Sahara Reporters Latest News Tuesday 18th December 2018
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 18/12/18
Read also
E2%80%99ll-give-my-election-opponents-opportunities-i-didn%E2%80%99t-have-says-buhari target=_blank>I’ll Give My Election Opponents The Opportunities I Didn’t Have, Says Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari has once again promised a level playing field for those contesting the 2019 presidential election.
According to Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Buhari said this at the State House in Abuja on Monday while receiving a delegation from the International Republican and National Democratic Institute, United States.
“I am glad you are here to assess our pre-election preparations. It reminds me of the visit by the then Secretary of State, John Kerry, before the 2015 polls. We appreciate the concern of America for stability in developing countries,” the President was quoted as saying.
“Having run for President three times, ending up at the Supreme Court all three times, before God and technology made a way for me the fourth time, I know what it is to be cheated at the polls. What they used to do was just to award votes, and tell anyone who was dissatisfied to go to court. But we won’t do that. I am prepared to give the opposition the opportunities I was not given in the past.”
Buhari assured the visitors that he had told the heads of the security agencies not to be partisan, but to do their work professionally, and allow the will of the people to prevail.
Stressing that the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) would keep faith with its priorities of securing the country, reviving the economy, and fighting corruption, the President expressed happiness that the opposition had not been able to successfully fault the focal areas of the government.
“We have done fairly well in the areas we focused on. We know how many local government areas in the north-east were under Boko Haram occupation before we came.
“That does not happen again, save for cowardly attacks, using young girls as suicide bombers. Other areas of security challenge like farmers-herdsmen clashes are receiving attention, and would be sorted out as much as possible.”
On the Electoral Bill that was not assented to, the President said: “Time is against us. We are extremely vulnerable, and need to be careful that messages are not hijacked and figures tampered with, while being transmitted electronically. Even the Russians were accused of tampering with American election, so we will remain conventional, and use electronic transmission in subsequent elections.”
Leader of the American delegation, Ambassador Linda-Thomas Greenfield, said they had met with the media, civil society, and political parties, and concerns expressed include fears of security agencies being partisan in the forthcoming elections, suspected non-commitment to free and fair elections by key stakeholders, delayed budget for the electoral umpire, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the non-signing of the new Electoral Bill.
Elections
Politics
News
AddThis
:
Featured Image
:
Original Author
:
SaharaReporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
target=_blank>Court Adjourns Arraignment Of Fidelity Bank Director, Others Accused Of $153m Fraud
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Monday adjourned the arraignment of the Managing Director of Fidelity Bank, Nnamdi Okonkwo, who was arrested on Friday by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Okonkwo was brought to court on Monday in a white EFCC bus, alongside Dauda Lawal, a former executive director of First Bank.
The arraignment of the two banks chiefs could not hold as a result of the absence of Lanre Adesanya and Stanley Lawson, who are also being charged alongside the bank chiefs.
At the resumption of hearing before Honourable Justice Muslim Sule Hassan, counsel to the EFCC, Rotimi Oyedepo, told the court that all efforts to secure the attendance of the third and fourth persons involved in the case yielded no result. He, however, asked for a bench warrant to allow EFCC arrest the defendants.
Meanwhile, Ademola Adesina, Counsel to Adesanya and Lawson, told the court that the two defendants had travelled abroad on medical grounds before the charge was filed.
He asked the court to allow him bring the defendants at the next adjourned date, and the court acceded to the request and adjourned the case till January 14, 2019 for arraignment.
Paul Okoroko, on his part, pleaded with the court for the release of his client, Nnamdi Okonkwo and he undertook to bring him on the next adjourned date.
However, Oyedepo opposed the application on the ground that court had not assumed jurisdiction to entertain any application because the defendants were yet to be arraigned before the court.
Justice Hassan adjourned the case till January 14, 2019 for arraignment.
The anti-graft commission took the bank chiefs to court on a 14-count charge bordering on money laundering and conspiracy.
EFCC also alleged that the bank chiefs concealed the sum of $153.3million siphoned from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) under Deizani Alison-Madueke as petroleum minister in 2015.
Corruption
Legal
News
AddThis
:
Featured Image
:
Original Author
:
SaharaReporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
E2%80%94-and-sets-their-corpses-ablaze target=_blank>Boko Haram Kills Four Farmers In Borno — And Sets Their Corpses Ablaze
Hassan Mohammed, Chairman of Zabarmari Rice Farmers’ Association, has confirmed that four of its members were killed by Boko Haram insurgents in Jere Local Government Area of Borno State.
The farmers’ corpses were also burnt in the incident, which occurred on Saturday evening.
Mohammed said the incident occurred at Koshebe village, noting that many farmers had threatened to take their lives after more than 300 hectares of rice plantations were burnt down by the terrorists.
“They attacked our members while working on their farmlands and rained bullets on them,” Mohammed said.
“We lost four members and, thereafter, they burnt their corpses. They also set ablaze hundreds of hectares of our rice farms, including harvests. Our members took loans to cultivate the rice with the hope of paying back the loans, but the reverse is the case. We are calling on the government to, as a matter of urgency, please come to our aid, by providing more security to enable us harvest farm produce and practise dry season farming in Zabarmari area in Jere Local Government Area.”
Similarly, residents of Maibirinti village near Molai revealed that more than 50 houses were razed in an attack on Sunday.
See Also
Boko Haram
Borno Villagers Flee As Boko Haram Strikes Again
0 Comments
1 Day Ago
Jidda Al-amin, a resident, said although no lives were lost in the attack, the community needed urgent assistance.
“We seriously need clothes and food items. Our situation is worrisome after troops repelled the attack on our village on Sunday evening. We didn’t record any death, but more than 50 houses were burnt down by the terrorists. We need more security presence in the axis because before they attacked us, they (Boko Haram) had sent message of warning and they carried out their threats. We need more security of lives and properties,” Jidda pleaded.
Boko Haram
Insurgency
News
AddThis
:
Featured Image
:
Original Author
:
SaharaReporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
target=_blank>NCAA Probes Cabin Pressure Incident Aboard Air Peace Flight
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has commenced investigation into the Air Peace oxygen mask incident that occurred during the airline’s Lagos-Enugu flight last Friday.
The regulatory agency said this was in line with standards and international best practices, just as it warned all operating airlines to observe the Standard and Recommended Practices (SARPs) as any infractions will be treated in line with the provision of the regulations.
According to a statement by Sam Adurogboye, the NCAA spokesman, the investigation would be thorough and include the review of the videos making the rounds on social media.
“The investigation will be conducted in line with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs) 2015. At the conclusion of the investigation, the recommendations will be fully implemented,” he said.
The NCAA assured all passengers that all aircraft operating in Nigeria were airworthy (fit to fly), while its ramp inspections had been strengthened accordingly with the seasonal increase in the volume of passengers.
In a related development, Air Peace has dismissed reports alleging that one of its aircraft almost crashed on the Lagos-Enugu route on Friday, stating that the claims were a misrepresentation of facts.
A statement issued by Chris Iwarah, the airline’s Corporate Communications Manager, on Monday noted that the aircraft experienced a change in cabin pressure en-route to Enugu and its flight crew had to do the normal technical manoeuvre by descending to a level comfortable enough for passengers on board.
He debunked the claim that the aircraft involved in the incident might not have been properly maintained, explaining that the aircraft secured a renewal of its certificate of airworthiness (C of A) on December 10. According to the airline, the aircraft also passed through its mandatory comprehensive maintenance checks (C-checks) abroad and got its certificate of release to service (CRS) in September 2017.
C-checks are normally done on aircraft every 18 months. At the end of the checks, a CRS is issued to confirm the maintenance done.
Air Peace insisted that its aircraft were not only maintained at some of the best facilities in the world, but also had a “reputation for spending millions of dollars on each C-check exercise to ensure its aircraft were in top shape because of the premium it placed on the lives of its customers and crew”.
The carrier said in line with its strict maintenance and safety standards, it had retained the services of BCT Aviation of the United Kingdom for its routine maintenance programme on its base in Lagos, 24 hours of the day throughout the year.
The airline described change in cabin pressure as a common occurrence in aviation sectors across the world, including Europe and America.
The statement read: “On Friday, December 14, 2018, our Lagos-Enugu flight experienced a change in cabin pressure. Where there is a change in cabin pressure, the oxygen masks will automatically drop from the panel for use by passengers on board the aircraft. This exactly was what happened on Friday. During safety briefings, passengers are advised to pull on the mask to trigger the flow of oxygen. The flow of oxygen is expected to last about 12 minutes within which the flight crew would descend to a comfortable altitude (usually below 10000 feet above sea level). Change in cabin pressure is a common occurrence in aviation across the world, including the UK and America.
“Once there was a change in cabin pressure, the oxygen masks on the aircraft automatically deployed. And in line with standard safety procedure, our flight crew performed a technical manoeuvre by descending to a level comfortable enough for passengers on board. We, however, observed cases of some passengers who did not properly fit their oxygen masks. A few others, perhaps out of panic, pulled too hard on the oxygen masks, causing the equipment to snap. This led to the unfortunate claims that there was no flow of oxygen from the masks. For the avoidance of doubt, the oxygen generators are part of the items of interest during C-checks. So, it could not have been right that there was no flow of oxygen.
“While it is quite expected and understandable that passengers would panic on occurrence of incidents such as a change in cabin pressure, the claims of a near-crash were a regrettable misrepresentation of facts which really should not be. The aircraft was ferried from Enugu back to Lagos in less than an hour of safely landing at destination. Certainly, no crew would fly an aircraft that is not airworthy. The aircraft involved in the incident had its certificate of airworthiness renewed on Monday, December 10, 2018. The aircraft also went for its mandatory comprehensive maintenance checks (C-checks) abroad and got its certificate of release to service (CRS) in September 2017. C-checks are usually done on aircraft every 18 months. At the end of the checks, a CRS is issued as evidence of the maintenance done. In line with our strict maintenance and safety standards, we retain the services of BCT Aviation of the United Kingdom for our routine maintenance programme on ground our base in Lagos 24 hours of the day throughout the year.
“We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused our loyal customers as a result of the incident and wish to reassure them that we place huge premium on the lives of our esteemed guests and crew and will never do anything to put them in harm’s way. We have had four years of accident-free flight operations and we are very determined to sustain our reputation and record. We thank members of the public for their generous show of love and trust in us to continue to deliver exceptional, safe and comfortable flight services to them.”
News
AddThis
:
Featured Image
:
Original Author
:
SaharaReporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
*-marks-professor-akindele-two-years target=_blank>Osogbo Court Jails OAU S**-For-Marks Professor Akindele For Two Years
Professor Richard Akindele, a former lecturer of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), has been sentenced to tow years in prison for demanding s** from one of his students as criterion to pass his course.
At the court sitting in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, on Monday, Akindele had changed his not-guilty plea to guilty.
Akindele was imprisoned for demanding s** from Monica Osagie, one of his students, as condition to get a pass mark in his course.
In April 2018, an audio recording of a phone conversation between Ms. Osagie and Akindele emerged, where he was heard demanding rounds of s** before she could pass the course.
In November 2018, Akindele was arraigned by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) before a Federal High Court sitting in Osun. Akindele was subsequently remanded in prison custody in Ilesa.
See Also
CRIME
Court Remands OAU S**-For-Marks Professor In Prison
0 Comments
4 Weeks Ago
However, at its sitting on Monday, Shogunle Adenekan, the prosecutor, pleaded for a suspended sentence, noting that all parties in the matter had reached a plea bargain.
On the four-count charge, Akindele was sentenced to two years on count one and two, and one year each on count three and four, respectively.
The sentence will run concurrently.
CRIME
Legal
News
AddThis
:
Featured Image
:
Original Author
:
SaharaReporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
target=_blank>Falana Urges Nigerian Govt To Go After ‘At Least $300bn’ In Stolen Oil Taken To US, UK
Femi Falana, human rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), says the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has not mustered the political will to act on whistle-blowing pertaining to billions of dollars withheld from the federation.
He made this known in a statement made available to SaharaReporters on Monday, in which he also noted that the loot recovered so far is just a tip of the iceberg.
Falana recalled how he blew the whistle on illegal financial dealings relating to oil proceeds in a letter addressed to the Minister of Finance in March 2016.
Speaking on the confirmation that 60.2 millions barrels of crude oil stolen from Nigeria between 2011 and 2014 were discharged at a port in the United States, he said: “If the investigation can be painstakingly conducted, it is estimated that not less than $300 billion would be realised as penalties from the oil stolen and discharged in several ports in the United States, China, India, United Kingdom, France etc.”
He challenged the Federal Ministry of Finance to “proceed to recover the huge funds highlighted in his letter”, while assuring Nigeria’s Federal Government that “I do not intend to demand any percentage from the money recovered based on the whistle that has been blown in my letter”.
The statement read: “Two years ago, the Buhari administration adopted the whistle blowing policy as a component of the fight against corruption. The introduction was sequel to the deliberate refusal of the National Assembly to pass the Whistle Blowing Bill sponsored by some legislators in 2007.
“Like the Treasury Single Account (TSA) and Bank Verification No (BVN), the Whistle Blowing policy is said to have assisted the federal government to recover huge public funds which had been cornered by a few unpatriotic elements. But apart from beating its chest for the success recorded in the implementation of the TSA, BVN and WB policies, the trillions of Naira which have saved or recovered by the federal government have not been deployed to arrest the increasing wave of poverty in the land. However, in marking the second anniversary of the Whistle Blowing policy, it is pertinent to point out that what has been recovered so far is a tip of the iceberg as the Buhari administration has not mustered the political will to act on the blowing of whistle pertaining to billions of dollars withheld from the federation.
“In March 2016, I requested the Minister of Finance to embark on urgent and decisive measures to recover not less than $200 billion. Apart from assuring me, rather politely, that my request was receiving attention, the detailed information contained in my letter has not been processed either by either the federal ministry of finance or federal ministry of justice. Since my letter was widely published by the media, it has generated reactions from some quarters.
“However, with respect to the allegation that the Central Bank of Nigeria gave out a bailout of $7 billion to 14 commercial banks in 2006, Professor Charles Soludo said it was not a bailout but a deposit. Since the fund was illegally removed from the nation’s foreign reserves with appropriation by the national assembly and placed as a deposit in the banks, it ought to be recovered together with accrued interests. Based on information which I had obtained from the NEITI, I did say that the NNPC had withheld the sum of $20 billion from the federation account. From the 2015 audit exercise conducted by NEITI, the figure has increased to $22 billion and N376 billion.
“Based on a follow-up petition to the Presidential Panel on Recovery of Public Property, Exxon Mobil claimed to have paid the outstanding balance of $1.9bn in respect of the remewal of three oil blocks. Since there is no evidence of payment, it is hoped that the Presidential Panel will pursue the matter to a logical conclusion.
“The most interesting reaction to my letter came from Dr. Ibe Kachukwu, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Petreum Resources. He blamed some unnamed public officers for causing the nation to lose the sum of $60 billion due to their failure to implement the provisions of the Onshore Production Contract Act. Since the indicted officials were not called to order, the authorities of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Rivers State governments decided to drag the federal government to the Supreme Court to justify why it has refused to implement the law.
“In a judgment delivered by the apex court on October 18, 2018 the federal government was ordered to take urgent steps to recover all revenues lost to oil and gas exploiring and exploiting companies due to wrong profit sharing formula termed as the Production Sharing Contracts since 2003. It is hoped that the federal government will proceed to recover the sum of money estimated to be in the region of $1 trillion.
“I must not fail to acknowledge that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has commenced investigation into the allegations of crude oil stolen from the country by well-known international oil and shipping companies. For instance, it has been confirmed that 60.2 millions barrels of crude oil stolen from Nigeria between 2011 and 2014 were discharged at a port in the United States. If the investigation can be painstakingly conducted, it is estimated that not less than $300 billion would be realised as penalties from the oil stolen and discharged in several ports in the United States, China, India, United Kingdom, France, etc.
“In view of the foregoing, we challenge the Federal Ministry of Finance to proceed to recover the huge funds highlighted in my letter. I can assure the federal government that I do not intend to demand any percentage from the money recovered based on the whistle that has been blown in my letter.”
Corruption
Legal
News
AddThis
:
Featured Image
:
Original Author
:
SaharaReporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
target=_blank>The Economic Prospects Of Gender Mainstreaming By Adetola Oyegbola and Emmanuel Akinbobola
2018 is being described as the year of the woman where women are moving into spaces they normally would not occupy. This mainstream effect of women empowerment through the times up movement and others, has had a trickle-down effect on countries around the world including Nigeria. This makes one wonder if the global shift to the voices of women being heard will have an effect on gender equality and an impact on gender mainstreaming with regards to the economy. With an evenly distributed population between male and female, a median age of approximately 18 and a staggering illiteracy rate of 60%. Nigeria has a lot of manpower with little transferable skills to work high skilled jobs. The country is ripe for a disruption in the way things are done.
We believe that one of the solutions to Nigeria’s unemployment problem is to make use of its manpower in an agricultural setting and start exporting more produces. This will definitely bring aid to state of the Nigerian economy especially as the exchange rate is in a dire situation. Gender mainstreaming could be used to help Nigeria achieve Economic sustainability in the Agricultural sector. Getting women involved in all aspects of agriculture will have a huge impact on the respective communities and the country at large. Economic mobility will be more in reach than ever before.
Let’s look at a case study. In a little town in Peru in 2007, female coffee growers through the Café feminino initiative deployed a comprehensive methodology at the grassroots, the method utilised similarities and differences for the purpose of fostering social and economic opportunity. The founders discovered that most of the coffee farmers who used the Café Femenino co-op were mothers and wives who were poor and had very little formal education. They were also mostly indigenous Peruvians. Economic security came through a patriarchal establishment. The founders took an integrationist approach to the mainstream by researching the coffee growing sector to determine how best they could help women become economically competitive as coffee farmers.
They assisted members of their co-op with improving their operations so that they could meet organic standards, an attribute that would boost desirability of their products among Western consumers.
The result? Many of these women have become better off and are enjoying privileges that they had never before experienced. In essence, the organizers of Café Femenino took an intersectional approach to develop their project by looking at the intersection of identities that caused these women to be exploited and by seeking ways to economically, socially, and politically address their inequities.
Gender mainstreaming would help families with upward mobility issues. The new source of steady income in the home will also have an effect on the illiteracy rate in the home, as the younger generation would be able to afford to go to school and not work. This will help to gradually close the financial gap between men and women. Nigeria could gain a lot from the benefits of gender mainstreaming. Redistribution of opportunity to everyone regardless of gender is the key to unlocking potentials and starting the process of getting Nigeria out of its own induced economic sedation.
Northern Nigeria, has seen the highest number of exclusion for women in the country and thus has suffered severe economic sluggishness. It has struggled to catch up to its counterparts, even across the country, not to mention, globally. Although circumstances in Peru and Northern Nigeria are different, the concept still remains the same across board. It is that for a community to grow, it requires the community-based involvement of men, women, and children.
So as the country goes to the polls to decide the fate of the election, a question that plagues the minds of all Nigerians remains, how can we ensure our decision here will bring about economic prosperity for the country and its inhabitants?
But my question to Nigerians, in response, will then be, are you ready for a disruption of a system that has assumed women are not the answer?
Written By Adetola Oyegbola
Master’s in Engineering
McMaster University
Emmanuel Akinbobola
Master’s in Public Administration
Columbia University
Opinion
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
Adetola Oyegbola and Emmanuel Akinbobola
Disable advertisements
:
E2%80%99s-maternity-ward-%E2%80%93-love-letter-churchill-okonkwo target=_blank>Peter Obi, A Pregnant Virgin In PDP’s Maternity Ward – A Love Letter By Churchill Okonkwo
Dear Peter Obi, on February 23 rd , 1927, physicist Werner Heisenberg first described his Uncertainty Principle which states that the more precisely we can determine a particle’s momentum, the less information we have about its position, and vice versa. On December 8th, 2018, the PDP stated precisely that your account was frozen by the EFCC to slow down your momentum. Days after EFCC denied freezing your account; no one knows anything about your position. Virgin Peter, I understand that you are in labor in the PDP’s maternity ward, but I will still ask, did EFCC freeze your account?
Because you, Peter allowed the familiar PDP lies on account freezing to live, you went to the Vice-Presidential debate and ended up distorting facts; presenting alternative facts and lying with a straight face. Lies matter, Peter. Truth is not only violated by falsehood; it is equally outraged by silence. This is because all truths that are kept silent become poisonous. So, for the very last time, virgin Peter, tell Nigerians, did EFCC freeze your account?
Peter, Albert Einstein told us that one who is out to describe the truth should leave elegance to the tailor. Leaving elegance to the tailor, permit me, Peter, to state that contrary to the false impression economic transformation of Anambra state that you presented at the debate, your administration in Anambra was anchored around yourself (alone) and the churches (church-schism). You, virgin Peter Obi, re-engineered the churches to lay down the cross and pick up the sword and fight for money from the government. Is that what you will with the churches and mosques in Abuja?
Nwanne m Peter, you are like that dog that said he should be praised for having good teeth because he does not use a chewing-stick. You want Nigerians to give you credit for not corruptly enriching the political class in APGA, but you dangerously corrupted the Catholic and Anglican priests in Anambra State. You see, virgin Peter, virginity is the poetry, not the reality, of life. The reality of life is that the stench from your fart in Anambra is still fresh.
You, Peter, have been playing selfishly in your political career that everything has turned against you. When President Goodluck Jonathan wanted to make you a minister, the southeast PDP ganged up in opposition and presented Osita Chidoka. When the PDP gave you, Peter Obi, the mandate to select their governorship candidate in the last Anambra election, all the PDP stalwarts in Anambra and Southeast abandoned you and your hand-picked candidate finished a distant third.
It was not thus surprising to those of us following your checkered political life that your VP candidacy was also stiffly opposed by PDP leaders in the east. Their reason is simple; if they are to send a representative to dine with the wolves, Atiku and Saraki in Abuja, it should not be someone that is selfish and “stingy” (credit to Fr. Mbaka).
What the stakeholders of PDP are saying to you is that security is like virginity: you’re either a virgin or you’re not. They are telling you, Peter, that it is superstitions for you to have imagined that virginity while pregnant could be a virtue in PDP’s maternity ward with Atiku as the Chief Gynecologist ably assisted by Dr. Saraki. If a deceitful person buries himself, one of his arms will stick out. The PDP stakeholders in southeast know that one of your arms is sticking out and that it is a terrible disservice to Ndigbo to send you to Abuja.
You, Obi, is the only pregnant political virgin with a history of abortions and attempted abortions. You betrayed Ikemba Nnewi on whose back he rode to power in the first place; aborted the stillborn APGA; attempted to abort governor Obiano and attempted to abort Senator Victor Umeh. Since then, the perception of Ndi Anambra about your virginity changed.
I have heard that to set fire to a church is not so bad as to speak ill of a virgin. But I will rather speak evil to a fake virgin in PDP’s maternity ward than set fire to the church. One of the smartest covert political operations in Nigeria was executed by you, Peter, when you, through corrupt enrichment bought over the Anglican and Catholic churches. Thus, the churches in Anambra State that are meant to manifest the kingdom of the cross are now manifesting the kingdom of the sword. For destroying the heart and soul of the church, you, Peter has thus, lost your virginity.
Per Albert Einstein, any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves. While the crooks in PDP lied using your name, you lied with sincerity in the debate to hype your performance as the governor of Anambra. The reality is that there is no safe driving for you, Saint Peter Obi through the murky political waters in Nigeria while seriously kissing the crooks in the PDP’s maternity ward.
Peter, I wrote this love letter to remind you that the greatest enemy of truth per John F. Kennedy is very often not the lie, deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive and unrealistic. At the VP debate, you Peter Obi, the acclaimed professor of economic presented a myth, imagined (in your head) of the transformation of Nigeria like China and Indonesia. But as the governor of Anambra State, it was all about you and the corruption of the church.
Virgin Peter, your eight years of governance was never about job creation; it was not about human capital development; it was not about re-engineering government institutions; it was not about the state economy or improving revenue generation; it was not even about restructuring through local government autonomy you and your boss Atiku are promising; it was not about transparency as you were the alpha and omega that indiscriminately awarded contracts without bids.
How will run the federal government Economic Management Team? Through the bishops and imams? Poor Atiku picked you, a virgin, to heal his aching heart and cover his corrupt acts. Unfortunately, he never knew you were politically pregnant. Peter, your claim to “get Nigeria working again” with Atiku and Saraki is analogous to movement without acceleration.
Finally, I have heard that the police and your girlfriend are the only two people in your life that you should tell a lie. So, Peter, stop lying to Nigerians.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in advance, Peter.
From Churchill, with Love.
You can email Churchill at Churchill.okonkwo@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter
@churchillnnobi
Opinion
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
Churchill Okonkwo
Disable advertisements
:
target=_blank>Reelection-Seeking, Ailing Reps Minority Leader Leo Ogor Distributes N500 Each To 2,000 Youth
Youths in Ogor’s house
Leo Ogor, the ailing House of Representatives Minority Leader and member representing Isoko Federal Constituency of Delta State, on Sunday disbursed N500 each to youth of Ozoro, headquarters of Isoko North local government area of the state, and passionately appealed to them to give him “maximum” support to enable him return to the green chamber for the fifth time in 2019.
The community youth, numbering about 2,000 were said to have been led by one Blessing Elerara and Benson Apije, supervisory councillor for works, Isoko North council area of the state. SaharaReporters reliably learnt that they were mobilised to the Ozoro country home of the federal legislator through an announcement made on Saturday by hired town criers.
It was also learnt that the youth were initially angry on arrival at the lawmaker’s home over what they termed “abysmal failure” of Ogor and his alleged grabbing of multibillion-naira contracts for himself, family members and cronies, and his desperation to return to the National Assembly for the fifth time, were later pacified by Ogor, with the assurance that he would be made Speaker of the House this time around should the youth give him the maximum support.
Speaking with our correspondent, a former youth leader in Ozoro, who simply identified himself as Napoleon and was at Ogor’s country home, said the meeting was called by the lawmaker after hearing of the grievances of the youth against him.
“The meeting was actually called by Hon. Leo Ogor, when he heard we, his Ozoro kingdom youth, were not happy with him with the way he was running the office we sent him to represent us in, in Abuja,” Napoleon said.
“He thinks the office is his father’s farm. In fact, for so many reasons, we, the youth of Ozoro, are not happy with him. He has failed and has been cheating us for the past 12 years. Ask Hon. Benson Apije, the supervisory councillor for works in Isoko North council, we have discussed Hon. Leo Ogor’s failure and grabbing of contracts several times.
“I personally told him the grievances of the people, especially the youth, concerning Leo Ogor, but he appealed that we give Ogor this last chance of becoming the Speaker of the House. Even at the meeting in his house on Sunday, the youth told him their grievances and why he should go and rest to take care of his failing health, which should be paramount to him now rather than going back to Abuja for the fifth time. He talked and talked and talked with promises here and there.”
Another youth who simply identified himself as Oghenekaro, said: “With the condition I saw Ogor in on that Sunday, he can no longer be vibrant, useful and effective as in the past because the partial strokes really affected him seriously. He’s return to the House will be a waste and as good as Isoko nation not having a representative in the green chamber come 2019. However, I doubt if he can still win the election because the entire Isoko nation are sick and tired of him. The people only want his money and at the end disappoint him.”
According to Oghenekaro, the Sunday meeting was mainly for appeals and the usual brainwashing by politicians.
“After the meeting, Hon. Leo Ogor, brought out N1.5million for the youths from the five quarters of Ozoro with the senior quarter, Uruto, getting the highest share of N500,000. But, very disappointing, the youth got N500 each while very few got N800 each with serious fighting and quarrelling among them. I think Hon. Ogor should follow the advice of his wife and other Isoko leaders both the old and younger and drop this ambition of his and focus on his deteriorating health.”
Meanwhile, some media handlers of Ogor’s have claimed that the youth used the meeting to endorse their boss to return to the house for the fifth time. This, some of the youth have debunked, saying there was no time the federal lawmaker was endorsed for his fifth term ambition.
It would be recalled that last month at Oleh, headquarters of Isoko South local government area of Delta state, during the official inauguration of the campaign council and committee of Joel-Onowakpo Thomas, APC candidate for the Isoko Federal House of Representatives, members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rejected the candidature of Ogor.
The PDP members added their voices to that of his wife, Peace Ogor, and other sons and daughters of Isoko nation advising him to focus on his failing health and shelve his fifth term ambition.
Elections
Politics
Scandal
News
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
SaharaReporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
Needless Hoopla Over Presidential Veto Of Amended Electoral Bill By Peter Claver Oparah
Recently, President Muhammadu Buhari declined assent to the amended Electoral Act, as passed by the Saraki-led National Assembly. The President gave enough reasons for withholding his assent and has communicated these to the National Assembly. This should put a closure to this issue and set the National Assembly to restart work on the bill if they are ruled by altruistic intents. There is no big deal about it. But the PDP wing of the National Assembly is not letting go. It obviously built a lot of self-interest to the act such that it had been breathing fire and brimstone since the President did his constitutionally enshrined rightful duty of declining assent to a bill that is not only riddled with many errors but being indecently pushed by those who design it a lifeline in their desperate efforts to spring electoral victory in the election that is less than two months away.
The PDP and its allied partners have gone ahead to threaten to override the President’s veto, which is the lawful right of the legislature but how the PDP, which is a minority party plans to mobilse the two-third legislative majority to override the veto is still a mirage. Let us recall that for some time now and prior to the National Assembly passage of the amended Electoral Act, there have been overt and subtle threats and projections by the PDP based on the provisions of the act. Again, it is alleged that PDP and its presidential candidate have procured the services of an American lobbyist with an alleged notorious reputation to hack into election results with the hope that the curious provision in the amended act that election results will not be counted at the polling units but transmitted electronically to a national base will afford him the opportunity to hack up a PDP victory in the 2019 election. For this, the PDP had betrayed a worrying anxiety and desperation to have the President willy-nilly assent to the bill before he eventually declined assent.
These and many more must have informed the President and his advisers to take more than a cursory look into the bill and its provisions and in rejecting it, the President pointed out several shortfalls in the bill, the several editorial mistakes and most importantly, the fact that it is too close to an election to procure new rules which will certainly interrupt an election process that is 80% completed. A sober and objective National Assembly that is ruled by patriotic intents would have taken these in and gone back to the drawing board. But not so with the PDP wing of the National Assembly who have been the prime promoters of this bill and who certainly must have invested so much hope in this bill to arrest what is seen as their declining electoral fortunes leading to a decisive general election it had invested so much sentiments into. In its reaction to the presidential decision, PDP and its allies have threaded the foolhardy path of threatening to override the President’s withholding of assent and have mobilized so much negative passion towards heckling the president to reverse his decision. In doing this, PDP is certainly oblivious of its weaknesses which is that it is a minority party that recently lost power for its many seedy records and more importantly for the kind of electoral malfeasances it wrought in its 16 years in power. Its readiness to adopt sabre rattling and threats as well as blackmail to force its way through merely exposed its embarrassing inadequacies outside power and more than anything, advertises its inherent weaknesses as a party that lives in the shell of its past strength. By now, PDP knows it takes more than these empty grandstanding to move President Buhari to do what he rightly believes is an impediment to the nation’s interest.
But let us face the fact. How possible is it to arrest an election process this is nearly completed so as to ram through new electoral processes that have not even been tested before now? How possible is it that we will stop a baby at its eight months and restart the process of making a new baby that would be delivered in the same ninth month? How possible is it to stop an election that is nearly completed and start implementing new provisions that are in the new act? How possible is it to complete the present election with brand new acts that were not there at the start of the election process? All these posers go to highlight President Buhari’s reservation while withholding assent to the bill to the effect that the amendment is too close to an election and is not implementable in the very short period left before the 2019 election. In even doing this, President Buhari was re-echoing an ECOWAS protocol ratified by PDP’s own former President Obasanjo which states that no amendment or alterations should be made to an electoral law in any member nation six months before an election. Our legislature which is a member of ECOWAS parliament, should know about this protocol but from all possible indications, those who are spitting fire over the President’s rejection of the amended act are doing so on the belief that such silly acts will force the President to revisit what is certainly a closed and concluded matter. Thank God, we have a President that suffers such vain efforts patiently!
Now let’s go down to two provisions in the amended electoral act to show that even the hullaballoo over the presidential withholding of assent are needless exercises that are made to grandstand and not to advance our electoral system. One is the provisions of electronic transmission of election outcome and the other is the provision in the act that candidates for every elective office under this amended act must emerge through direct primaries.
On the first, how possible is it to ignore the practical need to count and announce results at each polling unit, document and distribute same and rather transmit uncounted and undeclared results to one national data base? How possible is this without reliable electronic data base and of course workable internet services that will connect the close to 200,000 polling units in Nigeria? How possible is it to install this equipment between now and February? Who will man this portal and has the requisite personnel been trained for this? Above all, who will fund this certainly expensive project and with election barely a month and half off, when will these be put in place, test run and passed for implementation in the coming general election?
On the provision of direct primary as mode of candidate selection, what will happen if President Buhari had assented to that act when candidates of the parties have emerged through other means except APC candidates that went through direct primary? Would the election have been halted so that parties will revert to the drawing board so as to meet the new provisions? Most importantly, for an impending election that has achieved 80% completion, would Nigeria have started anew to reflect the provisions of the new electoral act or would we have tried to strike symbiotic accord between the existing and new electoral acts? What of the legal impediments that will ensue in this confusion? Are these charred scenarios the intendment of those that are threatening hell should President Buhari not assent to the amended electoral act? We need clear and concise answers to these by those that are stoking needless partisan hell over the fact that President Buhari withheld assent to a bill that is being driven in totally bad faith and mischievous intent.
So with the benefit of these posers and of course, the reservations President Buhari has officially communicated to the National Assembly, it is certain that the dust the PDP and its allies are raising over the presidential veto to the new electoral bill is an obnoxious intent to blackmail the President and his party and nothing more. There is no need repeating the fact that PDP is impotent to carry out its threat to override the President on this. It is certain that its allies who have joined its dubious omnibus to raise hoopla over the veto are acting purely on the whims of their collective inability to steal in a dubious goal at the tail end of the match for telling President Buhari to sign this amended act at this stage of our national election is the same as stopping a football match in the 85thminute and re-introducing new rules the losing team feels will buoy their waning chances. No reasonable President will allow his country to be run on the convenient whims, idiosyncrasies and intrigues of a desperate opposition for that is what the PDP and its cohorts intend to do with the amended electoral bill. We have been running elections on the existing electoral act for the 16 years the PDP was in power. Now displaying a desperate wish to force through its reversal because of the fear that the measure they fully used for 16 years will be visited on them, will not move a responsible President as Buhari to accede to PDP’s blackmail.
So, let the PDP and its allies drop their needless heckling over the electoral act veto for it is irretrievably lost. If they have the numbers, as they have boasted, they should simply veto the President and stop ranting about like scorned blackmailers. The President has done his constitutional duty and moved on. It is for the in-coming legislature to carry out any amendments to the electoral act, if need be. If the President assents to it, there will be need to test run and prepare the provisions with isolated elections and procure the necessary support equipment to make the provisions work before they could be launched in a general election. That is why it is important that such amendments do not target an election that is just by the corner and the advantages the promoters of such amendment expect to curry from it.
Peter Claver Oparah
Ikeja, Lagos.
Email: peterclaver2000@yahoo.com
Opinion
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
Peter Claver Oparah
Disable advertisements
:
You can also check
