JayTheWebExpert:


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JayTheWebExpert:

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Few days to the exit of President Goodluck Jonathan from office, governors on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have aligned with their counterparts in the All Progressives Congress (APC) to call for a return to the practice of true fiscal federalism in the operation of the Federation Account.

At the end of a troubleshooting meeting yesterday in which the factionalised Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) coalesced into one, the governors unanimously demanded explanations from the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on the alleged missing $20 billion being accruals to the Excess Crude Account for two years.

Recall that the agitation for the scrapping of the excess crude account (ECA) by the NGF under the leadership of the outgoing Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, led to a cold war between the Forum and the Presidency, with the former instituting a case at the Supreme Court, challenging the operation of the ECA by the latter.

The forum was subsequently polarised into two camps with the governors of Rivers and Plateau states, Amaechi and Jonah Jang respectively, parading themselves as chairmen.

But at the end of a meeting held at Transcorp Hilton Hotel on Monday night in Abuja, which had the likes of Governors Godswill Akpabio, Emmanuel Uduaghan, Gabriel Suswam, Isa Yuguda of Akwa-Ibom, Delta, Benue and Bauchi states respectively in attendance with Amaechi presiding, the governors urged the finance minister to give explanations on accruals to the excess crude account between June 2013 and April 2015.

The communiqué presented by Governor Amaechi, read in part “In the light of the fact that funds in the excess crude account were last disbursed in May 2013, there is need for the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to provide explanations for accruals to this account from June 2013 to April 2015 which is estimated at over $20 billion.”

The governors also resolved to conduct induction for governors-elect and establish a Governors’ Forum Academy.

“The induction programme for new and returning governors will be held in June. It is also aimed at equipping new and returning governors with the knowledge of global best practices establishing and running their offices. The NGF Leadership Academy will be responsible for capacity building of governors and other officials holding public offices.”

The NGF congratulated the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, on his electoral victory and President Goodluck Jonathan for conceding defeat.

Governor Amaechi also announced the Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari, as his successor. He is to serve for one year.

Others in attendance were the governors of Edo, Oyo, Osun, Kano, Nasarawa, Niger, Kaduna, Borno and Kebbi, while Kogi State deputy governor represented the Governor, Idris Wada.

Abuja - First Lady, Patience Jonathan is allegedly angry with her husband President Goodluck Jonathan, reports New Mail.

Patience Jonathan is not happy with her husband’s decision to reject the position of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees position allegedly offered him by the party.

Jonathan decision not to accept the offer did not go down well with the First Lady, who saw the offer as a compensation for the loss of the exalted Presidential seat.
She believed the position would still make both of them relevant in the schemes of things in the party.

She was reported to have told her husband that half bread is better than none.

Jonathan had reportedly turned down the offer, citing the need for him to rest for a year before coming back into active politics

Nollywood star, Mercy Aigbe, keeps hitting the jackpot with her roles on set, which, inevitably fetch her cool money besides her money-spinning boutique located in the classy Omole Estate in Lagos.

Mercy credits God for her huge success in acting as she reveals the latest project she is working on.“It has all been good and I give God the glory. It’s not as if the journey has been smooth because I have had to encounter one or two challenges, but God has been faithful. At present, I am work­ing on showing my latest movie, Victims, at the cinema . It was directed by Lancelot Imasuen and will be premiered in the UK. In the cast are Nollywood stars like Olu Jacobs, Juliet Ibrahim, Seun Akindele, Fathia Balogun, Saheed Balogun and Funso Adeolu. A lot of superstars were featured in the movie,” she said.

Sunday Sun also used the opportunity of the encounter with Mercy Aigbe to know some of her favourites.

Excerpts:

What’s your favourite food?

Wow! My favourite food? That will be beans and plantain. Oh my God! I love that a lot.

Favourite drink?

I love Fanta

Favourite colour?

Blue. Yes, blue!

Favourite fashion ac­cessories?

Let me just be frank with you, I love fashion a lot. I just love a lot of fashion accessories, ranging from shoes, bags, wigs, everything!

Favourite outfit?

That will be casuals. Say jeans and a T-shirt. I can show a bit of cleavage as long as I don’t reveal too much.

Favourite TV person­ality?

Uh! But why would you want me to say that? (laughs) Well, that will be Mo Abudu.

Favourite holiday spot?

This is because of my kids, so that they would be happy when they read this. (laughs) I will say Florida, but for me, it’s the Bahamas.

Favourite car?

I love cars. I am just the type Yorubas call oloju kokoro when it comes to cars. For now, I will say the Acura MBX is my favourite car.

Favourite weather?

I love cool weather.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says despite losing control of the federal government to the All Progressives Congress, it still has the strength and spread, enough to make it regain pre-eminence at the centre.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, in a press statement on Sunday May 17, dismissed rumours that the party was contemplating a change of identity.

He, however, said that the party was willing to absorb any political party or association looking in the direction of merging with the PDP.

According to him, “We have good name, tradition and values. 16 fruitful years as the guardian of Nigeria’s democracy cannot be nullified by temporary setback.

“We shall rise beyond all and remain our rhythm. Our colour remains green white red and power still belong to the people.”

He then called on all the members of the party to ensure that they are not in any way distracted but stay focussed.

Mr Metuh also insisted that the unity, cohesion and regenerative capacity of the PDP is very much intact and election loss not withstanding, the party would bounce back.

The PDP lost the March 2015 presidential elections to the All Progressives Congress (APC), and by May 29 2015 the APC would formally take over government.

Watching the scenario that is play­ing out in the polity today, are you surprised that the People’s Demo­cratic Party (PDP) found itself in its current crisis?

I am not surprised that they found them­selves in this situation because whoever committed the atrocities they committed should expect something like this to hap­pen. PDP has been ruling with impunity, it has been negligent and incompetent. They refused to listen to anybody. They felt so strong that they thought they are indispens­able. It’s very unfortunate.

How then do you think Nigeria can have a credible opposition in the new dispensation?

Apparently, there are two strong parties, but I assure you there are other parties that will spring up. And, of course, whoever goes into small parties is not going there to make money. He is going there to make sure the right thing is done. Nobody will be in a small party and be deceiving himself that he is going to be a governor or presi­dent. You are in a small party to get a voice; you are in small party to check what is happening in the polity. The way you saw the merger of APC come up, there may be another merger in future. My only prayer is for the new leading party to do what is expected by the people. There are high expectations. If they do what is expected, I am sure, things will be better and the op­position will be less. But there will be a stiff and tough opposition, if they behave the way other parties behaved. They have to develop a style of inclusiveness; they have to develop a style of responsiveness and responsibility; they have to develop a style of listening. They should not be as arro­gant as PDP was. They should be fatherly; they should be motherly and caring for the people. If they do all these, people will cer­tainly support them. People don’t do oppo­sition simply for the sake of it. Opposition is done only when things are going wrong. It’s through opposition you see the wrong thing as wrong. You don’t do opposition because you are not in power or because you have not succeeded in your ambition. If anybody does it, it’s unfortunate. We have high respect for and high expectation from this incoming government. Initially, I was skeptical whether they (APC) could make it. But with the coming of Asiwaju into the merger, I believed it would happen. Buhari on his own has credibility, integrity and all other qualities to be the president and that is why people have been calling for him. But there are certain things he lacks such as finance. But with the coming up of Asi­waju, I knew the time was ripe. I pray the expectations of the people will be met.

At a point you were in PDM. What happened?

PDM is a very small and inconsequential party. I was there to voice out my opinion which I told you earlier. And in any case, I can be anywhere. The only group I am not part of is APC and PDP.

You mean now?

Of course, for a very long time. I even contested for my senatorial seat on the platform of Accord Party. I know I won but for Buhari’s hurricane. Buhari’s hur­ricane blew up everybody. Our people did not want to hear of any other person except Buhari. So, his hurricane came and blew up everybody and we have accepted it in good fate because we are not just there for op­position, we are there to see that the right thing is done. And I know that Buhari will do the right thing.

Are you still in Accord Party?

Of course, I am in Accord Party; I am not in APC. I am not a kind of person who will run after government for contracts and I am not looking for any appointment either. I am a businessman and I am contented. I feed myself and my family from the little I earn. I am not the kind of person who will run after government, but I worked for Bu­hari and everybody knows because I had no presidential candidate. My presidential candidate was Buhari and I worked for him. The only person I worked against and fought was Kwankwaso because he is fake.

Do you recall that you spoke glowingly about Kwankwaso’s pro­gramme in one of your previous in­terviews?

I have never supported Kwankwaso. I said it ab initio that from the way Kwank­waso was working, I would support him. But later, I discovered that he was faking. Initially, with the way he started, I thought he was genuine. Most of the programmes some people do are meant to steal money. You can’t compare Kwankwaso’s work with what Fashola is doing in Lagos. You can’t even compare him with Aregbesola. These are people doing genuine jobs with­out stealing. Fashola improved on what Asiwaju did. I knew Lagos before Asiwaju and I know Lagos after Asiwaju. I knew Osun State before Rauf and I know Osun now. As a retired accountant and director in the civil service, I know the scale with which to measure things. I have a lot of in­formation for saying what I am saying. A lot of things happening in Kano State are deceitful.

In spite of your reservation, Kwankwaso has taken Kano State politics to the centre. Hasn’t he?

No, I disagree. I heard him bragging that he helped Buhari. He is speaking to those who don’t know the terrain of Kano poli­tics. It was Buhari who helped him. Kano is 100 percent Buhari. Let me say it loud and clear, if not for Buhari, Kwankwaso wouldn’t have won in the last senatorial election. Even for this tenure that he has almost completed, it was the aggrieved Buhari’s supporters that voted him there. He knows it; he can’t deny it. It is the truth. Without Buhari, he would have lost the election. Let there be another election to­morrow not involving Buhari and see what happens. Let him resign from the Senate and come back to contest and see what will happen. I swear to God, he will not win.

What informed your choice of Ac­cord Party as a platform to contest the last election?

I was not in Accord Party to have a seat. I was there to have a voice and people in government saw that I did a very serious opposition. I was always on radio and other media opposing and exposing government in Kano and extolling the virtues of Buhari. I went round every local government and anywhere I went, it was recorded and I played it on radio. Initially, I didn’t believe Buhari could make it because he was in the midst of hawks in his old alliance. I thought it was going to be business as usual when the new merger alliance came up. But the moment he got the APC ticket, I resigned from PDP. But then, I insisted that I won’t go into APC because they didn’t want me. Instead, I chose to go into a smaller party to preach the gospel I wanted to preach and I did. I went round to preach against Kwank­waso and preach for Buhari. I started it from day one and I sustained it. That’s why you have not heard of anybody in Kano accusing me of doing anything against Bu­hari. I believe in him and that is why I left my job. I retired as a director in the civil service before my retirement day because of Buhari and worked for him truly until the last moment when some people drove me off. I will support Buhari’s government in all ways necessary because since I left government, I have always worked for him. My prayer for him is to succeed.

Is your decision not to join APC based on irreconcilable differenc­es?

No, it’s not. If APC wants me in future, maybe, I may join it. But at the time APC was working on the merger arrangement, I certainly couldn’t have joined it because Kwankwaso was given the leadership in Kano. If had joined, maybe, we would have fought. Shekarau refused to join APC be­cause of Kwankwaso and don’t blame him, though he has his own bad side too. That is why I went to a very smaller party because I don’t want to belong to a group where I will be fighting people. If I had stayed in PDP, I would be compelled to work for the president and I didn’t want to work for him.

If you have chosen to remain in opposition, what actually do you want to see entrenched in the politi­cal system?

We have to do away with impunity. We must tackle bribery and corruption. We must address the nation’s insecurity. We need to bring back discipline because in­discipline is what brings most of what is happening to us. If there is security and we are disciplined, then things will be alright. Things will work well. There will be em­ployment. If there is discipline, people will not steal our money. Whatever is allocated to the power sector will be used to boost power generation. Once you have 24-hour power supply businesses will open and thrive.

There will be employment . You have less people on the streets and security will improve because most of the guys attracted to terror activities are unemployed and angry. Once employment opportunities are there, then there will be peace. People will sleep with their eyes closed. I have worked closely with Gen Buhari; these are his ideas. His mind bleeds and he cries and sheds tears when he sees things go­ing wrong in our country. My hope is that the people around him will enable him to achieve his agenda. People are now rush­ing into APC to get positions and to get money. I am not going to do that. I am not going to rush to get position or to get mon­ey. The thing I will like to do for Buhari is to be his honorary adviser to let him know whenever things are going wrong because he cannot be everywhere. I don’t want to be a minister to make money; I don’t want to run after contracts. I just want to be an honorary adviser. I want to be his eyes and ears so that if anything is going wrong, we can call his attention to it.

What do you make of the present crisis in the oil sector?

They have been using many means to sabotage Buhari even before he won this election. He needs competent hands to get him out of it. There is a saying that one tree cannot make a forest. I am sure his main concern now is how to get the right people to work with him. The ongoing petroleum crisis is one of the ways they want to use to sabotage Buhari. You haven’t seen any­thing yet. I heard somebody saying subsidy is not included in the budget. Even if it is there, the amount they budgeted for subsi­dy is nothing to write home about. It can’t take care of subsidy. So, it’s a booby trap. You can see triple lane queue in Abuja. It will continue until May 29. There are many other salient issues that have not yet sur­faced. Two days ago, the governors met with the president-elect. Okorocha was their spokesman. He told Buhari that they could not pay salaries. Even the Federal Government is not paying salaries because there is no money. It is deliberate. And we have multiple of these problems all over. So, there is a need for a lot of vigilance for the man to uncover all these issues and find a way to tackle them. They want to sabo­tage him; they want to say “yes we told you.”

How do you want to link up the in­ability of the states to pay salaries with the present crisis since they were paid their monthly allocation?

I want to link it up with elections. I be­lieve most of the governors spent state money to run for these elections. They have lavished the money on the elections. This is what Buhari will have to address.

What would you expect Buhari to do with these issues now?

Buhari is not a magician. I know he’s de­termined, he has the will and the power to do the right thing. But he cannot do any­thing unless he has the right information. So, he needs people that have the informa­tion to help him address all these problems. I am sure there are lots of people around him who have the quality to do it. The only thing we need to do is to pray for him to succeed.

There is impunity in the blood of these governors. And that is why I see little dif­ference between APC and PDP. All the atrocities perpetrated against Nigeria for this long was done by these people. When the vehicle they were using to do all this became rickety, they smartly abandoned PDP and joined APC. They cannot change. A leopard can never change his black spots. Except a few, most of the people that are making things happen in the APC are from PDP. In spite of all this, I have absolute trust and confidence in Buhari that his gov­ernment will succeed. But nobody can use magic wand to make things change at once. It requires time and patience from all of us.

You know the workings of the civil service. Do you also agree that cor­ruption in the civil service is one of the major problems of this country?

It’s a fact. When you talk of corruption, civil servants are the richest people in the country. More than half of the houses in Abuja are owned by civil servants. You know that, I know that, Nigerians know that. We have multiple problems. The only thing that can help us is hard work and prayer. You can’t change things overnight. The best thing is to draw a line, forget the past and forge ahead.

How do you think the government can check the leakage in the sys­tem?

What government needs to do is to draw a line and build a watertight system. There were leakages before, but draw a line and start afresh. Within two years, you will see change. I know Buhari is decisive, tough and stubborn. If he can apply all these, he will succeed. With his age, he is too big to fear anybody. He is too big to be ashamed to do the right thing.

He wasn’t corrupt when he was a young man. Now at his age, what does he want? I have confidence in him. If he didn’t com­promise when he was in his 30s, if he didn’t steal when he was in his 30s, I don’t think that will happen now when he is in his 70s. The only thing is for him to have the right people around him.

Do you think the alliance that cul­minated in the emergence of APC is sustainable?

I pray it will be sustained. But if the al­liance is to loot and for some people to do what they want, I don’t think it will succeed. If the alliance is truly to bring a change, there won’t be disagreement among them.

Looking at the totality of the sys­tem, what do you think is missing in the governance of this country?

Our problem in this country is dishon­esty, greed for riches and greed for power. That’s why the word impunity is always used. If leaders are honest and they are not greedy, things will work fine. Most of our past leaders were not after riches. When Sadauna died, the only house he had was in his village. Aminu Kano died and left a house in Kano. He did not have a fleet of cars or fat bank accounts. When Awolowo died, his children were not billionaires. His children are still struggling. I have been to his house at Ikenne.

Similarly, you can hardly hear the chil­dren of Nnamdi Azikwe. If they were that rich, they would be everywhere. Those are leaders. But look at what is happening now. Imagine a leader taking $20 billion in a swoop. Today, ministers are floating and swimming in dollars. They have houses everywhere. They own estates in Dubai, UK, France and America. They have vast investments in several names. If all these were invested in the economy, certainly, we would go 10 years faster than we are now.

What are the chances that the new government will be able to tackle some of these challenges coming at a time when the price of crude oil in the international market is dwindling?

How many countries in the world have oil? Because of our laziness, we over rely on oil. We have several other riches we can rely on. There are many countries that have no oil and they are doing fine. We can also do it. What is lacking is the will to do it. The only person who can do it and who can stamp his feet is the president. The man has the will and determination to make things work. My only prayer is for the people who are going to work with him to support him honestly to achieve his purpose. He should draw a line and forge ahead. He has no time to waste.

Omooba77:

Lagos is congested already:while Onne,Warri,PH are doing virtually nothing,yet many of us reason with our heads upside down and politicise everything. LADOL is more of going to court of all their projects issue. If Cargoes discharge at other ports,will employment not be created?

A Federal High Court, sitting in Lagos has granted injunctions restraining President Goodluck Jonathan and other relevant government agencies from carrying out the order to relocate the $500 million oil project from LADOL Free Trade Zone(FTZ) in Lagos to Agga in Bayelsa State.

Also restrained in the judgment given by the Presiding Justice of the Court, J.T Tsoho on Tuesday May 12, 2015 are the National Assembly, the Federal Ministers of Transport and Justice/Attorney General of the Federation.

The court said they were being restrained from implementing the directive of President Jonathan that oil and gas-related cargoes must be discharged at Intels facilities in Onne, Warri and Calabar Ports.

According to Prof. Fidelis Oditah QC (Queens Counsel) and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) who filed the motion on behalf of LADOL, the injunctions ensure that all related agencies, including the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), must allow vessels and cargoes to proceed directly to any Port of choice, including oil and gas cargoes.

The Injunctions further prevent the passing of the amendments to the Oil and Gas Export Free Zones Act which sought, among other changes, to impose a foreign owned monopoly on the movement of oil and gas cargoes in Nigeria; Transfer control of 12 Free Zone’s in Nigeria currently under the NEPZA Act to the control of the Oil and Gas Free Zone, which is controlled by the same foreign owned monopoly company.

The injunctions granted are as follows:

1. Injunction restraining the House of Representatives of the National Assembly from considering or passing the amendment of sections 1, 2 and 12(5) of the 1996 Act inserted by sections 2, 3 and 10 of the Oil and Gas Export Free Zone Act (Amendment) Bill 2013 passed by the Senate on 7 May 2015 pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed by the Plaintiffs/Applicants in these proceedings.

2. Injunction restraining the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from assenting to the amendment of sections 1, 2, 12(5) of the 1996 Act inserted by sections 2, 3 and 10 of the Oil and Gas Export Free Zone Act (Amendment) Bill 2013 passed by the Senate on 7 May 2015 pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed by the Plaintiffs/Applicants in these proceedings.

3. Injunction restraining the Defendants and each of them and/or agents and/or privies from taking any step to enforce the purported directive of the President of the Federal of Nigeria contained in the letter from NPA to the Plaintiff dated 27 April 2015 to the effect that all oil and gas related cargoes must be handled at the designated Intels terminals in Onne, Warri and Calabar ports pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed by the Plaintiffs/Applicants in these proceedings.

4. Injunction restraining the Defendants and each of them and/or agents and/or privies from taking any step to enforce the purported directive of the President of the Federal of Nigeria contained in the letter from NPA to the Plaintiff dated 27 April 2015 requiring the Plaintiff to build its fabrication and FPSO integration facility at designated Intels terminals in Onne, Warri or Calabar ports pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed by the Plaintiffs/Applicants in these proceedings.

SHARIAREPORTERS:
Who fit read all dis stories finish
I just scanned and skimmed tru

Mogidi:
I'm beginning to love Ben Bruce daily, a leader in the making.

Beremx:
hypocrite! What do you have to say about this?

ellechrystal:
Baba, please chill till u get to work already, stop gathering sympathy before u start. We ain't here to sympathise, just show us all u ve been saying with actions, n then we will know u won't betray us, our people say a man who talks too much, has less food in his stomach.

ellechrystal:

I bet u will b d suprised one.

ellechrystal:

We r not here to dispute d fact that he is d president, please always try to view things in two sides in which they occur, this man raised our hope, n it's as high as a mountain, we didn't ask him to do it, he knew damn well that d economy was bad, he promised heaven n earth, please I want to ask y he didn't say all these during his campaign days? Y now? N u r here defending such?
Am not saying u ain't right in ur own way,u r entitled to ur own opinion, n as such people ve their own opinions, n so let d posters above u air their views, there r two sides of a coin. I am trying to let u understand that we want him to fulfil all his promised shikena[b][/b], n not lament.
It sounds like once chance