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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Ruling party jittery, plans counter strategy. APC orders Tinubu, Atiku to woo or cripple Sheriff, Fayose. The major organs of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have recently been enmeshed in a battle of wits over the control of the party’s hierarchy, after the appointment of a former governor of Borno State, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, as the party’s national chairman. Though the players might have temporarily sheath their swords, what many did not see was the undercurrent that led to the power-play, which first appeared as a rumour, later seen as a rude joke. But now, it is gradually leaving…
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While Asian traders were mopping up Angola’s crude oil, Nigeria’s crude remains in ample supply, languishing as it awaits buyers. Programmes for Erha were issued after several weeks of delay. Four cargoes will be loading in March and three in April, the programmes showed. NNPC also issued its official selling price for Erha in March at nine cents above dated Brent, up from a 17 cent discount in February. About 15 March-loading Nigerian crude cargoes are still available, traders said, and a force majeure on Forcados exports was doing little to boost differentials for most grades. Meanwhile, according to…
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The Ministry of Communications on Friday confirmed it collected N50 billion from MTN Nigeria on behalf of the Federal Government as part payment for the N780 billion fine imposed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). The NCC had in October 2015 sanctioned MTN, one of Nigeria’s largest mobile operator, for failing to disconnect 5.1 million improperly registered lines within a prescribed deadline. MTN thereafter challenged the fine at the Federal High Court, Lagos, but announced on Wednesday that it was settling out of court with the government. MTN Nigeria’s Chief Executive Officer, Ferdi Moolman, announced in a statement on…
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The former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, who is accused of misusing billions of naira meant for the fight against Boko Haram militants, opened up Friday at Abuja High Court, blaming President Muhammadu Buhari for his arrest and detention without trial since December 29, 2015. Mr. Dasuki, who spoke through his counsel, Joseph Daudu, said President Buhari instigated his detention unjustly against the bail granted him by three different courts, through his comment during a presidential media chat in December 2015. In an affidavit filed in support of his application at the court, Mr. Dasuki said the president betrayed…
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I have come to the conclusion that our biggest problem is forex supply. Our monthly national demand for forex is about $4.6 billion, while the official monthly inflow is less than $1 billion. Our dollar reserves will continue to dry up if oil prices do not appreciate, and while many an economic analyst reasons that devaluation is desirable to curb demand, the fact is: as long as supply is far lower than the demand, the margin between demand and supply will keep widening and the exchange rate will keep going up. If we devalue the naira, therefore, black…
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• Asks Buhari to arrest failing economy The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) caucus in the House of Representatives has said the manner of harassment of the opposition party members, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is making the anti-corruption battle lose its appeals. The members asked the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government to concentrate on delivering on its campaign promises of reviving the economy, providing social welfare and arresting the fall of the naira. The Minority Leader, Hon. Leo Ogor, while addressing journalists in Abuja yesterday, berated the EFCC for the arrest of the PDP former Acting National Chairman,…
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The Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party has explained why it reversed itself and expressed support for Ali Modu Sheriff as the National Chairman of the party. The BOT had on Monday dismissed Mr. Sheriff as not being credible to lead the party, but on Tuesday recanted its decision and pledged its support. The board, in a communique after its meeting on Thursday, explained that the unity, cohesion and future successes of the party necessitated a review of its earlier position. The board however emphasised that Mr. Sheriff and all current members of the National Working Committee…
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The former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Lamorde, has asked the Nigeria Police to disregard the Senate’s order for his arrest. In a statement issued by his lawyer, Festus Keyamo, Mr. Lamorde said the police and other law enforcement agencies should resist the invitation to drag themselves into “this illegal scheme.” “We most respectfully urge the Nigeria Police Force to await the outcome of the matter pending in court before deciding one way or the other about the enforcement of the said Warrant of Arrest, if eventually issued,” Mr. Lamorde said in a statement on…
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Cold might have run down the spine of the leadership of All Progressives Congress, APC, who had vowed to collect its pound of flesh when the news broke out that the National Publicity Secretary of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Olisah Metuh had obtained the leave of court to make a no-case submission in his trial before the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja. By a no-case submission, Metuh will not be required, at this stage to lead evidence. He will argue that by the evidence led by the prosecution, no case has been made out against him…
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The erstwhile Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has refuted claims alleged by the former Group Managing Director, GMD, of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Austin Oniwon, that she unilaterally extended crude oil swap contracts valued at $24 billion for refined products. Alison-Madueke in a statement issued in Abuja through her spokesman, Clem Aguiyi, rejected the claims insisting that the probe in the House of Representatives claiming she granted an “extension”, instead of approval for the renewal of the contracts was a fabricated tissue of lies deviously concocted to sustain the escalating evil narrative against her person. It…
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A former Secretary-General of the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, Senator Femi Okurounmu, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to probe ministers that served during the tenure of the late dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha, and a former maximum ruler, Ibrahim Babangida. Okurounmu said although Abacha was dead, some of the ministers who served during his tenure are still enjoying public funds looted during his regime. Speaking with our correspondents on Tuesday in Lagos, the Yoruba leader said the foundation of corruption was laid during Abacha and Babangida’s regime. He said, “If I were President Buhari, I will begin the probe and…
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While some members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are still grumbling over the chice of Ali Modu Sheriff as its chairman, sources in Sheriff’s camp said former President Goodluck Jonathan had congratulated him. It was learnt that Jonathan congratulated the new chairman on the telephone in the presence of members of the National Executive Council of the party. A source at the meeting said, “Jonathan has congratulated Sheriff despite the protests by some members of the party. The former President told Sheriff to act like a father and unite the warring factions. “Most of those who are accusing…
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“But most of the people clamouring, particularly in the north today, I want to say that none of them won 10 percent in their state. What are they bringing to the table to continue with this argument?” “What is their relevance at home? But as a leader, I still have to appeal to them. They should please allow the dust to settle and channel this energy against Ali Modu Sheriff’s chairmanship into rebuilding the party.”
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Heavy shooting rent the air in Yeghe community, Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State yesterday evening when soldiers invaded the country home of former militant leader, Solomon Ndigbara. At the time of filing this report, people had deserted the community as shootings raged, leaving scores injured. It was further gathered that Ndigbara’s house was razed and soldiers have taken over the community. At the time of the soldiers’ operation, the ex-militant was not at home, it was learnt. According to his media aide, Dum Nwine, “nobody knows his whereabouts.” Nwune was around when soldiers stormed the community. He…
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World oil prices appear on course to be lower for the longer term after Saudi Arabia ruled out production cuts and suggested high-cost producers should be allowed to fail to help rebalance the market. The comments – made by the country’s oil minister Ali al Naimi at an event in Texas – were seen as being directed at the producers of US shale oil who have challenged the Saudi-led OPEC cartel’s share of the global market. The boom in US production coincided with the slowdown in the Chinese economy to force down prices from highs of $115 a barrel…
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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) has arrested another senior member of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) National Working Committee, Uche Secondus. Secondus, deputy national chairman of the party, was allegedly arrested on Tuesday by the anti-corruption agency. The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, is currently facing trial over his alleged involvement in the diversion of public funds meant for arms purchase into the campaign fund of the party’s presidential candidate in the last general elections, Dr Goodluck Jonathan. Investigation indicated that Secondus, who, until last week, was the acting national chairman of the party, was…
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Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, who is currently undergoing extensive cancer treatment in the United Kingdom, has strongly refuted claims that she awarded crude oil swaps valued at $24 billion without supporting contracts. In a statement, supported by letters from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to the former minister when she was in office, which was issued in Abuja through her spokesman, Mr. Clem Aguiyi, Alison-Madueke rejected reports attributed to the probe in the House of Representatives on the oil swaps claiming that she granted an “extension” instead of approval for the renewal of the…
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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has raised an alarm on plans by the government to clamp down on opposition by arresting its top members, including Deputy Senate President Chief Ike Ekweremadu, Senate Minority Leader and Godswill Akpabio. In a statement signed by its national Legal Adviser, Barr. Victor Kwon the party noted that such arrests are mockery on democracy. “We are also aware that plans have been perfected by the Federal Government to arrest and detain the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio and other leaders of the party on imaginary charges. “The…
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The chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have met on February 24th in Aso Rock villa while President Muhammadu Buhari was away in Saudi Arabia for a state visit. State House correspondents failed to receive any comments from the participants of the meeting. Frantic efforts by the State House Correspondents to get a word from many chieftains of the All Progressives Congress, APC who rose from a crucial meeting with Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo at the presidential Villa on Wednesday afternoon met a brick wall. National leader of the party, Bola Tinubu; former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; the…
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The immediate past President Goodluck Jonathan has been nominated for the Person of the Year Awards by African Leadership Magazine, ALM. Also nominated for the awards was a Former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, Chairman of Heirs Holding, Mr. Tony Elumelu, the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Bola Tinubu, founder, ECONET Wireless, Dr. Strive Masiyiwa, President, African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, a Tanzania Business Man and MP, Mr. Mo Dewji, and the Executive Director of UN Women, Ms. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. The ALM’s Publisher, Dr. Ken Giami, said that the award nominees were shortlisted from distinguished…
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Nigeria’s indigenous telecoms operator, Globacom, has increased its mobile Internet subscriptions to 21.8 million, according to a report from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). In the study, Globacom is reconfirmed as attracting highest Internet users just a few weeks after a similar report by the industry regulator rated Globacom as having acquired more new data subscribers to its network. Globacom gained the highest number of Internet subscribers in September 2015, with over one million new users on its network. The addition increased Globacom’s Internet subscribers from 20,765,379 in August to 21,896, 229 data users in September, showing a difference…
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The Rivers government has informed parents and guardians of students currently benefiting from the state government funded scholarship program in various universities across the world, that resources are no longer available to continue with the sponsorship abroad. As a result, the Rivers government will no longer pay the tuition and allowances of the scholars and has consequently advised all of them to return home. In a February 6th, 2016, letter obtained exclusively, the executive director/CEO of the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA), Lawrence Pepple, said that the only exceptions to the directive are those students in their final…
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President Muhammadu Buhari has tactically rejected an invitation by Saudi Arabia to join the Coalition of Islamic States against Terror. Buhari, who is on a week-long visit to Saudi Arabia and Qatar, told his host and ruler of Saudi Arabia. King Salman Bin Abdul-Aziz, that rather than joining the coalition, Nigeria would support the coalition. He spoke at a bilateral meeting between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia in Riyadh hosted by the ruler, King Salman Bin Abdul-Aziz. The president, who made his first pronouncement on the invitation to join the coalition of Islamic states against terror spearheaded by the Saudis,…
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The Nigerian Senate has terminated the contract of System Specs Ltd, the company responsible for the REMITA platform for the Treasury Single Account (TSA). The Senate also called for the prosecution of the ‘culprits’ involved in the contract. The report on the abuse and mismanagement of the TSA was read on the floor of the senate by Senator John Owan Enoh representing Cross River Central who headed the committee that probed the contract. The recommendations one and two of the report on Abuse & Mismanagement of TSA was amended by the Deputy Senate President, Sen. Ike Ekweremadu and Sen.…
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President Muhammadu Buhari vowed late Tuesday that all those involved in the “padding” of the 2016 National Budget will face the most severe punishment. Addressing the Nigerian Community in Saudi Arabia, President Buhari condemned the distortion of the budget proposals by entrenched interests. The president said the “unauthorised alterations” had completely changed the document from the one he presented to the National Assembly, a statement by presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, said. “The culprits will not go unpunished. I have been a military governor, petroleum minister, military Head of State and headed the Petroleum Trust Fund. “Never had I heard the…
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· Ubah’s magic working already as Dollar dips to N305 after his challenge The Chairman of Capital Oil and Gas Services Limited, Dr Ifeanyi Ubah, on Tuesday staked his N500 billion assets on his proposal to the Federal Government to stem the free fall of the Naira against the Dollar. Ubah said if given the opportunity by the government, he would halt the slide of the national currency and bring it back to N200 to the dollar within one month. The billionaire businessman, who addressed journalists in Abuja, backed President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision against devaluing the Naira, noting…
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News on the N25.8bn Lagos Refinery project went viral Yesterday. The Imo state Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance party (APGA) in the last elections has provided an insight into the factors which determined the investment location decision. Here’s what he had to say: “I am glad you guys got around talking about my refinery project. Perharps i can give you some additional heads up on the project and the unique factors which determine its location. I have a license to develop a 20,000 bpd modular refinery at a specific coastal location in Lagos state. The refinery…
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1. Public declaration of assets and liabilities 2. State and community policing 3. Ban on all government officials from seeking medical care abroad 4. Implementation of the National Gender Policy, including 35% of appointive positions for women 5. Revival of Ajaokuta steel company 6. Generation, transmission and distribution of at least 20,000 MW of electricity within four years and increasing to 50,000 MW with a view to achieving 24/7 uninterrupted power supply within 10 years. 7. Empowerment scheme to employ 740,000 graduates across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. 8. Establishment of a free-tuition and scholarship scheme…
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•Feb pay due as allocation is stuck JUDICIAL officers, including the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmoud Mohammed, Supreme Court Justices, justices of the Court of Appeal and all Federal and state High Court judges, are yet to get their January salaries, it was learnt yesterday. This month’s pay falls due tomorrow but the over 600 judges seem not to have any hope of getting paid. The development has affected workers in the Judiciary in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal Federal High Court, National Industrial Court and the National Judicial Council. Only workers in the state Judiciary in…
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….Says Centre’ll Aid Investigation On Domestic, Sexual Violence Cases, Others In furtherance of its commitment to the criminal justice sector reforms and take the fight against crime to a greater level, the Lagos State Government on Tuesday announced that it has concluded plans to establish the first ever high-powered DNA Forensic Laboratory in Nigeria which will take off within the next six to twelve months. The lab, which would be called the Lagos State DNA Forensics Centre (LSDFC), when fully operational, would fulfill an unmet need for DNA profiling which is a unique forensic technique that is now being…
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President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed a visually impaired man, Dr. Samuel Ankeli, as his Senior Special Assistant. According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the President has saddled Ankeli with the responsibility of dealing with persons living with disability on his behalf. Shehu said Ankeli headed the Directorate of Persons with Disability at the Buhari/Osinbajo APC presidential campaign headquarters, the first of its kind in a political party in Nigeria. He added that the new presidential aide led a team that successfully mobilised a large number of more than 24 million disabled…
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An exclusive report suggests that President Mohammadu Buhari may engage in a minor cabinet reshuffle just 8 months in his administration. The cabinet swap according to our source may be due to some incompetence and the image of the Federal Government. The likely affected ministries are Infomation, which it minister, Alhaji lai Mohammed may be swapped with his solid mineral’s counterpart, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; While the Foreign affair minister, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama may be swapped with Hajiya Amina Mohammed of Ministry of Environment. Eight months in power and three months after the appointment of ministers, the Buhari administration…
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Nigeria’s Former Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has enumerated how the government of a developing country can attain sustained development. Speaking in a recent interview, the ex Finance Minister identified structural reforms, institution building and the need to achieve macro-stability as the requirements to achieve sustainable development in any nation. She stressed that any policy maker that wants to sustain development, and leave a lasting impact, really needs to put in systems, processes, and institutions that would drive development going forward. Responding to a question on how the immediate past government she worked under was able…
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In the 2015 presidential election, the APC was more prepared for defeat than for victory. The party did not expect to win and clearly had no agenda for victory. In a 1972 Hollywood film entitled The Candidate, Robert Redford acts as Bill Mckay, a political neophyte who is drafted out of the blue into a race for the U.S. Senate. With no chance whatsoever of winning, Mckay is given a free hand to say whatever he likes on the stump. Therefore, he tweaks the political establishment at every turn. However, as a result of a series of unexpected developments,…
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The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, has said that he will not be forced to relinquish the task of rebuilding the party entrusted to him by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the PDP. Speaking at his first interactive session with journalists at the party’s national secretary in Abuja yesterday, Sheriff said since he was given the major task of rebuilding and repositioning the party, he believed that it was the responsibility of the leadership to decide on his tenure. Responding to allegations of his links to Boko Haram, Sheriff said there was…
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One time Speaker of the House of Representatives under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Na’Abba has said that President Buhari should ignore any advise from former President Obasanjo. He made emphasis to an event in 2015 where the former President Obasanjo led a delegation of experts to present a strategic development report to President Buhari, on various sectors of the Economy. The former speaker described this as a joke, highlighting the issue of power where he accused Former President Obasanjo of spending $16bn without anything to show for it. Na’Abba remarked as follows; “The other day, I watched on television…
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The oil price drop that has dominated the headlines in recent weeks has been framed almost exclusively in terms of oil market economics, with most media outlets blaming Saudi Arabia, through its OPEC Trojan horse, for driving down the price, thus causing serious damage to the world’s major oil exporters – most notably Russia. While the market explanation is partially true, it is simplistic, and fails to address key geopolitical pressure points in the Middle East. Oilprice.com looked beyond the headlines for the reason behind the oil price drop, and found that the explanation, while difficult to prove, may…
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Sanusi Muhammad II, the emir of Kano and immediate past governor of the central bank of Nigeria (CBN), says the naira has already been devalued. He added that President Muhammadu Buhari and the CBN were only subsidising the private sector by selling dollars to the sector at N200 as against the real market price. “This argument (on devaluation) I think has first of all been framed wrong, it’s not an argument about do we devalue or do we not devalue. The naira has already been devalued,” he told the BBC Africa Business Report. “What is the value of the naira?…
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Goodluck Jonathan was the best executive President Nigeria ever had. This is the reason why APC is fighting the truth,they don’t want to be judged with his intimidating achievements. *CNN Money projected that the fastest growing economy in the world in 2015 will be China (7.3% growth); followed by Qatar (7.1%) and then followed by Nigeria (7%). this attests to the astute management of the economy by the Jonathan administration under the ministerial assistance of the world renown economist Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. * Nigeria’s Gross domestic Product ranked the nation’s economy 1st in Africa and 26th globally; from 3rd and…
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Nigerian Catfish Pepper Soup (popularly known as Point & Kill) can be a source of cancer due to its abundance in omega 6 fatty acids. A cardiologist, Dr. Jane Anisulowo, says that farm or home-grown catfish is the worst example in this regard, as it contains more fatty hormones than the ones harvested from natural water. Anisulowo says, “Fish is better than meat, no doubt. It digests easily and it contains proteins. However, catfish is not really a good option, especially the ones they sell these days, which are cultivated with hormonal feeds that are filled with steroids and…
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Minister of Interior, Abudurahman Dambazau, has warned Nigerians not to pay above official fee when obtaining the international passport from the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS). The minister who issued the during the inauguration of one of the 18 new passport offices located at the premises of the Government Office Annex, in Warri, Delta State said, “I was happy to hear the Comptroller- General, Martin Kure Abeshi, reeling out the official cost of Nigerian passport to the audience.” According to him, “nobody should pay a kobo above the official fees mentioned. We are open to complaints from the public. Whoever…
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President Muhammadu Buhari will begin a weeklong official visit to Saudi Arabia and Qatar on Monday, and hold a special prayer for Nigeria before returning to the country. Femi Adesina, special adviser to the president on media and publicity, announced the president’s trips in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday. The statement said Ibe Kachikwu, minister of state for petroleum and group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), will accompany the president, who is expected to hold talks with Saudi authorities on stability in the price of oil. “Before going on to Doha, the…
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First of all, let me ask all my countrymen a question: has there ever been a political party in the history of Nigeria that had such a genius for totally meaningless prattle like the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) which is self-righteous and well versed in the art of hypnotising the people with outright misleading information for political gains? I have searched the history books and listened to oral history but have found no match to this propagandist organisation’s hypocrisy and predilection for deception on the scale we are faced with today. I have always been worried by the…
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President Muhammadu Buhari is billed to leave Abuja for Suadi Arabia and Qatar tomorrow to engage officials of both countries in talks for the stability of oil prices. The president who would be away for a week will be accompanied to the journey by a high-powered Federal Government delegation, including the Minister of State (Petroleum) and Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC), Dr. Ibe Kachikwu. On Tuesday, president Buhari would fly to Riyadyh, the Saudi Arabia capital to meet talks with King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and senior officials of the Kingdom of Saudi…
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In an exclusive and shocking disclosure, It has been revealed that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele, has handed out jobs of the apex bank to the children of those highly connected to save his own. It can be recalled that it was reported that the CBN governor, may be the next top profile government official to lose his job as a top presidential aide confided on Monday that the dragnet is drawing closer to Emefiele, who was appointed as head of the nation’s apex bank by former President, Goodluck Jonathan on June 3, 2014.…
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Vanguard reported a curious drama during the State House briefing after the meeting of the National Executive Council, between State House Correspondents and the Minister for Information, Mr. Lai Mohammed. It seemed like the Buhari cabinet did not have much to talk about. There is of course much going on. Boko Haram is still killing and pillaging. The Chibok girls are as good as lost. To remove the sheen from that fact, the President was reported a while ago to have pointedly told parents of the girls of Chibok to go home as there’s not much else he could do…
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South African retailer Truworths has left Nigeria citing import restrictions. “We were unable to operate the stores properly any longer because we were unable to send merchandise to the stores because there’s regulation preventing that,” chief executive Michael Mark told Reuters in telephone interview on Thursday. The company said it was even struggling to pay its rent and get access to foreign exchange which is scarce these days in Nigeria as a result of the slump in oil prices. Oil accounts for more than 90 percent of Nigeria’s forex earnings. The country’s currency has thus lost most of its value,…
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South Africa: Rand 1 = 13 Naira . Angola: 1 kwanza = 2 Naira . Botswana: 1 Pula = 18 Naira . Cape Verde: 1 Escudo = 2 Naira . Algeria: 1 Dinar = 2 Naira . Egypt: 1 Pound = 25 Naira . Eritrea: 1 Nakata = 13 Naira . Ethiopia: 1 Birr = 9 Naira . Ghana: 1 Cedi = 50 Naira . Gambia 1 Dalasi = 5 Naira . Kenya: 1 shilling = 3 Naira . Liberia: 1 Dinar = 4 Naira . Lesotho: 1 Loti = 14 Naira . Libya: 1 Dinar = 146 Naira .…
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Ali Modu Sheriff has denied having any links with the Boko Haram sect – Sheriff reminded Nigerians that he was a victim of the Boko Haram attacks which led to the death of his brother – The newly appointed PDP chairman noted that he was labelled Boko Haram sponsor shortly after leaving the APC “Few days after I became the chairman of the PDP, Ali Sheriff is now Boko Haram; so if you are in APC you are not a Boko Haram.” Ali Modu Sheriff, the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has denied having any links…
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Boko Haram started killings with my own blood brother I Will Hit the Road, pacifying PDP members, asking them to return Not a few Nigerians were surprised and shocked by the announcement of former governor of Borno State, Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff as the new Chairman of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), especially because of his alleged links with the dreaded terrorist group, Boko Haram. It was therefore natural to be eager to put a number of questions to him on the issue. It was a long wait as guests continuously streamed into the expansive living room…
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Ali Modu Sheriff was born in Ngala Town, Ngala Local Government Area, Borno State in 1956. His father was the business tycoon Galadima Modu Sheriff. He attended Government Secondary School, Bama (1974–1979). He attended also the London School of Business, where he studied Insurance, Banking and Finance. In 1981, he joined his father’s construction company as a Director, later becoming Managing Director. In 1985, he registered his first company. His companies include Meroil Organisation and Union Chase. He was elected as a senator from Borno during the Third Nigerian Republic under the banner of NRC. He was also a member…
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Republican Donald Trump will not be president because it’s a “serious job”, President Barack Obama has said. “I continue to believe that Mr Trump will not be president. And the reason is because I have a lot of faith in the American people,” said Mr Obama. Mr Trump, a billionaire businessman, is the frontrunner in the race to be his party’s choice for the White House. He has won one state primary already, and leads the polls in South Carolina, where Republicans vote on Saturday. Speaking at the Asean economic summit in California, the president was asked by a…
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Wole Soyinka, a professor and Nobel Laureate, has described Muhammadu Buhari, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the most brutal face of military dictatorship after Sani Abacha. The revered professor, who spoke to the BBC, suggested that Nigerians are in a serious dilemma with lack of alternative. When asked about his comments about the general as a brutal devil, Soyinka said he did not exactly call him the devil, but a brutal dictator. “I didn’t exactly call him a devil, but of course I talked about dinning with the devil with a very long spoon, but…
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A group of legal practitioners under the aegis of Coalition of Lawyers Against Corruption in Nigeria (COLAC) will stage an anti-corruption rally in Abuja on March 25, to show support for the anti-graft war being waged by the Muhammadu Buhari administration. This was disclosed by COLAC executive members, led by Barrister Olusegun Bamgbose, during an official visit to the State House, Abuja, where they were received by the Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina. Also on the delegation were three zonal directors, Barristers Muhammed Garba (North-West), Muhammed Musa (North-Central), and Ejike Ben…
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Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari has attributed his government’s failure to prosecute holistically looters of the nation’s treasury, especially those in the oil sector, to ‘lack of evidence’. Buhari, in an interview with Peter Okwoche of the British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC, in London, United Kingdom, after attending a conference on the ongoing Syrian crisis, said that there was no way he could go ahead to fight the ongoing war against corruption successfully without having viable evidence to backup the prosecution of such cases. Making an indirect reference to the immediate past Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Deizani Alison-Madueke, and others, Buhari…
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Lt-General Jeremiah Useni is among other things a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, former military governor of the old Bendel State and is presently, senator representing Plateau South in the National Assembly. In this interview with MARIE-THERESE NANLONG, he gives his views on sundry national and state issues. Going by what has been happening in Nigeria since the return of democracy in the country; do you think the military was right in interfering in governance in the past? The military was very justified because looking at what was happening at that time, there were lots of…
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Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has told the Federal Government to perish the thought of imposing the Treasury Single Account (TSA) on States, pointing out categorically that the Federal Government was not in the position to counsel or force any State to accept policies that are not working for those that introduced them. Governor Fayose said in a press statement issued on Friday, by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka that “the Federal Government should rather face the dwindling economy of the country instead of going about grandstanding on a TSA policy that was…
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There is a roving, seemingly ubiquitous army of Nigerians who have appointed themselves defenders of President Buhari. Unfortunately, by employing offensive and ineffective logics and tactics, these fanatical supporters of the president are doing more reputational harm than good to their hero, and turning away compatriots who would otherwise be willing to give the president a fair hearing on the mounting disappointments with his administration. Yesterday, I saw an update on my Facebook timeline with the following words: “if Jonathan had won, the dollar would be exchanging for N1000.” This was apparently advanced to counter the criticism of the naira’s…
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Sacked former Central Bank Governor and current Emir of Kano Lamido Sanusi has said the government should end its policy of trying to maintain the value of the currency, the naira. Mr Sanusi said the drawbacks of the policy “far outweigh its dubious benefits”, the Financial Times reports. President Muhammadu Buhari told the BBC last week that he was not convinced of the need to “murder” the naira. The falling oil price has put pressure on his currency policy. The authorities are keeping the official naira rate at around 200 to the US dollar, but the black market rate is…
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The Presidency has confirmed that President Muhammadu Buhari, would be embarking on a trip to Egypt, to participate in the 2016 Africa Business Forum. The trip is coming on the heels of a fee fall of the naira to the dollar, padded 2016 budget and lack of viable economic team. The Senior Special Adviser, SSA, to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, confirmed Buhari’s trip to Egypt in a statement issued on Thurdsay, February 18. “President Muhammadu Buhari will depart Abuja on Friday for Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt to participate in the Business for Africa, Egypt and the…
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The I support Buhari group, the franchisors of the #IstandwithBuhari campaign took to the streets in a show of support for the administrations war against corruption. Joining the march by the partisan group was the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu. The event raised concerns from various quarters who have challenged the agency’s involvement in a partisan march. Mr. Ibrahim Magu, who has come under fire by the opposition PDP for allegedly witch hunting its members and ignoring corruption cases against the ruling APC party members. The recent move by the…
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After announcing the sack of of 24 Directors-General of federal agencies on Monday, it has been revealed that President Buhari will embark on another round of disengagement of directors-General of most 0f the remaining agencies with the source saying that the new sack may be announced during the week. Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Professor Suleiman Bogoro; Director-Generals of Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), Sola Omole and those of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Ladan Salihu; Voice of Nigeria (VON), Sam Worlu; National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mike Omeri; Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), Emeka Mba and the…
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Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has hailed the emergence of former governor of Borno State, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), calling on all members and supporters of the party to support the new chairman. Governor Fayose, who spoke through his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, said the choice of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff was in the best interest of the party. He said; “I have always defended the party even at the risk of my position, personal security and comfort. I have always stood…
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The possibility of the Nigerian economy plunging into recession in 2016 is not in doubt, going by the poor economic policy direction of President Muhammadu Buhari. Professor Pat Utomi has maintained. As crude oil prices dive lower, threatening to dip below $30 a barrel for the first time since the financial crisis of 2008, commodity economies around the world are catching a cold. The collapse of oil price is already taking its toll on the Nigerian economy. As it stands, there is no light at the end of the tunnel yet. Nigeria’s situation is further worsened by the current…
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The PDP government tackled corruption head on and did not de-market Nigeria by conducting media trials and making unguarded statements abroad. People were investigated and prosecuted along the fundamental rights of the people without propaganda, witch hunting, vendetta or blackmail. The PDP government, established the two major anti-corruption agencies, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), with strict establishing and operation laws to ensure effectiveness and immunity from executive interferences. The following video is a flashback of the PDP years and the commitment to fighting corruption.
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I have been reading some folks talk about the former president Dr. Goodluck Jonathan not saving for hard times as we are facing now, while the price of oil was high. But many forgot how the APC governors and some PDP governors, spearheaded by Gov. Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State led APC governors and other rebellious PDP governors to demand that the Federal Government share the money realised via EXCESS CRUDE ACCOUNT, ECA. I vehemently remembered Dr Ngozi Okonjo -Iwela saying on television that we must save this money for rainy days, and not squander it. But Gov. Rotimi…
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President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday admitted that Nigeria is currently disorganised as a result of drop in oil price because the country relied on mono-economic product for too long. According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, the President spoke while receiving a team of British members of Parliament led by Nigerian-born Chi Onwurah at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Buhari was quoted as lamenting that Nigeria has found herself in a phase of development which is not a very welcome one. He therefore solicited the support of Britain in his administration’s efforts…
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WHEN the incredible issue of a missing/counterfeited 2016 budget arose some weeks ago, I was expecting to hear from the APC that Goodluck Jonathan was to blame. Surprisingly, that did not happen. Instead, blame was traded between the Presidency and the National Assembly, seemingly forgetting that both organs of government are now controlled by the same APC. The stock-in-trade of this government is to blame Goodluck Jonathan for everything. If there is petrol shortage: Jonathan is to blame. If there are power cuts, Jonathan is to blame. If there are Boko Haram killings, Jonathan is to blame. This government has…
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Power supply to households and businesses across the country has plunged by 1,589.69 megawatts since the nation achieved its peak generation of 5,074.70MW on February 2. Electricity supply on Sunday, February 14, dropped to 3,485MW from the 3,558.39MW generated that day, data obtained from the Federal Ministry of Power on Monday showed. Power generation and supply stood at 4,150.64MW and 4,068.5MW on February 11, according to the Presidential Task Force on Power. The PUNCH reported on Monday that officials at the ministry said on Sunday that issues around gas pipeline rupturing by vandals as well as oil theft had…
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THE Executive Director of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Ibuchukwu Ezike, said the situation is an “embarrassing development, shocking, a shameful monumental dent on this “religious and sacred” government. He stated: “The shock many Nigerians received on learning about this tragedy is not that such scandalous development has happened, but who did it? “It is not news that a man or woman is caught in the act of adultery, but it is when it involves a man or woman in the temple of God, an ordained man/woman of God, because of his or her status in the arena of…
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The Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has said former President Olusegun Obasanjo and erstwhile Minister of the territory, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, awarded the Abuja Rail Project in 2007 at an inflated cost by millions dollars. The committee also said the project was awarded based on uncalculated estimates with neither a design nor Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Chinese firm, CCE, handling it. Accordingly, the committee led by Senator Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi West), has demanded the refund of the sum of 195,878,296.74 dollars being the sum allegedly funneled into private pockets. The committee said the contract,…
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The Nigerian Medical Association in Imo State has accused billionaire and governor Rochas Okrocha of trafficking human organs. He is accused of doing so “with officials of Turkey and Croatia, and with Hashim Thaci.” Thaci is currently Kosovo’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister. Belgrade-based daily Blic writes that the association’s president Philip Njemanze spoke about this “after an emergency meeting of the association in Owerri, the state capital.” Nigeria’s newswirengr.com website quoted Njemanze as saying, “For the first time in human history, a government has declared itself an organ trafficking cartel – Imo State government is…
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Anti-abortion activist, Dr. Philip Njemanze was Monday arrested following his allegations suggesting Governor Rochas Okorocha’s possible complicity in a transnational human organ trafficking ring. While analysing Okorocha’s earlier decision to concession the existing 11 general hospitals and 27 others under construction to ‘unlicensed expatriate physicians’ unapproved by the Nigerian Medical and Dental Council, Njemanze stated that with the flaws in the newly passed National Health Bill, the governor had set the stage for easy organ poaching from patients in the state by expatriate doctors who can easily ferry same overseas via covert means. Njemanze who is also the Imo…
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It ain’t the things you don’t know that cause the problem. It’s things you think you know that ain’t so. Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882. President Buhari must have entered into the GUINNESS BOOK OF RECORDS for taking five months to assemble a cabinet of less than fifty people and about thirty Special Advisers, noise makers as he called them. File: Buhari during the 2016 budget presentation to the National Assembly. The reason given would have been acceptable if he was going to bring the people from another country or planet. Given they were all going to be Nigerians, the excuse…
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President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Mr. Tijjani Mohammed Abdullahi as the Director-General (Budget). Mr. Abdullahi, a fellow of the Certified National Accountants of Nigeria, and a banker of repute with experience in managing public finance, will replace the current Director-General (Budget), Mr. Yahaya Gusau. The new Director-General (Budget) is expected to work with the Minister of Budget and National Planning to efficiently deliver on the mandates of the Budget Office of the president. President Buhari has also approved the appointment of Mr Ben Ifeanyi Akabueze as the Special Adviser on Planning to the Minister of Budget…
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Contract inflated by $10m per kilometre Senate demands refund of $196m The China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) handling the Abuja rail project, yesterday, told the Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory (FCT) that former President Olusegun Obasanjo awarded the project in 2007 without a design and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Project Manager of the Chinese company, Mr. Etim Abak, also told the lawmakers that the then Minister of FCT and current Governor of Kaduna State, nigeria railwayMallam Nasir el- Rufai, allegedly signed the contract based on uncalculated estimates. The shocking revelations were made as a sequel to the…
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The Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, Abubakar Malami has disclosed that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government may soon initiate probe into the Siemens and Halliburton bribery scandals. The scandal involves a number of prominent Nigerians, including former military Heads of State, Ibrahim Babangida, Abdulsalami Abubakar and Senator Jubril Aminu, who were accused of collecting bribes to award multi-million dollar contracts to the two foreign companies. Speaking with Vanguard in Abuja, Malami revealed, that the current government had not closed any criminal case being investigated in the country. He also refuted claims that Buhari was afraid of taking…
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Former Aviation Minister, Chief Osita Chidoka has said that Nigeria of tomorrow cannot be built on yesterday’s ideas. It must be built around new consensus that can withstand the existential and irrational challenges of religious and ethnic extremism. In a publication he made in his new column on the back page of Leadership Newspaper Monday, Chidoka said “Our ethnic, tribal and religious diversity ought to provide the inspiration and aspiration to build a nation out of our different tribes and tongues. Our founding fathers missed the opportunity to inspire and construct a nation of ideas and not a mere…
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President Muhammadu Buhari may have resolved to move against former President Olusegun Obasanjo, following moves to probe the controversial launch of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library by Bells University. Huge sums of money were donated by top businessmen, leading private and government institutions, especially top government contractors and public officers. This is even as outspoken Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose yesterday asked the ex-President to explain the sources of his stupendous wealth. Already, President Buhari’s directive to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to reopen investigation into the Halliburton scandal over which foreign consortium of companies allegedly bribed…
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The Nigerian Communications Commission is considering a framework for the regulation of over-the-top services in the Nigerian telecoms market. Over-the-top services, otherwise known as OTT, are services carried over the networks, delivering value to customers, but without any carrier service provider being involved in planning, selling, provisioning, or servicing them. OTT services are offered through Internet communication. In Nigeria, the most common OTT services are WhatsApp messenger, BlackBerry Messenger, Facebook, and Skype which are classified under social media applications. In other words, telecom operators such as MTN, Etisalat, Glo, and Airtel lack direct control or influence over WhatsApp messenger,…
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Metropolitan Police Chief, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, will be grilled by MPs this week over claims that Scotland Yard and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) were involved in a “deliberate cover-up” of damning evidence of police corruption during the investigation and trial of former Delta State Governor, Chief James Ibori, in the United Kingdom, reported UK-based The Mail on Sunday newspaper yesterday. A court was told that the Met and the CPS repeatedly concealed documents suggesting that officers investigating Ibori for fraud were paid to leak details of the inquiry that could have helped him evade justice. One detective was…
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Falana wants Nigeria to drop plan to borrow $3.5bn from World Bank. Nine days after he wrote the Nigerian government advising against the plan to secure a $3.5 billion loan, Femi Falana, a human rights lawyer, has said he would commence legal proceedings against the government. Mr. Falana had, in a letter dated February 5, urged the Finance Ministry to jettison its plan to secure a $3.5 billion (about N700 billion) loan from the World Bank and the African Development Bank. In a statement on Sunday, the lawyer said he had not received any response from the ministry. “Since…
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…..And I don’t mean the mantra that brought him to power nearly a year ago. I mean HE has changed. I’ve interviewed him four different times now. The first time was in 2012. Then he wasn’t too sure if he still had the stomach to stand for election as president again, having already lost three previous times. The second time was just after his Chatham House Lecture, just weeks before last year’s elections. After his victory, I got a scoop: being the first international broadcaster to interview him. Finally, I interviewed him again last Friday at the Abuja House,…
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The minister for justice just announced that judges found to be corrupt will be tried by this administration. This is problematic. Though this sentiment is much shared, it should not be left to the president and his administration to define “corruption,” or determine which judge is corrupt. For the avoidance of doubt the writ of this republic does not make the president the supreme authority of the land. The constitution is the governing authority of this republic, and the president is, as are all Nigerians, governed by the Constitution. It would amount to overreach for the president to break the…
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MANY ingredients went into making Donald Trump. An under-appreciated one is the distinctively German, or rather Kallstadtian, tinge to his family history. Mr Trump is descended from German immigrants who arrived in America penniless and succeeded quickly through hard work, a free relationship with the truth, opportunism, shrewd business tactics and a great sense of family loyalty. Fred Trump, Donald’s father, who was a strict taskmaster with all his five children, told his three sons to be “killers”. Fred Trump’s father, Friedrich Trump, came to America in 1885 as a 16-year-old from Kallstadt, a village in Rhineland-Palatinate, a region…
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The Chairman, Senate committee on Foreign and Domestic Debts, Senator Shehu Sani, has described the plan by Northern governors to obtain loans from a Saudi Arabia-based Islamic Development Bank, as unlawful. In a statement issued in Abuja yesterday, which was made available to New Telegraph, Sani said that the action was in direct contravention of the Act, which vested the responsibility of external borrowing in the Federal Government. He said that the Debt Management Office Act 2003, section 21 and external borrowing guidelines 2008-2012, paragraph 2.1 clearly state that any government or its agencies can only obtain external loan through…
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Diezani-Alison-Madueke Former Oil minister, Diezani Madueke who is currently undergoing successful treatment for cancer in the United Kingdom has stated that Nigeria has a well recorded history of vilifying its oil ministers. President Muhammad Buhari as an oil minister (1976-1978) under then head of state, General Olusegun Obasanjo was accused of N2.8 billion fraud when same amount disappeared from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corpration’s (NNPC) Midlands Bank account in the UK. She added, “Till this day no one has been able to prove that the then Major General stole a kobo.”She also named other former ministers who have been vilified…
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PDP lawmakers rule out impeachment Notwithstanding the Supreme Court verdict which upheld the trial of Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT recently, the lawmaker is desperate to hang on to the plum office against all odds. Investigations at the weekend showed that, for the senator to achieve this onerous task against the plot of the Ahmed Lawan loyalists who are desperate to catch-in on the apex court’s ruling to pull the rug off his feet, Saraki has garnered the support of no fewer than 85 senators who have reaffirmed their support for him.…
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Iran has shipped crude oil to Europe for the first time in five years just a month after world powers lifted sanctions on Tehran in step with the landmark nuclear deal reached last July. The oil shipment to Europe opened “a new chapter” in Iran’s oil industry, Rokneddin Javadi, Deputy Oil Minister said on Sunday, IRNA news agency reported. Iran is said to have recently loaded several European tankers with oil after announcing on Saturday that it would do so within the next 24 hours. “In the coming 24 hours, 4 million barrels of crude oil will be loaded…
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The objectives of the US military presence in Africa are well documented: counter Chinese influence and control strategic locations and natural resources including oil reserves. This was confirmed more than 8 years ago by the US State Department: In 2007, US State Department advisor Dr. J. Peter Pham commented on AFRICOM’s strategic objectives of “protecting access to hydrocarbons and other strategic resources which Africa has in abundance, a task which includes ensuring against the vulnerability of those natural riches and ensuring that no other interested third parties, such as China, India, Japan, or Russia, obtain monopolies or preferential treatment.” (Nile…
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On the morning of the 22nd of December 2015, Nigerians were glued to their television sets watching their President, Muhammadu Buhari make a presentation of the 2016 budget to a joint session of the National Assembly. At the end of it all, the presentation was applauded by a number of Nigerians as one of the finest hours of Buhari’s seven month old Presidency. But as it is with football, after the applause has died and the last fan has departed, the stadium is left in a mess. And that is exactly what the Buhari-led government has left Nigerians with;…
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The Rivers State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has tendered an unreserved apology to former Governor of Rivers State, Dr. Peter Odili and his wife, Justice Mary Odili over disrespectful statements allegedly made by the party’s Candidate in the last governorship election in the state, Dr. Dakuku Peterside. You will recall that Peterside had alleged that Peter Odili and his wife were ‘used’ to procure the verdict of the Supreme Court which validated the election of Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike as the duly elected governor of the state. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in a swift response,…
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THE shortest course to the unraveling of a government is for it to turn its back on the people who have kept faith with it, especially, through hard times. Without feigning, and in less than one year, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its government are showing true colours in their anti-people and exploitative antics. Such antics are found in the arrogant nature of operatives of this government; their impatience for dissent and the brazen attempt to re-calibrate their own campaign promises. Before our very eyes and unabashedly, they now say that Nigerians misunderstood the campaign pact and social chatter…
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Nigeria’s defence chief, Olonishakin, speaks on soldiers who went missing after battle with Boko Haram. Nigerian Army confirms PREMIUM TIMES story on deadly gun battle that left several Nigerian soldiers missing. Nigerian Army officials in contradictory claims to cover up battle with Boko Haram that left several soldiers missing The icirnigeria.org can authoritatively report that, contrary to claims by the military authorities, scores of Nigerian soldiers were, indeed, killed by Boko Haram insurgents in Gudumbali in Borno State on Wednesday, November 18, 2015. Information at the disposal of this website, including a video clip of the aftermath of the…
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