Ex-Military leader Gen. Sani Abacha pictured with previous Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat on Sunday, June 7, 1998, a day he passed on June 8th 1998. He looked really sound totally healthy just a day before! Arafat passed on in November 2004. Photograph credit: AP
Monday, May 11, 2015
Late Sani Abacha pictured with Arafat just a day before he died in 1998
Photos: Check out Tonto Dikeh's new look
Tonto Dikeh revealed her new look as she ventured out earlier today for a meeting. She was ️styled by VIP beautician Jeremiah Ogbodo of Swanky’s Signatures Styling. Another photograph bellow.
Pics: Protest in Abuja over the execution of Nigerians in Indonesia
Members of United Nigerians in Diaspora (UNID) led by Dr. Paschal Okoli organized a peaceful protest in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory on Monday, 11th May, urging the federal government to intervene in the gruesome execution of Nigerians in Indonesia.
See more pics bellow.
The protesters who carried placards with different inscriptions called on the federal government to do something about the ugly incident, even as they condemned the act of drug trafficking and other related offences by Nigerians, particularly in Indonesia, which attracts death penalty.
The group expressed confidence that the government can do something about the ugly development to forestall further killings of Nigerians in the country. They called on the federal government to do everything humanly possible to save the lives of the remaining seven (7) Nigerian inmates in Indonesia who are due for execution in no distant time. It would be recalled that about thirteen (13) Nigerians were executed already in the ugly circumstance recently.
The Association equally recalled that two (2) Indonesian citizens who were found guilty in a similar offence in Malaysia were pardoned and sent back to their country (Indonesia) following the intervention of Indosian government. In another instance, ten (10) Indonesian citizens were condemned in Malaysia over similar offence but were later pardoned and sent back to Indonesia due to quick and serious intervention of Indonesian government. Again, five (5) Indonesians have been condemned in Saudi Arabia presently over the same offence and the government of Indonesia is fighting tirelessly to secure their release.
The group therefore queried why Nigerian government is so indifferent towards the plight of her citizens in Indonesia.
Jonathan, Buhari’s committees meet again, deny rift
The leadership of the two transition committees, set up to ensure smooth transition of power from President Goodluck Jonathan to the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday denied any rift between them. Vice-President Namadi Sambo heads the committee, set up by Jonathan while Ahmed Joda headd the one put together by Buhari.
The All Progressives Congress had recently accused the Presidency of not cooperating with the Joda-led committee. The allegation was however denied by the Sambo-led committee, which said it had had fruitful deliberations with the Buhari’s committee at least twice. On Monday, Joda again led some members of his committee to meet with the government’s group inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
At the end of the closed-door session, he told State House correspondents that his committee had been getting all necessary cooperation from the outgoing government.He said his committee had never told anybody or group that it had not been receiving the necessary cooperation from the outgoing government’s committee.
“Our committee has never said to anybody that there is no cooperation. We have never said that and we are waiting for the reports, until when they come,” he declared.His position was corroborated by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Pius Anyim, who described the Monday meeting as “fruitful and cordial.”He said there was no contending issue between the two committees as being speculated in some quarters.He said, “The meeting was very, very fruitful, it was very cordial.“There is certainly no (contending) issue; we are flowing and we have clearer understanding of the working of the two committees.”
Contrary to Anyim’s position however, the Minister of National Planning, Dr. Abubakar Sulaiman, had recently said the Federal Government took exception to some utterances and terms of reference of the transition committee set up by Buhari.
The minister, who is the chairman of the Technical Subcommittee of the outgoing government’s transition committee, had said the government noted that such actions were suggesting that the current government was either being stampeded or being intimidated.
He had said,
“We did receive from the incoming government’s transition committee some terms of reference, which we looked at critically and council did agree that Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan remains the current head of government of this country.“The incoming government should avoid creating a parallel government while the government is still on.
“We take exception to some utterances and some of the terms of reference that look as if the current government is being stampeded or intimidated.“Council frowned on most of the statements, most of the provocations and council members are advised to work in line with the terms of reference of the current government.“Council members are also told that the terms of reference as formatted by our transition committee should be strictly complied with.“When the incoming government takes over government, they can come out with their programmes, they can come out with their own agenda, they can decide to come out with policies in the way they feel like.“This government remains resolute to the various programmes and projects it is pursuing and the government will continue to do that until the morning of May 29.“
Jonathan convenes last Council of State meeting
President Goodluck Jonathan has convened what appears to be the last meeting of the Council of State that will hold under his leadership. The meeting holds on Tuesday(tomorrow).
The Council consists of the President (as the Chairman), Vice President, all former Presidents or former Heads of State, all former Chief Justices of Nigeria, President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, all state governors and the Attorney-General of the Federation.
Although the meeting, slated for 11am inside the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja is the last one Jonathan will be chairing, he is still expected to be attending subsequent ones as a former President.
The President may use the opportunity of the meeting to thank council members for their supports since the inception of his administration and ask them to extend the same hand of fellowship to the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari.
By virtue of being a former Head of State, Buhari is an existing member of the council.
He will automatically assume its leadership after his inauguration on May 29.
The Tuesday meeting may also review the conduct of the last general elections across the country.
Buhari had been staying away from the council’s meetings up until the last meeting, which was held on February 5.
At that meeting, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, had briefed members on preparation for the general elections.
Council members had then been divided over the desirability or otherwise of postponing the general elections from the earlier scheduled dates of February 14 and 28.
One of the key responsibilities of that organ of government is to advise the President in the exercise of his powers with respect to INEC, including the appointments of members of the commission.
Tribunal orders service of papers on Gombe gov
Gombe State Election Petitions Tribunal on Monday granted an application seeking service of court processes on the state Governor, Ibrahim Dankwambo, through substituted means.
The ex parte application was filed before the Justice M. O. Adewara-led elections tribunal by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Alh. Mohammed Yahaya, who was defeated in the April 11 governorship election in the state.
Yahaya, who alleged gross irregularities in the conduct of the election, had approached the tribunal through his lawyer, Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN), seeking to be declared winner or an order annulling the election result.
The panel, sitting in Gombe, ordered service of the court papers through substituted means including delivering the documents at the state’s People Democratic Party secretariat or pasting same on the entrance gate to the Gombe State Government House.
The documents to be served on Dankwambo include the petition by the defeated APC cabdidate, witness written disposition, list of witnesses, list of documents and all front-loaded process.
The order was made on Monday following argument by Akintola in support of the application filed on May 2, 2015.
Yahaya, in his petition, alleged that the election was characterised by fraud, multiple voting, ballot snatching, ballot stuffing and outright rigging.
According to him, the election was not conducted in compliance with 2010 Electoral Act as he alleged that some of the results from 11 Local Government Areas in the state were either inconclusive or marred by malpractices.
The petitioner, who claimed to have scored the highest number of lawful or valid votes, is seeking an order of the tribunal compelling the Independent National Electoral Commission to declare him winner of the governorship election in Gombe State and present him with the Certificate of Return as the governor-elect of the state.
In the alternative, the APC candidate prayed the tribunal to nullify the election on the grounds of alleged irregularities.
Former Yemeni President Saleh Declares Alliance With Houthi Rebels
Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh for the first time confirmed Sunday his alliance with the Houthi militants.
CAIRO (Sputnik) — Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh for the first time confirmed Sunday his alliance with the Houthi militants, also known as Ansar Allah (Supporters of God) religious tribal group.
Earlier in the day, the coalition aircraft conducted several airstrikes on Saleh’s house in the capital Sanaa. Several people have reportedly died, while Saleh and members of his family were not injured.
“Earlier I was not an ally of Ansar Allah, but today I declare that the Yemeni people will be an ally of anyone who protects national interests in the face of the Saudi aggression,” Saleh said Sunday in an address to the nation broadcasted by the Al Yemen Al Youm TV Channel.
He also called on all the citizens of Yemen to defend their country against the aggression.
Saleh stepped down as the Yemeni President following the 2011 anti-government uprising known as the Arab Spring.Yemen has been engulfed in violence and political deadlock since late 2014, when the Houthi rebels, supported by the forces loyal to Saleh, took control over large swathes of the country, including Sanaa.
On March 26, the Saudi-led coalition of Arab states started conducting airstrikes on Yemen, targeting Houthi rebel positions at President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi’s request.
On April 21, the coalition said it had ended the Decisive Storm military operation and announced the start of the Restoring Hope campaign, saying it would focus on counter-terrorism and humanitarian efforts. Despite the announcement, the airstrikes have continued.
More than 1,400 people, about half of them civilians, have died in Yemen since mid-March, according to the recent UN estimates.
Video: Facing the War (RT documentary)
Wars can start for many reasons but whatever the cause, innocent people will always suffer. Ukrainian veterans of WWII have now been caught up in conflict for a second time, 70 years ago they were children, now they watch their childhood nightmares coming back to life as younger generations ignore the bitter lessons learned so long ago.
President Jonathan’s handlers begin clampdown on journalists
President Goodluck Jonathan’s handlers on Monday began what is suspected to be a clampdown on journalists.
Their first victim is Mr. Ubale Musa, the State House correspondent of German Radio, Deutsche Welle.
Musa’s accreditation tag was withdrawn by security operatives attached to the Presidential Villa. The embattled journalist was expelled from the Presidential Villa, Abuja, for asking visiting Chadian President, Idriss Derby, a question authorities found to be embarrassing.
Musa had asked the visiting President to explain the relationship between the multinational task force fighting in Lake Chad and the South African mercenaries fighting with them. Derby simply responded that he had no information concerning mercenaries from South Africa.
Shortly after the visiting President left, Musa was invited by security operatives and his tag was withdrawn. Security operatives thereafter drove him in a vehicle out of the forecourt of the President’s office through the Service Chiefs’ Gate. When he told the operatives that some of his work tools were still inside the Press Gallery where journalists operate from, the operatives led him to the hall to retrieve his belongings and led him out of the Villa again.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, was said to have assured a delegation of State House correspondents who met him on the matter that the issue would be resolved appropriately. As of the time of filing this report, however, Musa’s accreditation had not yet been restored.
Billionaire daughter Jennifer Obayuwana shows off inside her home
Polo Avenue boss Jennifer Obayuwana showed off inside her well furnished Lagos home on her instagram page.
See more photographs bellow…
I am a sexual person but My man can't not perform, please help..
I am a frustrated new wife. I’ve been hitched for just under a year and I can count how often I have had intercourse with my spouse.
He got treated for diabetes and from that point forward has been having issues getting it up. I’ve let him know a few times to go get help however he has cannot. He is humiliated and doesn’t need any one to think about this test yet it is making me frustrated. On the off chance that I am fortunate I get it once in two weeks and a considerable measure of work needs to put into it for our lovemaking to happen. I’m attempting to get pregnant yet I don’t perceive how this is going to happen when my spouse can’t perform. Could anybody help me? Since he has declined to go look for help, possibly you know something I can for him at home to help our circumstance? Help please! I am a sexual individual so this is disappointing!
Inside Dencia's new LA mansion ? (photos)
Recently Dencia showed off her new LA chateau. A reader who lives in the US simply revealed with photographs of what she claims is inside Dencia’s new home. She composed;
It is a 13,000sq foot property with 5beds and 6 showers, arranged at Hunter Valley Westlake Village, California. It was sold on Dec 2012 for $2.6m now the property is assessed to be worth $3.1million. Current trade rates put this property well over a large portion of a billion naira. Property imposes on this house alone are $23,000 consistently. Presently here is the kicker, this house was recorded for rent on walk 2015, however on April 17 2015 the posting removed. The house was not sold, it was leased. The rent is $11,000 every month.
That is what the reader revealed in addition to photographs of what the house looks like inside. In the event that Dencia’s lives here – leased or purchased – then darling, you’re the ruler.
See the photographs bellow.
Ahmed dissolves Kwara cabinet
The State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, has dissolved the State Executive Council.
According to a statement on Monday by the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Sola Gold, affected by the dissolution included commissioners, special advisers, senior special assistants, special assistants, liaison officers and youth employment coordinators.
He added that similarly, all boards of government-owned companies, commissions, parastatals, and organisations, other than those of statutory status, were also dissolved.
Gold said, “Commissioners are advised to handover government properties in their custody to their permanent secretaries while heads of other MDAs must handover to the most senior officers in their establishment.
“Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed expresses sincere appreciation to all the affected political office holders for their immeasurable contributions to the success of his administration in the last four years and wishes them success in their future endeavors.
“He also looks forward to a continued robust partnership to move the state forward.”
I killed to avenge the killing of my friend 20-year old Cult member says
20-year old Joberi Pyagbara, a Rivers state based cult member, (presented above) says he executed and buried a rival clique member in a community near to his own after an adversary faction known as Dewua raged his area and slaughtered his companions who fit in with his own particular cult gathering known as Dewell.
Speaking with Punch, Joberi said he joined the cult in 2006 after working as a conductor for some years. He said after dropping his arms as a militant for the federal governments amnesty programme, he decided to pick up arms again after the killing of his friends.
“I was arrested by the police because of cultism. It was during a community fight. Members of a cult group killed some of my friends and we decided to avenge and killed two. When the other cult group (Demua) came, they scattered the community.
Many people ran away while they killed our friends. I belong to Dewell. We don’t kill, but when anybody offends us, we go after him. They (other cult group) started it all by killing our members and we had to fight back. It is true that I killed one person and buried him in my community, Eken in Khana Local Government Area. I dug a small grave and did it (buried him). As a cultist, I felt satisfied when I killed those who killed my friends.
Though we surrendered our weapons when the amnesty programme came, when we noticed that a rival cult group was attacking us and killing some of our friends, we had to look for arms and decided to revenge. I am 20 years old. I am part of the amnesty programme; I have never involved myself in crime after the amnesty, but the killings of my friends took me back to cultism.
Those cult people cut our friends’ head and then we agreed that we must avenge. I joined cultism in 2006. We always hustle to get money to finance the group. I work as a conductor or collect money from commercial drivers at bus-stops. If I am freed, I will be a good person and will not join cultism again. I regret all my actions, especially the killings” he said
Houthi Militants Shell Saudi City on Border With Yemen - Witnesses
Houthi rebels from Yemen carried out mortar attacks on the Saudi Arabian city of Najran near the countries’ shared border, witnesses revealed on Friday.
According to eyewitness accounts, local government buildings and a prison were hit in the attack. No casualties have been reported so far.Houthis conducted several attacks against Najran last week. At least three people died in the shelling.
Yemen has been mired in turmoil in recent months, with Houthis taking over large parts of the country and forcing President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi to flee.
In late March, a coalition headed by Saudi Arabia started carrying out airstrikes against Houthi positions. The coalition announced an end to its operations the following month but the airstrikes continued.
A five-day humanitarian ceasefire between the warring sides, which will be subject to renewal, is expected to begin in Yemen on Tuesday night.
List of Top Gays & lesbians cover front Page of Kenyan newspaper
A Kenyan newspaper called The weekly Citizen, recently published photos and names of men and women who they claim were gays and lesbians.
They said the list contains men and women who are secret homosexuals but are known for their public anti-gay stand. Kenya is known for its strong anti-gay laws.
President Jonathan should not be scared of persecution - APC
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said the incoming Buhari Administration will not persecute anyone, contrary to statements credited to President Goodluck Jonathan. In a statement issued in Abuja on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said, however, that those who have played poker with the nation’s destiny must be willing and eager to clear their conscience before man and God.
“That the President-elect is a man of integrity is not an issue for debate, and he has made it clear that he will not be bogged down by endless probes.
“However, the hands of the incoming government will not be tied by those who have chosen to play the victim and exhibit a persecution mentality. Whoever has any reason to be afraid must lay bare such reason before Nigerians,” the party said. It said that under the climate of change that Nigerians have ushered in with their votes, only the guilty needs to be afraid, and those with a guilty conscience, on account of their actions in the public sphere, must clear such so they can be at peace with themselves.
“The last time we checked, this does not fit the definition of persecution,” APC said. The party wondered why the President chose a public forum to express his fears when he could have done so privately during his meetings with the President-elect.
“Since the presidential election was won and lost, the President and the President-elect have met privately a number of times. Why didn’t President Jonathan express his apprehensions during these meetings? ”Even if the two have not met, the President could have reached out to the President-elect over any fears that he may be nursing, instead of engaging in an action that seems like he was being preemptive and seeking to curry public sympathy,” it said
APC insisted that the priority of the incoming government will be the welfare and security of the long-suffering people of Nigeria, and enjoined all citizens to support the Administration in charting a new path for the country – away from the rapaciousness and impunity of the past years.
Alhaji Lai Mohammed
National Publicity Secretary All Progressives Congress (APC) Abuja,
May 11th 2015
Huddah Monroe shares photos from her private party in Banana Island
The previous BBA star imparted the photograph above which she says its from a private party she went to in Banana Island, Lagos. She later deleted the one with the dollar bank notes scattered everywhere.
See it bellow.
Pics: Kim K gets n@ked in photoshoot for her website
Mrs West shows off her body – n@ked & painted in slices of white, in a desert setting for a photoshoot which was taped for a forthcoming scene of her reality show, Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
More photographs bellow.
CAR militias agree to disarmament deal
Rival armed groups in Central African Republic agreed on Sunday to a peace agreement requiring them to disarm and potentially face justice for war crimes committed during two years of conflict.
The agreement signed between 10 armed groups and the Defence Ministry during a peace forum in the capital, Bangui, aims to draw a line under a conflict that has killed thousands and displaced nearly a million people in the impoverished former French colony.
“On the path towards peace, the step made today is a very important one,” said Babacar Gaye, the top U.N. official in the country.
Violence flared up in March 2013 when mostly Muslim Seleka rebels seized power, sparking reprisals from anti-balaka, or anti-machete, Christian militia, who then drove the bulk of the Muslim population out of the south.
While a transitional government led by Catherine Samba-Panza is now in place and some order has returned, isolated killings continue.
“The fighters of all the armed groups accept and commit to putting a definitive end to the armed conflicts in Central African Republic,” the agreement said.
“They are committed to disposing their arms and renouncing armed fighting as a means of making political claims and to enter into the process of Disarmament, Demobilisation, Reinsertion and Repatriation (DDRR),” it added.
The process, which envisages some members of armed factions being absorbed into the army, will be supported by a 10,000- strong U.N. peacekeeping mission.
French and European Union military forces are withdrawing and elections are due to be held later this year. In another sign of hope for Central African Republic, which has a long history of instability and conflict, armed factions agreed last week to free all child soldiers and other children used as sex slaves or menial workers.
The peace forum, also attended by government officials, international partners as well as religious and civil society leaders, called for urgent creation of a special criminal court in the country.
Those involved in the “crime of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity” would be denied amnesty, the agreement said.
Fighters from the Lord’s Resistance Army, a rebel group that rose up against the Ugandan government in the 1980s, are also present in the country. The forum recommended the creation of a commission to investigate the group’s activities there.
Gunmen kidnap OAU Lecturer, Kills Driver Demands 70 million Naira Ransom
Some gunmen on Friday abducted a lecturer at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Dr. Femi Omisore, who was on his way to attend a funeral at Oye Ekiti in Ekiti State.
Our correspondent gathered on Sunday that Omisore, a lecturer at the Department of Environmental Design Management of the OAU was abducted in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State.
His captors, who were said to be armed with guns, were said to have trailed him for a while.
The driver was said to have noticed them and tried to evade the gang, but the abductors managed to waylay Omisore’s vehicle.
On catching up with him, the hoodlums were said to have killed the driver out of anger and took Omisore to an unknown place.
The gunmen, it was further gathered, fired several shots at the petrol tank of the lecturer’s car and ensured that the car caught fire before they left the scene.
The Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, OAU chapter, Dr. Caleb Aborisade, confirmed the incident.
Aborisade said, “According to the information I gathered from his family, Dr. Femi Omisore was kidnapped on Friday evening. He was going for a funeral ceremony in Oye Ekiti.
“I learnt that a member of his department was burying his father in Oye Ekiti and he was travelling there when he was kidnapped.
“The kidnappers used his telephone to call his wife this morning (Sunday) and they demanded N70m ransom.
“We are not politicians; where do they expect us to get such amount?”
He appealed to Omsiore’s abductor to release the lecturer.
He said the family was not rich and could not afford to pay such a huge amount of money.
The abduction was also confirmed to our correspondent on the telephone by the Chairman of Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, Osun State Polytechnic, Iree chapter, Mr. Dotun Omisore.
The union leader is a nephew of the abducted lecturer.
The ASUP chairman expressed concern at the way lecturers and members of their families were becoming targets of abduction.
He called on the government and security agencies in the country to do more to ensure security of lives and property of every Nigerian, saying kidnapping was becoming too rampant.
Adoke’s friend leaked plot to abduct me – Kashamu
Ogun-East senator-elect, Buruji Kashamu, has said that he got wind of the plot to abduct and take him to the United States to face charges of illicit drugs through a friend of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke (SAN).
He said this in a petition dated April 15, 2015, to the National Human Rights Commission, seeking the commission’s intervention.
Buruji said in the petition that the plot to forcibly extradite him to the US was leaked to his lawyer, Ajibola Oluyede, by another lawyer (name withheld) who was Adoke’s friend while on a flight from Lagos to Abuja.
According to Oluyede, who authored the petition on behalf of Kashamu, the friend of Adoke witnessed an occasion when former President Olusegun Obasanjo was mounting pressure on the minister to extradite the senator-elect to the US.
The petition read in part, “On a flight to the Federal Capital, Abuja, from Lagos sometime in October 2014, a colleague and friend of our principal partner, R. A. Oluyede, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria who is also very close to the AGF, informed Mr. Oluyede of the tremendous pressure that Chief (Olusegun) Obasanjo was bringing upon the AGF for the extradition of Prince Kashamu and that, in one discussion between the AGF and Chief Obasanjo, witnessed by him (the SAN), Chief Obasanjo had boasted that he was making arrangements with some US officials in the region to have Prince Kashamu abducted and flown in a private plane to the US.
“He advised that Mr. Oluyede tells Prince Kashamu, known widely to be his client, to be very careful. Prince Kashamu’s enquiry about this information revealed that indeed, there had been moves made by US officials within the region to secure the assistance of the Head of the INTERPOL division in Nigeria, Mr. Solomon Arase, a Deputy Inspector General of Police, (now acting Inspector General of Police) for the arrest and delivery to the US officials of Kashamu for transport to the US without following the due process required by the Nigeria Extradition Act.”
Kashamu had since sued the Chairman, National Drug Laws Enforcement Agency and 11 others to court over the alleged plot to extradite him to the US.
In a fundamental rights enforcement action he filed before a Federal High Court in Lagos, the senator-elect is seeking a declaration that the move to abduct and forcibly transport him to the US amounted to a violation of his right to liberty, freedom of association and freedom of movement as protected by sections 35, 40 and 41 of the Constitution
But Adoke, in an exclusive interview with one of our correspondents, said the alleged extradition move only existed in Kashamu’s imagination. Adoke said the PDP chief was only being pre-emptive in his approach to the matter because there was no extradition request concerning him currently before the Federal Government.
The minister also explained that if and when such a request was received, the government would only send such to the court for a decision to be taken.
He said, “Kashamu is only being pre-emptive by his claims. His claims are based on imagination. As of now, there is no extradition request on his case before the Federal Government. Even when such request is received, it is not the Federal Government that will take a decision on it. Such request is usually forwarded to the court for a decision to be taken.’’
Non-indigenes in Lagos must respect their hosts– Oba of Lagos
The Oba of Lagos, Riliwanu Akiolu, says there is a need for non-indigenes in Lagos State to respect the tradition and culture of their host. The monarch said this during an exclusive interview with our correspondent.
While responding to a question on the threat he issued out to Igbo residents in Lagos State if they did not vote for Akinwunmi Ambode of the All Progressives Congress, Akiolu maintained that he had no ill feeling towards Igbo in the state as some of his closest friends were Igbo.
He said,
“Eze Odimegwu, who is a former CEO of Nigerian Breweries, is still my best friend as well as many others. The Obi of Onitsha came to visit me here a few days ago. When you go to a place, you have to respect the host leaders, particularly the traditional leaders there because you are coming to benefit from their success.
“The people of Lagos are the friendliest and most accommodating people in Nigeria.”
He said the video which showed him issuing threats to Igbo leaders was a misrepresentation of what truly transpired. He said the issue was twisted by those who wanted to gain political advantage ahead of the governorship election but God put them to shame.
“Those who orchestrated the entire incident know themselves and I tell you, those (Igbo leaders) who came here on that day understand me a lot and have even been coming since then,” he said.
Akiolu said many of the non-indigenes were deceived by politicians in their quest for power.
He said,
“The man that promised to hand them deputy governorship slot and four commissioner positions and would elevate the status of Eze Ndigbo to that of Oba of Lagos has since denied it.
“It was all a political gimmick because I am sure they know that he was only deceiving them. As a matter of fact, prominent traditional rulers in the South-East have been writing us to say that they are not happy about the large number of ezes in Lagos.”
He urged all Igbo who won elections in Lagos State not to disappoint the people. The monarch said he was confident that Ambode would do well in office. He said Ambode would serve as governor for eight years not just because it was the will of God but because he would perform excellently well. He, however, said Agbaje was free to contest again in 2019 if he wanted.
He said,
“By the Grace of Almighty Allah and my ancestors in this house, the Governor-elect, Ambode, will rule for eight years with a good performance.”
He said he had nothing against the Peoples Democratic Party or its governorship candidate, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, but noted that all humans are equal in the eyes of God but are not equal in the love of God. He said Ambode proved his competence by saving the state from financial hardship when it was deprived of funds from the Federal Government. Akiolu said he was not a politician but was only interested in the prosperity of Lagos and would continue to support the best.
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