₦airaland Forum

arewaboy:
Shame on you the OP of this thread.
I am an indigene of Gombe so i think am in a better position to explain what is the true nature of the situation around that area...
You said the shops mainly belong to Igbos and a few Hausas this is a blo.ody lie.

The Igbos there are selling their pirated CDs as usual but the majority of the shops belong to the fruit sellers who are predominantly indigenous Hausas though few Hausas also own CDs shops but when you compile the list of the losses there am pretty much sure the Hausas lost more than anybody else.


Stop spreading lies. Must you tribalise anything in this country? We are not in 2015 please accept your loss and embrace the faith....


Sorry for some of the mistakes you may see in the writing, am not yet good in English.

thanks.

this is true as far as I know, the OP Jst decided to follow hearsay. To even add there's a police outpost opposite those shops so pls ask the OP how comes D Police didn't see or hear the movement of those that put fire into those shops, the Op also failed to look at the electricity connection of those shops bcoz I bliv all of them Jst taped the electricity from each others wire then tell me why there won't be fire outbreak. Pls let's always take into consideration whatever we post here as it could bring up issues we had never thought of

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What if Saraki is convicted?

ON MARCH 18, 20161:54 AMIN NEWS, POLITICSCOMMENTS

Today’s scheduled resumption of the trial of the President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal undoubtedly affirms the present administration’s mantra that no one is above the law. However, the political drama that shadowed the emergence of Saraki as the country’s number three citizen also paints the matter of politics as an issue in the trial.

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor

Saraki is being tried on a 13 count charge including failure to declare his assets, operating a foreign bank account among other charges bordering on the violation of the code of conduct for public officers.

Today’s formal resumption of trial follows Saraki’s failed efforts to cut short the trial on the basis of what he cited as bias and political persecution. The Senate President had approached several courts reaching the Supreme Court, which all refused to stop the trial.

The Senate President had among others, cited the fact that the authorities failed to abide by the provisions of the CCT Act which in Section 3 (d) stipulates that the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB should, first of all, notify a public officer of any issue the bureau may have against him or her before taking the case to the CCT. The Supreme Court, however, refused to consider that provision as it ruled that Saraki should face trial. Besides, Saraki had also sought to affirm the fact that the CCT as presently constituted does not form a quorum to try a case.

Political witch-hunt

But beyond the legalese is the whispering claim by associates of the Senate President that the case against him simply arose out of political witch-hunt. Their claim is that if Saraki had not become Senate President that the issues surrounding his assets declaration when he was governor more than six years ago would not have arisen.

They have also sought to point at the fact that of the more than 5,000 public officers expected to declare their assets to the CCB that only a few have been brought to trial; remarkably, the last high profile person to have been brought to trial was the former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose case in 2011 was generally alleged to have been a scheme by the former Goodluck Jonathan administration to browbeat the then opposition leader.


Bukola Saraki

Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki Docked by Code of Conduct Tribunal in Abuja. Photo by Gbemiga Olamikan
Given Tinubu’s pre-eminence in the former opposition camp, it was alleged that the Jonathan administration wanted to humble him by making him face the CCT on issues that arose almost six years after he had left office. Remarkably, the Jagban as he is famously hailed by political associates overcame what was alleged to have been the political persecution of the Jonathan administration by citing Section 3 (d) of the CCT Act, to wit, to say that he had not been previously served by the CCB on any anomalies on his assets declaration.

The Saraki team according to sources are also hoping to project that fact when his case comes up today. But beyond the trial is the unfolding snare for the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC in the continued trial of Saraki. A conviction for Saraki could further destabilise the Senate to the amazement of the APC.

Unbeknown to many operatives of the APC, the party’s majority in the Senate outside senators aligned to Saraki may not be defensible. With the balance of the parties being APC, 59, PDP 44, and Labour 1 with four seats outstanding, the propensity of the mainstream APC to push through legislative proposals could be hampered should the about 30 APC senators aligned with Saraki team up with the opposition PDP.

It is a danger that the leaders of the APC have yet to contemplate. President Muhammadu Buhari, who could suffer the backlash the more according to sources, may not have serious issues with Saraki.

“Buhari’s problem is the presence o

How Obasanjo Reacted When Third Term Plot Failed In 2006 – Ibrahim Mantu





Former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, demonstrated sadness when the plot to extend his tenure beyond the two terms approved by the Constitution failed in 2006, a former deputy senate president, Ibrahim Mantu, has said.

Mr. Mantu, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party revealed this in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES.

The Senate in 2006 overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to amend the Nigerian Constitution, which would have made Mr. Obasanjo eligible to contest again for president, after eight years in office.

Mr. Mantu, one of Obasanjo’s henchmen in the then Senate, was the chairman of the Constitution Review Committee.

“I don’t want to say much about that,” Mr. Mantu said, while responding to a question about Mr. Obasanjo’s attitude towards him when the plot failed on the Senate floor. “All I know is that he was not happy.”

“But he knew a tree could not make a forest,” the former deputy senate president said, apparently suggesting that he alone could not have pushed the tenure elongation proposal through, without the support of other senators.

But Mr. Obasanjo had on several occasions said he never wanted or pushed for a third term.

Mr. Mantu however said Mr. Obasanjo should be applauded for subjecting himself to a constitutional process when he wanted a third term, unlike other African leaders who forcefully stayed in office beyond their tenure.

“If Obasanjo had wanted to cause confusion, he was still the incumbent President, he could have caused a lot of problem,” Mr. Mantu said.

“He could have even asked the military to stage a coup against him.

Then, United Nations would come and say we should negotiate and that Obasanjo should be there for two years and all sort of things.”
Mr. Mantu said Mr. Obasanjo was a popular president.

He said the tenure extension plot “failed because most of the senators bought into the campaign of those people who did not want Obasanjo to have another tenure.”

Mr. Mantu said if he had the same opportunity today, he would lay down his life to get a third term for Obasanjo.

“The truth is if I had known Nigeria would find herself where we are today, I would have even taken the last drop of my blood to ensure it happened because it would have been in the greatest interest of the nation.

“We never envisaged we would be here. Since Obasanjo left, the way this country has been run up to this moment, I weep for Nigeria.”

Senate President Saraki Announces Attendance at CCT-led trial

-Prepared for Justice to Run Its Course at the Trial
-Re-states belief in the rule of law
-Announces application filed by his legal team

The President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, seeks to inform the wider Nigerian public that as a firm believer in rule of law, he intends to totally submit himself to the due process of the law as the trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) begins today, Friday, March 11, 2016. This is founded upon the premise that “justice must not only be done, but justice must also be seen to have been done.”

Dr. Saraki and his team of lawyers have earlier submitted an application to quash the illegitimate suit being brought against him before the CCT based on several alleged discrepancies found in his asset declaration form.

As Nigerians carefully follow the proceedings of the case, we must all be guided by the fact that a basic scrutiny of Section 3, Paragraph D of the Act that establishes the CCT and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) state in explicit terms that before any complaint (if any) is forwarded to the CCT for adjudication, the public officer against whom a complaint is made must be given the opportunity to either deny or admit the claims by the Bureau. As it stands, Nigerians must ask why this fundamental and indispensable condition for a trial at the CCT has not been followed.

What this means is: the condition precedent mandates that Dr. Saraki - as every other citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is entitled to - should have been given the opportunity to explain any perceived inaccuracy, but he was never given the opportunity to do so.

Secondly and more crucially, the application submitted by the Senate President draws attention to the fact that the 13-year-old declaration forms on which the majority of the impending suit is predicated, were examined and investigated by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) at the time of submission and were found satisfactory to the Bureau’s requirements at the time.

Given that for 13 years, all the documents from the Senate President’s asset declarations from 2003, 2007 and 2011 were accessible by the Bureau for investigation, Saraki’s application states that the condition precedence should have been drawn to it; to give the Senate President the opportunity to explain and address any identified issues.

The Senate President has expressed indignation that these confirmed forms which have rested in possession of the CCB for over a decade without issue are now being flagged.

In this regard, as the trial begins, Nigerians should note that this outright non-observance of the rule of law, reaffirms the belief that this trial is borne from political mischief and malice associated with the timeliness and nature of this suit.

As the head of Nigeria’s legislative branch, Dr. Saraki is confident that justice will ultimately prevail and he is ready, willing and prepared to submit himself to all proceedings that adhere to the strict dictates of the law. He believes that the law must take its righteous course and reassures Nigerians of his commitment to serving the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Hon. Gbenga Makanjuola
Deputy Chief of Staff to the President of the Senate

It's a pity that most of the people asking for saraki's head are not from kwara or just follow what most of these fake media write to score cheap political points,if saraki is Bad as alleged how did he win the best governor in Nigeria in the year 2003 ? Am very sure 20% of people shouting here have never been to kwara before..........abeg leave trash for APC

kennydee05:
Is it not money that he used to purchased those houses and property he dubiously false fully declared?
Pls don't quote me again

let's agree he bought some properties with money either liquid or solid cash but has efcc ever come out to say some money was missing during his tenure? NO. Well D case at the CCT is all about anticipatory declaration of asset, guess u don't know the meaning of that or probably have never heard about that before. Let me help you out, is it possible for you to know that u'll be buying a specific house in ur environment in the next four years? If your answer is yes then saraki is guilty but if No then saraki is not guilty . Shikena

kennydee05:
Is it his good work that is the subject of discussion at the CCT or how he used money meant for Kwarans for his own selfish motive?

it seems u don't even know what the CCT trial is all about, it ain't abt money. Go and revise previous dailies abt it. If he stole kwara money efcc would have come out shouting since baba has given them the freedom to bark at anybody

shobroy10:
Then u must be a thief

that shows how low ur lvl of thinking is, isn't it better for the govt to face projects that will grow the economy than chasing ppl right and left. If they spend the whole tenure fighting corruption what will happen to the ppl who gave them their votes

I have come across many references to the past. Some state that the past is very important because it is a guide to the future; some believe that the past must address its present (apologies to Soyinka in his Nobel Lecture) and some, like I want to be part of now, believe that the past is gone and should be allowed to rest in peace; however only to be remembered for its good contributions. I have decided to join this group of philosophers because of what is happening in the country now and what will happen in the near future. I am really worried about the current developments where things are going wrong and out of place and many of the critical minds feign ignorance of them all. It is not that I do not know the importance of a clean and relevant reference to the past, it is only that I am somehow afraid of a complete reliance on the past for actions of the present. Let me not go too far in search of justification for my position as I make this allusion. This is a digital age and just the immediate past—a very short while ago—was analogue. It will indeed be analogous to use the analogue instrument to broach digital problems; this is a democratic dispensation and just the immediate past—a very short while ago—was the era of military dictatorship. It is also an aberration to apply dictatorship standards in the democratic age. We must therefore be careful with the past. Standards change every day and as we talk, changes are taking place. We are in an age that is characterized by an extremely fast mode of change. This is why humanists call it the post modern age. It is an age where it becomes not too easy to determine the status of development because one wonders what becomes the real definition or meaning of “modern.” For instance, we would ask in Modernist Studies, what do we do with a Modern that is no longer modern? The prefix, “post” helps solve a barrage of problems associated with such uncertainties. For instance, we begin a project or programme and just before we are done with it, that has already become post programme or post project. I say all these because it appears as if our country is not in a hurry to join the entire humanity in her pursuit of modernity and race against time; rather, we relish in a constant romance with the past. I have a few experiences that come to mind. Fighting corruption is one business that is thriving in this country today and the index of corruption is a reference to the past. The evaluation of services, goods and even personnel as to their degrees or levels of corruption is directly related to what they have done in the past. This insistence on combating corruption as a full time endeavour is a delicate and almost permanent fixture of attention on the past. I do not have anything against fighting corruption but when the enemy is so delicate, abstract and subtle that it easily appropriates the instruments of the battle against it, there is every need to be careful. I am worried about this because the first attack of corruption on those who fight it now, in this democratic dispensation, is to present to them a corrupt version of democracy. This means that the virus called corruption has infested our democracy. It surprises me that people do not see it all. Just as the Boko Haram menace resurges most times it is combated, so is corruption. Just as it is difficult to pin down the mysterious source of the insurgence, so it is to nib corruption in the bud. The reasons are myriad but one simple significant reason is that roots of these evils are deeply planted in the systems which “pretend” to fight them. This is why I say that our democracy has been attached by the virus called corruption. For this reason, operators of the system are unable to face the present. They have taken a safe escape into the past. Many of us still remain skeptical about the composition of the Federal Executive Council. If I accept to be one of those who have decided to watch—with tongue in the check—I do so because I am concerned about the purity of democracy. Democracy is a system, but it is actualized by people who reflect its colour. Like the Greek musician once said “it’s hard to sing a love song when you’re not in love…,” I also believe that it is hard to operate the democratic system when you are not a democrat. Many politicians are not democrats. They simply flow into the system that affords them the opportunity to practice their vocation and for us in Nigeria, it is the democratic system. We can recall that the same people equally operated or facilitated the older military dictatorship which the country grumbled under for a long time. We hear that they repented and converted into democrats and we are watching. Genuine repentance presupposes forsaking the past. I am a Christian and the governing statement for true repentance is “… old things have passed away … all things have become new.” I believe this is both sensible and logical and radiates a universal appeal. It ought to be adopted by all who wish to lead a decent life. If by any means, we seek to be accepted as “converted,” whether from a military dictator to a democratic leader, or from sinner to a saint, there is a need to realize that the basic issue is forsaking the past so as to gain acceptance. One can repent or convert but if one does not forsake the past and thus is not accepted, it all amounts to nothing. Acceptance is premised on forgiveness. If and whenever f

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/01/let-the-past-be/

Saraki: Senate President Could Face 14-year Jail Term, Ban from Public Office If Convicted
— February 9, 2016
With the collapse of the fierce battle at the Supreme Court on Friday to stave off his trial by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) for allegedly falsifying his declaration of his assets, Senate President, Bukola Saraki, on conviction risks 14 years jail term, losing his position, 10 years ban form holding public and forfeiture of any asset related to the alleged offence.

The Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act empowers the Code of Conduct Tribunal to impose any of the punishments prescribed in section 23 of the act.

Section 23 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act provides: “(1) Where the tribunal finds a public officer guilty of contravening any of the provisions of this act, it shall impose upon that officer any of the punishments specified under subsection (2) of this section.”

Section 23(2), however, states: “The punishment which the tribunal shall impose shall include any of the following: (a) vacation of office or any elective or nominated office as the case may be; (b) disqualification from holding any public office (whether elective or not) for a period not exceeding 10 years; (c) seizure and forfeiture to the state of any property acquired in abuse or corruption of office.”

The prescribed sanctions are also provided for in paragraph 18 of Part 1 of the Fifth Schedule to the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

However, to show that the prescribed sanctions may not be exhaustive, as the Act employs the word “include,” section 23(3) of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act provides: “The punishments mentioned in subsection (2) of this section shall be without prejudice to the penalties that may be imposed by any law, where the breach of conduct is also a criminal offence under the Criminal Code or nay other enactment or law.”

Under this provision, if found guilty of breach of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers, Saraki may also be punished for perjury, as his asset declaration was done under oath. The Criminal Code Act prescribes imposition of 14 years jail for perjury.

Section 118 of the Criminal Code Act states: “Any person who commits perjury is liable to imprisonment for 14 years. If the offender commits the offence in order to procure the conviction of another person for an offence punishable with death or with imprisonment for life he is liable to imprisonment for life.”

But whether a false declaration on oath amounts to perjury depends on the interpretation accorded the provisions of the law creating the offence.

What amounts to perjury is defined in section 117 of the Criminal Code Act. The section states: “Any person who, in any judicial proceeding, or for the purpose of instituting any judicial proceeding, knowingly gives false testimony touching any matter which is material to any question then pending in that proceedings, or intended to be raised in that proceeding, is guilty of an offence which is called perjury.”

Shedding light on the offence, Mr. Sebastine Hon (SAN) said what constitutes perjury depends on the law creating the crime. Whether merely falsely swearing to an oath amounts to perjury, he said, depends on the law creating it.

Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) also agreed that perjury depends on the provisions of the law creating it.
He, however, said merely falsely swearing to an oath, including false declaration of assets, cannot amount to perjury under section 117 of the Criminal Code Act.

For a false declaration on oath to amount to perjury under the section, he explained, the deponent must have done so in a judicial proceeding or intended such declaration on oath to be used in a judicial proceeding.

IgboDelta:
IGBOS DID NOT and WILL NEVER sell their birth rights. The Bishop did not say so in his speech but you decided to show how stup1d you are by creating this thread with a deceptive title. THE FACT IS THAT YOU ARE THE PERSON WHO HAVE SOLD HIS BIRTH RIGHT NOT NDI IGBO

were you at the occasion Mr?

The grave-diggers of Maiduguri: burying Boko Haram and the past

ON FEBRUARY 8, 20161:08 PMIN FEATURES, NEWSCOMMENTS
Even the dead weren’t safe from Boko Haram when the Islamist insurgency erupted in the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri nearly seven years ago.

“They began to destroy this one,” said Babagana Modu, gesturing to a mound of baked earth and sand — the grave of a prominent Muslim cleric.

“We tried to stop them but we couldn’t. They had guns and we didn’t. We only had our shovels,” the 30-year-old told AFP.

The dead may no longer be able to tell tales but the grave-diggers of the Gwange cemetery certainly can.

They talk of a place where piles of bodies were routinely dumped from trucks and some were even brought to be killed.

But in recent times, Modu and his colleagues say their workload has decreased as attacks become more sporadic and a sustained counter-insurgency brings a relative calm to the much-targeted city.

“At the height of the insurgency, 200, 300, 400 bodies were being brought here. Sometimes the sanitation department trucks were bringing three truckloads of dead bodies,” said Modu.

“If they still had more left, they would go back and bring them the next day. This road just outside the cemetery was not passable because of the stench.”

Ndigbo have collectively sold their birthrights …’

ON FEBRUARY 9, 20161:08 PMIN NEWSCOMMENTS
By Chidi Nkwopara, OWERRI.
The unbridled quest for money and the attitude of “only money counts” in all Igbo affairs, came under severe attack Tuesday, when the Catholic Bishop of Nsukka, Most Rev. Professor Godfrey Igwebuike Onah, delivered the 33rd Public Lecture of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, FUTO, titled “Intellectualism and the Development of a People”.

According to the fiery Catholic cleric, the toll Igbo people have paid in values for this, has been enormous, adding that money and what money can buy seem to be all that matter to Ndigbo.

“Even our proverbial egalitarianism and republicanism seem to have disappeared as the super rich became the owners of the community and their praise singers remind those who were in doubt that the community or town, indeed belonged to some people”, Professor Onah lamented.

Tracing how the Igbos degenerated to the present level, the Bishop said that before the Nigeria-Biafra war, the intellectual was the pride of the Igboman, pointing out that it was a pride to be referred to a doctor’s mother or father.

“Then came the war, the blockade, the starvation, the surrender, the humiliation and the economic emasculation. Despite the beautiful slogan of no victor, no vanquished, there was and still is, a clear plan to crush the presumably rebellious Igbo spirit and, thus, shatter the myth of the resilient Igboman”, Onah said.

Continuing, the erudite cleric recalled that at the end of the war, the foremost battle of Ndigbo was for survival in a Nigeria that neither wanted them in its fold nor would it let them go, “having been stripped to the bare skin of all the material wealth they had acquired before the war by the post war Nigerian government”.

According to the cleric, a careful scrutiny of the way most political office holders were selected in Igboland and what they do with the common patrimony when they are in office, will confirm that Ndigbo have collectively sold their birthrights to those who have the hard currency to spray.

“Before long, the only money counts attitude found its way into the precincts of the churches and, through harvests, bazaars and the unending fund raising programmes for the innumerable church projects, it gradually moved into the sanctuary”, Onah said.

The Bishop also reasoned that from the sanctuaries, the money virus exploded like a petrol tank on fire, spilling it’s content into massive open air rallies, crusades and fanfares of the miracle industries and mega markets, where the insecure wealthy class, the distressed youths and miserable victims of the reckless pillage of our national wealth by an unscrupulous political class collectively fund the extravagance of some self appointed redeemers.

2019 presidency: Dankwambo begins move to get PDP ticket
By Saawua Terzungwe | Publish Date: Feb 8 2016 9:49PM | Updated Date: Feb 8 2016 9:50PM
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2019 presidency: Dankwambo begins move to get PDP ticket
Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo of Gombe State
Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo of Gombe State has reportedly commenced moves to secure the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential ticket for the 2019 general elections.
A top party official from the North-east told Daily Trust, yesterday in Abuja, that the governor has made his position known to the PDP acting national chairman, Prince Uche Secondus.





It was learnt that Dankwambo’s interest was part of the reasons the North-east meeting ‎of party stakeholders to scheduled to produce a replacement for the position of national chairman could not hold in Gombe, last week.
The source, a national officer of the party said: “Secondus is supporting ‎the presidential ambition of Dankwambo for the 2019 elections while Dankwambo is also supporting him. That is why he has continued to remain in an acting capacity even when the three months’ time allowed for him to act has expired.
“The ‎party has zoned its presidential ticket to the North, so the chairmanship will definitely go to the South. The arrangement is that when the North-east serves out its tenure, Secondus will still contest the chairmanship position from the South to be able to emerge as national chairman and grant the governor the presidential ticket.”
He said while Dankwambo supports Secondus, the Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku also has his own choice of Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu’s replacement as national chairman.
‎The source, who is very familiar with the situation, added that the choice of Mu’azu’s replacement remained a difficult task due to various contending interests, adding that some of the aspirants were “smuggled in” through the backdoor.
“Girgiri Lawal, Mohammed Wakil and Wiberforce Juta did not apply to contest. They came in through the backdoor. Girgiri is the custodian of all the applications. So, he pushed his way in as zonal vice chairman. Wakil, a former minister, did not also apply. He is working his way in with the help of former president Goodluck Jonathan.
Read more at http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/politics/2019-presidency-dankwambo-begins-move-to-get-pdp-ticket/132781.html#e5V1Hwe4qY5TSv0k.99

IMP I believe if all the present senators assets declaration form should be scrutinized none of them will remain in that national assembly, the more they continue to chase saraki the more foolish they'll continue to look. if saraki is removed his group would still produce D next SP and if bad comes to worst they'll back a PDP candidate to spite APC.......... who knows we might break that jinx of producing abt 20 SP in 4yrs