Monday, 25 July 2016

BREAKING: Buhari, Obasanjo in closed door meeting

Posted by Unknown on 7/25/2016 01:52:00 pm

President Muhammadu Buhari is currently meeting behind closed doors with former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Obasanjo, decked in a blue agbada and cap to match, arrived the Presidential Villa, Abuja for the meeting at about
12.54pm.

He was driven to the forecourt of the President’s office in a black Sports Utility Vehicle marked ABJ425 PY.

The former President was accompanied by one of his daughters.

Details later.

Interest on loot recovered from ex-IG, Alams hits N1.9bn –EFCC

Posted by Unknown on 7/25/2016 01:42:00 pm

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Sunday said as of March 2015, it had realised N1,956,007,974 as interest on the loot recovered from convicted former Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Tafa Balogun; the late former Governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, and other prominent Nigerians.

The EFCC further revealed that between March, 2012 and March, 2013, it generated N185m rent from the forfeited properties of a former Managing Director of the defunct Intercontinental Bank, Mr. Erastus Akingbola; a convicted ex-Governor of Edo State, Chief Lucky Igbinedion; a former Plateau State Governor, Senator Joshua Dariye; and nine others.

The EFCC said this in a write-up titled, ‘What EFCC did with recovered loot’, which was published on its official website.

The commission explained it received permission from the then President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, to spend N183m out of the interest generated on the recovered funds when it had financial constraints.

The commission gave the breakdown while reacting to a petition written against its former Chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, who is the subject of a Senate inquiry.

In a petition by a security consultant, George Uboh, Lamorde was, among other things, accused of diverting the proceeds of Balogun’s forfeitures between 2008 and 2013 at an interest of 12 per cent per annum, amounting to N2,154,625,556.37.

In its response, however, the anti-graft agency said the recovered funds were deposited in some interest-yielding accounts on the instruction of the courts.

The EFCC said, “The placement of forfeited money in interest-yielding accounts is not an entirely new idea. The court, in various rulings, ordered some funds to be placed in interest yielding accounts. Rather than warehousing forfeited funds in current accounts for a long period, the commission lodged such funds, including those of Tafa Balogun, in interest yielding accounts.

“The interest element is always in line with CBN Cash Reserve Ratio and not fixed. Not a single kobo is taken out by the commission under this initiative. It is interesting to note that under this initiative, as of March 2015, the sum of N696,590,765.36 was generated as interest on recovered funds with Access Bank Plc.

“Another sum of N522,807,543.83 presently stands as interest generated from recovered funds with Ecobank Plc, while the subsidy recoveries with Enterprise Bank Plc has yielded the sum of N736,609,666.62.

“All the money is intact and is held on behalf of the Federal Government until all encumbrances to their release are cleared.”

The EFCC, however, admitted that it withdrew over N183m from the interest in Access Bank to run its affairs after taking permission from Jonathan, the then President.

The anti-graft agency added, “Sometime in 2011, the EFCC was facing budgetary constraints with adverse consequences for its operations. Consequently, the commission approached (former) President Goodluck Jonathan through the Attorney General of the Federation and received presidential approval to utilise interest, which accrued on recovered funds amounting to N183,124,185.94.

“It was on the basis of the approval received by the commission to utilise the accrued interest that the above instrument, Ref. EFCC/ACCESS/PS/01/01, dated January 9, 2012, was raised.”

The anti-graft agency also denied allegations that Lamorde manipulated the forfeitures and recoveries to the tune of N3.7bn from Alamieyeseigha for two years before formally documenting the transaction

The EFCC said the money realised from the disposal of Alamieyeseigha’s properties was remitted to the commission’s account by Real Estate Derivatives Limited on July 24, 2008 while the last payment from the sale of the ex-governor’s assets in Nigeria was received in March, 2009.

“On July 9, 2009, the total sum of N3,128,230,294.83, realised from the assets, was remitted to the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Finance in favour of Bayelsa State,” it added.

The agency said it was still in possession of N157,708,387.64 from the loot recovered from Alamieyseigha.

It said it would remit the money to the Federal Government’s account soon.

It stated, “The balance of N157,708,387.64 with the commission comprises the sum of N97,708.387.64 forfeited by Pesal Nigeria Limited, which was remitted to the commission by Diamond Bank on June 12, 2015, and the sum of N60m discovered through routine account reconciliation in 2014.

“This balance will be remitted at the end of the ongoing audit of the commission’s exhibits and recoveries by a reputable international audit firm. Regarding the offshore assets of DSP Alamieyeseigha, the repatriation of the forfeited foreign assets was handled by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation, not the EFCC.”

The anti-graft agency dismissed allegations that Lamorde, while serving as the Director of Operations in September, 2008, diverted several cheques and drafts valued at N1,678,345,000.

According to the commission, looters, who return money through cheques and drafts, usually make deposits into Federal Government’s accounts in the Central Bank of Nigeria, which the EFCC has no access to.

Certificate forgery: Nine Ekiti Assembly members to face trial

Posted by Unknown on 7/25/2016 01:37:00 pm

Olusola Fabiyi, Kamarudeen Ogundele and Ade Adesomoju

The Federal Government is planning to prosecute nine out of 26 members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly for alleged forgery of their academic results, naijatonic has learnt.

A security source told one of our correspondents in Abuja on Sunday that the decision to prosecute them was based on the outcome of “an intensive investigation carried out by the Department of State Services into the state lawmakers’ certificates.’’

The DSS, it was gathered, carried out the investigation into the credentials submitted by the politicians to the Independent National Electoral Commission during the last general elections.

naijatonic gathered that the probe was sequel to a myriad of petitions sent to the agency and the Police by aggrieved members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party and the opposition party in the state, the All Progressives Congress.

Investigation was said to have been carried out in schools allegedly claimed to have been attended by the lawmakers and their former places of work.

The source explained that the files of the affected lawmakers had been sent to the office of the Attorney General of the Federation for prosecution.

The source added, “We have investigated the academic credentials of the lawmakers based on petitions sent to us by the politicians in the state.

“The petitions were based on alleged false declaration of academic qualifications and alleged age falsification in the papers presented to the INEC.

“We have been able to know that petitions against nine members of the State House of Assembly are genuine.

“We have already presented our report and we are expecting the office of the AGF to study it and prepare the charges against the suspects.”

Apart from the lawmakers, it was also gathered that the security agencies were planning to reopen the murder cases of three prominent sons of the state.

They are Mr. Tunde Omojola, Kehinde Fasuba and Dr. Ayo Daramola.

Daramola was murdered on August 14, 2004; Omojola on May 28, 2005; while Fasuba was murdered on January 3, 2009.

There were allegations in the state that their killings were politically-motivated and carried out in mysterious circumstances.

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Femi Falana, once wrote a petition to the Police, demanding the prosecution of those behind their killings.

When contacted on Sunday, the Special Adviser to the AGF on Media and Publicity, Mr. Salihu Isah, said he was not aware of the planned prosecution, but promised to find out.

“I am not aware of whether there is anything like that. I promise to find out during the week,” he said.

It is propaganda –Ekiti Assembly

Reacting to the planned prosecution, the Chairman, Committee on Information of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Mr. Gboyega Aribisogan, said no member had been invited by any security agency for questioning.

He argued that there could be no prosecution of their members without investigation and subsequent indictment.

Aribisogan added, “Up until today, none of our members has been invited by any security agency. There can be no prosecution without investigation by the police. This is part of the rumour and propaganda from the enemies of the government.

“None of our members forged certificates. We went through screening with the DSS and we duly submitted our certificates to INEC and underwent proper documentation.

“Have they checked with the West African Examinations Council or relevant educational institutions to confirm their (certificates) authenticity or otherwise. No security agency will buy into the propaganda.”

I won’t quit as Saraki’s deputy, Ekweremadu tells APC

Posted by Unknown on 7/25/2016 01:31:00 pm

The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, has said he will not resign from the office despite the insistence of the All Progressives Congress that he should be removed.

Ekweremadu who spoke through his media aide, Mr. Ismail Omipidan, told our correspondent on Sunday that he had no reason to step aside as the Deputy Senate President as he was duly elected into the office.

He recalled that several public office-holders had defected from the PDP to the APC without any noise from the latter.

He added that the APC had produced either the Speaker or Deputy Speaker in some states’ Houses of Assembly where the party was in the minority.

Ekweremadu recalled that the PDP had corrected the National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, when he recently faulted his occupation of the office.

He said, “The call for Ekweremadu’s resignation also exposes the hypocrisy of some APC stalwarts. You will recall that when Tambuwal defected (from the PDP) to the APC, all the notable leaders of the party, including Lai Mohammed who was the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, stated clearly that there was nowhere in the constitution where it was stated that the Speaker (of the House of Representatives) must be produced by the majority party; that was their argument. (The current Majority Leader of the House) Femi Gbajabiamila also said so.

“What has now changed? The constitution has not been rewritten; it is the same constitution. And it is very clear that ‘the senators shall elect the Senate President and the Deputy Senate President from amongst themselves.’”

Omipidan also recalled that under the first tenure of Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State, the ruling APC produced the speaker of the House of Assembly while an opposition party produced the deputy speaker. He also recalled that an opposition APC had produced either speakers or deputy speakers of Benue and Plateau states’ Houses of Assembly.

“Where you don’t have a clear majority, there has to be some alliances to make the legislative work go smoothly. These things happened in the states but they never raised eyebrows then,” he added.

One of the aides of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, stated that the APC currently lacked the popularity in the Senate to unseat Ekweremadu.

The source noted that removing Ekweremadu would be easier for the APC if all its members were on the same page, unlike their PDP counterparts who were united.

According to the source, it is a game of numbers.

“Today, the APC has a divided house while the PDP senators – over 40 of them – are all together, working together. It is a more complex issue,” the source said.

The source added that “it takes a simple majority to elect the senate president and the deputy senate president but it will take two-thirds of the senators to remove any of them, which the APC currently lacks.”

Confirming this, Senator Shehu Sani (APC, Kaduna-Central), told our correspondent on Sunday that it would be difficult for the APC to effect Ekweremadu’s removal when its senators had been factionalised.

He said, “The issue of removal of Ekweremadu; it is not impossible but it has a lot of consequences. You cannot achieve the removal of Ekweremadu until there is a united APC senators.”

No regrets about 2015 poll prophecy – Mbaka

Posted by Unknown on 7/25/2016 08:21:00 am

The Catholic Priest and Spiritual Director of the Adoration Ministry, Enugu, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, on Sunday, said he had no regrets about a message in which he expressed support for President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2015 presidential election.

In the 2015 message entitled, ‘From good luck to bad luck’, Mbaka had faulted the performance of former President Goodluck Jonathan, predicting that Buhari would win the presidential poll.

Mbaka, who spoke through his media aide, Maximus Ugwuoke, said he had not regretted the prophecy despite the sufferings Nigerians were currently experiencing under Buhari’s leadership.

Ugwuoke spoke ahead of Mbaka’s 21st priestly anniversary, which is to be celebrated within the week.

He said, “Some call him controversial priest; some call him fiery priest and all that, they are entitled to their opinion.

“I will tell you something: It is not for us human to judge prophesies; he was the only person who said Buhari would win.

“If it were in the olden days, all those so-called men of God, who castigated him (Mbaka), would have received the wrath of God immediately.”

He described the hardship faced by Nigerians as ‘sufferings of change.’

He added, “Don’t forget that two months before that prophesy, Jonathan’s wife came to the Adoration Ground. That is to tell you that the prophesy came from God, if after such a visit, he (Mbaka) had the courage to reveal such prophesy against them, that tells you that it was much more than what people think.

“Before Buhari took over, the dollar was rising but there was already problem with our economy.

“I recall that on January 31, this year, he said clearly that Nigerians should brace for hard times, he said a lot of hardship was under way; this suffering Nigerians are passing through is process of change.”

He equally defended the Buhari administration, blaming Jonathan for the economic downturn in the country.

“This is a government that has unearthed a whole lot of things. The other government had oil boom, which they squandered, they handed over oil doom to this government,” he said.

The media aide also dismissed insinuations that Mbaka received money from Buhari.

He said, “There was also these claims of meeting with the APC chieftains before the election; he (Mbaka) never held any such meeting.”

Mr. President and an economy in recession

Posted by Unknown on 7/25/2016 08:18:00 am

The Nigerian economy is in recession, or “technically in recession”, as the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, put it last week, and seems to be at the lowest point it can be in recent history. We have rocketing inflation at 16.9 per cent, high unemployment rate, high interest rates exceeding 20 per cent per annum, weak demand for goods and services and not just a stagnant economy, but an economy that is shrinking. The foreign currency reserves over the years fell from over $40bn to just about $26bn whilst international rating agencies had a free reign downgrading Nigeria’s economic rating and that of its associated private sector institutions. All the economic indicators are pointing south and the horizon looks extremely bleak. What do all these figures portend and how can they be reversed? It feels like going down a steep slope without any hope of a wedge to slow down the movement.

It is imperative to recall that sometime in July 2015, the Central Bank of Nigeria through the communique of its Monetary Policy Committee warned about an impending recession if things continued the way it was going. The CBN called for urgent and drastic measures to stem the tide but it is obvious no one seemed to have listened. At that time and even up till now, most economic watchers stay glued to the media to know the outcome of the Monetary Policy Committee meetings. The impression has been created that the fiscal policy component of macroeconomic policy does not matter or is either in abeyance or does not exist.

Where do we begin to stem the tide? The first step is to ask and provide answers to the fundamental posers. What does the political leadership of the country headed by President Muhammadu Buhari think about this situation? Is the President and his team sufficiently worried about this ugly scenario? If the political leadership have thought through the economic challenges, have they communicated to Nigerians? If the answer to the second poser is in the affirmative, what new ideas or old tested ideas are they bringing to the table? The government is elected to govern with the consent of the people and is expected to show leadership and policy direction in matters that impact on the lives, livelihood and properties of citizens. From the present scenario, the leadership seem to be in denial and no one is seriously talking about the challenges in terms of planning an exit strategy.

The starting point will be to devise an agenda for action, an overarching framework for governance, not just in the anti-corruption sector alone, but across all sectors. It is a fundamental aphorism that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Nigeria is too big to be run without a coherent policy framework. Running Nigeria as the “spirit leads” the leaders cannot be an option in the 21st century. Investors, rational citizens, the international community, etc, need to see the policy framework which will be the basis of engagement. No reasonable person takes a leap of faith in making investments worth billions of naira.

Just like the anti-corruption agenda has taken the time of the administration, Nigerians need to be alive to continue the struggle. We need to see our President lead discussions, appoint strong committees, and hold expert sessions on different themes of reviving the economy. The President needs a strong team anchoring our economic revival. We need the best hands available in this country irrespective of their political, ethnic, religious or geographic leanings and origins.

In reviving our economy, we need to get our priorities right; declare a state of emergency on the economic sector. The contours of this state of emergency will have nothing to do with accumulation of powers in one person or committee to enable the abuse of human rights and liberties. Rather, it will include leadership by example, reduction of salaries and perks of office of political leaders. It is immoral and I dare say illegal, for elected and appointed political office holders to insist on collecting the huge perks of office at a time ordinary workers have not been paid for months. We need to see a Nigerian-centric policy of buying made-in-Nigeria products with the President, governors and legislators leading the way – not just at the formal launch but in real terms.

If the Federal Government can produce over a trillion naira to bail out states, why are we not implementing the federal capital budget to the letter? Public spending and works in roads, electricity, schools and other infrastructure are needed to reflate the economy. So, why the delay? What is happening to the hundreds of billions of naira that have been recovered through the anti-corruption drive or the money saved through centralisation and the curb of leakages by the TSA arrangement?

The emergency will create opportunities for enhanced government-citizens dialogue and engagement so that everyone (if possible) becomes part of the solution. Communication will be important. The President needs good speech writers so that Nigerians can hear motivating presidential speeches which challenge our sense of productivity, patriotism and “Nigerianity”. But the work of economic emancipation cannot be possible without responding to the Nigerian question of how to run a federation with diverse peoples, cultures, religions and expectations out of the system. There have been several conferences funded at the public expense and all the President needs to do is to dust them up and start the conversation. The legislature will finish the remaining part based on the expressed wishes of the Nigerian people. Such discussion and restructuring will liberate the energies of Nigerians and galvanise them into enhanced productivity. There is no part of Nigeria without the requisite resources to survive, blossom and create surplus.

The emergency will activate actions in the energy sector and seek to resolve the posers around access to electricity. Without electricity, enhanced production of goods and services cannot proceed. It will also seek to reform the petroleum sector; many Nigerians are surprised that more than one year after taking office, the Buhari administration has presented no clue through a bill to reform the petroleum sector. These two components cannot go on without seeking a final resolution to the Niger Delta debacle. Nigeria will continue its ostrich movement to think it can resolve its energy crisis without resolving the Nigeria Delta crisis. As we seek to diversify the economy, we must insist on harvesting low hanging fruits, which includes exploiting the whole value chain of the oil and gas industry. Beyond Dangote’s sole intervention, we need refineries and petrochemical complexes, gas collection and transportation facilities. These can immediately improve energy access, lower prices and make the economy more competitive. With gas availability, we will restart the export of gas through the West African Gas Pipeline and even expand its reach beyond the present configuration. We will make same available in industrial hubs, commercial areas and households across many cities in Nigeria.

The value chain approach adopted in agriculture needs to be intensified. Utilizing the vast tracks of arable land in the north and south of Nigeria will reduce un-necessary confrontations and clashes between settled communities and herdsmen will be a thing of the past. Can anyone imagine the economic benefits of using the 95,363 thousand square kilometres of Niger State (and land in other states) for all season farming to the Nigerian economy?

These are just but a few examples and in no way exhausts the possibilities open to us as a nation. The future lies in our hands.

IBB ousted me to stop Gusau’s sacking for corruption –Buhari

Posted by Unknown on 7/25/2016 08:11:00 am

President Muhammadu Buhari said that he was kicked out of office on August 27, 1985 by the then Chief of Army Staff, Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, because he was fighting corruption.

Buhari, who was the military head of state for 18 months, said this during an exclusive with The Interview Magazine.

He said the then Head of Military Intelligence, Aliyu Gusau, was allegedly involved in some sharp practices and he had recommended his sack from the military leadership.

Buhari said the reason he insisted on Gusau’s removal was because he did not want his anti-corruption war to appear one-sided.

The President said, however, Gusau, Babangida and other officers teamed up and staged a coup thereby ousting him from office.

Buhari said this while reacting to a December 2015 interview by Babangida in which he (Babangida) said the plan to remove Gusau had nothing to do with the 1985 coup.

In his reaction, however, Buhari said, “I learnt that Gen. Ali Gusau, who was in charge of intelligence, took an import licence from the Ministry of Commerce, which was supplies, and gave it to Alhaji Mai Deribe. It was worth N100, 000, a lot of money then.

“When I discovered this, I confronted them and took the case to the army council. Gen. Malu was the Chief of Defence Staff; Gen. Babangida was the Chief of Army Staff; Tunde Idiagbon was the Chief of Staff, Defence Headquarters and I was the Head of State.

“I said if I didn’t punish Gusau, it would create a problem for us. It is North versus South; majority versus minority; Muslim versus Christian. That was what it showed.

“So, I said Gen. Ali Gusau had to go. He was the Chief of Intelligence. That was why Babangida got some officers to remove me. Let him repeat his own story. Ali Gusau is still alive.”

Speaking on the 2016 budget fiasco, the President said he would ensure that such budget padding would never happen again.

He also slammed critics who accused him of not having an economic team.

Buhari said, “What do they mean by team? The Vice-President heads our Economic Management Team. You have a finance minister, a budget and planning minister; a minister of trade and industry and investment; a governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, a national economic adviser and others and yet some people still ask for a team.

“We will listen to everybody but we are averse to economic teams whose private sector members frequently steer government policy to suit their own narrow interests rather than the overall national interest.”

19 soldiers wounded, others missing during Boko Haram ambush

Posted by Unknown on 7/23/2016 10:15:00 am

Troops on clearance patrol at Guro Gongon
village and environs killed several insurgents
during an ambush by Boko Haram terrorists
on Friday.
However, about 19 soldiers and three civilian
members of the Joint Taskforce were
wounded in action while a few others were
missing in action, the army said in a
statement by its spokesman, Col. Sani
Usman.
It stated that the wounded soldiers had been
evacuated and were responding to treatment,
while a search and rescue party, comprising
of Special Forces personnel, had since been
dispatched to establish contact with the
missing-in-action troops.
It said some of those who were missing in
action had started returning to their defensive
location.
“It is pertinent to state that no stones would
be left unturned until every person involved in
the operation has been accounted for,” it
said.
The statement explained that troops
destroyed the terrorists’ makeshift camps
and recovered quite a number of weapons,
equipment and foodstuff in the process.
Items recovered include one gun truck
mounted with an anti-aircraft gun, a MOWAG
Armoured Personnel Carrier, one Rocket-
Propelled Grenade Tube, one Light Machine
Gun, three AK-47 rifles and motorcycles.
Meanwhile, the acting Inspector-General of
Police, Ibrahim Idris, has directed the
commissioners of police in Imo and Kogi
states to ensure proper coordination of
security operations and adequate deployment
of police personnel for the conduct of the
rerun senatorial elections in Imo North
Senatorial District and Kogi East Senatorial
District of the states coming up on July 23,
2016.
The security arrangements put in place will
also cover the Houses of Assembly rerun
elections taking place on the same date in
the two states.
As part of the measures aimed at
guaranteeing a hitch-free and credible
electioneering process during the elections,
the Inspector-General of Police has approved
the deployment of additional Police Mobile
Force personnel, Counter-Terrorism Units
and conventional policemen from
neighbouring states to be deployed in all
identifiable flash/vulnerable points and other
strategic locations within the senatorial
districts where the rerun elections would
hold.
A statement by the police Spokesman,
Donald Awunah, on Friday, said the
commissioners of police in the two states
were under strict instructions from the IG to
provide adequate security for electoral
officials, election materials, the electorate,
election observers and other individuals and
bodies that have statutory roles to play in the
conduct of the elections at the polling booths,
collation centres and at the offices of the
Independent National Electoral Commission
throughout the election period.

I will continue to criticise APC government –Fayose

Posted by Unknown on 7/23/2016 10:06:00 am

Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose on
Friday said he would not stop being vocal in
his criticism of the All Progressives
Congress-led government despite attempts
to keep him silent.
Fayose was the guest on a personality
programme on Fresh FM in Ibadan where he
alleged that APC had deployed powers within
its reach to intimidate him because of his
criticism of the Federal Government.
He said “I am being persecuted because I
am vocal. Why some of us are talking today
is because if we betray the masses, God will
not forgive us. That is why people like us
have to exhibit courage to speak the truth.
And if you notice, they are leaving no stone
unturned to cage me from commenting, but
that cannot be possible. They cannot win this
war.
“I can’t keep quiet, they can’t shut my mouth.
I am being persecuted but unfortunately I am
becoming more popular. To this government,
anybody in APC is considered as saint, but
PDP people are rogues. That’s why you see
some of our people crossing to their side and
immediately, they become saints.”
The governor claimed to be the last man
standing, adding that people like Femi Fani-
Kayode had been kept quiet and that the next
step for the APC government was to kill the
Peoples Democratic Party in Nigeria.
“What I want Nigerians to ask the Federal
Government, which is currently prosecuting
some people over alleged fraudulent
campaign money, is that who financed their
own election campaign or where did they get
their own funding for the election?”
Speaking on the money found in his account
during the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission’s investigation, Fayose said the
money credited to being in his account was
N300m, which was on fixed deposit, and
N82m in cash deposit.
He said, “The money in my account is
N300m, which I made public in my asset
declaration form. That is why the court,
which is the last hope of a common man,
freed my man who was in their net and the
court even awarded a N5m damages against
the government. We can’t continue like this.
“My concern has always being that economy
must be the priority of any government.
People are hungry, the economy is bad. The
brake of our economy has relapsed. No
business seems prospective again. It’s not
about the vehicle but the driver, it is about
the head. The hardship is getting harder.
Nigerians are not investing in the economy
because of fear, same things as foreigners.
There is threat on the capital.
“The APC presidential team campaigned with
a private jet, is that free? They also spent
heavily for their elections, where did they get
their money? People are complaining
seriously in the country, as for me, we have
entered one chance with this current
government. They took us into a lift, closed
the door and they switch off the source of
power supply, that is exactly what is really
happening,” said Fayose.

We’re are not in talks with FG –Avengers

Posted by Unknown on 7/23/2016 09:58:00 am

The Niger Delta Avengers on Friday replied
President Muhammadu Buhari over his claim
that the Federal Government was already
holding talks with militants for a possible
dialogue.
The Niger Delta Avengers had claimed
responsibilities for series of attacks on oil
facilities across the region in recent times.
Buhari had said on Thursday at a farewell
audience with the outgoing Ambassador to
Germany, Mr. Michael Zinner, that the
government was holding talks with militants
through oil companies.
But a statement by the spokesperson for the
Niger Delta Avengers, Mudoch Agbinibo,
dismissed the President’s claim. The
statement said they (avengers) were not
aware of any ongoing peace talks.
It reiterated that for the group to hold any
peace talks with the Federal Government, it
will entail the involvement of the international
community.
The statement read, “Our attention has been
drawn to a report that the President is in
touch with Niger Delta agitators, including the
Niger Delta Avengers, but the truth is that we
are not aware of any peace talk.
“If there is any such peace talk, it means the
President is talking to the Federal
Government’s mercenaries set to disturb the
genuine struggle of the agitators.
“President Buhari-led government is not
sincere to the Nigeria people and their
foreign allies.
“If we are to engage in any peace talk we
made it clear that the international
community must be part of it. The President
knows our demands. So, they should stop
deceiving the international oil companies, the
general public and the international
community.”
This is just as the Ijaw Youth Council flayed
Buhari for claiming that oil multinationals
were spearheading negotiation with the Niger
Delta Avengers.
In a statement by its spokesperson, Mr. Eric
Omare, IYC said such an utterance by the
President showed lack of seriousness by the
current administration to end attacks on oil
facilities in the Niger Delta region.
Omare said, “President Buhari and the
Federal Government should stop deceiving
Nigerians and the international community
about talks with Niger Delta militants on how
to stop attacks on oil facilities in the Niger
Delta region.
“It is highly ridiculous and laughable for
President Buhari to say that his government
is negotiating with Niger Delta militants
through oil companies and law enforcement
agencies.”
He said the President’s claim was
embarrassing, adding that what “is happening
in the Niger Delta is beyond what oil
companies and security authority without
government direct involvement can handle”
Omare said, “Only a sincere and holistic
dialogue with the people aimed at addressing
the remote causes of recurrent militancy can
bring permanent peace to the Niger Delta
region. This can only happen when Buhari
comes to the negotiation table.”

Buhari’s style endangers democracy, says Enugu bishop

Posted by Unknown on 7/21/2016 08:03:00 am

The Archbishop of the Anglican Communion, Enugu Province, His Grace, Most Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Chukwuma, has warned that President Muhammadu Buhari’s style of governance may lead to the collapse of democracy in the country.

The bishop, who said the President was acting like a ‘military democrat,’ warned that the Buhari government might not last.

Chukwuma spoke in an interview with our correspondent in Enugu.

He noted that majority of Nigerians were not happy with the nature of the appointments being made by the President.

Chukwuma noted that the conflict between the Presidency and the National Assembly was overheating the polity.

The clergyman expressed concerns that the Federal Government had not taken any decisive action to address the menace posed by armed herdsmen in several parts of the country.

Chukwuma observed that the current state of affairs in the polity did not augur well for democracy in the country.

He said, “Mr. President should know that he is the President of Nigeria, he should know that he is a civilian democrat, not a military democrat.

“He is operating a military democracy, and he is also exhibiting Islamic political militancy, that is what he is exhibiting.

“This will not augur well for this democracy, it may affect the democracy and it will crash. He should understand that this is not the way to get Nigeria united in a democracy.”

I have forgiven Dino Melaye – Tinubu

Posted by Unknown on 7/21/2016 07:58:00 am

The representative of the Lagos-Central Senatorial District in the Senate, Oluremi Tinubu, says as a Christian she has forgiven her Kogi-West counterpart, Dino Melaye, for abusing and threatening her.

Tinubu, however, said would not be intimidated by anybody and that she would continue to fight for her right.

She said this on Wednesday when members of the Lagos State House of Assembly from Lagos Central and members of the All Progressives Congress caucus as well as some party leaders paid her a solidarity visit at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja.

The Lagos-Central caucus was led by Sen. Muniru Muse, while the National Assembly caucus was led by Sen. Gbenga Ashafa.

Tinubu had accused Melaye of assaulting her verbally during an executive session of the Senate last week Tuesday.

Melaye had, however, denied the allegation, claiming instead that Tinubu insulted him.

Tinubu said when she started to think about all that transpired in the Senate for some days on Wednesday, she shed tears for the first time since her encounter with Melaye.

She said, “When the Senate President invited me yesterday and I gave my word. You can see the channel I have taken in the aftermath of the event. I reported to the IGP; I wrote to him also, after I waited for one week. When it happened, it was him I went to. I waited for one week and nothing was done. I also wrote to the party (APC) chairman.

“I met with the Senate leadership yesterday (Tuesday) after one week; I met with him (Senate President Bukola Saraki) yesterday. And as a Christian, I said I had already forgiven him (Melaye) for even with the way I was treated. But the point is that what people don’t realise is that I am a very reserved person.

“After I gave my word to him (Saraki) yesterday, I told myself that at 55 I am not a wimp of anybody.

“I witnessed the Sani Abacha regime and I know what I saw and why I am committed to this cause. But now, my hands are tied to say I forgive people. I am a Christian; when I give my word, I must abide by it. But I am not scared to follow this through.

“I am not championing a cause for women. I am only standing in my space and if my space is encroached upon, I have to fight back. Rosa Parks wasn’t an activist; she just decided to sit in her space and not give up her space anybody in a bus. And that sent a message.

“I want to use this opportunity to thank all the Nigerian women who rose up; the women rights groups who are calling, conducting press conferences and doing a lot of things.”

The senator also denied sponsoring women groups to protest on her behalf against Melaye. She stated that she had given her best to her constituency in five years and that inspired the protests that have trailed the verbal assault on her.

“I didn’t give anybody (any money); I don’t even have N80m in my personal salary account in the Senate. And I don’t think if I have any other savings I want to use it to mobilise women to protest. What about the investments we have put into politics? How much has that done for this country?” Tinubu said.

Assembly begins Yari’s impeachment as DSS arrests Speaker, others

Posted by Unknown on 7/21/2016 07:53:00 am

Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Governor Abdulaziz Yari

Operatives of the Department of State Services have arrested the Speaker of the Zamfara State House of Assembly, Sanusi Rikiji, in connection with an alleged plot to impeach the state Governor, Abdulaziz Yari.

Rikiji and other principal officers of the Assembly, who were picked up on Tuesday in Gusau, the state capital, are said to be currently detained in Abuja.

Those said to be detained along with him are the Deputy Speaker, Muhammad Gumi; the Majority Leader, Isah Abdulmumini; and the Chief Whip, Abdullahi Dansadau.

The House of Assembly, however, on Wednesday, listed six impeachable offences against Yari, in an apparent move to begin an impeachment process against the governor.

A statement issued in Gusau by the Chairman, Zamfara State House of Assembly’s Committee on Information, Alhaji Mannir Gidan-Jaja, accused the governor of misappropriating billions of naira from the state coffers.

It listed the money allegedly misappropriated to include N11bn bailout, N1bn agricultural loan released to the state by the Central Bank of Nigeria and “corrupt abuse of local government funds.”

The Assembly also accused the governor of failing to remit funds deducted for pensions and gratuities to pension fund administrators, as provided by law.

According to the statement, the governor had also ignored a resolution of the Assembly not to appoint Alhaji Murtala Jangebe as the Chairman of the state Universal Basic Education Board.

It said that the Assembly had passed a vote of no confidence on Jangebe, after he was allegedly found to have misappropriated over N1bn belonging to the board in 2014.

The statement accused the governor of frequent foreign trips which, the lawmakers argued, had negative impact on the day-to-day running of the government, apart from imposing financial burden on the state.

The lawmakers condemned the arrest of the Speaker, his deputy, Majority Whip and supporting staff of the assembly by the DSS.

The lawmakers described the arrest as a clear interference in the functions of the legislature.

The statement urged President Muhammadu Buhari to caution the DSS against further interference in the matter.

“We are also demanding the unconditional release of our principal officers, who are currently under detention with the DSS in Abuja,’’ the lawmakers said.

The state Assembly also alleged that the governor did not release monthly cash allocation to the Ministries, Departments and Agencies, including the state Assembly. They also questioned the usage of funds meant for local governments for state purposes.

Furthermore, the legislature expressed its distaste for the appointment of the Chairman of SUBEB, who it said should not occupy public office.

Responding, Yari described as wild all allegations levelled against him by the state assembly.

Yari, who spoke through one of his Special Advisers to the governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Dosara, faulted the six-point grudge against the governor, who he claimed the President had publicly acknowledged and praised for being one of the best performing governors in the country.

On the allegation of low budgetary release, Dosara said, “A checklist of all the states in the federation shows that there is virtually a blanket paucity of funds nationwide and Zamfara State cannot be an exception from this national setback.”

On the allegation against the SUBEB’s chairman appointment in spite of alleged corruption levelled against him by the lawmakers, Dosara said Jangebe had yet to be found guilty by any court of law of competent jurisdiction.

He added, “Suffice it to say that most, if not all the claims in the legislators grievances, are baseless, unfounded and self-seeking, with the aim of inciting the general public against the governor for reasons best known to them.”

He said the governor also challenged the legislative members to provide any evidence or proof of his use of state funds on his numerous trips outside the state or the country.

On the demand for the release of the principal officers currently answering questions with the security agencies, he said it was incomprehensible to accuse the governor or even ask him to secure the release of their people because the governor has no hand in their plight.

“He is neither the DG, SSS nor the IG of Police,” he said.

Dosara wondered why the lawmakers were calling on Buhari to intervene in the crisis with Yari after “they collectively disrespected the President by boycotting all his activities when he visited the state last week.”

N1.2bn deals: EFCC freezes Obanikoro daughter’s account

Posted by Unknown on 7/21/2016 07:47:00 am

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has frozen an account linked to Shalewa Obanikoro, the daughter of a former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro.

According to EFCC investigators, about N1.2bn passed through the account which belongs to an oil firm.

Shalewa, who is a signatory to the account, was said to have personally mandated Fidelity Bank to transfer N800m from the account to another account within the bank.

A source in the anti-graft agency on Tuesday said, “We have frozen an account in which Obanikoro’s daughter is a signatory. She specifically mandated the bank to transfer N800m from the account to another account.

“We discovered that money was paid into the account at various times. The money came in N50m, N20m, N30m and various sums.

“She said the money was for oil and gas transactions. So, we have frozen the account as investigations continue. We want to know where the funds came from. At least N1.2bn has passed through the account.”

The EFCC was said to have made the discovery of Shalewa’s transactions when it was investigating the N4.7bn allegedly paid into the account of Obanikoro’s two sons – Babajide and Gbolahan.

The money, which was paid into the Diamond Bank of Sylvan McNamara, was allegedly shared among Obanikoro, the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose; and the then governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore.

While Omisore is in detention for allegedly receiving N1.3bn, five properties, allegedly belonging to Fayose, have been seized while his three Zenith Bank accounts have been frozen.

A house belonging to Obanikoro’s two sons in Ikoyi, Lagos, has also been seized. Obanikoro and his sons have, however, remained in the United States for the last 14 months.

The anti-graft agency had, last week, quizzed Shalewa and seized her passport to prevent her from travelling to the US.

“We seized her passport because we were told that she was planning on travelling soon. We had to prevent her from travelling since she is part of the investigation,” a detective said.

Apart from the N4.7bn arms scam rocking the Obanikoro family, MOB Integrated Services Ltd, a company headed by Obanikoro’s second son, Gbolahan, was implicated by the Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede-led Presidential Committee on Verification and Reconciliation in 2012 over an alleged petroleum subsidy fraud.

The company was said to have made three transactions valued at N5,393,592,906.62. However, investigations revealed that the company only made one transaction valued at N3,261,263,992.52 verified as legitimate.

The difference of over N2bn was allegedly embezzled as MOB did not make the needed oil supply.

However, sources at the commission told our correspondent that after Obanikoro was appointed the Minister of State for Defence, the case was mysteriously suspended indefinitely.

The oil business linked to Obanikoro’s daughter has therefore opened a new dimension to the subsidy fraud case.

A source at the EFCC said, “Obanikoro’s case is very easy to investigate because unlike other politicians, he used his children to carry out most of his alleged crimes. Out of his four children, we have seen suspicious transactions in the accounts of three of them. There is no way these young guys will have billions in their accounts if they were not fronting for their father.”

Meanwhile, the EFCC on Tuesday grilled a former Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Dr. Doyin Okupe, for receiving N100m from the embattled former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.).

The EFCC, however, discovered that N15m was also transferred to Okupe from the account of Destra Investment Limited, a company owned by the immediate past National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, who is on trial for allegedly receiving N400m from Dasuki.

Ironically, Okupe is one of the defence witnesses in the case against Metuh.

A source at the EFCC said, “Okupe came again as usual and we grilled him over the funds he has openly confessed to receiving from Dasuki. He claims to have spent all the money but we keep making fresh discoveries.

“He received about N15m from Destra Investment Limited, owned by Metuh. Okupe is also one of Metuh’s defence witnesses. Okupe had appeared before the Federal High Court to defend Metuh and yet he (Okupe) has confessed to receiving money from Dasuki and he also collected N15m from Metuh.

“When we confronted him with evidence, he was shocked and could not respond.”

Okupe had, on May 19, 2016, told Justice Okon Abang that Metuh received N400m from Jonathan but argued that the fund could not have emanated from the ONSA.

While defending Metuh, Okupe had said, “I am surprised to hear that the Office of the National Security Adviser was used to distribute money for Jonathan’s presidential campaign. However, the President could also use his tremendous goodwill to source funds to assist his party or help to execute special programmes.

“Besides, as the candidate for election, the President has immense capacity to raise funds as a candidate. He did not use any government establishment as his pseudo-sponsor.”

It was learnt that Okupe risked being charged with conspiracy alongside Metuh depending on the outcome of investigations.

An EFCC investigator added, “With this new revelation, it is possible that Okupe knew that Metuh’s N400m emanated from the ONSA but went to court to defend Metuh in order to cover his tracks, having received N15m. We are still investigating the matter.”

Halliburton: Buhari’s wife sues Fayose

Posted by Unknown on 7/21/2016 07:39:00 am

The wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, Aisha, has sued the Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, for alleging that she was one of those indicted for involvement in the Halliburton multi-million dollar scandal.

The President’s wife had on many occasions denied involvement in the scam with a threat to sue Fayose if he did not stop dragging her into a fraud she knew nothing about.

A former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Lamorde, had also declared that Aisha was not one of Nigerians mentioned in the scam or indicted for the scandal.

The EFCC investigated the scam during Lamorde’s tenure as the anti-graft boss.

But in spite of these, Fayose had insisted that the President’s wife was involved in the fraud in which Nigeria lost huge sums of money, alleging that the Federal Government’s anti-corruption war was selective and politically-motivated.

The governor claimed that Aisha Buhari was named in a document that stated she was one of those indicted in the celebrated scandal.

However, a Nigerian online medium, Premium Times reported on Wednesday night that Mrs. Buhari had dragged Fayose to court for maligning her name.

Premium Times stated that it had exclusively obtained the court summons, dated July 20, 2016, that Aisha filed against the governor.

When our correspondent contacted Fayose’s lawyer, Mr. Mike Ozekhome (SAN), on Wednesday night to confirm whether his client had been served the summons or not, his telephone number had been switched off.

Don’t try impeach Buhari, Anenih warns PDP lawmakers

Posted by Unknown on 7/20/2016 04:45:00 pm

Former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Tony Anenih, has warned members of the party in the National Assembly not to contemplate removing President Muhammadu Buhari from office.
He also asked the Chairman of the party’s National Caretaker Committee, Sen. Ahmed Makarfi, to dissuade the PDP caucus in the Assembly from participating in what he described as an “ill-advised adventure.”
He stated this in a four-page letter to Makarfi, which was dated July 15, 2016.
In the letter, which was made available to journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, Anenih said he was persuaded that the time was neither right nor the reasons compelling enough to contemplate the impeachment of the President.
He asked Makarfi to personally lead the process of consultation with PDP members in the National Assembly, with a view to getting them to “play a patriotic, rather than partisan role at this time of national economic and social uncertainty.”
The letter was titled, “The PDP Caucus in the National Assembly and the threat to impeach President Muhammadu Buhari.”
It reads in part, “I am constrained to write this letter by my love for our great country and my long years of involvement in the pursuit of peace, co-existence and national development.

BREAKING: Dogara sacks Committee on Appropriation chairman

Posted by Unknown on 7/20/2016 04:42:00 pm

The Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has removed the Chairman of the Committee on Appropriation, Mr. Abdulmumin Jibrin.

Jibrin, an APC member from Kano State, hard serious disagreements with his colleagues over the handling of the controversial 2016 budget.

Details later…

Omisore welcomes FG’s move to reopen Ige’s killing

Posted by Unknown on 7/20/2016 07:47:00 am

A former Deputy Governor of Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore, has described the plan by the Federal Government to revisit the killing of a former Governor of old Oyo State, Chief Bola Ige, as a welcome development.

Omisore, who spoke in a statement made available to our correspondent in Osogbo on Tuesday by his Media Director, Mr. Diran Odeyemi, however, advised the FG to revisit the killing of Funso Williams and Odunayo Olagbaju, who was a member of the Osun State House of Assembly.

Omisore said he was in support of the calls for the case to be revisited but added that other high-profile killings should be revisited to show that the move was not targeted at political opponents.

The statement partly read, “The decision of the Federal Government to revisit the killing of the former Minister of Justice and a political icon, the late Chief Bola Ige and Chief Dokubo is good and a welcome development.

“I am particularly happy that a fresh investigation will further exonerate me and others who were wrongfully framed up and suffered untold hardship before we were finally acquitted and discharged by the court.

“The Federal Government and the Inspector-General of Police should widen the scope of their investigations to all areas rather than limiting themselves to a particular area or section.

The Federal Government should extend its search towards unraveling the killers of the late Funso Williams and Odunayo Olagbaju just to mention a few. The Federal Government and the IG should widen the scope of their investigations to all areas rather than limiting themselves to a particular area or section.”

He however prayed to God to expose all the people and whoever was connected to all the killings under investigation while wishing the new IG the best of luck in the task.

Ige was assassinated at his Bodija residence in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, on December 23, 2001 by some gunmen.

Ige’s son, Muyiwa, had said in 2015 that the case would be revisited.

He said, “We know the killers, they are still out there walking, but sooner or later the killers will be found. Once we have a sensible government in power we will fish out the (Bola Ige’s) killers.

“I thank God that come May 29, a sensible government will take over. When we have the government that believes in the rule of law, we are going to push for the case to be reopened. Right now, the prime suspect has no power base any longer.

“They are never made governors, they are not senators. We are going to re-open the case and hopefully justice will prevail.”

Tariff reversal’ll worsen N300bn funding gap – Power firms

Posted by Unknown on 7/20/2016 07:42:00 am

Any reversal in electricity tariff will increase the over N300bn funding gap, which operators in the sector are currently grappling with, the power firms have said.

They also alleged that the previous government was fond of playing politics with the supply of electricity as it failed to implement various contractual agreements reached with the power firms.

The Executive Director, Association of National Electricity Distributors, Mr. Sunday Oduntan, told journalists in Abuja on Tuesday that if the court ruling on the reversal of tariff was implemented, the outcome on the sector and the overall economy would be more severe than people imagined.

A Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos recently reversed the 45 per cent increase in electricity tariff by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission in a landmark judgment. The court declared the increase in tariff as illegal and directed that it should be reversed immediately.

The court held that the implementation of the 45 per cent increase in tariff constituted a violation of its interim order, and awarded N50,000 cost against NERC.

But the Discos and NERC have filed separate appeals against the ruling and are also seeking for a stay of execution of the court judgment.

Oduntan explained that the implementation of the new tariff was meant to commence on November 1, 2013 when the sector was officially privatised, but was delayed till February 1, 2016.

This delay, according to him, has led to a huge funding gap that is in excess of N300bn.

He said, “Part of the agreement then was that the newly privatised industry would be given the appropriate tariff. In the performance agreement that was signed, that tariff was called cost-reflective tariff, which simply means appropriate pricing for the product. But the problem that we have had ever since then is that two and half years down the line, the government has not fulfilled its pledge.”

Doctor rapes woman during abortion

Posted by Unknown on 7/20/2016 07:38:00 am

A doctor allegedly raped a woman during an abortion procedure two weeks after he masturbated in front of her during a physical examination, a court has heard.
According to Tribune 242, after Dr. Gerald Mark Forbes informed the 20-year-old she would need a medical examination to work at his clinic in Freeport, the Bahamas, last February, he was alleged to have rubbed her vagina and masturbated before her.
The report added that two week’s later, after the victim asked him to terminate a pregnancy, he was accused of raping her during the procedure.
The 47-year-old is also said to have given the alleged victim a packet of Methotrexate, a drug used to induce abortions.
The defendant told the police as heard by the Grand Bahama Court that the woman was a ‘friend of a friend’, who simply worked at his office for two months. He denied the allegations of rape and indecent assault.
However, he refused to answer officers when asked about the alleged incidents, telling them he ‘had nothing to say’.
The court was told that in a WhatsApp exchange that took place after the alleged rape, the doctor told the woman he didn’t owe her salary because he had provided her with medication.
During the police interview an officer told him, “The virtual complainant informed you that she will not return to work because she was uncomfortable that you violated her, and you said you were sorry she felt that way and you told her to still come in for follow-up and medication.”
The trial resumes at 11am on Friday.

Tinubu’s wife asks Senate, APC to sanction Melaye

Posted by Unknown on 7/20/2016 07:33:00 am

LASU suspends 25 students over exam malpractice

Posted by Unknown on 7/20/2016 06:30:00 am

Police to re-arraign suspects in Bola Ige’s case

Posted by Unknown on 7/20/2016 06:28:00 am

Claims of selective anti-corruption war absurd, says Osinbajo

Posted by Unknown on 7/20/2016 06:24:00 am

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has described the allegations in some quarters that the anti-corruption war of the present administration is selective as absurd.

He said such allegations were without foundation or basis.

According to a statement on Tuesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, the Vice-President spoke with journalists after taking part in the 27th Ordinary Session of the African Union which ended in Kigali, Rwanda on Monday.

Citing an example of the arms scandal, Osinbajo said those responsible for the scam were those holding public offices at the time.

He said it was clear that members of the ruling All Progressives Congress were not in office at the time.

Osinbajo said, “I think it (the allegation) is entirely absurd. I think that view is absurd and without foundation or basis whatsoever.

“We look at corruption from all possible facets. If you look at, for example, corruption in the military, from military procurement, obviously the only individuals responsible for that could be persons who had held office within the period in question and that has been done and clearly the opposition was not in the office at that time.

“Those who were in the office were not necessarily opposition individuals. These were service chiefs and other personnel who had served for a while.

“The other issues for example is the fraud and the corruption that is associated with large sums of money given out by the past National Security Adviser which went to several political figures and again these were huge sums of money, over $2bn and the sheer size and the enormity of what we are talking about, must not be diminished in any way or trivialised in anyway by any suggestion that it is partisan. How? In what way?

“I think those who make that suggestion obviously want to trivialise a very important programme of the government, a very important fight against corruption and also the strong effort to recover huge sums of money that have been stolen from Nigeria.”

Osinbajo also said there was appreciation from other African leaders regarding the N500bn Social Intervention Programme of the present administration which focuses primarily on women, including the one million market women, traders and artisans who will get macro-credit loans.

On issues of peace and security, the Vice-President said the summit was also useful, and Nigeria had received “tremendous support from everywhere.”

“Everyone is in full support of the efforts that have been made against Boko Haram and other various insurgents and various problems in the whole of Africa,” he said.

The summit also resolved to hold new elections for new officials of the AU Commission as the voting process on Monday could not produce election results that met the required majority according to the AU rules.

The AUC is the secretariat of the African Union and led by a Chairperson, and supported by a deputy chairperson and eight commissioners.

Osinbajo described the process as fair and based on the rules of the elections.

“I am pleased with the process. I think the process went very well, the rules were followed and the wishes of the member states were well reflected.

“The outcome l think is a fair conclusion and it is very clear that the member states will like to see fresh elections, would like to see possibly fresh set of candidates or at least additional candidates to those who have already been nominated. I think it’s a fair process. It went very well,” he said.

The Vice-President added that Nigeria has previously suggested that the elections be postponed until January, which is now about when they would be held again.

Explaining the outcome of the summit regarding the AUC elections further, Osinbajo said, “the extension of the election is clearly the product of the rules and the way the rules were interpreted.

“Why the elections ended the way they did was because many members obviously felt (the need for) …a fresh look at candidature and possibly have a few others.”

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