Nigeria Deserves To Be Re-Colonised For Another 100 Years – Donald Trump

March 15, 2016

A front-line presidential contender in the United States of America, Donald Trump, has focused his acclaimed crudity on Nigeria, saying that the country deserved to be recolonised for another 100 years.

“These are people who import everything including matchsticks. In my opinion, most of these African countries (like Nigeria) ought to be re-colonized again for another 100 years because they know nothing about leadership and self-governance.”

Trump, at a campaign rally said: “one of the highest producers of crude oil in Africa without nothing tangible to show for it is Nigeria. 56 years after independence, Nigerian leaders still can’t deliver.

“How do you trust even those who have run away to hide here in the United States? They hide behind education? I hear they abuse me in their blogs but I don’t care because even the internet they are using is ours and we can decide to switch it off from this side.

“Look at African countries like Nigeria or Kenya for instance, those people are stealing from their own government and go to invest the money in foreign countries.”

Trump added: “ordinary electricity, water, home-refined petroleum products, transportation – road, rail, water and air – infrastructure.

“From the government to the opposition, they only qualify to be used as a case study whenever bad examples are required.”

Meanwhile irate supporters of Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump have started attacking Muslims and Hispanic, telling them to go home. Two university students in Kansas, one Muslim and one Hispanic, were assaulted after they noticed a white man using racist language toward a black man. The white man then turned his ire toward Khondoker Usama, the student body vice president at Wichita State, and his friend.

The attackers called the ‘brown trash,’and told them: ‘go home. Trump will win. You want to live in this country, you better leave.”

But the student responded with defiance: “this is my country; who are you to tell me that?”

From there, the situation escalated, and the confrontation turned physical as the man punched Usama’s friend and took him to the ground. Usama tried to get in between the man and his friend but was punched, then backed away because he thought the man might be reaching for a weapon.

“He kept kicking the student who was lying on the ground, He was kicking him; it was a gut-wrenching scene. He saw that I was calling the police and got back on his motorcycle and circled around us and was saying ‘Trump, Trump, Trump, we will make America great again. You losers will be thrown out of the wall.’”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) held a press conference with Usama yesterday to call for a hate crime probe of the attack.

CAIR blamed Trump last month for a nation-wide rise in Islamophobia, saying: “We live in a nation today where people like Trump, where people like the Republican GOP have mainstreamed Islamophobia.”

CAIR’s St. Louis branch director Faizan Syed said: “They have made it O.K. It’s O.K. to take out a gun and threaten somebody.”

Trump’s language concerning Muslims and Hispanics in particular has left a number of Americans angered or outraged. Trump continues to defend his The normally apolitical Brandon Stanton, owner of the Facebook account Humans of New York (HONY), published an open letter to the real estate mogul on the HONY page Monday.

…over the last two years I have conducted extensive interviews with hundreds of Muslims, chosen at random, on the streets of Iran, Iraq, and Pakistan. I’ve also interviewed hundreds of Syrian and Iraqi refugees across seven different countries. And I can confirm— the hateful one is you.

Trump has repeatedly defended the rhetoric he uses at his rallies. Among the myriad of defenses he’s cited are his rejection of political correctness exercised by establishment politicians.

“The reason there’s tension at my rallies is that these people are sick and tired of this country being run by incompetent people that don’t know what they’re doing on trade deals, where our jobs are being ripped out of our countries,” Trump said on Meet the Press Sunday.

He added that supporters are “not angry about something I’m saying — I’m just a messenger.” [myad]

Fani-Kayode Admits Receiving N840 Million For Jonathan’s Campaign Assignments

Greenbarge Reporters

March 15, 2016

PDP Campaign Director, Femi Fani Kayode — Femi Fani Kayode

Former aviation minister and director of media for the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign organization, Femi Fani-kayode has admitted that he received the sum of N840 Million for the assignment he was given by the former President.

Fani Kayode, who has been fingered as the highest beneficiary of the newly discovered monumental fraud involving the sum of N3,145 Billion in which several personalities in Jonathan government were named.

Fani-Kayode confessed to PREMIUM TIME that the funds were paid into his account by Nenadi Usman, who was director of finance of the Goodluck Jonathan campaign.

“The campaign asked me to open an account for my campaign directorate, which I did.

“They then paid the money in for the assignment I was given. I asked them where the money came from. They said it was from private contribution for the Jonathan campaign. I believed them, and I had no way of knowing exactly where the money came from.

“As far as I’m concerned, it was campaign funds, and the money was used for the purpose for which it was meant. And we accounted for it to the man who gave us a job to do, President Jonathan.”

Others who were alleged to have participated in the sharing of the money are former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and leader of the Social Democratic Party, Olu Falae; a former finance minister, Nenadi Usman; a former Imo state governor, Achike Udenwa; former minister of state for foreign affairs, Viola Onwuliri and politician Okey Ezenwa

The discovery was made the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission.

Fani-Kayode was believed to be the chief beneficiary of the disbursement, receiving N840 million, paid in three tranches into his Zenith Bank, Maitama branch, with account number 1004735721.

The first tranche of payment involving N350 million was made on February 19, 2015 while the second tranche of N250 milion was made on February 19, 2015 and the third one of N240 million was effected on March 19, 2015.

The EFCC expressed surprise to discover that the balance on the same account as at December 31, 2015 was N189, 402.72. [myad]

Equatorial Guinea Admires Buhari’s Personal Integrity, Awards Him Highest Honour

Greenbarge Reporters

March 15, 2016

President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea has conferred the highest of his country honour, Grand Collar of the Order of the Independence (GCOI), on President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria.

Conferring the award as President Buhari arrived the country for an official visit, President Nguema Mbasogo said that the honour was a confirmation of President Buhari’s “personal integrity, exemplary leadership style and courage to fight terrorism in order to ensure peace and safety in Africa.

“We deemed it fit and appropriate to honour this son of Africa for the great work he is doing, which includes tackling Boko Haram, a great menace to the continent.”

President announced that he has dedicated the award to the people of Nigeria, who, he said, have worked tirelessly for peace in the country and Africa.

“I will like to express profound gratitude for the honour given to me and my people. There has never been a time for greater neighbourliness on our continent in the interest of peace, security and economic stability than now.”

President Buhari said at the investiture ceremony that as African countries faced common challenges, they must strive to cooperate more to find workable solutions that will facilitate rapid socio-economic development on the continent.

He pledged that under his leadership, Nigeria will continue to make significant contributions to peace, political stability and progress in Africa. [myad]

Faleke Admits He Was Not Governorship Aspirant, But Wants Court To Declare Him Kogi Governor

Greenbarge Reporters

March 15, 2016

The running mate to the late Prince Abubakar Audu in the November 21 Kogi state governorship election, James Faleke, has confessed that he was not a governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) but appealed to the Tribunal to declare him as the governor of the state.

“I was also not an aspirant at the primary election, but one of the conditions Audu picked me as his running mate was because I am a member of the APC.”
He called on the State Election Petition Tribunal which is holding its session in Abuja, to declare him the validly elected governor of Kogi State.

Faleke is being led in evidence at the tribunal by his counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN).
He told the tribunal that he did not know any of the candidates who contested with the late Audu even as he said:“I did not see the result of the primary election because I left the venue, but the next information I had is that late Audu won the primary and I was chosen as the running mate.”
Faleke argued that the death of Audu had nothing to do with the inconclusiveness of the election and that they had already won before it was declared inconclusive.
He said that he knew they had already won the November 21 governorship election and that was why he did not participate in the December 5 election.
“Myself and Prince Audu were declared winners at each polling unit, ward collation centre, each local government and the state collation centre.
“The state’s Returning Officer declared the result at the state collation centers.
“Prince Audu died in the morning and the election was declared inconclusive in the evening.
“So it was declared inconclusive far after the death.”
When asked during cross-examination by the Counsel to the 1st respondent, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)), if he was still a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Faleke responded by saying yes, adding: “I am not aware that the 2nd respondent, Governor Yahaya Bello, is a member of the APC. All I know is that the 2nd respondent campaigned and worked for the Peoples Democratic Party.
Part of the documents that was tendered and admitted in evidence were Form CF001, Form CF002 and many more. [myad]

Auditor-General Confirms Sanusi Lamido’s Accusation That NNPC Failed To Remit N3.2 Trillion To Federation Account

Greenbarge Reporters

March 14, 2016

Auditor General of the Federation, Samuel Ukura has confirmed the accusation by the sacked governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the then Sanusi Lamido Sanusi that the NNPC under Goodluck Jonathan withheld N3.2 trillion ($16 billion) in revenues from the federal government in 2014.
Sanusi Lamido is now the Emir of Kano.
The Auditor General, who presented his findings in a report to lawmakers at the National Assembly today, said that other government ministries and agencies had also failed to remit funds, taking the total not passed on to 3.3 trillion naira for 2014.
Ukura said that the report was based on an “examination of NNPC mandates to CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria) on Domestic Crude Oil Sales and Reconciliation Statement of Technical Sub-committee of Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting held in January 2014.
“Amount not remitted to FAAC was N3,234,577,666,791.35,” the auditor-general said in his report.
Constitutionally, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) must hand over all oil revenue – which makes up about 70 per cent of total income – and money is then paid back based on a budget approved by parliament.
According to the latest figures on OPEC’s website, Nigeria’s oil exports are worth about $77 billion a year.
Development in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil producer and largest economy has been stunted by decades of corruption and mismanagement.
Recall that in 2014, the then central bank governor, Lamido Sanusi, was suspended after accusing the NNPC of failing to pay $20 billion into government accounts between January 2012 and July 2013. [myad]

Babatope To Buhari: You Dare Not Probe Jonathan

Greenbarge Reporters

March 14, 2016

A members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, has cautioned the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration against probing ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.
Babatope said that any attempt to probe the person of Jonathan would humiliate the PDP leader.
Reacting to pressure being mounted on President Buhari to investigate Jonathan, Babatope said that doing so would amount to laying a bad precedent.
He said however that the former President can only be probed “if it becomes brazenly open that a lot of thefts are traced to him, but for now nothing has been traced to him.”
Chief Babatope stressed that those who are calling for the probe of Jonathan “are enemies of this country. Whoever is spearheading the probe may be digging his political grave. Have they found him guilty?
“All the noise we have been hearing is about the security vote. Buhari embarked on such a probe during his first coming as a military leader when he threw all manner of Nigerian leaders into jail.
“The late sage, Pa Obafemi Awolowo, said you must not humiliate your leadership. When you decide to humiliate your leadership, it is not Jonathan that you’re humiliating, it is your values that you are casting aspersions on.”
Also the spokesperson of the Ijaw National Congress, Mr. Victor Burubo, said that it is wrong for anybody to begin the probe of the ex-President.
He said: “I don’t think he (Jonathan) should be probed. In every government, there are people responsible for various functions and when such people are found wanting, they are fished out and probed. It is not the head of the government that should be probed.
“In Buhari’s government, people padded the national budget. Would they now say that Buhari should be investigated? Nobody has said that Buhari should be investigated.”
The presidency had recently said that the anti-graft commission is free to probe Jonathan, adding that Buhari does not tele-guide the EFCC in any way.
Former national security adviser Sambo Dasuki, who is currently in detention, reportedly said that he received approvals from Jonathan to divert huge sums of money meant for the procurement of arms in the war against Boko Haram insurgents. While some want a prospective probe to be limited to former president’s Jonathan government, some countered that it should be extended to all past governments. [myad]

Osinbajo Announces Nigeria’s Move To Sign Zero Gas Flaring Agreement With UN

Greenbarge Reporters

March 14, 2016

Vice President Yemi Osibanjo has announced today, of the move by Nigerian, With the support of the National Assembly, to sign the United Nations Agreement on Zero Routing Gas Flaring by 2030.
Osinbajo said that the federal government had earlier set national target of 2020 to end gas flaring in the country.
Speaking today at the opening of the 6th African Petroleum Congress and Exhibition where he represented President Muhammadu Buhari, the Vice President, who declared the conference opened, said ending gas flaring is imperative for African oil producers considering the amount of waste involved.
This was even as he called on African countries to take
advantage of the gas-to-power potentials.
“There is also the gas-to-power challenge in many member-states and the paradox of much gas but precious little gas to fire power plants.
“It is time to take a much further stand on gas flaring, both from environmental and a waste-of-needed-resources perspectives.”
The Vice President told the gathering, composed of oil and energy ministers from several African countries and chieftains in the oil and gas sector that the incremental use of gas in Africa’s energy mix has become an imperative.
“if Africa must meet her future energy needs, the issue of the development of a robust gas infrastructure must be jointly addressed.”
According to him, of the over 150 billion cubit metres of associated gas that is is flared annually in the world, Africa flares an estimated 40 billion cubit metres, “while about half of that is flared by Nigeria.”
He said that Nigeria has the 7th largest deposit of gas in the world with reserves estimated at over 185 trillion cubic feet (TCF), and also the highest quality.
Addressing legislators, policy makers and oil and gas industry experts from around the continent at the International Conference Centre in Abuja, Professor Osinbajo said that with the present volatility in the industry, the coming years would be defining for African oil and gas producing countries.
He suggested that developing local content initiatives and policies would be very useful for the sector, even as he said that a common approach to local content will ensure that the whole of Africa benefit from economy of scale associated with vast resources.
He said that with the current oil prices and the challenges faced in the industry, the relevance and creativity of the African Petroleum Producers Association is being tested.
Vice President Osinbajo assured that the continent has all the resources needed to transform African countries and that there is no reason why the African oil and gas industry should remain attached to the apron springs of industries elsewhere.
He expressed the need for African oil producing countries to take their destiny in their hands, challenging African Petroleum Producers Association (APPA) member-countries to recognize the latent and huge resources in Africa and develop the strategy for the development of domestic refining capacity in the oil and gas critical for sustainable economic growth.
“We must explore mechanisms to expand regional refining capacities in an efficient and cost effective manner.”
He recalled Nigeria’s active involvement in the West African pipeline project expected to deliver clean, safe natural gas from Nigeria to countries in the sub-region.
The Vice President commended the organizers of the conference, describing the theme of the meeting: “Positioning African Petroleum For Global Development and Value Addition” as apt as hydro carbon now accounts for a significant proportion of government revenue and could help address the challenge of gas-to-power for energy generation.
In his welcome remarks, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, and President of APPA, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu said that the conference is coming at a critical period when the industry is experiencing price volatility. He observed that the situation is of global concern, threatening oil and gas investments, but that it also creates opportunities for new energy sources.
At the opening ceremony of conference were members of the National Assembly, members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), including the Communication Minister, Adebayo Shittu, the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal. The Executive Secretary of the association, Engr. Mohaman Gaya, envoys as well as local and international Petroleum Industry chieftains and experts were also in attendance. [myad]

Buhari Describes Terrorists As Merchants Of Evil, Sympathises With Cote D’Ivoire Over Sunday Attack

Greenbarge Reporters

March 14, 2016

President Muhammadu Buhari has described terrorists across the world as merchants of evil as he condemned Sunday’s terrorist attack on the Grand Bassam Resort in Cote D’Ivoire.
In a telephone call to President Alassane Ouattara after the attack, President Buhari restated his call for greater international cooperation against terrorists and their sponsors.
“They have attacked a hotel in Mali, leaving 21 people dead. They killed over 130 people in attacks on Paris and they murdered 28 persons in Burkina Faso.
“Terrorism does not respect territorial boundaries again. That is why the world has to come together, present a common front and deal with these merchants of evil.” President Buhari insisted that terrorism now transcends all national boundaries, even as he assured his Ivorian counterpart of Nigeria’s full solidarity and support as his country grapples with the consequences of the heinous attack and strives to overcome the new security challenges posed by the terrorist incursion.
Buhari conveyed the sympathy of the Federal Government and people of Nigeria to the people of Cote D’Ivoire as they mourn their compatriots and foreign visitors who lost their lives in the attack.
President Ouattara thanked President Buhari for Nigeria’s sympathy and solidarity. [myad]

INEC Shifts FCT Council Polls To April 9, Says Original Date Of March 19 Not Feasible

Greenbarge Reporters

March 14, 2016

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has rescheduled the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council Elections earlier scheduled for March 19 to now hold on April 9.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for the FCT, Professor Jacob S. Jatau, announced the rescheduling at an emergency stakeholders meeting today.
Professor Jatau said the Commission is not fully ready for the election on March 19, saying that the change in the date is to enable the Commission conduct free, fair and credible elections.
“It (the Commission) is also determined to deliver qualitative electoral services to Nigerians resident in the FCT.”
The Commissioner said that the Commission has reviewed its preparedness to guarantee the required results and in keeping with its policy on transparency, decided to brief stakeholders on the challenge it has encountered in the recruitment of ad-hoc workers for the election.
“Over a period of time, the Commission has collaborated well and enjoyed cordial relationship with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC): there is a challenge currently as the Commission has not been able to get the required number of corps members for the election scheduled for March 19, 2016.”
He said that given this challenge, the Commission began consultations with the authorities of the University of Abuja to get the balance of the required number of ad-hoc workers which has been received but that “it is not possible to adequately train and deploy them for the exercise.”
“In the light of this development therefore, the Commission has decided to shift the elections by three weeks. The new date for the Area Councils Elections in the FCT is April 9th, 2016. The tenure of the current Chairmen and Councilors will expire on May 17th, 2016.”
Professor Jatau called for the understanding and support of Political Parties and other stakeholders since the new date is still within the time allowed by law even as he appealed to the media for greater collaboration in the area of dissemination of relevant information to the electorate.
The Stakeholders meeting was attended by the FCT Police Commissioner, Wilson Inalegwu; NYSC State Coordinator, Omotayo Adewoye; representative of Directorate of State Security Service Ilupeju Adebayo and Administrative Secretary of the FCT INEC, A.A Adamu. [myad]

Egypt Devalues Currency As Foreign Inflow Decline

Greenbarge Reporters

March 14, 2016

Central Bank of Egypt has announced that it had devalued the Egyptian pound by 14.3 per cent to 8.95 to the United States dollar to face “challenges” emerging from declining foreign currency inflows.
The bank has been battling an acute US dollar shortage over the past few months, with the local currency often trading at a rate of almost 10 pounds to a dollar on the black market.
The devaluation boosted sentiment on the stock market, with Egypt’s benchmark EGX30 index rising 6.7 per cent to 7,003.91 in midday trading.
The Central Bank of Egypt said the move to devalue the pound was aimed at adopting a “more flexible foreign exchange policy” that would be driven by demand and supply.
“This will resolve the exchange rate irregularities, resulting in a more regular and continuous flow of foreign currency.”
It said in a statement that the move would also help face “challenges from a noticeable decline in foreign currency inflows from tourism, direct investment and remittances from Egyptians living overseas.”
Tourism, a cornerstone of the Egyptian economy and a key foreign exchange earner, has been severely hit by years of political turmoil triggered since the fall of longtime leader Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
It was dealt a body blow with the bombing of a Russian passenger airliner over the Sinai Peninsula on October 31 that killed all 224 people on board, mostly Russian tourists.
The jihadist Islamic State group said it blew up the plane with a bomb on board.
Revenues from tourism slumped 15 per cent year-on-year to $6.1bn in 2015.
Egypt’s foreign exchange reserves have fallen from more than $36bn in 2010 to about $16 billion, despite some $20bn given in aid to Cairo by its powerful Gulf allies.
But the bank said the reserves would reach $25bn by the end of 2016 on the back of “foreign investments and an increase in the competitiveness of the Egyptian economy.” [myad]

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