₦airaland Forum

1stCitizen:
You no even sabi thief. Learner

This is what i dont like in my life when someone accused for no reason, av i ask any money from ur father?

Please dont tarnish my image on Nairaland.. ..

The simple question u shud ask is, what type of bix is that?

ejihand:
Thank you. Is it in the main jamb certificate or jamb notification slip?

It should be same age.. .

Modified cus i hate insult.. ..

ejihand:
From the link. Don't know what the school took as the date of birth. Can anyone suggest. From bithdate written on waec or neco certificate?

Use ur jamb age.

Okechukwu Nnodim, Abuja

The Federal Government on Monday declared that the price of rice would start to fall from November this year.

It stated that more Nigerians had returned to their various farms, adding that at the next harvesting season next month, the price of rice would start to crash.

This came as the government said that the delay in the approval of the 2016 budget had made it impossible to implement the capital expenditure in the agricultural sector.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, said this while addressing members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development at the headquarters of the ministry in Abuja.

Ogbeh, who stated that the government could not be involved in the importation of rice as speculated in some quarters, stressed that his ministry would not encourage rice importation because it would be detrimental to local production.

He said the Federal Government was against rice smuggling and noted that the Seme border had become a notorious route for the smuggling of contraband products into the country.

“We will not encourage rice importation and there is no way our ministry or government can be involved in importing rice when we are working hard to be self-sufficient in local production. By November when the full-scale harvest starts, rice prices will fall,” the minister said.

Early last month, the government had warned that the price of rice might hit N40,000 a bag. It is currently being sold around N20,000.

The Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, said that the $22bn annual food import bill had led to the astronomical rise in the price of rice and other commodities.

He stressed that if Nigerians failed to produce some of the items being imported before December, the price of rice could skyrocket to N40,000 a bag.

On why the ministry had yet to start implementing its capital budget, Ogbeh said, “It is about now that the capital expenditure is beginning. One of the reasons why money is not circulating is that we need to follow the due process on issues of procurement, advertisement and others.”

According to him, his ministry has spent just N882.58m, representing four per cent of the N21bn budgeted for it in the 2016 Appropriation Act.

He also said, “You may be surprised to know that only six to seven states in Nigeria are showing enthusiasm in agriculture. Some by nature don’t seem interested, while others just can’t connect with whatever we are doing at the federal level.”

Ogbeh further stated that his ministry inherited N67bn debt when the present administration came on board, but added that N20bn had been paid to agro-dealers and distributed 900 million oil palm seedlings to farmers across the country.

http://punchng.com/rice-pricell-fall-nov-fg/

Godwin Isenyo, Kaduna

Northern leaders gathered on Monday in Kaduna, the Kaduna State capital and told President Muhammadu Buhari to work harder at fixing the nation’s economy because there was hunger and starvation in the land.

The northern leaders, however, said that despite the current economic woes characterising the President Buhari’s administration, their votes for him (Buhari) in the 2015 presidential election were never wasted.

If Buhari or any other northerner presented himself for Presidency in 2019, they said, they would gladly vote for the individual.

A former Secretary of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, who spoke on behalf of the northern elders at the Northern Group’s Summit organised by the Northern Elders Forum in Kaduna on Monday.

Besides, Baba-Ahmed said the summit was being held in Kaduna because of the prevailing peace brought about by the decimation of the Boko Haram sect by the Buhari administration.

He said, “Today, we meet in Kaduna in a vastly-improved security atmosphere, with the Boko Haram sect pinned to enclaves. Some will say thank you to President Buhari; we will say, you have delivered on one of your promises, which was to improve our security.”

The former INEC boss, however, reminded the President that there was hunger and starvation in the land.

He said, “We will not join those who say President Buhari should stop reminding us of a past that is haunting us today. But we will join those who remind him daily that hunger is stalking millions of homes. Inflation is making life difficult by the day. People are losing their jobs. Businesses are closing down. Infrastructure is decaying. Young Nigerians are losing hope of being employed. Our hospitals are full of people who suffer mysterious illnesses, and they cannot afford the fees.”

Baba-Ahmed said despite the current economic woes in the country, the northern votes for Buhari in 2015 were not wasted, insisting that the North did not make mistakes in voting for the President.

He added, “So, those who are disposed to listen, please listen. Northern votes were not wasted in electing President Buhari. In 2019, we will also use our votes in a manner consistent with our interests as northerners. We did not make a mistake in putting up a solid, united front as northerners in spite of our ethno-religions differences.”

Meanwhile, the Chairman, Northern Governors Forum and helmsman of Borno State, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, has said that nobody, be it the Indigenous People of Biafra or any other separatist agitators, can divide Nigeria.

Shettima, while addressing the leading lights of the region which included, governors, senators, captains of industries, retired senior military officers, also hailed Buhari for fulfilling one of his promises of decimating the Boko Haram insurgents in the North-East and other parts of the region.

The activities of the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents had claimed over 20,000 lives since 2009 and rendered no fewer than two million people homeless.

Shettima said the current calls by some Nigerians particularly the Igbo and other ethnic nationalities in the country were purely the handiwork of those who had lost in the “chess of power politics” in the country.

He noted that there was no single ethnic nationality in the country that had a greater stake in the continued existence of Nigeria than the Igbo, saying that continuous agitation for the decimation of the country would remain an illusion.

Besides, Shettima argued that the greatest tragedy that befell the country was the emergence of the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

The Borno State governor noted that the Jonathan administration made every effort to not only divide the North but the entire country along ethnic and religious lines.

He added that no matter the differences, nobody or group could balkanise the Nigerian nation.


http://punchng.com/theres-hunger-starvation-land-northern-leaders-tell-buhari/

If u r above 30yrs and still want to serve with this batch.. ...PM me.. .

Mynd44:
Forged documents, fake passports and visas, drugs and things of less savory nature

Seun should check the certificate u used to applied AS MODERATOR ...So u av been patronising them? I

wristbangle:
I guess some building materials, heavy duty gens, etc.

Its Oluwole market Lagos and not Oluyole Ibadan ooooooo..... Tell me now, what else can u get there....

Fine

People gabbing picket.. .

NYSC will never accord with you as they have their blueprints already.. ...

Make sure police in ur vicinity are aware of the protest as NYSC law states that corps members are not allowed to protest, though u still PCM.. ..


Just keep bombarding their twitter handle and copy people like Omojuwa,Ogunlesi....

PCM dey vex.

tosinwill:
please can someone pay after registration or is it compulsory to pay before choosing my state of choice?

U can pay after choosing ur state of choice.. .

OLAEKAN ADETAYO

Barring any last-minute change in plan, President Muhammadu Buhari will on Monday hand over some aircraft in the Presidential Air Fleet to the Nigerian Air Force, SUNDAY PUNCH has learnt.

A top Presidency source told our correspondent on condition of anonymity that the handover ceremony would hold at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

Although the source was not forthcoming on the number of aircraft to be handed over to NAF, it was learnt that at least two of such presidential jets would be presented to the air force.

The source said, “I can confirm to you that based on the directive of the president, the commander of the Presidential Air Fleet will hand over some aircraft in the fleet to the Nigeria Air Force on Monday. The handover ceremony will be open to members of the public. President Buhari may be represented at the event by the minister of defence. It will hold at about midday on Monday.”

Out of the 10 aircraft currently in the fleet, only the Boeing Business Jet (Boeing 737-800 or Air Force One), is for the president’s exclusive use.

Others who fly aircraft in the fleet are Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Aisha Buhari; Dolapo Osinbajo; Senate President Bukola Saraki; the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara; ex-heads of state and top government officials on national assignments on behalf of the president.

http://punchng.com/buhari-hand-presidential-jets-naf/

Dusby:
hw does one pay d #3000 for online reg. is it by buying scratch card?

Wait till online registration starts, u pay through ATM.. ..

Tunde Odesola and Leke Baiyewu

Following the simmering crisis in the All Progressives Congress, the National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has started reaching out to his former political foes in the South-West in order to consolidate his influence in the region.

The multi-layered crisis in the ruling party is threatening the erstwhile chummy relationship between Tinubu and President Muhammadu Buhari.

The crisis in the ruling party started before the 2015 general elections but became full-blown after Buhari was sworn in as president. There has been discontent within the Tinubu camp. Sources said that members of the group and their principal were not happy with what they saw as attempts by the party leadership and the presidency to diminish Tinubu’s premium contributions to Buhari’s emergence as president and undermine the former Lagos State governor’s leadership in his South-West power base.

But SUNDAY PUNCH learnt over the weekend that some of Buhari’s closest associates have been pushing back by telling those who are close to Tinubu that Nigeria cannot have a ‘co-presidency.’

Although the two leaders had tried futilely to keep the frosty relationship away from public knowledge, things came to a head a few days ago when Tinubu wrote an open letter lambasting the National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, who is believed to enjoy the support of the president.

Tinubu, who faulted the way the party’s governorship primary was held in Ondo State, accused Odigie-Oyegun of conducting a fraudulent primary and he asked the former Edo State governor to resign as the national chairman of the party.

After the letter was published, Oyegun refrained from responding to Tinubu. But he later visited President Buhari in Aso Rock and photographs of the duo laughing and sharing banters was made public. Shortly thereafter, Oyegun replied Tinubu and described the latter’s open letter as ‘reckless.’
Tinubu’s harsh denunciation of the party chairman has been widely interpreted as a direct protest against Buhari. In private, Tinubu’s loyalists are complaining that his political capital is being eroded by the hostile actions of the president’s men and the inactions of the president.

Tinubu’s loyalists in the South-West have listed Buhari’s hostile actions against the APC national leader to include the exclusion of his candidates from Buhari’s final ministerial list, the gang-up against his candidate in the Kogi governorship election, James Faleke, who was the late Audu Abubakar’s running mate; and the alleged fraud against his candidate in the Ondo governorship primary, Olusegun Abraham.

Until the recent crisis, the party had successfully managed the growing discontent within its leadership as insinuations were rife that some of Buhari’s closest political associates had perfected a plan to destroy Tinubu politically.

But pro-Tinubu elements within the party and other sympathisers have vowed to resist any attempt to humiliate Tinubu.

Some of Tinubu’s close associates spoke to SUNDAY PUNCH but pleaded anonymity because of possible reprisal.

A chieftain of the party in Osun State, said, “This is the beginning of the end of the APC. The party will shatter into smithereens. We are ready for them. They are going nowhere.

“We know the political leader of the South-West and that person is unmistakably Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. They are envious of Tinubu’s achievements, but they don’t have Tinubu’s clout. None of those scrambling to wear Tinubu’s shoes have the clout to do so. These ingrates are the people that have benefitted immensely from Tinubu’s large-heartedness. Now, they are stabbing him in the back. We are in the South-West together, we shall see.”

Speaking in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents on Friday, Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, said he would not hesitate to fight against any anti-Yoruba policy by the Buhari-led administration. He said he would team up with like-minded leaders in the South-West to resist attacks on any of the region’s political leaders. Fayose said, “I will resist any policy that is formulated by the Buhari administration against the interests of the Yoruba. Some people may say it is too early to criticise them now, so, we are watching.

“We will keep our fingers crossed and our gunpowder dry. We won’t be hasty in our condemnation; when you put water on fire, you wait for it to boil. We don’t want it to appear as if we are looking for an opportunity to nail them. Let them continue their governance, we are watching.”

A pro-Tinubu stalwart in the ruling party also told one of our correspondents that the plot to ridicule Tinubu and reduce his standing in the South-West had “already failed.”

Another top APC leader in the South-West told SUNDAY PUNCH that apart from trying to destroy his political structures, many in Tinubu’s camp believe that one of the ways the national leader’s opponents would attack him is to go after his business interests and associates.

“We won’t be surprised if the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission wakes up tomorrow to say they are probing Tinubu or his associates. They may even send the Department of State Services after him because that is the step the Buhari government has taken against all their perceived enemies. Asiwaju knows that they may come for him.”

Similarly, a chieftain of the party said in a telephone interview on Friday that a former Governor of Osun State, Chief Bisi Akande, had warned Tinubu against the alliance with the North.

The chieftain said, “Baba Akande didn’t like the idea of teaming up with the North. He had advised that the APC should concentrate on the South-West and seek ways to develop it massively.

“But the emerging political scenario at the time made the possibility of the Yoruba coming into the mainstream of Nigeria’s politics a reality. Baba Akande was of the opinion that we should not participate in
governance at the centre.”

A party source, who said he was privy to the earliest events that signaled trouble for Tinubu, added that the president had assured Tinubu that he would be shown the list of ministers before it would be made public so that the latter could have his own input. He added that the president, however, sent a copy of the list to Tinubu and the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, at the same time.

“By sending the list to Asiwaju and Saraki at the same time, Buhari subtly undermined the promise he made to Tinubu because he knew that with the copy of the ministerial list in Saraki’s hands, there was no way Tinubu could make any input into the list.”

A chieftain of the APC in Ondo also explained that Tinubu was deliberately undermined in the Ondo governorship primary with Abuja’s backing of Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), who emerged the winner of the primary.

It was gathered that Tinubu had reached out to prominent Yoruba leaders, such as Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Chief Mojisoluwa Akinfenwa, Chief Olanihun Ajayi, among others, in the bid to reposition himself and the South-West.

Also, it was gathered that an attempt at rapprochement was ongoing between Tinubu and the Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko.

It was learnt that some Yoruba leaders had volunteered to broker a truce between Tinubu and Mimiko as the echoes of their disagreement during the countdown to Mimiko’s re-election is still fresh.

Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, a staunch Tinubu loyalist, is said to be the arrowhead of the move to reconcile Tinubu and Mimiko.

A top member of the APC, who is in the know of the developments, told SUNDAY PUNCH that it was public knowledge that Tinubu had been sidelined at the national level.

The source said, “Those leading the rebellion against Tinubu are politicians who lost their wards and constituencies in elections, even when they were governors. His loyalists are not in government, despite the contributions of Asiwaju to the 2015 electoral victory. Asiwaju has realised that they are ready to go to war with him so he is consolidating. This is not a time to hold on to past wounds and we are glad Yoruba elders who were critical of Tinubu before are rallying round him because they understand that this is a South-West matter. It is beyond our national leader.

“The elders have held several meetings with him and they are realigning. Don’t forget what Pa Ayo Adebanjo said; he said any insult to Asiwaju is an insult to the Yoruba race and Adebanjo is not known to be flippant in his choice of words.”

Also, a former leader of the Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, told our correspondent in confidence that Tinubu had reconciled with some Yoruba leaders. He said the former Governor of Lagos State now needed the leaders in the ongoing political realignments in the South-West.

The source said, “I am aware that they (leaders) have held meetings. One of such meetings was held in Asiwaju’s home. The 2015 electioneering was a solo game for Tinubu. The Yoruba leaders did not agree with him on the formation of the APC and the choice of the presidential candidate (Buhari). Now that the game is turning against him (Tinubu), he has to manoeuvre. However, I’m not sure that all the people he is realigning with can help him.”

Another Yoruba leader confirmed that some Yoruba leaders, who were opposed to Tinubu up till the 2015 elections, had been holding meetings with him lately.

The ex-Afenifere chieftain said, “The whole thing is shocking to some of us. How come those who knew all Tinubu did to them politically have suddenly made a U-turn in an attempt to save him from the onslaught on him in the APC?”

A founding member of the Obafemi Awolowo-led Yoruba socio-political organisation, Sir Olaniwun Ajayi, confirmed to SUNDAY PUNCH that the leaders of the region met with Tinubu recently. He stated that the meeting was to reconcile all political divides in the South-West and chart a common course for the Yoruba race.

The nonagerian had in an earlier interview with SUNDAY PUNCH strongly criticised Tinubu and other governors of the Alliance for Democracy, a party founded by Afenifere leaders, alleging that the governors dumped the AD after gaining power and went ahead to form the Action Congress. He further alleged that the same group of governors, led by Tinubu, destabilised Afenifere for political reasons.

Speaking to our correspondent on Friday, Olaniwun said, “Yes, we had a meeting with him in the recent past. Yes, the meeting was about the Yoruba coming together for the benefit of the Yoruba nation. We have for long been on our separate ways, which is not good for the Yoruba nation. We went to him and the Governor of Lagos State (Akinwunmi Ambode); we met the two of them together. We decided to see (meet with) the former governors and the current governors.”

When asked if Afenifere leaders had forgiven Tinubu, whom they had always accused of leading the rebellion against the group, the elder statesman said, “He has not offended me, if you are referring to me as a person.”

Olaniwun denied that the reconciliation was to protect Tinubu politically.

http://punchng.com/tinubu-makes-peace-former-political-foes/

Ibadan,Abakaliki,Otuoke or Daura?

Ibadan,Abakaliki,Otuoke or Daura?

vanbonattel:
Good thinking faculty that is set on default to support mistakes?

Good thinking faculty that is set on default to support mistakes?

Ok

Because they have good thinking faculty.. ..

Confused

Following

Olalekan Adetayo, Kamarudeen Ogundele, Success Nwogu, Olaide Oyelude and Armstrong Bakam

The Federal Government failed to commence its free National Home Grown School Feeding programme at the beginning of the current academic session in September as promised.

Saturday PUNCH learnt that the sharp reduction in government revenue prevented the Federal Government from meeting with the target date.

The programme, which was formally inaugurated on June 9, 2016 by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, is part of the Social Investment Plans of the present administration for which N500bn has been budgeted in the 2016 Budget.

The Federal Government, through the national manager of the programme, Mrs. Abimbola Adesanmi, had in July said it would commence the scheme in September when schools resumed, with 5.5 million pupils across the country.

The promise was that the programme would benefit 5.5 million pupils in the first year of its operation, while Adesanmi had explained that the Federal Government had resolved to start the programme with pupils from Primary 1 to 3 at the beginning, and then move to other classes later.

However, the Senior Special Assistant to the Vice-President, Mr. Laolu Akande, blamed the drop in oil prices and oil pipelines vandalism by the Niger Delta militants for the delay in the commencement of the programme as planned.

An office headed by the Special Adviser to the President on Social Protection Plan, Mrs. Maryam Uwais, created for the purpose of implementing the plan which formed a major part of the All Progressives Congress’ campaign promises ahead of the 2015 presidential election is in the Office of the Vice-President.

Akande also cited the need to ensure that the beneficiary states were ready as part of the factors responsible for the delay.

He, however, assured all stakeholders that despite the setbacks, the scheme would soon kick off.

He said, “We had to first ensure there is operational readiness in the states where the programme will start. That took some of the time.

“The other reason for the delay had to do with the general drop in revenues occasioned by the drop in oil earnings.

“The economic sabotage and attacks on oil and gas installations in the Niger Delta is also a factor, which at some point, meant Nigeria was losing one million barrels per day of the 2.2mpd that had been estimated in the budget.

“But the good news is that the programme, which has been budgeted for, will take off very soon. Please note that the programme has kicked off in Kaduna State for months now and for years in Osun State.

“The steering committee, set up for social investments with presidential oversight, has recently made provision for the programme to kick off very soon.”

When told of a recent statement by the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, that N60bn had been released for the programme, Akande said the sum was meant for all the components of the social investment plan, and not for the feeding programme alone.

He described the money as the first tranche of funds, saying more releases would follow.

He explained that the money would go straight to the service providers, the cooks, through banks.

On the beneficiaries, Akande confirmed that all pupils in Primary 1-3 in public schools in the first set would benefit.

Apart from Osun and Kaduna where their state governments are already implementing the feeding programme, he listed other states in the first set to include: Borno, Ebonyi, Enugu, Anambra, Ogun, Akwa Ibom, Sokoto, Zamfara and Oyo.

He said as the government goes ahead with the scheme and once state governments show readiness, more of them would join the programme.

According to an overview of the scheme presented at its inauguration in June, the plan runs till 2020 and forms the cornerstone of the nationwide Home Grown School Feeding programme, which when fully realised, would provide a meal a day to over 24 million primary school children.

“Not only will the Home Grown School Feeding programme help our pupils become better students, it will also boost the local economies, and create new jobs along the way,” Osinbajo had said at the inauguration.

Saturday PUNCH had in its September 3, 2016 publication reported exclusively that the reduction in Federal Government’s revenue caused by the sharp drop in global oil price was threatening the full implementation of President Muhammadu Buhari’s planned social protection programme.

Other schemes under the social protection plan include the Micro-Credit Scheme, Teach Nigeria Scheme, the Youth Employment Agency, Conditional Cash Transfer, and Free Education Scheme for Science Students.

Meanwhile, some parents from across the country have criticised the Federal Government and expressed disappointments that it failed to commence the programme in September as promised.

The parents, all of whom have children in public schools, said they were hoping that their children would benefit from the programme.

A parent in Katsina State, Mallam Nasir Manir, said, “The programme was to commence last month and the government has not told us the reason for the delay. I pray it does not end up being another campaign gimmick.”

A parent, who identified himself as Kazeem, said he was disappointed that the Federal Government failed to keep its promise to feed school pupils.

He said, “The government promised us and we were hopeful, but it has not done it. I feel it is very bad for a government to take the people for a ride because we had trust in it, but it is failing us.”

A social commentator in Ekiti State, Mr. Ayo Adegbuyi, also slammed the Federal Government for not keeping to the promise, saying it should apologise to parents.

In Kwara State, Mallam Aliyu Balogun, who has four children in primary schools, doubted the sincerity of the promise when it was made by the APC, adding that the government’s failure to commence the programme in September as promised showed that he was right.

Another parent, Mrs. Joy Omosebi, called on the government to fulfil the promise “by all means.”

But the Kwara State Chairman, Nigeria Union of Teachers, Musa Abubakar, had during his speech on World Teachers’ Day in Ilorin, said that the school feeding programme of the Federal Government would be a “colossal waste” if not properly harnessed.

http://punchng.com/school-feeding-fg-fails-meet-september-take-off-target/

Ade Adesomoju and Leke Baiyewu

The Senate on Friday described the forgery case against the President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki, and his deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, as a distraction to the lawmaking body.

It said the withdrawal of the case against them by the Federal Government confirmed its position that the nation could not afford any sharp division among the various arms of the government.

The Federal Government had arraigned Saraki, Ekweremadu, and two other officials of the National Assembly for alleged forgery of the Senate Standing Rules used in electing leaders in the Senate on June 9, 2015.

However, the Federal Government withdrew the charges preferred against them on Friday.

The Senate, in a statement by its Chairman, Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Sabi Abdullahi, on Friday, said the decision to withdraw the case and its subsequent dismissal, as well as the discharge of the defendants, had confirmed its earlier position that the case was an abuse of court process, having been dismissed earlier by the court.

The Senate said, “We have always said that that case was politically motivated. The executive cannot decide for the legislature the genuineness or otherwise of the Senate Standing Rules.

“However, where there is a crack in the wall, it is easy for others to capitalise on our differences. Now that senators have closed their ranks, the executive is only taking the right cue. We are happy with this development.

“We believe it is a sign of good things to come. It is a victory for democracy; a victory for separation of powers, checks and balances and constitutionalism. We commend the judiciary for its continuous dedication and commitment to the rule of law in our democracy.

“We restate our confidence in the ability of the judiciary to adjudicate and dispense justice in all matters in the polity which, no doubt, greatly contributes to national productivity. Our commendation also goes to the Federal Ministry of Justice for being courageous enough to do the right thing.”

The Upper Chamber of the National Assembly also called on the executive to withdraw other cases with political colouration.

The Senate said, “There is an emergency in the country. The economy is in crisis. This has resulted in escalating and excruciating poverty among our people. Social problems are on the rise. There are conflicts across the country. National values are being eroded. Crucial infrastructure and social services are collapsing. These are the things that should pre-occupy our minds, especially now that our economy is in recession.

“The international community will take us more seriously when they see that everybody in the national leadership is speaking along the same line to solve the economic problem, encourage productivity, create employment, promote discipline and work to make our country great.”

In a related development, Ekweremadu has said he had forgiven those behind his trial for the alleged forgery of the Senate Standing Rules upon which he got into office.

Ekweremadu, in a statement he personally signed and issued on Friday, said, “Today, time has indeed vindicated the just and it is a victory for democracy. This day, my trust in God, the court and the overwhelming solidarity of the good people of Nigeria is justified.

“As a Christian, I have forgiven all those behind this, for ultimately, God is the driver of the destinies of men. I believe that, going forward, we must also learn to be just to all, in accordance with our Oath of Office.”

The Federal Government had on Friday withdrawn the forgery charges it instituted in June 2016 against Saraki, Ekweremadu, and two others.

The lead prosecuting counsel, Mr. Aliyu Umar (SAN), told the trial judge, Justice Yusuf Halilu, of the Jabi Division of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory that the charges were withdrawn because of a pending case related to the charges before the Federal High Court in Abuja.

He said, “This government respects the rule of law and hierarchy of the judiciary. It is obvious from these two applications (filed by Saraki and Ekweremadu) and the similar case before your learned brother, Justice Kolawole, at the Federal High Court, who is dealing with the issue that we are withdrawing the charges.

“It is trite that two matters on the same subject matter cannot be before different courts of coordinate jurisdiction at the same time. Therefore, the amended charge, dated October 5, 2016 and also the original charge, dated June 10, 2016 and filed the same date (should) be struck out and all the four defendants be discharged.”

The case before Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which was referred to by the prosecutor was a civil case filed by a serving Senator, Gilbert Nnaji, to challenge the then ongoing investigation into the forgery of the Senate rule, which Saraki and others were accused of.

The application by Umar for the withdrawal of the charges was not opposed by the defence lawyers, comprising of Messrs Ikechukwu Ezechukwu (SAN), Mahmud Magaji (SAN), Paul Erokoro (SAN) and Joseph Daudu (SAN).

Both Erokoro (Ekweremadu’s lawyer) and Daudu (Saraki’s lawyer) described Umar as a “courageous” lawyer for his decision to withdraw the case after his assessment of the available evidence.



http://punchng.com/saraki-ekweremadus-forgery-trial-distraction-senate/

https://www.nairaland.com/3369520/post-all-problems-relating-nysc



Post questions relating to exemption here

Umartins1:
Egbon, cultism is one of the reasons I made quick exit from Laspo. That place is den of cultists.

Dem say first gate dey hot now though am now in Ondo state.. ..How UNILAG? Hope u enjoying the skul?

Good