The Buhari Media Support Group (BMSG) has given the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki a hard knock for attacking President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption war in Nigeria.
The group made it clear that the criticism from familiar quarters, like the Senate leadership on the anti-corruption war, could not obliterate the fact that the it had attained of phenomenal results like never before.
Dr. Saraki, was quoted as berating the anti-corruption war on the basis that the campaign focuses attention on punishment rather than deterrence, and adducing that it as the reason why poor results have been recorded so far.
The Buhari Media Support Group, in a signed by its Acting Coordinator, Austin Braimoh and the Secretary, Chief Cassidy Madueke, said that the high integrity of President Buhari has infused steam into the war against corruption, coupled with the fact that anti-graft agencies have been rendering good account of themselves in reducing graft, especially, blind looting of the national treasury.
“Though the anti-corruption war in Nigeria like every other government initiative is subject to constant review for attainment of higher successes, top public officials at all levels should support the war against corruption rather than subvert it.”
The group said that while the present government has always been open to constructive criticisms, it has not concentrated efforts solely on deterrence in its approach to addressing the problem of wide spread corruption in Nigeria.
It said that the executive arm of government has lined up a number of bills aimed at strengthening the war against corruption with prevention as the main focus, but that such bills are still pending in the National Assembly.
It urged the Senate and the House of Representatives to as a matter of urgency, ensure speedy passage of the anti-corruption bills, especially the one on Whistle Blowing to stem the looting of nation’s treasury.
“The President, to the full knowledge of Nigerians, has been allowing the tenets of democracy to guide his conducts as he always submitted himself to guidelines by the constitution. So at any rate, the President is not punitive and autocratic as many may believe.
“If the President has been fighting corruption with kid gloves in line with expectations in some quarters, EFCC would not have discovered the huge sums of foreign and local currencies stashed away in secret places.” [myad]
Nigeria’s acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo has asked a small fraction of the Armed Forces in Cote d’Ivoire, who mutinied against the government of President Alhassan Ouattara to return to their barracks.
In a statement today by senior special assistant to Osinbajo on media and publiciy, Laolu Akande, the Nigerian leader condemned, in strong terms, the action of the mutineers.
The acting President, who assured expressed Nigeria’s unflinching support for the Government of President Ouattara, commended ongoing efforts at resolving the crisis.
He advised the parties in the crisis to exercise maximum restraint, remain calm and continue with dialogue and negotiations with the Government of President Ouattara.
Osinbajo asked the mutineers to refrain from any action capable of undermining the peace, security and democracy of the country.
He also asked the people of Cote d’Ivoire to remain steadfast in their support for the Government and to refrain from giving support to the mutineers in the overall interest of peace, tranquility, good order and prosperity of the country. [myad]
The Management of The Eagle Online has announced a short break in its online news service to allow for a change of its host.
A statement today, Wednesday, the Managing Editor of the online newspaper, Dotun Oladipo said that the break will commence from midnight of Thursday.
Oladipo said that the management dropped the idea of rendering skeletal services during the period, because of the large number of files to be moved which could make access to the news portal frustrating.
“However, we shall keep our esteemed readers update via all our social media channels with headlines of major stories during the period of the break.”
Oladipo said that the process should, hopefully, be completed by the weekend, promising that full services would return on Monday morning.
“The essence of the change of host is to serve our readers better.” [myad]
The story of how I reverted to al Islam is a story of plans. I made plans, the group I was with made plans, and Allah made plans. And Allah is the Best of Planners.
When I was a teenager, I came to the attention of a group of people with a very sinister agenda. They were and probably still are a loose association of individuals who work in government positions but have a special agenda: to destroy Islam.
It is not a governmental group that I am aware of, they simply use their positions in the US government to advance their cause. One member of this group approached me because he saw that I was articulate, motivated and very much the women’s rights advocate.
He told me that if I studied International Relations with an emphasis in the Middle East, he would guarantee me a job at the American Embassy in Egypt. He wanted me to eventually go there to use my position in the country to talk to Muslim women and encourage the fledgling women’s rights movement.
It is not a governmental group that I am aware of, they simply use their positions in the US government to advance their cause. One member of this group approached me because he saw that I was articulate, motivated and very much the women’s rights advocate.
He told me that if I studied International Relations with an emphasis in the Middle East, he would guarantee me a job at the American Embassy in Egypt. He wanted me to eventually go there to use my position in the country to talk to Muslim women and encourage the fledgling women’s rights movement.
I thought this was a great idea. I had seen the Muslim women on TV; I knew they were a poor oppressed group, and I wanted to lead them to the light of 20th century freedom. With this intention, I went to college and began my education.
I studied Quraan, hadith and Islamic history. I also studied the ways I could use this information. I learned how to twist the words to say what I wanted them to say. It was a valuable tool. Once I started learning, however, I began to be intrigued by the message of Islam. It made sense. That was very scary. Therefore, in order to counteract this effect, I began to take classes in Christianity.
I chose to take classes with this one professor on campus because he had a good reputation and he had a Ph.D. in Theology from Harvard University. I felt I was in good hands. I was, but not for the reasons I thought. It turns out that this professor was a Unitarian Christian.
He did not believe in the trinity or the divinity of Jesus. In actuality, he believed that Jesus was a prophet. He proceeded to prove this by taking the Bible from its sources in Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic and show where they were changed. As he did this, he showed the historical events which shaped and followed these changes.
By the time I finished this class, my deen had been destroyed, but I was still not ready to accept Islam. As time went on, I continued to study, for myself and for my future career. This took about three years.
In this time, I would question Muslims about their beliefs. One of the individuals I questioned was a Muslim brother with the MSA. Alhamdulillah, he saw my interest in the deen, and made it a personal effort to educate me about Islam. May Allah increase his reward. He would give me dawaa at every opportunity which presented itself.
One day, this man contacts me, and he tells me about a group of Muslims who were visiting in town. He wanted me to meet them. I agreed. I went to meet with them after ishaa prayer.
I was led to a room with at least 20 men in it. They all made space for me to sit, and I was placed face to face with an elderly Pakistani gentleman. Mashallah, this brother was a very knowledgeable man in matters of Christianity. He and I discussed and argued the varying parts of the bible and the Quraan until the fajr.
At this point, after having listened to this wise man tell me what I already knew, based on the class I had taken in Christianity, he did what no other individual had ever done. He invited me to become a Muslim.
In the three years I had been searching and researching, no one had ever invited me. I had been taught, argued with and even insulted, but never invited. May Allah guide us all.
So when he invited me, it clicked. I realized this was the time. I knew it was the truth, and I had to make a decision.
Alhamdulillah, Allah opened my heart, and I said, “Yes. I want to be a Muslim.” With that, the man led me in the shahadah – in English and in Arabic.
I swear by Allah that when I took the shahadah, I felt the strangest sensation. I felt as if a huge, physical weight had just been lifted off my chest; I gasped for breath as if I were breathing for the first time in my life.
Alhamdulillah, Allah had given me a new life – a clean slate – a chance for Jennah, and I pray that I live the rest of my days and die as a Muslim. Ameen.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Nigerian Army, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai has directed officers who are interested in politics to resign and join the politics or face disciplinary action should they be found to be having secret meetings with politicians for whatever reason.
The directive was given today, Monday, according to Director Army Public Relations, in a statement, Brigadier General Sani Kukasheka Usman, following information that some individuals have been approaching some officers and soldiers for undisclosed political reasons.
He said that the army chief such officers and their political collaborators “to desist from these acts.”
General Buratai reminded the officers that the army is a thorough professional, disciplined, loyal and apolitical institution that has clear Constitutional roles and responsibilities.
“Therefore, he seriously warned and advised all officers and soldiers interested in politics, to resign their commission or apply for voluntary discharge forthwith”, the statement added.
“Any officer or soldier of Nigerian Army found to be hobnobbing with such elements or engaged in unprofessional conducts such as politicking would have himself or herself to blame.
“The COAS has further reiterated that the Nigerian Army will remain apolitical and respect the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Heads of security agencies must not leave anything to chance; some people may be taking advantage of the C-in-C’s absence to plot what only they can explain. God forbid a coup.
“Expect the DSS and Police to issue similar statement in the coming days. That’s all I would say for now.”
It was gathered that Buratai’s statement came on the heels of intelligence reports that some politicians are holding secret meetings with top Army officers due to the absence of President Muhammadu Buhari.
President Buhari travelled on May 7 to London again for medical attention. [myad]
Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has said that many good ideas that would have taken Nigeria to highest pedestals in terms of economic growth never saw the light of the day.
According to him, some of such ideas usually came as if they meant nothing to the country’s growth, but that if care were taken for such ideas to be developed and nurtured, they could make the difference in the development of the country.
The Acting President, who spoke today, Tuesday at the 10th Anniversary of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) in Abuja, the nation’s Federal Capital, recalled that from the little discussions he had with the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Professor Charles Soludo, it was clear that Nigeria often neglected the small things that could develop into big things.
“A few minutes ago, I was talking to his Excellency, the former President, Olusegun Obasanjo and the former CBN Governor, Prof. Charles Soludo, and they were talking about how a few conversations between them and the approval of President Obasanjo at that time birthed what is today the AFC.
“It struck me that just as it is always the case, the greatest ideas that become the sort that we celebrate today never really seem anywhere near what they turn out to be; they are just seeds and if that seeds are planted, if they ever get done, then there is a good chance that they can become what they should be as we are witnessing today. Many of the best seeds never get planted, but I am very glad that this particular seed was planted and we can see the big oak tree that it has become. We are truly grateful to God and to the great men and women who made this happen.”
Professor Osinbajo said that one cannot but wonder how true it is that the timeless values of a clear vision, planning, hard work, courage, resilience, and above all the grace of God always adds up to phenomenal success.
“The idea of a public- private development finance institution, wholly African from scratch, not born of the will and wishes of the other international multilateral Development Financing Institutions (DFIs) but of the will of African nations, African leaders and institutions, surely seemed a little far-fetched barely a decade ago.
“But the story of AFC is the story of a core of solid African professionals whose courage and faith in leaving the safety and certainty of institutions where they had established firm reputations for the unknown world of the start-up multilateral DFI has formed an ethos that today defines the corporation. An ethos that has quickly built up such trust and confidence that has in these few years initiated, led participated in, and offered project finance and management services to some of the most significant infrastructure projects in Africa.”
The Acting President said that despite the uncertainty and turbulence in the African and world economies, the next decade will be even rockier, adding: “it would seem that the only certainty in the future is the uncertainty.
“But for the student of history and social phenomena, that milieu is the precursor of some of the most phenomenal opportunities for prosperity and growth that we have seen thus far. The coming years may well call for a different mindset and a more nuanced skill set. For example who could have predicted the phenomenal success of the so-called disruptive technologies and businesses riding on their backs.
“So, today the owners of the largest taxi fleet in the world own no cars and have no permanent drivers, the largest real estate agency in the world actually also owns no real estate of note and their clients both landlords and tenants sign up to their company. So technology, its accelerative power, and the capacity to disrupt established business, thought and even creative value chains will clearly stretch all our theories and assumptions on financing and management. But if we begin with the known even in this unknown it might help.
“Investments in broadband infrastructure, for example, is crucial. Broadband infrastructurehas now won its place as the new utility alongside electricity, transportation, telecoms, and water supply. And it is bound to affect and indeed is already defining how every one of these other utilities work and will work in the coming years.
“I want to note AFC’s support for the MAIN ONE cable project is one of those farsighted initiatives that these times will require.
“It is important to mention also how in the past most nations, especially African countries were able to pay up for infrastructure projects in one way or the other. But that sovereign risk environment is changing quickly. Governments had always in the past been the largest contributor to infrastructure even when payments were always never really smooth, but they were able to offer sovereign guarantees or cash support.
“But today, that is no longer forthcoming given the huge deficits and sovereign debts that most governments now experience.
“So, the time certainly calls for new thinking, AFCs and DFIs like that must now begin to look for new ways of engaging with governments, you must look for new ways of engaging with African governments.
“We cannot forget that unless corporations like AFC recognize that what is important to do in these times, the next 10 years will indeed be very difficult years for our economies, for the African economy. We will be relying on AFC, our own DFIs to do much more; we will be relying on them to show much leadership to take greater risks.
There is no question at all that all of what is required, all of what we need will not be provided just by government, government cannot finance the huge infrastructure needs of most countries. As a matter of fact, without the private sector, it is completely impossible for government to finance all the infrastructure needs.
“Take Nigeria for example, all our refineries put together at the moment does not produce 600, 000 barrels of oil, we don’t refine 600, 000 barrels of oil but one single private sector investor is building one single line of 650, 000 barrels. So there is no question at all that government cannot match the power of the private sector and the resources that the private sector can put together.”
The Acting President admitted that it is the AFC that can bring the private sector and public sector together to deliver on the kind of infrastructure need that our country requires.
He said that the one certain thing to which everybody had agreed on is that the market will determine practically everything, adding: “it cannot be any form of central planning, of course government will interfere, but I think all of us have agreed today that we must ensure that market determines all things; it is the markets that has led to the mobile technology boom.
“The fact that we allowed the private sector to take the lead and we created the regulatory environment that made it possible, is why today in, Africa 750 million Africans have access to phones. For many, their first use of a phone was the mobile phones and that is the power of the market where the public sector comes together with the private sector.
“This is the role that DFIs will play; that mediatory role and I believe that the AFC is centrally positioned to do so.
“So, let me again commend the AFC for the excellent work they have done in the past ten years and especially the leadership of Andrew Alli, Olusegun Akin-Olugbade and all of the great professionals who have come together to make that institution what it is today. And I pray that the next ten years will be the best ten years yet.” [myad]
A legal expert, Chief Anthony Idigbe (SAN), has warned Nigerians against compelling President Muhammadu Buhari to resign on account of the present condition of his health.
Idigbe, who is the Chairman of the Legal Profession Regulation Review Committee, said that the decision as to whether to resign or not should be the personal right of the President.
The lawyer, who made the remark shortly after he was inducted into the Third Degree of the order of the Knights of St. Mulumba (KSM) with his wife, Elizabeth as Lady of St. Mulumba, said: “the fact that someone has some medical challenges doesn’t mean the person can’t work. “There are lots of facilities nowadays. So the decision to resign is very personal. Nigerians should give him that privacy and allow him to consider his situation.” [myad]
Dame Patience, wife of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, is fighting the federal government over the balance of her $5.9 million, as she headed to the Court of Appeal to ask for the reversal of the order of the Federal High Court that froze her Skye Bank account.
Following an ex parte application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on April 26, this year, Justice Mojisola Olatoregun had made an interim order freezing Patience’s account.
The judge ordered the EFCC to publish the freezing order in a national daily and adjourned till May 15 for any interested party to appear before her to give reasons why the money should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
At the resumed proceedings in the case yesterday, Monday, Dame Patience’s lawyer, Mr. Ifedayo Adedipe (SAN), said that her client had not been given sufficient notice of the case to enable her respond, pointing out that the EFCC only published the freezing order May 11.
He added that his client had also gone on appeal to challenge the freezing order and had also filed an application praying that further proceedings in the case should be suspended until the outcome of the appeal.
But the EFCC lawyer, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, insisted that the business of the day was for anyone who had objection to the forfeiture order to appear in court to give reasons why the money should not be permanently forfeited.
He urged the judge to ignore Adedipe’s submission, saying it was not in consonance with the business of the day.
Responding to the counsel, the judge noted that the forfeiture order was published too late and said she would adjourn the matter to avail interested parties adequate time to appear before her to show reasons why the money should not be permanently forfeited. She consequently adjourned till May 22, 2017.
The EFFC had while obtaining the freezing order told the judge that the $5.9m found in Patience’s account was suspected proceeds of crime.
Apart from the Skye Bank account with $5.9m, the EFCC also obtained a freezing order in respect of an Ecobank account with a balance of N2.4bn which was opened in the name of one La Wari Furniture and Bath Limited.
In an affidavit filed in support of the new application, an operative of the EFCC, Musbahu Abubakar, stated that Patience opened the Skye Bank account on February 7, 2013 and used it to allegedly warehouse proceeds of crime.
According to Abubakar, Patience made several cash deposits in United States’ dollars into the account through a former Special Assistant to ex-President Jonathan, Waripamo-Owei Dudafa, and a State House steward, Festus Iyoha.
He said that as of January 30, 2015, the Skye Bank account had a balance of $6.7m but Patience subsequently withdrew it down to $5.7 million.
The EFCC prayed the court to urgently freeze the account so as to prevent Patience from moving the funds. [myad]
The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has commended the immediate past administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan for embarking on massive projects that were beneficial to Nigerians.
Speaking at a Town Hall meeting in Abuja, Amaechi, who is former Rivers State governor, said that his ministry did not meet any uncompleted project on assumption of office.
He said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration had continued with the projects of the previous administration because “we realized the impact of the recession.”
Amaechi said that the Kaduna-Abuja railway was nearly 80 percent completed by the Jonathan’s administration, adding: “in the ministry of transportation, we did not meet anything comatose. We met an attempt to bring back our rail services.
“The Kaduna-Abuja railway was nearly 80 percent completed which we commissioned and commercial services have commenced.” [myad]
The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Is-haq Oloyede, has announced the release of the results of the United Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), conducted Saturday last week.
The Registrar, who made the announcement during the monitoring of the ongoing UTME exams, said: “The result of UTME has come out and the performance is not too bad. But we are sure that this is the performance now rather than thinking you can get result one way or the other.”
Speaking along with the Minister of State for Education, Professor Anthony Anwukah, in Abuja, Oloyede expressed satisfaction over the smooth conduct of the examination so far. [myad]
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Dame Patience, wife of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, is fighting the federal government over the balance of her $5.9 million, as she headed to the Court of Appeal to ask for the reversal of the order of the Federal High Court that froze her Skye Bank account.
