Kaduna-based Islamic Scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, says too much blood is flowing in Nigeria.

Speaking at a peace conference organised by Center For the Advancement of Human Dignity and Value (CAHDV) in Kaduna on Thursday, the scholar wondered “why nothing is being done to stop the unnecessary flow of blood”.
He said lack of religion, knowledge and enlightenment on the part of criminal is the cause of insecurity in the region and enlightenment is the cure.

According to Gumi, the government had in the last three years spent $1billion in fighting banditry and said it requires another $1 billion to continue the fight, when 10 percent of that amount can be used to enlighten the bandits and stop the killings and kidnappings.

“I realised one thing; lack of religion, lack of knowledge; ignorance is the cause of insecurity and enlightenment is the cure. When you enlighten them, you can cure them. When you want to cure the problem the way it was created, you go into bloodshed and this is exactly what we are witnessing now.

“What we see today is lack of civilization. Too much blood is flowing in Nigeria unnecessarily and we have not yet understood the human dignity and value both the leading and the led. Man has value and dignity, you cannot force your religion on anybody. Why is blood flowing too much in the country?”

Gumi said When he visited the bandits in the forest, the first step was to use psychology on them and they aired their grievances and were ready to change.

He added that the herdsmen they were hijacked by evil people, drug addicts and gunrunners calling on the government not to allow them to be hijacked by bad elements.
Gumi said every human being, by Nigeria’s constitution, is guaranteed the freedom to choose his or her religion.

Earlier in his address, the President CAHDV, Engr. Joseph John Ameh called on Nigerians to live harmoniously and stop killings and kidnappings.

The Director Arewa House Kaduna, Dr. Shuibu Shehu Aliyu, said selfish political elites are using religious leaders to cause insecurity in the society, adding that, “our values have collapsed and Nigeria is in a sinking ship. Therefore, we must return to the drawing board and salvage our dear country.”

https://www.akelicious.net/too-much-blood-flowing-in-nigeria-sheikh-gumi/

On the 11th of September, over 300 vehicles was provided by Enugu state government for security operatives – the first of its kind in Enugu state.Our Correspondents sought the reaction of Enugu residents to the development and how it affects them directly. Our first point of call was Amankwo Ugbawka, Nkanu East LGA. The women in the area said if this will make them go to their farms in peace, they will be very grateful.One of the youth leaders in the community said; “this is the first time a government is sincerely coming to tackle the security challenges of our community.” “We have been living in make-believe peace here. Our people are rice farmers but go around, most of the rice farms are deserted.””My brother do you want me to tell you the truth? The truth is that there have never been security in this community for more than 8 years now, this is the first time we are seeing a governor want to tackle our problem and we are very happy with that. “As I speak to you now, our people are being engaged to tackle this situation and we have never had it this good before. We pray the entire process is not contaminated so that our people can go to farm without fear of their crops being destroyed,” he said.At Amaokpo, Enugu East LGA, some of the indigenes and residents that spoke to our correspondents said this is a “breathe of fresh air,” as they are now hoping for an improved security in their area. One of the residents, who simply identified himself as Mr. Nweke said “by the action of the governor, there’s a hope on the horizon because I think this is a sincere effort. “We have been worried by the rising security concerns in the state but I think the Governor is making frantic to contain the situation. This is commendable” he concluded. At Garriki, Awkunanaw area of the state, it was a mixed reaction as some of the residents, like Oliver Twist, wants more to be done. While some of them wants the “Forest Guards” to come alive as soon as possible. Some of them are skeptical hoping they won’t become a nightmare for the locals but took solace to the fact that the Governor didn’t politicize the recruitment process.Mr. Sunday Ogbonna while speaking to our correspondent said; “the news is a cheering one.” “When the Governor came up with the issue of Forest Guards, I was amongst those that said this won’t work because of the character of our political leaders.“I must tell you, I was shocked when I saw the number of vehicles purchased for this cause. The governor has shown great commitment to securing the state and I owe him an apology for doubting his political will to bring the Forest Guard to fruition in the first place.”At the popular Ogbete Main Market, Holy Ghost, Enugu, most of the reactions we got about the purchase of the vehicles were talking about the economic relevance of the action of Governor. At one of the popular motor parks, the drivers that spoke to us hailed the governor for patronizing indigenous Innoson motors. He said; “When I saw those Hilux van, my joy knew no bounds.‘I was so happy the Governor patronized one of our own, yes I’m from Anambra state but my happiness isn’t because the owner of Innoson is from Anambra state but the mare fact that this company is domiciled in AlaIgbo. I am so happy” the driver that gave his name simply as okechukwu said.A store owner in the market, Mr. Sunny Nnamene said he is elated that the youths of the state will be engaged and salaries paid. “This is part of the empowerment we are looking for.”

https://www.akelicious.net/see-reactions-as-forest-guards-come-alive-in-enugu-state/

The Vice-Chancellor of Federal University, Oye-Ekiti(FUOYE), Prof. Kayode Soremekun, has constituted a panel to unravel the circumstances leading to Tuesday’s protest by students and the attack on Ekiti governor’s wife, Bisi Fayemi.


The vice-chancellor said that the 12-man investigative panel headed by Prof. Abayomi Fasina, a Deputy Vice-Chancellor in the institution, would also suggest ways to prevent a recurrence.

The panel has Mrs Blessing Eyiorunpe as Secretary.

Students of the university had staged a protest in Oye Ekiti over incessant power outage in the institution.

The protest had turned violent, with two persons reportedly killed while several others were injured.

Several vehicles were also vandalised in the incident.



Meanwhile, the police in Ekiti have announced the arrest of two students of FUOYE in connection with the attack on the wife of the governor.

The Police Commissioner in the state, Mr Asuquo Amba, also told newsmen in Ado Ekiti that two of his men were wounded while two police vans were burnt during the attack.

” Two persons have been arrested and one of them has already confessed to committing the crime

” When a crime is committed, we don’t fold our arms and watch. Even a civilian can effect arrest if crime is committed in front of him and hand the suspects over to the police,” Amba said.

The commissioner condemned the attack on the police while discharging their duties, saying it was wrong for his operatives to have been brutally attacked for trying to restore order.

” It is sad that the police are being attacked by criminals and the civilians who we are protecting are also attacking our people.

“We won’t rest until all the perpetrators of this dastardly attack are arrested and brought to justice,” Amba said.

The police boss added that the two rifles stolen from the police during the attack had been recovered.

https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2019/09/13/fuoye-investigates-attack-on-fayemis-wife/amp/

Nigerians are leaving South Africa in droves following the rising spate of Xenophobic attacks in the Country .

Air Peace had previously promised a free-airlift for Nigerians resident in South Africa who wish to return to Nigeria.

Many South Africans on Social media have mocked Air Peace , saying that Air Peace will return to Nigeria empty because of the alleged Worse state of Nigeria.



However, in a surprising development, Several buses loaded with disgruntled Nigerians , could be seen driving down to the airport where they will be conveyed on a one-way trip back to Nigeria.

Analysts have asked, what this development portends for the relationship between Nigeria and South Africa ?

More photos at https://www.akelicious.net/nigerians-are-leaving-south-africa-like-ghana-must-go-photos/

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has advised the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) to play stronger role in the bureaux de change industry by embracing self-regulation.

Speaking during the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) Mutual Evaluation Exercise Sensitisation workshop for South West Bureaux de Change (BDCs) in Lagos, CBN Deputy Director, Other Financial Institutions Supervision Department, Mustafa Haruna, said there was need for BDCs to ensure compliance with extant Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) laws and regulations to mitigate the risks and vulnerabilities in the sub-sector.



He said ABCON should develop and implement a Code of Conduct for members to promote ethical practices and transparency in the sector, while also continually advising the central bank on market intelligence on key industry issues.

Also speaking, ABCON President, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, said ABCON had consistently advised BDCs to implement, a system of internal policies, procedures and controls, including Know Your Customer, Customer Due Diligence and reporting of all suspicious transactions to regulators.

He said ABCON was also training BDCs on regular basis on the need to keep transaction records, and get a designated compliance officer that has day-to-day oversight over AML/ CFT programme.

He said the Compliance Officers have been taught rules in preparing Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs), and rendering STRs’ returns to the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).

The ABCON boss said the group had over the years, established itself as a key player in the BDC industry, and has also made several commitments and sacrifices to ensure that the sector continues to thrive and its members follow global best practices in the retail of foreign exchange to end users.

He said BDCs have met and would continue to meet a number of compliance requirements specified by Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and local regulators. The operators, he added, have conducted enhanced due diligence, a major compliance requirement on some high-risk customers. The collation and reporting of foreign currency transactions and suspicious transactions by BDCs are now fully automated, he insisted.

He said that ABCON had in February, launched its Live Run Automation Portal in Lagos. The technology automates all BDC Operations with those of Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), NFIU and the CBN to improve the level of compliance of the BDCs with set regulations.

The platform allows BDCs send their reports online real time, thereby removing the challenge of manual rendition of reports that has been confronting operators for decades. The project, according to him, enhanced the perception of BDCs in Nigeria, especially in the eyes of international investors.

Continuing, the CBN Director said the BDC sub-sector was a critical component of the Nigerian financial market, adding that the cash-based nature of the transactions and other identified deficiencies make it highly vulnerable to ML/TF risk.

He said: “Simply put, money laundering is the process of making dirty money look clean.

“It is the concealment of the true nature, source, location, disposition, movement, rights with respect to or ownership of property knowing that such property is derived from criminal offense.”

The CBN director said the ultimate goal of money laundering process was integration. “Once the funds are in the financial system and insulated through the layering stage, the integration stage is used to create the appearance of legality through additional transactions.”

Explaining how BDCs could be used to perpetrate money laundering, he said the operators could be used to transfer or remit funds, use of fronts or third parties to buy or sell forex, purchase of forex multiple times contrary to regulatory limits, bulk purchase or sale of forex and third party funding of BDCs’ weekly forex purchase through the CBN window.

According to him, there could also be huge unexplained transfer of funds into naira or domiciliary accounts of BDCs, multiple ownership of BDCs to mop up forex, huge forex purchase using naira cash and purchase of forex in exchange for jewelry or real estate to mention but a few.

He listed the red flags that BDCs should watch out for to include reluctance of customer to produce identity documents or BVN information, customers known as Politically Exposed Person, customer reluctant to discuss the nature of his/ her business and customer exhibits a lack of concern regarding transaction costs or willing to sell forex at ridiculously cheap rates.

https://leadership.ng/2019/09/06/play-stronger-role-in-bdc-sector-cbn-tells-abcon/

University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) has debunked reports that the vice-chancellor “suddenly canceled and stripped graduands off (sic) their gowns.”
The Director of Corporate Affairs, Mr. Kunle Akogun, said: “Hiding behind the faceless name, Tijani Faraday, these mischief-makers took to the social media last weekend in a fruitless attempt to rubbish the image of the university while maligning the character of its Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Sulyman Age Abdulkareem”

This purported cancellation reportedly occurred during the fourth induction/oath-taking ceremony for the university’s new Pharmacy graduates last Friday.

“But every right-thinking person would and should know that in the operations of a university system, no vice-chancellor has such power to cancel outright the graduation ceremony of students,” Akogun added.

https://www.akelicious.net/unilorin-denies-stripping-graduands/

An elder statesman, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, has declared that Adams Oshiomhole, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, is empty and has no powers.

Yakassai stated this while stressing that Oshiomhole has no powers to “make” members of the party win any electoral positions.

In a statement he signed, Yakassai insisted that only President Muhammadu Buhari can decide the rising of APC party members across the country and not Oshiomhole.

According to Yakassai: “Oshiomhole as the APC National Chairman, cannot make you even a member of the State House of Assembly.

“He has only the name of National Chairman. He has no powers, he s empty, the partymen know that their party leaders are empty.

“But, if Buhari says you should be this or that, automatically, you will be so, and this also applies to states where the state governors also call the shots.”

Baring his mind on the lack of respect accorded to leaders of various political parties in the country, the elder statesman advised that powers should be given back to the elected party leaders.

According to him, “Powers of political parties must be returned to the members of the party.

“You cannot rise to the position of even a messenger in a political party at the state or national level without the blessings or nod of your governor or the president.”

https://www.akelicious.net/oshiomhole-is-empty-has-no-powers-tanko-yakassai/

The Permanent Secretary, Ogun Bureau of State Pensions, Mrs Ajiun Dada, on Wednesday, said the state government had paid N4.7 billion to pensioners in the state between January and June.

Ajiun made this disclosure while playing host to members of the Ogun House of Assembly Committee on Establishment and Public Service Matters, who were on oversight visit to the Bureau in Abeokuta.

The permanent secretary also stated that the state government had expended the sum of N37. 4 million on payment of gratuities during same period.

She noted that the government had addressed matters concerning the welfare of the Senior Citizens and entire workforce in the state.

“Pensioners in the state receive their monthly pension simultaneously with the serving workers and no pensioners in the state is owed any arrears of monthly pension.

“It is pertinent to note that the bureau maintains a mutual relationship with the National Pensions Commission (PENCOM) and the Pension Fund Administrators (PFA),” she said.

The permanent secretary added that the bureau needed office furniture, computer system and internet facilities for accurate data base of pensioners.

Mrs Modupe Mujota, the House committee chairman, urged the bureau to ensure prompt payment of the pensioners’ entitlements, adding that the assembly would not hesitate to support the bureau when necessary.

The Nigeria News Agency reports that other members of the committee included Elemide Oludaisi, Ajibola Sikirat and Adeyanju Adegoke.

https://www.akelicious.net/ogun-govt-pays-n4-8bn-to-state-pensioners/

Businessman and philanthropist Chief David Lyon, an All Progressive Congress (APC) governorship aspirant, has broken his silence on what prompted his unexpected entry into the state race.

Lyon, whose entry into the governorship race has altered political calculations for poll watchers, in his first public comment since he declared his candidacy said that he is saddened to see many Bayelsa youths unemployed and the underdeveloped condition of the state in spite of being an oil producing state.

The governorship aspirant, who was quoted in a statement signed by his Media Adviser, Chief Gift Ebiki, described the claims by people that he was forced against his will to join the gubernatorial race as “mischievous and unfounded”.

According to him, he is ready for the APC primaries and would go ahead to win the November 16 governorship election with the sole mission of accelerating development in Bayelsa so as to attract investments.



Lyon stated that his desire for the development of Bayelsa was the reason why all his business investments are located in the state and that he yearns for the development of infrastructures which would attract huge investments, make business thrive and create wealth in the state.

Speaking on his readiness to govern the state, he dismissed claims that he does not have capacity to govern and said his political team is ready to sell his vision to make life better for all Bayelsans.

“My team is 100 per cent ready to face the primary; I have been in politics for long. I have also contested elections in the past. I am a politician as well as a businessman. But somehow, I became a bigger businessman because of hard work, God’s blessings and my managerial skills. I also spend a lot of my time building my political relationships. So, I didn’t just enter politics today. Many may have forgotten that I contested the House of Assembly election with the former Speaker Kombowei Benson but later stepped down for him to complete his second term in office. If I don’t have political ambition, why did I join politics and remain there till now? I love Bayelsa State and most of my business investments are domiciled in the state. I believe I have everything it takes to address the problems of underdevelopment and poverty in our state. In my private business, I have demonstrated the willingness to solve the problems in our state especially the problem of unemployment. I have over 7,500 employed in David Lyon Company for the past six years. I am a major contributor to peace in the state. Besides, I have been running a scholarship foundation that cuts across all the local government areas in the state” he said.

https://www.akelicious.net/bayelsa-guber-why-i-want-to-be-bayelsa-governor-david-lyon/

The Federal Government has generated N311.94 billion from Value Added Tax (VAT) in the second quarter of 2019, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said.

It said this in its Sectoral Distribution of VAT, Quarter Two obtained from its website on Tuesday in Abuja.

According to the report, the figure is higher than the N289.04 billion generated in Quarter One and N269.79 billion generated in Quarter Two, 2018 representing 7.92 per cent increase quarter-on-quarter and 16.95 per cent increase year-on-year.



It also said that the manufacturing sector generated the highest amount of VAT, with N34.43 billion generated and closely followed by professional services generating N29.58 billion.

The report said that commercial and trading generated N16.27 billion while mining generated the least of N50.60 million.

It added that pharmaceutical, soaps and toiletries and textile generated N250.09 million, while the garment industry generated N316.91 million.

“Out of the total amount generated in Quarter Two, 2019, N151.56 billion was generated as Non-Import VAT locally, while N94.90 billion was generated as Non-Import VAT for foreign.

“The balance of N65.48 billion was generated as Nigeria Customs Service-Import VAT,” it said.

The report said data was provided by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and verified and validated by the NBS.

https://www.akelicious.net/fg-generates-n311-94bn-from-vat-in-q2-2019-nbs/

The 43 new ministers, who were sworn-in by President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, have taken charge of their respective ministries, with some of them expressing optimism on delivering on their mandates.

Among the new ministers, who reported at their duty posts immediately after they were sworn-in include Godswill Akpabio (Niger Delta), Zainab Ahmed (Finance), Lai Mohammed (Information and Culture), Ogbonnaya Onu (Science and Technology), Suleiman Adamu (Water Resources), Sunday Dare (Youth and Sports Development) and Sabo Nanono (Agriculture).

Others are Adamu Adamu (Education), Emeka Nwajiuba (Minister of State for Eductaion), Timipre Sylva (Minister of State for Petroleum), Paulen Tallen (Women Affairs), Muhammed Abubakar (Environment), Hadi Sirika (Aviation), Clement Agba (Budget and National Planning) and Niyi Adebayo (Industry, Trade and Investment).

Education: Excitement as Adamu, Nwajiuba resume

At the Ministry of Education, it was excitement, following the reappointment of Mallam Adamu. Members of staff, who were clustered around television sets, jumped and screamed with joy when President Muhammadu Buhari mentioned Adamu’s portfolio.

Adamu resumed after his inauguration with the Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajuiba at about 2:45pm. The duo were received by the excited staff led by the Permanent Secretary, Sonny Echono and some directors in the ministry.

Adamu who applauded Echono and directors of the ministry for their support during his first stint in office, noted that he and the former Minister of State for Education, Prof. Anthony Anwuka, had worked hard to put together the Ministerial Strategic Plan (MSP 2016-2019) to the point of implementation before their tenure ended on May 2019.

Adamu noted that Nwajiuba who until his appointment as minister was Chairman, Board of the Tertiary Education Trustfund (TETFund), had abandoned his doctorate programme to serve in the cabinet of President Buhari as minister.

Nwajiuba, who also spoke, said he was at home at the ministry. “I am comfortable that I do not have to go to another ministry, but here with my elder brother at the Ministry of Education, so that I can be tutored and well directed.”

Industry, Trade and Investment: Adebayo, Katagum tasks staff on commitment

At the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, the minister, Otunba Niyi Adebayo and his Minister of State counterpart, Mariam Katagum, pledged to work as partners in order to realize President Buhari administration’s Next Level agenda.

Adebayo, who particularly tasked staff of the ministry to be committed to their duties, said: “We are in the ministry to achieve result and we will work out work plan to move the ministry forward in terms of economic growth and job creation.”

Earlier, Katagum commended President Buhari for finding them worthy for the appointment and promised to work vigorously to achieve her mandate.

Budget and National Planning: Agba sets target for 2020 budget

Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Mr. Clement Agba, who also assumed duty, yesterday, said getting 2020 fiscal budget ready before the National Assembly next month (September) is his top priority.

To realise his dream, he called for the cooperation of the ministry’s staff, pleading that they all join forces with him in realising the target.

He said: “Meetings are already scheduled. It is quite understandable reading the mood of Mr. President. He had made it very clear to us. There is a whole lot of work to be done and he needs the budget to be before the National Assembly in September.

“That means for this ministry, in particular, we do have a lot of work to do. And I can say that we have a lot of capable hands to do the work. The only way we can succeed is for us to work together. I believe in the power of team. For me, the word ‘team’ means together everybody achieves much.”

Women Affairs: Tallen promises better days ahead for women

Newly-appointed Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Paulen Tallen, has assured of moving the ministry to the next level, saying that President Buhari has reasons for sending her to the ministry.

Tallen, who gave the assurance at the ministry’s headquarters, noted that President Buhari is aware of complains by women of not being carried along by his administration. She, however, stated that the President has better plans for women and all citizens.

“This is a holistic ministry as the woman takes care of the home, children and husband. I’m giving you all a charge that things will be done different henceforth, but we must set out targets and work towards achieving them. We must make history and make indelible marks on the sands of history.

“You have severally bombarded Mr. President about the role women played in his political career. He is not unmindful of that and I want to assure you that he has a very good reason of sending me to this ministry,” she said.

Petroleum Resources: Sylva promises to move ministry forward

Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, who also resumed work yesterday, pledged to work with experts at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), departments and agencies under the Ministry to move the sector forward

Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Folashade Yemi-Esan and other heads of parastatals and agencies under the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, received the minister on his assumption of office.

Other heads of agencies present to receive the minister, who was accompanied by his wife, were Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Training Development Fund (PTDF), Dr. Bello Aliyu Gusau and Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF), Alhaji Ahmed Bobboi.

Niger Delta Affairs: Akpabio assures on laudable programmes

Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, assured the readiness and determination of the ministry under his leadership to bring to fruition, the dreams of President Buhari for the people of the Niger Delta.

Akpabio who stated this during a meeting with the management of the ministry, shortly after his inauguration, specifically thanked the President for deeming he and Barr. Festus Keyamo fit to be part of the Next Level agenda of his administration.

“Let me, on behalf of my brother Mr. Keyamo and the people of Niger Delta region, thank Mr. President for the confidence reposed in us to deliver on his laudable programmes for the people of the region. Mr. President by this appointment has handed over the destiny of our people into our hands and by the special grace of God we will not fail.

“We have a very big task before us. The task is not insurmountable and we will surely deliver. We will put in our best to make you and Nigerians proud,” he stressed.

Finance: Ahmed says expansion of portfolio double task

The fusion of Budget and National planning as part of the Ministry Finance has doubled the task of ministry, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning stated yesterday on assumption of duty.

She said the expansion of the portfolio to include budget and national planning was attestation of a good work by entire members of the ministry, who toiled hard to save the nation from slip into fiscal crisis.

“The President has just doubled our assignment. We got this assignment because of the quality of work that we have produced. Ministry of finance has one of the best cerebral civil servants that we have today.

“That we have been re-matched with the ministry of budget and national planning, is also a very weighty responsibility that has been given to us. As you know our nation is facing a near fiscal crisis, and it is up to us to make sure that it is arrested and ensure that we don’t slip into a crisis.”

“We have been growing in eight consecutive quarters, but it is a growth that is still fragile. Our revenues have grown, but they are still 55 per cent from what we have budgeted. We still have to pay salaries and other statutory obligations. We have to pay debts and we also need to operate on a day-to-day basis, and we need to do capital projects for the sustained growth of our economy,” she said.

Information and Culture: Mohammed calls for cooperation among staff

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has charged staff of the ministry to cooperate and work together to achieve greater things.

Mohammed gave the charge during his maiden meeting with staff of the ministry on assumption shortly after his inauguration by President Buhari.

His words: “First of all, we need to give thanks and gratitude to Almighty Allah that made it possible for me to be re-appointed and also posted back to this ministry.

“My charge to all of us is to collaborate, redouble our efforts and work together so that we can justify the confidence that the President has reposed in us. We need to cooperate and work hard.

“Our goal is to leave a lasting legacy at the ministry. At the retreat, the President reiterated the need for ministers to work amicably with their permanent secretaries and chief executive officers of all the parastatals,” he said.

Science and Technology: Onu directs workers to begin 2020 budget preparation

The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, has directed workers in the ministry to begin the 2020 budget preparation, to attain January- December budgetary cycle.

Onu, who gave the directive at a meeting with the permanent secretary, Ddirectors and heads of parastatals and agencies under the ministry, also charged the workers to align with the vision of the Federal Government to return budget to normal cycle.

Onu who occupied the same position in the immediate past administration said the President expected them to put into proper use, any money allocated to the ministry. “We must work together as a team to achieve our mandate,’’ he said

The minister pledged to operate open door policy and urged the workers to work with the newly inaugurated Minister of State, Mohammed Abdullahi.

Also speaking, Abdullahi called for the support from the workers to advance the development of science and technology in the country. He said he was assigned to work with Onu to achieve the transformation agenda of the government.

Water Resources: Adamu pledges to reposition ministry’s roadmap

Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, has pledged to re-position the ministry’s roadmap, geared towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) six for quality water and sanitation in the country.

Adamu gave the pledge when addressing member of staff as he resumed office at the ministry. He said repositioning was critical as the roadmap was expected to give direction to water quality in the country.

“I want to assure you that I will put the Federal Ministry of Water Resources back on the roadmap. We are going to reposition the ministry on the roadmap through our collective efforts.

”I am result oriented and I just want to see results, so I will urge you all to put more efforts in your duties. I also want to assure you that every department in the ministry will be given a fair hearing. I will maintain an open door policy,” he said.

Environment: Abubakar assures good working relations

Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abubakar, yesterday, assured Nigerians and staff of the ministry of good working relations and effective protection of the nation’s environment.

Abubakar gave the assurance while addressing staff of the ministry as he assumed duty. He said that environment generally was a sensitive area because it was all about people and their behaviours, adding that it must be protected to prevent spreading of diseases.

“Most people don’t know the importance of environment, I want to let them know that everything about environment is about people and when the environment is not healthy, nothing else is healthy.

“I know much about the ministry even before the name was changed; I already have good relationship with the ministry. So, we should all know and believe that everything about environment is life and that particular life must be protected,’’ he said.

He also welcomed Mrs. Sharon Ikeazor, who was also appointed as a Minister of State for the ministry. He said that the Ikeazor had been a committed person, adding that cordial working relationship would help the ministry achieve it mandates and objectives.

Ikeazor, while appreciating the minister and the staff, she said that she would put all her best to achieve the goals of the ministry. She said that she would ensure that all the agencies and departments of the ministry would bring out the best for the betterment of the ministry and the country at large.

Aviation: Sirika promises to tackle emerging challenges

The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, has promised to work with aviation unions to advance the sector and position it to meet emerging challenges. .

The minister commended the unions and staff for welcoming him warmly into office, declaring their support and solidarity as “amazing.”

“I promise that there will be good understanding between you and me to drive the activities 0f our industry towards enhancing national development. I will do everything possible to make the ministry grow up.

“This task, I think, is for you as well; not for me alone. It is for all of us. We will continue to hold stakeholders meetings with the unions, staff and the management. We will make what you are doing better. The roadmap is there; we will make things better including your welfare,” Sirika said.

Agriculture: Nanono warns against indiscipline

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono, has warned that he will not tolerate indiscipline and lackadaisical attitude to work as a minister.

While directing all staff to be on their toes working, he said: “I have worked in the public and private sectors and I know how people work in the two sectors.”

He that he would hit the ground running in the discharge of his duties to ensure that agriculture took its pride of place because it was critical to internal security.

He noted that agriculture was one of the most critical sectors in the country and that given the necessary attention; it would help solve many of the nation’s challenges.

“For a number of reasons, people tend to downplay agriculture because they do not know its importance to national development,’’ he said.

Interior: Aregbesola says knowledge of ministry is newspaper based

The newly-inaugurated Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has said that his knowledge of the ministry does not transcend newspapers materials.

The former governor of Osun State was quoted as confiding this in top officials of the ministry shortly after his swearing-in by President Buhari.

Accordingly, Aregbesola was said to have directed the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mrs. Georgina Ekeoma, to oversee affairs, pending his assumption of office on Monday, August 26.

“My relationship with the ministry is distant. What I know about the ministry is what I read in the newspapers. I will come to take over on Monday. I give the Permanent Secretary the grace to run the ministry till then. We will be ready by Monday to take on the huge assignment. I promise you a realistic, reasonable and commendable leadership,” Aregbesola said.


https://www.newtelegraphng.com/2019/08/ministers-take-charge-unveil-agenda/

A building contractor, Adeshina Ojomu, has been arraigned before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court in Lagos for allegedly defrauding a client, Lasisi Olayiwola, of N4.8m.

Ojumu, whose address was given as No. 8 Mogbotoluwa Close, Egbeda, Lagos, allegedly committed the offence on April 11, 2019.



The police prosecutor, Sergeant Mike Umah, told the court that Ojumu obtained the money from Olayiwola, the owner of Bishmur Company Limited, under the pretext of fabricating 219 aluminium windows for the company.

“He used his friend’s phone to call his customer in Abuja for the business and the customer gave him the sum of N4.8m. After he collected the money, he went into hiding and he failed to deliver the aluminium windows,” Unah said.

The prosecutor added that Ojumu was handed over to the police by his friend after the customer threatened to arrest him for shielding the accused.

The charges read, “That you, Adeshina Ojumu, on April 11, 2019, around 2pm, at No. 55 Karimu Laka Street, Egbeda, in the Lagos Magisterial District, did obtain the sum of N4.8m from one Lasisi Olayiwola of Bishmur Company Limited on the pretext of fabricating 219 aluminium windows knowing same to be false, thereby committing an offence punishable under Section 314(1)(a)and(b) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2015.

“That you, Adeshina Ojumu, on the same date, time and place at the aforesaid magisterial district, did steal the sum of N4.8m from one Lasisi Olayiwola of Bishmur Company Limited, thereby committing an offence punishable under Section 287( of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2015.”

Ojumu pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The presiding magistrate, Mr A. A. Fashola, granted the defendant bail in the sum of N1m with two sureties each in like sum.

He said the sureties must be gainfully employed with evidence of three years’ tax payment to the Lagos State Government and have their addresses verified by the court.



Fashola added that the sureties must present their bank statements for three months and reside within the court’s jurisdiction.

The magistrate adjourned the case till September 16, 2019.

https://www.akelicious.net/contractor-allegedly-defrauds-client-of-n4-8m-in-lagos/

The immediate past Chief of Staff to the former Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Samuel Olukunle Ojo, has debunked reports in circulation that his house in Epe, was on Tuesday raided by the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

Ojo, in a statement by his Media aide, Cornelius Kayode, said the house raided in Epe did not belong to the former Chief of Staff because according to him, ” Mr Kunle Ojo did not have any personal house in Epe”.

He maintained that the house raided by the EFCC operatives belonged to the former Personal Assistant to the immediate past Governor of Lagos State, Mr Bunmi Ariyo.

“The former COS doesn’t have a House in Epe as claimed by ChannelsTV and online news today . The House belongs to Bunmi Ariyo, Ambode’s PA,” he said

He, therefore, enjoined any member of the public to as a matter of urgent need disregard the purported trending news on social media.

https://www.akelicious.net/my-house-was-not-raided-by-efcc-ambodes-ex-chief-of-staff/

An Irish company yesterday vowed its readiness to begin the process of seizing $9.6 billion (N2.946 trillion) of Nigeria’s assets. This followed Friday’s decision of the English Commercial Court to permit the enforcement of a 2016 arbitration award against Nigeria.

Justice Butcher had on Friday insisted on Process & Industrial Developments Limited’s (P&ID) right to enforce the pre-award interest, a decision Nigeria’s apex financial institution, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said it would appeal.

Implementing the British Court’s decision will cost Nigeria more than 20 per cent of its $43.9 billion in foreign reserves. The Irish firm in an email to The Guardian on Monday night said it was pleased that the court had rejected Nigeria’s objections both to the arbitration process and the amount of the award and was set to begin the enforcement in the United Kingdom, which would entail an execution of its right to seize $9.6 billion in Nigerian assets.


CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, told reporters in Abuja yesterday that the apex bank was ready to halt the process. According to him, there were irregularities in the process of establishing the contract and that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was investigating the matter.

Nigerian lawyers and experts on foreign affairs, including Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, yesterday said they would comment on the matter only after sighting copies of the contract and the British court judgment. But a professor of International Law and Jurisprudence, Akin Oyebode, in a telephone conversation with The Guardian, noted that Nigeria could actually tender an ex parte application before the British court to restrain the P&ID from enforcing the arbitration award at the moment.

Oyebode said that although he had not been properly briefed as to what really transpired, there would be “ripple effects” if a sovereign nation defaulted in such a contract, especially as promises that are “freely entered into are binding. Again, I don’t know what Nigeria really agreed to because this happened under (former President Goodluck) Jonathan…”He said: “English courts have not been very sympathetic to those who go back on their promises” without establishing that there was a fundamental change of circumstances.

“If there is a drastic change that will make the enforcement onerous, then the court might entertain the notion of their going back on the engagement. “Once you have an arbitrary award, it is binding on you. It means the original agreement had an arbitration clause, which enabled the other party to proceed against us. If there was no arbitration clause, then we could talk of a court judgment, which we can subject to appeal…”

According to Oyebode, in the current circumstance, Nigeria could try to get an ex parte application before the British court to restrain the Irish party until the matter is finally disposed of.He nevertheless described the issue as “very complex,” adding: “An Irish company proceeding against Nigeria-owned state property in the UK shows the number of interesting legal problems which we can’t exhaust with a simple telephone interview.”

P&ID’s counsel on the matter, Andrew Stafford, said: “The court has ruled decisively in P&ID’s favour and has comprehensively rejected Nigeria’s efforts to avoid the payment of this award of over $9.6 billion. P&ID is committed to vigorously enforcing its rights, and we intend to begin the process of seizing Nigerian assets in order to satisfy this award as soon as possible.”

Stafford represents corporations, hedge funds and high-net-worth individuals in complex high-value litigations spanning multiple jurisdictions and involving significant cross-border elements.

The court rejected the Nigerian government’s arguments and agreed with P&ID on every point, the most salient being: London was the seat of the arbitration; the award does not violate UK public policy; and that Nigeria cannot now challenge the tribunal’s awarding of pre-award interest.

The finding regarding the seat of arbitration is important because the determination means only the English court has “supervisory jurisdiction over challenges to awards in the arbitration.” This appears to threaten the effectiveness of any applications to a Nigerian court.

Justice Butcher also stated that many of the arguments by the Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN) were “not analogous to the facts (Paragraph 66),” that he “(did) not accept the submission (Paragraph 66),” and that he “was wholly unpersuaded (Paragraph 79)” by the assertions.

Key excerpts from the court’s decision include – (Seat of the Arbitration), Paragraph 67: “I conclude that the terms of Procedural Order No. 12, coupled with the fact that neither it nor the Final Award have been set aside by this or any court, determine the location of the seat of the arbitration as being London, England, and that that is not a matter which the FRN can now ask this court to revisit.”

Paragraph 87: “I have also reached the same conclusion as did the tribunal in relation to there being an agreement by conduct that the seat of the arbitration as provided for by clause 20 of the GSPA should be regarded as London.”
– (Award Amount and UK Public Policy), Paragraph 96: “The Final Award, consistently with my earlier conclusions, was one given in an arbitration whose seat was England. It could, accordingly, have been the subject of an application under s. 68 Arbitration Act 1996 in relation to serious irregularity. No such application was made and the Final Award has, plainly, not been set aside or remitted.”

Paragraph 97: “Are there any grounds of public policy on which such an award, which is intended to and is expressed as awarding compensatory damages, and which could have been but has not been subject to remedies under ss. 68 Arbitration Act 1996, should not be enforced? In my judgment there are not.”

Paragraph 102: “Furthermore, the public policy in favour of enforcing arbitral awards is a strong one, and, if a balancing exercise is required at all, outweighs any public policy in refusing enforcement of an award of excessive compensation. The labelling of such excessive compensation as “punitive” or “penal”, as the FRN seeks to do in this case does not alter this conclusion.”
– (Pre-Award Interest), Paragraph 108: “Given that there was no such application in relation to the award of pre-award interest (or at all), I do not consider that there can now be a separate objection to enforcement on the basis of a lack of jurisdiction.”

On the background to the controversy, P&ID claimed that its founders, Brendan Cahill and Michael Quinn, had conceived the new project to deliver “much-needed power generation to millions of Nigerians, and create profitable by-products for sale on the international market. Under an agreement with Nigeria, P&ID would build a state-of-the-art gas processing plant to refine natural gas (‘wet gas’) into ‘lean gas’.”

P&ID “would receive no payment for this work: instead, they would own the by-products created by the refining – such as propane, ethane and butane, known as Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs) – and would have the right to sell them on the international markets. This market would be worth billions of dollars over the 20-year lifespan of the contract.”

Nigeria reportedly failed to supply the ‘wet gas’ (which was required under the terms of the contract) and so the project stalled. P&ID claimed it made multiple compromises in an attempt to find a workable solution but did “not find a willing partner on the other side of the table.”

In 2012, the P&ID went to arbitration to try to resolve the dispute, and in 2016, the panel of independent arbitrators ruled that Nigeria was liable to the company, a decision that has led to the current situation. The panel comprised experienced arbitrators like Lord Hoffmann (appointed independently by neither party).

Hoffmann was a former Law Lord in the U.K. House of Lords and is a current member of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. Others were: Sir Anthony Evans (appointed by P&ID), who formerly sat in the English Court of Appeal and is now the Chief Justice of the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts; Chief Bayo Ojo (appointed by Nigeria) had formerly been Attorney General of Nigeria. These jurists ruled unanimously that Nigeria was liable to P&ID.

https://www.akelicious.net/irish-firm-ready-to-seize-nigerias-n2-9tr-assets/

As a nation that has a population growth rate of more than three per cent and is expected to be one of the most populous countries in the world by 2050, Nigeria, needs to begin to look inwards in ensuring that it is able to provide basic amenities for its teeming population.

According to United Nations estimates, Nigeria’s youth population is expected to grow by nearly 60 per cent over the next 15 years and the growing population will retain its youthful age structure, posing challenges to systems that must deliver basic services to growing numbers of children.

This has been the crux of recent government polices as efforts are been made to not only grow the employment figures but to also ensure that the country achieves a level of self sufficiency in areas where it has the capacity.

In recent years, the Central Bank Of Nigeria ( CBN) has taken initiatives to set the country on the path of self sufficiency as it promotes the local production of not only staple foods but other products that could be manufactured locally.



It started by excluding 41 items from the list of eligible for foreign exchange. The list comprise of items such as staple food in the country, wood, palm products, meat, poultry, nails, and steel, toothpick, textile, plastic amongst others.

The policy which at its introduction in 2015 had generated a lot of controversy has become a reference point as it has not only generated employment bust has reduced the demand for foreign exchange for the importation of these products and created a local supply of what used to be mainly imported.



Following the outcome of the policy, the apex bank had decided to expand the scope of the policy to include other products such as milk.

With a growing population, Nigeria is a potential market for more than 1.3 million tons of milk. However, as the largest producer of livestock including cattle, sheep and goat in West Africa Nigeria has been the largest importer of processed milk in the region, spending a whopping sum of approximately $1.3 billion per annum for milk importation.

This not unconnected to the fact that Nigerian dairy farmers use the traditional system which ends up with the animals producing traditional between 0.7 – 1.5 litres of fluid milk per day as against cows in Kenya which produce up to 30 litres per day and cows in Israel which produce between 45 and 60 litres of milk per day. During the dry season, this figure drops to about 0.5 litres.

Currently, most of Nigeria’s dairy processors import milk powder and reconstitute it into liquid milk and other dairy products such as yoghurt, ice cream and confectioneries. Others repackage imported powdered milk into small affordable sachets.



The imported dairy products (mostly milk powder) come from New Zealand, Australia, South America, the EU, India, Ukraine, Poland, and other smaller suppliers. Multi-national firms including Frieslandfoods (Netherlands), Glanbia (Ireland), Cussons-PZ (UK), Promasidor, etc; have either partnered or acquired some Nigerian dairy firms for reconstituting and/or packaging imported milk powder. According to the Central Bank of Nigeria report of 2010, the increasing consumption trends have cost the government a substantial amount of foreign exchange to import dairy products into Nigeria.

To the Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), Mustapha Umar, milk production in Nigeria is not commensurate with the huge cattle production in the country.



Noting that Nigerian cattle contribute a conservative estimate of 50,000 litres to daily supply, he said the consumption of aggregated and bulk milk is less than 20 per cent of local potential.

Nigeria’s milk production accounts for only 13 per-cent of West African production and 0.01 per-cent of global diary output. The daily requirement is largely met by 60 per-cent imports and 40 per-cent local production.

The permanent secretary said the rudimentary status of the Nigerian dairy value chain is a major constraint to increased milk production.

On its part, the CBN had explained that its decision to restrain importers of milk from the interbank foreign exchange market will encourage investment in local milk production, create jobs and grow the economy.



Director, Corporate Communications, CBN, Isaac Okorafor, noting that milk importation is not banned, explained that “all we will do is to restrict sale of forex for the importation of milk from the Nigerian foreign exchange market.

“We wish to reiterate that we remain ready and able to provide the needed finance to enable investors who genuinely want to engage in milk production.”

According to him, the country has been heavily dependent on imported milk for over 60 years, stressing that the action has serious implications on national food security, especially since it is possible to breed the cows producing milk in Nigeria.



Okorafor said, “We therefore wish to once again reiterate our policy case as it relates to the planned restriction of access to the Nigerian foreign exchange market by importers of milk.

“Nigeria and the welfare of all Nigerians come first in all our policy considerations. Being an apolitical organisation, we do not wish to be dragged into politics. Our focus remains ensuring forex savings, job creation and investments in the local production of milk.”

He noted that the CBN approached some milk importers, like it did for rice, tomato and starch and asked them to take advantage of the CBN’s low-interest loans to begin local milk production. Okorafor noted that although there had been some successful attempts at producing milk locally, the vast majority of the importers still treated it with contempt.



The policy has however met with strong resistance by milk companies and some Nigerians who feel the policy is out to stifle Nigerians and cause a scarcity of an essential nutrient for the growing population.

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industries (LCCI) and the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) had kicked against adding milk to the not eligible for forex listen.

Segun Ajayi-Kadir, Director-General of MAN, said the addition of milk to restricted items would have a negative impact on the economy that might lead to downsizing, reduce government revenues and the manufacturing sector’s contribution to GDP.



He lamented that CBN’s decision was taken unilaterally without consultation with operators in the dairy industry. “It is a fact that to backward integrate is the way to grow an economy, but there is a need to be strategic and deliberate about the way to implement the measure.

“MAN has always been at the forefront of resource-based industrialisation; and has always supported backward integration, that is the reason why many manufacturers are exploring local sourcing of raw materials.

“What CBN wants to achieve is almost the same but the style of approach differs and the timing” he said warning that the policy would have negative effects from its desired purpose and would trigger more smuggling activities into the country.



Director, Friesland Campina WAMCO Peak milk producers, Ben Langat, who is of the opinion that the backward integration ofthe diary sector is possible lamented that the major challenge in the dairy sector is poor infrastructure.

“You cannot do anything without access to roads, electricity, water and security. Once you have all these in place, the private sector will be able to play. We have the ideas and experience on how to do it.”

He said his company was ready to partner with the government to expand dairy development in Nigeria. “Our project is to mobilise pastoralist communities, because that is what makes the bulk of the cows where productivity lies, and to introduce the smallholder model of getting farmers who will produce milk from their locations,” he said.

https://www.akelicious.net/cbn-milk-policy-need-for-backward-integration-for-growth/

Africa’s largest oil refinery will not be finished until the end of 2020 due to problems importing steel and other equipment, executives at Dangote, which is building the facility in Lagos said.

“We will be able to complete the (refinery) project by the end of next year – mechanical completion,” said Dangote Group Executive Director Devakumar Edwin, who oversees the project.

The company expects fuel production within two months of completion of the refinery, which could transform Africa’s biggest crude producer from a fuel importer into a net exporter, upending global trade patterns.

Billionaire Aliko Dangote, who built his fortune on cement, first announced a smaller refinery in 2013, to be finished in 2016. Dangote then moved the site to Lekki, in Lagos, upgraded the size and said production would start in early 2020.

Nigeria imports virtually all its fuel due to underutilised refineries, and even the state oil company is looking to the 650,000 barrel per day (bpd) Dangote refinery to help address this.

Price caps force NNPC to import nearly all its gasoline at a significant cost and periodic fuel shortages are common.



Despite the delays at the congested Apapa and Tin Can Island ports in Lagos, a Dangote executive said the company could start using the refinery’s tank farms as a depot to warm up operations.

Edwin also said during an interview at his office in Lagos that Dangote is setting up its own trading desk, with a senior team of three people and a staff of roughly 30 who will monitor international commodity prices.

“We are setting up a complete trading desk here with us. In the next three months the full desk will be set up,” he said.

Giuseppe Surace, the refinery’s chief operations officer, said the refinery’s tank farms will be finished this year and could be used as a warm-up for operations.

The tanks will be connected to five “single point mooring buoys” (SPMs), which will allow the refinery complex to pump crude straight into tanks from large ships at sea and pump products back out onto boats of any size.

The SPMs will be the primary method of supplying oil products from the refinery, Surace said, adding that the team were considering using the tanks as training or as a depot before the refinery’s production starts.

“We might do that. We will be ready to do that,” he said, though he added that no decision had been taken yet.

The team is in talks with NNPC, two other international oil companies and two large oil traders, all of whom are interested in supplying crude and buying products, Edwin said.

Edwin said the crude unit for the refinery, which set sail from China last month, would arrive by the end of October.

The trains at a fertilizer plant on the same site will start up by the end of this year, the executives said.

https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN1UY27N

Former Deputy Senate President, Mamman Abubakar Dan Musa has called on President Muhammad Buhari to urgently intervene and rescue his home state from the grip of bandits’ attacks and several other criminality.

Mamman, who made the call while addressing reporters in his house on Wednesday, said the security situation, particularly in three local Government areas in the state – Batsari, Safana and Danmusa – has seriously degenerated into every day attacks.

He added that the security agencies have failed to curtail the challenges.

He said: “Buhari knows Mamman very well and he knows I don’t talk nonsense, and that I am a fighter of justice and human rights. In 1960, I led a demonstration while as a student of Katsina teachers college against injustice and inhumanity and now that the security in the state has deteriorated, we cannot continue to keep quiet.

“You the press should tell the truth. Recall that the Northern Governors on the first of this month granted amnesty to the bandits with conditions, it was not a blanket amnesty, but it was targeted at the bandits who carry arms. Few days later, they are yet to comply and the situation has escalated.

“It appeared that the amnesty has even become a licence for them to intensify criminal attacks against hapless citizens, especially farmers.”

He warned that as the rainy season sets in, the situation is becoming precarious and that famine may set in.

He urged the President to act now, adding that it was not a matter for Katsina State government but for the President to urgently address.

Mamman, who was also a staunch supporter of the President, especially during the 2015 general elections, had fallen out with him in the 2019 general elections when he openly campaigned for the PDP presidential candidate.

https://www.akelicious.net/insecurity-ex-deputy-senate-president-sends-strong-message-to-buhari/

Gov. Bello Matawalle of Zamfara on Wednesday sacked all the 14 local government secretaries in the state and approved their replacements.

The governor has also approved the appointment of rector of the state polytechnic and provost of the college of education.

This is contained in a statement signed by Yusuf Idris, the Director-General of Press Affairs to the governor, in Gusau.



The governor directed the sacked council secretaries to submit their handover notes at the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.

The new local government secretaries included Abubakar Bakura, Bakura Local Government; Rabiu Pamo, Anka; Abdulkadir Gora for Birnin-Magaji; Lawali Zugu, Bukkuyum; Sani Mainasara for Bungudu, Rabiu Hussaini, Gummi and Nura Musa for Gusau.

Other were Bashir Bello for Kaura-Namoda Local Government, Ahmadu Mani for Maradun, Salisu Yakubu for Maru, Abba Atiku, Shinkafi; Ibrahim Garba, Talata-Mafara; Aliyu Lawali for Tsafe and Bala Dauran for Zurmi.

The statement added that Dr Sha’ayau Mafara was appointed by the governor as Rector and Muhammad Maradun as Registrar of Abdu Gusau Polytechnic, Talata-Mafara.

Mafara was a staff of Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto before his appointment and holds a PhD in Biochemistry from Liverpool University, UK.

Matawalle also appointed Ibrahim Gusau as the new Provost of the state College of Education, Maru.

Gusau has an MSc degree in Mathematics.

The governor directed the outgoing Rector and Registrar as well as the outgoing Provost to submit their handover notes at the Governor’s Office.

https://www.akelicious.net/breaking-matawalle-sacks-lg-secretaries-heads-of-tertiary-institutions/

The Federal Government on Monday offered for subscription two-year savings bond at 10.301 per cent and three-year savings bond at 11.301 per cent per annum, the Debt Management Office (DMO) has said.

According to the offer circular obtained from the DMO website, the two-year bond will be due in August 2021, while the three-year bond will be due in August 2022. It, however, did not state how much was offered, but added that the maximum subscription was N50 million at N1,000 per unit, subject to minimum subscription of N5,000 and in multiples of N1,000.

The DMO said that the bond was fully backed by the full faith and credit of the Federal Government, with quarterly coupon payments to bondholders.

The savings bond issuance is expected to help finance the nation’s budget deficit.

It is also part of the Federal Government’s programme targeted at the lower income earners to encourage savings and also earn more income (interest), compared to their savings accounts with banks.



The circular also said that the offer would close on Friday.

https://punchng.com/fg-begins-sale-of-savings-bonds-for-aug/

The satanic Boko Haram sect was officially banned in Nigeria by the federal government and declared a terrorist network in June 2013. The office of the Attorney-General of the Federation has since successfully prosecuted many of the members of the sect for sundry offences under the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act.

The Special Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has also investigated and indicted the leaders of the sect for committing crimes against humanity. Having regards to the brutal killing, rape, abduction and bombing of innocent people in the northeast region the Nigerian people are fully in support of the proscription of the dreaded sect and the counter-insurgency operations being carried out by the armed forces.

However, it is worrisome that the Buhari administration has decided to extend the ambit of the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act to cover individuals and organisations that are critical of official policies or perceived marginalisation within the federation. Thus, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) was proscribed as a terrorist body in 2017 for agitating for the excision of the Republic of Biafra from Nigeria while the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) was proscribed last week for organising rallies to compel the federal government to comply with a court order by releasing the Shia leader, Sheikh Ibraheem Elzakzaky and his wife from custody.

Yesterday, the authorities of the Nigeria Police Force threatened to prosecute the organisers of the peaceful rallies scheduled to hold in Nigeria on Monday, August 5, 2019, for terrorism and treason to press for a change in the poverty induced agenda of the federal government. If this trend of accusing every person of engaging in terrorist activities or treasonable felony for criticising the Buhari administration continues the Nigeria Police Force and the State Security Service will soon turn Nigeria into a country of terrorists. To stop the dangerous trend it is high time the federal government restrained the security agencies from further exposing Nigeria to ridicule in the comity of civilized nations.

Indeed, by virtue of section 37 of the Criminal Code Act, any person who levies war against the State, in order to intimidate or overawe the President or the Governor of a State, is guilty of treason, and is liable to the punishment of death while section 41 provides that any person who forms an intention to remove the President during his term of office otherwise by constitutional means is guilty of treasonable felony and is liable to be sentenced to life imprisonment. The Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act has defined an act of terrorism to include any act which is deliberately done with malice which may seriously damage a country or an organization, or seriously intimidate a population, otherwise influence government by intimidation, destroy public facility, seize an aircraft, ship or other means of public transport likely to endanger human life or in result in major economic loss etc.

From the above definitions of treason, treasonable felony and terrorism it is crystal clear that the organisers of the peaceful rallies cannot be said to have planned to engage in acts of terrorism or formed an intention to remove President Muhammadu Buhari from office. The intention of the organisers of the rallies to protest the worsening security situation in the country, demand for payment of N30,000 minimum wage to workers and job creation for our army of unemployed youths etc cannot by any stretch of imagination be said to constitute terrorism or treason in any material particular.

No doubt, the Nigeria Police Force has capitalized on the use of the word “revolution” to criminalise the protests. If revolution has become a criminal offence in Nigeria why were the leaders of the APC not charged for claiming to have carried out Nigeria’s democratic revolution which terminated the 16-year rule of the PDP in 2015? Why was Dr Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu, the presidential candidate of the Young Progressive Party (YPP) not threatened with treason when he asked Nigerians to rise for revolution via the 2019 general election? Did all Nigerian senators led by APC members not commit treason or terrorism when they spent one and a half hours on May 14, 2019, to debate Senator Chukwuka Utazi’s timely motion on “Bridging the gap between the haves and have-not to nip in the bud the seeds of a looming violent revolution”?

I wish to submit, without any fear of contradiction, that neither the Criminal Code Act nor the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act has classified the demand for a revolution in Nigeria as a treasonable offence or terrorist activity. The statement credited to the Police is a sad reminder of the jittery reaction of the British Colonial invaders to series of lectures organised by the Zikists Movement in 1948 which Comrade Edwin Madunagu has described as a major intervention at a time that bourgeois politicians were dividing the country along ethnic lines. For demanding revolution via public lectures the Zikists were charged with sedition, tried, convicted and jailed. In proving the charge, Osita Agwuna was alleged to have said that he was no longer bound by colonial laws and that he had asked Nigerians to stop paying taxes to the British colonial regime.

Agwuna who delivered the first lecture in Lagos, Tony Enahoro who was the chaired the lecture and Habib Abdallah who delivered the second lecture together with Oged Macaulay was convicted and sentenced to prison terms ranging from 6 months to 3 years. In Director of Public Prosecutions v Dr. Chike Obi (1961) 1 NLR 186, the respondent was charged with sedition, tried and convicted for distributing a pamphlet in which he had said, “Down with the enemies of the people, the exploiters of the weak and oppressors of the poor” directed at the federal government. However, in in the case of Arthur Nwankwo v The State (1985) N.C.L.R. 228 the provisions of the Criminal Code which provided for sedition and seditious publications were declared illegal and unconstitutional by the Court of Appeal on the ground that they constituted a violation of the fundamental right of Nigerian to freedom of expression.

Since the Shehu Shagari elected government was overthrown by a band of coup plotters led by General Muhammadu Buhari in December 1983 the Constitution was suspended. Consequently, Nigerians were subjected to intimidation and ruled by martial law. In May 1992, I was one of the five civilians charged with a treasonable felony by the Ibrahim Babangida junta for organizing protests demanding an end to military rule in the country. The late Chief Gani Fawehinmi SAN and I who represented ourselves and the other defendants argued that street protests were not captured under section 41 of the Criminal Code. We also argued that it was ironical that General Babangida and his fellow coup plotters who should be standing trial for treason had turned round to charge us with a treasonable felony for merely organising street protests and rallies to end a corrupt military dictatorship in our country.

Embarrassed by our submissions the Babangida junta abandoned the case and abandoned it. In the circumstances, the charge was struck out for want of diligent prosecution while we were discharged by the trial Chief Magistrate. However, some journalists and human rights activists were not so lucky as they were convicted for being accessories after the fact of treason by the Sani Abacha junta. But with the restoration of democratic rule in May 1999 the Treason Offences Decree, No 29 of 1993 was repealed.

On duty of the Police to provide security during rallies

Under the current political dispensation, the anti-democratic tendencies of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were regularly challenged by the Nigerian people. Incidentally, the opposition political parties were involved in resisting the encroachment of the fundamental rights of citizens to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. On September 23, 2003, the leaders of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples’ Party (ANPP) including General Muhammadu Buhari and Dr.Chuba Okadigbo held a rally in Kano, Kano State to protest the alleged rigging of the 2003 general election. Embarrassed by the development the Olusegun Obasanjo administration directed the police to stop the rally. Accordingly, the Police violently disrupted the rally and dispersed the participants with a heavy dose of teargas. Two days later, Dr Okadigbo passed on due to breathing problems. The ANPP blamed the federal government for Dr Okadigbos’s death which was alleged to have arisen from the poisonous teargas used by the Police to stop the rally.

To put an end to such crude violation of the freedom of expression through demonstrations and rallies by aggrieved Nigerian people the ANPP instructed our law firm to challenge the disruption of the Kano rally. Thus, in the case of ANPP v IGP (2006) CHR 181, the plaintiff questioned the constitutional validity of police permit as a conditionality for rallies, marches and other public meetings in Nigeria. In her judgment delivered on June 25, 2005, the presiding judge, Chinkere J. held that police permit was illegal and unconstitutional as it was inconsistent with sections 39 and 40 of the Constitution and Article 11 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights Act (Cap A9) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

According to the learned trial judge, “I am therefore persuaded by the argument of Mr. Falana that by the combined effect of sections 39 and 40 of the 1999 Constitution as well as Article 11 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the right to assemble freely cannot be violated without violating the fundamental right to peaceful assembly and association.” Consequently, the court granted an order of perpetual injunction restraining the Inspector-General of Police “whether by himself, his agents, privies and servants from further preventing the Plaintiffs and other aggrieved citizens of Nigeria from organizing or convening peaceful assemblies, meetings and rallies against unpopular government measures and policies.”

The epochal decision of the federal high court was upheld by the Court of Appeal in the case of IGP V ANPP (2008) 12 WRN 65. The Presiding Justice, Adekeye JCA (as she then was) asked “…how long shall we continue with the present attitude of allowing our society to be haunted by the memories of oppression and gagging meted out to us by our colonial masters through the enforcement of issuance of permit to enforce our rights under the Constitution?” On the fear that a rally might lead to a breach of the peace, her ladyship said that “our Criminal Code has made adequate provisions for sanctions against the breakdown of law and order so that the requirement of permit as a conditionality to holding meetings and rallies can no longer be justified in a democratic society.”

Happily, the Police decided to abide by the judgment concerning the management of public protests. Hence, in the Nigeria Police Code (issued in 2010) it is expressly stated that police officers shall “maintain a neutral position about the merits of any labour dispute, political protest, or other public demonstration while acting in an official capacity.” Based on the new official policy the Police provided security for the members of the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress during the anti-fuel protests. Similarly, the Police did not disrupt the street protests convened by the Save Nigeria Group when the late President Umoru Yaradua was said to have been admitted in an undisclosed foreign medical centre in 2010.

However, in 2014, in violation of the judgment and the Police Code the Federal Capital Territory Police Command decided to stop the daily rally held in Abuja by the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) members in Abuja to remind the State of its responsibility to free the abducted Chibok girls. But the ban was successfully challenged by the BBOG at the Federal Capital Territory High Court through our law firm. In upholding our submissions in the unreported case of Hadiza Bala Usman &Ors v Commissioner of Police & Anor. (Suit No: FCT/HC/CV/1693/2014 of 30th October 2014) Aladetoyinbo J. held that “it is wrong for the counsel to the Respondent (IGP) to insist that the Applicants must obtain Police Permit before they can gather together for their peaceful protests.”

Given the judicial recognition of the fundamental right of Nigerians to convene and participate in rallies, protest marches and other public meetings for or against the government the National Assembly was compelled to amend the Electoral Act, 2010 in March 2015. Thus, section 94 (4) of the Electoral Amendment Act, 2015 states that“Notwithstanding any provision in the Police Act, the Public Order and any regulation made thereunder or any other law to the contrary, the role of the Nigeria Police Force in political rallies, processions and meetings shall be limited to the provision of adequate security as provided in subsection 1 of this section.”

In the light of the relevant constitutional and statutory provisions and judicial authorities which have recognised the fundamental right of the Nigerian people to convene and participate in rallies, demonstrations and protest march the threat of the Nigeria Police Force to stop August 5, 2019, should be withdrawn without any further delay. Furthermore, the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu is advised to direct the Commissioners of Police in all the states of the federation earmarked for the protests to ensure that adequate protection is provided for the organisers and participants as required by law.

The State Security Service should release Mr Omoyele Sowore, one of the conveners of the protests. In the alternative, he should be arraigned in court if there is reasonable suspicion that he has contravened any penal statute. However, the nation’s security agencies should stop embarrassing President Buhari who had a cause, from 2003-2014, to lead peaceful rallies to protest election malpractice and insecurity in the country.

Finally, the attention of security agencies is hereby drawn to that part of the judgment of the Court of Appeal in IGP v ANPP (supra) wherein Justice Adekeye cautioned thus:

“A rally or placard carrying demonstration has become a form of expression of views on current issues affecting government and the governed in a sovereign state. It is a trend recognised and deeply entrenched in the system of governance in civilized countries- it will not only be primitive but also retrogressive if Nigeria continues to require a pass to hold a rally. We must borrow a leaf from those who have trekked the rugged path of democracy and are now reaping the dividend of their experience.”

https://www.akelicious.net/protest-marches-are-not-treasonable-offences-in-nigeria-by-femi-falana/

Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo, Senior Pastor of the Commonwealth of Zion Assembly, COZA, has returned to preaching on the pulpit.

Fatoyinbo pulled a large crowd on Sunday as members were seen screaming and jubilating as he climbed the stage for the first time since Busola Dakolo accused him of raping her.

He wrote: “The past few days have been very sobering on me I have taken time to seek spiritual counsel form Christian leaders around the world who feel very concerned about the ongoing report in the media.

“I have solicited their guidance on actions I should take that is honoring to our Lord Jesus Christ and the work he has called me to do.

“Drawing from their counsel and that of the leadership of COZA and owing to my love for Lord’s work and the sacred honor of my calling I have decided to take a leave of absence from the pulpit of the church.”

This came on the heels of protests asking the cleric to step down over the allegations leveled by Timi Dakolo’s wife, Busola.

The celebrity photographer had alleged that the COZA founder forcefully raped her when she was young.

https://www.akelicious.net/coza-pastor-biodun-fatoyinbo-returns-to-pulpit-amid-rape-case/

The immediate past Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, has accused his successor, Emeka Ihedioha, of destroying legacy projects he left behind for the state.

The member representing Imo West Senatorial District condemned the taking over of Eastern Palm University and scrapping of other new universities and institutions built by his administration.



The Special Adviser (Media) to Okorocha, Sam Onwuemeodo, in a press release in Owerri on Thursday, said scrapping the six universities, four polytechnics and three colleges of education built by Okorocha’s government, which had already taken off, was not in the interest of the state.

The statement said, “We want to let Governor Ihedioha know that Okorocha had done eight years as governor and cannot be governor again. He should stop acting as if he is in a contest with the former governor.

“We are saying this because the zeal with which the governor has been destroying and discrediting all that the former governor laboured to put in place, has become worrisome to all Imo people, and others too.

“All the facilities Okorocha used to beautify Owerri, the state capital, have all been removed as if INEC announced him governor for the sake of removing or destroying all that Okorocha built.

“Obviously, the governor is looking at the man behind the institutions (Okorocha) instead of looking at their in-built merits both now and in the nearest future.”

The statement noted that Ihedioha since his inauguration as governor had not done any other thing apart from destroying and discrediting all that Okorocha did.

It added, “We appeal to Governor Ihedioha to take things easy and always think deeply before acting on issues instead of doing otherwise.”

https://www.akelicious.net/ihedioha-desperate-to-destroy-my-legacy-okorocha/

Gov Aminu Masari of Katsina State on Thursday said that the State Governments in the Northwest are ready to collaborate with security agents to address insecurity ravaging the zone.

He said the state governments are similarly ready to liaise with other relevant stakeholders to ensure peace return to the zone and the entire country.

Masari stated this during the opening ceremony of meeting of the Northwest governors, leaders of Miyetti-Allah Cattle Breeders, Vigilante groups, Herdsmen and security chiefs in the zone.

“We, as governors, we are fully aware of our responsibility of securing life and property of people.

“So, we are ever ready anytime and anywhere to give maximum support and corporation, as we have been doing, to ensure that lives of our people are well protected.

“This is a continuation of what has started at various times and in various states; efforts of the IGP to mobilise support and understanding of all concerns to ensure that peace will once again return to the region and country as a whole,” he said.

In his remarks, the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, said that they were in the state to review ongoing activities in the zone to curb insecurity.

He said the meeting was with a view to finding lasting solutions to the security challenges facing the zone and the country.

“Before today, there had been a lot of peace initiatives introduced by various states in the zone on how to cooperate and stop the killings that are taking place from one community to another.

“That was why we are in Katsina to review activities initiated and see those things that worked and those that didn’t work,” Adamu said.

According to him, this would assist to restore peace in the zone and the entire country so that people would go about their normal business like before.

“We know we are farmers. As such, we should be able to go to the farms.

“We know we are cattle breeders, we should be able to go and rear our cattle without molestation,” he said.

The Nigeria News Agency reports that the governors in attendance were those of Katsina, Kano, Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara state.

Others were the deputy governors of Niger and Jigawa States.

https://www.akelicious.net/northwest-collaborates-with-security-agents-others-on-peace-masari/

The Federal Government has said that it is considering installation of drones to monitor activities in games reserves and national parks in the country to check illegal trespassing of national assets.

Conservator-General of National Park Service (NPS), Ibrahim Ogoni, who disclosed this at that 2019 World Ranger Day celebration in Abuja, said that discussions were on with the Office of the Defence Adviser for approval of the technology.

He also added that when it is operational, it would improve greatly the monitoring of illegal grazing, farming, bush burning, fishing, mining and other activities within our national assets.

https://www.akelicious.net/fg-plans-to-use-drones-in-monitoring-parks/

Gov. Bello Matawalle of Zamfara has announced plans by the state government to recruit 8,000 workers into the civil service.

The governor who made the disclosure on a media programme in Gusau on Wednesday, said the government has saved money for the payment of the new workers.

“Plans have been perfected by the state government for the recruitment of 8,000 workers into the civil service.

“On this issue too, I have made sure that the money that will be used in paying these additional workers have been secured for the next five months.

“This class of workers do not however include the 1,400 youth employed but not being paid by the immediate past administration for over two years.

“I have since directed for the screening of the 1,400 and immediately the screening is over, those who have not taken up other jobs or secured admissions to continue their education will be fully included on the state’s nominal role.”

The governor also said that the government would disburse N150 million to empower 7, 500 women in the state to earn decent living.

“We will select a total of 1,500 women from all parts of the state each month and give each the sum of N20,000, so that they can engage in or boost their small scale businesses.

“The first set of 1,500 women are likely to start benefiting from this month (July), and this will be followed with another set of 1,500 women.

“I have already saved this money for the implementation of the programme for the next five months and I want to assure women in the state that unlike in the past, this programme will last throughout the life span of my administration.

“This money which I want our women to use in improving their living standard is not going to be given as loan but free of charge,” Matawalle assured.

On agriculture, the governor explained that his two weeks absence from the state resulted in the release of 50 trailer load of fertilizer by the presidency to address the challenges faced by farmers as a result of armed banditry.

He said “on the whole, I was able to secure as assistance to different categories of farmers in the state, a total 148,500 bags of assorted fertilizer from the federal government.

“I want to assure the good people of Zamfara that my administration will be guided by sincerity of purpose for the wellbeing and progress of the people and the state.”

https://www.akelicious.net/zamfara-govt-to-recruit-8000-workers/

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) says it is offering free medical services to 3,000 victims of banditry from Kanoma Community in Maru Local Government Area (LGA) of Zamfara.

Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, made this known in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.

” The medical intervention, which began July 30, is designed to bring succour to villagers who were displaced by the activities of bandits prior to the commencement of the ongoing dialogue between the Zamfara Government and the bandits,” he said.

Daramola said the humanitarian initiative was in furtherance of the directive by the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, for the NAF Medical Services Branch to provide immediate medical assistance to residents of Kanoma and adjoining communities in Maru LGA.

He said Mr Bala Moru, the Secretary to Zamfara Government, who represented Gov. Bello Matawale, thanked NAF for the kind gesture in assuaging the plight of the people.

Matawale said that the Zamfara Government was happy with the initiative.

Daramola quoted Matawale as saying that as part of ongoing negotiation with the bandits, more than 200 persons in the hands of the bandits had been released.

The governor added that efforts were ongoing to secure the release of the remaining captives.

Daramola said the first day of the medical outreach witnessed a large turnout of villagers who were treated for different medical conditions.

He said the beneficiaries, who were elated by the gesture, expressed appreciation to NAF for the services provided by the Medical Team.

Daramola said Group Capt. Ali Tanko, the leader of the NAF Medical Team and Director of Public Health and Humanitarian Services, Headquarters NAF, said that the Team would remain in the area to provide medical services to about 3,000 patients.

Tanko said those requiring basic surgeries would be operated upon.

According to Tanko, the medical outreach would also provide free medical consultations, laboratory tests, free drugs, as well as insecticide-treated mosquito nets to pregnant women.

He said other services to be rendered were visual acuity checks, de-worming of children and distribution of prescription eye glasses to about 1,000 persons from the benefiting communities.

https://www.akelicious.net/banditry-naf-offers-medical-services-to-3000-idps-in-zamfara/

SheikH Ahmad Abubakar Mahmoud Gumi is a Kaduna-based Islamic scholar. In this interview with our correspondent, NOAH EBIJE, in Kaduna, the fiery religious leader answered questions on national issues without fear or favour. He came down hard on President Buhari over the high rate of insecurity and poverty in the country, alleging that it is the worst government in the nation’s 20 years of democracy. Sheikh Gumi said he regretted criticizing Obasanjo’s government in 2004, saying that he never knew that a worse government was ahead in 2019.

How would you assess the security situation in the country today?

I don’t believe so much in conspiracy theory, these things started long time before the advent of this administration. The Fulani herdsmen menace and its repercussion, I have seen it growing slowly before this government came to power. It became saturated because of the economic factor, suddenly the economy came into stagnation, and the people became desperate. So the economy blew out, and the security apparatus lacks adequate manpower and instruments to control the situation. It was a gradual thing and the economy bears the main point. You could see children under the age of 15 planning to kidnap, to get what? Money, because poverty is too widespread. So when you don’t get the economy right, you are going to destroy everything.

Some Nigerians allege some people are benefiting from this state of insecurity. Do you share their view?

No, no, it is too naïve to think that way because nobody is safe, nobody is safe, they could kidnap anybody anytime. It is not about ethnic or religious and political affiliation, it is purely economic war, and there is no religious colouration. In fact, when the herdsmen were attacking people in Benue and Plateau states, they said it was Islamization. When they attacked more Muslims in Zamfara, everybody kept quiet. The people in Zamfara State suffered this more than anybody.



Herdsmen, bandits and kidnappers have been largely blamed for the insecurity, do you believe there’s more to it than the common man can see?

The insecurity situation in the country today, absolutely, every single Nigerian is feeling the brunt. It is very treacherous, anything can happen anytime, anywhere. It is widespread, if it is concentrated on a localised place, it would have been curtailed. But generally, lack of institutional infrastructures and poverty in the land are responsible for insecurity in the country.

What’s the role of religious leaders in this whole situation?

Religious leaders are [of] two [types]; there are those who dance with government and there are those who try to tell the government what it is supposed to do. Those who dance with government can never tell government what it is supposed to do. And those that don’t dance with the government, when they speak, they say your position is against them, so government doesn’t listen to them. So by this, religious leaders are virtually neutralized. They have no role to play because if you speak the truth, they will say you are in opposition. When they finish speaking, they just want to hear sweet music of approval, even in a serious situation like we have now. Nobody wants to hear the truth. We have reached a point of diminishing returns, because indices are not responding to stimuli. You have really seen that things are going out of tunes.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has equally raised the alarm about increasing security challenges in the country. Do you share his thoughts in his recent letter to President Buhari?

When Olusegun Obasanjo was in power, I was among those who criticised him. And when Jonathan came to power, and Obasanjo wrote a letter to him, I told a congregation in the mosque that whatever I have said about Obasanjo or whatever I think Obasanjo did wrong to me particularly or the people, I have forgiven him. This was during the first letter he wrote to Jonathan.

So I have forgiven Obasanjo because I realised that the manner he is doing it is for the interest of Nigerians. When he saw Jonathan whom he brought to power was going off the track, he corrected him in a letter, saying this and that. So now, this same Obasanjo, when he sees President Buhari doing the same thing, wrecking the nation, he drew people’s attention to the drift. He has been consistent, if he sees that you are deviating from the mainstream or doing something that is so detrimental to the nation as a whole, he speaks. So why should I not take his words serious? A former Head of State, a security man, a man who fought the civil war and everything, he is supposed to know at least what is happening to everybody. What Nigeria needs now is stability, peace and tranquility. There are forces that are pragmatic, practical, not idealistic and full of propaganda. So this nation is made up of many tribes, and hundreds of different persuasions, even within the same division you have divisions and different ideas. With the same Bible, they fight each other or with the same Koran, the people will be fighting each other. So there is only one thing that can unite us; the desire for peaceful coexistence, that is what everybody needs. When we sit down on the same table and find the way out, whatever it is, we can resolve it. So if leaders will come together and negotiate our ways out, the problem will be less. When you win election, it doesn’t mean the nation is yours and you [can] do what you like, like if I am President now, Nigeria is my own, [and] I do what I like. It is not like that. You have to listen to the constituencies, you have to listen to Nigerians, and if you win an election, you have to tolerate all Nigerians. As the president, you got over 12 million votes (or let’s give him 20 million votes), for example, out of 80 million registered Nigerian voters. Out of eighty million, only 20 million voted for you and you are raising your shoulder––you are nobody, you are nobody in the question of Nigeria. You can’t do what you want; you have to be consultative, you have to bring all segments together. Why majority of voters did not vote is another reaction, you have to listen to them and find solution to what will unite Nigerians.

This is the kind of government we need. You can’t impose yourself, no way, you can’t use force. We need a government that brings everybody together, listens to people and obeys the rule of law, then we can have unity in this country. But force cannot do it. Let me tell you, when Nzeogwu did coup in 1966, they thought they have Nigeria, after six months, everything turned upside down. Force cannot do it. Major Orkar in 1990 thought he could change Nigeria by force. Force cannot do it. Only persuasion can do it. We have to sit down on the table for Nigeria to be readjusted. But we need a government that people can call and say, yes, they will do it for us.

How did Obasanjo offend you before forgiving him?

You know, every government has its own shortcomings. So when I came in 2004, I saw that the nation was in such situation that I did not know that we were going to reach a point in 2019 where I will begin to see that Nigeria can be so bad. Obasanjo was trying his best at that time, but I cannot see it because I did not see the worst. There was poverty. They brought me a woman in 2004 with nine children; it was during the fasting period. She broke her fast with water, she had no food. I was really touched. But then it was a woman that was brought to me, now they can bring me a whole community.

So, I was thinking then, why was the nation’s wealth not distributed well? Why were people not getting well, not so many people were getting rich, but generally, the economy was better. Constructions were going on. So these things I saw under Obasanjo made me to criticize his government.

When Jonathan came to power, and we saw the Boko Haram menace, it blew up the problems, the problems were increasing. Then Obasanjo came out to tell him that things were not going on well, and I said this man (Obasanjo) has the nation at heart. You may disagree with him here and there, but, generally, I will give him a pass mark. He is not doing the things for personal interest, but for the nation.

Are faith leaders like you genuinely worried and concerned and if so, do you compare notes?

We have not been comparing notes really. There are institutions that bring inter-faith leaders together, and when you hear such institutions, their leaders are already dancing to the tune of government. Whenever government calls, they are there. Yes, they may try to say a word or two, but their criticism of government is somehow limited.

Do you think the economy has something to do with the state of insecurity?

Yes, this is what I told you in the first question. It is the economy that really worsens the situation and it is worsening by the day. In fact, they said Nigeria has become the poverty capital of the world. Things are really becoming terrible. It is normal to be sick. But if you are sick today, you are almost digging your own grave.

Are you worried about the Ruga policy?

I have not seen and read what government intended to do with Ruga policy. What I want to tell government to do is, negotiation; if government can develop ranching for private sector, it is the responsibility of government to encourage private sector to do ranching because these cows are owned privately and not by the government. So the government cannot secure a place for them because it is private business.

For instance, if you said you are allocating a large land for nomadic Fulani, I too sitting down here, need land, I need land to rear cows, so why giving this one and not giving that one? It is not the business of government to give land. What government should do is to facilitate ranches, demarcate areas for ranching, that people come and buy the land, give you taxes, then also facilitate the industries in the country. Do it for everybody, you don’t need to be Fulani. So politicizing the issue is wrong.

Many argue that the recent suspension following public outcry is diversionary. Do you believe government will still go ahead with it and what will outspoken leaders like you do in case it is reintroduced?

Like I said, Ruga is a private issue. They should just encourage people to make ranches, and then make law to stop rearing of cattle across borders. If they make law, the people will adjust. Like the Almajiri issue, they make things worse for Almajiri teachers because you have to build schools first, then make law that we don’t want to see any Almajiri roaming about. If you see him roaming about, the teacher or the parents are in trouble. Then you will see them disappearing. When you make ranches, across all the states, encourage the people to buy the ranches, then you see cattle disappearing from the roads.

VP Osinbajo is a Pastor of the Pentecostal faith. Do you see him as a likely successor to President Buhari in 2023 or the power remaining in the north as being canvassed already?

Nigeria as a nation should overcome this rotational thing. Maybe, we should be at the tail end of this rotation because in the last eight years the nation was fragmented, so divided that applying the idea in our political situation may not be pragmatic, may not be possible; otherwise we should have developed to the extent that the population decides.

Let Nigerians decide what they want in an election. What we need is political competence, people who are not bigots or under the influence of religion or any Nigerian who recognizes equality and unity of Nigeria. More importantly, we need leaders that are not against faith and religion. We want leaders that respect faith.

North has the numerical strength, do you think it will ever allow political power to slip off its hands again?

We no longer have homogenous north, there is no one North again. The one north is no more. How was Abiola accepted in the North against Tofa? Let me tell you, Abiola came to this house (Gumi’s House) and he said it was from this house he was told to contest for the presidency. But I have never seen Tofa in this house. What I am trying to tell you is that there is population in the north, but it is of different people, tribes, persuasions. There is no one thing that unite the north. We have good people who are nice; honestly, Abiola did not have tribal sentiment. He was not tribalistic. We just want competent people. So the most important thing is that you must not be tribalistic, or a religious bigot. No compulsion of faith. You cannot force your religion on another person. You can only convince somebody to follow you, not to force him.

Do you think the long detention of El-zakzaky and Dasuki is justified?

How can it be justified when the court of law said they should be released? This is what we are seeing in this government. Government should not use force to break the law of the land. In fact, they should be released when the law says they should be released. This is part of the thing we are saying that it is very negative about the constitution. Disobeying court order in day light. This is a nightmare that will haunt them one day, they will see the effect, how people will be talking about them. What legacy, what history does any leader want to keep? El-zakzaky has his own followers, Dasuki has his own followers.

Many Nigerians are worried that the Shiite leader’s travails can incubate another Boko Haram crisis. Do you share their fears?

Two wrongs do not make a right, the moment government has mismanaged this thing, it has already turned them into some form of militancy which we hope, they are restricted, as soon as possible before they become full-blown insurrection.

These people are no more afraid of authority because we have seen video clips where they are threatening police officers, and that is a sign that something should be done, otherwise they form their own authority.

So now, it is left for Nigerians to say, look, this Nigeria is not for two of you, we have our children, we have our future, the government cannot mess us up, create another insurgency when we have one already, simply for not obeying court order. So government should equally address them too, Nigeria is not for you alone, you cannot impose your religion or creed on the country. Nigeria has to wake up because if we leave these two, they are all northerners, I know how our psychology is, and nobody wants to show he is defeated. But it is not a question of defeat, it is a question of law. Let them obey court order.

What do you see as the solution to the myriad of problems facing the country today?

Let the government strengthen the economy and provide employment for unemployed Nigerians.

If you’re to meet Buhari today, what will you tell him?

I will tell him to revive Nigeria.

https://akelicious.net/herdsmen-shiites-crises-may-end-nigeria-sheikh-gumi/

A group of political office holders under former governor of Oyo State, Abiola Ajimobi, has warned Governor Seyi Makinde administration to desist from blackmailing them.

At a press conference at the NUJ Press Centre in Iyaganku, Ibadan, and a statement jointly signed by the former commissioner for Education, Prof. Adeniyi Olowofela, former special adviser, Communication and Strategy, Mr. Bolaji Tunji and former special assistant, Political Matters, Abiodun Ambali, the group described the litany of allegations against the Ajimobi-led administration as “lies, propaganda and falsehood.”

They said: “It has come to our notice and our investigation has also revealed that there is a deliberate smear campaign against the immediate past administration in the state by apologists of the present administration. This is in order to destroy the legacies of the administration and individually and collectively malign us.


“This carefully-orchestrated propaganda started a few weeks ago when the former administration was accused of awarding the Iseyin-Moniya-Oyo road to a faceless contractor at a cost of N2billion per kilometre, which had been debunked.

“Not only that, the present administration had also falsely alleged that the state had a debt profile of N150billion, which has been confirmed to be incorrect. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Debt Management Office (DMO) put a lie to this. Total domestic borrowings at end of the Ajimobi administration was just over N90billion, of which about 35 per cent constituted provisions for arrears of pensions and gratuities of civil servants.

“The remainder was made up of bailouts and interventions extended by the federal government to all states to assist government alleviate pains experienced by the populace as a result of the global economic depression and the fall in oil prices.

“However, we have also decided to respond to the current smear campaign about vehicles alleged to have been recovered from some aides and political office holders. As stated, these are orchestrated campaigns of calumny and cheap propaganda aimed at rubbishing the well-known giant achievements of the Ajimobi administration, which we were part of.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/07/enough-of-lies-propaganda-outright.html

A 63-year-old landlady, Mrs Elizabeth Asuelime, has been allegedly murdered by her tenants at No. 72 Umunajie Street, Asaba, Delta State.

The deceased’s daughter, Glory, told Akelicious that her mother was murdered on Tuesday by two of her tenants.


She said, “My mum called me on Monday around 8pm and asked me to come home the following morning because one of her tenants was giving her problems and threatening her. So, on Tuesday morning, I called her phone but it was switched off.

“When I got to the house, I met the door open. I checked her room and she was not there, so I went to the parlour and saw her lying on the couch. I called her again and she didn’t respond, so I touched her and the body was stiff.

“I noticed blood gushing out from the back of her head; then I screamed and went outside and asked for the tenant giving my mother problems. One of the ladies said it was the tenant in the front and I told them that my mother was lying dead in a pool of her blood inside the house.

“That was how we went to the ‘A’ Police Division in Asaba and it was discovered that the assailants used a harmer or stick to hit my mother in the back of her head. The police have arrested only four tenants, because after the incident, most of them ran away.

“Charles and Emeka, together with their wives, were the ones who quarrelled with my mum. The assailants went away with her phone. We are waiting for MTN to provide the transcript of the last conversation with my mother.”

Confirming the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officers, DSP Onome Onovwakpoyey, however, said it had not been established that the said tenants murdered Elizabeth.

She stated that the tenants, who quarrelled with the landlady, were currently at large, but four other tenants had so far been invited for questioning.

The PPRO added that investigation was ongoing to unravel the circumstances surrounding the woman’s death and apprehend the killers.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/07/tenants-allegedly-murder-63-year-old.html

Dr Jamilu Gwamna, a chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Gombe State, has urged critics of President Muhammadu Buhari on security to provide solutions on how to improve the situation.

Making the appeal on Wednesday in Gombe, Gwamna said the previous administrations should also take responsibility for the security challenges in the country.

According to him, Buhari inherited the seed of insecurity facing the country that were planted by the past administrations through corruption and wastefulness of resources.

He noted that the country would make tremendous progress in the fight against insecurity if those condemning and criticising Buhari would recommend solutions that can assist in combating the menace.

“If you can’t make recommendations as to how we can solve the pockets of insecurity in some parts of the country, then of what use is your criticisms. As a patriot, the aim of criticism is for improvement.

“Why criticised or condemn Mr President for the insecurity issues that were created through poverty and other bad governance of the 16 years of the same crop of leaders who now dish out condemnation like Saints.


“President Buhari inherited almost a failed state especially when Abuja was almost becoming a regular ground for bombing; today that has been addressed yet no single commendation in that regard.

“If those criticising and condemning President Buhari are to prove their patriotism, let them also commend Mr President whenever there is improvement and not use isolated cases to dish out condemnations,’’ he said.

Gwamna stressed that it was the ingenious management of the situation by Buhari since 2015 that had not escalated insecurity in the country.

He said that the state of the country before 2015 was “embarrassingly shameful’’.

While appealing to all Nigerians to defend the country’s unity and jettison attempts to politicise security issues in the country, the chieftain warned that “such politicisation is a threat to our collective existence’’.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/07/of-what-use-is-your-condemnation-apc.html