Pages

Saturday, 30 April 2016

Stop labelling Fulanis as criminals - Northern Governors


The Governors of 19 Northern States rose from their meeting in Kaduna Friday, 28th April 2016, condemning the labelling of perpetrators of crimes around the country as Fulani people. The Governors met behind closed doors and said that as much as they condemn the recent attacks in Enugu and other parts of the country, they also condemn labelling those behind the attacks as Fulani people.
Briefing newsmen shortly after the meeting at the Kaduna government House Friday evening, Chairman of the Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF) and Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Kashim Shettima said, it was an insult to label criminals as Fulani. We want to unequivocally condemn the recent killings in Enugu and other parts of the country. But we equally condemn the politicisation or permit me, the ethinicisation of the whole crisis. It goes beyond Fulani. If anything happens, they say Fulani herdsmen; to me it is an insult. Kidnapping in this country originated in the South-east, were don’t they call Igbo kidnappers? We have a great national challenge and we want to call on all and sundry to come and let us solve our common challenges as a people. The blood of paternity that binds us together supersedes whatever differences that might divide us. 

Read more at www.dailypost.ng

100 workers sacked by Aero Contractors


There are indications that about 100 workers outsourced to Aero Contractors by Skyborne Ltd may have been sacked following the airline’s decision to review its relationship with the company. The airline confirmed the development in a statement issued on Friday by its Media Consultant, Simon Tumba.
In the course of reorganising and repositioning its business, Aero Contractors has reviewed its relationship with Skyborne by cutting down some of the services required from the company, the statement said. This will help the company to invest more resources to enhance customer service. For the records, Aero has not sacked any of its staff.
NAN, however, gathered that most of the affected contract workers had spent some years with the airline. A letter to one of the affected workers which was obtained by NAN said the sack was as a result of the ongoing restructuring in the airline.
The letter reads in part, “Dear colleague, in the light of the ongoing restructuring at Aero, we regret to inform you that your services are no longer required and employment with SBL terminated with immediate effect. Please, return all company property to your Manager/Supervisor by 8:00 a.m. on April 28. We regret any inconvenience caused.

Read more at www.premiumtimesng.com

Friday, 29 April 2016

Teebillz, Tiwa Savage’s Husband Sins Numbered


The sins of Teebillz (Tunji Balogun), Tiwa Savage’s husband sins numbered in an interview made by Tiwa herself to Pulse.ng following his social media rant.
1.    When I woke up, I thought they found him dead. My first thought was that we need to find him, he is suicidal, and we need to make sure he is alive. I didn’t even know what he had said. Someone took my phone from me, they don’t want me to see what was said online. I was just sacred for his life.
2.    At around 10 and 11, Banky W’s Mum and his family were praying, and we got the call that he was found in Lekki, and that he has been taken to Banky’s House.
3.    For the past two months, TJ and I have not been together, it was something we were working through, but I knew this marriage would not work.
I haven’t spoke to TJ in about a week, and we were supposed to get some passports for my son. He was reading the messages and he wasn’t responding. I begged him to be friends, and let’s be good parents to Jamil. He didn’t respond.
4.    I covered up for a lot of hurt in our relationship. Just before I went to Jamaica, I found out that I was pregnant. We were just trying to find out how we were going to manage another baby so soon. I got to London, on a 10-hour flight to shoot a video with Busy Signal (Reggae Artiste). While doing my makeup,  I found out I was bleeding and I passed out. I was rushed to the hospital, and we were trying to call TJ to tell him what happened. While we were sleeping at two AM a number called him saved as Edible Catering….I checked his phone, and the number was asking him if she can come to his hotel. She responded that He (TJ) knocked her out last night, that he was a great night. I confronted him, and he said he took another woman to the hotel and said they were just chilling. This happened the period I was in Jamaica, and I was in the hospital. I sent TJ pictures, and he was busy with another woman. I was in ahospital and you couldn’t be bothered find out what happened to me. I packed my stuff, took my son and went to my friends house, her name is Tiwa also. I stayed the night, and she asked me for the next step, I told her I was done.
5.    I covered up for so long because I wanted people to believe that TJ is the one that takes care of me, TJ is the head of the house…I wanted him to be the head of the house. I covered up so much.
6.    TJ has not spent one Naira, I paid for hospital bills, his flight, his accommodation, we also went shopping for TJ so that he will have new things. His excuse was that Í don’t have money’. I had to pay for everything so that he can go out and hustle, and get the contracts. He didn’t have money for diapers, but he had money to have a bi-weekly haircut, had money to pay for his laundry, had money to take a woman to the hotel.
7.    His cooking allegations is a lie. I am not going to say because of my career that I am not going to cook. I work long hours to put money in the house, I work to make sure that we have a roof over our house. I come back home really late, and when I make something for myself, I make some for TJ. I had to hire a cook to cook for me, him and the other people that live in the house, I don’t think that is wrong…Even if it is true, the things he puts me through will not even encourage me to ask him if he is hungry. He goes out and you come home at 7 in the morning, sometime 2pm. He comes back drunk, he comes back angry, and we don’t know what sort of mood he is in. Sometimes TJ will go out and he will not call, and he will not tell him. I am just sacred for his safety, I will be calling him frantically, to find out that he didn’t go and drink. I am even praying that he is with another woman, so that at least I know that he is alive. That’s not the person that I will ask if he has eaten.
8.    When I sacked him as my manager – I will never discredit or take away that TJ worked hard, hustled and believed in me. But what I will say is that at one point….he is booking events and he will book shows. The first time I found out that there was foul play was when he booked me for a wedding in London. I have to be paid before I perform. I called one of the organisers, and said I have not been paid. He said that the show has been paid four months ago, he showed me the account were they paid him. TJ declared that the show was for 3M but they really paid 4.5M, out of the 3M he was still receiving the management fee 40%. He took money already, and collected his percentage, and he didn’t feel anything. He was stealing from his wife. I had to perform at the wedding for free. I do get to perform for free when he takes my money.
9.    My mum is based in the UK, and when I had Jamil she moved back to Nigeria with us. My mother is not like that (witchcraft), she is a sweet lady, and she’s very British, she doesn’t judge, she is not hung up like that. A lot of times, my mom would say ‘Tiwa you are the wife, be patient, don’t curse don’t shout, build the home.’ She has been nothing but a great support for me. I would love for him to tell me if there is something my mother has done.
10. I have never cheated on my husband. Not with Don Jazzy, Dr Sid, 2face Idibia or anybody. I have never cheated on my husband, and Tunji knows this. He knows that in his heart. (She breaks down in tears) Sometimes in the studio, one of the things that Don Jazzy and some of my other label mates say is that I am really good with interviews, with being diplomatic and knowing how to carry myself with difficult situations. This hurts. I have seen comments of what people are saying about me. It is not true.
11. I know that for every human being when your father’s ways are not straight, it will bother you. Since I sacked him from my management, he has been struggling financially. He was stealing from me, so I had to save my marriage and separate business from family. TJ wants to keep up with the Joneses, he wants to live a life that is not true. He went to buy a car, a Mercedes that he knew that he didn’t have the money for it. The person kept up calling that he wants the balance. I ended up paying the balance of over 3M. When it was time to pay, I put the money in his account, so they don’t know I was the person paying for it. He also bought a Rolex, and didn’t pay the balance. They threaten to go to the press, and to protect my name, I will have to pay for it. He goes to clubs and leaves the tabs for me, and I have to pay for him. He is putting us in debt.
12. What set off all off this was that he went to borrow 45 million Naira from someone and he lost it. I just found out that EFCC was investigating a case against him, and my brother called me from London and confirmed it that TJ is in deep trouble, and that some people might hurt him, that I should be careful. In my frantic mode to try and suppress this situation I went to one of my big bros who can help. A week ago I told TJ that we were running out of Jamil’s food, but he didn’t do nothing. He complains, but cuts his hair twice a week. I have been searching for N45M so that they don’t kill him, so that they EFCC does not carry him. What kind of man does that, and says I am the one taking away his manhood.
13. I walked in on TJ taking cocaine in my house in 1004 (Victoria Island, Lagos). I didn’t even know he takes cocaine. I walked into the kitchen, and I saw him taking cocaine, so I screamed, and asked if that is cocaine. HE started screaming that ‘What am I doing down here, where is the cocaine?’ How can someone without money take cocaine? I called his parents and complained that I can deal with weed, but cocaine, no. So I am dealing with his alcohol problem, you come home late, infidelity, coaciane, bad debt, jealousy over my success.
14. Before marriage, Idin’t know of his third child in Nigeria. A lot of people warned me about him, but I am going to say I made a mistake. At the beginning everyone says you can’t leave the marriage because our culture frowns on it. I made a mistake, do I have to wait ten years, 15 years? If I am not happy. And I was scared that if I ever find somebody else to marry me? That’s the msiconceptions of our society. I don’t care if I ever get married again. I care about being happy for Jamil, I care about not walking on eggshells. I do want a man that works, that will help me with my financial burden. He doesn’t have to be a millionaire or billionaire, but at least someone that helps, and won’t put me in more debt.
15. Everyday all I hear from TJ is that ‘I created you, I took you from nothing, look at you now.
16. The marriage is finally over, it’s been over for a while, and I have covered up for a while. What happened was God-sent, and he made it easier for me to walk away with what he did on social media. He got so many people angrier, he pulled so many innocent people into this. Even his family. He made it easy for me to finally up and walk away.
17. I will never stop hum from seeing Jamil, never. Even today, Jamil is still saying ‘dadada’, and I was saying it with him as well, that’s his first word. I want to bring him up to be a good man.
18. Even till now I don’t wish anything bad on him. As we are doing this interview, I am worried that if he sees it, it might trigger him to do something bad. I don’t want my son to grow up and know, God forbid, that his father commited suicide. Tonight, I am still gonna pray for him.
19. He was getting help at one point when the whole cocaine thing came out. This has been happening for a long time. We get him helpo and he goes to see a doctor or a pastor, or a counsellor and he uses his own hands to ruin things again. If I didn’t care about him, I wouldn’t be covering up for a lot of things. I wouldn’t be searching for help for him. Even now I am still searching for a way to help him out of his debt, so that if he is out of this,
20. If there is anything that maybe I overlooked, or didn’t love him enough, or made him less of a man, then I am sorry. I am absolutely sorry…Tunji I am sorry. But you know I tried everything, you know I love you so much, and I am sorry, I never wanted to divorce, and I never wanted it to get to this. I want you to get better…and I would always pray for you.

Read more at www.pulse.ng

Tiwa Savage Addresses Tee Billz’s Accusations In Exclusive Video | Pulse TV



The rant, the denial and the truth...

Naira Exchange Rate Today 29/04/2016




Read more at www.guardian.ng

What A Loser! Fish Dinner Taken from an Eagle's Claws by a mere Snake

The snake appears to be caught in the eagles grasp as it tries to fly off with the fish.) - This unlucky eagle was left hungry after a sly snake made off with his dinner. The eagle had been patiently waiting at the lake, biding his time before swooping down to catch a fish to chow down on. But as the mighty bird pounced, a sly snake swooped in and nabbed the fish from under the birds nose. Not one to give up easily, the hungry eagle grabbed the greedy snake in his sharp talons but he couldnt keep hold of the slippery snake, who soon slithered away with his dinner. The stunning pictures were captured by wildlife photographer and birdwatching enthusiast Hemant Kumar, at Ameenpur Lake in Hyderabad, India.
A wildlife photographer and birdwatching enthusiast Hemant Kumar captured a rare moment at Ameenpur Lake in Hyderabad, India. 
An eagle was left hungry after a sly snake made off with his dinner as shown in these pictures.
The snake appears to be caught in the eagles grasp as it tries to fly off with the fish.) - This unlucky eagle was left hungry after a sly snake made off with his dinner. The eagle had been patiently waiting at the lake, biding his time before swooping down to catch a fish to chow down on. But as the mighty bird pounced, a sly snake swooped in and nabbed the fish from under the birds nose. Not one to give up easily, the hungry eagle grabbed the greedy snake in his sharp talons but he couldnt keep hold of the slippery snake, who soon slithered away with his dinner. The stunning pictures were captured by wildlife photographer and birdwatching enthusiast Hemant Kumar, at Ameenpur Lake in Hyderabad, India.
The snake appears to be caught in the eagles grasp as it tries to fly off with the fish.) - This unlucky eagle was left hungry after a sly snake made off with his dinner. The eagle had been patiently waiting at the lake, biding his time before swooping down to catch a fish to chow down on. But as the mighty bird pounced, a sly snake swooped in and nabbed the fish from under the birds nose. Not one to give up easily, the hungry eagle grabbed the greedy snake in his sharp talons but he couldnt keep hold of the slippery snake, who soon slithered away with his dinner. The stunning pictures were captured by wildlife photographer and birdwatching enthusiast Hemant Kumar, at Ameenpur Lake in Hyderabad, India.

Read more at www.thesun.co.uk

Wednesday, 27 April 2016

The White House Under Lockdown With President Obama Inside following an unknown situation


A security breach is said to have caused the lock down of the White house with President Obama inside following an unknown situation. This is the second such incident in two days with the security breach reportedly took place close to the fence and not inside the building.
Local media reported a person was detained after throwing a package containing a mobile phone and papers over the perimeter fence. It is the second time the president's home has been locked down in two days.On Tuesday a robber fleeing a crime scene was stopped after he jumped over the fence of the White House.
Tourists gather at Lafayette park, on lockdown, no access
No official explanation for lockdown. One Secret Service cop says "might be an hour" before it's lifted.

Read more at http://www.thesun.co.uk/

Question of The Day: Is Aisha Buhari's Picture Supposed To Be where it is?


House of Rep Speaker Met With Members of the Delta State APC Contact Committee Led By Prof. Pat Utomi


The House of Rep Speaker, Rt Hon Yakubu Dogara, today met with members of the Delta State APC Contact Committee led by Prof. Pat Utomi


Tuesday, 26 April 2016

EFCC arrests an Ex-Aide of Bayelsa State Governor for Offering its Officer 10 Million Naira Bribe



The pictures shown above was shared on Officiall EFCC Facebbook. This is the Bayelsa Governor's ex-aide ABNEDGO DON- EVARADA and the 10Million Naira he was said to have offered EFCC Official

Monday, 25 April 2016

Africa's Fastest Growing Economy Predictions Between 2015 and 2016



Africa's fastest-growing economy predictions between 2015 and 2016. P
Predictions before 2015 shows Nigeria and in 2016 there is no Nigeria. smh...

An irresponsible talk by a Fulani man as shared by Reno Omokri


An irresponsible talk indeed! smh...
He twitted: It is this type of irresponsible talk that is feeding Fulani herdsmen killings.  DSS sad 5, you said 55. #DSSUnderBuhari

Cheeky Rihanna! The Superstar Flashes Backside during Tour in Canada

r
The Superstar Flashes Bum during Tour in Canada

Read more at www.thesun.co.uk

Sunday, 24 April 2016

This APC Sef! Blames Gov. Fayose for Fuel Scarcity


The All Progressives Congress in Ekiti State has accused Governor Ayodele Fayose of alleged complicity in the fuel supply crisis in the state. In a statement by the state Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, the party said it was in possession of incontrovertible evidence that the governor was allegedly contributing to the scarcity of fuel in the state to sabotage the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
Accusing Fayose and his aides of mischievously disparaging the President for not doing enough to make fuel available to Nigerians while they were the actual culprits, Olatunbosun said available information confirmed that daily allocations of fuel to the state were allegedly being diverted to other states with the alleged connivance of some National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas officials.
But reacting, Fayose’s special assistant on New Media and Public Communication, Lere Olayinka, said the allegation was unfounded, telling the APC to be wise.
Is it the governor that is also responsible for fuel scarcity in other states? They are only trying to seek relevance. They better face the task of bringing good governance to the people. Olatunbosun said available records revealed that 10 trailers of fuel for Ekiti State on Fayose’s request were diverted mostly to stations outside the state.
The Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Mrs Dupe Alade, had earlier written for same allocation but her letter to NNPC was stepped down when Fayose used his office to request for the allocation of fuel to 10 filling stations, many of which do not exist in Ekiti State. The governor’s letter was addressed to the Area Manager at Mosimi and minuted to Ore and was processed by the Ore office of NNPC.
The trailers were loaded on Wednesday and Thursday the 20th and 21st of April but the real fuel companies and vendors were prevented from loading until the 10 trailers demanded by the governor left the depot but were diverted to other stations outside Ekiti State.
Olatunbosun stated that the development reportedly elicited protests and complaints from the real fuel marketers in Ekiti State, adding that this had resulted in acute shortage of fuel in the state with few stations dispensing fuel selling at prohibitive costs to the masses that Fayose claimed to be their friends. He listed the company names in the letter of the governor to include Amsek Filling Station opposite Omolayo along Ikere road, Ado-Ekiti, that is selling above official price. Other stations not in existence in Ekiti State but which appeared in the governor’s letter is Royal Oil, which the letter falsely claimed to exist in Omuo-Ekiti. Rova Oil, also on the governor’s letter, no longer exists in Ekiti because it has since been sold and its name changed and it is now operating under NNPC. It is located in Ajilosun area of the state capital and selling above NNPC official price.
Other non-existent stations in Ekiti but which appeared in the governor’s letter and was allocated fuel is Bisi Jay located in Ile-Oluji in Ondo State. The other company that received Ekiti State’s allocation is Ademur located in Osun State. This company has no station in Ekiti and it has no lifting right or permit in Ore, while Eyeowa Fuel that got allocation does not exist in Ekiti. He alleged that Moson Global located in Ifon, Ondo State, also received Ekiti allocation at NNPC official price but selling above official price to the public.
He challenged the governor to deny ever writing to the NNPC for fuel allocation. There is need for the security agencies and the Minister for Petroleum to investigate the governor’s activities at the NNPC offices both in Ore and Mosimi and the roles of NUPENG officials in this wicked unleashing of pains on Ekiti people by unpatriotic act to sabotage the Federal Government.

660 goats used to Empower 220 Women by Jigawa State Govt


Jigawa State Government has reportedly empowered 220 women with 660 goats in Dutse Local Government Area of the state. The goats were distributed to the beneficiaries in the 11 wards of the local government under the Goat Rearing/Breeding Loan Scheme introduced to empower women in the state.
The Chairman of the goats distribution committee, Dr Ahmed Zubairu, said that the beneficiaries would pay back the revolving loan in 18 months. Zubairu said that the women were given two she-goats and one he-goat to rear, adding that the breed that gives birth to three twice a year.
According to him, the women would pay back the loan with three goats. He explained that decision to give the beneficiaries goats was because of its economic value and simplicity to rear. The government decided to give the women goats because of its economic values both the goats meat and its skin are need. Since most of the beneficiaries are rural dwellers, to feed the animals will not be hard for them because of the availability of the animal feeds in their villages.

Also, the APC Women Leader in the state, Hajiya Binta Shuaibu, commended the government for the gesture, pointing out that it would make the beneficiaries self-reliant. Binta added that it would enhance the economic status of the women, and urged them to payback within the 18 months.

Confronting the curse of oil by Reuben Abati


The monthly Federation Accounts Allocation Committee, FAAC, meeting was held the other day in Abuja, with the representatives of state governments again cap in hand, asking for their share of federal revenue – read: oil revenue, or better still, national cake, or our money. A paragraph in the report by the online newspaper, Premium Times, caught my attention and here it is: “But at the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee, FAAC, meeting, representatives of the 36 state governments went home SAD (emphasis mine), as they were handed parlous shares from a total N299.75 billion statutory allocation for the month, the lowest allocations in more than five years.” For the month of March 2016, the states shared N55.34 billion, compared to N64.52 billion in February 2016. I have deliberately emphasized the word sad, because the day may well come when after the sharing of national revenue, we may be told that some Commissioners of Finance left the meeting crying, or wailing.
To prevent that happening this time, the Federal Government chose to suspend deductions of salary repayment loans owed by the states. When such deductions were made in February 2016, at least one state, Osun, went back home with a paltry N6 million only. The truth is that most of the 36 states are in dire straits, worst hit by the economic crisis that the country faces. About 27 out of the 36 states of the Federation are effectively insolvent, if not bankrupt. In July 2015, the Federal Government not only bailed out the states financially, the Central Bank of Nigeria further extended the repayment period for bank loans taken by the states from a period of seven years to 20 years. So far the affected states have collected salary assistance loans from the CBN to the tune of N689.5 billion, with an additional N310 billion as loans backed by the Excess Crude Account.
Across the country, these states are owing staff salaries, in some cases up to seven months. Pensioners have not been paid their arrears. Civil servants are angry because their allowances are being withheld. Most of the states (24) have not been able to improve on their internally generated revenue. The people are angry, wondering what this change has brought to their doorsteps. In January 2015, former CBN Governor, Charles Soludo, had sounded a cautionary note of warning in a piece titled “Buhari vs. Jonathan: Beyond the Election” wherein he argued that under President Jonathan, economic prosperity (oil boom) rather than generate wealth and opportunities resulted in greater pressures and the handing over of the economy to “self-conflicted traders and businessmen.”
He warned that the future of the Nigerian economy appeared bleak in the event of a slide in the spot price of crude oil. In November 2015, Soludo wrote a post-election piece titled “Can a New Buharinomics save Nigeria?” in which he slightly revised his trenchant attack on the Jonathan administration and argued that President Muhammadu Buhari had in fact inherited strong economic indicators and that in spite of the dwindling oil prices, he had an opportunity to further strengthen the Nigerian economy, given the right choices. The economist called for a debate on the subject, made his own recommendations and asked for the immediate setting up of a WAR ROOM on the economy.
Between January 2105 and March 2016, Soludo has been proven right in many respects; if you discount the politics of his January 2015 piece, that is, and focus on the analytical prescience of his contributions, you would easily agree that whatever may be happening in the economy today is foreseeable, foretold, and perhaps preventable. There is no challenge more urgent in Nigeria today than the economy. The health of the economy is linked to the well-being of the people. A recursive economy brings hardship and perhaps the last time Nigeria found itself in similar circumstances was truly between 1981 and 1985; the mismanagement of that challenge then, rather than improve our situation resulted in an uncontrollable decline, the effect of which has had Octopal implications for the well-being of the entire society. The concern of the concerned intelligentsia is that things should not get worse than they are now.
Because things are not really looking good, right now, President Goodluck Jonathan, for example, has had the great opportunity of engaging in an inevitable chest-beating-if-nobody-praises-me-I-will-praise-myself presentation in Newark, United States a few days ago. What he didn’t spell out is in the sub-text of his commentary. The current indication is that Nigeria’s GDP growth has dropped to below 3% in 2016 from about 7% in 2014. Income levels have similarly dropped. Inflation has jumped from single digit to a frightening double-digit range (12.11%). The manufacturing sector, which was on the rebound as at 2014, is now below 3% of GDP, which is as bad as saying there is no manufacturing going on at all and that the real sector is prostrate. The country’s reserves have been drained. Government deficit is rising. Unemployment has risen, even if one West African country is nonetheless asking Nigeria to come and help it solve its unemployment problem – I hope we will not again go and give what we do not have at home! Fuel queues are back as a feature of national life. Many Nigerians have not had an hour of electricity supply in the last four months. The people are angry and hungry.
In his November 2015 article, Soludo asked for a War Room. In March 2016, the Federal Government organized a Talk Shop in the form of a 2-day retreat of the National Economic Council (NEC) which came up with 71 proposals to revive the economy. 71 proposals! Sadly, there is nothing new in those proposals. Soludo called for a debate and pro-active measures. The administration is obviously not interested in what he has to say. Instead, there has been a lot of blame-this-blame-that going on. My take is that we cannot leave economics to the economists. Economists are fundamentalists; between the market fundamentalists and the state capitalists they only manage to produce problems, and that is perhaps why the idea of a War Room may be the wrong idiom. I also don’t consider the blame game helpful. Whatever is wrong with the Nigerian economy is an open secret that does not require any prolonged movement of the mandibular.
We are, to say the truth, paying the price for the failure of the Nigerian leadership elite to diversify the Nigerian economy and expand the country’s revenue base. We found oil in 1958, and since then we have been as a country, a victim of the curse of oil. The curse of oil in our context has meant indolence, the emergence of a rentier class, a squandering of riches and the alienation of the poor by the rich. Every country afflicted by the curse of oil has found it difficult to escape from the curse. In our case, it is worse. Crude oil accounts for 90% of Nigeria’s exports, 70% of Federal revenue and about 15% of GDP. The point has been made for years that without oil, or with great falls in the spot price of the Brent crude, Nigeria will be in trouble. Every scholar has spoken about the need for diversification, but oil money is so cheap, it does not allow our ruling elite to think. I wrote the foreword two months ago to a book tilted Memories of Yesteryears written by Akpandem James, formerly of the Independent Newspaper and in one of the chapters he reminisces about a long list of plantations across the South-Southern part of the country, but those plantations are no longer there, either in the South South or the North or the East or West, because over the years, Nigerians got used to the easy money that comes with oil.
Oil, everyone said, is a wasting asset. But our leaders never listened. Instead, they argue that we have more gas than oil and that if nobody buys our oil, shale oil or no shale oil, Nigeria will sell gas. A country built on a philosophy of wealth without work or sense, commits a grievous sin. We have confronted the curse of oil on so many occasions. It caused the civil war of 1967-70. It resulted in the desperation of the North to seize Federal power and get a bigger share of the national cake by all means. It led to the agitations in the Niger Delta, the death of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni Eight, pipeline vandalism, Niger Delta insurgency, environmental degradation and the potent threat of a resurgent militancy in the Niger Delta, which is bound to cripple the Nigerian economy finally and tragically. The curse of oil is the source of a national cake mentality that has turned public service into an arena for primate accumulation. It is the root of corruption in Nigeria.
It is not a Buhari vs. Jonathan apotheosis therefore. To reduce it to that level is to ignobly avoid the messages of history. If anyone must be blamed, it must be all Nigerian leaders from independence at all levels. They have focused more on the fundamentals of ethnic, religious, regional and personal benefits, more than the fundamentals of national benefit. The leaders at the state levels are no better than gluttonous beggars. Elsewhere, states are centres of productive, economic activities. In Nigeria, every Governor is interested in what comes from the easy monthly allocation from Abuja. For IGR, they tax the people, multiple, punitive taxes. They create the impression that government exists to punish the people. Not every problem is Abuja-sourced. We need Governors who can think creatively economically and turn their states into economic units, not cowboys who spend more time in Abuja doing eye service. Truth is: some Governors are so cheap when they go to the Villa, they even expect to be given transport fare!

There are other issues: enhanced financial transparency will help, fraud has to be checked; there should be greater oversight scrutiny by civil society and the legislature; too many lawmakers are too busy trying to get their own bite of the national cake – can they please keep their rumbling and insatiable stomachs in check? And finally, the cost of governance must be reduced: Lawmakers who proudly ride vehicles worth N36.5 million are bandits not servants of the people. Governors who live ostentatiously and claim that there is not enough money to pay salaries are wrong. President Buhari is fighting corruption: he should allow states being run corruptly to sink if they must.

Payment of Salary on the 25th of Every Month by FG is Impossible - AGF


After what appeared to be good news for Nigeria’s Federal Government workers, it is not hunky-dory after all as Ahmed Idris, Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), has said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive that federal workers be paid on the 25th of every month was not possible, because there was no cash to pay on that date every month.
This would come as a surprise to Federal Government workers as it was for Idris, who disclosed this on Wednesday to journalists in Abuja.
He said, paying salary on the 25th of every month would be given a test, I believe, by this month. There is a standing instruction of Mr. President to pay salary on or before the 24th or 25th of every month and we will try as much as possible to comply and to abide by that. We are taking a step further to make a provision whereby we can accommodate salary payments even before FAAC.
We will go to seek for necessary approval of our political masters to make sure that at least salary and other statutory payments are made even before FAAC. Because we can project how much they are and therefore we can prepare and hit the ground running to make them realisable and actualised. Even where we delay FAAC, we can still pay salary.
However, in a swift about-face, a statement by Mrs Kene Offie, Deputy Director of Press, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, said: There is an instruction from Mr. President that workers be paid on or before 24 or 25, but compliance has been hampered by the limited resources available to government, which can only be determined after the monthly FAAC (Federation Account Allocation Committee) meeting.
The Federal Government has failed to meet its salary obligations, blaming the situation on falling oil prices at the international market. And the AGF gave vent to this view after last week’s FAAC meeting when he opined that, Nigeria is practically making about 30 to 40 per cent of what it used to make by way of revenue from oil and that has affected inflow generally. These inflows are what the federal, state and local governments receive to service the economy. It is when we receive these resources and sit at the end of the month for FAAC that the resources are shared among the three tiers of government.

Read more at www.today.ng

PDP And The Burden of Justice & Equity - Doyin Okupe


There is an embarrassing falsehood being propagated by political charlatans from the southwest and some influential collaborators in the top echelon of the PDP. The seed of this misrepresentation was sowed by a group of political clowns and court jesters under the leadership of Senator Buruji Kashamu, a political impostor who claims he is the leader of the party and the Yorubas in the Southwest.
On the 21st of April 2016, the cream of the authentic Yoruba leadership in the southwest gathered at the Golden Gates Hotel on kingsway road, ikoyi, under the Chairmanship of Chief olabode George, a retired Air Commodore, Fmr Governor, former Dep. National Chairman of the PDP and a grandson of the revered, legendary and world acclaimed, distinguished Yoruba Icon and Politician, Sir Herbert Macaulay.
At that meeting the true sons and daughters of Yoruba land in an unprecedented unity condemned the erstwhile claim by the Yoruba Traitors who went and lied to the PDP chairman, His Excellency Sen Ali Modu Sheriff, that the Yorubas do not want the chairmanship of the PDP.
I want to state categorically here, without any fear of equivocation, that We the Yoruba's from the Southwest, desire and demand the post of the national chairman at the next convention of the party. 
The followings are the past chairmen:
Chief Solomon Lar, chief Gemade, chief Audu ogbe, prince Ogbolafor, Dr Nwodo, Alhaji Baraje, Dr Haliru Bello(AG), Alhaji Bamangar Tukur, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, prince Secondus (Ag) and Sen Sheriff. 
From the above within the last 18 years there have been 11 chairmen from 5 geopolitical zones. Only the Yoruba Race from the south west have been precluded from this exalted office.
In the interest of fairness, equity and Justice, it is most compelling that the Yorubas of the Southwest zone must be allowed to contest for this post at this coming National convention.
Any attempt to do anything to the contrary, no matter the reason advanced cannot be acceptable.
Failure for a Yoruba man to emerge as the national chairman can only mean two things.
1. That there is a pervasive and concealed hatred for the southwest in the PDP. OR
2. That the PDP has very little or no regard for Yoruba interest as was envinced by the obvious cheating of the Southwest from the position of the Speaker in 2011, which was never rectified nor compensated for the whole of four years.
The sad implication of the above is that, regrettably, many of us from the southwest may have to reconsider our membership of this great party we have helped to nurture and supported through thick and thing, a party we have loved almost more than our very existence, and the party we have served with all our natural endowment, in victory and defeat.
If there exist any conscience, anywhere in this party, let that conscience speak now and stop the new and alien conscienceless power currently holding sway within the party hierarchy.

Saturday, 23 April 2016

Nigeria Instagram Love

12965845_1086708038060754_245853765_n
Would you believe it that this very lovely couple met via Instagram?
A Nigerian lady called Ify Yvonne met the Man of her dreams, Chris Madu, after posting him as MCM even without even knowing him.
Ify Yvonne, aka naijagoddess on Instagram, posted him as MCM nearly a year ago and asked her Instagram followers for help with getting the man of her dreams, NFL player Chris Madu. The gutsy chic had put him up as her Man Crush Monday (MCM) and at the time didn’t even know his name just that he had the specs she wanted. She had told her followers she had a crush on him.
After 11 months she is now with the man of her dreams with plans to get married. How she pulled it off is still a mystery, but she certainly saw what she wanted and went for it.

11375758_1616154058667095_1217022684_n
Capture
h

EFCC Freezes Femi Fani-Kayode’s Account over $2.1 billion Arms Deal


Femi Fani-Kayode’s tweet: Everything that I said about @MBuhari during the Presidential campaign has come true. That is what is paining them. Now they seek vengeance.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has freezed one of the accounts belonging to Ex-Aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode over the $2.1bn arms deal fraud. Recent reports from Nation newspaper has it that the account was frozen in line with the intensified efforts of the EFCC to investigate into the alleged funds received from ex-President Goodluck Jonathan during the build-up to the 2015 elections.
According to Femi Fani-Kayode’s declaration on April 22, 2016, the ex-Aviation minister denied knowledge of the cash withdrawal from the CBN or the funding of the campaign by the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki. He however admitted that he was paid from a company account linked with former Minister of Finance, Mrs. Nenadi Usman which was also implicated in the campaign funds fraud.
He said that our funds were given to us by the President who was the leader of our party through the Director of Finance of the PCO and we were not in a position to inquire into the sources of funding of the party’s campaign. Indeed, it was not our responsibility to do so. Once I got these clarifications and confirmations, I agreed to receive the funds into my bank account and use them for their stated purpose. The transfers were made and I used the funds to carry out all our operations during the course of the presidential campaign.
It was an aggressive and well-run campaign and we gave our opponents a very hard time indeed. It was also very expensive and we barely had the resources that we really needed, but we did an effective job with the little we were given. The whole nation, including our friends and our enemies, can bear witness to that and they saw the excellent quality of our work. Hardly anyone can dispute this, yet some fail to appreciate the fact that such a strong showing costs a lot of money. Media and publicity campaigns cannot be run on goodwill alone. You need cash and plenty of it.
During the course of the election and after its conclusion, I submitted detailed accounts of our expenses and evidence of our work to the Director of Finance of the PCO for onward transmission to the Director-General of the PCO and ultimately President Jonathan himself about how the money was spent and they were satisfied.
Given the fact that these were not public funds, the only legal body that can inquire into our expenditure of campaign funds is President Goodluck Jonathan who set up the PCO. I cannot sit by silently as my name is dragged through the mud in this way and I am convicted in the court of public opinion. This has happened to me once before and it took me seven years to clear my name. It will not happen to me again. Consequently I am constrained to take this opportunity to state the facts of this matter, set the record straight and await my traducers and accusers to make their next move. It is indeed time to challenge those that are making these allegations and to kill the lie. The fact that my bank account was frozen on the orders of the EFCC two weeks ago without any explanation is proof of the fact that I am being targeted and that those that seek to have their wicked way with me are about to pounce. Given this, it is important that all the relevant facts are put before the world before I am subjected to the Dasuki treatment, put away indefinitely and not given the opportunity to defend myself before the public. Meanwhile, in their usual manner, after this is done, the EFCC will then flood the media with all manner of lies about my so-called atrocities which only exist in the figment of their imagination.
The allegation of fraud and the receipt of public funds from the National Security Adviser’s Office and Central Bank into my bank account are false. These allegations are baseless, wicked, shameful and irresponsible. It is not true that any money was paid into my account by or from the National Security Adviser’s Office, the Central Bank of Nigeria or any other government agency or institution last year or at any other time. As the Director of Media and Publicity of the Jonathan Presidential Campaign Organization, I was asked to submit a budget for my Directorate by Chief Tony Anenih, the Presidential Adviser to the Presidential Campaign Organization and Mrs. Nenadi Usman, the Director of Finance. My team and I prepared the budget and it was approved.
Rather than collect cash, for security reasons and the purposes of accountability, I was advised by the Director of Finance to open a bank account for this purpose, which I did. The funds were paid into that account in instalments at the beginning of last year by the Director of Finance and each deposit was authorized and approved by the Presi dential Adviser to the PCO, Chief Tony Anenih. The account that they used to transfer the money to me was a private company account which was owned or under the control of the Director of Finance. It was the same company account that was used to send money to all the other Directors of the PCO and the Zonal Directors, State Directors and all our PDP governorship and legislative candidates during the various campaigns.
When I asked about the sources of the funds, I was told by the Director of Finance that the funds were sourced from private individuals and private companies who opted to support and fund President Jonathan’s campaign. She told me that no money was paid into her company from any government official, account or agency. This she told me in the presence of witnesses and I believed her.
I was told that there was a fundraising event held by our party (PDP) which took place in early January 2015 in which billions of naira were raised specifically for the Presidential campaign. I believed this to be true and I had no reason to doubt it. In January 2015, I was appointed as the Director of Media and Publicity for the Jonathan/Sambo Presidential Campaign Organization by President Goodluck Jonathan. The Director-General of the Campaign Organization was Senator Ahmadu Alli and the Deputy Director-Generals were Alhaji Ibrahim Turaki SAN (North) and Governor Peter Obi (South).
Chief Tony Anenih, an elder statesman and one of the most distinguished and revered leaders in our country, was the Presidential Adviser to the campaign organization. There were at least 10 other directors and directorates apart from me and mine including the Directorate of Mobilization which was led by the respected Professor Jerry Gana and the Directorate of Administration which was led by Alhaji Aliyu Modibbo. There were also zonal and state directors of the Presidential Campaign Organization in all the zones and states of the country. All these names that I have mentioned including all the other directors whose names I have not mentioned are, as far as I am aware, men and women of immense integrity and good character and they have mostly been either ministers of the Federal Republic or state governors at one time or the other in our history. It was an honour to serve alongside such people and I have absolutely no regrets about doing so.
Yet given the fact that I was not the only director in the campaign organization and in view of the fact that all the directors and zonal and state directors got their funds from the same source and account as I did, one wonders why only I and three others should be singled out for this reprehensible treatment and these false allegations.
I chose to remain silent on the issue until now simply because the allegations have not been officially made by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or anyone else, but the newspapers keep citing their sources inside the EFCC as their basis for these shameful allegations.
Mr. Josef Goebbels, Chancellor Adolf Hitler’s information minister, when Germany was in the terrible grip of the Nazi party, said that once a lie is repeated enough times, it becomes truth to those who are continuously subjected to it. This is especially so if it goes unchallenged. The former Aviation minister however dared the anti-graft agency to do its worst. Yet if this is an attempt to intimidate, silence or distract me, they shall fail because I am not a coward and I do not fear them or those that sent them to torment me.
As long as Jesus is on the throne and our hands are clean, no matter how long it takes, we shall prevail and ultimately they will pay a heavy price for their malice, injustice and wickedness. These are facts and readers can be rest assured that I will say nothing different from this if and when I am formally asked by anyone or any agency. When the EFCC begins to leak their falsehood and salacious allegations to their agents in the media, kindly take note of the fact that, as usual, they will be telling tall tales and they will be lying.
Now I challenge them to do their worse. I have no fear of them or of those who have sent them to do this dirty job. May God judge them all and may He reward them for their wickedness. The suggestion that the money was some kind of cash bonanza or bazaar as has been reported by the leading pro-government newspaper in the country today is childish and absurd. If that had been the case, I doubt that I would have been foolish enough to open a bank account to receive government funds or bazaar funds as this would have been easily traced. If I had anything to hide or if I was doing anything wrong, I would have insisted on collecting cash for my operations which would have been far easier to conceal.
He added that the fact that the EFCC gained access to my bank account and leaked details of it to the media, including my inflows, is not only a gross violation of my privacy, but it is also unlawful.

Read more at http://www.theheraldng.com/