FUEL SCARCITY MAY BITE HARDER TILL JUNE 2015.

Nigerians may need to brace up for more hard times, as indications emerged yesterday that fuel scarcity may persist till June, after the incoming administration may have been sworn in on May 29,2015.

The Guardian’s investigation revealed that the scarcity of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol may continue till after the official take-over by the Buhari led administration, as marketers are wary of further importation for the fear of the unknown.

Although, the Federal Government recently paid the marketers about N154 billion as part of the subsidy claims, reliable industry sources told The Guardian yesterday that the marketers are now shying away from importing products due to uncertainties surrounding the payment of their outstanding N200 billion.

THIRTY SENIOR NIGERIAN ARMY OFFICERS TO BE COURT-MARTIALED. SEE FULL LIST.

The Nigerian Army has ordered 30 of its top officers to proceed to the Army Headquarters Garrison in Abuja to face a judicial panel reportedly over their conduct and performances in the ongoing war against Boko Haram.

According to an internal army memo dated March 11, 2015, the officers are to be court-martialed for various offences.

The memo listed 30 senior officers who were instructed to depart their current posting and head for the Army Headquarters garrison for “jurisdiction”.

BUHARI AND THE ENERGY CRISIS.

The virtual unavailability of fuel and electricity especially in the last three months paints an ugly picture of Nigeria as she transits from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).

The embarrassing scarcity, the longest and perhaps most expensive in recent times, paints a sad picture of a country in dire straits.

The impression is that governance stopped after the March 28 presidential election in which the incumbent President Jonathan lost while Buhari of the opposition party won. Could that be the reason there is no fuel?

ONYEKA ONWENU & PATIENCE OZOKWOR FIGHT DIRTY OVER JONATHAN;S CAMPAIGN FUNDS.

The President Goodluck Jonathan 2015 presidential campaign has left a lot of bad blood in its wake; turning sisters against sisters and causing erstwhile good friends to be at daggers drawn. 

One of the irreconcilable differences brought about by Jonathan’s recent bid for the presidency is the brawl between the singer, broadcaster, actor and Director General, National Women Centre, Onyeka Onwenu and popular actor, Patience Ozokwor. Onwenu had made it her business to have a majority of the creative population in Nigeria channel their request to see Jonathan and/or participate in his campaign.

GEORGE ZIMMERMAN INJURED IN SHOOTING.

George Zimmerman, who has had a series of legal scrapes since he was acquitted in the death of Trayvon Martin, was involved in a shooting in Lake Mary, Fla., police said Monday.

Zimmerman had a confrontation with a man named Matthew Apperson, who reported the shooting to 911, Lake Mary Police Officer Bianca Gillett said at a news conference. Zimmerman was not the shooter, she told reporters.

Last September, Apperson had a confrontation during what police said was a road rage incident. No charges were involved. Investigators have not determined how or why the latest confrontation took place.

11 YEAR OLD GIRL PREGNANT FROM RAPE WANTS TO KEEP THE BABY. #SAYNOTORAPE.

A learning-disabled 11-year-old Uruguayan girl who was raped and impregnated wants to give birth to her child, in echoes of a case in Paraguay that is similarly stirring fierce debate.

The girl, who has not been named, is 16 weeks pregnant and described by doctors and sources close to her family as suffering slight mental retardation and learning disabilities.

She was reportedly raped by the 41-year-old grandfather of her half-sister, who visited her family's home in Montevideo frequently, sources close to the family told AFP on Thursday, when details of her case emerged.

FOUR OIL THIEVES SENTENCED TO 24YRS JAIL TERM.

A Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday convicted and sentenced four men to a prison term of 24 years for stealing petroleum products belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

The four convicts, who are to share the jail term equally, are Yama Abass, Adeleke Adetoro, Olaniyi Tope and Beliya Abegunde.

The men, who stole 33,000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) valued at approximately N3.2m, were arraigned before Justice Okon Abang last year August along with one Alabi Olayinka, an accountant in a petrol station in Lagos.

EMMANUEL ADEBAYOR WRITES ABOUT HIS FAMILY PROBLEMS- PART 2.

Obviously all is not well with the Adebayor family as Togo and Tottenham Hotspur striker, Emmanuel Adebayor continues his family story series.

The Togolese striker on Sunday again took to a social media platform (Facebook) to tell his story, following accusations by his relatives that he is under a spell by an ‘alfa’

Read Adebayor`s full text below. He starts his stories with his initials SEA (Seyi Emmanuel Adebayor)

NON-INDIGENES MUST RESPECT THEIR HOST - OBA RILWAN AKIOLU.

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.

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.

MANHUNT BEGINS FOR POWER DRUNK POLICE WHO SHOT DEAD A TRICYCLE DRIVER IN LAGOS. Cc: @POLICENG.

The police in Lagos have launched a manhunt for an Assistant Superintendent of Police, identified simply as Mohammed, who allegedly shot dead a tricycle driver, Akeem Aranse, during an argument in the Shasha, Akowonjo area.

Punch reports that Mohammed, who is attached to the Disaster Management Unit of the Department of Operations, Lagos State Police Command headquarters, Ikeja, moved out of his apartment on Unity Close, Egbeda, shortly after the incident.

Our correspondent learnt that Mohammed had boarded a commercial motorcycle (okada) which was hit by the tricyle operator on Kareem Laka Street in the Egbeda area.

NIGERIA'S DEBT RISES TO AN ASTONISHING 12TN.

The debt owed by both the Federal Government and the 36 states of the federation as well as the Federal Capital Territory has now hit N12.06tn, investigation has shown.

Statistics obtained from the Debt Management Office showed that the country’s public debt rose from N10.16tn as of March 31, 2014 to N12.06tn as of March 31, 2015.

This shows that the country’s indebtedness rose by N1.9tn within a 12-month period, with the public debt rising by 18.7 per cent.

WE ARE LEAVING STRONG ECONOMIC POLICIES. - OKONJO IWEALA.

The Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said yesterday that despite the economic challenges the country is facing, the Jonathan administration is leaving some solid economic legacies for the incoming Buhari government.

Insisting that “the allegations that the economy is in ruins are absolutely untrue,” the minister warned those she claimed were running the economy down for political gains, saying there could be unintended consequences of loss of investor confidence in the Nigerian economy.

According to her, “we cannot take away the fact that the Jonathan administration, in spite of the challenges caused by 50 per cent decline in the price of oil, has made a clear and measurable difference in many important areas and anyone who says nothing has been done and nothing is being left behind is being very unfair to facts and to history.

MY FRIENDS HAVE ALL DESERTED ME - PRESIDENT JONATHAN.

The reality of life has dawned on out-going President Goodluck Jonathan as he lamented, yesterday, that his so-called friends have deserted him having lost the last presidential election to the opposition All progressives CongressAPC, candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari.

Speaking at a thanksgiving and farewell service in his honour at the Cathedral Church of the Advent, Life Camp, Gwarinpa, Abuja, President Jonathan said, however that he expected more of his friends to leave him. The president declared that he was ready to pay the price for his refusal to interfere with the electoral process which he ensured was carried out to its logical conclusion.

He also said his decision to concede defeat at the election did not go down well with some of his ministers and aides and jokingly expressed the hope that his wife, Patience will not follow the example of the wife of former South African Apartheid leader, F W De Klerk, who divorced her husband for his decision to end the minority rule in the Republic of South Africa (RSA).

BLAC CHYNA'S MUM COMES FOR THE KARDASHIANS.

Seems like everyone is dissing the Kardashians these days. The mother of Blac Chyna (Tyga's Baby Mama) ensured she wasn't left out of the drama.

The the post after the cut.

EMMINENT NIGERIANS WEPT AT JONATHAN'S THANKSGIVING SERVICE - DOYIN OKUPE.

 

Thanksgiving service was held in honour of President Jonathan and his wife. It was a lovely event though quite an emotional one too. I saw eminent men and women dabbed their eyes. I struggled with mine.

This is part of the disengaging ceremonies. In a few days President Jonathan will bow out of office gracefully and graciously.

President Jonathan has done well and served his country well. He exits office as a great President. Perhaps Nigeria's greatest President for all time. Greater than the best before him. He excelled in achievement, in humility, tranquility and simplicity.

INSIDE THE PDP (@PDPNIGERIA) TOWER OF BABEL.

It was a meeting hurriedly convened but virtually all the critical stakeholders expected were in attendance at the new banquet hall of the presidential villa at about 6pm on Tuesday, 30th March 2015. That was four days after the presidential election. The results of the election were still being collated by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) but with strong indications that the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), was set to win.

Aside President Goodluck Jonathan who chaired the meeting, other people in attendance were: Vice President Namadi Sambo; Senate President David Mark; his deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu; Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha; the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees chairman, Chief Tony Anenih; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Anyim Pius Anyim; Governor of Cross River State, Mr Liyel Imoke; and former Anambra State Governor, Mr Peter Obi. At the meeting also were all the members of the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) led by its chairman, Alhaji Adamu Muazu.

BUHARI - TO PROBE OR NOT TO PROBE.

I admire Gen. Muhammadu Buhari but, I'm sorry, I don't envy him. Expectations are just too high. Nigerians have suffered too much all their lives: they are therefore entitled to lofty expectations from a new president. Refineries must work now. Hospitals must be top-quality now. The schools must be excellent now. Roads must be tarred now. Electricity must be uninterrupted now. As I have argued over the years, no one president is going to change or transform Nigeria in four or eight years. It took time to destroy Nigeria and it will take time to rebuild it. The most important thing is to be sure we are making steady progress and travelling in the right direction.

BURUNDI PRESIDENT DEFIES PROTEST & DEATHS, REGISTERS TO RUN FOR 3RD TERM.

Burundi's President "Pierre Nkurunziza" has registered to run for a third term, defying protesters who've taken to the streets over his bid to stay in office.

Deadly protests have hit the nation since last month as President Pierre Nkurunziza seeks to extend his 10-year rule.

The President has a two-term limit as part of an agreement that helped end Burundi's ethnic civil war. Critics say his planned run violates the constitution.

NYESOM WIKE IS A GONER - EVIDENCE SHOWS ONLY 292,878 WERE ACCREDITED VIA CARD READER WHILE HE POLLED 1,228,614 VOTES.

Except the five governorship candidates challenging the credibility of the April 11 governorship election in Rivers withdraw their cases from the election petition tribunal or fail to present material evidence like the one exclusively obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, Nyesom Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party, who was returned winner of the election is as good as gone.

Mr. Wike may need a miracle to come out of the election petition tribunal victorious.

The evidence against the legitimacy of the election that returned him winner is too damning and overwhelming.

MY TORTUOUS ELECTION JOURNEY - MUHAMMADU BUHARI

Today, the man who was “rejected” by both the ruling class and the courts has been elected president by the common man. Read the account of many election journeys of Nigeria’s president-elect, General Mohammadu   Buhari, as he told the story in his own words.

It is a story of perseverance and conviction.

The story evoked empathy as he told it. Though it wasn’t the first time he was telling the story, the content always draws emotions from the listener each time it is told. On January 20, 2015, at a public forum in Abuja where he later signed a peace deal with President Goodluck Jonathan, he stood, almost with tears in his eyes, telling the story. That was, perhaps, the first time he was publicly sharing the ugly experience which though personal,  satirizes the Nigerian society in such a pitiable way.