The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Ondo State, Mr. Olusegun Agbaje has revealed how he refused to honour an invitation by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo state, Jimoh Ibrahim for ameeting in London, possibly to bribe him against the background of the forthcoming governorship election in the state.

Agbaje, who denied bribery allegation made against him by Jimoh Ibrahim, said that Ibrahim’s grouse against him was that he refused a request for them to meet in London, through one of his friends who is currently residing in London.

Agbaje, who spoke at a dialogue session with a coalition of over 60 Civil Society Organizations, CSOs, led by the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre, PLAC, also revealed how he was at a point offered N500 million to rig the last governorship election in Osun State in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), when he was serving there.

He said that the money was brought in a van at night by certain chieftains of the PDP at the IBB Golf Course in Abuja, after one of his former colleagues in the DSS, hoodwinked him into following him to the venue.

The Ondo REC, who said he was a former Director of the Department of State Service (DSS), said: “so, it baffles me now to see allegations being raised against me. I have never met Jimoh Ibrahim in my life. I have never spoken with him in my life.

“There is one of my friends, an old friend, Mr. Austin Obiagwu who was a former Managing Director of Broad Bank which later merged with Union Bank. He called me sometimes in April this year and said Segun how now, long time! He said when I will come to London; that he has been there for some time. I said ok, that I might be in London later in that April for the ceremony of one of my children and that I will see him then.

“He then told me that there is a friend of his that would want to meet me and that his name is Jimoh Ibrahim. I think he said he was in Accord Party. Either Accord or Alliance Party, I can’t remember. That was in April this year; he was certainly not in PDP then.

“I told my friend that I don’t know him (Ibrahim) and that I have never met him in my life and that I don’t think it is proper for me to see him because I made it a personal policy not to have such interaction with politicians.”

On the Osun bribery attempt, he said that one of his colleagues “picked” him at the end of a conference he attended in Abuja and took him to the meeting where the bribe was allegedly offered.

Agbaje said that he was shocked and immediately berated his friend.

“I told them that all my children have been trained and they are all married. I have a house in Lagos and another in Ekiti where I come from. So I don’t know what I will use money for at this age. I told them politely that I would not be part of their deal.

“The governor in my state had wanted to see me in the government house and I told him that this year, I am not coming to that Government House. He wanted to come to my house and I said you cannot come to my house.

“I was the ICS of Anambra State, the then governor, who was a candidate, came to my office, he brought money to my office and I said Sir, we do not accept money, that my headquarters had provided all we needed for that election and as Director of the SSS in that region we don’t need the money.

“The man was annoyed. He said whether I have seen the other people in the other party and I said Sir you don’t know me, that I knew him when he was Permanent Secretary at Dodan Barrack, that if not because he was a very old I would have known what to do. But very politely told him that we didn’t need his money.

“These are some of the circumstances in which I found myself in the past. I was so much flabbergasted when I was reading Punch of upper Sunday and saw that Jimoh Ibrahim mentioned a lot of things against me. I have written to my Chairman on this whole issue to clear my name, as well as asked for two prayers- to address the press and to also go to court. The Chairman has approved the two.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I have never met Jimoh Ibrahim before, the allegations are false and at the appointed time I will take action. Like I said, politicians think that they can always buy everybody, but I told them that the Chairman did not send me to Akure to go and be in favour of a particular candidate.” [myad]

Nigerian army has rescued another Chibok schoolgirl, Maryam Ali Maiyanga, holding 10-month old baby.

The military spokesman said today, Saturday, that the girl was rescued at Pulka, outside the town of Gwoza in Borno state near the Mandara mountains separating Nigeria from Cameroon.

“She was discovered to be carrying a 10-month-old son, named Ali. She has been taken to the unit’s medical facility for proper medical checkup,” said Nigerian Army spokesman, Sani Usman.

“It is imperative to state that troops have been working round the clock to clear remnants of Boko Haram terrorists wherever they might be hibernating and also rescue all persons held hostages by terrorists,” he said.

Another Chibok girl, Amina Ali Nkeki was rescued on May 18, with four-month old baby.

The news of the latest rescue came less than one month after 21 other Chibok girls were released by Boko Haram.

They were freed following negotiations between the Nigerian government and Boko Haram brokered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Swiss government.

The government said it was hoping to secure the release of 83 other girls believed to be from Chibok being held by different factions of the extremist group. [myad]

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has stopped people from visiting high profile Nigerians in its custody. The commission has also stopped all suspects and inmates from making phone calls to their lawyers, family members and loved ones.

An EFCC said that the Commission is getting worried over the spate of solidarity visits recently by friends, party members and relatives to many of the politicians in custody, including Bala Mohammed and Femi Fani-Kayode.

The EFCC order stopping such visits and phone conversations was contained in a circular from the office of Acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu.

The order came a few hours after the release on bail of the former Nigerian minister of state for Defence, Musliu Obanikoro and special adviser to the former President Goodluck Jonathan on media and publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati yesterday, Friday. [myad]

Former Nigeria minister of State for Defense, Musiliu Obanikoro has dropped the sum of N100 million, part of the alleged loot he enjoyed from Dasukigate and has therefore been left of the hook of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).

The N100 million he dropped, according to EFCC is an “Administrative bail” condition which he deposited in the Federal Recovery Account.

The EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren confirmed that Obanikoro was granted “Administrative Bail” today, Friday.

The former minister has since retired to his Abuja home where family members claimed he was resting.

Obanikoro surrendered to the EFCC three weeks ago on his return to Nigeria and had since been in detention as he failed on several occasions to make the necessary refund that was a precondition for his release.

A year Ago, Obanikoro had admitted to the EFCC that he embezzled N800 million from about N4.7 billion stolen in 2014 from a budget designated for procurement of weaponry and other equipment for the Nigerian military to enhance its fight against Islamist militant group, Boko Haram.

The funds were laundered through a bank account controlled by his two sons, Babajide and Gbolahan before they were physically ferried to Ekiti state where the funds were deployed to assist Governor Ayodele Fayose to rig the governorship election in Ekiti State.

An audio tape detailing how men of the Nigerian Army discussed in detail on the rigging plan of the election by clamping down on opposition figures in the state led to the initial investigation about the massive corruption involving Obanikoro and others. [myad]

President Muhammadu Buhari has confessed that he had wanted to throw in the towel immediately after he came into power last year because of the mountain of problems he met.

“Actually, I felt like absconding because 27 out of 36 states in Nigeria cannot pay salaries and and we know they have no other source than to depend on salaries to pay rent and do other things.
“I asked if there was any saving and I was told there was no saving. I asked what they did on agriculture, power, rails and roads. There was nothing. You know more than I do because you move around. I have not been moving around since after elections but you do. How many of the Trunk A roads are still good enough? How many power do we have although there are some elements of sabotage?”
President Buhari who spoke today, Thursday, when he hosted participants of the National Institute for Strategic Studies, Kuru, near Jos the Plateau state capital, went on: “I was told the money was used to import food and fuel. I didn’t believe the answer and I still do not believe it. Uptil now, a substantial number of people in the East eat garri and groundnut; in the West they eat pounded yam, cassava, vegetables; in the North, they eat tuwo which is made from any of the grains: millet, sorghum. They eat it in the night and warm it in the morning and eat it and take fura in the afternoon.  How many of those people can afford foreign food?
“Then they said I should check out the petroleum sector. The legislature dedicated 445,000 barrels per day for internal consumption and that is just 60 percent of our requirements. I said ok, what of the 40 percent? The marketers that are bringing it just present documents, papers are just stamped and monies are taken away.
“This is the type of things that the Nigerian elites are doing for our own country. When you go back, look at your colleagues and encourage them to be truly Nigerians.” [myad]