the criminal code, Cap C38, Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004.   “… on same date and time did without lawful authority demonstrate and chant war song that Hausa is not part of Biafra, which caused panic in the neighbourhood, instilled fear on reasonable grounds with intent to intimidate or cause panic within the state and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 37(1) of the criminal code, Cap c38 laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004.   “…all the suspects and others now at large on the same place and time, did wilfully and unlawfully damage the Nigeria flag, which was hoisted at Zenith Bank Plc. Ikoku Branch in Port Harcourt, and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 451 of criminal code, Cap c38 laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004.”   They were not allowed to take plea. but they were all represented by different counsels.   Chief Magistrate Andrew-Jaja said that though there were arguments from various counsels to grant them bail, he was not convinced. So, he ordered that they be remanded in prison custody till October 27 when each of the counsels will address the court on their bail application.   State counsel, Ayo A. Ajaghe, who prosecuted the case argued against their bail applications, saying that the magistrate’s court lacked powers to hear the matter.   According to the counsel, the offence for which they were charged was treasonable and attracts capital punishment if convicted.   He said they should not be allowed to go because they were allegedly moving to tear the country apart.   Vanguard reports that another batch of 24 persons were brought to the state CID for similar offence. It is not clear when they will be charged to court.   -

See more at: http://newsrescue.com/20-pro-radio-biafra-supporters-arraigned-detained-for-treason-in-ssouth-ph/?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed#sthash.s5rE6y4L.dpuf

Business is slow at the moment for Benedict Okafor, who sells luxury cars from a lot near the port in Nigeria’s financial capital, Lagos.
In the capital, Abuja, 535 kilometres (333 miles) away, the property market seems to be in a rut, with the habitual buyers — the monied elite — staying away.

“I normally sold five cars every month before” President Muhammadu Buhari came to power, said Okafor. “But in the past four months I have sold only one Toyota car.

“I guess rich people are scared.”

Jide Agboola, a real estate agent in Abuja, also attributed the current slump in conspicuous consumption to fear: “The fear of Buhari.”

It’s not hard to see why when Buhari’s promised crusade against high-level corruption has already snared a series of household names.

Senate leader Bukola Saraki — Nigeria’s third-most senior politician after Buhari and his vice-president Yemi Osinbajo — is facing charges of false declaration of assets.

Godswill Akpabio, the former governor of coastal Akwa Ibom state, was hauled in for questioning over claims he had stolen 108 billion naira ($540 million, 475 million euros) while in office.

Sule Lamido, the governor of Jigawa state in the north, and Gabriel Suswam, who was governor of Benue state until earlier this year, are also fighting accusations of graft.

At the same time, former oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke, was arrested in London as part of a British investigation into suspected bribery and money laundering.

– Stopping the rot –

Buhari’s arrival in May appears to have given fresh bite to the fight against corruption, which has plagued Nigeria over decades of military rule then civilian administration.

Cases involving top officials that were long thought to have been shelved have been revived, as he seeks to fulfil his election promises of stopping the rot in the system.

“As soon as he (Buhari) came to power, without any direct instruction from him, the anti-graft agencies went into a frenzy, dusting down cases of corruption against some past officials which have been long dead in order to convince Nigerians that they are working,” Debo Adeniran, head of the pressure group Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, told AFP.

The move was predictable for many: Buhari’s previous time in power as the head of a military regime in the 1980s was characterised by his so-called “War Against Indiscipline”.

“Everybody remembers Buhari’s antecedents when he was a military dictator,” said Bukola Daniel, a Lagos-based political scientist.

“He was a no-nonsense military ruler. The fear of Buhari is now all-pervading and everybody is careful not to be caught in a corruption web.”

– Witch-hunt? –

Nigeria’s main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), however, is crying double standards.

They point out that the former governors of Lagos and Rivers states, Babatunde Fashola and Rotimi Amaechi, have both been accused of graft but are still in line for ministerial posts.

Instead, the PDP described the anti-corruption drive as a “witch-hunt” against its members and other “perceived political opponents” of Buhari’s All Progressives Congress (APC) government.

Party spokesman Olisa Metuh denounced what he described as “the relentless victimisation of our key members”.

The APC dismissed the claim as a “worn-out argument”.

Certainly, Alison-Madueke’s arrest in particular has underlined to Nigeria’s elite that it’s no longer business as usual — even if Abuja has denied any direct involvement.

But Adeniran and others said Buhari needed to go further to avoid accusations of posturing.

Clement Nwankwo, head of the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre, a pro-democracy group, said securing convictions would prove the situation was not just “rhetoric”.

“The challenge to corruption has to be systematic. That I have not seen,” he said.

“We also cannot fight corruption with the judiciary we have today,” he added, explaining the courts were ill-equipped to deal with corruption cases.

– ‘A few more Buharis’ –

For now, there is a sense that rich and powerful Nigerians — so long accustomed to impunity — are on their best behaviour.

How long it will last is unclear but social commentator and university lecturer Samson Olatunde Oduleye said Buhari’s influence could be decisive.

“If we have a few more Buharis and emphasis shifts to the root of the problem — the society — inroads can be made into a sustainable assault on the malaise,” he said.

“The most effective, non-legal check on corruption is the moral tone of society: societal values.

“There are things you will not contemplate doing even when there is no-one around to restrain you.”


http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/2015/10/fear-of-buhari-nigeria-elite-on-best-behaviour-over-graft-crackdown/

Go for se.men culture, urine mcs, and blood culture to determine what infection is given you a recurrent typhoid it may be staph or another infection which is likely based on experience and please stop taking drugs without carrying out "culture sensitivity test" which will determine the based drugs or the most sensitive of all in terms of effectiveness. For proper differential diagnostics please state your "sign and symptoms" so that we can rule out other disease like testoreon defiency or vitamin deficiency.
All the best

Cipro (ciprofloxacin) is an antibiotic belonging to a group of drugs called fluoroquinolones. Ciprofloxacin fights bacteria in the body. Cipro is used to treat different types of bacterial infections. It is also used to treat people who have been exposed to anthrax.

You may not be able to use Cipro if you have a muscle disorder. Tell your doctor if you have a history of myasthenia gravis. Cipro may cause swelling or tearing of a tendon (the fiber that connects bones to muscles in the body), especially in the Achilles' tendon of the heel. This effect may be more likely to occur if you are over 60, if you take steroid medication, or if you have had a kidney, heart, or lung transplant.
Stop taking Cipro and call your doctor at once if you have sudden pain, swelling, bruising, tenderness, stiffness, or movement problems in any of your joints. Rest the joint until you receive medical care or instructions.

Self medication is bad, there is what doctors call drugs interaction, antibiotics should never be taken with multivitamins cuz of the Mg and Zn content of such multivitamins with tends to bind the ion found in antibiotics and render it useless, drugs like antacid should also not be taken with antibiotics
Op remember some drugs interact with other drugs to create the problem to your system always remember to ask your doctor or a pharmacist in case, most drugs are aimed to easing the pain and to eliminate the disease but any drugs that tends to elevate or worsen your case should hence forth be stopped and call your doctor ASAP
Always remember to go to an " experienced" doctor not the new "medstudent" most of them didn't even know most of this drugs, experienced ones made more mistakes than the new ones hence the need to seek their advise.
Hope this helps to a bit


NB
The drug Vitadar is locally produced by Nigerian company in collaboration with some Indians tout ( the point is; the drugs has been banned in most of the advanced company, the medicine is similar to Fansidar which is no more in circulation it contains Pyrimethamine/Sulfadoxine; any one that uses fansidar before knows what am saying; the drugs side effect is so pronounced that it will take you a week to to get over the side effect after you take the one dose and it's not effective in treating malaria; drugs like analxin are also going out of fashion cause most of the plasmodium has developed resistant to such drugs; the latest malaria medicine is the beta series like Emal injection or arthimeter beta oral or injection.
Stop following cheap drugs it's the shortest way to heaven now or early mortuary.

This government always rush to the media with "I will" notion coupled with "corruption" rhetoric. When will they send "any big-man" to jail? Nothing changes upto now even though I know PMb to be man of integrity; what lawal said yesterday changes my perception on politics of ideology or intergrity, the Man praised "Tinubu N Akande" as those that facilitate his nomination Not Buhari and at same time he attack "northerners" saying they wouldn't like to see "Christian " like him in that position forgetting the fact that PMB suppose to be man of his own, Tinubu and Akande are all Muslims and at same time PMB is also a northerner! What those that tells you about this government? It's not different from the old ways of governance and PMB is still under the tutelage of Tinubu and Akande, same people that once attacked PMB of favouring northern or allowing northern to take over the Nass are the same people that help lawal to get SGF so that if the needs arises they will use it against PMB.

So much for "Mr Integrity".

Presidency sources have confirmed the investigation of and arrest of some senior officials of some Federal Government agencies allegedly involved in the conversion of dollar earnings into naira before remitting same to the federation account.

Sources said the president is enraged over the issue and has vowed that any official found to be involved in the corrupt practice will be punished according to extant rules.

This is just as financial experts say the Federal Government may have lost billions of naira through the fraudulent practice of converting dollar earnings to naira before remitting such earnings to the federation account, a crime the federal government is currently investigating and has vowed to punish those involved.

According to the experts, the act is criminal as most of the dollar earnings may have been converted through unofficial channels and at unofficial rates, and that acts such as this may be responsible for the volatility of the naira.

A presidency source told LEADERSHIP Sunday over the weekend that last Thursday’s announcement of the corrupt practice which has been going on for long now was not the first time the issue was brought to the knowledge of the federal government. He said the matter was already known to the authorities and investigation had been going on to unravel the extent of the sleaze and those involved in it.

The source who preferred anonymity because he was not mandated to speak on the issue, said the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government was not leaving any stone unturned in ensuring that those involved in the corrupt practice are found and punished, and whatever revenue accruing to the government, that may have been siphoned through this means is recovered.

He said the on going investigation was in line with the Buhari administration’s commitment to blocking all areas of revenue leakage and mopping up same for use for developmental projects that will benefit all Nigerians.

“This revelation is a pointer to the fact that corruption in the country is at an unimaginable level. I can tell you that the president is not taking this issue lightly and is committed to see to it that whatever shortfalls from what was remitted to the federation account are recovered,” he added.

According to the source, some officials of the NNPC, NPA and NIMASA found to have been involved, from preliminary investigations, had been either arrested or invited for questioning by relevant anti-corruption agencies of the government.

LEADERSHIP Sunday recalls that the Federal Government on Thursday announced that it had mandated the Adams Oshiomhole led ad hoc committee on remittances by agencies into the federation account, to investigate some government agencies which are said to have been in the habit of remitting dollar revenue in naira into the federal government coffers.

This followed a revelation by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, during the monthly meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC), where he disclosed that some agencies of government, including but not limited to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) had over time, been remitting dollar earnings to government coffers in naira.

Governor of Cross River State, Prof Ben Ayade, who disclosed this while briefing newsmen at the end of the meeting, confirmed that investigations were on going.

According to Ayade, the affected agencies were already undergoing a separate probe instituted by NEC through the governor Adams Oshiomhole-led ad hoc committee on remittances by the agencies into the federation account.

Meanwhile, the NNPC has confirmed that earnings from sale of crude are remitted to the federation account in naira, and not in dollars. The corporation however denied that some of its officials had been arrested for questioning as part of the ongoing investigations.

Spokesman of NNPC, Ohi Alegbe, when contacted by LEADERSHIP Sunday, denied that staff of the corporation had been arrested by security operatives over remittances of dollar revenue in Naira.

Alegbe who spoke to our correspondent on phone, said, “as far as I know, no staff of the NNPC has been arrested by any security agency. Not one.”

While faulting the story making the rounds, Alegbe explained that the corporation normally remits revenue from the 445,000 barrels of crude oil allocated to it daily for domestic consumption in naira.

“When we dispose of the 445,000 barrels of crude allocated to the NNPC daily, the revenue is remitted in naira to the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) not in dollars.

”All other revenue, including those from the NNPC retail outlets are also remitted in naira to FAAC,” the NNPC spokesman added.

He further explained that the corporation has begun a publication of its financial operations and revenue remittances to the federal government, stating that the figures are all in the public domain for anyone interested to access.

Also responding to enquiry about the arrest and investigation of some officials of the concerned agencies, spokesman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Wilson Uwajaren, said he had no information of the arrest.



According to him, it all depends on the exchange rate of naira to dollar, and that the CBN has pegged a dollar to N197 and this will be the transaction rate taken to the federation account.

Source: http://leadership.ng/news/467787/heads-to-roll-in-nnpc-npa-nimasa

ABUJA, Nigeria — Private jets that used to crowd the airport here have been grounded, their wings clipped by the new government’s crackdown on corruption. Rolls-Royces, Range Rovers and Jaguars are gathering dust in the showroom of this capital’s top car dealer. Luxury villas are left unsold, as is the fine Italian marble used to bedeck the homes of Nigeria’s newly rich.

Since assuming power in May on a pledge to root out the graft that has long permeated Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari has squeezed the flow of public funds in an effort to clean up Africa’s biggest economy.

He has put many public projects on hold to review the contracts, and ordered many government ministries, departments and agencies to consolidate their bank accounts for closer monitoring of financial transactions. He has overhauled the management of the state oil company, while also moving to retrieve stolen money.

In recent days, the campaign escalated with the arrest of two high-profile figures: Diezani Alison-Madueke, the former oil minister whose five-year tenure was marred by recurring accusations of widespread theft; and the chairman of a Nigerian oil company. Both were held as part of inquiries into corruption and money laundering.
“Those actions will sustain the fear that the culture of impunity is over and government’s will to prosecute is strong,” said Adams Oshiomhole, a governor leading a national panel investigating federal graft. “There’s no more free money flowing because of the attempts by the president to block it, but also the fear that, ‘If I’m caught now, I’ll be prosecuted.’”

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, is the continent’s top oil producer and one of the biggest producers in the world. Yet corruption has undermined the nation, helping to keep 68 percent of its population living on less than $1.25 a day and perpetuating instability, especially the long-running conflict with Boko Haram.

Whether Mr. Buhari can maintain the pressure against graft, much less transform a society where corruption thrives at all levels, is far from clear. Over the years, previous assaults on the problem have fizzled. Mr Buhari himself first rose to power in a military coup in the 1980s, waging a self-described “war against indiscipline” during his short reign as military ruler.

But this year, with national frustration boiling over corruption and the rampages of Boko Haram, the extremist group that has terrorized northern Nigeria, Mr. Buhari won the presidential election in March as the head of an opposition alliance that is tasting power for the first time. Now many politicians and businessmen say he is facing growing pressure to reward the faithful.
The widening anti-corruption drive has chilled the economy elsewhere in the country, but nowhere has its impact been felt as keenly as here in the capital.

At Coscharis, the leading dealer of luxury cars here, Happiness Adibe has been going through her worst year in her nine years as a saleswoman. Last year was her strongest: a record number of buyers, mostly businessmen and politicians, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars buying Range Rovers and Jaguars from her. Seventy percent of her customers paid cash.

“There’s no money now, no money,” Ms. Adibe said. “Contracts aren’t going on now, everything is standing still. When contracts are going on, people are getting contracts and doing their, you know, thing.”

At Royal Choice — a gated community of villas selling for up to $1.8 million each, some furnished according to a London, New York, Dubai or Shanghai theme — Joshua Bialonwu has not scored a single sale since the new government took over. Under the previous administration, customers often bought villas in cash.

On a tour through Royal Choice’s eerily deserted streets and inside several villas, each empty except for a guard and a cellphone charging from a wall, Mr. Bialonwu explained why sales had dried up.

“With the uncertainties of the government presently, nobody knows how much you might be asked to return,” Mr. Bialonwu said. “So you want to hold on to as much as you can.”

Negotiations over what to do with ill-gotten gains are taking place quietly.

Nasir El-Rufai, the governor of Kaduna state and a member of the panel investigating graft, said that associates of one former minister had approached him with an offer to return $250 million.

“When you say you want to refund, it means you are admitting that you took what was not yours,” Mr. Rufai said. “I said, ‘I am a governor, I am not involved in this. I will pass on your message.’
[i][/i]
Many officials and businessmen said that graft under former President Goodluck Jonathan reached levels not seen since military rule ended in 1999. Billions of dollars are believed to have disappeared from activities related to the oil industry, the source of 80 percent of all government revenues.

Last year, after the governor of the country’s central bank asserted that billions of dollars in oil revenue owed to the treasury was missing from public coffers, he was removed from his post.

The missing funds could amount to “$10.8 billion or $12 billion or $19 billion or $21 billion — we do not know at this point,” the bank governor wrote to the Nigerian Senate before his dismissal, adding that the problem could “bring the entire economy to its knees.”

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, the state oil company, spent half of what it collected on its own operations, Mr. Rufai said.

“The corrupt try to take money under the table,” he said. “Under Jonathan’s government, it is done so openly, with records. People actually document the diversion of funds. You just wonder, what is wrong with them.”

The loss of oil revenues has left many of Nigeria’s 36 states bankrupt or nearly bankrupt, unable to pay salaries.

Read the rest of the article here

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/10/17/world/africa/nigeria-president-pledges-to-root-out-long-entrenched-graft.html?smid=pl-share&_r=0&referer=http:///SkYHEx4rCd

Well to be honest with you, it's Islamic and has its roots in the holy quran but the main reason for using hijab is to protect the woman modesty and for her to look less like a sex idol or prostitute, evil people have a way of changing or using good things with good intention to further their cause and as such the main reason or the original logic behind wearing of hijab should not to forgotten, take for instance the Internet, same ISIS uses Internet to propagate their ideology or spread their massages does that make Internet a bad thing? Some people use medicine to cure some ailment while others uses medicine to kill and maim human, does that make medicine bad? It all depends on your intention and in Islam actions are judge according to intention.

Suratul Ahzab verse 59 says : 33:59) O Prophet, enjoin your wives and your daughters and the believing women, to draw a part of their outer coverings around them. It is likelier that they will be recognised and not molested.Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Jilbab is a large sheet and adna is to draw close and wrap up, but when this word is used with the associating particle ala, it gives the meaning of letting something down from above

Remember Allah is advising the Muslim to use hijab but it's not compulsory. Allah knows best.

List of technocrats are here, the first was for the politicians

Internally Displaced Persons from Gwoza have appealed to the Military High Command to undertake an operation within the Bayan Dutse area of Gwoza to flush out the insurgents and bring back peace to their homeland.

In an open letter written to President Muhammadu Buhari on their behalf by five community leaders, the IDPs stated that if only the Bayan Dutse area would be attacked, all the Boko Haram insurgents hiding there would be flushed out and peace would be restored.


They said “in line with the persistent call by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai that anyone with credible information should come forth and assist the military, we wish to mention the following villages as being Boko Haram infested, with some captives among them”.


They listed the villages as: Boko Sanawa, Ngoshe, Gavva, Kunnde, Amuda, Agapalwa and Attagara.

Others are Chinene, Chikide, Arboko, Pege, Kughum, Klala in the mountain, Hembe in the mountain, Gathagure in the mountsin, Guduf in the mountain, Sabon garin Kunnde, Kirawa and Barawa.

According to them, some of the IDPS that went to the area recently discovered that most of their houses had been vandalized.

The letter, which was signed by Mohammed Abubakar Kulkwa, Audu Duwara, Bukar Ndakva, Daniel Dahwara and Bitrus Katsala implored the President not to disregard their plea because it was the only sure way to conquer the terrorists.

Source: http://dailypost.ng/2015/10/08/boko-haram-idps-from-gwoza-write-buhari-reveal-insurgents-hiding-place/?wt=4

Monogamy:
Stop using useless link on a news that does not correspond with the subject

May be it's ur phone but the link is OK, or you have disabled java in your phone thinking you are minimising your data.

Nigeria's Boko Haram militants have just released a video, with a person who spoke without identifying himself re-affirming their allegiance to the Islamic State group and its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

He asserted that Boko Haram, also known as IS West Africa Province, was still under the leadership of Abubakar Shekau, who hasn't appeared in a video since February.The man, who spoke in both Arabic and heavily accented Hausa, denied recent claims by the Nigerian military that some members of Boko Haram had surrendered to the army.
He also denied that the military had rescued a number of women and children abducted by Boko Haram, saying the security forces had failed on the battled front and were now resorting to a media campaign to rubbish the insurgents.

The violent campaign by the group would not be derailed, he said.
Source:
http://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-africa-34430677?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=34465769%26Boko%20Haram%20releases%20new%20video%2611:25&ns_fee=0#post_34465769

Baba is always involved
Sai baba
New Nigeria is born

The arrest in London yesterday of former Petroleum Resources Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke may be assumed to be connected with President Muhammadu Buhari’s efforts towards recovering stolen oil funds, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, stated in a telephone chat with our correspondent last night.
 The presidential aide, however, noted that he had no information yet on the arrest of the immediate past Minister of Petroleum Resources.
Diezani, alongside four other people, was reportedly arrested in London Friday morning by the United Kingdom National Crimes Agency, for crimes related to bribery, corruption and money laundering.
Asked whether the former minister’s arrest had to do with Buhari’s moves to prosecute those who mismanaged oil funds, Shehu said: “It may be assumed that it has to do with the president’s efforts towards recovering stolen oil funds. If you read the president’s address in New York during the just-concluded United Nations General Assembly, he (Buhari) made a passionate appeal to the international community to assist Nigeria in recovering stolen money.”
Buhari had Monday while addressing world leaders at the 70th General Assembly of the United Nations in New York called on the international community to urgently redouble its efforts to strengthen mechanisms for dismantling safe havens for proceeds of corruption.
President Buhari had also urged world leaders to do more to return stolen funds and assets to their countries of origin. He had also reaffirmed his government’s determination to frontally confront the twin evils of corruption and illicit financial outflows.
“Let me reaffirm the Nigerian government’s unwavering commitment to fight corruption and illicit financial flows. By any consideration, corruption and cross border financial crimes are impediments to development, economic growth, and the realization of the well-being of citizens across the globe. Nigeria is ready and willing to partner with international agencies and individual countries on a bilateral basis to confront crimes and corruption.
“In particular, I call upon the global community to urgently redouble efforts towards strengthening the mechanisms for dismantling safe havens for proceeds of corruption and ensuring the return of stolen funds and assets to their countries of origin,” the president had appealed. 
Buhari had also earlier on Sunday at a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the 70th General Assembly of the UN said the prosecution of those who misappropriated the revenue of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) under past administrations would soon commence. He had noted that a necessary first step in that direction had already been taken with the appointment of a new management for the NNPC and its subsequent reorganisation. He had also applauded China’s interception of shiploads of crude oil stolen from Nigeria, and which were to be sold and proceeds paid into private accounts.

Source: http://dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/presidency-links-diezani-s-arrest-to-stolen-oil-funds-recovery/113514.html

Ediat big liar, how did you know Christians are majority in nassarawa and Adamawa? Or even Taraba? Where is your statistics? That is why Christians are called minority's in the north, Borno has both governor and his deputy as Muslims and you still think some people are up to 60% ! Wow you must be a genius to figure it out yourself. In trying to correct one stereotype u end up dishing another one. Check your fact please, and mind you, religion is a private and personal thing so stop using it as a yardstick to judge.

“Taxpayers funds are being wasted on trying to remove a perceived political ‘non-conformist’ like Saraki by hook or by crook – without adherence to the book (i.e. the Nigerian Constitution).” – Bashir Akanbi

Over the past few days, the Nigerian polity has been heated up by media reports about the moves of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), to arrest the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, for failure to show up for his arraignment on charges that emanate from his 2003 asset declaration form. Although the news reports have trickled in from every news agency in the country, there is an inside story that nobody is talking about. This is that inside story.

It is very unfortunate that politics in Nigeria’s today can widely be described as an unholy game of personality defamation, political infighting and heavy media onslaughts on perceived political obstructers. This is the primary reason why many politicians have controlling interests in many Nigerian media houses.

For example, Bola Ahmed Tinubu owns The Nation newspaper. He also owns a controlling interest in The Punch, and has been rumored to be the primary funder of Omoyele Sowore’s Sahara TV station – a subsidiary of Sahara Reporters. Additionally, Tinubu is the owner of TV Continental (TVC). It is for this reason, that since Abubakar Bukola Saraki’s emergence as Senate President, and Tinubu’s vow not to recognize his emergence, that The Nation, The Punch, and Sahara Reporters have gone on coordinated onslaughts against the Senate President.

Over the past two months, Sahara Reporters and The Nation have gone as far as publishing a fake copy of Saraki’s passport in an effort to disparage him. The Nation has also been skewing the news to make their reader’s believe that there has been turmoil in the Upper Legislative Chambers. While The Punch, has served as a reinforce of The Nation’s news, publishing op-eds from virtual unknowns (perhaps writers writing under pseudonyms) that are aimed at tarnishing Saraki’s reputation amongst the populace. It goes without saying that the power of the media is the power over the masses.

Needless to say, this development is unhealthy for Nigeria’s democracy. Given the fact that the news can be skewed, twisted and colored as a politician wants, doesn’t this mean that the news that Nigerian have been receiving from Sahara Reporters, The Punch, and The Nation are not infact news, but “Tall Tales According to Bola Ahmed Tinubu.” It is a pity that these Tinubu-tales are now bestsellers, however, many Nigerians are beginning to wake up and realize that not all that you read or hear in many of these newspapers is the truth.

What is equally disturbing, and must be checked at once in the best interest of Nigeria’s democracy, and in order to ensure that certain individuals do not have undue influence over the matters of our national affairs is the fact that TVC, The Nation, The Punch, and Sahara Reporters have been shown to be collaborating with anti-Saraki forces in the government to bring him to public ridicule. For example, on Wednesday, the story that Saraki had a case to answer with the Code of Conduct Bureau broke first on Sahara Reporters on the evening of Tuesday, September 16th. Immediately, The Nation and Punch followed suit. This was in spite of the fact that by the next day, the individual that the case was about, Dr. Saraki, had not even been served with the court papers and processes. How did they find out a full 24 hours before the defendant was served? Surely, there must be some “snitches” in the on a vendetta mission that are colluding with these news organizations.

If the aforementioned point is not strong enough, then ask yourself: “How did Sahara Reporters get access to the charge sheet against Saraki when Saraki had not yet been served?”

Nigerians are not foolish. What is happening right now, is comparable to what the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) did to Aminu Tambuwal after his emergence as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, without his party’s support. What is happening now, is that the APC, Buhari, and Tinubu, are working overtime to attempt to remove Saraki at all costs. This is even more apparent when you look at the timing of everything. Buhari promised that his ministerial list would be out by September, however, the list is not yet out.

I spoke to a South Eastern Senator yesterday, who told me that Saraki’s current plight is rudimentary politics. He explained that Buhari is clearly trying to make Saraki either resign, or accept his nominees for Ministers without a proper vetting process. Nigerians have noticed that nominees like Babatunde Fowler, who was appointed to head the Federal Inland Revenue Service on Tinubu’s recommendation, has started work, despite needing to be confirmed by the Senate. At the end of the day, it is clear that the former dictator turned converted democrat, is trying to convert the principles of democracy to suit his unholy alliance with his friend from the South West.

Many Senators believe that if Saraki is removed, then it will turn the Upper Legislative Chambers upside down because Ahmed Lawan, the candidate favoured by both Tinubu and Buhari, is not even accepted by the Senators in his own zone, as Ali Ndume, the current Senate Majority Leader, beat him handily to emerge as the Number 3 Officer in the Senate. Additionally, if Saraki is forced out, with 49 PDP Senators, and 58 APC Senators, the APC clearly does not have the numbers that are needed to impeach the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu who is from the PDP. This could leave the Senate in the hands of the PDP.

Finally, as Buhari is a democratically elected President not a military-installed dictator, in as much as he wants to see ‘alleged looters’ punished, he has to follow due process. The prosecution of Saraki in the CCT is a huge joke because certain procedures were clearly not followed. When the whole legal case of the Federal Government crumbles based on non-adherence to Section 3 (subsection 2 and 3) of the Act that establishes both the Code of Conduct Bureau and the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Nigerians will see that the Federal Government is being rash and vindictive, as opposed to careful and calculating. Ultimately, taxpayers funds are being wasted on trying to remove a perceived political ‘non-conformist’ like Saraki by hook or by crook – without adherence to the book (i.e. the Nigerian Constitution).

http://www.leadership.ng/opinions/462201/sarakis-case-the-real-inside-story


NO: Saraki is fighting hard but time shall tell; why is it hard for him to clear his name and easy for him to run from high court to appeal court? Your guess is good as mine. Kwarapshion must end and it must start from the top; since number one and two are clean l, next will be number 3 and 4 down to X.