Blog by XANTAPLUS: April 2015

Thursday, 30 April 2015

JONATHAN'S SACKING SPREE CONTINUES AS CHAIRMAN OF NPA IS KICKED OUT OF OFFICE.

President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday sacked Mallam Habib Abdullahi as the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority.He has also named Alhaji Sanusi Bayero as his replacement.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, the President said Bayero’s appointment would take effect from Thursday (today). As usual, no reason was given for Abdullahi’s sack.

The statement partly read, “President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has approved the appointment of Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Ado Bayero as the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority.

The wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, was not a contestant for any political office in the just concluded general election. However, she was more prominent at the various campaigns of her political party, the Peoples Democratic Party, was involved in – during the countdown to the polls.

She was optimistic that her intervention in the campaigns would save from defeat her husband, who was the presidential candidate of the PDP – and whose public rating had plummeted.

Popularly referred to as ‘Mama Peace’ by admirers, Patience was a delight to watch as she danced to various songs by popular musicians on magnificently decorated podiums draped in the party ’s green-white-red flag colours. And she had no patience when lambasting the opposition All Progressives Congress, which was at the receiving end of her outbursts. Indeed, Patience poked direct verbal attacks and innuendos at the presidential candidate of the APC, Muhammadu Buhari.

4-MONTH OLD BABY RESCUED FROM THE RUBBLE OF NEPAL'S DEVASTATING EARTHQUAKE AFTER 4 DAYS.

The earthquake in Nepal has now killed over 5,000 people since Saturday April 25th. A 4 month old baby was however rescued by he Nepal Army after 4 days of being trapped in the rubble.

The destructive attacks in South Africa on Nigerians and other sub-Saharan Africans are tragic and mindlessly wrong. The assaults sorely bruise the objective of inter-African harmony. They also put an eraser to the idyll of progress and domestic tranquility many people saw when gazing at South Africa.

The xenophobia is actually a lethal show of misdirected anger. The attacks point to deep, underlying ruptures within the South African political economy that actually have little to do with the presence of Nigerian or other Black Africans in that nation. Nigerians have become scapegoats in a fundamentally domestic struggle.

The Black populace is roiling because their economic plight has worsened since the end of apartheid. If prosperity had come to them, they would not have come to this. The political and economic accommodation between the traditionally White-controlled economic superstructure and the post-Mandela Black political elite is under challenge.

The federal government has declared Friday, May 1, as a public holiday to mark the 2015 Workers’ Day.

The Minister of Interior, Mr. Abba Moro, made the declaration yesterday on behalf of the federal government in a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mr. Abubakar Magaji

Moro congratulated all Nigerians for their resilience and commitment in the face of the challenges of daily living.

He enjoined them to sustain the support for President Goodluck Jonathan, in his efforts to build a stable, peaceful and economic vibrant nation. The minister wishes all Nigerian workers a joyous and peaceful celebration.

SENATE PRESIDENCY SEAT - TINUBU DUMPS FOR AKUME, LOBBIES FOR AHMED LAWAN.

The battle for the principal offices of the National Assembly has taken another turn with the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu, withdrawing his support for the former Governor of Benue State, Senator George Akume, as his preferred candidate for the Senate presidency.

By jettisoning Akume, it is a clear indication that the North-central geopolitical zone may have lost out in its bid for the number one position in the National Assembly to the North-east zone.

THISDAY gathered that the former governor of Lagos and his wife, Remi Tinubu on Monday night decided to pitch their tents with Senator Ahmed Lawan from Yobe State.

President, Goodluck Jonathan’s order that the forensic audit report of the NNPC be made public is generating furor in some quarters and curiosity in others. Here is the executive summary of the findings of the report unedited as submitted to the federal government by PWC

Actual revenue generated $69bn

Corporation operates an unsustainable model.

Forty six per cent of proceeds of domestic crude oil revenues spent on operations and subsidies.

International crude oil prices averaging $122.5 per barrel

$3.38 billion was spent on kerosene subsidy for the review period.

Presidential directive needed to stop kerosene subsidy

Refund $1.48billion

Over claim for subsidy $98million

Unpaid signature bonus for divested assets $1.75bn

Continue to read after the cut.

The Bank Verification Number, BVN, is an-other important step the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, is using to strengthen the security of banking transactions and to ensure that fraudulent transactions are minimised, if not totally eliminated. The campaign is on, but the public may not realise its importance until it closes in June 2015.

Yet as the public embraces the initiative with enthusiasm, it should be aware that some fraudsters are trying to undermine the exercise by providing seemingly easier registration options for bank account holders. They request these details online and threaten that the account would be closed if the owner does not provide them the details. Their target is the account holder’s money. The best way of enrolling remains direct communication with one’s bank.

The Nigerian general elections have come and gone. Many politicians will not be performing their former duties due to one reason or the other.

According to Punch, President Goodluck Jonathan, Vice-president Namadi Sambo, non-returning federal lawmakers, ministers and presidential aides will collect N3.24bn as severance allowances,

The severance allowances are contained in the Remuneration Package put together by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission.

INDONESIA EXECUTES EIGHT CONVICTED DRUG SMUGGLERS INCLUDING FOUR NIGERIANS.

Indonesia has executed eight convicted drug smugglers -- including two of the so-called "Bali Nine" -- the Reuters news agency has reported, citing local media.

The prisoners faced a 12-man firing squad on Nusa Kambangan island in Central Java.

The government had announced that nine prisoners would be executed, but according to local reports, Filipina Mary Jane Veloso was spared, at least for now.

Lawyers fighting to delay the death of Veloso, a domestic helper and mother of two, have said they've given up their bid after her second legal review was rejected on Monday. This came despite a last-minute personal appeal from Philippines President Benigno Aquino to Indonesian counterpart President Joko Widodo.

The Nigerian army says it has rescued 200 girls and 93 women from Sambisa forest.

It has not been confirmed if the Chibok girls, who were kidnapped by Boko Haram almost exactly a year ago, are among them.

"Troops this afternoon rescued 200 girls and 93 women from Sambisa Forest. We cannot confirm if the Chibok girls are in this group," it said in a statement, adding that Nigerian troops had also destroyed three camps run by the militants.

Swiss Ambassador to Nigeria, Hans Rodulf Hodel, Monday, revealed that a new loot of $370 million traced to the former Military Head of State, late Sani Abacha has been discovered in Luxembourg, saying that his country would be eager to help Nigeria reclaim the money if the authorities make a formal request for it.

Hodel also said that Swiss government has strengthened the country’s monetary policies to discourage deposits of ill-gotten money from foreign countries in its banks.

The ambassador spoke to Journalists yesterday when he paid a congratulatory visit to Nigeria’s president-elect, General Mohammadu Buhari in Abuja.

A two-year-old toddler, Precious (pseudonym) has been raped by one Azeez Ganiyu, after she was abducted from her residence on Giwa Street, Ijora Badia, Lagos State.

The incident happened on April 16 at about 10am after the victim’s mother left her in a room with a neighbour to buy food at a nearby shop.

Our correspondent gathered that 16-year-old Ganiyu abducted the girl when she walked outside to play with other children.

An AkwaIbom State High Court has sentenced Pastor Godwin Moffat, a former NDDC Commissioner representing Akwa Ibom State, to three years imprisonment for stealing 56 transformers worth N220, 176, 320 which was meant for oil producing communities in the state.

In a 56 count charge filed in court by the EFCC, Pastor Moffat was said to have applied for 90 electricity transformers and 4 generators from NDDC for Akwa Ibom State sometime in February, 2006. Approval was given for 70 transformers but he diverted same to his house in Eket on the pretext that there was no space to accommodate the newly issued 70 units of transformers at the NDDC office in Uyo. He thereafter sent only 14 Units to NDDC office in Uyo while he withheld 56 units which he could not account for till date.

Displaying utter contempt for the 1999 Constitution he swore to uphold, President Goodluck Jonathan has sacked Suleiman Abba as the Inspector-General of Police. He replaced him immediately with Solomon Arase, a Deputy Inspector-General, in an acting capacity. Both the dismissal and the acting appointment are gross violations of the 1999 Federal Constitution, Nigeria’s supreme law.

Without citing any cogent reason, the President unceremoniously fired Abba, who assumed office nine months ago. Sadly, however, these actions are in keeping with the trend of impunity in the Jonathan administration, which has consistently conducted itself in an imperial manner, to the detriment of the rule of law, the common good and growth of our democratic norms. They have all the trappings of using power for selfish end.

The report of the forensic audit of the accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) released yesterday showed that the Corporation spent no less than N$18.53billion (or N3.65 trillion) as operational costs without a duly approved budgetary allocation.

The forensic audit report conducted by , showed that the total gross revenues generated from the federal government crude oil liftings between January 1, 2012 and July 31, 2013 was $69.34 billion and not $67 billion as earlier stated by the federal government’s Reconciliation Committee.

Out of this, total cash remitted into the Federation Accounts in relation to crude oil liftings was $50.81 billion and not $47billion as earlier stated by the Reconciliation Committee for the period from January 2012 to July 2013.

PRESIDENT JONATHAN APPOINTS PETER OBI AS CHAIRMAN OF SECURITIES & EXCHANGE COMMISSION.

President Goodluck Jonathan has appointed the former Governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi, as the new Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

He also confirmed the appointment of the Acting Director General, Mounir Gwazo, as the Director General of the Commission.

This is the latest appointment by the out-going president who just last week sacked Sulieman Abba as Inspector General of police and announced Solomon Arase as his replacement.

Also in mid-march Jonathan appointed Samuel Ogungbesan as Acting Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) after relieving Alhaji Kabiru Mashi of his duties.

TOP TEN CORRUPTION SCANDALS UNRESOLVED BY NIGERIA'S OUTGOING NATIONAL ASSEMBLY.

The seventh National Assembly led by Senator David Mark will most likely end its tenure in early June without resolving majority of the huge misgovernance and corruption issues that characterised the outgoing administration.

Under the present dispensation, the oversight power of the legislature was not judiciously exercised to guarantee Nigerians the dividends for electing their representatives. There were clear cover-ups and lack of political will to bring a lot of the cases to closure.

Even when it issues reports on certain important national issues, such as the fuel subsidy scam, the National Assembly lacked the firepower to compel the execuitve execute its recommendations.

As nothing almost always get done after individuals, agencies and corporations are indicted by either the House of Representatives or the Senate, the billions spent yearly on either public hearings and oversight functions have turned out to be mere drains on national resources.

Nigeria’s President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, has stated that his administration will probe the $20 billion alleged to be missing from the coffers of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.

The immediate past governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Sanusi Lamido, had alleged that the $20 billion made from the sale of Nigeria’s crude oil by the NNPC could not be accounted for.

President Goodluck Jonathan sacked Mr. Sanusi from the CBN after he made the allegation. The former bank chief was later crowned the Emir of Kano after the death of Ado Bayero, the former emir.

Speaking Sunday when he played host to a delegation from Adamawa State led by the state’s governor-elect, Bindow Jibrilla, in his campaign secretariat, Mr. Buhari said although he received information that some persons already started returning money to government coffers, he would only believe it when he “sees it”.

The Ondo State Deputy Governor, Ali Olanusi, was impeached on Monday morning by members of the state House of Assembly.‎

Twenty two of the 26 members of the Assembly supported the impeachment of the Deputy Governor, who recently moved from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.

The motion for his impeachment was moved by the majority leader, Ifedayo Akinsoyinu, from Ondo West 11 and seconded by Olatunji Dauro from Owo 11‎.

No fewer than seven people were killed in Kano on Sunday when a pedestrian bridge at Dorayi quarters, Kano, collapsed, the state Police Command said.

The command’s Public Relations Officer, Magaji Majiya, confirmed the incident in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria.

Mr. Majiya said the incident happened around 4:45 p.m. when the bridge, which was still under construction, caved in and collapsed on a car, which was passing underneath it.

AFRICAN LEADERS ARE HAPPY OVER JONATHAN'S DEFEAT.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo said African leaders were happy over the defeat of President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 presidential election.

He told an audience at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington DC that his checks in a number of African countries suggested they were happy over the result of the election.

He said some Nigerians described President Jonathan as a moving train who was stopped from collapsing Nigeria.

TEMITOPE ADEBAMIRO

A 35-year-old Red Lion woman has been charged with killing her husband, who she claimed abused and cheated on her with several women including her sister and their nanny's daughter, according to court records.

The husband, 37-year-old Adeyinka Adebamiro, was found stabbed in a first-floor spare bedroom of the couple's home in the 1300 block of Healy Court early Thursday, according to court documents obtained by The News Journal.

New Castle County police were called to the home at about 12:40 a.m. for an unknown problem. Arriving officers found Adeyinka Adebamiro unconscious with a stab wound to the upper body. New Castle County paramedics pronounced him dead at 1:37 a.m., said Officer Tracey Duffy, a county police spokeswoman.

A man has been jailed for life after fathering a child with his own daughter who he raped repeatedly from when she was just 10.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was given a life sentence after Derby Crown Court after jurors heard how he 'took his daughter's life' through sexual abuse.

His depravity was exposed when he impregnated her when she was just a teenager, having 'poisoned' the girl against her mother.

More than 700 people across four countries have been killed after a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal causing massive damage in the capital.

Homes, businesses and landmarks were destroyed when the severe earthquake struck Kathmandu and the densely-populated surrounding areas at noon local time, officials said.

Officials confirmed that 758 people have died, with 181 people killed in the capital, as rescue teams continue to search for survivors who are feared to be trapped under the rubble. Home Ministry official Laxmi Dhakal warned the death toll is almost certain to rise.

Bruce Jenner has revealed that he identifies as a woman - his 'true self' and a childhood dream - in an explosive ABC interview with Diane Sawyer.

The 65-year-old Olympic gold medalist and reality TV star sparked rumors about his gender identity last year after visibly altering his appearance.

He confirmed that he is reinventing himself physically in a bid to transition from male to female in the highly-anticipated, intimate sit-down.

The government of South Africa has expressed outrage after Israel's decision to deny a visa to Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande. Clayson Monyela, Deputy Director General of Department of International Relations and Cooperation, told Al Jazeera on Thursday the Israeli government needed to offer a reason for the snubbing.

"We are taking it up through the proper channels. We need to receive a proper explanation for the denial of a visa to a sitting cabinet minister," Monyela said.

The minister was scheduled to travel to the occupied Palestinian territories from April 25-29. He was scheduled to secure further collaboration with the University of Johannesburg and institutions in Palestine.

SENATE PRESIDENT DAVID MARK VISITS PRESIDENT ELECT MUHAMMADU BUHARI.

Senate President David Mark visited the President Elect Muhammadu Buhari in a congratulatory visit.

Smart move by the senator who is destined to be an ordinary member of the assembly in few months time.

England and Sunderland footballer Adam Johnson has been charged with three counts of sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl. The 27-year-old, from Castle Eden, County Durham, was initially arrested on 2 March.

He was also charged with one offence of grooming when he answered bail at a police station earlier, Durham Police said. He will appear before Peterlee Magistrates' Court on 20 May.

Sunderland AFC initially suspended the winger pending the outcome of the investigation, but this was lifted on 18 March. The club are yet to comment on the charges.

BOKO HARAM NOW USING BOW AND ARROW AFTER RUNNING OUT OF AMMUNITION.

Director of Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade says Boko Haram members have resorted to using bows and arrows to carry out their attacks after running out of arms & ammunition. Olukolade said this while speaking to newsmen in Abuja today April 23rd.

"The Boko Haram terrorists have run out of arms and ammunition because the usual supplies they get are not forthcoming. They now have only bow and arrows, machetes, daggers and other local weapons. You can find more than 500 of them with only few having rifles and even when one or two of them have rifles, they have no ammunition. I am optimistic that the military will succeed in killing many of these insurgents who have been terrorizing residents for the past three years.”he said

FG REVENUE DECLINE - SELL NIGERIA'S OIL STAKES AND RAISE N14.9 TRILLION - CBN GOVERNOR ADVISES BUHARI.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has advised the president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, to consider selling off nearly half of Nigeria’s Joint Venture equity with multinational oil companies, to enable the new government raise a huge balance for immediate developmental projects.

If Mr. Buhari accepts the advice, Nigeria stands to generate about N14.9 trillion, about three times the country’s annual budget, which should be immediately ploughed into providing badly needed infrastructure development, Mr. Emefiele said.

The Nigerian economy has faced continued pressure from spiraling debts, in the face of dwindling revenues resulting from falling global crude oil prices.

There was confusion and drama at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, yesterday, as the sacked Inspector-General of Police, Mr Suleiman Abba, stalled the formal handover to his successor, Mr Solomon Arase, until he was compelled to do so by the Presidency.

This came as some former Inspectors-General of Police expressed reservations over the manner Abba was removed while other leaders were divided over the sack.

The handover ceremony which was earlier slated for 8 a.m. with invitations sent to journalists for coverage from the office of the Force Public Relations Officer, did not take place until almost 4pm following the absence of the ex-Police boss at the headquarters.

A Peoples Democratic Party governorship aspirant in Lagos State, Babatunde Gbadamosi, has accused the leader of the party, Chief Bode George, of colluding with the national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to ensure PDP’s defeat in Lagos.

He, therefore, called on George to resign immediately.However, in a swift reaction, George described Gbadamosi as an irresponsible man who may be suffering from a mental problem.

Gbadamosi, who came fourth at the PDP governorship primary last year, said the party would have performed better at the poll if the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Musiliu Obanikoro, was given the ticket.

The Federal Government on Wednesday changed its mind on the earlier plan for President Goodluck Jonathan to formally hand over power to the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, on May 28 as against the May 29 Democracy Day.

The Minister of Information, Patricia Akwashiki, had last week said that Jonathan intended to have the formal handing over done at a dinner on May 28, so that the administration could reserve May 29 for the incoming government.

That announcement generated controversy with some prominent lawyers arguing that the plan would create a vacuum in the leadership of the country as Buhari would be inaugurated 24 hours after the handing over ceremony.

The Minister of Petroleum Resources Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, on Wednesday disclosed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has started refunding the $1.48bn unremitted fund into the Federation Account as recommended by an audit firm, PriceWaterHouse Coopers.

She however did not disclose how much has for far been refunded by the corporation. She also denied reports that she was seeking the assistance of some highly-placed persons in order to escape prosecution for alleged corruption from the incoming administration of the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari.

Alison-Madueke spoke with State House correspondents at the end of the weekly meeting of Federal Executive Council at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

REVEALED - WHY PRESIDENT JONATHAN SACKED THE IG OF POLICE "SULEIMAN ABBA" 4YRS BEFORE RETIREMENT.

The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Suleiman Abba, yesterday, became the first major casualty of the just concluded general elections, which President Goodluck Jonathan and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, lost to the opposition.

The police officer, who was elevated to the post only last year, incurred the wrath of the Presidency on the eve of the governorship and House of Assembly elections for allegedly arguing with the government officials over the directive to recall the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in Charge of Zone 6, Tunde Ogunshakin, from Rivers State.

Continue reading after the cut........

The impeachment saga in Ekiti State is a political culture that escalated during the eight year reign of General Olusegun Obasanjo that might as well have been an extension of military rule.

Impeachments in Anambra, Bayelsa, Ekiti, and Plateau – all carried out under his command – fell short of constitutional requirements for removing a governor. Emergency rules in Plateau and Ekiti were Obasanjo’s legacies.

When Mr. Ayo Fayose of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was elected Governor of Ekiti State 10 months ago, All Progressives Congress, APC, contested his qualification. One of its major points was Fayose’s 2006 impeachment. Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the sitting governor, had congratulated Fayose, but APC decided to challenge the result at the tribunal.

Some chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party have called on President Goodluck Jonathan to start preparing to run again for election in 2019.

The group, which held a high level meeting last week, expressed the view that it was the party, not the President, who failed in the elections. They blamed his defeat on the refusal of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party to work assiduously to help him win the re-election. Our sources stated that the Governor of Cross River state, Liyel Imoke, has been tapped to become the new chairman of the People's Democratic party in a bid to re-organize the party on behalf of president Jonathan take over of the party hierarchy.

National leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu on Tuesday told Ogun central senator-elect, Buruji Kashamu to keep his “fake praise singing. It is widely publicized that Kashamu is a wanted fugitive in the USA for drug related offences.

In a statement signed by Sunday Dare, Media Adviser to Tinubu, he said: “Our attention has been drawn to the recently advertised letter by Mr. Buruji Kashamu to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in which he described Tinubu in superlative terms and as his role model. Kashamu needs to stop this cynical fawning. It will not work.

“The days of false adulation are gone in Nigerian politics. Fake praise singers like Kashamu will find that their particular craft is no longer in vogue. During this election cycle, their practice has dramatically turned from the way things are to how things used to be.

The 5th memorial concert for late rapper, Dagrin – real name, Olaitan Olanipekun – will be headlined by, Olamide and Reminisce, 9ice and a host of others.

The concert, which holds on April 22 at Spice Route, Victoria Island, Lagos, will also feature Seriki, Lord of Ajasa, YQ, Sossick, WondaBoy, BaseOne, JahBless, PoslyTD, Chinko Ekun and CDQ.

Dagrin, who rapped mostly in Yoruba, died on April 22, 2010, eight days after crashing his car in front of Alakara Police Station, Mushin, Lagos.

STEPHEN KESHI RE-APPOINTED AS NIGERIA'S NATIONAL TEAM COACH.

Stephen Keshi has been appointed Nigeria coach for the third time after signing a two-year contract on Tuesday. In his first spell he won the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations but the deal was not renewed after the 2014 World Cup.

He later returned on a match-by-match deal, which ended in November after failure to reach the 2015 Nations Cup . "It's a fresh start. We need the support of our fans, media and every Nigerian to return the team to where we truly belong," Keshi told BBC Sport.

"As a coach and former player I was also hurt that we failed to qualify for the last Nations Cup. I remain confident that this time around we will see an improvement, change in attitude and positive results.

Acting Inspector General of Police - Mr Solomon Aranse

According to Presidential Spokesman Reuben Abati, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has relieved the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abba of his appointment and duties with immediate effect.

President Jonathan has also appointed Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase as Acting Inspector-General of Police, also with immediate effect.

Until his appointment as Mr. Abba’s replacement, Mr. Arase was the Head of the Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department.

This is the moment an unlucky man was gored between the legs by a rampaging bull after being knocked to the ground during a bullrunning celebration in Spain.

The unnamed man was sprinting ahead of the animal, trying to make it to the safety behind a set of iron bars when the angry animal sent him sprawling to the floor.

As the nation waits anxiously for the May 29, swearing in of Muhammadu Buhari, as Nigeria’s next president, experts in the oil industry have set for him an agenda aimed at restructuring the sector, which is the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy. The Managing Director, Frontier Oil Limited, Mr. Dada Thomas, a marginal field operator, believes that the oil and gas sector in Nigeria has suffered a major decline in the last 10 years.

He noted that Nigeria had a vision 2020 target of increasing its reserve to 40 billion barrels and production to four million barrels of oil per day.

However, the target has not been achieved as no exploration of any great measure has taken place in the last 10 years, neither has there been major discoveries except for oil mining lease, OML 310 between 2012 and 2013 that added substantially to Nigeria’s reserve.

I have been asked to do a strategic evaluation of the Battle of the Brands between Camp Goodluck Jonathan and Team Muhammadu Buhari leading to the March 28 presidential election. This is essentially a review of the brand building and brand communication initiatives of the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party on behalf of their respective presidential candidates. You will notice the distinction I have made regarding both political parties. For Buhari, his brand managers executed a near-flawless campaign as a cohesive TEAM while President Jonathan’s people were an unwieldy assemblage of individuals in the same CAMP. I have also tried to tone down on the technical terms and speak more of “English” than “Brandlish” in order to achieve more broad-based understanding.

A 47-year-old man, Solomon Ojo, was on Monday arraigned in an Ota Senior Magistrates’ Court, Ogun State for alleged rape of his daughter.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Ojo, who lives on Abinuyo Street., Ijoko, in Ota, was charged with one count of rape. The prosecutor, Sergeant Rosemary Brown, told the court that the accused committed the offence sometime in 2013 at about 12 noon at his residence.

Brown said the accused forcefully had carnal knowledge of his daughter (name withheld). She said the offence contravened Section 358 of the Criminal Code, Vol. 1, Revised Law of Ogun State, 2006.

The Peoples Democratic Party has begun reviewing its performance in the March 28 presidential election with a view to arriving at what caused the defeat of President Goodluck Jonathan.

It was gathered in Abuja on Sunday night that top members of the party were of the opinion that some of them in the National Working Committee and National Executive Committee, especially those from the North, covertly played roles that contributed to Jonathan’s loss.

A leader of the party said that such members also connived with the All Progressives Congress to ensure that Jonathan was beaten at the polls.

Doyin Okupe is popular for his unguided statements and approach to critical national issues. He heated up the Presidential campaign in conjunction with the eccentric Governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose and the unstable Femi Fani Kayode, actions that eventually led to their candidate's unsurprising loss at the polls.

He is in the news again for the wrong reasons, as usual.

Punch reports that the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Public Affairs, Doyin Okupe, has said that he stands by his words that the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, is not an electable leader.

Continue reading after the cut.............

BIG SEAN & ARIANA GRANDE ABORT EIGHT MONTH OLD RELATIONSHIP.

After eight months of dating, Ariana Grande and Big Sean have parted ways. 'They both deeply care for each other and remain close friends,' their reps told Us Weekly on Monday.

'We kindly ask that the media respect their wish for privacy regarding this personal matter at this time,' they added in the joined statement.

The Love Me Harder crooner, 21, and the Final Famous rapper, 27, are said to have amicably split a few weeks ago due to their conflicting schedules.

Thursday, 30 April 2015

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