Former President, Goodluck Jonathan has denied reports that he issued a statement on the state of Nigeria’s economy. Jonathan made the denial via a post on his official Facebook page on March 7, 2016. It reads: “My attention has just been drawn to a spurious online publication alleging that I recently made comments on the state of the nation’s economy.” “This falsehood must have sprung from the writer’s imagination, as I was neither at any forum requiring my interventions on the state of the economy, nor met with any group of newsmen, as claimed in the write-up.” “I will simply…
Author: David Folami
Immediate past Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan has been announced winner of the African Leadership Magazine Person of the Year, 2015. Pro Tempore president of the Liberian senate and chairman of the 2015 African Leadership Person of the Year selection committee, Cletus Wortoson, announced Jonathan’s victory in a letter. The former president beat APC National chairman, Bola Tinubu, founder of ECONET wireless, Strive Masiyiwa, former UBA Chairman, Tony Elumulelu, President of African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina and former UN secretary general, Koffi Anan, to win the award. Wortoson’s letter reads in part: “There is no one best suited at the moment…
Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, says President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) deceived Nigerians to get their votes in the 2015 general elections. Fayose said making promises without fulfilling them is “the peak of political 419.″ He said the President promised to create 3 million jobs per year, but he has not even “created a single job”. This is contained in a statement issued today, Fberuary 1, by his spokesman, Lere Olayinka. He said: “President Muhammadu Buhari prefers and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), duped Nigerians by obtaining their votes by trick. “Everything Buhari and…
Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of attempting to intimidate him and the people of the state by sending in officials of the Department of State Services (DSS) to conduct a raid. Fayose also threatened to eject the DSS from the state after agents allegedly raided the State House of Assembly. The governor made the comments via a statement released by his media aide, Lere Olayinka. It reads: “If Buhari likes, let him relocate all DSS men in Nigeria with the entire ammunitions in their armoury to Ekiti, the will of Ekiti people can never be…
Following the arrest of some Ekiti state lawmakers and government officials by the Department of State Service (DSS), some the lawmakers have they were offered $1 million to impeach Governor, Ayodele Fayose. The Chairman, House Committee on Information, Hon. Gboyega Aribisogan disclosed this at a press conference today, March 8. The lawmakers said they are ready to spend the rest of their tenure in DSS cell if that is what it would take for Fayose to remain in office. “In the last four days, eight of our members had been visited by some men, who claimed to be officials of…
The Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Jumoke Akindele and her deputy, Honourable Fatai Olotu have been reportedly impeached. According to Daily Post, the assembly leaders were impeached by 18 lawmakers. The lawmakers are said to have elected Honourable Iroju Ogundeji from Odigbo loca government as Speaker and Honourable Ayo Arowele from Owo local government as the deputy speaker. It was reported that the impeachment procedure was carried out at one of the lawmakers’ quarters at about 10pm on Tuesday, March 8. “I will talk to you later. The speaker has been impeached. But I can’t…
Senator Shehu Sani has said that President Buhari’s inclusion of Nigeria as a member of the Islamic coalition against terrorism, is a welcome development. Sanni said it is in the best interest of Nigeria, adding that Boko Haram is an affiliate of ISIS. The Senator said “ISIL is the source and inspiration for terror groups worldwide and there is no alternative better than the Saudi initiative. “The Saudi initiative provides opportunity for non aligned nations and nations bedeviled by terror and violent insurgency to tackle the scourge from its roots.” Sani also said it is a bold step that must…
The House of Representatives has taken over the Kogi State House of Assembly. The Reps reached the decision on Wednesday, March 9, 2016, due to the crisis which has been rocking the state assembly for the past one month. The House based its decision on Section 11 (4) of the 1999 Constitution, which provides that the National Assembly can take over the functions of any state assembly that is overcome by crisis. The Reps have also called on the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase to seal off the Kogi assembly immediately. The crisis in Kogi was sparked off after…
The Rivers State Government has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of claiming every person who dies in the state as its member. The allegation was made by Commissioner for Information and Communication, Dr Austin Tam-George via a statement. Tam-George also denied that the state government was involved in the cult-related violence that had led to the deaths of some persons in the state. “It is a crude plan to militarize the state and use the security forces to steal the results of the forthcoming re-run elections,” the commissioner said. “The attempt by the APC to appropriate every dead person…
Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose has responded to claims that lawmakers in the state were offered a bribe of $1 million to impeach him. Fayose gave his response on Wednesday, March 9, 2016, via a statement released by his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi. It reads in part: “I am just coming from Abuja and I know that our lawmakers are solid guys and their future and mine are tied together. When the APC was at its peak in the state and they wanted to use 19 lawmakers to impeach me, they failed woefully and they will still fail again.”…
Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose has taken a walk down memory lane by driving a truck around the state capital, Ado-Ekiti. Fayose drove the truck on Thursday, March 10, 2016, after revealing that he had once been a tipper driver. He also urged residents of the state to be proud of their chosen means of livelihood, saying there is dignity in labour.
The Emir of Kano, Mallam Muhammadu Sanusi ll revealed to religious leaders that he had once used his personal income to renovate a church that got ruined during the religious clash at Rogo local government area in Kano. His Royal Highness, Muhammad Sanusi II, while giving a speech at the one-day Inter-Religious and Community Conference addressed the issue of religious disharmony. Emphasising on the issue of religion crisis which Nigerian as a country is presently facing, Sanusi II, said “I renovated the said church to help avoid a situation where a Christian believer might feel offended and his religion disrespected”.…
The immediate past governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Muhammad Sanusi II, and the emir of Kano says the argument about devaluation of naira is misunderstood, stating that the naira has already been devalued. Speaking to BBC, Sanusi said President Muhammadu Buhari and the CBN are only subsidising the private sector by selling dollars at N200 as against the real market price. “This argument (on devaluation) I think has first of all been framed wrong, it’s not an argument about do we devalue or do we not devalue. The naira has already been devalued,” he said. “What is…
The Emir of Kano, Lamido Sanusi has called on the government to restructure the way money is spent to maintain political office holders. Premium Times reports that Sanusi said this at the inaugural lecture and launching of a N250 million endowment fund for the Oba Sikiru Adetona Professorial Chair in Governance, Department of Political Science, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State. The Emir of Kano said “If you really reflect on the problems of this country, it seems to turn common sense on its head. “You sometimes wonder if anyone needs to tell any group of people that if you…
The Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has said that Nigeria does not need 36 governors. Sanusi also described the current system of government being practiced in Nigeria as wasteful. The Emir made the comments on Thursday, March 10, 2016, while speaking at the inaugural lecture of the Awujale of Ijebuland, Sikiru Adetona in Lagos, The Cable reports. “You sometimes wonder if anyone needs to tell any group of persons that you don’t need 36 governors, 36 deputy governors, each with commissioners, special advisers, a president, his vice, 36 ministers,” Sanusi said. “Simple arithmetic would tell that if you have…
Senate President, Bukola Saraki has arrived the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) for his corruption trial. Saraki is said to have arrived the tribunal with at least 30 Senators and 66 lawyers. Some of the senators who accompanied him are Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, Abdullahi Sabi, Stella Oduah, Hope Uzodinma, Shehu Sani, Dino Melaye, and Sam Anyanwu, The Cable reports. Saraki had also appeared with an entourage of senators on each of his three previous trial dates. The Senate President has been charged with 13 counts of false declaration of assets by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB). Saraki…
President Muhammadu Buhari has flushed 184 top officials out of various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) due to the scandal surrounding the padding of the 2016 budget, reports say. 22 of the affected officials are said to be from the Ministry of Budget and National Planning. All the officials involved were said to have been removed from budget duties and assigned to other areas. The move comes three weeks after President Buhari sacked the Director General of the budget office, Yahaya Gusau and ordered a “cleansing” of the office. Buhari has repeatedly vowed to punish persons involved in the scandal…
Senate President, Bukola Saraki has once again said that his ongoing trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) is political. Saraki said further that he wasn’t given a chance to explain himself before the trial began. The Senate President made the comments via a statement released by his Deputy Chief of Staff, Gbenga Makanjuola. It reads: “We must all be guided by the fact that a basic scrutiny of section 3, paragraph D of the act that establishes the CCT and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) states in explicit terms that before any complaint (if any) is forwarded…
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged the Federal Government to sack Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase over his failure to protect residents of Rivers State. The call was made by APC Deputy National Secretary, Ngofa Oji on Thursday, March 10, 2016, according to PM News. “These matters were reported and it shouldn’t have gotten to the point where institutions charged with the responsibility to take care of these things are doing nothing,” Oji said. “We would not have gotten to the point, where people are beginning to wonder if actually we have an APC government and APC members…
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has said that Governor Nyesom Wike is desperate for political power. The Rivers APC made the comment in a statement released by its Publicity Secretary, Senibo Chris Finebone. It reads: “The APC wishes to advise Rivers people irrespective of political affiliations to act within the law before, during and after the March 19 re-run elections in Rivers State.” “This appeal has become necessary at this time with the backdrop of the highly troubling, inciting and unlawful directive by Gov. Nyesom Wike to PDP members to resist unlawful arrest by security agents.” “Indeed,…