Nigeria Property

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

The National Security Adviser (NSA) retired Col. Sambo Dasuki has given assurance that the Federal Government will liberate Sambisa forest from Boko Haram before the May 29th Presidential handover date.

Speaking to Us, a media agency that distributes press releases on behalf of security agencies, Col Dasuki said the Federal Government was making every effort to ensure that the missing Chibok girls along with every other Nigerians abducted by Boko Haram members are rescued.

While acknowledging that Sambisa forest has been a fortress for the terror group, Col Dasuki said the forest would have since been liberated but for the unfavorable weather condition prevailing in the area

“Every movement of the terrorists is being monitored and every necessary detail is being taken care of to rid the country of the last bastion of terrorists’ infestation”, Sambo Dasuki disclosed.

He insisted that government is concerned about the welfare of every single Nigerian including the girls adding “aside the Chibok girls, other Nigerian girls, boys, men and women were abducted by the terrorists and all efforts are being made to rescue them all.”

While appealing for a little more time to complete the routing of terrorists, Dasuki recalled that before elections were postponed in February, over 20 local governments were occupied by Boko Haram and that most Nigerians were pleasantly surprised that so much was achieved against insurgency within six weeks.

While commending President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan on the successful conduct of the 2015 round of elections, the security adviser however noted that nobody pressured the President into conceding defeat in the presidential election.

“President Jonathan had already given his words to all the security and service chiefs before the election that he would abide by the decision of Nigerians. At the meeting, he also told them to perform their duties professionally during the polls. While we anticipated that he would congratulate his opponent if the result is announced in favour of opposition candidate, he gratuitously without prompting of anyone conceded defeat to the surprise of all. By that singular gesture he had saved the security agencies and the nation of unnecessary tension and stress in maintaining law and order and curtailing excesses of likely protesters.”

Immediately after the postponement of elections in February this year, Sambo Dasuki had assured Nigerians and international community that all known terrorists’ camps would be destroyed while most of the occupied communities under Boko Haram in three states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe would be liberated to allow for peaceful conduct of elections and collection of more voters cards by the electorates.

He said: “All known Boko Haram camps will be taken out. They won’t be there. They will be dismantled. In addition to the acquisition of more sophisticated armaments and training of our troops in guerrilla warfare the new military co-operation agreed to between Nigeria and its neighbours will prove decisive against Boko Haram.”

Dreaded Ex-Militants turn Lawmakers In Rivers State House of Assembly

Some of the dreaded Niger Delta militants, who accepted the Federal Government’s Amnesty, have been elected into the Rivers State House of Assembly.

The late President Musa Yar’Adua had in 2009 signed a Proclamation granting Amnesty to Niger Delta militants, who agreed to lay down their arms and embrace peace. The deal offered an unconditional pardon and cash payments to fighters who surrendered their arms and assembled at screening centers located in many parts of the oil-rich region within 60 days.

It targeted up to 10,000 militants whose attacks in the six Niger Delta states cost the country a third of its oil production and revenue.
The amnesty which came to effect on Thursday, August 6, 2009, saw militant commanders, including Government Ekpemukpolo, alias Tompolo, Sogboma George, Ateke Tom, Farah Dagogo, Ebikabowei Ben, alias Boyloaf, Kile Selky Torughedie, alias the Young Shall Grow; surrendering their arms and returning to normal life outside the creeks.

But based on the result of last Saturday’s election released by the state Returning Officer, Faraday Orumwense, a professor of Material Engineering, the ex-militants are among the 25 candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, who won the poll.

The ruling All Progressives Congress was only able to win a seat in the 32-members state legislature.

Citing widespread irregularities and violence, Mr. Orumwense declared elections in six state constituencies inconclusive.

Among those who will be making laws for the oil-rich state are Farah Dagogo, an ex-general of a dreaded militant group.

Mr. Dagogo, an indigene of Tombia community was dragged into the race by the Degema Political Front, a frontline political group and he will be representing Degema State Constituency in the assembly.

Adoki Tonye Smart, who will be representing Port Harcourt 11 State Constituency in the new assembly was a former field commander and second in command to Soboma George. Late Mr. George was a dreaded militant leader who was shot by a rival gang in the Old Port Harcourt Township, months after he accepted the government’s amnesty. Chisom Promise Dike, who won the Oyigbo State Constituency seat in the assembly, is a strong ally of Ateke Tom, a self-styled General of the erstwhile Niger Delta Vigilante Forces.

Mr. Tom, now referred to as the godfather, has become an institution of sorts in Ijaw politics and has strong influence in Okrika land.

He even contested the PDP gubernatorial primary in the state but was trounced by Nyesom Wike.

Kelechi Nwogu, who will be returning to the assembly to represent Omuma State Constituency, is said to have strong links with some of the ex-fighters in the region.

Evans Bipi, the factional speaker of the 7th Assembly, who was chased out of the chamber while attempting to impeach Governor Rotimi Amaechi, with five other lawmakers, will be returning to the house to represent Ogu/Bolo State Constituency.

Mr. Bipi is a relation to Nigeria’s First Lady, Patience Jonathan, and is also said to have strong links with Mr. Tom and other militant leaders in the region.

It was the House Leader, Chidi Lloyds, who stopped Mr. Bipi and his accomplices from going ahead with the plot to illegally remove Mr. Amaechi from office.

Mr. Lloyds had used the fake mace brought in by Mr. Bipi to thoroughly beat up and chase away the anti-Amaechi lawmakers from the floor of the assembly in 2013.
Mr. Lloyds, a strong supporter and friend of the state Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, did not return to the assembly.

Other PDP member in the new assembly include Marshal Stanley-Udom who will be representing Abua/Odual, Okpokiri Okpokiri, representing Ahoada West; Jack Major, representing Akuku Toru 1; Tonye Alalibo, representing Akuku Toru11; and Ikuinyi Ibani, representing Andoni.

Others are Granville Wellington from Asari-Toru 1; Enemi George from Asari-Toru 11, Abinye Pepple from Bonny; Ngbulelo Israel from Gokana; Oguguo Anslem from Ikwere; Deeyah Bariene, Khana 1; Dinebari Loolo from Khana 11 and Amaewhule Chike from Obio/Akpor 1.

Also elected on the PDP platform are Michael Chinda from Obio/Akpor 11; Christian Ahiakwo from Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni 1; Uwaji Nathaniel from Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni 11; Dabotorudima Adams from Okrika; Ogbonda Nwene, Port Harcourt 1; Ihunwo Nyeche, Port Harcourt 11 and Ngbar Amulele from Tai.

The only APC candidate declared winner of the assembly poll is Josiah Olu, from Eleme State Constituency.

Mr. Olu, a staunch supporter of Mr. Amaechi, will be returning to the new house with a PDP majority.

However, elections to Ahoada East 1, Ahoada East 11, Emuoha, Etche 1, Etche 11 and Opobo/Nkoro were declared inconclusive.

INEC is yet to fix dates for the conduct of fresh elections in the affected areas.

World Bank Reveal Nigerian Looters

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Oyibo man calls #bringbackourgirls hashtag Pointless !

Back in the day Photo of Ex-Head of State, Gen Babangida and his daughter

Lobatan: Governorship candidate removes Transformer he contributed to Neighborhood as he lost election

World Bank backs President-elect Buhari to probe NNPC, others

Anxiety as Supreme Court decides Fayose’s fate today

Power supply falls to 2,988MW

Newly Employed Male House Help Steal His Boss’ Toyota SUV

Monday, April 13, 2015

Letter To Chimamanda Adichie On The Oba Of Lagos’s Statement To The Ibos By Ijeoma Ozichi Omotade

You see, I AGREE that the Igbo community was unjustifiably grieved. However, as I wave my solidarity flag with my fellow Igbos, I can’t help but also bite my tongue when I remember unpleasant comments many Igbos regularly make toward other tribesmen.

For example, the disrespectful way some Igbos address Hausas as “abokis”, dumbheads, and “nama” meaning cow! As you may know, “aboki” means friend but watch an Hausa man when an Igbo calls him that in a disrespectful tone. He stiffens and looks annoyed because he knows the tone he is called with is one of disrespect and insult. (some Yorubas call northerners “mulla”; I dunno what that means but that’s for another day *sigh*)

I was scrolling through twitter to see what was trending especially with regard to Lagos elections, and stumbled upon your write-up on the Oba of Lagos’s disrespectful remarks to the Igbos and their right to exercise their civic rights. Of course being an ardent admirer of your work and also a fellow Igbo girl, I clicked on the link and hungrily lapped up each word you poured out, eager to hear your opinion and ready to carry emotional placards with you by clicking “share” on my Facebook page. But the more I read, the more my excitement waned. Because just as I could feel you word for word, I also disagreed with you, and at a point I had to put down myopic glasses that beheld Lagos through your admirable eyes and wear one that showed me our stark reality.

You see, I AGREE that the Igbo community was unjustifiably grieved. However, as I wave my solidarity flag with my fellow Igbos, I can’t help but also bite my tongue when I remember unpleasant comments many Igbos regularly make toward other tribesmen. For example, the disrespectful way some Igbos address Hausas as “abokis”, dumbheads, and “nama” meaning cow! As you may know, “aboki” means friend but watch an Hausa man when an Igbo calls him that in a disrespectful tone. He stiffens and looks annoyed because he knows the tone he is called with is one of disrespect and insult. (some Yorubas call northerners “mulla”; I dunno what that means but that’s for another day *sigh*)

Chimamanda, every tribe is guilty of tribalism; it’s by default. It’s not right. It should be fiercely fought against but shamefully this is the current reality. HOWEVER not every tribe is guilty of “PEACEMAKER-ISM”, and I would love the Igbos to be known more for the guilt of MAKING PEACE.

So we go on and on about the Oba’s comment and what happens? Fights, fracas, and some fathers and sons on both sides lose their lives and people lose property and investments.

As you may have noticed from my name Ijeoma Omotade, I am Igbo married to Yoruba and happily married too. I went into the Yoruba culture and CONSCIOUSLY took time to learn about it. It was when I decided to marry that I knew how deep tribalism has eaten even into our so called Igbo and Yoruba elite. *Sigh* Having also schooled in the north during my secondary school days, and as much as I greatly admire the peaceful and simple nature of the average northerner, sadly they are not left out of the “tribalism” card-carrying.

As an Igbo woman, I may not agree with all the Yoruba do but I live in their culture and I’m in their land, so I respect them and in turn they sense my aura of respect and willingness to understand them and they treat me well. And when I get an opportunity to talk about MY CULTURE and correct some misconceptions they have about Igbos, I do so with GREAT PRIDE because there are so many great things about us they don’t know! And BECAUSE I respect them, THEY LISTEN and LEARN, even through jokes and laughter.

Even the few who were antagonistic toward me, embrace me now, or are at least civil toward me. It didn’t make me any less dignified to understand better another man’s culture; it made me wiser, and stronger and more appreciative of the richness of our country. The flagrant disregard for other’s culture exhibited by many Nigerians is really bad! How do you expect to reason with someone unless you understand their worldview?

Truly, we wouldn’t tolerate half the things we expect from Lagos in Aba or Onitsha or Enugu. Igbos want to be part of the House of Assembly and be among the decision makers for Lagos state. That in itself is not bad because a state stakeholder HAS A RIGHT to be among those making decisions for the state. But historically and by default, people kick against non-tribesman being at the decision-making level and our flippant comments about “taking over the land” is not helping matters either! Why do we want to “take over” another man’s land? It wasn’t bare land before people came and developed it. It’s people’s ancestral homes, and even in a democracy where many are working tirelessly to water the progressive idea of ONE NIGERIA, it is still important we recognize and help preserve each other’s heritage. For only then can we truly build the foundation for lasting synergy and proudly BECOME ONE, for the greater good of OUR LAND.

Personally I’m deeply hurt hearing some Yoruba leaders telling my people that we should be “grateful” living in Lagos; that is utterly unfair, point blank. Any Yoruba person saying that is very shallow minded. We Igbos work HARD for our living, and add IMMENSELY to the growth and development of the city. Try shutting down major trade markets dominated by Igbos for just one week and watch Lagos economy go haywire! But so does the Hausa community in the east that bring in food and supply our markets; they work hard too! Let them stop the lorries from bringing in food to the south and watch what happens. So I plead with EVERYONE, my IGBO KINSMEN inclusive. And this is my plea, that we PLEASE speak as we would like to be spoken to; “do as you would be done by”, RESPECT AND LOVE your fellow man…ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL BY GOD!

I also share a bit of the Lagos indigene sentiment. I wouldn’t want my hometown to be “cosmopoliticized” and my ancestral homes snatched away and turned into highways and hotels, and be told my home town is “no man’s land”. That’s highly disrespectful. History has deep roots in this land.

I don’t support the Oba, he is not my relative, nor did he “settle” my family. In his heart he is just like many other Igbos, Hausas and Yorubas; TRIBALISTIC! The only difference is that he is an influential public figure and so we can all tweet and Facebook his bad communication skills; a public figure who didn’t think about the implications of his words before he spoke. However, that statement would have been made by even an angry IGBO king or Hausa Emir because I don’t see anyone of them doing any better!

In a quest for peace, there are two parties; the one making amends and the one accepting the apology. Let us the grieved accept, and move on. Let us all learn to APPRECIATE and LOVE one another. The other alternative is not better. No one wants tribal clashes; people will die, women will be widowed, children will be orphaned, on both sides…and Chimamanda, you will probably write a book about it, far away from all the madness, on your creative desk; the one that IS NOT IN LAGOS!

…I still remain an ardent admirer…

Rochas Okorocha Blasts INEC, Declares Himself Winner of Imo Elections,

Imo State governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, has slammed the Independent National Electoral Commission for its decision to declare the state gubernatorial election inconclusive.

The INEC Returning Officer of the State, Ibidapo Obe, announced that the election was inconclusive because the margin (79,529) between the frontrunner, Mr. Okorocha and his contender, Emeka Ihedioha of Peoples Democratic Party, was less than the number of registered voters (144,715) in wards across the state where elections did not hold or were cancelled due to violence.

Mr. Okorocha, while speaking to news men at the Government House in Imo State early Monday, said

“The electoral act has talked about registered voters and in the workings of that act and in the spirit of the law, you cannot not make use of number of registered voters, you have to make use of number of PVC collected.

“When you look at the number of PVC collected you find out that there is no need for this supplementary election because the number of PVC collected will be less than the 79,000 votes difference between me and the PDP candidate. But now they are basing on the number of registered voters. Number of registered voters do not cast the vote; it is the number of PVC collected that does,” You can only change the date of a burial but you cannot change the burial. From the results available, the fact speaks for itself, we have won this election despite all the irregularities, I am the winner”

“Let me say that there is no basis for comparison when I’m told that I’m in contest with the PDP candidate and he scored some votes it is not true. I think I’m in contest with more unseen elements than the candidate himself. If this election is conducted in the way it should be conducted in a free and fair manner, my opponent would have up to 100,000 votes. Never. Not in Imo State; not at all,”

“If you look at what has happened in his areas of jurisdiction and his local government, Mbaise local government, Ahiazu, Ezinnite, Aboh Mbaise, where he gave himself almost 80,000 votes. Can you imagine in Aboh Mbaise, you have 51,000 voters when the actual PVC collected is about 60,000 and in Mbaitoli where you have over 100,000 PVC collected the total votes there is about 30,000 so that tells you the manipulation. What we saw in those areas was simply the militarisation of the entire process – snatching of ballot boxes and violence and what have you.

“But because of these manipulations and writing of results and taking result sheets and going to somebody’s house – escorted by security agencies- to write the result and come in the private car to INEC headquarters, that is why many people think there is a contest. So I’m not in contest with that gentle man, I’m in contest with the entire manipulation of the system and the election,”

I Cannot Guarantee Rescue Of Chibok Girls But My Govt. Will Try – Buhari

Soldiers Flog Lady for Wearing micro mini shorts.

Video: Buhari Speaks On Corruption & Boko Haram

President-Elect Buhari spoke exclusively with SaharaTV on how he plans to deal with corruption, the government’s finances, Boko Haram, and Nigeria’s economy. Most notably he blamed Minister Iweala for the financial situation in Nigeria, and that he will make his Ministerial appointees declare their assets to the public.

When asked about statements from Minister of Finance Iweala on the fiscal conditions and government spending in Nigeria, President-Elect Buhari told SaharaTV that “I’m afraid the Finance Minister has no cause to complain because the governors cannot force the central government to act outside the Constitution.”

President-Elect Buhari firmly stated that “all those that were governors, ministers, permanent secretaries, head of foreign staff and all those with political appointments will have to declare their assets on the assumption of their appointment and definitely with the courts. And once they leave they have to re-declare their assets.” He said this would ensure greater accountability among public servants.

However, he did tell SaharaTV that he does not plan to interfere with the judiciary and whatever action it may take pursuing corrupt public officials. He stated that his administration would not “become embroiled in investigation every ministry, then the government will not have time to move forward.”

On the contentious issue of Oil Block ownership in Nigeria, and an equitable distribution of the country’s wealth, he suggested that partisan politics in Nigeria is the cause of inequitability in the oil sector. President-Elect Buhari claimed that he wanted to professionalize the oil sector in Nigeria. He said that the “proliferation of oil fields to people who don’t even know what it is, is one of the messes partisan politics has brought.” Within the equitable distribution of wealth and job creation for youth, the President-Elect pointed to the APC manifesto calling for greater emphasis on mining and agriculture development.

When pressed on rumors that former president Obasanjo was exercising inordinate influence on Buhari’s administration he said, “I think that people have to accept the realities of Nigeria’s political development. General Olusegun Obasanjo is the only living Nigerian that led Nigeria for more than 11 years, so for anybody to think that General Obasanjo is irrelevant or he was trying to push his influence over issues, I think is being uncharitable and not being fair to Nigeria’s political development.”

President-Elect Buhari is now confronted with the challenge of appointing a ministerial and cabinet team, and he has stated publicly that PDP defectors should not expect to receive Minister appointments.