N15 billion fraud: EFCC arrests Nyako’s son, Abdulaziz

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested the son of the deposed Adamawa State Governor, Abdulaziz Nyako over the looting of the state’s funds.

Abdulaziz, who was last week declared wanted by the EFCC along with his fleeing father, was picked up by operatives of the commission in Gombe State and was brought to Abuja Saturday evening.

The Head of Media in the commission, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed the arrest of the former governor’s son and said that he was being questioned at the Abuja office of the commission.

Abdulaziz is being quizzed in connection with the sum of N15 billion and other sundry sums being traced to five of his companies.

Details later…

N15 billion fraud: EFCC arrests Nyako’s son, Abdulaziz

Posted by Sylvester No comments

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested the son of the deposed Adamawa State Governor, Abdulaziz Nyako over the looting of the state’s funds.

Abdulaziz, who was last week declared wanted by the EFCC along with his fleeing father, was picked up by operatives of the commission in Gombe State and was brought to Abuja Saturday evening.

The Head of Media in the commission, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed the arrest of the former governor’s son and said that he was being questioned at the Abuja office of the commission.

Abdulaziz is being quizzed in connection with the sum of N15 billion and other sundry sums being traced to five of his companies.

Details later…

Borrowing cost dents International Breweries profit

The devaluation of the naira has spiked the borrowing cost of International Breweries Nigeria plc (IBN), thus denting the beer maker’s profit, analysis of the financial statement shows.

“The surge in net finance costs was most likely due to the impact of the naira devaluation on IBN’ $25 million loan, although we would be seeking management’s explanation on this point,” said Olajumoke Okeowo, equity research analyst with FBN Capital, in an email note to BusinessDay.

For the nine months ended December 31, 2014, the company’s profit after tax (PAT) reduced by 24.43 percent to N1.45 billion from N1.91 billion the same period of the corresponding year (nine months ended December 2013), while sales increased by 13.02 percent to N15.31 billion.

BusinessDay analysis showed finance costs increase by 64.33 percent to N1.23 billion in the ninemonths to December 2014 from N748.33 million the preceding year.

Additionally, the company has huge debt in the balance-sheet as debt-to-equity ratio moved to 72.06 percent in the review period from 55.41 percent last year, while total debt in the balance-sheet increased by 36.67 percent to N8.41 billion.

Analysts say the devaluation of naira is soaring material costs of beer makers as these firms import most of the raw materials and input used in the manufacture of alcoholic beverages.

“Firstly, the beer makers and flour millers import more than 50 percent of their raw materials and other inputs, even as other diversified and household/personal product firms such as NESTLE, PZ, UNILEVER, CADBURY, etc, are neither exempted from the impact of the falling naira despite easing commodity prices,” according to Saheed Bashir, an analyst at Meristem Securities, in a response to questions.

The security challenges in the North part of the country combined with infrastructure deficits bedevilling the country are also driving distribution costs of beer makers and IBN is no exception.

Consequently, IBN’s operating expenses were up by 26.40 percent to N4.46 billion compared with N3.52 billion the preceding year. Cost of sales increased by 17.05 percent in the review period to N7.50 billion as against N6.41 billion last year.

Net margin, a measure of profitability and efficiency, reduced to 9.40 percent from N14.15 percent, while operating expense moved to 29.52 percent compared with 25.97 percent last year.

Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, has some potential for growth waiting to be unlocked by beer makers. These opportunities include: a large market, youthful population that crave for consumption and rising middle-class with disposable income.

According to Deutsche Bank Market Research, Nigeria is Africa’s largest alcohol consumer, which places beer makers in an upside position.

IBN’s total assets were up by 18.06 percent to N28.50 billion as against N24.14 billion last year.

The company’s share price closed at N19.41 billon on the NSE, while market capitalisation was N63.25 billion.

Borrowing cost dents International Breweries profit

Posted by Sylvester No comments

The devaluation of the naira has spiked the borrowing cost of International Breweries Nigeria plc (IBN), thus denting the beer maker’s profit, analysis of the financial statement shows.

“The surge in net finance costs was most likely due to the impact of the naira devaluation on IBN’ $25 million loan, although we would be seeking management’s explanation on this point,” said Olajumoke Okeowo, equity research analyst with FBN Capital, in an email note to BusinessDay.

For the nine months ended December 31, 2014, the company’s profit after tax (PAT) reduced by 24.43 percent to N1.45 billion from N1.91 billion the same period of the corresponding year (nine months ended December 2013), while sales increased by 13.02 percent to N15.31 billion.

BusinessDay analysis showed finance costs increase by 64.33 percent to N1.23 billion in the ninemonths to December 2014 from N748.33 million the preceding year.

Additionally, the company has huge debt in the balance-sheet as debt-to-equity ratio moved to 72.06 percent in the review period from 55.41 percent last year, while total debt in the balance-sheet increased by 36.67 percent to N8.41 billion.

Analysts say the devaluation of naira is soaring material costs of beer makers as these firms import most of the raw materials and input used in the manufacture of alcoholic beverages.

“Firstly, the beer makers and flour millers import more than 50 percent of their raw materials and other inputs, even as other diversified and household/personal product firms such as NESTLE, PZ, UNILEVER, CADBURY, etc, are neither exempted from the impact of the falling naira despite easing commodity prices,” according to Saheed Bashir, an analyst at Meristem Securities, in a response to questions.

The security challenges in the North part of the country combined with infrastructure deficits bedevilling the country are also driving distribution costs of beer makers and IBN is no exception.

Consequently, IBN’s operating expenses were up by 26.40 percent to N4.46 billion compared with N3.52 billion the preceding year. Cost of sales increased by 17.05 percent in the review period to N7.50 billion as against N6.41 billion last year.

Net margin, a measure of profitability and efficiency, reduced to 9.40 percent from N14.15 percent, while operating expense moved to 29.52 percent compared with 25.97 percent last year.

Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, has some potential for growth waiting to be unlocked by beer makers. These opportunities include: a large market, youthful population that crave for consumption and rising middle-class with disposable income.

According to Deutsche Bank Market Research, Nigeria is Africa’s largest alcohol consumer, which places beer makers in an upside position.

IBN’s total assets were up by 18.06 percent to N28.50 billion as against N24.14 billion last year.

The company’s share price closed at N19.41 billon on the NSE, while market capitalisation was N63.25 billion.

Dozens of Myanmar troops killed fighting northern rebels

Heavy fighting between Myanmar’s army and rebels has killed 47 soldiers, state media said Friday, sending a flood of people across the border with China and overshadowing hopes for a national ceasefire as a crucial election looms.

Myanmar has informed Beijing about the clashes, which have raged since February 9, according to the Global New Light of Myanmar, marking a dramatic resurgence of conflict with largely ethnic Chinese rebels in the Kokang region in Shan State.

The flaring of a conflict which had been largely dormant for six years, is an ominous sign for the government as it attempts to forge a comprehensive ceasefire deal with the country’s myriad ethnic armed groups — a deal it says is essential to embed reforms and drive development.

Kokang fighters with “heavy weapons including anti-aircraft machine guns” attempted to capture the region’s capital Laukkai, just a few miles from the Chinese border, but were repelled by the army, state media said.

“So far, the fighting has left government forces with 47 dead, 73 wounded and five vehicles destroyed,” said the English language report.

It is unclear what provoked the latest round of violence, which was announced as the nation celebrated the 100th anniversary of the birth of independence hero Aung San — the father of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi — who is lauded for backing political autonomy for ethnic areas.

But the intensity of the fighting sent people fleeing from the remote, mountainous wedge of land across the frontier into China.

“China has provided them with necessary humanitarian assistance. As soon at the situation subsides, they will return to Myanmar,” Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Friday, without estimating the number of those affected.

– No end in sight –

Myanmar’s army, which has rarely admitted to such large casualties in the past, launched five rounds of airstrikes in its assault on the Kokang fighters, state media reports said, detailing a litany of attacks by the rebels including the “shelling” of a military base in the Kongyan area.

Independent analyst Richard Horsey said the fighting was likely to continue.

“Having suffered such significant loses, local commanders are not going to want to give up on this one,” he told AFP.

He said that the description of the rebels as “renegades” in state media could be an effort by the government to distinguish between the Kokang fighters and the ethnic armed groups at the negotiating table.

Myanmar’s quasi-civilian regime, which took power in 2011 after decades of military rule, has put ending the country’s ethnic minority conflicts at the heart of its reform drive.

But conflict between the military and armed groups is also raging in other parts of Shan and northern Kachin states, undermining the government’s efforts.

It had hoped to sign a deal on Thursday, as the country celebrated its annual Union Day celebrations in Naypyidaw.

Instead, the government, military and some ethnic groups penned a commitment to continue talks, laying out an aim to build a union “based on democratic and federal principles”.

Experts say the inclusion of the federal ideal, a key demand of ethnic minorities, marks a watershed in the negotiations because the army had resisted signing up to any deal on federalism until now.

– Patchwork of ethnicities –

In Kachin state, some 100,000 people have been forced into displacement camps by heavy fighting between local rebels and the national army, which erupted in 2011 when a 17-year ceasefire crumbled.

The unrest has increasingly spread to various parts of northern Shan state, where last week the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) also accused the army of using helicopter gunships to attack its positions.

Myanmar, which has more than 130 recognised ethnic minorities, has suffered the world’s longest civil war, with pockets of unrest breaking out soon after independence in 1948.

The army, which seized power in 1962, used the unrest as a justification for its iron-fisted rule and has been accused of widespread human rights abuses in border areas, where tussles over abundant resources have further fuelled fighting.

Observers say a well-trailed general election, expected for late 2015, adds urgency to the talks

Dozens of Myanmar troops killed fighting northern rebels

Posted by Sylvester No comments

Heavy fighting between Myanmar’s army and rebels has killed 47 soldiers, state media said Friday, sending a flood of people across the border with China and overshadowing hopes for a national ceasefire as a crucial election looms.

Myanmar has informed Beijing about the clashes, which have raged since February 9, according to the Global New Light of Myanmar, marking a dramatic resurgence of conflict with largely ethnic Chinese rebels in the Kokang region in Shan State.

The flaring of a conflict which had been largely dormant for six years, is an ominous sign for the government as it attempts to forge a comprehensive ceasefire deal with the country’s myriad ethnic armed groups — a deal it says is essential to embed reforms and drive development.

Kokang fighters with “heavy weapons including anti-aircraft machine guns” attempted to capture the region’s capital Laukkai, just a few miles from the Chinese border, but were repelled by the army, state media said.

“So far, the fighting has left government forces with 47 dead, 73 wounded and five vehicles destroyed,” said the English language report.

It is unclear what provoked the latest round of violence, which was announced as the nation celebrated the 100th anniversary of the birth of independence hero Aung San — the father of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi — who is lauded for backing political autonomy for ethnic areas.

But the intensity of the fighting sent people fleeing from the remote, mountainous wedge of land across the frontier into China.

“China has provided them with necessary humanitarian assistance. As soon at the situation subsides, they will return to Myanmar,” Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Friday, without estimating the number of those affected.

– No end in sight –

Myanmar’s army, which has rarely admitted to such large casualties in the past, launched five rounds of airstrikes in its assault on the Kokang fighters, state media reports said, detailing a litany of attacks by the rebels including the “shelling” of a military base in the Kongyan area.

Independent analyst Richard Horsey said the fighting was likely to continue.

“Having suffered such significant loses, local commanders are not going to want to give up on this one,” he told AFP.

He said that the description of the rebels as “renegades” in state media could be an effort by the government to distinguish between the Kokang fighters and the ethnic armed groups at the negotiating table.

Myanmar’s quasi-civilian regime, which took power in 2011 after decades of military rule, has put ending the country’s ethnic minority conflicts at the heart of its reform drive.

But conflict between the military and armed groups is also raging in other parts of Shan and northern Kachin states, undermining the government’s efforts.

It had hoped to sign a deal on Thursday, as the country celebrated its annual Union Day celebrations in Naypyidaw.

Instead, the government, military and some ethnic groups penned a commitment to continue talks, laying out an aim to build a union “based on democratic and federal principles”.

Experts say the inclusion of the federal ideal, a key demand of ethnic minorities, marks a watershed in the negotiations because the army had resisted signing up to any deal on federalism until now.

– Patchwork of ethnicities –

In Kachin state, some 100,000 people have been forced into displacement camps by heavy fighting between local rebels and the national army, which erupted in 2011 when a 17-year ceasefire crumbled.

The unrest has increasingly spread to various parts of northern Shan state, where last week the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) also accused the army of using helicopter gunships to attack its positions.

Myanmar, which has more than 130 recognised ethnic minorities, has suffered the world’s longest civil war, with pockets of unrest breaking out soon after independence in 1948.

The army, which seized power in 1962, used the unrest as a justification for its iron-fisted rule and has been accused of widespread human rights abuses in border areas, where tussles over abundant resources have further fuelled fighting.

Observers say a well-trailed general election, expected for late 2015, adds urgency to the talks

Sierra Leone locks down 700 homes after Ebola death

Sierra Leone placed hundreds of homes in the capital under Ebola quarantine on Friday, in a huge blow to its recovery less than a month after lifting travel restrictions.

“Some 700 homes have been quarantined for 21 days in the tourism and fishing community of Aberdeen in the west of the capital Freetown, after the death of a fisherman who was later diagnosed Ebola positive,” said Obi Sesay of the government’s National Ebola Response Centre.

The west African nation of six million had seen almost 11,000 cases and 3,363 deaths during the epidemic which has raged in west Africa for more than a year.

This new struggle with the disease comes less than a month after President Ernest Bai Koroma pointed to a “steady downward trend” in new cases and lifted country-wide quarantines and travel bans.

When ending the measures, which impacted half the population, on January 23 the president said “victory is in sight”.

But optimism that the worst was over gave way to renewed concern on Wednesday as the World Health Organization (WHO) reported the number of new confirmed cases rising across Sierra Leone and Guinea for the second week running.

Transmission remains “widespread” in Sierra Leone, which reported 76 new confirmed cases in the week to February 8, according to the WHO.

“Twenty or more confirmed cases have been discovered in the last few days and we have opened a control centre to deal with the crisis,” Sesay told reporters.

“We are on top of the situation and people should not panic.”

Sesay said the Aberdeen area, which includes the popular Lumley Beach tourist resort, had been “flooded” with surveillance officers and contact tracers to ensure the death didn’t turn into a serious outbreak.

Sierra Leone locks down 700 homes after Ebola death

Posted by Sylvester No comments

Sierra Leone placed hundreds of homes in the capital under Ebola quarantine on Friday, in a huge blow to its recovery less than a month after lifting travel restrictions.

“Some 700 homes have been quarantined for 21 days in the tourism and fishing community of Aberdeen in the west of the capital Freetown, after the death of a fisherman who was later diagnosed Ebola positive,” said Obi Sesay of the government’s National Ebola Response Centre.

The west African nation of six million had seen almost 11,000 cases and 3,363 deaths during the epidemic which has raged in west Africa for more than a year.

This new struggle with the disease comes less than a month after President Ernest Bai Koroma pointed to a “steady downward trend” in new cases and lifted country-wide quarantines and travel bans.

When ending the measures, which impacted half the population, on January 23 the president said “victory is in sight”.

But optimism that the worst was over gave way to renewed concern on Wednesday as the World Health Organization (WHO) reported the number of new confirmed cases rising across Sierra Leone and Guinea for the second week running.

Transmission remains “widespread” in Sierra Leone, which reported 76 new confirmed cases in the week to February 8, according to the WHO.

“Twenty or more confirmed cases have been discovered in the last few days and we have opened a control centre to deal with the crisis,” Sesay told reporters.

“We are on top of the situation and people should not panic.”

Sesay said the Aberdeen area, which includes the popular Lumley Beach tourist resort, had been “flooded” with surveillance officers and contact tracers to ensure the death didn’t turn into a serious outbreak.

NFF-Why Keshi should stay

As Nigerians await the appointment of a substantive coach for the senior national team the Super Eagles, chairman of the technical committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Chief Anynsi Agwu says his committee had passed its recommendations on the reappointment of Stephen Keshi to the executive committee of the federation.

Speaking to journalists yesterday after his committee’s meeting, Chief Agwu said a coach for Super Eagles will be named before the friendly matches scheduled for the FIFA free window in March.
He observed that since Keshi had done a lot for the country in the past, there is nothing wrong in sticking with him.

On reports that Stephen Keshi had complained that he rarely gets information from the NFF in respect of his alleged unpaid wages as well as his supposed employment as the coach of the national team, Agwu denied the reports, saying that the federation held the former international in high esteem even as he agreed that a man who has worked deserves his wages.

“I have been communicating with Keshi, in fact he is a personal friend and we have been working together. I also want to tell you that I am more anxious than you people are in this quest to get a coach for our national team”.

The chairman of Enyimba International, however, refused to disclose whether the discussion of the technical committee centred solely on Keshi or some other coaches were also discussed, even as he insisted that the job was always open to every qualified Nigerian.

NFF-Why Keshi should stay

Posted by Sylvester No comments

As Nigerians await the appointment of a substantive coach for the senior national team the Super Eagles, chairman of the technical committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Chief Anynsi Agwu says his committee had passed its recommendations on the reappointment of Stephen Keshi to the executive committee of the federation.

Speaking to journalists yesterday after his committee’s meeting, Chief Agwu said a coach for Super Eagles will be named before the friendly matches scheduled for the FIFA free window in March.
He observed that since Keshi had done a lot for the country in the past, there is nothing wrong in sticking with him.

On reports that Stephen Keshi had complained that he rarely gets information from the NFF in respect of his alleged unpaid wages as well as his supposed employment as the coach of the national team, Agwu denied the reports, saying that the federation held the former international in high esteem even as he agreed that a man who has worked deserves his wages.

“I have been communicating with Keshi, in fact he is a personal friend and we have been working together. I also want to tell you that I am more anxious than you people are in this quest to get a coach for our national team”.

The chairman of Enyimba International, however, refused to disclose whether the discussion of the technical committee centred solely on Keshi or some other coaches were also discussed, even as he insisted that the job was always open to every qualified Nigerian.

Can Nigeria Forgive NFA If Super Eagles Fails To Quilify For AFCON 2017?

Abuja – Bala Ka’oje, a former Sports Minister, says Nigerians will not forgive football administrators in the country if the country fails to qualify for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

Ka’oje said on Tuesday in Abuja that Nigerian football administrators have had so much to learn from the Ivorians’ victory at the 2015 AFCON.

Nigeria, the 2013 winners, failed to qualify for the 2015 edition which Cote d’Ivoire won on Sunday in Equatorial Guinea.

However, Ka’oje, while reflecting on the championship, said there would be no forgiveness for the Nigerian football administrators if the AFCON ticket eluded the country the second time in a row.

“I believe that the football administrators have learnt something from the victory of the Ivorians at the just-concluded AFCON.

“The victory of the Ivorians and the performance of the Ghanaian team show that there is a very good working relationship between the players and the administrators of the game in their respective countries.

“So, I expect that our own administrators have learnt something because the relationship between the players and the administrators is key to success,’’ he said.

The former minister said time has come for football administrators to re-assess themselves, especially as it concerns the now regular leadership crisis in the Nigeria Football Association (NFA).

Ka’oje said the leadership crisis was capable of denying the country the AFCON 2017 ticket if it was not resolved before the commencement of the qualifying campaign.

“The leadership crisis will affect our qualifying campaign if it is not resolved soon. This is the best time the characters involved should come together.

“Nobody cares to consult us. They believe they know it all and if this is not resolved we may not qualify again.

“Those in charge of sports and football in particular should sit up and take up the challenge, because we don’t want to hear any excuse if we do not qualify for 2017 AFCON,’’ he said.

Ka’oje urged football administrators to always do the right thing to guarantee a better performance from the players at all times.

He also advised players to show commitment and determination during national assignments.

“It was those qualities which made Cote d’Ivoire to win the 2015 AFCON trophy.

“The game ended up with penalty kicks, and it was clear that determination was at play on both sides.

“So, when we look at the issue of determination, it is clear again that this is what we are lacking in our team in Nigeria.

“Our players need to know that they are representing their country whenever they are on national assignments and that the country needed nothing else from them other than commitment.

“They must learn from the Ivorian players and improve on the way they play for their country,’’ he said.(NAN)

Can Nigeria Forgive NFA If Super Eagles Fails To Quilify For AFCON 2017?

Posted by Sylvester No comments

Abuja – Bala Ka’oje, a former Sports Minister, says Nigerians will not forgive football administrators in the country if the country fails to qualify for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

Ka’oje said on Tuesday in Abuja that Nigerian football administrators have had so much to learn from the Ivorians’ victory at the 2015 AFCON.

Nigeria, the 2013 winners, failed to qualify for the 2015 edition which Cote d’Ivoire won on Sunday in Equatorial Guinea.

However, Ka’oje, while reflecting on the championship, said there would be no forgiveness for the Nigerian football administrators if the AFCON ticket eluded the country the second time in a row.

“I believe that the football administrators have learnt something from the victory of the Ivorians at the just-concluded AFCON.

“The victory of the Ivorians and the performance of the Ghanaian team show that there is a very good working relationship between the players and the administrators of the game in their respective countries.

“So, I expect that our own administrators have learnt something because the relationship between the players and the administrators is key to success,’’ he said.

The former minister said time has come for football administrators to re-assess themselves, especially as it concerns the now regular leadership crisis in the Nigeria Football Association (NFA).

Ka’oje said the leadership crisis was capable of denying the country the AFCON 2017 ticket if it was not resolved before the commencement of the qualifying campaign.

“The leadership crisis will affect our qualifying campaign if it is not resolved soon. This is the best time the characters involved should come together.

“Nobody cares to consult us. They believe they know it all and if this is not resolved we may not qualify again.

“Those in charge of sports and football in particular should sit up and take up the challenge, because we don’t want to hear any excuse if we do not qualify for 2017 AFCON,’’ he said.

Ka’oje urged football administrators to always do the right thing to guarantee a better performance from the players at all times.

He also advised players to show commitment and determination during national assignments.

“It was those qualities which made Cote d’Ivoire to win the 2015 AFCON trophy.

“The game ended up with penalty kicks, and it was clear that determination was at play on both sides.

“So, when we look at the issue of determination, it is clear again that this is what we are lacking in our team in Nigeria.

“Our players need to know that they are representing their country whenever they are on national assignments and that the country needed nothing else from them other than commitment.

“They must learn from the Ivorian players and improve on the way they play for their country,’’ he said.(NAN)

Ex-militants chase away APC senatorial campaign team in Delta

WARRI—Reformed militants in Delta State, led by “General” Goddey Smith, aka Bounanawei, King of the Forest, have barred the All Progressives Congress, APC, from campaigning in the riverine Burutu Local Government Area of the state.
Vanguard learned that the former militants chased away a senatorial candidate of the party, Mr. Temisan Omatseye, from the area on Monday.

“No party other than the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is allowed to campaign in the locality,” the ex-militants were quoted as saying.

Mr. Omatseye confirmed that he was harassed by ex-militants when contacted by Vanguard, but Mr. Yemi Emiko, who maintained that he was the bonafide Delta South senatorial candidate of the party, said, “Omatseye is not known by the APC in Delta State as a senatorial candidate, I am the candidate of the party.”

Omatseye said he and his entourage were harassed and told to leave Burutu Rivers, adding that the ex-militants did not hurt them, but escorted them back to Warri.

He disputed the claim by Emiko that he was not the senatorial candidate of the party, adding that the legitimate candidate would be decided by the court.

The ex-militants reportedly seized video camera and other gadgets from Omatseye and his entourage and advised them to vacate in his own interest.

Bounanawei said: “I want to warn categorically clear that no political party in Nigeria, apart from the Peoples Democratic Party will be allowed to campaign in Delta riverine communities.”

Ex-militants chase away APC senatorial campaign team in Delta

Posted by Sylvester No comments

WARRI—Reformed militants in Delta State, led by “General” Goddey Smith, aka Bounanawei, King of the Forest, have barred the All Progressives Congress, APC, from campaigning in the riverine Burutu Local Government Area of the state.
Vanguard learned that the former militants chased away a senatorial candidate of the party, Mr. Temisan Omatseye, from the area on Monday.

“No party other than the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is allowed to campaign in the locality,” the ex-militants were quoted as saying.

Mr. Omatseye confirmed that he was harassed by ex-militants when contacted by Vanguard, but Mr. Yemi Emiko, who maintained that he was the bonafide Delta South senatorial candidate of the party, said, “Omatseye is not known by the APC in Delta State as a senatorial candidate, I am the candidate of the party.”

Omatseye said he and his entourage were harassed and told to leave Burutu Rivers, adding that the ex-militants did not hurt them, but escorted them back to Warri.

He disputed the claim by Emiko that he was not the senatorial candidate of the party, adding that the legitimate candidate would be decided by the court.

The ex-militants reportedly seized video camera and other gadgets from Omatseye and his entourage and advised them to vacate in his own interest.

Bounanawei said: “I want to warn categorically clear that no political party in Nigeria, apart from the Peoples Democratic Party will be allowed to campaign in Delta riverine communities.”

OBJ Warns of Military Coup, Declares Support for Buhari

Baba has finally taken his stand after refusing to join the campaign of Goodluck Jonathan for deceiving in 2010 that he would spend only six years in office if Baba Olusegun Obasanjo can support him to get the PDP ticket to complete the tenure of late President Umaru Yar'Adua.

Obasanjo has thus declared his support for the presidential candidate of the APC, Muhammadu Buhari.

Obasanjo, who is a member of the PDP, declared his support for Buhari during an interview with the Financial Times at the launch of his autobiography titled, ‘My Watch’, in Nairobi, Kenya.

Obasanjo said: “The circumstances he (Buhari) will be working under if he wins the elections are different from the one he worked under before, where he was both the executive and the legislature – he knows that. He is smart enough. He is educated enough. He’s experienced enough. Why shouldn’t I support him?”

He said Buhari, who ruled Nigeria between December 1983 and August 1985, was aware of the urgency of the moment to salvage Nigeria and he is confident that Buhari will make Nigerians proud.

Obasanjo said he is sure that Buhari would be able to effectively tackle corruption and insecurity.

The former President said Buhari would restore the morale of the military which, he said, was needed in the fight against terrorism.

He said President Goodluck Jonathan betrayed the armed forces by allowing corruption to undermine their operations.

He said, “It is a question of leadership – political and military. I think you need to ask Jonathan how he let the army go to this extent. Many things went wrong: recruitment went wrong; training went wrong; morale went down; motivation was not there; corruption was deeply ingrained; and welfare was bad.”

Reacting to the postponement of the elections, Obasanjo said, “I sincerely hope that the President is not going for broke and saying ‘look dammit, it’s either I have it or nobody has it’. I hope that we will not have a coup. I hope we can avoid it.”

OBJ Warns of Military Coup, Declares Support for Buhari

Posted by Sylvester No comments

Baba has finally taken his stand after refusing to join the campaign of Goodluck Jonathan for deceiving in 2010 that he would spend only six years in office if Baba Olusegun Obasanjo can support him to get the PDP ticket to complete the tenure of late President Umaru Yar'Adua.

Obasanjo has thus declared his support for the presidential candidate of the APC, Muhammadu Buhari.

Obasanjo, who is a member of the PDP, declared his support for Buhari during an interview with the Financial Times at the launch of his autobiography titled, ‘My Watch’, in Nairobi, Kenya.

Obasanjo said: “The circumstances he (Buhari) will be working under if he wins the elections are different from the one he worked under before, where he was both the executive and the legislature – he knows that. He is smart enough. He is educated enough. He’s experienced enough. Why shouldn’t I support him?”

He said Buhari, who ruled Nigeria between December 1983 and August 1985, was aware of the urgency of the moment to salvage Nigeria and he is confident that Buhari will make Nigerians proud.

Obasanjo said he is sure that Buhari would be able to effectively tackle corruption and insecurity.

The former President said Buhari would restore the morale of the military which, he said, was needed in the fight against terrorism.

He said President Goodluck Jonathan betrayed the armed forces by allowing corruption to undermine their operations.

He said, “It is a question of leadership – political and military. I think you need to ask Jonathan how he let the army go to this extent. Many things went wrong: recruitment went wrong; training went wrong; morale went down; motivation was not there; corruption was deeply ingrained; and welfare was bad.”

Reacting to the postponement of the elections, Obasanjo said, “I sincerely hope that the President is not going for broke and saying ‘look dammit, it’s either I have it or nobody has it’. I hope that we will not have a coup. I hope we can avoid it.”

From Stock Market To Weddings, Vote Delay Wreaks Havoc

The band was booked, invitations had been sent to 500 guests and two caterers hired to prepare a range of local specialities, including jollof rice and pounded yam.

Agnes Adedipe, a 28-year-old resident of Nigeria’s largest city Lagos, thought her March 28 wedding was coming together: then national elections were postponed to the same date.

“I am confused, angry and completely lost,” she told AFP.

Nigeria’s widely-criticised decision at the weekend to postpone the polls by six weeks because of violence by Islamist group Boko Haram has reverberated around the country.

The political uncertainty has further hurt an economy already hit by low global oil prices and led to warnings of a looming constitutional crisis.

But that offered little comfort to Adedipe, who sobbed as she contemplated reorganising her wedding in just six weeks.

Election day in Nigeria — initially scheduled for February 14 — is a public holiday and movement is restricted because of heightened tension and the prospect of unrest.

In short, it’s not an ideal day for a 500-person wedding and Adedipe will be forced to reschedule.

“This postponement has ruined my marriage plan,” she said.

– Nation on standby –

The National Security Agency (NSA) pushed for the vote delay on grounds that all available military personnel were deploying to the northeast to fight Boko Haram insurgents and would not be able to provide security on polling day.

Electoral commission chairman Attahiru Jega insisted he was ready for February 14 but ultimately yielded to the NSA guidance, leading to claims that he caved in to ruling party pressure.

President Goodluck Jonathan was facing a tough challenge from former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, prompting claims that Jonathan loyalists desperately wanted more time to revive his campaign.

Nigeria’s economy, the largest in Africa and driven by crude exports, has been hammered by the slide in global oil prices and the election delay has only made things worse.

The naira currency hit a record low on Wednesday (203.1 against the US dollar) leading to concern that an extended period of political limbo will have wider consequences.

Razia Khan, head of Africa research at Standard Chartered, warned of “additional uncertainty” caused by the campaign extension and said needed policy adjustments to cope with falling oil prices could be delayed.

The stock market has also been depressed by a political environment “riddled with uncertainty and negativity”, added Gabriel Ilori Akinyemi, managing director of Valmon Securities in Lagos.

– Constitutional crisis? –

Buhari’s All Progressives Congress (APC) party has fiercely criticised the decision to delay the vote, highlighting clear inconsistencies in the concerns expressed by the NSA.

Last month, the agency’s main issue was difficulty in distributing voter cards, while last week security concerns had become the new focus.

The Boko Haram conflict has been raging for six years and while voting was always going to be complicated in the group’s northeastern stronghold, the military had previously said nothing about problems securing polling stations nationwide.

The APC said that “any further postponement can only lead to a constitutional crisis” and recalled the damage done by a similar crisis following 1993 polls.

Nigerians had hoped that vote, which the popular business tycoon Moshood Abiola was on track to win, would end a long period of devastating military rule.

Military ruler Ibrahim Babangida had other ideas and cancelled the ballot counting, which sparked months of uncertainty that ultimately saw brutal army general Sani Abacha take power for four years.

Lagos-based human rights lawyer Jiti Ogunye said Saturday’s postponement showed Nigerians that the supposedly independent election body could be “forced by the state to cow-tow and subvert the democratic will of the citizenry”.

He voiced concern that public confidence in elections would be further undermined as March 28 approaches.

As she tries to salvage her wedding plans, Adedipe may take comfort in the fact that her fiance is also familiar with political uncertainty, constitutional chaos and deadly unrest.

Her husband-to-be is currently based in Ukraine.

From Stock Market To Weddings, Vote Delay Wreaks Havoc

Posted by Sylvester No comments

The band was booked, invitations had been sent to 500 guests and two caterers hired to prepare a range of local specialities, including jollof rice and pounded yam.

Agnes Adedipe, a 28-year-old resident of Nigeria’s largest city Lagos, thought her March 28 wedding was coming together: then national elections were postponed to the same date.

“I am confused, angry and completely lost,” she told AFP.

Nigeria’s widely-criticised decision at the weekend to postpone the polls by six weeks because of violence by Islamist group Boko Haram has reverberated around the country.

The political uncertainty has further hurt an economy already hit by low global oil prices and led to warnings of a looming constitutional crisis.

But that offered little comfort to Adedipe, who sobbed as she contemplated reorganising her wedding in just six weeks.

Election day in Nigeria — initially scheduled for February 14 — is a public holiday and movement is restricted because of heightened tension and the prospect of unrest.

In short, it’s not an ideal day for a 500-person wedding and Adedipe will be forced to reschedule.

“This postponement has ruined my marriage plan,” she said.

– Nation on standby –

The National Security Agency (NSA) pushed for the vote delay on grounds that all available military personnel were deploying to the northeast to fight Boko Haram insurgents and would not be able to provide security on polling day.

Electoral commission chairman Attahiru Jega insisted he was ready for February 14 but ultimately yielded to the NSA guidance, leading to claims that he caved in to ruling party pressure.

President Goodluck Jonathan was facing a tough challenge from former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, prompting claims that Jonathan loyalists desperately wanted more time to revive his campaign.

Nigeria’s economy, the largest in Africa and driven by crude exports, has been hammered by the slide in global oil prices and the election delay has only made things worse.

The naira currency hit a record low on Wednesday (203.1 against the US dollar) leading to concern that an extended period of political limbo will have wider consequences.

Razia Khan, head of Africa research at Standard Chartered, warned of “additional uncertainty” caused by the campaign extension and said needed policy adjustments to cope with falling oil prices could be delayed.

The stock market has also been depressed by a political environment “riddled with uncertainty and negativity”, added Gabriel Ilori Akinyemi, managing director of Valmon Securities in Lagos.

– Constitutional crisis? –

Buhari’s All Progressives Congress (APC) party has fiercely criticised the decision to delay the vote, highlighting clear inconsistencies in the concerns expressed by the NSA.

Last month, the agency’s main issue was difficulty in distributing voter cards, while last week security concerns had become the new focus.

The Boko Haram conflict has been raging for six years and while voting was always going to be complicated in the group’s northeastern stronghold, the military had previously said nothing about problems securing polling stations nationwide.

The APC said that “any further postponement can only lead to a constitutional crisis” and recalled the damage done by a similar crisis following 1993 polls.

Nigerians had hoped that vote, which the popular business tycoon Moshood Abiola was on track to win, would end a long period of devastating military rule.

Military ruler Ibrahim Babangida had other ideas and cancelled the ballot counting, which sparked months of uncertainty that ultimately saw brutal army general Sani Abacha take power for four years.

Lagos-based human rights lawyer Jiti Ogunye said Saturday’s postponement showed Nigerians that the supposedly independent election body could be “forced by the state to cow-tow and subvert the democratic will of the citizenry”.

He voiced concern that public confidence in elections would be further undermined as March 28 approaches.

As she tries to salvage her wedding plans, Adedipe may take comfort in the fact that her fiance is also familiar with political uncertainty, constitutional chaos and deadly unrest.

Her husband-to-be is currently based in Ukraine.

SURPRISE: Presidency Don't Want INEC To Use Card Readers

Clearly, something is wrong and some people are determined to destroy the platform for free and fair election. Why should anyone reject the use of card readers which can check multiple voting and other forms of election rigging? DailyNew9ja  observed that this is not the way to go, not at this stage.

In the issues of PVC, most people in the North are casual and individual workers, who can leave their place of work at anytime to go and collect their PVC, but in Lagos and other major cities in the South, most people work in companies and offices where it is difficult to take excuse(s) to go for PVC.

Get the drift? It is easy for more people to collect their PVCs in the North than in the South, simple!

But sadly, indications have emerged that the Presidency and the PDP were already commencing tactics aimed at frustrating the decision of INEC to make use of card readers for the 2015 elections...

Investigations by DailyNew9ja on Monday and Tuesday, indicated that the PDP and the Presidency were already looking at the possibility of mobilising people to demand that card readers be no used for election.

This is coming as a former Chairman of the PDP, who is now a chieftain of the APC, Chief Audu Ogbeh, said there were signs that the PDP was not interested in holding the elections at all.

Rather, Ogbeh said the party was still hell-bent on foisting interim government on Nigeria.

A source in the Presidency, who spoke on condition of anonymity in Abuja on Tuesday, said that both the Presidency and some members of the National Working Committee of PDP had been asked to continue to either condemn the use of the card readers for the elections or also that the commission be told to allow Nigerians to use the Temporary Voter Card instead of PVC for the election.

He said, “We are not comfortable with the card readers. For example, we have not seen any and we don’t know how it works.

“What will happen if the card readers fail to work? We have not even been told that they would not fail. And if they fail, what would happen. I think the issue of card readers must be re-examined.”

But INEC had insisted that card readers would be used for accreditation to verify genuine voters.

The device would eliminate impersonation and voting by proxy during the elections.

SURPRISE: Presidency Don't Want INEC To Use Card Readers

Posted by Sylvester No comments

Clearly, something is wrong and some people are determined to destroy the platform for free and fair election. Why should anyone reject the use of card readers which can check multiple voting and other forms of election rigging? DailyNew9ja  observed that this is not the way to go, not at this stage.

In the issues of PVC, most people in the North are casual and individual workers, who can leave their place of work at anytime to go and collect their PVC, but in Lagos and other major cities in the South, most people work in companies and offices where it is difficult to take excuse(s) to go for PVC.

Get the drift? It is easy for more people to collect their PVCs in the North than in the South, simple!

But sadly, indications have emerged that the Presidency and the PDP were already commencing tactics aimed at frustrating the decision of INEC to make use of card readers for the 2015 elections...

Investigations by DailyNew9ja on Monday and Tuesday, indicated that the PDP and the Presidency were already looking at the possibility of mobilising people to demand that card readers be no used for election.

This is coming as a former Chairman of the PDP, who is now a chieftain of the APC, Chief Audu Ogbeh, said there were signs that the PDP was not interested in holding the elections at all.

Rather, Ogbeh said the party was still hell-bent on foisting interim government on Nigeria.

A source in the Presidency, who spoke on condition of anonymity in Abuja on Tuesday, said that both the Presidency and some members of the National Working Committee of PDP had been asked to continue to either condemn the use of the card readers for the elections or also that the commission be told to allow Nigerians to use the Temporary Voter Card instead of PVC for the election.

He said, “We are not comfortable with the card readers. For example, we have not seen any and we don’t know how it works.

“What will happen if the card readers fail to work? We have not even been told that they would not fail. And if they fail, what would happen. I think the issue of card readers must be re-examined.”

But INEC had insisted that card readers would be used for accreditation to verify genuine voters.

The device would eliminate impersonation and voting by proxy during the elections.

Court Jails Islamists on Terrorism Charges In Belgian

A Belgian court on Wednesday jailed the leader of an Islamist group and several of his followers on terrorism charges for sending jihadist fighters to Syria.

Fouad Belkacem, the chief of the Sharia4Belgium group, was sentenced to 12 years in prison by the court in the northern port city of Antwerp.

“Belkacem is responsible for the radicalisation of young men to prepare them for Salafist combat, which has at its core no place for democratic values,” the judge said.

“Sharia4Belgium recruited these young men for armed combat and organised their departure for Syria.”

Prosecutors had filed terrorism charges against 46 members of the group in total but only nine were present for the five-month trial, with the rest believed to be in Syria.

Security was tight at the court for the verdict, which came a month after two suspected militants were killed in Belgium during a huge anti-terror operation.

Belgium is the European country that has produced the most jihadist fighters relative to its population size.

Court Jails Islamists on Terrorism Charges In Belgian

Posted by Sylvester No comments

A Belgian court on Wednesday jailed the leader of an Islamist group and several of his followers on terrorism charges for sending jihadist fighters to Syria.

Fouad Belkacem, the chief of the Sharia4Belgium group, was sentenced to 12 years in prison by the court in the northern port city of Antwerp.

“Belkacem is responsible for the radicalisation of young men to prepare them for Salafist combat, which has at its core no place for democratic values,” the judge said.

“Sharia4Belgium recruited these young men for armed combat and organised their departure for Syria.”

Prosecutors had filed terrorism charges against 46 members of the group in total but only nine were present for the five-month trial, with the rest believed to be in Syria.

Security was tight at the court for the verdict, which came a month after two suspected militants were killed in Belgium during a huge anti-terror operation.

Belgium is the European country that has produced the most jihadist fighters relative to its population size.

Boko Haram attack Chad troops in Nigerian border town – military

Militants from the Boko Haram Islamist movement attacked Chadian troops stationed in a Nigerian border town before dawn on Wednesday before being repulsed, a Chadian military source said.

“The Boko Haram elements wanted to surprise us by attacking at about 4 am (0300 GMT). We were aware about it from the day before and were prepared,” the military source told AFP.

The attack took place in Gamboru on Nigeria’s border with Cameroon, where Chadian troops are deployed to help in the complex regional battle against Boko Haram have taken up positions.

“They arrived with 14 vehicles and two armoured vehicles. We repulsed them and they retreated,” the source said. “A helicopter was brought in to join the pursuit and destroy them.”

Last week Nigeria and its neighbours — Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Benin — agreed to muster 8,700 troops, police and civilians for a wider African Union-backed force against Boko Haram.

Boko Haram launched an insurgency in Nigeria in 2009 that has now claimed the lives of more than 13,000

Boko Haram attack Chad troops in Nigerian border town – military

Posted by Sylvester No comments

Militants from the Boko Haram Islamist movement attacked Chadian troops stationed in a Nigerian border town before dawn on Wednesday before being repulsed, a Chadian military source said.

“The Boko Haram elements wanted to surprise us by attacking at about 4 am (0300 GMT). We were aware about it from the day before and were prepared,” the military source told AFP.

The attack took place in Gamboru on Nigeria’s border with Cameroon, where Chadian troops are deployed to help in the complex regional battle against Boko Haram have taken up positions.

“They arrived with 14 vehicles and two armoured vehicles. We repulsed them and they retreated,” the source said. “A helicopter was brought in to join the pursuit and destroy them.”

Last week Nigeria and its neighbours — Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Benin — agreed to muster 8,700 troops, police and civilians for a wider African Union-backed force against Boko Haram.

Boko Haram launched an insurgency in Nigeria in 2009 that has now claimed the lives of more than 13,000

Why I Slept With My 11-Year-Old Daughter — Confession of a Father

How will you feel as a mother if your husband  sexually abuses your innocent daughter? This is the question a woman in Bauchi State is trying to come to terms with, as her husband, Abubakar Magaji, a resident of Liman Kagum in Bauchi local government, did the abominable act of having carnal knowledge of their 11-year-old daughter. 

Abubaka Magaji

More shocking is the fact that it was not a one-act misadventure but a repeated one. But like a popular saying has it: Many days for a thief and one day for the owner, nemesis eventually caught up with the 45-year-old father when he was arrested and  paraded along with others at the Bauchi State command for rape.

When VM sought to know why Abubakar will abuse his own child  sexually, he confessed he was tempted by the devil. He added that he could not resist defiling his daughter when his wife left him because of a misunderstanding between them.

Questions from journalists

The father of four who was ashamed to lift his head while answering questions from journalists said: “I engaged in the ugly act because I had a misunderstanding with my wife and she left me. I am ashamed  of my self because it was temptation that led me to do it.

“I divorced her mother and married another wife but unfortunately  my wife also left me a month ago  so I needed a woman to be with; so that was why I did it. I also have a problem with my sexual libido. It is so terrible that I desire any woman I see, but what stops me from approaching them is that people respect me as a married man. So I felt the only way I could relieve my sexual tension was to sleep with my daughter, since she is so young and had no knowledge about sex.

“It was after I defiled her and I was arrested by the police that I understood the gravity of my offence. I can’t imagine that I did this to my own daughter. I regret my actions and I pray that God will forgive me”.

When VM visited the residence of the suspect at Liman Katagum, a suburb of Bauchi metropolis,  a neighbour to Abubakar who did not disclose his name, said that he was shocked to hear that Abubakar was arrested by  the police because he defiled his daughter. According to him: “ I was shocked when I discovered that Mallam Abubakar who I had a lot of respect for will stoop that low and sleep with an 11-year-old child that happens to be his daughter.

“This is the highest level of abomination and Islam is against such an act. No matter the excuse, a man does not have the right to defile a girl outside the confines of marriage. This is unacceptable and he deserves to be punished by the law”.

He called for severe punitive measures to be carried on rapists in the country, saying that will serve as a deterrent to those contemplating on engaging in such an act.

Reacting to the development, the state Commissioner of Police, Lawal,  Shehu  expressed worry over the increasing rate of rape cases in the state and vowed that all rape suspects will be charged to court and prosecuted. He said: “Since January, we have arrested over 10 suspected rapists, only this week we recorded over five cases. It is worrisome that among the suspects arrested is a 45-year-old man who raped his 11-year-old daughter and two aged men who are between 45 to 54 years who raped teenage girls of between two years and four years”.

“This is why I’m sounding a note of caution to parents,especially mothers, to always monitor the movement of their female children. I particularly want to warn mothers to be always on alert because rape is on the increase and teenagers and little children between five and fifteen years are now the victims.

“Any suspect arrested in connection with a rape case will be charged to court and be prosecuted; they should also know that the offence is not bailable. Even when  courts are on strike, the suspects will remain in detention till the strike is called off”.

Why I Slept With My 11-Year-Old Daughter — Confession of a Father

Posted by Sylvester No comments

How will you feel as a mother if your husband  sexually abuses your innocent daughter? This is the question a woman in Bauchi State is trying to come to terms with, as her husband, Abubakar Magaji, a resident of Liman Kagum in Bauchi local government, did the abominable act of having carnal knowledge of their 11-year-old daughter. 

Abubaka Magaji

More shocking is the fact that it was not a one-act misadventure but a repeated one. But like a popular saying has it: Many days for a thief and one day for the owner, nemesis eventually caught up with the 45-year-old father when he was arrested and  paraded along with others at the Bauchi State command for rape.

When VM sought to know why Abubakar will abuse his own child  sexually, he confessed he was tempted by the devil. He added that he could not resist defiling his daughter when his wife left him because of a misunderstanding between them.

Questions from journalists

The father of four who was ashamed to lift his head while answering questions from journalists said: “I engaged in the ugly act because I had a misunderstanding with my wife and she left me. I am ashamed  of my self because it was temptation that led me to do it.

“I divorced her mother and married another wife but unfortunately  my wife also left me a month ago  so I needed a woman to be with; so that was why I did it. I also have a problem with my sexual libido. It is so terrible that I desire any woman I see, but what stops me from approaching them is that people respect me as a married man. So I felt the only way I could relieve my sexual tension was to sleep with my daughter, since she is so young and had no knowledge about sex.

“It was after I defiled her and I was arrested by the police that I understood the gravity of my offence. I can’t imagine that I did this to my own daughter. I regret my actions and I pray that God will forgive me”.

When VM visited the residence of the suspect at Liman Katagum, a suburb of Bauchi metropolis,  a neighbour to Abubakar who did not disclose his name, said that he was shocked to hear that Abubakar was arrested by  the police because he defiled his daughter. According to him: “ I was shocked when I discovered that Mallam Abubakar who I had a lot of respect for will stoop that low and sleep with an 11-year-old child that happens to be his daughter.

“This is the highest level of abomination and Islam is against such an act. No matter the excuse, a man does not have the right to defile a girl outside the confines of marriage. This is unacceptable and he deserves to be punished by the law”.

He called for severe punitive measures to be carried on rapists in the country, saying that will serve as a deterrent to those contemplating on engaging in such an act.

Reacting to the development, the state Commissioner of Police, Lawal,  Shehu  expressed worry over the increasing rate of rape cases in the state and vowed that all rape suspects will be charged to court and prosecuted. He said: “Since January, we have arrested over 10 suspected rapists, only this week we recorded over five cases. It is worrisome that among the suspects arrested is a 45-year-old man who raped his 11-year-old daughter and two aged men who are between 45 to 54 years who raped teenage girls of between two years and four years”.

“This is why I’m sounding a note of caution to parents,especially mothers, to always monitor the movement of their female children. I particularly want to warn mothers to be always on alert because rape is on the increase and teenagers and little children between five and fifteen years are now the victims.

“Any suspect arrested in connection with a rape case will be charged to court and be prosecuted; they should also know that the offence is not bailable. Even when  courts are on strike, the suspects will remain in detention till the strike is called off”.

Shirley Manson Blasts kanye West in an Open Letter Over Grammys’ Stunt

Recall that Kanye West pulled a stunt during the Grammys that held a couple of nights ago, walking up to the stage and launching an epic rant on Becks for winning Best Album, a category he feels Beyonce should have won – Well, Shirley Manson a rock star, wrote an open letter to the Yeezus rapper, telling him to grow up and stop acting like a kid. Read her letter below:

“It is YOU who is so busy disrespecting artistry.You disrespect your own remarkable talents and more importantly you disrespect the talent, hard work, and tenacity of all artists when you go so rudely and savagely after such an accomplished and humble artist like BECK”

“You make yourself look small and petty and spoilt. In attempting to reduce the importance of one great talent over another, you make a mockery of all musicians and music from every genre, including your own,”Grow up and stop throwing your toys around. You are making yourself look like a complete twat”

“PS. I am pretty certain Beyonce doesn’t need you fighting any battles on her account. Seems like she’s got everything covered perfectly well on her own”

What's your mind set for this?

Shirley Manson Blasts kanye West in an Open Letter Over Grammys’ Stunt

Posted by Sylvester No comments

Recall that Kanye West pulled a stunt during the Grammys that held a couple of nights ago, walking up to the stage and launching an epic rant on Becks for winning Best Album, a category he feels Beyonce should have won – Well, Shirley Manson a rock star, wrote an open letter to the Yeezus rapper, telling him to grow up and stop acting like a kid. Read her letter below:

“It is YOU who is so busy disrespecting artistry.You disrespect your own remarkable talents and more importantly you disrespect the talent, hard work, and tenacity of all artists when you go so rudely and savagely after such an accomplished and humble artist like BECK”

“You make yourself look small and petty and spoilt. In attempting to reduce the importance of one great talent over another, you make a mockery of all musicians and music from every genre, including your own,”Grow up and stop throwing your toys around. You are making yourself look like a complete twat”

“PS. I am pretty certain Beyonce doesn’t need you fighting any battles on her account. Seems like she’s got everything covered perfectly well on her own”

What's your mind set for this?

See What Daddy Showkey Saw at his Door this Morning

The awkward moment you step out of your room and find this at your door, I’m sure you are going to freak out… Well, Showkey did wake up to see this at his door this morning and he shared the photo on social media with the message:




This looks like someone was trying to prank him or what do you think?

See What Daddy Showkey Saw at his Door this Morning

Posted by Sylvester No comments

The awkward moment you step out of your room and find this at your door, I’m sure you are going to freak out… Well, Showkey did wake up to see this at his door this morning and he shared the photo on social media with the message:




This looks like someone was trying to prank him or what do you think?

President Jonathan Deserves a Second Chance – Mercy Johnson

Speaking in a recent chat with website iCampus, Nollywood actress, Mercy Johnson said she believes President Goodluck should be given a chance to return in the upcoming election… Here’s how she put it:


“He deserves another chance. This is a president who has good intentions for the nation. He is by no means a perfect man but he means well and he has apparently learnt from his weaknesses in the last four years.

We must continue to believe in this great nation of ours. Nigeria belongs to us. The president cannot do it alone. He needs our help and we should not let him down at a time like this when he needs our votes to get the job done.”

President Jonathan Deserves a Second Chance – Mercy Johnson

Posted by Sylvester No comments

Speaking in a recent chat with website iCampus, Nollywood actress, Mercy Johnson said she believes President Goodluck should be given a chance to return in the upcoming election… Here’s how she put it:


“He deserves another chance. This is a president who has good intentions for the nation. He is by no means a perfect man but he means well and he has apparently learnt from his weaknesses in the last four years.

We must continue to believe in this great nation of ours. Nigeria belongs to us. The president cannot do it alone. He needs our help and we should not let him down at a time like this when he needs our votes to get the job done.”

Camera Caught Workers Having Sex in the Office

Recently, the video of the wife of a senior manager having sex with an office junior emerged online and the office junior’s wife saw the hideous video on Facebook…

The two workers, who both work at New Zealand’s Marsh insurance firm, based in Christchurch, were seen getting frisky from in their office on Friday night – and customers at a bar across the street filmed the whole episode, as the couple enjoyed each other’s company, but made the error of leaving the lights on.

The video has since gone viral and the couple are thought to have stayed away from work. Bosses know the couple involved and have started an investigation .

But it has now emerged that the wife of the man, who is thought to have children, found out about the steamy romp on Facebook and was left distraught, UK Mirror reports.

Speaking to News Mail, a source said: “She had no idea until she came across it on Facebook on Monday night. She’s in pieces and can’t even speak to him.”

It is believed the woman in the video is in her 20s and only recently got engaged.

Camera Caught Workers Having Sex in the Office

Posted by Sylvester No comments

Recently, the video of the wife of a senior manager having sex with an office junior emerged online and the office junior’s wife saw the hideous video on Facebook…

The two workers, who both work at New Zealand’s Marsh insurance firm, based in Christchurch, were seen getting frisky from in their office on Friday night – and customers at a bar across the street filmed the whole episode, as the couple enjoyed each other’s company, but made the error of leaving the lights on.

The video has since gone viral and the couple are thought to have stayed away from work. Bosses know the couple involved and have started an investigation .

But it has now emerged that the wife of the man, who is thought to have children, found out about the steamy romp on Facebook and was left distraught, UK Mirror reports.

Speaking to News Mail, a source said: “She had no idea until she came across it on Facebook on Monday night. She’s in pieces and can’t even speak to him.”

It is believed the woman in the video is in her 20s and only recently got engaged.

Police arrest six over killing of PDP supporters in Niger

Minna—Niger State Police command has arrested six persons alleged to be part of the people that killed six Peoples Democratic Party supporters.

The incident occurred at Dogo Fadama village in Maria Council, Saturday.

The campaign team of PDP’s gubernatorial candidate, Alhaji Umar Nasko, was returning from Bangi village, when the convoy was ambushed by the hoodlums alleged to be supporters of All Progressives Congress.

Police arrest six over killing of PDP supporters in Niger

Posted by Sylvester No comments

Minna—Niger State Police command has arrested six persons alleged to be part of the people that killed six Peoples Democratic Party supporters.

The incident occurred at Dogo Fadama village in Maria Council, Saturday.

The campaign team of PDP’s gubernatorial candidate, Alhaji Umar Nasko, was returning from Bangi village, when the convoy was ambushed by the hoodlums alleged to be supporters of All Progressives Congress.

A Baby Girl Born in Hong Kong was Found to be ‘Pregnant’ with Twins

Although medical practitioners could not ascertain for sure while a baby girl, born to Chinese mainland parents in Queen Elizabeth Hospital, was pregnant with twins and had to undergo surgery at just three weeks old to remove them – There are assumptions that the fertilisation of the twin fetuses, belongs to her parents, which went to the wrong place… See full story:

According to UK Mirror:
The foetuses, 8 to 10 weeks gestated, had legs, arms, a spine, rib cage and intestines. Both were also covered in skin.

One weighed 14.2 grammes and the other 9.3 grammes – and each had an umbilical cord.

The surgery was successful and the girl was discharged from hospital eight days later.

The extraordinary medical marvel was detailed in the latest issue of the Hong Kong Medical Journal.
This is a mystery, don't you think so? 

A Baby Girl Born in Hong Kong was Found to be ‘Pregnant’ with Twins

Posted by Sylvester No comments

Although medical practitioners could not ascertain for sure while a baby girl, born to Chinese mainland parents in Queen Elizabeth Hospital, was pregnant with twins and had to undergo surgery at just three weeks old to remove them – There are assumptions that the fertilisation of the twin fetuses, belongs to her parents, which went to the wrong place… See full story:

According to UK Mirror:
The foetuses, 8 to 10 weeks gestated, had legs, arms, a spine, rib cage and intestines. Both were also covered in skin.

One weighed 14.2 grammes and the other 9.3 grammes – and each had an umbilical cord.

The surgery was successful and the girl was discharged from hospital eight days later.

The extraordinary medical marvel was detailed in the latest issue of the Hong Kong Medical Journal.
This is a mystery, don't you think so? 

Campaign Billboard Set Ablaze In Abuja

A lot of people are really upset with the polls postponement, maybe that explains why some angry unidentified man set ablaze the campaign billboard of the Peoples Democratic Party which had President Goodluck Jonathan’s photo on it, in the early hours of Saturday.

According to Punch, the incident took place following earlier rumours that the Independent National Electoral Commission had postponed the February 14, 2015 Presidential election – And the man on the ever-busy Suleija-Kaduna Expressway at the Federal Housing junction, beside the office of the National Emergency Management Agency in Kubwa drove to the billboard, parked his car, brought out a tyre and set it on fire.

But the arsonist, according to officials of NEMA, who pleaded anonymity, came back in the night and on seeing that the fire didn’t do much damage poured petrol on another tyre and set it ablaze.a

Campaign Billboard Set Ablaze In Abuja

Posted by Sylvester No comments

A lot of people are really upset with the polls postponement, maybe that explains why some angry unidentified man set ablaze the campaign billboard of the Peoples Democratic Party which had President Goodluck Jonathan’s photo on it, in the early hours of Saturday.

According to Punch, the incident took place following earlier rumours that the Independent National Electoral Commission had postponed the February 14, 2015 Presidential election – And the man on the ever-busy Suleija-Kaduna Expressway at the Federal Housing junction, beside the office of the National Emergency Management Agency in Kubwa drove to the billboard, parked his car, brought out a tyre and set it on fire.

But the arsonist, according to officials of NEMA, who pleaded anonymity, came back in the night and on seeing that the fire didn’t do much damage poured petrol on another tyre and set it ablaze.a

End of Buhari’s Presidential Candidacy

IF Nigeria is a nation of laws and of the rule of law, the presidential candidacy of Muhammadu Buhari should end this week. The reason is well-known to all. Buhari swore an oath on his INEC application that his credentials are with the military. This turned out to be a lie.
The military has come out to deny that it has Buhari’s credentials. That means Buhari committed perjury instead of fulfilling INEC requirements. For this reason, he must be disqualified from contesting the presidential election.

The matter has been taken to court and the courts should decide the matter this week. I am not a lawyer, but from my layman’s perspective, this is an open and shut case. Buhari lied willfully. As a former military secretary of the Nigerian Army, he knew that the military does not keep any credentials of its service-men. Nevertheless, he lied on oath that his credentials are with the military. He must face the penalty for this perjury. There can be debate about whether, and for how long, he should go to jail. However, there can be no question about his resultant ineligibility to contest: he must be disqualified.
To overlook this infraction is to succumb to Buhari’s appraisal that Nigeria is corrupt. If we are going to deal with corruption, we must not fail to deal with the likes of Buhari, who are contemptuous of the laws of the land. Buhari’s false affidavit is corruption. The disqualification of Buhari by the courts will be a testament to the determination of the judiciary to show zero tolerance for corruption in the coming new dispensation.

Some of us have watched APC make a song and dance about the possibility of postponing the 2015 elections. The party brought out all its big guns to tell us that the election cannot be postponed. They insisted that if it is postponed all hell would break lose. Well, the election has been postponed and nothing has happened. It has been postponed and the APC can do nothing about it. It was postponed according to the law.

Similarly, the heavens will not fall with the lawful disqualification of Buhari. Of all those APC could present as its presidential candidate, it chose a man without the appropriate credentials. APC has nobody to blame but itself for this fiasco. It has forfeited its chance of presenting a candidate for the 2015 presidential election. The contest should now be between the remaining 13 presidential candidates. Shikenan!

JEGA MUST GO IMMEDIATELY
The excuse used to force Attahiru Jega to postpone the elections is the inability to provide effective security given the insurgency in the North-East. However, there is little likelihood that the security situation will improve within the next six weeks of the postponement. So, strictly-speaking, security has nothing to do with the postponement. One major reason for the postponement was to prevent INEC from compromising the election.

INEC has long ceased to be a disinterested umpire in this election. The evidence is now overwhelming that INEC is determined to bias the election in favour of Muhammadu Buhari and the APC. This is evident in INEC’s determination to go ahead with the election in spite of the fact that out of 68 million registered voters, over 20 million have yet to receive their permanent voter’s cards (PVCs).

It is remarkable that, in announcing the postponement, Jega conveniently forgot to mention the nagging issue of the inadequacies of INEC in providing voters with their PVCs. It is also remarkable that Jega briefed the Council of State that INEC was ready to conduct the elections. This was one big lie. You cannot be ready to conduct elections when there is a cacophony of complaints, especially in the South, that people are unable to claim their PVCs. Given the time it took INEC to distribute 40 million PVCs, it could not have realistically expected to be able to distribute the outstanding 20 million in just one week?

INEC rigmarole
What is even more sinister is INEC’s willful determination to disenfranchise select geopolitical regions which represent areas of strength for Goodluck Jonathan. Credible Alternative Alliance, an independent political interest organization led by former Kaduna State governor, Balarabe Musa, observed in INEC activities: “a criminal gross disparity of voter spread designed to tilt the election to a pre-determined outcome.”

It said: “Voters in the zones that tend to support President Goodluck Jonathan are massively disenfranchised by the application of the so-called PVCs debacle, 40% to 50% of voters in these regions who are lawfully and duly registered to vote will be denied their right to vote by INEC. That is nearly half of the support base of the President, simply nullified by administrative failure prior to the election. By comparison, the zones that tend to support Buhari are handed a massive voter advantage, nearly 80% of his support base will be allowed to cast their votes by INEC.”

“In an election, which many say will be won or lost by a slim margin, to now disenfranchise 20 million voters through a questionable and unlawful rule by INEC is not acceptable by any measure. CAA condemns in its entirety this attempt by INEC to undermine our nascent democracy through this criminal enterprise to determine the outcome of this election before the ballot is cast.”

This position is corroborated by different observers in the field. INEC needs to explain how more people in the war-torn North-East have collected their PVCs than in the South-West, South-South and South-East. In the APC strongholds of the North-West and the North-East, 80.18% and 81.09% collection rates were recorded respectively. In the North-Central, the figure was 69.89%. However, the figures in the South were significantly lower than these. In the South-East, it was 59.22%. South-South: 66.66%; and South-West 43.15%.

Since INEC under Jega is no longer an independent umpire but is now clearly working for the opposition, Jega should be sent on compulsory leave and a temporary chairman should be nominated to handle the elections. Jega can no longer be trusted.

THE MISCHIEF OF FORMER CBN GOVERNOR, LAMIDO SANUSI
Former Central Bank governor, Lamido Sanusi, caused uproar when he declared that $49.8 billion of Nigeria’s oil money was missing, allegedly diverted by the NNPC. For a Central Bank governor, the statement was not only irresponsible, it was downright mischievous. If it were not that Nigeria is an innumerate society where we have little or no understanding of figures, it would have been obvious that, for the size of the Nigerian economy, it was impossible for such a large sum to be missing.

However, the allegation fell into the narrative of the opposition APC party which was determined to portray the Jonathan Administration as the most corrupt in the history of Nigeria. There was a lot of hue and cry in the press about the missing money; after all, the claim was made by the Central Bank governor no less. However, the governor seemed to have plucked the missing figure out of thin air.

Soon, it was not $49.8 billion at all, but $10.8 billion. Then again, it was no longer $10.8 billion but $20 billion. It should have been clear from all this that the CBN governor was just fibbing. But in Nigeria, we are socialissed to believe the worst.

School-certificate economics

General Buhari, the APC presidential candidate, has used this fictitious $20 billion dollars to preach his own school-certificate economics on the campaign stump. He said: “$20 Billion at N210 to $1.00 is equal to N4.2 trillion- nearly a year’s federal budget.”

If so, how can Buhari believe an amount nearly equal to Nigeria’s annual federal budget could possibly be missing? No matter how corrupt a nation can be, it is ridiculous to presume that public officers would go ahead and steal the entire annual federal budget? Haba! Buhari then used this malarkey to formulate his own voodoo economics.

He said: “If it is true that this sum cannot be accounted for, this is grossest form of corruption. Just think at N5 million per vehicle, this money would have bought 840,000 patrol vehicles; (this would have improved security in every town and village in the country). At N13.5 million for a high capacity bus this money would have bought 311,000 buses; (this would have revolutionised the transport and production side of the economy).”

It is this kind of rudimentary economics that Buhari has been presenting as an excuse for an economic policy to Nigerians in this election season. Just listen to this vain platitude from our eminent retired general. He says: “The monies we realised from anti-corruption campaign will be adequately used to improve education in the country.” Now that is an economic policy that is practically meaningless.

Forensic audit

Because of the nuisance value of men like Buhari, the Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was constrained to ask for a forensic audit of NNPC accounts in order to put the matter to rest. She chose PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC); one of the big four auditors in the world, along with Deloitte, EY and KPMG.

PwC has now provided a conclusive report that shows Sanusi’s allegation of a missing $20 billion is one big fabrication. This matter needs to be emphasized now that the report is out. Lamido Sanusi lied. The Central Bank governor deliberately cried wolf when he jolly well knew there was no wolf. He was just determined to malign and discredit the government; and he was playing a script to the benefit of the opposition APC.

This then lends credence to the PDP allegation that Sanusi was an APC mole in the government. Indeed, the PDP claims Sanusi gave the APC 1 billion naira of Central Bank money to open its offices nationwide. It also maintains that a fraudulent N48 billion contract was awarded by Sanusi’s CBN to a leader of the APC, while a further N5 billion was paid to another APC member as consultancy fee. So much for APC’s anti-corruption hogwash!

End of Buhari’s Presidential Candidacy

Posted by Sylvester No comments

IF Nigeria is a nation of laws and of the rule of law, the presidential candidacy of Muhammadu Buhari should end this week. The reason is well-known to all. Buhari swore an oath on his INEC application that his credentials are with the military. This turned out to be a lie.
The military has come out to deny that it has Buhari’s credentials. That means Buhari committed perjury instead of fulfilling INEC requirements. For this reason, he must be disqualified from contesting the presidential election.

The matter has been taken to court and the courts should decide the matter this week. I am not a lawyer, but from my layman’s perspective, this is an open and shut case. Buhari lied willfully. As a former military secretary of the Nigerian Army, he knew that the military does not keep any credentials of its service-men. Nevertheless, he lied on oath that his credentials are with the military. He must face the penalty for this perjury. There can be debate about whether, and for how long, he should go to jail. However, there can be no question about his resultant ineligibility to contest: he must be disqualified.
To overlook this infraction is to succumb to Buhari’s appraisal that Nigeria is corrupt. If we are going to deal with corruption, we must not fail to deal with the likes of Buhari, who are contemptuous of the laws of the land. Buhari’s false affidavit is corruption. The disqualification of Buhari by the courts will be a testament to the determination of the judiciary to show zero tolerance for corruption in the coming new dispensation.

Some of us have watched APC make a song and dance about the possibility of postponing the 2015 elections. The party brought out all its big guns to tell us that the election cannot be postponed. They insisted that if it is postponed all hell would break lose. Well, the election has been postponed and nothing has happened. It has been postponed and the APC can do nothing about it. It was postponed according to the law.

Similarly, the heavens will not fall with the lawful disqualification of Buhari. Of all those APC could present as its presidential candidate, it chose a man without the appropriate credentials. APC has nobody to blame but itself for this fiasco. It has forfeited its chance of presenting a candidate for the 2015 presidential election. The contest should now be between the remaining 13 presidential candidates. Shikenan!

JEGA MUST GO IMMEDIATELY
The excuse used to force Attahiru Jega to postpone the elections is the inability to provide effective security given the insurgency in the North-East. However, there is little likelihood that the security situation will improve within the next six weeks of the postponement. So, strictly-speaking, security has nothing to do with the postponement. One major reason for the postponement was to prevent INEC from compromising the election.

INEC has long ceased to be a disinterested umpire in this election. The evidence is now overwhelming that INEC is determined to bias the election in favour of Muhammadu Buhari and the APC. This is evident in INEC’s determination to go ahead with the election in spite of the fact that out of 68 million registered voters, over 20 million have yet to receive their permanent voter’s cards (PVCs).

It is remarkable that, in announcing the postponement, Jega conveniently forgot to mention the nagging issue of the inadequacies of INEC in providing voters with their PVCs. It is also remarkable that Jega briefed the Council of State that INEC was ready to conduct the elections. This was one big lie. You cannot be ready to conduct elections when there is a cacophony of complaints, especially in the South, that people are unable to claim their PVCs. Given the time it took INEC to distribute 40 million PVCs, it could not have realistically expected to be able to distribute the outstanding 20 million in just one week?

INEC rigmarole
What is even more sinister is INEC’s willful determination to disenfranchise select geopolitical regions which represent areas of strength for Goodluck Jonathan. Credible Alternative Alliance, an independent political interest organization led by former Kaduna State governor, Balarabe Musa, observed in INEC activities: “a criminal gross disparity of voter spread designed to tilt the election to a pre-determined outcome.”

It said: “Voters in the zones that tend to support President Goodluck Jonathan are massively disenfranchised by the application of the so-called PVCs debacle, 40% to 50% of voters in these regions who are lawfully and duly registered to vote will be denied their right to vote by INEC. That is nearly half of the support base of the President, simply nullified by administrative failure prior to the election. By comparison, the zones that tend to support Buhari are handed a massive voter advantage, nearly 80% of his support base will be allowed to cast their votes by INEC.”

“In an election, which many say will be won or lost by a slim margin, to now disenfranchise 20 million voters through a questionable and unlawful rule by INEC is not acceptable by any measure. CAA condemns in its entirety this attempt by INEC to undermine our nascent democracy through this criminal enterprise to determine the outcome of this election before the ballot is cast.”

This position is corroborated by different observers in the field. INEC needs to explain how more people in the war-torn North-East have collected their PVCs than in the South-West, South-South and South-East. In the APC strongholds of the North-West and the North-East, 80.18% and 81.09% collection rates were recorded respectively. In the North-Central, the figure was 69.89%. However, the figures in the South were significantly lower than these. In the South-East, it was 59.22%. South-South: 66.66%; and South-West 43.15%.

Since INEC under Jega is no longer an independent umpire but is now clearly working for the opposition, Jega should be sent on compulsory leave and a temporary chairman should be nominated to handle the elections. Jega can no longer be trusted.

THE MISCHIEF OF FORMER CBN GOVERNOR, LAMIDO SANUSI
Former Central Bank governor, Lamido Sanusi, caused uproar when he declared that $49.8 billion of Nigeria’s oil money was missing, allegedly diverted by the NNPC. For a Central Bank governor, the statement was not only irresponsible, it was downright mischievous. If it were not that Nigeria is an innumerate society where we have little or no understanding of figures, it would have been obvious that, for the size of the Nigerian economy, it was impossible for such a large sum to be missing.

However, the allegation fell into the narrative of the opposition APC party which was determined to portray the Jonathan Administration as the most corrupt in the history of Nigeria. There was a lot of hue and cry in the press about the missing money; after all, the claim was made by the Central Bank governor no less. However, the governor seemed to have plucked the missing figure out of thin air.

Soon, it was not $49.8 billion at all, but $10.8 billion. Then again, it was no longer $10.8 billion but $20 billion. It should have been clear from all this that the CBN governor was just fibbing. But in Nigeria, we are socialissed to believe the worst.

School-certificate economics

General Buhari, the APC presidential candidate, has used this fictitious $20 billion dollars to preach his own school-certificate economics on the campaign stump. He said: “$20 Billion at N210 to $1.00 is equal to N4.2 trillion- nearly a year’s federal budget.”

If so, how can Buhari believe an amount nearly equal to Nigeria’s annual federal budget could possibly be missing? No matter how corrupt a nation can be, it is ridiculous to presume that public officers would go ahead and steal the entire annual federal budget? Haba! Buhari then used this malarkey to formulate his own voodoo economics.

He said: “If it is true that this sum cannot be accounted for, this is grossest form of corruption. Just think at N5 million per vehicle, this money would have bought 840,000 patrol vehicles; (this would have improved security in every town and village in the country). At N13.5 million for a high capacity bus this money would have bought 311,000 buses; (this would have revolutionised the transport and production side of the economy).”

It is this kind of rudimentary economics that Buhari has been presenting as an excuse for an economic policy to Nigerians in this election season. Just listen to this vain platitude from our eminent retired general. He says: “The monies we realised from anti-corruption campaign will be adequately used to improve education in the country.” Now that is an economic policy that is practically meaningless.

Forensic audit

Because of the nuisance value of men like Buhari, the Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was constrained to ask for a forensic audit of NNPC accounts in order to put the matter to rest. She chose PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC); one of the big four auditors in the world, along with Deloitte, EY and KPMG.

PwC has now provided a conclusive report that shows Sanusi’s allegation of a missing $20 billion is one big fabrication. This matter needs to be emphasized now that the report is out. Lamido Sanusi lied. The Central Bank governor deliberately cried wolf when he jolly well knew there was no wolf. He was just determined to malign and discredit the government; and he was playing a script to the benefit of the opposition APC.

This then lends credence to the PDP allegation that Sanusi was an APC mole in the government. Indeed, the PDP claims Sanusi gave the APC 1 billion naira of Central Bank money to open its offices nationwide. It also maintains that a fraudulent N48 billion contract was awarded by Sanusi’s CBN to a leader of the APC, while a further N5 billion was paid to another APC member as consultancy fee. So much for APC’s anti-corruption hogwash!

ExxonMobil Nigeria Recruitment Of Engineers

Worldwide, ExxonMobil is committed to maintaining a global standard of technical excellence and common standards for professional advancement based on individual merit and contribution regardless of location or nationality
Engineering opportunities with ExxonMobil in Nigeria
Degree/Discipline Needed
BS/MS/PhD in

• Petroleum Engineering
• Chemical Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Electrical Engineering
• Environmental/Safety Engineering
• Civil Engineering

Typical Work Locations

• Lagos or Eket, Nigeria
• Potential assignments in Houston, Texas, other worldwide affiliate offices and worldwide construction site offices

What can ExxonMobil do for me?
MUST APPLY: ExxonMobil 2015 Graduate CV/Resume Submission
As an Engineer with ExxonMobil in Nigeria, you will have the opportunity to:

• work with a diverse technical team of incredibly talented people
• apply your knowledge, ideas, experience, and skills to solve complex engineering challenges
• gain expertise in the application of state-of-the-art industry leading engineering tools and techniques
• contribute to a world class organization by utilizing your personal drive, initiative, creativity, and commitment to excellence
• experience assignments both within and outside of your academic background to expose you to all aspects of safety, environmental protection, process and mechanical design, construction, operations, maintenance, surveillance for offshore & onshore structures, hydrocarbon processing facilities, drilling, subsurface and reservoir engineering
• rotate jobs early in your career to allow you to determine in which area you want to develop expert skills.

New hire development programs have been developed with the goal of providing you with early career competency through on-the-job assignments and responsibilities as well as through structured formal training in your initial engineering discipline assignment.
As your career progresses, higher level training and job assignments are individually structured to allow your specific career objectives to be met.

What is a typical Engineering career path?With the breadth of engineering involved in our industry and the early career exposure opportunities, there is no ‘typical’ career path for an Engineer. For example, as a Chemical Engineer, you might:

• begin your career in an assignment in Reservoir Engineering to gain an understanding of the nature of the ‘supply’ side of the business
• then rotate to an Operational assignment to build your hands-on “field” experience
• and then move into Facilities/ Process assignments to pursue your longer term career and personal interests.

As an Engineer with ExxonMobil in Nigeria, you may have the opportunity to:

• work with operating units to maximize profit by improving efficiencies and ensuring plants operate at desired target
• develop and apply new technology
• provide your expertise to many operations through plant consulting
• develop technical and business process bases and process design for capital projects as well as construction and start-up activities
• develop your business skills through material inventory management and service agreement negotiations

Application can be done here. Register if you have not and if you are a returning applicant, simply enter you correct email and password to apply for the Job. See the real Job posting here.

ExxonMobil Nigeria Recruitment Of Engineers

Posted by Sylvester No comments

Worldwide, ExxonMobil is committed to maintaining a global standard of technical excellence and common standards for professional advancement based on individual merit and contribution regardless of location or nationality
Engineering opportunities with ExxonMobil in Nigeria
Degree/Discipline Needed
BS/MS/PhD in

• Petroleum Engineering
• Chemical Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Electrical Engineering
• Environmental/Safety Engineering
• Civil Engineering

Typical Work Locations

• Lagos or Eket, Nigeria
• Potential assignments in Houston, Texas, other worldwide affiliate offices and worldwide construction site offices

What can ExxonMobil do for me?
MUST APPLY: ExxonMobil 2015 Graduate CV/Resume Submission
As an Engineer with ExxonMobil in Nigeria, you will have the opportunity to:

• work with a diverse technical team of incredibly talented people
• apply your knowledge, ideas, experience, and skills to solve complex engineering challenges
• gain expertise in the application of state-of-the-art industry leading engineering tools and techniques
• contribute to a world class organization by utilizing your personal drive, initiative, creativity, and commitment to excellence
• experience assignments both within and outside of your academic background to expose you to all aspects of safety, environmental protection, process and mechanical design, construction, operations, maintenance, surveillance for offshore & onshore structures, hydrocarbon processing facilities, drilling, subsurface and reservoir engineering
• rotate jobs early in your career to allow you to determine in which area you want to develop expert skills.

New hire development programs have been developed with the goal of providing you with early career competency through on-the-job assignments and responsibilities as well as through structured formal training in your initial engineering discipline assignment.
As your career progresses, higher level training and job assignments are individually structured to allow your specific career objectives to be met.

What is a typical Engineering career path?With the breadth of engineering involved in our industry and the early career exposure opportunities, there is no ‘typical’ career path for an Engineer. For example, as a Chemical Engineer, you might:

• begin your career in an assignment in Reservoir Engineering to gain an understanding of the nature of the ‘supply’ side of the business
• then rotate to an Operational assignment to build your hands-on “field” experience
• and then move into Facilities/ Process assignments to pursue your longer term career and personal interests.

As an Engineer with ExxonMobil in Nigeria, you may have the opportunity to:

• work with operating units to maximize profit by improving efficiencies and ensuring plants operate at desired target
• develop and apply new technology
• provide your expertise to many operations through plant consulting
• develop technical and business process bases and process design for capital projects as well as construction and start-up activities
• develop your business skills through material inventory management and service agreement negotiations

Application can be done here. Register if you have not and if you are a returning applicant, simply enter you correct email and password to apply for the Job. See the real Job posting here.

2015 ExxonMobil CV/Resume Submission For Fresh and Experienced Graduates

ExxonMobil’s subsidiaries in Nigeria: Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited, and Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited are accepting CV / Resumes from fresh / experienced candidates in the following disciplines:
1.) Human Resources
2.) Finance
3.) Engineering
4.) Information Technology
5.) Procurement Services
6.) Law
7.) Health and Medical Services
8.) Public and Government Affairs
9.) Support Operations
10) Security Services
Submission Closing Date
Not Specified

Submission Link
Note that the ExonMobil is currently accepting CV/Resume for Fresh and experienced graduates. All details can be submitted here.

Submission Tips: Once the page opens, search for the particular keyword for any of the Job title of interest and search to apply.
You have all it takes to be the boss. Write a wonderful CV/Resume and forward you career to the next level now

2015 ExxonMobil CV/Resume Submission For Fresh and Experienced Graduates

Posted by Sylvester No comments

ExxonMobil’s subsidiaries in Nigeria: Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited, and Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited are accepting CV / Resumes from fresh / experienced candidates in the following disciplines:
1.) Human Resources
2.) Finance
3.) Engineering
4.) Information Technology
5.) Procurement Services
6.) Law
7.) Health and Medical Services
8.) Public and Government Affairs
9.) Support Operations
10) Security Services
Submission Closing Date
Not Specified

Submission Link
Note that the ExonMobil is currently accepting CV/Resume for Fresh and experienced graduates. All details can be submitted here.

Submission Tips: Once the page opens, search for the particular keyword for any of the Job title of interest and search to apply.
You have all it takes to be the boss. Write a wonderful CV/Resume and forward you career to the next level now

Nigerian Immigration Job Recruitment ( 3 Vacancies) – Apply Now

This is to inform all members of the public that the Nigerian Immigration is currently inviting all interested applicants for the ongoing 2015/2016 recruitment of Assistant Superintendent II, Assistant Inspector, and Immigration Assistant II.

Pursuant to its mandate to assist the Civil Defence, Fire, Immigration and Prisons Services Board (CDFIPB) in conducting a fresh Recruitment Exercise, the Presidential Committee to Assist in the Immigration Recruitment Exercise, hereby invites application from suitably qualified candidates for appointment into the following vacant positions in the Nigeria Immigration Service:

Below Are the Various Immigration Positions Available

–> CATEGORY A: SUPREINTENDENT CADRE – Assistant Superintendent II (ASI II) – CONPASS 08
–> CATEGORY B: INSPECTORATE CADRE – Assistant Inspector (AII) – CONPASS 06
–> CATEGORY C: IMMIGRATION ASSISTANT CADRE – Immigration Assistant II (IA3) – CONPASS 03

In accordance with the Terms of Reference of the Committee, this recruitment exercise does not recognise any and all prior submitted applications. To be considered for appointment, candidates must submit fresh applications using the above referenced web portal. No payment is required to submit an application. Any person who seeks to submit application or obtain appointment via other means does so at his/her own risk.

Application Link

Application Should be submitted via the official website. Interested candidates can apply here. Feel free to share and tweet this message with the rest of your friends now.

Deadline: Sunday 22nd March, 2015.

Nigerian Immigration Job Recruitment ( 3 Vacancies) – Apply Now

Posted by Sylvester No comments

This is to inform all members of the public that the Nigerian Immigration is currently inviting all interested applicants for the ongoing 2015/2016 recruitment of Assistant Superintendent II, Assistant Inspector, and Immigration Assistant II.

Pursuant to its mandate to assist the Civil Defence, Fire, Immigration and Prisons Services Board (CDFIPB) in conducting a fresh Recruitment Exercise, the Presidential Committee to Assist in the Immigration Recruitment Exercise, hereby invites application from suitably qualified candidates for appointment into the following vacant positions in the Nigeria Immigration Service:

Below Are the Various Immigration Positions Available

–> CATEGORY A: SUPREINTENDENT CADRE – Assistant Superintendent II (ASI II) – CONPASS 08
–> CATEGORY B: INSPECTORATE CADRE – Assistant Inspector (AII) – CONPASS 06
–> CATEGORY C: IMMIGRATION ASSISTANT CADRE – Immigration Assistant II (IA3) – CONPASS 03

In accordance with the Terms of Reference of the Committee, this recruitment exercise does not recognise any and all prior submitted applications. To be considered for appointment, candidates must submit fresh applications using the above referenced web portal. No payment is required to submit an application. Any person who seeks to submit application or obtain appointment via other means does so at his/her own risk.

Application Link

Application Should be submitted via the official website. Interested candidates can apply here. Feel free to share and tweet this message with the rest of your friends now.

Deadline: Sunday 22nd March, 2015.

Nigerian NLNG Ship Management Limited 2015/2016 Job Recruitment ( 3 Vacancies) – Apply Now

Recently, there was a post about the 2015/2016 NLNG ship management Limited recruitment exercise. Alot of our daily readers have laid complaint that they never stumbled on any. So today, we are going to combine all three vacant positions together so you can see an apply as soon as possible.

NLNG Ship Management Limited (NSML) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nigeria LNG Limited, set up to give dedicated attention to providing, developing and managing high calibre personnel for NLNG’s maritime business, with aspirations to provide such services to third parties in the future. NSML fully kicked off its activities in 2010 and is currently in its nascent organizational development phase.

NSML has continued to pursue the Plan currently on the BGT vessels. From amongst its workforce of the shipboard officers, Nigerianisation has yielded six Captains and four Chief Engineers, all of which have now been deployed to the newly created NLNG Ship management Services (NLNGSS).

The company seeks to engage personnel for immediate employment in the positions of:

• Finance Officer
  
• Fleet Contract and Procurement Officer
  
• Deputy Crewing Manager

Nigerian NLNG Ship Management Limited 2015/2016 Job Recruitment ( 3 Vacancies) – Apply Now

Posted by Sylvester No comments

Recently, there was a post about the 2015/2016 NLNG ship management Limited recruitment exercise. Alot of our daily readers have laid complaint that they never stumbled on any. So today, we are going to combine all three vacant positions together so you can see an apply as soon as possible.

NLNG Ship Management Limited (NSML) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nigeria LNG Limited, set up to give dedicated attention to providing, developing and managing high calibre personnel for NLNG’s maritime business, with aspirations to provide such services to third parties in the future. NSML fully kicked off its activities in 2010 and is currently in its nascent organizational development phase.

NSML has continued to pursue the Plan currently on the BGT vessels. From amongst its workforce of the shipboard officers, Nigerianisation has yielded six Captains and four Chief Engineers, all of which have now been deployed to the newly created NLNG Ship management Services (NLNGSS).

The company seeks to engage personnel for immediate employment in the positions of:

• Finance Officer
  
• Fleet Contract and Procurement Officer
  
• Deputy Crewing Manager

Nigerian Navy 2014/2015 Recruitment Exercise Result Released

This is to inform all members of the public that the result for the 2014 Nigerian Navy recruitment exercise has officially been released and made available online and by this notice, all interested candidates and persons who took part in the exercise are advised to check the details of the released result.

Note that the underlisted names are to report at the Nigerian Navy Basic Training school (NNBTS) Onne, Port Harcourt for the interview between the period of 2nd – 12th March and 16th – 26th March 2014 for batches A and B respectively.

Here is a quick break down of the interview date:

–> Batch A 2nd – 12th March 2015
–> Batch B 16th – 26th March 2015

Note that disqualification awaits candidates who fail to report to the venue in their States for interview.

Here are some of the things you are to come along with to your various interview centre:
a.Original and photocopies of Credentials.
b.Scratch cards for verification of NECO/WAEC results.
c.Writing materials.
d.2 pairs of navy blue shorts, and 2 white (unmarked) T-Shirts.
e.A pair of canvas/trainers.
f.Bed sheets and pillow cases.
g.Cutleries set.
h.4 recent passport photographs.
Click on the links below to see names of successful candidates
2014 NN RECRUITMENT BATCH A – CLICK HERE
2014 NN RECRUITMENT BATCH B – CLICK HERE
Feel free to share and tweet this message with the rest of your friends now.

Nigerian Navy 2014/2015 Recruitment Exercise Result Released

Posted by Sylvester No comments

This is to inform all members of the public that the result for the 2014 Nigerian Navy recruitment exercise has officially been released and made available online and by this notice, all interested candidates and persons who took part in the exercise are advised to check the details of the released result.

Note that the underlisted names are to report at the Nigerian Navy Basic Training school (NNBTS) Onne, Port Harcourt for the interview between the period of 2nd – 12th March and 16th – 26th March 2014 for batches A and B respectively.

Here is a quick break down of the interview date:

–> Batch A 2nd – 12th March 2015
–> Batch B 16th – 26th March 2015

Note that disqualification awaits candidates who fail to report to the venue in their States for interview.

Here are some of the things you are to come along with to your various interview centre:
a.Original and photocopies of Credentials.
b.Scratch cards for verification of NECO/WAEC results.
c.Writing materials.
d.2 pairs of navy blue shorts, and 2 white (unmarked) T-Shirts.
e.A pair of canvas/trainers.
f.Bed sheets and pillow cases.
g.Cutleries set.
h.4 recent passport photographs.
Click on the links below to see names of successful candidates
2014 NN RECRUITMENT BATCH A – CLICK HERE
2014 NN RECRUITMENT BATCH B – CLICK HERE
Feel free to share and tweet this message with the rest of your friends now.

Pinnick: AFCON 2015 would have been better with Nigeria 

The just concluded 2015 Africa Cup of Nations would have been a bigger commercial success if Nigeria had participated, according to the Nigeria Football Federation President, Amaju Pinnck.

The 44-year old was in Equatorial Guinea as a CAF official and reckoned that even though the tournament didn’t have powerhouses like Morocco and Egypt, it was a success, but added that it would have been a bigger commercial success had Nigeria qualified.

“In football anything can happen and you never can say. Angola was not there, nor were Morocco and Egypt, so it wasn’t just Nigeria and I would say it went well all the same.

“But they (CAF) would have made more money if Nigeria had been present, and the Nigeria Football Federation would also have made a lot of money if we had qualified,” Pinnick claimed.

Pinnick also added, however, that Nigeria must qualify for subsequent Africa Cup of Nations starting from the 2017 edition.

“We now have to sit tight and make sure that we qualify for every Africa Cup of Nations starting from the next one, and as far as I am concerned, it’s going to be a priority for this football house and it’s starting today,” he stressed.

Pinnick: AFCON 2015 would have been better with Nigeria 

Posted by Sylvester No comments

The just concluded 2015 Africa Cup of Nations would have been a bigger commercial success if Nigeria had participated, according to the Nigeria Football Federation President, Amaju Pinnck.

The 44-year old was in Equatorial Guinea as a CAF official and reckoned that even though the tournament didn’t have powerhouses like Morocco and Egypt, it was a success, but added that it would have been a bigger commercial success had Nigeria qualified.

“In football anything can happen and you never can say. Angola was not there, nor were Morocco and Egypt, so it wasn’t just Nigeria and I would say it went well all the same.

“But they (CAF) would have made more money if Nigeria had been present, and the Nigeria Football Federation would also have made a lot of money if we had qualified,” Pinnick claimed.

Pinnick also added, however, that Nigeria must qualify for subsequent Africa Cup of Nations starting from the 2017 edition.

“We now have to sit tight and make sure that we qualify for every Africa Cup of Nations starting from the next one, and as far as I am concerned, it’s going to be a priority for this football house and it’s starting today,” he stressed.

How we’ll crush Boko Haram in 6 weeks —Dasuki

ABUJA — National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd) vowed, yesterday, that Boko Haram will be crushed within six weeks.

The terrorists, on their part, opened a new war front in Niger Republic with its leader dismissing the threat from the regional force.

Security chiefs had warned that security could not be guaranteed for the elections originally scheduled for this weekend and needed six weeks to flush out Boko Haram terrorists from the 14 local government areas in the North-East states before elections could hold. This forced postponement of the elections throughout the country till March 28.

 Speaking, yesterday, Col. Dasuki assured that the new election dates of March 28 and April 11 will not be shifted as “all known Boko Haram camps will be taken out” within six weeks

“They won’t be there. They will be dismantled,” he told AFP in an interview when asked what gains could be made against the Islamists before the new polling date of March 28.

Dasuki said that Nigeria had been unable to defeat Boko Haram as it had been “fighting it alone for years, with all the limitations in terms of equipment and support.

“Now we are having support. We are having additional troops. We are having additional equipment coming in. We are better equipped and better placed now to take on that thing than we were before.”

But Dasuki said that even if the goal was not achieved, “the situation then would surely be conducive enough for elections,” with no need for a further postponement of voting.

New polls dates’ll not be shifted again

“Those dates will not be shifted again,” Dasuki said when asked if the polls, initially scheduled for February 14, could be pushed back further.

Dasuki had urged election officials to postpone the vote on the grounds that the military could not provide nationwide election security because all available resources were being deployed to the North-East to fight Boko Haram.

In the interview, Dasuki suggested that the reason for the delay was the need to assure safe voting in the north-east states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe where Boko Haram is most active and controls significant territory.

Dasuki insisted there was no political motive underlying his call for a delay, saying: “It’s not everybody who does things for selfish reasons. Some of us have a conscience.”

He said the postponement could easily help the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, because improved security could boost turnout in the northeast, an APC stronghold.

Boko Haram dismisses threat from regional forces in new video

Meanwhile, Boko Haram has released three new videos on YouTube, yesterday, one of them a 28-minute speech from its leader, Abubakar Shekau, in an undisclosed location flanked by eight masked fighters.

In it, he dismissed the threat from regional forces, stating: “Your alliance will not achieve anything. Amass all your weapons and face us. We welcome you.”
On Saturday, Nigeria and its neighbours — Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Benin — agreed to muster 8,700 troops, police and civilians for a wider, African Union-backed force against Boko Haram.

The size of the new force had previously been set at about 7,500 but Shekau, whom the United States estimates as having between 4,000 and 6,000 fighters at his disposal, dismissed the threat.

“You send 7,000 troops? Why don’t you send seven million? This is small. Only 7,000? By Allah, it is small. We can seize them one-by-one. We can seize them one-by-one,” he said in Arabic.

Shekau also directly threatened Chad’s President Idriss Deby, whose forces have attacked Boko Haram in the northeast Nigerian towns of Gamboru and Malam Fatori in recent days.

Shekau’s challenge came after the United States said on Friday that Boko Haram could face a stronger test against more capable regional forces.

Washington estimates that Boko Haram has a core of between 4,000 and 6,000 fighters and is well-equipped after raiding Nigerian Army positions.

Shekau’s speech appeared to put the Boko Haram insurgency in the wider context of global jihad, possibly in response to the regional nature of the conflict.

One of the three latest videos shows Baghdadi with archive footage and a voiceover recalling a battle between British soldiers and fighters from the Sokoto Caliphate in northern Nigeria.

We rose up to fight the world—Shekau

In his speech, Shekau appears to broaden the group’s aim: “We never rose up to fight Africa. We rose up to fight the world. We are going to fight the world on the principle that whoever doesn’t obey Allah and the Prophet either dies or becomes a slave.”

…Opens new war front in Niger Republic

Boko Haram fighters also, yesterday, launched a new attack in Niger Republic as parliament in Niamey was set to vote on joining a regional force against the Islamists.

The insurgents raided a prison in the southeastern border town of Diffa, which they first attacked on Friday, but were repelled after a heavy exchange of fire, humanitarian sources said.

“The attack failed. The assailants were quite easily pushed back,” one source told AFP.

Niger’s parliament was expected, yesterday, to support a proposal to deploy troops inside Nigeria to help in the battle, along with soldiers from Chad, which has a battle-hardened army, and Cameroon.

No casualty toll was immediately available after the raid by Boko Haram, which has widened a deadly six-year insurgency in Nigeria with attacks in neighbouring countries.

A journalist in Diffa said he saw the bodies of Boko Haram fighters in a hearse but was unable to count them.

Some Boko Haram fighters sought to hide out in the town.

“The soldiers are looking for them, weapons at the ready. The army has encircled Diffa,” the journalist said.

Another journalist said some of the fighters were being held in the prison they attacked.

Niger’s Defence Minister Mahamadou Karidjo said Sunday that he hoped for a favourable parliamentary vote to “bring the final blow against the forces of evil. The boys are chomping at the bit to go to fight Boko Haram,” he said on public television.

According to him, “the defensive position our forces have held for more than three months is not a good position. We shall eradicate the Boko Haram plague in the region.”

Niger said 109 jihadists were killed during an attack last week on Diffa and a simultaneous assault on Bosso, also close to the border, the first by Boko Haram in the country.

Four soldiers and a civilian were killed and 17 other troops were wounded.

In the last six years, the group has mainly operated in three states in northeast Nigeria, taking over a succession of towns and villages as part of its aim to create a hardline Islamic state.

It is thought to have few direct, operational links to jihadi groups elsewhere, although it is believed to include some foreign fighters, most likely paid mercenaries.

But Shekau has mentioned groups such as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and the leader of the so-called Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.




How we’ll crush Boko Haram in 6 weeks —Dasuki

Posted by Sylvester No comments

ABUJA — National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd) vowed, yesterday, that Boko Haram will be crushed within six weeks.

The terrorists, on their part, opened a new war front in Niger Republic with its leader dismissing the threat from the regional force.

Security chiefs had warned that security could not be guaranteed for the elections originally scheduled for this weekend and needed six weeks to flush out Boko Haram terrorists from the 14 local government areas in the North-East states before elections could hold. This forced postponement of the elections throughout the country till March 28.

 Speaking, yesterday, Col. Dasuki assured that the new election dates of March 28 and April 11 will not be shifted as “all known Boko Haram camps will be taken out” within six weeks

“They won’t be there. They will be dismantled,” he told AFP in an interview when asked what gains could be made against the Islamists before the new polling date of March 28.

Dasuki said that Nigeria had been unable to defeat Boko Haram as it had been “fighting it alone for years, with all the limitations in terms of equipment and support.

“Now we are having support. We are having additional troops. We are having additional equipment coming in. We are better equipped and better placed now to take on that thing than we were before.”

But Dasuki said that even if the goal was not achieved, “the situation then would surely be conducive enough for elections,” with no need for a further postponement of voting.

New polls dates’ll not be shifted again

“Those dates will not be shifted again,” Dasuki said when asked if the polls, initially scheduled for February 14, could be pushed back further.

Dasuki had urged election officials to postpone the vote on the grounds that the military could not provide nationwide election security because all available resources were being deployed to the North-East to fight Boko Haram.

In the interview, Dasuki suggested that the reason for the delay was the need to assure safe voting in the north-east states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe where Boko Haram is most active and controls significant territory.

Dasuki insisted there was no political motive underlying his call for a delay, saying: “It’s not everybody who does things for selfish reasons. Some of us have a conscience.”

He said the postponement could easily help the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, because improved security could boost turnout in the northeast, an APC stronghold.

Boko Haram dismisses threat from regional forces in new video

Meanwhile, Boko Haram has released three new videos on YouTube, yesterday, one of them a 28-minute speech from its leader, Abubakar Shekau, in an undisclosed location flanked by eight masked fighters.

In it, he dismissed the threat from regional forces, stating: “Your alliance will not achieve anything. Amass all your weapons and face us. We welcome you.”
On Saturday, Nigeria and its neighbours — Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Benin — agreed to muster 8,700 troops, police and civilians for a wider, African Union-backed force against Boko Haram.

The size of the new force had previously been set at about 7,500 but Shekau, whom the United States estimates as having between 4,000 and 6,000 fighters at his disposal, dismissed the threat.

“You send 7,000 troops? Why don’t you send seven million? This is small. Only 7,000? By Allah, it is small. We can seize them one-by-one. We can seize them one-by-one,” he said in Arabic.

Shekau also directly threatened Chad’s President Idriss Deby, whose forces have attacked Boko Haram in the northeast Nigerian towns of Gamboru and Malam Fatori in recent days.

Shekau’s challenge came after the United States said on Friday that Boko Haram could face a stronger test against more capable regional forces.

Washington estimates that Boko Haram has a core of between 4,000 and 6,000 fighters and is well-equipped after raiding Nigerian Army positions.

Shekau’s speech appeared to put the Boko Haram insurgency in the wider context of global jihad, possibly in response to the regional nature of the conflict.

One of the three latest videos shows Baghdadi with archive footage and a voiceover recalling a battle between British soldiers and fighters from the Sokoto Caliphate in northern Nigeria.

We rose up to fight the world—Shekau

In his speech, Shekau appears to broaden the group’s aim: “We never rose up to fight Africa. We rose up to fight the world. We are going to fight the world on the principle that whoever doesn’t obey Allah and the Prophet either dies or becomes a slave.”

…Opens new war front in Niger Republic

Boko Haram fighters also, yesterday, launched a new attack in Niger Republic as parliament in Niamey was set to vote on joining a regional force against the Islamists.

The insurgents raided a prison in the southeastern border town of Diffa, which they first attacked on Friday, but were repelled after a heavy exchange of fire, humanitarian sources said.

“The attack failed. The assailants were quite easily pushed back,” one source told AFP.

Niger’s parliament was expected, yesterday, to support a proposal to deploy troops inside Nigeria to help in the battle, along with soldiers from Chad, which has a battle-hardened army, and Cameroon.

No casualty toll was immediately available after the raid by Boko Haram, which has widened a deadly six-year insurgency in Nigeria with attacks in neighbouring countries.

A journalist in Diffa said he saw the bodies of Boko Haram fighters in a hearse but was unable to count them.

Some Boko Haram fighters sought to hide out in the town.

“The soldiers are looking for them, weapons at the ready. The army has encircled Diffa,” the journalist said.

Another journalist said some of the fighters were being held in the prison they attacked.

Niger’s Defence Minister Mahamadou Karidjo said Sunday that he hoped for a favourable parliamentary vote to “bring the final blow against the forces of evil. The boys are chomping at the bit to go to fight Boko Haram,” he said on public television.

According to him, “the defensive position our forces have held for more than three months is not a good position. We shall eradicate the Boko Haram plague in the region.”

Niger said 109 jihadists were killed during an attack last week on Diffa and a simultaneous assault on Bosso, also close to the border, the first by Boko Haram in the country.

Four soldiers and a civilian were killed and 17 other troops were wounded.

In the last six years, the group has mainly operated in three states in northeast Nigeria, taking over a succession of towns and villages as part of its aim to create a hardline Islamic state.

It is thought to have few direct, operational links to jihadi groups elsewhere, although it is believed to include some foreign fighters, most likely paid mercenaries.

But Shekau has mentioned groups such as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and the leader of the so-called Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.




Buhari asks court to dismiss suits seeking to disqualify him

ABUJA — The Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), yesterday, queried the competence of two separate suits seeking to disqualify him from contesting against President Goodluck Jonathan on March 28.

The suits that came up for mention yesterday were the ones that were lodged against the APC presidential candidate by two plaintiffs, Mr. Chukwunweike Okafor and Mr. Max Ozoaka, who were both represented in court by their lawyers.

This was even as the APC sent a team of six Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs, led by Chief Wole Olanipekun and Prince Lateef Fagbemi, to represent Buhari in the matter.

Ozoaka who is represented by four SANs,  is also seeking for an order of court declaring as invalid the INEC Form C.F. 001 as filled and submitted by Buhari “as being inchoate and manifestly in contravention of the provisions of the Electoral Act.”

He argued that Buhari’s failure/ refusal to attach evidence of his birth certificate and educational qualifications, “which are conditions inherent/ precedent as prescribed in the form,” was in breach of relevant laws in Nigeria pertaining to presidential election.

Consequently, he prayed the court to declare the Form CF. 001 that was submitted to INEC by Buhari  for the 2015 presidential election as incompetent.

Meantime, Buhari, yesterday, challenged  the propriety of orders that were made by Justice Ademola Adeniyi granting leave to the plaintiffs  to serve the court processes on him via substituted means.

The court also granted an order of abridgment of time within which the defendants must respond to the suits.

However, both  Buhari and his party, told the court that they would file applications to challenge the competence of the suits and for the court to set aside all the steps that have been taken in the matter so far.

Thus, they applied for a short adjournment to enable them to file all the necessary documents.

Buhari asks court to dismiss suits seeking to disqualify him

Posted by Sylvester No comments

ABUJA — The Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), yesterday, queried the competence of two separate suits seeking to disqualify him from contesting against President Goodluck Jonathan on March 28.

The suits that came up for mention yesterday were the ones that were lodged against the APC presidential candidate by two plaintiffs, Mr. Chukwunweike Okafor and Mr. Max Ozoaka, who were both represented in court by their lawyers.

This was even as the APC sent a team of six Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs, led by Chief Wole Olanipekun and Prince Lateef Fagbemi, to represent Buhari in the matter.

Ozoaka who is represented by four SANs,  is also seeking for an order of court declaring as invalid the INEC Form C.F. 001 as filled and submitted by Buhari “as being inchoate and manifestly in contravention of the provisions of the Electoral Act.”

He argued that Buhari’s failure/ refusal to attach evidence of his birth certificate and educational qualifications, “which are conditions inherent/ precedent as prescribed in the form,” was in breach of relevant laws in Nigeria pertaining to presidential election.

Consequently, he prayed the court to declare the Form CF. 001 that was submitted to INEC by Buhari  for the 2015 presidential election as incompetent.

Meantime, Buhari, yesterday, challenged  the propriety of orders that were made by Justice Ademola Adeniyi granting leave to the plaintiffs  to serve the court processes on him via substituted means.

The court also granted an order of abridgment of time within which the defendants must respond to the suits.

However, both  Buhari and his party, told the court that they would file applications to challenge the competence of the suits and for the court to set aside all the steps that have been taken in the matter so far.

Thus, they applied for a short adjournment to enable them to file all the necessary documents.

Egypt Is Affiliate Posts Video Of Beheadings

The Islamic State group’s affiliate in Egypt has released video purporting to show the beheading of eight Bedouin men it accused of working for the Egyptian and Israeli armies.

The video, posted on the group’s Twitter account late on Monday, also showed what it said were victims of Egyptian military operations in the restive Sinai Peninsula where an insurgency has killed scores of policemen and soldiers.

The jihadist group, known as Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis before pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group last November, has released footage in the past showing the execution of alleged informants.

In the latest video, masked militants in camouflage behead eight men, some of them in broad daylight at a major thoroughfare in north Sinai.

The men were first made to confess they worked for the armies of Egypt and Israel, which borders the Sinai and has been attacked by militants from the peninsula several times over the past three years.

The Egyptian military has poured troops and armour into the peninsula to quell the insurgency which picked up after the army toppled Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

Despite the unprecedented deployment and repeated air strikes, the jihadists have continued to stage large-scale attacks every few months.

Simultaneous attacks last month on military and police headquarters in north Sinai killed at least 30 people.

Most of them were soldiers killed when a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the army barracks in the provincial capital.

Egypt Is Affiliate Posts Video Of Beheadings

Posted by Sylvester No comments

The Islamic State group’s affiliate in Egypt has released video purporting to show the beheading of eight Bedouin men it accused of working for the Egyptian and Israeli armies.

The video, posted on the group’s Twitter account late on Monday, also showed what it said were victims of Egyptian military operations in the restive Sinai Peninsula where an insurgency has killed scores of policemen and soldiers.

The jihadist group, known as Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis before pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group last November, has released footage in the past showing the execution of alleged informants.

In the latest video, masked militants in camouflage behead eight men, some of them in broad daylight at a major thoroughfare in north Sinai.

The men were first made to confess they worked for the armies of Egypt and Israel, which borders the Sinai and has been attacked by militants from the peninsula several times over the past three years.

The Egyptian military has poured troops and armour into the peninsula to quell the insurgency which picked up after the army toppled Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

Despite the unprecedented deployment and repeated air strikes, the jihadists have continued to stage large-scale attacks every few months.

Simultaneous attacks last month on military and police headquarters in north Sinai killed at least 30 people.

Most of them were soldiers killed when a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the army barracks in the provincial capital.

Soldiers Deployed In P-Harcourt, As Navy Intensifies Security In Waterways

PORT HARCOURT—There  was heavy presence of soldiers in major areas of Port Harcourt yesterday, apparently due to the postponement of the general elections.

Some residents said the military was probably being proactive to nip any ugly reaction to the postponement in the bud.

When contacted, the Army Public Relations Officer, Port Harcourt Barracks, Captain Nsima Essie, said the soldiers were on routine operations in the state.

In another development, the Navy assured of effective policing of the waterways in the Niger Delta before and after the general elections.

New Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Naval Command, Rear Admiral, Henry  Babalola, who spoke yesterday in Port Harcourt, said the deployment of troops on the waterways was in compliance with the request of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, adding that it was part of move to guard against ballot box snatching and issues of electoral violence.

He said the Navy would continue to assist the electoral body to deliver credible elections to Nigerians.

He said: “The dictates of standard operating procedures guarding military operations. We will standby to assist INEC to provide security to transport electoral materials to riverine areas, when we are called upon.

“We will standby to create an enabling environment that will allow voters to lawfully and legally come out to cast their votes.

“Subverting electoral process starts from when thugs import arms and ammunition to cause problems, and so we are deploying one helicopter to join the naval flying unit here, and patrol boats to ward-off ships bearing arms to the militants.

“It is a trying moment for our nation, and so the idea is that at the end of the day, we will be on top of the game to create a conducive atmosphere for the elections to take place.”

Continuing, he said his men were free to vote for candidates of their choice but should do so in mufti and should not hang around polling booths after casting their votes.

He further warned them against openly campaigning for any of the political parties

Babalola said the navy would soon take delivery of three warships to enhance its security operations.

“Very shortly, the Commander in Chief (of the armed forces) and the Chief of the Naval Staff will be commissioning three additions to the Nigerian navy fleet – and they are very big ships.

“We have the offshore patrol Centenary vessel from China assigned to the (nation’s) eastern fleet; the NNS Opabana – an ex-United States Coast Guard ship, and another training ship, NNS Prosperity.

“Again, on the smaller scale, we are purchasing new boats; and we have just been assigned two-new K-13 (gun) boats with a view to adding more bite to our war on crude oil theft and other illegalities in our maritime environment,” he said.

Soldiers Deployed In P-Harcourt, As Navy Intensifies Security In Waterways

Posted by Sylvester No comments

PORT HARCOURT—There  was heavy presence of soldiers in major areas of Port Harcourt yesterday, apparently due to the postponement of the general elections.

Some residents said the military was probably being proactive to nip any ugly reaction to the postponement in the bud.

When contacted, the Army Public Relations Officer, Port Harcourt Barracks, Captain Nsima Essie, said the soldiers were on routine operations in the state.

In another development, the Navy assured of effective policing of the waterways in the Niger Delta before and after the general elections.

New Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Naval Command, Rear Admiral, Henry  Babalola, who spoke yesterday in Port Harcourt, said the deployment of troops on the waterways was in compliance with the request of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, adding that it was part of move to guard against ballot box snatching and issues of electoral violence.

He said the Navy would continue to assist the electoral body to deliver credible elections to Nigerians.

He said: “The dictates of standard operating procedures guarding military operations. We will standby to assist INEC to provide security to transport electoral materials to riverine areas, when we are called upon.

“We will standby to create an enabling environment that will allow voters to lawfully and legally come out to cast their votes.

“Subverting electoral process starts from when thugs import arms and ammunition to cause problems, and so we are deploying one helicopter to join the naval flying unit here, and patrol boats to ward-off ships bearing arms to the militants.

“It is a trying moment for our nation, and so the idea is that at the end of the day, we will be on top of the game to create a conducive atmosphere for the elections to take place.”

Continuing, he said his men were free to vote for candidates of their choice but should do so in mufti and should not hang around polling booths after casting their votes.

He further warned them against openly campaigning for any of the political parties

Babalola said the navy would soon take delivery of three warships to enhance its security operations.

“Very shortly, the Commander in Chief (of the armed forces) and the Chief of the Naval Staff will be commissioning three additions to the Nigerian navy fleet – and they are very big ships.

“We have the offshore patrol Centenary vessel from China assigned to the (nation’s) eastern fleet; the NNS Opabana – an ex-United States Coast Guard ship, and another training ship, NNS Prosperity.

“Again, on the smaller scale, we are purchasing new boats; and we have just been assigned two-new K-13 (gun) boats with a view to adding more bite to our war on crude oil theft and other illegalities in our maritime environment,” he said.

Deadline for PVCs Collection Now March 8

Abuja – The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has further extended the deadline for collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) until March 8, 2015.

In a statement, yesterday, by the Secretary to the Commission, Mrs Augusta Ogakwu, said the four weeks extension of the deadline followed the rescheduling of the 2015 general elections.

She stated that “the collection of the cards will continue for four more weeks until March 8, 2015.

“The Commission expresses hope that the extension will finally avail every registered voter, yet to collect his/her PVC, the opportunity to do so in readiness for the general elections.’’
INEC had on Feb. 1 extended the deadline for collection of PVCs to Feb. 8, 2015 following the earlier deadline of Jan. 31, 2015.

INEC had also on Saturday, Feb. 7, rescheduled the 2015 general elections by six weeks citing security concerns.

The Commission rescheduled the Presidential and National Assembly elections from Feb. 14 to March 28, and Governorship and state Houses of Assembly polls from Feb. 28 to April 11. (NAN)

Deadline for PVCs Collection Now March 8

Posted by Sylvester No comments

Abuja – The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has further extended the deadline for collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) until March 8, 2015.

In a statement, yesterday, by the Secretary to the Commission, Mrs Augusta Ogakwu, said the four weeks extension of the deadline followed the rescheduling of the 2015 general elections.

She stated that “the collection of the cards will continue for four more weeks until March 8, 2015.

“The Commission expresses hope that the extension will finally avail every registered voter, yet to collect his/her PVC, the opportunity to do so in readiness for the general elections.’’
INEC had on Feb. 1 extended the deadline for collection of PVCs to Feb. 8, 2015 following the earlier deadline of Jan. 31, 2015.

INEC had also on Saturday, Feb. 7, rescheduled the 2015 general elections by six weeks citing security concerns.

The Commission rescheduled the Presidential and National Assembly elections from Feb. 14 to March 28, and Governorship and state Houses of Assembly polls from Feb. 28 to April 11. (NAN)

Suspected Cultists Hold Family Hostage In Lagos

It was reign of terror, yesterday, as suspected secret cult members held a family hostage for about an hour, while workers were going to work in the early hours of the day.

The cultists, numbering about seven, wielding pistols, suddenly showed up at Ogo Oluwa area of Isashi, all on motor bikes and rode straight to the residence of one Mr. Henry Omoregbe.

They gained entrance on the pretence that they had a message for the family and no sooner was the gate opened than the family realized that they were under siege of the cult members.

The boys immediately started beating up every member of the family with horse whips and base ball bats, while demanding for the whereabout of a member of the family, Emmanuel Omoregbe, who they claimed had refused to carry out their instructions.

Neigbours could not intervene for fear of their lives, but the head of the family, who pleaded with the young men, told them that he had also been looking for his son for about a year now.

The search
He showed them the police report and sworn affidavit he made in January last year, since his son left home under inexplicable circumstances.

Inspite of this, they still searched the house, damaging furniture and some household appliances.

Having concluded their search, they left with a warning: that the family should tell their son to make himself available or they will kill him should they find him themselves.

Mr. Henry Omoregbe, a marine engineer, who came home on leave, told Vanguard he had reported the case last year when his wife called him at work to report that their son, Emmanuel, had left home due to threats from suspected cult members, who had forced themselves in and beat one his sons, Stephen.

Affidavit
Showing the police report and court affidavit, he said he and his family were yet to hear from his son as efforts by the police had drawn blank.

The affidavit read in part: “That due to threatening of his life from unknown secret cult gangs Emmanuel Omoregbe has to abscond and leave home.”

He explained further that this whole saga started last year when Emmanuel, 20, went to Lagos State University, Ojo, to check if he had been granted admission, adding that since then he could not really say what happened except that the young man was still missing.

Neighbours, who volunteered information, said they had been noticing some strange looking faces in the area for some time now, but never thought they could be dangerous elements until now.

They confirmed Mr. Omoregbe’s claim of looking for his son for about a year now.

Suspected Cultists Hold Family Hostage In Lagos

Posted by Sylvester No comments

It was reign of terror, yesterday, as suspected secret cult members held a family hostage for about an hour, while workers were going to work in the early hours of the day.

The cultists, numbering about seven, wielding pistols, suddenly showed up at Ogo Oluwa area of Isashi, all on motor bikes and rode straight to the residence of one Mr. Henry Omoregbe.

They gained entrance on the pretence that they had a message for the family and no sooner was the gate opened than the family realized that they were under siege of the cult members.

The boys immediately started beating up every member of the family with horse whips and base ball bats, while demanding for the whereabout of a member of the family, Emmanuel Omoregbe, who they claimed had refused to carry out their instructions.

Neigbours could not intervene for fear of their lives, but the head of the family, who pleaded with the young men, told them that he had also been looking for his son for about a year now.

The search
He showed them the police report and sworn affidavit he made in January last year, since his son left home under inexplicable circumstances.

Inspite of this, they still searched the house, damaging furniture and some household appliances.

Having concluded their search, they left with a warning: that the family should tell their son to make himself available or they will kill him should they find him themselves.

Mr. Henry Omoregbe, a marine engineer, who came home on leave, told Vanguard he had reported the case last year when his wife called him at work to report that their son, Emmanuel, had left home due to threats from suspected cult members, who had forced themselves in and beat one his sons, Stephen.

Affidavit
Showing the police report and court affidavit, he said he and his family were yet to hear from his son as efforts by the police had drawn blank.

The affidavit read in part: “That due to threatening of his life from unknown secret cult gangs Emmanuel Omoregbe has to abscond and leave home.”

He explained further that this whole saga started last year when Emmanuel, 20, went to Lagos State University, Ojo, to check if he had been granted admission, adding that since then he could not really say what happened except that the young man was still missing.

Neighbours, who volunteered information, said they had been noticing some strange looking faces in the area for some time now, but never thought they could be dangerous elements until now.

They confirmed Mr. Omoregbe’s claim of looking for his son for about a year now.

Senegal Hosts US, African Army Chiefs

Peace and security will be the focus of a conference bringing together top American military brass and the heads of 35 African armies which opened in Senegal on Monday.

The meeting comes amid heightened concerns over conflict across the continent, with intensified Boko Haram bloodshed delaying elections in Nigeria, the Central African Republic struggling to recover from a coup and ethnic violence raging in South Sudan.

“Soldiers and diplomats are partners, just as Africans and Americans are partners,” James Peter Zumwalt, the US ambassador to Senegal, told delegates at the opening of the four-day African Land Forces Summit in Dakar.

“This week we will focus discussions on peace and security (because) we all understand that enduring peace and stability are essential prerequisites for economic growth,” he added.

The event is being co-hosted by the Senegalese military and USARAF, the United States Army Africa — which has been promoting security across the continent since 1955, as well as providing crisis response, disaster relief and humanitarian assistance.

Senegalese Defence Minister Augustin Tine told delegates recent issues addressed by US and African cooperation included “the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking, maritime security… the battle against HIV/AIDS and, recently, the fight against Ebola haemorrhagic fever”.

Tine added that in addition to their effectiveness in military deployment, ground forces have also become critical actors through the “central role they can play in dealing with these threats.”

Senegal Hosts US, African Army Chiefs

Posted by Sylvester No comments

Peace and security will be the focus of a conference bringing together top American military brass and the heads of 35 African armies which opened in Senegal on Monday.

The meeting comes amid heightened concerns over conflict across the continent, with intensified Boko Haram bloodshed delaying elections in Nigeria, the Central African Republic struggling to recover from a coup and ethnic violence raging in South Sudan.

“Soldiers and diplomats are partners, just as Africans and Americans are partners,” James Peter Zumwalt, the US ambassador to Senegal, told delegates at the opening of the four-day African Land Forces Summit in Dakar.

“This week we will focus discussions on peace and security (because) we all understand that enduring peace and stability are essential prerequisites for economic growth,” he added.

The event is being co-hosted by the Senegalese military and USARAF, the United States Army Africa — which has been promoting security across the continent since 1955, as well as providing crisis response, disaster relief and humanitarian assistance.

Senegalese Defence Minister Augustin Tine told delegates recent issues addressed by US and African cooperation included “the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking, maritime security… the battle against HIV/AIDS and, recently, the fight against Ebola haemorrhagic fever”.

Tine added that in addition to their effectiveness in military deployment, ground forces have also become critical actors through the “central role they can play in dealing with these threats.”