Health minister, Alhassan, deserts office — Investigation

May 21, 2015

Minister of Health, Dr. Khaliru Alhassan, has been absent from his office and the entire ministry since President Goodluck Jonathan lost his re-election bid, National Mirror investigation has revealed.

Our correspondent reliably gathered that the minister was last seen in office few days to the last presidential poll.

Until his confirmation as substantive Minister of Health by President Jonathan on March 18 this year, he had headed the ministry in acting capacity between October 20, 2014, and March 17. He was appointed Minister of State on March 5, 2014, alongside eight others.

On March 18 this year, his current state counterpart, Engr. Fidelis Nwankwo, was appointed as Minister of State by the President.

Alhassan worked with the former Health Minister, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, who resigned to contest a gubernatorial election in his state, Ebonyi. Chukwu contested on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, but failed at the primary level.

Dr. Alhassan hails from Sokoto State, one of the strongholds of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the North. The party routed the PDP, which had led the Federal Government for 16 years.

Since he deserted office, the minister has been represented by Fidelis at functions either carried out or attended by the ministry.

One of the sources who spoke with our correspondent but pleaded anonymity said: “We have not seen him (Alhassan) since the defeat of his principal. We learnt he went for Hajj shortly after the election, and since then we haven’t seen him.

“You can see that he is being represented at all events, including the ongoing 68th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland. We doubt if he will appear in his office or at the ministry before the May 29 inauguration date, because it is over a month now that we have seen him last.”

Up till January this year, the minister was confronted with the strike embarked upon by health workers in the country. He battled to pacify the aggrieved workers over the action which lasted for about two months.

Alhassan met with stakeholders in Lagos and the nation’s capital, Abuja, to ensure the action was put on hold, and he succeeded.

The nation’s health sector has been engulfed by feuds among health professionals, necessitating calls for the sack of Prof Chukwu. But, Alhassan did not face such a demand.

The performance of the sector has however received applause from international organisations such as the World Health Organisation, WHO. The peak of such praise was the prompt containment of the deadly Ebola virus disease in the country. Alhassan took part in the effort.

denko:
Nigerian should be be ready to demand from them whatever they have promised. NO ROOM FOR FAILURE JONATHAN WAS BAD (According to APC) THAT IS WHY YOU WHERE VOTED FOR.

Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola of Lagos state,western Nigeria, said the central government in Abuja is owing the state N51billion, being costs of repairs carried out on federal roads. He said the debt has been certified.

Fashola made the disclosure today at a briefing to mark his 2,700 days in office. The governor since 2007 May, when he came into office, has made it a ritual every 100 days to render an account of his stewardship.

SeverusSnape:

Don't mind that twerp Omenka, He thinks we're enemies of progress like them.

SLIDEwaxie:
he shld stop the eye service jare.

think abt it, even before buhari was voted in, he has delegates from all around the world, and after he won, he has been having foreign diplomats and delegates so massive that jonathan could only dream to av such even in his empty six yrs term.

so, forget global support clamouring, buhari has it already

texazzpete:


'Greatest Nigerian of all time'?

The sycophancy is strong in this one.

Burger01:
Here's the TAN master conversing support for Buhari while his 100naira per post internet ants on nairaland keep hating and getting deluded day in day out. The Post Election Loss Trauma must have hit them like magnitude 20.5 quake

Wake up guys, your ProfessorOneChance has moved on. Let's all put hands on table and support our amiable presido-elect. It shall be well with Nigeria

Olutola88:
I really don't know why I love to be informed. I think it just brings me fulfillment to know what's going on around me. Some people say I'm too inquisitive and I tell them that I was even worse as a child. I just want to know everything (provided it's a relevant information).

I've always wanted to know how much companies operating in Nigeria offer fresh graduates. I intended using my contacts to carry out the small research but I realized that alone might be insufficient. I've opted for a better option which is our lovely Nairaland. Yes! Lovely. By the time people start giving authentic and accurate information on this subject you will all understand that “lovely” is an understatement.

Kindly come in and list as many companies as you are sure of and state in front how much they offer entry level position after tax and pension i.e TAKE HOME

All values should be in Naira and should be monthly pay.

Diamond Bank : Around 230,000
GTB : Around 200,000
KPMG : Around 145,000
Union Bank. : Around 215,000
PZ Cussons. :Around 145,000(RDMi.e Sales)

For those that will give us Oil and Gas info, you can be kind enough to state how much is obtainable in the Upstream and Downstream.

Conspicuously, there will be arguments. I implore you all to correct others maturely.

Sit back, relax and Enjoy *lol*

Nyanya blast: Ogwuche was deported by UK, FG tells court

May 20, 2015

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, yesterday, heard that the suspected arrow-head of the

Nyanya bomb blast which claimed 75 lives and maimed several others, Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche, had a history of affiliation with foreign terror groups and was deported to Nigeria by the British Government in 2011 over membership of a banned terrorist organisation in the United Kingdom.

A prosecution witness and staff of the Department of State Service, DSS, (names withheld) made the disclosure yesterday, at the commencement of the much-awaited trial of six suspected masterminds of the blast.

Ogwuche who was arrested in Sudan three months after the bomb blast incident and extradited to Nigeria to face trial, however, kicked against the evidence on his deportation from the UK in 2011, saying it had no relevance to the terrorism trial he is presently facing in Nigeria.

He said even if the evidence was relevant, he urged the court to discountenance it since proper foundation was not laid before the evidence was volunteered to the court.

His lead counsel, Mr Ahmed Raji (SAN), said that the court could only admit such evidence if the witness had produced in court, a copy of the deportation order where the reason for his deportation from UK was clearly stated.

All other accused persons in the case yesterday spoke in unison and urged the court to reject the evidence.

The trial judge, Justice Ahmed Mohammed, upheld Ogwuche’s argument, saying the witness having not stated that he was armed with the deportation order, could not orally give secondary evidence from the document (primary evidence) which was not before the court.

Yesterday’s proceedings, however, was a major progress in the trial of the accused persons who have been detained for almost one year without trial.

National Mirror reports that men suspected to be members of Boko Haram, had on April 14, 2014, struck in Nyanya by detonating multiple Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs, at a highly populated bus station, killing 75 people, leaving several others injured.

In the course of investigating the bomb blast, men of the DSS arrested six persons at different locations including Jabi in Abuja, Kaduna, Katsina and Sudan.

The accused persons are; Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche, Ahmed Abubakar, Mohammed Ishaq, Ya’u Saidu (alias Kofar Rama); Anas Isa, Adamu Yusuf and Nasir Abubakar.

All the accused pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The Federal Government while opening the trial yesterday said it would invite five witnesses and tender 37 documentary evidence against the accused persons.

macof:


you are too attached to these things you read off the internet about African history. you know there are euro centric claims as well as afrocentric
so be careful

EUROBOMBER:
Yourbas too want to be attached to Israel?

macof:

what archaeological and dna evidence? I noticed you folks keep lying on genetics

am I not really against you but your source. ..the ones that try to link yoruba to hebrews


DNA testing most be consistent with history bro. 2000 years is too late a time for Jewish and Black genes to split. ..What would you then say of cushites?


Mr. man I know yoruba are No jews, we never were.

The research team found that Jews and sub-Saharan Africans first swapped genes approximately 2,000 years ago.

Nigeria Now Uses 29% of Africa’s Total Internet Access

19 May 2015



The Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, monday revealed that Nigeria currently uses 29 per cent share of Africa’s total internet access, with a growth rate of 11 per cent in 2013 to 52 per cent in 2014.

Before the creation of the ministry in 2011, she admitted that the country was down in United Nations (UN) e-government development ranking, adding that today, the country has moved up in the ranking.

This upward movement according to her, is a welcome development, because ICT is now being deployed in both the public and private sectors for effective service delivery.

“One of the most important tools of ICT that have impacted the lives of Nigerians is access to broadband internet, especially mobile broadband,” the minister stated.

Johnson, who was represented by the Director, e-government, Mr. Tope Folashedemi, made the disclosure at the celebration of the 150 anniversary of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Abuja.

According to her, the country had a combined fixed and mobile telephone subscription of over 400,000 lines since independence in 1960, but in just 14 years after the licensing of the mobile operators, it recorded over 148 million connected lines with a teledensity of about 97 per cent.

The minister explained that government was planning to get all its cities connected to the internet through its broadband initiative, adding that already, many state governments are keying into its national broadband plan which is to make broadband ubiquitous across the country in no distant future.

Johnnson said: “To further deepen the use and penetration of broadband to communities across the country, the National Frequency Management Council (NFMC), approved the allocation of portions of the radio frequency spectrum to the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) to eligible operators.”

This according to her will enable operators deploy broadband services across the country, adding that there is ongoing collaboration between government and the private sector for the expansion of fibre optic infrastructure across the country.

She said the ministry had implemented the Government Service Portal (GSP) and the Government Contact Centre (GCC) to enable citizens and other stakeholders have access to government services that are provided by the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) through a single window technology.

“In the past four years, the country has witnessed changes or innovations in the way we conduct or transact business in many sectors of our economy. For example, with the deployment of the electronic (e-wallet) system, Nigerian farmers are now able to make payments for subsidized farm inputs through their mobile phones,” she stated.

macof:


I still saw nothing of note

I want to refer to your source.


Note: coming from a man who knows much about Hebrew/Middle eastern history and culture as well as that of his own yoruba. WE HAVE NO ANCESTRY LINKED TO ISRAEL

Researchers from Harvard Medical School arrived at the finding by examining more than a half-million "DNA markers across the entire genomes of people from seven diverse Jewish populations," according to Forward magazine. "They then compared the genetic data with DNA from 15 sub-Saharan African populations."

The research team found that Jews and sub-Saharan Africans first swapped genes approximately 2,000 years ago.

Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, his counterpart from the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, in company of Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, yesterday visited Igbale Aiye, a village believed to be the origin of mankind.
Igbale Aiye community, said to be 450,000 years old, is in Apotoku, Ketu (Commune de Kétou), Republic of Benin.

gatiano:
I didn't mean mental flugged in terms to abuse or disrespect you, But so to kind of awaken you.
And That awaken begins with the knowledge of who You are as a unique person, The knowledge of who God is, and the knowledge of who the devil is. These are the basic things that you need to know.

We are at war, We as Black People have always been at war and all the while not knowing, and if few of us percieve the sight or saint of this war, we are easily manipulated to fight in the wrong direction (example, My village people are wicked, they may be, but not intentionally and etc).

Few points-
1) God is a Man, He has always been, and He will always be. God can be a Woman too.
2)Devil is a mankind, an image of Man(God), He was made 6 days ago, 1 day=1000years. The first of them is called Adam.
3) You as a Blackman or Black person is a child of Man (not mankind), You are a direct descendant of God, You have the same DNA, only it has weaken for now and for a reason.
Mankind don't have same DNA as Man, or God/Allah because mankind only are composed of only the recessive traits/the brown/light germ.

About We being the tribes of Isreal, isn't all that wrong, Only We are far better and bigger than that. Question is where did these fake jews get their 12 figure from? is it by the children of A person? To them yes, But to Us the Black people, it is mathematically incorrect and imbalanced.
They got it from the Black people.
It is very true that a part of usor most and/or all of us migrated from North east africa which in falsehood is called by the mankind middle east.
Mecca was like Abuja, while Kemet was like Lagos. The migration began from 50,000 years ago until about 500 years ago.

I'll continue a lil later... if you wish to hear it ofcourse.

macof:

ur source was prepared by a fool high on Jewish shit

gatiano:
Armageddon has begun, It is in two parts. First part is mental (which is on-going), after that is the Physical and last war.
Some has just mental flugged you, taking your righteousness and replacing your history with that of evil and devils stories.
Tiamat was just an ancient name for the earth.
Oranya, is not Jacob or Yakub.

stevecantrell:
The Yoruba came out of Egypt and Sudan. We are not sure if some of those who fled Egypt were Israelite slaves.

Contrary to other African people – such as also the neighboring Igbo in southwestern Nigeria – the Yoruba never claimed an Israelite identity (Basden 1921: 411 – 423; Hodgkin 1975: 218 f.).

Although several authors pointed out the existence of Israelite customs among the Yoruba, they saw them as side effects of Israelite influences and not as the result of a direct cultural transfer through migration from the northern kingdom of Israel (Johnson 1921: 6 f., 154;Biobaku 1955: 12 f.). More recently, reexamination of the Oyo dynastic tradition in combination with a comparison of cultural traits led to the conclusion that direct links must have existed between the northern Israelites and the Yoruba.

However, owing to the incomplete study of Oyo tradition, this conclusion did not indicate the precise nature of the historical connection between ancient Israel and the Oyo-Yoruba. Avoiding the unmentionable notion of mass migration from the ancient Near East, it suggested instead that the remnants of Israelite traditions and culture traits were the result of sporadic influences from Syria-Palestine via Egypt, or of long-lasting trade relations between Phoenician North Africa and sub-Saharan West Africa (Lange 1999: 138 – 140; 2004: 239 – 242)

80% of Nigerians do not pay tax

May 17, 2015



Eighty per cent of taxable Nigerians do not have a taxpayer identification number and are therefore not paying taxes, the Chairman , Edo State Internal Revenue Service (EIRS), Sir Oseni Elemah,has revealed.

Elemah told NAN at the ongoing Annual Tax Conference (ATC) organised by the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CITN) in Abuja that such had paved way to high tax evasion and avoidance.

The Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) is a unique number allocated and issued to identify a person (individual or Company) as a duly registered taxpayer in Nigeria.

He stressed that the huge and massive leakages in Nigeria tax system as well as companies operating without filing annual assessment was due to lack of TIN.

“When you calculate the tax income revenues Nigeria ought to have made and deduct it from the amount realised, we will all understand Nigeria is missing much.

He said in order to have a transparent tax administration that is accountable, all taxable Nigerians and companies must be made to get TIN.
“A Nigerian becomes taxable when he or she becomes 18 years and earns a regular income, such individual must file annual returns for assessment.

“Many Nigerians are still outside the tax net, it remains so without TIN number,’’ he said.

He said that other sources of tax income generation include, Company’s Income Tax, Personal Income Tax, Petroleum Income Tax and Valued Added Tax (VAT) among others.

According to Elemah, the country needs massive reforms that would drag all taxable Nigerians into tax net.

“All taxable Nigerians and companies must be made to acquire TIN and this must go with immediate enforcements,’’ he said.

He further said that TIN would bring immediate voluntary compliance.

He added that TIN would bring Nigeria’s tax administration and practice in line with global best practices, enhance taxpayer identification and registration and minimise leakages in tax collection.

“It would also facilitate information sharing between various tiers of Government, create a more conducive environment for investors and ultimately inspire greater confidence in Nigeria’s taxation system.

“It is also a good medium to drain illegal taxes and double taxation,” he said.

anonimi:


Careful what you ask for!
Let me give you just one sample of what I wrote about the strikingly corrupt, highly inept gang of THIEVES in Alausa house holding Lagosians in bondage since 1999

edogirl2:
Sorry, this is way longer than necessary, but with nairaland, it is sometimes necessary go long.

I was very much involved with the Yacht in question - right at the highest level. I had meetings with very high level officials of the bank that financed the purchase, and as such had access to tons of real and genuine information and documents concerning this yacht. I know the names of the owners, and I was on the yacht up to a few weeks before it was sold.

I can tell you a lot about this yacht.

BELOW IS THE 100% TRUE STORY OF THE YACHT!

______ The 'Princess' Sunborn yacht hotel was constructed around 2002 by Sunborn International Finland.

______ Sunborn International placed and managed the Yacht in London docklands up till 2007 or thereabout.

______ Around 2007, a Nigerian team made up of a former AD - turned PDP (?) Senator and his partner bought the yacht.

______ Purchase price was ridiculously above true market value and transaction was financed by a local bank (name withheld).

______ By & large, the loan was secured on the yacht itself! No other security!! - very common amongst banks during the Soludo bubble.

______ The Senator was able to use his lingering contact with ACN govt in Lagos, to get the then Lagos State commissioner
for tourism to throw govt embrace around the project on the basis that it would boost tourism and raise Lagos's international profile.

______ On the day the yacht arrived in Lagos, thousands of Lagosians and several state officials and the said commissioner were there before TV cameras smiling and basking in the glory of this new toy that would catapult Lagos's international standing to new heights.

______ Unfortunately, by the time it arrived Lagos, the owners had spent so much buying it, they had nothing left to run it. And the bank would not lend a kobo more! To make matters worse, the two buyers fell out over how to take the business forward.

______ Few months passed, then years. Now the yacht was becoming so badly degraded that it risked becoming a health hazard.

______ With AMCON on the rampage, and rumour sipping out about the shoddy nature of the financing of the yacht purchase, the financing bank, wanting to avoid public embarrassment, decided to exercise its right to sell.

______ By mid-2012, the bank put the yacht up for sale.

______ The senator protested placing warning notice in some national newspapers against anyone buying. But he couldn't pay the bank what he owed it, so the bank paid no attention.

______ After several months on the market, the bank found an Asian buyer. The Yacht was quietly towed out of Lagos I believe on boxing day 2012 with most people getting wind only after the yacht was out of Nigerian waters.


Based on what I know, the yacht cost around N4.5 billion, but the bank got back less than 20% of that money.

Moral of the story

1. Lagos State did not invest one kobo in the yacht and so Lagosians have lost nothing
2. Tinubu had nothing to do with this yacht
3. This was a private project that failed largely because of financial incapacity, greed and infighting between two owners
4. The big loser was the lending bank which got back a fraction of what it lent and has no prospect of getting more from the debtors.

....

Apart from Keyamo’s claims huhuonline.com can also reliably inform the world that Afikuyomi duped Mr. George Ani of an undisclosed millions of naira. Ani gave him the money in trust to procure land for him at a choice area in Lekki and Ikoyi but the unsuspecting George was swindled by Afikuyomi and no compensations or refund was made to his victim.

However the current scandal hanging on the neck of the Senator-turned-Commissioner, Tokunbo Afikuyomi as well as the AC led Lagos Government is the case of the Sunburn Yacht Hotel. Initially, at the launch of the vessel, Afikuyomi made public statements that the procurement of the 105-bed floating hotel was a public private partnership (PPP) initiative.But at another event, Fashola, the sitting Governor denied that the state was not in any way involved in the purchase of the vessel. When the vessel was brought down to Lagos, Afikuyomi at the launch stated that, that will be the first of its kind in Africa and it would put the state in the league of the first five leading economies of the world with similar hospitality facility and tourism earnings capabilities. The hopes were that the floating hotel would revive the tourism sector in Lagos State. He also claimed that the hotel would put Lagos on the same pedestal as major tourist melting pot like Paris, New York, Barcelona, and Helsinki, also describing the transfer of the hotel to Lagos as a significant achievement by the Governor Fashola administration.

Afikuyomi has earlier boasted that winning the bid for the yacht, over other cities that bided for it is a reflection of the “combination of talents, assets, resources and potentials” of the state government and private sector. Surprisingly, the earlier promise of the yacht hotel has failed to materialize, instead, what Afikuyomi seems to have managed to do is trigger what may become the worst public relations challenge for Fashola’s administration. Besides the yacht it still a shadow of itself it has not been refurbished the facilities inside are eye-sore, and no clear cut ownership has been defined yet. Though the state government denied being involved in the procurement, but now, some of the opposition parties in the state, the Democratic People’s Alliance (DPA) and Peoples’ Democratic Party PDP recently accused the state government of lack of sincerity and open deception to the good people of Lagos State who have suffered all sort of taxes from the government that is not wearing human face.It was also gathered that Afikuyomi was the one who wrongfully advised the State Government to introduce 5 percent consumption tax to all Hotels in Lagos. Meanwhile about 100 hotels have teamed up and sued Fashola Government to Court over this 5 percent consumption tax and they were lucky enough because the law Court granted them all their prayers.

The vessel was designed by Lasse Heikkinen, a Finnish ship architectural company and bought from its former owners Sunburn International, Finland. Before it was brought to Lagos, the yacht was reportedly taken to Brazil for refurbishing for an undisclosed amount. Since the yacht was built without an engine of its own, it has to be towed to whatever destination it is taken to. Dockwise Yacht Transport (DYT), a yacht logistics company, conveyed the Sunburn Yacht Hotel to the country for N80 million. Could it really be that Afikuyomi is the sole owner of the vessel? Since the state government has denied being involved in the deal, definitely, Multi-Purpose Infrastructural Development Company (MIDC), the company that facilitated the yacht deal can be said to be the owner of the ship.A source who elected anonymity told huhuonline.com that the purchase of the yacht was facilitated by fictitious company flouted by Afikuyomi was actually the the company that bought the sunborn Hotel and that it was facilitated by Diamond Bank. Investigations are still on by huhuonline.com to unveil the name of the company, the supporting documents and names of individuals who ‘fronted’ for Senator Afikuyomi

anonimi:


You are only talking about bullet proof cars for Fashola, what about-

- Sunborn yacht hotel N 8 billion 'bad business'?
- Aloku scrap metal Totonto trains of $ 1 billion World Bank loan yet to be seen four years after?
- $90 million World Bank education loan that disappeared?

Rejoinder: Shamsuddeen Usman Denies Making Comments Against Yorubas, Tinubu



“Our attention has been drawn to an online story entitled ‘Tinubu Can’t Blackmail Buhari, says Former Finance Minister’ or its variant, entitled ‘Yoruba People Contributed Nothing to Buhari’s Victory’ which are being presented as having been adapted from a statement purportedly issued by former Minister of National Planning, Dr Shamsuddeeen Usman,CON.

As his aides, we had initially doubted the information upon first alert, but were eventually prompted to check online for confirmation, following
relentless apprehension from friends of Dr Usman and other well meaning Nigerians who have been calling to express their outrage We discovered, to our chagrin, that the malicious publication was actually posted on the internet by a couple of shadowy online news sites.

Clearly, they had done this out of mischief as was evident in the shameless confession of one of the sources that goes by the name SayelbaTimes which still went ahead to publish the information, even after admitting languidly, that “SayelbaTimes is yet to confirm the veracity of the claim though.”

It is quite telling that both the print and electronic media as well as the mainstream online news sources which are very conversant with Dr
Usman’s personality had deliberately ignored the information, knowing that it couldn’t be anything else other than a contrivance of the wicked.

Anybody who has followed the exemplary career and accomplishments of this cognate technocrat, especially his unblemished record in public service, will attest to the fact that Dr Usman neither speaks the language of abuse nor engages in trite talks.

We wish therefore to categorically state that Dr Usman knows nothing about this invidious and treacherous statement that has been attributed to him through a fake social media account.

While we urge the general public to disregard such irrational claims, we are also inclined to warn the originators of the fake report to desist
from such actions. This is because it is pure evil, criminal, cowardly and designed to ultimately consume the perpetrators.

It is a natural justice that no crime will go unpunished, and it is only a matter of time before the perpetrators of this heinous fabrication will be
exposed. To ensure that this is done, our principal has put the security agencies and his lawyers on notice, and we have no doubt that they will diligently do their job.”

(Signed)

Mustapha Hassan Gwarzo
Special Adviser to Dr Shamsuddeen Usman

barcanista:
Thank you for pointing that out.

barcanista:
As long as I am aware, I pursue my interest as an Ijaw man without bringing or insulting another tribe despite disagreement. It is you that is making mountains out of my words. I have always maintained that we don't need any open confrontation with any group because we are pro-US and not anti-Others. Quit drawing me into a non-existent tribal battle.

barcanista:
And where did the post you quoted mention any tribe? You should consider some trainings on "Comprehension"