Rivers Kidnap Update: One of 14 Victims Escapes

The CP, who told our correspondent that
the victims are oil workers, wondered
why the driver carried on even after their
security escorts had stopped to fuel their
vehicles.
He, however, said his men have been on
the trail of the kidnappers and are
currently combing the bushes to
apprehend them.
Gunmen kidnapped 14 local oil workers
and their driver, police confirmed on
Friday.
The incident took place on a road
connecting the towns of Omoku and
Elele, around 50 km from the city of Port
Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, in the
early hours of Friday as the employees of
Nigerian energy company, Nestoil,
traveled to work, police said.
“We have recovered the vehicle they
were traveling in before the incident
occurred. Police are currently combing
bushes around the area in a bid to find
and release the victims,” said, the Police
PRO in the state, Nnamdi Omoni.
“I do not think there was a foreigner
among those kidnapped. Their abductors
have not made any contact and nobody
has been arrested yet,” Nnamdi told
Reuters.

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Messi Picks Up Bad Injury On International Duty…See Details

Lionel Messi will be sidelined for a while after
picking up a painful injury while representing
Argentina.
Lionel Messi will miss Argentina’s 2018 World
Cup qualifier in Venezuela on Tuesday after
injuring his groin in Thursday’s 1-0 victory
over Uruguay.
The Barcelona forward scored on his return
from international retirement to send Argentina
top of the South America qualifying group.
Messi said after the game that his groin had
been “hurting a lot”.
Argentina coach Edgardo Bauza said: “He
won’t be able to play. We can’t take any risks.
We must take care of him.”
After seven of the 18 qualifying games
Argentina lead Uruguay, Colombia and Ecuador
by one point with B.razil a point further back
in fifth.
A top-four finish will secure automatic
qualification for Russia 2018, with the fifth-
placed side facing a two-legged play-off
against a team from Oceania – New Zealand,
New Caledonia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea,
Solomon Islands or Tahiti.

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OAU Shuts Down Mosques Inside Hostel Over Alleged Prostitution & Alien Doctrine Teaching

The Divisional Students Affairs of the Obafemi
Awolowo University management has stated
that it is ready to shut down mosques across
the all hostels in the institution.
According to a statement signed by the Dean
of the Divisional Students Affairs DSA, Dr. G. O
Akinola, the justification for shutting down the
mosque is not far from ranging allegations
levied on the MSSN splinter group.
The splinter group was alleged of harbouring
female students for prostitution and teaching
of an alien doctrine.
Read the statement below:
“The Division of Students Affairs (DSA)
acting upon the Statutes and Regulations of
Obafemi Awolowo University hereby declares
closed until further notice, the two purported
mosques in Awolowo and Fajuyi Halls for the
reasons of peace, free movement of students
and staff within the Halls and the overriding
need for the security of all persons, assets
and installation in the Halls.
The reasons for this closure are as set out
below:
1. On Friday 12th August, 2016 when the
current executive members of the Muslim
Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN), Obafemi
Awolowo University (OAU), Ife B.ranch were
to be inaugurated at the Central Mosque, the
Division of Students Affairs (DSA) was
invited and was duly represented by the Vice
Dean of the Division. There were issues at
the inauguration when we were told of
another group of Muslim students who
wanted to impose themselves and their
doctrines which are not consistent with the
Constitution of the MSSN members. At that
point the Vice-Dean was asked to interact
with this group with a view to finding out
what their arguments and positions were;
2. After the Vice-Dean’s interaction with the
group (which is yet to give a name to itself,
although they insisted that they should be
called MSSN too), we decided to call
members of the group to a meeting at the
DSA.
They came on Tuesday, 23rd August 2016 at
6.15pm. After several attempts at making
them attend the parley failed, we eventually
held a meeting with them on this 23rd
August. We stressed at the meeting the
point that the DSA is only aware of the
existence of only one MSSN as a registered
Muslim students’ group on the campus of
the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.
We impressed it on the group that even the
DSA is also aware that the National body of
the MSSN recognises only one MSSN group
here on campus. We therefore advised the
group to, if they have any issue of
disagreement between them and the
mainstream MSSN, please for sake of peace
on campus and interest of their members
take steps to sort them out with the
Executive of the MSSN on campus.
3. The meeting deliberated extensively on
how to bring this settlement about and at
the end of it, it was agreed that a period of
one (1) week be given to permit the group
interact with the mainstream MSSN and
settle their disagreement amicably failing
which the two ‘mosques’ at Fajuyi and
Awolowo Halls would be closed down for
peace to reign.
Note that this splinter group of the MSSN
had begun to use the two ‘mosques’ in these
Halls as a base for their anti-mainstream
MSSN rhetorics and doctrinal disagreement
on campus, including recruitment of students
for their separate teachings. Note also, that
these two ‘mosques’, converted as such
were originally Cafeteria buildings meant for
the respective halls under the University’s
master plan.
We also agreed at the meeting that if the
DSA found that they were able to make
progress on the reconciliation, even if they
have not completely reached an agreement
on doctrinal or worship issues, the
suggestive closure of the ‘mosque’ would be
suspended to permit for more room for
rapport and deeper reconciliation. We agreed
that we were going to meet again on the
very day that the one-week ultimatum to
reconcile expired, that is Tuesday 30th
August, 2016. Meanwhile, desirous of a way
to convince the DSA that the splinter group
meant well, they invited the DSA to visit the
two ‘mosques’ in Fajuyi and Awolowo Halls
to see that there was nothing sinister in the
activities of the splinter group and that if
anything at all, they have been peaceful and
law-abiding.
4. However, on Thursday 25th August, a
meeting was held with the University
recognized MSSN Executive members. This
same MSSN Executive is also recognised by
the OAU Muslim Community and by the
National body of MSSN in Nigeria. That
meeting was called to hear the complaints
of the splinter MSSN members and their
grievances. The recognized MSSN was
informed of the University’s plan to close the
‘mosques’ in Fajuyi and Awolowo Halls if the
splinter group of the MSSN failed to make
peace with the mainstream MSSN and
reconcile accordingly;
5. On Friday 26th August, the MSSN
National body paid a courtesy visit to the
DSA to discuss the furore over the
recognized MSSN on campus. The visitation
team led by the President of the National
MSSN, Muhammad Jameel Muhammad
came in company of the campus mainstream
MSSN and some of his officials. The thrust
of their visit was to make a passionate
appeal to the DSA on their fear for the
possibility of “emergence on the OAU
campus of an extremist group of Muslim
students in a fashion similar to the current
Boko Haram insurgency besetting Nigeria”.
They expressed some fears and strongly felt
that the splinter MSSN group in OAU and
what they referred to as “their strange
doctrinal principles and procedures” could
lead to the materialization of such fears.
The visitation team pleaded with the
University through the DSA to do all that
was lawful and needful to see that such
fears were allayed. The visitation team also
reiterated their support for the recognized
MSSN mainstream organization and its
president. In addition, the team gave a copy
of the MSSN Constitution and 5 copies of
the articles of faith of the MSSN titled
“MSSN at a Glance” to the DSA;
6. On the night of 27th August, 2016 reports
came to the Acting Dean, DSA, that the
splinter MSSN group were planning to hold a
religious programme in Awolowo Hall
Cafeteria the following day (i.e. 28th August,
2016), for which they had not sought or
obtained permission. The Acting Dean
reported to the University Chief Security
Officer who immediately sent a group of his
men to see how things would go with a view
to apprehending any illegality or untoward
behaviours and report forthwith. Report
came that the religious programme held and
that the leaders of the splinter MSSN
presided at that programme. The point here
is that the group failed to seek or secure
approval for this religious activity in the
Cafeteria.
7. However, on the night preceding the
expiration of the ultimatum given to the
Splinter MSSN group, to make peace with
the mainstream MSSN and reconcile
accordingly, a text message was sent to the
Vice Dean, DSA, from the Splinter MSSN
group that they had contacted someone who
would help broker the reconciliation talks
and that the person said he would see the
Chief Imam of the Central mosque later. The
DSA quickly apprehended this as delay
tactics as the text could have been sent
earlier. Otherwise, why the night preceding
the expiration of the ultimatum to reconcile?
In any case, on the agreed date when the
ultimatum expired (Tuesday 30th August,
2016), the DSA expected them to come for a
meeting at the DSA’s office, but to our
chagrin they refused to show up.
8. Meanwhile, acting upon the invitation
earlier extended to the DSA by this splinter
MSSN group, the Acting Dean and Vice Dean
at about 10.45am on 31st August, 2016,
visited the Fajuyi and Awolowo Halls with a
view to seeing for themselves samples of the
activities of the splinter MSSN group. We
told them of many irregular and outright
illegal things we have heard them do at the
‘mosques’. We made them realise that they
had been holding unauthorized religious
programmes in these ‘mosques’ and several
other places on campus without approval
from the DSA. They, however, argued that
they had not been violent but law abiding
and that they had never done anything illegal
or irregular in any of their religious meetings.
9. But on this our visit to Awolowo
‘mosque’, we discovered a door leading to
one of the rooms in the ‘mosque’ was
securely locked from inside and the
occuP@nts refused to open. We threatened
to force the door open if they refused any
further, and after much persuasion, the door
was opened and we discovered to our utter
amazement that a group of girls numbering
about a dozen were locked inside the room
either fully or partially veiled. Our
amazement was that the room in which they
were locked or locked themselves was in a
male hall, we wondered to no end why
purported female students would be locked
up in a male hall during lecture hours, no
matter the excuse. Before we could
interrogate them, some escaped through the
backdoor of the room but we were able to
apprehend three of them from whom we
collected their identity cards.
10. At the Fajuyi Hall, we also discovered to
utter shock that a group of girls who
purported themselves to be students were
locked in a room in the ‘mosque’. We
interrogated them and they claimed that
they were kept there by their leaders who
happen to be the leaders of MSSN splinter
group. They, in addition claimed that they
were praying in the room. Our dilemma was
why a group of female students would claim
to be praying during lecture hours in an
exclusive male hall at around 11am! There
was five girls in this room and we collected
the identity cards from four of them. The
fifth one who was fully veiled said she had
not her identity card on her. However, a
male student who vouched for this fully
veiled girl volunteered to stand in for her
until she produced her identity card. We
collected this male student’s identity card.
11. Having observed the seeming obstinacy
of the splinter MSSN group to interact with
the DSA and to fulfill the requirements of the
agreement reached on 23rd August, we again
were forced to send a follow-up invitation to
them stating that they should come to the
DSA for a meeting on Wednesday, 31st
August for a serious interaction at the DSA’s
office. But to our utter dismay they sent a
text message to the DSA that all of them in
the group would be having Continuous
Assessment tests from 10am to 5pm on
31st August, 2016. We replied that text
message that no test of any kind could
possibly last from 10am to 5pm in this
University and that in their own interest they
needed to show up for the meeting on or
before 2.00pm on 31st August to discuss the
issue of reconciliation as agreed in our last
meeting with them.
12. The splinter MSSN group eventually
came in the afternoon of 31st August at
about 1.15pm. We intimated them with our
findings and told them they had to put a
stop to their practice of harbouring girls in
rooms within the ‘mosques’. Their leaders
insisted that they could not abide by that
demand and that they reserved the right to
keep any of their female members in the
rooms in the ‘mosque’! We explained to
them that what they were doing was
contrary to the laws of the University and
the regulations guiding religious worship and
students’ conduct. But they held their
ground that since the ‘mosque’ was a place
of worship they could not abide by the rules
and the need to desist from keeping female
students within its rooms at any time. The
meeting ended in a stalemate.
13. We thereafter pleaded with the Chief
Imam of the University to take full charge of
the ‘mosques’ and prevent forthwith any
breach of the University’s rules within its
walls. He declined flatly and said he would
rather not be held responsible for what ever
happened in those ‘mosques’ as he had
since dissociated himself from the practices
and doctrines of the splinter MSSN who
controlled it.
14. It should be noted that the Federal
Government, of Nigeria of which Obafemi
Awolowo University is an integral part, has
not legalized prostitution in Universities. It is
pertinent to note also that no female should
be camped in a male facility under the guise
of religion, as this is tantamount to running
a brothel which will breed prostitution; and
this is illegal. It is only fit, proper and
responsible that any grossly abused
university facility be closed down.
15. Consequently, acting within its powers to
prevent any breakdown of law and order and
to ensure freedom of movement of persons
within the respective halls of residence,
especially at this time of dire security
concern in the country, the DSA has
therefore acted this 2nd day of September,
2016 to seal off and close down henceforth,
the two ‘mosques’ in Awolowo and Fajuyi
Halls until such a time that orderliness and
the rule of the University would be respected
within its walls.
Signed: Dr. (Mrs.) G. O. Akinola
(Acting Dean, Division of Students’ Affairs)
Stamped!!!

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Seven Of Buhari’s Actions That Led Nigeria Into Recession

1) Sudden Implementation of Treasury Single
Account (TSA)- This policy threw the banking
and financial sector into turmoil as huge sums
were swept out of banks and dormantly
stashed into a preferred safe.
2) Tightening of Foreign Exchange
Transactions- This policy made it difficult to
make foreign exchange, and threw thriving
businesses into turmoil which led to massive
sacking of workers and manufacturing
slowdown.
3) Unguarded Utterances During Foreign Trips-
The president made several unguarded
utterances that gave the impression that
Nigeria was headed for the rocks. This made
foreign investors hesitant about coming into
Nigeria, and encouraged those that were
already in Nigeria to speculate and pull out
funds.
4) Halting of Important Projects in the Niger
Delta- Buhari moved to remove majority of the
projects that were created to provide tangible
benefits to Niger-Deltans. For example, the
Maritime University and Pipeline protection
projects. Though, some of these projects were
condemned by Nigerians, they kept the Niger-
Delta at peace and allowed for the
maximization of the benefits from petroleum
exports.
5) Buhari’s Northern Developmental Focus in
Nigeria- The developmental aim of the
president is very much skewed towards
Northern Nigeria than every other part. So, he
is more like kick starting a new economic
focus, while dumping existing economic
strengths. For example, he is devoting billions
of dollars to search for petroleum in the North
when Nigeria does not have functional
refineries to ensure adequate availability of
petroleum products that are already being
produced in the South.
6) Elimination of All the Policies Made by PDP-
it is on record that even though PDP led
governments were corrupt, they made some
major strides in diversifying Nigeria’s
economy. For example, Agricultural export
came to life under PDP. Buhari has focused on
bedeviling and antagonizing every single policy
made by the PDP. In the process, he has
thrown out good policies and progress that
were made in the past. He is almost starting
afresh, and this has rebooted Nigeria and
thrown us years backwards.
7) Preference for Violence over Dialogue-
Buhari prefers to use military force to quell
civil strife. This approach ignites more protests
and civil disobedience. An economy cannot
experience progress in violent conditions. Even
Lagos and Ogun axis has experienced an open
show of military bombardment, which scares a
heck out of investors. The same is true about
the production shut ins in the Niger Delta
region. Some of these issues can be solved
with dialogue and with police actions than full
scale military assaults.

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Ogun state permanent secretary dies 24 hours after swearing-in

24 hours after she was sworn into office by the
Ogun state governor, a permanent secretary,
Mrs. Olubunmi Odumusi has died. According to
family sources, she died in her sleep last night
September 2nd. She was aged 57. She is said to
have been battling cancer disease for a while.
May her soul rest in peace, Amen.

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Rotimi Akeredolu emerges APC governorship candidate in Ondo State

A former president of the Nigerian Bar
Association, Rotimi Akeredolu has emerged the
governorship candidate of the opposition All
Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State. He
emerged the flag bearer following the state
party's primary election held amidst tight
security in Akure, the state capital Saturday
September 3rd.

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Fayose dismisses Sheriff visit to Obasanjo, says; “It’s coming together of PDP enemies”

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has
reacted to today’s visit of Senator Ali Modu
Sheriff to former President Olusegun Obasanjo,
saying it was a coming together of collaborators
in the total annihilation of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP).The governor said it
was on record that both Obasanjo and Sheriff
collaborated to destroy the All Nigerians Peoples
Party (ANPP) and their meeting today must be
to further collaborate to destroy the PDP.
Governor Fayose, who reacted to the visit
through his Special Assistant on Public
Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka,
said;
“Sheriff can as well begin to sleep in
Obasanjo’s house, it is good riddance to
bad rubbish.”
The governor said; “since Obasanjo is no longer
a member of the PDP and he has consistently
maintained that he can never return to the PDP,
only those in the same league with him can go
about visiting him.”
He said it was hypocritical and deceitful for
Sheriff to have said he went to see Obasanjo to
seek advice on the way forward for the PDP
because he (Obasanjo) was among those made
the PDP to lose the presidency, despite that no
one benefited from the party more than him.
Governor Fayose said Sheriff only visited
Obasanjo as part of his plot with the All
Progressives Congress (APC) to destroy the
PDP, adding that; “no genuine lover of the PDP
will go to the house of a man who openly
destroyed his PDP membership card and worked
assiduously to ensure the party’s failure in the
2015 presidential election to seek advice on how
the way forward for the PDP.”
He reiterated his call to Nigerians to beware of
Obasanjo, saying;
"The result of Obasanjo's imposition of
President Mohammadu Buhari on the
country is the hunger and sufferings that
Nigerians are facing now."

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Arsenal: Lucas Perez Revelation Should Put Fears To Rest

Arsenal’s brand new striker Lucas
Perez has revealed that Wenger has
been after him since January. Does
this revelation change anything?
One of the things that made Granit Xhaka’s
acquisition so special was that we knew
Wenger had been trying to bring him to
Arsenal for at least the past year. He had
touched base with him the previous summer,
followed up in January and by the time the
summer rolled around, it was a done deal.
That same dose of forethought was not
blatantly seen with new striker Lucas Perez
and it got many supporters worrying that
Lucas was a panic buy and nothing more
than a desperate attempt to fill the gap.
However, Lucas has come out and revealed
something that should put those fears to
bed.
“The Arsenal offer came just days before the
end of the transfer window. But I knew about
the interest of Arsenal for a long time. They
showed interest in me during the January
transfer window but then I couldn’t leave,” he
said, via the Daily Express . He went on:
“They also showed interest in me after the
end of La Liga. But then, they have their way
of working and the offer came only days
before the end of the market.”
By the sounds of it, that bit of forethought
that Wenger frequently uses was also applied
to Lucas, it was just put off in the summer
when another candidate or two rose to the
front (Wissam Ben-Yedder, Alexandre
Lacazette or, dare I say it again, Antoine
Griezmann).
So any calls of ‘desperation’ should be put to
rest. That is, unless Lucas is blowing smoke
in our faces to try to distract us from a true
act of desperation, but there is no reason to
believe that ridiculous conspiracy theory.
Lucas has all the makings of a Wenger
signing. He is extremely under the radar
(even moreso in January), he is a winger-
turned-striker, couldn’t capitalize on massive
early potential and has a fantastic team
spirit. Or team play, if team spirit sounds too
corny for you.
I keep citing this stat , but he created eight
assists and two chances per game last
season on a team that finished 15th in La
Liga. As if 17 goals wasn’t enough. He made
the most out of a bad situation in his first
year at a new position.
Wenger is a great judge of talent. Sure, he
has made some missteps, everyone has. But
some of the talents he has unearthed have
been incredibly special, especially the ones
he really sets his mind to.
And now we know that Wenger has wanted
him for eight months? If this doesn’t
invigorate your faith in the Spaniard, then I
don’t know what will. I guess some goals for
Arsenal would be a good start.

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MY DECISION TO REJECT ARSENAL WAS EASY........SO EASY

Jamie Vardy has revealed how he made the
tough decision to turn down a move to
Arsenal before bumping into Gunners boss
Arsene Wenger during Euro 2016.
Vardy was left in his hotel room weighing up
a move to Emirates Stadium after the north
London club triggered his release clause.
The former non-league star rejected
Wenger's overtures and eventually signed a
new deal with Leicester - something he said
always felt like the right thing to do.
"I was in a hotel room for many hours of
every day with nothing to do," he said.

"You had a lot of time on your hands. I am
not going to beat around the bush - every
time I thought about it, and every aspect of it
I thought about, both my head and my heart
were saying to stay, which is why I made my
decision to stay.
"Deep down if you don't think it is right move
for you, you don't do it. It is as simple as
that. You get that much time to think about
every single thing down to the tea lady.
"You think about what might happen, what
might not, where you could be, where not.
Every time I thought about every little thing,
both head and heart were saying, 'You need
to stay'.
"In my professional life it was the hardest
decision. It was hard but, like I said, when it
came to my head and my heart it was an
easy decision."

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President Muhammadu Buhari demands understanding of Nigerians

President Muhammadu Buhari demands understanding of Nigerians while he deals with the ailing economy
– The president made the plea during a one day visit to Osun state to commission a multi million naira Osogbo government high school as part of the activities marking the 25th anniversary of the creation of the state
President Muhammadu Buhari has told Nigerians that change cannot be attained on a bed of roses.
President Muhammadu Buhari receiving flowers from a little girl during his one day visit to Osun state.
According to Vanguard, Buhari speaking on the backdrop of information released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) which indicts that Nigeria’s economy has slid into recession, on Thursday, September 1, demanded understanding of Nigerians while he deals with the ailing economy.
The president made the plea during a one day visit to Osun state commissioned a multi Million naira Osogbo government high school as part of the activities marking the 25th anniversary of the creation of the state.
See more photos of Buhari’s his visit to Osun state below:
President Buhari and Governor exchanging pleasantries at the occasion.
President Buhari and Governor Aregbesola waving to guests before proceeding to the commissioning.
Meanwhile, former minister of aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode has fired a massive salvo at minister of finance, Kemi Adeosun over her statement about the state of the economy.
In series of tweets on his Twitter handle on Thursday, September 1, Fani-Kayode slammed Adeosun for saying that economic recession is just a word and noted that her comments on the state of economy were ‘daft and insensitive’ to the feelings of Nigerians who are the ones bearing the brunt of the harsh economic conditions.
Not yet done, Fani-Kayode, who did not mention Adeosun’s name but aptly described her statement, also mocked her British accent as ‘low class’.

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Corruption: FG launches major war against senators, Reps …begins probe of N200bn constituency projects

The Federal Government has started compiling the list of legislators in both chambers of the National Assembly over constituency projects earmarked for them in the 2014 and 2015 budgets, which were not executed.

The sum of N100bn was earmarked for constituency projects in each of the 2014 and 2015 budgets.

The worth of constituency projects totalled N200bn for the two years.

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), told one of our correspondents on Sunday that the compilation was being done by the police, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission.

Though he declined to give details “in order not to pre-empt investigation,” the AGF said the funds, the names of legislators and the constituency projects that were not executed would be made public after investigation.

He said his office and the law enforcement agencies had received complaints of how payments were made for constituency projects that were never executed.

He said, “The money for constituency projects had been taken, but certain allegations prevailed that some constituency projects were not executed after the money had been paid 100 per cent.

“If money is appropriated in the budget, paid and the projects the funds were meant for were not executed, it is only natural to take steps to find out what happened. If neither the money nor the project can be produced, then you must take steps in accordance with the law.

“There are cases that are specific; we are compiling them. I will not want to pre-empt investigation, we have to allow investigation to be concluded before we go public.”

When asked which of EFCC or ICPC was involved in probing the constituency project fraud, the minister responded, “including the police”.

 One of our correspondents learnt that the AGF had received petitions against many of the federal legislators, including a former Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, Mr. Abdulmumin Jibrin.

Jibrin had also petitioned the EFCC, ICPC, the police and the Department of State Services, alleging that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, and three other principal officers had requested the inclusion of N40bn projects in the 2016 budget, besides other projects in sums ranging from N20bn to N30bn.

The police are currently investigating Jibrin’s allegations.

MDAs responsible for constituency projects –Lawmakers

However, some lawmakers, who spoke to The PUNCH on Sunday, stated that ministries, departments and agencies under the executive were responsible for the execution of constituency projects.

They explained that lawmakers only identified projects, put them in the national budget, while the MDAs execute them after the president had approved the budget.

 The representative of the Oyo South senatorial district at the Senate, Senator Adesoji Akanbi, said any probe into the constituency projects should start from the executive.

He said, “There is a certain amount set aside for constituency projects. Each lawmaker is allocated a certain amount of money and they will identify the projects of their choice. But the execution by contractors has nothing to do with lawmakers. The main role we play is to name the project and make sure that the project is executed.”

 When he was asked if it was possible for a lawmaker to influence the selection of the contractor and the execution of the project, Akanbi said, “That means the ministry or the agency handling the project has been compromised.’’

Akanbi, however, said lawmakers could be culpable in the manipulation because they had to certify that the job had been done before the contractor could be paid.

Senator George Sekibo, who is recontesting his election in the Rivers-East senatorial district, also said the projects included in any budget passed by the National Assembly were executed by the MDAs.

The legistlator, who has been in the Senate since 2007, stated that lawmakers were not involved in the execution of constituency projects.

He said, ‘‘Nobody gives a kobo to any senator for constituency project. All a senator does is to recommend a project for his constituency.”

The House also said the role of lawmakers in constituency projects was limited to the selection of the projects, while relevant MDAs carried out the implementation.

It also said no member was handed cash or paid money for the implementation of the projects.

The Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Abdulrazak Namdas, said, “Members do not execute constituency projects, and they don’t receive money for the projects.

“For example, a health centre will naturally be done by the Ministry of Health or any agency so designated by the executive to handle the project. It is not the member who implements the project or appoints the contractors.”

CSOs back FG probe

Civil rights groups, which spoke to The PUNCH, supported the probe.

A United States-based activist, Simon Ajaja, said constituency projects had brought fraud.

He  said, “The idea is an organised fraud driven by the mostly ignoble men and women who have serially foisted themselves on Nigeria and Nigerians as their lawmakers, but with no intentions of making laws that would engineer  national development beyond advancing a cause for themselves via phoney loopholes in the system.”

Also, the Executive Secretary of The Anti-Corruption Network, Ebenezer Oyetakin, urged the Federal Government to carry out a thorough probe.

“The constituency projects have become an avenue for the members of the National Assembly to recoup the outrageous money spent to run elections and to feed their corruption nest rather than serving the purpose they are defined to serve,” he added.

The President of Campaign for Democracy, Bako Usman, said, “This will create more synergy between the executive and the legislature, and even the judiciary. When it comes to budget harmonisation and implementation, issues like padding will no longer occur.”

 The National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin, advised the government to limit access to money by public officials.

He said, “The government should start institutional reforms that will ensure that people don’t have access to that kind of money again.’’

Efforts to get the reaction of the Senate’s spokesperson, Senator Sani Abdullahi, proved abortive as his mobile phone rang out. He had yet to reply to a text message sent to him.

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We aren’t sure Chibok girls are in Sambisa Forest –Air chief

The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, says the Nigerian Air Force has no intelligence on whether the Chibok girls are in Sambisa Forest or not.

Abubakar, who spoke during an interactive session with journalists in Abuja on Saturday, however, said the NAF was working round  the  clock to rescue the girls and other Nigerians abducted by Boko Haram.

The NAF chief also commented on the operation of the force in the South-South, saying the air force would not bomb Niger Delta.

When Abubakar was asked if the air force had any intelligence on whether Chibok girls were in the Sambisa Forest or not, he said, “Honestly we don’t. That is the truth of the matter. Even if you see women that are dressed in hijab, how are you sure they are women; that they are not men? It is only when you get there and they remove the hijab that you now realise that they are men and they have their rifles.

“There is no credible intelligence that will specifically tell you that these girls are here.”

He said the air force flew its planes daily with the hope of sighting the Chibok girls, adding that the military, like other Nigerians, was passionate about them.

He said about 50 per cent of the NAF flying missions in counter-insurgency operations were devoted to Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance.

According to him, the ISR is aimed at rescuing the Chibok girls and other Nigerians abducted by the sect.

He said, “There is no day that the sun rises and sets that we do not go out hoping to see these girls. From January this year to August 17, we flew 2,600 hours.   About 50 per cent of that was Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance.

 “We are hoping that through the intelligence, we will be able to capture the movement of those girls; we will be able to locate what we consider legitimate targets.”

He dismissed the latest Boko Haram video, where the sect displayed some girls, which it claimed were killed by military bombardment, as cheap propaganda.

Abubakar explained that there was no way bodies of people killed by bombardment could be intact as shown in the video.

He stated, “Even the IED (improvised explosive device) that they (the sect) developed, have you ever seen a complete body together after an attack on any location?”

He insisted that what was shown in the video could not have been something that happened after an air strike.

He added, “These guys are just trying to whip up sentiment because they know that every Nigerian is concerned about the girls.”

He said although there was no military operation without collateral damage, the air force was doing everything possible to determine legitimate targets.

The air force chief said Sambisa forest, which is about 60,000 square kilometres, was a difficult terrain, especially for the land forces.

He explained that equipment could get stuck in the forest during the rainy season.

He added that with what the air force had seen from its reconnaissance, it was difficult to say that the place was still occupied.

 Abubakar said with the logistics base of the sect destroyed by the air force, it would be easier for land forces to move into the forest during the dry season.

He also disclosed that the air force would soon commence its operations in the South-South.

He stated that the air force would not bomb the Niger Delta, but would protect the people and facilities.

“We are not going to bomb the Niger Delta;  we are going to protect the people and oil and gas infrastructure,” he stated.

 He added that NAF had entered into partnership with 15 Nigerian universities and polytechnics, through which it had been producing spare parts to service grounded aircraft.

He said, “Our aircraft require spare parts from time to time. Since most of these spare parts are not available here, we need to look   inward.”

 BBOG marches to Aso Rock

 The #BringBackOurGirls spokesman, Abdullahi Abdullahi, declined to comment on the air force statement that it had no intelligence on the Chibok girls.

“We don’t have any comment for now,” Abdullahi said on Sunday.

The group and parents of the abducted girls will, however, march to the Presidential Villa today (Monday).

The #BringBackOurGirls movement had, in a statement on Thursday, said it would commence street marches to the Presidential Villa from Monday (today), as part of measures to compel the Federal Government and the global community to take action to ‘‘rescue the 219 Chibok schoolgirls.’’

The group stated that it would also engage the media and other critical stakeholders, including international organisations and statesmen.

The BBOG, in a reminder to journalists on Sunday, explained that the planned march followed the lukewarm response from the government to the video of the girls that was released last week by Boko Haram.

“Areas to be covered during the period of engagement include the #ChibokGirls, the humanitarian crisis in the North-East, corruption in the disbursement of relief materials to Internally Displaced Persons camps and the arms deal saga,” the group stated.

Meanwhile, a civil rights movement, Coalition Against Terrorism and Extremism, has demanded that Ahmed Salkida, Aisha Wakil and Ahmed Bolori, who were recently declared wanted by the military authorities, should assist in securing the release of the Chibok girls.

The organisation also appealed to the #Bring Back Our Girls team to direct its protests against Salkida, Wakil and Bolori.

Speaking in Abuja on Sunday, the National Coordinator of CATE, Gabriel Onoja, said  the three personalities named by the military possibly knew more about Boko Haram than the security agencies.

Onoja said, “We are appealing to the trio of Salkida, Wakil and Bolori and other persons with links with Boko Haram to prevail on the abductors of these girls to release them unconditionally.’’

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IBB must face probe over $12.4bn oil windfall, says SERAP

A rights advocacy group, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, has called on the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), to reopen the unresolved case of the “missing $12.4bn oil windfall.”

According to the group, the money was spent between 1988 and 1993 by the government of a former military dictator, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida.

SERAP urged Malami to use his office and power under Section 174(1) of the Constitution and sections 104-106 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act to establish the truth about what happened to the money and to prosecute anyone found culpable.

The group made the call in an open letter by its Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, to the AGF on Sunday.

The letter read, “SERAP, has for many years, sought explanation and official release of the Pius Okigbo panel report, which the government voluntarily established. But successive administration blocked every chance to officially release the Okigbo Report with some even claiming that the report could not be found.

“SERAP’s request is entirely consistent with the established legal principle that in matters relating to crimes, including corruption, time does not run against the state.

“Reopening the case would also send a clear message that cases of high-level official corruption would not go unpunished no matter how long it takes and that suspected perpetrators would be held to account, no matter who is involved.

“SERAP also believes that reopening the unresolved case of missing $12.4bn oil windfall would serve as a litmus test for the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari often repeated commitments to transparency, accountability and the fight against corruption in the country.

“Full accountability for the missing public funds would contribute to ending impunity of high-ranking public officials for large-scale corruption and provide effective remedies to victims of corruption.”

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Prayer can solve Nigeria’s problems faster, says Gowon

former Nigerian Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (retd), has described prayer as a formidable weapon that can solve the nation’s many challenges better and faster.

Gowon said this in Ibadan on Sunday evening at a one-day prayer rally organised by the South-West Zone of a non-denominational religious group – ‘Nigeria Prays’.

The prayer campaign, which had gone round the country in the last 20 years, is spearheaded by Gowon.

It is the longest campaign in Nigeria to mobilise people for regular, fervent and result-oriented prayers for the healing and transformation of the country.

‘Nigeria Prays’ is also a project aimed at promoting the virtues of patriotism, transparency, integrity and incorruptibility in leadership, governance and in the entire citizenry.

At the rally held at the Rehoboth Cathedral, Oluyole Estate, Ibadan, Gowon commended the people for their usual support for the programme, and added that their prayers would never be in vain.

He said, “And I can say this with every authority that prayer can solve problems better and faster than generals and soldiers can do with physical weapons of war.

“I have no doubt in my heart that God will honour our collective prayer and intercession for our dear nation and heal our nation of all challenges facing her.”

The rally prayed for Nigeria, Its leaders at all levels and arms of government, and the people in general.

It also prayed for peace in the country, economic emancipation and for the rejuvenation of all the various sectors of the Nigerian economy.

Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State commended Gowon for the initiative, saying it was a mission aimed at promoting the virtues of transparency, incorruptibility, integrity and fellowship.

He said that Nigerians were the most religious people in the world but extremely ungodly, adding that societies always get the leaders they deserved.

The governor called for attitudinal change. He said that prayer without hard work would not solve the problems of the country.

He said, “It is not enough to pray, but to walk the talk. ‘Nigeria prays’ is a better initiative for the Nigerian project.

“For government to succeed, the followership must support,” he said.

Ajimobi described Gowon as a very godly man who had always served humanity diligently, having piloted Nigeria through turbulent times at a young age.

In his views, Bishop Joseph Akinfenwa, the Archbishop of the Anglican Communion, Ibadan Diocese, said there were lots of controversies in the country, and that the nation had never been so divided.

He described Nigeria as a nation currently witnessing the struggle for its soul, adding that God would never surrender the country to the devil.

He said, “We have to be careful of how we interpret and react to the Nigerian situation. Our prayers and attitude must be connected as we pray for divine visitation on Nigeria.

“We should ensure that our confession does not contradict our demands and prayers.”

The event was also attended by Bishop Taiwo Adelakun, Chairman, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Oyo State Chapter and Pastor Benjamin Akanmu, the State Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

NAN

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Boko Haram sacks Borno village

Boko Haram insurgents have sacked a village, Shawa, in Askira Local Government Area of Borno State, the leader of the youth vigilance group in the area, Istifanus Apagu told our correspondent on phone.

Apagu said on Monday that the insurgents who rode on bicycles attacked the village on Sunday.

He said they burnt down the entire village and injured many residents.

Apagu, who is the leader of the Civilian JTF in Mussa district, said he visited the scene moments after the attack.

He said nothing was left in Shawa village.

He said: “They (insurgents) came on bicycle around 4am on Sunday morning while people were sleeping and started opening fire on the helpless civilian as the villagers fled into bushes but many were critical injured.”

“No lives were lost but the whole village was set ablaze and nothing was left standing. In fact, they went away with the six bicycles.”

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Fake miracle syndicate nabbed, says pastor hired them

 

Members of a syndicate, which specialised in confirming fake prophecies for pastors, have been arrested by the police in Enugu State.

Our correspondent gathered that the group also faked healings for some men of God, who contracted and paid them for their services.

The suspected fraudsters were identified as Obi Ejike from Ubaho Okija in Anambra State; Mary Kuku from Ijebu Ode, Ogun State; Joy Oluwakemi from Ojo, Lagos State; Nwosu Chizoba from Umunze, Anambra State; and Peter Uchechi from Ebonyi State.

They were reportedly apprehended while on their way to Abakiliki, Ebonyi State, where they were contracted to stage phoney miracles and healings for an unnamed pastor in the state.

naijatonic learnt that the suspects were apprehended on Friday during an argument while waiting to board a vehicle at Holy Ghost Park, Enugu.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Enugu State Police Command, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, who confirmed the development on Sunday, explained that the argument among the fraudsters drew the attention of some policemen within the premises of the park, who interrogated them.

Amaraizu said two members of the syndicate, Ejike and Oluwakemi, opened up on the group’s activities.

Revelations made by the duo led to the arrest of other members of the group at P and T bus stop, Enugu, on Saturday, where they had assembled to board a bus to Abakiliki, the venue of a church service.

A member of the group, Uchechi, said they were usually recruited in large numbers and kept in a house from where they would shuttle to confirm fake prophecies and stage-manage miracles for pastors.

Uchechi said they were usually paid through a coordinator, who acted as a middleman between the syndicate and the pastors.

Upon their arrival in the church, a man, who works for the pastor, would instruct the syndicate on the nature of the assignment.

Uchechi explained that before the scheduled church service, they would list their names and the fake ailments they had, which would be given to the pastor while  ministering to the congregation.

During the ‘prophetic hour’ session of the service, members of the syndicate, who were already known to the pastor, would come out when people who had problems were summoned to the altar.

Subsequently, members of the syndicate would announce before the congregation that they had received healing following the pastor’s ministrations.

In other cases, according to Uchechi, members of the syndicate would come out to ‘confirm’ a prophecy, which would be made by the pastor in the course of the service, based on the information they provided before the session.

She added that the members of their group usually fell under the ‘influence’ of the pastor’s anointing, during worship sessions.

“Some pastors use us to grow their churches and ministries and we are paid later through our coordinator, depending on our roles,” Uchechi said.

Ejike, who explained that he worked with the coordinator, admitted that he was in charge of the Abakiliki job, which the group was going for when they were apprehended.

He said he decided to go into the fake prophecy business after his business collapsed in Lagos.

Ejike added that he was mostly involved in the recruitment of personnel for various assignments.

Another member of the group, Chizoba, said she started the ‘business’ in Abuja, after finding it difficult to fend for her baby, who she had out of wedlock.

According to her, she eventually relocated to Onitsha, Anambra State, to team up with the syndicate.

Two other members of the syndicate, Oluwakemi and Kuku, claimed to be widows with four children each, adding that hardship pushed them into the crime.

The police spokesperson, Amaraizu, said investigations were ongoing.

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PDP chairmanship: Mimiko, Fayose, S’West leaders to decide Monday

Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko

Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State, his Ekiti State counterpart, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, and other leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party from the South-West, will meet in Akure, the Ondo State capital on Monday, to pick a consensus candidate among those running for the office of the national chairman of the party.

The national convention of the party will hold in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on August 17 where national officers of the main opposition party are expected to be elected.

Ahead of the convention, the Expanded National Caucus of the party had zoned the office of the national chairman to the southern part of the country.

Fayose

Leaders of the party from the entire southern region met at Port Harcourt on Thursday where they said the office should go to the South-West, which is the only zone out of the three zones in the region, that had yet to produce the national chairman of the party.

Already, two formidable candidates from the zone have openly indicated their interest in the race.

The candidates are a former Deputy National Chairman of the party, Chief Bode George and a former Minister of Education, Prof. Tunde Adeniran.

But while George had paid the mandatory N1m nomination fee and picked his nomination form at the party’s temporary secretariat in Abuja, Adeniran said he would pick his own on Monday.

There are rumours that other candidates are still consulting and could pick their nomination forms from this week.

Those who were believed to be nursing the ambition are, a former governorship candidate of the party in Lagos State, Mr. Jimi Agbaje and a former Minister of Youths and Sports, Prof. Taoheed Adedoja.

George and Agbaje are from Lagos State while Adeniran and Adedoja are from Ekiti and Oyo States respetitively.

The Akure meeting is believed to be crucial as other offices apart from that of the national chairman which had also been zoned to the region, would be shared.

The two offices are that of the National Treasurer and Deputy National Publicity Secretary.

The meeting, it was gathered, would also allocate the state or states that should produce the zonal vice chairman.

A former Minister of Transportation, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, who confirmed that invitations had been sent to those expected to be at the meeting, described it as crucial.

Babatope said that the meeting would afford the members of the party to critically peruse the credentials of those interested in the offices, especially that of the national chairman.

He said, “All of us are going to Akure on Monday where we are going to discuss on those that will represent us at the national headquarters of the party in Abuja.

“Now that we have the opportunity to present the national chairman, we must present someone that is acceptable to the generality of members of the party and also, such a person must represent us well.”

Meanwhile, a group within the Peoples Democratic Party, Concerned Stakeholders, has kicked against the recent zoning arrangement of the party which ceded the national chairmanship position to the South-West.

It asked the party’s delegates to boycott the convention of the party scheduled to hold on August 17.

The group, in a statement issued by its patron, Prof. Tayo Adeyemi, on Saturday, said the zoning arrangement was illegal and was tantamount to moving the goalposts.

It said the PDP’s constitution did not specify the extent of the power of the caretaker committee.

According to the group, the ambiguity in the provisions of the constitution is a good reason for the party’s leadership to be careful.

The statement partly read, “What are the criteria for candidates vying for the post of the national chairman? This is the problem of the PDP. A national post must have laid down criteria. Candidates vying for such a position must have spent a reasonable number of years in the party, must never have been indicted by the anti-graft agencies and must have never served any jail term

“It is, therefore, unfortunate that after the chairmanship race commenced and it was obvious that some candidates were getting unpopular , the usual  manoeuvring which cost the PDP the woeful loss at the 2015 election has commenced again. Any attempt to suppress the common will of the people would result in a total disintegration of the party.”

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I’ve not returned to PDP — Obasanjo

Ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Saturday denied the news making the rounds that he had returned to the Peoples Democratic Party.

Obasanjo in a press statement issued on his behalf at Abeokuta, a copy of which was made available to our correspondent, said the misconception that he had returned to the PDP, was fuelled by his photograph taken at the Shehu Yar’adua Centre, Abuja on Friday.

The Centre, he explained, was incidentally,  the venue of the inauguration of the PDP national convention committee.

Clearing the air on his presence at the Shehu Yar’Adua Centre, Obasanjo said he had gone there to attend an event ‘Zero Hunger Nigeria’ organised by the Commodities Association Stakeholders.

The statement added that a few minutes into the session, the attention of Obasanjo was drawn to the presence of some politicians, who later walked up to him and exchanged pleasantries.

It explained that among those who came to pay homage to Obasanjo, included Senator Ahmed Makarfi, Senator Ben Obi and a former Deputy President the Senate, Ibrahim Mantu.

The statement added that  whoever took the picture of the former president when he was leaving the  venue of the event, planned to annoy and embarrass him.

Obasanjo in the statement, said some hours after he arrived Lagos on the same day, he began to receive calls, concerning the photograph.

The former President re-affirmed that he had quit partisan politics for good, and that anybody hoping to drag him back would fail.

He said whoever believed the story of his going back to the PDP, would also believe a charade that his or her mother was not a woman.

It will be recalled that Obasanjo had on February 16, 2015 ordered that his PDP membership card be torn, indicating that he had left the party.

The statement read, “The attention of the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has been brought to the photonews story, which has gone viral on the social media on Friday, August 5, 2016 of his purported being ‘spotted’ at a Peoples Democratic Party event at the Shehu Musa Yar’adua Centre, Abuja.

“While ordinarily his first reaction to the news was that those behind it targeted to get him annoyed and embarrassed him, his conclusion was that he had told the world that he has quit partisan politics and that is final.

“Anybody hoping to drag him back will fail like any man feeding mice to a dead cat.”

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Rio 2016: Shame as Team Nigeria march in tracksuits

Team Nigeria

It was another show of shame for Team Nigeria on Friday in Rio — after the late arrival of the U-23 football team on Thursday — as the country’s contingent, led by table tennis star Funke Oshonaike, filed out for the opening ceremony of the 2016 Olympic Games on Friday dressed in tracksuits.

The opening ceremony of the Olympics is usually used by participating teams to display their country’s traditional wears and culture before over one billion viewers globally but Team Nigeria marched with tracksuits in Rio after the official kits earmarked for the outing did not arrive in Rio on time, according to reports.

Alexander Wolff, a sports writer covering the Games tweeted, “Nigeria, marching in sweats because official outfits didn’t make it to Rio. Can we agree that they’re a country to pull for these two weeks?”

In the past, Team Nigeria were known for their colourful outfits, which showcased the country’s rich culture, at such international sporting events.

The original attire for the Games was actually made by Nigerian designer, David Bowler, and was showcased to President Muhammadu Buhari in July, when Team Nigeria paid him a visit.

Our correspondent learnt that with Bowler’s design the male athletes would have appeared in typical South South dressing spotting hats with the women’s uniform the contrasting wear of a Nigerian woman with modern attitude in her long cape dress, tying a turban.

Sydney 2000 Olympics gold medallist Enefiong Udo-Obong was confounded that Bowler’s design was abandoned for the  tracksuits in Brazil, suggesting it might not be unconnected with corrupt practices by officials.

“The style (of Bowler’s design) may have left questions in the lips of many but they were gorgeous and proper. It would have showcased our ladies as beautiful people and our men as gentlemen. It would have sold our local designer to the world as our version or answer to Gucci and Calvin Klein and the rest. Instead we did not. Despite months of sleepless nights to design the attire and lots of money to make samples; despite the fashion parade the (sports) minister did to showcase the uniform with athletes to model it to the President, we did not use the smartly made dresses,” Udo-Obong wrote in talkwithenee.blogspot.com.ng.

“The reason why? Someone decided that instead of paying the designer money for mass production, he could get kickbacks if he just gave a contract to his stooge. So, we neglected the designs which we did not appreciate because it was given free to us by the designer and hurriedly assembled the carpenter-type tracksuits. We did not even deem it fit, if we wanted tracksuits to get from Yali-Yali, our own brand made by former sprint queen, Mary Onyali. At least we would have promoted something Nigerian.”

Meanwhile, Oshonaike and Edem Offiong crashed out of Round 1 of the table tennis women’s singles event on Saturday. Oshonaike, Team Nigeria’s assistant captain, was beaten 4-2 by Adriana Diaz of Puerto Rico while Offiong lost 4-1 to Belarusian Viktoria Pavlovich.

The national U-23 football team will play Sweden in their second Group B game today in Manaus. The Nigerians lead the group with three points after Thursday’s 5-4 defeat of Japan despite arriving late to the match venue.

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Appointments: Don’t marginalise any region, Mbaka tells Buhari

Enugu Catholic priest and Spiritual Director, Adoration Ministry, Enugu State, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, on Saturday, advised President Muhammadu Buhari not to marginalise any part of the country in the appointments made by his government.

Mbaka was quoted in a statement made available to journalists by his media aide, Maximus Ugwuoke.

In the statement, which was apparently released to counter a media report that the cleric attacked the President in a recent message, Mbaka said that he only advised Buhari.

While refuting the report that he attacked President Buhari, the cleric said he only offered suggestions to the President on how to tackle the current challenges in the country, which he said were caused by the actions and inactions of previous administrations in the country.

The appointments made by President Buhari, so far, are believed to be lopsided and in the favour of the northern part of the country.

Mbaka advised President Buhari to empower those that worked for him during the 2015 presidential election.

The statement partly read, “Fr. Mbaka advised the President to be careful about how he appoints people to prominent positions so that no region would appear marginalised, as it happened in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation board and charged the President to make sure that those around him do not mislead him.”

He advised the President on human empowerment and asked him to ensure that those who worked for him (Buhari) during the election ought to be empowered.

“Fr. Mbaka merely reinstated the obvious suffering that Nigerians are facing (which even the President himself had acknowledged and sued for patience and perseverance) and advised the President on the ways to tackle it, that is, by engaging economic gurus and by listening to good advisers.

“For the purpose of clarity, granted that Fr. Mbaka stated the obvious — that there is hunger in the land — he never attributed the cause of the hunger and economic hardship bedevilling the nation to Buhari. Rather, he attributed it to the actions and inactions of the past administrations of this country.”

Mbaka’s aide, in a move that suggested an attempt to mend fences between the cleric and the Presidency, added that the message in which Mbaka reportedly attacked Buhari was followed by another one where he blamed former President Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party for mismanaging the economy.

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Court remands Fayose’s ally, Agbele, in prison

One of the bank tellers used in paying money into Fayose's account by his best friend, Abiodun Agbele.

A Federal High Court in Abuja has remanded an associate of Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, Mr. Abiodun Agbele, in Kuje Prison, Abuja,till Thursday when it will rule on his application for bail.

Justice Nnamdi Dimgba made the order of remand afterAgbele was arraigned on 11 counts of money laundering involving the sum of N1,219,000,000 said to be part of N4,685,723,000 allegedly transferred unlawfully from the account of the Office of the National Security Adviser.

Arraigned along with Agbele were three companies, Sylvan Mcnamara Limited, De Privateer Limited and Spotless Investment Limited.

Agbele pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

The prosecution, alleged that others involved in the alleged crimes, including former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, were on the run.

Other suspects said to be at large were Lt. A. O Adewale and Olalekan Ogunseye, who was said to be the sole signatory to the account of Sylvan Mcnamara Limited.

The charges preferred against the accused were said to be contrary to section 15(2) (d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011(as amended in 2012).

The offences were said to be punishable under section 15(3) of the same Act.

After the arraignment on Wednesday, Agbele’s lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), moved his client’s bail application, urging the judge to grant it in liberal terms.

The prosecuting counsel, Mr. Johnson Ojogbane, urged the court to dismiss the application.

Ojogbane urged the court to remand the accused in prison throughout the period of the trial and instead of granting him bail, the judge should rather grant an order of accelerated hearing.

Justice Dimgba fixed Thursday for ruling on the bail application

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PHOTOS: Buhari at FEC meeting today

President Muhammadu Buhari presides over the Federal Executive Council meeting today at the State House

See photos below:

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Budget padding: APC moves to save Dogara, meets Speaker, Jubrin

Speaker House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara

The All Progressives Congress has intervened in the crisis rocking the House of Representatives over alleged padding of the 2016 budget.

The APC was said to have made the move to prevent the party from being “brought to dishonour.”

The APC National Working Committee, at the party’s headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday, separately met with the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara; and a former Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jubrin.

It was gathered that the meetings were aimed at addressing the crisis and preventing the removal of Dogara.

A leader of the party, who confided in The PUNCH, said, “We are making moves to resolve the crisis. Dogara is a loyal party man.”

The national executive of the APC had, through a letter, summoned Jubrin to appear before leaders of the party at 2pm on Tuesday.

The party leadership had earlier on Tuesday met with Dogara.

In the letter by its Deputy National Chairman (North), Lawal Shuaibu, the party decried the media war between the two APC lawmakers without consulting the party for resolution.

 The letter read in part, “As a disciplined party, the constitution of our party has made adequate provisions on ways of resolving any issue among members. It behoves the party to take all necessary steps to ensure that no member of our family brings dishonour on the party.

“You are, therefore, by this invitation, expected to appear before the undersigned at the APC national secretariat on Tuesday, August 2, at 2pm.

“Kindly note that failure to and/or refusal to honour this invitation will amount to a decision you have made not to submit to the party.”

Jibrin arrived at the APC headquarters in Abuja in a Toyota Land Cruiser with number plate, BWR 768 AM, around 2.10pm and immediately went into a closed-door meeting with Shuaibu.

It was observed that the meeting was attended by the northern caucus in the party’s executive.

Other officers who attended the meeting are the National Secretary, Mai Bala Buni; and the National Vice Chairman (North-West), Inuwa Abdulkadir.

Both Jibrin and Dogara, who are at the centre of the budget-padding scandal, are from the North.

The Deputy National Chairman of the APC, Segun Oni, who was sighted around the party’s headquarters, did not attend the meeting.

The meeting, which was held in Shuaibu’s office, lasted till around 5pm.

Shuaibu, who later addressed journalists, said the meeting was a consultation among party members.

He said, “This is strictly a consultation between a very great member of the party and party officials in respect of what is going on in the House of Representatives.

 “There is nothing like passing any judgment against any member of the party; we will play our role as an umpire in this matter to see how we can restore peace and unity among our members.”

Shuaibu said there was no truth in the information that the meeting was called to discipline Jibrin.

“But when certain things go off course, the party needs to call its members to know how best to reunite them. That is exactly what we did. We heard his side of the story. We earlier heard from the Speaker,” he added.

The APC chieftain further said the meeting with Jibrin was to get “a better briefing” because the party had to be carried along as the Speaker and Jibrin were members of the APC.

“We should know directly from them what is really going on,” he added.

When he was asked if the crisis had been resolved at the meeting, Shuaibu said, “I said we are discussing with them and the discussions are not concluded.

“We will continue to consult. We are not done with them. We sat with the Speaker earlier. We just finished talking with Jibrin. If the need arises, we will have a round-table discussion with both of them.’’

Jibrin also told journalists that he and the party leaders discussed “extensively” at the meeting on the crisis in the House.

He said, “We will continue to discuss. I will continue to honour the invitation of the party, respect the party, and I am sure that whatever it is, you will know in due course.”

When our correspondent asked Jibrin why it took him so long before coming out on the alleged padding of the 2016 budget, he said, “I want to restrict my discussion to the party’s invitation.”

Jibrin, from Kano State, had on Monday submitted a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission and the Nigeria Police Force against Dogara and some leaders of the House.

A party source, who spoke to our correspondent after the meeting, lamented that the crisis in the House was embarrassing the party.

The source, who was privy to the details of the Tuesday meeting, said Jibrin was warned against seeking out-of-party ways to air his grievances with Dogara and other leaders of the House.

The source said, “Although the issue is a legislative matter, what is going on in the House of Representatives is denting the image of the APC. The party should have been invited to mediate between the warring sides rather than involving the police, the ICPC and the EFCC.”

Dogara’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Turaki Hassan, could not be reached as his telephone rang out.

A text message sent to his mobile phone at 6.01pm on Tuesday was not replied to.

Also, a National Assembly source said the two lawmakers were invited to give their individual accounts on the “budget padding” allegations.

“I believe that the next thing is for a competent party organ to look into the matter,” the source added.

Meanwhile, Jibrin earlier twitted that he had received the party’s invitation, but repeated his demand that Dogara and the three principal officers he accused of “padding” the budget should step down.

He twitted, “I am confident that the party will do the right thing by supporting our resolve to wipe out corruption in the House and direct the Speaker, Dogara; the Deputy Speaker, Lasun; the Whip, Doguwa; and the Minority Leader, Ogor, to reconvene the House immediately and step aside to face their imminent prosecution and save the House and our country from further embarrassment.”

Jibrin also attacked the Chairman, House Committee on Interior, Mr. Jagaba Adams-Jagaba, calling on the EFCC to investigate him for his past activities in the House

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OPC members storm Ogun to fight militants

NO fewer than 5,000 members of the Reformed Oodua People’s Congress on Tuesday stormed the Imushin community in Ogun State, to confront suspected militants in the area.
Our correspondent gathered that the members of the ethnic militia, who arrived in more than 100 buses and cars, came from Lagos and Ogun states.
They reportedly moved around some of the areas and visited the Olumushin of Imushin, Oba Taiwo Bamgbose, who received them outside his palace.
A palace source said the OPC members, which did not carry any weapon, were only armed with charms, which they claimed had powers.
He said, “They were over 5,000 and they filled the whole community. They carried all kinds of charms and a few of them even carried placards, protesting militant’s invasion of the South-West.
“They said they were ready to enter into the creeks to face the militants and kill them and all they needed was the permission of the traditional ruler. Some of them said they could transform to snakes and lions, once they get into the creeks.
“The traditional ruler, after thanking them for their concern, asked them to leave because he had not received authority from higher authorities to allow them fight the militants. He urged them to get approval from the government before doing anything in the community. ”
The President of the OPC group, Dare Adesope, who confirmed the visit to our correspondent on the telephone, said their presence in the community was to assure residents of their security.
Adesope said his group was incensed by the killings and kidnap of residents without any response from the government.
He explained that the members of the group had issued a 14-day ultimatum to the militants to vacate the South West, adding that the ultimatum expired on Monday.
He said, “On July 19, we issued a 14-day ultimatum to the militants to end their activities in the South-West and we said if they didn’t leave, we will challenge them and defend our people. That ultimatum elapsed yesterday (Monday).
“The recent military action against the militants might have been influenced by our ultimatum, because prior to the release, the Federal Government didn’t do anything.
“We decided to go to the community in 107 buses and some cars, to show that the Reformed OPC is still on the ground and our aim is to protect the lives and property of everyone that is residing within our area of jurisdiction.
“Our silence all this while is not an act of cowardice. It is because we believe in dialogue before action. It is wrong for anyone to be kidnapping, raping, robbing and killing our people. We say no to that and we don’t want anything like that again in Yoruba land. After today, if we hear anything again in the area, we know what to do.”
The traditional ruler, who also confirmed the visit on the telephone, appealed to the fleeing members of the 18 villages in the community to return home.
He thanked the Federal Government, the Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, and the members of the Joint Task Force for the efforts aimed at restoring sanity to the area

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How Adeboye’s marriage teachings caused stir

The ongoing annual convention of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, on Tuesday, received enormous publicity. The publicity, however, came in a controversial manner.

The General Overseer of the church, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, in a message on marriage, stirred a widespread debate on social media, with thousands taking to the Internet to protest or support his positions on the categories of people Christians should not marry.

Adeboye, who is fondly called Daddy G.O. by members of his church, advised a congregation of bachelors and spinsters at the convention to avoid marrying certain individuals in order to enjoy their marriages.

Videos of the teachings, which were uploaded on different social media sites, received huge ‘share’.

The pastor urged bachelors to shun ladies who could not pray “non-stop” for at least an hour. He also advised them against marrying “lazy” women as well as those who could not cook.

The cooking aspect particularly caught the attention of feminists. They took protested the pastor’s remark, saying they were not supposed to be consigned to kitchens just because they were women.

Adeboye also warned ladies against accepting marriage proposals by “jobless” bachelors. He said those who could not earn incomes should not marry.

A social media activist, Asuquo Ulo, said the teachings were part of unacceptable thinking that characterised the age.

The tweeter disagreed with the cleric’s position, saying “marriage is really beyond jobs, cooking and prayers”.

As far as Chinye Onwordi, a Twitter user, is concerned, Adeboye’s advice had solved a persisting puzzle on the social media.

“Whether Nigerian ladies agree to cook when they marry or not, Adeboye has spoken the truth nobody should shy away from,” he tweeted.

One Ahmed Isah also wrote, “Adeboye, we thank you for ending this long debate. You spoke from a spiritual realm, not as a mere mortal.”

As of Tuesday evening, many sites had unveiled online polls with a view to assessing the acceptability of Adeboye’s marriage ‘prescriptions’.

In one of the videos, Adeboye advised, “Marry a prayer warrior! Don’t marry any girl who cannot pray for one hour non-stop. Don’t marry a girl who is lazy! If she is lazy when she is single, what will happen if she is married?”

In another one, he warned, “Don’t marry a man who has no job. Before God gave Adam Eve, he gave him a job. He said, ‘This is the garden, keep it.’ So when anybody comes to you and say, ‘Sister, thus saith the Lord, you are going to be the star in my firmament,’ ask him — ‘What is your job?’

“If he tells you he is a contractor, ask him to show you evidence of all the contracts he has done because the contract he is talking about is you. He wants to live off you.

“Don’t be a fool. If he hasn’t got a steady income, don’t marry him. A man is to provide for the house and not the other way round. If he has no income, he should not marry. Those who do not work should not eat. And if they can’t eat, they can’t even marry.”

Adeboye trended widely on social media platforms as the issues he raised were scrutinised by his fans and foes. The videos became the toast of members of the online community.

Adeboye’s popularity rating, by online metrics, soared. He also enjoyed a huge Google search, as bloggers dissected thousands of comments for catchy headlines for their posts.

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