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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I vowed to critically investigate issues before taking position. From the very first day that the ECA “controversy” started I have maintained that officers of the immediate past administration have no case to answer. I had to take my time to do an indepth write-up on the ECA, and linked it with the contentious $2billion. PLEASE read with an open mind… Pre-Jonathan: Obasanjo Left $20billion In ECA, Yar’adua Left $6.5billion When late President Umaru Yar’Adua was sworn in on May 29th, 2007, the ECA held $20billion, out of which $5 billion had been pledged by the three tiers of…
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Nigeria’s Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun and Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi, according to Thisday exchanged hot words in Beijing over the absence of Adeosun’s delegates for an important meeting with the China-Exim bank. The two ministries were scheduled to meet with the Chinese bank to discuss the finance of several transportation projects in the country. The misunderstanding between the ministers transpired when Adeosun did not hesitate to give Amaechi a piece of her mind for meddling in the travel arrangements of directors from her ministry to Beijing. Her directors were forced to defer their trip and in the process missed…
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IF I were to ask you to name one or two countries that can be said to be friends of Nigeria, my guess is you would be hard-pressed to answer. The truth is that Nigeria is a lone-ranger in international relations. We have no friends. There is virtually no country we can run to or rely on in a time of need. If anything speaks eloquently of the failure of Nigeria’s diplomacy, it is our failure to cultivate friends and allies in international relations in 55 years of independent nationhood. A friend is useful in times of need. Today is…
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The elected president of Nigeria is Muhammadu Buhari but there is a power behind the throne that many Nigerians are not even aware of. This person is so powerful and influential that he is said to have the closest ear of the president, more than ANYONE else. His name is Mamman Daura. The two men are related by blood: President Buhari is Mamman Daura’s uncle although Daura is two and half years older than the president. The nephew-uncle relationship is described as extremely close and date back to childhood years. Now that Buhari is in power as the Commander-in-Chief of…
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(Being excerpts from the speech of Chief Richard Akinjide (SAN), first and second Republic Minister, at the public presentation of the book “Fellow Country Men- the story of Coup D’etats in Nigeria by Richard Akinnola, June 2000) I was in the first cabinet that was overthrown by the military in this country. I entered parliame…nt in December 12, 1959. And I remained in parliament until January 15, 1966 when the government was overthrown. I was the Federal Minister of Education in that cabinet. I woke up one morning in my official house in Ikoyi to discover that my telephone…
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A former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday, dissected the state of socio-economic affairs of the country, especially the initiatives of the current administration, and returned a verdict of doubt. His words: “The problem today is that it is doubtful if the current administrative system is imbued with right mix of skills and values to successfully implement a well-articulated programme of change.” He also averred that the country was on its way to another debt burden unless the rising debts were creatively addressed. Obasanjo, who recalled how he led Nigeria to exit the Paris Club and how he pursued public…
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Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili on Monday charged President Muhammadu Buhari to always tell Nigerians the truth when it comes to insurgency so as to stop creating doubts in the minds of the citizenry. Ezekwesili who is the leader of the BringBackOurGirls, BBOG, movement made the call at the group’s usual sit-out in Abuja. Ezekwesili said, “The government cannot afford to go to the old ways where lies were fed to the people. Let there be truthfulness. Government should not create a trust deficit syndrome because it will be difficult to mend. Everything that the government is doing…
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Nigeria has asked the World Bank and African Development Bank for $3.5bn in emergency loans to fill a growing gap in its budget in the latest sign of the economic damage being wrought on oil-rich nations by tumbling crude prices. The request from the eight-month-old government of President Muhammadu Buhari is intended to help fund a $15bn state deficit, which has been deepened by a hefty increase in public spending as the west African country attempts to stimulate a slowing economy. It comes as concerns grow over the impact of low oil prices on petroleum exporting economies in the developing…
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Autonomy questioned as Buhari says he won’t `kill naira’ Argument for naira devaluation overwhelming, says Afrinvest Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari erased any doubt about who is in charge of currency policy in Africa’s biggest economy — to the detriment of the central bank’s independence. Buhari said that he won’t “kill the naira” by allowing it to be devalued and that a weaker currency will only result in higher inflation and hardship for the country’s poor- and middle-class. His comments to Nigerians living in Kenya on Wednesday came only a day after Governor Godwin Emefiele resisted pressure to depreciate the…
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THE Lion of the tribe of Ubima community in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, Rt Hon Rotimi Amaechi, currently Nigeria’s Minister of Transportation, had fought several battles in his action-packed political career with very big support from the people. From the “little guy” position after his tenure as Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, he bulldozed the strongholds against him in 2007 to emerge as the Governor of Rivers State and served two terms. This was after he dethroned his brother, Sir Celestine Omehia. Amaechi became a man to watch when he led other governors and…
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The former minister also asked the EFCC to publish the names of the directors and account signatories of the company. Ex minister of state, Foreign Affairs Musiliu Obanikoro has asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to make public it findings about Sylvan McNamara Limited. This is coming on the heels of allegations by the EFCC that Sylvan McNamara Limited, a company allegedly owned by Obanikoro’s sons, Babajide and Gbolahan, got part of the $2.1b arms fund. Vanguard reports that investigations revealed that N 4,745,000,000.00 was paid into the company’s account number 0026223714 with Diamond bank, in bits,…
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The tail end of 2015 already gave discerning Nigerians a sign that the coming year would be challenging and many citizens expected the introduction of policy that would help ameliorate the difficulties of these austere times and the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration did not disappoint them. Commendably, the government reduced the price of premium motor spirits by 50 kobo. The benefits of this kind and humane gesture from the Federal Government however seems to have been soured by the announcement by the Central Bank of Nigeria that it would be implementing a stamp duty policy. The reason the Central…
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Properties worth billions of Naira was this evening gutted by fire in Africa’s largest sub saharan computers and telephone market popularly known as Computer Village in Ikeja Lagos Nigeria at about 6pm. The authorities are yet to ascertain the cause of the fire outbreak, as fire fighters and other emergency relief officials were seen heading towards the market. There have been pockets of fire incidence within the market in the past arising from electrical faults and negligence of market men and women.
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The average Nigerian is endowed with dogged, never-say-die, ”it-won’t-happen-to-me”, ”I-will-make-it” attributes. Lord Frederick Lugard should be shocked (in his grave) to see us still together after 99 straight years of one year, one trouble.He advised the British authorities then, about the near futility of an amalgam he described as mixing oil and water. In Lugard’s own words: ”the north and south are like oil and water – they cannot mix”. Now this is going to be a long chronicle of anecdotal records that I will leave to the readers for critical analyses. The first 50 years (1914-1964): 1. Chief…
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As war against looters in past administrations gets tougher and stricter, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi alongside some top officials (both retired and serving) of Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) have been summoned by members of the ad-hoc committee of the House of Representatives on failed rail contracts to explain their role in the alleged N1 trillion rail contracts scam. Others called include Managing Director of NRC, Seyi Sijuwade; former Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Dr Mohammed Bello Haliru; and former Minister of Transport, Idris Umar.The adhoc committee, headed by PDP, Ikpoba/Oha Federal Constituency, Ehoizuwa Johnson Agbonayinma expects…
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Federal Government Wants To Borrow Emergency $3.5 Billion from the world Bank, AFDB The federal government has asked the World Bank and African Development Bank for $3.5bn in emergency loans to fill a growing gap in its budget in the latest sign of the economic damage being wrought on oil-rich nations by tumbling crude prices, the Financial Times of London has reported. The request from President Muhammadu Buhari’s government is intended to help fund a $15bn state deficit, which has been deepened by a hefty increase in public spending as the West African country attempts to stimulate a slowing economy.It…
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Amnesty International in a statement has described the recent reinstatement of Maj. Gen Ahmadu Mohammed by President Buhari as a “monumental failure of the government to stamp out impunity for war crimes at the highest level.” Maj. Gen. Ahmadu Mohammed, was retired by President Jonathan in 2014 as one of the nine senior commanders implicated for alleged war crimes. Mohammed was commanding officer when soldiers killed around 640 unarmed detainees after Boko Haram insurgents attacked Giwa barracks in Maiduguri, according to Amnesty International. Gen. Mohammed was also the army general soldiers shot at during a mutiny- the soldiers revolted…
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Kiira Motors Corporation is set to launch the first solar-powered bus ‘Kayoola’ in Africa in the corporation’s vision to spearhead the automotive industry in Uganda. ‘Kayoola’ can be loosely translated as ‘mass carrier’. The Kayoola bus is uniquely designed to be powered by solar energy to make it environmental friendly. It relies on 2 power banks (lithium-ion batteries) which power an electric motor that is coupled to a 2-speed pneumatic shift transmission. The 2 power banks operate in automatic alternation to enable real time mobile battery recharging while the other is in use. Mr Isaa Musasizi, the CEO…
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Some Northern governors are currently in Saudi Arabia on a 3-day visit to the Islamic Development Bank in Jedda, Saudi Arabia, where they are to meet with the bank’s president, Ahmad Ali and other top officials, to solicit for partnership to help facilitate development in the region. The meeting between the governors and the bank’s top executives started today and will last till Tuesday Feb. 2nd. The governors were led by Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, who is also the Chairman of the Northern States Governors ‘ Forum, NSGF. Governors Tanko Almakura of Nassarawa, Nasiru El-Rufai of Kaduna…
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The decision by leadership of the Catholic Church, Enugu Parish to transfer Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka from Christ the King Parish in the Government Reserved Area, GRA, of the state was on Sunday condemned by the All Progressives Congress, APC. Disclosing this to newsmen in Enugu, the spokesperson of APC South-East Caucus, Osita Okechukwu, said, “it was wrong to punish the fearless priest for his prophecies which has proved to be from God”. Okechukwu while expressing concern over Mbaka’s safety alleged that the transfer was influenced by outside forces, adding that worshippers may find it difficult to get to…
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WITH the newly adopted modulation model for the pricing of petroleum products nationwide, government has ‘stylishly’ deregulated the downstream sector. In the new pricing model, Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, is sold at N86.50, kerosene at N83 and diesel at 74.99 per litre at filling stations. From all indications, government is believed to be making a profit of N3.83 per litre of PMS, but the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) regard what is perceived as profit as ‘over-recovery.’ Over the years, government has been selling the idea of fuel subsidy removal to Nigerians, communicating how…
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Chief magistrate Court 1, Kaduna, has denied Dr John Danfulani bail after being detained by the police for over 24 hours. Danfulani, a lecturer with the Kaduna State University, KASU, is being held for alleged inciting and hateful statements in the social media against the people of northern Nigeria, thereby, capable of causing breakdown of law and order in northern Nigeria and other parts of the country. This is contrary to section 417 and 418 of the penal code of northern Nigeria. The magistrate, Alhaji Awwal Musa while presiding over the case, said that the police was empowered to…
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“We challenge these purveyors of falsehood to publish the full details of the purported $7.2 billion account and we urge the Federal Government of Nigeria to seize such sum and prosecute the owner if it does exist. People should learn to accept the outcome of elections and stop this kind of dangerous propaganda in the name of politics,” he said.
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In recent months there has been a neo-Biafran resurgence reinforced by the detention of one, Nnamdi Kanu, the apparent proprietor of the pirate Radio Biafra. Kanu was home on a trip from his UK base. His illegal Radio Biafra had been peddling hate speeches…
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The Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, (SAN) has given the assurance that government will continue with existing power projects inherited from the previous administration. Mr Fashola made the promise after visiting some power projects in Abuja, as part of his nationwide inspection tour of existing projects under his ministry. He said that the ministry would also be embarking on new policies and projects that will improve electricity power supplies. According to the Minister, tariff is a major challenge that the government is also willing to address to open up the sector for investors who would…
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The confusion shrouding the pending sack of about 5,000 contract staff by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) have now been laid to rest as the Minister of Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, has formally approved the end of employment relationship with stevedoring contractors and a set of dockworkers known as tally clerks and onboard security. It was earlier reported the sack of the workers as revealed by the NPA General Manager, Public Affairs, Captain Iheanacho Ebubeogu. The ministerial approval of NPA’s plan endorsed at his meeting with representatives of the organisation, Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), terminal operators, stevedoring…
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. Rivers State government yesterday called on the Minister for Transport, Mr Chibuike Amaechi to account for about N3 trillion received throughout his eight years tenure as the governor of the State. The State Commissioner for Information, Dr Tam George told newsmen in Port Harcourt that the State was still reeling from “the catastrophic legacy of the former governor” despite receiving over three trillion naira in revenue in 8 years. “Amaechi left the most abandoned projects in the history of Rivers State since 1997. Thousands of workers were without their salaries for four months and thousands of teachers were not…
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This is a recently launched Cape Verdian Airline. It boasts of 11 Commuters planes making it the largest airline in Cape Verde. It is rumoured to be owned by a South South Governor in Nigeria who have very close ties with Cape Verde. Oshiomhole may likely be the one described here particularly if you noticed that the name FORTEADAMS LUXURY FLIGHT is coined from the name of Edo state governor and his cape verdan’s wife maiden name Fortes. “If Oshiomhole really owns this Airline or let’s a bit be more charitable here,if he actually established the business…
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The Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, on Thursday January 21, was granted bail by the British Police Authorities after she appeared before an investigative hearing at the Charing Cross Police Station in London as part of the investigation into an alleged money laundering offence. A source has confirmed this to Television Continental, TVC. She was granted bail on the same condition given earlier and her case was adjourned to June 21, 2016. Recall that in October 2015, the first female president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, was arrested by the United…
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Pre Colonial History The Hausa cultures, which as early as the 7th century A.D were smelting iron ore, arose in what is today northwestern and north central Nigeria, to Bornu’s west. Hausa represents a place (Hausaland), a people (the Hausas), a language and a culture that spans multiple West African Nations, with a heavier concentration in Northern, Nigeria. The origin of these cultures, however, is a mystery. Hausas exist in Benin Numbers unknown, in Burkina Faso 500, Cameroon 23,500, Ghana unknown, Niger 5,000,000, Nigeria 28,525,000, Sudan418,000 and Togo 9600. BAYAJIDDA – The Beginning Legend has it that Bayajidda…
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Former President Goodluck Jonathan says the current administration is prosecuting the war against insurgency with the arms which were procured under his government. In an interview with France 24, the Nigerian leader said insurgency caught the country unawares but his government laid a solid foundation for terrorism to be defeated. “The new government is working hard and I believe they are still using the equipment we procured. Though the budget is still being debated, no new equipment has been bought, so even those equipment the president is using to prosecute the war against Boko Haram are those equipment we…
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Dino Melaye, a senator from Kogi west, has described former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s letter to the national assembly as a misplacement anger, accusing him of introducing corruption into the national assembly. Obasanjo had written a letter to the national assembly accusing it of insincerity for its planned purchase of 469 cars worth N4.7bn. But Melaye, in a riposte on Thursday, said the former president introduced corruption into the national assembly in his bid to run for a third term in office. “I have tremendous respect for president Olusegun Aremu Okikiola Obasanjo. Elder statesman, respected pan Africanist and committed patriot.…
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As the ongoing probe of $2.1billion arms deals continues, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday gave “ThisDay” publisher Prince Nduka Obaigbena a two-week ultimatum to refund N670million allegedly collected for unexecuted contracts. Obaigbena told investigators that he never benefitted from slush funds from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA). He said the administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan paid the said sums to “ThisDay” and the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) as compensation for the bombing of the newspaper house by Boko Haram and the seizure of copies of many newspapers by the military. He…
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I woke up this morning to a report in the media that Chief Audu Ogbeh is holding former dictator, Ibrahim Babangida and SAP, responsible for the current poor state of the economy. Babangida introduced SAP and led Nigeria to an over-reliance on oil and that is why we are where we are today. There is nothing wrong with historical illumination. There is everything wrong when it becomes a tired cliché constantly mobilized as alibi when you don’t appear to have the answers to setting a new course. That is the trouble with President Buhari’s ministers. When a few months…
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The Chairman of the National Assembly and President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki has promised to respond in no time to a letter by former President Olusegun Obasanjo calling his attention to alleged corruption in the nation’s apex law-making body. The Senate President, reacting through his media aide, Yusuph Olaniyonu, confirmed receipt of the letter and said he was still studying it, and would respond shortly to the issues raised in the letter. “The Senate President has acknowledged that he has received the letter and that he would formally communicate the former president,”Olaniyonu said. While the content of…
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Nigeria’s former President, Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday addressed the global community in Geneva, Switzerland at a press conference hosted by the Geneva Press Club. Below is the full text of the speech focused on Security, Education and Development in Africa exclusively obtained by SIGNAL. Protocols Ladies and Gentlemen of the press, I thank you for coming to hear me speak on the twin issues of education and security. Though this event is billed as a press conference on a Better Security and Education for West Africa, for the sake of time, I will focus on my experience…
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James Faleke, the running mate to the late governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Kogi State, Abubakar Audu, said he would be declared the governor of the state before the end of the year. Faleke, who had been canvassing support to be declared Kogi governor, is currently at loggerheads with the leadership of the APC over the governorship seat of the state, following the sudden death of Audu on November 22, 2015. After Audu’s death and the declaration of the November 22, 2015 governorship election as inconclusive by the Independent National Electoral Commission, Bello was picked as…
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January 13, 2016 Distinguished Senator Bukola Saraki, President of the Senate, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senate Chambers, Abuja. Honourable Yakubu Dogara, Speaker, House of Representatives, National Assembly Complex, Abuja. It is appropriate to begin this letter, which I am sending to all members of the Senate and the House of Representatives through both of you at this auspicious and critical time, with wishes of Happy New Year to you all. On a few occasions in the past, both in and out of office as the President of Nigeria, I have agonised on certain issues within the arms of government…
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What do you think of when you hear the name Colonel Gaddafi? Tyrant? Dictator? Terrorist? Well, a national citizen of Libya may disagree but we want you to decide. Ruling the country for for 41 years until his demise in October 2011, Muammar Gaddafi did some truly amazing things for his country and repeatedly tried to unite and empower the whole of Africa. So despite what you’ve heard on the radio, seen in the media or on the TV Gaddafi did some powerful things that were not very reminiscent of a vicious dictator. Here are ten things Gaddafi did for…
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Billionaire philanthropist David Rockefeller has undergone successfully his sixth heart transplant in 42 years at the venerable age of 99 years old. The heart transplant surgery, which lasted 6 hours and was done by a team of private surgeons at his principal residence, on the family estate in Pocantico Hills, New York, doesn’t seem to have tired the legendary business man known for his dynamism and cunningness. His first heart transplant occurred in 1976 after a dramatic car accident led him to suffer a heart attack. He was operated 24 hours later and up and jogging a…
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Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has written the National Assembly accusing the lawmakers of corruption, impunity, greed and of repeatedly breaking the nation’s laws. In a letter dated January 13 and addressed to the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, the former president specifically accused the lawmakers of fixing and earning salaries and allowances far above what the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission approved for them. He also alleged that most of the 109 senators and 369 members of the House of Representatives were receiving constituency allowances without maintaining…
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Instead of giving Nigerians the change you championed, give them excuses. Blame Goodluck Jonathan for everything. In six years of Goodluck Jonathan’s presidency, the opposition told us again and again the man was “clueless.” It made sure the tag stuck to him like glue. But now we have a new sheriff in town, with the APC claiming to be better at everything than the PDP. While that might still be subject to debate, there is overwhelming evidence that in the cluelessness department, the PDP is certainly no match for the APC. Here is a compendium from the APC textbook of…
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Instead of giving Nigerians the change you championed, give them excuses. Blame Goodluck Jonathan for everything. In six years of Goodluck Jonathan’s presidency, the opposition told us again and again the man was “clueless.” It made sure the tag stuck to him like glue. But now we have a new sheriff in town, with the APC claiming to be better at everything than the PDP. While that might still be subject to debate, there is overwhelming evidence that in the cluelessness department, the PDP is certainly no match for the APC. Here is a compendium from the APC textbook of…
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A list containing the names of 21 former Nigerian officials and military officers with alleged sums of looted money in foreign banks have been disowned by officials of the World Bank in Washington D.C. For about a month now the list which mentions varying amounts of money the Nigerians have stashed away in several currencies including US dollars, British pounds, German Marks and Swiss Franc has resurfaced and circulated in diplomatic circles, among international financial operatives and several blogs on the internet. According to the list, World Bank is listed as the source with a reference mentioned in…
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Alhaji Abba Kyari Chief of staff to President Muhammadu Buhari Alhaji Abba Kyari, was spotted very briefly within the premises of the Supreme Court in Abuja. He drove in a black Toyota Landcruiser SUV and did not spend more than five minutes. PDP members from Gombe, Ebonyi and Rivers state who were present in the court premises for their judgemenrs who made attempts to take a picture of Kyari were blocked. It is very unusual for aides of the president to appear in the Supreme Court. A PDP official who spoke to correspondents said the party will protest the…
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The Goodluck Jonathan administration initiated high-speed trains were just completed by the China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) and cost $849 million. The Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Adeseyi Sijuwade, while addressing the media in Lagos, said The high-speed train service will open for service in March 2016. It is the double-track, standard gauge between Abuja and Kaduna that runs at 120Km and 150 Km an hour. Come March, travelers will be able to journey from Abuja to Kaduna (and vice-versa) in less than an hour. “Next month, we’ll be taking delivery of modern coaches to…
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The Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose has charged the Federal Government to work against time and re-open the Halliburton and Siemens corruption scandals. Nigerians, the governor said, are waiting patiently and anxiously to see the trial of all those indicted in the scandal. This is the only way President Muhammadu Buhari can disabuse the minds of Nigerians that the current anti-corruption war in the country is being done in good faith and not selective. He urged the president to, without further delay, commence the trial and commend him for reassuring Nigerians that the case is still on. This,…
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The Supreme Court today upheld the victory of the governor of River State, Mr. Nyesom Wike. This judgement overruled the judgement of the Appeal Court which upheld the nullification of his election by the Election Petition Tribunal. The apex court in an unanimous judgment, restored the declaration of Wike as the valid winner of the poll by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. Justice Kekere-Ekun who delivered the lead verdict, held that three separate appeals that were filed by Wike, PDP and INEC, were meritorious. Concurrent judgments of both the Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and that of…
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Two suspected female suicide bombers detonated their bombs inside Chibok market in Chibok local government area of Borno state, leaving 8 people dead and over 30 others critically injured, a party chairman in Chibok, Lawan Pogu told a relation in Maiduguri. According to the report from Chibok on Wednesday, the Chibok market had since been shut down following the incident of the abduction of Chibok Schoolgirls where over 200 female students were whisked away by Boko Haram. ” The market was only open today, and the suicide bombers hit their target at exactly 12:54 pm. Eight people died at…
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*Oil theft more dangerous than price slide —Producers As oil prices continue on the downward slide, Nigerian oil firms may be producing at up to $5/barrel loss, as average production costs for independent and marginal field producers is between $30 and $35/barrel. Oil prices, yesterday, resumed their free fall, with Brent crude, similar to Nigeria’s sweet crude grade, falling 2.6 per cent to $31.34 a barrel following a 10 per cent rise on Friday, while U.S. oil shed 95 cents to $31.24. To compound the producers’ woes, a significant proportion of what is produced is lost to oil thieves and…
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Honorable Minister for Transport, Rt. Hon Rotimi Amaechi, we are really pleased with your continuous exceptional kind gestures towards the North, in spite of the attacks on your person and ideology from some sections of the country as a result of that. We first took cognizance of your extreme love for the North when you courageously supported the then Jega-led INEC creation of additional 30,000 polling units, at a time that Southern Leaders led by former Vice President Alex Ekwueme, Chief Edwin Clark, Senator Femi Okuronmu and Bishop Bolanle Gbonigi, were strongly against it for favouring the North against…
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Senator Shehu Sani (APC, Kaduna Central Zone) has disclosed that over $200 billion was being stashed away in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, UAE, by corrupt Nigerians. Senator Shehu Sani said he was making the revelation from the point of strength as the chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign and Domestic Debts, as well as Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs. He said: “Corrupt Nigerians have stashed unbelievable amount of monies in Dubai alone in the name of estates acquisition, purchase of exotic houses and business partnership in the last 16 years. Some have stashed raw cash. This is why…
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THE PRESIDENCY, weekend, asked Ijaw communities in Gbaramatu Kingdom, Warri South-West Local Government Area, Delta State, where ex-militants carried out a three-day bombing of crude oil and gas pipelines some weeks ago, to hand over to the security operatives, perpetrators of the bomb attack believed to be hiding in their areas. The presidency also urged the communities not to entertain fear of bombardment by security agencies, but to demonstrate patriotism by handing over suspects behind the recent bombing. The Presidential directive came through the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, yesterday, just as the…
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Since the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 1998, charges have been brought against three Nigerian presidents (Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan and very recently, Muhammadu Buhari). On Friday, the 29th of January, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) will file a complaint at the ICC against President Muhammadu Buhari over Nnamdi Kanu’s imprisonment. Kanu, who was based in the United Kingdom is the leader of the Indigenous people of Biafra, a group that is agitating for the secession of south-eastern states from Nigeria. He was arrested by the Nigerian government on the 18th of October, 2015 and although…
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Ambassador Susan Rice was up until recently the American Ambassador to the United Nations. Her long-standing aspiration of becoming the Secretary of State for her country was dashed when the Republicans in the Senate started sharpening their knives in anticipation of her formal nomination for that position by President Barak Obama. Sensing that her nomination would not scale through the Senate and that she would not be confirmed as Secretary of State due to the role she played in the cover up of the Benghazi affair in which the American Ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and three other…
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Recently the leadership of the National Assembly inaugurated separate special ad-hoc Committees to, again, review the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in their respective chambers. Expectedly, many have expressed misgiving concerning the proposal. In the face of harsh economic realities and social dislocation nationwide, according to them, should the National Assembly kick start another ‘wasteful jamboree’ in the name of altering the Constitution? In other words, how crucial is it to start another amendment process when the last efforts could not secure presidential assent in spite of the huge financial outlay? The last Assembly had done…
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Olubunmi Okogie, archbishop emeritus of the Catholic archdiocese of Lagos, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to lead by example “on all fronts or risk plunging Nigeria into a state of despondency”. In a statement issued on his behalf by Gabriel Osu, director of social communications of the diocese, Okogie asked the president to focus on policies that would uplift the masses. He condemned the flouting of court order by security agencies, saying the current government was heading towards “a one-man show”. Okoji alleged that many Nigerians now have the impression that “Buhari is fast transforming this nation into a…
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Staff of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and prosecution lawyer Barrister Adesina Raheem, were mobbed by supporters of former governor of Zamfara state, Ahmed Sani Yerima at the arraignment of the former governor at the High Court in Gasau on Thursday. The ICPC lawyer, Barr. Raheem who confirmed the incidence to The Guardian on telephone, said that the mob who were on protest against the arraignment of the former governor, moved to attack him and staff of the ICPC but for the intervention of men of the State Security Service and Mobile Police who…
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There have been reports about Nigeria joining the Saudi Arabia created Islamic Military Alliance Against Terrorism (ISMAT). Such a decision has serious implications for peace and security in our country and should not be taken without proper and transparent consultations and considerations. We recall the national stress triggered by the non-transparent way in which we joined the OIC so many years ago. The ISMAT question could have much more serious implications for Nigeria than the OIC. It is believed that Nigerian should not join ISMAT, created specifically under pressure to fight ISIS. The national interests of Saudi Arabia are…
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The malicious attempt by Lagos Lawyer, Femi Falana to mix Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala up in issues that have nothing to do with her in his letter to the International Criminal Court (ICC) is a desperate joke by an integrity challenged charlatan (ICC). This misadventure shows that the so-called learned lawyer does not have any idea of what the mandate of the ICC is about. He has resorted to this action because his previous efforts to tarnish her name – through his discredited NGO, SERAP and petitions to the EFCC – failed because they were lacking in credibility. This latest…
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Former President Goodluck Jonathan will hold a world press conference in Geneva, Switzerland, on Wednesday. Guy Mettan, executive director of the Geneva Press Club, confirmed this in a statement, saying the event is part of activities lined up by circle of diplomats, in honour of Jonathan. The statement said the Nigerian leader would be hosted to a dinner at Intercontinental Hotel, Geneva, on the same day. Mettan said the two major issues that Jonathan will address are: security and civil peace in Nigeria and West Africa, in addition to improvement of health and education of children in the continent.…
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I remember when Former Kano Governor Kwankwaso physically snubbed (and very nearly shoved aside) President Jonathan on live TV. I was stunned. I never knew until that point that public officials paid with taxpayers’ money (read oil money in Nigeria) could humiliate the president in the full view of the public. No other president in Nigeria’s history has been given that kind of treatment. Then my mind went back to the day of President Yar’ Adua’s passing. I know exactly what I was doing on that day. I had seen an update about his demise on social media and…
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The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Audu Ogbeh, has blamed the poor run of Nigeria’s economy on the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) introduced by former Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida. Mr Ogbe disclosed this during an exclusive interview with Channels Television in Otukpo, Benue State, at the flag off of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Benue South Senatorial re-run election campaign for its candidate, Mr Daniel Onjeh. The Agric and Rural Development Minister, who blamed Nigeria’s over-reliance on crude oil, claimed that the Structural Adjustment Programme pointed Nigerians in the wrong direction. He advised Nigerian youths…
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The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has hinted that the Act which created the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, would be scrapped following allegations of corruption in the agency. Amaechi made this known in a meeting with the Senate Committee on Marine Transport, noting that NIMASA lacked equipments at the search and rescue unit for the monitoring of vessels’ movements as well as treatment of injured personnel. Mr Government Tompolo, a former commander of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, is believed to have wielded so much influence in the agency as the…
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Asks Senate to Review Law on NNPC, Customs, NIMASA, etc Spendings Telecoms Operators to Pay Communication Service Charges Oil Prices Could Fall Below $20/Barrel – Experts President May Find it Difficult to Implement 2016 Budget – Makarfi. As crude oil prices continue to crash on the international market, the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has devised strategies to underline its resolve to look beyond oil revenue to implement the 2016 N6.04 trillion budget. The strategies derive their strength partly from big revenue generating government agencies like the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the Federal Inland…
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The Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, Cardinal Anthony Olubunmi Okogie, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently retool, refocus and aggressively lead by example on all fronts or risk plunging Nigeria into a state of despondency. In a statement released by the Director of Social Communications of the Diocese, Monsignor Gabriel Osu, Okogie accused the president of waging a shoddy corruption war and acting disdainfully towards the judicial authorities while millions of Nigerians were left to face unimaginable social problems. “He must retool, refocus and aggressively face the social, economic (fiscal and monetary) problems we have…
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President Muhammadu Buhari has called for compulsory inclusion of religious studies in the school curriculum in the country while presenting a speech at the end of Qur’an recitation held in Lafia, the Nasarawa state capital. President Muhammadu Buhari who was represented by the Minister of Education, Alhaji Adamu Adamu, said that the call has become imperative considering its importance in inculcating moral-right behaviour in the life of people in the society. He explained that religious study in the school curriculum would inculcate good moral behaviour in the students and change the life for good. Adamu, who also cleared the…
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My friend, Paul, told me that Dr Reuben Abati is trying to get back to his default mode – a hardcore government critic. That he has started by writing on some kind of irrelevant things. Recently, Abati has written about pop artist Davido, a dead lion, a minister’s shoes and some other things Paul felt were irrelevant. Paul told me to watch out that in 3 years Dr Abati will resume his role of a critic. A very informed critic of course. I think what Paul was trying to say was that since Dr Abati does not have the moral…
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The minister for justice just anounced that judges found to be corrupt will be tried by this administration. This is probematic. 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…
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The questions of the whereabouts of President Muhammadu Buhari’s think tank, and whether he indeed has one that is up and running were raised by two recent events. These are his December 30, 2015 media chat and the very recent visit of the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde. The media chat unveiled a down-to-earth, articulate President, who is however, driven more by passion and candour than expertise or surefooted knowledge, regarding the complexities of public policy. As several commentators have observed, his confession of ignorance on the Central Bank Foreign Exchange Management Policy which has…
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DESPICABLE, abominable, horrible, detestable, repugnant, name it. But words are not enough to express the act that has caused agony for the people of Ubulu-Uku Kingdom in Aniocha South Local Government Area of the State. Their monarch, HRM Akaeze Edward Ofulue III, abducted 19 days ago at about 4.00 pm, on January 5, 2016, by suspected Fulani herdsmen, was discovered stone dead 15 days after the creepy incident. In Ubulu-Uku and other kingdoms, it is a taboo to kidnap a king, not to talk of killing him. Vigilante group members found his decomposing remains at the stomp of a…
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Former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) has questioned the federal government’s rights to put him on trial on the alleged mismanagement of funds meant for purchase of arms. He told an Abuja High Court Friday that government has no moral and legal rights now to prosecute him having been in contempt of three high courts that admitted him on bail but which were not obeyed. When the matter came up today (Friday), defense counsel, Joseph Daudu SAN brought an “unless application” challenging the disobedience of the Federal Government to the earlier bail granted Dasuki. Daudu submitted that…
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The Financial Times UK has described the economic policies of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration as the ‘height of foolishness’. The leading international business publication in an article by Steve Johnson, the deputy editor of the Financial Times, said the economic policies of the Buhari administration is doomed to fail because it is tailored after Venezuela’s exchange rate policy and China’s failed equity market strategy. The article faulted the circuit breaker on the Nigerian stock exchange which pauses trading for 30 minutes if stock prices fall 5 per cent and will cease for the day if it is triggered…
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This will open your eyes !!! Read to the end. Dr Stephen Mak treats terminally ill cancer patients by an “un-orthodox” way and many patients recovered. Before he used solar energy to clear the illnesses of his patients. He believes in natural healing in the body against illnesses. See his article below. Fruits and juices are one of the strategies to heal cancer. As of late, my success rate in curing cancer is about 80%. Cancer patients shouldn’t die. The cure for cancer is already found. It is whether you believe it or not. I am sorry for the…
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The identity of the son of a former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), retired Justice Muhammadu Uwais, GCON, who has allegedly joined the terrorist group, Islamic State, (ISIS) in Syria has been revealed as Ibrahim. Ibrahim, 41, the third son of the respected retired jurist, studied at the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Kaduna State, where he majored in Business Administration, sources close to the family revealed Wednesday. Nigerian intelligence officers have debriefed Justice Uwais and members of the Uwais family. The Uwais family has also been receiving messages of solidarity from friends and prominent Nigerians on the development…
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Immediate-past President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, debunked allegations that his administration awarded contract for arms procurement to the tune of $2 billion. Jonathan, who spoke in Washington DC, on “Presidential elections and democratic consolidation in Africa: Case studies on Nigeria and Tanzania,” a conversational forum, co-hosted by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), stated categorically that “I did not award any $2 billion contract for procurement of weapons.” Jonathan queried, “Where did the money come from? “I did not award a contract of $2billion for procurement of weapons,” reports Premium Times. At the…
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Nigeria will get 2.6 million dollars to improve its electricity generation from Global Environment Facilities (GEF), Managing Director of UNIDO Programme Development and Technical Cooperation Division, Philippe Scholtes, says. Scholtes made this known on Friday in Abuja when he visited the Minister of Science and Technolog17y, Mr Onu Ogbonnaya in the Office. According to him, the fund will be used to boost small scale hydro power to ensure electricity get to rural areas in the country. “We made the case; we obtained funding for 2.6 million dollars to help us demonstrate the small scale hydro power to powerhouse and factories…
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Since February 10, 2015 when I read the advertorial published in THISDAY titled: Brazen Looting of Lagos Treasury, 1999-2015 – which chronicled Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s massive wealth, I have been too shell-shocked to function effectively. I have been hard-pressed to understand, if true, how one man can acquire so much in one lifetime. I have struggled to match Tinubu and Babatunde Fashola’s public postures with the gravity of the allegations levelled against them. Can it really be true that Bola Ahmed Tinubu owns all the property listed in the advertorial? Is it true that Fashola also owns vast wealth…
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Owing to overly optimistic benchmark of the federal government and the low oil prices, Nigeria’s 2016 budget deficit has been raised from N2.2 trillion to N3 trillion. When the budget was presented to a joint session of the national assembly on December 22, the benchmark for the budget remained at an optimistic price of $38 per barrel, about $8 less than the market price at the time. With the current realities, the deficit gap will increase to N3 trillion ($15.1 billion), or three percent of gross domestic product, Kemi Adeosun, minister of finance, has told Bloomberg. The budget will remain…
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Above is a screenshot of page six the APC Manifesto. During the election, General Muhammadu Buhari and the APC promised to #RestructureNigeria into #TrueFiscalFederalism if elected into office. Today, the General has become President and the opposition APC has become the ruling party. Yet, nobody is saying anything again about True Fiscal Federalism. The first promise on the APC eighteen page document is to restructure Nigeria. Read the except below. PMB said If you… elect me in 2015, my administration will: “Initiate action to amend the Nigerian Constitution with a view to devolving powers, duties, and responsibilities to states…
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There are strong indications that the British Police authorities are in quandary over how to pursue the alleged money laundering offence against former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, as the investigators have failed to establish any wrongdoing by the former minister. Diezani Alison-Madueke had on Thursday January 21 appeared before an investigative hearing at the Charing Cross Police Station in London as part of the investigation into an alleged money laundering offence. However, she was again granted bail by the British Police authorities on the same condition given earlier and her case was adjourned to June 21, 2016.…
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PDP governors have asked the security and antigraft agents to be mindful of how they carry out instructions from the APC-led government as they will not be in power forever. In a statement sent of today by their coordinator Osaro Onaiwu, the governors from the main opposition party, condemned the handcuffing of its National Publicity Secretary Olisa Metuh to the Federal High Court yesterday and today. The statement in reads in part; “The only reasonable conclusion we have reached is that the anti-corruption agencies and other institutions of state have allowed themselves to be dictated to by a…
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Mohammed Bello Adoke: “Nobody will rubbish the judiciary again therefore if the supreme court nullifies Governor Nyesom Wike’s election, the judgement that upheld Governor Ambode’s election will be revisited.”
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Now talking about the 2.1 billion dollars arms deal, and the money being shared by some people in what has come to be known as Dasukigate, how do you feel about it? I believe that this is where the media should help inform Nigerians about what is really happening and not by sensationalizing the news. Is this the first time political party is helping another one to win election? It is political alliance, and this is how it is done in other parts of the world. These people – Olu Falae, Ladoja, and others got this money from their…
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The commercial and trade agreements signed between Nigeria and the UAE were considered by many on Mr. Buhari’s delegation as counter to Nigeria’s best economic interests. The most vocal dissenters, according to sources, were Mrs. Adeosun and Mr. Udoma, who counseled Mr. Buhari not to sign those agreements. Sources inside Nigeria’s Presidency have revealed that fierce disagreements over treaties signed between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) nearly led to the sacking of top ministers in President Muhammadu Buhari’s government. The sources disclosed that Minister of Trade and Investment, Udo Udoma, and Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, expressed…
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The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun has said that full implementation of 2016 budget will revive the slow pace economic recovery. She said that the budget has reduced the cost of governance and improve infrastructural development. She believes that the budget has addressed the challenges of Nigeria and provided enabling environment
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The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun says Nigeria’s present economic downturn could be an act of God to remind Nigeria on the need to implement and embrace radical change, particularly in the country’s current economic model. He made the disclosure when he received in audience, a 15-member delegation of an APC support group, Change Agents Foundation (CAF) led by its Director-General, Dr Felix Felix at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja. “I think God has a hand in the current economic predicament of the country. Imagine the sudden fall in the price of…
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A new study has found that oral sex increases the risk of having mouth and throat cancer by 22 times. This is just as it has been proven that cunnilingus (oral stimulation of the female vagina) poses a greater risk than fellatio (oral stimulation of the male penis), meaning that men are twice likely to contract oropharyngeal cancer than women. Oropharyngeal cancer is a disease in which malignant cells form in the tissue of oropharynx. The oropharynx is the middle part of the throat that includes the base of the tongue, the tonsils, the soft palate, and the walls…
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Investigation into the crude exchange deals of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has revealed that two trading firms, Trafigura and Duke Oil, lifted $24bn worth of crude oil out of the country before formal contracts were signed. While Duke Oil, a subsidiary of the NNPC, lifted 33.7 million metric tonnes of crude, Trafigura exported 12 mmt. The swap deals involved the exchange of crude oil for refined petroleum products in which the corporation gave out part of its 445,000 barrels daily share of crude oil to trading companies. The House of Representatives is investigating the controversial deals, covering…
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BREAKING: Court grants fresh N600m bail to Metuh A Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on Friday granted bail to the National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Olisa Metuh, in the sum of N300m with two sureties in like sum. The total bail sum is N600m. Metuh is already on remand in Kuje Prison by an order of a Federal High Court in Abuja with respect to charges of money laundering involving N400m, part of money meant for procurement of arms, which he collected from the Office of the National Security Adviser in November…
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Africa’s richest man Alhaji Aliko Dangote is synonymous with business and wealth. It is not uncommon that men of his status run for political office or openly veto their support for certain politicians… For the billionaire businessman who turns 59 in April 2016, politics has never been of interest to him. When asked about political ambition and race for Presidency in an interview sometime back, Dangote said, “I have a very simple life. Never, never. I don’t want to go beyond my life ambition … Most of the presidents, I’ve been giving them advice, whether they solicit it or…
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The appointment of Ebim Sementari as NDDC boss by President Muhammadu Buhari has continued to generate controversies, as questions are now being asked whether the rule of law or the president’s discretion should be the key in making appointments. JONATHAN NDA-ISAIAH writes. The Niger Delta region in recent years has been crying of marginalisationas indigenes of the region claim they have been neglected by successive governments. According to them, they are the goose that lays the golden egg as the mainstay of the country’s economy which is crude oil is from their region. In trying to rehabilitate and…
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