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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Guild of Editors collected 50 Million Naira from Dasuki when Femi Adesina was Chairman Metuh, Anenih, others to be quizzed Chairman and editor-in-chief of Thisday newspaper, Nduka Obaigbena, on Monday revealed the Nigerian Guild of Editors collected N50 million from the Office of the National Security Adviser, in a further widening of the arms purchase scandal. Special adviser to President Muhamamdu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, [pictured above] was the President of Nigerian guild of editors at the time. Mr. Obaigbena, who is also The president of Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria, NPA, stated this in a…
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This is a note for those Nigerians who voted for Muhammadu Buhari in the last presidential elections. Though, I am aware that many of them regret it now that Buhari has manifested his true self. While I am not absolving you of blame, but in many ways, I believe that you hoped for a better president than Buhari has become. It is just a shame that General Buhari has betrayed the immense trust you reposed on him. You didn’t know that by voting for him, you fell for a trick concocted by the All Progressives Congress (APC). Here are…
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President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Augustine Alegeh has said that the federal government must respect the rule of law in the case of former National Security Adviser, NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki and the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu who are facing separate criminal charges. During the Maiden Presidential Media Chat, President Muhammadu Buhari explained why Kanu and Dasuki will not be granted bail despite court orders. Professor Itse Sagay led anti-corruption committee also submitted that the government is not violating the rule of law in any way because any bail granted an…
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Rivers State is one state that had her resources recklessly plundered by officials and friends of the immediate past administration of Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi to the extent that no funds were left for the then incoming Nyesom-Wike led administration to effectively take off. To cover up this ungodly deliberate squandering of State resources, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi refused to write a handover note. He chose to play the Ostrich. However, Amaechi gave Nigerians an insight into the ugly financial condition of Rivers State on May 18, 2015 during a post election meeting. Amaechi said : ” I’m not joking, we…
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The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, says the Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Warri refineries now produce over 6.76 million litres of petrol per day. This is contained in a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja by Ohi Alegbe, NNPC’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division. The statement said the three refineries had been projected to increase combined production to over 10 million litres per day by the end of January. It said a breakdown indicated that the Port Harcourt refinery, which was re-streamed a week earlier, produces about 4.09 million litres while Kaduna yields 1.29 million litres. The…
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I am not Igbo. I am proud of my Urhobo. However, as a student of history, I wish to show just what these great people came/come against and yet thrive. Okay, the incessant killings in the North will be glossed over so as to make this article not overly long. The civil war will also not be discussed. However, post civil war, as I explained in my post MINORITY REPORT: THE SYSTEM IS RIGGED AGAINST YOU, the rich in Nigeria have major roots in the Indegenization decree of 1972 and 1977. I reminded how the banks gave…
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A statement made by the leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and former governor of Lagos State, Bola Ahmed Tinubu back in 2003 about the presidential candidate of the party, General Muhammadu Buhari has resurfaced. In a document released by Wikileaks, Tinubu was against Buhari becoming the president of Nigeria because he believed the former Head of State and his irks were agents of destabilization and electing Buhari will spread Sharia to all parts of Nigeria. Read the Wikileaks document below:
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The spokesperson of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, Olisa Metuh is currently at the office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, answering questions regarding some fund said to have been traced to his firm. Operatives of the agency reportedly arrived the Abuja home of Mr. Metuh on Tuesday morning, and invited him to follow them to the commission’s headquarters. Mr. Metuh’s aide, Richard Ihediwa, in a statement said upon enquiry on the reasons for the invitation, the officials stated that he has some issues to clear with the commission. “They also said he was not being arrested…
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Mallam Adamu Ciroma, journalist, administrator, politician, former minister of different portfolios and erstwhile governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, is one of Nigeria’s leading statesmen. Ciroma, who was third in the 1978 presidential primaries of the defunct National Party of Nigeria, NPN, subsequently turned out to become a close confidant of President Shehu Shagari and served as minister in the Second Republic. He was also a close confidant of President Olusegun Obasanjo in the Fourth Republic and a rallying figure in the northern opposition to the 2011 presidential bid of President Goodluck Jonathan. Ciroma has largely kept…
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IF there is anybody I can vouch for in Buhari’s Cabinet, it is Senator Udoma Udo Udoma. I have known him, and his best friend Keem Bello Osagie, for 30 years. All three of us are graduates of Oxford University, England, although I was there before him and Keem. Udoma is as sharp as a razor; he is one of the most intelligent people I know. Better still, he is a man of unimpeachable integrity. Udoma cannot be bought. He has a very successful law practice; the last thing he would do is fiddle public funds. Udoma was a…
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The Federal Government has denied speculations on a purported withdrawal of the 2016 Appropriation Bill from the National Assembly for certain “alterations”. The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a telephone chat with our correspondent last night described it as a “big lie”. There were speculations that President Muhammadu Buhari had written to the National Assembly requesting to withdraw the budget proposal. He had on December 22 presented a budget estimate of N6.08 trillion to a joint session of the National Assembly. The information minister emphasised yesterday that the budget was not withdrawn, saying: “It is a…
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We speak with John Perkins, a former respected member of the international banking community. In his book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man he describes how as a highly paid professional, he helped the U.S. cheat poor countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars by lending them more money than they could possibly repay and then take over their economies. AMY GOODMAN: John Perkins joins us now in our firehouse studio. Welcome to Democracy Now! JOHN PERKINS: Thank you, Amy. It’s great to be here. AMY GOODMAN: It’s good to have you with us. Okay, explain this…
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Meanwhile investigations carried out have revealed that petrol stations belonging mostly to independent oil marketers have failed to comply with the federal government’s directive on new pump price. The government had on January 1 approved new regulated pump price of N86.50 per litre of petrol for major and independent oil marketers, and N86 for retail stations belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as against the old price of N87. However, reports from our correspondents in Abeokuta, Kaduna, Yola, Oshogbo, Lagos, Ado-Ekiti, Akure, Port Harcourt, Abeokuta, Jos, Minna and Jalingo revealed that while stations belonging to the NNPC and…
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The price of oil rose yesterday following supply risks from the Middle East after Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran. At about 12.30 GMT yesterday, US crude climbed 30 cents to $37.34 a barrel while Brent crude also increased by 59 cents to stand at $37.87 a barrel. Tensions between major crude producer, Iran, and its Sunni Arab neighbours reached new heights yesterday as the world’s biggest pumper of oil, Saudi Arabia, and Gulf allies cut or downgraded diplomatic ties with Tehran in a row over the execution of a Shiite cleric. Angry exchanges following Saudi Arabia’s execution of…
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Saudi Arabia’s growing international isolation and Iran’s rising regional influence has led Riyadh to cut diplomatic ties with Tehran, according to a new analysis by the Eurasia Group, the world’s largest political-risk consultancy. “Saudi Arabia is in serious trouble, and they know it,” Ian Bremmer, an American political scientist and president of Eurasia Group, told Business Insider. Saudi Arabia is “much more challenged on the economic front, more isolated regionally and globally, and beset with succession issues (given the King’s controversial son),” Bremmer said, referring to King Salman’s newly empowered 30-year-old son, Mohammad bin Salman. By severing relations with…
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In a statement issued in Accra on Monday August 12 2013 by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said Chief Akande merely told the truth by his characterization of the Jonathan presidency, adding ”Isn’t truth a defence to libel?” It also said there was nothing strange or wrong in criticizing a democratically-elected President, after all he is neither an Imperial President, a Monarchy nor an Emperor. APC said nothing confirmed Chief Akande’s assertion that Jonathan is running a kindergarten presidency than the crude manner it (presidency) responded to the frank but constructive criticism by the APC National…
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Magnus Onyibe argues that the will of the people is the very essence of democracy It is pertinent to mention at this juncture that every hung election culminates in the shifting of the electoral battle from the streets (votes casting by the electorate which signify election) to the law courts for adjudication. To me, once the contest for political office progresses or degenerates to the level of imposition and resolution of the conflict therefrom is by the interpretative society, and the verdict contradicts the basic tenets of democracy and the will of the people, then a mockery of democracy of…
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For starters, I would like to attribute the title of this article in part to Kofi Annan, former United Nations, UN Secretary General whose recent speech to the Commonwealth was titled “Are Elections Giving Democracy Bad Name?” Given the unprecedentedly spate of violence in the 2015 general election that ushered change of rulership to opposition political party in Nigeria and the brigandage that eclipsed recent elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states leading to inconclusive governorship elections, all arms of government in Nigeria need to rethink the role of violence viz-a-viz integrity of elections in our fragile democracy. According to Annan,…
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Mr. President, you will recall that I wrote you an open letter on December 28th, 2015 which I sincerely hope that you found most gratifying, illuminating and helpful. That was two days before your Presidential media chat which took place on December 30th. I hereby humbly crave your indulgence to add an addendum to that open letter. That is what this contribution represents. I hope and pray that this second letter, which will be the last, will further enlighten you and impart a little more wise counsel to you that will result in assisting you to properly appreciate the…
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Former CIA employee, Edward Snowden has said that he has evidence showing that Osama bin Laden, who was supposedly killed in Pakistan in 2011 by U.S. special forces, is still alive and well. In an interview with the Moscow Tribune, Snowden said Osama was living in the Bahamas, on the payroll of the CIA. He told the newspaper, “I have documents showing that Bin Laden is still on the CIA’s payroll. He is still receiving more than $100,000 a month, which is being transferred through some front businesses and organizations, directly to his Nassau bank account. I am not…
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“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.” – Joseph Goebbels. “Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and…
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Indication has emerged that the 2016 Budget presented to the joint session of the National Assembly by President Mohammadu Buhari on December 22, 2015 has been withdrawn. Sources said the budget was withdrawn by the President to allow for reduction in allocations for some ministries, agencies and parastatals, especially the presidency. The budget is to be represented ‘codedly’ to the National Assembly by the end of this month. One of the sources said there were too many errors in the budget that cannot be overlooked. “The president did not read the actual budget until criticism started flying left, right…
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On 16 May, 13 days to the end of his tenure, Obasanjo announced to the Federal Executive Council, FEC, the award of contracts worth N756 billion. That proposal sailed through the council like a greased pig in a slaughter house. As Frank Nweke, then minister of Information, explained, N70 billion of this would be for the resuscitation of textile industries in Nigeria; N58.6 billion for the second Niger Bridge; its maintenance was to gulp N42 billion. The companies to execute the projects were not named. Three days earlier, FEC, approved N16.53 billion port harbours reconstruction in Lagos; N20 billion,…
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Iran says it is using all diplomatic channels to pursue the release of a prominent Shia Muslim cleric Sheikh Ibrahim al-Zakzaky who was arrested by the Nigerian army last month. Iran says it is using all diplomatic channels to pursue the release of a prominent Shia Muslim cleric Sheikh Ibrahim al-Zakzaky who was arrested by the Nigerian army last month. “We have used all those channels to warn them [Nigeria] regarding this issue. So hopefully the government… would adopt wise action given the sensitive situation,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hoseyn Jaberi-Ansari told reporters in the capital, Tehran. Sheikh al-Zakzaky…
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The big question many have asked about the 2016 budget of N6.08 trillion proposed by President Muhammadu Buhari has been what would happen to the Naira, unemployment rate, inflation rate, debt profiles, investors confidence, amongst other variables. Hence this in not a budget that needs any rush in its passage by the National Assembly. Figures from the budget assumptions are; benchmark of $38 per barrel and a production estimate of 2.2 million barrels per day, N198 – $1 benchmark. Buhari has proposed borrowing N984 billion domestically and N900 billion externally (Foreign borrowing) and a debt servicing of N1.6 trillion.…
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Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, and leading pro- democracy activist, Mr Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, in this interview with Chidi Obineche x-rays the Nigerian federal structure, the new government of president Muhammadu Buhari, the Biafran Independence agitation, the political parties, among other national issues. Excerpts. Q- Who is funding this Biafra agitation and to what end? A- What President Buhari needs to do is exactly what the late President Yar’Adua did. And I think that has been the most political master stroke ever in Nigeria’s history. He resolved the Niger Delta crisis so easily and unbelievably. He reached…
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Price £66,000 Engine Electric motor, hydrogen fuel cell; Power 152bhp; Torque 208lb ft; 0-62mph 9.6sec; Top speed 111mph; Gearbox 6-spd manual; Kerb weight 1850kg; Economy 0.76kg hydrogen/62 miles (combined); CO2 NA The Toyota Mirai is among the first hydrogen-fuelled electric cars to reach series production and be offered to customers as a regular private purchase – as opposed to a short-term lease deal, where customers are obliged to hand the car back, as has mostly been the case up to now. When UK deliveries begin next month, the distinctively styled saloon will be priced at £66,000, or some £32,605…
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According to jail officials, the judge set a total bond of $29,920, of which $27,500 must be cash. CUMMING — A Buford woman accused of impersonating a nurse at a north Forsyth health care facility supposedly did the same while caring for the late Whitney Houston’s daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, at a hospice in Duluth and for a job in Washington, D.C., more than two years ago. Taiwo Bolatito Sobamowo, 32, was arrested Sunday in Raleigh, N.C., on a warrant issued by the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, according to the Raleigh/Wake City-County Bureau of Identification. She reportedly had a second…
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It’s no secret that I have said that eradicating political corruption would not suffice in Nigeria. Change or transformation is uniquely an ideal with comprehensiveness. Today, we have a new president who stresses “change”, a national budget of his own. Ben Bruce asked why $1 m dollars is given to the African Writers association, instead of the Nigerian Writers body,? And this is in our national budget. Those kinds of questions are necessary and valid. Charity commences from home. Anyway, now, I hope we as a nation fully understand the scope of change. For over two decades, Nigeria has…
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President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday, 27th August 2012 said he was the most criticised President in the whole world and vowed to become the most praised before he left office. “I think I am the most criticised President in the whole world, but I want to tell this audience that before I leave I will be the most praised President,” he said at the opening of the 52nd Annual General of the Nigerian Bar Association at the International Conference Centre in Abuja. He added, “Sometimes, I ask, were there roads in this country and Jonathan brought flood to destroy…
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President Muhammadu Buhari has been criticized by leaders of his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, following what they described as “padded” budgetary figures in the 2016 Appropriation bill of N6.08 trillion, presented to the joint session of the National Assembly. Adding that the budget proposal lacked any traits of change as it had similarities with past governments. This disappointment was expressed through an Editorial titled “Curious Figures” published 3rd January, 2016 in the Nation Newspaper (official Megaphone of the APC) owned by the leader of the party, Bola Tinubu. This came on the heel of mounting criticism that…
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Nigerian Election crisis widens. Thursday December 31st 1964, New York Times. The President Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe is a leader of the Grand Alliance . But it is he who must authorize the winning party (Nigerian National Alliance Party) to form a party. Late last night, the Grand Alliance declared that it would not accept any government based on the election. It called on the President to convene a congress to divide the nation’s assets and to dissolve the federation peacefully. …..Millions of voters stayed home in the south, and the boycott was virtually complete in the Eastern Region where…
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You would recall that Rotimi Ameachi had tried to make us believe that he travels with commercial flights by taking pictures while he was on the boarding queue for a local commercial flight from Abuja. Well that one was for the cameras as he visited Port Harcourt today and guess what …….. he came with a private jet. I am really curious to know who is fooling who?. After Mr President had clearly stated that his ministers would not travel with private jets, Rotimi Ameachi is now seen moving about in a private jet. Considering the…
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The Peoples Democratic Party has accused the All Progressives Congress of not being able to accept, with equanimity, constructive criticisms of its administration. In a statement on Saturday, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, said it was unfortunate that the APC and its leaders, who gleefully and unjustifiably poured invectives on former President Goodluck Jonathan in the guise of playing the role of an opposition party, would now not want to condone criticisms. “Unlike the APC that denigrated the office and person of former President Jonathan by wrongly depicting him as ‘clueless and incompetent’, the PDP remains the…
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The All Progressives Congress, APC, has condemned what it called the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP’s “unprovoked insults and unguarded statements” on President Muhammadu Buhari and other members of the APC. The APC said in the aftermath of last Wednesday’s presidential chat, PDP’s spokesperson, Olisa Metuh in a statement issued on Thursday amongst others called Mr. Buhari an “unrepentant tyrant” and a “fascist”. APC said PDP accused ministers and APC members of corruption while further accusing the president of a selective anti-corruption fight. APC’s national chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, in a statement Saturday said, “The APC is worried by PDP’s inciting…
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The presidency says President Muhammadu Buhari will not interfere with the trials of Sambo Dasuki, former national security adviser (NSA), and Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), dismissing insinuations that the president is bent on influencing the court to jail the duo. According, Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, Buhari has the right to hold an opinion on the matter, but he would not interfere with the process of the court. During his maiden chat with select journalists on Wednesday in Abuja, Buhari showed a predisposition to keeping Dasuki and Kanu in detention. “Technically, if you see…
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“For those of our uninformed little friends who are in the habit of reminding others that Elections are not won on Facebook and castigating their fellow Facebook users. Well, you guys are right. Elections may not be won on Facebook for the common sense knowledge that Facebook don’t hold real polling units. However, Online presence will continue to drive Offline activities. Deny this at your peril; the joke will be on you. 18 million Nigerians of voting age are on Facebook alone. In the last presidential election, 28 million people voted; this is out of the nearly 69 million…
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Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, has expressed concerns over conflicting judgments emanating from the Court of Appeal. Addressing justices of the Court of Appeal in Abuja at the Annual Conference of the Court of Appeal held in Abuja, Justice Mahmud said: “As the guardians of the law, we must not only be just but also convey certainty in our justness.” The Peoples Democratic Party largely affected by the decisions of justices of the Court of Appeal in electoral matters had accused the justices of interpreting the laws to favour the ruling All Progressives Congress. The party had…
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The first U.S. shipment of crude oil to an overseas buyer departed a Texas port on Thursday, just weeks after a 40-year ban on most such exports was lifted. The Theo T tanker has left NuStar Energy LP’s dockside facility in Corpus Christi, Texas, along the western shore of the Gulf of Mexico, Mary Rose Brown, a spokeswoman for NuStar, said in an e-mail. The ship is carrying a cargo of oil and condensate to Italy from ConocoPhillips’s wells in south Texas that was sold to Swiss trading house Vitol Group. A campaign by oil explorers including Continental Resources…
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Indications have emerged that about 14 ministers, who served the administration of Goodluck Jonathan will not receive any severance package from the current federal government. The ex-ministers that may forfeit their severance package are said to have spent less than two years in office and did not qualify for the package. According to The Nation, President Muhammadu Buhari administration has stuck to the implementation of the terms of appointment. A clause in their appointment letters reads in part: “Severance Allowance of 300 %of Annual Basic Salary payable after full tenure of office with government. The allowance will be pro-rated…
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Most of all, we need to rally around the government of the day and selfishly assist them in achieving their goals to reawaken both the economy and the psyche of Nigerians for the long term growth of Nigeria. We can do this by emphasising the positive about Nigeria in the media – popular and social – even as the battles are fought for the soul of the country on several fronts, battles that must be won by Nigeria for a truly great future. We have reached a significant watershed in the Nigerian experiment. Everyone on the planet with a…
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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Saturday stated that the trial of former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki, for alleged corruption indicates that the All Progressives Congress (APC) are afraid that he may be harbouring a presidential ambition. The party also said it sympathised with President Muhammadu Buhari and leaders of the APC over their inability to accept, with equanimity, constructive criticisms of their administration. A statement by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, said “it is sad and embarrassing that President Buhari’s anti-corruption crusade has now been reduced to a war between the APC and…
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Nigeria’s oil sector reforms Czar and Group Managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, is facing, perhaps, the toughest test of his glittering career as fuel scarcity persists across the country, threatening to undo his honest intentions about that lucrative but problematic sector. He is fluent, articulate and has good grasp of issues and challenges of the sector when you engage him. You are held spellbound as he reels out figures upon figures concerning the sector. You can see his intentions to reform the sector but all that will pale to nothing if Nigerians…
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Just 7 months in office, President Muhammadu Buhari’s body language no longer works. Buhari’s witchcraft of ‘CHANGE’ has run out of steam, maybe due to fuel scarcity. The demystification begins. President Goodluck Jonathan was very wise in handing over peacefully to General Muhammadu Buhari. Jonathan did the best thing, ever. If Jonathan hadn’t handed over to Buhari, APC warlords would still be foaming in the mouth, ranting and throwing stones outside Aso Rock, and everyone would by now be thinking General Buhari is a miracle worker. Read the article below. Sometimes I feel that sudden urge to run away from…
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Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan almost secured the release of the abducted Chibok girls. This is according to Ahmad Salkida, the controversial journalist and blogger with unfettered access to the dreaded Boko Haram terrorist group in his December 31st article released on his blog. According to Salkida, President Goodluck Jonathan negotiated a swap deal which would have seen to the release of the girls in exchange for some Boko Haram militants in Nigerian prisons. Salkida said it was therefore curious that President Muhammadu Buhari could say in his maiden presidential media chat last Wednesday that he had no information on the…
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The European Union on Saturday raised serious concerns over Saudi Arabia’s execution of prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, warning it could have “dangerous consequences” for a region already fraught with sectarian tensions. “The specific case of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr raises serious concerns regarding freedom of expression and the respect of basic civil and political rights, to be safeguarded in all cases, also in the framework of the fight against terrorism,” EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement. “This case has also the potential of enflaming further the sectarian tensions that already bring so much damage to…
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It is very interesting to hear or read the words of oath of office during swearing in ceremony of any president. I am not going to go into details of these words but some of these words stand out from the rest. Those words are for example : I Mohammadu Buhari swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President (or discharge the functions of the President) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the law and that I…
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During the presidential media chat on Wednesday 30th December 2015, Nigerian President Muhammed Buhari said that Igbos were not maltreated, and should stop screaming marginalization. Speaking of the continue protests and struggle for the realization on Biafra Republic in parts of the South East and South South, the former miliary head of state said: “Why does it have to worry me, when I have militants, Boko Haram and other. They said they are being marginalsed but they haven’t defined the extent of their marginalisation. Who marginalised them? How? Where? Do you know?,” he queried.”Who is the minister of state for…
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Anarchy looms when chief law compliant becomes chief law breaker under a democratic dispensation. The Federation of Nigeria under Muhammadu Buhari is both in danger and endangered. Though President Muhammadu Buhari’s open and brazen contempt for constitutionalism and rule of law during his last night’s maiden presidential chat is condemned by all and sundry; but his courage to declare same openly is commendable. Nigerians and members of the international community are now fully aware that President Muhammadu Buhari is the chief law breaker and chief enemy of constitutionalism and rule of law in Nigeria. Also as far as the…
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The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) on Friday read the riot act to filling stations who sell petrol above official pump price of N86.50k and N86 respectively. The Assistant Director, Public Affairs, DPR, Mrs Dorothy Bassey, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos. “We have put effective monitoring teams in place that will go out to monitor the level of compliance with the new pump price. “We will ensure that any station caught selling above the pump prices will have its product dispensed to customers for free. ”You know that there is holiday today, monitoring is…
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Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State has disclosed that three private refinery operators have indicated interest to start operations in the state just as he warned marketers against contravening the miscellaneous code which he said, is punishable by law. The Governor also advocated for the liberalization of the petroleum downstream sector to make room for an inter play of market forces which would regulate the cost of Petroleum products for the consuming public. He stated this during the monthly prayer meeting at the Latter House Chapel, Government House, Uyo. Governor Emmanuel was speaking against the backdrop of artificial…
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Former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has said President Muhammadu Buhari has taken Nigeria one step closer to a totalitarian regime by justifying his government’s refusal to allow former National Security Adviser, Ibrahim Dasuki and others to enjoy the bail granted them by court. In his reaction to Buhari’s media chat, Fani-Kayode said: “We are not yet in a democracy. How can president not feel bad that courts orders are not being obeyed? “I am worry by the fact that the president is trying to be the prosecutor, the jury and the judge. First, he does not believe…
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FORMER Minister of State for Education, Kenneth Gbagi, has faulted the Federal Government’s proposal to borrow N1.8 trillion to fund the 2016 N6.08 trillion budget. Fearing that the move could plunge the nation into avoidable doom, Gbagi, who urged immediate reversal of the move, said Nigeria did not need to borrow, if President Muhammadu Buhari recovers half of the country’s looted funds. On Buhari’s N6.08 trillion budget and whether it would boost Nigeria’s economy, Gbagi said: “With regards to the N6 trillion budget, we are yet to be told the basis. From the way it sounds, we are going…
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Except the federal government takes urgent steps to develop other sources of revenue, receipts from crude oil may soon amount to nothing and the 2016 budget may be difficult to implement. This is because the difference between the current cost of producing a barrel of oil in Nigeria and the price of crude oil in the international market is negligible, even as some countries such as Uk, US, Norway, and Angola are already producing beyond the cost price. The cost of producing a barrel of crude oil in Nigeria is put at $31.60 while the price of crude oil in…
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One of the greatest shockers of Mr. President’s maiden Media Chat was the claim that he was unaware of any of his Ministers currently in court for corruption. Mr. President among others said, “I don’t think I took anybody among the ministers who has got a case in court. Tell me one out of the 36. I don’t think I will deliberately make that mistake.” In response to President Buhari’s request for information on any minister in court (and for corruption), it is important to put the records straight that his minister for Transport, Mr. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi is…
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The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, has said that the country will begin local production of pencils in the next two years. After a facility tour of Projects Development Institute (PRODA), Enugu, Onu said the project would create over 400,000 jobs in line with the vision of the current administration. He said that it was wrong for the country to be importing pencils when it had the capacity to produce them. “It is unthinkable that 55 years after independence, Nigeria Is still not producing pencils when we have the human and material resources in the country.…
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Fellow Nigerians, have you heard the news coming from the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola – that former President Goodluck Jonathan constructed more roads than any president ever n the history of Nigeria? He was reported to have made that startling admission on Tuesday, December 8, 2015 in Abuja during his first news conference tagged, “Setting the Agenda for Delivering Change”. He also acknowledged that the transformation in the power sector was above 50 per cent and that he would try to build on it. I could scarcely believe my eyes when I read about it…
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The revelation that our security agencies have no intelligence on the whereabouts of the girls of Chibok is saddening, and perhaps even worse is the statement that the government has no credible means of establishing contact with the leadership of Boko Haram. What have the intelligence units of our various security agencies been up to all these months? This, to say the obvious, is reckless and not something any leader should say without feeling a sense of guilt or embarrassment. So, who have we been fighting all along? Ghosts? We’ve people like Ahmad Salkida and Barrister Aisha Wakkil around…
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Fiery Enugu based cleric, the Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka has raised the alarm over the plan by some unnamed persons to kill President Muhammadu Buhari. Mbaka, who is known for his controversial prophecies, is the head of the Adoration Ministry, Enugu Nigeria. Mbaka it was who falsely prophesied that both Governors Chimaroke Nnamani and Sulivan Chime would not win elections to second term tenures. On a similar note, the charismatic in his 2016 New Year message, which he delivered before millions of worshipers in Enugu Friday morning raised the alarm over plans to kill Buhari owing to his anti-corruption…
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The President said, “I am aware that Nigerians have experienced a number of significant hardships over the past months. Living in the State House has not alienated me from your daily sufferings. “I am aware of the lengthy queues at fuel stations and of the difficulties businesses have faced in acquiring foreign exchange. These challenges are only temporary; we are working to make things better. “When I presented myself to you as a presidential candidate and asked you to vote for me, I wanted to be a leader who keeps his promises. I wanted to be a leader, who…
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Below is former President Goodluck Jonathan’s new year message to Nigerians. On behalf of my family and I, I would like to wish all Nigerians a Happy New Year. We are all brothers and sisters born from the womb of one Nigeria and as I have said previously, we would not be Nigerians if God did not will it. Having found ourselves as Nigerians by the divine providence of God, let us celebrate our Nigerianness and make 2016 our turning point year in which we embrace each other and work as a team to advance the frontiers of Nigeria in…
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Since I am a victim by association to one of the most vilified and scandalised Nigerians through media trial, this open letter is the best opportunity for me to put some issues in proper perspective following some of your public remarks about your old friend. As you are aware, I have been actively involved in cementing relationships between the media and security agencies in the recent past. Immediately after my premature retirement from the public service by the Jonathan administration, I was invited by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), under Col. Sambo Dasuki (retired), to help…
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Wishing all my much loved and much treasured audience a great, prosperous, blissful, healthy, bright, delightful, energetic and extremely Happy New Year 2016.The New Year is not about changing the dates, but direction; it’s not about changing the calendar, but commitment; it’s not about changing the actions, but attitude. May each and every day of ours be renewed with lots of happiness and love. May the bad times we faced in the year 2015 be our stepping stones to success and may we be blessed with many happy moments in 2016. I wish all the negativity and difficulties to…
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President Muhammadu Buhari has said despite the resolve of his administration to tackle corruption, prosecution of suspected oil thieves and looters of public funds may take years. The president made this known during his first media chat yesterday. Buhari said the process of prosecuting oil thieves and recovering monies stolen from government coffers would require the cooperation of other countries where the monies are lodged, and this, he said, may take a long time. According to him, the problem of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is the involvement of international institutions, financial shipping lines and insurance companies in its…
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President Muhammadu Buhari has denied not having knowledge of the difficulties and hardship most Nigerians have been going through especially students in the Diaspora who have been adversely affected by the policies of the Central bank of Nigeria, CBN. Buhari stated this during his maiden presidential media chat on Wednesday 30 December, 2015. The President who was expected to address the dire situation which has crippled business activities in the country, hampering student’s abilities to make payment abroad dashed the hopes and aspirations of Nigerians when he said he was not aware and would ask the Central Bank of Nigeria,…
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Nigeria’s government will not release two prominent detainees despite several court orders for their release, and will not comment on the situation of a third, wounded detainee, President Muhammadu Buhari said Wednesday. Buhari, a former military dictator who calls himself a born-again democrat, did not discuss the propriety of defying court orders when he spoke on national TV. “If you see the atrocities these people committed against this country!” Buhari said in justification. “We can’t allow them to jump bail.” A Federal High Court set no bail conditions and ordered the unconditional release of Biafra separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu…
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• Says party may sanction guilty members The ongoing anti-corruption stance of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal administration has received the surprise endorsement from the top leadership of the opposition, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Top leaders of the party under the aegis of the Body of National Vice-Chairmen of the PDP met on Tuesday and affirmed its support for the current fight against corrupt practices in the land, stating that those members found guilty risked sanctions. In the same vein, the vice-chairmen insisted that the party is not a corrupt group, adding that what happened was that all the…
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As the PDP boasted in the past that it would remain in power for 60 years, so is the APC now showing the determination to remain in power for 100 years. The signs are now crystal clear: the APC is out on a full-blown witch-hunt of the PDP. The objective is not only to decimate the opposition, but to ensure it does not recover. All the road-maps point to one destination: the creation of a one-party state in Nigeria in everything but the name. Should this succeed, it would mean the end of effective democracy in Nigeria, Part of the…
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In one of Africa’s most celebrated surprises this year, Nigerian voters unseated President Goodluck Jonathan. The election of Muhammadu Buhari defied expectations of electoral fraud and violence, and his perceived much touted anticorruption platform sparked hopes for reform and economic growth. Into Africa Yet progress on both fronts has been slow and uneven. To understand why, pick up Tom Burgis’s “The Looting Machine,” a bracing look at why a continent blessed with one-third of the world’s hydrocarbon and mineral wealth remains mired in poverty and dysfunction. A former Africa correspondent for the Financial Times, Burgis goes beyond the tales…
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There was never a time the Nigerian people sat together to give themselves a constitution apart from the Independence and Republican Constitutions of 1960 and 1963. The 1999 Constitution was actually Decree 24 of 1999 which was written by former military Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, and his lieutenants. It is not an autochtonous constitution that came from the views and positions of the Nigerian people. The Nigerian people, especially the Ndigbo nation where I come from are of the view and very strongly so, that going back to the 1963 Constitution which provides for stronger federating units…
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A Consideration of the Constitutional Transition And Development in Nigeria, From the Pre-Independence Constitutions Which Include the 1922 Clifford Constitution, 1946 Richards Constitution, 1957 Macpherson Constitution, 1954 Lyttleton Constitution And the Post-Independence Constitutions Which Include the 1963 Republican Constitution, 1979 Republican Constitution, And the Present 1999 Constitution, Reveals That the Nation’s Experience in Constitutionalism Has Brought to the Fore the Heterogeneous And Diverse Nature of the Country. This Has Posed a Serious Challenge to Our Survival As a Nation. Only the 1963 Constitution Appears to Address These Challenges And Capture the Essence of Our Diversity. It seems clear that…
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One can conveniently say that in the last 48 years when the military banished the practice of true federalism in Nigeria, our understanding of the bareness of our forced union has been profoundly modified. Our speculations now extend to embrace the infinite; and, whether we are aware of it or not, our daily life has taken its tone and colour from this tremendous realization in our outlook. But the truth is that Nigeria’s federal arrangement is a blatant big time fraud abinitio. Nobody is saying that it is totally bad to copy any political model from elsewhere. The only…
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Imo State Governor has presented a proposed budget of N102,208,328,832 for the 2016 fiscal year, to the state House of Assembly, tagged “Budget of consolidation and continuity.” Making the presentation, yesterday, Governor Rochas Okorocha said that this was lower than the 2015 budget by N41.11 billion, which translates to 28.7 percent. “The budget consists of N44.043 billion capital expenditure, representing 43.1 percent of the total budget and N58.165 billion recurrent expenditure, which represents 56.9 percent of the total budget,” Okorocha said. The governor put the projected recurrent revenue at N76,074,165,612, while the capital receipts was put at N26,134,316,419. …
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The Federal Government has announced an immediate reduction in the price of petrol. The pump price which previously lay at N87 would now be reduced to N86.50. Farouk Ahmed, executive secretary of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) made the announcement. “The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) hereby announces the implementation of the revised components of the Petroleum Products Pricing template for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and Household Kerosene (HHK),” he said. “This followed the approval of the minister of state for petroleum resources, dr. Ibe Kachikwu, for the implementation of the revised template. “The major components…
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A renowned Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmed Gumi, on Tuesday accused the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, of running a parallel government in the North. Gumi, while speaking with newsmen in Kaduna, alleged that for the 40 years of its existence, the Shi’ite sect had been conducting military training for its members. According to him, the Islamic Movement in Nigeria is operating a state within the state. He said, “The Shiites have been embarking on military training and producing cadets and soldiers. “The Islamic Movement of Nigeria does not recognise the corporate entity…
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*2016 Budget for Aso Villa – N18.1bn *2015 Budget for Aso Villa – N6.6bn *2014 Budget for Aso Villa – N12.2bn President Muhammadu Buhari will spend N18.1 billion in 2016 to run the State House, Nigeria’s seat of power, an amount that is N11.5 billion more than what his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, spent in 2015. The amount is also N5.9 billion more than what Mr. Jonathan spent in 2014 on the State House. In 2014, Mr. Jonathan spent N12.2 billion on the State House, while in 2015, the government spent N6.6 billion for the presidential office, amid dwindling revenue…
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Nigeria cannot continue to practice this skewed unitary ‘feeding bottle’ federalism. The change that Nigeria desires is not a change of politicians nor political party, it is a structural change. Until this is done, we shall continue to have the experience of ‘the more things change, the more they remain the same or get worse’…True fiscal federalism is the solution and the APC led Federal Government has a moral, legal and patriotic obligation to make this happen. In April 2012, the present Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, published an article titled “A Federation without Federalism”. In this…
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Robert Klitgaard, the renowned author of “Controlling Corruption,” memorably reduced the definition of corruption to a simple mathematical formula: C=M+D-A. This stands for: Corruption equals Monopoly plus Discretion minus Accountability. This stylised formula is not without its problems, but it is an equation we need to pay attention to if we are really interested in ‘killing corruption before it kills us’. Klitgaard’s is a systemic view of corruption which points us at what to do to eliminate or at least reduce corruption. According to this renowned economist, corruption thrives where the power to make major decisions is concentrated in…
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Nusaibah El Zakzaky, daughter of Sheikh Al-Zakzaky has issued her second statement where she has emphasized on her merely being Muslim; “We are not the Shia Movement of Nigeria; we are the Islamic Movement of Nigeria,” she has said. The text of her second statement: ” I am not a Shia Muslim, I am just a Muslim, and nothing comes before the name Muslim. We Muslims should not accept names like that. Names that segregates us into different types of Islam, there is only one type of Islam brought by Prophet Muhammad (as). We Muslims shouldn’t accept names like…
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Following Dr Ibe Kachikwu’s Christmas day outing at the Port Harcourt Refinery where he gleefully announced the removal of petroleum subsidy and a reduction of the pump price of fuel in Nigeria from N87 to N85 (something he said he’d already signed off a day before Christmas, but due to be announced on January 1, 2015), Nigerians had called for further clarification from a Minister fast becoming an expert in obfuscation. But what did we get? Another outing at Kaduna Refinery and more obfuscation in a supposed attempt at clarification. In this latter outing on on Sunday, 27th of…
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“President Buhari should keep his own part of the bargain if he wants Boko Haram to stop the terror. He should stop the begging, and keep his part of the deal; 1] declare Nigeria an Islamic state, 2] free the captives, 3] implement Sharia across Nigeria 4] abolish Western education. That was the promise Buhari made to Boko Haram leaders, to get their support. Buhari can afford to renege on his electioneering promise to Nigerians but not Boko Haram.” – Senator Shehu Sani, Kaduna state Central –
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• NNPC retains stakes in joint venture assets. The Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has disclosed that Nigeria and its former long-term crude oil trading partner, the United States, may soon rekindle their trading relationship in crude oil. The minister, who also said in spite of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s (NNPC) difficulties in meeting its cash call obligations, would not sell some of its stakes in the Joint Ventures (JV) with local and international oil companies (IOCs), added weekend in Kaduna that the United States had made overtures to resume buying Nigeria’s crude oil. He…
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The senator representing Kaduna Central senatorial zone, Senator Shehu Sani, was suspended yesterday from the All Progressives Congress (APC) by his Tudun Wada ward of the party in Kaduna State. The ward chapter of the party in a letter dated December 27, 2015 and addressed to the senator, said the suspension will last for a period of eleven months. The letter also added that henceforth Sani is disengaged from partaking in or attending APC activities in Kaduna State. The letter was signed by the ward secretary of the party, Ahmed Abdulhamid, the Public Relations Officer, Auwal Mai Anguwa and…
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Minister of State for Petroleum Dr. Emmanuel Ibe-Kachukwu yesterday made some counter clarifications about the Petroleum Subsidy Fund (PSF), otherwise known as petrol subsidy. He said that there was no subsidy in the price of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS). Kachikwu, who is also the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), spoke to reporters after inspecting the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC) in Kaduna. His clarification on the subsidy regime became necessary following stakeholders’ request, such as the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) that he provides…
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Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf was the Minister of Information in the dying days of Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq. Nicknamed “Comical Ali” by British tabloids, al-Sahaf made a fool of himself during the Iraqi war by constantly fabricating victories of the Iraqi army, even as territory after territory fell to the American-led allied forces. What was so ridiculous about him was that his lies were so blatant, only fools could believe them. Even when American tanks rolled into Baghdad, Comical Ali declared: “There is no presence of the American columns in the city of Baghdad at all. We besieged them and…
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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, yesterday, denied being part of a conspiracy against President Muhammadu Buhari, saying the insinuation that he used the cover of a foreign medical trip to host an anti-Buhari parley was wrong. Reacting to insinuations by what he called “political mischief makers and enemies of unity,” who alleged that he has been hosting political meetings at Burj Al-Arab, Dubai, the former vice president said contrary to the rumours being bandied around by political opponents, he was currently in Dubai with his family for physiotherapy on his injured knee. In a statement by his media office…
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The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry said private operators have lost about N1.46tn as a result of the foreign exchange constraints being experienced in the country over the last six months. This is coming just as the Federal Inland Revenue Service has hinted the citizens will pay higher taxes from next year as a means of shoring up the nation’s revenue. The LCCI, in its 2015 economic review, said its third quarter 2015 business environment survey showed that a forex restriction by the Central Bank of Nigeria was one of the costliest policies in Nigeria in recent years. The…
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Scores of people were feared killed Monday when two female suicide bombers attacked a busy motor park in Madagali town of Adamawa State. A witness, Danladi Buba, said the two female suicide bombers detonated bombs at a mini market near a motor park around 9am, killing many people. “About 30 people were killed with 16 others injured,” Mr. Buba said. When contacted, the Brigade Commander of 28 Task Force Brigade, Mubi, Victor Ezugwu, confirmed the incident, saying the casualty figure was yet to be established. “Two female suicide bombers struck at a garage in Madagali and detonated their devices,…
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*Bonga FPSO. The Shell operated Bonga North West deep-water development has been named Engineering Project of the Year 2015 at the Platts Global Energy Awards in New York, and it also picked up the silver prize for the Project Integration Excellence Award of the International Petroleum Technology Conference, IPTC, in Doha, Qatar. The Bonga North West deep-water development project, which Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, SNEPCo, and its partners brought on stream in August 2014, is an important milestone for Nigeria’s deep-water industry and has generated jobs and businesses. “We are pleased that the achievements at Bonga North West…
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The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has said the country will still rely on 75 per cent importation of fuel throughout the whole of next year. Group Managing Director NNPC and Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, stated this during his tour of Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company, KRPC. According to him, “the future is that, Nigeria is still going to import fuel in 2016 and beyond. Best case situation is 25 per cent local and 75 per cent importation. Worse case is what we are experiencing now. “Until we begin to get individuals who can co-relocate,…
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Nigerians may have inadequate power supply for a long time as Sam Amadi, the out-going Chairman, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, said that 6,000 megawatts of regular supply of electricity is needed before power outages can be significantly reduced in the country. Amadi, who was speaking during a public hearing on the activities of NERC and Distribution Companies, Discos, as they relate to infrastructure and billing by the House of Representatives Committee on Power, also said that 55 percent of consumers remain un-metered. He attributed this to legacy issues which have resulted in consumers being charged through estimated billing.…
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Nigeria earned N412.983 billion from the export of Liquefied Natural Gas, LNG, Liquefied Petroleum Gas, LPG, also known as cooking gas and other gaseous materials in three months, between July and September 2015, according to data obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS. The NBS, in its Foreign Trade Statistics Report for the Third Quarter of 2015, revealed that this represented an increase of 9.5 per cent or N35.813 billion when compared to N377.17 billion earned by the country from the export of those commodities in the second quarter of 2015. Giving a breakdown of the third quarter…
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