President Muhammadu Buhari has vowed to get rid of the endemic corruption that had, for years, weighed down the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). He said that an inter-ministerial committee will soon be established to speed up the re-organization and reformation of the Corporation. Speaking today at a meeting with the Chief Executive Officer of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Jin-Yong Cai, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, President Buhari said that the reformation of the NNPC had become inevitable in view of the corruption and abuse of its present structure in the recent past. The President also cited Nigeria’s current need to maximize income from every source of revenue as a further imperative for reforming the NNPC. He said that his administration is doing everything possible to boost national revenue so that it can effectively implement its programme of change and significantly improve the living conditions of Nigerians. Mr. Jin-Yong Cai, who is also the Vice President of the IFC, told President Buhari that with proper reformation and re-organisation, NNPC could become Africa’s largest company. “You have brought monumental changes since you got to power. You have brought in strong leadership and Nigeria has the opportunity under you to become highly reputable. “In NNPC, you can create an entity that is dominant in Africa, and this is the right time to do it, with the momentum you have created,” he told the President. [myad]
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has confirmed the investigation of Chief Olisa Metuh, the National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, over his alleged involvement in the $2.1 billion arms contract scam. The EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed to the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja today that Metuh was being investigated over the N1.4 billion traced to the account of a company, Destra Investment Limited, linked to him in the arms contract scam. “It is true that Metuh is being investigated by the EFCC but I do not have further details on the matter. I am not aware of his arrest by the EFCC, but will get back to you as soon as it is confirmed.” However, a statement by Richard Ihediwa, the Special Assistant to Metuh, said that EFCC officials visited the PDP National Publicity Secretary’s home in Abuja today and that he was asked to follow them to the commission’s headquarters. “Upon enquiry on the reasons for the invitation, the officials stated that he had some issues to clear with the commission. They also said he was not being arrested but on a friendly invitation. “The operatives, four in number, came in a white unmarked Toyota Hiace bus.” The statement said that Metuh was still being kept at the commission’s headquarters and that his lawyers were making “frantic” efforts to reach him. It added that the commission had yet to make public why Metuh was invited, even as it recalled that Metuh had severally raised alarm that his life was being threatened.
Meanwhile the National Secretary of the party, Professor Adewale Oladipo, has described the arrest of Metuh as part of the the growing political intolerance in our country and the foisting of a police state which was last Wednesday underscored by the President and Commander-in-Chief himself, who defended why a government in a democracy should flout constitutional provision and brazenly disobey court orders.
In a statement, Professor Oladipo said that this onslaught against the PDP’s spokesman is part of a larger script by the government to ensure that PDP wings are finally clipped in their mission to install a dictatorial one-party state in the country
The statement reads:
This development, which did not come to us as a surprise, given series of threats to our party’s spokesman by the APC and the Federal Government, who are obviously not comfortable with our stance on the confused state of the nation under their watch, is a continuation of APC’s grand design to silence and decimate the PDP.
The arrest of Chief Metuh today underscores the growing political intolerance in our country and the foisting of a police state which was last Wednesday underscored by the President and Commander-in-Chief himself, who defended why a government in a democracy should flout constitutional provision and brazenly disobey court orders.
This onslaught against our spokesman, according to intelligence available to us is part of a larger script by the government to ensure that PDP wings are finally clipped in their mission to install a dictatorial one-party state in the country.
The excesses of security agencies under this government, especially the Directorate of Security Services (DSS) and the EFCC, in abridging the human rights of PDP members have become worrisome and a threat to our democratic evolution.
Nigerians and the international community will recall that on a number of occasions, the PDP, through its spokesman has been outspoken on some undemocratic proclivities being exhibited by the APC-led Federal Government in the last seven months.
The PDP insists that for whatever reason Chief Metuh was arrested, his rights as a citizen under the law must not be trampled upon. We therefore demand for his immediate release and that due process of investigation and prosecution concerning him should be strictly adhered to.
We state this because we have been made aware of top directives to break Chief Metuh and if possible poison him during his detention by the EFCC. Chief Metuh, has since his arrest at about 10 am, has been kept incommunicado, with his lawyers denied access to him.
The PDP declares the arrest of our spokesman as the last straw that may break our democracy. We therefore forewarn the Federal Government and its agencies to save our democracy and forthwith release our National Publicity Secretary.
We are also calling on the international community and well-meaning Nigerians to stand up for this democracy, which our party nurtured for 16 years and deepened to a level where the opposition, for the first time in our political history, had the opportunity to win in a general election. [myad]
Chairman emeritus of DAAR Communication, owner of Africa Independent Television (AIT) and Raypower Radio, Chief Raymond Dopkesi has sent season’s greeting cards to President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
Dokpesi is currently on bail in the sum of N200 Million, having been charged by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission on a six-count of alleged money laundering.
The giant cards bearing goodwill messages on Eid el Maulud, Christmas and New Year was delivered today at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, by a team led by the communication outfit’s Chairman, Mr. Raymond Dokpesi Jnr.
Others on the delegation were the Managing Director, Mr. Tony Akiotu; Managing Director, DAAR News Services, Imoni Amarere; Head, Human Resource, Paulyn Ugbodaga; and Head, Corporate Communications, Kunle Onime.
They were received on behalf of the President by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, who was joined by a Director of Information, Mr. Justin Abuah.
The message on the giant card read: “The chairman, Board of Directors, Management and staff of DAAR Communications Plc, proprietors and operators of Raypower FM, Africa Independent Television and Faaji FM, most heartily felicitate with Your Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR and family on the occasions of Eid Maulud, Christmas and New Year 2016.”
The delegation also moved to the Vice President’s office where they were received by his Senior Special Assistant Documentation, Mr. Sesan Adeboyejo.
Adeboyejo received the giant card on behalf of his boss and posed for photographs with members of the delegation. [myad]
A foremost traditional ruler in Nigeria, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi has conferred on the Governor of Osun state, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, a traditional title of “Omoluabi of Yoruband.” The Monarch who comferred that title on the governor today at the Government House Osogbo, said that the Osun governor has always been at the forefront of projecting the “Omoluabi ethos” which the yoruba race has been preaching. He said that he has been monitored the administrative and leadership style of the governor since inception of he came to power and that Ogbeni Aregbesola has shown that he is really “Omoluabi. “The Yorubas are a tribe that always instill in their children and the youths all the characters of a responsible and well brought up individual, I have studied the leadership style of Aregbesola among all the governors in the country and have discovered that he is the only one who has through his leadership style projected the “Omoluabi ethos” of the Youruba race. “Aregbesola is a man that breathes responsibility at all times. We have been hearing of an Omoluabi for a long time and am so happy that we now have a Governor who is leading by example.” The royal father used the opportunity to call on the people of Osun state to support the government of the day by paying their taxes regularly, stressing that taxation is the most efficient and sure way to give the people good government. Oba Adeyemi who lamented the dwindling nature of the federal allocation, pointed out that the only way out of the economic logjam is for the people to carry out their civic responsibilities as individuals. He added that if the people support the government of Aregbesola with their taxes, his present administration will find it easier to fulfill its obligations such as prompt payment of salaries and adequate provision of infrastructure, health care facilities and security. “All over the world, taxation is the way out, for government to be able to conveniently provide for all the amenities and pay salaries conveniently, the people must endeavour to pay their taxes regularly. “I want to urge the people of Osun to assist the present administration with the payment of their taxes, the present administration has done so much in terms of provision of social amenities such as construction of good roads, provision of affordable health care facilities, assistance for the aged. “I also know that the Aregbesola administration has been providing free school uniforms as well as feeding the school pupils, something which no government has ever done, not even the federal government. “If such a government now demands for a tax of just one thousand five hundred naira per individual in a year, I don’t think its too much. “We need to realise that it has come to a stage where government can no longer do it alone, Osun allocation has dropped drastically and government may not be able to pay salaries and provide other amenities again except we show our support through the regular payment of our taxes.” Responding, Governor Rauf Aregbesola said that the reign of Oba Lamidi Adeyemi has been very peaceful and fruitful, even as he prayed that God should make the royal father’s resign more peaceful and eventful. [myad]
In keeping with his promise to accord priority to the welfare of workers, the Ebonyi State Governor, Chief David Umahi, has promised to pay workers’ January salaries on the 15. Umahi spoke today in his country home, Uburu when the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) paid him New Year homage. The governor said that he had to step down some projects last December to give junior workers 100 percent extra salary and 50 percent to senior workers, adding: “in the next 13 days workers will receive salary for January.” He said that the initial misunderstanding he had with the organized labour in the state “was brought by God himself because it made us to be on our toes.” Umahi attributed the success so far recorded by his administration to God’s instruction, and promised workers of better welfare this New Year. “There is no how we will implement an N101 billion budget without the lives of workers changing, absolutely, no how.” The governor said that he is committed to implementing the 2016 budget 100 percent, even as he assured that his fight against corruption in the state would be total. Governir Umahi told the leadership of the organized labour that after the festive period, “we will try to organize properly and move together as a people. “I won’t forget your labour of love; I won’t forget your commitment and I won’t forget all the struggles. We do remember.” Earlier, the Chairman of the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council, Comrade Ikechukwu Nwafor, said the delegation identified with the governor in this season of the Yuletide. “Labour cannot afford to celebrate this Christmas and New Year without coming to identify with this government and to pray that this year will be a better year for the government and workers of Ebonyi State.” Meanwhile, Umahi has appealed to the people of Ohaozara Local Government Area to unite to attain greater heights this year. Speaking when the stakeholders of Okposi Okwu and Mgbom Okposi autonomous communities visited him, the governor regretted that the seed of disunity caused by some disgruntled politicians had robbed the area of meaningful progress. Umahi informed the stakeholders that the street light project of the state government would be extended to Okposi while the Okposi-Ugwulangwu- Ukawu road would be constructed. He stressed the intention of his administration to develop the salt deposits in the area into modern salt factories as soon as the necessary tests were carried out to ascertain their quantity and quality. The governor also announced that all issues relating to “Ezeship” of Okposi Okwu has been put on hold pending the burial of a former Minister of Education, the late Dr.Igwe Aja Nwachukwu. He warned the youth against cultism, stressing that his administration would not fail to prosecute anyone found to be involved in activities that negated the peace of the area. [myad]
Carol Ajie is a Lawyer. I am not. I am a Lecturer, Carol is not. I took one look at her petition against President Buhari and her call for the respected leader of the most populous black nation to resign and I thought, “Joker, who set her up?”. But that’s her opinion from the view point of a lawyer. But as a Lecturer, and a layman in law, I would try to teach Carol one or two lessons she missed or even educate her on how not to make herself a laughing stock. One lesson Carol and all those lawyers who are selective in their “Fight for Justice,” must learn first is that lawyers are well respected across the world and Nigeria is not an exception. However, it takes very little for Nigerians to caste anyone from the height of respectability to the abyss of ignominy and notoriety. If Carol was seeking fame and respect, allowing herself to be used by the likes of Femi Fani-Kayode and Oliseh Metuh has obviously done the opposite. She has drawn the ire of Nigerians. This is because many Nigerians can no longer see any line, not even a thin one, between IPOB and PDP. Another lesson is that President Obama of the United States, although an illustrious son of Afric,a is not the Prime Minister of Nigeria nor the General Overseer. Because President Obama did not also register to vote in Nigeria, President Buhari is not accountable to President Obama. Nigeria is a part of some world bodies like the United Nations but by and large, Nigeria is a sovereign nation and not answerable to any other nation. President Buhari is not a subject of President Obama of the United States of America. I therefore do not see the need or the point of Carol addressing the nonsense she ignorantly penned to President Obama. Looking into the Nigerian Lawbooks and the constitution of our land, Barrister Aliyu Abdullahi insists that the power to hear a petition against the President by the National Assembly is non existence. He went on to add that the National Assembly can however, institute impeachment proceedings where there’s evidence of a gross misconduct, which till today no law has sufficiently defined what constitutes a “gross misconduct”. I believe Carol is aware of this or she is just being mischievous. Coming to the uninformed and frivolous allegations of meddlesomeness in the judiciary by president Buhari, it’s very clear that Carol, does not have a firm grasp of what the laws say in Nigeria. So far, our president has respected the boundaries between the executive and the judiciary. That’s what democracy demands. This too has been lost on Carol. But who can blame her? When one decides to go into partnership with embittered PDP remnants such as Chief Oliseh Metuh and FFK, they hit at the air and swallow a combination of shame and disgrace. If Carol followed the trend on the Nnamdi Kanu or of the Dasukigate as it unfolded or did her homework as all professionals do, she should have discovered or at least guessed that there are litany of charges lurking in the background and waiting to be hurled at Nnamdi Kanu or Col Sambo Dasuki and his ilk as they try to use injunctions and bail applications to pervert the cause of justice. Agreed that the courts have a right to issue injunctions and to grant bails. The anti corruption agencies also have to be clever and on their feet. They have the right to bring new charges against any accused person, as long as they can prove their case. Nnamdi Kanu was facing charges at the magistrate Court for which he was discharged on the application for the withdrawal of charges made by the DSS. The reason being that a higher charge of treason has now been filed against Kanu at a High court. We are not aware that Kanu applied for bail, yet! How Carol arrived at the conclusion that President Buhari was disobeying court orders for not supporting the release of some people who are facing grave criminal charges, is beyond Nigerians. Nigerians on the Social Media and everywhere were outraged that Carol was making a case for corruption and insurgency, two issues that have weighed heavily on the minds of President Buhari and millions of Nigerians. Issues that contributed to institutionalising poverty in our nation. Issues that dislocated families and made numerous people refugees in their own nation. Issues that have sent multitudes to their early graves. Issues that ex President Jonathan neglected to confront but which President Buhari is courageously and bravely confronting. It’s common knowledge that our criminal justice system need a facelift in terms of reforms. We all agree that our courts need judges who can exercise their discretion more in the interest of the Nigerian people as a nation. Aliyu Abdullahi, a lawyer, thinks it’s high time Nigeria revisits it’s laws on corruption, the trial procedure and that penalty should be all encompassing and severe to have the intended deterrence effect. That’s how a lawyer thinks. That’s what Carol should be focusing on. To lend her name as an advocate of corruption to the point of asking President Buhari to resign, is the deepest pit one can dive into and I doubt there’s a ladder long enough to help one climb out. Nigerians are delighted with President Buhari’s work of rebuilding our nation from the ruins of corruption. Corruption enabled our elected and appointed political office holders who looted the funds we gave them in trust to keep us under. They are unhappy that the love affair between President Buhari and ordinary Nigerians is waxing stronger and that he is determined to keep acting and protecting the interests of the ordinary Nigerian people. We are delighted that he would nip insurgency in the bud by keeping us safe from security threats, be they from Zaria, Biafra or elsewhere. For the sake of ordinary Nigerians who suffer most the effects of corruption and insecurity we say, “#FireOnBuhari”. Lauretta Onochie @Laurestar laurestar@aol.co.uk. [myad]
President Muhammadu Buhari commiserates with the Government and the people of Kogi State over the death of the former Nigerian Permanent Secretary in the Northern Region’s Ministry of Health, Dr. Abdul I. Atta.
In a statement by the special adviser to the President on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, the President said that Dr. Atta will always be remembered as an illustrious civil servant who served his region and country very well with his remarkable medical and administrative skills.
The President recalls that Dr. Atta treated his patients with great care and compassion, and also administered the Ministries of Health in Northern Nigeria and the old North Central State with exemplary efficiency.
President Buhari urges all who mourn the late doctor and administrator to be comforted by the knowledge that he lived a long, worthy and fulfilled life of service to his country.
He prays that God Almighty will receive Dr. Atta’s soul and grant him peaceful rest. [myad]
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, has promised to engage no fewer than 3,000 youths at the ongoing project site in Ile-Ife.
In a statement by the Director of Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Moses Olafare, the Ooni said that he has dedicated the new year 2016 to turn around the fortunes of the youth by unfolding a new vista of hope in terms of gainful employment.
The Arole Oodua felicitated with the people of Ile-Ife, Osun state and Nigeria in general for the New Year 2016.
“No fewer than 3,000 youths would be engaged at ongoing project site of Ife Grand Resort, spanning over 1000 hectares of land to provide job opportunities for the people.”
He said that his focus and target are beyond the shores of Ile-Ife as critical arrangements have reached advanced stage to take the unemployed youths off the streets, with a view to check mating the growing crime rate in our society. [myad]
Following the diplomatic row that erupted between Saudi Arabia and Iran over the exdcuting of a prominent Shiite leader, Sheikh Nimr al-Namr on Saturday and the order given by Saudi government to its citizens in Iran to return home, over 80 Saudis, including diplomats and their families have already left Iran and arrived in Dubai today.
Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran late yesterday night, giving diplomats 48 hours to leave the country, after protesters set fire to its embassy in Tehran and a consulate in second city Mashhad.
Tensions began to rise between the two countries when Saudi Arabia and its allies cut diplomatic ties with Tehran in a row over the execution of a Shiite cleric.
The execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr erupted into a full-blown diplomatic crisis as Riyadh and then Bahrain and Sudan severed their relations with Tehran, the main Shiite power.
The United States and other Western nations urged calm, amid fears the dispute could derail efforts to resolve conflicts across the Middle East, from Syria to Yemen.
It has also raised concerns of an increase in sectarian violence, including in Iraq where two Sunni mosques were blown up overnight.
Bahrain and Sudan followed suit today by leaving Iran, as Moscow offered to act as an intermediary between Riyadh and Tehran.
The United Arab Emirates also downgraded its ties, recalling its envoy from Tehran and reducing the number of its diplomats in the country.
Sunni Arab nations accused Tehran of repeatedly meddling in their affairs, with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir saying “Iran’s history is full of negative interference and hostility in Arab issues”.
Bahrain accused Iran of “increasing flagrant and dangerous meddling” in Gulf and Arab states, while the UAE said Iranian interference had reached “unprecedented levels”.
Iranian officials denounced the Saudi move as a tactic that would inflame regional tensions.
“Saudi Arabia sees not only its interests but also its existence in pursuing crises and confrontations and (it) attempts to resolve its internal problems by exporting them to the outside,” foreign ministry spokesman, Hossein Jaber Ansari said. [myad]
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President Muhammadu Buhari has vowed to get rid of the endemic corruption that had, for years, weighed down the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
PDP, IPBO: The Difference Not Clear, By Lauretta Onochie
One lesson Carol and all those lawyers who are selective in their “Fight for Justice,” must learn first is that lawyers are well respected across the world and Nigeria is not an exception. However, it takes very little for Nigerians to caste anyone from the height of respectability to the abyss of ignominy and notoriety. If Carol was seeking fame and respect, allowing herself to be used by the likes of Femi Fani-Kayode and Oliseh Metuh has obviously done the opposite. She has drawn the ire of Nigerians. This is because many Nigerians can no longer see any line, not even a thin one, between IPOB and PDP.
Another lesson is that President Obama of the United States, although an illustrious son of Afric,a is not the Prime Minister of Nigeria nor the General Overseer. Because President Obama did not also register to vote in Nigeria, President Buhari is not accountable to President Obama. Nigeria is a part of some world bodies like the United Nations but by and large, Nigeria is a sovereign nation and not answerable to any other nation. President Buhari is not a subject of President Obama of the United States of America. I therefore do not see the need or the point of Carol addressing the nonsense she ignorantly penned to President Obama.
Looking into the Nigerian Lawbooks and the constitution of our land, Barrister Aliyu Abdullahi insists that the power to hear a petition against the President by the National Assembly is non existence. He went on to add that the National Assembly can however, institute impeachment proceedings where there’s evidence of a gross misconduct, which till today no law has sufficiently defined what constitutes a “gross misconduct”. I believe Carol is aware of this or she is just being mischievous.
Coming to the uninformed and frivolous allegations of meddlesomeness in the judiciary by president Buhari, it’s very clear that Carol, does not have a firm grasp of what the laws say in Nigeria. So far, our president has respected the boundaries between the executive and the judiciary. That’s what democracy demands. This too has been lost on Carol. But who can blame her? When one decides to go into partnership with embittered PDP remnants such as Chief Oliseh Metuh and FFK, they hit at the air and swallow a combination of shame and disgrace.
If Carol followed the trend on the Nnamdi Kanu or of the Dasukigate as it unfolded or did her homework as all professionals do, she should have discovered or at least guessed that there are litany of charges lurking in the background and waiting to be hurled at Nnamdi Kanu or Col Sambo Dasuki and his ilk as they try to use injunctions and bail applications to pervert the cause of justice. Agreed that the courts have a right to issue injunctions and to grant bails. The anti corruption agencies also have to be clever and on their feet. They have the right to bring new charges against any accused person, as long as they can prove their case.
Nnamdi Kanu was facing charges at the magistrate Court for which he was discharged on the application for the withdrawal of charges made by the DSS. The reason being that a higher charge of treason has now been filed against Kanu at a High court. We are not aware that Kanu applied for bail, yet! How Carol arrived at the conclusion that President Buhari was disobeying court orders for not supporting the release of some people who are facing grave criminal charges, is beyond Nigerians.
Nigerians on the Social Media and everywhere were outraged that Carol was making a case for corruption and insurgency, two issues that have weighed heavily on the minds of President Buhari and millions of Nigerians. Issues that contributed to institutionalising poverty in our nation. Issues that dislocated families and made numerous people refugees in their own nation. Issues that have sent multitudes to their early graves. Issues that ex President Jonathan neglected to confront but which President Buhari is courageously and bravely confronting.
It’s common knowledge that our criminal justice system need a facelift in terms of reforms. We all agree that our courts need judges who can exercise their discretion more in the interest of the Nigerian people as a nation. Aliyu Abdullahi, a lawyer, thinks it’s high time Nigeria revisits it’s laws on corruption, the trial procedure and that penalty should be all encompassing and severe to have the intended deterrence effect. That’s how a lawyer thinks. That’s what Carol should be focusing on. To lend her name as an advocate of corruption to the point of asking President Buhari to resign, is the deepest pit one can dive into and I doubt there’s a ladder long enough to help one climb out.
Nigerians are delighted with President Buhari’s work of rebuilding our nation from the ruins of corruption. Corruption enabled our elected and appointed political office holders who looted the funds we gave them in trust to keep us under. They are unhappy that the love affair between President Buhari and ordinary Nigerians is waxing stronger and that he is determined to keep acting and protecting the interests of the ordinary Nigerian people. We are delighted that he would nip insurgency in the bud by keeping us safe from security threats, be they from Zaria, Biafra or elsewhere. For the sake of ordinary Nigerians who suffer most the effects of corruption and insecurity we say, “#FireOnBuhari”.
Lauretta Onochie
@Laurestar
laurestar@aol.co.uk. [myad]