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19:17:00




Supporters of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) pushed their case further yesterday at the Senate, with startling facts on the sector.
Senator Ita Enang (Akwa Ibom North East) described the opposition to the 10 per cent host community fund by mostly northern senators as “misplaced”.
Enang, who is also the Chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, said that those opposed to the fund should know that over 83 per cent of oil blocks are owned by northerners.
But he did not give the number of oil blocks Nigeria has.
Senator David Mark, who seemed to have been shocked by what Enang said, said the Akwa Ibom lawmaker should not be distracted (some senators were grumbling) because he was making an important point.Mark asked Enang whether he could substantiate his claim.
Enang promptly pulled out a document from his folder and reeled out oil blocs and their owners.
He said he did not intend to divide the country but to guide those who wanted to contribute to the debate to be truly informed.
He listed northerners who own oil blocks to include Alhaji Mai Deribe, Borno State and owner of Cavendish Petroleum, which operates OML 110 with an average of about N4billion monthly.
He also listed Seplat/Platform Petroleum, operators of the ASUOKPU/UMUTU Marginal Field with Mallam (Prince) Sanusi Lamido, Kano , as a major shareholder and director.
South Atlantic Petroleum Limited (SAPETRO) established by General T. Y. Danjuma, Taraba State , who is also chairman of Eni Nigeria Limited.
SAPETRO partnered with Total Upstream Nigeria Limited (TUPNI) and Brasoil Oil Services Company Nigeria Limited to become operators of the OPL 246.
AMNI International Petroleum and Development Company is owned by Alhaji (Colonel) Sani Bello of Kontangora , Niger State.
“They are operators of OML 112 and OML 117,” he said.
He said that a former Petroleum Minister and former OPEC Chairman, Rilwanu Lukman, another northerner manages AMNI oil blocks “with very key interest in the NNPC/Vitol trading deal.”
He said that Oriental Energy Resources Limited, a company owned by Alhaji Indimi, runs three oil blocks – OML 115, the Oldwok field and the Ebok field.
He said that Alhaji Aminu Dantata’s Express Petroleum and Gas Limited, operates OML 108.
Enang said that OML 113 allocated to Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum Limited is owned by Alhaji W.I. Folawiyo. Alhaji Saleh Mohammed Gambo, North East Petroleum Limited, is the holder of the OPL 215 Licence.

North East Petroleum was awarded blocs OPL 276 and OPL 283 and closing thereupon a Joint Venture Agreement with Centrica Resources Nigeria Limited and CCC Oil and Gas.
He said that INTEL is owned by former Vice President Atiku, the late Gen. Shehu Musa Yar’Adua and Ado Bayero. It has substantial stakes in Nigeria ’s oil exploration industry both in Nigeria and Sao Tome and Principe .
He said that Mike Adenuga’s Conoil is the oldest indigenous oil exploration company with six blocks. OPL 291 was awarded to Starcrest Energy Nigeria Limited, owned by Emeka Offor, which was sold to Addax Petroleum.
Enang urged the Senate to cause the immediate revocation of all oil blocks licences and their redistribution, in accordance with the Federal Character Principle.
He said: “My submission is that when you look at the distribution of those who own oil blocks and the amount of money that comes from the different oil blocks to the Federation Account and you see the owners of these oil blocks, you will agree with me that there is inequity in the distribution of oil blocks.
“The oil is produced in the Niger Delta yet it is the people of the Northeast and the Northwest and a little of the Northcentral, almost nothing of the Southwest and the Southeast, that are the persons owning and controlling these oil blocks.
“Almost nothing for the Southsouth, Niger Delta oil producing areas.
“They are quarreling with the area that takes just 13 per cent when you are producing the entire 100 per cent, you give some to the Federation Account and they give only 13 per cent of what you give and, of course, it is whatever you declared that you have produced. It is actually produced by you.
“I did not want to introduce something that is divisive.
“It is not intended to divide the country, it is intended to say ‘look, let us be realistic’.
“What some of the oil wells and the owners of the oil wells produce in a month and take as profit is sometimes more than what two or three states receive from the Federation Account.”
Enang noted that “when a group of people are richer than a state and then it is produced by you, then there is so much opposition that even the people who suffer the effect of the oil production should not be give host communities’ fund; and we have explained that the host communities fund is not only for the oil producing; it is for any of the communities that hosts oil infrastructure, which includes oil pipelines, refineries, gas pipelines and anything that is capable of causing danger.”
“If we had the host communities fund, the danger that we have been having in Arepo in Ogun State, the area would have benefited from the host communities fund.”
Enag said that other areas, such as Kaduna and some other states, will benefit from it.
He went on: “If you are producing and declaring only what you like and only the 10 per cent now being provided for the host communities and the 13 per cent which is after deducting everything, that cannot be in the interest of the country.
“What I am asking now is that oil blocs in the whole country should be revoked and redistributed according to Federal Character Principle.
“We are not saying that we in the Southsouth should have all or the Southeast should have all or the Southwest should have all. 

“In fact, if there are 18 oil blocs or 36 oil blocks, we don’t mind that you give us at least four, Northeast four, Southeast four, Northwest four.
“At least, let there be equity, but then there should be the principle of who owns it and then you give us more.
“But at this time, we don’t even have it. The 13 per cent is what we are even suffering to sustain.”
Senator Olufemi Lanlehin (Oyo South) praised the maturity of Senators in considering the bill.
He urged the Senate to look at the “absolute and sweeping powers” granted the President in Section 191 of the bill.
The Section, he said, gives the President absolute and unqualified powers to grant petroleum licences to whoever he pleases.
Lanlehin prayed the Senate to use the opportunity of the bill to design a template that would grow the economy.
Senator Adegbenga Kaka (Ogun East) said he was supporting the bill with mixed feelings.
He noted that the trend of the debate seemed to indicate that senators were more concerned about how to share the cake and not how to bake it.
Kaka said the power granted the minister of petroleum in the bill should be reconsidered “so that we don’t give too much power to the minister.”
The lawmaker who insisted that the bill should be finetuned, said certain percentage of earnings should be set aside to fix electricity, agriculture and other infrastructure.
Senator Mohammed Goje (Gombe Central) said before the debate, he was completely against the bill.
He said the trend of the debate showed that the Senate was poised to do justice to the bill by removing offensive sections.
To him, it seems a consensus is being built around certain sections of the bill.
He noted that most contributors agreed that the power of the minister should be reduced, such that the minister will just be like any other minister.
Goje said: “We should not create a super minister.”
He said that definite provision should be made for frontier exploration, especially adequate funding.
He opposed 10 per cent host community fund.
Senator Barnabas Gemade (Benue North East) described the bill as very important and long overdue.
Gemade said an adage says: “Wherever you find oil, corruption creeps in and wherever you find diamond war emerges.”
He said the adage had been proved to be true.
Gemade said the bill contained good and bad provisions. He listed the good sections to include development of the gas sector, increase in promotion of local content and the unbundling of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The bad sections, he said, include the minister’s economic power.
On the host community fund, Gemade said efforts should be made to ensure that it does not degenerate to very poor management of resources as it is, according to him, in the Niger Delta Development Commission, 13 per cent derivation and others.
On the frontier exploration, he said more effort should be geared towards discovering oil in other places.
Senator Akin Odunsi ( Ogun West) described the bill as the most important legislation before the National Assembly.
Odunsi noted that the bill becomes even more important when it is recognised that the country runs a mono economy based on oil.
The lawmaker cautioned against undue sentiment in the consideration of the bill.
He agreed that the bill was not perfect but posited that it could be fine-tuned to engender development.
Senator Abdulahi Adamu (Nasarawa West) said he was giving the bill “a reserved support”.
Adamu expressed worry about the absence of transparency and accountability in the oil sector.
He said the bill appears to contradict the Constitution (as amended), especially when it is recognised that oil and gas as well as other minerals are in the Exclusive List and under the control of the Federal Government.
The lawmaker cautioned about the unbundling of the NNPC in order not to put up the corporation for outright purchase by wealthy Nigerians.
On the host community fund, Adamu said the provision would create the fourth tier of government.
To Senator Gbenga Ashafa (Lagos East), the bill will be counter productive in its present form. He demanded the definition of host community.
Ashafa said pipelines burst at times not because of vandalisation but because of the integrity of the pipes.
Senator Ayogu Eze said his support for the bill stemmed from the realization that the oil sector should be reformed.
Eze highlighted issues of details in the bill, which, he said, should be addressed at the committee and public hearing levels.
It was obvious that most northern Senators were not comfortable with.
What a revelation on the inequalities/lopsidedness in our flawed federalism, where monkey dey work, baboon dey chop!!! How will Northern Senators support, when they are the beneficiaries of the flawed status-quo. We are now in George Orwell,s Animal Farm, where some animals are more equal than others CRY THE BELOVED COUNTRY!°
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19:12:00 ,




Following intelligence reports, the Federal Government has located a slush account in Paris to which some Nigerians have made huge deposits in support of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

It has also uncovered how some IPOB members have invaded Nigerian embassies in Hong Kong and Spain and created some scenes in the last 72 hours.

The development, security sources said, was an indication of the desperation of IPOB and the justification for the proscription of the organisation.

But the French Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Denys Gauer on Friday met with the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

Although the outcome of the meeting between the two leaders was kept under wraps, Gauer was said to have reassured the Federal Government that France would not support any terrorist group.

It was learnt that the French government promised to take action as soon as the IPOB’s slush account was known to it.

A top security source, who spoke in confidence, said: “Intelligence gathering has led to the discovery of an account in Paris into which some Nigerians in the Diaspora remit funds to support IPOB.

“From the said account, funds were being drawn for the activities of IPOB at home and abroad. The relevant security agencies did a thorough job and provided incontrovertible evidence on the basis of which the government proscribed the terrorist organisation.

“These Nigerians in the Diaspora are using France as a clearing house.

“Investigations also confirmed inflows into the account from Holland, Hungary, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Turkey, Singapore and other parts of Europe.

“In fact, a football tournament was recently organised in Senegal to raise funds for IPOB.



“As a matter of fact, the account is being used to get money from a lot of people in the Diaspora.

“What many Nigerians did not know is that the Minister of Information and Culture was talking on the basis of credible intelligence report.”

Responding to a question, the source added: “With cooperation by the international community, especially relevant countries, we will soon get the list of all the people remitting funds into the account in Paris.”

But the government was also concerned that IPOB members were becoming desperate after the clampdown on the terrorist group.

The source said: “IPOB members are becoming desperate in the last 72 hours. About two days ago, some members of the terrorist group breezed into our Embassy in Hong Kong under the pretence of renewing their passports but ended up staging a protest.

“The IPOB members also demonstrated at our embassy in Spain a few days ago.”

At press time, the details of the session between the French Ambassador and the Minister of Information and Culture were yet to be formally released.

But a source said: “The Ambassador actually told the minister that France would never condone the activities of any terrorist group, including IPOB.

“He recalled that France has always been at the receiving end of terrorists and so cannot under any circumstances back IPOB.

“He restated the determination of the French government to support any policy or initiative which will strengthen Nigeria’s unity.

“He actually made it known that his government will not back secessionist agitation in this country.”

On the account in Paris, the Ambassador was said to have told the minister that France was “not aware of the account, but Nigeria should make a formal report.”

The source said the minister also reiterated that he “never said that France was supporting IPOB, because there is a robust relationship between France and Nigeria.

“We can never accuse France of collaborating with terrorists, because it has been assisting us in tackling Boko Haram insurgency.

“France played a major role in setting up and managing the operation of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF).
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19:06:00







According to an online source, The Nigeria Customs Service, on Thursday, named Great James Oil and Gas Ltd as the importer of the haul of 470 guns that was impounded at the Tin Can Island port last week, a week after a consignment of 1,100 weapons belonging to the same firm was seized at the same port.
The Comptroller-General, Col Hameed Ali (rtd), said Great James Oil and Gas Ltd used a vessel, AVS Arkas Africa, to ferry the weapons into Nigeria. The Customs boss did not name the owners of the company.
Investigation by Daily Trust on Sunday revealed that Ayogu Cyril, Ayogu Kelvin and Ayogu Great James registered the oil firm as its directors on July 20, 2011. The company was registered with RC 968675.
The three directors used residential addresses in Kaura District of the Federal Capital Territory and Bariga area in Lagos, respectively, to register the business.
Cyril and Great James gave the address of a residential apartment, Suite 4, 4th Avenue, Prince and Princess Estate in Kaura District, Abuja while Kelvin gave the address of a residential apartment at No. 25 Bariga Road.
When our reporters visited the address in Abuja yesterday, a guard informed them that the male occupant was at home with his wife. But he declined their request to speak with his employer, holding that his boss was not expecting any visitor.
A vehicle was seen parked in front of the building.
The guard, and another adult male, denied knowledge of the said oil and gas firm or the occupant’s link to it. He later went in and returned with a response, saying his boss was equally unaware of the said firm.
Other people spoken to in the area said they had no knowledge OF what the occupant was doing for a living, and others doubted if he had a firm named Great James Oil and Gas Ltd. “The owner is from the South-East, but his name is not James Ayogu or Cyril Ayogu and it is strange the company you associate with him,” a resident of the area said.
At No 25, Bariga Road, in the Bariga Local Development Area of Lagos State, given as the residence of Kelvin is a brown one-storey affair of six three bedroom apartments.

Checks by Daily Trust on Sunday showed the building is mainly residential.
All but one of the tenants were out when our correspondent visited there yesterday.
A chat with the only person, who wouldn’t give his name, said Kelvin actually lived there but had packed out to his own house about two years ago. He said he didn’t know the address of Kelvin’s present residence.
On Thursday, the Customs CG said the firm used the elbow plumbing plastic that it declared in the bill of lading to deceive officials about the concealed weapons.
He said the 470 weapons were found after officers had subjected the 20-foot container No. CMAU189817/8 to 100 per cent examination.
A meeting was scheduled Friday between Nigerian officials and their Turkish counterparts to discuss the rise in arms shipment to Nigeria from Turkey.
A total of 2,671 rifles, in four batches, were seized within the last eight months, all coming from Turkey, according to the Nigeria Customs Service.
Hameed Ali said his agency and other security outfits were investigating the reasons for the massive importation of arms into the country.

    “We are yet to get to the bottom of the whole thing. Are these arms meant for commercial purposes, or meant to be given to a group of insurgents or agitators and kidnappers?” he said.
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19:01:00 , , ,


A Junior Secondary School 2 pupil of Agbara Commuinty Junior Secondary School, Ogun State,identified as Asmau Ajibade, has  been declared missing by her guardians who are not aware over her whereabouts seven days after she left home for school.

The girl lived with the guardians, Alhaji Rauf Adetona and Alhaja Ajarat Adetona, on Area 8, Road 810, Block AM, Plot 18, OPIC Estate, Agbara, off Lagos-Badagry Expressway, Ogun State.

It was learnt that Ajibade had left the house at about 7.30am last Monday in her school uniform.

The belief in the house was that she had gone to school.

The guardians became apprehensive when it was 4pm and she had not returned home.

Record of the school reportedly revealed that she was absent that day.

Ajarat said the girl had been living with them since she was four years old, adding that she was surprised by her disappearance. She said it was the first time she would leave home without returning.

She said, “She went to school on Monday and has not returned. Her teachers told us that she didn’t come to school that day.

“But a cobbler around here told us that he fixed her torn sandal that morning. The cobbler said she seemed to be in a hurry as she told him that somebody was waiting for her.

“She had never done anything like this, although her teachers had told us that she was keeping bad company; and I warned her to stop associating with bad people.

“Her parents had divorced. His father died while she was six months old. She had been living with us for 11 years now. Her attitude that morning did not show that she planned to do anything.”

Rauf told our correspondent that he was on his farm when a call came in that Ajibade was missing.

He said they were told at the school that Ajibade might have absconded with some of her school friends, adding that the incident had been reported at the Agbara Police Station.

He said, “She always prepared the food she would eat at the school and did same that morning. My wife gave her money in addition to the food and she thanked Alhaja and left. I went to my farm around 9am. At about 4pm, my wife called me that Asmau (Ajibade) had not come back home.

“I told her to be patient because she came home around 3.30pm at times. When it was 5pm, she called me back and said she had gone to Asmau’s school, but she didn’t see her.

“On Tuesday, we went back to the school. The teachers at the school told us that she had become a wayward girl and had been moving with a friend who had been expelled from the school.

“We reported at the police station on our estate and we were told to come back on Wednesday if we didn’t see her.

“On Wednesday, we were directed to the Agbara Police Station. The police collected her picture from us and promised to radio other divisions. They said she might have eloped with a boy.”
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18:57:00 , ,




A man identified as Okiki Arisekola, a commercial bus driver, has beaten his pregnant lover Islamat Bolaji ,  identified to death during a scuffle on September 16. The incident happened at No. 50 Wright Street Adekunle, Yaba, Lagos, where the victim lived with her grandmother, Gbemisola Agboola.
According to Sunonline, Islamat was nursing a little child she already had with her killer. She died during a quarrel over the custody of the little baby, named Kemi.

Arisekola, said to be on the run, had reportedly been frequently visiting the baby and his mother, a development that aroused suspicion, due to the no love lost between the two lovers.

“He has not been visiting my daughter, but recently he just started coming and my daughter grew suspicious of his visits. On the fateful day, when he came, they were together at first, then he left, on his return, they started quarreling.

But, this time, it led to a physical fight and Okiki beat my daughter into a coma. After some minutes that he had left, my daughter fell and became motionless. We rushed her to the hospital and it was there she died,” her grandma recalled.

“He demanded to take the girl away but she rushed to take the baby from him. They dragged the baby between them. She feared that he was going to use the child for rituals.

It was a passerby that called my attention to Okiki merciless beating of my granddaughter, I almost had high blood pressure, I rushed out and called my granddaughter.

As I was leading her back into the house, she fell and fainted. The first hospital we took her to didn’t have doctors on call, but before we could get to the health center, she died,” the grandmother added.
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18:47:00


Soldiers who attacked Nnamdi Kanu’s country home allegedly died in auto crash while returning to their base.
The sender of this massage who said to be the eye witness pleads anonymity. This report is yet to be verified.
Recall that Nigerian Army in exercise of Operation Python Dance II, targeted at curbing kidnappings, secessionist and armed robbery reportedly invaded Nnamdi Kanu’s home were 5 people lost their lives and over 30 people hospitalized.
We recall that  Kanu’s lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, told news men that military men shot sporadically into the air through which 5 lost their lives and over 20 injured.

“There is no doubt that the present deployment of troops to the South East is to haunt for my client and possibly eliminate him. Let the whole world know that if anything untoward happen to my client, that president Buhari and his Chief of Army Staff should be held responsible by the international Community.” Kanu’s lawyer added.
We also recall that before the incident, Alhaji Asari Dokubo, called for the support of Biafra. He posted an 18-minute video on Thursday on the Facebook on ‘The Support Biafra Project’ page, saying that anyone who is not in support of Biafra agitation is a traitor.
“The future of my children lies with Biafra, and if you do not speak about it, your generation will tell you and spit on your face and urinate on your grave for betraying them.”
“Our military structure of the Biafran state is so strong that no group will overcome them. We would first seek the kingdom of politics so as to have every other thing.”
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18:45:00





Crisis is looming in Ndiolumbe Nvosi Autonomous Community in Isiala Ngwa South Council   of Abia between the people and Fulani herdsmen over the refusal of the natives to allow the Fulani herdsmen graze their cattle.
But the Fulani herdsmen have insisted that they would remain in the community to graze in their land and they have gone ahead to camp in the community and graze their cattle.
Already, members of the community are lamenting that the herdsmen have caused a lot of devastation to their farmlands and crops which they valued at millions of Naira.
The Abia state Government has however assured that there was no cause for alarm, saying that the matter would be amicably resolved.
The traditional ruler of Ndiolumbe Nvosi, Eze Godwin Ogbonna, informed journalists Wednesday, that when the destruction of their farmlands became unbearable, youths in the area approached the herdsmen and asked them to leave their community.
According to the monarch, it was a peaceful engagement which saw the herdsmen relocate to another part of the community. Eze Ogbonna however said that the community was shocked and surprised when one Mohammed Shuaibu came from Okigwe, Imo State, to query the community over their decision not to allow the Fulani herdsmen on their land.

“One Mohammed Shuaibu came from Okigwe. He was very furious and queried why the community should drive the herdsmen away. He said the herdsmen were ready to pay compensation for damaged crops and insisted that they must be allowed to come back to the community.
“We told them that we don’t need their compensation; all we want was for them to vacate our land. He told me that they (herdsmen) had conducted a survey of our community and found it extremely suitable for grazing” Eze Ogbonna said.
The monarch said his people are now living in fear because of the position taken by Mohammed Shuaibu, saying that after storming out of his palace, he said the herdsmen would be back next Monday to negotiate the compensation for the damaged crops to enable them to return to the community.
“He has been calling me constantly on the phone. We are very frightened that if the matter was not urgently resolved, the herdsmen may invade our community.
Already women are afraid of going to the farms as the herdsmen now climb treetops to keep vigilance while their cattle graze”, Eze Ogbonna said.
He called on the Abia State Government to urgently intervene to save his community from any ugly incident, pointing out that he had already reported the matter to the state government as well as the Council chairman.
It was gathered that the state government has waded into the matter through the Security Adviser to the Governor, Captain Awah Udonsi.
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18:41:00


National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, has said Nigerians should not condemn but listen and understand the agitations by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
He said this while delivering the Keynote speech at the 2017 Annual Dinner of the King’s College Old Boys’ Association (KCOBA) at King’s College, Lagos.
The APC leader, who said the cry for separation had gained traction among average people due to the chronic failure of government to meet basic aspirations, however, warned against any attempt to split the country.
Tinubu noted that gargantuan challenges were facing the country but explained that they were not enough to call for the dismantling of the federation at a time some parts of the world were taking advantage of integration.
He said: “It is a rather curious lapse that a nation with such diversity as ours has not taken the time to give our legal marriage its proper functional underpinning. In other words, we all lined up to call ourselves Nigerian without gathering to discuss what it meant.
“Thus, we inhabit a nation that has not sufficiently defined its governance. We may be defined by political borders and boundaries but we have not glued ourselves to collective purpose and vision. Too many of us are born in Nigeria but not of it.
“Thus, our society is not a collective enterprise as important to each of us as our own personal endeavor. It is but a platform, an arena, to claim whatever one can by whatever means available. In too many ways we resemble a wrestling match instead of the nation we were ‎meant to become.
“Thus, we argue over matters that long ago should have been settled. The longer such fundamental questions fester, the more extreme become the proposed answers.
“Thus, we have people clamoring for secession in one part of the country and the murmur of such a course grows stronger in other sections.
“These other areas resent that some have advocated secession. Blame and recrimination become the political currency. Statesmanship falls in short supply. The dominant urge is to confront instead of reconcile.
“It would be wrong to mistake this for a tempest in a teapot. If not careful, we may be tossed about like a teapot in a tempest.
“We must listen to what is being said so that we can determine what is really meant.
“Let us be frank. Many who cry separation do so because their personal ambitions will be better served by such a thing. They believe they will have greater chance at political power under a different arrangement. Yet the cry for separation has gained traction among average people; this is due to the chronic failure of government to meet basic aspirations.
“If over the years, government had delivered on the promise of growth, prosperity, and justice, those calling for such extreme remedies would be but a small fringe of little consequence.

“Our task is not to condemn but to listen and understand. I care not at all for this proposed solution. But I dare not discount the concerns and problems that have led many people into advocating such a thing.
“Here, I want to plainly state my position. I am a firm believer in Nigeria. I believe this land will become a great nation and a leader among other African nations. We can resolve our dysfunctions in a manner that will make this nation rise as a standard of decency, justice and prosperity for all Nigerians.
“So many excellent people have devoted themselves, even given their very lives, to give life to this nation. I dare not cast aside their hardy and brave work as if it were nothing. Many things we now enjoy and see as good are due to these people. We have benefited from their labor and sacrifice.
“Being more pragmatic, separating the nation into small pieces resolves nothing and creates additional problems. The world marches toward integration. Europe, America, Asia seek trade and commercial pacts that will make them more integrated markets. Notwithstanding Brexit, the EU grows more integrated in the functions of governance by the day. Thus, while nations more powerful and developed than us seek to pool their wealth and might, some of us seek to whittle this nation into smaller pieces.
“Such a thing would make us more vulnerable to outside influences. We would forfeit our rightful place on the world stage and as a leader of this continent.
“Moreover, not every split solves a problem. The political mentality, either good or bad, that defined a group before the split will remain after the divide. If one is imbued with factionalism, that perspective will remain even when the immediate problem is surmounted. Division will manifest differently, but manifest it will.
“A new factional bigotry will arise to replace the old. The cycle of tension and unrest will take its inexorable toll. Just ask the people of South Sudan if their woes ended when they left Sudan.
“When your heart is geared toward division, you will seek it within a single tribe, even a single family. The gossamer of ethnic unity will be ripped apart by sub-ethnic squabble. An angry man outside his home remains angry inside it as well and a thief steals from both stranger and friend.
“Driven by such a mentality, even someone you once called your brother becomes a nuisance, then a burden, and ultimately your enemy in short order.
“Thus, I oppose talk of break-up and all other exotic political arrangements tantamount to it. That I am a foe of disunity does not mean I have blinded myself to the truth that our nation is in need of great repair.
“We all see the nation for what it is. Some look further to see the nation for what it is not and they rush to condemn it.
“I choose to see the nation for what it can be and thus seek to nurture and cultivate it so that this Nigeria may bring forth the fullest blossoming of its riches, resources and ingenuity of its diverse people.”
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18:32:00
Two United States Attorneys, Bruce Fein and Bruce DelValle of Fein& DelValle PPLC have met with ten Nigerian witnesses on the suit filed in the United States District court of Columbia against 14 Nigerian defendants for their complicity in the 2016 torture and extra-judicial killings of pro Biafran agitators during their peaceful protests.

The two attorneys who arrived Nigeria three days ago met with the families of the victims at an undisclosed location and also extracted various statements from them which were deposed as affidavits of facts to the suit.
Ten Biafran plaintiffs are seeking millions of dollars as damages to compensate for their grievous losses and suffering following the alleged gruesome killings of pro Biafra agitators in Nkpor and Onitsha , Anambra State and Aba, Abia State in 2016 during the peaceful demonstration for the release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu.

The identities of the plaintiffs are hidden for security reasons while the case name is John Doe , etal vs Tukur Yusuf Buratai etal civil action No. 1:17-cv-01033. The case has been assigned to United States District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle, appointed by President William Jefferson Clinton.

Speaking to Daily Sun in an exclusive chat, Attorney Bruce Fein said they were in Nigeria as a follow up to the suit already in court because of Biafra agitators who were murdered as a result of high level military and security agencies infringement of their rights to freedom of assembly and expression while the state governors could not also protect the demonstrators.

He explained that under the United States law, those human rights crimes are prosecutable in the United States courts even though the plaintiffs and defendants are citizens of the country, Nigeria.
Fein said after filing the case in the US court, they were able to convince the judge that revealing the identities of the complainants /plaintiffs in the suit could result in retaliations and danger against their families, hence the reason the court settled for the name John Doe etal so that it can proceed anonymously.
He confirmed that 13 defendants out of 16 have been effectively served with the court summons and noted that the Igbos and Christians have the right to live in the country and enjoy their full rights as citizens of Nigeria.

The Nigerian facilitators, Emeka Umeagbalasi, board chairman, International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law and Okpalaezenri Emeka Onyeso of the Forum for the Promotion of National Ethos and Values, in their separate remarks noted that the struggle to ensure justice for the victims and families of those who died through the use of state power of coercion while engaging in peaceful protest is a noble cause that must be pursued to a logical conclusion.

They thanked the Ekwenche Organisation of Chicago, USA for their role in the suit, noting that the capability of countries to set up laws that regulate and protect all fundamental rights of man within the context of the United Nations Declarations, Covenants, Conventions and other multilateral treaties, and punish offenders, to a very large extent, influence the level of human development in most countries of the world

Other defendants in the suit included former Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, former Commander 302 Artillery Regiment, Onitsha, Col Ibrahim Maigeri and Governors Willie Obiano and Okezie Ikpeazu of Anambra and Abia States among others
Read more»

18:19:00

Tiemoue Bakayoko involved in ‘horror’ car crash on way home from Chelsea training
21st September 2017. 


Chelsea midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko has been involved in a car crash, according to The Sun.

Bakayoko has been brilliant at the start of his Blues career, and it seems like only a matter of time before he forces his way into Antonio Conte’s starting eleven and makes one of the two midfield spots his own.

It has been plain sailing for the France international in SW6, until now. As per The Sun, Bakayoko has been involved in a car crash while on his way home from Chelsea’s Cobham training ground.

The Sun report that the incident occurred at 3:30pm while Bakayoko was driving down Blundel Lane near the training ground. It is yet unclear whether he sustained any serious injuries in the crash, but The Sun have described the crash as ‘horror’.

All we can do at the time of writing is pray to whatever God that you believe in that Bakayoko has escaped unscathed. We’ll keep you updated with the news as we get it.
Read more»

18:19:00 ,

Sergio Aguero made it nine goals in his last five games against Watford with a hat-trick in Manchester City’s 6-0 win at Vicarage Road.


Manchester City moved to the top of the Premier League and extended their unbeaten run to 13 games with a 6-0 win over Watford inspired by a Sergio Aguero hat-trick.
 
Pep Guardiola’s men made light work of a Watford defence that had been impenetrable in the Hornets’ previous three games, with Gabriel Jesus, Nicolas Otamendi and Raheem Sterling all joining Aguero on the scoresheet.

Aguero made it nine goals in five games against Watford and with two simple first-half strikes from close range and a brilliant second-half solo goal, while Jesus scored his 11th goal in 13 Premier League starts since joining the club in January.

The game was reminiscent of City’s previous visit to Vicarage Road in May, when Jesus scored and Aguero got two in a 5-0 win, and Watford manager Marco Silva must prepare his reeling troops to bounce back when they travel to Swansea City and West Brom before the end of September.

Meanwhile, Guardiola can reflect on a week in which his side scored 15 goals without reply ahead of four games in three different competitions over the next two weeks.

Watford withstood City’s early pressure, with goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes saving well from Fernandinho and Christian Kabasele making a superb tackle to deny Aguero a one-on-one after 18 minutes.

Watford’s Brazilian forward Richarlison glanced a header wide of the post after 24 minutes but the breakthrough arrived at the other end three minutes later when Kevin De Bruyne floated a free-kick onto the head of Aguero, who made no mistake from five yards out.

Four minutes later, Jesus skipped down the left flank before feeding the ball to David Silva inside the box and the Spaniard squared it across the face of goal where Aguero arrived unchallenged to poke the ball home.


City’s South American forwards made a mockery of Watford’s burgeoning reputation for being a tough team to break down by making it 3-0 after 37 minutes when Aguero dribbled to the edge of the box and threaded a pass to Jesus, who picked his spot in the far corner of the net and dispatched the ball clinically.

Richarlison curled a shot just wide of Ederson’s goal as Watford looked to re-assert themselves early in the second half but Gomes remained the busier of the two keepers and he saved Silva’s powerful rising shot brilliantly on 62 minutes.

But Gomes’ hard work was undone one minute later when Silva sent over a cross that evaded the yellow shirts in the box and picked out Otamendi, who powered a header beyond the goalkeeper to make it 4-0 with just over an hour played.

Etienne Capoue blazed a free header over the crossbar 19 minutes from time, before Aguero scored the pick of the goals when he danced through Watford’s defence and rolled the ball into the net.

Sterling than completed the rout, slamming home an 88th-minute penalty after he was brought down in the box by Kabasele.

Read more»

07:54:00 , , ,

A rather insane end-times theory claims that Planet X will pass the Earth on Sept. 23, ending all life and bringing about the Rapture.


Hope you’re not too attached to this planet, or to life in general, because it’s all going bye-bye in a week. That’s what a ridiculous new “prophecy” cooked up by “Christian numerologists” is claiming, so figure out where you want to die on Sept. 23.

Christian numerologist David Meade poitns to verses in Luke 21:25-26 as a sign that some recent events like the solar eclipse and Hurricane Harvey indicate the apocalypse is nigh. Here’s what those verses say: 

 

“25: There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’

“’26: Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.’

Why Sept. 23? It was chosen because of “codes” in the Bible, as well as a “date marker” thanks to the pyramids of Giza in Egypt. If that sounds pretty arbitrary, it is, but Meade is convinced.

He’s constructed this theory based on the theorized Planet X, a massive planet that scientists think may explain some gravitational anomalies and is orbiting many times farther out than Pluto. He thinks that Planet X will pass Earth on Sept. 23, causing huge volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, earthquakes, and other disasters on an epic scale. Of couse, the notion that a massive planet is that close to Earth and scientists haven’t noticed that is pretty difficult to understand.

The apocalypse, according to the Bible and specifically the book of Revelation, will mark the beginnign of the Rapture and the second coming of Christ, which is a big feature in Christian end-times theories.

Revelations 12:1-2 reads: “And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of 12 stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth.”

Source: BabwNews

Read more»

21:18:00
UCH
 

The Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) of the University College Hospital (UCH) has given the Federal Government a 14-day ultimatum to pay, without further delay, the arrears of promotion and salaries of its members from 2013 till date or risk industrial action.
JOHESU gave the ultimatum at a press conference on Thursday.
Health workers associations present at the conference includes the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP), Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities and Tertiary Institutions (NASU), Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), and Senior Staff Association of Universities, Teaching Hospitals, Research Institutes and Associated Institution (SSAUTHRIA).
Chairman of NUAHP, Mr. Olusegun Sotiloye, who spoke on behalf of JOHESU, said: “The promotion arrears for 2013, 2014, 2015, abd 2016 be paid without further delay.
“All salary arrears due to shortfall experienced by UCH in 2014, 2015, and 2016 be settled without further delay. All unremitted union dues and deductions made for Cooperative Societies be remitted without further delay.
“We are therefore giving the Federal Government of Nigeria 14 days with effect from Thursday September 14, 2017 to meet the above stated demands, failing which all the unions shall not hesitate to mobilise all our members to withdraw their services.”
JOHESU, however, pleaded for the understanding of the public.
“We are not unaware of the hardship this decision may expose them to, but we want to let them know that this came as our last resort”, he said. “It shall also be appreciated if the public can prevail on the Federal Government to accede to our demands and give us what rightly belongs to us.”
Sotiloye stated further that it was highly pathetic to observe that “it is difficult, if not impossible to get what rightly belongs to you from the government, through any other peaceful means other than industrial action.
“If the claim that fund has been released for this purpose is true, then we want to observe that it does not take eternity to disburse same into the accounts of our members.”
Read more»

21:15:00
Fayose
 


Less than twelve months to the 2018 governorship election in Ekiti State, some stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state have adopted the Deputy Governor, Kolapo Olusola, from
Ekiti South Senatorial District, as the preferred candidate of the party.
Adoption of the deputy governor, who is a professor of Building Technology from the Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, Ile-Ife, Osun State, was the major decision reached at the party’s stakeholders meeting in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday.
The meeting was attended by 177 councillors, 177 ward chairpersons, 16 Local Government party chairpersons, 16 Local Council chairpersons, Chairpersons and members of boards and parastatals, State Executive Council, Ekiti State House of Assembly members, serving and former members of the PDP State Working Committee, former Deputy Governor, among others.
The communique issued at the end of the meeting reads; “After due consultation, without prejudice to the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), we formally endorse His Excellency, Prof Kolapo Olusola (the current deputy governor), from Ekiti South Senatorial District, as our preferred aspirant/candidate.”
Those who signed the communique are: Anifowose Mustapha, for councillors, Amuda Sunmonu, for ward chairpersons; Femi Bamisile, for Local Government party chairpersons; Dapo Olagunju, for Local Government chairpersons (ALGON); Bode Ola, for chairmen of boards and parastatals; Modupe Alade (Secretary to the State Government), for State Executive Council; Kolawole Oluwawole,
Speaker of the State House of Assembly and the State Chairman of the party, Gboyega Oguntuase.
Speaking with journalists after the adoption, Mr. Oguntuase said the party organs will abide by the decision taken by the stakeholders in the overall interest of the party and the entire people of Ekiti State.
He, however, said that the adoption will not preclude any member of the party that is interested in the governorship ticket from contesting, adding that open and transparent primary election will be held in
accordance with the rules of the party.
The Chairman of Forum of Ward Chairpersons, Amuda Sunmonu, also hailed the decision to adopt Mr. Olusola, maintaining that “Wherever Governor Fayose goes, we will follow him.”
Also speaking on behalf of local council councillors, Anifowose Mustapha said all the 177 councillors in the state were solidly behind the governor and “the decision of the party’s stakeholders remained
binding on all of us.”
The Secretary to the State Government, Modupe Alade, described the deputy governor as a competent and loyal member of the Governor Ayodele Fayose political family, adding that his adoption was a reward for loyalty, dedication and commitment.
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