BOKO HARAM TAKEN OVER BY AL-QAEDA

There are very strong indications to suggest that al-Qaeda, the global terror organization founded by the late Osama Bin Laden, may have taken control of the notorious and deadly Jama’atu Ahliss-Sunnah Lidda’awati Wal Jihad, popularly known as Boko Haram, Sunday Vanguard can report authoritatively.
In addition, it was learnt that some of the camps used by Boko Haram members as safe haven in Cameroon have been detected by Nigeria’s security forces.
The problem, however, according to sources, is that “except Cameroon enters into concrete collaboration with Nigeria, nothing can be done”.
Aqim and Boko Haram
The alleged arrowhead of the take-over, which is the al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, AQIM, has its headquarters in Algeria.
Intelligence sources disclosed to Sunday Vanguard that members of Boko Haram had had collaboration with AQIM since 2010.
As far back as 2010, intelligence sources said “the Algerian government had said available intelligence reports confirmed that extremist Nigerian Islamic group, Boko Haram, has linked up with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) which has its North African headquarters in Algeria.”
One of the sources added, “The revelation confirms Nigeria’s intelligence services assessment and worries that the previously unknown group has received training and support from al Qaeda.
“Even at that time, Algerian Deputy Foreign Minister, Abdelkader Messahel, told journalists that intelligence report showed both groups had been coordinating.
”We have no doubts that coordination exists between Boko Haram and al Qaeda.”
Reuters news agency quoted Messahel as saying “the way both groups operate and intelligence reports show that there is cooperation”.
AQIM was said to have grown out “of a conflict in Algeria between the government and Islamist militants”. An intelligence report said, “In the past few years, it has expanded its activities to include Mali, Niger and Mauritania but was not thought to have reached as far south as Nigeria”.
The report said Algeria’s assessment of ties between AQIM and Boko Haram carries authority because Algeria has the biggest intelligence-gathering operation on al Qaeda of any country in the region.
Sunday Vanguard was reliably informed that “the group sent out some six members to Algeria to learn how to make Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs.” A security source said, “Indeed, the students, in the light of Boko Haram’s bombing raids, appeared to have learnt well.
“It was discovered that after the ‘Arab Spring’- a peoples revolution across some North African countries – some of the militia and criminals hitherto nurtured by the fleeing leaders migrated southwards and were the ones largely responsible for and who inspired the civil strife in Mali.”
“The source went further: “It was these same people who moved easterly through Niger Republic and were causing problems in northern Nigeria.
“It was the emergency rule declared by President Goodluck Jonathan, the efficacy of which hemmed the terrorists to the north eastern states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa and even across the Nigerian borders that has restricted their activities to attacking soft targets”.
The source disclosed that the funding the sect members enjoy is not only derived from their robbery activities but from their links with AQIM; the sophistication of their attacks is also as a result of the strong involvement of AQIM.
Camps uncovered
Military sources confirmed that some of the camps used as hideouts by members of Boko Haram have been identified in North-western Cameroun.
Information provided last week by highly dependable sources suggest that the vastness of the border between Nigeria and Cameroun makes it very difficult if not impossible to fully police the area.
“The reality on ground is that it is not possible for Nigeria’s security forces to carry out aerial bombardment of the hideouts of the terrorists,” one of the sources told Sunday Vanguard.
“These camps have been identified but we cannot just go into another country and carry out bombing sorties.
“If the type of collaboration between Niger and Nigeria existed between Cameroun and Nigeria, we would have achieved more successes.
“Even at that, you will agree that our military forces have been intercepting and aborting some of the plans of the insurgents.
“But when people speed in and speed out into another country, you cannot pursue them into another country without the permission of that country”.
Led by the late Mohammed Yusuf, the first major uprising by Boko Haram actually began in Bauchi State on 26 July 2009 when hundreds of the sect adherents launched an attack on the Dutsen Tanshi Police Station. This attack failed, with reports of at least 50 people killed. In the next four days, the group carried out further attacks, with gun battles between the sect and the police reported throughout Bauchi, Kano, Yobe, and Borno States. The worst of the violence occurred in Maiduguri, where the group had relocated from its Kanamma base, Yobe State, a base aptly named Afghanistan.
Prior to July 2009 when the sect’s notoriety waxed strong, its members had been involved in dastardly incidents in Yobe in 2003 and in Kano in 2004. In April 2007, 10 policemen and a divisional commander’s wife were killed in an attack on the police headquarters in Kano.
On 13 November 2008, Yusuf was arrested following an attack on a police station in Maiduguri, in which 17 of his followers were killed. On 20 January 2009, an Abuja High Court granted him bail. This was to be an error, a fatal one.
He was apprehended again in December 2009 after the sect engaged the military in a gun battle lasting almost one week. He was handed over to the police where he died under circumstances that are still alleged to be extra-judicial.
Vanguard

MALAYSIA AIRLINE WITH 239 PASSENGERS VANISHES INTO THIN AIR

Malaysia Airlines said Saturday that it lost contact with one of its planes carrying 239 people to China.
Flight MH370 was on its way to Beijing when contact was lost, two hours into the flight early Saturday, the airline said in a statement.
Find the full statement below:
Ladies and Gentlemen, we are deeply saddened this morning with the news on MH370.
Malaysia Airlines confirms that flight MH370 had lost contact with Subang Air Traffic Control at 2.40am, today. There has been speculation that the aircraft has landed at Nanming. We are working to verify the authenticity of the report and others.
Flight MH370 was operated on a Boeing 777-200 aircraft. It departed Kuala Lumpur at 12.41 am earlier this morning bound for Beijing. The aircraft was scheduled to land at Beijing International Airport at 6.30am local Beijing time.
The flight was carrying a total number of 239 passengers and crew – comprising 227 passengers (including 2 infants), 12 crew members. The passengers were of 14 different nationalities – citizens from:-
1. China – 152 plus 1 infant
2. Malaysia – 38
3. Indonesia – 12
4. Australia – 6
5. France – 3
6. United States of America – 3 pax plus 1 infant
7. New Zealand – 2
8. Ukraine – 2
9. Canada – 2
10. Russia – 1
11. Italy – 1
12. Taiwan – 1
13. Netherlands – 1
14. Austria – 1
This flight was a code share with China Southern Airlines.
We are working with authorities who have activated their Search and Rescue team to locate the aircraft.
Our team is currently calling the next-of-kin of passengers and crew.
The flight was piloted by Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, a Malaysian aged 53. He has a total flying hours of 18,365hours. He joined Malaysia Airlines in 1981. First officer, Fariq Ab.Hamid, a Malaysian, is aged 27. He has a total flying hours of 2,763 hours. He joined Malaysia Airlines in 2007.
Our focus now is to work with the emergency responders and authorities and mobilize its full support. Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected passengers and crew and their family members.
The airline will provide regular updates on the situation. The public may contact +603 7884 1234. For media queries, kindly contact +603 8777 5698/ +603 8787 1276.
Next-of-kin may head to the Support Facility Building at KLIA’s South Support Zone. For directions, call 03 8787 1269.

JONATHAN DECLARES WAR ON RIVER STATE

PRESS STATEMENT
We have learnt with shock and disbelief, of the zero allocation to Rivers State in the 2014 Budget of the Federal Ministry of Works. What this means is that Rivers State will not receive any Federal Government project this year!
No one is deceived by the claim of the Minister of Works, Architect Mike Onolememen, while defending the Ministry’s budget on Tuesday before the House of Representatives Committee on Works, that neither the Federal Government nor his ministry was at war with Rivers State. If that is the case, then what could have warranted the omission of Rivers State from the list of States that will enjoy Federal Government presence in terms of capital project execution this year? If this is not war, then what is it?
This is very sad and condemnable. It is simply unbelievable that President Jonathan could stoop so low as to direct the Ministry of Works to bypass Rivers State just because he has some differences with Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.
We must, in this regard, commend Hon. Dakuku Peterside, Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), for proving to be a worthy representative of the people of Rivers State by staging a walk-out in protest over the zero allocation to the state during the Works Ministry’s budget defence.
According to Chief Peterside who represents Andoni-Opobo/Nkoro Federal Constituency of Rivers State, “I decided to leave the budget session on discovering from the ministry’s details of on-going projects and 2014 budget proposal that there was no single allocation for projects in Rivers State. The few projects listed in Rivers State got zero allocation. For such criminal neglect, there is definitely more to this omission than meets the eye”.
A breakdown of details of on-going highway and bridge projects in Rivers State shows that no single allocation was given to such projects as construction of Eleme Junction Flyover and dualization of the access roads to Onne Port in Rivers State; access roads to Eleme Port Harcourt Refinery; construction of Bodo-Bonny Road with a bridge across the Opobo Channel and the rehabilitation of the Abalamabie (Allison Hart) bridge. It will be recalled that Rivers State government awarded and completed Eleme Junction Flyover project in the year 2009.
If we may ask, what joy does President Jonathan derive in continuing this ill-advised war against Rivers State and her people? Under the watch of President Jonathan, Rivers State has lost much revenue as our oil wells were transferred to neighbouring states. They have taken away the oil wells in Soku and given them to his home State, Bayelsa. They have taken the ones between Oyigbo and Etche and given them to Abia. So, our resources continue to dwindle. We used to make between N19bn and N20bn; now we are doing N13bn.
To continue this senseless war against Rivers State and her people, other areas that the administration of President Jonathan has haunted the Rivers State people include the blatant refusal of the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to sign the necessary documents that would have assisted the State to obtain an African Development Bank loan to provide pipe-borne water for the State and save people of the State from dying from diseases related from bad water.
Refusal by the Federal Government to authorize the release of the two surveillance helicopters procured by the Rivers State Government at N30B so that the State will be paying demurrage in hard currency annually. These helicopters would have assisted the Federal Government to fight oil theft in the Niger Delta region thereby increasing the dwindling revenue accruable to the Federation Account.
The refusal of the Federal Government to approve the release of these machines into the country that would have benefitted the entire Nigerians is a demonstration of how not to play politics with the life of Nigerians. This is a demonstration of how this government has alienated itself from those it governs and prefers to have our common patrimony kept in private hands while majority of Nigerians continue to wallow in poverty in the midst of plenty.
Refusal by the administration of President Jonathan to implement the UNEP report that would have assisted in the cleanup of the ecological devastated Ogoniland of Rivers State.
With all these sad events it is now very glaring to any sound mind that Rivers State is being treated as a conquered State in a nation in which we are a key player and sadly all these are happening after delivering the highest number of votes that made Dr Goodluck Jonathan the President of Federal Republic of Nigeria during the general elections of 2011.
The All progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State therefore is deeply saddened by this bizarre turn of events as orchestrated by the Presidency. The State Interim Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibamu Ikanya, is full of sadness; he is dumbfounded that President Jonathan and his administration should declare and sustain a war on Rivers State and her people by ensuring that since he assumed office Rivers State cannot boast of one single Federal Government presence. We as a federating state of this nation pay our taxes and Rivers is among the major states in Nigeria that contribute much to the revenue of this country. Therefore, to be treated as if we are no longer part of this nation because of politics is no longer acceptable to us!
We, therefore, demand an end to this senseless war against an innocent people even as we urge the good people of Rivers State to continue to identify with Gov. Amaechi, who is the face of change in Rivers State. In the words of Dr. Ikanya, “Gov. Amaechi represents change and the people of Rivers, as true progressives, should remain loyal to APC, a vehicle for change both in the State and in the entire Nigeria.”
Long Life APC!
Long Life Rivers State!!
Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze,
SSA Media and Public Affairs to the Interim State Chairman, APC Rivers State
06-03-14

SARAKI POLITICAL DYNASTY IN OVER IN KWARA STATE - PRES. JONATHAN

President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday threw a massive electoral challenge to the supporters of the Saraki family, saying that the Saraki political dynasty is over in Kwara State.
The President also observed that the era of god-fatherism in politics is gone in the country at large.
Speaking at a reception tagged ‘Unity rally’ at Metropolitan Square, Asa Dam, Ilorin, Jonathan, who was accompanied by Vice President Namadi Sambo, PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, Chairman, PDP Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih, Senate President David Mark and other national leaders of the party, said PDP is the true party that is free of dictatorship.
His words: “As a President, I did not control the governor of Bayelsa State, my home State, because the party gives room for freedom and allows governors and ministers to work without being controlled.
“PDP is the only party that liberates people. It is only in PDP that you can come from nowhere like me and become President of the country. I can confirm now that the mammoth crowd here has shown that Kwara people are ready to free themselves.”
“I am a President, but I have a governor I don’t have control over. We at the apex level of government can only monitor people in positions of authority to make them deliver dividends of democracy to the people, and we don’t dictate to them,” he added.
He explained that his government is working based on the PDP manifesto, adding that Kwara State should expect more dividends of democracy and goodies from the Federal Government in due course.
President Jonathan maintained that the PDP remains the only party that can give the people of the state the freedom they desire, saying: “If you are not in PDP you are not in politics, as it is only PDP that can guarantee your freedom in the State and the country at large.”
Emir of Ilorin throws weight behind Jonathan
Emir of Ilorin and Chairman Kwara State Traditional Council, Mai-Martaba Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari has assured President Goodluck Jonathan of his helping hands in whatever areas he may sort for in advancing his political career.
The monarch stated this on Monday in Ilorin while receiving President Jonathan and members of his cabinet and national working committees of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, at his Palace.
The monarch who described the president as a leader with clear political records noted that Ilorin his peaceful and strategic to the peaceful co-existence of the nation serving as a gateway to the northern and southern parts.
“When you were serving as the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, you never knew you will become the Governor, when you were the Governor, you never knew you are going to become the Vice President nor acting President. But at long last, you finally became the President of the great nation in substantive capacity peacefully. All these are God’s
work.
“It is the same God that we besiege to grant you what you are looking for peacefully”, even as the emir presented a horse to the President as a mark of honour.
In his response, President Jonathan told the monarch that he had never be in Ilorin for negative rather, all his missions to the state have always being positive despite the ugly experiences of the Boko Haram insurgence in some states.
According him, “We are not yet here to campaign, when the time comes in about six to seven months time, we shall visit you again. At this time, we are here to formally receive decampees into our party and also give them the sense of brotherhood and belonging.
“When the time also comes, we shall introduce to you some of your illustrious sons and daughters we hope to use for various elective positions and seek your supports for our victories.”

APC CALCULATION ALTERED BY ATIKU

Findings by Sunday Newswatch have revealed that the recent defection of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) may have completely changed the scheme of things within the opposition mega party.
Sources, who confided in our correspondents, said that the former presidential candidate of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) – one of the constituent parties of the APC, General Muhammadu Buhari, initially had an agreement with APC chieftains on the presidential ticket before Atiku joined the train.
One of the sources noted, however, that the condition Atiku gave APC chieftains before defecting to the party may now be restraining them from giving Buhari, or any of his nominees, an automatic presidential ticket.
“Immediately Atiku came on board, he changed the calculations. And there are fears that he might pick the big slot, because the man has a deep pocket. He told them before joining the party that there must be primaries, in which everybody would be given a level-playing ground.
“They foolishly agreed because they were desperate to have him in APC. Now, they must conduct primaries, and we know that, if that happens, Atiku will win. Buhari has no money to dole out to delegates, and elections are all about money; we are in a fix now.
“We just hope that Buhari won’t leave the APC, because that will spell doom for the party. Some of his people are mounting pressure on him to quit, because they know he won’t get the ticket. Atiku has changed the whole game plan,” he said.
Other sources equally insisted that members of the defunct CPC were insisting that the retired General should quit the APC, if there was no assurance that he would pick the presidential ticket of the latter.
However, contrary to prevailing speculations that Buhari and his supporters in the APC were set to dump the party, following Atiku’s entry, sources close to the former Head of State have maintained that he would remain in the party, for now, and that he had not indicated any interest to dump the APC.
Yet other Sunday Newswatch sources pointed out that the presence of the retired General Buhari in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, last week during the Progressive Governors’ Forum, was a confirmation that he had not bowed to pressures from within his caucus to quit the APC.
However, those who believed there is formidable pressure on Buhari to quit, insisted that the various meetings of party leaders at different locations in recent times were to persuade Buhari to remain in the party.
Buhari was sighted in Ibadan last week, where he was full of life and conviviality, as he discussed at length, on how the APC would ensure the desired change in the country, particularly, in the area of unemployment.
Speaking exclusively with Sunday Newswatch, a former governorship candidate of the defunct CPC in Ogun State, Alhaji  Abdulraheem Adebayo Shittu,  assured it was only a rumour that Buhari was planning to quit, stressing that if such pressure was being mounted, he (Shittu) would  not be out of the arrangement.
Shittu said if Buhari was planning to yield to such pressure, he would not have been in Ibadan during the Progressive Governors’ Forum meeting that took place last week.
He said: “It is not in the interest of Nigeria that Buhari should leave APC, which he co-founded. His home is APC, and he cannot go elsewhere. I can categorically tell you that the rumour has no basis.”
In another twist, the Adamawa State chapter of the APC appears to be engulfed in a crisis of defections, thereby necessitating moves by the party leaders in the state to stem the gale. While some party faithful are still basking in the euphoria of Atiku’s defection to the party, others are now worried by the mass exit of defectors, which has hit the state chapter of the party in recent times.
Apparently worried by the loss of its members to the rival PDP, leaders of the party in the state are making moves to persuade aggrieved members from defecting to other parties.
Stakeholders, such as former Atiku, Governor Murtala Nyako, Brigadier Buba Marwa, Boss Mustapha and a host others,  are billed to hold  an emergency meeting on Wednesday at the Government House, Yola. The purpose of the meeting is to salvage the party from the internal wrangling, currently bedevilling it.
The party recently held a widely-publicised rally in Yola, the state capital, to formally receive former Atiku. But no sooner had the rally been concluded than the party started losing members to PDP.
Those who defected to the PDP were led by CPC governorship candidate in the 2011 general elections, Markus Gundiri. The party also lost M.C. Tahiru, a member of the House of Representatives from Yola North/South and Gerei Federal Constituency. He was said to have tendered his letter of resignation, recently.
Interim Treasurer, Alhaji Adamu Kamale, confirmed that the leaders of the party would meet during the week to chart a way forward. He admitted that there wwere cracks in the party, as the Interim State Executive of the APC was “working at cross purposes, which resulted in serious crisis in the state chapter of the party.”
He expressed the belief that nothing good would come out of the party under the leadership of Hon. Kobis Aris as the interim state chairman.
According to him, Kobis handled the affairs of the party as if it was a personal estate. He said the party chairman lacked the required charisma to move the party forward, and pointed out that the recent crisis in the party led to movement of the key players to PDP, which he claimed was as a result of the fall-out of the recent membership registration exercise carried out by the party in the North East.
He said the Interim Committee Chairman, Aris, sidelined most of the party faithful so much that political thugs were sponsored to threaten the Interim Secretary of the party, Amb. Fati Bala, who was harassed by Nyako’s Commissioner for Local Government, with a mission to concede the party’s structure to Nyako, illegally. He stressed that many stakeholders of the party were denied registration during the membership exercise.
One of the party chieftains, who did not want his name in print, said that the latest crisis actually started during the recent rally held by the party in the state, adding that, “The state government was to help provide 50 buses to bring party supporters from the 21 local government areas to the rally venue.
“But Nyako’s loyalists from the new PDP prevented members of the legacy parties from entering the buses, which was the reason Engr. Markus Gundiri protested and did not participate in the rally. It was because of the humiliation they meted to his supporters.”

WE KILLED SUSPECTED ISLAMIST AND ARRESTED 15 OTHERS CLAIMED NIGERIAN ARMY

GOVERNOR OF ADAMAWA STATE NARROWLY ESCAPED DEATH

The Governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako narrowly escaped death as gunshots boomed while he and the Speaker of the state’s House of Assembly, Hon Umar Fintiri were on a condolence visit to Shuwa.
Street Journal gathered that the shooting started just as the Governor rounded off his condolence remarks and prayers were being offered for the repose of the souls of the victims of Wednesday’s attack on the town. There was confusion and the prayers had to be suspended.
It was later found out the gunshots came from soldiers who kept shouting “the boys are coming” as they kept firing. The discovery annoyed the Governor who blamed the soldiers for causing unnecessary tension.
Shuwa was one of the towns that came under attack from the Boko Haram terrorist sect who swooped on Adamawa State on Wednesday.
It will be recalled that Governor Shettima of Borno State narrowly escaped being hit as terrorists shot at his convoy on his way back from a condolence visit to areas that were attacked.

APC WASHED THEIR HANDS OFF THE KIDNAPPED OF PDP CHIEF

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State says it has learnt with shock of the allegation by the factional Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the State, Mr. Felix Obuah, that the Rivers State Government and the APC leadership have a hand in the allege kidnapping of three PDP chieftains and killing of one other person.
The abducted men include the Port Harcourt Local Government PDP Chairman, Ikechi Chinda; a former member of the House of Representatives representing Port Harcourt Federal Constituency I, Hon Chinyere Igwe; and Alwell Ihunda.
In a press statement to NF-Reports on the night of 27 Feb. 2014, by the Senior Special Aide on Media and Public Affairs to the Interim State Chairman, APC Rivers State, Chief Eze Chukwumeka Emeka said: “We consider this allegation not only very unfortunate but also unbecoming of a fellow who claims to be a party leader”.
“Those who know the antecedents of Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and the Rivers State Government under his watch can testify to his abhorrence for violence, including the unholy acts of kidnapping and militancy – not to talk of murder! It is a well-known fact that the Amaechi administration did everything humanly possible to eradicate the menace of militancy and kidnapping from Rivers State and that it succeeded in doing so until the likes of Mr. Obuah came on board promoting both militancy and kidnapping as part of their satanic strategy to make the state ungovernable due to their political differences with Amaechi This fact is well known to every keen follower of events in Rivers State.
“It is, therefore, diversionary for Mr. Obuah, who played a key role in bringing back insecurity to Rivers State, to turn around to accuse the Amaechi administration in this regard. We urge Mr. Obuh to apologise to Gov. Amaechi and Rivers APC leadership within 48 hours or we may feel compelled to explore legal options available to us in this regard. He should also assist the police to unravel the circumstances behind the alleged kidnapping and murder since he obviously knows much about these criminal acts.
“Though this act maybe a ploy to protest the removal of CP Mbu from Rivers State by the PDP faithful seeing that CP Mbu was one of their prized members and introduction of the type of Government they intend to run in Rivers State if they take over the reins of governance in Rivers State come 2015 but now that we have come to terms to their level of frustration we will ensure that such a group will never taste power anymore in Rivers State.
“Finally, let us state unequivocally that neither Rivers APC nor Gov. Amaechi and his administration know anything about the alleged kidnapping and murder. We will never be involved in any act that will bring sorrow to even our greatest political enemy or enemies, not to talk of aiding kidnapping of anybody for whatever reason! We urge the Police to investigate Mr. Obuah and find out from him why and how these people were kidnapped as both the Rivers State Government and APC leadership have nothing to do with this”.

RURAL AREA DEVELOPMENT FUNDS WAS GOTTEN FROM ABACHA'S $500M LOOT - OKONJO IWEALA

Minister of Finance and Co-ordinating Minister for the Economy and , Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said yesterday that the $ 500 million recovered Abacha loot was used to develop the nation’s rural areas.
The minister was reacting to an article by Mr. Sonala Olumhense who claimed that $2.5 billion was recovered from the funds looted by the then maximum ruler, Gen. Sani Abacha but that the money disappeared under the minister’s watch.
According to the minister, $ 500 million, not $2.5 billion was recovered and had been spent development projects in rural areas as agreed with the Swiss government.
A statement by Mr. Paul Nwabikwu, Special Adviser to the minister said that the claims by Mr. Olumhense were unverified and largely false.
“The problem I have with Mr Sonala Olumhense’s articles on the Coordinating Minister and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala is the general absence of verified facts and the basing of opinions on gross inaccuracies.
“For instance, Mr Olumhense writes that $2.5 billion of Abacha money was recovered during Dr Okonjo Iweala’s time as Finance Minister under President Obasanjo and that the money disappeared implying some involvement in the disappearance by the Minister. This is absolutely false. First, the amount recovered was $500 million, not $2.5 billion.
“The recovered amount was channeled into rural projects and programmes as per the agreement with the Swiss government which repatriated the funds. A combined team of Nigerian and Swiss NGOs with the World Bank later verified the use of this money on the ground in the projects cited and they certified the money had been accurately utilized.
“The World Bank had written about this in a 2007 2008 Handbook on stolen Asset Recovery where the case was cited as a best practice example of how to deploy returned proceeds of looted assets. Readers of Mr Olumhense would benefit more if his passionate writings on Dr Okono Iweala are supported by a bit more research as opposed to sweeping, unverified statements”, the statement read in part.
On the NNPC oil accounts issue, Mr. Nwabuikwu said that the minister has been at the forefront of the anti corruption crusade and had called for an independent forensic audit to establish the facts of any unaccounted for money and ensure that all every Naira owed the treasury was returned to the Federation Account.
“This is the best way to proceed given the conflicting claims by Mr Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and the NNPC. After all the speeches and comments like that of Mr Olumhense, the fundamental problem of determining the facts as a basis for action must still be tackled. Is there room for more action on corruption? Of course the answer can only be yes. But action is needed to achieve change. Talk is cheap, action is crucial.
“The clean up of the fraud in the subsidy payments regime to oil marketers for which she paid a heavy personal price in the form of the abduction of her mother by paid kidnappers in November 2012 is one clear example”.
“Another example is the clean up of the pension fraud with the establishment now of a new institution under the Federal Ministry of Finance – the Pension Transition Administration Department to ensure that pensioners under the old defined benefits scheme are not defrauded anymore”, he said.

US SENATORS SPLIT OVER UGANDA AID'S FREEZE

An influential US lawmaker on Tuesday proposed withholding aid to Uganda after the African nation’s president signed a controversial new measure imposing life prison sentences for homosexuals.
“I am deeply concerned by the decision of President (Yoweri) Museveni of Uganda to sign into law the anti-homosexuality bill,” Senator Patrick Leahy, the most senior member of the chamber and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement.
“Much of US assistance to Uganda is for the people of Uganda, including those in the Ugandan LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community whose human rights are being so tragically violated,” he added.
“But we need to closely review all US assistance to Uganda, including through the World Bank and other multilateral organisations.”
Washington is among Uganda’s largest international donors.
The State Department said that in current fiscal year some $485 million in bilateral assistance had been provided to Uganda with most of the funds going towards health programs, as well as education, food security and military training.
The State Department has signalled it is looking at a range of options to respond to the law, while White House spokesman Jay Carney said “we are undertaking a review of our relationship with Uganda in light of this decision.”
Mr Leahy chairs the appropriations subcommittee on State Department and foreign operations, and he has several options at his disposal, including inserting language in a 2015 aid bill that puts conditions on US assistance to Uganda.
Argued against
Some lawmakers argued against cutting off aid.
“Africa is a continent in peril. The problems in Uganda with AIDS, and, you know, kids starving — do we deny economic aid to the developing world in Africa, which could be an ally, over an issue like this?” asked Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.
“I’m not so sure that’s the right answer.”
Fellow Senate Republican James Inhofe, who has travelled to Africa dozens of times and has strong connections to Uganda, said he was “offended” by the anti-gay law but suggested blocking aid would be counterproductive.
“We can all express ourselves on how we oppose” the new law, he told news wire AFP. “But if we start making that the predicate for what our policy is going to be on all issues, I think that’s probably the wrong way to do it.”
Washington has praised Uganda for successfully tackling HIV/AIDS. The Kampala government has prioritised abstinence and faith in addition to condom use, and the UN recorded a plunge in Uganda’s HIV prevalence, from 18.5 per cent in 1992 to five per cent in 2000.

SUSPECTED BOKO HARAM OPEN FIRE ON SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS SLEEPING IN THEIR DORMITORY

Suspected Boko Haram Islamists on Tuesday opened fire on secondary school students as they slept in a dormitory in Nigeria’s troubled northeastern Yobe state, the military said.
Casualty figures from the attack in the town of Buni Yadi, roughly 60 kilometres (40 miles) from the state capital Damaturu, were not immediately available but scores of students have been killed in similar attacks in the state in the last year.
The military spokesman in Yobe, Lazarus Eli, said the raid occurred at 2:00 am (0100 GMT) at the town’s Federal Government College, a school for students aged 11 to 18.
The gunmen “opened fire on student hostels”, Eli said.
“Details are still sketchy due to lack of telephone access and it is still not clear how many students were affected in the attack”, he added.
The name Boko Haram means “Western education is forbidden” and the Islamist rebels have carried out waves of attacks at schools across the north during their four-and-a-half year insurgency.
At least 40 students were killed in September at an agriculture training college in the Yobe town of Gujba in September after Boko Haram gunmen stormed a series of dorms in the middle of the night and sprayed gunfire on sleeping students.
Yobe is one of three northeastern states which was placed under emergency rule in May last year when the military launced a massive operation to crush the Boko Haram uprising.
More than 1,000 people have been killed in the region since the emergency measures were imposed, despite the enhanced military presence.
Boko Haram, declared a terrorist organisation by Nigeria and the United States, has said it is fighting to create an Islamic state in Nigeria’s mainly Muslim north.
AFP

WILL WHATSAPP EVER BE THE SAME AFTER FACEBOOK BOUGHT IT OVER?

WHATSAPP has been down for at least two hours days after it was bought by Facebook, it has been claimed three days ago
Twitter users first posted their frustration, many blaming Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, after opening the messaging service and seeing it fail to connect to servers.
Earlier that week the app available for Apple iPhones, Blackberrys and Android devices was bought by Facebook for $19 billion (£11.4bn).
WhatsApp took to Twitter around 8.15pm on Thursday to confirm that the service is experiencing problems and they are working to fix the issues.

The WhatsApp Status account tweeted: “Sorry we currently experiencing server issues. we hope to
be back up and recovered shortly.”

GEJ TO REPLACE BORNO GOVERNOR (SHETTIMA) WITH MILITARY ADMINISTRATOR.

Governor Kashim Shettima is to be suspended from office early this week and replaced by a Military Administrator as part of plans by the Federal Government to launch a decisive military offensive against Boko Haram insurgents, Sunday Trust learnt from authoritative sources in Abuja at the weekend.
Members of the Borno State House of Assembly are also to proceed on suspension to enable the Military Administrator to exercise full executive and legislative powers. President Goodluck Jonathan is expected to announce the sudden move on Wednesday when he swears in 11 new ministers, including Lt General Aliyu Mohamed Gusau, who is expected to take over as Defence Minister.
Sources told Sunday Trust that the Presidency has already identified a retired Army General that it intends to appoint as the Military Administrator of Borno State. According to the sources, the Presidency believes that placing a soldier in charge of the state government will send a signal to the recalcitrant insurgents and also give impetus to the highly stepped up military effort that it is planning in the wake of deadly attacks on several Borno communities by the insurgents in recent weeks.
It was not immediately clear if the presidency’s planned move is meant to punish Governor Kashim Shettima, who had a sharp exchange with it last week over handling of the war against Boko Haram. Emerging from a private meeting with the president, Shettima told reporters that the insurgents were often better armed and better motivated than the army in the ongoing war. Jonathan’s senior special assistant for public affairs, Doyin Okupe, replied the next day, saying Shettima’s claim was not true, that the governor is too inexperienced to know about weapons and that the military is winning the war against Boko Haram. Shettima, however, visited the State House again last Thursday and had another private meeting with Jonathan, where observers thought they had resolved their differences. Sources said Jonathan invited Shettima to the meeting after last Wednesday’s renewed Boko Haram attack on Bama town.
Sunday Trust learnt that the move to suspend democratic structures in Borno State was recently revived following a similar attempt last May, when Jonathan first declared a state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states. His proposal to suspend governors and state legislators in the affected states was vehemently opposed by the National Assembly, lawyers and civil society groups. They pointed out that a Supreme Court ruling in the case of Atiku versus Obasanjo made it clear that a governor, deputy governor, vice president or a president can only lose his position in one of four ways. These are death, permanent incapacitation, resignation and impeachment. A parallel move by Jonathan to seize the financial allocations of the three states and commandeer it to fund military operations was also thwarted by the House of Representatives, which deleted it from the gazette emergency notice issued by the president.
Contacted for his comments yesterday, Shettima’s spokesman Isa Umar Gusau said he was “surprised to hear that the federal government may be contemplating such an illegal, unjustified, unconstitutional and highly controversial move that will heat up the polity and endanger this country’s democracy.” He said his boss is a very calm, extremely patient person, who is not given to muckraking or unguarded utterances. He said “what the governor said was a product of long observation, a welter of information from persons at the receiving end of the attacks and also careful reflection. The view is shared by all elders and community leaders in the state. It was not meant to embarrass anyone but to alert Nigerians to the danger we all face and to seek the support of all citizens towards overcoming it.”
Gusau also said, “If the reason for the alleged move is in order to win greater support for the military in this battle, I doubt if anyone else can do what Governor Shettima has done and is still doing by way of assisting the security operations and also by bringing quick relief to victims of insurgent attacks, including the widows and families of security agents.” He said the Borno State Government under Shettima has provided vehicles, allowances, fuel and other equipment worth hundreds of millions over the years to the military and other agencies fighting Boko Haram.
In addition, he said, Shettima paid over N200m to families of soldiers killed in operations as well as provided hundreds of millions of naira as relief to families of civilians killed by insurgents. The governor, he said, promptly visits communities attacked by insurgents and arranges immediate relief and resettlement. This is necessary in order to build up public confidence in security operations and maintain popular backing for the military operations, he said.
Contacted for comments yesterday, President Jonathan’s spokesman Reuben Abati told Sunday Trust reporter that he was not aware of any such moves by government.
“I’m not aware of such a plan,” Dr Abati said. “We’ve just returned from Owerri, Imo State, where the president received politicians who have joined the PDP. Why not call the military authorities to confirm that to you. As you know, the constitution is very clear on how a governor could be replaced. I cannot confirm anything to you on this issue.”
Meanwhile, constitutional lawyers spoken to yesterday described the planned move by the Presidency as illegal and unconstitutional.
A constitutional lawyer and executive director of the Human Rights Monitor, Barrister Festus Okoye, said removing a state governor and dissolving the state assembly will amount to ‘constitutional aberration’ capable of affecting the 2015 polls and giving the fight against insurgency ‘an unwarranted political colouration.’
He said the state of emergency that was declared in accordance with Section 305(1) of the constitution and published in Federal Government’s Gazette, after its approval by the National Assembly, did not provide for dissolution of any of the states’ democratic structures.
“The details of the proclamation do not include the removal of the governor and the dissolution of the House of Assembly and other elected democratic structures. It is a constitutional aberration to declare and (or) assume that a state of emergency must of necessity extinguish democratic structures or lead to their dissolution or suspension. The governor and the state assemblies are elected and the conditions for their removal or suspension are also constitutionally spelt out,” he said.
“The governors of the affected states have displayed uncommon courage in the face of the massive onslaught by the insurgents. The security agencies have been doing their own bit. The missing link in the fight against insurgency is in the area of intelligence gathering, analysis and implementation. There is also an imagination deficit in the approach to the challenge of insurgency.
“Any approach to tackling insurgency that does not creatively factor the local population into the solution will not achieve the desired result. The Nigerian people must bond together and tackle the challenge of insurgency.
“The dissolution of democratic structures in any of the states will put an undeserved strain on the 2015 elections and give the fight against insurgency an unwarranted political coloration. The dissolution will be unconstitutional and will polarize the National Assembly. I do not see the National Assembly approving the amendment to the details and when such is defeated in the National Assembly it may demoralize the armed forces. As we move towards the 2015 elections, we must avoid constitutional impunity that will put an undeserved strain on our fragile constitutional democracy,” he said.
Also, human rights activist Femi Falana, SAN, said Governor Shettima cannot be held responsible for the seeming successes being recorded by the dreaded Boko Haram troops in the North East.
Falana, who stated this in a telephone interview with Sunday Trust yesterday, said that no Military Administrator can fight the Boko Haram when army commanders have failed to conquer the insurgent group.
The senior lawyer said it was because of the illegality of the arrangement that President Jonathan could not appoint Military Administrators when he declared state of emergency in three states in the North-East zone last year.
“It was because of the illegality of the proposition that the president could not appoint Military Administrators (MILADS) for those three states when he declared a state of emergency last year. Since the constitution has not been amended to empower the president and the NASS to remove an elected governor, there are no bases to remove the Borno State governor. If anybody has to take responsibility for the worsening security situation and for the crisis in Borno State and the North-East, so far, it is the president who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and not the governor, who is a glorified chief security officer of the state.
“In fairness to Jonathan he has repeatedly assured Nigerians that the situation is under control and that the FG is winning the war against terror. The unarmed governor of Borno State cannot be held vicariously liable for the seeming success being recorded by the Boko Haram fighters, who appear more armed than Nigerian soldiers and have resorted to guerilla warfare, which is very alien to the Nigerian armed forces.
“Instead of resorting to any diversionary tactic, FG should go back to the drawing table by motivating the soldiers and equipping them with modern weapons as well as improvement of the intelligence gathering,” Falana said.
Sunday Trust

FORMER CBN GOVERNOR(SANUSI) MAY BE PROSECUTED - PRESIDENCY

The suspended Sof the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Lamido Sanusi, may face prosecution over the allegation of financial recklessness levelled against him by the Federal Government.
SUNDAY PUNCH’s investigation revealed that relevant government agencies, especially the anti-graft agencies, would be asked to study the report of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria which indicted the embattled governor with a view to prosecuting him.
“When government’s spokesmen said on Thursday that investigation into the matter was still ongoing, what do you think they were talking about? It is clear that there are agencies of government saddled with the responsibility of investigating cases like this. They will definitely carry out their statutory responsibilities,” a competent government source told SUNDAY PUNCH.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, told Punch correspondent that the FRCN in its report to President Goodluck Jonathan indeed recommended prosecution.
He however said he could not confirm whether the President had given any directive to anti-graft agencies.
The presidential spokesman said what was clear was that Sanusi had a lot of questions to answer on the matter.
Abati said, “I don’t have any information on whether the President has sent the report that indicted Sanusi to anti-graft agencies but if you see the FRCN report, it recommends prosecution as its last recommendation.
“I cannot tell you whether the President has taken steps on the strength of that recommendation or not because as we have said, investigation is still ongoing.
“I am sure Sanusi himself knows that he has a lot of questions to answer but I cannot tell you categorically that a particular step has been taken.”
The presidential spokesman added that the CBN 2013 financial statement could also be faulty since it was based on the 2012 statement that had already been condemned by the report.
“One thing most people are overlooking is that if the financial statement of 2012 was strongly condemned by the FRCN, the question you should ask is that on what basis did the CBN conduct its financial processes for 2013?
“If you say a particular financial statement is wrong, for you to start another year, you have to bring forward the balance of the previous year.
“So, what figure did CBN bring forward to 2013? There are still a lot of issues requiring further investigation before a water-tight case can be established,” he explained.
Paragraph 5.4 of the FRCN’s report dated June 7, 2013 signed by the council’s Executive Secretary, Jim Obazee, and addressed to the President read, “Your Excellency is invited to note that the explanation provided by the leadership of the CBN is unsatisfactory. Accordingly, Your Excellency may wish to decide that those found culpable should be prosecuted accordingly.”
The report found Sanusi and the bank’s deputy governors culpable and advised the President to exercise the powers conferred on him by Section 11(2)(f) of the CBN Act 2007 or invoke Section 11(2)(c) of the said Act “and cause the governor and the deputy governors to cease from holding office in the CBN.”
Punch

A TAXI DRIVER IN NEW YORK, A CHIEF OVER 5 TOWNS IN GHANA

WHO IS THIS YOUNG MAN?

The image of the man circled is one you know so well.  At that time he walked among ordinary men, but now he is walking with Kings. Never underrate the man beside you, you never know where he will be tomorrow. I hope this man remember all this men that took this picture with him. if i may ask who is this man ?
Yes I know you know him, i know he is very wealthy, but if i may ask, at this time who did this man really think he is? where did he think he will reach in life? Now that God have brought him to the point he is now. What will he have to say to his creator? Who is this young man?

SANUSI'S PASSPORT SEIZED BY SSS

Following the controversial suspension of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi earlier yesterday, officials of the State Security Services, SSS, have withheld his passport as he arrived via Lagos international airport, Nigeria on his way back from Niger Republic.
According to former minister Nasir El-rufai who accompanied the suspended CBN governor, “With SLS leaving Execujet terminal. SSS officers have with-held his passport and initially sought to restrain him from going into Lagos….”
The SSS initially stopped Sanusi but later let him leave with his family.
Sanusi, driven in a black Toyota SUV accompanied by several official cars, is now driving through Lagos streets.
Sanusi reiterated that he will challenge his dismissal in court, adding that Nigerians should not relent in pursuing the fight to recover the $20 billion missing from the NNPC.

PRESIDENT JONATHAN GAVE REASON FOR SUSPENDING SANUSI

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