Edo State female footballers playing for the state owned female club known as the Edo Queens in the Nigeria Premier League (NPL), today, protested the non-payment of over two years salaries and allowances.
The footballers said they were stranded as they could not raise transportation fares to their respective states to celebrate Christmas.
The Edo Queens who stormed the premises of the Edo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in protest said they have been neglected by the authorities of Edo State Sports Council.
The players said their plight was compounded by the slashing of their away match bonus from N3, 000 to N2, 500.
The footballers’ spokesperson and Nigeria’s goal keeper at the 2014 under-17 tournament, Okeke Oyinye, said they would be having a bleak Christmas celebration after all efforts to get the authorities to pay part of the salary failed.
“We went to the ministry we were told that the government was already processing our payment and that we should proceed on holiday and resume on January 6.
“And we are saying they should pay us because we don’t even have transport to travel to our respective states and celebrate with our family,” she stated.
Reacting to the development, the state’s commissioner for youths and sports, Chris Okaeben, said the protest was not necessary because the government has put machineries in place to clear the arrears.
“So you mean those girls are protesting? How many are they? They should consider themselves sacked because we are already in the process of paying them.”
Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to be courageous enough to prosecute all those who breached the electoral act on election expenses.
Falana who was reaction to the donation of N21.7billion to the Peoples Democratic Party campaign organization by some individual and organizations towards the 2015 general election, decried the monetisation of the political process.
The PDP has come under pressure to unveil those who made donations to the party.
Falana, however, said the monetization of the electoral process was not limited to the ruling party, adding that PDP, APC, APGA and LP have already realised billions of naira from aspirants through the sales of expression of interest and nomination forms.
“Many aspirants contested and won the primary elections only to have the results annulled.”
The Buhari Support Organisation, the umbrella body coordinating the activities of various support groups campaigning for General Muhammadu Buhari’s presidential bid has said that it has so far received the donation of N54,415,386.70 through direct deposit and sale of cards to members.
The group which hosted Buhari to a media chat on Tuesday said the money being generated under its crowd funding initiative is being warehoused in a First Bank account 2026724405
Currently, the BSO said it has registered well over 8,492,226 members with over 475,796 coordinators spread throughout the length and breadth of the country.
Speaking at the event, Buhari said he would like to disabuse the minds of critics of his campaign style who had already started accusing him of violating the provisions of the Electoral Law that he has nothing to hide about the source of his funds.
He recalled that he had earlier launched an initiative to raise fund through voluntary contributions from loyalists and supporters who are expected to pay at least N100 each. “My financial strength is based on that of the ordinary Nigerians.”
On whether he intends to collaborate with other presidential aspirants who contested the APC ticket with him, Buhari said he had already begun reaching out to them and that he hoped to run a uniform campaign with all the leaders of the party given opportunity to assist.
Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote’s fortune is fast waning following the nearly 10 percent devaluation of the Naira, announced a few weeks ago by the governor of the Central Bank of Ngeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.
Dangote is now the biggest loser among Nigeria’s richest people as the Naira’s slump, coupled with falling stock prices. They have erased more than $7.8 billion of his fortune since February, when FORBES locked in the values for its annual ranking of the World’s Billionaires. Dangote was worth $25 billion at the time; as of market close today, he’s worth $17.2 billion.
More than half of the drop in his fortune has happened since early November. As of Nov. 7, Dangote was worth $21.6 billion, $4.4 billion more than now.
Analysts said that the last few weeks have been a bit of a disaster for many companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Several blue-chip stocks such as Dangote Cement, Zenith Bank, Transcorp and United Bank of Africa among several others have hit one-year-lows as a result of the fall in oil prices, a general uncertainty regarding the 2015 general elections, Central Bank regulatory headwinds, and weak earnings from large cap companies. These have all contributed toward putting naira-denominated assets including equities at risk.
“This is whipping up negative market sentiments as foreign and institutional investors such as pension funds who hold equity stakes in companies (due to their large cap and liquidity status) have mostly fled their positions,” says Ugodre Obi-Chukwu, a leading financial analyst and publisher of Nairametrics, a website that provides analysis and opinion about Nigerian stocks, investing, personal finance and the economy.
Dangote Cement, Africa’s largest manufacturer of cement has shed close to 40% of its market value between the beginning of November and now. The company’s stock, which was trading at N215 ($1.15) at the beginning of November, is now valued at N165 (88 Cents) as at Monday. At the beginning of November, Dangote’s stake in the cement manufacturer was valued at more than $18 billion. It is now valued at $13.2 billion. Dangote has also lost more than $230 million in paper value within the same period on his stakes in publicly-traded Dangote Sugar, Dangote Flour, and National Salt Company of Nigeria. Between November (when FORBES published the list of Africa’s 50 Richest) and today, Dangote, has lost more than $4 billion in his net worth.
After Dangote, the second biggest loser among Nigeria’s ultra-rich is Tony Elumelu, the Chairman of Heirs Holdings, an investment company. Heirs Holdings, which is wholly-owned by Elumelu, is the controlling shareholder in Transcorp, a publicly-listed conglomerate with interests in power production, hotels and agriculture. Transcorp’s current market capitalization is now $700 million, down from $1.4 billion at the beginning of November. Heirs Holdings has lost an estimated $345 million in paper value on Transcorp, and its stake in the company as at Monday is now worth roughly $400 million, down from $700 million. Elumelu’s investments in other listed companies like UBA, Africa Prudential PLC and UBA Capital have shed a little over $27 million in value.
Other big losers include Nigerian multi-millionaire banker Jim Ovia, a co-founder of Zenith Bank. The value of his stake in the financial services provider is $240 million as of late Monday, down from more than $350 million last month. He owns a 9 percent stake in the bank.
Twenty one Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors are believed to be owing school teachers and other workers in their respective state as at the time, last week they collectively announced the donation of N1.5 billion of naira to the presidential campaign funds in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Some of the governors are said to be owing the workers for an upward of two and three months’ salaries. In Ebonyi state, authorities are said to be owing teachers under the Universal Basic Education scheme for nearly 12 months of salaries.
In Abia State, secondary school teachers were last paid in August, while primary school teachers have been owed since October.
In Akwa Ibom State, the nation’s leading oil producer which draws more than triple of what other states receive from the federation account monthly, local government workers were on strike. Before the strike, they were forced to receive half salaries for several months, while authorities claimed they had no money.
In Cross River, the situation had worsened after months of indebtedness that state-run television, the Cross River Broadcasting Corporation (CRBC), shut off production last week and has since remained off air till date. Other staff fortunate to have received reasonably up-to-date pay, have yet to be paid for November.
But on Saturday night, Cross State governor, Liyel Imoke, stood next to his Bauchi State colleague, Isa Yuguda, as Yuguda announced to the president and the nation how the 21 governors who had been struggling to pay salaries long before the present oil crisis, rallied N50 million each in donation to the PDP.
“We may do more in future, but that is what we were able to raise for now,” Yuguda assured.
In all, the PDP and the president raked in over N21 billion, with donations coming from government contractors, nameless associates, and Tunde Ayeni, the head of Skye Bank, who has bought a string of government assets, including the mega telecoms carrier, NITEL/MTEL, in a process that has already become controversial.
On Monday, Arabian Amlak Investment Limited, one of the 22 companies that bid for NITEL, filed a legal challenge, saying the Nigerian government, through the Bureau of Public Enterprises, deliberately skewed the privatisation process to favour Mr. Ayeni’s company.
As chairman of the PDP fund raiser, Mr. Ayeni donated N2 billion. He announced that he was donating N1 billion on behalf of himself and an unnamed partner, and another two billion on behalf of his friends. After a while, Mr. Ayeni returned to the podium to announce another donation of half a billion naira on behalf of himself and other players in the country’s power sector.
Governors Mukhtar Ramalan Yero of Kaduna State and Jonah Jang of Plateau state
Governor Mukhtar Yero of Kaduna State has presented a budget proposal of N203,700,855,271 to the State House of Assembly for the 2015 fiscal year even as Plateau state governor, Jonah Jang has also presented the state budget estimate of N215,465,835,418 to the State House of Assembly. The Plateau state budget decreases by N10 Billion when compared to the 2014 budget of N225,058,026,306.
Presenting the budget on the floor of the House today, governor Yero said the budget of was made up of N72,788,841,776 (Seventy Two Billion, Seven Hundred and Eighty Eight Million, Eight Hundred and Forty One Thousand, Seven Hundred and Seventy Six Naira only) for the recurrent expenditure.
This, he said represented 35.72 per cent of the total budget while the capital expenditure was put at the sum of N130,912,013,495 (One Hundred and Thirty Billion, Nine Hundred and Twelve Million, Thirteen Thousand, Four Hundred and Ninety Five Naira only), translating to 64.28 per cent of the budget.
The governor added that the 2015 budget tagged ‘Budget of Consolidation and Continuity, was based on the administration’s determination to ensure the completion of all ongoing projects in the state.
According to the governor, the capital expenditure for the 2015 budget is categorised into four broad sectors including Economic Sector with an allocation of N42,741,440,735
The social sector, he added, was allocated N37,527,103,840 while the regional and general administration sector got N23,124,954,255 and N27,518,514,695 respectively, bringing the total to N130,9bn.
The breakdown of the budget shows that Works and Transport receive the lion share of N29.4bn followed by Education with N20.5bn while allocations to other key sectors include Water Supply, N16.8bn; Health, N12.2bn and Agriculture, N7.17bn.
The governor told the lawmakers that his administration would give priority to completing ongoing projects across the state, which he noted, would facilitate the movement of goods and people for the economic growth of the state.
Also presenting the budget Plateau state budget, christened Budget of Transition and Inclusive Growth (V) to the Assembly in Jos, governor Jang said the budget was made up of N92,494,335,822 recurrent estimate, representing 42.93 per cent while N122,971,499,596 is for capital estimate, representing 57.07 per cent.
He said the budget would focus on the completion of ongoing projects and ensure a gradual transition of the present administration and smooth take-off of the incoming administration.
Jang said, “Through this budget, we are responding to series of challenges, which include accelerating inclusive growth and development in the face of challenges in both the domestic and external environment; investing in key infrastructure such as road, water, education, health and Information Communication Technology as the foundational base for sustainable growth and development; and renewing our commitment to progressively deliver on our constitutional mandate of securing the lives and property of our people in both the urban and rural areas.”
The governor added that the focus would be on agricultural development for employment and income generation.
Jang said the 2015 budget would be funded from Internally Generated Revenue, which has an estimate of N16.8bn while N43,69bn would be for the Statutory Revenue Allocation, showing a drop of 6.41 per cent from last year.
“Sure-P is projected at N2,617,036,075, and expects re-reimbursements from the Federal Government on intervention on federal roads, which is N15.3bn
Deputy National Chairman (North) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Lawal Shuaibu has said that the leaders of the ruling People Democratic Party (PDP) in the North have resolved to support the candidacy of General Mohammadu Buhari, contrary to what they are telling Nigerians.
Shuaibu said that the opinion of some leaders of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) against Buhari does not hold water as, according to him “ACF is not a political organization. It is a cultural organisation. So, what anybody from that organisation says does not reflect on the political opinion of the generality of the people in the North.”
He said: “Let me tell you, I never said it before but I should say it now that the leaders of the PDP from the North are resolved for Buhari come February 14th 2015, go and write it down and say I told you this. Forget what they are telling you, forget what they are telling Nigerians, of course, man must eat but when it comes to that day you will see what is going to happen.”
Senator Lawal Shuaibu said in an interview today in Abuja, that the kind of change that is going to blow in 2015 general elections does not have respect for the power of incumbency, adding that “When Nigerians are resolved they go all the whole hog to realise the revolution.”
On the state of insurgency in most APC control states, the APC chieftain said: “Elections were held in Afghanistan. Legislative election also held in Syria, elections were equally held in Iraq. So, insurgency is not an impediment. The people in the Northeast are too eager to use their vote and express their opinions as regards the incumbent government because they feel highly disenchanted.
On the recent fund raising for the PDP Presidential candidate at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Senator Lawal Shuaibu said that for INEC to ensure transparency, it should demand for the receipt issued to each donor by the PDP and the account of the ruling party as according to him such monies cannot come in Ghana- Must- Go but rather through either electronic transfer or certain instruments like a Cheque or Draft.
“We must know the source of that money. If the money comes from the government account then INEC has responsibility to sanction the PDP or sanction even the individual who stole government’s money and donate for political campaigns.”
The APC deputy chairman said that his party will publish names of donors who contribute to its campaign fundraising and will not accept anonymous donations to ensure transparency.
“In our own case, we wanted to do fundraising, and I am telling you our fundraising is going to be very transparent because whoever donates we are going to publish. We are going to publish all donors to our fundraising so that, let the world see. We will not accept anonymous donors. And then whoever brings in money, it is for the world to know where this money is coming from. So we don’t have any fear over the 21 billion Naira raised by the PDP as far as there will be transparency as the law stipulates, and as far as INEC will be neutral and prepared to enforce the provision of the electoral act against any party that violates it,” he added.
He also dismissed the possibility of violence before or after the 2015 elections saying that it is the PDP that has been raising the false alarm. He stated that the fear being expressed by the ruling party is based on the premise that it will have no chance to rig as people will definitely react as he said they have been cheated in the past which they will definitely resist at this time.
The APC chieftain also said the power of incumbency and insurgency will not be an impediment to the success of the party although the insurgency is more pronounced in the APC stronghold of the North Eastern part of the country.
Shortly after his appointment as National Security Adviser, Gen. Owoye Andrew Azazi, at his own request, met with me in my office in Lagos to discuss the State of the Nation. It was on the eve of the 2011 elections. I told the General that I was not worried about the conduct of the elections or about the outcome which I expected President Goodluck Jonathan to win. What really worried me, I told the General, was the management of the violence that would ensue after the elections. I was sure that there would be violence on a massive scale and I made some suggestions to him about how I thought the violence could be contained. My suggestions were not acted upon. The elections occurred, President Jonathan won and all hell broke loose. Missing were the conflict-controlled measures which I had discussed with Gen. Azazi.
Now, we are back at the same crossroads again, except this time is more precarious and dangerous than the last time. Firstly, we have this very notorious prediction from the United States of America’s semi-official sources that the world is expecting a cataclysmic meltdown of the Nigerian nation come 2015. Of course, most Nigerians have taken umbrage at this prediction for their country. But there are Nigerians who are indifferent to the outcome of this prediction. One of my low moments during the just concluded 2014 National Conference was when in an attempt to break an impasse, I painted a grim picture of devastation which would follow a breakdown of the Nigerian state, to which a delegate between 45 and 55 years old replied, “So what?” I thought to myself, here is a man who would probably run away to a neighbouring country at the boom of the first gun but was callously indifferent to the fate of the youth, women and children who would be caught in the middle.
Secondly, the certainty of violence after the 2015 elections is higher than it was in 2011. If President Jonathan wins, the North would erupt into violence as it did in 2011. If Buhari wins, the Niger Delta will erupt into violence. I don’t believe that we need rocket science to make this prediction.
The violence of 2015 is going to be horrendous and worse than the one of 2011 for the simple reason that the illegal massive importation of weapons into the country has reached such alarming proportions that I really wonder which is better armed, the militias on the one hand or the official armed forces on the other hand. For the avoidance of doubt, I am not imputing the illegal importation of arms to any particular zone. Some years ago, some Iranians were arrested for bringing in a shipload of weapons into Lagos harbour. They were tried and jailed and then smuggled out of the country. Some months ago, sophisticated weapons were discovered buried in the basement of a Kano house. All these have now fallen below the radar. These are the ones we know about. How many do we not know about?
There are states and movements out there, African and non-African, which do not mean well for the Nigerian state, which wish Nigeria to dissolve into a theatre of bloodshed, gore and instability. They will succeed if we continue the politics of making enemies of ourselves and friends of our enemies.
WHAT IS THE WAY FORWARD:
The first step forward is for the two presidential candidates to meet and sign a Memorandum of Undertaking that will commit both to:
A civil and peaceful campaign, devoid of threats. A commitment to preach peaceful elections to their supporters.
A commitment to control their supporters after the elections. Supporters of whoever loses should be entitled to peaceful protests but not to violent protests. I also appeal to the following:
The Sultan, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III; the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi II; the Lamido of Adamawa, Alhaji Muhammadu Barkindo Mustapha; the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade; the Oba of Benin, Omo N’oba Erediauwa; Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, His Excellency General Yakubu Gowon and His Excellency, Gen. Abubakar Abdulsalami to facilitate the pre-election meeting between the candidates, the preparation off the Memorandum of Undertaking and as a Council of Wisemen to assist in managing the post-election conflicts.
Yours sincerely
Bolaji Akinyemi
December 22, 2014
Prof. Akinyemi is a former Minister of External (Foreigna) Affairs and Deputy Chairman at the 2014 National Conference.
APC Presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd)
There are indications that the Presidential candidate of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) Major Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.), is wooing the 22 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirants, who have been aggrieved over the conduct of the PDP’s governorship primary in Akwa Ibom State recently.
It was learnt that the aggrieved aspirants, otherwise known as G22, had been under intense pressure to defect to the APC.
The G22, who were said to have earlier ignored the calls to defect to the opposition party by the party’s governorship flag bearer in the state, Umana Umana, but are said to be reconsidering their position as they are reportedly not satisfied with how the national executive handled their grievances over the governorship primary, conducted on December 8.
Information reaching us indicated that the planned crossover to the APC is being facilitated by one of the APC governors in the South-South.
The APC presidential candidate has expressly requested to meet with the 22 aggrieved PDP aspirants from Akwa Ibom State. The move is being facilitated by one of the APC governors in the South-South.
The aggrieved aspirants, who are expected to dump the PDP for the APC, include former Akwa Ibom State Deputy governors, Obong Nsima Ekere and Patrick Otu; a senator representing Akwa Ibom South, Helen Esuene; former Nigerian Ambassador to Russia and Belarus, Assam Assam, SAN; former Attorney-General of Akwa Ibom State, Ekpenyong Ntekim; former Commissioner for Local Governments and Chieftain Affairs, Effiong Abia; Asukwo Okpo, Larry Esin’ Prof. Richard King and Chris Abasi Eyo.
Others include Okpolump Ette, Aniedi Ufot, David Okpon, Dr. Samuel Udonsak, Jerome Isangedighi, Dr Peter Esu, Ita Udoh, Ime Ekanem, Micheal Etuk, Benjamin Okoko, Ime Akpanebe and Effiong Usin.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has now come out to say clearly that the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) is responsible for the promotion and functioning of the deadly Boko Haram and that no amount of allegations against President Goodluck Jonathan can exonerate it.
The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, in a statement today in Abuja, alleged that the body language and inciting utterances of APC leaders, including their Presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari(retd.) had served as fuel to the raging flame of terrorism.
He said that by going to the international media recently to distance themselves from complicity and in turning round to blame the PDP, the APC is asking Nigerians to suddenly grow forgetful of the barrage of statements by their leaders that he alleged promoted insurgency.
“Nigerians have not forgotten the spontaneous violence and mayhem on innocent citizens following inciting statements by Buhari and other APC leaders then in the defunct CPC, upon losing the 2011 presidential election.
“The APC leaders have so far left no Nigerian in doubt of their party’s violent disposition as General Buhari in May 2012, remorselessly stated that ‘the monkey and baboon will be soaked in blood’ should he lose the election.
“Nigerians have also read and heard other ricocheting calls for violence and threats of parallel government from other leaders of this same party. These are not just mere slips but incontrovertible snips from the agenda of the APC to sustain insurgency and set the stage for carnage after they lose in the 2015 general elections.”
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Edo State female footballers playing for the state owned female club known as the Edo Queens in the Nigeria Premier League (NPL), today, protested the non-payment of over two years salaries and allowances.
Open Letter To Jonathan, Buhari, By Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi
Your Excellencies,
A commitment to preach peaceful elections to their supporters.
I also appeal to the following:
Prof. Akinyemi is a former Minister of External (Foreigna) Affairs and Deputy Chairman at the 2014 National Conference.
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