Saturday 18 November 2017

We can’t forget Biafra, Ikedife, Uko, IPOB tell Buhari

We can’t forget Biafra, Ikedife, Uko, IPOB tell Buhari


President of South East Elders Forum, Dr. Dozie Ikedife, a member of the Southern Leaders of Thought, and Secretary, Eastern Consultative Assembly, Evangelist Elliot Ugochukwu Uko, and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) have told President Muhammadu Buhari that Biafra remains and can never be forgotten.
President Buhari during a working visit to Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital, on Tuesday, called on the Igbo to forget Biafra, and secession and work towards a united Nigeria.
But speaking with Saturday Sun, Dr. Ikedife said it was a wrong choice of word to say, “we should forget Biafra, nobody can forget Biafra”.
He said: “Somebody had told me before that we should forget Biafra, and I told the person that it was not possible to forget Biafra. It is not possible to forget that you are an Odudua son; it is not possible to forget that you are an Ijaw man; it is not possible to forget that you a Fulani; it is not possible to forget that you are Junkun, etc.
“It is a wrong choice of word to say, forget Biafra. Nobody can forget it. If you lost your father or son, mother or half of your family members during the Nigeria-Biafra war, can you forget that?
“Even the person saying it cannot forget Biafra, talk less of those that are concerned, who are called Biafrans.
“The person may say anything else, but Biafra is unforgettable.
We can never forget Biafra; nobody should ever forget Biafra.
Biafra has come to be, never mind that they removed Bight of Biafra and called it Bight of Benin, there are people who are Biafrans and there is nothing you can do about it, even if you kill them and it remains only one, that person still remains Biafra.”
In the same vein, Evangelist Uko noted that shooting and killing the youths will not stop the agitation, and pointed out that Biafra can never be forgotten.
According to him, “the people advising Buhari are misleading him.  I have been in the centre of the protests by Igbo youth for over a decade, and I know that the solution is engaging them in meaningful dialogue, but some people preferred to shoot them, so I washed my hands off. “I know that they are angry, bitter and very pained about the killing by the soldiers during the invasion of Nnmadi Kanu’s home.
“Those political leaders telling Biafra that the agitation is over are just deceiving and misleading him.
“The boys are angry and the only solution is engaging them in meaningful dialogue, and secondly, embarking on a meaningful restructuring of the country. These are the two solutions.
“I have been talking with the boys for over a decade and they have absolute confidence in me. I know how they feel. Prof Ben Nwabueze and I tried to help the government by bringing them to a meeting, but some people advised the government to halt the dialogue process and embark on shooting them. Shooting and killing them will not stop the agitation. So, Biafra can never be forgotten.”
Also, Media and Publicity Secretary of IPOB, Comrade Emma Powerful, in a statement said telling the Igbo to forget about Biafra tantamounts to telling the sky to hold the rains.
He emphasised: “It is unfortunate that Buhari would make such statement to Ndigbo because he knows that nothing can stop us from leaving Nigeria.
“We are not bothered or worried about what he said, but Biafra independence is unstoppable, unquenchable and irreversible.
“Telling Igbo to forget Biafra is like telling the sky to stop raining. We have stayed in Nigeria for more than 50 years without any benefits, and we are leaving.”

Wednesday 15 November 2017

Abia PDP behind fake Kalu presidential aspiration posters

Abia PDP behind fake Kalu presidential aspiration posters



Abia State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has stated that the fake posters of former governor of Abia State with the inscription”Vote Orji Kalu for President in 2019″  in Lagos, Abuja, Umuahia and other cities is the handiwork of political jobbers.
Condemning the act, Abia State Chairman of the APC, Hon. Donatus Nwankpa stressed that the ones planning and executing the ill and ignoble project
are members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia State, who are envious of the massive support the APC is galvanising at the grassroots.
He expressed confidence in the President Muhammadu Buhari government, adding that Ndigbo will benefit immensely if the entire five states in the South East are governed by the APC.
While lambasting the PDP led Abia State government for the poor state of infrastructure in the State , Nwankpa urged the masses not to sell their votes come 2019.
Speaking on Thursday with journalists after the grand finale of the APC governorship campaign in Awka, the APC party chair urged Ndi Anambra to vote for the APC candidate, Hon. Tony Nwoye in the November 18 governorship election.
‎He said, “since the triumphant entry of our leader, Dr. Orji Kalu into the fold of the APC, the PDP and their cohorts have been jittery and unsettled.
“The APC is waxing strong on a daily basis in Abia State.
“We know the antics of the PDP and one of such is the fake presidential campaign posters of Dr.Orji Kalu being circulated in different parts of the country.
“There is no development in Abia State and as such, the only alternative for Abians is to vote for APC in 2019 in order to rescue the state from a failed government”.
While charging politicians to desist from undemocratic acts of blackmail, violence and thuggery, Nwankpa urged them to play politics by the rules.

Tuesday 14 November 2017

Breaking: Buhari conferred with chieftaincy title in igboland

Breaking: Buhari conferred with chieftaincy title in igboland.


    -15 nov. 2017
President Muhammadu Buhari was on Monday conferred with the Chieftaincy title of Ochi Oha Ndigbo (leader of all) of Igboland by the South East Traditional Rulers and Enyi Oma 1 (number one good friend) of Ebonyi State by the Ebonyi State Traditional Council.
The President was also given 2,000 bags of 25kg of Ebonyi rice, 2,000 tubers of yam and a white horse that signifies strength by the Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi at the State Executive Council chamber, Abakaliki.
He met with the President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief John Nnia Nwodo, former governors of the state, the deputy governor, founding fathers of the state, speaker of the House of Assembly, Chairman and Secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Ebonyi State chapter, Secretary to the State Government, SSG, and the State Traditional Council at the Council chamber, government house.
President Buhari will be proceeding to the PA Ngele Oruta Township Stadium, Abakaliki where he will be interacting with the people of different walks of life.
Details soon.
President Buhari conferred with the title of Ochioha NdiIgbo 1 by South East traditional council of rulers led by Eze Eberechi Dick during his visit to Ebonyi State on 14th Nov 2017

Sunday 12 November 2017

Russia 2018: Rohr hails NFF

Russia 2018: Rohr hails NFF 


Dailysun report 
Super Eagles’ Technical Adviser Gernot Rohr is full of encomiums for the Nigeria Football Federation for the “professional and committed manner” it handled the Super Eagles’ 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign.
Not only were the three –time African champions unbeaten in what was styled ‘Group of Death’, the Eagles picked the ultimate prize in that group with a game to spare, becoming Africa’s first candidate for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia in the process.
The man that led the team to achieving this feat believes the professional approach to the team’s preparations by the NFF for all the six qualifiers played a pivotal role in the team’s success.
“For sure, we must commend the NFF for the role they played right from that game in Ndola against Zambia to last Friday’s game in Constantine, Algeria.
“Apart from putting together excellent arrangements for our games at home, they ensured we travelled in comfort to all our away games and the fact that our away travels were always direct on chartered flights made sure we had very good recovery period between games. This also helped to manage the few days we usually have because of the congested and very small number of the FIFA international days,” Rohr said.
 Nigeria won four games and drew two to finish top of the eminent pile with 14 points, six ahead of second –placed Zambia.
In both drawn games away from home, they were pegged back by late penalties to the hosts in dying minutes, underlying the Super Eagles’ praiseworthy performance through out the campaign.
This, the Franco –German tactician believes, was down to paying attention to little details.
“From the time the draw was made for the group series of the qualifiers, we know that in a difficult group like the one we were in, the difference between success and failure could be down to little things that most people would take for granted, but I am happy that the NFF were very professional, passionate and committed to the cause. Their great planning and arrangements made the players to focus on the football only, so we got the best out of them.
“Now we cannot rest on our oars because there is a bigger challenge ahead of us. We have to prepare better and focus even more as we get set for the World Cup next year,” Rohr concluded.
Meanwhile Russia –based Bryan Idowu on Saturday night joined up with the rest of the squad after they arrived in Krasnodar, Russia. He told thenff.com: “It’s a big privilege for him to be part of this great squad. I will definitely give my best in order to remain a part of this team.
“It’s a big honor for me to be called into the Super Eagles. I will give this opportunity my very best shot so I can stay here for a long time. I believe this team will put smiles on the faces of Nigerians at the World Cup next year,” he added.

Corrupt soldiers, security personnel selling arms to criminals, DSS tells Reps

Corrupt soldiers, security personnel selling arms to criminals, DSS tells Reps


• Names Nasarawa, Benue, Taraba, Plateau as sales points
The Department of State Security (DSS) has blamed the worsening insecurity in the country on corrupt members of the armed forces and other security agencies, who allegedly sell arms to  criminals.
Speaking at a public hearing organised by the House of Representatives joint committee on Customs and Excise and National Intelligence, investigating the “frightening influx of small arms and light weapons into the country,” Director of Operations at the DSS, Godwin Eteng, claimed some agencies had, over the years, recruited former cultists and armed robbers, who get involved in illegal activities, including arms sales to criminals.
“We have conducted more than 27 operations and arrested more than 30 persons involved in the supply of arms and ammunition and some of them are serving security men,” he disclosed.
He said there was a case in one of the armouries belonging to one of the armed forces, where many pistols got missing with quantities of ammunition and all the pistols were new.
“In the armoury, no place was broken into, but the weapons were missing. And we’re interested in knowing what happened.”
The director listed four states in the North-Central zone as the major sources of illegal arms.
“When we did our studies, we discovered that three-quarter of the arms used to cause the crisis in Southern-Kaduna, in Zamfara and Plateau states are coming from the following states: Nasarawa, Benue, Taraba and Plateau states.
“We found out that if you can carry out serious operations to affect the supplies, which is coming from these areas, it will seriously limit part of what is happening there,” the DSS director said.
On interventions to counter criminal gangs and prevent violent attacks, Ekeng disclosed that seven tactical teams were conducting the operation to apprehend culprits associated with the arms sales, an operation, which, according to him, is ongoing.
On how to solve the problem of illegal arms, he  suggested legislations on prohibited firearms, more extensive vetting of those recruited into the security agencies, release of funds for logistics for border patrol personnel, electronic manning and deployment of cameras at borders and review of crisis management at local government levels.
Damgaiadiga  Abubakar, Deputy Comptroller,  who represented the Comptroller-General of Customs, Hameed Ali, disclosed that there were 1,100 illegal entry points into the country, with only 97 approved border posts.
He said the Customs was short of  equipment needed to stem the flow of weapons into the country, revealing that 2,671 pump action rifles had been seized from January to date, just as Customs personnel found culpable in the import of 661 pump action rifles had been dismissed from service and handed over to the DSS for prosecution.
According to him, lack of operational vehicles, fast moving boats, cutting-edge technology and advanced scanning machines at airports, seaports and border points were limiting the effectiveness of the Customs.

We’ll boycott, not disrupt election -IPOB


We’ll boycott, not disrupt election  -IPOB




Dailysun source 
The proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has refuted reports that it plans on disrupting the forthcoming election in the state.
In a statement signed by the group’s publicity secretary, Emma Powerful, it slammed the leadership of Ohanaze Ndigbo and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), accusing them of being behind the reports that IPOB planned to disrupt the elctions.
“We wish to state for the purpose of clarity that we are boycotting the elections and we want to state that the  unfounded allegations about IPOB intending to disrupt the polls as peddled by Ohaneze Ndigbo and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)  are not only baseless but completely false. What the good people of Anambra State should watch out for is the well known rigging antics of INEC.
“We insist on total boycott of all elections because voting in Anambra or any other elections in Nigeria is an exercise in futility since Aso Rock has already decided who they want sworn in as Anambra governor despite the words of free and fair elections emanating from APC praise singers in the South East. Risking one’s life to go and vote on Saturday, with trigger happy  soldiers looking for a Biafran to kill, is a risky adventure not worth undertaken by any sane person.
“We hereby warn all commercial vehicle operators to please stay away from Anambra State starting from the evening of the 17th of November because any vehicle seen will be regarded as hostile and working to subvert the will of the people. We are fully aware that some security agents have been brought into the state to facilitate the rigging of the election and any one seen on the road will be considered a threat to their plans. Therefore, we advise every body to stay in doors and to desist from driving through the state from 5pm on Friday the 17th of November to 6pm on Saturday the 18th,”the statement read.

Boko Haram: Army loses 3 soldiers

Boko Haram: Army loses 3 soldiers


The Nigerian Army has said it lost three of its personnel after successfully clearing 13 Boko Haram hideouts in the Sambisa forest in one week. Making the disclosure, yesterday, in Maiduguri, Borno State, Col. Kinsley Samuel, Deputy Director, Public Relations, 7 Division of the Nigeria Army, explained that six soldiers were injured during the operation while dozens of the insurgents were neutralised by troops.
Samuel said: “Troops of Operation Lafiya Dole in conjunction with the Nigerian Air Force on Operation Deep Punch have, within the past one week, embarked on clearance operations to dislodge Boko Haram terrorists from their camps.”
He added that the troops successfully cleared the terrorists’ hideouts at Talala, Ajigin, Mangzum, Abagajiri, Kafa, Dusula, Buk, Malumti and Abulam among others.
“Furtherance to the clearance operations, the troops on Friday, November 10, 2017, while acting on credible information that the terrorists were massing up at certain camps in fringes of Sambisa forest, advanced and cleared the insurgents at Shyadawe-Angwan-Fulani, Shyadawe-Angwan-Bula-Musa and Shyadawe.
“The troops captured two gun trucks, three motorcycles, many bicycles and a laptop containing valuable information. They also located a vandalised and unserviceable tank in one of the camps.
“The remains of the soldiers have been evacuated while those injured are receiving treatment at a military hospital,” said Samuel.

Friday 10 November 2017

IPOB shuts down Onitsha over Anambra poll protest


IPOB shuts down Onitsha over Anambra poll protest




Members of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) yesterday took to major streets of Onitsha and its environs calling for boycott of next Saturday’s Anambra State governorship election.
The group marched along major roads including Awka road, Old Market road, New Market road to Main Market, Oguta road and Upper Iweka to Owerri road vowing that there would be no election in the state or ‘Biafra land’ unless a referendum was held for the exit of Igbo people from Nigeria.
They waved Biafra flags and distributed handbills with inscriptions such as, “IPOB’s calls for referendum is not call for war”, “Biafra Exit”; “Our Mumu Don Do”; “No election in Anambra, no election in Biafra land, sit-at-home”, etc.
A member of the group, who gave his name as Ogbonnaya, said the people of Biafra should not vote, because the Nigerian system was skewed in favour of the North, stressing that voting would not change anything.
His words: “whether you vote or not, it does not change anything, whoever gets there swears allegiance to the Fulani slave book called constitution and immediately becomes a demon against his people. We need to boycott the elections to avoid giving their government legitimacy. To tell them that we are not miscreants, touts, criminals, toothless bulldog as they branded Biafrans. To tell them that the genuine power belongs to the people and we are withholding it for the good and the sake of our freedom”.
The group warned anybody who comes out to vote on the election day to be ready to bear the consequences.
Meanwhile, in a press statement signed by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Comrade Emma Powerful, the organization urged every Biafran, both home and abroad, particularly indigenes and friends, brothers and sisters living in Biafravland to prepare for the total boycott and lock down of Anambra State.
The statement stresses: “It is also very critical to inform every Biafran, be you IPOB family member, businessman, farmer, artisan, driver, teacher, doctor, Okada/Tricycle union, civil servant, trader, market leader, LUBAN, National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), NILODAS, fisherman, market men and women, including politicians who believe in freedom and liberty of a free independent State of Biafra, to boycott this Anambra State election”.
The statement noted that the successful boycott of the election would convey in unequivocal terms the determination and resolve to restore Biafra at all cost. This Anambra election boycott it stated would give that agitation unprecedented global momentum that would move world leaders to accept the inevitable democratic and peaceful break-up of Nigeria, and will be morally bound to consider a possible date for Biafra referendum for independence without delay.
“IPOB recognises the suffering of other ethnic groups all over Nigeria and would genuinely wish their humiliation and difficulties to be brought to an end. We want every ethnic group in Nigeria to be free from the bondage of colonial amalgamation imposed on everybody.
Therefore, it would be desirable for those championing true change to embrace this act of civil disobedience championed by IPOB to liberate all oppressed people in Nigeria,” it further said.
The secessionist group urged other ethnic groups in Nigeria to understand that IPOB under Mazi Kanu was not pushing for an independent Biafra state to spite any tribe or group of persons, but rather to provide a chance for decent living, under liberty and freedom, for Biafran generations unborn.
However, the Anambra State Police Command yesterday said the proscribed IPOB cannot stop Saturday’s governorship election in the state.
Reacting to the protest in Onitsha, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Nkeiruka Nwode (ASP), said the group’s action yesterday amounted to nothing as the state police command was on top of security situations in the state.
According to him, the police in the state had concluded arrangements for effective policing of the state during the election, stressing: “INEC has fixed the election and it must hold. Nobody or group can stop it”.
She assured the people of the state of adequate security during the poll, and asked them to go out en masse to exercise their franchise on the election day.
Also speaking on the security situation ahead of the November 18 governorship election, a red neck officer in the army told Saturday Sun that based on current intelligence, the military will most likely deploy men and equipment to the state to check IPOB members.
“The Army will continue to carry out its routine duties not just in Anambra but across the country. As you know, the army does not engage in election duties, that is why we don’t deploy soldiers to the poling booth. There are enough security agencies on ground in Anambra to monitor and ensure a smooth and crisis free election.
The soldiers will only be moved in if there is a crisis that is beyond the capability of the police to handle, that is where we come in. But for now the soldiers will continue to carry on with their routine duties and ensure the safety of all”, the source added.

Buhari’s 2nd term bid will make PDP win 2019–Adeyeye

Buhari’s 2nd term bid will make PDP win 2019–Adeyeye


-11th november 2017
•We’re ready to welcome Atiku, Saraki, Dogara, Oni, others back
Former Minister and National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Dayo Adeyeye, has said that the party is preparing to receive back into its fold prominent APC leaders such as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Senate President Bukola Saraki, House of Reps Speaker Yakubu Dogara among others. In this interview with VINCENT KALU, Adeyeye stated that the second term bid of President Buhari will make it easy for PDP to return to power in 2019.
The way All Progressives Congress (APC) is going, there is the fear of possible implosion, if that happens, would the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) be ready to embrace members from the ruling party?
Our doors are wide open, and PDP is a party for all Nigerians, irrespective of religion, ethnicity or anything. It is an umbrella that is big enough to accommodate everybody.
The plans of the founding fathers are for all Nigerians to be in the party. Any day, anytime, we are ready and our doors are wide open for anybody who is ready to leave APC. We know that the implosion would occur, and we hope to take advantage of it when it happens.
Is it not as they say, what goes around comes around? APC is facing the same challenge that PDP faced towards the build up to 2015 general elections that led to its members decamping to APC, and eventual defeat?
I agree with you that what goes round comes around, but APC was never a party and has never been a party and will never be a party. It is just an association of desperadoes who came together just to wrestle power from us. Now, that objective has been achieved, because there were no viable ideology, policies and programmes, that is why they are scattering.
So, there is nothing to mix them together as a party; it is just an association. A kind of alliance by desperate elements from different groups, that is why they cannot hold on as a party, and PDP despite its challenges, remains the biggest political party not only in Nigeria, but also in Africa. Some PDP bigwigs beat their chests that the party is taking over power in 2019; don’t you think that if President Buhari is running, it is going to be an uphill task for your party?
Buhari running will make it very easy for us. What achievement would he use as his campaign message? What would he tell Nigerians is the reason for his coming to do a second term?
In our national life, there has been no improvement, it has been retrogression. Is it in politics, economy, security, and his fight against corruption? There is no record to present to Nigerians. It is going to be an easy finish off for us, and we pray he should be the APC presidential candidate.
We are not bothered about that, short of any rigging of the election, which we are going to be very vigilant and would not allow it to occur, there is no way Buhari will win another election in Nigeria. Even in the north, he lost his popularity, because Northerners ask themselves, if their lives are better today than some few years ago under the PDP? The answer would be an emphatic No.
Whether Buhari or any other person, we are very sure we are going to defeat APC in 2019 presidential elections, because we have records of achievements in 16 years of rule. You can compare our records of 16 years to their two and half years and see where they are taking Nigeria.
In their two and half years, with EFCC and ICPC, they are yet to tackle the issue of corruption, they have not even added any institutional work to what we left on ground. It is the PDP that left the institutions for which they are using to fight corruption, and yet they are not fighting it with genuineness of purpose.
Nigerians can see monumental corruption in a government that says it is fighting graft – the issue of $21 billion contract scandal in NNPC, recall of Maina and promoting and reinstating him, Babachir Lawal, Ayo Oke and other scandals just in two and half years, but we didn’t have this kind of thing in our two and half years.
We have seen two and half years of this government and by 2019, Nigerians shall compare the four years of APC and four years of PDP, and know the party that cares for them. The records speak in favour of PDP.   
APC says that it is saddled with cleaning the mess PDP brought upon the country and that is why it has not done much They forgot that PDP took over from Abacha and the years of military misrule and disaster, but the party never complained any day that because it inherited the military wastages that was the reason it couldn’t perform. That is expected of any leader. When you are asking the people to give you post you didn’t ask that you were going there to play. Otherwise, that is the easiest thing anybody can do to blame the previous government for his problems. Anybody can blame a previous government for non-performance. You told the people that the other party was not doing well and you are coming to improve the situation, but you came in and made the situation worse.
It is very stupid for anybody to continue to blame PDP for his inadequacy, and we will see how this blame game will help them in 2019, whether Nigerians elected you to come and blame anybody or to come and perform. We will see in 2019.
APC also says that the PDP immigrants polluted the party, is this also another excuse?
Those people whom they accused of polluting APC, we are ready to welcome them back into our fold. Let them go, or simply expel them; our doors are wide open for them.
The truth of the matter is that this government doesn’t have anything to offer; it is always blaming, and blaming.    When you have a government that is always blaming and looking for scapegoat for its inactions and failures, then you have seen an unserious government that can never deliver on any of its promises. That is the stock in trade of the ruling party, just to find scapegoat for all its inactions and in adequacies.
APC is fixated on finding scapegoats for its failures. If they said that some people in PDP that came into their party polluted them, why can’t you just tell them to leave your party now, so that we can welcome them back and continue our march in progress towards 2019.
The PDP is said to have cleaned and put its house in order, but don’t you entertain fears that the people who were accused of polluting the APC, on their return to PDP may still pollute the party?
The PDP has a system that naturally cleanses all sorts of contamination. When they come back to PDP, they will meet a party that is well grounded in ideology and philosophy, a party that has policy, plans and programmes already well articulated for Nigerians. The thing that makes APC to fail is that it doesn’t have programmes, no policies that people can easily understand and key into, and that is why they are like rudderless ship, being driven away by the wind. They have no compass that can lead them to the shore.
If you come to PDP you just key into the ideology of the party, so there can’t be any problem for those who would return to our party. There is no confusion in PDP at all.
When you have a big party that is united, and has commonly accepted ideology and philosophy; that has a commonly accepted and articulated programmes and policies, there is no way the entry of any individual or group would contaminate the party. You have to come into the party and key into the programmes of the party.  We are not afraid.
If you are rudderless, and you are not united by ideology, any programme or policy, then people can behave the way they like and that is what is happening in APC, and it won’t happen in PDP.
If they say former PDP members polluted their party, let them release them to us, we are ready and willing to accept them back. We need people like Atiku Abubakar, we need people like Saraki, we need people like Dogara, all the leaders in the National Assembly, and some of them that have been made ministers we need them back, including the APC Deputy National Chairman, Segun Oni.
Is it right to say that PDP has learnt its lesson in a bitter way?
We have learnt our lesion no doubt about that. By the grace of God, we are moving forward; we have a new umbrella, which is clean and larger to accommodate more people.
What should Nigerians expect in 2019?
Nigerians know that things have not been so bad in their lives as they were under APC. The simple question is whether their lives are better four years ago than now.  What we have seen in these two and half years are increment in everything – Customs tariffs, electricity tariffs. Inflation skyrocketing, and income continues to go down. Whereas, they promised to create two million jobs, but Nigerians are losing their jobs and they continue to rake in more and more taxes.
It is not for the PDP to tell Nigerians anything, but for them to ask themselves the simple question about their lives under the APC.
They should use that answer appropriately in the ballot box.  We are very confident that Nigerians will throw away this APC government in 2019.
In 2015, the PDP easily conceded defeat, are you sure that the APC will do the same if PDP wins?
They are not democrats. The first four or five elections conducted by APC were marred by massive irregularities, despite the monumental achievements we left behind in 2015, which have been destroyed by the APC. The elections they conducted were massively rigged and manipulated as we saw in Edo State, where election was postponed giving way for rigging.
In Ondo State, they made sure that we didn’t have candidate two days to the election. I don’t believe that these people will organise credible election, but I believe that the vigilance of Nigerians supported by international community will make sure that APC doesn’t have its way. Whether they like it or not, they would be thrown out of power.

I’m sorry for impregnating another man’s wife, Celestial priest tells court

I’m sorry for impregnating another man’s wife, Celestial priest tells court

— 11th November 2017

A Celestial Church priest, David Adebayo on Friday begged a Customary Court sitting in Mapo area of Ibadan to pardon him for impregnating Omolara Ojeyemi, a legal wife of Abiodun Ojeyemi.
Adebayo, who is a resident of Alakuko area of Alagbado in Lagos State confessed that Omolara was his concubine and that he had been sleeping with her for the past 12 years.
“My lord, anytime Omolara left her husband in Ibadan, she used to come to meet me in Lagos where we usually have fun. Sometimes, she came after her closing hour in her office and returned to Ibadan the following morning.
“Omolara only told me that she and her husband were no more in good terms even though she had already had two children. I swear on the holy bible, I didn’t intend to destroy her relationship with her husband, she is just ,my girlfriend.
“The pregnancy in her tommy belongs to me, I was the one that deflowered her during my NYSC days. I followed her into the court to ensure that her union with Abiodun is dissolved today not that I am daring the court’s power,” Adebayo explained.
Adebayo however, apologized to the court for causing so much disharmony in Abiodun’s family and for having unlawful sexual intercourse with a housewife.
The president of the court, Ademola Odunade dissolved the seven year-old marriage between Omolara and Abiodun Ojeyemi and ordered Abiodun to take custody of their two children. Odunade held that the society was fast undergoing an unprecedented decay in morality especially how adultery was ruining marriages.
“It is so tragic that a man can deliberately impregnate a housewife with children. It has never happened in the history of this court that a concubine will accompany his mistress to the court with the intention of daring us, saying nothing will happen.
“In the interest of peaceful living, the union between Omolara and Abiodun has ceased to be henceforth. Abiodun shall take custody of the two children produced by the union,” the magistrate stated.
Narrating his ordeal, Abiodun who was a staff of Nigeria Brewery said that Omolara, his wife, was an unrepentant fornicator despite his genuine love for her.
“My lord, ever since I got married to Omolara seven years ago, little did I know that she had been occupied with all sorts of escapades in the name of going to church vigil.
“What I know is that she usually tell me that she was going for church vigil and I never had any reason to suspect her because I trusted her.
“However, since around June this year, Omolara started starving me of usual sexual intercourse between husband and wife. Before I eventually knew the truth, Omolara had told me that her concubine was her uncle and I was relating with him well as an in-law.
“One day, I got home and discovered that she had packed all the property away including mine. In fact, I have never failed to perform my responsibility as a husband to her and as a father to our children.
“Omolara’s concubine is a Priest at a Celestial Church, Emmanuel Parish Elewiodo-Ojo, Ibadan,” Abiodun explained.
Testifying in the matter, Omolara’s father confessed that Abiodun was a complete gentle son in-law whom he liked so much.
He added that he usually rendered Abiodun and Omolara monetary assistance anytime they were in need. “I know that Abiodun has a great future ahead of him and I used to tell Omolara, my daughter to keep calm. If there was any problem, Abiodun never hesitated to inform me.
“I never gave any wife to that naughty concubine and I know that he only wants to cause disaster to the happy relationship between my daughter and Abiodun,” Omolara’s father said.
However, Omolara who was the plaintiff in the case had earlier informed the court that she was no longer interested in continuing in the marriage with Abiodun because he was threatening her life with scissor attack and irresponsibility.

Avengers’ Threat: Exodus in Delta coastal communities as military deploys hardware.

Avengers’ Threat: Exodus in Delta coastal communities as military deploys hardware. 

— 11th November 2017
After months of calm and normalcy, tension has returned to Niger Delta communities with residents gripped by palpable fear of impending resumption of hostilities between militants and the Nigerian armed forces.
The people’s anxiety stems from the recent declaration by the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) of its decision to opt out of a year-long ceasefire agreement brokered by Pan Niger Delta Elders Forum (PANDEF) in Abuja on November 1, 2016.
The Avengers’ declaration on November 3, coincided with the annual inspection tour of naval formations across the Niger Delta region by the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, who likewise responded in strongly-worded statements of the readiness of the military to tackle the threat.
Less than 24 hours after the naval chief’s visit, men and officers of the Nigerian Navy ship, NNS Delta, in conjunction with the Nigerian Army and lightly.ce started massive deployment of military hardware such as fighter- jets, surveillance choppers, gunboats and naval personnel to the coastal areas of Delta State, including Gbaramatu kingdom in Warri South West Local Government Area. The development has triggered panic among indigenes many of whom are yet to fully recover from the tribulations of the invasion of Gbaramatu Kingdom by soldiers in the past and they have started fleeing their communities.
Saturday Sun investigation revealed that many of the indigenes had begun to leave, while many others have their baggage packed and poised to flee at the first sign of trouble.
Reasons for fleeing
Residents of the coastal communities, especially, those in the Gbaramatu axis, were seen leaving their homeland in droves to avoid becoming casualties of military operations.
Grace Dimene, a 38-year-old mother of five, was seen offloading her personal belongings from a canoe she paddled with her children all the way from Kokodiagbene community in Warri South West Local Government area of Delta State. She told Saturday Sun she had to move out with her family, as they could no longer bear the intimidating presence of military personnel in her community.
She said: “We had a very sad experience in our community last year when the military launched ‘Operation Crocodile Smile’. Many of our people, especially women and young ones, were trapped as soldiers took over the entire place with gunboats and surveillance choppers making it difficult for us to go about our daily businesses. We were subjected to starvation during the period as we were almost denied access to marketplaces. At a point, we ran out of foodstuff and many of us had to go begging for food from those who had enough to feed their families. It was a terrible experience for three weeks. No one will pray to go through such again in a lifetime. That is one of the main reasons I moved out before the situation worsened.”
Seventy-six-year-old grandmother Rose Timinimi, an indigene of Gbaramatu Kingdom, had already abandoned her home, because of fear of a repeat of the experience.
Though, not directly oppressed by soldiers during the operation, her children were subjected to harrowing experience, especially, the males who were mistaken for militants by soldiers desperately seeking Avengers’ members, she said.
Her last child, an 18-year-old undergraduate of Mechanical Engineering at the Niger Delta University, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State was wrongfully arrested on his way to school on a Monday morning after spending the weekend with the family in Kurutie
To Andrew Peretuobo, 27 –year-old graduate of Delta State University, staying behind in the community at this critical period “is like committing suicide with your two-eyes open.”
Peretubo, who studied law, said: “What do you expect any right thinking person to do at this point? Stay behind in the community and claim all is well when you see stern-looking soldiers taking over everywhere with sophisticated equipment? Those soldiers are looking for able-bodied youths within the age bracket of 17 to 50. I am within that category. There’s no way I would remain there. Thank God, I have relations in the cities of Warri and Effurum. I will go and hangout with them for a while until the situation improves in the area.”
For Ebi Ekpebide, past experience showed how heavy military presence in the areas often led to dwindling businesses due to relocation by a large percentage of the local populace. “Besides my wellbeing, my business is more paramount to me. I would not allow anybody, not even the Nigerian soldiers, to come between me and my source of livelihood,” said the 29-year-old.
At the Naval Engineering College, Sapele, the Chief of Naval Staff did not mince words in sending a warning signal to the Avengers to expect a very tough military resistance to their latest threat to resume hostilities in the region. He described the threat as an affront, which the armed forces would not take lightly

Thursday 9 November 2017

Biafra: IPOB faults Financial Times report



Biafra: IPOB faults Financial Times report



The leadership of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has faulted a report of the Financial Times of London, on its leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
The group said the newspaper went  contrary to the ethics of investigative professional journalism in the report on Kanu.
IPOB said the headline of the report, titled ‘Echoes of Biafra war as Nigeria looks to polls,’ is a case in hand.
In a statement signed by IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, he said in the report, it was obvious that there were deliberate and noticeable misrepresentations evidenced in the over reliance on fake or unverified information of the newspaper from third parties and Nigerian government in particular.
“Given the sensitivities surrounding the clamour for Biafra independence led Kanu’s IPOB and the heavy handedness of the Buhari regime widely documented by reputable global human rights organisations, it would have been prudent for an institution like the Financial Times to report the facts accurately.  
“This unprofessional conduct calls for holistic review on the part of the proprietors of the Financial Times. It is our position that, had a reputable media organisation like Financial Times embarked on investigating their sources of information before hand, they would have been well-informed of the fact that IPOB is non-violent in their quest for restoration of Biafra…
“Does it mean that the editors of Financial Times did not see and in fact, know that Nnamdi Kanu is not in hiding, but, instead, was taken away when his home was invaded and 28 people killed?
“Did they not see the bullet riddled house and damage done to his family home?
“Are they not aware of the existence of a video taped interview clearly showing the Defence Minister,  Mansur Dan Ali admitting that they sent soldiers to Kanu’s home? 
“Where went the conscience of the highly-revered editors of this reputable publishing giant before they authorised this misleading report?
“We remind them that all these information that we have pointed out to them are publicly available and as a consequence, demand that they rectify the monumental errors of omission and misrepresentations in their report.
“Otherwise, we can only firmly conclude that they have joined the league of ‘fake news’ club.” 

Wednesday 8 November 2017

Man City posts N236bn revenue


Man City posts N236bn revenue




Top English premiership side, Manchester City is winning on and off the field of play.
The club last night  announced record revenue of £473.4m (about N236bn) and a third consecutive year of profitability as the club’s annual report for 2016-17 was published on Wednesday. Premier League leaders City posted a profit of £1.08 million, down from £20.5 million last year. The club said an extended 13-month reporting period had affected profitability. A 21 percent increase in revenue meant that the ratio of wage costs to revenue fell to 56 percent. The club is operating with zero debt and chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said that revenue was pushing towards “towards the 500 million pounds mark”.
“This report is about making sure our fans and our partners can see the true detailed status of every aspect of the club,” he said in a statement. “What hopefully comes across is that the football organisation and off-field business have the right symmetry and balance to allow us to continue to further strengthen and grow.”
Despite finishing last season without a trophy, chief executive Ferran Soriano was satisfied with the team’s progress and potential under manager Pep Guardiola.
who took charge before the start of last season.
“We are committed to playing beautiful football and to win. Both elements are compatible and the second is a consequence of the first,” said Soriano.
“I am convinced we will see further progress and silverware in the seasons to come.”
City spent heavily in the summer transfer window on Benjamin Mendy, Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva, Ederson and Danilo, building a squad that is currently eight points clear at the top of the Premier League league table.

Tuesday 7 November 2017

Russia 2018: Mikel, Akpeyi make late arrival to Eagles camp

Russia 2018: Mikel, Akpeyi make late arrival to Eagles camp


South African based goalkeeper, Daniel Akpeyi is expected to make a late arrival to Super Eagles camp in Morocco today after missing his flight in Lagos.
Akpeyi who was initially billed to depart Lagos on Monday for Rabat was only able to catch a flight out of Lagos yesterday.
New kid on the block Francis Uzoho on his part, arrived Morocco from Spain yesterday ahead of Friday’s game against Algeria in the World Cup 2018 Qualifiers.
Uzoho would begin his push for a spot in the team against Ikechukwu Ezenwa and Daniel Akpeyi.
A total of 20 players are presently training under the watchful eyes of coach Gernot Rohr who is expected to make a decision on who will be in goal against Algeria on Friday and also against Argentina in four days time.
Meanwhile, Super Eagles captain Mikel Obi is yet to join the team in Morocco and the coach says there will be no extension of the deadline.
Nigeria are without several key players, namely Victor Moses, Elderson Echejile, Odion Ighalo, Ogenyi Onazi and Moses Simon for the matches against Algeria and Argentina.
Olanrewaju Kayode and Kenneth Omeruo have thus been handed late call-ups by coach Gernot Rohr.
Uncapped Henry Onyekuru, Chidiebere Nwakali and Francis Uzoho will get a chance to stake for places on the squad to Russia 2018.
The Super Eagles started their preparations for the World Cup qualifier against the North Africans on Tuesday evening.
The team will  fly out to Algeria on Thursday ahead of the game on Friday night, before leaving for Russia on Saturday for the friendly against Argentina in Krasnoder, on Tuesday, November 14 .

Anambra guber: IPOB posters, handbills on election boycott flood streets

Anambra guber: IPOB posters, handbills on election boycott flood streets


….As rights activists kick, insist on pole
Posters and handbills by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), calling on Biafrans to boycott election in Anambra State and other states, have flooded streets and roads in Onitsha, and other areas.
The posters had picture of IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu with inscriptions like, ‘No election in Biafran land and Anambra State,’  and ‘Vote for referendum’ were pasted at strategic places, telling the  people to stay indoors during the November 18 Anambra governorship election.
Police in the state had, last week, arrested two IPOB members with the posters in Onitsha, but, despite that, the group went ahead to circulate the posters and handbills, insisting that governorship election in Anambra State should be boycotted.
The group said it would serve as civil disobedience, pending when a referendum will be conducted for exit of Biafra people in Nigeria.
It was gathered that the posters were seen two days ago with different messages and pictures, while some bore Kanu’s picture while others had the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu’s picture, telling residents to sit-at-home or boycott the forthcoming election.
Reacting to the boycott call, Chairman of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) in the state, Mr. Vincent Ezekwueme cautioned IPOB for trying to create unnecessary tension, and said  it would be detrimental and despicable if the election is boycotted.
Ezekwueme, however, urged every citizen of the state to participate in the election, just as he advised the people to vote for a candidate that will be responsible for their welfare.
Also, Board Chairman, International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law (Intersociety), Mr. Emeka Umeagbalasi advised pro-Biafran groups to participate in the election and elect credible people that will pilot affairs of the state and the country at large.
Umeagbalasi, who gave the advice when the leadership of Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), led by Mr. Uchenna Madu, visited him in his office in Onitsha, said referendum would come through dialogue and agreement and not by force.
Umeagbalasi noted that the only way to be involved in a democratic society is to participate in the electoral system and not to boycott elections.
He said in as much as he believes in the struggle for self-determination as championed by MASSOB, IPOB and other groups, they must follow due process and peaceful manner to achieve their aim.

2018 BUDGET: SARAKI, DOGARA TALK THOUGH.

2018 BUDGET: SARAKI, DOGARA TALK THOUGH. 

-8th november 2017
Senate President, Bukola Saraki and Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara have warned against selective implementation of the 2018 budget as well as reckless borrowings by the Presidency.
In his opening remarks, during the joint session of the National Assembly when President Muhammadu Buhari presented the 2018 Appropriation Bill, Saraki minced no words when he declared:  “We must ensure that our borrowing is targeted at productive projects that will stimulate the economy. We must ensure real value for money in projects funded by borrowing, and make doubly sure that the projects are not overpriced.”
Dogara, on his part, said non-implementation of the budget was the same crime as corruption, while warning that the roll over of the 2017 budget would be predicated on how far the executive implemented capital components of the Act before end of the year.
The Senate President, while speaking on job creation, said although the country had officially exited recession, Nigerians were yet to feel the impact.
“People are seeking to get back to work but cannot find jobs. Entrepreneurs want to restart their businesses but are finding it difficult to access the needed capital. As for our farmers, the last thing they want is for produce to go to waste because people cannot afford to buy. Looking around today, we see that many of our undergraduates are apprehensive about their graduation day and our National Youth Corps members are not looking forward to the end of the service year, for fear of being tagged ‘unemployed.’
“While I commend your current efforts at tackling unemployment, especially among the youths, through federal youth programmes such as YouWin, N-Power, and YES-Programme, deliberate steps must be taken to make the 2018 budget a job oriented one. We must move beyond budgetary provisions without adequate funding available for the execution of projects- and ensure that selection of contractors as well as the release of funds, are transparent. We must, therefore, make project completion a top priority, especially those projects that directly impact the lives of our people,” he said.
In his remarks, Dogara said as legislators, what agitated them was the prospects of totally abandoning the 2017 budget and the dire consequences of doing so.
“The questions that must be answered include whether we have effectively enforced 2017 fiscal targets and whether managers have complied with the budget as authorised by the legislature. Our experience with the implementation of the 2016 budget amply demonstrates that obeying our appropriation laws maximises the release of our potentials while violating the appropriation laws caps the release of our national potentials.
“This means that we have to redouble our efforts in implementing the 2017 budget, if we must retire it in January or at the very least roll over most of the projects in 2017 budget to 2018. No need to remind us that fiscal indiscipline is as grievous a problem as corruption, which this government is busy eliminating.
“Let me place it on record that the 2018 budget preparations suffer from inadequate consultations between the MDAs and various over-sighting committees of the National Assembly. Consequently, one can only hope and pray that it does not lead to delay in consideration and passage of the Budget.”
Some lawmakers who reacted to the budget presentation said they were not satisfied with its contents. They said there was no difference between the 2017 budget and the 2018 proposal.
Senator Foster Ogola from Bayelsa State said he was disappointed with the presentation. He lamented the exclusion of the Niger Delta region, while accusing the administration of deliberately refusing to make special provisions for oil producing states, which are the economic backbones of the country.
Said he: “As a senator, I am grieving that promises to treat the Niger Delta region is being treated with levity. The same region that brings the money does not get anything. Year in, year out, they make promises, but they do not do anything. The president said he would clean up Ogoniland. What is the percentage of Ogoniland in the Niger Delta region? Actions like these are responsible for the agitations in the Niger Delta region. You do not milk a people to a dry point and tell them to be patient.”
In a related development, members of the House of Representatives failed to make true their threats to scuttle the presentation.
The members, predominantly from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) caucus, had plotted to protest the non-implementation of the 2016 and 2017 budgets, especially the non-release of funds for constituency projects by the Presidency.
Soon after the House concluded its closed door meeting, ahead of the budget presentation, PDP members, led by the Deputy Minority Leader, Chukwuka Onyema, met at the Hearing Room 2, White House.
Daily Sun gathered that at the caucus meeting, the lawmaker agreed to carry placards during the presentation of the 2018 Appropriation Bill by President Buhari, to protest non-implementation of previous Appropriation Acts.
But while President Buhari’s speech lasted, for over an hour, no lawmaker stood up to protest. Instead, lawmakers repeatedly applauded the president and gave him a standing ovation when he concluded his long speech.
On Monday, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, met with Buhari to strategise on how to halt the planned protest by some members of both chambers of the National Assembly.

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