The office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) has directed the Auditor-General, Mr. Samuel Ukura, to proceed on retirement.
It ordered the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) to set in motion machinery for the appointment of a new Auditor-General for the Federation.
Ukura, who was appointed in 2010, is due for retirement on June 5, when he will clocking the mandatory retirement age of 60 years. Ukura, who was appointed in 2010, was born on June 5, 1956.
The memo from the SGF, dated May 25, was signed by Mohammed Bukar, Permanent Secretary (General Services) office of the SGF, has directed Ukura to proceed on retirement.
The memo had, among others, directed the FCSC to appoint the most senior Director as Auditor-General in acting capacity, pending the appointment of a substantive Auditor-General within three months.
The SGF’s memo also directed the FCSC to issue an internal circular to all Directors in the office of the Auditor General for the Federation to commence the process of appointing a new Auditor-General.
However, the directive has triggered a web of intrigues, as the Auditor General was reported to have allegedly written to the FCSC disqualifying the three most senior Directors next to him.
The memo further stated, “That all relevant Directors (Audit) regardless of the year of promotion, be considered in the process of appointing a new Auditor-General in order to make the exercise more competitive and to attract more competent capable officers in the process.
“That the Commission should place internal and external advertisement to expand the field of selection to consider other qualified Auditors both within and outside the civil service.
“That a candidate for the post should possess a minimum of good Honours Degree and must be a qualified professional Accountant holding membership certificate of a reputable accountancy body recognised by law within and/or outside Nigeria.
“That the candidate possesses a minimum of 15 years post professional qualification experience, acquired in the public or private sector, at least 10 years of which must be in auditing.
“That the most senior Director be appointed in acting capacity at the expiration of the term of office of the current Auditor-General and must have at least a minimum of two years to retirement.
“That the Commission should start and conclude the process of interview and recommendation of three (3) candidates to the President, in order of merit, within three months of approval”.
But indications emerged on Monday that Ukura, with less than a week to his retirement, is scheduled to travel to China this week, for a three-week official engagement. Official sources said he has yet to tender his retirement letter.
From indications, he will be returning to the country two weeks after his retirement date, fueling speculations that the Auditor-General might be waiting to benefit from a reform bill pending before the Senate.
The bill, which, among others, seeks to establish a Federal Audit Service Commission, was said to have been passed by the House of Representatives a few weeks ago.
The proposed bill seeks to make the Auditor-General the chairman of the Audit Commission and also prescribes renewable tenure of four years for a sitting Auditor-General, with his retirement age pegged at 65 years.
Section 19 (6) of the bill states that, “A person holding office as Auditor General shall hold office until he attains the age of 65 years, or he has served in the public service of the federation for 35 years, depending on which comes first”.
Section 50 (1) of the bill also states that, “The appointment of the Auditor General and the existing staff of the Office of the Auditor General shall remain valid upon coming into force of this bill”.
Tuesday, 31 May 2016
SGF Directs Auditor-general, Ukura To Retire
WizKid 2nd Baby Mama Binta Diamond Takes Her Son To Swimming Pool
Wizkid 2nd babymama Binta Diamond shared these super
cute photos of her son King Ayo..Its safe to say HER baby cause Wizkid
allegedly hasnt started taking care of him
Army: Why We Attacked Protesting MASSOB, IPOB Members
The Nigerian Army has explained that its troops, alongside other security agencies, invoked the extant Rules of Engagement by acting in self-defence as well as in defence of lives and property when it shot dead about five members of the Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, and Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, on Monday.
The pro-Biafra activists were killed as they marched to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the declaration of the defunct Biafra Republic by late leader of the old Eastern region, Odumegwu Ojukwu, but the Army claimed that the MASSOB and IPOB members launched an attack on peace loving populace as well as security agencies while marking the first anniversary of the democratically elected government of President Muhammadu Buhari.
This was contained in a statement signed by Colonel HA Gambo, Deputy Director of Army Public Relations, 82 Division of the Nigerian Army in Enugu, which stressed that the major objective of the security agency was to ensure peace, security and stability.
Claiming that members of MASSOB and IPOB attacked security agencies with a variety of firearms, crude weapons, volatile cocktails such as acid and dynamites, it pointed out that eight other members of the separatist organisations were wounded while nine were arrested for due legal actions.
The statement reads, “The attention of the general public is hereby drawn to the unwarranted attack that was launched by combined members of the Movement for Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) against the peace loving populace as well as security agencies at about 0415 hours on 30 May 2016.
“This attack was purported to have been orchestrated in order to mar the first anniversary of the present democratic government as part of the activities earmarked to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Biafra.
“Due to the wide spread panic, tension and apprehension that generated from the activities of the MASSOB and IPOB members, security agencies which comprised of detachment of Nigerian Navy, Nigeria Police, Department of State Service, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency were compelled to intervene in consonance with constitutional provisions of aid to civil authority where and when such occasion demands. The over arching imperative to ensure a reign of peace, security and stability in this circumstance was most starring.
“However, the MASSOB/IPOB members who had earlier assembled at a school location on Ataa Road near Saint Edmunds’ Catholic Parish Maryland Nkpor-Agu in Anambra State resorted to fierce attack against the intervening security agencies that were carrying out their legitimate mandate.
“The nature of this attack involved brazen employment of various types of fire arms and all sorts of crude weapons, volatile cocktail such as acid and dynamites.
“Instructively, troops of 82 Division Nigerian Army as the lead agency of the security agencies had to invoke the extant Rules of Engagement (ROE) to resort to self defence, protection of the strategic Niger Bridge, prevent re-enforcement of the pro-Biafra members apparently surging ahead from the far side of the strategic Niger Bridge at Onitsha. All these efforts were in order to de-escalate the palpable tension as well as ward off the apparent threats to lives and property in the general area.
“In the aftermath of the fire fight that ensued, many of own troops sustained varying degrees of injury. These injured troops are currently receiving treatment at own medical centre. Similarly, 5 members of MASSOB/IPOB were killed, 8 wounded while 9 were arrested for due legal actions.
The statement said the unfortunate incident notwithstanding, “the 82 Division Nigerian Army wishes to assure all of its professional commitment to the protection of lives and property of the good people of Anambra State and indeed across its entire Area of Responsibility in tandem with the recent directive of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria through the Chief of Defence Staff to the Chief of Army Staff to avert occurrences of such unwarranted and uncivilized attacks against the good and law abiding people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Former Presidential candidate, Remi Sonaiya shades Ben Murray Bruce
Saraki's Appeals Against CCT Trial Delayed
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has adjourned the hearing of the appeals instituted by Senate President, Bukola Saraki challenging the jurisdiction of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) to try him on charges, including false and anticipatory asset declaration till Thursday 2 June following the inability of the court to form a quorum.
Justice Moo Adumie who led a three-man panel said the case cannot be heard with three panel members in attendance as the matter required full panel of five members .
He, therefore, adjourned the case and asked for the understanding of the parties.
Naira Crashes To N285/$1 At Interbank Market
Despite the Central Bank of Nigeria yet to roll
out the details of the new flexible exchange rate policy, which is a
monetary system that allows the exchange rate to be determined by supply
and demand, the nation’s currency naira has switched to N285 to a
dollar at the interbank market, The Guardian reports.
The policy, which throws naira into open market, paves way for one to walk into the bank and ask to buy forex at the market rate, hence, putting pressure on black market and Bureau de Change operators.
The new policy also means that banks and Bureau De Change (BDC) operators will have to source forex autonomously and sell according to market dynamics.
The interbank rate had run nearly at par with the official at N199 per dollar and N197 per dollar respectively before the pronouncements on the new foreign exchange measure.
The new rate represents about 43.2% increase from N199 to the dollar it previously traded, which according to analysts suggests that the market is gradually adjusting itself to the new direction, although the details are yet to be unfolded.
However, a look on the apex bank official website, www.cbn.gov.ng has shown the naira is still pegged at N197.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has given the CBN the go-ahead to introduce flexibility in the naira exchange rate.
Speaking in an interview on Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), Garba Shehu, the senior special assistant on media and publicity to President Buhari said: “The president is opposed to devaluing the naira, he has said so repeatedly.
“He has given them leeway to introduce what he has called ‘flexibility in managing’ the currency’s value.”
Buhari said at the weekend that he supported a stable currency, though he would keep “a close look at how recent measures affect the naira and the economy.”
More details later…
Source..
https://www.naij.com/845128-breaking-naira-crashes-n2851-interbank-market.html?source=breaking
The policy, which throws naira into open market, paves way for one to walk into the bank and ask to buy forex at the market rate, hence, putting pressure on black market and Bureau de Change operators.
The new policy also means that banks and Bureau De Change (BDC) operators will have to source forex autonomously and sell according to market dynamics.
The interbank rate had run nearly at par with the official at N199 per dollar and N197 per dollar respectively before the pronouncements on the new foreign exchange measure.
The new rate represents about 43.2% increase from N199 to the dollar it previously traded, which according to analysts suggests that the market is gradually adjusting itself to the new direction, although the details are yet to be unfolded.
However, a look on the apex bank official website, www.cbn.gov.ng has shown the naira is still pegged at N197.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has given the CBN the go-ahead to introduce flexibility in the naira exchange rate.
Speaking in an interview on Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), Garba Shehu, the senior special assistant on media and publicity to President Buhari said: “The president is opposed to devaluing the naira, he has said so repeatedly.
“He has given them leeway to introduce what he has called ‘flexibility in managing’ the currency’s value.”
Buhari said at the weekend that he supported a stable currency, though he would keep “a close look at how recent measures affect the naira and the economy.”
More details later…
Source..
https://www.naij.com/845128-breaking-naira-crashes-n2851-interbank-market.html?source=breaking
Banky W Responds To Girl Who Begged Him To Slid Into Her DM
So, two days ago, Banky W posted on his Instagram, a
photo of his married friends – Tunde Demuren, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu and
Olamide Adedeji all wearing their wedding bands and wrote, ‘Last Man
Standing? #TSquared2016 #GodWillProvide’.
An Instagram user wrote him an open letter asking him to slide into her Direct Message, (DM), so they could talk the possibility of marriage.
Her open letter reads: " So come in here this article is for you. I have a feeling you're dating someone under the radar. If you aren't dating right now then I'll be forced to start worrying about you. I'm tired of seeing you being the best man/grooms man at your friends' weddings.
You are talented, successful, fine and a Christian brother. Are you still looking for celebrity girlfriend? Will you not follow in the footsteps of your buddy@noble_igwe and pick a hardworking, beautiful civilian and live life happily and peacefully ever after?
I hear your sister is in town for the first time in a while, has she come to look for wife for you? Tell her to "whole up"! Let's Try this first: Slide into my DM quickly before it's too late. I'll consider you if you treat me like the gentle man your snaps show you to be
Tick Tock...Tick Tock.... Time waits for no man
#bankyw #whenwillyoumarry #single#livingsingle #itgoesdownintheDM #EME#proffessionalbestman ##nigerianwedding #sundayhumor#sundayhumour #tsquared2016#tsquare."
BankyW, replied 'Lol... Well then.'
The rest of the conversation below
http://www.metronaija.com/2016/05/photos-bankyw-responds-to-girl-who.html
An Instagram user wrote him an open letter asking him to slide into her Direct Message, (DM), so they could talk the possibility of marriage.
Her open letter reads: " So come in here this article is for you. I have a feeling you're dating someone under the radar. If you aren't dating right now then I'll be forced to start worrying about you. I'm tired of seeing you being the best man/grooms man at your friends' weddings.
You are talented, successful, fine and a Christian brother. Are you still looking for celebrity girlfriend? Will you not follow in the footsteps of your buddy@noble_igwe and pick a hardworking, beautiful civilian and live life happily and peacefully ever after?
I hear your sister is in town for the first time in a while, has she come to look for wife for you? Tell her to "whole up"! Let's Try this first: Slide into my DM quickly before it's too late. I'll consider you if you treat me like the gentle man your snaps show you to be
Tick Tock...Tick Tock.... Time waits for no man
#bankyw #whenwillyoumarry #single#livingsingle #itgoesdownintheDM #EME#proffessionalbestman ##nigerianwedding #sundayhumor#sundayhumour #tsquared2016#tsquare."
BankyW, replied 'Lol... Well then.'
The rest of the conversation below
http://www.metronaija.com/2016/05/photos-bankyw-responds-to-girl-who.html
1 Share
Buhari To Visit Niger Delta This Week..
President Muhammadu Buhari will this week make his first visit as president to Nigeria’s oil-producing south, which has been riven by an upsurge in violence from militants, his office said Tuesday.
Attacks on pipelines and other infrastructure have cut Nigeria’s oil production to some 1.4 million barrels per day, exacerbating revenue shortfalls caused by the global slump in crude prices.
But a media aide to Buhari said the president would travel to Ogoniland in Rivers state to flag off a long-awaited clean-up of the area, which has been affected by oil spills. “All things being equal, the president will be in Ogoniland on Thursday for the historic clean up of the area,” the aide told AFP.
In August 2011, a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report said Ogoniland may require the world’s biggest-ever clean-up. Environmental devastation to farming and fishing in the area has for many come to symbolise the tragedy of Nigeria’s vast but squandered oil wealth.
Decades of crude production filled the pockets of powerful government officials and generated huge profits for oil majors but corruption and spills left the people with nothing. Neglect and pollution fanned local resentment and anger, prompting militant groups to take up arms against the government in the 2000s. Attacks on oil facilities and personnel were frequent.
The violence was ended in 2009 when the government introduced an amnesty programme. But a new group calling itself the Niger Delta Avengers has renewed attacks since the beginning of the year.
Sporadic bombings of key pipelines run by Nigerian subsidiaries of Anglo-Dutch group Shell, US firm Chevron and Italy’s Eni, as well as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.
On Monday evening, the group warned in an email and in a statement on its website that more devastating attacks were to come. “To the international oil companies and indigenous oil companies, it’s going to be bloody this time around,” it said.
Buhari said on Sunday he would keep and “re-engineer” the amnesty, apparently reversing previous policy to wind-down the programme by 2018.
New Delta Suicide Squad NDSS Emerges, Issues 7Day Ultimatum To Private Oil Firms
As the Federal Government moves against the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA),
militancy in the region has taken another dimension as a new group: The
New Delta Suicide Squad (NDSS) has emerged.
Unlike the NDA which concentrates its attacks on pipelines and facilities of major oil firms, the new group has threatened to destroy the equipment of private oil firms’ installations in the region.
The announcement of the group came on the heels of President Muhammadu Buhari’s threat in a national broadcast to mark his first anniversary in office, to crush the upsurge in militancy in the Niger Delta which has crippled Nigeria’s oil production.
The NDSS warned owners of tank farms, storage tanks and private jetties to quit the Niger Delta within seven days.
It said failure to comply with the deadline, the owners of such facilities stood the risk of losing their investments.
In a statement issued on Monday by the spokesman of the group, Harry Ebiye, he said: “The New Niger Delta Suicide Squad warns all owners of tank farms, storage tanks and private jetties to quit the region within the next seven days beginning from the date of this publication or risk the destruction of all their facilities from the date of the expiration of this ultimatum.
“The exploitation of this region by scavengers, economic pirates, and cowboys must come to an end” Ebiye said.
Top officials of the Federal Government are divided over how to handle the current attacks on oil installations in the Niger Delta by militants.
A meeting with representatives of top militants in the region, reportedly organised last week by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) on how to contain the security problems in the Niger Delta, ended in a deadlock.
One camp had reportedly broached the idea of using a former South-South governor to reach out to the militants, but shelved the idea when it was realised that the former governor did not have the required clout and contacts amongst the militants.
Another issue being reportedly considered is that of the detention for over 70 days, without trial, of Azibaola Roberts, a cousin of former President Goodluck Jonathan, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Ironically, Roberts is being held by the EFCC for a $40 million contract to secure oil pipelines during the Jonathan administration. Some security sources hinted on the possibility of the government engaging Roberts to negotiate with the militants currently destroying oil pipelines in the region, since he had successfully handled such projects before on behalf of the government.
An EFCC source hinted that they did not have sufficient evidence to charge Roberts to court, but that having detained him for over 70 days, the commission may be left with no option than to charge him to “any court, just to save face.”
Unlike the NDA which concentrates its attacks on pipelines and facilities of major oil firms, the new group has threatened to destroy the equipment of private oil firms’ installations in the region.
The announcement of the group came on the heels of President Muhammadu Buhari’s threat in a national broadcast to mark his first anniversary in office, to crush the upsurge in militancy in the Niger Delta which has crippled Nigeria’s oil production.
The NDSS warned owners of tank farms, storage tanks and private jetties to quit the Niger Delta within seven days.
It said failure to comply with the deadline, the owners of such facilities stood the risk of losing their investments.
In a statement issued on Monday by the spokesman of the group, Harry Ebiye, he said: “The New Niger Delta Suicide Squad warns all owners of tank farms, storage tanks and private jetties to quit the region within the next seven days beginning from the date of this publication or risk the destruction of all their facilities from the date of the expiration of this ultimatum.
“The exploitation of this region by scavengers, economic pirates, and cowboys must come to an end” Ebiye said.
Top officials of the Federal Government are divided over how to handle the current attacks on oil installations in the Niger Delta by militants.
A meeting with representatives of top militants in the region, reportedly organised last week by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) on how to contain the security problems in the Niger Delta, ended in a deadlock.
One camp had reportedly broached the idea of using a former South-South governor to reach out to the militants, but shelved the idea when it was realised that the former governor did not have the required clout and contacts amongst the militants.
Another issue being reportedly considered is that of the detention for over 70 days, without trial, of Azibaola Roberts, a cousin of former President Goodluck Jonathan, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Ironically, Roberts is being held by the EFCC for a $40 million contract to secure oil pipelines during the Jonathan administration. Some security sources hinted on the possibility of the government engaging Roberts to negotiate with the militants currently destroying oil pipelines in the region, since he had successfully handled such projects before on behalf of the government.
An EFCC source hinted that they did not have sufficient evidence to charge Roberts to court, but that having detained him for over 70 days, the commission may be left with no option than to charge him to “any court, just to save face.”
Sola Adeyeye On Why Ben Murray-Bruce Was Prevented From Greeting President Buhari
So senator common sense actually lied. Just for his
usual cheap seeking popularity. It is so pathetic when a supposed elder
citizen sulks over handshake and misleads those who want to remain
gullible. Senator Ben Bruce needs to borrow common sense, it is obvious
he doesn't have it.
This was what truly transpired...
"I was at the dinner. I sat in the front row along with other Principal Officers of the National Assembly. I had a vantage view of what transpired. I am disappointed by this comment from a respected colleague. I have on two occasions provided robust defense of Sen Ben Bruce. Not this time!
It was Sen Dino Melaye who first went to greet those seated at the President's table, including President Buhari. He was well greeted. No one in the senate has criticized President Buhari more than Sen Melaye. But as others rose to do what Dino had done, the scene got clumsy and indecorous because people were approaching the President's table from different directions. I sat between Sen Olujimi and Sen Bwacha. The three of us felt embarrassed by what was clearly a breach of dinner protocol. At that level, if dinner was served or being served, good etiquette demanded that the President's table should not be approached. One should wait until people had finished eating. No senator in the USA would breach such elementary protocol. We (on my table) predicted in whispers that colleagues would soon be barred from approaching the President's table and it happened. The first person to be turned back was Sen Gemade who was visibly embarrassed. He belongs to the APC; he is not a known critic of the President.
When I noticed that most people had finished their food, I approached the table and offered my pleasantries. Others followed suit. No one was turned back."
~ Senator Sola Adeyeye
This was what truly transpired...
"I was at the dinner. I sat in the front row along with other Principal Officers of the National Assembly. I had a vantage view of what transpired. I am disappointed by this comment from a respected colleague. I have on two occasions provided robust defense of Sen Ben Bruce. Not this time!
It was Sen Dino Melaye who first went to greet those seated at the President's table, including President Buhari. He was well greeted. No one in the senate has criticized President Buhari more than Sen Melaye. But as others rose to do what Dino had done, the scene got clumsy and indecorous because people were approaching the President's table from different directions. I sat between Sen Olujimi and Sen Bwacha. The three of us felt embarrassed by what was clearly a breach of dinner protocol. At that level, if dinner was served or being served, good etiquette demanded that the President's table should not be approached. One should wait until people had finished eating. No senator in the USA would breach such elementary protocol. We (on my table) predicted in whispers that colleagues would soon be barred from approaching the President's table and it happened. The first person to be turned back was Sen Gemade who was visibly embarrassed. He belongs to the APC; he is not a known critic of the President.
When I noticed that most people had finished their food, I approached the table and offered my pleasantries. Others followed suit. No one was turned back."
~ Senator Sola Adeyeye
#OlayinkaMustGo: UNIBADAN Students Attempt To Sack Their VC Through Twitter
Students
of the Premier university in Nigeria, the University of Ibadan on
Monday trended the hash tag #olayinkamustgo in a bid to call attention
to their claimed harrasment under the leadership of new VC Olayinka
Idowu.
Reports say a student leader and former SU president Tokunbo Salako was Monday morning picked up by the campus security and bundled to a police cell where quick action by other students led to his release. You would recall that a protest against student victimization and lack of light and water led to the school being shut down indefinitely on the 26th of April 2016 Below are some of the tweets |
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Buhari’s First Year In Office Gets Approval Rating Of 64%
The public opinion poll conducted by
NOIPolls Limited in a series of monthly presidential approval ratings to
appraise the job performance of President Muhammadu Buhari since
assuming office on May 29, 2015, has revealed that the president got an
average job approval rating of 64 per cent.
However, Buhari was rated very low on job creation at 14 per cent, and handling of the economy at 21 per cent.
The rating came as the president Monday approved the formation of a presidential commission on the ease of doing business in Nigeria.
In the report released yesterday, NOIPolls said Buhari had the highest rating of 80 per cent in October 2015, and lowest rating of 42 per cent in April 2016.
“Interestingly, compared to one year ago, 44 per cent of Nigerians believe the country is currently moving in the right direction, while 37 per cent believe it’s moving in the wrong direction, leaving only 19 per cent who believe the country is neither moving in the right nor wrong direction,” NOIPolls said in its report released Monday.
“Furthermore, in terms of specific indicators, Nigerians rated the president’s performance on corruption at 55 per cent, national security, 47 per cent as average, while he was rated very poorly on job creation, 14 per cent and handling of the economy, 21 per cent.’’
According to the poll, when asked of the most important issue Buhari’s administration should focus its attention on in the remaining three years of his tenure, Nigerians were said to have identified unemployment, 21 per cent; power, 17 per cent; and the economy, 16 per cent as the top priority areas.
The group said further analysis of the president’s approval rating based on geo-political zones indicated that the North-west and North-east geopolitical zones with 81 per cent each, had the highest proportion of respondents who approved of the president’s job performance, while the South-south and South-east zones with 35 per cent each accounted for the highest proportion of respondents who disapproved of the president’s performance.
The organisation added: “Interestingly, the average approval of 64 per cent cuts across all age groups, although it appears more male than female respondents, 67 per cent versus 60 per cent seemed to approve of his performance.
NOIPolls prides itself as the number one country specific polling services in West Africa, conducting periodic opinion polls and studies on various socio-economic and political issues in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, President Buhari has approved the formation of a presidential commission on the ease of doing business in the country.
A statement issued in Abuja by the Senior Special Assistant to the the Vice President, Mr. Laolu Akande, said his boss, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, announced this while presiding over the first quarterly consultation between the presidency and the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) last Friday.
“Buhari has approved a high-powered commission to work on the issues around the ease of doing business in the country,” he added.
Akande said the commission would have a secretariat to be headed by a private sector professional who would be appointed to lead the secretariat of the commission.
He said MAN raised among many concerns, their worries about cases of multiple taxation, and in response, the vice president promised to followup on the matter, adding that “one of the key issues the presidential commission which I am heading would be looking at is the case of multiple taxation.”
He said the Ministry of Trade and Investment was also actively engaged with same issued.
At the end of the meeting, the President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Dr. Frank Udemba Jacobs, expressed concern about the acts of vandalism on oil and gas installations describing it as economic sabotage.
Jacobs said the association was happy about what the federal government was doing, adding: “We are concerned about what is happening in the Niger Delta area which is a kind of sabotaging the economic activities of the government, and therefore, we want to call on them to lay down their arms in the interest of the country.”
He called on the militants to join hands with government and move the country forward. The MAN president stated that diversification of the economy was the best way to go now given what is happening internationally.
Jacobs said the association “is keying into government policy in terms of diversification of the economy by doing their best to increase the capacity of production.
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/05/31/buharis-first-year-in-office-gets-approval-rating-of-64/
However, Buhari was rated very low on job creation at 14 per cent, and handling of the economy at 21 per cent.
The rating came as the president Monday approved the formation of a presidential commission on the ease of doing business in Nigeria.
In the report released yesterday, NOIPolls said Buhari had the highest rating of 80 per cent in October 2015, and lowest rating of 42 per cent in April 2016.
“Interestingly, compared to one year ago, 44 per cent of Nigerians believe the country is currently moving in the right direction, while 37 per cent believe it’s moving in the wrong direction, leaving only 19 per cent who believe the country is neither moving in the right nor wrong direction,” NOIPolls said in its report released Monday.
“Furthermore, in terms of specific indicators, Nigerians rated the president’s performance on corruption at 55 per cent, national security, 47 per cent as average, while he was rated very poorly on job creation, 14 per cent and handling of the economy, 21 per cent.’’
According to the poll, when asked of the most important issue Buhari’s administration should focus its attention on in the remaining three years of his tenure, Nigerians were said to have identified unemployment, 21 per cent; power, 17 per cent; and the economy, 16 per cent as the top priority areas.
The group said further analysis of the president’s approval rating based on geo-political zones indicated that the North-west and North-east geopolitical zones with 81 per cent each, had the highest proportion of respondents who approved of the president’s job performance, while the South-south and South-east zones with 35 per cent each accounted for the highest proportion of respondents who disapproved of the president’s performance.
The organisation added: “Interestingly, the average approval of 64 per cent cuts across all age groups, although it appears more male than female respondents, 67 per cent versus 60 per cent seemed to approve of his performance.
NOIPolls prides itself as the number one country specific polling services in West Africa, conducting periodic opinion polls and studies on various socio-economic and political issues in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, President Buhari has approved the formation of a presidential commission on the ease of doing business in the country.
A statement issued in Abuja by the Senior Special Assistant to the the Vice President, Mr. Laolu Akande, said his boss, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, announced this while presiding over the first quarterly consultation between the presidency and the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) last Friday.
“Buhari has approved a high-powered commission to work on the issues around the ease of doing business in the country,” he added.
Akande said the commission would have a secretariat to be headed by a private sector professional who would be appointed to lead the secretariat of the commission.
He said MAN raised among many concerns, their worries about cases of multiple taxation, and in response, the vice president promised to followup on the matter, adding that “one of the key issues the presidential commission which I am heading would be looking at is the case of multiple taxation.”
He said the Ministry of Trade and Investment was also actively engaged with same issued.
At the end of the meeting, the President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Dr. Frank Udemba Jacobs, expressed concern about the acts of vandalism on oil and gas installations describing it as economic sabotage.
Jacobs said the association was happy about what the federal government was doing, adding: “We are concerned about what is happening in the Niger Delta area which is a kind of sabotaging the economic activities of the government, and therefore, we want to call on them to lay down their arms in the interest of the country.”
He called on the militants to join hands with government and move the country forward. The MAN president stated that diversification of the economy was the best way to go now given what is happening internationally.
Jacobs said the association “is keying into government policy in terms of diversification of the economy by doing their best to increase the capacity of production.
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/05/31/buharis-first-year-in-office-gets-approval-rating-of-64/
UK Detectives In Nigeria For Alison-madueke’s Case
As part of the ongoing probe and preparation for the arraignment of a
former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke,
some investigators from the United Kingdom have visited Nigeria to
gather evidence.
The ex-minister is under investigation over the missing $20billion oil cash, phoney crude oil lifting contracts, $115million poll bribery money, the $1.092b Malabu oil deal and the N5.2billion ($25m) oil cash paid by an Indian oil firm for an oil block
The UK team inspected the former minister’s multi-billion naira mansion, her £600,000 exotic wrist watch and gold and diamond jewelry which have been confiscated.
There were indications last night that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) has also frozen Mrs Alison-Madueke’s bank accounts.
The commission may attach some assets of the ex-minister under the Interim Forfeiture Order in Sections 26 and 29 of the EFCC Act, The Nation learnt.
The UK investigators came into the country as part of the build-up to the trial of the ex-minister in London.
Mrs Alison-Madueke and four others were arrested in London on October 2, 2015 by the National Crime Agency( NCA).
The NCA said all the suspects were released on “conditional police bail, pending further investigation both in the UK and overseas”.
A source, who confirmed the visit said it was the “continuation of the London end of the investigation of the ex-minister.”
Besides restricting her movement to the UK, a London (Westminster Magistrate’s Court) on Marylebone Road had approved the seizure of $41,000 (£27,000) cash from Mrs Alison-Madueke.
“With the outcome of the fact-finding mission of the UK team, I think so far, the investigation has reached a convenient bend for the prosecution of the ex-minister,” the source said, pleading not to be named because of the “sensitivity” of the matter.
An EFCC source confirmed that the former minister’s accounts in some major banks had been frozen. “It is too early to disclose the amounts involved in order not to prejudice investigation. We are discovering more on daily basis as some complicit banks are now cooperating,” he said, adding:
“We are allowed by law to place suspicious accounts and assets under interim forfeiture until the court decides otherwise.
“We are collaborating with anti-graft agencies in other jurisdictions on her case.”
Sections 26 and 29 of the EFCC Act on forfeiture read: “Any property subject to forfeiture under this Act may be seized by the commission in the following circumstances- (a) the seizure is incidental to an arrest or search; or (b) in the case of property liable to forfeiture upon process issued by the Court following an application made by the Commission in accordance with the prescribed rules
“Whenever property is seized under any of the provisions of this Act, the Commission may-(a) place the property under seal; or (b) remove the property to a place designated by the Commission.
“Properties taken or detained under this section shall be deemed to be in custody of the Commission, subject only to an order of a court.”
There is an ongoing probe by the EFCC of Mrs Alison-Madueke’s involvement in a $115m (N23, 299,705,000billion) 2015 poll bribery scandal.
The anti-graft agency has quizzed Managing Director of Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo and the bank’s Head of Operations, Martin Izuogbe in connection with the scandal.
Four companies, according to investigation by the anti-graft agency, allegedly gave the following amount to the bank for use to bribe officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Northern Belt Gas Company Limited ($60m); Auctus Integrated($17,884,000); Midwestern Oil and Gas($9.5m); and Leno Laitan Adesanya ($1.85m).
“The ex-minister sent $25.77million(approximately $26m) to bring the total amount to $115million( N23, 299,705,000billion).
Mrs Alison- Madueke has twice in six months appeared before a London court to answer charges regarding the £27,000 money laundering and bribery allegation made against her by the NCA..
She will be returning to the court again in September, after the Westminster Magistrate court granted the request of the NCA on March 31, 2016 for another six months to enable the Agency gets more time to tighten its case.
Mrs Madueke will be on bail along with her mother Mrs Beatrice Agama who is the lead suspect; son, Ugonna Madeueke, family friend Ms Melanie Spencer, the wife of a Ghanaian oil tycoon, Kevin Okyere till when the court reconvenes in September to decide on a direction for the case.
It is typical of the NCA drawing its motivation from the Proceeds of Crime Act to always ask for more time for its investigations so it can build a water tight case.
The Proceeds of Crime Act says: “The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (“POCA”) sets out the legislative scheme for the recovery of criminal assets with criminal confiscation being the most commonly used power.
“Confiscation occurs after a conviction has taken place. Other means of recovering the proceeds of crime, which do not require a conviction, are provided for in the Act, namely civil recovery, cash seizure and taxation powers. The investigation is now global extending to Nigeria and Switzerland where billionaire Business man Kola Aluko was questioned and home raided on the request of the NCA.
Aluko, who has Swiss nationality and owner of Atlantic Energy had some oil deals with NNPC while Madueke was in charge. He is believed to be a key figure in the money laundering network.
Atlantic Energy signed a lucrative strategic alliance in 2011 with NNPC while Madueke was in charge of Petroleum Ministry giving it rights to sell oil from four big blocks on behalf of Nigeria. Before the oil price crashed, Aluko said the commercial value of the contract was estimated at $7bn.
The ex-minister is under investigation over the missing $20billion oil cash, phoney crude oil lifting contracts, $115million poll bribery money, the $1.092b Malabu oil deal and the N5.2billion ($25m) oil cash paid by an Indian oil firm for an oil block
The UK team inspected the former minister’s multi-billion naira mansion, her £600,000 exotic wrist watch and gold and diamond jewelry which have been confiscated.
There were indications last night that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) has also frozen Mrs Alison-Madueke’s bank accounts.
The commission may attach some assets of the ex-minister under the Interim Forfeiture Order in Sections 26 and 29 of the EFCC Act, The Nation learnt.
The UK investigators came into the country as part of the build-up to the trial of the ex-minister in London.
Mrs Alison-Madueke and four others were arrested in London on October 2, 2015 by the National Crime Agency( NCA).
The NCA said all the suspects were released on “conditional police bail, pending further investigation both in the UK and overseas”.
A source, who confirmed the visit said it was the “continuation of the London end of the investigation of the ex-minister.”
Besides restricting her movement to the UK, a London (Westminster Magistrate’s Court) on Marylebone Road had approved the seizure of $41,000 (£27,000) cash from Mrs Alison-Madueke.
“With the outcome of the fact-finding mission of the UK team, I think so far, the investigation has reached a convenient bend for the prosecution of the ex-minister,” the source said, pleading not to be named because of the “sensitivity” of the matter.
An EFCC source confirmed that the former minister’s accounts in some major banks had been frozen. “It is too early to disclose the amounts involved in order not to prejudice investigation. We are discovering more on daily basis as some complicit banks are now cooperating,” he said, adding:
“We are allowed by law to place suspicious accounts and assets under interim forfeiture until the court decides otherwise.
“We are collaborating with anti-graft agencies in other jurisdictions on her case.”
Sections 26 and 29 of the EFCC Act on forfeiture read: “Any property subject to forfeiture under this Act may be seized by the commission in the following circumstances- (a) the seizure is incidental to an arrest or search; or (b) in the case of property liable to forfeiture upon process issued by the Court following an application made by the Commission in accordance with the prescribed rules
“Whenever property is seized under any of the provisions of this Act, the Commission may-(a) place the property under seal; or (b) remove the property to a place designated by the Commission.
“Properties taken or detained under this section shall be deemed to be in custody of the Commission, subject only to an order of a court.”
There is an ongoing probe by the EFCC of Mrs Alison-Madueke’s involvement in a $115m (N23, 299,705,000billion) 2015 poll bribery scandal.
The anti-graft agency has quizzed Managing Director of Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo and the bank’s Head of Operations, Martin Izuogbe in connection with the scandal.
Four companies, according to investigation by the anti-graft agency, allegedly gave the following amount to the bank for use to bribe officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Northern Belt Gas Company Limited ($60m); Auctus Integrated($17,884,000); Midwestern Oil and Gas($9.5m); and Leno Laitan Adesanya ($1.85m).
“The ex-minister sent $25.77million(approximately $26m) to bring the total amount to $115million( N23, 299,705,000billion).
Mrs Alison- Madueke has twice in six months appeared before a London court to answer charges regarding the £27,000 money laundering and bribery allegation made against her by the NCA..
She will be returning to the court again in September, after the Westminster Magistrate court granted the request of the NCA on March 31, 2016 for another six months to enable the Agency gets more time to tighten its case.
Mrs Madueke will be on bail along with her mother Mrs Beatrice Agama who is the lead suspect; son, Ugonna Madeueke, family friend Ms Melanie Spencer, the wife of a Ghanaian oil tycoon, Kevin Okyere till when the court reconvenes in September to decide on a direction for the case.
It is typical of the NCA drawing its motivation from the Proceeds of Crime Act to always ask for more time for its investigations so it can build a water tight case.
The Proceeds of Crime Act says: “The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (“POCA”) sets out the legislative scheme for the recovery of criminal assets with criminal confiscation being the most commonly used power.
“Confiscation occurs after a conviction has taken place. Other means of recovering the proceeds of crime, which do not require a conviction, are provided for in the Act, namely civil recovery, cash seizure and taxation powers. The investigation is now global extending to Nigeria and Switzerland where billionaire Business man Kola Aluko was questioned and home raided on the request of the NCA.
Aluko, who has Swiss nationality and owner of Atlantic Energy had some oil deals with NNPC while Madueke was in charge. He is believed to be a key figure in the money laundering network.
Atlantic Energy signed a lucrative strategic alliance in 2011 with NNPC while Madueke was in charge of Petroleum Ministry giving it rights to sell oil from four big blocks on behalf of Nigeria. Before the oil price crashed, Aluko said the commercial value of the contract was estimated at $7bn.
Herbert Were Beheads His Brother So As To Join Illuminati
A 21-year-old man named Herbert Were has been arrested by Ugandan police for killing his little brother. Herbert said the beheading of his 7-year-old brother named Joel Ogema was to enable him join a powerful cult named Illuminati where he will earn superpowers, fame and wealth, NGLatest has gathered. A conversation between the suspect and the supposed Illuminati member who told him to kill a victim was found on Herbert's phone as well.
Police spokesman Fred Enanga said the incident happened at Busia district on the Kenya-Uganda border.
His words:
"Were has told us that he cut off his brother's head but we arrested him on the way to meet the alleged Illuminati member who had asked for the head."
ANSU Shuts Down Indefinitely, After Graduate Was Tortured To Death
Last week, it was all over the media that a
spillover student of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, formerly
Anambra State University was tortured to death by the school’s anti-cult
for allegedly stealing a mobile phone.
Unlike what was widely reported, the late victim, Ndirika Michael was a graduate of Mechanical Engineering, who came back for clearance.
According to different students of the University I interviewed, the student was said to be a cultist during his days at ANSU, and the Anti-cult have been looking for him for so long.
When they heard that he is around, they captured him and he died while being tortured by them.
The late victim never stole a phone, he even uses an iphone 6.
The Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Fidelis Okafor however, said that the student wasn’t killed by the Anti-cult, but he was killed by rival cult groups, that he died when the Anti-cult came to rescue him.
this further angered the students, especially cult boys, who used the leverage that one of their own has been killed, to destroy properties worth millions of naira.
The vice Chancellor later gave a directive that the school be shut down indefinitely.
Unlike what was widely reported, the late victim, Ndirika Michael was a graduate of Mechanical Engineering, who came back for clearance.
According to different students of the University I interviewed, the student was said to be a cultist during his days at ANSU, and the Anti-cult have been looking for him for so long.
When they heard that he is around, they captured him and he died while being tortured by them.
The late victim never stole a phone, he even uses an iphone 6.
The Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Fidelis Okafor however, said that the student wasn’t killed by the Anti-cult, but he was killed by rival cult groups, that he died when the Anti-cult came to rescue him.
this further angered the students, especially cult boys, who used the leverage that one of their own has been killed, to destroy properties worth millions of naira.
The vice Chancellor later gave a directive that the school be shut down indefinitely.
Policeman Killed In Error By Soldiers On Bauchi-Jos Road (Graphic Photo)
This is a graphic photo of the policeman who was
killed in error by soldiers at a checkpoint along Bauchi to Jos road on
Saturday. The unfortunate incident saw soldiers shoot a bus conveying
policemen travelling from Taraba to Kaduna -killing him in the process.
According to a press statement from the army, the error was a result of the refusal of the driver of the bus to stop at the checkpoint for routine checks of occupants.
“The Headquarters 33 Artillery Brigade wishes to inform the general public that on 28th May 2016, at about 2:14pm, the troops deployed at Panshanu check-point along Bauchi-Jos road, opened fire on a bus. “The bus drove dangerously through the checkpoint and refused to stop when flagged down on suspicion that it might be conveying terrorists or armed criminal elements, while approaching the check point. Regrettably, one person died and 3 others sustained injuries in the process.
According to a press statement from the army, the error was a result of the refusal of the driver of the bus to stop at the checkpoint for routine checks of occupants.
“The Headquarters 33 Artillery Brigade wishes to inform the general public that on 28th May 2016, at about 2:14pm, the troops deployed at Panshanu check-point along Bauchi-Jos road, opened fire on a bus. “The bus drove dangerously through the checkpoint and refused to stop when flagged down on suspicion that it might be conveying terrorists or armed criminal elements, while approaching the check point. Regrettably, one person died and 3 others sustained injuries in the process.
Dapper Wind Screen Cleaner Abdulahi Olatoyan Meets Ben Murray-Bruce (photos)
Senator Ben Bruce who caught wind that the dapper, windscreen cleaner Abdulahi was at the STV studio for an interview, came out of his Silverbird Galleria office and asked: “Where is the man that wears suit to clean car windscreens?” The Senator was particularly interested in Abdulahi’s inspiration behind wearing suits to wash windscreens. They both had a brief chat and a photo session.
Ondo Workers To Begin Indefinite Strike Tomorrow
Government workers in Ondo State will as from tomorrow begin an indefinite strike over non-payment of five months salaries.
According to a source from the labour union, workers are expected to stay away from work until the oustanding arrears are paid.
All government hospitals in the state will equally be shut down.
But reacting to the report, an aide to the Governor who does not want his name in print told DAILY POST that the workers are still in a meeting with the government, and it will be too early to conclude that they will embark on an indefinite strike tomorrow. He advised our reporter to wait till the outcome of the meeting.
Details shortly…
Nollywood actor Charles Onojie and wife Obehi welcome their 2nd child after several miscarriages
Nollywood
actor Charles Onojie and his wife Obehi welcomed their second child, a
baby girl on Wednesday, May 25 in Decatur, Georgia, US. The couple who
got married on November 2012 in Benin City named the child Onoseta. Obehi shared the happy news on Instagram, recalling the difficulties she encountered before finally conceiving.
"Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
God is wonderful, he blessed me with another beautiful baby 2 days ago, he made it possible for me to sing a new song again, our God is good!
When you are waiting on the Lord for something good to happen, please don't give up, He will surely answer you. I never knew what it meant to wait on the Lord until he taught me how. Since my first daughter became a year old, I have been praying for another baby, it took quiet a long time before it happened. During that time, I was worried, delayed periods meant miscarriages to me, my mum wasn't helping matters, "Obehi is old enough to have a sibling, what are you waiting for? Born them sharp sharp, make you rest once" she had no idea what I was going through, I prayed and prayed, cried and cried, then it happened. My period was a week late but I was too scared to confirm my status, then I tried my ovulation test kit, it gave me a smiley face
I shouted and
rushed off to tell hubby, he said calm down, take this money, he was
just giving me a lot of money that morning 
neither of us knew how
much, he told me to go to the nearest clinic for confirmation, as I was
driving down, my heart start to beat, I said to myself, I should ve been
quiet about this, what if I just raised hubby's hope for nothing? God
reassured me that because He is King over all, everything is beautiful.
As soon as my result came out of the lab, my eyes automatically became
xrays, I scanned through the paper in the nurse's hand from afar and I
saw *positive* I asked her from where I was sitting, "positive abi? "
she said yes. Ha mo'gbe o, I screamed the whole clinic down and hugged
her so tight, I gave the nurse money to buy lunch for herself and the
rest of her colleagues. You see, when we take in easily, we don't know
what God has done for us, until we start to hear stories of how many
women, are trying hard for the same thing you got so easily. Always be
grateful, no matter what, your morning will surely come, keep believing,
your testimony will come. All the challenges I had during this
pregnancy are long forgotten since my bundle of joy arrived, thank u
Lord"
God is wonderful, he blessed me with another beautiful baby 2 days ago, he made it possible for me to sing a new song again, our God is good!
When you are waiting on the Lord for something good to happen, please don't give up, He will surely answer you. I never knew what it meant to wait on the Lord until he taught me how. Since my first daughter became a year old, I have been praying for another baby, it took quiet a long time before it happened. During that time, I was worried, delayed periods meant miscarriages to me, my mum wasn't helping matters, "Obehi is old enough to have a sibling, what are you waiting for? Born them sharp sharp, make you rest once" she had no idea what I was going through, I prayed and prayed, cried and cried, then it happened. My period was a week late but I was too scared to confirm my status, then I tried my ovulation test kit, it gave me a smiley face
Shehu Sani reacts to Ben Bruce's claim that he was prevented from greeting President Buhari at the presidential dinner
Sen. Ben Murray-Bruce had alleged that
some DSS officials prevented him from greeting president Buhari at the
presidential dinner hosted in honor of National Assembly members
yesterday May 30th. Senator Shehu Sani who is very critical of the
Buhari led government says he did not witness such at the dinner.
FG Deploys 5 Warships, 100 Gunboats, Fighter Jets To Delta Creeks
The federal government, yesterday, deployed an armada of five warships, 100 gunboats and fighter jets to the creeks of the Niger Delta, in response to continued bombing of oil and gas pipelines by Niger Delta Avengers, NDA.
This heightened tension in the coastal communities of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, even as helicopter gunships were seen hovering at low altitude in the predominantly riverine council.
Niger Delta Avengers: FG deploys 5 warships, 100 gunboats, fighter jets to Delta creeks
It was gathered that while the Airforce deployed the fighter jets and helicopter gunships, the Army swooped on four more Ijaw communities in Gbaramatu Kingdom, Warri South West Local Government Area, Delta State, for the militants.
Bayelsa travellers from the hinterland, confirmed the large military presence in the tricky mangrove swamp of the council, which at the height of youth militancy, had the largest concentration of militant camps in the Delta.
“There is a massive security operation going on in the area. Fighter jets and helicopter gunships have been hovering around the airspace at low level, apparently on surveillance mission. Many of the natives are worried about the development,” said Ayebatari, an indigene of the area.
However, an Agip source told Vanguard that the company had, amid tight security, commenced repair of the damaged section of Tebidaba-Brass delivery line destroyed on Sunday by militants.
“Yes, the repair work is being done under the radar,” he said in reference to the aerial coverage by the military.
Meanwhile, the invasion of Ijaw communities, which started about 1.52a.m., on Saturday, with the take-over of Oporoza, the traditional headquarters of the kingdom and Kurutie, also known as “Little London,” the country home of ex-militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, Okerenkoko, Kokodigbane and Benikrukru, yesterday, has caused food crisis in Gbaramatu clan.
Residents, who fled Oporoza, three days ago to the neighbouring Azama community, are famished, as they had not eaten for the period, while soldiers were reportedly not allowing them to return to the community to look for food and pick their clothes.
The traditional ruler of Gbaramatu kingdom, HRM Williams Ogboba, Oboro Gbaraun II, narrated the ordeal of the people when the Special Adviser to the President on Presidential Amnesty Programme, PAP, Brigadier-General Paul Boroh (retd), visited him at his palace in Oporoza, Delta State, on Sunday.
He said he was under house arrest and had not taken his bath since soldiers invaded his kingdom, while his subjects in Oporoza had all fled.
Commander, NNS Delta, Commodore Raimi Mohammed, confirmed, yesterday, that the security agencies were now working in synergy to rout the Avengers.
Surveillance
He said: “We (Navy) use helicopter. If you spot it, you will clearly identify it as belonging to us. You see Navy written on it. The jet fighters and surveillance craft were deployed by Air Force to watch over the high risk areas against activities of the oil assets vandals and anyone else involved in criminality in the area.
“There is now strengthened synergy among the security agencies to stop this vandalism. The synergy is there. I will advise those involved to steer clear and employ peaceful ways of agitating and engaging their minds.”
The fighter jets and surveillance aircraft were also seen flying around communities in Gbaramatu Kingdom and Ogulagha area in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State about 10a.m.
Ijaw leader, Chief Godspower Gbenekama, and Public Relations Officer of Oporoza Youth Executive, Paul Kirifade, confirmed the movement of the jet fighters and aircraft in the communities.
It was learned that the fighter jets and surveillance aircraft were deployed to enable the armed forces locate the militants, believed to be running helter-skelter and hiding in the mangrove swamps after the occupation of Oporoza and fly down on Kurutie and other communities, yesterday.
Our source said soldiers stormed Kurutie in six gunboats at 4.30a.m., while the people were still asleep.
A 70-year-old man, identified as Mr. Dogood Ikekama, was allegedly molested and forced by the soldiers to take them round some houses in the community.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has been asked to focus more on intelligence gathering and collaboration with host communities in identifying the location of Niger Delta Avengers.
Chairman of Grassroots Initiative for Peace and Social Orientation and one of the facilitators of the amnesty programme, Mr. Richard Akinaka, who condemned the renewed attacks as not representing the intention and interest of the Niger Delta, blamed it on protection of individual business interests of some unscrupulous people from the region.
To avoid collateral damage and hurting innocent villagers whose lives, he said, had been battered by neglect and lack of development, Akinaka said soldiers should desist from mass arrest but focus on identifying where the Avengers were located and take them out.
He said: “What is happening in the region does not reflect the common interest of the people of the Niger Delta. It is orchestrated by a few disgruntled people for their selfish interests. We just finished six years of a Presidency headed by one of us, former President Goodluck Jonathan, why didn’t the Avengers carry out their agitation during his regime?
‘’We produced a President, who did nothing in six years to better the lot of his people, not even the road to Otuoke was touched under him while the East-West Road was left undone; so what justification do they have to protest now?”
Vanguard gathered that Tompolo’s father had since fled the community, following the hunt for his son but one of his wives, who was in town managed to run into the bush with other villagers before the soldiers reached the house.
She wept uncontrollably in her location as soldiers rummaged the house, but the soldiers, who also broke into and ransacked other homes in the town departed at about 6a.m.
The soldiers marched into Okerenkoko, Kokodiagbene and Benikrukru community when they left Kurutie.
According to the chairman of Kokodiagbene community, Sheriff Mulade: “In the wee hours of yesterday, the Joint Military Task Force, codenamed Operations Pulo Shield, invaded more Ijaw communities in search of vandals and militants bombing oil and gas facilities in Delta state.
“The communities include Benikrukru, Kokodiagbene, Kurutie and Okerenkoko, all in Warri South West Council. According to the JTF, the operations, named Cordon and Search, was aimed at unmasking the militants and vandals, who are perpetrating the heinous crimes, requesting the communities to produce them,” he said.
Oil production plummets to 1.2 mbpd
Nigeria’s oil production has continued to plummet as it, yesterday, stood at 1.2 million barrels per day, against the 1.4 million barrels recorded last week.
Group General Manager, Public Affairs, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Garbadeen Mohammed, said: “Our production is not less than, but about 1.2 million barrels per day.”
The decline has been attributed to increased vandalism of crude oil pipelines by vandals, as well as increasing blow up of international oil companies’ platforms in the last two weeks.
Onokpasa decries seizure of pots of soup by soldiers
All Progressives Congress, APC, chieftain in Delta State, Mr. Jesutega Onokpasa, criticized the confiscation of household appliances and even pots of soup by invading soldiers in Oporoza, Gbaramatu Kingdom, Warri South-West council, saying such act would only present the military as unruly and unethical.
Calling on the Niger Delta Avengers to have a rethink and embrace dialogue, he said: “Everyone in Gbaramatu cannot be an Avenger and we cannot be talking of negotiation and at the same time invading Oporoza.
‘’What is required is intelligence, not brute force. These vandals could be operating from anywhere. Would they bomb a pipeline and then remain in the area waiting for the military to come after them?
“Stopping further destruction of our oil and gas infrastructure is of utmost priority, invading communities and going so far as confiscating household appliances and even pots of soup, will only present the military as undisciplined, untidy and unprofessional.”
Vanguard gathered that the greatest threat to the lives of residents, particularly Oporoza villagers, who fled to neighbouring Azama community since Saturday, is hunger.
Chief Gbenekama and Oporoza youths spokesperson, Kirifade, said the helpless villagers had not eaten for three days, as there was no food in Azama community, where they escaped to.
Also, National President of Ijaw Peoples
Development Initiative, IPDI, Mr Austin Ozobo, who confirmed that hunger had hit the displaced persons, said: “There is hunger everywhere as there is no food for the people to eat. Food supply to the kingdom has been cut off by the military, which is not allowing boats to come in from Warri and other areas to bring food to the people.”
Kirifade added: “It is sad that soldiers are not even allowing the trapped villagers to get canoes to go to their homes in Oporoza to look for food and pick up clothes. Some of them have not taken their bath since last Saturday.
“We are not Niger Delta Avengers, why should government classify every Gbaramatu man as a Niger Delta Avenger, they should withdraw the soldiers because it is obvious that their aim is to commit genocide. Though, we thank God that in their indiscriminate shooting, nobody has been killed.”
I’m under house arrest- Monarch
Pere of Gbaramatu Kingdom, HRM Oboro Gbaraun II (Aketekpe) Agadagba, who raised the alarm when Brigadier-General Boroh (retd) visited his palace, said: “I am in pains, deep pains, this is the third time the military has invaded the community. They came with large number of soldiers, harassing and beating up women, there are kids missing now.”
'I will soon disclose what killed Abacha and Abiola' - Al Mustapha
Speaking at a press briefing in Lagos, Al-Mustapha alleged that Abacha and Abiola’s deaths were from same source.
According to him, he would be telling all he knows about the death of the two famous Nigerians in his new book, Mustapha’s Memoirs, which he is still writing and would soon publish. Al-Mustapha accused some Yoruba personalities of being insincere with Abiola while he was alive and in detention.
“For instance, when Chief MKO Abiola was in prison, many notable Nigerians visited him. They will visit him in the morning, and when they come back to the Villa in the evening to see Abacha, they would say a different thing entirely. On video “Unknown to these notable Nigerians, particularly notable Yoruba personalities, who visited Abiola, their visits were recorded on video. I did the video recording without their knowledge. These people would visit Abiola and come back to tell government a different thing about him. These same people would still go and tell Abiola a different thing about government. They are on video. The agencies of government have these videos evidence. These same people told MKO Abiola never to accept any compromise or negotiations. They advised him never to come back home without his mandate. All these things are on video. Of all the Yoruba leaders, only Oba Tejuosho told MKO Abiola the truth: to accept the conditional bail and go home. Only Oba Tejuosho told MKO Abiola that Abacha was his friend, urging him to reconcile with Abacha who was ready for reconciliation. It was Oba Tejuosho who told MKO Abiola that he still had the goodwill and would win if he re-contests after Abacha. What killed Abacha is what killed MKO Abiola. But I would reveal that after my court case, still at the Supreme Court. I would publish a book which has three volumes the Mustapha’s Memoirs, which will tell what happened under Abacha and how he died” he said
Federal High Court slams injunction on Runtown (process details)
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has slammed an injunction against the rising musical artiste Douglas Jack-Agu aka "Runtown". The injunction prevents him from performing at any event or any form of recording for the time being unless with the approval of Ericmany Limited. Runtown is signed under the Ericmany Entertainment label that presently holds the copyright to all his music.He was sued in the Federal High Court by Ericmany on allegations that he signs up, concludes and attends musical shows without the knowledge of the label. Ericmany Entertainment was said to have invested millions of naira on Runtown.
However trouble started when Runtown apparently with the connivance of Bug Media ran by one Bugwu Aneto began to sideline Ericmany and collected money directly for shows without the knowledge of Ericmany. Bug Media is also a party to the court case.
In another twist of events, the management of Ericmany has sacked the said Bugwu Aneto as General Manager of the company for infractions which might not be unconnected with his alleged connivance with Runtown to shortchange the Label Ericamany.
All inquiries about the artiste and bookings for shows would no longer be through Aneto but through the management of Ericmany.
It is not clear how the young artiste is reacting to the court case and injunction. Observers suggest he was misled by Bugwu, the former General Manager of Ericmany to ditch his boss and benefactor Ericmany, and may now that the chips are down find ways to go back and reconcile with the Ericmany. See Below the 5 Pages Court Injunction issued;
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