OBLONG MEDIA GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE is where independent minds meet to dissect politics, society, power, and global affairs without fear or filters. This is not mainstream media.
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China today demonstrated how it deals with corruption, just as Nigerians debate the crackdown on corrupt judges by the Department of State Service. China sentenced a 70-year-old former senior legislator to death for taking ‘a huge amount of bribes’ and holding excessive assets with unidentified sources, a charge similar to the allegations of the DSS against the arrested judicial officers. The legislator, identified as Bai Enpei becomes the latest official to be punished for graft under a campaign launched by President Xi Jingping. Enpei was a former senior lawmaker with China’s legislature, the National People’s Congress. He had also served…
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The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, and other leaders have called on leaders to preach peace and shun violence. The Sultan made the call at a conference organized by the International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID) in collaboration with the Institute of Peace and Conflict Resolution. President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev Dr. Samson Supo Ayokunle said “I wrote the Sultan telling him of CAN’s to work with Muslims in order to promote peace in the country. “Lack of trust and mutual understanding must be dealt with. “There are more common issues that unite us than issues…
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Condemning and shouting adds little to the unfolding fascist reality in Nigeria. If we are not bold enough to decouple ourselves completely from the Caliphate-led pretence called “Nigeria”, by de-federating the failed Union, the agenda to conquer and islamize is well underway. Those who did not understand the decisive LNC/MNN Broken Map of Nigeria that isolates and quarantines the rampaging invasionists on this matter, are likely to learn the same hard way the Bosnians in old Yugoslavia learnt, after many heads had fallen off their erstwhile shoulders. Unilateral action is more likely in the folly represented by non-consensus on the…
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Former Vice President and chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Atiku Abubakar, commends the Federal Government, particularly President Muhammadu Buhari for the withdrawal of criminal charges against the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, thus paving the way for the resolution of the impasse between both arms of government. The former Vice President describes it as “a wise and timely move”. In a press statement released by his Media Office in Abuja on Friday, October 7, the former Vice President says that the move by the Federal Government is an indication that the government values…
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The Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, has said he is yet to decide on which of his loyalists would be his successor in 2019. He said he would make his choice known to Imp people at the at the appropriate. This was just as he described his deputy, Eze Madumere, as one of his diehard loyalists in the last 23 years, who has stood by him during his political travails and has proved to be a man who could be trusted no matter the circumstance. Okorocha, who stated this yesterday during the public presentation of a book written on the…
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FULANI HERDSMEN KILLINGS; MODUS OPERANDI, THOSE INVOLVED, AND THE POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS. The most significant problem that African nations face is lack of leadership. Normally, Leadership should be an intentional conscious effort to attend to the people’s needs and aspirations. But in Africa, even though many of those that are thrust into the position of leadership mean well, they lack the capacity to lead and meet the people/s hopes and aspirations. Apart from lack of adequate preparation for leadership, one other notable factor that had inhibited good leadership among African leaders is the seemingly non-existent structures for research and information management…
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Street traders skeptical about central bank’s liquidity pledge Official rate seen unsustainable as dollar shortage endures Sitting in his cramped office in the basement of a Chinese-themed hotel in Lagos, Abubakar Mohammed complains about a shortage of dollars that’s crippling Nigeria’s economy and driving black-market naira rates to a record. The experience of the 37-year-old, who runs one of Nigeria’s roughly 3,000 money-trading outlets known as bureaux de change, or BDCs, belies central bank Governor Godwin Emefiele’s insistence that liquidity has improved since policy makers said they would allow the naira to trade freely in the interbank market more than…
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In a scathing criticism of governors of the five South East states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria have described them as spineless and cowards who have done nothing to protect the people of the region from the incessant attacks by Fulani herdsmen. People of the South East including the clergy have not been spared by marauding herdsmen armed with sophisticated weapons attacking unarmed farmers in both their farms and houses. Addressing reporters at the Assumption Cathedral, Nnewi, Director of Communication in the diocese, Rev. Fr. Hyginus Aghaulor, alleged that suspected Fulani herdsmen,…
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Abdulmumin Jibrin, the suspended lawmaker had last week gave his colleagues in the House of Representatives three days to return all questionable allowances they paid themselves. Mr. Jibrin accused his colleagues of raking in millions in illegal allowances, and after he indicted himself as having received N650 million illegally. To return their loot, Mr. Jibrin advised his colleagues to individually approach the appropriate authority and make arrangement on how to pay everything back into the federal purse. Mr. Jibrin said any lawmaker who fails to heed his call should be prepared for the backlash that would follow when he publishes…
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The Catholic bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to get serious with reviving the sick economy instead of shifting blames to past leaders of the country. The president, his handlers and cabinet members have constantly blamed past leaders and administrations as responsible for the current economic crisis Nigeria is facing. In a recent report, the president was quoted as saying he inherited nothing from the past leaders. As a result, northern leader, Senator Joseph Waku asked that former presidents including Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan should be probed. But speaking at the Catholic…
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Emirates Airlines has explained its demand for credit card payment from Nigerians travelling to Brazil. The Dubai-based airline, at a meeting with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), yesterday, said the policy would checkmate growing activities of Nigerian drug cartels on the Brazilian route. The airline, meanwhile, has started the refund of fares to passengers affected by the policy, which took effect September 22, 2016. The airline, recently, had left some Nigerian passengers behind on the ground that they bought Lagos-Dubai-Rio tickets in naira, rather than via credit card. The action, which violates Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directive and…
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I sincerely believe that our harsh criticisms are working. And Madam Adeosun is fast coming into realisation that she is the Minister of Finance of Nigeria, with full awareness of the responsibility and expectations of that office. We criticise out of love not hatred. We want her to be better at her job, because if she gets better, Nigeria will get better for all of us. Yesterday, I was at the Jack Morton Auditorium of George Washington University, Washington D.C, where she held her own, and creditably well, during one of the flagship seminars on better infrastructure for developing countries.…
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There are two events that are of major significance this week. The first is the birthday of a man of immense integrity and a great son of the Yoruba by the name of Olusegun Rahman Mimiko who was 62 years old on October 3rd. Much has been said about him over the last few years and encomiums have been deservedly showered on him from all quarters for his birthday. I will only add this: ever since I have known Mimiko when he was a senior colleague in President Obasanjo’s cabinet he has been kind, forthright, courageous, honest, consistent, clear-thinking, hard-working…
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This is going to house a state of the art hospital and the biggest medical research centre in Africa. It is located in a village in Anambra named Umuchukwu. It was built by a single individual who has apart from doing this project, tremendously transformed his village in many other ways. He is no other person than Godwin Maduka. The Medical director/CEO Las Vegas pain institute.
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I am not in the business of rising to the defence of previous Presidents or regimes especially as most of them are still alive and capable of defending themselves. Besides, those of them who refuse to retire into graceful silence deserve the return brickbats they get. My intervention is motivated by the desire to focus attention on the solution. It is thoroughly misleading to isolate and demonise past regimes for the situation where Nigeria has no savings. The fault is in the 1999 Constitution (Section 162) which makes it mandatory for all monies collected by the Federal Government with a…
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The Federal Government has finally agreed to consolidate the criminal charges filed against former National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki, and others before two different High Courts of the Federal Capital Territory Judiciary. This followed a complaint by the former NSA that putting him on trial in two different courts on the same issues would prejudice and cause double jeopardy. At the resumption of the trial today (October 5, 2016) the counsel to the Federal Government, Mr. Rotimi Jacob and that of Dasuki, Mr. Joseph Daudu agreed before Justice Baba Yusuf to formally write the chief judge of the FCT…
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The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, yesterday said it is taking the continued detention without trial of its leader and Director of Radio Biafra, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, to the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, court to seek justice, since the Nigeria judiciary cannot deliver good judgment in the matter concerning his illegal detention. It also said that “the trial Judge, Mr John Tsoho did a tactical withdrawal from the case because he knew that the Federal Government of Nigeria has a bad case, and urged the Nigerian government to read the handwriting on the wall and do the…
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Two Russian vessels will join up with Russia’s permanent naval fleet in the Mediterranean Sea, where they will assist in the military operation against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in Syria. “It is planned that the Serpukhov and the Zeleny Dol will go to the Mediterranean as part of a planned rotation that will join up with the permanent naval task force,” Russian Navy representative Nikolay Voskresensky told journalists. The two guided missile fast attack craft left from the port of Sevastopol on October 4 and are currently sailing through the Black Sea in order to join up with the…
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Hysteria, Euphoria & Amnesia: A nation’s long walk to freedom Matthew Hassan Kukah, Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, diagnoses Nigeria. He spoke at the Platform, an occasion organised by Covenant Centre, Lagos, on October 1, 2015, to mark the country’s 55th independence anniversary For years and, perhaps, out of deep frustration, Nigerians have raised up messiahs, hoping and praying that they would take away their sins and sufferings and usher in a new dawn. But, in almost all instances, our joys have turned into ashes. For over 50 years, we have celebrated every military or civilian regime only to lose patience…
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In Kahlil Gibran’s seminal book, The Prophet, a most apposite question relative to good governance was asked of the protagonist, who provided anilluminating answer; “But what of our laws, master? And he answered: You delight in laying down laws.Yet you delight more in breaking them.” Gibran might have well presaged present-day Nigeria, where governance, suddenly seems all too humongous a task, as those charged with upholding the laws are the very ones who truncate them. Reframing the governance principles in this country, including cutting the cost of governance, should perhaps, start with reframing the mindsetof thoseelected or appointed to serveNigeria.…
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Whenever I look back at the last thirty years of selling our national assets and privatization, I see a litany of lies, cathedrals of falsehood, labyrinths of trickery, monuments of treachery, systematic asset-stripping and serial deception. This infamous heritage has an equally infamous origin in the 1985 National Debate on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Loan and its CONDITIONALITIES which included removal of subsidies, sale of national assets, floating of the currency and trade liberalization. Nigerians overwhelmingly rejected this contraption. In his December 13, 1985 address to the nation, then Head of State, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida said that “This…
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The Nigerian Senate has rejected a bill seeking special status and federal grant for the Lagos state on October 5, Wednesday. According to the official Twitter handle of the upper legislative chamber, the bill didn’t pass the second reading. It was rejected after failing a voice vote called by Ike Ekweremadu. The bill was sponsored by Senator representing Lagos Central Oluremi Tinubu. The bill sought 1% of federally generated revenue as special grant for the state in view of the former Nigeria capital’s socio-economic significance.
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Former Secretary to late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Odia Ofeimun has stated that former President Goodluck Jonathan was kicked out of office by foreign powers because he wanted to truly liberate Nigeria from relative colonialism. Watch the video of the interview below:
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– President Muhammadu Buhari has effected over 50% increase of the Presidential Villa security agents’ allowance popularly referred to as Risk Cautious Allowance. – The President also cleared the backlog of allowances of security agents therefore dousing the tension that was brewing among the operatives Despite Nigeria’s economic situation, President Muhammadu Buhari has effected over 50% increase of the Presidential Villa security agents’ allowance popularly referred to as Risk Cautious Allowance. The President also cleared the backlog of allowances of security agents therefore dousing the tension that was brewing. According to a report by Punch, Mr Buhari through the Office…
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The Northern oligarchy may have begun consolidation of their power grip on the top seat of the federal government of Nigeria. This is according to new information revealing that a collection of top Emirs and traditional leaders of the core north had approached the President of the federal republic of Nigeria, General Mohammadu Buhari to impressed on him on the possible dangers of his continued association with the former president of Nigerian in the person of General Olusegun Obasanjo. According to a competent source who is usually reliable, the collection of northern leaders had cautioned the President and reminded him…
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The global consensus surrounding liveable cities and overall quality of life brought about the “Smart City” concept. From New Delhi to Copenhagen, New York to Cape Town, cities all around the world are focused on local development and place based strategies as a way to kick-off national well-being and economic development. It is worrisome that in our talk about economic recovery there are still too few discussions about innovation: we will recover from this recession. But what next? How will we radically change or even improve the way Nigerians live and do business which ultimately, contributed to the recession in…
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He has a jaundiced mind — AFENIFERE It’s for Nigeria’s betterment — Babatope Elder Statesman, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, has said that the current agitation to restructure Nigeria was an age-long ploy by the Yoruba-speaking group of the South West to take a shot at power. The second Republic politician, who spoke with Vanguard in an exclusive chat at his Hadejia Road residence in Kano, explained that the desire was driven by envy and hate for the north. Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, Yakassai said: “From Action Group to UPN, to NADECO to PRONACO, the agitation for restructuring is concentrated among the South…
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The unrestrained invasion of communities and massacre of innocent citizens by the Fulani herdsmen across the country is now causing provocation for bloody uprising from the South East since the incident in Enugu State. Prominent Igbo leaders, at their meeting at the weekend, decided on urgent need for the Igbo nation to organize the people for self-defence against the invasion and killing of Igbo indigenes by the Fulani herdsmen. The dreaded Bakassi Boys, a violent vigilante group mobilized to terminate the troubling armed robbery menace in the south east some years ago, were revealed to have started regrouping to strengthen…
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Nzeogwu died in the final week of July 1967. While there is consensus that he died, exactly how he died and at the hands of whom has remained in dispute. In conspiracy rife Nigeria, all manner of rumours and apocryphal stories have alleged that Nzeogwu was murdered in a Machiavellian plot engineered by Ojukwu to eliminate him or perhaps that he was killed while trying to defect to join the federal army. As always, the truth is much more mundane. Nzeogwu in Prison For his role in Nigeria’s first military coup, Nzeogwu was imprisoned by the military regime of…
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Russia claims that US has started World War 3 in Syria The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation has accused the U.S. of igniting World War 3 by deliberately killing Syrian troops and aiding ISIS terrorists. Top Russian military officials have warned that the U.S. deliberately killed 62 servicemen in order to provoke a war against Russia. Sputnik News reported September 18 that top Russian military officials are questioning the veracity of their American counterparts who claim that the airstrike on the Syrian military base was a mistake. But one Russian official, First Deputy Chairman of the Defense and…
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Some staunch supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari are becoming frustrated and rethinking the roles they played in helping the president to power amid increasingly excruciating economic and political crises rocking the nation. The supporters believe Mr. Buhari had so far failed to demonstrate that he has the wherewithal, and even the political will, to resolve the multifarious challenges the country is facing. On Wednesday, Feyi Fawehinmi, with Twitter handle @Doubleeph, well known for his pro-Buhari/APC stance, surprisingly expressed disappointment in the administration, and apologized to his followers for convincing them to vote for Mr. Buhari last year, “It is possible…
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Nigerians say that they want the nation transformed into one of the leading nations of the world, but there are no signs that many of them truly mean it. Talk is cheap. Our actions since Independence do not support that view. Why do I think so? Since October 1, a former Governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi, has been top in national discourse. His name has been trending in the social media platforms. He delivered an inspiring speech at The Platform 2016, organised by the Covenant Christian Centre. In the speech, he spoke about how to cut out waste…
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The Federal Government has proposed the sum of N6, 866,335,052,740 as budget for 2017 fiscal year. The government also put the oil production figure for 2017 at 2.2 million barrels per day, while the projected oil benchmark price is put at $42.50. Average exchange rate for 2017 is slated at N290.00 per dollar. These were contained in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) submitted to the Senate by President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday. The government budgeted N6,060,677,358,227 for the 2016 fiscal year, while it pegged the oil production volume also at 2.2mbp. The oil benchmark…
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The Nigerian government is demanding $406.75 million minimum from Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited and its surrogate Shell Western Supply & Trading Limited over alleged crude oil theft. The amount, according to court papers in Lagos, represents the shortfall of the money paid by the multinational oil firm in the account of the Nigerian government with Central Bank of Nigeria, for crude oil lifted in 2013 and 2014. Government lawyer, Professor Fabian Ajogwu accused the Anglo-Dutch company of not declaring or under-declaring crude oil shipments during the period, following forensic analysis of bills of lading and shipping documents,…
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A former chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State, Hon. Bola Ilori has said the National leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was the one who instructed them to join the Alliance for Democracy. Tinubu’s decision was taken following the way he was treated on the party’s governorship primary election which was upheld on September 3, by the national executive committee members, led by Chief John Oyegun, Bola Ilori was quoted as saying on TVC Political programme. Ilori, who is a staunch supporter of another aspirant, Chief Olusola Oke was said to have raised alarm over…
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The Senate will prioritise and fast-track the passage of its petroleum industry bill (PIB), Senate President Bukola Saraki’s office said on Tuesday. It said passage of the bill, which covers everything from an overhaul of state oil company NNPC to taxes on upstream projects, was part of a 20-point resolution passed by the upper house of parliament to stimulate the economy, which is in recession for the first time in more than 20 years
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More and more allegations of wastage continue to trail the presidency and each time the figures are astonishing considering the current economic conditions of the country. It does seem like the Presidency is always seeking for an excuse to dip its dirty hands into the national treasury and this excuse came this time in the form of President Buhari’s book presentation which was revealed to have gulped a whooping N612 million. A source within the Presidency at Aso rock villa revealed this to us in a closed door interview that the money was allegedly spent on logistics, travels and hotels…
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The mistake of putting square pegs in round holes by President Muhammadu Buhari reverberated again as a Chieftain of All Progressives Congress, Kabir Yahaya urged the President to reverse the trend by sacking at least 90 percent of his aides including Abba Kyari, his Chief of Staff. The frontline politician and Deputy Director President Muhammadu Buhari Campaign office alleged that most of the aides were either inept, corrupt and as such should be relieved of their jobs to save the President’s integrity and incorruptible scorecard. ‘President Buhari is one of the few exceptions in the club of 75 that has…
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Instead of investing in the future of Nigeria, the only real investment taking place now is towards the hegemonic control of the country by a small segment of the population for the foreseeable future. Let me re-introduce myself in case you have forgotten. I have been an implacable critic of the politics of Bola Tinubu. Among others, I have written articles against Tinubu entitled: “What Does Tinubu Want?” “Time to Get Rid of Tinubu’s Cronies;” “Time to Disgrace the South-West Godfather;” and “Don’t Cry for Bola Tinubu.” I stand by every one of those articles even though the warnings…
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….Sets up C’ttee to ascertain the level of disrepair The Senate on Tuesday urged the Federal government to commence the rehabilitation of Onitsha-Enugu dual carriage way to save commuters from further traumatic and tragic experiences they go through on daily basis. The upper chamber also mandated its committee on works to ascertain the level of disrepair on the road with a view to make recommendations to senate. These resolutions of the Senate followed a motion sponsored by Former governor of Ebonyi state, Senator Sam Egwu (Ebonyi North). Senator Egwu had noted with great concern the dilapidated state and total collapse…
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Hauwa is a middle-aged Nigerian woman from Gombe State. She is a mother of three, pregnant for the fourth and currently studying for a postgraduate degree in a prestigious university in the United Kingdom. She maintains a bank account in a new generation bank in Nigeria that her husband regularly transfers money to carter for her school fees, pay her rent and attend to her housekeeping needs. She made an elaborate plan for Christmas, and waited for the monthly allowance to hit her account. As soon as she got the alert from her bank, she started a mental preparation of…
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Muhammadu Buhari, a former general, has not had much luck when it comes to the oil price. Between 1983 and 1985 he was Nigeria’s military ruler. Just before he took over, oil prices began a lengthy collapse; the country’s export earnings fell by more than half. The economy went into a deep recession and Mr Buhari, unable to cope, was overthrown in a coup. Now he is president again. (He won a fair election last year) ( The Economist endorsed him.) And once again, oil prices have slumped, from $64 a barrel on the day he was sworn in…
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Anytime you hear that a new great ‘developmental project’ is being planned and undertaken by the Government of Nigeria (GON), it is important to identify who the short, medium and long term beneficiaries and losers created will be. Consultants, contractors, traditional land-owners, traditional rulers, government officials, board members and special interests groups are the short, medium and long term beneficiaries with a mix of obscene upfront fees, atrociously inflated contracts, preferential job offerings, generous concessionaire privileges under privatisation and convenient abandonment clauses. The 150 million ‘everyday Nigerians’ who the GON take out odious “development debts” on their behalf without asking…
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Shoprite’s top man, Whitey Basson, took home a little more than R100m in the year to June 30 2016 – an amount double his earnings in 2015 – after delivering what the group called excellent results during the period, a report today in South Africa’s Business Day said. In the naira, the currency of Nigeria, where Shoprite has in the past few years experience breath-taking expansion, this amounts to a whopping N1.15 billion bonus and a take-home of N2.3bn as a rand exchanges for about N23 naira. The group’s annual integrated financial report showed that Basson took home R49.7m in…
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European Union (EU) official Fillippo Amato has advised the Federal Government to devalue the Naira as part of measures to tackle the economic recession. Amato, Counsellor, Head of Trade and Economics Section of EU, made this known in an interview with newsmen on Monday . The EU official said that recession could not be addressed with traditional development tools. He said the recession was a recent development which was due to a number of factors, including the fall in oil prices and resurgence of militancy in the Niger Delta. “To come out of recession, the country has to take brave…
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Addis-ababa-djibouti-rail-line Ethiopia will on Wednesday launch Africa’s first modern electrified railway line. Built by China, the rail line links the Ethiopian capital , Addis Ababa with the port of Djibouti. The full length of the railway is 752.7 kilometers, with a designed speed of 120 km per hour. With a total investment of 4 billion U.S. dollars, it is was built by China Railway Group and the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation. “The railway is constructed on the basis of Chinese railway technology standards while taking into account the national conditions of Ethiopia and Djibouti,” said Zeng Deli, a project…
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In a sharp deterioration of relations, the U.S. on Monday suspended diplomatic contacts with Russia over Syria, while Moscow halted cooperation on a joint program for disposal of weapons-grade plutonium. The U.S. move followed a threat last week from Secretary of State John Kerry after new Russian and Syrian attacks on the city of Aleppo. The State Department said Russia had not lived up to the terms of an agreement last month to restore the cease-fire and ensure sustained deliveries of humanitarian aid to besieged cities. “This is not a decision that was taken lightly,” State Department spokesman John Kirby…
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Plans by the Federal Government to borrow billions of dollars from the World Bank to plug its budget deficit have run into delays as the international lender is demanding for further reforms from the government as a condition for any loan. This came barely one month after the Presidency gave the Ministry of Finance its seal of approval to obtain the loan. People briefed on the talks said the Ministry of Finance was now facing calls from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to push through further reforms on the economy. These discussions, they said, had held up…
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Jeremy Hunt, the UK’s Health Secretary pledged today at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham to end the NHS’s reliance on foreign doctors. Data from the UK’s General Medical Council (GMC) shows that 30,472 doctors come from the EU and other countries in the European Economic Area, while 71,139 were trained in other parts of the world. These include 4,153 trained in Nigeria. Hunt asked: “Is it right to import doctors from poorer countries that need them?” Nigeria certainly needs all the doctors that it trains. The brain drain of Nigerian doctors to richer countries like the UK was…
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The Court of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, on Tuesday declared the arrest and detention of former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, as unlawful and arbitrary. The court also held that the further arrest of Mr. Dasuki by government on November 4, after he was granted bail by a court of law, amounts to a mockery of democracy and the rule of law. Mr. Dasuki is facing multiple trials for alleged diversion of $2.1 billion meant for the purchase of arms in the immediate past administration. He is also accused of illegal possession of fire arms. He…
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Nigerian man Emeka Nelson claims to have developed an electricity generator that is powered by water – The young inventor started a fundraising campaign, hopes to get N2,000,000 (or $10,000) asap – Emeka promises that his new invention, an “ultra modern bio digester” is coming soon Nsukka-born Emeka Nelson claims to have invented a generator that runs on water, a machine for recycling non-biodegradable wastes. His third invention, a bio digester, is under development. A graduate of the National Metallurgical Training Institute has started a fundraising campaign on social media trough his partner, Karo Kanye Akamune. Photos of made in…
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There is a sense in Washington and Moscow alike that a military showdown between the US and Russia is inevitable – direct this time, not through proxies, like the downing of a Russian warplane by Turkish jets last year. When the big powers are in direct confrontation, minor players step aside and run for cover. When President Barack Obama Friday, Sept. 30 attended the funeral in Jerusalem of the Israeli leader Shimon Peres, he must have realized he was only 514km as the crow flies from Aleppo, the raging crux of the escalating big-power conflict. The moment after the ceremonies…
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We are exploring tactics used by bad leaders, what we call “cheap psychological tricks,” to control and subjugate followers. A variation on the abuse of requiring follower obedience to authority is when leaders call on the ultimate authority – God. Many despotic leaders throughout history have declared themselves gods, from the Egyptian pharaohs, to modern times, such as North Korea’s Kim Il Sung. Leaders of cults, such as Peoples Temple founder, Jim Jones, (leader of the Jonestown, Guyana mass suicide in 1978) declared themselves “god” so that followers who disobey the leader’s orders are seen as blasphemers and can be…
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September 23, 2016 The Acting Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, 15A Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos. REQUEST TO INVESTIGATE ALLEGATION OF CRIMINAL DIVERSION OF PUBLIC FUNDS AND ILLEGAL WITHHOLDING OF FUNDS FROM THE FEDERATION ACCOUNT In our letter dated 8th April, 2016 we prayed the Minister of Finance to take urgent steps to recover billions of dollars either criminally diverted or illegally withheld from the Federation Account. Apart from informing us that the letter was receiving attention no step has been taken to accede to our request. Since then the peripheral capitalist economy of the country has…
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“Nigerian bankers, businesspeople and foreign investors have warned that the government’s management of its currency system is fuelling corruption, in another blow to market confidence in Africa’s top oil producer. The Nigerian central bank raised concern when it unveiled new unorthodox currency policies to bank executives at a meeting last week, instead of formally announcing the measures. The banks were given detailed instructions on what they could do with the dollars they receive from the central bank at the official exchange rate: who they can sell it to, when, and at what price. Bowing to pressure as the worst economic…
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A former governor of Anambra state Chukuwuemeka Ezeife has condemned federal government attitude towards economic development in Nigeria – Ezeife also said that the current recession in Nigeria was caused by the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration Speaking in an interview with Vanguard, Ezeife said the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration plunged Nigeria into the current economic crisis. He said the attitude and statements made by the federal government scared foreign investors away. “If the government of the country begins to say the government is broke, they (investors) have nothing to doubt. That accounts for so many exits from Nigeria,”…
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Maj. Gen TC Ude (SE) Maj. Gen LC Ilo (SE) Maj. Gen IN Ijoma (SE) Maj. Gen O Ejimai (SE) Maj. Gen PAT Akem (SS) Maj. Gen ED Atewe (SS) Maj. Gen Letam Wiwa -Younger brother of murdered Environmental Rights activist and author, Ken Saro-Wiwa (SS) Maj. Gen FO Alli (SS) Maj. Gen Mobolaji Koleoso (SW) Maj. Gen SD Aliyu (MB) Maj. Gen MY Ibrahim Brig. Gen GO Agachi (SE) Brig. Gen Okonkwo (SE) Brig. Gen Ogidi (SS) Brig. Gen Koko Essien (SS) Brig. Gen PE Ekpeyong (SS) Brig. Gen Bright Fiboinumama (SS) Brig. Gen. M. Onoyiveta (SS) Brig. Gen…
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The EFCC has returned houses it seized from Timipre Sylva – The properties located in Abuja are already for rent – The APC chieftain was exonerated of any wrong doing by three Federal Courts in Abuja The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has returned 48 houses to Timipre Sylva, the former governor of Bayelsa state. The houses were seized during the administration of former president, Goodluck Jonathan in 2013 although Sylva who succeeded Jonathan as governor described it as a witch-hunt. The Punch reports that most of the properties are located mostly in highbrow areas of Abuja such as…
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The Catholic bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to get serious with reviving the sick economy instead of shifting blames to past leaders of the country. The president, his handlers and cabinet members have constantly blamed past leaders and administrations as responsible for the current economic crisis Nigeria is facing. In a recent report, the president was quoted as saying he inherited nothing from the past leaders. As a result, northern leader, Senator Joseph Waku asked that former presidents including Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan should be probed. But speaking at the Catholic…
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Permit me to pay a special tribute to a great football club this week – Rangers International Football Club of Enugu. Many would wonder why I am doing so, knowing that the football club was the greatest rival to the club I played for through most of my football career – IICC Shooting Stars of Ibadan. Between the two clubs, Rangers and Shooting Stars of Ibadan, they defined and set the agenda for football development in Nigeria for almost two decades. Some of the best and most reliable friends that I cultivated through the course of my life in…
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Fellow Nigerians, let me quickly congratulate all of us on this special anniversary of our Independence before returning to the quote above. Against all odds, we stayed together as one indivisible country despite agitations here and there for the collapse of the current problematic union. We even fought a very bloody civil war which terminated the lives of millions of our brothers and sisters. Since then, we’ve continued to fumble and wobble along. In the middle of this celebratory mood, the ruling party APC is in a messy and not so merry situation despite winning the gubernatorial election in…
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Ben Murray Bruce, the senator representing Bayelsa East and the chairman of Silverbird Group, had over the weekend cited the civil war, otherwise known as the Biafran War, as the reason why Nigeria has not grown technologically. Senator Murray Bruce who was in Aba, stated this on Saturday, August 27, 2016, while addressing the International Youth Day Conference which was organised by the Vision Alive Empowerment under the recognition of the United Nations, UN. While speaking on the theme, “How To Make A Good Choice While At The Youthful Age,” the senator revealed more about his youthful age stating that…
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Former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi on Saturday spoke at The Platform, an annual event on leadership, business, creativity and national empowerment- and everyone has been talking about it. Obi spoke on cutting the cost of governance especially during this time of recession, while sharing his experience as a governor. He talked about how he cut cost during his tenure by visiting Abuja alone when the need arises. He also advised governors to scrap the Office of the First Lady which he said gulps N2bn monthly. He said, “It costs an average of N2 billion to run the office of…
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The British trader and empire builder Sir George Dashwood Taubman Goldie (1846-1925) created the Royal Niger Company, which secured British claims to the lower Niger and Northern Nigeria. The son of the Speaker of the Manx Parliament, George Goldie was born on the Isle of Man. His family were influential landowners on the island. The family name was Taubman, but Goldie adopted his mother’s family name when he was knighted in 1887. In the 1860s Goldie trained as a royal engineer at Woolwich but afterward used a legacy to visit Egypt, where he took an Arab mistress. He went to…
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AU, domestic observers fault conduct of Edo governorship election saying the result announced by INEC did not tally with those his group got from the field. Foreign and international observers, who monitored Wednesday Edo State governorship election have expressed reservations about the conduct of the election, pointing out that they were denied entry into the collation centre and that security operatives at the polling units looked the other way while politicians and their agents induced voters with money. Prof Ahmed Ansari, head of the African Union Observer Team, asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to improve on the functionality…
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Dakuku Peterside: It is a debt recovery contract, different from the one awarded to Tompolo’s company The debt recovery and surveil- lance contracts awarded to the Global West Vessel Specialists Nigeria Limited (GWVSNL) owned by former Niger Delta militant, Government Ekpo- mupolo, popularly known as Tompolo by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) under the Goodluck Jonathan administration and cancelled by Buhari has now been awarded to Snecou Nigeria Limited, a company presented by the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Dr Davies Akanya. investigations revealed that after the award of the contract, Akanya and…
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Amnesty International says Nigeria is trying to muzzle dissent by arresting and intimidating journalists and protesters. The London-based rights group cites examples of police blocking peaceful protests. Those protests include activists demanding the government rescue more than 200 kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls, Shiite Muslims demanding the release of their long-detained leader and separatists calling for an independent Biafra in the southeast. The statement Wednesday says Amnesty has documented cases of enforced disappearances and killings of pro-Biafra supporters by security forces. It also cites the detention of several journalists critical of officials in the government of President Muhammadu Buhari. Amnesty says…
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Nigeria’s regulatory body for the judiciary, the National Judicial Council, has recommended the compulsory retirement of three judges following allegations of fraud and other judicial misconduct. The judges include the Chief Judge of Enugu State, A. I. umezulike; a presiding justice at the Court of Appeal in Kwara State, Mohammed Tsamiya; and Kabiru Auta of the Kano State High Court. They were sacked by the NJC during the council’s 78th meeting held on September 29. In a statement made available to journalists on Friday, the Council’s Director of Information; Soji Oye, said Justice Umezulike was accused of abusing his office…
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Nigeria is 56 years old today. Consequently it is time to speak some home-truths and look at where we are in the scheme of things. It is time to consider how well our government has fared since coming to power and to compare their record of service to previous governments that were in the saddle before them. Sadly the score sheet does not look too good. The rigging of elections, the persecution of opposition figures, the demonisation of dissenters, the destruction of the economy, the pauperisation of our people, the introduction of famine, the humiliation of Nigerians coupled with…
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President Muhammad Buhari has received concrete evidence that his Chief of Staff (CoS), Abba Kyari, took N500m from operators of MTN to help the telecommunications giant mitigate the fine imposed on it by the federal government, SaharaReporters has learned. Sources say the evidence was presented to President Buhari several times including during the Sallah holiday. The mind-boggling revelation is the latest in the mounting allegations of corruption involving members of the top echelon of President Buhari’s administration. Confronted with the evidence, the CoS reportedly claimed he was helping the All Progressives Congress party raise funds for the gubernatorial…
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For Nigeria to move forward and to take its leadership role in Africa, there is need for revolution without bloodshed says Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Sule – Dan Masanin Kano. Maitama Sule stated this in Gombe on Friday in a keynote address titled: “Restructuring Nigeria: Implications for National Unity and Integration” delivered at a seminar organised as part of activities marking the 20th anniversary of the creation of the state. The Dan Masanin Kano while decrying the inability of the country to positively harness its abundant natural resources, charged the youth to initiate a bloodless revolution that would bring…
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The UK Minister for Africa and Middle East, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Tobias Ellwood, has pledged to support Nigeria end oil vandalism and environmental pollution in the Niger Delta. Mr. Ellwood, who toured the creeks in Rivers, told journalists in Port Harcourt on Friday that it had become imperative to help provide solutions to some of the challenges hindering the development in the country. He said that he was tasked by his prime minister to have a broad knowledge of the security challenge in the North East and those of oil theft which had negatively impacted the country’s economy. The…
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A Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered multinational oil companies, Total E&P Nigeria Plc and Chevron Nigeria Limited, to defend the allegation by the Federal Government that they under-declared the volume of crude oil they shipped out of the country between January 2011 and December 2014. The Federal Government accused Total E&P Nigeria Plc of short-changing the government to the tune of $245,258,640 by allegedly shipping several barrels of crude oil out of the country without making due remittance to the government. A similar suit, bordering on the same allegation was filed by the Federal Government against Nigeria…
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“Armed herdsmen are criminals —Sultan “The Fulanis we see in our villages, markets and other places, we only see them with sticks and cattle, we don’t see them with Ak 47. “Any Fulani man that you see carrying AK47, killing people instead of carrying sticks and cattle, treat him as a terrorist and not as a herdsman. The government must wake up to its responsibility and turn this tide of incessant killings of people in their villages.” Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III The three Catholic priests that escaped death in the hands of suspected Fulani herdsmen. On the…
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Let me start by asking an important question: who wants to kill racy introspection? There is a cacophony of voices telling the Muhammadu Buhari administration to close its eyes to the past; that given the enormous tasks that lie ahead, history and its consequences for our nation should be the least of the government’s preoccupation at this juncture. I disagree. Let us keep a fiery memory of the past so that we don’t repeat its mistakes. Look back, look ahead. The future must of necessity be built on the foundations of the past. The Conservative Party took power in Britain…
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A former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari not to ignore the growing call for fiscal federalism and the re-negotiation of Nigeria’s unity. Soludo specifically warned that Buhari’s attitude towards restructuring at a time when the Biafran agitation was intensifying was dangerous. He made the call during the public presentation of a book titled, ‘The Politics of Biafra and the Future of Nigeria; published by Chude Offodile, a former member of the House of Representatives. Soludo said, “If I were President Buhari, I would be very suspicious of anyone who…
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Regardless of your regional, religious and/or political affiliation, if you have any stake in a certain West African country called Nigeria, trust me, you certainly should be very worried right about now…. worried at the bundle of Shame a certain Muhammadu Buhari has turned that country into. The most important attribute of democracy is credible elections. If a people cannot freely chose their leaders, then any govt so chosen through some other crooked means cannot be said to be the true choice of the people. And if the govt is not chosen by the people through the ballot box, how…
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The man Oshi-Omo-Ole true to form has stolen and raped the people Edo of their mandate. He asked for soldiers to protect his votes when PDP’s Jonathan was in power. Oshiomole won his election and he spoke glowingly of Jonathan’s INEC, soldiers professionalism and police abilities etc. Now, juxtapose that with what the same man had mutated to today. This man was scuttled by Oshi-omo-ole: Obaseki has been foisted in just like Buhari and his conscience is not telling him it is wrong. You see why I can never be a politician? As educated as EDo people are, as sophisticated…
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One funny aspect of this “blame game” thing, is that you only see what has gone wrong in terms of “the other person” – the person you are pointing accusing fingers at. You hardly realise that as you point one finger at the other person, three of your other fingers are also accusing you, but they are usually hidden from your sight. In the Bible, Our Lord Jesus Christ warned us not to judge others, but to first of all remove the log in our eyes before complaining about the speck in the eyes of our neighbours (or opponents). We…
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Also yesterday, the Senate ordered a probe of Minister of Industries, Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Elenemah, over an alleged fraudulent movement of funds amounting to $13.92 billion from Nigeria. Adopting a motion sponsored by Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West), the lawmakers directed its Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions to carry out a holistic investigation into the matter and report back in two weeks. In a motion titled “Unscrupulous violation of the foreign exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous) Act”, Melaye drew the attention of the Senate to “the illegal repatriation of $13.92 billion out of Nigeria by Mobile Telecommunication…
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• Urges filling of 20 vacant RECs positions The Senate yesterday expressed the fear that the 2019 general elections may suffer serious hitches. Its apprehension was born out of what it considered as critical issues of illegitimacy bedeviling the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). With the absence of Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in 20 of the 36 states, the Senate noted that the INEC cannot conduct any legitimate election at the moment. Adopting a motion sponsored by the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, the upper chamber observed that the non-appointment of RECs to fill the 20 vacancies is…
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The House of Representatives on Wednesday suspended Abdulmumin Jibrin, a lawmaker from Kano at the centre of the unfolding budget padding scandal, for 180 legislative days. The House seats three days in a week and this consequently means that Mr. Jibrin’s suspension would last more than a year. In a motion recommended by House Ethics Committee chairman, Nicholas Ossai, and adopted by the whole House, Mr. Jibrin will also not be able to hold any position of responsibility for the span of the current National Assembly. Mr. Jibrin began stirring what experts now described as one Africa’s biggest parliamentary scandals…
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Indigenous peoples have the right to the full enjoyment, as a collective or as individuals, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms as recognized in the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international human rights law. Article 2 Indigenous peoples and individuals are free and equal to all other peoples and individuals and have the right to be free from any kind of discrimination, in the exercise of their rights, in particular that based on their indigenous origin or identity. Article 3 Indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination. By virtue of that right…
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The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority says it will convene a meeting with foreign airline operators over their alleged rejection of naira payment for flight tickets. The General Manager, Public Relations, NCAA, Mr Sam Adurogboye, on Tuesday confirmed that the NCAA had received complaints from some passengers. Adurogboye said that the passengers had the right to make payments in naira. He noted that the industry was facing some challenges, particularly the scarcity of foreign exchange and inability of foreign airlines to repatriate their funds. He said, “The truth is that the airlines are beginning to reject the naira because of the…
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Between 2015 and 2016, the Federal Government spent N4.9 billion on the procurement of military and paramilitary uniforms and allied materials from foreign countries. The procurement of the items including footwear, berets, belts, cardigans, head warmers and branded stockings, from foreign markets is now a source of concern to the House of Representatives. A member of the House, Mr. Prestige Ossy (Aba: Abia: APGA) drew the attention of his colleagues to the development via a motion of urgent public importance at the plenary session presided over by Speaker Yakubu Dogara. He said the rate of dependence on foreign markets for…
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Most people have no idea of who is pictured above, but you should. The sight of this man should cause a similar revulsion to that of seeing Mussolini, Mao, Stalin or Hitler, as he committed an African genocide that resulted in the killing of over 10 million people in the Congo. His name is King Leopold II of Belgium. Most of people never learned about him in school, and have also most likely never heard about him in the media either. This is because he’s not included in the popular narrative of oppression (which includes things like U.S. slavery and…
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Former Speaker of the Imo state House of Assembly, Rt.Hon. Benjamin Uwajumogu has today been sworn in as Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Uwajumogu will represent the Imo North Senatorial district (Okigwe zone) at the National Assembly.
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Nigeria is facing difficult times. That is clear. Our Economy, Politics,Sports and other spheres of National life are in descent. It is certain that our acts of commissions and omissions in the past have contributed to our present state. That is the basic truth. But what we are today in our individual, family or corporate lives have been affected both by the choices we made in the past and the ones we make in the present. And for most individuals and Nations, it has been a mixed grill. Good decisions, bad and not soo good. The bible says that all…
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Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu yesterday frowned on incessant attacks in Igbo land and other parts of the country by suspected Fulani herdsmen. He advised the affected states to pass legislations that would restrict cattle rearing to modern ranches. The senator also suggested the setting up of forest rangers to enforce such laws. A statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Uche Anichukwu, said Ekweremadu noted that unless Nigeria was restructured to make it more efficient and productive, it would be difficult for the country to wriggle out of its security challenges, pervasive poverty and retarded growth. The deputy senate…
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“The real enemy is the man that stole the city hall. The enemy is the Iragbiji upstart who seized the local government Secretariat at Glover street in Ikoyi. Our collective enemy is the greedy man who bought the old Nurses House, the Falomo shopping complex, the Lagos state Polytechnic property at Ojota, the stretches of acres at Lekki, the old Strabag yard at Alausa, the innumerable beach front properties long owned by the people of Lagos state, the billion naira Queen’s Drive mansion, the illegal Lekki Toll Gate, the First Nation Airline, the strings of media conglomerates, the Vault and…
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The Former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, Tuesday, accused former governors of contributing to the economic woes afflicting the nation by opposing his government’s efforts to save for the rainy day when the price of oil was higher. Obasanjo, who spoke at the 2016 World Pension Summit in Abuja, lamented that many of the former state executives frustrated his genuine attempt to save a substantial portion of the country’s resources when there was excess oil revenue. Obasanjo said at the event attended by global pension players and top government officials, “I remember when I was in government and I…
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While receiving a segment of APC chieftains from South West who paid him a solidarity visit late yesterday evening after keeping them waiting for over 5 hrs, (from 5pm to 10 pm before seeing them) Tinubu lashed out . I regret building APC and giving Buhari a platform to become president. “We all knew he didn’t merit to be president, but you know how we politicians behave when we are desperate for electoral position; We beg. That was how President Buhari always and frequently came to my private house here in Ikoyi with his entourage which included that Nasiru…
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” I have just read the wide media coverage regarding the recommen dations of the National Economic Council (NEC) as well as the Senate on the ways to reboot the economy out of the current recession. Times such as this require all brains at work and all hands on deck. Consequently, I commend both institutions for their patriotic duty in advising the President. Surely, the proposals are still mere advice or recommendations, and not approval as wrongly reported by some media. Only the President can approve any of those recommendations to become policy (both NEC and Senate are advisory bodies…
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Nigeria’s crude oil production suffered fresh set back Monday as Trans Niger Pipeline, (TNP), which exports about 180, 000 barrels of crude oil per day was shut down as a precautionary measure after a fire was seen on the “right of way” at Gio community in Ogoni land, one of the two pipelines that export Bonny Light crude oil. TNP transports crude oil to the Bonny Export Terminal and is part of the liquid gas evacuation infrastructure, critical for continued domestic power generation (Afam VI power plant) and liquefied gas exports. According to the spokesman for Shell Petroleum Development Corporation…
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There is something so amusing about the self-styled Ashiwaju of Lagos, Bola Ahmed Tinubu: he likes to mount the moral high horse during any contest. He likes creating the impression he is fighting a just cause; a battle to defeat evil and enthrone good. And that is exactly what he has done in his latest spat with John Odigie-Oyegun, former Edo governor and national chair of his ‘party’. His choice of words not only showed someone who is very bitter, but also someone who has been looking for an opportunity to ventilate for a long time. The language of the…
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The greatest lesson in life is to know that sometimes even fools are right—Winston Churchill So, that the country is in recession is not the news, has never been the news, despite all the debates, arguments, mutual consent and accusations…who is at fault and who is not at fault… I decided to share this as my admonition for this week, and it sums up why presumably Nigerians are in their current state. Only last week, Governors of the nation’s 36 states devoid of party affiliations endorsed proposals of the Federal Government Economic Management Team (EMT), not only…
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A former governor of Jigawa State and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) henchman, Alhaji Sule Lamido, has reproached President Muhammadu Buhari for blaming the excruciating hardship suffered by Nigerians on recession. He told Daily Trust at the weekend that there were basic needs of living, which must be provided for the citizens, whatever the harshness of the sweeping recession sequel to the global oil-price crash, maintaining that it was too escapist on the part of the president to lean on recession and lament his inability to source for funds to provide such needs. “President Buhari is simply incompetent on the provision…
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Erstwhile adviser to former President, Shehu Shagari on National Assembly matters, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, has alleged that there is an evil scheme in the Presidency to completely scheme out a national leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu from the hierarchy of the ruling party.Disclosing this in Kano yesterday, Nigerian Tribune reports him as charging the former Lagos governor not to hesitate to tackle President Muhammadu Buhari if the latter is seen to be behind anything objectionable. Tinubu, had while demanding the immediate resignation of the APC national chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, stated that: “There exists a…
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