Ben Murray Bruce reminds Buhari to congratulate Seriake Dickson

As tweeted by Senator Ben Murray Bruce.

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Nigerian Judge Sentences Man To Death By Hanging For Stealing Phones, Wrist Watches And Money

 A judge, Hon. Justice Olabisi Akinlade has convicted a 25-year-old armed robber, Rasak Ogedengbeand sentenced him to death by hanging.  Ogedengbe attacked the family of one Mr Chukwujekwu who just returned from church at Ejigbo and carted away some of their valuables, which included money, wrist watches and phones.

The victim had gone to report at Ejigbo police station when he saw Ogedenge in the police van after the suspect had already been arrested by the police, Tribune reports.

The police searched the polythene bag with him and found some of the valuables stolen from the victim. Ogedengbe did not produce any witness and also pleaded not guilty to the offence but the prosecution had called two witnesses to testify and all their evidence were taken by the court.

While delivering her judgment, the presiding judge, Hon.Justice Olabisi Akinlade said that Ogedengbe was accused of criminal conspiracy and armed robbery under Section 403 and 402 of the criminal code, law of Lagos State 2003.

She said that the prosecution has been able to prove the elements of armed robbery and conspiracy and therefore found Ogedengbe guilty of both offences.

He was therefore sentenced to death by hanging.

Is this tantamount to killing a fly with a sledgehammer?

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EFCC Boss Explains Why GEJ Hasn't Been Arrested

Ibrahim Magu
Ibrahim Magu, the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has finally explained why former president Goodluck Jonathan has not been arrested over $2.1 billion arms deal.

Ibrahim Magu has explained why former president Goodluck Jonathan has not been arrested over $2.1 billion arms deal.
The fund, which was managed by the office of former national security adviser, Sambo Dasuki, has led to the questioning, arrest and detention of many prominent Nigerians. However, some people are still wondering why the ex-president, who is believed to be the principal actor in the unfolding scenario, has not been arrested or summoned for questioning.

The Eagle Online reports that Magu gave the explanation on Monday, January 11, speaking at a gathering of online news publishers under the aegis of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers in Lagos.

The EFCC boss said that no document has been traced to Jonathan giving any approval for the disbursement of the money for any other purpose than arms purchase.

He further noted that all those questioned so far in connection with the money were people who disbursed or collected it for reasons other than the purchase of arms and ammunition.

"All approvals by former president Jonathan did not mention that it was for political purposes.

"All the memos approved by him was for the purchase of arms," he said.

Magu said that Jafar Isa who was arrested for receiving N170 million from Dasuki has already refunded N100 million and signed an undertaking to refund the balance. However, he added that despite the refund, Isa would still be prosecuted.

Speaking about Olisa Metuh, the EFCC boss revealed that the national publicity secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party said he would rather go on hunger strike than refund the N400 million he allegedly collected from Dasuki.

Maga also said that Patrick Akpobolokemi, a former boss of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, was recently re-arrested after new evidences of alleged embezzlement of N34.5 billion and another N600 million were linked to him.

The EFCC chairman stressed that the war against graft was not selective and assured Nigerians that his agency is not teleguided in the ongoing anti-corruption fight.

He explained that the EFCC cases drag in court because of many court applications.

"When a politician steals N10 billion he keeps N5 billion for litigation. He hires Senior Advocates of Nigeria. Judges accuse us of not conducting thorough investigation in order to compromise," he added.

Magu called on the media to join the EFCC to win the anti-corruption war and noted that the victory would be for the benefit of the next generation.
Meanwhile, there are indications that some prominent Nigerians might soon be invited by the anti-graft agency.

According to sources close to the EFCC, the people on the list include ex-Board of Trustees (BOT) chairman of the PDP, Chief Tony Anenih, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, Chief Olu Falae, the former Oyo state governor, Rasheed Ladoja, and a few others.

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Central Bank Cuts Dollar Supplies As Currency Crisis Worsens

Nigeria's central bank has announced that it will halt all US dollar sales to bureau de change operators, as the country struggles to cope with a crippling shortage of hard currency. Under the new measures, Nigerian banks will also be able to accept dollar deposits.

The collapse in the oil price over the past year has gutted Nigeria's foreign exchange earnings. Oil typically accounts for around 70% of government revenues, while the country imports much of its food and refined fuel.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has already put in place a number of currency controls aimed at reducing the flow of hard currency out of the economy, including limiting the availability of dollars for importers of a range of goods from rice to private jets. Holders of naira bank accounts are only able to spend or withdraw $300 at a time overseas.

The CBN has so far resisted any devaluation of the naira, and has spent billions from the country's reserves maintaining the official exchange rate of between 197-199 naira to the dollar. On the black market the exchange rate is around 270 to the dollar.

Faced with the shortage of foreign exchange, traders say that they have fallen into arrears with their international suppliers. The new restrictions will make it even more difficult for importers to cover their dollar positions, which in turn will increase pressure on consumers.

"It isn't going to be pretty," says John Ashbourne, Africa economist at Capital Economics, who points out that the bureaux de change are the main channel for ordinary Nigerians to access foreign currency.

"It's important to remember that the [official]rate only exists if you can deal directly with the central bank. Any actual people who want to buy US dollars have to use the [bureaux de change]. Reducing the flow of US dollars to the money changers will create a shortage in the currency market that most people actually use. While this isn't, on paper, a devaluation, it has a similar effect on the purchasing power of the naira in your pocket."

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The Popular Owonifari Market In Oshodi was demolished today

The Owonifari Market in Oshodi has been demolished by the Lagos state government to make way for a bus terminal.
The market which has been in existence for more than 40 years and has been closed for some time to curb the security challenges in Oshodi.

According to the Commisioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, the area will be transformed to a an ultra-modern bus terminal.

"The Owonifari area will be transformed into an ultra modern bus terminal with new bus shelters that are befitting of a structured park in a mega city."

The demolition of the said area was directly supervised in the earlier hours of Wednesday by the Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode.
But the question remains, what then happens to the people who made a living from the shops and stalls that were demolished.

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'Unemployment crashing Nigerians' marriages'

A cross section of Nigerians have decried the alarming rate of break-up of marriages in the society as shown in divorce cases in customary courts.

The stakeholders, who spoke to News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in separate interviews, expressed sadness over the development, noting that the Nigerian family system was fast degenerating into fragmented society.

Investigation by NAN at two customary courts in Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State, revealed that between January 2014 and December 2015, no fewer than 500 divorce suits were filed out of which 468 of the marriages were dissolved.

Speaking on the development, Chief Ademola Odunade, Presiding President of one of the customary courts, identified high rate of unemployment in the country among factors responsible for broken homes.

He explained that most of the divorce cases in the courts were as a result of the inability of the man, the head of the family, to cater for his wife and children.

The judge advised that spouse should always learn to revert to the old practice of using intermediary who could easily mediate when marital crises arose rather than seeking dissolution of their union in court.

Another Ibadan based customary court president and a community leader, Mr Henric Agbaje, said that fading culture of payment of bride price and dowry was responsible for collapse in marriages.

Agbaje explained that though men at that time had many wives because of the nature of their occupation (farming), they still cohabited peacefully and displayed sincerity and tolerance.

The jurist identified disintegration of cultural and family values occasioned by modern trends as among the factors for the high rate of divorce.

In her contribution, Miss Toibat Oladele, a divorcee, noted that investigating one's spouse thoroughly during courtship was imperative to a successful marriage.

Another divorcee, a banker, who identified herself simply as Morayo, said that her marriage lasted for just 18 months when she quitted.

Some other divorcees who spoke on condition of anonymity identified infidelity, irresponsibility, negligence, distrust and sexual starvation among the reasons for the break in their marriages.

Mr Mojeed Adeleke, a regular observer of divorce cases at Mapo Customary Courts, said that old spouses who were supposed to be good examples to newly married ones were not doing any better, judging from cases in the courts.

Adeleke frowned at the high rate of divorce cases involving couples in their late 60s and 70s.

He noted that in most cases, the unions had reached four to five decades with their children already grown up and even married. Professor Adeniyi Olatunbosun, the Dean of Faculty of Law, University of Ibadan, said the high rate of marriage dissolutions arose from social problems such as bad economy and intolerable attitudes. He said government should address the challenge of high rate of unemployment in the society to reduce divorce and encourage blissful marriages.

Professor Julius Ademokoya, also of the University of Ibadan, said that cultural, attitudinal and lack of proper understanding of what marriage is all about contributed to the high rate of marriage break up in the society.

Ademokoya, a rehabilitation counsellor, advised would-be couples to always understudy themselves properly and iron out all issues before embarking on the lifelong journey called marriage.

Mr Kolawole Oyerinde, an Ibadan based lawyer, said s that at least five divorce cases were filed daily at the Oyo State High Court.

Another expert, Professor Oka Obono, Director, Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, CEPACS, University of Ibadan, explained that the context of modern industrial society was largely responsible for setbacks in marriages.

Obono said many marriages crumbled owing to constant mobility occasioned by transfer at work which created disharmony among couples.

The sociologist counseled that couples should imbibe the culture of patience and moral accountability.

Mr Dotun Odebode, an Ibadan based pastor, blamed the rising divorce cases on the refusal of couples to allow God to decide for them through fervent prayers.

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Nnamdi Kanu Apologises To Pres. Buhari, Jonathan And Igbo Elders

Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra and founder of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, has expressed regret for referring to President Buhari as a terrorist, evil and a paedophile during one of his programmes on his radio station on August 1st this year. Kanu tendered the apology for his comment against Buhari, Jonathan and others in a statement which he made to the DSS on October 23rd.

The statement in part reads

"Reference to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a terrorist, evil and a paedophile is regrettable and uncalled for and for that, I unreservedly apologise and will be doing so in a private letter to the President. Before PMB (President Buhari) there was the administration of Goodluck Jonathan. I also said uncomplimentary things about him and Igbo elders as well, which I now recognise should not have happened because it is un-African to be rude or insolent to elders. All I was trying to do is to draw attention to the problems afflicting society and something done about them."‎.

He says he is however not apologetic on his stand for the actualization of the Biafran state. Kanu who is standing trial for treason and five other offenses, was arrested on October 14th this year. He was recently charged to court by the ‎federal government.

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EFCC To Arraign Ex-PDP Chair Bello And Others For Theft Of N300m

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has revealed that a former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Dr. Haliru Bello and his son, Abba, got N300million about 11 days to the presidential election.

The cash was drawn from the account of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Bello, who was still in the hospital as at last night, is likely to be arraigned today before the Federal High Court Abuja on four-count charge.

Other accused persons are Abba and BAM Projects and Properties Limited.

A top source in the EFCC said: "All things being equal, we will arraign the suspects in court on Wednesday. The EFCC prosecutors are already on standby.

"Concerning the ex-PDP National Chairman in the hospital, when we get to the bridge, we will cross it. The Operations Department will determine his fate based on medical records."

In the charge sheet, the EFCC claimed that Bello, a former Minister of Defence, got the N300million cash on March 17, 11 days to the presidential election.

The election was held on March 28, 2015.

In the charge sheet, filed by the Deputy Director of Legal and Prosecution Department of EFCC, Aliyu. M. Yusuf, the three accused persons were alleged to have engaged in unlawful possession, conversion, and theft of N300million.

The charges: "That you Bello Abba Mohammed, BAM Projects and Projects and Dr. Haliru Bello on or about 17th March 2015 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court took possession of the sum of N300million paid into the account of BAM Projects and Properties Limited with Sterling Bank Plc from the account of the Office of the National Security Adviser with the CBN when you reasonably ought to have known that the said fund formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful activity of Col. Mohammed Sambo Dasuki(rtd), the then National Security Adviser( to wit: criminal breach of trust and corruption) and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 15(2) (d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 as amended in 2012 and punishable under Section (15) (3) of the same Act.

"That you Bello Abba Mohammed, BAM Projects and Properties Limited and Dr. Haliru Bello on or about 17th March 2015 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court converted the sum of N300million which sum was transferred from the account of the  Office of the National Security Adviser with the CBN purporting same to be for "Safe Houses" but which you claimed to have for political campaign and when you reasonably ought to have known that the said fund formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful activity of Col. Mohammed Sambo Dasuki(rtd), the then National Security Adviser( to wit: criminal breach of trust and corruption) and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 15(2) (d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 as amended in 2012 and punishable under Section (15) (3) of the same Act.

"That you Bello Abba Mohammed and BAM Projects and Properties Limited on or about 17th March 2015 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did retain the sum of N300million on behalf of  Dr. Haliru Bello and Col. Mohammed Sambo Dasuki (rtd), the former Chairman of PDP and National Security Adviser respectively by concealing the said sum in your account with  Sterling Bank Plc when you knew the said Dr. Haliru Bello and Col. Mohammed Sambo Dasuki(Rtd) to be engaged in a criminal conduct to wit: theft of public fund for a political activity and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 17(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 as amended in 2012 and punishable under Section (17) (b) of the same Act.

"That you Bello Abba Mohammed, BAM Projects and Properties Limited and Dr. Haliru Bello on or about 17th March 2015 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did conspire to launder  the sum of N300million which sum you claimed to have received for political campaign and when you reasonably ought to have known that the said fund formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful activity of Col. Mohammed Sambo Dasuki(Rtd), the then National Security Adviser( to wit: criminal breach of trust and corruption) and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 as amended in 2012 and punishable under Section (15) (3) of the same Act."

In a Statement of Witness/ Caution which he wrote on oath, Yuguda  admitted to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that he gave N600million cash to six chairmen of the Contact and Mobilization Committees of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) for the 2015 general election.

He listed the beneficiaries as Bode George( South-West); Amb. Yerima Abdullahi ( North-East); Peter Odili( South-South); Attahiru Bafarawa( North-West); Jim Nwobodo(South -East); North-Central (Ahmadu Ali).

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Petrol To Sell For N86 This Month, January 2016

MotoristS yesterday got a New Year present. Petrol is to sell for N86 per litre at Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) outlets.

Others will sell at N86.50k as against the present N87 per litre.

The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) said the prices would run from January 1 till March 31, under a revised pricing template.

PPPRA Executive Secretary  Farouk Ahmed broke the news to reporters in Abuja.

Within the new pricing template, the government approved two pump prices-one for NNPC retail outlets  and the other for retail outlets operated by private business concerns.

Both open market prices indicate a N1 and 50k drop from the official pump price of N87 per litre, which will become obsolete on December 31 – tomorrow.

Farouk said the announcement followed the approval of the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, for the implementation of the revised template.

The PPPRA has approved importation of three million metric tonnes of petrol in the first quarter of the year. The NNPC was granted 78 per cent of the total allocated volume for the period. The balance of 22 per cent will be supplied by other oil marketing companies.

According to Farouk, a couple of elements that were affected by the price review include traders' margin, which was revised downwards from N1.47 per litre to zero; lightering expenses (N4.07/litre to N2.00/litre) charges by the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA), (N0.77/litre to N0.36/litre); jetty throughput charges, (N0.80/litre to N0.40/litre); storage charge (N3.00/litre to N1.50/litre); bridging fund (N5.85/litre to N4.00/litre) and ex-depot price (N77.66/litre to N77.00/litre).

Other elements, such as retailers' margin, were, however, reviewed upwards from N4.60/litre to N5.00/litre; transporters, from N2.99/litre to N3.05/litre; dealers' margin, from N1.75/litre to N1.95/litre;

"Accordingly, the ex-depot price of PMS shall be N77.00k per litre while the pump price shall be N86.50k per litre – in line with the prevailing market trend.

"The key thing here is that with the revision, the open market price has come down slightly. The new pump price is N86.50k, down from N87 per litre, effective from January 1, 2016.

"However, for NNPC import, because an element of the template which is the financing cost, is not captured in the NNPC template. Therefore, NNPC import is slightly lower. The NNPC price will be N86 per litre, meaning that if you go to NNPC retail stations, you should buy at N86 per litre and then N86.50k in other stations," Ahmed said.

The idea is to instill competition and stability in the downstream petroleum sector, he said.

"Another important point is that this is not static as there will be a quarterly review of the price template. However, if there is a major shift, the minister may call for a review either upwards or downwards, depending on the market.

"But for now, at least for the first quarter, this price remains for three months, from January to March," he added.

Ahmed noted that there was to be a pricing advisory committee made up of industry technocrats and which would sit down from time to time and advise the PPPRA on price movements.

He added: "But the PPPRA will still sit down and do its work. The committee will advise it on any drastic movement in price.

"The open market price is N86.29k. If you do the calculation, that means there is an element of over recovery and what we will do now is that we will go back to the marketers and bill them for the recovery.

"With regards to NNPC, their arrival is N85.93k but they are selling at N86, so there will also be element of over recovery. However, we are comfortable with the numbers."

Speaking more on the review, Ahmed said: "In order to encourage investments in retail outlets, we slightly increased the provisions in the retailers, transporters, and dealers' margins.

"In terms of distribution margin, we have also revised down the bridging fund and increased the retailers, dealers and transporters' margins."

On the Q1 import permit, Ahmed did not disclose the identity of marketers selected for the period but stated that the agency had considered three key factors in selecting them.

These factors, he said, include retail outlets ownership; marketers' performance in previous quarterly allocation; as well as the challenges in sourcing foreign exchange.

He noted that in allowing the NNPC to import 78 per cent of the total allocated volume, the agency envisaged that the corporation would have little challenges in sourcing for foreign exchange while the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) would be able to comfortably take care of the foreign exchange demands of the other marketers who would import the remaining 22 per cent.

"This measure is to guarantee uninterrupted fuel supply nationwide. Marketers are required to note that there shall be a mid-quarter review of performance where volumes of non-performing marketers, including the NNPC shall be withdrawn and reallocated to performing marketers," Ahmed explained.

He also stated that the NNPC had in previous allocations done up to 111 per cent in product importation to stabilise supply, adding that future allocations shall be based on 100 per cent performance in the Q1, 2016 allocation.

Ahmed said the revised template was built a little bit above the earlier daily consumption rate of 40 million litres per day.

He said the agency is currently verifying the October, November and December claims of marketers for subsidy, after which the Debt Management Office (DMO) would be notified for further action.

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International Airlines to Reduce Flights to Nigeria Next Year

Citing Nigeria's slowing economy amid scarcity of foreign exchange, international airlines that operate to different destinations in the country plan to reduce flights to Nigeria from early 2016, THISDAY investigations have revealed.

The airlines, according to sources, are aggrieved that they cannot exchange billions of revenue in Naira in their possession to dollars and repatriate to their various countries because of the new fiscal policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), recently pleaded with the Governor of CBN,
Godwin Emiefele to intervene in the matter and make dollars available to the airlines. Nothing has been done yet; although he gave assurances to the world body, a close source told THISDAY.

The foreign airlines also had met with the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi and urged him to look into their case but nothing concrete has been done on the matter.

THISDAY gathered that from March 2016, British Airways would reduce its flights to Nigeria by bringing in aircraft with smaller capacity than the traditional Boeing 747, which operates the lucrative Lagos-London route.

It was also gathered that other foreign airlines may either change their aircraft type and operate ones with smaller capacity or reschedule and reduce the number of flights to Nigeria and those which have not been recording high load factor in the Nigerian route may stop flights to the country.

An informed source from one of the major international airlines, which operate daily to Lagos told THISDAY that next year would be scary because things are not looking so good.

"The situation is scary. Things are not looking so good. Some parents whose children are in school overseas are considering withdrawing them as our economy, which has become the strongest economy in Africa is grinding to a halt. We don't want to make our plan to reduce operations public because we don't want to cause any panic. This will affect everybody; it is going to also affect my staff because some of them might lose their jobs. BA will definitely reduce service; it is a decision we must have to take," the source said.

The source noted that failure to repatriate the airline's revenue is affecting aircraft leases and fuelling as the money so generated is used to pay for fuel and renew aircraft leases.

"We have so much money which cannot be released because there is no foreign currency. Now, we cannot accept dollars from passengers; unless they are paying with credit cards, so if a passenger comes to buy ticket with dollars we will not accept because of the new policies. I do not believe that they want to make us suffer but they should have directed these policies to the areas where they import toothpick, glasses and others, not on air transport and other sectors that are critical for the economy to thrive and grow. It is not only BA that will reduce its operation; every international airline will reduce something," the source also said.

The source also suggested that CBN should endeavor to provide foreign exchange to the essential service sector so that the economy would not grind to a halt.

"I am worried about all these but we have to be seen to be supporting government so I do not wish to raise any alarm, but the truth has to be said. We need prayers right now; we need to pray for those in government for them to have wisdom to take the right decision for this country," the source also said.

The source said that marketers had dropped notice that airlines would start paying for aviation fuel in dollars from next year.

"Without fuel, how can we operate? The situation is very scary," the source added.

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Buhari received British Secretary of State for Defence

President Buhari earlier today met with the British Secretary of State for Defence, Michael Fallon at the state house Abuja. See more photos below;

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Arms Deal Saga: Another Blogger Reveals How Linda Ikeji Got Mansion, N240Million

On Monday, December 14, social commentator and activist Kayode Ogundamisi tweeted that a popular female blogger got N240m by the former National Security Adviser (NSA) and many assumed the popular female blogger is Linda Ikeji.

And as expected of anybody in Linda's shoes, Linda has tried to clear her name of the mess she is being dragged in by mere speculations.

The blogger who just bought a N600m house in Banana Island said: "But seriously for the record…no party registered or unregistered, no human being dead or alive gave me N240m for anything. The only advert I did for PDP was a page background take-over for former president Jonathan… and they asked for the space after I did a page background take-over for APC's Akinwunmi Ambode. (I'm sure you all saw it). The two parties paid me same amount. I had a politics advert rate which I sent to everyone who wanted to advertise on LIB! And it was a few millions …which some of you followed to chop inside in the giveaway that April…lol. #Kidding!

Anyway, all these bad belle people looking for ways to bring a woman down…like I always say…you can't! Except you're mightier than God! Whether you like it or not, I'm a hardworking young woman who God chose to bless the work of her hand and is using me to bless others. Get over it! I am here to stay! Not going nowhere!"

Linda Ikeji

But while Linda is trying to come clean of the speculation, another blogger Kemi Olunloyo has come straight at Linda with tweets revealing so much about Linda's involvement in the arms deal saga and more.

Kemi Olunloyo

Blogger who allegedly got N240M from #Dasuki is @lindaikeji. 2015 rumor getting paid not to run a story in excg 4 N550M house @Gidi_Traffic

- Madam Kemi Olunloyo (@HNNAfrica) December 14, 2015

#BREAKING @Gidi_Traffic @lindaikeji just BLOCKED ME on TWITTER so I will start TALKING now. I only speak the facts! I'm not gonna block her - Madam Kemi Olunloyo (@HNNAfrica) December 14, 2015

#LindaGate Ikeji now has BLOCKED me on TWITTER but I hope she & her lawyers are reading my tweets. I am a professional blogger #Journalist

- Madam Kemi Olunloyo (@HNNAfrica) December 14, 2015

#LindaGate The property located in Banana Island #Lagos was allegedly a GIFT from a politician in exchange for NOT running a story. - Madam Kemi Olunloyo (@HNNAfrica) December 14, 2015

#LindaGate What Nigerians need to now know. During the 2015 campaign, @PdpNigeria had #Blogging conferences. Linda Ikeji & myself contacted

- Madam Kemi Olunloyo (@HNNAfrica) December 14, 2015

#LindaGate PDP bloggers were supposed to get N200,000 and a gold plated iphone engraved with the logo. Linda Ikeji allegedly got N240M? - Madam Kemi Olunloyo (@HNNAfrica) December 14, 2015

#LindaGate Dudafa is on the run and allegedly gave Linda Ikeji N240M for consulting services. What they consulted about is not known to me

- Madam Kemi Olunloyo (@HNNAfrica) December 14, 2015

#LindaGate Linda Ikeji can possibly lose her assets in this #DasukiGate case. Dokpesi is gonna lose DAAR communications soon #Recovery - Madam Kemi Olunloyo (@HNNAfrica) December 14, 2015

#LindaGate Linda Ikeji knows the truth will come out when Dudafa is caught. She was allegedly paid to KILL A STORY about a big politician.

- Madam Kemi Olunloyo (@HNNAfrica) December 14, 2015

#LindaGate And the moral of the story is that linda Ikeji did not get politcal ads money. She got BLACKMAIL money but didn't know SOURCE! - Madam Kemi Olunloyo (@HNNAfrica) December 14, 2015

Kemi further disclosed that if she revealed the story Linda covered up the internet will break.

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N8billion has been refunded to government treasury - Dino Melaye

Senator Dino Melaye today revealed that N8 billion has so far been returned to the government treasury by those who stole from it. Dino said this while speaking as a guest on Channels TV today December 16th.

"As I speak to you, about eight billion Naira has been refunded back to the treasury of government and I know more monies will be refunded"he said.

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Court frees Nnamdi Kanu as DSS drops all charges against him

All charges against Director of Radio Biafra and Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB),  Nnamdi Kanu,were on Wednesday discharged dropped .

After holding that the government had dropped the charges against Kanu, Magistrate of the Chief Magistrate Court, Wuse Zone 2, Abuja, Shuaibu Usman, ruled:

"The accused person is hereby discharged and the case struck out."

The government through its agent, the Department of State Services (DSS), had elected to withdraw the case at the lower court for a higher court, which has jurisdiction to entertain charges bordering on terrorism, to take over.

The DSS has held Kanu for at least 90 days despite an order of the magistrate court granting him bail in October.

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Buhari should hand over to Osinbajo if he has no clue to solving Nigeria's problems says Fayose

Ekiti state governor, Ayo Fayose has called on President Buhari to handover to Vice President Osinbajo if he does not have any clue to solving Nigeria's problems. He said this while signing the N67.04 billion 2016 appropriation bill of the state into law today December 15th

"Enough of these flimsy excuses. President Buhari has to fulfill all his electoral promises to the people. If he has no clues to all these problems, he should hand over to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo or whoever and bow out honourably.
What President Buhari promised us is change but what we have under this government is dwindling economy, low power generation, proposed subsidy removal, high level poverty and naira devaluation. For the president to have told Nigerians to brace up for more hardship in 2016 is the most callous of a man who promised Nigerians change." the Cable quotes him as saying.

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Fashola visited Egbin Power Plant in Lagos

Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola visited the Egbin Power Plant in Lagos state recently were he switched on the additional 220mw from Egbin Power dedicated to Lagos state. Continue to see more photos...

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Minister of Power, Fashola Unveils Agenda For Roads, Power And Housing

*Sets Lagos-Ibadan expressway,
*Second Niger bridge as top priority

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola (SAN), has officially unveiled his short term plans to address housing deficits, provide good roads and urgently increase power generation in the country with extra 2, 000 megawatts.

Fashola said, during his maiden press briefing in Abuja that the Lagos-Ibadan expressway which has been under construction and the second Niger Bridge are of great importance to the current administration, thus would get urgent attention.

He said year 2002 was the last time the sum of N200 billion was budgeted for road constructions in the country.

The Minister further disclosed that work would soon commence on all roads that link the 36 States of the federation, adding that major roads which had been suspended due to paucity of funds and are vital to boost social economic activities in the country would be quickly revisited.

It was Fashola's maiden briefing since his resumption to office.

He spoke on plans to partner with the private sector and fully privatise the power sector in order for the country to witness genuine development like the telecommunication.

Part of his plans is also to immediately restore the jobs of construction workers who were laid off by local and international construction companies in the country.

His words: "The records that have been made available from previous budgets show that the last time Nigeria budgeted over N200 Billion in a year's budget for roads was in 2002. It seems that as our income from oil prices increased over the last decade, our spending on roads decreased.

"As far as status reports go, the federal government budgeted N18.132Billion in 2015 and the Ministry of Works got N13Billion for all roads and highways in 2015, although it has contracts for 206 roads, covering over 6,000km with contract price of over N2 Trillion."

‎However, Fashola stated that government's ability to achieve connectivity of Inter-state roads would largely depend on capital spending in the 2016 budget.

He said it became imperative to pay contractors and get them back to work as soon as possible.

"Our short term strategy will be to start with roads that have made some progress and can be quickly completed to facilitate connectivity. We will prioritize within this strategy by choosing first the roads that connect states together and from that grouping start with those that bear the heaviest traffic.

"As at May 2015, many contractors have stopped work because of payment, and many fathers and wives employed by them have been laid off as a result.

"Some of the numbers from only four companies that were sampled, suggest that at least 5,150 workers have been laid as at March 11, 2015; and if we realize that there are at least 200 contracts pending, on the basis of 1(one) company per contract," he said.

Analysing the unfortunate situation, Fashola explained that, "If each contractor has only 100 employees at each of the 200 contract sites, it means at least that 20,000 people who lost their jobs can return to work if the right budget is put in place and funded for contractors to get paid.

"The possibility to return those who have just lost their jobs back to work is the kind of change that we expect to see by this short term strategy."

"In order to make the roads safer, we intend to re-claim the full width and set back of all Federal roads, representing 16% and about 36,000km of Nigeria's road network by immediately now asking all those who are infringing on our highways, whether by parking, trading, or Attention of any inappropriate structure to immediately remove, relocate or dismantle such things voluntarily. This will be the biggest contribution that citizens can offer our country as proof that we all want things to change for the better," Fashola added.

Source: The Nation

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MASSOB, IPOB Agree To Stop Pro-Biafra Demonstrations

The Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) have resolved to end their protests and demonstrations. The two pro-Biafra groups had staged series of protests in the past one month, over the continued detention of the Director, Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.as well as agitating for a sovereign Biafran state.

Protesters in the south-east and parts of south-south geopolitical zones had vowed to continue demonstrations until they actualize Biafra which prompted governors from the region,under the aegis of South-East Governors Forum, SEGF, to push for a dialogue to secure the release of Nnamdi Kanu among other issues of neglect and marginalzation of the people in a meeting held in Enugu Government House.

In a joint resolution signed by Ugwuoke Ibem,National Secretary,MASSOB, and Emma Powerful,Spokesman of IPOB, which read in parts: "We have decided to halt our demonstration, protest to pave way for the much published dialogue on Nnamdi Kanu's release. Our withdrawal from the major cities of Biafraland is not out of cowardice but to prove maturity, professionalism as a decent self determined group.

"We hereby issue an ultimatum to the Federal Government to prove their seriousness and sincerity on the much published dialogue on the release of Nnamdi Kanu. We shall continue with our non violence self determination on Biafra. MASSOB,IPOB will never relent or backside on the agitation for Biafra actualization. We condemn the stupidity, sabotage statement of Ralph Uwazuruike that IPOB, MASSOB introduced violence in Biafra struggle.

"Uwazuruike is a drowning man who is living on yesterday shadow. Uwazuruike has lost his grip on Biafra issues because of his deviation,compromise,open romance with Nigeria Government which has grossly affected his personality. We warn Uwazuruike and his brainwashed group to stop dragging MASSOB, IPOB into a shameless, naked dance of visionless, missionless, blind existence."

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FG to re-introduce Toll at Federal roads - Fashola

Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola has hinted that the Federal government will be re-introducing tolls at Federal roads in Nigeria. Fashola says the money generated from the tolls will be used for the maintenance of the roads. He said this during his first news conference tagged 'Setting the Agenda for Delivering Change' in Abuja today December 8th...

"Maintenance would be our watchword. We are setting up a robust maintenance regime to keep our highways in good shape. This shows that tolling is necessary to support government funding. So, it will not be too much if we ask every road user to pay little to augment government funding for road maintence. It is eminent commonsense for us to find that money. We will use technology; so if we don't pay cash, you will pay by tokens or tickets and the money is accountable and it will go to the right place. We will manage that fund properly and we will hold those who we put there to account." he said

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NYSC Member caught in Husband Snatching Saga

A married woman who's been hearing of a female Corper running things with her husband in the office got angry when the lady sent her husband a message at night. What transpired between them...

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