How Amaechi and Buhari Induced Nigeria's Recession By Reno Omokri

This has been a most interesting week for me. As many of my readers may have become aware, the minister of transport, Rotimi Amaechi, gave an interview to some select papers (ThisDay thankfully not included) and repeated the lie that former President Jonathan pilfered $49.8 billion from the national treasury and that is the reason why Nigeria has a recession.

Well I responded to his untruths with facts, figures and dates, but rather than take me up on the issues, Mr. Amaechi took me to the cleaners in an ad hominem attack that did not address the facts in issue. Well, writing is my strength and Rotimi Amaechi with all his bluster is not very strong in this area and my responses to him obviously taught him a thing or two as he has not yet recovered enough to launch another salvo at me.

Biafra Agitation: The Dimension Of The Argument

I have been prompted to express my thoughts on the Biafra agitation by the dimension the argument has taken, especially where spin-doctors who are known agents of divide-and-rule have gone back to their usual work of dividing the indigenous people of Biafra. The major aim of these divide-and-rule elements who tend to cry more than the bereaved is to use the instrumentality of the media to tag the Biafra agitation an Igbo “affair”. The irony of the debate is that majority of those divide-and-rule advocates who have sworn to keep inciting Biafrans against each other are non-Biafrans. I think the future or restoration of Biafra should strictly be left for indigenous people of Biafra to decide.

GOODLUCK JONATHAN - THE SILENT DICTATOR

They think we have forgotten:

-Then President Jonathan sacked the President of the Appeal court because he refused to compromise on the case involving the ruling party and ruling that forensic examination be allowed on materials used for the 2011 Presidential election. Even when the NJC asked that he be reinstated, Jonathan refused yet, he is your HERO OF DEMOCRACY.

- All the security details attached to then Speaker of House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal were withdrawn by the Federal Government led by Jonathan yet, you still didn't see any reason not to worship him.

- For weeks in 2014, the Governor of Kano State kept shouting that security aides posted to watch over the state house were recalled as a result of orders from above, not once did you accuse Jonathan of tyranny.

- For appointing Sanusi Lamido as Emir of Kano which was within the rights and powers of the Kano State Government, Jonathan ordered security agents to lay siege at the Emir's palace. For days, the Emir operated from the Kano State Government House. You didn't call Jonathan by the dictatorship that he was acting out then.

Nigeria: Confronting The Curse Of Oil By Reuben Abati

The monthly Federation Accounts Allocation Committee, FAAC, meeting was held the other day in Abuja, with the representatives of state governments again cap in hand, asking for their share of federal revenue – read: oil revenue, or better still, national cake, or our money.

A paragraph in the report by the online newspaper, Premium Times, caught my attention and here it is: “But at the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee, FAAC, meeting, representatives of the 36 state governments went home SAD (emphasis mine), as they were handed parlous shares from a total N299.75 billion statutory allocation for the month, the lowest allocations in more than five years.” For the month of March 2016, the states shared N55.34 billion, compared to N64.52 billion in February 2016. I have deliberately emphasized the word sad,because the day may well come when after the sharing of national revenue, we may be told that some Commissioners of Finance left the meeting crying, or wailing.

To prevent that happening this time, the Federal Government chose to suspend deductions of salary repayment loans owed by the states. When such deductions were made in February 2016, at least one state, Osun, went back home with a paltry N6 million only. The truth is that most of the 36 states are in dire straits, worst hit by the economic crisis that the country faces. About 27 out of the 36 states of the Federation are effectively insolvent, if not bankrupt. In July 2015, the Federal Government not only bailed out the states financially, the Central Bank of Nigeria further extended the repayment period for bank loans taken by the states from a period of seven years to 20 years. So far the affected states have collected salary assistance loans from the CBN to the tune of N689.5 billion, with an additional N310 billion as loans backed by the Excess Crude Account.

A Winning or Rigging Formula? - Gumi

Ringing the 2015 election this time will be very difficult indeed. Voters will remain until the results of their votes casted are pasted in front of them. And with a more potent competitor, the PDP that was once the only "national party' has further polarized the polity not just on the north-south divide but more dangerously on the religious one. Already some of them have already started calling APC an 'Islamic Party' to put in the Christian psyche the loathe of the party. Yet not acknowledging the fact that PDP especially with the recent South African $9.3m scandal, majority of Muslims believe the party is a CAN party.

With this ugly political scenario in situ, re-endorsing President Jonathan is their greatest political blunder because I know the Muslim North will totally reject him. That means the only option left for PDP to continue is by rigging.

PDP is then the epicenter of the most dreaded religious earthquake or the crater of volcano eruption that can shatter and destroy the nation. Because 2015 is not 2011. In 2011, the benefit of doubt which Jonathan enjoyed in the North is completely eroded by his style of governance.

"Jonathan’s Unbridled Ambition Will Destroy Nigeria’s Democracy - Bola Tinubu

The Presidency and the ruling PDP forcefully had their way in Adamawa. 

Governor Nyako has been impeached. Nigeria’s constitution suffers violence. 

Democracy has been setback.

Under the constitution, a governor can only be impeached for “gross misconduct.” For the PDP, Nyako’s crime was not the false allegations contained in the articles of impeachment. To them, his gross misconduct was leaving the reactionary PDP to join the progressive APC. His misdeed was to exercise his constitutional right of freedom of association and political expression by leaving their corrupt assemblage and joining the party that just may represent the best hope of rescuing Nigeria from its present descent into authoritarian darkness.

Perhaps, Governor Nyako’s greatest sin is his temerity to speak truth to power albeit in a courageous way. On two different occasions, he gave an unvarnished insight into the Boko Haram menace and the insecurity engulfing Northern Nigeria. At the Institute of Peace in Washington DC this year when he visited with other Northern governors, he placed the blame for the Boko Haran insurgency on the Jonathan presidency. He then followed this up with a detailed letter to the forum of the Northern governors in which he accused the Jonathan led government of genocide against the North. This rattled and unsettled the government.Repeated attempts to have Gov. Nyako withdraw his letter and apologize to the President failed. From the moment he wrote that letter, he became a marked man. The government savaged the governor through the media. This kangaroo impeachment is government’s way of punishing Nyako.

See President Jonathan in a New Fashion Hit or Miss (PHOTO)

White Shocks on Native Attire

Stephen Keshi: World Cup elimination painful, calls for unity in defeat

Braslia - Stephen Keshi said that his side's World Cup elimination by France in the last 16 was "painful", but vowed that he would not seek out scapegoats.

Bidding to reach the quarter-finals for the first time, Nigeria stood toe to toe with France for much of Monday's match at Brasilia's Mane Garrincha National Stadium, only to lose to two late goals.

A handling error by goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama enabled Paul Pogba to head in a 79th-minute opener and France completed victory in injury time when Joseph Yobo scored an own goal from a Mathieu Valbuena cross.

While both French goals stemmed from Nigerian mistakes, Keshi was adamant that all of his players bore equal responsibility for the African champions' exit.

219 girls are still missing: Presidential Fact Finding Committee on Chibok schoolgirls submits report

The Chairperson of the Presidential Fact Finding Committee on the abducted Chibok girl, Ibrahim Sabo, has revealed that a total of 219 girls are still missing. Mr. Sabo, a retired brigadier general, disclosed this at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, while presenting the report of the committee to President Goodluck Jonathan.

Mr. Sabo, who disclosed that a total of 276 girls were abducted by members of the Boko Haram Sect, said 57 of the girls escaped while 219 were still unaccounted for.

President Jonathan had set up the fact finding committee on May 2 to gather information surrounding the abduction and to ascertain the exact number of students abducted amongst other terms of references.

Soldiers hostage of Governor Amaechi's convoy near Ikere- Ekiti

When would the drama playing out between President GEJ and Gov. Ameachi of Rivers State come to an end? It's a global shame and must be rebuked by us all..

The Rivers State Government is concerned about the safety of Governor Amaechi who is right now being held hostage in a commando style by soldiers and federal government security agents in Odudu, Ondo state. Governor Amaechi as Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ forum and as an APC governor and chieftain had left Port Harcourt this morning for Ekiti state where he was to join his brother governor in his last mega rally before the elections.

Governor Amaechi was ambushed and refused entry into Ekiti by military personnel acting on orders from above. He made to turn back and return to Akure where his chattered aircraft was parked but was chased and rounded by armed soldiers and security personnel in Odudu, Ondo state. According to the captain who led the operation, he had orders not to allow the governor
entry or exit.

Lai Mohammed: APC Governors barred from travelling to Ado for party's final campaign ahead of Saturday poll

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has raised the alarm that its Governors are being prevented by security agencies apparently acting on ''orders from above'' from travelling to Ado-Ekiti for the party's final campaign on Friday for the Ekiti State Governorship election on Friday.

In a statement issued in Ado-Ekiti on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said at least three Governors - Adams Oshiomhole of Edo, Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers and
Rabiu Kwankwanso of Kano - have so far been prevented from making the trip

It said the helicopter that was to ferry Gov. Oshiomhole from Benin to Ado-Ekiti was refused permission to take off from the Benin Airport, while the plane that was flying Gov. Kwankwanso to Akure was denied permission to land.

God is Not a Christian, By Fred Adetiba

The average religious mind will shudder upon seeing this title. I cannot overemphasise how much I despise religion in its entirety. Religion dulls the spirit and kills the brain. It pollutes and perverts the ways of God, replacing them with what may seem to have originate from man, but which actually originates from the master of deception himself, Satan. It is the spirit that has not only given those who subscribe to the values and principles of the kingdom, a religion called Christianity, but also carved a Christian-god for them.

Man has always had the tendency of being ahead of himself, without recourse to the Creator on what next step to take per time. Social, political and economic systems of the world are falling apart today because man thinks he can navigate through life without God. This is the same posturing of religious spirit. Rather than seek direction and definition from God, man continues to do as he pleases. It is this spirit that has placed Christianity alongside other religions of the world, with its own god. That is why Christians have certain dispositions toward other religious people. Whenever this Christian-god is being projected, I wonder if He is the same God that created the heavens and the earth, everyone and everything in them as recorded in Genesis 1. I also wonder if He is the One that said “I am the Lord, the God of all flesh…” (Jeremiah 32:27). The God I know and serve, created everyone including those who do not believe He exists.

Goodluck Jonathan faces challenge from anti-corruption ex-general By William Wallis in London

Muhammadu Buhari, who could emerge as the main challenger to Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan at next year’s elections, is positioning himself as the strongman needed to root out corruption and roll back the brutal Islamist insurgency tearing at the country.

“We are almost over the cliff,” says the 71-year old former general, who seized power in 1983 and ruled Africa’s most populous nation with authoritarian zeal before being overthrown by rival generals 20 months later.

The coalition he formed last year alongside Bola Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos state and political godfather in Nigeria’s Yoruba-speaking southwest, and Atiku Abubakar, a wealthy former vice-president, will on Friday begin the delicate task of choosing party leaders.

Why Pastor Adeboye, Bishop Kukah are bad for Nigeria By Ebenezer Obadare

Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) is missing. I mean hiding. No, he has not fled the country. He is, as it should be, in fine fettle, dispensing dollops of Biblical wisdom to his extensive flock. But other than that, he has been hiding, by which I mean that he has morally abdicated. In the middle of a grave national emergency, the kind that most countries experience only once in a generation, the esteemed man of God has stood out by his conspicuous silence. And what a loud silence it is.

Sanusi Moves to the Palace as Police End Siege of Emir’s palace

The police on Thursday ended their four-day siege to the palatial official residence of the traditional ruler of Kano Emirate. The police had on Monday deployed armed officers and men in the palace following a series of protests by some youths who kicked against the appointment of a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Lamido Sanusi, as the new Emir of Kano.

Following the end of the siege, preparations were being put in place to ensure that Sanusi, who had been ruling Kano from the state Government House since Monday, relocated to the palace. Confirming the development, the Director of Press and Public Relations to Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, Baba Dantiye, told one of our correspondents on the telephone, that Sanusi would move into the place within the next few days.

I Can Secure The Release of Chibok Schoolgirls - Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo said on Thursday that he could reach out to the more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram insurgents, but regretted that the Federal Government had yet to give him the green light to act.

Obasanjo, in an interview on the Hausa service of the British Broadcasting Corporation monitored in Kaduna, however, did not say if he had made formal request to the government to intervene.

“I have ways of reaching them(Boko Haram) but I have not been given the go ahead,” he added.

CLAMPDOWN ON MEDIA: EXHIBITING MILITARY MENTALITY IN A DEMOCRATIC SETTING

The ongoing military clampdown on media houses especially the print media is nothing but a very good way to kill the media and hence silence the people's voice. The military force in the live of any nation cannot be taken for a ride because they help protect the territorial integrity of the nation. They help in preventing external forces which may tend to wage war against the nation. The military are usually for external defence constitutionally. In maintaining internal security and order, the police has this mandate and are the chief internal security operator constitutionally.

(Photo) Newly Installed Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanus Join #BringBackOurGirls Struggle for Chibok Girls

The newly Installed Emir of Kano who officially assumed office on Sunday has been reportedly joined and support the #BringBackOurGirls protest for the Boko Haram kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls.

The new Emir, His Royal Highness Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi is no doubt in direct contrast and clear opposition to anything Jonathanians as he was sacked by the president Jonathan from office as the CBN Governor before the destiny now worked his way to the thrown seat of Kano.

BREAKING: Former CBN Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamodo Sanusi is the New Emir of Kano

Former CBN Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamodo Sanusi is the New Emir of Kano.

The former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has emerged as the new Emir of Kano after the throne became vacant on Friday following the monarch’s death.

The Secretary to the Kano State Government, Rabiu Zakariya, announced the name of the new Emir on Sunday. 

Ekiti, Osun Elections: What Adesiyan, Obanikoro should do by Gaius Nosa

As the Governorship Elections of both Ekiti and Osun states are at the corner, the two seemly concerned ministers in charge of security in the President Jonathan administration as been implored to act according to what will please God and not their political godfathers as the later may be the beginning of their destruction.

According to Gaius Nosa "As June 21 and August 9 governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states draw nearer, I implore these two ministers (Jelili Adesiyan and Musiliu Obanikoro) in charge of the nation security to have the fear of Allah which is the beginning of wisdom neither than having the fear of their godfathers which will be the beginning of destruction."