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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There are two operant Crowns in England, one being Queen Elizabeth II. Although extremely wealthy, the Queen functions largely in a ceremonial capacity and serves to deflect attention away from the other Crown, who issues her marching orders through their control of the English Parliament. This other Crown is comprised of a committee of 12 banks headed by the Bank of England (House of Rothschild). They rule the world from the 677-acre, independent sovereign state know as The City of London, or simply ‘The City.’ The City is not a part of England, just as Washington D.C., is not a…
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Nigeria’s Treasury Single Account (TSA) regime formulated by the Federal Government to shield its resources from pilfering may experience a flop, following hints that lenders are planning to stop the use of their platforms for TSA. The grouse of the banks is the one percent transaction charge, based on the use of Remita, an e-payment and e-collection software, on their platforms. From the transaction charge, 10 percent goes to the CBN; 40 percent goes to banks; while 50 percent goes to SystemSpecs. Barely two months ago, the Senate passed a resolution asking the Federal Government to terminate the 2013 contract…
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There’s something bigger than those cows on your highways and forests! Never have we had as many cowards in the Nigerian media and “civil rights movement” as we do today!!! No more voice of influence! Gone are the Ganis, the Dele Giwas … only the federal appointment-seeking, Facebook and Twitter handle warriors remain. Cowards! The media won’t use the politically incorrect words such as “ethnic cleansing,” “mass murder” and “religious persecution” even though those are exactly the three things happening right now in Nigeria!!!! ••• And crazy self seeking “men of God” are busy telling us to speak well of…
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The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists will release on May 9 a searchable database with information on more than 200,000 offshore entities that are part of the Panama Papers investigation. The database will likely be the largest ever release of secret offshore companies and the people behind them. The data comes from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, one of the top players in the offshore world, and includes information about companies, trusts, foundations and funds incorporated in 21 tax havens, from Hong Kong to Nevada in the United States. It links to people in more than 200 countries and…
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The Igbo Youths Movement, IYM, has lamented that Fulani herdsmen have killed 710 other Nigerians excluding the 48 Agatu people in Benue State in the last 10 months without the Federal Government addressing the issue. IYM made this known while reacting to the Monday’s killing of about 40 indigenes of Nimbo in Uzo Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State by Fulani herdsmen last night. The statement signed by the Founder of the IYM and Leader of the South East Democratic Coalition, Evangelist Elliot Uko, entitled, ‘Ten Months of Carnage,’ read: “Between June 2015 and April 2016, Fulani herdsmen have…
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The leader of the Senate, Mohammed Ali-Ndume, said on Tuesday that no amount of protest would force any legislator to resign. Mr. Ndume was reacting to a protest by the “Occupy National Assembly” group, calling for the resignation of the president of the Senate, Bukola Saraki. Mr. Ndume said there is a democratic process of recalling any senator, adding that protest was not the constitutionally recognised process. He described the protest as a “wrong precedence and anti-democratic’’. “That is why we are not trying to say anything about them because what is happening out there is a very dangerous precedence…
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Having enjoyed blissful growth over the past decade, Nigeria was one of the fastest growing economies in the world, but it is not one of the 15 fastest growing economies in Africa for 2016. In 2014 and early 2015, Nigeria was named the third fastest growing economy in the world by CNNMoney, with China and Qatar, taking the lead at 7.3 percent, 7.1 percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth. For 2016, however, the coast is cloudy, and Nigeria is nowhere near the fastest growing economies in Africa. According to the International Monetary Funds (IMF) World Economic Outlook for 2016, as…
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For years Fulani herdsmen have been allowed free access to our land in the southern and western parts of Nigeria to graze their cattle, as long as they are not on farmlands. In those days, the herdsmen were not armed with machine guns, all they had were long sticks with which they beat their animals into conformity. All of a sudden, in this era of the menace of Boko Haram, a bold and militant sets of herdsmen started pumping up in the south and west of Nigeria armed to the teeth with high powered guns uninterrupted by the people, the…
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Potter Stewart, a renown associate justice of the United States Supreme Court who played a significant role in the interpretation of Civil Rights laws, coined the basic phrase: “Fairness is what justice really is”. This phrase, conceived to propel the notion of every individual’s equitable right under the law, demonstrates that an unbiased legal system, is a necessary component for justice to be dispensed. As things stand, the case of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) against Nigeria’s senate president, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has proven to be full of contradictions and inequity. ‘Contradictions’ because since the case was in…
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Alleged graphic photos of people killed by Fulani herdsmen in Nimbo, Uzo-Uwani LGA of Enugu State Many people are said to have been killed by suspected herdsmen in Nimbo, Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State on Monday. The spokesman of the police in Enugu State, Mr Ebere Amaraizu who confirmed the incident said the Commissioner of Police, Mr Nwodibo Ekechukwu had already moved to the local government to ensure that normalcy returned. The photos after the cut are graphic *viewer discretion advised* “The police are aware of the attack in Uzo-Uwani and the state commissioner of police is…
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“I have completed 20 new Silo Complexes spread across the country to store Millions of Metric tonnes of Rice, Millet, Bean, Maize, Cassava, Sorghum. These Strategic Reserve have a total storage capacity of 1.336 million metric tons (MT) will protect my people against any level of food shortage or used to stabilize prices. “Strategic food reserve is a first line of defence in case of food crises, my Nigeria looks set to store enough food to cope with emergencies through the operation of these silos”. – GEJ. Today, President Buhari have ordered that 10,000metric tons of grains should…
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After what appeared to be good news for Nigeria’s Federal Government workers, it is not hunky-dory after all as Ahmed Idris, Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), has said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive that federal workers be paid on the 25th of every month was not possible, because there was no cash to pay on that date every month. This would come as a surprise to Federal Government workers as it was for Idris, who disclosed this on Wednesday to journalists in Abuja. He said, paying salary on the 25th of every month would “be given a test, I believe,…
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ICPC is an anti corruption agency. It was established by law and has the power to arrest, arraign and prosecute. However, I am surprised that ICPC indicted the governor of Imo state, Owelle Rochas Okorocha and accused him of diverting the states 26 Billion naira bailout funds and up till now, not even an invitation to his aides to appear at the ICPC office for questioning and subsequent prosecution. What then is the essence of the ICPC report? Is it just to tell ndi Imo that your bailout fund was diverted by ur governor so go and ask him or…
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The Senate President, Bukola Saraki has rejected the clearance issued by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Danladi Umar, exonerating him of complicity in the alleged N10m bribery scam. Saraki is being prosecuted before the Danladi Umar-led tribunal on 13 counts of false asset declaration. The Senate President’s lawyer, Mr. Ajibola Oluyede, has filed an application before the CCT asking Umar to disqualify himself from further presiding over the trial because he allegedly remained under EFCC investigation over the bribery allegation. Attempt by Oluyede to introduce the application before the CCT…
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Aliko Dangote, foremost business man and richest man in Africa, has said that the federal government should stop giving out bailout to states, insisting that states should sit down and plan to cut cost instead of looking for bailout and being lazy. Dangote said states can create jobs and give incentives to people to come and invest, saying “they should assure people that they are not going to be slammed with various taxes which is what some of them do.’’ He spoke on Friday, April 22, 2016, in Lagos when he was honoured as “Man of the Year 2015 by…
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If you resign Nigeria resigns and I would resign that is no bluff but a fact. Deep down in me I know what I am saying but I would not say it out here as yet. Let whatever wants to happen let it happen let Nigeria fall apart that is okay but please, I am appealing do not resign. I do not like you as a politician but I have nothing against you as a person as I do not know you one on one. But there is a process and a method to the madness let that process continue…
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PDP won AKURE NORTH LGA with 10,923 votes. PDP won IRELE LGA with 27,342 votes. PDP also won ONDO EAST LGA with 47,617 votes. PDP won AKOKO SOUTH-EAST LGA with 14791 votes. PDP won AKOKO SOUTH-WEST LGA With 39292 votes. PDP won AKOKO NORTH LGA with 10923 votes. Final Result IFEDORE LGA APC 0 CPP 4 APP 18 AD 2 LP 54 NCP 15 PDC 6 PDM 38 PDP 36, 913 UPN 5 Final Result AKOKO NORTH-WEST LGA APC 87 LP 59 NPP 13 PDC 7 PDP 28690 PPA 4 PPN 97 Final Result OWO…
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1. There is a town in Jamaica called ABEOKUTA. It was founded by former slaves from present-day Ogun State who were brought to a plantation in that part of Jamaica. 2· In Turkish, the bird we call a Turkey is called “Hindi” (“from India”). In India, it’s called “Peru.” In Arabic, the bird is called”Greek chicken”; in Greek it’s called “French chicken”; and in French it’s called “Indian chicken.” The bird is indigenous to none of these places. 3· The letter ‘i’ that Apple uses (in their products iPhone, iPad, iMac, iPod) stands for “Interactive”. 4· Edward James Roye, the…
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Ten senators who are members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have concluded a deal with the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to support its candidate for the Senate Presidency if Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki is forced to resign at the end of his on-going Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) trial, Daily Trust on Sunday learnt from impeccable political sources at the weekend. Senate President Saraki’s trial at CCT was accelerated by the tribunal’s chairman Justice Danladi Umar last week and he could lose his exalted position if he is convicted of the charges brought against him by the…
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FORMER Anambra State governor, Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife has described the recent letter to President Muhammadu Buhari by the northern elders wherein they claimed “short changed” in capital budgetary allocations as “unnecessary”, and arising from their “studied” notice of the dominance of the three zones of the North, especially the North west in budgetary allocations. He pointed out that “it may be a matter of how much more the North must have, in excess of the south, for the backbone North not to feel shortchanged.” Ezeife, a former federal permanent secretary, in a terse six-point letter released at the weekend entitled,…
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Another major company has resorted to laying off staff in response to the stifling economic policies of the Muhammadu Buhari-led government. A reliable source at Guinness Nigeria Plc confirmed to The Trent that the company has laid off about 300 staff following the economic downturn in Nigeria. The exercise which was carried out for four days – April 14, 15, 18, and 19, 2016 – affected staff at all cadres in the multinational company. “Directors were fired on Thursday [April 14], while senior managers were let off on the 15th,” our source, who didn’t wish to be named because he…
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Presidency moves against emergency billionaires ..says holders of public office must account for their wealth Serving and former public office holders will henceforth be made to account for their wealth, Vice President Yemi Osibajo (SAN), has said. He stated this at a town hall meeting convened by the United Action for Change, UAC in Lagos today Saturday April 23rd. Osinbajo who fielded questions from various labour and professional organisations as well as individuals at the meeting held at the Ikeja Airport Hotel, said “the era of people becoming emergency billionaires is gone” and would no longer be tolerated by…
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…….As 46 km Escravos-Warri-Kaduna Pipeline is Recommissioned The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu has today recommissioned the Escravos-Warri-Kaduna pipeline stressing that both Warri and Kaduna refineries are now receiving crude simultaneously for the first time in many years. The Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mallam Garba Deen Muhammad in a press statement quoted Dr. Kachikwu as saying that Warri has started working while Kaduna will start production at the end of the month. The Minister noted that this means that for the first time…
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Since the All Progressives Congress (APC) made it to the seat of power in 2015, it has been doing what it knows how to do best: bristling and spewing propaganda. The unfortunate thing here is that while it got away with it as an opposition party, it is proving a different kettle of fish as the party in power. Its self-assured hubris and the potency of its magical abilities sold on a hypnotic propaganda are being challenged every day by reality. But the party is yet to come to terms with this reality and has continued to fiddle and twaddle…
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“The ship of state is heading inexorably towards the rock and you as the chief helmsman owe it a duty to steer the ship away from it” – Chief Obafemi Awolowo, in an open letter to the then President Shehu Shagari, warning that the nation’s economy was in dire straits in 1982. Today that ship is heading towards the same rock as the Buhari government has so far failed to define its economic direction. The country’s GDP has progressively declined since Buhari assumed office, the latest being the fourth quarter GDP of last year which slowed to 2.11%, according…
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The nation is currently facing an economic crisis due to a plethora of issues. From the fall in oil prices, to the decline in the value of the country’s currency; the Naira, to the shame of the ‘padded’ budget (the first of its kind), and to the prolonged debacle in the passage of the 2016 budget. One needs no soothsayer to know that the present administration has no clue on how to revamp the nation’s economy as it has shown time and time again that it is bereft of ideas and policies to turn the tide. Nigeria has never had…
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*To remove EFCC from presidency control *Vow to back Saraki *To confront older senators over juicy committees Strong indications emerged early yesterday of a hardening of position by senators who have coalesced into a Group of 77 drawn from various parties and camps to protect what they have dubbed as the integrity of the Senate. The new G77 which had its maiden meeting on Thursday night has meanwhile launched moves to extricate the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC from the control of the presidency in the light of claims by the senators that it had become a tool…
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MOST of the 23 states that got bail out cash from the federal government for the settlement of arrears of workers’ salaries and emoluments, diverted the funds for other purposes, thereby defeating the purpose of the government’s effort to provide succour for the workers. A comprehensive analysis carried out by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Commission, ICPC, in conjunction with the Nigeria Labour Congress, revealed last night that many of the states deliberately lied that they were owing their workers huge debts when the reverse was the case. A major feature of the analysis released by the ICPC…
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Bukola Saraki, the Senate President on Saturday, April 23, replied the strong worded letter written to him by Dele Momodu, a veteran journalist. In a letter dated Sunday, April 17, Dele Momodu asked him to resign his position as a Senate president as Saraki has done everything within his power to make that impossible. He added that Saraki should not do anything to pervert the justice of the court and face the consequence if found guilty. Read Saraki’s reply below. My dear brother Dele, let me thank you most sincerely for your article last weekend, “My candid letter to Saraki”…
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Former Nigerian President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, at the mayor’s office in Newark, New Jersey, yesterday spoke to Friends of Africa coalition on the theme of strengthening democracy and elections and also touched on some of the legacies of his administration. Speaking to the elite group, former President Jonathan said that real democracy will continue to flourish in Africa as long as leaders “value the process (of elections) more than the product of the process”. Dr. Jonathan also argued that if the process that brought leaders to power “did not flow through the people, they naturally administered their governments to first…
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Benue and Imo states allegedly diverted money meant for the payment of workers’ salaries. This is according to a report by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, which monitored how states spent the N338bn bailout fund given to them by the Federal Government. The report was signed by Mustapha Hussain on behalf of the Commissioner, Public Enlightenment. It was released on Friday in Abuja. It will be recalled that Buhari had last year approved the sum of N338bn for 27 states that were unable to pay salaries. Some of the states had been unable to pay over…
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CONTRARY to the claim of the Senate, the controversial National Grazing Bill is before the National Assembly checks have revealed. Currently, the bill is at the House of Representatives and was sponsored by a first term legislator elected in 2015. The Senate, in a statement by its Committee on Rules and Business, Tuesday, said the bill that was sponsored by Senator Zainab Kure, who represented Niger Central in the Seventh Senate was not before it, that it was presented for consideration in the last Senate and was rejected. The Senate denial was in response to the request of Senator Enyinnaya…
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A former member of the House of Representatives, now lecturer in a university, Dr. Haruna Yerima has warned that a Senate taken over by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, will spell doom for the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, pointing out that the opposition party only needs three senators to become the majority in the Senate. Speaking in an interview , he called on Buhari and the leadership of the All Progressives Congress, APC, to take measures to stop the PDP from taking over leadership of the Senate, asserting that what transpired during the election of the Senate President…
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“We lost a packet in 1963-64 to a building project in Enugu in Nigeria, which was later to become Biafra. It was Ernest Shinwell, the son of the Labour peer Manny Shinwell, who got Reggie and me interested in this one… He’d been approached, he said, by the government there, who wanted him to form a company to develop and build housing estates and factories and schools. Shinwell said there was a fortune to be made for those who invested in the scheme. We stuck in £25,000 straightaway and a lot more money from the Kray coffers followed that…
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Take the story of Argentina. Background: The country has had many economic troubles in the recent past, including stagnant growth, rising inflation, and exchange rate troubles. It became a pariah state of international capital markets after defaulting twice on its sovereign debt. It sought to finance government spending through money printing. And so on. The typical economic basket case. Enter Mauricio Macri, who assumed office in December 2015 and immediately started implementing reforms. He got rid of the exchange rate controls and allowed the currency adjust itself. He scrapped a variety of export taxes and quotas: Not reinventing the…
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THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested the Director of Finance of the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation, Senator Nenadi Usman, for allegedly receiving N2.5bn from the Central Bank of Nigeria. A top official of the EFCC, who confided in The PUNCH, said the former minister was arrested on Thursday in Abuja. All funds that came from the Presidency during the campaign were believed to have come through Usman. Usman, who is also a former Minister of State for Finance, had been on the radar of the EFCC for several weeks but she travelled out of the country on…
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The attempt to tarnish my name, paint me as a common criminal and convict me of wrongdoing in the court of public opinion without even hearing my side of the story is petty, shameful and nauseating. “The truth is like a lion. You don’t have to defend it. Let it lose and it will defend itself” – St. Augustine. For the last few weeks I have been the subject of absurd and outlandish headline stories in various newspapers that have accused me of being a fraudster and that have claimed that funds were transferred into my bank account by…
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There are uncertainties about the availability of petrol, as most depots are without stock, while marketers have reportedly not been importing due to scarcity of foreign exchange. According to a major marketer, who chose to remain anonymous, “we cannot be talking about stock level because there is no stock at all. No depot has up to 5,000 metric tonnes of petrol, which is about 200 trucks. Once there is supply, it is distributed immediately.” This was corroborated by sources at Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, who told Vanguard that the nation cannot boast of any stock level now, as…
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The president of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, has requested the National Assembly Service Commission to reverse the appointment of Mohammed Sani-Omolori, as the Clerk to the Assembly, to allow further consultations. Mr. Sani-Omolori was named the acting Clerk to the National Assembly on Wednesday in a letter by the Executive Chairman of the NASC. He was until his appointment the Clerk of the House of Representatives. In a letter dated April 21 by his Chief of Staff, Isa Galaudu, to Mr. Fika, the senate president, who is the chairman of the National Assembly, said the appointment did not follow…
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Officials of the Nigerian Army made concerted efforts to cover up the mass slaughter of over 350 Nigerian citizens, including women and children, between December 12-14, 2015, in Zaria, Amnesty International has said. In a newly-released report about the killing, which involved members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, IMN, Amnesty International said it was able to uncover evidence of a possible mass grave in Zaria neighbourhood of Mando with the aid of satellite imaging. The report, titled: “Unearthing the truth: Unlawful killings and mass cover-up in Zaria”, is based on interviews with 92 people, including victims, witnesses from…
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Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, said the crisis rocking the Bayelsa chapter of the party was being resolved.Reports reveal that the two factions of the party in Bayelsa met at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja on Wednesday to resolve their differences. It is recalled that the Chairman of the party in the state, Tiwei Orunimighe, had accused former governor of the state, Chief Timipreye Sylva, of not consulting the party in Bayelsa before nominating Mr Heineken Lokpobiri who it is alleged paid 600 million for ministerial appointment. It also recalls that at the height of accusations and…
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It’s official: Nigeria’s central pot, the federation account, has hit one of its lowest balances in the history of the country. Kemi Adeosun, minister of finance, disclosed this on Thursday after the national economic council meeting in Abuja. As a result, deductions will not be made before April allocations are shared by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC). Usually, debts incurred by various tiers of government are deducted as first-line charges and remitted to the creditors before the sharing of allocations. Osun state recently got only N10 million as monthly allocation after the deduction of its obligations to banks…
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The collapsed price of oil is putting pressure on oil exporters around the world, from Canada to Kuwait. But perhaps no country is less prepared to survive prices at about $30 a barrel than Nigeria, which until a few years ago relied heavily on petroleum exports for its revenue. While countries like Saudi Arabia and Russia have saved past oil profits for rainy days, Nigeria has no such insulation. What’s worse is that Nigeria is especially dependent on imports of basic goods. The cracks are starting to show: While the official rate doesn’t reflect it, Nigeria’s currency, the naira,…
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There was mild drama at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) on Thursday, as the CCT Chairman, Danladi Umar, refused to hear the motion filed by counsel of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, on his (Umar) alleged bias. Umar dismissed the application asking him to disqualify himself from the case. “That motion as far as the tribunal is concerned is of no consequence; not worthy to be entertained and is hereby thrown away,” said Mr. Umar. Mr. Raphael Oluyede, Saraki’s lawyer, brought to the attention of the court, a motion filed on Wednesday, April 20th, 2016, seeking the CCT boss…
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As Nigerian army continues to comb Borno forests in search of the female students abducted recently by Boko Haram sect, a group on Monday accused some northern elders of being the brain behind the incident. The group, under the umbrella of United Alliance, in a statement by its northern co-ordinator, Bashir Ado, accused some northern elders of using the abduction to distract and embarrass President Goodluck Jonathan. Speaking ahead of the protest, which is slated for Wednesday by women in the Federal Capital Territory over the kidnap of the Chibok girls, Ado said the protesters should not direct their…
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When you create a conflict which has its roots in religion, ethnicity, land rights, the attempt to marginalise, dominate, subjugate and conquer others and the quest for liberation and freedom from slavery and bondage all mixed into one, you are toying with a conflagration that will not only be simply horrendous and that will not only affect the whole of Africa but will also last for the next fifty years. On April 18th 2016, Mr. Okonkwo Afamefuna wrote the following on his Facebook wall: “I decided to read a copy of the National Grazing Reserve Bill and I was…
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This is a document that records and states the areas the government has willingly given to the family and community to sell and that the government will not acquire it for what so ever reason except it duly notifies the world. The major characteristics of a gazette on provide 2 things. 1. The Area e.g Ilupeju 2. The coordinates e.g the Beacon Numbers that separates where the Land given to the family starts and stops. This is Known as an Excision. That means in a whole portion of land lets say 10 PLOTS, Government has excised 4…
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Let’s face it, Buhari is a modern high powered almajiri. He flies around begging for loans, getting none! But he does not understand that he is the problem. Buhari flew to China, cap in hand to beg for a $2 billion dollar loan. He did not get it. Instead the Chinese bamboozled him with a $6billion credit line. Emefiele immediately saw the opportiunity and seized it with both hands. The APC Yorubas and normal economists are celebrating the break through, but they may be shocked because like all APC promises, this may come to nothing – because of Buhari. Please note…
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The Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) says its chairman, Danladi Umar, has been cleared of a N10m-bribe allegation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Ibrahim Alhassan, spokesman of the tribunal, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday. He said that the EFCC sent a letter to the tribunal on Wednesday clearing the CCT chairman of the allegation. “The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has today conveyed a letter to the chairman Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Hon Danladi Yakubu Umar, exonerating him on the alleged N10 million bribe by one AbdulRashid Owolabi, in his petition to…
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A housing expert, Mr Festus Adebayo, has urged the Federal Government to demerge the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing for effective administration and development. According to Adebayo, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday, the merger of the three ministries will not augur well for the economic and social development of the country. The housing expert, a television producer of housing programmes, said that the housing sector deserved to have a ministry to oversee its affairs. “Abuja Housing Show will like to appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari, since he is working…
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The Chairman of Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, Mr. Ekpo Nta, has disclosed that the commission was investigating a state governor for alleged diversion of bailout funds meant for the payment of workers’ salaries.He spoke when he hosted students of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS in Abuja. Nta said: “Last year, 27 states got bailout funds from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN. We decided to go into collaboration with the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, to monitor the movement of the funds from the Central Bank of Nigeria to the final destination. “One state,…
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It was an action-packed court session on Wednesday, April 20, at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, as several interesting revelations came to light on the trial of the embattled Senate President, Bukola Saraki. Saraki is standing trial on a 13-count charge of false asset declaration, slammed against him by the Federal Government. The CCT Chairman had on Tuesday held that in line with the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, Saraki’s trial will continue on a daily basis. However, the trial of the former Minister of Niger Delta, Godsday Orubebe, had earlier been moved from April…
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Few days ago, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it’s Vice Presidential candidate come 2019 general election, will come from South-East, reacting on such zoning, The Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha chides the party’s claim, stressing that for over 16 years the party never remembered South-Eastern region. The governor, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Sam Onwuemeodo, on Monday, said it was unfortunate that the South-East was never remembered by the PDP during the party’s 16 years in power. He said, “For the 16 years the PDP was in power, it never considered the South-East as being fit…
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The Federal High Court, Ado Ekiti, on Wednesday ordered the Department of State Services to pay a member of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Afolabi Akanni, N5m damages for his illegal arrest. The court condemned his arrest and “continued detention for 18 harrowing, excruciating and brain cudgeling days, without access to his lawyers and family.” Akanni, representing Efon Constituency 1 at the Ekiti State House of Assembly, was arrested on March 4 by the DSS and detained for 18 days over alleged sundry allegations. The Commissioner for Information, Youths and Sports Development, Mr. Lanre Ogunsuyi, had at…
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The PUNCH can authoritatively report that the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has filed another application before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, to stall his ongoing trial on charges of false asset declaration. Saraki whose numerous applications seeking to stall the trial had been dismissed by the CCT itself and others including the Supreme Court, through his fresh motion, is asking the tribunal chairman, Danladi Umar, to disqualify himself. Our correspondent learnt that Saraki, through his fresh motion filed before the CCT on Tuesday, asked Umar to disqualify himself from the trial on the basis that the tribunal chairman…
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It’s almost one year since Dr Jonathan left Nigeria’s Presidency; but his name remains fixed to the mouths of the present administration, their supporters and APC. While in office, he had his share of criticism, at a time, he became the most abused President in the world. Now that he has left power for those who desperately need it, they have taken the power but passed its responsibilities to Dr Jonathan, thus, he or his party is responsible for the present administration’s irresponsibility, ineptitude, indolence and failure. This wicked behaviour should be discontinued. Dr Jonathan’s supporters must avoid this…
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They came in trickles first, elements that toyed with the idea of a mega party to challenge the then ruling party, the PDP. Just Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Major General Muhammadu Buhari Rtd., and a few others… Then the merger talks between the then ACN and the then CPC. The fall out of some major stakeholders in the PDP, with included seven Governors, with the National leadership of the then chairman, Alj Bamangar Tukur, was what the newly emerging conflagration of the elements to later berth the new mega party needed to launch their new party with these dissenting…
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I read an interesting article recently in which the author, objecting to President Muhammadu Buhari’s frequent travels abroad pointed out that Presidential spokespersons since 1999, including this writer, have always justified such trips using essentially the same arguments. The fellow quoted copiously and derisively from my State House press statements and an article by me titled “The Gains of Jonathan’s Diplomacy”. Those who object to Presidential travels abroad do so for a number of reasons: (a) the cost on the grounds of frequency and size of estacode-collecting delegation, with multiple officers performing the same function tagging along on every…
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-Chief Mbazulike Amechi accuses President Buhari of not showing enough capacity that he can change Nigeria -He makes a revelation that there are at least 8 powerful men within the Buhari government who could crush the president if he fails to do according to their request President Muhammadu Buhari may have serious problems as he is reportedly caged by eight powerful men. Chief Mbazulike Amechi, a frontline nationalist, revealed this in the interview granted to the Daily Sun Newspaper in Ukpor, Anambra state. The elder statesman said that there are eight powerful men within Buhari’s cabinet and his…
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The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Tin-Can Island Command, had a revenue shortfall of N2.7 billion in the first quarter of 2016, compared with the corresponding period of 2015. The Public Relations Officer of the command, Mr Chris Osunkwo, made the disclosure in an interview on Tuesday in Lagos. Osunkwo, in a breakdown, said that the command generated N58.9 billion in the first quarter of 2016, adding that it generated N61.6 billion in the corresponding period of 2015. NAN reports that the Comptroller-General, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Retired Col. Hameed Ali, on April 4, at a Consultative Forum between Customs…
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Is cattle rearing by Fulani herdsmen a Federal Government project? Why this question, someone may ask? Let us look at this scenario. If I need to set up a factory to make soaps or motor spare parts, or a farm for yam or rice, or a poultry farm, or a fish pond, or a school, or a newspaper house, I look for land/property to buy or lease or rent. Even if I want to sell clothes or meat or books or beans, I look for a shop to rent for my business. If I make a loss or profit,…
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President Muhammadu Buhari has continued his foreign trips in a bid to repair Nigeria’s reputation which was severely damaged by the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, said on Monday. Fashola, in an article titled, “PMB’s foreign trips — My takeaway,” also stated that Buhari’s intervention in the global oil and gas sector led to the recent stability in crude oil prices. The minister further stressed that Nigeria currently has the support of the world’s seven most powerful countries. He attributed this to the visit the President made during a…
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Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Danladi Umar, was on Tuesday alleged to have kept Senate President Saraki waiting for an hour and 40 minutes without tendering apologies. Reports said that Saraki, who had briefly presided over the plenary at the Senate, arrived at the CCT at 12pm, the time the CCT chairman wanted him to be at the tribunal. Umar had on Monday stated that the trial of the Senate President for false declaration of assets would continue at 12pm on Tuesday, but he arrived at 1:40pm, keeping Saraki, senators, lawyers, journalists and some guests waiting…
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In early April, South Africa issued its first sovereign bond in over two years. The ten-year, $1.25 billion bond was oversubscribed by a factor of two. This is the first international bond issued by a sub-Saharan African nation in 2016. It is likely to be followed by Kenyan, Nigerian, and Ghanaian issuances. The past two years were the most active in the history of sub-Saharan Africa’s sovereign bond issuances. But, due to the state of international markets in 2016, the price of issuing bonds has been too high (near and above 10 percent) for most African countries. These sub-Saharan…
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The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Chief John Odigie Oyegun has blamed the ongoing hardship in Nigeria on evil forces which, he said , is responsible for President Buhari’s inability to solve the country’s myriad of problems. While fielding questions from newsmen in Benin City, the Edo State capital, Chief Oyegun took a swipe at evil forces and saboteurs calling to mind Gov. Ayodele’s stance on the frequent trips of the president abroad. The APC chieftain said President Buhari won the election owing to the respect he commands both at home and abroad adding that he…
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The Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions on Monday summoned Danladi Umar, the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), who is presiding over Bukola Saraki’s corruption trial. Mr. Saraki, the Senate President, is facing 13 counts of false assets declaration and fraud before the CCT. According to reports, Justice Umar was asked to appear before the Committee “unfailingly” by 2 p.m. on Thursday. The invitation came hours after the judge ruled that Mr. Saraki’s trial would sit daily between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., with a one hour break in between. The Senate president’s lawyer had…
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The Netherlands-based Royal Dutch Shell Plc on Monday said the economic contribution from Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited joint venture partners to the Federal Government was $42bn from 2011 to 2015. The oil giant said it paid the sum of $4.95bn to the Nigerian government last year as production entitlement, taxes, royalties and fees. Shell’s ‘Report on Payments to Governments for 2015’ showed that Nigeria received the biggest share of payments from the company out of 24 countries. It was followed by Malaysia, which received $4.41bn; Norway, $4.16bn; Philippines, $2.11bn, and Iraq, $1.36bn. According to Shell, the…
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Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), human rights lawyer, has advised the Federal Government to shelve its plan to obtain $2bn loan from China. According to him, “plunging the nation into more indebtedness” the Federal Government should intensify efforts to recover some funds totalling about $200bn which were either not remitted to the Federation Account or stolen from the nation’s treasury. Falana revealed this in a letter dated April 8, 2016, addressed to the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, threatening to sue the Federal Government if his request was not taken seriously. He said, “In the light of…
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As the defence team to senate president, Bukola Saraki, begins cross examination of witnesses in the trial of Saraki over alleged false declaration of asset, a principal Prosecution witness has admitted before the court that charges were filed against Saraki, one month before he made his statement. The witness, Micheal Wetkas, made the admission when he was asked by Saraki’s lead counsel, Kanu Agabi, SAN, whether he was aware that that his statement was made over one month after the prosecution had filed charges against the defendant. Wetkas who initially said he was not aware, admitted after he was…
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Some concerned chieftains of the All Progressives Congress are not hiding their misgivings against what they consider as the party’s poor performance. The ruling All Progressives Congress came to power with a load of promises. The party had pledged to fix all the problems it inherited from the Peoples Democratic Party – the party the APC accused of lacking focus and bereft of idea on how to run purposeful governance. With its description of the then ruling PDP as clueless and corrupt, the APC had used every available platform to tell Nigerians that its emergence in the…
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In the beginning; you fall in love with your partner. You anticipate their calls, want their touch, and like their idiosyncrasies. Falling in love wasn’t hard. In fact, it was a completely natural and spontaneous experience. You didn’t have to DO anything. That’s why it’s called “falling” in love. People in love sometimes say, “I was swept of my feet.”Picture the expression. It implies that you were just standing there; doing nothing, and then something happened TO YOU. Falling in love is a passive and spontaneous experience. But after a few months or years of being together, the euphoria…
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Even though his whereabouts is still yet unknown to the federal government, Niger Delta militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, a.k.a Tompolo celebrated his 45th birthday yesterday in Warri, Delta State. President, Ijaw Peoples’ Development Initiative, Com. Austin Ozobo(3rd left), President, Niger Delta Security Watch Organisation of Nigeria, Barr. Dickson Bekederemo (4th from left), Mr. Alapal Ebitonma (4th from right) and others cutting the 45th Birthday cake of Oweizide Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo in absentia Popular Nigerian militant commander of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Chief Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, who…
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The opposition party has already chosen a politician to replace Saraki if he resigns – The Unity Forum promised to work with PDP’s candidate for Senate president. There are indications that the next Senate president may be chosen by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Daily Sun reports that some members of the opposition party are thinking of Ike Ekweremadu as a likely replacement if there is vacancy in the Senate. Members of both camps disclosed that they are considering Ekweremadu as a probable substitution for Saraki based on his experience and the fact that he has been Senate…
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*Fayose said Oyegun, Oni and Prof Itse Sagay lack moral rights to complain about criticism of President Mohammadu Buhari – *Fayose said Buhari’s non-signing of any direct loan agreement with the Chinese government is a vindication of the his position Special assistant to the Ekiti state governor on public communications and new media, Lere Olayinka has described the All Progressives Congress (APC) national chairman, Chief Odigie Oyegun, deputy national chairman, Chief Segun Oni and others’ criticism of governor Ayodele Fayose’s letter to the Chinese government on the $2 billion loan sought by the federal government as brazen display of…
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A Senator, Isah Misau, who represents Bauchi Central district, came under attack by irate youth on Saturday in Ningi, part of his constituency, two persons who claimed to have witnessed the incident disclosed. The two sources said Mr. Misau was in Ningi for a social function when he came under attack. According to reports, “it was at the social function that the Senator was pelted with stones and bottles, the witnesses said.” One of them, Isa Sa’ad said Mr. Misau was attacked because of his support for the embattled Senate President, Bukola Saraki, who is under public pressure to…
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One of the arguments against #TrueFederalism in Nigeria is that ‘given the fact that our state governors are corrupt, giving them more money will only make them more corrupt, so therefore we must fight corruption first while we maintain the status quo’. People who use such argument as their attack on true federalism are ignorant of how true federalism works. Let me explain. First, it is true that under a restructured Nigeria, the states will have more money than they currently have. They will have more money simply based on the fact that they will also have more fiscal…
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Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress APC, Timi Frank has berated the national chairman of the party, Chief John Oyegun for attempting to influence the outcome of the trial of Senate President, Bukola Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT). Frank said the recent pronouncement of the chairman that the party was prepared to lose the senate presidency implies that the party has already decided Saraki’s fate even before the commencement of the trial. According to him, Mr Oyegun is only acting out a script by such pronouncements, adding that no organ of the party…
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Kano State, closely followed by Kaduna, Katsina, Borno and more recently, Niger State are among states in the North with the highest cases of constant drug abuse in the country, it has been revealed. Disclosing this in an interview with THISDAY on Saturday, former Director General, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Otunba Olarewaju Ipinmisho, said the upsurge in substance abuse in Kano and Kaduna States particularly, was frightening and if not quickly tackled, may get out of control. According to him, “If you take an estimate of 10 boys particularly in Kano, seven will be on drugs.…
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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has found over N675.1m in the bank accounts of different Independent National Electoral Commission officials in Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Delta states. According to the anti-graft agency, the money was received and shared by the officials during the last governorship elections. Our correspondents gathered that the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the 2015 election in Rivers State, Mrs. Gesila Khan, and other officials of INEC are already in EFCC custody. Khan was quizzed by the Department of State Services in July last year but was never charged. However, It was learnt that…
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Escravos Attack: Nigerian govt. losing N471 million daily in gas, electricity disruptions EXCLUSIVE: Nigeria’s revenue woes worsen as major trouble hit Forcados, oil lifting suspended The damaged Forcados Export Plant, which is the main cause of the worsening power outage being experienced by Nigerians, will not be completely repaired till May, the office of the Vice President has indicated. According to a statement on Sunday by his spokesperson, Laolu Akande, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo visited the plant in Delta State where he sought expedited action on the repairs. “The damage done to Forcados affects our oil earnings but also…
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Details of the $6 billion dollars investments deal reached with the Chinese Government during President Muhammadu Buhari’s state visit to China last week emerged at the weekend showing that a conditional stipulation that Nigeria must not deal with Taiwan was attached to the deal. The Peoples Republic of China (PRC) has continued to proclaim the One China policy, insisting it is the sole legal government of China and that Taiwan is a province of China, a development that has made Taiwan, also known as Republic of China (ROC), not to be recognised as a sovereign state by most countries.…
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The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, says Nigeria must not take loan facility from the International Monetary Fund to overcome its economic challenges. This is contained in a statement issued in Abuja on Saturday at the ongoing Spring Meetings of the IMF-World Bank in Washington DC while responding to why the government has refused to apply for IMF loans. The Minister was quoted as saying that Nigeria was absorbing its new realities by implementing fiscal policies to steer the country back on track for stable growth with a diversified economy. Signed by the Special Adviser to the Minister…
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The United States yesterday released a damming report on human rights abuses by security agencies in Nigeria. It also accused officials of the Nigeria Prisons Service of routinely extorting money from inmates as fees for food, prison maintenance, and sometimes to secure their release from prison. The officials have also been accused of various other abuses, including rape of female prisoners under their custody. The report also accused the Nigerian Armed Forces, Nigeria Police and the Department of State Services (DSS) of human rights abuses in their operations in different parts of Nigeria. The allegations were contained in a…
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President Muhammadu Buhari has revealed that his trip to China yielded about $6 billion investment for Nigeria. The Punch reports that this was contained in a statement released by Garba Shehu who is the senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity on Friday, April 15. In the statement, Buhari said the one-week trip to China would have a positively huge impact on key sectors of the Nigerian economy including power, solid minerals, agriculture, housing and rail transportation. He said: “In the power sector, North South Power Company Limited and Sinohydro Corporation Limited signed an agreement valued…
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During the Jonathan administration, an outspoken opposition spokesperson had argued that Nigeria was on auto-pilot, a phrase that was gleefully even if ignorantly echoed by an excitable opposition crowd. Deeper reflection should have made it clear even to the unthinking that there is no way any country can ever be on auto-pilot, for there are many levels of governance, all working together and cross-influencing each other to determine the structure of inputs and outcomes in society. To say that a country is on auto-pilot is to assume wrongly that the only centre of governance that exists is the official…
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Rivers State is one state that had her resources recklessly plundered by officials and friends of the immediate past administration of Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi to the extent that no funds were left for the then incoming Nyesom-Wike led administration to effectively take off. To cover up this ungodly deliberate squandering of State resources, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi refused to write a handover note. He chose to play the Ostrich. However, Amaechi gave Nigerians an insight into the ugly financial condition of Rivers State on May 18, 2015 during a post election meeting. Amaechi said : I’m not joking, we have…
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It was in the early 1970s. The Nigerian Civil War had just ended. The music group Peacocks International released one of their popular hits in which they praised among others John Anyaehie, Toyola Crown and Mike Merchandise Electronics dealer. That was the first time the name of this Aba based industrialist, the business entrepreneur, the philanthropist extraordinary, the socialite par excellence and the exemplary humanist came to public consciousness. Chief Mike Nkwoji, the Okpataozuora I of Enugwu Ukwu na Umunri in Anambra State was a man among men. Young at heart, he was only 73 when he passed on,…
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Many mothers now bathe their children several times a day due to the heat You could hear her shrill cry from meters away. The sound of her tender heart pounding in desperate search for relief draws pity and utmost sympathy. Like the many that walked past that morning, watching her wriggle in discomfort, the milk from her mother’s full breast could do only little to assuage the agony of eight-month-old Bolatito Adeoti whose cry grew louder as the rashes all over her body itched bitterly. The daughter of a commercial bus driver and a mother who trades in petty items,…
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Your Excellency, I’m convinced the time has come to write you this letter despite the fact that I have some measure of access to you. I decided to do this in order to tackle the mischief makers who believe I’m your very close friend and as such must be a rabid supporter of yours. I have been accused of all sorts of garbage including being paid heavy sums of money from your bottomless pocket. I’m aware that most of these guys can never believe that anyone could stand up for principle without pecuniary gains. But before I go…
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Report April 13, 2016 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Nigeria is a federal republic composed of 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). During the year citizens elected President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Peoples Congress (APC) party to a four-year term in the first successful democratic transfer of power from a sitting president in the country’s history. He replaced President Goodluck Jonathan of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on May 29. International and domestic election observers considered the elections the most credible and transparent in the country’s history. Civilian authorities did not always maintain effective control over the security services.…
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Read full text: 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 fifty years, we have celebrated every military or civilian regime only to lose patience and fall into depression. Under the civilian administrations, we have often summoned the military to come to our rescue. Some years back, while I was in Oxford and working on my book, a friend of mine, a retired…
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The Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, yesterday, said the decision by the Federal Government to inaugurate the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) contradicted the constitution of Nigeria. “The 1999 Constitution does not allow us to do what we are doing,” Fashola said during a courtesy visit by the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) management led by the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mr. Mahey Rasheed, at the Lagos House, Alausa Secretariat, Ikeja. The governor said that the idea was hampering the contributors, especially the state governments in improving the infrastructure in their states. According to him: “I have…
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The Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, has ordered the arrest of his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mr Curtis Ugbo for allegedly posting a statement against his government statement on Facebook. It was gathered that Ugbo, after a ground-breaking ceremony of the Okpella Cement Factory, took to Facebook to say that the governor didn’t involve the state’s stakeholders, House of Assembly members or National Assembly members in the project. Ugbo is said to be a strong supporter of Deputy Governor Dr Pius Odubu’s governorship aspiration. It was also learnt that Ugbo was picked up by a team…
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Erstwhile Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Friday, debunked media reports which quoted her as blaming the country’s present economic situation on the zero political will of the immediate past government, to save for the rainy day. Okonjo-Iweala Okonjo-Iweala, who served under the immediate-past administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, said some media organisations distorted her comments, regarding how lack of political will negatively impacted national savings over the past few years. A statement by her Media Adviser, Paul Nwabuikwu, said: “Contrary to the slant given by these loud headlines, Dr Okonjo-Iweala did not indict the Jonathan administration in…
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Very few Nigerians saw the deals Nigeria entered into with China coming but it is true, Nigeria has signed a currency deal with China allowing the free flow of the Chinese Yuan amongst Nigerian banks. The deal is arguably one of the best or worst policies so far of the Buhari Administration – depending on who you are listening to or following. With the agreement, Nigerian banks would now be able to settle payments directly from Naira to Yuan, rather than from Naira to black market Dollar and then to Yuan. In fact, an extension of this is that…
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