transformation agenda btw jana and GMB

Transformation Agenda. That is the favourite buzz phrase of the Goodluck Jonathan administration. His ardent supporters want President Jonathan to continue in office for another four years so he can complete his revolutionary and historic mission of transforming our lives. PDP supporters apparently cannot understand why the majority of Nigerians are so reluctant to believe that Dr Jonathan is undertaking any meaningful transformation in their lives.

Of course, the debonair and ever fluent Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina has incessantly dazzled us with dizzying statistics of how the country’s agriculture sector has been transformed to the extent that Nigeria now exports a broad range of agricultural products. His beleaguered and ungrateful country men and women respond that they remain as hungry as they were four years ago if not more so. You see, rosy statistics cannot fill the human belly.

APC elders slam ait, nta over documentary against Tinubu

The Ekiti State All Progressives Congress (APC) Elders’ Forum has condemned the Africa Independent Television (AIT) and the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) for what it called “offensive documentary” against the person of the party’s National Leader Asiwaju BolaTinubu.

The documentary which was entitled: The Lion ofBourdillon alleged that Tinubu was corrupt and treating Yorubaland as his personal estate, among other allegations.

The Publicity Secretary of Ekiti APC Elders’ Forum, Dr. Bayo Orire, described the documentary as a Peoples Democry (PDP) evil propaganda against the person of Tinubu whom he said the ruling party is afraid of.

PDP is irresponsible for opposing Card Reader – Osinbajo

It is irresponsible for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to oppose the use of card readers for the coming general election, Prof Yemi Osinbajo said yesterday..

The vice presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) wondered why the ruling is afraid to support the use of electronic device that would give credibility to the electoral process, saying the PDP was jittery of its imminent loss.

Osinbajo spoke at the presentation of a book entitled: For The Love of Their Nation: Lawyers as Agents of Change in Nigeria, written by former Judiciary Editor of the Guardian, Kunle Ogunsakin, at the Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja.

He said: “It is a big surprise to everybody watching political events that the PDP that approved the card reader for the election suddenly finds something seriously wrong with the device. The card reader is to ensure that Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) are not fake. It would be irresponsible for any political party to oppose the use of gadgets that would give credibility to electoral process. It sounds strange when the main political party says don’t let us authenticate the PVCs.”

He added: “There is a lot of impunity in the country. Many people are losing faith in the ability of administration of justice system and indeed, the government to observe the tenet of the rule of law. We must return to observance of the rule of law and to holding government and its officials accountable for what they do. That can only come from exemplary leadership.”

Osinbajo said lack of accountability explained why the Federal Government could not account for billions lost when oil price was at $130. He noted that Saudi Arabia saved $750 billion in the period of increased oil sale, adding that Nigeria’s foreign reserve did not rise.

He said corruption must be stopped for the nation to make meaningful progress, noting that the book asked thought-provoking question about engendering accountability and justice in the country.

The book reviewer, Mr Dele Adesina, SAN, described the book as a “literary work of great significance”, noting the author’s knowledge of justice system made him an authority even though he is not a lawyer.

In a similar vein,  Osinbajo, has called on christian community to support all genuine efforts towards checking corruption in the country.

Osinbajo who bemoaned the deep and widespread corruption in Nigeria, said his nomination to pair with Buhari for March 28 Presidential race  was parts of God’s plan to salvage the country.

The former Attorney – General and Commissioner of Justice, Lagos state, made the call on  yesterdayat Idiroko area of Ogun State while addressing a monthly meeting of the state state chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN).

According to him, he had notified the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian. Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye as well as his wife before accepting the nomination to run for vice presidential race.

Four feared dead, scores injured as fire guts Mile 12 market

No fewer than four people were feared killed, yesterday, in an early morning fire incident that gutted Mile 12 Market, in Kosofe Local Government Area of Lagos State.

Not a few people also sustained various degrees of injuries in the fire incident which consumed about 168 shops in the market.

Eye witnesses said the popular foodstuffs and fruits market went up in flames around 4am causing panic among the traders and commuters in the area.

When The Nation visited the scene of the inferno, traders whose shops had been burnt to ashes were seen mourning their losses, while thick smoke billowed from the debris.

The affected traders claimed that they have lost about a billion naira all together adding that “the incident was unfortunate.”

One of the traders, Paul Simeon, lamented the loss of his N400, 000 worth of goods and a large sum of money which he had left behind in the shop.

Rage in Delta as Jonathan contemplates fresh postponement of Warri $16bn project

Jonathan

There was anger in Itsekiri land and other parts of Delta State yesterday following indications that President Goodluck Jonathan might have postponed  afresh the groundbreaking of the $16 billion Delta Gas City and Deep Seaport projects slated for next Monday in Ogidigben, Warri South West Local Government Area of the state.

The   ceremony was rescheduled for Monday after several  meetings between  the President  and stakeholders in the project during his visit to the state last month.

Mr Edward Ekpokpo, Chairman, Warri Study Group and Secretary of the  influential Itsekiri Leaders of Thought, said  yesterday that the ceremony would not take place on Monday.

He described the development as the clearest indication  to Nigerians ahead of the president elections that President Jonathan cannot be trusted to keep his words.

Wabba elected NLC President

The National President of the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria, Comrade Ayuba Wabba in the early hours of Saturday emerged the National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

Ayuba who was declared winner of the election by the Chairman of the Electoral Committee and National a President of ASUU, Nasir Fagge at about 3.00am, defeated his rival, Joseph Ajaero of the National Union of Electricity  Workers in an election which lasted two days at the Eagle Square Abuja.

Details later

Troops discover Boko Haram bomb factory in Yobe—DHQ

The Defence Headquarters yesterday announced the discovery ,by  troops ,of a  Boko Haram bomb-making factory in Buni Yadi , Yobe State.

Also, military sources said the alleged foreign mercenaries in the North-East are technical advisers providing trainingand instructions on the use of new armaments recently procured by the Nigerian military.

The  Director of Defence Information, Maj-Gen. Chris Olukolade, said  improvised explosive devices (IEDs) uncovered in Yobe State were those commonly used by suicide bombers.

“The ongoing cordon and search by troops in Buni Yadi, Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State has led to the discovery of a Bomb Making factory, where improvised explosive devices (IEDs) used by terrorists were being produced,”he said in a statement.

“Large quantities of IEDs including those commonly used by suicide bombers were recovered from the site.

“The factory, which was located in a fertilizer company, has also converted some of the materials therein for production of all types of IEDs.

Fed Govt gives N75 million to families of immigration recruitment victims

The Federal Government, yesterday gave a total of N75 million to 15 families of those who lost their lives in last year’s  immigration recruitment exercise.

Besides the N5 million cheque for each family, at least three members from each family also got letters of automatic employment.

A total of 35 out of 45 persons qualified for the automatic employment having successfully scaled through the immigration employment criteria.

They were employed as Assistant Inspectors, Assistant Superintendents and Officers cadre . The remaining 10 failed the immigration text and the families were expected to present fresh hands.

Presenting the letters of employment and the cheques at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, President. Jonathan said the recruitment day  was a sad one.

Describing  death as a necessary end for everyone, President Jonathan noted that the circumstance of the deaths  of the victims  was a bad one which was not due to their fault.

He said that the incident was caused by  lapses in the recruitment process.

He however pledged  that  government would not allow such incident to happen again.

Outrage over pipeline contracts to Tompolo, Gani Adams, others

Wide criticisms are trailing  President Goodluck Jonathan’s approval of contracts for securing  the waterways and  oil pipelines to companies owned by ex-militants and  factional leaders of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC).

The Presidency  is understood to have  directed the Police and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to quit the job for the companies which have been signed on by the government.

Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief   Niyi Akintola, described the plan as an act of corruption which  has no  precedent anywhere in the world.

Card Readers: Presidency mounts pressure on court to stop INEC

Strong communication indications emerged yesterday that the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) is banking on the court to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) and its chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, from going ahead with the use of Smart Card Readers(SCRs) for the March 28 and April 11 elections.

The resolve of the party and the presidency is that a favourable judgment must be secured at all cost, if the INEC must be stopped from using the novel device for the polls.

There are two cases before the Federal High Court in Abuja and Lagos. Sources said the presidency would not mind instituting a fresh case in another court just to have its way.

In Abuja, four political parties—United Democratic Party (UDP), Action Alliance (AA), Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) and Alliance for Democracy (AD)— had approached Justice Ademola Adeniyi for an ex-parte order stopping the INEC from using SCRs.

But the AA pulled out of the suit in Abuja on Thursday.

A stalwart of the PDP, Waliu Taiwo, has also  filed an application at the Federal High Court in Lagos to stop the use of Card Readers during the general elections.

In suit FHC/C/CS/296/15, Taiwo asked for  a restraining order  against the INEC from using the Card Readers during the elections.

There was anxiety last night that the Federal High Court in Abuja may give its ruling on Monday to make the application before the Lagos court a fait accompli. PDP chiefs were boasting last night that the court will rule in its favour, thus stopping the INEC.

Vice President Namadi Sambo was quoted recently as saying that the INEC would have no choice, but comply once a court rules against the use of Card Readers  for the elections.

Investigation revealed that there were concerns in civil society organisations that the PDP was desperate to use the court to stall the deployment of Card Readers by the INEC in the party’s bid to make it difficult for the electoral body to detect fake Permanent Voter Cards, either cloned or purchased from authentic owners.

It was gathered that the presidency had received legal advice that the Card Readers do not violate Section 52(1) (2) the Electoral Act 2010(as amended).

A leading human rights / pro- democracy activist, who spoke in confidence, said: “There is a fresh plan by the PDP to scuttle the general election on March 28 by securing an order to restrain the INEC from using Smart Card Readers.

“The initial plan was to use the registration  of the Young Democratic Party(YDP) to force the INEC to start planning afresh following the new party’s claim that Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court had ordered that it should be included in the ballot papers.

“But the PDP and some forces in the presidency got a big shock when Justice Mohammed denied issuing such order and summoned YDP leaders for misinforming the INEC and Nigerians.

“They have now resorted to Plan B by taking advantage of the suits on Card Readers to frustrate the INEC and Jega.

“The main fear of the PDP is that the use of Card Readers will not enable the party to rig and secure jumbo votes like the case in some geo-political zones in 2011.”

Another source said: “The PDP and 15 minor parties made the last botched move against Card Readers on Thursday when political parties met with Jega and the INEC management.

“Jega stood his ground and the anti-Card Readers lobbyists left the INEC headquarters in Abuja dejected.

“This is why they have seen the court matters as the last hope to call Jega’s bluff.”

A third source said:  “Some forces in the PDP in Abuja are already bragging that the Federal High Court, Abuja will give a ruling on Monday to put paid to the use of Card Readers.

“They are celebrating as if the court had ruled in a case that they are not parties to.

“It is left to the Judiciary to save the nation’s democracy and avoid a repeat of June 12, 1993 general elections when there were conflicting court orders.”

Justice Ademola Adeniyi is expected to determine the following prayers of the plaintiffs. They are:

•Seeking an interim order restraining the INEC from proceeding with arrangement and plan to use the CRM for the impending elections.

•An order of interim injunction restraining the defendant, its agents, servants, privies or assigns, by whatever name, from implementing or commencing or further implementing or further commencing or directing or further directing the use and preparation of the Card Reader machine or any name of like nature, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

Turkish Colleges sweep Mathematics, Science awards

Nigerian Turkish International Colleges (NTIC) were on Tuesday  honoured by the National Mathematical Centre (NMC) for winning no fewer than 12 awards in national and international Mathematics and Science Olympiads.

The awards and other excellent performances churned out by students of the schools also prompted the NMC to declare the colleges as the best in Mathematics in Nigeria for 2014 as well as the best schools in Chemistry, Physics, Biology and Computer Science for 2013.

Presenting the awards to the schools in Abuja on Tuesday, the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Viola Onwuliri, described the performance of NTIC students as wonderful and commended the schools for its numerous achievements in Mathematics and Sciences.

…Jonathan admits he didn’t speak with King of Morocco

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday admitted that he never spoke with King Mohammed VI of Morocco, contrary to earlier claims   by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that he did.

President  Jonathan consequently ordered a probe into the controversy on whether or not he had a telephone conversation with the Moroccan king.

His Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, called the controversy a regrettable furore  and said it was brought  about in the first instance by misinformation.

Abati, giving the President’s side of the story, said: “It is true that President Jonathan has been speaking with some African leaders to seek their support for Nigeria’s candidate for the position of President of the African Development Bank (AfDB).

APC to Jonathan: Apologise to Nigerians over your phantom phone conversation with Moroccan King

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has asked President Goodluck Jonathan to apologise to Nigerians for the embarrassment that he has caused them over his phantom phone conversation with the King of Morocco.

‘’In our earlier statement on the issue, we gave President Jonathan the benefit of the doubt by asking him to clarify what happened, just as the Moroccan King has done. Instead, a loquacious spokesman for the President decided to abuse us. That tells us that, indeed, these people have something to hide over the phoney phone conversation,’’ the party said in a statement issued in Lagos yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

It said based on the antecedents of the Jonathan administration which has little or no regard for the truth, it is safe to assume that the President did not hold any phone conversation with King Mohammed VI of Morocco, adding, however, that the party would be glad if President Jonathan can prove  conclusively that he spoke with the King.

Fed Govt’s non-release of funds threatens election tribunal

The President of the Court of Appeal (PCA), Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, has said the various election tribunals constituted to handle disputes from this month’s general elections are currently being handicapped owing to the non-release of funds by the Federal Government.

She said the 77 tribunals,  made up of 255 members, inaugurated since  February 2 this year had to rely on the assistance of foreign agencies to function. She said their duties would be hampered with the continued delay in the release of funds for their operations.

APC: PDP plans to have Buhari try his party men

The APC Presidential Campaign Organization says that the PDP-led Federal Government is working extra hours to raise malicious charges against the leaders and suspected financiers of the opposition All Progressives Congress ,using the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in order to force Gen. Muhammadu Buhari to “try his own men” in a test of his bid to fight corruption without fear or favor.

In a  statement ,the APCPCO Media Director, Garba Shehu said  that the federal government planned to take advantage of a vow by General Buhari that if elected, he will not investigate the past, but that all on-going cases will be allowed to run their course without any hindrance.

The campaign organization cited  an alleged memo to EFCC from the Chief of Staff to the President,Brig-Gen Jones Arogbofa (rtd)  which  it described as a mischievous attempt to railroad the Presidential Candidate of the APC, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari to subject his own supporters to trial and conviction.It accused Arogbofa of  recommending senior APC leaders, businessmen and company CEOs  for investigation and trial by the commission.

On the list are former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, Gov. Rotimi Amaechi, Gov. Adams Oshiomhole, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal and Gov. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of Kano State.

Agwai: Burden of cuddling the ‘change’ mantra

AS a military officer, General Martin Luther Agwai (rtd.) not only won many battles but he also rose to the zenith of that profession as Chief of Defence Staff before he retired in December, 2009. His exit from the military was seen as a worthy encore to a career he began as a commissioned officer of the Nigerian Armed Forces in 1972. Agwai’s trajectory followed a defined pattern of excellence, patriotism, loyalty and a dignified commitment to certain principles which he says are non-negotiable in his private and public interventions.

And so, when he was picked by President Goodluck Jonathan to replace Dr. Christopher Kolade as the Chairman of the Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P), analysts believed he would bring his strength of character to bear on the activities of the body that was set up to manage the billions of dollars accruable to the Federal Government from the partial removal of subsidy of petroleum products. If anything could douse the tension generated by the controversial ‘voluntary resignation’ of the highly-respected Kolade, it was the emergence of a tested and trusted Agwai, especially at a time when the public had started questioning the rationale behind setting up a programme that has done more on propaganda than truly impacting the lives of the unemployed.
Of course, he may not have operated in the private sector like Kolade, who was appointed as Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom by former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Agwai came into the saddle with an intimidating resume. Born in November 8, 1948 in Kaduna to a Christian family, his leadership qualities became manifest when he was the President of the Fellowship of Christian Students of Government Secondary School, Zaria in 1967. The search for academic laurels took him to different institutions across the globe, including the Nigerian Command and Staff College, British Army Staff College, Camberley and United States Army Armor School. He also holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in Public Administration with distinctions from the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) and National Defence University, Washington DC, where he obtained a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy. At the NDU, he distinguished himself as the first foreigner to win the Ambassadors Award for Excellence in Research and Writing.
Known for his strong advocacy for quality and accountable leadership, Agwai said in a recent interview that any leadership that is bereft of integrity ought to distance itself from public office. He said his experience over the years as Chief of Training and Operations of the Nigerian Armed Forces; Director of Military Training at the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna; Nigerian Military Adviser in Harare, covering the whole of Southern Africa between 1993  1996; Directing Staff and Chief Instructor at the Command and Staff College Jaji  Kaduna; Chief of Army Staff  and subsequently the Chief of Defence Staff of the Nigerian Armed Forces, had given him the conviction to let his words be his bonds.
While acknowledging that such philosophy may be difficult to impose on a system that reeks of the vacuity of bureaucratic bottlenecks and needless meddlesomeness, Agwai vows: “I will never jump out to make any statement that is not coming from my heart. If I promise Nigerians, they are my words, and the day I cannot live by what I stand for, then integrity finishes in me, and the day I don’t have integrity, I have no responsibility being in public office. Integrity is all about doing what you ought to do, not what you want to do.

Confusion over alleged order to probe Atiku, Tinubu, Amaechi, Saraki

The polity was gripped  by fresh tension yesterday  following the emergence of a  curious watch list purportedly sent to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) by the Presidency.

The  EFCC dismissed the list as fake and  said it did not emanate from it.

The list  alleged to be from the Chief of Staff to the President, Brigadier General  Jones  Arogbofa  (rtd) directed the EFCC to  probe  key opposition figures in the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM).

They are ex-Vice-President Atiku Abubakar; Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; Speaker Aminu Tambuwal; Sen. Bukola Saraki; Governors Rotimi Amaechi, Adams Oshiomhole, Aliyu Wammako, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Abdulfatah Ahmed,  and Sen. Danjuma Goje.

Others are the Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress(APC) in Taraba State, Sen. Aisha Jummai Alhassan; the Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Movement(PDM) in Adamawa State,  Dr. Ahmed Modibbo(Ex-Executive Secretary of UBEC); and a former Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufai; Executive Secretary, PPPRA, Farouk Ahmed; CBN Deputy Governor (Operations ),  Suleiman Barau; Managing Director, NPA,  Habib Abdullahi; DG, NCAA, Capt. Mukhtar Usman; MD of NDIC, Umaru Ibahim;  GED, Business Development of NNPC, Attahiru Yusuf; and the GED, Commerce and Investment of NNPC, Aisha Abdulrahman.