Tinubu Criticises Jonathan Over Creation Of PDP Governors Forum

 

Former Governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Tinubu, Thursday in Benin City, the Edo State capital, sharply crticised President Goodluck Jonathan for presiding over the constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ Forum (PDP-GF) as a counterweight to the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), which cuts across party lines.
Tinubu, who spoke at a lecture held to celebrate the 60th birthday anniversary of Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, accused the president of dividing the governors just because they had the temerity to oppose the Excess Crude Account (ECA).
The lecture, which had as its theme, “Deepening Democracy and Public Welfare”, was attended by the Governor of Niger State, Dr. Babangida Aliyu; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal; former Vice-President of the World Bank, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili; and Bishop of the Sokoto Catholic Diocese, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, who all spoke on measures needed to deepen democracy in the country.

36 People Dies In Benin-Ore Road South-south Nigeria

 

At least 36 people, including children, have reportedly been killed in a major road accident in southern Nigeria.

The collision on the Benin-Ore motorway in Edo state involved a bus, a lorry and a petrol tanker, Nigerian officials were quoted as saying in local media.
The tanker exploded after the collision, and most of the victims were reportedly on board the bus. The cause of the accident is being investigated.
Nigeria has one of the worst road accident records in Africa.

Buhari Can Not Rule Nigeria Again--Alhaji Mohammed Abulrahman

 

Alhaji Mohammed Abdulrahman is former vice president, Kaduna Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (KADCCIMA), ex-Economic, Political and Security Adviser to General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua; Adviser on Politics and Economy to the former SGF, Alhaji Aliyu Mohammed (Wazirin Jama’a); and member, National Executive Committee, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF).
In this interview, he declared that President Goodluck Jonathan had failed the country. He also gave reasons General Muhammadu Buhari failed to win the 2007 and 2011 presidential elections. Excerpts:

Buhari cannot rule Nigeria again
You witnessed what happened during the Buhari regime and that was why Buhari was removed. People who had contracts with government and voluntarily executed the contracts were accused of corruption. We know all the black and white of award of contracts in most of the countries in Africa and even overseas.
What happened was not the business of Buhari to send the people to jail. I remember, Mallam Ishaku Rabiu in Kano was jailed too. Well, we wouldn’t call it jail; they were incarcerated unnecessarily without term, indefinitely. Some of them died from the complications,

A University Of Maiduguri Professor Was Murderd In Cold Blood On Sunday

A former chief of staff to Late Nigerian First Lady, Stella Obasanjo popular Mass Communication professor of the University of Maiduguri, Murtala Mohammed, has been killed by yet-to-be identified gunmen in Maiduguri yesterday.

The motive for his killing remains unknown. Murtala had recently returned to Maiduguri to resume classes at the University of Maiduguri.
Before his death, Mr. Murtala was living in Jigawa with his wife and two kids.
Murtala was 56 years old.

900 NYSC Members Seek Redeployment Out Of Kano

A total of 900 of the 2,413 youth corps members deployed to Kano State for National Youth Service have been re-posted to other states of the country due to the recent terrorist attacks in the state.

The state’s NYSC Coordinator, Bashir Yakasai, made this known during the passing out parade of Batch ‘A’ corps members from the orientation camp on Tuesday in Karaye local government area of the state.

Yakasai said that prior to the recent bomb blast in Sabon Gari, very few corps members had indicated interest to be re-deployed after the orientation programme.

Jos On Fire Again

The crisis rocking plateau is far from being over, this is as about 28 people were  killed while dozens of houses completely burnt in two  communities of  Da Jak and Attakar of  Ganawuri district  of Riyom LGA by  gunmen  who stormed the villages  at the early hours of Tuesday.

The attack also took the life of a police corporal serving with the Plateau State Police Command who was shot dead by gunmen.

According to a witness, the Policeman who was identified as Coporal Jibril, was also on a patrol together with his other colleagues at the crises area of Ganawuri village of Riyom Local Government Area of the State.

PDP Governors Forums Charman, Chief Godswill Apkabio Of Akwa Ibom State Confessed He Rig 2007 Elections

PDP Governors Forum Chairman, and Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill confessed to manipulating the result of a PDP senatorial primary election in the state in 2007 by replacing the winner with his own candidate. This was openly said on live TV. Akpabio said:

“The people of Ikono and Ini from 1960 have never produced a Senator. I used my own hand to strike out the name of the person who has won before, and I said it is important for me to give that region a Senator in 2007, and I produced Senator Aloysius Etuk for you; that’s where he comes from.”

Nigeria's election abrakadabra abi?! Watch the video above:

Yet Another Kidnap Has Taken Place In Akure

BARELY two days after a nursing mother who is a reporter with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Akure, Olubunmi Oke, was kidnapped in Akure, Ondo State capital, another woman, Ms Kehinde Olusanya, has been abducted by unknown persons in the town.
This is coming just as Oke was released Saturday night, after spending three days with the kidnappers.
She was said to have been released after the payment of  N1million ransom to the kidnappers, who later dropped her along Benin-Ore road.

21 State Governors Shun PDP Reconciliatory Grand Finale In Abuja

Twenty-one governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) today boycotted what was billed as a grand reconciliation to bring together disaffected members of the party. In addition, the Senate President, Speaker and several prominent members of the party failed to turn up, making the event “a woeful failure” in the words of one of the party’s prominent members.

Professor Chinuwa Achebe Finally Goes Home.

Chinua Achebe, one of the world’s most celebrated writers and author of the classic novel Things Fall Apart, is dead.
According to SaharaReporters, Professor had been sick for some time now. Professor Achebe who was the David and Mariana Fisher Professor of Literature at Brown University, died last night in a hospital in Boston,
He was 82 years old

How Jonathan Can Win The Northern Talakawas For 2015 Elections.

There are strong indications that President Goodluck Jonathon has kick-started the political maneuvers to pave his way to contest the 2015 presidential elections.

Just like the 2011 presidential elections, Jonathan’s splitting headache would be northern Nigeria. But this time around with a major difference- the opposition parties would be more united. PDP’s presidential primaries may not be tough for Jonathan, but the general elections would be. And, Jonathan has a painstaking task to change the belief by the northern Nigeria Talakawas that his Presidency is not different from that of northern political class who has failed the Talakawas.

Nigeria: Real Ownership of Indigenous Oil Blocks Revealed

Abuja — Contrary to the claim by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Business and Rules, Senator Ita Enang, last week that 83 per cent of oil blocks in the country are owned by northerners, investigations by THISDAY have revealed that 88 per cent of the oil blocks are owned by multinational oil companies.

On the other hand, indigenous oil operators or Nigerian companies control only about 11 per cent, confirming the assertion by human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, last week that oil majors control and manage the lion's share of the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

African Peoples Congress (APC) Emmergies against All Progressive Allaince(APC)

A FRESH trouble is brewing in the political arena. Just on Thursday, a new political party called African People’s Congress (APC)  unveiled its logo, acronym and emblem.
Meanwhile, the leaders of the newly formed All Progressive Alliance (APC) came out of an emergency meeting accusing accusing the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) of setting aside huge sums of tax payers monies with the sole aim of ensuring that their political association did not see the light of the day.
The exercise brought to the fore the reality of semblance in acronym by the party and the All Progressive Congress (APC), a party being put together through a planned merger of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP).
At a ceremony near the Apo Legislators’ quarters in Abuja , the African Peoples Congress, which has Chief Onyinye M. Ikeagwuonu, as its protem national chairman, bemoaned what he called poverty of leadership in Nigeria since 1999.

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Trouble Begings For The Oppposition As APGA Petitions INEC Against APC

INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega

The faction of the national leadership of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) led by Alhaji Sadeeq Mas'sala has formally protested to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)  over what it dubbed unauthorized inclusion of the party's name on the list of political parties which Wednesday merged to become All Progressives Congress (APC).

The group is insisting on its total rejection to be drawn into the opposition merger.

In a letter dated February 6 and addressed to the Chairman of INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega and signed by National Secretary, Dr. Ifedi Okwenna, the party said it was bringing to the commission's  notice,  its rejection of the purported merger of APGA with the three other opposition parties, ACN, ANPP and CPC.

More to follow.

News Flash: ACN,ANPP,APGA AND CPC Forms All Progresive Congress.

Finally, Action Congress of Nigeria, All Nigeria Peoples Party, All Progressive Grand Alliance and Congress for Political Change forms a new Mega Party called All Progressive Congress. This is a news flash. More reports will come later.

Boko Haram Training Camps Found in Mali: "Over 200 Nigerians Trained for 10 Months in Timbuktu''

Hundreds of Boko Haram members stayed at training camps with Malian militants for months in Timbuktu, learning to fix Kalashnikovs and launch shoulder-fired weapons, a report has said.

The Nigerians fled the city into the desert, along with the other militants, days before a French airstrike on January 20.

A man who said he was hired to cook for the militants said the Boko Haram members trained for about 10 months at what is now a bombed-out customs-police building on Timbuktu’s desert fringe, intermingling with a local al Qaeda offshoot called Ansar Dine.

"Every day I saw people coming here, saying they want to sign up," said the man, whose description of the militants’ activities matched those offered by four neighbours.
Locals were quoted as saying that until just a few weeks ago, the bombed-out customs-police building in Timbuktu was one of bustling training centers populated not only by local al Qaeda-linked militants but also by hundreds of Boko Haram members.

Abati Bashes OBJ And His Loyalist.

The continuous rivalry between the former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, his loyalists and the Jonathan's team has raised serious dust amongst political analysts who have concluded that Nigerian politics can not enjoy any other nomenclature other than the jungle of 'fame'.
As this deluge of denigration continues to heat up the polity, the gladiators have decided to use various tactics to bring down their opponents. It has therefore become obvious to many Nigerians that Abati's duties and responsibilities as Jonathan’s Adviser have become more challenging as he is meant to defend one comment or the other at each passing day.

Dangote, Others Wade Into Jonathan, OBJ Feud

Abuja - Investigation has revealed how ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo’s loyalists facilitated his visit to the Aso Rock Villa, Punch reports.

It was said that business mogul,  Aliko Dangote, oil marketer, Femi Otedola and some other loyalists of the former president arranged the meeting between the president and Obasanjo.

Dangote and others were however, said to have received the blessing of Jonathan before they approached Obasanjo for a possible settlement.

More on Punch

ACN, ANPP, APGA, CPC Governors Endorse Parties’ Merger Plan

The plot to unseat the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2015 general elections has thickened as 10 state governors from the different political parties and geo-political zones in the country on Tuesday met in Lagos and endorsed on-going merger talks by their various political parties.
The meeting which was hosted by the Governor of Lagos state, lasted for over four hours and a communiqué issued at the end revealed that the governors were concerned about the state of the nation and have all agreed to come together to rescue the nation, thereby endorsing the party merger talks.
Opposition parties; the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), All Nigeria People’s Party, (ANPP) and Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) are already involved in high level talks for the parties’ merger ahead of the 2015 general election.
The communique was read to journalists by the Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Kashim Shettima.
“As progressive and patriotic leaders of our people across party, religious and geo-political zones, we are extremely concerned about the state of the nation and we put our heads together in the interest of our people to deliberate on what can be done to rescue our country”, the communique stated.
It further adds that “as governors, we fully endorse the merger initiatives already commenced by our various political parties and we will put our full weight behind these efforts.”
Moving PDP Out
The Governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Abdulazziz Abubakar Yari while responding to a question on whether the merger talk is about unseating the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), said it is about how to fix Nigeria in the right perspectives.
He added that it is a question of asking if the people have been happy since 1999 till date when the PDP has been in power. “If the contrary has been the case then the leaders are duty bound to drive the people aright.”
“We believe that the PDP has not done enough.  We have the idea, the knowledge and the progressive intention to move the country forward. So, if you say that we are going to move PDP out of power, yes we are ready to do that, God willing”, Governor Yari emphasized.
Speaking on the meeting, the host Governor; Mr Babatunde Fashola stated that the meeting was about making the country a better place because what the country is having now cannot be described as her best and that those at the meeting intend to deliver Nigeria’s best.

Barack Obama,David Cameron And The G8 Leaders To Meet And Discuss Nigeria’s Controversial Oil Wealth Wastage

Nigeria’s controversial management of its stupendous oil wealth over the years would form one of the important themes of discussion for G-8 leaders in June, when they meet in Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom, according to diplomatic sources.
Already, the presidency of the summit for this year under United Kingdom is currently reaching out to other G-8 leaders and an international consensus is said to be quietly formed to demand transparency from leaders and governments of developing countries, whose huge resources and wealth are being frittered away.
International donors, including private foundations and agencies, are also concerned about the perception of increasing wealth but decreasing living standards of the people.
For instance, US Billionaire, Bill Gates, in an interview during the week, said, “Nigeria really needs to think that, relative to its level of wealth, it is really far behind…”

Farouk Lawan & Boniface Enemalo Remanded in Prison for Allegedly Collecting $620,000 Bribe

Farouk Lawan, the lawmaker and former Chairman of the House of Representatives Adhoc Committee on Fuel Subsidy and Boniface Enemalo, former Secretary of the committee have been remanded in prison by an Abuja High Court.

They were arraigned on a seven count charge for allegedly soliciting for and collecting a bribe of $620, 000 from Femi Otedola, Chairman of Zenon Oil.

Farouk Lawan Charged over $3m Fuel Scam 'Bribe'

The Nigerian MP who headed an inquiry which found that a fuel subsidy scam had cost the country $6.8bn (£4.2bn) has been charged with corruption.

Farouk Lawan is alleged to have collected $500,000 of a $3m bribe solicited from an oil tycoon to drop his company from the investigation.
The legislator pleaded not guilty in court and was taken into custody until a bail hearing on 8 February.
His supporters say he is being targeted by those implicated in his probe.
Nigeria is Africa's leading oil producer but has to import most of its fuel.
Last year, Mr Lawan chaired the House of Representative committee that produced the fuel scam report, accusing some of those who import fuel of massive corruption.

Kaduna Attacks Latest: 3 Police Officers Killed, Millions Stolen From Banks In Birnin Gwari

First Bank in Birnin Gwari after the attack 

 

SaharaReporters has learnt that Governor Muktar Yero of Kaduna State has rushed this morning to Birnin Gwari town, the scene of yesterday’s brazen, five-hour operation by a group of armed bandits.
SaharaReporters broke the news of the dare-devil attacks in Birnin Gwari town in Kaduna State. Our correspondent has since discovered that   attackers killed three police officers, wounded several more, and made away with millions of naira from the vaults of two banks.
“The governor is still in town now,” a security source told SaharaReporters, adding that a huge contingent of the police were also present in every part of the town.
Another source disclosed that the additional police contingent was not able to enter the town until the early hours of today. “The armed bandits operated for four, even five hours without any serious police challenge,” said the source.

BREAKING NEWS: Gunmen Invade Birnin Gwari Township In Kaduna State, Bomb Police Station And Banks

SaharaReporters has just received information from students living in  Birnin Gwari town in Kaduna State to the effect that heavily armed bandits took over the  Police Station in the area and burnt it down after about two hours of gun battle with troops.
The police station is completely razed in an attack that started at midnight, according to the source.
Banks and other public buildings were reportedly  bombed along with the Police Station.
The source who claimed to have witnessed the attack said the  bandits also planted Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) that exploded  simultaneously in addition to  sporadic gun shots.

Reps. Charge EFCC To Appeal Pension Theft Judgement

The House of Representatives has asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to appeal the FCT High Court judgement on the case involving the Assistant Director in the Police Pension Office, Mr John Yakubu Yusuf.
The court presided over by Justice Mohammed Talba had sentenced Mr Yusuf to two years in prison with an option of a N750,000 fine for conniving with others to defraud the Police Pension Office and pensioners of N27.2billion.
He admitted collecting N23billion of the looted fund.
However presenting a motion on the floor of the House, Representative Samson Osagie said the judgement was in bad taste.
He argued that the judgement has shown to the world that Nigeria is not serious about fighting corruption.
But another lawmaker, Representative Ali Madaki opposed the motion saying faulting the ruling is tantamount to interpreting the law which is outside the functions of the House.

Israeli Air Strike Hit Military Centre, Syria Claims

An Israeli airstrike has hit a military research centre north west of Damascus, the Syrian army has claimed.

In a statement carried by the state news agency, SANA, the Syrian army's general command said: "Israeli fighter jets violated our air space at dawn today and carried out a direct strike on a scientific research centre in charge of raising our level of resistance and self-defence."

Bayelsa Assembly’s Leader Mother Kidnapped By Gunmen

Gunmen have struck again in Bayelsa State, kidnapping the mother of the leader of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Mr. Peter Akpe.
Channels Television gathered that the mother of the House Leader, Mrs. Esther Akpe, aged 59, was kidnapped on Monday night between 9 and 10pm by five armed gunmen from her residence at Ebedebiri in Sagbama Local Government Area of the state.
The gunmen were said to have come through the river around her residence and disappeared through same route.