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PoliticsRe: Photos Of Buhari Addressing The UN General Assembly by silami(m): 8:18am On Sep 26, 2015
thorpido:
Would they hear his words?
I don't think they are deaf. When you learn how to speak/write in English, come back and comment.
RomanceRe: 6 Years Of Relationship And Want Out, Please Need Serious Help! by silami(m): 3:11am On Sep 21, 2015
icedbeatz:
may God bless you bro, they were all posting like the girl is a saint and the guy the devil = guilt tripping him.
tell me about it bro
RomanceRe: 6 Years Of Relationship And Want Out, Please Need Serious Help! by silami(m): 5:59pm On Sep 20, 2015
sluvy4tune:
Na true sha!

Body no be firewood....and konji has everly been a bastard ever since the days of Adam and Eve

Reasons why i dont subscribe to long distance relationship
faithfulness is also key ingredients of any successful relationship
RomanceRe: 6 Years Of Relationship And Want Out, Please Need Serious Help! by silami(m): 8:22am On Sep 20, 2015
prettyjo:
Men!!!
women! undecided
RomanceRe: 6 Years Of Relationship And Want Out, Please Need Serious Help! by silami(m): 4:03am On Sep 20, 2015
AfroKnight:
Leave her. She has repeatedly cheated on you so what are you still waiting for? Let her go and marry anyone of those guys she has been dating.
on point!
RomanceRe: 6 Years Of Relationship And Want Out, Please Need Serious Help! by silami(m): 8:25pm On Sep 19, 2015
liquidmetall:
Oga American!! This is the best post on this thread,, ,she has moved on since, claiming she was waiting for you, don't f**king give her a dime

How did you know she wasn't sexualy involved with the guys she met .
God knows I can never act like this, I don't even need any advice on this....
totally agreed with your submission and I think the op should just man up and call it a quit.
RomanceRe: 6 Years Of Relationship And Want Out, Please Need Serious Help! by silami(m): 6:04pm On Sep 19, 2015
twixx:
Imagine after waiting years for something you Thought you had, and turns out after 6 years you didn't really have it. its sad really
Call her up or Skype her, tell her everything you've just said here and tell her how you truly feel no more lies. its obvious you are not the man for her seeing as you're looking for excuses just to leave her, there is someone else waiting for her and you being restless about staying with her is how she will get to be with her true husband. Please don't waste any more of her time.



important note
Jesus loves you, and yes he is coming soon please mend your ways, repent now before it is too late
you need Jesus yourself.You're such a slowpoke. You're already condemning him to be a sinner and a liar who needs salvation.
RomanceRe: 6 Years Of Relationship And Want Out, Please Need Serious Help! by silami(m): 5:36pm On Sep 19, 2015
agarawu23:
OK then
Try and call her and explain things the way you are telling us.
Her reply will determine your next move cool
If you no get any meaningful advice for this guy, just leave am alone. You're being a dick here, this a faceless forum where people can pour out there heart, which could be challenging in other settings. Since you claimed to be in same shoes before why not advice him or just shut the Bleep up! Instead of bullying him.
RomanceRe: 6 Years Of Relationship And Want Out, Please Need Serious Help! by silami(m): 4:59am On Sep 19, 2015
My brother, I wish I am in good position to advice on this. You probably need to seek counseling.
PoliticsRe: External Reserves Fall To $30.794bn, Inflation Inches To 9.3% by silami(op): 4:00am On Sep 15, 2015
gunpoint:
When i saw inches and 9.3, my mind went in a totally different direction lipsrsealed
I am sorry, obviously in the wrong section
lol dirty mind...I feel you
PoliticsExternal Reserves Fall To $30.794bn, Inflation Inches To 9.3% by silami(op): 3:24am On Sep 15, 2015
Global economy on edge as US Fed weighs rate hike
Obinna Chima in Lagos and James Emejo in Abuja with agency report
Nigeria continued to reel from the impact of the decision by US investment bank JP Morgan & Chase to phase out Nigerian bonds from its indexes, as the country’s external reserves fell to $30.794 billion.

The value of the country’s reserves obtained from the CBN website monday represented a $425 million or 1.6 per cent drop, compared with $31.219 billion as at September 1.

THISDAY checks showed that the reserves, which are made up mainly of receipts from crude oil earnings, fell when JP Morgan made its announcement.

The fall reflected the exit of foreign portfolio holders of Nigerian government bonds and CBN’s resolve to meet their demand.

Since July 4, Nigeria’s foreign reserves have inched up from $30.845 billion to $31.460 billion on July 31, they continued to climb to $31.537 billion on August 7, rose to $31.632 billion on August 14, then fell to $31.510 billion on August 14.

On August 21, they fell again to $31.398 billion, dropped for the third successive week to $31.219 billion, before declining to $30.794 billion on September 11.

The fall in foreign reserves occurred just as the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released its report on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the month of August, showing that inflation rose to 9.3 per cent in August compared to 9.2 per cent in the previous month.
It attributed the 1.09 per cent uptick to slower increases in alcoholic beverages, tobacco and kola; health, transport; and recreation and culture divisions.

The sub-core index also increased by nine per cent up by 0.2 per cent from the rate recorded in July while month-on-month, the index increased at the same rate for two consecutive months at 0.6 per cent, the NBS stated.

The largest increases were recorded in kerosene as a result of tight market conditions as well as in the solid fuels group which include charcoal and firewood used as substitutes for liquid fuels.
It said other notable increases were in books and stationery as a result of the start of the new school year and catering services.

According to the NBS, the food sub-index rose by 10.1 per cent (year-on-year) in August, slightly higher from 10 per cent in July.
Increases were observed in major groups within the index consisting bread and cereals, meats and fish. The index was weighted upon by a slower increase in the fruit, vegetables, and potatoes, yams and other tubers groups, it said.

According to the statistical agency, of the items which contributed to the core sub-index, housing water, electricity, gas and other fuels; education, restaurants and hotels; and miscellaneous goods and services divisions, recorded the largest pressure while the pace of increases slowed in the health, transportation, recreation and culture divisions.

NBS added that the average price paid monthly by Nigerian households for a litre of petrol across the country increased to N109.91/litre in August compared to N107.40/litre in July. It was recorded at N112.13 in June and N118.36 in May.
The official pump price of petrol is N87 and figures provided showed that on the monthly average, Nigerians continued to purchase petrol above the official rate in August.

According to the Petrol Price Watch for last month, Bayelsa State, which ironically is an oil producing state, recorded the highest average monthly price of N132.43 compared to N153 the previous month.

Yobe State recorded the second highest monthly average of N119.63, from N120.50 in July, followed by Kogi with N114.33 in the month in review.

The lowest monthly average price for petrol bought by households in August was recorded in Oyo State at N88.13 from N99.16 in the previous month.

The state was followed by Kano, which recorded N92.57 in the period under review compared to N91.50 in the previous month.
Abuja and Lagos recorded N94.60 and N96.50 respectively in August.

Others were Abia - N110.25; Adamawa - N105.17; Akwa Ibom - N106; Anambra - N102.62; Bauchi - N109.86; Benue - N113; Borno - N107.50; Cross River - N97.32; and Delta -N96.63.

In Ebony, petrol averaged at N106.43 per litre in August; Edo - N97.88; Ekiti - N107.44; Enugu - N112.73; Gombe - N98.33; Imo - N110.93; Jigawa - N106.50; Kaduna - N97; Katsina - N96.64; Kebbi - N105.21; and Kwara - N98.80.

But as Nigeria contends with depressing key data, economic policy maker’s in Africa’s largest economy may also have to grapple with the possibility that that the US Federal Reserve might raise interest rates for the first time in over nine years this week, effectively injecting new levels of anxiety in the global economy.

With markets still in turmoil from China’s economic downturn and sensitive to any added uncertainty, calls from economists for the Fed to hold off are being countered by pushes from emerging economy officials to get the long-awaited move over and done with, reported the Economic Times of India.

The fierce debate underscores the complexity of the challenge facing US central bankers when they meet tomorrow and Thursday.
The issue is whether to pull the benchmark federal funds rate up from zero percent, where it has been frozen since the financial crisis of 2008.

The Fed itself is anxious to get off that extraordinarily low level, and US economic growth is strong enough to handle a quarter-point rate increase, a number of Fed officials have suggested.

But the turmoil in global financial markets for the past month has not eased, and there is still much to be known about how China's problems will affect the rest of the world.

A Fed rate increase threatens to raise the borrowing costs of many governments and companies, including for holders of Nigerian issued Eurobonds -- though analysts point out that that has already happened in anticipation.

A rate hike could also lead to a further exit of foreign portfolio investors from the Nigerian economy already faltering from falling oil prices and the decision by JP Morgan to phase out Nigerian bonds from its indexes.

Both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, worried about slowing global growth, have suggested the Fed can stand pat.
But others say it is time to pull away from seven years of extremely easy-money policies.
“We are at historically low rates right now, we've got to have a return to normal,” argued Robert Morgan of the American Bankers Association.

For months the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) under Fed Chair Janet Yellen has been eyeing the September 16-17 meeting for a rate increase.
The move would signal the Fed is ready to “normalise” monetary policy with a slow series of increases over the coming two years.

FOMC members base their decisions primarily on the jobs market and inflation. The former has been strong, the unemployment rate falling to 5.1 per cent in August, the lowest since April 2008.

Inflation, which the Fed wants to see climb to around 2 per cent as a sign of steady economic growth, has sagged.

The main reason has been the drop in the prices of oil and other commodities, rather than weak US growth. But the slowdown in China and other emerging economies, and the strong dollar, continue to pull prices lower.
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/external-reserves-fall-to-30-794bn-inflation-inches-to-9-3-/220284/
PoliticsRe: List Of Northerners And Their Appointments Under Gej's Government! by silami(m): 2:09pm On Aug 28, 2015
Krucifax:
Much has been made of President Buhari's recent appointments. Some see them as being nepotism, with him giving a majority of the appointments so far to Northerners. In response to this some have defended by saying that under Jonathan the Northerners were also not given a fair shot at key positions. This list below totally debunks that. It shows that whilst Jonathan had many failings nepotism and traibalism was not one. GEJ ran an inclusive government, and we admonish Mr President to do the same. Competence, ability and integrity is not the sole preserve of any one region. You should have a government that reflects the diversity of the great nation of Nigeria.

List of Northerners appointed under GEJS government

Vice President -North. Namadi Sambo Kaduna State
Senate President –North. David Mark [[/b]b]Niger State
Speaker House of Reps - North. Aminu Tambuwal Sokoto State
Head of Service - North. Danladi Kifasi Taraba State
INEC Chairman - North. Attahiru Jega Kebbi State
Inspector General of Police - North. Suleiman Abba Jigawa State
Chief Justice of federation - North. Mahmud Muhammed Taraba State
President Court of Appeal - North. Zainab Adamu Bulkachuwa Gombe State
EFCC Chairman - North. Ibrahim Lamorde Adamawa State
Chief Judge Federal high court - North. Ibrahim Auta Plateau
National Security Adviser - North. Sambo Dasuki Sokoto State
Chief of Defense Staff - North. Alex Badeh Adamawa State
Chief of Naval Staff - North. U.O Jibrin Kogi State
Comptroller General Customs North Abdulahhi Diko Katsina State
Comptroller General Immigration North David Shikfu Parradang Plateau State
Comptroller General Prisons North Aminu A Suley Bauchi State
Defence Minister-North Aliyu Gusau Zamfara State
Education Minister- North. Ibrahim Shekarau Kano State
MD Port Authority- North. Habibu Abdullahi Kano State
MD Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation – North Alh Umaru Ibrahim Kano State

Please feel free to share this list with other so they are also enlightened.
OP David Mark from Niger State?
PoliticsRe: Don’t Shield Crooks, PMB Tells Lawyers by silami(op): 7:23am On Aug 24, 2015
temitemi1:
Crooks like ameachi, tinubu, saraki, atiku, et cool
E.T.C. (Ebele, Tompolo, Chimaroke)
PoliticsDon’t Shield Crooks, PMB Tells Lawyers by silami(op): 6:17am On Aug 24, 2015
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday implored lawyers in the country not to sacrifice the integrity of the Nigeria’s legal system on the altar of their clients’ misdeeds, no matter how lucrative the briefs may be.

He said, as the vanguard of the defense of human rights, lawyers must also view corruption as a gross violation of human rights.

The president, who stated this when he declared the 55th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) open at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, called on Nigerian lawyers to support his administration’s war against corruption.

This, he said, they should do in order to help the country return to the path of rectitude by making Nigerian courts functional and effective again.

Buhari said: “I am convinced that law, lawmakers, lawyers, law courts and the law enforcement agencies all have pivotal responsibilities to discharge if the change we seek is ever to materialize.

“As you all know by now, this administration has taken on the challenge of improving security, fighting corruption and revamping the economy, among many others. The fight against corruption is in reality a struggle for the restoration of law and order.

“Corruption and impunity become widespread when disrespect for law is allowed to thrive in society. Disrespect for law also thrives when people get away with all sorts of shady deals and the court system is somehow unable to check them.

“The ability to manipulate and frustrate the legal system is the crowning glory of the corrupt and, as may be expected, this has left many legal practitioners and law courts tainted inNBA 55TH NATIONAL CONFERENCE 4-1 an ugly way.”

The president noted that in gatherings such as the conference, there was no need to expatiate on the manner in which corruption and impunity had damaged the country’s economy, saying he would rather dwell on the role legal practitioners should play in returning the country to the path of rectitude.

He said, “First, we need to make our courts functional and effective again. This means that we must have lawyers who take the ethics of the profession very seriously, lawyers who will not frustrate the course of justice even though they defend their clients with all legitimate means and resources.

“Nigeria needs ethical lawyers who always keep the end of justice in mind and will never sacrifice the integrity of the legal system to cover the misdeeds of their clients, no matter how lucrative the brief may be,” President Buhari told the country’s lawyers.

Urging the lawyers to view corruption too as a gross violation of human rights, Buhari lamented that for Nigerian masses, especially the millions still wallowing in poverty and diseases, corruption is a major reason why they cannot go to school; why they cannot be gainfully employed; why there are few doctors, nurses and drugs in their hospitals and health centres; why pensioners are not paid and why potable water is scarce.

The president continued: “In effect, corruption diverts public resources meant for millions of people into the private pockets of a greedy few, thereby causing a lot of suffering, deprivation and death. In my view, there can be no greater violation of human rights.

“Viewed in this way, I think we can all fully appreciate the gravity of this oppressive and destructive evil. This should rouse us to fight it with the same zeal and doggedness as we deploy in the defence of fundamental rights.”

Buhari further urged Nigerian lawyers to work for a more efficient and effective legal system, saying it would assist in attracting more investments to the country and accelerating the pace of national economic development.

He said, “Increased engagement with the outside world is called for as we seek public private partnerships in our quest for enhanced capital and expertise. There is no doubt that all these depend on enforceable agreements and a reliable legal system.

“Contracts are only good to the extent that they are enforceable without undue delay. If, by the default of lawyers or the law courts, it is found that cases take ages to conclude or that the judicial system is somehow corruptible, we obviously cannot attract the kind of partnerships which we need or which our large vibrant economy would ordinarily have attracted.

“The world today has been correctly described as a global village. Capital and expertise are readily mobile. Comparisons will inevitably be drawn between our country and others when the choice of where to do business is being made.”

Buhari noted that Nigeria’s current position in terms of doing business is not good enough as the country’s process for obtaining licences and permits are too slow.

He said, “It takes too long a time to enforce contracts in our law courts and our regulatory and administrative processes are not noticeably predictable or efficient. In all these, lawyers have a key role to play, whether in the reform of our laws and regulations or in the integrity of our judicial systems.

“It is my fervent hope that this conference and other fora for lawyers and non-lawyers will closely and quickly work out ways of making our legal system much improved in terms of integrity, the human touch, efficiency and rigorous dedication to the cause of justice.”

Buhari assured the lawyers that his administration will give its full support to the implementation of the required legal reforms if it is convinced that they are in the best interest of the country.
http://leadership.ng/news/455847/dont-shield-crooks-pmb-tells-lawyers
BusinessRe: Dangote Gains N15.6bn In 24 Hours, Now Worth N3tn by silami(op): 5:47am On Aug 24, 2015
Anthony0094:
u must have misunderstood something



bt where is ur senses?
i didn't, i was just responding to your scrams, which came out very dumb.
PoliticsRe: How Obasanjo Ordered NNPC To Retain NLNG Dividends To Fund New Trains by silami(op): 5:44am On Aug 24, 2015
koolpal:
too long 2 read
so must you comment?
PoliticsHow Obasanjo Ordered NNPC To Retain NLNG Dividends To Fund New Trains by silami(op): 5:31am On Aug 24, 2015
Concerns mount over sharing of $7.3bn in dividend account


Alike Ejiofor 

Following the controversy surrounding the retention of dividends paid by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Company Limited to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), it has emerged that the initial directive to retain its 49 per cent share of dividends was actually given by former President Olusegun Obasanjo when he was in office.


Arising from this is another brewing controversy as to whether the dividends belong to the Federation Account for sharing amongst the three tiers of government, or just to the federal government, in this case the NNPC.


The previous management of NNPC when Obasanjo was in office had argued successfully that while the taxation revenues of NLNG belong to the Federation Account, the dividends belong to NNPC, which needed the dividend payments to reinvest in the new trains of NLNG.


It was on this basis that Obasanjo ruled in their favour and the Jackson Gaius-Obaseki-led NNPC then ring fenced the dividends in a special (investment) account and used it to successfully reinvest in NLNG Trains 3 to 6 without recourse to the federal government, according to officials familiar with the transaction.


But with the state governors seeking more revenues, they are today insisting that they were short changed by the Goodluck Jonathan administration in not paying the dividends to the Federation Account for sharing amongst all tiers of government.


In reinforcing the narrative of state governors, the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) also recently disclosed that NNPC had failed to remit $11.6 billion to the Federation Account, which was paid by NLNG and called on President Muhammadu Buhari to recover the amount.


NLNG was set up as a joint venture company comprising NNPC with 49 per cent equity, Shell, which serves as its operator - 25.6 per cent, Total LNG Nigeria Limited - 15 per cent and Eni - 10.4 per cent, as its shareholders.


However, it is not clear if NNPC’s equity in NLNG was paid for by the “federation” or the “federal government” as this was done during the military regime of the late General Sani Abacha when it was basically a command unitary government.


A Final Investment Decision (FID) was taken on NLNG by its shareholders in November 1995, while the construction of the gas transmission system, and second and first trains were completed in September 1998, August 1999 and February 2000 respectively.
Since then, it has built four more trains between November 2002 and December 2007 to bring the total number of trains to six.


The base project (Trains 1 and 2) which cost $3.6 billion, was financed by NLNG's shareholders. The third train (expansion project), including additional storage, cost $1.8 billion and was funded by shareholders as well as reinvested revenue from the base project.
The NLNG Plus project (Trains 4 and 5) cost $2.2 billion and was funded with a combination of internally generated revenue and third party loans amounting to $1.06 billion.


Train 6 (NLNG Six project) cost $1.748 billion and financing was handled by shareholders, bringing the total cost of building six LNG trains to $9.348 billion.


The FDI for Train 7, however, has still not been taken despite efforts by NLNG to get the federal government to give NNPC the green light for the next train.


But THISDAY checks revealed that NNPC currently has some $7.3 billion dollars in the investment account with which it intends to fund its share of NLNG Train 7, Brass LNG (in which over $1 billion has already been invested) and OK LNG, which is still troubled by economic and investment hurdles.


But governors at the last National Economic Council (NEC) meeting determined that the dividends belong to the Federation Account and must be shared amongst all tiers of government.


It is not clear what the final decision of Buhari will be but oil industry experts and NNPC officials have cautioned that should the funds be shared and spent, there will have no funds to reinvest in gas at a time when the future of oil revenues is uncertain and oil prices are at an all time low.


Providing insight on Obasanjo’s directive, a retired senior executive of NNPC confirmed that the corporation was asked to retain the dividends paid by NLNG in order to meet its share of investment after FDIs had been taken to build subsequent trains of NLNG.
“As you are aware, from the Abacha days, Nigeria was already having problems funding its share of cash calls for the joint venture oil contracts with the oil majors.


“So in order to avoid a situation whereby NLNG’s expansion was impeded by the same problem, Obasanjo directed that we retain the dividends paid by the company for its expansion programme,” he said.


He added that the former president’s directive was implemented to the letter because it was in the interest of Nigeria to continue to harness its gas resources, as gas is the future, and today it is saving the country in the depressed crude oil environment.
“Besides, Nigeria is more of a gas producer than an oil producer, so we deemed the directive as a life saver for NLNG and Nigeria’s future,” he explained.


Officials of NNPC also confirmed THISDAY's investigations that the corporation currently has about $7.3 billion from NLNG dividends but the money has been kept aside for investment in NLNG Train 7, Brass and OK LNG.


Another official also expressed concern that at the last NEC meeting, the governors had insisted that all funds from NLNG should be paid into the Federation Account, adding: “If we do not reach a compromise with the governors, when we have to fund our share of Train 7 and other LNG projects, we will encounter the same difficulties we encountered with the JV cash calls, but we believe the issues will be resolved as NNPC becomes more transparent with its operations and opens its books to scrutiny.”


Given its pioneer status in 1999 when it commenced production, NLNG was granted a tax holiday for several years by the federal government and did not start to pay taxes until 2014.


According to the information on its website, in 2014, it paid N220 billion (about $1.375 billion using N160/$ as exchange rate) to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) while its second tax payment of $1.6 billion was in June this year and shared by the three tiers of government in July. It was this payment in July that opened the eyes of state governors to NLNG’s revenue and are thus seeking more than the tax revenue from the company.


NLNG tax payments so far make it the highest taxpayer in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa.
In terms of dividends to its shareholders, the company has paid $30 billion between 2004 and 2014, putting NNPC’s share of dividends at $14.9 billion to date.
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/how-obasanjo-ordered-nnpc-to-retain-nlng-dividends-to-fund-new-trains/218287/
BusinessRe: Dangote Gains N15.6bn In 24 Hours, Now Worth N3tn by silami(op): 7:43am On Aug 23, 2015
Anthony0094:
picture of the 15.6b in cash or ......













I don't believe t
picture of your poverty ridden house or I'll believe you're retarded
BusinessDangote Gains N15.6bn In 24 Hours, Now Worth N3tn by silami(op): 7:29am On Aug 23, 2015
While some of the world’s richest people lost a sum of $182bn (N35.85tn) over the past week, Nigerian billionaire, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, and 10 others made money amid deepening global market rout.

Dangote, who is President of Dangote Group, posted a $79.2m (N15.6bn) gain from Thursday to Friday, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. He was one of six billionaires who saw their fortunes increase in 24 hours to Friday.

The world’s 400 richest people lost $182bn last week from their collective fortunes as weak manufacturing data from China and a rout in commodities sent global markets plunging.

Dangote is Africa’s richest man, with a net worth of $15.4bn, according to the Index.

The other three Africans on the Index are South Africans: Nicky Oppenheimer formerly of the De Beers diamond company (net worth $6.7bn) suffered a $27.9m loss between Thursday and Friday; luxury goods magnate Johann Rupert (net worth $7bn) saw his money shrink by $87m, and retailing baron Christo Wiese (net worth $7bn), lost $220m over the same period.

The weekly drop for the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a group that includes Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, was the biggest since tracking of the expanded list began in September 2014.

The combined net worth of the index members fell by $76bn on Friday alone, when the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index of United States’ stocks ended its worst week since 2011.

“For them, that’s a fractional percentage, even though $182bn is a big number.

“A week like this feels really bad, but when you take a step back, in a big picture view it’s not a disaster by any means,” said John Collins, director of investment advisory at Aspiriant, which oversees more than $8bn for high net-worth clients.

Friday’s losses put the world’s richest 400 into the red for the year to date. They’re now down $74bn in 2015, with a collective net worth of $3.98tn.

The week’s largest setback in dollar terms was experienced by Warren Buffett, who saw his fortune drop by $3.6bn, as Berkshire Hathaway Inc. slipped more than five per cent. The investor is the world’s third wealthiest person, with a fortune of $63.4bn, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The slump in oil, which had its longest weekly losing streak since 1986, amid signs of an extended supply glut, contributed to $15.2bn in losses for the world’s wealthiest energy billionaires.

Continental Resources Inc. Chairman, Harold Hamm, saw $895m, or nine per cent of his net worth, vanish last week.

The Chief Executive Officer, Glencore Plc, a mining company, Ivan Glasenberg, lost $237m during the week, as commodity prices slid to their lowest levels in 13 years.

Glencore reached a record low in London on Friday, down more than 8 per cent from a week earlier, after the trading house reported its profit sank 56 per cent in the first half of the year. Glasenberg’s fortune has decreased more than 40 per cent in 2015, to $3.1bn.

China’s 26 wealthiest people, pummelled by Hong Kong’s bear market and a weaker yen, lost $18.8bn during the week. Wang Jianlin of Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Company was hit hardest, losing $3.5bn.

Eleven billionaires added to their fortunes, in spite of the market turmoil. The week’s biggest dollar gainer was Sun Pharmaceuticals’ Dilip Shanghvi. The world’s 39th-richest person became $467m wealthier, elevating his net worth to $18.9bn.

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index takes measure of the world’s wealthiest people based on market and economic changes and Bloomberg News reporting. Each net-worth figure is updated every business day at 5:30 p.m. in New York and listed in US dollars.
http://www.punchng.com/news/dangote-gains-n15-6bn-in-24-hours-now-worth-n3tn/
PoliticsWe’ll Soon Expose Jonathan’s Loots -buhari by silami(op): 6:27am On Jun 30, 2015
President Muhammadu Buhari said the enormity of the billions stolen during the administration of his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, will be exposed when the loots are recovered, and returned to the national treasury soon.

Buhari, in a statement yesterday by his special adviser on media and publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, was reacting to Peoples Democratic Party National Publicity Secretary Olisa Metuh’s 30 days appraisal of his administration.

The presidential spokesperson faulted Metuh’s claim that Buhari’s men were conniving with bureaucrats to syphon money from the treasury.
“This must be deja vu, as it was the pastime of the immediate past administration, and the enormity of the sleaze will be evident when stolen money, to the tune of billions of dollars, is recovered, and returned to the national treasury soon.

“In the process of time, after all that is being planned by the current administration has matured, and bearing fruits, Nigerians will be able to determine who is serving them acceptably, and who has taken them for a ride. It is just a matter of time,” he said.

He said Metuh and his masters could only rue the missed opportunities to make salutary impact on the lives of Nigerians. “they have a long road of regrets to travel,” the presidential aide added.

He said Buhari was clearing the rots created by the PDP, especially during Jonathan’s government.
He said there was absolutely no reason for the way PDP and Jonathan ran the affairs of the country.

According to him, clearing the rots created by PDP in all sectors of the economy requires scrupulous and painstaking planning.

“The Buhari administration is naturally contemplative because there was absolutely no rhyme or reason to the way PDP ran the country, particularly in the immediate past dispensation. That is why the Augean Stable is being cleaned now, and it requires scrupulous and painstaking planning.

“Across all sectors, our national life was devalued, and it takes meticulousness and sure-footedness to repair all the breaches. This, the Buhari administration will deliver,” Adesina said.

He said Nigerians “had teamed up to uproot an administration that had brought the country to her knees, and was about to tip her off the precipice. And Nigerians have resolved that never would they allow any government to divide them along regional, religious and ethnic fault lines again.”
http://dailytrust.com.ng/daily/index.php/top-stories/58500-we-ll-soon-expose-jonathan-s-loots-buhari
PoliticsRe: Buhari Meets With Nigerian Community In South Africa (photos) by silami(m): 1:42am On Jun 16, 2015
CHM11:
E nor get work to do for here?

E never meet with Nigerian community needs, na south africa he dey go...mehn this Buhari ehn!!!!


Quote me wrongly if you know your brain has been affected by Nigerian politics that you can't think rationally anymore....
Its either PDP or APC..if that's all your brain can work out then quote me!!!
the dumbest post of the day! There will be no Nigeria/president without the states therefore the president can travel with any state governor he choses to.
FamilyRe: Share Beautiful Names You Will Gives To Your Kids When They Are Born! by silami(m): 11:08pm On Jun 04, 2015
Buhari
Jonathan
Obasanjo
Zahra.
PoliticsBuhari Rejects Rolls Royce In London by silami(op): 4:44am On May 24, 2015
Meets PM Cameron

President-elect Muhammadu Buhari, currently on a private visit to England, on Friday turned down the use of a Rolls Royce made available for him by the Nigerian High Commission in London.

Buhari shocked officials of the High Commission when, on landing at the Heathrow Airport, he declined to make use of the Rolls Royce and other facilities offered him.

The Nation gathered that after exchanging pleasantries with the embassy officials led by the High Commissioner, Dr Dalhatu Tafida, the president-elect politely told them that his visit was strictly private and he had made arrangement for all his needs while in the UK.

He reportedly thanked them for the warm reception and quickly hopped into a less flamboyant car he had arranged for and drove out of the airport.

A source said: “It appeared he was uncomfortable with the number of exotic cars in the convoy.

“Hard as the stunned diplomats present tried to convince him, he refused to bulge, insisting that since he did not inform the Commission of his visit because it was not an official trip, hence he was not entitled to such grandeur.”

Buhari, yesterday, held talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron at his 10, Downing Street official residence.

Top of their discussion was the continued threat to Nigeria’s security by the terror group, Boko Haram.



The official website of the UK government said after the talks that “both leaders congratulated each other on their recent election victories and discussed the challenges facing Nigeria.”

It added: “the Prime Minister stressed the UK’s wish to work for a stable, prosperous and secure Nigeria.

“The leaders discussed security in the region and the fight against terrorism, particularly the threat posed by Boko Haram.

“They discussed the need for a regional approach and agreed to continue working together to build the capacity of the Nigerian Army, with the UK continuing to provide military training and intelligence support.

“On tackling corruption, they agreed this was a priority to ensure Nigeria’s prosperity and success.”

Mr. Cameron was said to have agreed to look at what technical assistance and support the UK could provide to the Nigerian government as it looks to undertake its reforms.

“They also discussed the need to tackle organised crime and the links between the UK and Nigeria.

“Finally, they talked about the challenges posed by migration from Africa to Europe and the president-elect said he would do all he could to secure Nigeria’s borders,” the statement said.
PoliticsRivers Killings: We’ll Not Forgive Nor Forget, Says Buhari by silami(op): 5:57am On May 14, 2015
The president-elect, General Muhammudu Buhari (rtd), has again vowed to unearth and deal with those involved in the violence that trailed the conduct of the last general election in Rivers State.

Buhari, who stated this while receiving a delegation of traditional rulers and leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the state, regretted that many lives were lost in the process due to the desperation of some politicians to win elections at all costs.

Buhari said: “We will confront them with facts and figures. We will not forgive and we will not forget those who perpetrated the killings and arson in Rivers State during the elections. At least this is the much we owe Nigerians,” he said.

He also assured Nigerians that they would surely get the respect they deserve from the government, adding that there would be no army within the army or a police within the police.

Earlier, former Deputy Governor of the state who led delegation, Mr. Gabriel Toby, told journalists that what happened during both presidential and the governorship elections did not reflect the wishes of the people.

He described the elections as a coup, saying the calibre of persons in the delegation to Buhai had shown that Rivers people were behind the president-elect before, during and after the election, adding that the entire state would fully support the incoming government.

The former deputy governor asked the president-elect not to forget the persecution and many sacrifices made by the their son, Rotimi Ameachi, for the success of the All Progressives Congress (APC), adding that the state governor and others should be compensated for their immense contributions to the victory of the APC.

Meanwhile, another delegation from Delta State yesterday paid a solidarity visit to Buhari.

The governorship candidate of the APC in the state, Emerhor Otega, who led the delegation, lamented the anomalies that trailed the conduct of the elections in Delta State and the South-south region.
Otega alleged that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) disenfranchised the people of the state and the South-south in both the presidential and governorship elections.

He said though the people of the state voted for the APC but through a grand design, the PDP made sure that proper elections did not take place.

“Result sheets were confiscated and results fabricated, written, allowing the PDP to have massive votes, while giving paltry votes to the APC in order to portray it as not existing in the two zones.

“To provide a cover for this vote manipulation, PDP also resorted to violence and intimidation and ballot box snatching as a smokescreen. They effectively compromised both INEC and the security forces and this secured the declaration of PDP as winner in these states against the will and preferences of the Delta people and the two zones.

“Through the certified true copy (CTC) of the card reader report that we have obtained from INEC, we have unearthed the massive fraud that PDP perpetuated in Delta State. We have filed our petitions to cancel these bogus elections in the tribunal in the state. Our election petition shows that while announced voter accreditation was over 1,017,796, the actual card reader accreditation report shows only 709,700.

“A cursory look shows that the votes allocated to the PDP governorship candidate (724,680) along exceed the accredited voters as recorded by the card reader report.

“With these anomalies. We are indeed very optimistic that the governorship and assembly elections in a Delta state will be nullified and a rerun ordered. Otega said

In his remark, the president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, thanked the Delta delegation just as he maintained that his administration would not support anybody who will undermine that right of Nigerians by whatever means.
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/rivers-killings-we-ll-not-forgive-nor-forget-says-buhari/209282/
PoliticsPresidency Moves To Replace Mu’azu With S’south Governor by silami(op): 6:15am On May 04, 2015
Despite threats of sanctions by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the leadership crisis in the party continues to deepen, as aides of President Goodluck Jonathan have moved to replace the embattled national chairman of the party, Adamu Mu’azu, with an outgoing governor from the South-south.

This is coming as the former governor of Ebonyi State, Dr. Sam Egwu, has warned against any leadership change that would remove Mu’azu or members of the NWC, cautioning that the problem of the PDP stems from lack of discipline and internal democracy, which the incumbent NWC was not allowed to enforce at both the national and state levels.

THISDAY gathered that the move by the presidential aides and associates of the president is aimed at altering the zoning of offices in the PDP, which would see the national chairman of the party coming from the South-south, while the presidential candidacy will be zoned to the North, preparatory to the 2019 election.

In this regard, THISDAY was informed that the plot is to make the outgoing Governor of Cross River State Liyel Imoke the next national chairman of the party at the national convention. If they get their way, the national convention will take place in the second week of June this year.

It was also gathered from a party source that all offices of the NWC would be affected.

He said: “If Imoke becomes the new national chairman of the party, the national secretary would come from the North, thus making room for the next presidential candidate of the party to also come from the North."

But Mu'azu is said to be opposed to his removal, stating that he would not stand by and be used and dumped by the PDP.

In a statement at the weekend by his press secretary, Tony Amadi, Mu’azu said the tenure of the present NWC would expire next year, adding that at the appointed time PDP would determine the new zoning arrangement.

PDP will tomorrow inaugurate a reform committee headed by Senator Ike Ekweremadu.

The committee, which has some of the outgoing governors as members, showed that some of them are not part of the plot to remove Mu’azu and other members of the NWC.

Meanwhile, the former governor of Ebonyi State and now a senator-elect, told THISDAY in an exclusive interview that he is against the tide of political developments to contemplate the removal of the Mu’azu-led NWC.

According to Egwu, the electoral losses of the PDP started in 2003 when the party commenced a gradual descent to its current defeat, with the loss of the presidential election.

He said: “The decline of the PDP started since 2003 and it is being felt now because we lost the 2015 presidential election. In 2003, some states were lost and no one took it seriously till this moment,” adding that the best option was not to contemplate any leadership change but to go back to the drawing board to restrategise.

The former governor said the blame should not be placed on the Mu’azu-led NWC because there was no internal democracy and discipline in the PDP both at the national and state levels.

According to Egwu, the NWC of PDP is subservient to both the government at the national and state level, which “in no way promoted the concept of party supremacy and discipline as was in the case of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN) where party was supreme".

“Don’t blame Mu’azu or the members of the NWC, they did their best. The party was no longer supreme, there is no discipline; we had a party manifesto but it was no longer recognised or used.

“The executive took over the affairs of the party both at the national and state levels,” he said.

On the way out of the present situation, he said: “Let's go back to the drawing board and stop this blame game and build a party where the party would be in charge."

However, as the struggle for the soul of the PDP continues, the National Secretary of the party and a member of the NWC, Prof. Adewale Oladipo, has said that he will not resign from the NWC as directed by the South-west caucus of the party.

The South-west PDP had issued a communiqué on Saturday, stating that his resignation was meant to pave the way for the dissolution of the NWC as a fallout of the 2015 general election.

But reacting yesterday, Oladipo said after a very careful examination of the inherent breaches in the procedures adopted in convening the meeting of the South-west PDP, as well as the content and tone of its resolution, he termed it an orchestrated attempt by a few individuals bent on sowing the seeds of discord within the PDP fold in the zone.

He said this was evident in the fact that the said communiqué in no way reflected the views of majority of those who attended the meeting, neither did it tally with the opinion of the generality of party members in the region.

According to him, “It is indeed undermining and a clear breach of protocol the fact that a meeting of some leaders of the zone would be convened to discuss issues of the party’s

presidential campaigns and the highest-ranking national officers of the party from the zone were excluded.

“This is in continuation of the apparent marginalisation of the National Working Committee and the party structures at all levels in the handling of the presidential campaigns.

”More so, even some of those who attended the meeting were not privy to the agenda and the eventual content of the communiqué issued at the end.”

He said in view of the above therefore, “it will be absolutely unpatriotic and against the wishes and aspirations of majority of our party members from the South-west through whose mandate we occupy the offices of the National Secretary and the National Auditor, respectively, if we concede to the demands in the communiqué, especially given the fact that as elected members of the National Working Committee, our positions have a tenure which lasts until March 2016."

“Moreover, members of the PDP in Osun State, my primary constituency, have already passed a vote of confidence on me in my capacity as the National Secretary.

“Furthermore, while some of those asking us to resign performed very poorly even in their polling units, it is on record that the National Auditor and my humble self performed creditably and delivered our areas in the general election.

"It is therefore disheartening that rather than joining other well-meaning members of our great party in supporting the National Working Committee in the ongoing re-engineering process to rebuild the PDP, some elders from our zone, particularly, a former Deputy National Chairman, Chief Olabode George, who should know, have instead resorted to divisive politics by attempting to instigate our members against one another.

“What our party needs now in the South-west and indeed across the country is for all hands to be on the deck as we work harmoniously in our determination to reposition the PDP to regain power in 2019.
“Our party members are therefore charged to watch out for individuals whose agenda is to sow the seeds of discord and pave the way for crisis within our fold for their selfish interests.

“The National Working Committee is now more than ever before determined to rebuild the PDP and restore its glory as the preeminent political party in Nigeria.

“This resolve is irrevocable and we shall not allow ourselves to be distracted in anyway by any person under any guise whatsoever,” he said.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/presidency-moves-to-replace-mu-azu-with-s-south-governor/208447/
PoliticsBuhari Plans Mass Retirement Of Corrupt Military Leaders by silami(op): 5:04am On May 04, 2015
One of the first major actions to be taken by President-elect Muhammadu Buhari on assumption of office is a massive shake-up of the military, TheCable understands.

There will be a “mass retirement” of senior officers who are believed to have corruptly enriched themselves or “who abandoned professionalism for politics”, sources in the know of the plan told TheCable.

Already, a small group has been set up quietly to work out the modalities for the shake-up and scout possible replacements for those to be weeded out.

Most likely to be affected are officers who allegedly mismanaged funds meant for military operations, those who colluded with crude oil thieves and those who engaged in political activities in breach of their professional duties.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in his congratulatory letter to Buhari after the March 28 election, had urged the president-elect to reform the military, saying “so much harm [had been] done to many national institutions including the military, which proudly nurtured you and me”.

Obasanjo, on assuming office in 1999, retired all officers who had held political appointments — an action thought to have helped prevent a possible coup after several military interventions in the nation’s history.

Buhari is a retired major-general who had commanded all the divisions in the Nigerian army before becoming head of state in 1983 after a coup. He was retired in August 1985 following his ouster his chief of army staff, Ibrahim Babangida, now a retired general.

An insider in Buhari’s circle told TheCable: “The military has been politicised and bastardised in the last few years. Corruption has reached unprecedented levels with the oil theft in the Niger Delta and haphazard anti-terror war.

“Nobody can say sincerely that the leadership of the military has lived up to expectations. We need a professional military. We cannot be relying on neighbouring countries to be bailing us out of our internal issues. Buhari will transform the military to an institution of pride for all Nigerians again.”

TheCable could not ascertain the extent of the planned purge, apart from the expected change of service chiefs and division commanders.

But the primary aim of the planned changes, the source added, is to rid the military of “greedy and unprofessional officers”.

The military has come under scrutiny in recent years over its seeming failure to curb terror and oil theft as well as corruption in the top hierarchy.

In the north-east operations against Boko Haram, there were reports that monies meant for the allowances of troops were being diverted to private pockets.

Instead of the monthly allowance of N30,000, the troops were reportedly getting N15,000 with no satisfactory official explanation on what happened to the balance.

The troops were also allegedly being given only three sachets of “pure water” per day in the desert heat and lacked sleeping kits.

Their food supplies for the day were allegedly brought at once in the morning, a situation that saw them eating cold lunch and sour dinner.

Many troops were also battle-weary and suffering psychological trauma but did not get the necessary support from the authorities, leading to several cases of mutiny which resulted in death sentences for soldiers found guilty of refusing to fight.

At some stage last year, troops fired shots at the commander of the 7th division in Maiduguri, Borno state, Ahmed Mohammed, a major general, who narrowly escaped death in the hands of the frustrated soldiers.

He was immediately transferred from the division, which was created by President Goodluck Jonathan specifically to fight Boko Haram insurgents.

These deficiencies, compounded by the perceived superior firepower of the Boko Haram militants, were largely held responsible for the prolonged war against terror which only came to live when the February 14 presidential election was postponed by six weeks.



Also, Daily Trust newspaper reported last year that the army top brass had shared part of a land meant for barracks in the Asokoro District of Abuja, a further evidence of the rot in the military.

It said the 439 beneficiaries of the landgrab included spouses, relations, friends, associates and companies owned by senior army officials.

Kenneth Minimah, a lieutenant general and chief of army staff, and his predecessor Azubuike Ihejirika, a retired general, were allocated 2035.41sqm and 3909.35sqm of land respectively, the newspaper reported.

Those who got allocations along with their wives included two former chiefs of defence staff, Oluseyi Petinrin, a retired air chief marshal, and Ibrahim Ola Sa’ad, a retired admiral.

Former chief of air staff, Mohammed Dikko Umar, a retired air marshal, also got his share, while Ihejirika’s wife, Gift, got Plot 4882 which is 2385.59sqm.

One other beneficiary named “Oke Ihejirika” was given 1,583.59sqm, in addition to three more ‘Ihejirikas’ who were listed as Goodok Oil and Gas’s directors: Ihejirika Okechukwu, Ihejirika Chika and Ihejirika Goodluck. The company got 7476.95sqm of land.

Daily Trust came under attack from soldiers after its report, with soldiers seizing copies of the newspaper and detaining its distribution vans.

Military authorities defended the action, maintaining then that the operation was based on a tip-off that terrorists wanted to use newspaper vehicles to transport explosive materials.
http://www.thecable.ng/exclusive-buhari-shake-military
PoliticsRe: Buhari's Victory, Not A Popular Mandate - Northern Statesman by silami(m): 1:43am On Apr 27, 2015
ShowYourCertificate:
Who said it's Buhari's fault? You guys are so brainwashed that you can't comprehend simple statements anymore. SMH.
in the kingdom of comprehension, you are not even qualified to be at the gate. What has comprehension got to do whith his statement, he is factual enough to make sense, unlike you, driven by bigotry and ignorance.
PoliticsHow Mu'azu, NWC Members Survived Plot To Oust Them by silami(op): 5:15am On Apr 24, 2015
Reeling from severe losses in the just concluded 2015 polls, facts have emerged over how the Adamu Mu’azu-led National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) recently survived the barrage of attacks by some presidential aides, outgoing ministers and party leaders to oust it ahead of the expiration of its tenure.


The night of the long knives occurred on Tuesday and Wednesday this week when the outgoing governors, governors-elect, outgoing and incoming members of the National Assembly met to assess the just concluded general election.

The agenda among those present was to pass a vote of no confidence on the Mu’azu-led NWC and summon a National Executive Committee (NEC) where another vote of no confidence would have also been passed for a disastrous outing and subsequent dissolution of the NWC.

But in a dramatic turn of events, the NWC which many feared was already on its way out, now enjoys the support of all the PDP governors and National Assembly members-elect as well as the national vice-chairmen and state chairmen of the PDP in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), who have vowed to work with the current leadership to reposition the party.


Accordingly, Mu’azu and other NWC members were able to avert their ouster, according to party sources, following the deft political move made by the national chairman, who was said to have used his widespread contacts and influence in the party and the presidency to stop the detractors, while setting in motion efforts aimed at galvanising PDP formations and structures to regain power in 2019.

While those who wanted the NWC sacked hinged their demands on the defeat of the party at the just concluded national elections, investigations have revealed that the critical stakeholders in the party resolved to support the NWC after it became obvious that it was not to blame for the defeat and that those after their jobs were on self-serving mission for the control of the PDP for personal gains.

Another thing that stood against the planned sack of the NWC was the constitutional hindrance that empowers only the NWC to summon NEC meetings.

It was gathered that those behind the move to humiliate the Mu’azu-led NWC were mostly aides of President Goodluck Jonathan and some federal ministers who will be out of job by May 29 and desperately sought to seize the leadership of the PDP as the only way to remain relevant in the polity, as well as using it as a means to cover their tracks for certain misdemeanours in office.

These officials were said to have mounted pressure on Jonathan to use his powers and influence to sack the NWC even when they could not articulate cogent reasons to back their demands.

It was learnt that some of them who directly mismanaged the presidential campaign and its funds were the same brains behind the plot to nail the NWC members by labelling and accusing them of corruption and embezzlement of campaign funds.

They were also said to be the masterminds behind a series of negative publications aimed at ridiculing the NWC and bringing it to public disrepute.

It was further learnt that some of them were acting as agents of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to cause a crisis among the national leadership of the PDP so as to pave the way for APC to perfect its plot to lure elected PDP members into its fold.

However, the die was cast after the Mu’azu-led leadership decided to put out the facts regarding the handling of the national campaign funds to party stakeholders who were shocked to know that the NWC was completely shutout and sidelined while the same persons who mismanaged the funds had turned back to point accusing fingers at the NWC.

The table turned when the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, while reacting to allegations against the NWC, revealed that the campaign and the funds were directed and managed by the directorates of the Presidential Campaign Organisation, which the NWC had no control over.
Metuh had also raised the issue of fifth columnists working as agents of the APC to destabilise the PDP.

“As the spokesperson of the PDP, I want to place it on the record that the NWC was not part of the management of funds for the presidential campaigns. The NWC did not receive any money, neither was it in any way involved in how the funds were spent.

“Even as the national publicity secretary of the party and chairman of the publicity sub-committee, I did not receive any money from anybody and no fund whatsoever was given to me for the campaigns.

“The president, in his wisdom, set up directorates and gave them the responsibility to directly manage the elections, including the funding,” Metuh had said.

It was gathered that the revelation caused a stir in the presidency where some aides and ministers had created the impression that NWC members were involved in the handling of campaign funds.

A presidency source said that Jonathan was miffed when he discovered that his aides, who compelled him to sideline the NWC and party structure had been working not only to divert attention of the failure of PDP at the polls and themselves regarding their mismanagement of campaign funds, but also tried to use him to oust the NWC in order to gain control of the leadership of the party.

Upon discovering what his aides and ministers were up to, this weakened their ranks, as many of them were said to have backed out of the plot.

It was at this point that Mu’azu moved in and invited all national vice-chairmen, state chairmen, governors-elect, Senate and House members-elect to separate meetings in Abuja where the immediate and remote facts regarding the elections were said to have been laid out on the table.

The meeting yielded the required result, as those he met with resolved to back him and other NWC members, and support their efforts to reposition the party for 2019.

A source at the meetings hinted that while expressing anger over the conduct of some aides of the president during the campaigns and the current move to divide the party for selfish reasons, the elected officials vowed to resist every divisive anti-party plot within its fold.

Speaking at the end of the meeting, Senator George Thompson Sekibo, who read the communiqué issued by governors and senators-elect stressed the importance of unity, peace and harmony in the party, warning that the PDP would not condone anybody working as fifth columnists to destabilise the leadership of the party.

In the same vein, the national vice-chairmen and state chairmen in their communiqué signed by Ambassador Ibrahim Kazaure and Dr. Emmanuel Agbo expressed confidence in the Mu’azu-led NWC and charged all members of the party to continue to work harmoniously with their leaders at all levels, especially at this critical time in the life of the party.

At the meetings, some of the governors and presidential aides who were seen as the masterminds behind the plot to sack Mu'azu and other NWC members left the meeting without their usual flamboyance, a source revealed.
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/apc-again-puts-zoning-structure-on-hold/207576/
PoliticsAPC Again, Puts Zoning Structure On Hold by silami(op): 3:45am On Apr 24, 2015
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has again failed to release an approved zoing formula containing modalities for distribution of principal political offices.

THISDAY gathered that during the party leadership meeting which ended in the wee hours of Thursday, the leaders could not completely agree on the zoning of positions being canvassed for.

Before the meeting of the APC leaders, held at the Rivers state Governors' Lodge at Asokoro, speculations were that the party had agreed in principle on how to share the various office positions. For instance, it was reported that the party had ceded the position of Senate President to North Central, Deputy Senate President to the North East, Speaker of the House of Representatives to the South West and Deputy Speaker to South-South.

Another report also had it that the party is under pressure to rejig the zoning to accommodate other interests, hence the decision to convene the leaders’ meeting last Wednesday.

Following the stalemate, leaders of APC shelved further deliberation on the zoning formula to allow for more consultations.

It was learnt that apart from the key principal National Assembly seats of Senate President and House of Representatives Speaker, other positions were less contentious.

A source hinted that the party leaders had to apply wisdom by shelving discussion on disagreeable areas.

The source regretted that during the discussion on the office sharing some of the leaders tried to trivialize the issue by weeping up ethnic sentiments.

"You see, some people are bringing up ethnic sentiment in the discussion about the zoning which is not proper. But we have no doubt that the matter will be resolved amicably in the end," he said.

When contacted over the outcome of the meeting, the National Publicity Secretary of APC, Alhaji Lai Muhammed declined to give details of decisions reached.
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/apc-again-puts-zoning-structure-on-hold/207576/
PoliticsBakare Urges Buhari To Shun ‘our Turn’ Politics, Appoint Technocrats by silami(op): 5:32am On Apr 21, 2015
The Convener of the Save Nigeria Group (SNG), Pastor Tunde Bakare, has advised the incoming president, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) to ensure that he appoints technocrats into strategic positions in his government, just as he urged him to shun ‘it is our turn’ politics.

Bakare, made the veiled remark to the president-elect, while speaking among a set of panellists at Wema Bank Plc’s 70th anniversary commemorative lecture titled: “Why Nations Succeed,” that took place in Lagos monday.

According to Bakare, although several nations have been commending the outcome of Nigeria’s recently concluded presidential elections, the “undercurrents in the nation today is the idea that it is ‘our turn.’”

He added: “We just have to wait for few weeks to see how things would go. I pray that the north that has been out of power for some time will not say, ‘now it is our turn,’ whether we would see round pegs in square holes and begin to attract incompetent people. The most competent, the fittest and people with capacity and ideas should be the ones to go for.

“It would look beautiful to put things together if you have the mind to do it and if you have the right people to occupy these places, regardless of their religion, regardless of their agenda and what part of the country they are from, as long as they are able to deliver what would bring us out of this backwardness.”

According to Bakare: “It is the choices that you make that will make you poor or rich. We must make the right choices as we have the opportunity now. We have campaigned on ‘change,’ Nigerians have trusted us on ‘change,’ but I want to look at those that would be the agents of the change. The choices we made in the past are the cause of the consequences we are dealing with today,” he added.
On her part, the Co-convener of the Bring Back Our Girls group, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, stressed the need for the building of lasting institutions in the country.

According to the former Minister of Education, institutions are accumulated practices based on common sense of shared purpose and destination.

“What we have seen in that in institution building, there is the supply and demand side of the matter. So, in our society, we have had supply side activities for building institutions, but we have not seen the commensurate demand activities. It is the demand activities of the citizens of any society that would push the frontiers of the extractors, who monopolise power. But when the citizens are completely disengaged, nobody will do it for them. So, we need to become active participants in governance.

“There is need for strong institutions that are functional, that thrive on the rule of law, that are predictable in the way they behave. Also, there is need for sound macro-economic policies and then effective and efficient investments, whether public investments or private sector investments. These are the framework for economic growth.

“We have serious issues of poor governance of resources, so that public investment don’t end up producing the kind of output we produce because of the quality of individuals. So, what quality of individuals are involved in the process of institution building?” she aske.

Earlier, the guest lecturer, who is the co-author of the book: “Why Nations Fail,” Prof. James Robinson, noted that the failure of Nigerian leaders and other African leaders to organise their economies the way they should be were responsible for the poor output and slow pace of development by the continent.

According to Robinson, Nigeria had suffered from a long history of exploitative and extractive institutions. However, he acknowledged that since 1999 when the country returned to democracy, it has recorded a lot of progress economically as well as the strengthening of some institutions due to reforms.

He stressed the need for inclusiveness for any nation to attain its potential.

“All countries which now have inclusive institutions, historically had extractive institutions,” he said.

Also, the Dean, of Lagos Business School of the Pan-Atlantic University, Mrs. Enase Okonebo, noted that for any nation to develop, it has to focus on education, saying that Nigeria is one of the poorest in terms of out-of-school children.

In his remark, a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe, said “we need to dislodge the elites from their comfort zones.”

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/bakare-urges-buhari-to-shun-our-turn-politics-appoint-technocrats/207341/
PoliticsFinally, APC Zones Speaker To Southwest, SGF To S'east by silami(op): 6:17am On Apr 19, 2015
After a series of preparatory meetings ahead of its assumption of control on May 29, the incoming ruling party, All Progressives Congress, has drawn up a zoning arrangement for key federal legislative and executive positions. Barring any last minute changes, a document ratified by the APC national leadership and national caucus members Thursday night may form the basis for the allocation of executive positions and emergence of principal officers of the National Assembly from across the six geopolitical zones. The document, which was obtained by THISDAY, shows that the office of Secretary to the Government of the Federation is zoned to the South-east. The incumbent SGF, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, a former senate president, is from Ebonyi State in the South-east.

The zoning to South-east puts paid to speculations that the director-general of the APC presidential campaign organisation and Rivers State governor, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, may become the next SGF. It also ends the alleged spirited effort by some APC governors from the North-east to produce the new SGF, with the current Secretary to the State Government of Borno, Ambassador Ahmed Baba Jida, widely suspected to be the choice of the governors.

In other positions, the post of Senate President is zoned to North-central, the same zone of the outgoing holder of the position, David Mark, who is from Benue State. Speaker of the House of Representatives is given to South-west, where the vice president-elect, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, hails from. Osinbajo is from Ogun State.

APC zoned the office of Deputy Senate President to North-east and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives to the South-south. Chief Whip of the Senate is zoned to North-west, where the Katsina State-born president-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, comes from, while North-central gets the office of Chief Whip of the House of Representatives.

The post of Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Representatives is zoned to South-east. There are only two members of the House elected on the platform of APC from the zone in the March 28 election. They are Hon. Austin Chukwukere from Ideato North and South Federal Constituency and Chike Okafor from Ehime Mbano, Ihite Uboma and Obowo Federal Constituency of Imo State.

The position of Majority Leader of the Senate is zoned to South-west, while Majority Leader of the House of Representatives goes to North-east. Deputy Majority Leader of the Senate is zoned to North-west, and Deputy Majority Leader of the House of Representatives goes to North-central.

Chairman of the Board of Trustees of APC is zoned to North-east, with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar widely expected to clinch the post. South-east is given secretary of the BoT.
The posts of national chairman and national secretary of APC remain in the South-south and North-east, respectively. Chief John Odigie-Oyegun from Edo State is national chairman and Alhaji Maimala Buni from Yobe State is the national secretary.

Seven senators from three zones have signified their intentions to contest the senate president slot. They are Senators Bukola Saraki, a former Kwara State governor (Kwara Central); George Akume, Senate Minority Leader (Benue North-west); Olusola Adeyeye, a vocal senator and professor of Molecular Biology (Osun Central), Danjuma Goje, a former Gombe State governor (Gombe Central); Ahmad Lawan, a former university don (Yobe North); Ali Ndume, a former House of Representatives Minority Leader (Borno South); and a former House of Representatives Deputy Speaker, Usman Nafada (Gombe North).

With the zoning of the slot to North-central, the contest will now be between Saraki and Akume.
In the House of Representatives, there are currently eight contestant for the office of speaker. They are APC caucus leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila (Lagos); Chairman House committee on House Services, Hon. Yakubu Dogara (Bauchi State); Chairman House Committee on Finance, Hon. AbdulMumin Jubril(Kano); Hon. Pally Iriase (Edo); Hon Ajibola Famurewa(Osun); Prof. Mojeed Alabi(Osun); Hon. Mohammed Monguno(Borno); and Hon. Jagaba Adams Jagaba(Kaduna). Of the eight contestants, only Gbajabiamila and Adeyeye are from the South-west where the speakership has been zoned to.
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/finally-apc-zones-speaker-to-southwest-sgf-to-seast/207171/

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