Wrong Medication Kills Senator Stella Oduah’s First Son In Abuja

The  first son of Senator Stella Oduah has died at a Turkish private hospital in Abuja due to the wrong prescription by a medical doctor; SaharaReporters has learned.Senator Oduah's son, whose name was given as Maxwell Chinedu Etoromi, died yesterday after he took a wrong medication prescribed for him following a tooth surgery.SaharaReporters learned that the 28-year-old graduated from Guildford College in the UK before returning to Abuja.


The  first son of Senator Stella Oduah has died at a Turkish private hospital in Abuja due to the wrong prescription by a medical doctor; SaharaReporters has learned.

Senator Oduah's son, whose name was given as Maxwell Chinedu Etoromi, died yesterday after he took a wrong medication prescribed for him following a tooth surgery.

SaharaReporters learned that the 28-year-old graduated from Guildford College in the UK before returning to Abuja.


Ms. Oduah served in the Goodluck Jonathan administration as a Minister of Aviation before running for a seat in the Nigerian Senate.

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Asari Dokubo not dead – IYC.

Ovie Okpare, Warri.

 The Ijaw Youth Council has dismissed the rumoured attack by military personnel on Alhaji Asari Dokubo, founder of the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force (NDPVF).

 There were widespread rumours of Asari being killed in an alleged confrontation with soldiers on Saturday morning.

But in a statement by the spokesman for IYC, Eric Omare, on Saturday said the former militant warlord was in good health and there was never a confrontation between him and military men.



 IYC, an umbrella body for Ijaw youths, also called for the immediate withdrawal of troops from the region particularly the creeks of the Niger Delta following the recent ceasefire deal reached with militant youths and stakeholders in the region.

 The group stated that there was no reason for military deployment in the region, adding that such was already causing tension and fear among people in the region.



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Zamfara, Enugu killings unacceptable – PFN.

Alexander Okere, Benin.

The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria has called the Nigeria Police and other security agencies to speed up investigations into the murder of eight students of the Abdu Gusau Polytechnic, Zamfara State, and a Catholic seminarian in Enugu.

It also urged security agencies not spare any detail in unravelling circumstances surrounding their deaths, arrest the perpetrators and ensure that they faced the wrath of the law.

‎The National President of PFN, Rev. Felix Omobude, who made the call in a statement on Saturday, described the killings of innocent Nigerians as barbaric and shocking.‎

Omobude lamented that it was becoming more difficult, with each attack, to find answers to the “seeming helplessness on the part of law enforcement agents” to rein in on individuals, whom he said “insist on these barbaric, riotous and criminal acts, while claiming to be acting in the name of religion”.

The statement read in part, “We condemn these acts of violence being increasingly witnessed, which is absolutely unacceptable.

“We urge the police and other security agencies to move swiftly to get to the root of these incessant attacks and bring the perpetrators to book, as it would appear that some people seem to assume they are above the law and can always get away with murder and arson.”

According to him, it was worrisome that while efforts were being made to build a united Nigeria, some people appeared determined to pull the nation back, cause division and hatred on account of differences in religious persuasion and ethnicity.




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BDCs:Banks shun CBN’s $50,000 sale directive.

Oyetunji Abioye.

Deposit Money Banks have yet to comply with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive asking them to sell $50,000 from Diaspora remittances to Bureau De Change operators on weekly basis, the President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria, Aminu Gwadabe, has said.

In a statement on Monday, the ABCON boss said only 10 per cent of the BDCs from the Lagos market had accessed dollars from the DMBs since the CBN gave the directive about three weeks ago.

According to him, the banks that have been involved in the dollar sales so far include First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Ecobank Nigeria, Fidelity Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc and Unity Bank Plc.

Others are Diamond Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc and Stanbic IBTC Bank.

Gwadabe regretted that the BDCs in Port Harcourt, Kano, Abuja, Onitsha, Maiduguri, Benin and Enugu had yet to get  dollars from the banks.

He said that the BDCs were also selling the dollar between N345/dollar and N355/dollar, far above the interbank rate of N305 to the dollar on Monday.

The banks, he added, were supposed to sell to the BDCs on the same day within the week, but had  failed to do so.

He said, “Instead of staggering the payment, the banks should sell to the BDCs on the same week’s day, so that the impact will be felt in the market. We also want the CBN to license new International Money Transfer Operators to deepen the market

“Our members across the country have funded their accounts since two weeks ago but the banks are not selling to them. The BDCs that met the CBN’s policy guidelines on the disbursement and cleared by the banks have still not received a dime from the banks.”

Gwadabe therefore called on the CBN to outsource the dollar distribution role to an independent distributor since the banks had failed in their assigned role.

“I think the banks are compromising the policy and CBN’s directive on the matter. And like I said earlier, since the banks are not cooperating, I expect the CBN to take that role from them and assign it to a reputable independent distributor,” he said.

The CBN had directed, through a circular to authorised dealers, that all agents to approved IMTOs sell foreign currency accruing from inward money remittances to licensed BDCs.

The directive was meant to ensure stability of the exchange rate and encourage participation of critical stakeholders in the foreign exchange market.

Speaking further on the Diaspora remittances, Gwadabe said, “The proceed of the international money transfer fund, is not the CBN money. It is not from the foreign reserves of the CBN. This is money that Nigerians in Diaspora are sending into the economy. Before, this money comes through unofficial means, some sending through hands, and at the end of the day, the beneficiary will not even get the money”.

According to him, the CBN is trying to increase liquidity, and deepen the market. “Before the circular on Diaspora remittances, the proceeds were exclusive reserve of the banks. And in other climes, it is not like that. That kind of money is exclusive to the BDCs in other countries. But what we have here is the reverse case. It became monopolised by the banking sector,” he said.

“This money should all go to the BDCs. But we want the banks to give us part of it, so that we begin to see activities in the market. And based on that submission, the CBN saw reasons in what we are saying. And they issued circular directing banks to sell part of the funds to the BDCs so that we can ensure that the demands of the critical retail sector are being serviced.”



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How Dogara, Gbajabiamila, others received N10 billion in illegal allowances — Jibrin.

A former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, Abdulmumin Jibrin, on Friday accused some senior lawmakers in the House of living large by appropriating illegal allowances to themselves at the expense of Nigerian taxpayers.

The lawmakers, who currently serve in different capacities as principal officers of the House, have allegedly shared more than N10 billion amongst themselves as “office running cost,” a subhead legislators have used for years to corner illegal allowances to themselves.

Nigerians have complained about these illegal allowances for years but this is the first time in Nigeria’s history that a serving lawmaker would open up on the sharp practices.
Mr. Jibrin disclosed the details in an email to PREMIUM TIMES Friday night as part of the unfolding budget padding scandal he triggered more than a month ago.

The 10 principal officers and the funds they have allegedly received so far as running costs included the Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara, who allegedly got the largest share of N1.5 billion.
Others on the list included Deputy Speaker, Yusuf Lasun, N800 million; Majority Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, N1.2 billion; his deputy, Buba Jibril, N1.2 billion; House Whip, Alhassan Doguwa, N1.2 billion; and his deputy, Pally Iriase, N700 million.
The rest included Minority Leader, Leo Ogor, N1.2 billion; Minority Whip, Yakubu Barde, N700 million; Deputy Minority Whip, Binta Bello, N700 million; and one Chuma he listed as Minority Whip, N700 million.
But contrary to what Mr. Jibrin stated in his statement, PREMIUM TIMES could not find any lawmaker by the name Chuma with the designation of Minority Whip.

Similarly, Mr. Jibrin listed Mr. Barde as Deputy Minority Leader who has been in the House since 2007. But findings by this newspapers showed that Mr. Barde was first elected in 2003 and he serves as Minority Whip. Our Efforts to get Mr. Jibrin to clarify these ambiguities were unsuccessful as calls to his known telephone number was neither answered nor returned.

Although the latest allegations primarily targeted the familiar names Mr. Jibrin had been waging political and media war against for weeks, it nonetheless, marked the first time the Kano lawmaker would openly accuse Mr. Gbajabiamila of being a beneficiary of fraudulent proceeds.
The inclusion of Mr. Gbajabiamila did not however entirely come as a surprise to observers. He was among the principal officers who jointly signed a statement last week to castigate Mr. Jibrin and threaten him with sanction when the House resumes from its recess in September.
In his statement on Friday, Mr. Jibrin said he listed Mr. Gbajabiamila and other principal officers to show that he was not only waging a war to remove Mr. Dogara from office but also to stop the questionable office running largesse, which he described as the sole unifying force for the 360-member House.

“Most of these members use it to acquire properties, cars and live a life of luxury they never lived before coming to the House,” Mr. Jibrin said.
Mr. Jibrin said he would continue the fight because “It is only when the legislature comes with purity that effective oversight will be carried out and investigative hearing to expose fraud and corruption can be undertaken.”
Mr. Jibrin said he was waging the campaign with the hope that it would bring about a lasting turnaround in the fraudulent premise upon which many aspiring lawmakers readily base their ambitions.

“The consequential effect of dealing with corruption in the House, especially the allowances issue, will take its toll on even elections. Candidates usually spend so much money hoping that they can recoup from the huge allowances they will receive when elected into House.
“When you know that there is no such money in the House to be shared, I am sure nobody will want to put in so much money just to win an election to the House.
“The resultant effect will be that only people who truly want to serve will vie for the office, and voters will be obliged to vote according to the dictate of their conscience. This is just one advantage,” Mr. Jibrin said.

Mr. Jibrin made the first revelations about the fraudulent manipulation of 2016 budget on July 21, a day after he was eased out as chairman of the powerful appropriations committee.
This week, he celebrated the first month of what experts described as of one Africa’s biggest parliamentary scandals and ascribed his perseverance to his natural desire for political advocacy.
“I have said it repeatedly that this activism has been running in my blood, and thankfully the fallout of the 2016 budget became the trigger and provided me with the right avenue.”
Mr. Jibrin, therefore, implored Nigerians to remain steadfast and vigilant as he leads the cause to liberate it from those he described as corrupt elements.

“As we continue this struggle to wipe out corruption and restore sanity in the House of Representatives, I will continue to urge Nigerians to remain vigilant as these corrupt elements can go to any length to change the narration and evade justice,” Mr. Jibrin said.
Mr. Dogara’s spokesman, Turaki Hassan, did not answer PREMIUM TIMES’ calls seeking comments for this story.
Abdulrazak Namdas, the spokesperson for the House, could also not be reached for comments as his listed telephone line was switched off the several times our reporter called.


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Bring back our girls or resign, Chibok families tell Buhari.

Relatives of the abducted Chibok girls have accused the Nigerian government of abandoning their daughters to suffer in captivity, and have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to resign if he cannot rescue the girls.

The relatives spoke on Thursday in Abuja after they were stopped by security operatives from reaching the Aso Rock presidential villa to see the president.
The protest march, the second in the week, was organized by the BringBackOurGirls group.
Relatives of the missing girls said the president neglected them after repeated unfulfilled promises.
The girls were abducted by extremist sect, Boko Haram, since April 14, 2014.

Enoch Mark, father of two of the girls, said President Buhari had failed the Chibok people who voted for him in 2015 with the hope that he would ensure the return of the girls.
“Many Chibok parents voted you because we believed that you would ensure the return of our daughters. You promised us that you are a military man and that you cannot lie. You said the war will not be over until the girls are back,” Mr. Mark said.

“Now we hear shouts of victory. And you turn around and say you do not know how to get out daughters. Former President Sani Abacha told us that no country can fight war for up to 24 hours without its government knowing about it. If the president lacks intelligence to bring back the girls let him resign.
“We have men who can do the job. There is nothing that Nigeria does not have. What is stopping the president from giving the orders?” he queried.
The mother of Dorcas Yakubu, the girl who spoke in the recent Boko Haram video, said the Federal Government should exchange detained terrorists for her daughter if the government has no better option.

“Because it is obvious that no serious effort has been done to ensure the rescue of our daughters, otherwise we would have heard some good news.” she said.
Mrs. Yakubu said the security operatives preventing her and the other members of the #BringBackOurGirls group from reaching the president were stopping her from fulfilling the request of her daughter.

“My daughter pleaded with me to try and see the president personally and talk to him regarding the rescue of the Chibok girls. They named her Maida. I named my daughter, Dorcas, but they changed her name,” she said.
Mrs. Yakubu called on the first lady, Aisha Buhari, to do her best to assist mothers like her.
Hauwa Abama, another mother of one of the abducted children, said the government was responsible for her ordeal.

“Government is the one that has taken my daughter from me,” she said.
Other relatives, Rhoda Ishaku, whose only sister, Zara, has been with her captures for over two years, and Martha Enoch, wife of Enoch Mark, called on the government to put an end to the silence and return their children.

Mrs. Enoch said her husband suffered a heart attack as a result of the trauma they have been through.



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Nigeria talks tough, warns foreign diplomats against approaching Buhari, Osinbajo directly.

Nigeria’s Ministry of foreign Affairs on Friday warned ambassadors of various countries against violating the diplomatic channels of communication between them and their host country.
The ministry warned the diplomats against approaching President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo directly for meeting appointments.

The Permanent Secretary, Olusola Enikanolaye, who gave the warning at his maiden meeting with the diplomats in Abuja, urged them to desist from unorthodox means of communication with the government.
Mr. Enikaonlaye, an ambassador, frowned at undiplomatic ways of seeking audience with the government where some embassies communicate directly with the presidency and other arms of government rather than going through the ministry.
“In saying this however we must hasten to note that some diplomats and some missions are in the habit of going above the Ministry of foreign affairs in seeking audiences and engagement with government at even higher levels.
“I need not to stress that this is not what we know as diplomat it is clearly violation of Vienna conventions.
“The ministry of foreign affairs is the main means of communication between the diplomatic communities and the host government.
“I am aware that we need to put our house in order in the ministry.

“And this is what we are already doing by ensuring that we respond quickly, proactively to your requests to your note verbal.
“Once we do this, there will be no reason for you to go above us to get things done,” he said.
Mr. Enikaonlaye vowed to take a very diplomatic review of a nation that thinks the best way to conduct business with Nigeria is not to go through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to him we have served in your countries and we know what happens in those countries. Please I urge you to respect our rules, respect our laws, respect our channels of communication.
He also condemned a situation where some nations also wrote note verbal to the presidency.
“I thought you all know that note verbal is the highest form of correspondence between the diplomatic nations and the minister of foreign affairs.
“You cannot address note verbal to the presidency. It is not done. Please I am appealing to you to desist from such an orthodox means of communication with our government.
“As regard to seeking for audiences, please make your request known to our principal at least a month ahead so as to give room for preparation and respect for authority
“It is in our interest and yours that we have sufficient notice,” he said.
He stressed that the Ministry and government were committed to their wellbeing and welfare stressing that the ministry operates an open door policy if there were is issue of concern to address.(NAN)

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Jonathan’s govt better than Buhari’s administration.

One of the three factional leaders of the All Progressives Congress in Kano State, Hussaini Mairiga, in this interview with TED ODOGWU, urges the party’s national leaders to resolve the lingering crisis in the state.

You were recently quoted to have described President Muhammadu Buhari as a failure. Why did you say that?

Yes, because all Nigerians felt that as soon as Buhari came to power, they would feel some relief after the hardship from the immediate-past administration of Goodluck Jonathan. But from all indications, Jonathan’s Government is better than our government. Meanwhile, the prices of all goods and services in Nigeria have gone up, particularly essential commodities. Each time one buys a product from the market and goes back the second day; one will notice that the price has drastically increased.  . It’s indeed failure to him and us, the APC members and followers of the party. The painful aspect is that we turn a blind eye when our own is doing something wrong. Each time the President goes wrong, it’s better to tell him right away than to wait until he leaves government before cataloguing his misdeeds.

Some Nigerians agree with you but some people have accused you of making the statements because your sources of illegal wealth have been cut off by the President. Is that what this is all about?



Those blaming me for speaking the truth should tell Nigerians what I have done wrong. As long as I live, I will not stop speaking the truth. However, I must make it abundantly clear to my critics that I am a bona fide Nigerian. I am a businessman, I am popularly known as Mairiga (dealer in clothing). Anybody, who knows me, identifies me as Mairiga, as well as a farmer. Nobody will describe me as a stranger in Nigeria or a smuggler. I am not an oil smuggler but simply a farmer and a seller of clothing materials. As a pious Muslim, I must always speak the truth, no matter whose ox is gored. As long as it is the truth, I must stand by it. And if anybody sees me doing something wrong, I will appreciate they make efforts to caution me from my misdeed.

You recently advised the President to open the borders because people are hungry. Some people say it will only make us remain backward and that we have relied on importation for too long. They say you must have been benefitting from illegal smuggling.

As soon as Buhari mounted the saddle of leadership, he closed the borders and ordered Nigerians to go back to the farm. My question is how can you tell people to go back to the farm without the machinery they need to do that? I remember that the Federal Government introduced a programme known as ‘Back to Farm’’. However, prior to the commencement of the rainy season in Kano State, no farmer had been given one kobo for the commencement of the programme. Fertiliser currently costs N10,000 per bag or a little more. My question therefore is how can somebody have the borders closed and tell you to go to farm without fertiliser and farming tools? Does he want the masses to die? Before the President passes an order, it is reasonable for him to put some palliative measures in place, which he failed to do. During Buhari’s administration between 1983 and 1985, they used to exchange oil for rice and essential commodities, which is called trade by barter. He has not brought anything for the people to eat but he has hastily closed the borders. Do you want the masses to perish from hunger? Is the President not eating in Aso Villa? Also, is the President’s wife not eating? My argument is that before the President closed the borders, he should have put palliative measures in place. The truth is that people are dying by instalments in their houses because of hunger and starvation following the current harsh economic realities.

How can Nigeria develop and be self-sufficient if they open the borders, while Nigerians continue to depend on imported products?

I am not telling people to continue to rely on imported products but my argument is that before closing the borders, the people should have been supplied with all the necessary essential commodities, including fertilisers and other things required. After one year, there is a tendency that they will start to stabilise, then the President can comfortably close the borders. I am not saying that it is improper to close the borders but if you fail to provide the basic necessities for the masses, there is therefore no justification to close the borders. The Federal Government’s policy to close the borders is not wrong but there should be an arrangement to stabilise the system, particularly in food sufficiency in the entire country. As long as there is no food, there is no moral justification to close the borders and stop food from coming into the country. That policy is wrong. There should be stability in food supply or sufficiency in the nation. Where there is no food, it would be unjustifiable to close the borders and stop food from coming in. There must be food sufficiency for everybody before the closure of the borders. However, the policy is good because Nigeria should rely on its internally-generated products and that has to be done when there is stability in basic necessities of life.

Are you trying to score cheap political points with your recent criticisms of the President as some people are wondering why a member of the APC would be publicly criticising a leader of the party?

Yes, those people do not know who Hussaini Mairiga is. I have been with President Buhari since 2002, when he veered into politics and I am still his supporter and follower. I will therefore not close my eyes and overlook his other side because he is the President of the nation. He is a human being like me and was given power by almighty Allah, and by tomorrow, Allah may bring him down. Any person who is an administrator that I follow, I must tell him whenever he goes wrong. Certainly I will not start criticising him after his tenure in office. I have to tell him the truth and I often call my friends in government on phone for them to advise the President on what Nigerians are actually facing. I also personally call on phone but they often refuse to respond to my numerous calls. The truth is that I was a member of the then All Nigeria Peoples Party (now defunct). Speaking from my experience, I observed that the party executives always hid the truth from Buhari because they wanted to get something from him. But as for me, I am not lobbying for any position from him and therefore, I have to tell him the truth, no matter how bitter it is, to enable him to right his wrongs.

Don’t you think criticising him now is premature since it is a new government that is trying to restructure?

What is the big deal about a new government? It’s indeed the tradition of any political party to make its mark from the first year and the second year in power, as the third and fourth years are for politicking and rigorous campaigning. As a result-oriented politician, the first and second years are enough to make headway, while the remaining two years are for politicking. Based on this reality, I have no alternative but to talk to Buhari and tell him the truth. Even if I am victimised for doing so, It is okay as long as I am fighting for the Nigerian masses. I would not mind stepping on toes as long as I am speaking the truth.

But is it fair for you to describe Buhari as a failure when he has not even spent two years out of his four-year tenure?

What I am emphasising is that the Buhari-led administration is almost one and a half years old and it has about six months more to attain two years in office. My argument is that after two years in office, political campaigns will be flagged off. President Buhari therefore has barely six months to achieve something in order to take Nigeria to another level. I am worried by the situation and that is why I have to tell him the truth to enable him correct it. In essence, every politically-elected government to has two years to perform. After the first and second years in office, the third and fourth years are used by politicians to seek and clamour for juicy positions. At that time, politicians will hardly concentrate on governance.

Why have you been so hard on the President when you know that the price of oil, which is the mainstay of our economy, has reduced drastically?

During Muhammadu Buhari’s administration as Military Head of State between 1983 and 1985, the price of a barrel of crude oil was below what it is today. Despite the unattractive price of oil at that time, Buhari’s administration made substantial progress to move the country to another level of economic prosperity. What is also worrisome is the claim that a lot of money has been recovered from corrupt public officers and to date, nobody is aware of where the money is being channelled to? To this extent, the government’s inability to perform is inexcusable. The same government kept drumming into the ears of Nigerians that about N3tn has been saved with the Single Treasury Account. Also, the same government kept announcing that a lot of money has been recovered from people who stole from the government and all that. Therefore, the question is where has all the money been channelled to? Why is the government crying publicly that there is no money?

What about all the atrocities and other corrupt practices we hear were committed by the immediate-past government, shouldn’t the previous governments also be blamed for the mess Nigeria is experiencing today?

I am not blaming the previous administration and I must also point out that I am not a member of the Peoples Democratic Party. But let me tell you the truth, during the PDP government, it was only insurgency that was the most critical situation in Nigeria. Apart from security challenges, the masses were able to afford their needs. A 50kg bag of rice sold for between N7,000 and N8,000. The price of kerosene per gallon, at that time, sold for not more than N200. But currently, the price of kerosene sells for N1,200 per gallon. The same measure of garri that was sold for not more than N150 currently sells for N500. It’s good to face the truth. During the PDP administration, prices of essential goods and commodities did not hit the roof top as it is today. The bottom line is that the Buhari-led government has to urgently do something to alleviate the ongoing level of untold hardship and poverty in the country so as to bring relief to Nigerians who are currently in critical condition.

What is your assessment of the ongoing anti-graft war of the Buhari’s Government?

That is very good and I am giving him all my support. I am with him.

What do you make of the budget padding scandal, especially as a Film Village to cost about N3bn and to be sited in your state (Kano) was included in the budget?

I don’t want to meddle with legislative functions because I have never been a legislator, so I have no comments on that question. All I can say is that our legislators should have the fear of God while performing their constitutional duties. They should realise that the masses are experiencing untold hardship and there is the need to join hands together to resolve the ongoing economic crisis impoverishing Nigerians.

As a follow-up, the Federal Government recently announced that the budget was not padded and some people have accused the government of protecting Dogara. Do you agree with that insinuation?

This is a similar question you asked me earlier and my response remains same.

What is the latest on the APC crisis in Kano which created factional chairmen, including you?

We have three factions, not two. One is under the leadership of Haruna Doguwa. There is the Kwankwasiyya, the Abdullahi Sanusi-led faction, known as Gandujiya and lastly, I Hussaini Mairiga from the All Nigeria Peoples Party/Congress for Progressive Change. Let me sensitise you, the APC crisis is not only in Kano. I must tell you that the current crisis bedeviling the APC is worse than that of the PDP because as I speak with you, the party is grappling with crisis in about 20 of Nigeria’s 36 states. But let me inform you, the national APC has not deemed it fit to set aside one day to settle the disputes tearing the party apart in the states. What is more important to them than anything else is to search for contracts. They don’t care about anybody in the APC. Also, just recently, I heard that in Ondo State, the party is divided into two. There is also crisis in Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states, indeed in a lot more states than I care to remember. Actually, the APC has a lot of problems in the entire country. The party is not even thinking of how to reconcile the feuding parties in the states. This is simply not a party but we have to still move on because it is our party. I am from the ANPP. I surrendered my certificate for the merger deal. But let me tell you, the APC has to do some major tasks to reconcile all the feuding members. It’s not only in Kano, it is happening in about 23 states.

Is there any possibility of reconciliation with the other factional chairmen of the party in Kano?

Yes of course, because I am from the ANPP and I want my party to win in all the states of the federation, so I have to do it but I will however not be party to injustice. I will not condone selfishness, I will not agree with anything that will not help my people or something that will take us 20 steps backward.

Is it your submission that there is currently injustice within the rank and file of the APC in Kano?

Of course, there is. You should know what has happened in Kano. I have written letters, spanning over two years to the national headquarters of the APC, protesting injustice. The national headquarters of the party did not for once respond to any of my letters because it has been backing the government since Rabiu Kwankwaso’s administration. After Kwankwaso’s tenure, it is now backing Abdulllahi Ganduje’s administration. This is what is happening in Nigeria as people are sheepishly following those in government. As soon as one leaves power, he will be criticised. This is not how to govern, we need to come together and unite, as we have been proclaiming that in unity we stand and divided we fall. We need transparent justice in our daily activities.

How would you describe your relationship with the two other parallel APC factions in the state?

The relationship is of course cordial: one person is from Gandujiya, another is from Kwankwasiyya, while I am from the (defunct) ANPP party. We are always together; as we do exchange pleasantries each time we meet at gatherings or at public places, but the truth is that there is crisis in the Kano APC.

What in your opinion is tearing the Kano APC apart?

The trouble started during the Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso-led administration. He merged our party, the ANPP into APC. He used his powers to pocket everybody. Kwankwaso appointed only one person as the leader from the wards to oversee the 44 local governments. Also, it was Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso that singlehandedly appointed all the 44 local government chairmen. In addition, Kwankwaso was responsible for handpicking all those to be elected to the Federal House of Representatives at the national level, so that is the genesis of our crisis. Till date, Kano State is grappling with the protracted political crisis.

What are your recommendations on reuniting the three APC factions in the state?

I am appealing to the national headquarters to urgently dissolve all the three APC factions in Kano, including mine and replace the factions with a Caretaker Committee for at least one or two months before arranging for a fresh, free, transparent and credible election. Finally, the current crisis bedeviling Kwankwasiyya and Gandujiya, if not urgently addressed, will make us lose the state to the opposition. The followership of both movements are busy engaged in fighting one another as they now wear red and black caps to distinguish the warring groups, as it was done particularly during the just-concluded Minjibir re-run bye-election, which the APC won. The national leadership needs to urgently proceed to Kano to resolve the ongoing crisis; otherwise the APC will lose the state to the opposition as the Kano APC is not united.


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16 killed in Moscow warehouse fire.

At least 16 people died in a fire that broke out at a Moscow warehouse on Saturday morning, Russian authorities said.

“When the fire was being put out, a room that had been cut off by the flames was discovered,” TASS news agency quoted the regional branch of the emergency ministry’s press service as saying.

“Firefighters tore down the wall and found 16 dead.”

Emergency workers arrived at the scene at 0500 GMT to put out a blaze that had engulfed 200 square metres of a warehouse in an industrial zone in the Russian capital’s north.

The fire was extinguished at around 0700 GMT, authorities said.

A police source told Russian new agencies that the victims were likely migrants from former Soviet republics and that the warehouse belonged to a local printing company.

Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin wrote on Twitter that the city would probe the incident.

The cause of the blaze remains unknown. A criminal investigation was launched to determine whether it erupted due to arson or negligence.

AFP


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We Stole Saraki's N310m Because He Wanted To Bribe Judges With It—Senator’s Aides

Some of Senate President Bukola Saraki's aides involved in the November 20, 2015 theft of N310 million being transported to the senator have disclosed why they stole the cash. The aides snatched the cash from a bureau de change operator at 5 Nana Close, Maitama in Abuja.

Some of Senate President Bukola Saraki's aides involved in the November 20, 2015 theft of N310 million being transported to the senator have disclosed why they stole the cash. The aides snatched the cash from a bureau de change operator at 5 Nana Close, Maitama in Abuja.

Tracked down by SaharaReporters and speaking anonymously, some of Mr. Saraki’s aides, who are currently on the run, said the senator was in the habit of warehousing large volumes of cash, mainly for use as bribes to judges, investigators and prosecutors to ensure the scuttling of his trial for false assets declaration by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).

The theft, first reported by SaharaReporters, featured five officers of the Department of State Security (DSS) led by Abdulrasheed Maigari, the most senior of the DSS officers attached to Senator Sarak‎i. Mr. Maigari hails from Dungo local government area of Taraba State. The other DSS officers involved in the heist were Ibbi George from Adamawa State, Patrick Ishaya from Plateau State, Peter Okoye from Delta State, and Solomon Yunusa from Kogi State. Other participants included four other aides of Mr. Saraki and five serving military officers led by one Captain Hassan Mshelia.

The aides at large revealed to a correspondent of SaharaReporters that Senator Saraki often used a house, 18 Lake Chad Crescent, Abuja, as a warehouse for illegally acquired money. They said huge stashes of cash from First Bank Plc. branch located at Coomasie House in Abuja were often stored in the house. The aides added that the funds were then moved on behalf of the Senate President for use in a variety of special “political assignments” ordered by Mr. Saraki.

The sources said cash was regularly moved from the bank and the house on Lake Chad Crescent to Mr. Saraki’s mansion at 5 Nana Close in Maitama, from which lawyers as well as judges and their designated representatives collect the cash to obstruct justice.

They said Mr. Saraki regularly used five of his official security aides, supported by five soldiers usually chosen by Paul Ibok, his Chief Security Officer, to move the funds. The aides disclosed to SaharaReporters that, between October and November 2015, there were three cash movements to No 5 Nana Close.

According to them, the cash was usually received by Mr. Saraki’s Deputy Chief of Staff, Peter Makanjuola, who also has the duty of distributing it to judicial officers with whom various deals had been struck regarding plots to scuttle the Senate President's trial.

In one instance, the aides disclosed, N550 million was delivered to Justice Alfa Belgore, a former Chief Justice of Nigeria, to carry out an illicit assignment of obstructing justice on behalf of Mr. Saraki. On another occasion, DSS officers working with soldiers took the sum of N370 million to a venue. According to the wanted DSS operatives, the Senate President had 23 DSS operatives attached to him. The DSS officers are split into two teams (A and B), with both teams taking turns to provide security for the Senate President, who lives in an eight-bedroom official residence. The building, known as “White House,” shares a wall with the official residence of the Inspector-General of Police.

Our sources said that, having observed the unrestricted movement of large sums to Senator Saraki’s home, some of his DSS aides also developed an appetite for cash. Thus, on November 20, 2015, an aide of Mr. Saraki directed the leader of Team A, Ibrahim Shariff, to call Mr. Maigari, who had been off duty, to return to work for a “special assignment”. On his return, Mr. Maigari was told to join four colleagues and five soldiers to go meet one Ibrahim Kabir, a First Bank employee, to pick up money for the Senate President. They said Mr. Kabir happens to be the account officer for Hassan Abubakar Dankani, Mr. Saraki’s favorite bureau de change operator. One longtime associate stated that Mr. Saraki had been using Mr. Dandani to launder funds since the senator’s days as the governor of Kwara State.

Our sources said that, with the increasing scrutiny on him, Senator Saraki had decided against using the DSS officers attached to him to escort cash movement. Instead, the senator asked the management of the bureau de change to make their own arrangement for security escorts to move the cash to Senator Saraki's home.

However, with their own growing hunger for money, Senator Saraki's security details had hatched a plot to corner the cash. And they recruited other colleagues and Captain Mshelia. Dressed in military fatigue, the security agents positioned themselves near the senator’s home and ambushed the vehicle in which the bureau de change operator was conveying the cash. SaharaReporters learnt that the security officers told those moving the cash that they were under arrest for money laundering. The police officers hired as escorts by the bureau de change operator had to leave the scene when the DSS men showed their identification tags, which gave the impression that they were on legal duty.

Once the policemen had left, the DSS officers, including those attached to Mr. Saraki, told the bureau de change operator that they knew of the destination for the cash and that moving huge sums of cash outside the banking system was illegal. The DSS officers then demanded N350 million in order to allow the vehicle to proceed. After a period of haggling, the officers settled for N310 million.

When Mr. Dankani was informed of the development, he phoned Senator Saraki, who instructed him never to mention his name in connection with the cash. Unaware that those who carried out the theft included members of his security detail, Mr. Saraki thought he was safe from being exposed.

Shortly after SaharaReporters reported the heist, disclosing that the cash belonged to Mr. Saraki, the senator’s spokesman, Yusuf Olaniyonu, issued a statement denying the senator’s ownership of the stolen money. “We want to say categorically that Dr. Saraki is not the owner of the stolen money. He does not know the owner who is said to be a bureau de change operator. The police that investigated the robbery incident and the SSS, which issued a statement on it, can confirm that there is no link between the Senate President with the ownership of the money,” Mr. Olaniyonu claimed in a statement.

Mr. Olaniyonu also told SaharaReporters that the police had issued a statement on the matter. But when SaharaReporters demanded where to find the said police statement, he said we should check a ThisDay report, which he claimed contained the police statement. 

The paper quoted Wilson Inalegwu, Federal Capital Territory Commissioner of Police, as saying: “In the course of the investigation, we were able to get the names and identities of some of them (the suspects). Unfortunately, two of the DSS operatives are attached to the Senate President.”

Every step of the way, Mr. Saraki made valiant efforts, abetted by the DSS boss, to prevent the money from being linked to him. Mr. Dankani, the owner of the bureau de change, said the robbery took place at 5 Nana Close, off Mississippi Road in Maitama and claimed that the robbers dropped off his boys on the outskirts of Abuja. His version of events, however, was disputed by Mr. Saraki's DSS aides, who told this online newspaper that there was no need to have taken them, as there was no confrontation between them and Mr. Dankani's boys. After taking the cash, the aides said, they left for Maigari's house in Keffi, Nasarawa State, where they shared the loot before returning to work with Mr. Saraki.

Mr. Dankani also told SaharaReporters that he is a nephew of former military head of state, General Abdulsalami Abubakar. Mr. Saraki’s DSS aides disclosed to SaharaReporters that the ex-head of state and the Senate President are very close friends, adding that they had accompanied him numerous times on his visits to Abubakar at his Lake Chad Crescent mansion.

Six days after the theft, both Mr. Maigari and Mr. Ibbi were arrested around 8:30 pm, as they prepared to accompany Senator Saraki to see President Muhammadu Buhari. After their arrest, the wanted aides narrated, they requested to see the DSS Director-General (DG), Lawal Daura, to explain why they stole the money. Mr. Daura declined the request, but sent a DSS officer to tell them that the matter would be resolved internally. He sent firm instructions through the officer that the arrested officers should make statements, but ensure that such statements should not link the stolen cash to Mr. Saraki in any way. As such, the detained officers wrote choreographed statements dictated to them by investigators.

Mr. Saraki's aides on the run disclosed that Mr. Daura and the Senate President are intimate friends and that, on at least four occasions, he secretly met with the senator after the latter’s corruption trial had begun. The first of the clandestine meetings took place at Barcelona Apartments in Abuja. On two other occasions, Mr. Daura and Senator Saraki met at night at the Senate President's official residence. SaharaReporters has constantly reported that the DSS boss, Mr. Daura, was providing strategic support to the Senate President to help him frustrate his trial.

A statement issued by the DSS on December 6, 2015 was carefully tweaked to give the public the misleading impression that the stolen cash belonged to the bureau de change operator. The statement also failed to provide details of the purported robbery. Signed by Tony Opuiyo, the DSS statement said: “The Department of State Services (DSS) wishes to inform the general public that the Service has arrested two (2) out of five (5) of its staff involved in the robbery and sharing, on November 20th, 2015, of the sum of three hundred and ten million naira (N310m) belonging to a Bureau De Change operator in Abuja. While three (3) of the DSS staff are now at large, the Military Authorities have commenced a detailed investigation of five (5) of its personnel involved in the crime.” It added that preliminary investigations revealed that Mr. Maigari conspired with four colleagues to steal the money.

Currently, only Mr. Maigari and Mr. Ibbi are in detention at Kuje Prison, awaiting trial. The others are at large. Representatives of the detained operatives said the DSS first charged them to court in April 2016, after media reports revealed that the money stolen belonged to Mr. Saraki. They were charged to court for planning to demand their freedom through the filing of a fundamental right enforcement suit in Abuja.

Mr. Saraki's security aides who remain on the run told SaharaReporters that five soldiers are also in detention at Kuje Prison in connection with the theft. In April, the police charged the soldiers to court for robbery. But curiously, the soldiers are being tried separately from the DSS officers because the DSS refused to hand over Mr. Maigari and Mr. Ibbi to the police for prosecution, claiming it did not trust the police.

Representatives of the detained DSS officers said they recently discovered that Sunday Agaba, a man who accompanied them to steal and was described as a bureau de change operator, is actually a retired Army officer. He was shot by the police as they arrested him. When SaharaReporters blew the lid on this, both Mr. Maigari and Mr. Ibbi were removed from the underground cell where they had been kept and allowed for the first time to meet with their respective families. It was during such interactions that they realized they had been branded armed robbers. They disclosed that if they were prosecuted along with the soldiers, they would give the exact narration of the alleged robbery incident.

SaharaReporters learnt that Mr. Dankani was listed as a witness in the case. But on cross-examination in April, he claimed he was forced to come for the trial. When SaharaReporters contacted Mr. Dankani shortly before this report was written, he claimed to have a hazy recollection of what went on with the bullion van on the day of the incident. However, he insisted that the money stolen belonged to him.

The DSS operatives being prosecuted claimed that the stolen money was recovered from them in full. However, the DSS told the court that it recovered only N96 million.

The DSS operatives are due to appear again at the Federal Capital Territory High Court 18 when judges return from vacation.

Mr. Saraki too is on vacation with his entire family in Ibiza, Spain. The theft of N310 million was not the only time Mr. Saraki’s money laundering had provoked aides to steal from him. A group of aides at his house in Ilorin recently stole cash worth N110 million from his bedroom in Kwara State.

http://saharareporters.com/2016/08/26/we-stole-sarakis-n310m-because-he-wanted-bribe-judges-it%E2%80%94senator%E2%80%99s-aides

NDLEA Arrests 51 Year Old Mother With Heroin At MMIA

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) attached to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos yesterday arrested a 51 year old woman in possession of 180 grams of heroin. The NDLEA stated that four parcels of brownish powdery substance, testing positive for heroin was found inside her luggage.

National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) attached to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos yesterday arrested a 51 year old woman in possession of 180 grams of heroin.

The NDLEA stated that four parcels of brownish powdery substance, testing positive for heroin was found inside her luggage.

A statement by the spokesman of NDLEA, Mitchell Ofoyeju, stated that the suspect, who he gave her name as Akinyemi Monsurat Olajumoke, and hails from Ogun State, was apprehended with the prohibited drug during a screening of passengers on an Ethiopia Airlines flight.

Speaking on the development, NDLEA Commander at MMIA, Ahmadu Garba, said that the drugs were neatly concealed inside her luggage.

Mr. Garba emphasized that the suspect had travelled to Uganda for one week and, on her return, she was found with four parcels of heroin concealed inside her luggage.

He added that, "the case is under investigation and will be charged to court soon."

According to Mr. Ofoyeju, Mrs. Akinyemi confessed to its investigators that she embarked on the illicit business in order to expand her business.

She confessed that her friend, who invited her to Uganda, had introduced her to the narcotics trafficking business noting that she invested about $3,000 of her business funds with the hope of reaping 100 per cent profit.

She purportedly confessed, "I got married after I graduated from Muslim Comprehensive High School Ijebu-Ode. I am a trader. I used to buy and sell female clothes from India. However, due to family problems and the economic situation, my capital is getting smaller and I wanted to expand my business.

"I was introduced into drug trafficking by a friend who invited me to Uganda. I invested my $3,000 into the deal in expectation of over 100 per cent profit. I am sad that things did not go as planned. When the drug was discovered at the airport, I felt as if it was all over for me."

Also commenting on the arrest, Chief Executive of NDLEA, Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah, said that the anti-narcotics agency was battle ready to tackle drug trafficking cartels in the country.

He declared that Uganda was not a source country for heroin but noted that cartels were not predictable.

"They constantly change their mode of operation, but we are prepared to counter all their tricks. We will remain vigilant in securing our country from the criminal activities of drug trafficking syndicates.

"Investing the sum of $3,000 in drug trafficking when there are numerous legitimate businesses is ill-advised. People must look inwards and protect their family name, " he said.

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"Kwankwaso And Buhari Feud" Is None Of Your Business. Kashamu Tells Fayose.

The Senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Prince Buruji Kashamu has condemned what he called the readiness of the Ekiti state governor, Ayo Fayose, to latch on to “any and every issue” to “run his mouth against” President Muhammadu Buhari, noting that the Governor’s action “has become predictable, monotonous and childish”.
He spoke in reaction to Fayose’s recent comment over the alleged sealing off of the office of the immediate past governor of Kano State, Senator Rabiu Kwakwanso, by the police, wondering why Fayose will drag the President’s name into the matter.

Media reports had it that the police recently sealed off Kwakwanso’s office in Kano where his supporters were believed to be planning to stage a mass wedding.


Fayose reacted to this by saying: “When they invaded the Akwa Ibom State Government House with armed men of the Department of State Security (DSS), I raised alarm then and I did warn that Nigeria was being returned to 1984 when President Buhari ruled the country like a maximum ruler.

“When I said Nigerians irrespective of their political parties should rise in condemnation of the President Buhari’s government emerging dictatorship, many of our friends in the APC opted to keep silent. Some even hailed the Department of State Security (DSS) when the service invaded the Ekiti State House of Assembly and abducted a member of the House.”

But in a statement issued on Friday in Lagos, Kashamu averred that Fayose lacked the temperament and credentials to counsel anyone on democracy and the Rule of Law, noting that “it was common knowledge that Kwakwanso and his successor, the Governor of Kano State, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje have some political differences which bother on ego and leadership of the APC in the state even while they are members of the same party”.

The lawmaker went on to say: “Now, how does that concern the President? It was too cheap for Fayose to latch on that to run his mouth against the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. His constant bashing of the President on any and every issue or incident has become predictable, monotonous and childish.

“It is high time he realized that the elections are over and the President is the leader of all. If anyone seeks to denigrate him, he is not just rubbishing the symbol of our sovereignty but the entire country and its people.

“Like I have often said some of those making the noise are doing so for selfish reasons. Fayose was the loudest in criticizing the Federal Government’s anti-corruption until it was revealed that he benefitted from the arms fund and got a lot of kickbacks from contracts in Ekiti State. The need to launder his squalid image is understandable but a pot does not get scrubbed clean of soot because it is audacious enough to call a kettle black.”

The lawmaker urged Nigerians to continue the push for the abolition of immunity clause so that all those found to have looted our commonwealth can face the consequences of their action, stressing that “Immunity clause should not be used as a shield for delinquents in executive positions.”

The statement reads in part, “It is said that the law of equity is the law of conscience and those who seek equity must do equity. To be an advocate for other people’s rights, you must yourself guarantee and respect the rights of others. Fayose’s posture as a latter-day human rights activist and advocate for the Rule of Law distorts the authenticity of civil rights advocacy because his political trail is muddied by his inglorious acts of lawlessness, impunity and flagrant disregard for the Rule of Law and democracy.

“His crass lawlessness, impunity and flagrant disregard for democracy and the Rule of Law are at the roots of the leadership crisis rocking the PDP instead of the pretence that the Federal Government and the All Progressives Congress (APC) are behind it. They have their own issues which they are addressing and so do not have time for our intra-party wrangling.”

“The nation will not forget how he belligerently hampered the courts in Ekiti State when some persons instituted a matter against him at the Ekiti State High Court in the build up to his election in 2014.

“Many of his benefactors and indigenes of Ekiti State are still squirming from the sting of his high-handedness and betrayal.

“You cannot give what you do not have and a man who is himself guilty of a human rights violation, lawlessness and impunity cannot become a judge, jury and crusader for any advocacy for the sanctity of the law. He is merely playing to the gallery,” it added.


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Richard Etonye Flees With Dickson's N1.84billion.

Bayelsa Government House Accountant’s Home Raided By SARS, Allegations He Absconded With $4.6 Million.

Operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Bayelsa State on Wednesday, raided the private residence of the Bayelsa State Government House Accountant, Richard Etonye in a secret operation that lasted for about two hours.


The house, located along Brass Road was allegedly raided on the orders of Governor Seriake Dickson after Etonye reportedly absconded with his principal's money said to be $4.6m. The money was handed over to the accountant by the governor for safe keep just a few days before the raid on Tuesday.

SaharaReporters contacted a spokesman for Mr. Dickson who said that they were not part of the raid and were not informed as to why SARS raided Mr. Etonye’s home.

The spokesman said that “[Mr. Etonye] absolutely did not take any money from the Governor” and “we were told that the team was sent from the IG [Idris] from Police Force HQ but we don’t know why.”

According to a security source close to Government House, Yenagoa, Governor Dickson had handed over the sum to his accountant cousin shortly before departing for Akure, the Ondo State capital, to conduct the PDP governorship primary which held on Monday.

''The money was given to him by Oga before we left for Ondo State but by the time we returned, the accountant was no where to be found and his lines switched off,” one source said.

''Even his wife was not at home and after waiting for over twelve hours, the governor ordered that his private residence be searched by the police to see whether or not he kept the money there. Right now, we are looking from him because he has evacuated his family from the official quarters in Government House,'' the source said.

SaharaReporters contacted the Bayelsa State police spokesman who told our correspondent that he was unaware of any operation involving Mr. Etonye.

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Stella Odua's Son Is Dead.

The senator representing Anambra North Senatorial District in the upper chamber of the National Assembly, Stella Oduah, on Friday lost her son, whose name had yet to be known as of the time of filing this report.

Unconfirmed reports say the deceased was 28 and that he died at a private hospital in Abuja in the early hours of Friday.

Oduah, who was a Minister of Aviation in the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, sounded distressed on the phone when one of our correspondents contacted her on Friday afternoon.

In a barely audible voice, she confirmed the report, saying her son died after a brief illness.

One of Oduah’s colleagues, Senator Uche Ekwunife, who represents Anambra Central in the Senate, also confirmed the incident to one of our correspondents, saying she had been with Oduah to console her just like few other senators who heard about the “unfortunate situation.”

Ekwunife said, “It is very unfortunate. It has shown that death and life belong to God and it is only Him who controls our life. It is a trying moment for her and all of us. I know how it feels as a mother. It is only God who can console her.”

Meanwhile, some well-wishers took to her twitter page, @Stellaoduah, to condole with her.

One of them, Oladayo, who tweeted through @oladayo01, wrote, “Stella Oduah lost her son? Wow. Was he sick or something? Sad sha. Loss of a child is not good for anyone.”

While another user, Shugar, who tweeted through @mobalsugar, wrote “So sad.”



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Nigeria Loses Revenue From Aviation As Ghana Leads.

Nigeria has lost its status as the aviation hub in West Africa to Ghana, a neighboring country.

Already, the revenue that accrued to Nigeria from the fuelling of aircraft and accommodation of cabin crews of foreign airlines has been taken over by Ghana, which now provides these services.

The situation is partly attributable to the 100 per cent increase in the price of aviation fuel in Nigeria, while Ghana slashed the same product by 20 per cent.


Besides, regulatory agencies like the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) are losing revenue.
The price of Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK), also called aviation fuel or Jet-A1, rose from N120 some months ago to N240 per litre since the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) introduced the flexible foreign exchange policy.

Aviation fuel is 100 per cent imported, which subjects it to the vagaries of foreign exchange, especially the United States dollar. With the exchange rate around N350 to $1, aviation fuel in Nigeria has become one of the most expensive on the continent.

Due to the price increase, coupled with irregular supply of the product, foreign airlines experienced difficulties refuelling during their trips. For instance, Emirates Airline, which recently reduced its two daily flights from Lagos to just one, last week made a re-route to Ghana, to buy fuel for its Abuja-Dubai flight.

It was learnt that Nigeria’s customer of many decades, British Airways, had started buying fuel from Ghana to power its airplane carrying Nigerian passengers to the United Kingdom.

Air France last week announced that from 2017, it would commence three weekly flights to Accra in Ghana from Paris-Charles de Gaulle. These flights will be operated by Airbus A330 with a capacity of 208 seats until 27 March 2017, then by Boeing 777-200 with 312 seats.

Sources told The Guardian that Ghana had become the new bride of the foreign airlines due to efforts by the government of that country to make the Kotoka International Airport in Accra, the aviation hub for West Africa.

A source, who is one of the facilitators that negotiated the 20 per cent cut on aviation fuel in Ghana, said the West African neighbour might have succeeded in beating Nigeria to being the regional hub for international airlines.

He said unlike Nigeria, Ghana already had a robust connectivity plan in place, which opened the country’s airspace to African and international carriers with so much reciprocity.

“What they have done with the fuel price cut is to further attract the airlines to Accra,” the source said. Aviation fuel is central to the operations of an airline as it constitutes between 35 and 40 per cent of business cost.

“Fuel in Ghana used to be one of the most expensive with government tax being one of the main factors for the cost. But with the support of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), and the airport authority in Ghana, we made proposals to the government to take off the 20 per cent tax accruing to government to make Ghana more competitive.

That was what they did. Their fuel is now on the same level with that of Ivory Coast, which is their biggest rival, and even lesser than what we have in Nigeria.”

Commenting on the implications, the Executive Secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Obafemi Olawore, said that besides the loss of revenue, the development was bad for the country’s image.

Olawore reckoned that the development could have been avoided if the Federal Government had given the oil marketers the needed assistance, like forex, to facilitate the import of aviation fuel and sell in the country at affordable prices.


He said MOMAN was in talks with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for weeks to provide them forex at interbank market rate. “Nevertheless, we are continuing with our private arrangements to bring in the product (Jet-A1). Between this week and the next, we are expecting 40 million litres of aviation fuel. By the time that arrives and NNPC also brings in its own, things will start looking up. Those airlines that have gone will start coming back to Nigeria. Because it is easier to refuel in Nigeria than elsewhere,” Olawore said.
Industry watchers noted that unless such optimism becomes reality, regulatory agencies like NCAA, FAAN and NAMA that have been complaining of low revenue may face more hardship amid Federal Government’s demand for improved turnover.

The agencies are currently moving to retrieve the over N30 billion from domestic airlines indebted to them in the last 16 years.



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Tony Elumelu's 53rd Birthday Cake.

This is the specially designed birthday cake Nigerian billionaire and CEO of Heirs Holdings Ltd, Tony Elumelu used for his 53rd birthday celebration months back. The cake which was designed with 'roasted plantain (Boli) and groundnut' round it -excited the Mr Elumelu who almost confused it for the real deal..

This is what Mr Elumelu wrote on his page yesterday...

Throwback to my birthday in March this year. My colleagues almost had me thinking this was actually Boli. What an interesting cake that would've been - I love Boli! #tbt

See photos:

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"Why I Enlarged My Boobs" – Huddah Monroe.

The former BBA star revealed that she enlarged her boobs due to pressure from society and her personal insecurities. Photo on the left was taken when she went for BBA while the one on the right was taken after she had her boobs enlarged. She wrote;

"And on top huh? Two bee stings ... This is when I didn't have bosoms, I succumbed to the pressure of society because I was under depression due to the videos oF me in Big brother shower hour.
Soooo I ended up getting fat transfer by reducing my butt to get fuller boobs .....................................I wouldn't tell anyone to do the same ! It's still natural coz it's my own fat , NO silicone but I will never advice anyone to go under the knife coz of what people think about their bodies , never make irrational decisions ,wait until you are mature enough .I was naive , young and stupid at that time . Love yourself ! Bleep the rest! Experience is the best teacher! Learn some of these things from me ........ ION, how many love the idea of HUDDAHkini? Bodysuits on my snap chat. #WCW. #THROWback #2013 #JWMarriottMarquis"

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Robbery Suspects Confessed They'd Planned To Kidnap Nigerian Billionaire Otedola

An armed robbery suspect, Ikechukwu Daniel, also known as Ike, has disclosed that his gang hatched a plan to kidnap businessman, Femi Otedola, but the plot was foiled by the police. He also confessed that his gang, which was linked to the abduction of Senator Iyabo Anisholowo, operated with military uniforms and hijacked three trailers on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Ike was arrested sometimes in June at Festac Town in Lagos while negotiating the ransom of a victim kidnapped in Ibadan.

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 armed robbery suspect, Ikechukwu Daniel, also known as Ike, has disclosed that his gang hatched a plan to kidnap businessman, Femi Otedola, but the plot was foiled by the police.

He also confessed that his gang, which was linked to the abduction of Senator Iyabo Anisholowo, operated with military uniforms and hijacked three trailers on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

Ike was arrested sometimes in June at Festac Town in Lagos while negotiating the ransom of a victim kidnapped in Ibadan.

His disclosure emerged following Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris’ directive to the Force Intelligence Response Team (IRT) to arrest anyone linked to the kidnap of Senator Anisulowo.

Within a few days of receiving the instruction, the IRT operatives arrested one Mohammed Babuga, and he owned up to the fact that he and one Mamman masterminded the kidnap.

He confessed that he and Mamman robbed some people in Kwara State, along Kaduna road.

They dispossessed innocent motorists of their belongings. During an argument with Mamman, however, Babuga said that he slapped the other for disrespect towards him as gang leader and the carelessness that put the police on their trail.

Mamman, he said, got angry and went away to form his own gang of kidnappers with Boyi, Abubakar, Alayidi and Ike as members. Led by one Mohammed, the gang operated with three rifles, an AK 47, AK 49 and a pump action gun.

Mamman’s gang confessed to have carried out six kidnapping raids: two in Ibadan, two in Ilorin and two in Kebbi State, and various ransoms were collected. The Kebbi State operation fetched the gang N6 million, while it got N26.1 million from the Ilorin and Ibadan cases.

Source

Trump’s new campaign manager in domestic violence scandal.

US presidential hopeful Donald Trump’s newly-appointed campaign manager was charged with domestic violence in 1996, New York newspapers reported Friday.

According to both the New York Post and the New York Times, the case against conservative media mogul turned political operative Steve Bannon ended when his wife failed to appear to testify against him.

Bannon — head of the incendiary conservative news site Breitbart — was a controversial choice when Trump hired him to replace a previous campaign chief tainted by his past as a lobbyist for pro-Kremlin interests.

It is understood that Bannon no longer faces any proceedings relating to the 1996 case, but its revelation may complicate Trump’s task as he seeks to woo wary women voters.

According to a police report seen by the papers, police were called to the couple’s Santa Monica, California home on New Year’s Day in 1996 and found Piccard upset and with marks on her neck and wrist.

She told police that she and Bannon had had a fight and that he had seized a telephone when she had attempted to call for help, throwing it across the room and smashing it.

The city attorney brought charges against Bannon and served him with a domestic violence protective order, but when the case came to trial in August Piccard did not appear and prosecutors dismissed the case.

According to court records, Piccard told investigators that Bannon had ordered her to leave town during the case and threatened to leave her and their twin daughters destitute.

Bannon and Piccard declined to be interviewed for the reports, but the Trump manager’s spokeswoman Alexandra Preate told the Times that he now has “a great relationship” with his now ex-wife and daughters.


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Age Controversy Trails Funke Akindele, 39 Or 40?.

Actress Funke Akindele is now enmeshed in an age controversy after conflicting claims emerged about her real age.

The actress turnesday 24, August and marked the occasion privately in London with her musician lover, JJC Skillz.

While the actress claimed that she is age 39, a conflicting claim on her Wikipedia said that she is now 40 years old. According to the public online biography, the actress was born Akindele Olufunke Ayotunde on August 24, 1976 in Ikorodu, Lagos State, Nigeria.

In another twist, a Nollywood producer who does not want to be named has insisted that the actress is about 44 year old.

“As at when she starred in I Need To Know, Funke’s age was already more than the teenage character which she portrayed. She is not 39 or 40 as she claims, she is 44 years old. I have been around for quite a while to know this for sure. Age falsification and reduction is a trend in Nollywood and indeed every sector of the society, this is not the first time it is coming up,” revealed the filmmaker.

Explaining why movie personalities false their ages, a brand expert, Ikechukwu Orji said that corporate organizations are more disposed to associating with celebrities who are younger due to their youth segment appeal. "In the corporate sector, we prefer to work more with celebrities with youth appeal and age plays a factor in this," Orji said.




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