A group known as The Niger Delta Peoples Professional Volunteer Force (NDPPVF), have released a statement vowing to bomb the four wings of the NNPC towers in Abuja if former first lady, Patience Jonathan, is arrested over the $15million found in her account.
Spokesman of the group, Parkinson George-Amabo, in the statement released today, said it is not in support of corruption, but against the manner in which the antigraft agaency has carried out its investigation into the foreign currency linked to Mrs Jonathan. The statement in part reads;
“As a matter of fact, the EFCC has launched a criminal investigation of Mrs. Jonathan and in the process, frozen her bank accounts domiciled with a Nigerian commercial bank without affording her opportunity to state her own side of the matter. Nobody is above the law. The NDPPVF does not support or condone corruption. If Mrs. Jonathan was found to be corrupt, we shall not hesitate to call for her prosecution. We, however, have a grouse with the modus operandi of Mrs. Jonathan’s investigation, given her status as the wife of a former deputy governor, former governor, former vice-president, former acting president and finally, former president. She is perhaps, the only Nigerian woman – dead or alive – with such an impressive and fortuitous pedigree; which accounts for why the EFCC needs to thread with caution. Recently, there have been calls on the attorney-general of the federation as well as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to arrest and prosecute former First Lady for alleged money laundering. We shall simultaneously bomb the 4 wings of the NNPC Towers the day it is announced that MRS. PATIENCE GOODLUCK JONATHAN has been arrested by the EFCC.”
Live
Friday, 23 September 2016
Saturday, 17 September 2016
Ballon d’Or: FIFA Parts Ways with World Player of the Year Award
French publication France Football has parted ways with FIFA over the organisation of football’s prestigious award, the Ballon d’Or.
“The end of the partnership between France Football and FIFA will lead to a new look of Ballon d’Or. Discover it next Tuesday in FF,” read a news release of the French publication.
The Ballon d’Or was first introduced in 1956, when the European Cup (now known as the Champions League) came into existence, to reward players based on their performances in the previous 12 months on votes exclusively from journalist in Europe.
The FIFA World Player of the Year, on the other hand, was introduced in 1991 and awarded until 2009 with the winner decided by votes from national team coaches and captains from all of the association members.
In 2010, the Ballon d’Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year were fused for theFIFA Ballon d’Or to select the world’s best player of the year, based on votes from media, team coaches and captains.
Barcelona star Lionel Messi won the award for record five times, while Cristiano Ronaldo went for three.
The contract previously signed by the FIFA and France Football has expired with neither organisation interested in extending it, and the most prestigious individual award will go back to its initial format.
Thursday, 15 September 2016
King Sunny Ade, 2Baba, Asa, D’banj & Wizkid Set to Perform at Made-in-Nigeria(MaIN) Festival | Saturday, October 1st
The Nigerian Entertainment history books is about to be re-written as organisers of the much-talked about Made-in-Nigeria(MaIN) Festival have lined up an impressive list of performers for the maiden edition of the Supremacy Concert to hold on October 1 at the Eko Atlantic, Lagos.
The Supremacy Concert will be the climax of a seven-day event which would attract dignitaries such as His Excellency, the Vice-President of Nigeria Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Dr. Bukola Saraki, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, Minister of Power, Works & Housing Babatunde Fashola, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, Ronald Chagoury, Ben Akabueze D.G. Budget Office among others.
The Made-in-Nigeria Festival is being organized by MaIN Group, a collaboration of private sector organisations. Board of Advisors of the initiative include: Prince Adesegun Oniru, Aliko Dangote, Dr. Stella Okoli, Ronald Chagoury, and Senator Oluremi Tinubu. The music concert will feature music acts such as King Sunny Ade (KSA), Asa, Dbanj, 2Baba and Wizkid. This would be the first time these entertainers would grace the same stage in the history of music concerts in Nigeria.
Date: Saturday, October 1st, 2016
Venue: Eko Atlantic City, Victoria Island, Lagos.
KSA who started his music career in the 60s is known for his captivating voice and electrifying dance steps which has endeared him to many. He has many blockbuster hits to his credit among which is ‘’Merciful God’’, ‘’Ja Fumi’’, ‘’Sweet Banana’’, ‘’AiyeNretiEleya Mi’’ and others.
2baba is regarded as one of the stars of the decade as he is unarguably one of the country’s best exports ever since he released the hit single ‘’African Queen’’ which made the album go platinum.
Asa is an internationally acclaimed singer and song writer who has sold more albums than her contemporary acts, she performs in and out of the country at will.
Dbanj is not doing badly as he is not just a musician but an entertainer and businessman all in one. He is known for his stage craft and he is a fans’ favourite.
Wizkid is the only Nigerian artiste to have been featured by more than three International artistes this year alone. Canadian Rapper and Song-Writer Drake featured him in his song ‘’One Dance’’ a track which was number one in the US and the UK for several weeks.
The Supremacy Concert will be the climax of a seven-day event which would attract dignitaries such as His Excellency, the Vice-President of Nigeria Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Dr. Bukola Saraki, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, Minister of Power, Works & Housing Babatunde Fashola, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, Ronald Chagoury, Ben Akabueze D.G. Budget Office among others.
The Made-in-Nigeria Festival is being organized by MaIN Group, a collaboration of private sector organisations. Board of Advisors of the initiative include: Prince Adesegun Oniru, Aliko Dangote, Dr. Stella Okoli, Ronald Chagoury, and Senator Oluremi Tinubu. The music concert will feature music acts such as King Sunny Ade (KSA), Asa, Dbanj, 2Baba and Wizkid. This would be the first time these entertainers would grace the same stage in the history of music concerts in Nigeria.
Date: Saturday, October 1st, 2016
Venue: Eko Atlantic City, Victoria Island, Lagos.
KSA who started his music career in the 60s is known for his captivating voice and electrifying dance steps which has endeared him to many. He has many blockbuster hits to his credit among which is ‘’Merciful God’’, ‘’Ja Fumi’’, ‘’Sweet Banana’’, ‘’AiyeNretiEleya Mi’’ and others.
2baba is regarded as one of the stars of the decade as he is unarguably one of the country’s best exports ever since he released the hit single ‘’African Queen’’ which made the album go platinum.
Asa is an internationally acclaimed singer and song writer who has sold more albums than her contemporary acts, she performs in and out of the country at will.
Dbanj is not doing badly as he is not just a musician but an entertainer and businessman all in one. He is known for his stage craft and he is a fans’ favourite.
Wizkid is the only Nigerian artiste to have been featured by more than three International artistes this year alone. Canadian Rapper and Song-Writer Drake featured him in his song ‘’One Dance’’ a track which was number one in the US and the UK for several weeks.
MTN Foundation Set to Award 29 Graduating Students with a MUSON Diploma in Music | Friday, September 16th
Twenty-nine students trained under MTN Foundation-MUSON Music Scholars Programme are set to graduate from the renowned musical institution come Friday, September 16, 2016. The graduands, who would be performing at the Agip Recital Hall of the MUSON Centre on September 15 & 16th 2016, will be graduating with the highly coveted Diploma in Music certification.
The 29 graduating scholars are the ninth set of beneficiaries of the MTN Foundation’s (MTNF) music scholarship programme. The scholarship programme, which is in its 9th year, was instituted to provide indigent students with talent in music, an opportunity to acquire qualitative music education.
While a concert will hold today, Thursday, September 15th, the graduation ceremony will hold on Friday, September 16th.
The concert will attract people and music lovers from all walks of life as graduating students are expected to showcase their expertise in playing different musical instruments such as saxophone, piano, talking drum, trumpet and double bass.
Since the inception of this project, MTNF has sponsored over 200 students who have a flair for music, to acquire a MUSON diploma in music. This programme is part of the Foundation’s sustainability efforts in grooming musical talents in Nigeria.
The 29 graduating scholars are the ninth set of beneficiaries of the MTN Foundation’s (MTNF) music scholarship programme. The scholarship programme, which is in its 9th year, was instituted to provide indigent students with talent in music, an opportunity to acquire qualitative music education.
While a concert will hold today, Thursday, September 15th, the graduation ceremony will hold on Friday, September 16th.
The concert will attract people and music lovers from all walks of life as graduating students are expected to showcase their expertise in playing different musical instruments such as saxophone, piano, talking drum, trumpet and double bass.
Since the inception of this project, MTNF has sponsored over 200 students who have a flair for music, to acquire a MUSON diploma in music. This programme is part of the Foundation’s sustainability efforts in grooming musical talents in Nigeria.
How $22million was moved into Jonathan’s wife’s accounts
$19.8m frozen in ex-First Lady’s accounts || *NIMASA officials’ names used in deals
Startling revelations are coming out with regards to the Multi-Million Dollars traced to Patience, the wife of Nigeria's immediate past president, Goodluck Jonathan.
Below are the FACTS AND FIGURES:
$22,353,076.71 (million)
Total amount wired into Patience's accounts in 4 corporate accounts and one personalised account.
$19,871,307.96 (million)
Total amount frozen in four corporate accounts and one personalised account.
$14,029,881.79 (million)
Amount in the four VISA Platinum dollar cards used by Mrs. Jonathan
$753,206.76 (thousand)
Amount Mrs Jonathan has spent from the $5,114,609.00 lodged into the account of Globus Integrated Services Limited.
$4,361,393.24 (million)
The balance in Globus Integrated Services Limited.
$3,737,500.00 (million)
Amount lodged into the account of Trans Investment.
$405,856.88 (thousand)
The cash Mrs. Jonathan has spent from the account of Trans Investment.
$3,331,643.12 (million)
The balance in Trans Investment’s account.
$3,644,200.00 (million)
The money lodged into Seagate Property’s account.
Former First Lady Patience Jonathan’s bank accounts containing $19,871.307.96 have been frozen.
The Nation reports that the cash a is part of the $22.3 million found in the accounts.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has also established a prima facie case of money laundering against the ex-First Lady and 10 others.
The 11 suspects may face trial for alleged money laundering if the recommendation of the investigative team is upheld.
The EFCC declared that “preliminary investigation has also indicted Mrs. Patience Jonathan”.
The 10 suspects indicted in the investigation are a former Senior Special Assistant (Domestic/Household and Social Events to the former President), Dr. Dudafa Waripamo-Owei Emmanuel; Damola Bolodeoku; Dipo Oshodi; Theodora Varinik; Pluto Property and Investment Company Limited; Seagate Property Development and Investment Limited; Globus Integrated Services Limited; Trans Ocean Property and Investment Company Limited and Skye Bank Plc.
The 10th suspect, Sompre Omiebi, is said to be on the run.
The mobile phones recovered from most of the suspects have revealed how the slush funds were wired.
Mrs. Jonathan has sued Skye Bank, claiming ownership of the accounts.
She is asking for N200 million damages from the bank in addition to demanding that the lid on the accounts be lifted.
The Nation stumbled on a report on the investigation. It states: “Based on the investigation so far carried out, the four fraudulent VISA Platinum USD card accounts used by Mrs. Patience Goodluck Jonathan has a cumulative balance of $14,029,881.79 which has been swept Post No Debit Card category.
“Again, her personal account, different from the four fraudulent VISA Platinum USD Card accounts, bears the balance of $5,841,426.17.
“Considering the above stated findings, we can safely conclude that aprima facie case of conspiracy to retain proceeds of unlawful activities, retention of the proceeds of unlawful activities, money laundering, contrary to Section 15(3) and 18(a) of the Money Laundering ( Prohibition) (Amendment) Act, 2012 and forgery contrary to Section 1(2) (c) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Cap M17, Laws of the Federation, 2004 have been established against the aforementioned suspects.”
The EFCC claimed that all the funds traced to Mrs Jonathan’s accounts were proceeds of gratification.
The report said: “The intelligence revealed that Dr. Dudafa Waripamo-Owei Emmanuel fraudulently received various sums of money, being proceeds of gratification and retained same on behalf of the then First Family and for himself .
“In committing the alleged offence, Dr. Dudafa Waripamo-Owei Emmanuel, in grand conspiracy with one Sompre Omiebi and Mrs. Patience Jonathan, procured the services of Mr. Dipo Oshodi, Miss Theodora Vavrinik and Mr. Damola Bolodeoku of Skye Bank Plc to launder and retain the proceeds of their unlawful activities.
“On receipt of the intelligence report, letters of investigation activities were sent to the Corporate Affairs Commission, relevant banks , communication companies, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Chief of Staff to the President, Federal Road Safety Corps and the mobile phones recovered from suspects were analysed.
“Also, the employees of various banks whose names featured, together with Dr. Dudafa Waripamo-Owei Emmanuel, were interviewed and a search carried out . Some of the purported directors and signatories to the said companies were arrested and interviewed.”
The report explained that the accumulation of the gratification funds started in 2013 with the registration of four fake firms.
The report added: “In 2013, the principal suspect, Dr. Dudafa Waripamo-Owei Emmanuel, in grand conspiracy with Sompre Omiebi and Barr. Amajuoye Azubuike fraudulently registered the following companies: (a) Pluto Property and Investment Company Limited; (b) Trans Ocean Property and Investment Company Limited; (c) Globus Integrated Service Limited; ( d) Seagate Property Development and Investment Limited.
“However, the following persons , Taiwo Ebenezer, Chima John, Friday Davis, Olalekan Bello, Asuquo Charles, Kola Frederick, Rasak Gbodiyam, Ebi Attah, Agbo Baro and Olugbenga Isaiah, named as the purported directors of the companies, have denied knowledge of the registration and any interest in the companies.
“That after the fraudulent registration, the principal suspect, Dr. Dudafa Waripamo-Owei Emmanuel, conspired with Sompre Omiebi and three officials of the Skye Bank Plc, namely Dipo Oshodi, Theodora Varinik and Damola Bolodeoku, to fraudulently open current and VISA Platinum Credit Card ( USD) accounts for the companies.
“That in opening account Nos: 1771420773 and 2110002238 for Pluto Property and Investment and Company Limited in Skye Bank Plc, Dr. Dudafa Waripamo-Owei Emmanuel, Sompre Omiebi and Skye Bank officials, namely Dipo Oshodi, Theodora Varinik and Damola Bolodeoku, also fraudulently used the details of one Friday Davies and Toru Inoyengibuomo( who have been found to be staff of NIMASA) .
“That in opening account Nos: 1771420797 and 2110002245 for Trans Ocean Property and Investment and Company Limited in Skye Bank Plc, Dr. Dudafa Waripamo-Owei Emmanuel, Sompre Omiebi and Skye Bank officials namely Dipo Oshodi, Theodora Varinik and Damola Bolodeoku, also fraudulently used the details of one Asuquo Charles and Kola Frederick as the signatories to the accounts.
“That in opening account Nos: 1771421299 0and 2110002269 for Globus Integrated Services Limited Dr. Dudafa Waripamo-Owei Emmanuel, Sompre Omiebi and Skye Bank officials namely Dipo Oshodi, Theodora Varinik and Damola Bolodeoku also fraudulently used the details of one Razak Gbodiyam and Ebi Attah as the signatories to the accounts.
“That in opening account Nos: 1771420780and 2110002207 for Seagate Property Development and Investment Limited, Dr. Dudafa Waripamo-Owei Emmanuel, Sompre Omiebi and Skye Bank officials namely Dipo Oshodi, Theodora Varinik and Damola Bolodeoku also fraudulently used the details of one Agbo Baro and Olugbenga Isaiah as the signatories to the accounts.
“That though these fraudulent accounts do not have Biometric Verification Numbers(BVN), the Skye Bank officials allowed their cronies to use and operate the accounts.
“That all the driver’s licences used as a means of identification of the purported signatories have been found to be forged.
“That all these fraudulent accounts were opened with the consent of Mrs. Patience Jonathan.
“Furthermore, investigation has revealed that all VISA Platinum USD cards in respect of the above mentioned accounts were picked up by Mr. Dipo Oshodi and Damola Bolodeoku of Skye Bank Plc from the bank and handed over to Mrs. Patience Goodluck Jonathan.”
EFCC detectives gave the breakdown of how funds were wired into nine USD accounts believed to have been opened with fraudulent names and operated by Mrs. Jonathan.
The report said: “That looking at the various Visa Platinum USD Card accounts, the sum of $5,114,609.00 were lodged into the account of Globus Integrated Services Limited out of which the sum of $753,206.76 has been spent by Mrs. Patience Jonathan, leaving a balance of $4,361,393.24, which is currently on Post No Debit Status.
“That the sum of $3,737,500.00 was also fraudulently lodged into the account of Trans Ocean Property abc Investment Company Limited out of which the sum of $405,856.88 has been spent by Mrs. Patience Jonathan, leaving a balance of $3,331,643.12, which is currently on Post No Debit Status.
“That investigation has also revealed that the sum of $3,644,200.00 was fraudulently lodged into the account of Seagate Property Development and Investment Company Limited out of which the sum of $242,665.29 has been spent by Mrs. Jonathan, leaving a balance if $3,401,534.71, which is currently on Post No Debit Status.
“That investigation has revealed that the sum of $3,095,400, fraudulently lodged into the account of Pluto Property and Investment Company Limited out if which the sum of $160, 089.28 has been spent, leaving a balance of $2,935,310.72, which is currently on Post No Debit Status.
“That in another investigation, it was discovered that another VISA Platinum Credit card (USD) Account number 2110001712 was opened by Mrs. Patience Jonathan where $6, 761,367.71 was credited out of which she has spent $919,941.54, leaving a balance of $5,841,426.17.
Startling revelations are coming out with regards to the Multi-Million Dollars traced to Patience, the wife of Nigeria's immediate past president, Goodluck Jonathan.
Below are the FACTS AND FIGURES:
$22,353,076.71 (million)
Total amount wired into Patience's accounts in 4 corporate accounts and one personalised account.
$19,871,307.96 (million)
Total amount frozen in four corporate accounts and one personalised account.
$14,029,881.79 (million)
Amount in the four VISA Platinum dollar cards used by Mrs. Jonathan
$753,206.76 (thousand)
Amount Mrs Jonathan has spent from the $5,114,609.00 lodged into the account of Globus Integrated Services Limited.
$4,361,393.24 (million)
The balance in Globus Integrated Services Limited.
$3,737,500.00 (million)
Amount lodged into the account of Trans Investment.
$405,856.88 (thousand)
The cash Mrs. Jonathan has spent from the account of Trans Investment.
$3,331,643.12 (million)
The balance in Trans Investment’s account.
$3,644,200.00 (million)
The money lodged into Seagate Property’s account.
Former First Lady Patience Jonathan’s bank accounts containing $19,871.307.96 have been frozen.
The Nation reports that the cash a is part of the $22.3 million found in the accounts.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has also established a prima facie case of money laundering against the ex-First Lady and 10 others.
The 11 suspects may face trial for alleged money laundering if the recommendation of the investigative team is upheld.
The EFCC declared that “preliminary investigation has also indicted Mrs. Patience Jonathan”.
The 10 suspects indicted in the investigation are a former Senior Special Assistant (Domestic/Household and Social Events to the former President), Dr. Dudafa Waripamo-Owei Emmanuel; Damola Bolodeoku; Dipo Oshodi; Theodora Varinik; Pluto Property and Investment Company Limited; Seagate Property Development and Investment Limited; Globus Integrated Services Limited; Trans Ocean Property and Investment Company Limited and Skye Bank Plc.
The 10th suspect, Sompre Omiebi, is said to be on the run.
The mobile phones recovered from most of the suspects have revealed how the slush funds were wired.
Mrs. Jonathan has sued Skye Bank, claiming ownership of the accounts.
She is asking for N200 million damages from the bank in addition to demanding that the lid on the accounts be lifted.
The Nation stumbled on a report on the investigation. It states: “Based on the investigation so far carried out, the four fraudulent VISA Platinum USD card accounts used by Mrs. Patience Goodluck Jonathan has a cumulative balance of $14,029,881.79 which has been swept Post No Debit Card category.
“Again, her personal account, different from the four fraudulent VISA Platinum USD Card accounts, bears the balance of $5,841,426.17.
“Considering the above stated findings, we can safely conclude that aprima facie case of conspiracy to retain proceeds of unlawful activities, retention of the proceeds of unlawful activities, money laundering, contrary to Section 15(3) and 18(a) of the Money Laundering ( Prohibition) (Amendment) Act, 2012 and forgery contrary to Section 1(2) (c) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Cap M17, Laws of the Federation, 2004 have been established against the aforementioned suspects.”
The EFCC claimed that all the funds traced to Mrs Jonathan’s accounts were proceeds of gratification.
The report said: “The intelligence revealed that Dr. Dudafa Waripamo-Owei Emmanuel fraudulently received various sums of money, being proceeds of gratification and retained same on behalf of the then First Family and for himself .
“In committing the alleged offence, Dr. Dudafa Waripamo-Owei Emmanuel, in grand conspiracy with one Sompre Omiebi and Mrs. Patience Jonathan, procured the services of Mr. Dipo Oshodi, Miss Theodora Vavrinik and Mr. Damola Bolodeoku of Skye Bank Plc to launder and retain the proceeds of their unlawful activities.
“On receipt of the intelligence report, letters of investigation activities were sent to the Corporate Affairs Commission, relevant banks , communication companies, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Chief of Staff to the President, Federal Road Safety Corps and the mobile phones recovered from suspects were analysed.
“Also, the employees of various banks whose names featured, together with Dr. Dudafa Waripamo-Owei Emmanuel, were interviewed and a search carried out . Some of the purported directors and signatories to the said companies were arrested and interviewed.”
The report explained that the accumulation of the gratification funds started in 2013 with the registration of four fake firms.
The report added: “In 2013, the principal suspect, Dr. Dudafa Waripamo-Owei Emmanuel, in grand conspiracy with Sompre Omiebi and Barr. Amajuoye Azubuike fraudulently registered the following companies: (a) Pluto Property and Investment Company Limited; (b) Trans Ocean Property and Investment Company Limited; (c) Globus Integrated Service Limited; ( d) Seagate Property Development and Investment Limited.
“However, the following persons , Taiwo Ebenezer, Chima John, Friday Davis, Olalekan Bello, Asuquo Charles, Kola Frederick, Rasak Gbodiyam, Ebi Attah, Agbo Baro and Olugbenga Isaiah, named as the purported directors of the companies, have denied knowledge of the registration and any interest in the companies.
“That after the fraudulent registration, the principal suspect, Dr. Dudafa Waripamo-Owei Emmanuel, conspired with Sompre Omiebi and three officials of the Skye Bank Plc, namely Dipo Oshodi, Theodora Varinik and Damola Bolodeoku, to fraudulently open current and VISA Platinum Credit Card ( USD) accounts for the companies.
“That in opening account Nos: 1771420773 and 2110002238 for Pluto Property and Investment and Company Limited in Skye Bank Plc, Dr. Dudafa Waripamo-Owei Emmanuel, Sompre Omiebi and Skye Bank officials, namely Dipo Oshodi, Theodora Varinik and Damola Bolodeoku, also fraudulently used the details of one Friday Davies and Toru Inoyengibuomo( who have been found to be staff of NIMASA) .
“That in opening account Nos: 1771420797 and 2110002245 for Trans Ocean Property and Investment and Company Limited in Skye Bank Plc, Dr. Dudafa Waripamo-Owei Emmanuel, Sompre Omiebi and Skye Bank officials namely Dipo Oshodi, Theodora Varinik and Damola Bolodeoku, also fraudulently used the details of one Asuquo Charles and Kola Frederick as the signatories to the accounts.
“That in opening account Nos: 1771421299 0and 2110002269 for Globus Integrated Services Limited Dr. Dudafa Waripamo-Owei Emmanuel, Sompre Omiebi and Skye Bank officials namely Dipo Oshodi, Theodora Varinik and Damola Bolodeoku also fraudulently used the details of one Razak Gbodiyam and Ebi Attah as the signatories to the accounts.
“That in opening account Nos: 1771420780and 2110002207 for Seagate Property Development and Investment Limited, Dr. Dudafa Waripamo-Owei Emmanuel, Sompre Omiebi and Skye Bank officials namely Dipo Oshodi, Theodora Varinik and Damola Bolodeoku also fraudulently used the details of one Agbo Baro and Olugbenga Isaiah as the signatories to the accounts.
“That though these fraudulent accounts do not have Biometric Verification Numbers(BVN), the Skye Bank officials allowed their cronies to use and operate the accounts.
“That all the driver’s licences used as a means of identification of the purported signatories have been found to be forged.
“That all these fraudulent accounts were opened with the consent of Mrs. Patience Jonathan.
“Furthermore, investigation has revealed that all VISA Platinum USD cards in respect of the above mentioned accounts were picked up by Mr. Dipo Oshodi and Damola Bolodeoku of Skye Bank Plc from the bank and handed over to Mrs. Patience Goodluck Jonathan.”
EFCC detectives gave the breakdown of how funds were wired into nine USD accounts believed to have been opened with fraudulent names and operated by Mrs. Jonathan.
The report said: “That looking at the various Visa Platinum USD Card accounts, the sum of $5,114,609.00 were lodged into the account of Globus Integrated Services Limited out of which the sum of $753,206.76 has been spent by Mrs. Patience Jonathan, leaving a balance of $4,361,393.24, which is currently on Post No Debit Status.
“That the sum of $3,737,500.00 was also fraudulently lodged into the account of Trans Ocean Property abc Investment Company Limited out of which the sum of $405,856.88 has been spent by Mrs. Patience Jonathan, leaving a balance of $3,331,643.12, which is currently on Post No Debit Status.
“That investigation has also revealed that the sum of $3,644,200.00 was fraudulently lodged into the account of Seagate Property Development and Investment Company Limited out of which the sum of $242,665.29 has been spent by Mrs. Jonathan, leaving a balance if $3,401,534.71, which is currently on Post No Debit Status.
“That investigation has revealed that the sum of $3,095,400, fraudulently lodged into the account of Pluto Property and Investment Company Limited out if which the sum of $160, 089.28 has been spent, leaving a balance of $2,935,310.72, which is currently on Post No Debit Status.
“That in another investigation, it was discovered that another VISA Platinum Credit card (USD) Account number 2110001712 was opened by Mrs. Patience Jonathan where $6, 761,367.71 was credited out of which she has spent $919,941.54, leaving a balance of $5,841,426.17.
How Yar'Adua Tackled The Recession, Terrorism and The Legacy He Left Nigeria
I seek indulgement to type this piece in defense of late President Umaru Yar'Adua who has been inadvertently included in a list of PDP Presidents who "left Nigeria no legacy," according to a public statement attributed to the current President Muhammadu Buhari.
While President Yar'Adua is obviously not here to defend himself, providence demands some of us stand in his stead.
I do not believe that President Muhammadu Buhari intended to include Yar'Adua in the list of PDP Presidents who failed Nigeria over the 16 years, however being that Yar'Adua's name was included in headlines across the dailies, it is important to attempt to properly present his legacy.
Yar'Adua ranks among Nigeria's top two Presidents of all time. By most metrics, two Presidents who had truncated terms were the best by far: late Yar'Adua and late Murtala Muhammad are these two. While President Muhammadu Buhari's first term also ranked high, perhaps the third best, his current term is filled with mixed results and cannot yet be judged to be in the top category according to my humble opinion. The bottom of the list is occupied by the likes of Obasanjo, Jonathan, Abacha and Babangida, noted for looting the nation's treasury silly and enjoying immunity and even being defended of "having never stolen" by eminent persons.
I will attempt to do summarily justice to this topic in several sections. I will utilize swaths from my February 2014 article on the great legacy of late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua as I compare to what we have currently:
Yar'Adua: The Only President To Openly Fully Declare His Assets
Late Yar'Adua was the first democratic President to fully and publicly declare his assets and remains the only Nigerian President to do so till date. While President Muhammadu Buhari published a summary three sentence brief of his assets, a full public declaration of these is yet to be made. The effect of Yar'Adua's public asset declaration on trust, transparency and good governance to Nigeria is a legacy he left of untold value that is yet to be rivaled.
Late Yar'Adua's Legacy on Terror: Boko Haram And MEND
President Yar’Adua had been handed two catastrophic problems by the predecessor Obasanjo government. Movement for Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND was wrecking havoc in the Southern creeks and Boko Haram had similarly evolved in the north east. Under the Obasanjo regime, Nigeria’s national security boss, NSA Aliyu Gusau, a Babangida autocratic-regime henchman and the man behind most of Nigeria’s sad history of military coups and continuous insecurity as recurrent security chief, had failed to abate the problems in the north and south. According to reports, Gusau had actually told president Obasanjo when he asked about Boko Haram, then called, ‘Nigerian Taliban,’ that ‘no such group existed,’ despite attacks by the group.
-MEND
Faced with these unique, entrenched challenges, Yar’Adua selected a National Security Adviser, Major Gen. Sarki Mukhtar – remembered for opposing Abacha on coup plotter treatment in the 90s– who had the commitment and wherewithal to intelligently and appropriately combat the two terror problems.
The Yar’Adua administration with NSA Mukhtar immediately approached the MEND crises with an understanding of the pressing situation.
Through a combination of force and payoffs, President Yar'Adua persuaded all major militant leaders in October of 2010 to renounce violence and surrender their arms in exchange for amnesty, government subsidies, training opportunities, and promises of more money and development of the region. [Ref: Cables]
The Amnesty placated the agitating youth who had reduced Nigeria’s oil output by almost half, more than the current loses by the Niger Delta Avengers and related groups today, and Nigeria invested billions in training and rehabilitating these youth. Peace that eluded Obasanjo was fully restored to the creeks.
-Boko Haram
Faced with a different terror uprising in the north, Yar’Adua with his apt NSA Mukhtar swung into action, again properly considering the dynamics of the northern question. Poverty is predominant in Nigeria’s north, however poverty and/or misguided fanaticism is no excuse for terrorism and murder of innocent civilians and security officers. The nation’s security men were sent to sack the Boko Haram camps in a swift and efficient operation. In one of the few times in recent global history, the terror mastermind, Mohammed Yusuf himself was caught and killed as ‘he attempted to escape.’ Over 700 mostly Boko Haram terrorists were massacred in the operation of July 2009.
But Yar'Adua did not stop there. He drew-up a comprehensive deradicalization plan that promised to monitor and prevent radical groups from resurging across Nigeria's north and also to address the complex societal dynamics that breed terror.
Having established calm and restored security to Nigeria, late Yar’Adua continued with managing other pressing crises he had inherited from the previous administration.
What Obasanjo Left
Yar'Adua's predecessor, President Olusegun Obasanjo, OBJ rode the oil price waves. OBJ’s regime was not particularly economically unique. It more accurately put, was lucky to be in favorable times and the economic growth was concordant with catapulting global oil prices. Oil prices were $16 in 1999 at the start of his tenure and rose rapidly to double that, $35 in September 2000. By August 2005, oil sold at $65 and by October 2007, oil prices were $90/barrel. Obasanjo rode these prices in an 'oil cruise'.
Tackling the Recession
President Musa Yar’Adua had an uphill task. He was coming in when oil prices were dropping during the global recession and Nigeria’s economy faced testing. The Yar’Adua government had to stabilize the economy against dropping oil prices and decreased production as a result of Niger-Delta terror which had reduced oil exports by more than half. This was the heyday of MEND.
Oil prices dropped to a low value of $35 a barrel during his tenure. This was definitely a tough time as repeats today. But a steady hand and refusal to adopt wrong policies protected the economy.
Late Yar'Adua inherited an external reserve of $45 billion, which grew to $63 billion in September, 2008. Due to the twin blows of reduced income from MEND terror and tanked global oil costs, Yar"Adua left $47. 7 billion in the reserves as at Dec 31st 2009 when Jonathan took over. He left Nigeria's external debts relatively unchanged.
Faced with an impending recession rocking the world, the Yar'Adua government dug into the nation's Excess Crude Account to fund the National Integrated Power Project and distribute additional funds national, state, and local governments.
To tackle and prevent Nigeria joining the global recession and shore the economy, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under President Yar'Adua and led by Sanusi lamido Sanusi (now Emir) ordered the immediate audit of all 24 of Nigeria's banks. The audits were followed by the replacement of eight troubled bank leaders and a $3.9 billion bailout of the banks which stabilized the economy.
The Yar'Adua government published a "name and shame" list of hundreds of bad debtors which included many closely tied to the PDP and Yar'Adua personally recovered billions in bad debts. In contrast today, the Buhari government refuses to publish the names of looters even after they have returned moneys.
Legacy On Corruption and How Late Yar'Adua Fought Obasanjo, Dangote and Other Cabal
Apart from the "name and shame list, in October of 2010, the former chairman of the Nigerian Port Authority and Vice-Chairman of President Yar'Adua's 2007 presidential campaign, Bode George of the PDP party was convicted on various corruption charges and sentenced to jail. This was a man who was first indicted in 2005 by the EFCC but was allegedly shielded by Obasanjo.
A major battle Yar’Adua had to face was the recovery of Nigeria from the cabal. Obasanjo had literally sold Nigeria to private friends of his and his party. Tycoon Dangote had been selected and favored by president Obasanjo not only during his second appearance in civilian regalia but from his first show as military dictator when he gave Dangote exclusive importation rights. With the sale of Nigeria’s refineries to Dangote and Otedola, Dangote owned as much as half of Nigeria’s assets, which included Nigeria’s cement plants, a telecoms licence and mining concessions. Bashani Aminu, a Yar'Adua confidant revealed as relayed in Wikileaks,“Disentangling Obasanjo” cables that Dangote once gave Obasanjo a 35 million dollar private jet as thanks for his fruitful partnership.
“Aminu expects more of the same soon — particularly an overturn of the Transcorp purchase of the Abuja Nicon Hilton. Aminu also noted Yar’adua’s commitment to fighting corruption and told Post he gave the greenlight to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate anyone.
He predicted Yar’adua will overturn the Transcorp purchase of the Abuja Nicon Hilton soon. These deals will be aimed at removing the ill-earned gains of Obasanjo and his close allies such as Aliko Dangote. (NOTE: Dangote and Obasanjo’s Transcorp were both part of the consortium that purchased the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries.) Aminu claimed Dangote gave Obasanjo a 35 million USD jet plane as a recent “gift.””
In July of 2007, barely two months into office, Yar’Adua summoned the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE), to query the sale of Nigeria’s refineries to Dangote and co. And to the praise of Nigeria’s Labour Congress (NLC) Yar’Adua overturned these privatizations for being corrupt. Yar’Adua was next going after the Transcorp purchase of Abuja NICON Hilton. Though Obasanjo had put Yar’Adua into office against Yar’Adua’s wishes, he having objected to contesting on health grounds, Yar’Adua was determined to rescue Nigeria from the paws of the cabal, even his sponsors, Dangote, who financially sponsored his campaigns and Obasanjo who orchestrated his selection.
But this was not even the half of Yar’Adua’s war against corruption. There was the kerosene subsidy scam, through which the fourth republic stole and still steals 10 million dollars every day from the Nigerian masses. Yar’Adua who was battling with a chronic allergic disorder and had intermittent kidney failure, took this matter as no joke and not a matter to delay on. Within his short tenure, he went hard and firm against the subsidy fraud, sending four directive communications to immediately seize the fake subsidy that ‘was not reaching the beneficiaries – the Nigerian masses. Yar’Adua’s Principal Secretary, Mr. David Edevbie conveyed the directives.
The government spent/spends millions of dollars everyday subsidizing kerosene that was/is sold to the masses at unsubsidized prices in an elaborate, cheap scam. President Yar’Adua on June 15, 2009 gave a clear directive that NNPC should cease subsidy claims on kerosene. Kerosene fraudulent subsidy claims run up to the tune of N300 trillions per year. This was going to hurt Obsanjo and his cabal cronies.
Ambassador Maitama Sule revealed that Obasanjo was scared Yar’Adua would soon come after him and AC’s Garba Shehu said Atiku warned Yar’Adua that Obasanjo was plotting to remove him for his “treachery.”
Today the Buhari government is in bed with Obasanjo and Dangote who are dictating government policies and receiving billions in government subsidies and gifts. A recent Reuters report that covered just 3 months of released Central Bank Forex authorisations found that Dangote alone got $100 million in subsidized forex "gift" in that period [Reuters: Africa’s richest man got a fistful of dollars in Nigerian currency squeeze]. For a year of the dual CBN and blackmarket forex rates, Dangote is estimated to have benefitted a whopping half a billion dollars in forex gift from the Buhari administration. This free money from Nigeria's coffers strengthened the Dangote brand over Nigeria while small businesses were given no concessions and folded up leading to at least 4.6 million Nigerians losing their jobs according to numbers from the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS.
Further, unlike the Obasanjo policy to ban import of goods which Dangote and other cabal have monopolies in, to promote the stocks of these cabal party sponsors, Yar'Adua is applauded to have allowed free importation, limiting local costs and increasing foreign investments in Nigeria. The current regime policies pushed by Obasanjo and Dangote have led to increased hardship while patronizing ad promoting Dangote who is alleged to invest money of many of Nigeria's looters and other cabal.
According to US cables: "...elimination of import bans and lower tariffs on key products, bringing down the cost of doing business and reducing incentives for smuggling. The Mission has helped the Government of Nigeria solve regulatory and policy problems to allow increased electricity supplies, boost agricultural production, and assist in establishing reliable regional and international markets, including use of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)."
Weekly Trust in their one year tribute, remember Yar'Adua thus:
Yar’adua deconstructed power. He was not intoxicated by it, a fact that even his critics had attested to. He operated within the realm of the law. He didn’t pay lip service to the rule of law and due process he preached. The courts regained the freedom they lost during his predecessor’s tenure. They handed down verdicts that cancelled political victories even though his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was the victim.
Despite his ill-health, he pioneered laudable projects across the country. He initiated the dredging of River Niger, a project that was abandoned for decades. He started the reinvigoration of the abandoned rail system. He brought Sanusi Lamido Sanusi to head the Central Bank, thereby saving the country from a looming financial crisis.
He was bold enough to reverse President Olusegun Obasanjo’s decisions considered to be against the national interest. He saved the country’s three refineries from being auctioned to businessmen, who could not establish theirs. The nation’s comatose telecom giant, NITEL was not auctioned at least during his time.
He fought corruption in his own ways. He pioneered the policy of returning unspent funds to the national treasury at the end of the fiscal year even though the policy regrettably died with him. He prosecuted and jailed those believed to be above the law. His party chieftain, Chief Olabode George was convicted during Yar’adua’s adminitration. He did not create political enemies who he needed the anti-graft agencies, notably the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to humiliate as Obasanjo did.
After his assumption, he saved the jobs of over 160, 000 federal workers pencilled for sack under various pretences. Not only that, he released the N10 billion Lagos State local government councils’ funds which Obasanjo sat fat on despite court orders. Yar’adua went ahead and reversed the increment of Value Added Tax (VAT) from 10 percent to five as well as the hike in fuel price from N75 to N65. Read full
A very important aspect of the legacy of late Yar'Adua was his respect of the law. When he summoned then EFCC boss, Nuhu Ribadu to complete all cases against corrupt persons and spare no one, he is noted to have directed that Ribadu must respect and abide by the law in all cases and at all times. Compared to today, the current Buhari administration has disobeyed the courts in several cases and continues to do so, holding people in detention without charge and in denial of bail.
The Yar'Adua administration is noted to have strengthened the judicial system beyond compare, an essentiality for national growth and progress.
His Death And The Conclusion
There are many more instances of Yar’Adua’s stunning and committed actions towards strengthening the judiciary, developing the economy, securing the nation and total war against corruption. But Yar'Adua suddenly took seriously ill and suspected he had been poisoned. As relayed in Wikileaks cables, Professor Ukandi G. Damachi, an insider and confidant to Babangida and other Nigerian top elite, claimed that late Yar’Adua suspected he had been poisoned by his kitchen staff who he inherited from the former president, Obasanjo. This belief was grave enough according to Professor Ukandi G. Damachi, that Yar’Adua fired all the kitchen staff and replaced them.
Suspicion of poisoning has been rather common in Nigeria’s story, and Shehu Musa, Yar’Adua’s elder brother, was believed to have been killed by poisoning in jail as also it is believed late president elect MKO Abiola was.
Yar’Adua’s wife, Turai is also reported to have believed her husband was poisoned, and this was done to speed up his death. [Fresh Facts, May 2010: “They Killed Yar’Adua”].
When the Goodluck Jonathan administration took over, during a valedictory session in Yar’Adua’s honour, a motion to investigate the conditions of Yar’Adua’s death was raised by senators who alleged that the circumstances leading to the death of Yar’Adua were suspicious, but this motion to probe did not pass the floor and so this possibility was never investigated.
While the predecessor governments, especially the immediate past Jonathan government, certainly messed up Nigeria, we believe it is time the current administration gets over regurgitating the past to explain the predicament of these times. A several month delay in choosing his cabinet (which ended up consisting of nothing special and EFCC and ICPC implicated members with records of corruption in their states) and the delays in signing the budget cost Nigeria a year. This was essential time that should have been used to block and possibly prevent the recession currently bedeviling the nation. Ongoing gifts of billions of dollars in forex subsidies to the corrupt cabal are not helping either. Late Yar'Adua believed in the power of the people over the cabal. This is a legacy that needs to be emulated.
We wish the government success in its efforts to rescue Nigeria.
While President Yar'Adua is obviously not here to defend himself, providence demands some of us stand in his stead.
I do not believe that President Muhammadu Buhari intended to include Yar'Adua in the list of PDP Presidents who failed Nigeria over the 16 years, however being that Yar'Adua's name was included in headlines across the dailies, it is important to attempt to properly present his legacy.
Yar'Adua ranks among Nigeria's top two Presidents of all time. By most metrics, two Presidents who had truncated terms were the best by far: late Yar'Adua and late Murtala Muhammad are these two. While President Muhammadu Buhari's first term also ranked high, perhaps the third best, his current term is filled with mixed results and cannot yet be judged to be in the top category according to my humble opinion. The bottom of the list is occupied by the likes of Obasanjo, Jonathan, Abacha and Babangida, noted for looting the nation's treasury silly and enjoying immunity and even being defended of "having never stolen" by eminent persons.
I will attempt to do summarily justice to this topic in several sections. I will utilize swaths from my February 2014 article on the great legacy of late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua as I compare to what we have currently:
Yar'Adua: The Only President To Openly Fully Declare His Assets
Late Yar'Adua was the first democratic President to fully and publicly declare his assets and remains the only Nigerian President to do so till date. While President Muhammadu Buhari published a summary three sentence brief of his assets, a full public declaration of these is yet to be made. The effect of Yar'Adua's public asset declaration on trust, transparency and good governance to Nigeria is a legacy he left of untold value that is yet to be rivaled.
Late Yar'Adua's Legacy on Terror: Boko Haram And MEND
President Yar’Adua had been handed two catastrophic problems by the predecessor Obasanjo government. Movement for Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND was wrecking havoc in the Southern creeks and Boko Haram had similarly evolved in the north east. Under the Obasanjo regime, Nigeria’s national security boss, NSA Aliyu Gusau, a Babangida autocratic-regime henchman and the man behind most of Nigeria’s sad history of military coups and continuous insecurity as recurrent security chief, had failed to abate the problems in the north and south. According to reports, Gusau had actually told president Obasanjo when he asked about Boko Haram, then called, ‘Nigerian Taliban,’ that ‘no such group existed,’ despite attacks by the group.
-MEND
Faced with these unique, entrenched challenges, Yar’Adua selected a National Security Adviser, Major Gen. Sarki Mukhtar – remembered for opposing Abacha on coup plotter treatment in the 90s– who had the commitment and wherewithal to intelligently and appropriately combat the two terror problems.
The Yar’Adua administration with NSA Mukhtar immediately approached the MEND crises with an understanding of the pressing situation.
Through a combination of force and payoffs, President Yar'Adua persuaded all major militant leaders in October of 2010 to renounce violence and surrender their arms in exchange for amnesty, government subsidies, training opportunities, and promises of more money and development of the region. [Ref: Cables]
The Amnesty placated the agitating youth who had reduced Nigeria’s oil output by almost half, more than the current loses by the Niger Delta Avengers and related groups today, and Nigeria invested billions in training and rehabilitating these youth. Peace that eluded Obasanjo was fully restored to the creeks.
-Boko Haram
Faced with a different terror uprising in the north, Yar’Adua with his apt NSA Mukhtar swung into action, again properly considering the dynamics of the northern question. Poverty is predominant in Nigeria’s north, however poverty and/or misguided fanaticism is no excuse for terrorism and murder of innocent civilians and security officers. The nation’s security men were sent to sack the Boko Haram camps in a swift and efficient operation. In one of the few times in recent global history, the terror mastermind, Mohammed Yusuf himself was caught and killed as ‘he attempted to escape.’ Over 700 mostly Boko Haram terrorists were massacred in the operation of July 2009.
But Yar'Adua did not stop there. He drew-up a comprehensive deradicalization plan that promised to monitor and prevent radical groups from resurging across Nigeria's north and also to address the complex societal dynamics that breed terror.
Having established calm and restored security to Nigeria, late Yar’Adua continued with managing other pressing crises he had inherited from the previous administration.
What Obasanjo Left
Yar'Adua's predecessor, President Olusegun Obasanjo, OBJ rode the oil price waves. OBJ’s regime was not particularly economically unique. It more accurately put, was lucky to be in favorable times and the economic growth was concordant with catapulting global oil prices. Oil prices were $16 in 1999 at the start of his tenure and rose rapidly to double that, $35 in September 2000. By August 2005, oil sold at $65 and by October 2007, oil prices were $90/barrel. Obasanjo rode these prices in an 'oil cruise'.
Tackling the Recession
President Musa Yar’Adua had an uphill task. He was coming in when oil prices were dropping during the global recession and Nigeria’s economy faced testing. The Yar’Adua government had to stabilize the economy against dropping oil prices and decreased production as a result of Niger-Delta terror which had reduced oil exports by more than half. This was the heyday of MEND.
Oil prices dropped to a low value of $35 a barrel during his tenure. This was definitely a tough time as repeats today. But a steady hand and refusal to adopt wrong policies protected the economy.
Late Yar'Adua inherited an external reserve of $45 billion, which grew to $63 billion in September, 2008. Due to the twin blows of reduced income from MEND terror and tanked global oil costs, Yar"Adua left $47. 7 billion in the reserves as at Dec 31st 2009 when Jonathan took over. He left Nigeria's external debts relatively unchanged.
Faced with an impending recession rocking the world, the Yar'Adua government dug into the nation's Excess Crude Account to fund the National Integrated Power Project and distribute additional funds national, state, and local governments.
To tackle and prevent Nigeria joining the global recession and shore the economy, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under President Yar'Adua and led by Sanusi lamido Sanusi (now Emir) ordered the immediate audit of all 24 of Nigeria's banks. The audits were followed by the replacement of eight troubled bank leaders and a $3.9 billion bailout of the banks which stabilized the economy.
The Yar'Adua government published a "name and shame" list of hundreds of bad debtors which included many closely tied to the PDP and Yar'Adua personally recovered billions in bad debts. In contrast today, the Buhari government refuses to publish the names of looters even after they have returned moneys.
Legacy On Corruption and How Late Yar'Adua Fought Obasanjo, Dangote and Other Cabal
Apart from the "name and shame list, in October of 2010, the former chairman of the Nigerian Port Authority and Vice-Chairman of President Yar'Adua's 2007 presidential campaign, Bode George of the PDP party was convicted on various corruption charges and sentenced to jail. This was a man who was first indicted in 2005 by the EFCC but was allegedly shielded by Obasanjo.
A major battle Yar’Adua had to face was the recovery of Nigeria from the cabal. Obasanjo had literally sold Nigeria to private friends of his and his party. Tycoon Dangote had been selected and favored by president Obasanjo not only during his second appearance in civilian regalia but from his first show as military dictator when he gave Dangote exclusive importation rights. With the sale of Nigeria’s refineries to Dangote and Otedola, Dangote owned as much as half of Nigeria’s assets, which included Nigeria’s cement plants, a telecoms licence and mining concessions. Bashani Aminu, a Yar'Adua confidant revealed as relayed in Wikileaks,“Disentangling Obasanjo” cables that Dangote once gave Obasanjo a 35 million dollar private jet as thanks for his fruitful partnership.
“Aminu expects more of the same soon — particularly an overturn of the Transcorp purchase of the Abuja Nicon Hilton. Aminu also noted Yar’adua’s commitment to fighting corruption and told Post he gave the greenlight to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate anyone.
He predicted Yar’adua will overturn the Transcorp purchase of the Abuja Nicon Hilton soon. These deals will be aimed at removing the ill-earned gains of Obasanjo and his close allies such as Aliko Dangote. (NOTE: Dangote and Obasanjo’s Transcorp were both part of the consortium that purchased the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries.) Aminu claimed Dangote gave Obasanjo a 35 million USD jet plane as a recent “gift.””
In July of 2007, barely two months into office, Yar’Adua summoned the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE), to query the sale of Nigeria’s refineries to Dangote and co. And to the praise of Nigeria’s Labour Congress (NLC) Yar’Adua overturned these privatizations for being corrupt. Yar’Adua was next going after the Transcorp purchase of Abuja NICON Hilton. Though Obasanjo had put Yar’Adua into office against Yar’Adua’s wishes, he having objected to contesting on health grounds, Yar’Adua was determined to rescue Nigeria from the paws of the cabal, even his sponsors, Dangote, who financially sponsored his campaigns and Obasanjo who orchestrated his selection.
But this was not even the half of Yar’Adua’s war against corruption. There was the kerosene subsidy scam, through which the fourth republic stole and still steals 10 million dollars every day from the Nigerian masses. Yar’Adua who was battling with a chronic allergic disorder and had intermittent kidney failure, took this matter as no joke and not a matter to delay on. Within his short tenure, he went hard and firm against the subsidy fraud, sending four directive communications to immediately seize the fake subsidy that ‘was not reaching the beneficiaries – the Nigerian masses. Yar’Adua’s Principal Secretary, Mr. David Edevbie conveyed the directives.
The government spent/spends millions of dollars everyday subsidizing kerosene that was/is sold to the masses at unsubsidized prices in an elaborate, cheap scam. President Yar’Adua on June 15, 2009 gave a clear directive that NNPC should cease subsidy claims on kerosene. Kerosene fraudulent subsidy claims run up to the tune of N300 trillions per year. This was going to hurt Obsanjo and his cabal cronies.
Ambassador Maitama Sule revealed that Obasanjo was scared Yar’Adua would soon come after him and AC’s Garba Shehu said Atiku warned Yar’Adua that Obasanjo was plotting to remove him for his “treachery.”
Today the Buhari government is in bed with Obasanjo and Dangote who are dictating government policies and receiving billions in government subsidies and gifts. A recent Reuters report that covered just 3 months of released Central Bank Forex authorisations found that Dangote alone got $100 million in subsidized forex "gift" in that period [Reuters: Africa’s richest man got a fistful of dollars in Nigerian currency squeeze]. For a year of the dual CBN and blackmarket forex rates, Dangote is estimated to have benefitted a whopping half a billion dollars in forex gift from the Buhari administration. This free money from Nigeria's coffers strengthened the Dangote brand over Nigeria while small businesses were given no concessions and folded up leading to at least 4.6 million Nigerians losing their jobs according to numbers from the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS.
Further, unlike the Obasanjo policy to ban import of goods which Dangote and other cabal have monopolies in, to promote the stocks of these cabal party sponsors, Yar'Adua is applauded to have allowed free importation, limiting local costs and increasing foreign investments in Nigeria. The current regime policies pushed by Obasanjo and Dangote have led to increased hardship while patronizing ad promoting Dangote who is alleged to invest money of many of Nigeria's looters and other cabal.
According to US cables: "...elimination of import bans and lower tariffs on key products, bringing down the cost of doing business and reducing incentives for smuggling. The Mission has helped the Government of Nigeria solve regulatory and policy problems to allow increased electricity supplies, boost agricultural production, and assist in establishing reliable regional and international markets, including use of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)."
Weekly Trust in their one year tribute, remember Yar'Adua thus:
Yar’adua deconstructed power. He was not intoxicated by it, a fact that even his critics had attested to. He operated within the realm of the law. He didn’t pay lip service to the rule of law and due process he preached. The courts regained the freedom they lost during his predecessor’s tenure. They handed down verdicts that cancelled political victories even though his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was the victim.
Despite his ill-health, he pioneered laudable projects across the country. He initiated the dredging of River Niger, a project that was abandoned for decades. He started the reinvigoration of the abandoned rail system. He brought Sanusi Lamido Sanusi to head the Central Bank, thereby saving the country from a looming financial crisis.
He was bold enough to reverse President Olusegun Obasanjo’s decisions considered to be against the national interest. He saved the country’s three refineries from being auctioned to businessmen, who could not establish theirs. The nation’s comatose telecom giant, NITEL was not auctioned at least during his time.
He fought corruption in his own ways. He pioneered the policy of returning unspent funds to the national treasury at the end of the fiscal year even though the policy regrettably died with him. He prosecuted and jailed those believed to be above the law. His party chieftain, Chief Olabode George was convicted during Yar’adua’s adminitration. He did not create political enemies who he needed the anti-graft agencies, notably the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to humiliate as Obasanjo did.
After his assumption, he saved the jobs of over 160, 000 federal workers pencilled for sack under various pretences. Not only that, he released the N10 billion Lagos State local government councils’ funds which Obasanjo sat fat on despite court orders. Yar’adua went ahead and reversed the increment of Value Added Tax (VAT) from 10 percent to five as well as the hike in fuel price from N75 to N65. Read full
A very important aspect of the legacy of late Yar'Adua was his respect of the law. When he summoned then EFCC boss, Nuhu Ribadu to complete all cases against corrupt persons and spare no one, he is noted to have directed that Ribadu must respect and abide by the law in all cases and at all times. Compared to today, the current Buhari administration has disobeyed the courts in several cases and continues to do so, holding people in detention without charge and in denial of bail.
The Yar'Adua administration is noted to have strengthened the judicial system beyond compare, an essentiality for national growth and progress.
His Death And The Conclusion
There are many more instances of Yar’Adua’s stunning and committed actions towards strengthening the judiciary, developing the economy, securing the nation and total war against corruption. But Yar'Adua suddenly took seriously ill and suspected he had been poisoned. As relayed in Wikileaks cables, Professor Ukandi G. Damachi, an insider and confidant to Babangida and other Nigerian top elite, claimed that late Yar’Adua suspected he had been poisoned by his kitchen staff who he inherited from the former president, Obasanjo. This belief was grave enough according to Professor Ukandi G. Damachi, that Yar’Adua fired all the kitchen staff and replaced them.
Suspicion of poisoning has been rather common in Nigeria’s story, and Shehu Musa, Yar’Adua’s elder brother, was believed to have been killed by poisoning in jail as also it is believed late president elect MKO Abiola was.
Yar’Adua’s wife, Turai is also reported to have believed her husband was poisoned, and this was done to speed up his death. [Fresh Facts, May 2010: “They Killed Yar’Adua”].
When the Goodluck Jonathan administration took over, during a valedictory session in Yar’Adua’s honour, a motion to investigate the conditions of Yar’Adua’s death was raised by senators who alleged that the circumstances leading to the death of Yar’Adua were suspicious, but this motion to probe did not pass the floor and so this possibility was never investigated.
While the predecessor governments, especially the immediate past Jonathan government, certainly messed up Nigeria, we believe it is time the current administration gets over regurgitating the past to explain the predicament of these times. A several month delay in choosing his cabinet (which ended up consisting of nothing special and EFCC and ICPC implicated members with records of corruption in their states) and the delays in signing the budget cost Nigeria a year. This was essential time that should have been used to block and possibly prevent the recession currently bedeviling the nation. Ongoing gifts of billions of dollars in forex subsidies to the corrupt cabal are not helping either. Late Yar'Adua believed in the power of the people over the cabal. This is a legacy that needs to be emulated.
We wish the government success in its efforts to rescue Nigeria.
Philippine president ordered killings Witness says
A former Filipino militiaman testified before the country's Senate on Thursday that President Rodrigo Duterte, when he was still a city mayor, ordered him and other members of a liquidation squad to kill criminals and opponents in gangland-style assaults that left about 1,000 dead.
Edgar Matobato, 57, told the nationally televised Senate committee hearing that he heard Duterte order some of the killings and acknowledged he himself carried out about 50 of the abductions and deadly assaults, including a man who they fed to a crocodile in 2007 in southern Davao city.
The Senate committee inquiry was being led by Sen. Leila de Lima, a staunch critic of Duterte's anti-drug campaign that has left more than 3,000 suspected drug users and dealers dead since he assumed the presidency in June. Duterte has accused de Lima of involvement in illegal drugs, alleging that she used to have a driver who took money from detained drug lords. She has denied the allegations.
The hearing was briefly halted so senators could discuss how to provide security for Matobato because of the explosive nature of his allegations.
"Our job was to kill criminals like drug pushers, rapists, snatchers," Matobato said under oath, adding some of the targets were not criminals but opponents of Duterte and one of his sons in Davao city.
Presidential spokesman Martin Andanar rejected the allegations, saying government investigations into Duterte's time as mayor of Davao had already gone nowhere because of a lack of real evidence.
There was no immediate reaction from Duterte, who has denied any role in extra-judicial killings when he was the longtime mayor of Davao and after he assumed the presidency in June.
Matobato said the victims in Davao allegedly ranged from petty criminals to people associated with Duterte's political opponents, and included a wealthy businessman who was killed in central Cebu province because of a feud with Duterte's son over a woman.
Some of the victims were shot and dumped on Davao streets or buried in three unmarked graves, he said, adding some were disposed of in the sea with their stomachs cut open so they would not float and would be eaten by fish right away.
"They were killed like chickens," said Matobato, who added he backed away from the killings after feeling guilty and entered a government witness-protection program.
He left the program when Duterte became president, fearing he would be killed.
Edgar Matobato, 57, told the nationally televised Senate committee hearing that he heard Duterte order some of the killings and acknowledged he himself carried out about 50 of the abductions and deadly assaults, including a man who they fed to a crocodile in 2007 in southern Davao city.
The Senate committee inquiry was being led by Sen. Leila de Lima, a staunch critic of Duterte's anti-drug campaign that has left more than 3,000 suspected drug users and dealers dead since he assumed the presidency in June. Duterte has accused de Lima of involvement in illegal drugs, alleging that she used to have a driver who took money from detained drug lords. She has denied the allegations.
The hearing was briefly halted so senators could discuss how to provide security for Matobato because of the explosive nature of his allegations.
"Our job was to kill criminals like drug pushers, rapists, snatchers," Matobato said under oath, adding some of the targets were not criminals but opponents of Duterte and one of his sons in Davao city.
Presidential spokesman Martin Andanar rejected the allegations, saying government investigations into Duterte's time as mayor of Davao had already gone nowhere because of a lack of real evidence.
There was no immediate reaction from Duterte, who has denied any role in extra-judicial killings when he was the longtime mayor of Davao and after he assumed the presidency in June.
Matobato said the victims in Davao allegedly ranged from petty criminals to people associated with Duterte's political opponents, and included a wealthy businessman who was killed in central Cebu province because of a feud with Duterte's son over a woman.
Some of the victims were shot and dumped on Davao streets or buried in three unmarked graves, he said, adding some were disposed of in the sea with their stomachs cut open so they would not float and would be eaten by fish right away.
"They were killed like chickens," said Matobato, who added he backed away from the killings after feeling guilty and entered a government witness-protection program.
He left the program when Duterte became president, fearing he would be killed.
Trump's speech cut short by black pastor
The pastor of a Michigan black church has interrupted Donald Trump as he pilloried Hillary Clinton in a speech.
Rev Faith Green Timmons cut short Mr Trump as he attacked his Democratic rival's support for global trade
deals.
"Mr Trump, I invited you here to thank us for what we've done in Flint, not give a political speech," said the Bethel United Methodist Church pastor.
"Oh, oh, OK, that's good," the Republican nominee responded, shuffling papers on his podium.
He went on to make a few remarks about fixing Flint's drinking water problems, but some in the crowd began to heckle.
One woman shouted out that the real estate magnate had used discriminatory housing practices in his buildings.
The businessman responded: "Never, you're wrong. Never would."
The pastor interrupted again, this time to reproach Mr Trump's hecklers, saying: "He is a guest in my church and you will respect him".
Mr Trump abruptly ended his speech, which had lasted six minutes.
Rev Faith Green Timmons cut short Mr Trump as he attacked his Democratic rival's support for global trade
deals.
"Mr Trump, I invited you here to thank us for what we've done in Flint, not give a political speech," said the Bethel United Methodist Church pastor.
"Oh, oh, OK, that's good," the Republican nominee responded, shuffling papers on his podium.
He went on to make a few remarks about fixing Flint's drinking water problems, but some in the crowd began to heckle.
One woman shouted out that the real estate magnate had used discriminatory housing practices in his buildings.
The businessman responded: "Never, you're wrong. Never would."
The pastor interrupted again, this time to reproach Mr Trump's hecklers, saying: "He is a guest in my church and you will respect him".
Mr Trump abruptly ended his speech, which had lasted six minutes.
A mother solicited men to rape 10-year-old daughter
LOS ANGELES — The mother of a 10-year-old girl killed last month in a gruesome crime that shocked the United States told police that she had solicited men to rape her daughter, according to reports.
Victoria Martens’ dismembered body was found in her home in the western state of New Mexico in August
after police were called to the scene.
Officials said that Martens, who was killed hours before her 10th birthday party, had been given methamphetamine and was sexually assaulted, stabbed, strangled and dismembered.
Her mother Michelle Martens, Fabian Gonzales as well as Gonzales’s cousin, Jessica Kelley, have been charged in connection with her murder.
Michelle Martens, 35, told investigators following her arrest that she had sought men online and at work to rape her daughter, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
It said that Martens had set up encounters with at least three men, one of them a co-worker and two she met online, including Gonzales.
The paper, quoting search warrants related to the case, said Martens told police she didn’t solicit the men for money but because “she enjoyed watching”.
Martens also reportedly thought of offering Victoria’s younger sibling for sex.
“This homicide is the most gruesome act of evil I have ever seen in my career,” Albuquerque police chief Gorden Eden Jr said in August after Victoria’s body was discovered. “A complete disregard of human life and betrayal by a mother.”
Victoria Martens’ dismembered body was found in her home in the western state of New Mexico in August
after police were called to the scene.
Officials said that Martens, who was killed hours before her 10th birthday party, had been given methamphetamine and was sexually assaulted, stabbed, strangled and dismembered.
Her mother Michelle Martens, Fabian Gonzales as well as Gonzales’s cousin, Jessica Kelley, have been charged in connection with her murder.
Michelle Martens, 35, told investigators following her arrest that she had sought men online and at work to rape her daughter, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
It said that Martens had set up encounters with at least three men, one of them a co-worker and two she met online, including Gonzales.
The paper, quoting search warrants related to the case, said Martens told police she didn’t solicit the men for money but because “she enjoyed watching”.
Martens also reportedly thought of offering Victoria’s younger sibling for sex.
“This homicide is the most gruesome act of evil I have ever seen in my career,” Albuquerque police chief Gorden Eden Jr said in August after Victoria’s body was discovered. “A complete disregard of human life and betrayal by a mother.”
Rainy Days & Hillary Clinton’s Fall
Is it just me or did the Sallah break come at the best of times?
Amidst the deliverables of work and everyday living, my biggest concern over the last two weeks had been the impending resumption. It’s not that my children are resuming school, neither am I a teacher or anything of the sort. I am just a Lagos dweller shivering in anticipation of the post-resumption traffic that hits Lagos like a wave. The frenzy is so thick it can be touched. Parents and school busses competing to get sleep-ridden children to school before the day even breaks. Horns blaring, words flying, everyone rushing, no one succumbing. And you can hardly blame them, sleep deprived people who left their houses before the cock could crow only to get caught in the same traffic they were trying to beat, exasperating. Totally exasperating.
Hence, for me, the holiday felt like a good transition into the hustle and bustle of traffic season. Two days of quality sleep and a Wednesday to start the week, no better way to ease into stress.
What did you do with the holidays? I slept and cooked and slept some more, aided by the rains. There were a few places I needed to be, between the rains and other occurrences, I hardly made it anywhere. Stepped out briefly on Monday night to see the world partying and jiving. The streets were filled, cars everywhere, music jamming, tunes fighting to be heard. The irony of it, the most dreaded day had become the most enjoyed day. In the middle of all that, some mischievous content marketing expert heavily paid perhaps by Trump’s PR agency (does he even have one?) had succeeded in circulating a video of Hillary collapsing. That changed the discourse.
To go with the loud mouthed guy who seems like disaster waiting to happen or the well cultured experienced political leader who most-likely has more secrets than she’s letting on? I am neither #TeamTrump nor #TeamHilary. For God’s sake I am Nigerian and there are more than enough factions in the farces we call political parties here, if I wanted to make a political affiliation.
But it got me thinking, about the choices we often have to make in life. Both options sometimes bad, or hard, leaving you to choose between the devil and deep blue sea. Like choosing between the stingy guy full of potential and the generous one who has only been lucky to have gotten so far in life. To pick the God-fearing kitchen-savvy lady who just never looks appropriate no matter what you buy her or the Toyin-tomato who looks so amazing stepping out of bed, fits you like a glove but excels at talking you down and messing up the simplest of meals. Should you trust your children to the scrawny looking house-girl or leave your job and trust your survival to your husband’s salary and your waist-trainer delivery business in these days of ‘aunty, e don cost’?
Choices. We make them everyday- difficult, simple, inconsequential, life-defining. We make them in milliseconds, sometimes unable to think them through, other times wearied out from over thinking them. I am tempted to say ‘it’s about values’ but I have seen situation test values to the point where they seem irrelevant. Ask Peter if he did not value his Lord when he swore that he knew Him not. Ask Samson what happened to his values when he reeled out his mumu button on Delilah’s laps. Pressure can cook anything soft, proof is all around us.
I will not pretend to know the answer to this dilemma or submit a foolproof directive that will work at such junctures but I imagine that it helps to somehow find a way to think about the future-far and near- in the midst of all that pressure. Cast your mind to the tomorrows that will hit you without demanding permission. What will matter then, the untold health issues or the blatant lack of leadership skills? When your children need a mother, will it matter if your wife is a ‘slay-er’ or a ‘pray-er’. In health crisis and other downturns, would you still care if your husband is a ‘fine boy’ or if his mind and head work well?
In the end, only the end matters. Or so I think.
Friday is just around the corner,can you believe that?
Amidst the deliverables of work and everyday living, my biggest concern over the last two weeks had been the impending resumption. It’s not that my children are resuming school, neither am I a teacher or anything of the sort. I am just a Lagos dweller shivering in anticipation of the post-resumption traffic that hits Lagos like a wave. The frenzy is so thick it can be touched. Parents and school busses competing to get sleep-ridden children to school before the day even breaks. Horns blaring, words flying, everyone rushing, no one succumbing. And you can hardly blame them, sleep deprived people who left their houses before the cock could crow only to get caught in the same traffic they were trying to beat, exasperating. Totally exasperating.
Hence, for me, the holiday felt like a good transition into the hustle and bustle of traffic season. Two days of quality sleep and a Wednesday to start the week, no better way to ease into stress.
What did you do with the holidays? I slept and cooked and slept some more, aided by the rains. There were a few places I needed to be, between the rains and other occurrences, I hardly made it anywhere. Stepped out briefly on Monday night to see the world partying and jiving. The streets were filled, cars everywhere, music jamming, tunes fighting to be heard. The irony of it, the most dreaded day had become the most enjoyed day. In the middle of all that, some mischievous content marketing expert heavily paid perhaps by Trump’s PR agency (does he even have one?) had succeeded in circulating a video of Hillary collapsing. That changed the discourse.
To go with the loud mouthed guy who seems like disaster waiting to happen or the well cultured experienced political leader who most-likely has more secrets than she’s letting on? I am neither #TeamTrump nor #TeamHilary. For God’s sake I am Nigerian and there are more than enough factions in the farces we call political parties here, if I wanted to make a political affiliation.
But it got me thinking, about the choices we often have to make in life. Both options sometimes bad, or hard, leaving you to choose between the devil and deep blue sea. Like choosing between the stingy guy full of potential and the generous one who has only been lucky to have gotten so far in life. To pick the God-fearing kitchen-savvy lady who just never looks appropriate no matter what you buy her or the Toyin-tomato who looks so amazing stepping out of bed, fits you like a glove but excels at talking you down and messing up the simplest of meals. Should you trust your children to the scrawny looking house-girl or leave your job and trust your survival to your husband’s salary and your waist-trainer delivery business in these days of ‘aunty, e don cost’?
Choices. We make them everyday- difficult, simple, inconsequential, life-defining. We make them in milliseconds, sometimes unable to think them through, other times wearied out from over thinking them. I am tempted to say ‘it’s about values’ but I have seen situation test values to the point where they seem irrelevant. Ask Peter if he did not value his Lord when he swore that he knew Him not. Ask Samson what happened to his values when he reeled out his mumu button on Delilah’s laps. Pressure can cook anything soft, proof is all around us.
I will not pretend to know the answer to this dilemma or submit a foolproof directive that will work at such junctures but I imagine that it helps to somehow find a way to think about the future-far and near- in the midst of all that pressure. Cast your mind to the tomorrows that will hit you without demanding permission. What will matter then, the untold health issues or the blatant lack of leadership skills? When your children need a mother, will it matter if your wife is a ‘slay-er’ or a ‘pray-er’. In health crisis and other downturns, would you still care if your husband is a ‘fine boy’ or if his mind and head work well?
In the end, only the end matters. Or so I think.
Friday is just around the corner,can you believe that?
Former Katsina Governor, Ibrahim Shema Wanted over Alleged N76bn
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared the immediate past Governor of Katsina State, Ibrahim Shema, wanted, over an alleged N76bn fraud.
A gazette by the Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Wilson Uwajaren, read:
The public is hereby notified that Ibrahim Shema, a former Governor of Kastina State, is wanted by the EFCC in connection with a case of criminal conspiracy, inflation of contracts, abuse of office, diversion of funds and embezzlement, running into billions of naira.
The former governor ignored several invitations by the commission since December 1, 2015, when he was first summoned by the agency. All efforts to locate him at his known addresses in Katsina and Abuja were futile.
The 59-year-old ex-governor hails from the Dutsena-ma Local Government Area of Katsina State. He is tall, light in complexion and speaks Hausa and English fluently. Anybody, having useful information as to his whereabouts, should contact the commission.
A gazette by the Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Wilson Uwajaren, read:
The public is hereby notified that Ibrahim Shema, a former Governor of Kastina State, is wanted by the EFCC in connection with a case of criminal conspiracy, inflation of contracts, abuse of office, diversion of funds and embezzlement, running into billions of naira.
The former governor ignored several invitations by the commission since December 1, 2015, when he was first summoned by the agency. All efforts to locate him at his known addresses in Katsina and Abuja were futile.
The 59-year-old ex-governor hails from the Dutsena-ma Local Government Area of Katsina State. He is tall, light in complexion and speaks Hausa and English fluently. Anybody, having useful information as to his whereabouts, should contact the commission.
Wednesday, 14 September 2016
79 Clubs, 70-Member Troupe for King Sunny Ade’s Four-Month 70th Birthday Celebration
The teeming crowd of journalists at the Lagos Airport Hotel were not kept waiting for too long. It was just a couple of minutes past the scheduled time, when multiple award winning music icon, Chief Sunday Adegeye, better known as King Sunny Ade or KSA walked into the meeting room.
Apparently, surprised at the large turnout, he moved quickly into the space separating the seated journalists – who were standing by this time – to shake their hands. Formalities done, he took his reserved seat with his publicist, Clement Ige by his side.
sunny-ade
KSA, who had recently returned from a two-month tour of the United States of America where he performed in 36 states, began the interaction by thanking the Nigerian media for preparing the ground for the warm reception that he was accorded abroad.
He said his birthday celebration will be different from previous years. Whereas he was used to a one-week festivity, which normally began on the day he was born, September 22 till the end of that week, this time he announced that the merriment was kick-started on September 1 when the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye hosted a special session of prayers for him.
Laughing and cracking jokes throughout the session with the media, he joked that it was the first time he would witness a birthday fete that began long before the actual date. September 21 has been set aside as Gospel Music Night. The assembly will continue until the clock strikes midnight, leading into D-Day. A mid-morning gathering of his patrons and matrons on September 22 at his private chapel in his Igba, Ondo East country home will dove-tail into an exclusive family party hosted by his children and grand-children. He said his fans should expect two or three albums from him to celebrate his attainment of becoming a septuagenarian.
The next day will see KSA on a tour of duty to different charities in Ondo including the prisons, orphanages and old peoples’ homes. September 24 is set aside for festivities with members of his extended family. On September 27 which is World Tourism Day, there will be a lecture at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife in honour of KSA. The jubilation train moves to the palace of the Ooni of Ife where KSA will be in company of royalty and other eminent persons.
Debunking the notion that he might have had a crush on Onyeka Onwenu when they collaborated on the song, ‘Wait for Me’ sponsored by John Hopkins Institute of the USA to promote safe s*x, he said it was a successful gimmick deployed to draw attention to the message. KSA who was known to be in liaison with many women before he took his spirituality seriously said emphatically that there was no chance of him taking another wife.
“You need to see my grandchildren. I often refuse to go out with some of them as many people view them as my young wives. Marrying a new wife is not on my agenda at all”, he explained. A major feature of the celebration of KSA who is one of the two Nigerians (the other is Femi Kuti) nominated for the Grammy is a concert in South Africa on October 8 and 9. Another international concert in Nigeria showcasing world renowned artistes is in the pipeline.
Three different books on the life and times of KSA are scheduled for launch. The first of books will be presented to the public on October 27 at Ibadan. On the same day and in the same city, there will be a concert organised by Walex International. On the bandstand will be KSA with other musicians whose music cut across a variety of styles.
A past president of the Performing Musicians Employers Association of Nigeria (PMAN), multi-levels of concerts have been lined up by the different strata of the organisation at the level of Ondo State, the western zone of PMAN and the national PMAN to celebrate KSA. The Chairman of the Western Zone of PMAN and notable juju musician who is also a past president of PMAN and a long-standing friend of KSA, Chief Dele Abiodun was at the press conference.
He agonised over the state of music in Nigeria, saying that all musicians are struggling to survive and that this has affected the quality of music. “How many musicians can afford to buy musical instruments? They are very expensive; those of us who keep a big band are struggling. Even the young musicians are struggling. There are quality studios. Everybody is just having small studios in their rooms or basement.”
Refusing to compare the present generation of musicians with those of his generation, KSA said a similar comparison was made when he was emerging with those who were ahead of him. He advised the new generation of musicians to do what they did in their time.
This is in addition to various parties planned by some of the 79 social clubs in Nigeria and abroad to which the King of Juju Music belongs. Some of the notable ones which he readily mentioned include the Island Club, Lagos Country Club, Ikeja Club and Ibadan Tennis Club. Another unprecedented novelty is the plan to have a group of 70 children, drumming, dancing, singing and playing on various other musical instruments in celebration of KSA.
Apparently, surprised at the large turnout, he moved quickly into the space separating the seated journalists – who were standing by this time – to shake their hands. Formalities done, he took his reserved seat with his publicist, Clement Ige by his side.
sunny-ade
KSA, who had recently returned from a two-month tour of the United States of America where he performed in 36 states, began the interaction by thanking the Nigerian media for preparing the ground for the warm reception that he was accorded abroad.
He said his birthday celebration will be different from previous years. Whereas he was used to a one-week festivity, which normally began on the day he was born, September 22 till the end of that week, this time he announced that the merriment was kick-started on September 1 when the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye hosted a special session of prayers for him.
Laughing and cracking jokes throughout the session with the media, he joked that it was the first time he would witness a birthday fete that began long before the actual date. September 21 has been set aside as Gospel Music Night. The assembly will continue until the clock strikes midnight, leading into D-Day. A mid-morning gathering of his patrons and matrons on September 22 at his private chapel in his Igba, Ondo East country home will dove-tail into an exclusive family party hosted by his children and grand-children. He said his fans should expect two or three albums from him to celebrate his attainment of becoming a septuagenarian.
The next day will see KSA on a tour of duty to different charities in Ondo including the prisons, orphanages and old peoples’ homes. September 24 is set aside for festivities with members of his extended family. On September 27 which is World Tourism Day, there will be a lecture at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife in honour of KSA. The jubilation train moves to the palace of the Ooni of Ife where KSA will be in company of royalty and other eminent persons.
Debunking the notion that he might have had a crush on Onyeka Onwenu when they collaborated on the song, ‘Wait for Me’ sponsored by John Hopkins Institute of the USA to promote safe s*x, he said it was a successful gimmick deployed to draw attention to the message. KSA who was known to be in liaison with many women before he took his spirituality seriously said emphatically that there was no chance of him taking another wife.
“You need to see my grandchildren. I often refuse to go out with some of them as many people view them as my young wives. Marrying a new wife is not on my agenda at all”, he explained. A major feature of the celebration of KSA who is one of the two Nigerians (the other is Femi Kuti) nominated for the Grammy is a concert in South Africa on October 8 and 9. Another international concert in Nigeria showcasing world renowned artistes is in the pipeline.
Three different books on the life and times of KSA are scheduled for launch. The first of books will be presented to the public on October 27 at Ibadan. On the same day and in the same city, there will be a concert organised by Walex International. On the bandstand will be KSA with other musicians whose music cut across a variety of styles.
A past president of the Performing Musicians Employers Association of Nigeria (PMAN), multi-levels of concerts have been lined up by the different strata of the organisation at the level of Ondo State, the western zone of PMAN and the national PMAN to celebrate KSA. The Chairman of the Western Zone of PMAN and notable juju musician who is also a past president of PMAN and a long-standing friend of KSA, Chief Dele Abiodun was at the press conference.
He agonised over the state of music in Nigeria, saying that all musicians are struggling to survive and that this has affected the quality of music. “How many musicians can afford to buy musical instruments? They are very expensive; those of us who keep a big band are struggling. Even the young musicians are struggling. There are quality studios. Everybody is just having small studios in their rooms or basement.”
Refusing to compare the present generation of musicians with those of his generation, KSA said a similar comparison was made when he was emerging with those who were ahead of him. He advised the new generation of musicians to do what they did in their time.
This is in addition to various parties planned by some of the 79 social clubs in Nigeria and abroad to which the King of Juju Music belongs. Some of the notable ones which he readily mentioned include the Island Club, Lagos Country Club, Ikeja Club and Ibadan Tennis Club. Another unprecedented novelty is the plan to have a group of 70 children, drumming, dancing, singing and playing on various other musical instruments in celebration of KSA.
Super Eagles Legend, Kanu Nwankwo Loses Mother
Nigerian football legend Papilo
Mrs Susan Kanu Iheme sadly passed away on Wednesday, September 7, 2016.
The former Arsenal and Inter Milan forward frequently expresses his gratitude to his now late mother, who is said to have told him that one day, he will make her proud with his football talent.
May her soul rest in peace, Amen.
Robbers Attack Super Eagles Ogenyi Onazi’s Country Home
Just days after armed robbers attacked the home of ace comedian, Basketmouth, another high-profile star has been targeted.
This time, it was the Jos home of popular Nigerian midfielder Ogenyi Onazi.
According to The Punch, the robbers who were four in number took away several valuable items including a white Toyota Highlander and an undisclosed amount of cash.
No life was lost although they physically assaulted the father of the Nigerian international.
The footballer who spoke to a close friend in Nigeria from his base in Turkey, disclosed that the robbers pretended to be courier men with a letter to be delivered to his father.
He said, “Those robbers came, pretending they were there to deliver a letter to my dad at about 1.40pm on Monday. But as soon as he collected their fake letter and asked where it was coming from they swooped on him, tied his hands, beat him up, inflicting machete cuts on him in the process.
”They told him this is the first in a series of attacks that they will launch on our house and that I (Onazi) will be their target the next time.
“Those guys took their time to take some valuable materials including car and some cash but I am thankful to God they didn’t do more than that.”
We gathered that the incident has been reported to the police, with assurances to bring the hoodlums to book and also help with the recovery of the stolen items.
Ogenyi Onazi’s dad has also been discharged from the hospital where he was treated for the injuries inflicted on him during the ordeal.
This time, it was the Jos home of popular Nigerian midfielder Ogenyi Onazi.
According to The Punch, the robbers who were four in number took away several valuable items including a white Toyota Highlander and an undisclosed amount of cash.
No life was lost although they physically assaulted the father of the Nigerian international.
The footballer who spoke to a close friend in Nigeria from his base in Turkey, disclosed that the robbers pretended to be courier men with a letter to be delivered to his father.
He said, “Those robbers came, pretending they were there to deliver a letter to my dad at about 1.40pm on Monday. But as soon as he collected their fake letter and asked where it was coming from they swooped on him, tied his hands, beat him up, inflicting machete cuts on him in the process.
”They told him this is the first in a series of attacks that they will launch on our house and that I (Onazi) will be their target the next time.
“Those guys took their time to take some valuable materials including car and some cash but I am thankful to God they didn’t do more than that.”
We gathered that the incident has been reported to the police, with assurances to bring the hoodlums to book and also help with the recovery of the stolen items.
Ogenyi Onazi’s dad has also been discharged from the hospital where he was treated for the injuries inflicted on him during the ordeal.
Murtala Muhammad Airport Suffers Prolonged Power Outage
In what can only be described as an embarrassment of monumental proportions, Nigeria’s Murtala Muhammad International Airport suffered a prolonged power outage on Monday night.
The airport was engulfed in darkness as airport officials were at a loss as to what to do. Immigration officials were forced to manually clear travellers coming in.
There has been no official response from the Federal Airport Authority as to Monday’s debacle which lasted well over four hours. Nigeria’s aviation sector has taken a beating in recent times, with Aero Contractors, a local carrier forced to halt its service.
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