Jonathan has not committed any impeachable offence –Itulah

Hon. Friday Itulah

Friday Itulah is the member representing Esan South-East and Esan North-East in the House of Representatives and a member, House Committee on Federal Capital Territory and the Millennium Development Goals. In this interview with ALEXANDER OKERE, he states why President Jonathan cannot be impeached

What is your assessment of last week’s attempt by security operatives to prevent federal lawmakers from gaining entry into the National Assembly chambers?

It was not the proper thing to do. I believe the legislature is one that makes a difference in a democracy. Therefore, invading the legislature is like invading democracy. It’s a condemnable act from all ramifications. If there are issues in the legislature, it is the legislature that should handle them.

Do you think the Presidency has given that incident the attention it really deserves?

I am aware the Presidency has made it clear that it is not a party to what transpired in the legislature and that it is also carrying out some investigations. That is what it has to do because it must give fair hearing to all in every situation. But the legislature is also capable of taking care of whatever issue that has arisen in the course of its official duty. Under the power of investigation, the legislature has both legislative and quasi-judicial powers. It can summon any public officer to appear before it to explain some actions or inactions that were carried out anyway.

In that respect, I am aware that both the Senate and House of Representatives have summoned the Inspector-General of Police to explain what transpired on that fateful Thursday in the National Assembly complex.

The All Progressives Congress lawmakers are allegedly pushing for the impeachment of the president on the ground that the Jonathan administration had paid less attention to the spate of impunity in the country, which they say constitutes an impeachable offence. Do you agree?

In law, we say that he who alleges has to prove. As far as I and other legislators in the Peoples Democratic Party are concerned, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan, has not done anything close to an impeachable offence.

Anybody playing politics with impeachment knows that he or she is only engaging in a futile attempt that will not lead him or her anywhere. It is better not to start something than to start something that will not be finished. For majority of the members of the National Assembly, President Jonathan has done very well and deserves only to be encouraged because there is no administration that has impacted positively on the lives of Nigerians more than the Jonathan administration.

With as many as 113 House of Representatives members said to have already signed an impeachment notice, do you not think it should be a concern for your party?

I don’t know the number of persons who have signed and the parties they belong to; but if anything is happening, it should be of concern to the party. However, I can tell you the whole thing will fizzle out. I see it as a distraction because the procedure for impeachment requires a two-third majority, which is not something that one can easily arrive at. Most of the members of the House cannot be lured into that move and I am one of them.

Is it true that the PDP has promised to ensure its members in the lower chamber who wish to return get re-election tickets as a way of discouraging them from supporting the move by their All Progressives Congress counterparts to impeach President Jonathan?

I do know that; it is the other way round. The opposition parties are promising automatic tickets to members who decide to engage in the distraction of the presidency. As for the PDP, I don’t know of such a move. We in the PDP are very democratic. Our actions are democratic and I do know that the members seeking re-election are all doing their best to ensure that they are in touch with the electorate.

But some of the federal lawmakers are said to have fallen out with their governors and state leadership of the party over their political aspirations and will support the impeachment move if they failed to secure the party’s ticket. Is that likely to be the case?

I doubt that. In a democratic system, everybody has the right to aspire to occupy one position or the other. Irrespective of who is supporting who, what matters in the end is the will of the people. I know that once you have a strong relationship with your people at the grass roots, it is difficult for a governor to say he dictates everything.

With the elections drawing near, what is the mood of the House on the fate of President Jonathan and the PDP?

If we are to be objective, irrespective of the party, we all know that the present administration is doing very well. President Jonathan has worked hard to unite the country as one indivisible entity. He has started many projects and has the ability to conclude them. I can tell that those of us in the PDP are very optimistic that the party will continue to retain the executive at the federal level and in most states across the federation.

The PDP-led Federal Government has done very well in attracting great dividends of democracy to the people and ensuring that the rule of law prevails. To that extent, there is nothing to be afraid of, as far as the present leadership is concerned. PUNCH.

Kano Emir Sanusi Arrives From Mecca, Vows Terrorists Cannot Scare Muslims

The Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, today arrived in Kano from Saudi Arabia and immediately warned that Friday’s bombing and shooting at the ancient city’s Central Mosque that left more than 100 dead and several hundreds injured would not scare Muslims from practicing their faith.

 

Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II

On arriving in the beleaguered city, the Emir and his convoy proceeded to the bombed mosque, which is quite close to his palace, to see for himself the ruins left by yesterday’s devastating attacks.

The Emir instructed that the mosque be quickly cleaned and restored to good shape in order to prepare it for continued worship. The Emir, who remarked his sadness at the attack, added that terrorists would not be able to deter Muslims from Islam. According to him, Muslims were only obeying God’s injunctions and must remain peaceful in their approaches.

Condemning the terror attack, the Emir urged Muslims to see the violence as a surmountable test of their faith, adding that the faith of Muslims must grow in their worship of God for peace and harmony.

The Emir stated that the attacks had nothing to do with his recent call for communities to stand up and protect themselves. Instead, he described the attack as an act of evil that Nigerians must stand up against.

Before retiring into his palace, the Emir led prayers in memory of the victims killed in the bomb blasts and gunshots as well as the survivors currently receiving medical treatment.

Our correspondent reported that security has been noticeably increased in and around the Emir’s palace as well as the mosque.

 
Heap of hats after the attack  
Thousands of shoes left after the attack  
Heap of prayer mats
  

Why SEC is designing 10-year capital market plan

The Securities and Exchange Commission has explained the reasons behind its decision to design a ten-year master plan to reposition the capital market and double the size of the market capitalisation of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

The Director-General, SEC, Ms. Aruma Oteh, spoke about the plan on Wednesday at the Capital Market Committee retreat in Abuja.

She said given the current biting economic conditions facing the country, the time had come for Nigerians to begin to consider innovative ways to create wealth.

She said, “It is good that we will have a guide for the next ten years like what Malaysia did by doubling the size of its market with a master plan and now they are focused on another one.

“It is an important initiative and the technical session should come up with creative ideas to move our country forward over the next ten years with the master plan.

“This is the time to think about creating wealth and one of the challenges is that there are not just enough ideas even when there is growth that touches every one of us particularly the ordinary citizens.”

On the importance of generating a ten year master plan, Oteh explained that the innovation, if well utilised, would lead to a positive transformation of the Nigerian economy.

She said, “This new venture is even more important for us as we continue to look for ways that we can make sure we transform society by focusing on what is important which is really supporting the real sector and those who are making a difference.

“One of the things I find that is particularly unique about the CMC retreat is that it focuses on the capital market master plan on what would be our guide for the next 10 years.

“For me, seeing where we are now; where there is a value around the capital market in transforming the economy, where there is an alignment as to what we can do as a community to make sure that we can help Nigeria realise its potential.”

The capital market master plan, expected to cover the period from 2015 and 2025 is expected to be unveiled at the retreat, which has the theme, ‘Capital market – Creating wealth and opportunity.’

The CMC is an industry-wide committee comprising representatives of Securities and Exchange Commission, market operators, trade groups and other stakeholders.

It was mainly established to serve as a medium for exchange of ideas among market stakeholders as well as receiving feedbacks on previous policies and setting agenda for the future.

This year’s retreat, which is scheduled to end on Friday, is expected to bring into focus strategies for converting the gains of the GDP re-basing into wealth distribution through the capital market.

The CMC had explained in a statement that the retreat, which would start fully on Thursday (today), would have the ministers of Finance and Federal Capital Territory, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and Sen. Bala Mohammed, as special guests.

Obasanjo bombs Jonathan again, says President’s “evil” actions destroying Nigerian democracy

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has again torn at President Goodluck Jonathan, saying Nigerian democracy remained at risk due to the action of the present administration.

Speaking at a book Launch in honour of the pioneer chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, Mustapha Akanbi‎, in Abuja, Mr. Obasanjo, who is the Chairman of the occasion, said the president should stop encouraging ‘verbal violence which may not physically hurt but has ways of degenerating into physical violence’.

Mr. Obasanjo said the greatest indictment against any administration is to be seen trying to destroy opposition of all sort‎s which invariably mean destroying democracy.

“Management of democracy without resorting to brute force and dictatorial tendencies must be cultivated,” the former President said.

“As a leader, you must not deliberately do evil or condone evil. You should know that you will one day give account to God, you may cover up here, but before God, there is no cover up.”

The former president also spoke at lenght on the President’s handling of the Boko Haram insurgency, ‎corruption, the economy and youth unemployment.

On insecurity, Mr. Obasanjo said Boko Haram is not out to “frustrate anyone’s political efforts” and lamented that it took Mr. Jonathan the years to ‎fully understand the menace.

On corruption, Mr. Obasanjo said, “when the head is rotten, the whole body is useless”

On the economy, he said Nigeria would continue to sink deeper and that what Nigerians are told about the state of the economy “is not truly what the economy is”.

“The economy is in doldrums, if not in reverse,” he said.

Mr. Obasanjo’s latest attack on the President is coming seven days after he rated Mr. Jonathan’s performance as below average.

The former president had spoken last weekend in Abeokuta while addressing book writers as part of activities marking the Ake Arts and Book Festival.

“I rate this current administration below average,” Mr. Obasanjo said in response to a question about Mr. Jonathan’s performance.

The former president also said he deserved credit for helping an individual from a minority tribe become Nigeria’s President.
“Rather than take blame for bringing Jonathan to power, I should be taking credit,” he added.

The Nigerian presidency responded Sunday, slamming Mr. Obasanjo and describing his rating as untrue and misleading.
In a statement in Abuja, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Doyin Okupe, said Mr. Obasanjo’s rating was at variance “with the facts on the ground”.

Mr. Okupe said President Jonathan had performed so well that “in terms of performance and achievements, no administration since 1960 when Nigeria gained independence from Britain, has done as much as that of President Jonathan”.

Freefall of global oil price

Lekan Sote

Oil prices continue to fall as Saudi Arabia, a leading member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, cuts sales price for America, but increases that of Europe and Asia. Oil companies are forever looking for longer credit, more discounts, higher premium, and cheaper prices. Saudi is also probably doing this because American shale oil producers are coming on strong. This trend will likely continue. Demand from the 12-member OPEC countries that supply one-third of global crude oil will drop from 30.3 million barrels per day to 29.3 by the end of 2014. Nigeria, an oil producing country, plans a coal-fuelled power generating plant for 2015.

Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, brags about Nigeria’s other sources of renewable energy like biomass, solar, wind, hydro, and gas. FE, today’s answer to Formula One racing cars, uses electric motors, instead of petrol. Some think that in some futuristic neon-lit city, traffic lights will recharge car batteries. Woe is fossil fuel! Apart from competition from alternative sources of energy, oil is a depleting commodity. Titusville, in Pennsylvania, USA, where oil was first drilled in 1859, has no more oil! And some oil companies are diversifying to petrochemicals, coal mining, and nuclear power, to produce energy, plastics, fertilisers, and drugs.

The unfolding Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, with large oil deposits throws its own spanner in the works. Noam Chomsky, social critic and professor of linguistics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, remarked: “The Gulf Region has been the main energy producing region of the world since Second World War, and is expected to be so for another generation. Iraq (excised out of conquered Turkey by Britain) has the second largest oil production in the world, and… is very easily accessible and cheap. If you control Iraq, you are in a strong position to determine the price and production levels… to undermine OPEC.” A rule of thumb is that the security of oil depends on access, and control, of oil route during wartime. The ISIS oil bunkers are having a field day.

Anthony Samson, author of the seminal book on oil, “The Seven Sisters,” which provoked this discourse, says that oil business is essentially about alternation of shortage and glut; hectic oscillation of prices; tug between producers and distributors; and a nexus between oil and transport. OPEC countries won’t confirm if they would cut oil production level, to shore up the falling price. That means they are all surreptitiously increasing production and thus depressing sales price – to their collective chagrin.

Oil industry watchers may recall that a former Saudi Oil Minister, Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani, once declared: “The law of supply and demand will now decide the price of oil.” The fall of oil price will adversely affect Nigeria that gets 95 per cent of its dollar earning, and 80 per cent of its revenue from oil, as it loses grip of its North American market. In October, the decline in revenue forced the three tiers of government to share the $2.7bn that should have been transferred to the Excess Crude Oil account. It appears that the Federal Government’s N2tn annual fuel subsidy bills will be compromised.

It is a puzzlement that the Central Bank of Nigeria is employing moral suasion, a euphemism for blackmail, to get banks to prop up the falling exchange rate of the naira to the dollar. Rather than acknowledge the direct correlation between the fall of oil prices and that of the naira, the CBN seeks to blame the banks it seems. Less petro-dollar revenue means lower dollar supply; the scarcity of dollar, by the law of demand and supply, hikes the price of the dollar. Economic analysts link the fall of the naira against the dollar to the falling price of oil, speculative buying of the dollar and increased demand for dollar by those converting their naira to dollar, ahead of further naira decline.

Practically all the economies of the world depend on oil. The oil companies say they are indispensable to the industries of the West and the finances of the oil producing nations. They are the world’s utility companies with their vast array of oil rigs, refineries, pipelines, and filling stations. Their fleets of oil tankers have more tonnage than the navy of most countries. Their near-total control of mining and refining technology, the markets and products, compels oil producing countries, like Nigeria, to continue to import petroleum products. With such capacity, oil companies run the world, and fix oil prices, while oil producing countries get the blame.

Sometime in the past, the American government waived anti-trust laws to allow American oil companies form consortiums, a euphemism for a buyers’ cartel, to collectively fix the price they would buy crude from OPEC countries. The oil companies were desperately trying to hold back production, to prevent an oil glut, and so keep oil prices up. It is however fair to note that an American President, General Ford, faulted the waiver. He argued that the policies of sovereign states should not be dictated by artificial rigging and distortion of world commodity prices.

OPEC was formed in 1960 to keep up the price of oil, but Saudi, the largest producer of oil, and ally of America, always intervened to prevent price from getting too high. This goes against the first resolution of the OPEC Charter: “That members can no longer remain indifferent to the attitude heretofore adopted by the oil companies in effecting price modifications; that members shall demand that oil companies maintain their prices steady and free from all unnecessary fluctuations; that members shall endeavour… to restore… prices to the levels prevailing before the reduction.”

The suggestions by a former Algerian military President, Houari Boumedienne, that oil was not just a fuel, but a vehicle that oil producing nations must use for the revival of the Third World, and compel an equitable new system of world justice, could not have sat well with the West and its oil companies. His encouragement of other Third World countries that produced commodities like copper, iron ore, bauxite, rubber, coffee, cocoa, and groundnut, to take control over their products, and join the “new international economic order,” must have triggered a scheme to torpedo OPEC solidarity.

The oil embargo against countries that supported Israel in the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, drastically pushed up the price of crude oil. But the oil discoveries in Alaska and the North Sea, and the literal dumping of oil at any price by Russia, helped the oil companies survive. Also, they began to negotiate with individual OPEC members, like Iran and Venezuela, who began to break the ranks. Saudi Arabia joined, and the oil embargo fell through. But then, Russia’s need for oil, for itself and its satellite states, soon fizzled out the oil glut, and Russia began to import oil from the OPEC nations.

The fall of oil prices comes from increased demand for oil by Far East nations, like China, with about one-third of the world’s foreign exchange, and OPEC’s fear – of cheap oil from the ISIS, alternative fuel, and open demands for better life by citizens of oil producing countries. Michael Ignatieff, of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, thinks free markets, human rights, and democracy, are the grace notes of the new Western global hegemony. The West is up against OPEC big time.

The Punch

The true austerity measures we need

Azuka Onwuka

It is unjust to tell a poor man to tighten his belt. Do you want him to cut himself into two with his belt?

As the price of crude oil continues to fall, it has become glaring that Nigeria’s economy will face some hard times, given that oil is the mainstay of our economy. Last week, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, announced some measures to cushion the effect of the drop in the price of oil, among which was the introduction of Luxury Goods Tax.

But such measures mean little or nothing to the masses. For a long time, the political class has been carrying on as if holding a political office is synonymous with winning a lottery. There has been no sign that there is an element of service in it.

How can the so-called common man believe that there is any need for him to make some sacrifices when he sees the opulence and flamboyance his political leaders wallow in?

FG shielding tax evaders, says Rep

The Deputy Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Finance, Mr. Yomi Ogunnusi, has accused the Federal Government of shielding tax evaders across the country.

Ogunnusi, who represents Ifako/Ijaye at the lower chamber of the National Assembly, told our correspondent during an interview on Monday that the Federal Government had failed to investigate and prosecute oil companies and banks for tax evasion.

He said, “You can see what Lagos State has done by hiring consultants to collect taxes. It is a professional way of doing things. The Federal Government cannot do it effectively because they are protecting individuals. Most of the bank Managing Directors and private jet owners are associates of the Peoples Democratic Party.”

Ogunnusi said that in light of the drop in oil prices, the Federal Government would need to come up with an effective taxation system like that of Lagos State which generates over N20bn a month internally.

He, therefore, suggested that the Federal Government could hire a private consultant which would be responsible for the collection of taxes.

He said, “Improving the Internally Generated Revenue involves a pragmatic and professional approach. We are still investigating many big banks for tax evasion. Tax evasion is common with banks, oil companies and private jet owners.”

Ogunnusi said the oil benchmark should be put at $74 per barrel for the 2015 budget.

While commenting on the Thursday fracas at the House, Ogunnusi, who is a member of the All Progressives Congress, said Nigerians were beginning to see Jonathan as “being too desperate to win the 2015 election.” The PUNCH.

‘FG not serious about terrorism war’

Security analysts have slammed the Federal Government over the shoddy manner it handled the charge against Aminu Ogwuche, the suspected mastermind of the Nyanya bomb blasts on April 14 and 21, 2014.

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday ruled that Ogwuche be freed because the police had not been diligent in prosecuting the suspect.

The court dismissed the two-count terrorism charge against Ogwuche for lack of diligent prosecution, few months after the suspected Boko Haram kingpin was repatriated from Sudan to face prosecution.

Reacting to the development, a security analyst, Ben Okezie, said the case might have been handled by a quack lawyer, instead of a professional counsel.

Okezie said, “The government must have given the case to a quack lawyer; in other climes, such an important case would have been handled by a renown lawyer and that is why government agencies like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have been messing up anti-corruption cases in court. It is a shame and it’s most unfortunate.”

A retired Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Abubakar Tsav, also lampooned the government for messing up the case, noting that the Department of State Services probably did not get its facts right.

He said, “The government should make up its mind and take the prosecution of terrorism cases seriously. They should have evidences before taking suspects to court. They should not arraign a person because he is a Muslim or because he came from a Muslim-dominated area.

“In this case, they have no evidence; they just gave the dog a bad name to hang it.”

A former Commissioner of Police in the Federal Capital Territory, Lawrence Alobi, noted that the prosecutor had the right to appeal the court ruling, adding that the Ministry of Justice would likely review the court order and take the appropriate decision.

“I think the dismissal of the case may have to do with the way the case was presented and the police have the right to appeal it,” he stated.

Undermining Freedom of Information Act

WHEN in May 2011, Nigeria joined the league of countries that had passed the Freedom of Information Act, the event was widely celebrated by advocates of truth and transparency in governance. As it is globally, the FOI Act provides a legally enforceable right of access to government documents. But more than three years after the Act came into effect, its expected benefits, especially the opportunity for an informed citizenry to participate better in democratic decision-making, remain elusive. The use of the Act has run into the sands. Just as it was in the pre-FOI Act era, government activities are still grossly veiled in obscurity. New efforts should be geared by stakeholders in the quest for exploiting the salient potential of the law in the best interest of the society.

According to the Centre for International Media Assistance, most of the world’s 90-plus freedom of information laws are recent, enacted in the last two decades, and many are exemplary on paper. But many are also poorly implemented. “Surprisingly, but commonly, citizens, national and local public officials, and journalists are often unaware that such laws even exist, much less how they work,” CIMA said in its 2013 report.

Not surprisingly, President Goodluck Jonathan pretentiously signed the FOI bill into law after a circuitous 11-year journey in the parliament and immediately went to sleep. Unlike other countries where governments play an active role in promoting awareness and understanding of the FOI Act among government agencies and the public, and promoting a pro-disclosure culture across government, the President and his ministers have not demonstrated any commitment to the law. It was rightly observed recently that Federal Government agencies were still behaving as if the Official Secrets Act, implicitly repealed by the FOI Act, was still in operation. Some state governments, claiming that the law needed to be domesticated in their domain, have refused to grant access to those seeking information about their activities.

Four cabinet members resign in Ogun

Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun

Four cabinet members of the Ogun State executive council resigned their appointments on Monday.

The four members are, Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Dr. Lanre Tejuosho; Commissioner for Urban and Physical Planning, Mr. Gbenga Otenuga; Deputy Chief of Staff, Alhaji Shuaib Salisu; and Special Adviser on Environment, Mr. Tunde Sanusi.

Governor Ibikunle Amosun, who announced the resignations at Monday’s executive council meeting, said the ex-state officials resigned to pursue their political ambitions during the 2015 general elections.

Amosun said the officials resigned in compliance with the 2010 Electoral Act, noting that others who were special assistants and other appointees had earlier resigned but that it was the first time full cabinet members would resign.

“The beauty of democracy is the opportunity for anybody to offer himself or herself for service to the people, and I wish those contesting in the 2015 elections the best of luck,” the governor said.

B’Haram captures Damasak, another Borno town

Abubakar Shekau

The Boko Haram insurgents on Monday captured another town, Damasak in Borno State, sending 300 soldiers fleeing.

A military source revealed to our correspondent in Maiduguri that the insurgents had on Friday attacked the town in the northern part of the troubled state but were repelled by soldiers who killed five of their men.

He said that the Monday early morning attack was a reprisal, which “caught our men on the wrong foot and unprepared.”

The military source spoke to our correspondent in Maiduguri on condition of anonymity. He said the insurgents came in large numbers, attacking Damasak at about 5am on Monday.

He said, “When they attacked on Friday, we were able to sight them from far and shot a mortal at them which hit their vehicle, killing five persons instantly. They had to beat a retreat.

“We were also able to capture one of their buffalo vehicles as they did not know what hit them.”

He said they came back on Monday better prepared “and sent our men parking”.

He said, “My colleague who was among the 300 company at the Damasak camp called me from Gubio that the insurgents attacked today (Monday) at about 5am and overrun our camp.

“No one is sure of the number of casualties on both sides, but it was large and the civilians too did not go unaffected as the insurgents have killed so many people in the town and equally sent many fleeing.”

The military source said definitely the insurgents had captured the town as “they are still there now and have sent many people on the run.”

A resident of the town, Modu Masta, who spoke to our correspondent on the telephone, said, “As I am speaking to you, I am on the run with many other people. Our town was attacked today and we have all fled for our lives. Some of us are moving towards Niger.”

The Punch

Buhari returns nomination forms, condemns attack on legislature

Fomer Head of State, Maj-Gen. Mohammadu Buhari (retd.)

Ahead of the December 10 presidential primaries of the All Progressives Congress, a former Head of State, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday returned his nomination and expression of interest forms.

Buhari is the second aspirant to do so. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakkar had earlier submitted his.

In his brief remarks during the occasion, the aspirant expressed appreciation to the National chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, and members of his team for making themselves available to receive the forms.

He also used the occasion to comment on last week’s police invasion of the National Assembly.

Buhari said, “It is a distressing situation where those who are supposed to protect the constitution are the ones that are undermining it. That place is the House of Representatives and the Senate. They are sacred places and the police shouldn’t go there as members of the law enforcement agencies let alone fire tear-gas canisters at lawmakers. They (the police) are breaking the law and undermining the constitution and if they are doing that, who is going to correct (them)?”

In a related development, Odigie- Oyegun has inaugurated the governorship screen committee of the party.

He urged members of the committee to be “just and fair” in carrying out their assignment and ensure that everyone receives a fair hearing.

Members of the committees include Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola as chairman (North-Central) with Hadiza Bala Usman as the Secretary.

Senator Chris Ngige was announced as chairman for the North-East, while Mr. Tunji Obawule is to serve as the Secretary.

Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi was named chairman for the North-West, while Hamid Suleiman would serve as the Secretary.

The Punch

Gunmen kidnap Rivers High Court registrar

UNKNOWN gunmen on Sunday kidnapped the Chief Registrar of the Rivers State High Court, Mr. Leonard Adoki, in his village, Amalem-Abua, in Abual/Odual Local Government Area.

The gunmen, who were masked and armed with rifles, had ambushed Adoki before forcing him into a waiting vehicle and took him to an unknown destination.

It was learnt that the chief registrar was on his way back from the church before he was abducted by his captors, who had not established any contact with their victim’s family.

The incident, which occurred at about 3.30pm, caused commotion within the area as the sight of the kidnappers frightened passers-by.

While two suspects had so far being arrested in connection with the abduction of the chief registrar, no clue had been made available regarding Adoki’s whereabouts.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ahmad Mohammad, who confirmed the incident, also said the two suspects were currently in their custody for interrogation.

National debt rises to N10.8tn

Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

The total debt of the Federal Government, the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory rose from N8.32tn on September 30, 2013 to N10.84tn on September 30, 2014.

This means that the nation’s total debt stock rose by N2.52tn or 30.29 per cent within one year period.

Statistics obtained from the website of the Debt Management Office in Abuja on Monday indicated that the N8.32tn did not include the domestic debt of the states in 2013.

Details of the current debt status of the country showed that the external debts of both the federal and state governments stood at $9.52bn or N1.48tn.

As of September 30, the domestic debt stock of the Federal Government alone stood at $49.12bn or N7.65tn. The domestic debt of states, on the other hand, stood at $10.97bn or N1.71tn.

In comparison, the external debt of both the federal and state governments stood at N1.28tn (or $8.26bn) as of September 30, 2013. Also, the domestic debt of the Federal Government a year ago stood at N7.03tn.

Dissecting the Federal Government’s current domestic debt of N7.65tn by instruments, the Federal Government Bond contributed N4.6tn or 60.12 per cent to the profile; the Nigerian Treasury Bills contributed N2.74tn or 35.76 per cent while Treasury Bonds contributed N315.39bn or 4.12 per cent.

As of June 2014, out of a total external debt of $3.01bn owed by the states, the Lagos State Government owed $1.02bn.

Other major holders of the country’s external sub-national debts include Kaduna State which owes $245.51m and Cross River State, $120.21m. Others are Ogun $116.69m; Bauchi, $111.61m; and Oyo, $80.11m.

The states least exposed to foreign debts are Borno, $16.07m; Plateau, $22.99m; Taraba, $24.06m; Delta, $24.7m; and Benue, $28.79m.

Again, Jonathan meets Chadian President over insurgency

Deby and Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday in N’Djamena, the Chadian capital reiterated the need for Nigeria and her neighbours to intensify joint actions and cooperation to win the war against terrorism and insurgency.

A statement by the his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, quoted the President as speaking to reporters at the Presidential Palace in N’Djamena after a closed-door meeting with his Chadian counterpart, President Idris Deby.

Abati further quoted the President as saying that their talks focused mainly on security and economic cooperation.

He reportedly told the journalists that the Boko Haram sect had a lot of external influence from outside Africa and it had become more imperative for all countries in the region to work together to overcome terrorism and other criminal activities across their borders.

Court frees suspected Nyanya bomber, cites shoddy prosecution

Suspected mastermind of the April 14, 2014 Nyanya explosion, Aminu Ogwuche (middle), after his discharge by a Federal High Court in Abuja... on Monday.

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday struck out the terrorism charges instituted against Aminu Ogwuche, the alleged mastermind of the April 14 blast, which killed over 75 persons in Nyanya, a suburb of Abuja.

Justice Adeniyi Ademola struck out the charges filed by the Inspector General of Police on the grounds of want of diligent prosecution.

The case had suffered many adjournments due to failure of the police to produce the accused, who had been in the custody of the Department of State Services since he was repatriated from Sudan to Nigeria.

The police and the DSS, through their respective lawyers, had also during court proceedings jostled for the prosecution of the accused persons.

At the Monday’s proceedings, Justice Ademola struck out the suit due to the absence of the legal representative of the IGP in court.

“This criminal charge is hereby struck out for want of diligent prosecution by the complainant, Inspector General of Police, and his prosecutor,” the judge ruled.

In a related development, the judge in a fundamental rights suit filed by Ogwuche, granted an oral application sought by his counsel, Mr. Ahmed Raji (SAN), for family members to have access to him.

The court ordered that three lawyers from Ahmed Raji’s law firm and two of Ogwuche’s family members be allowed access to the suspect who has been in DSS custody.

The DSS counsel, Mr. Clifford Osagie, and the lawyer representing the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Taiwo Abidogun, both appearing in the suit filed by Ogwuche did not oppose the oral application.

Justice Ademola then ruled, “Three lawyers from the complainant’s counsel as well as the complainant’s wife and another family member be given access to the applicant.

Sultan, Oritsejafor clash over Boko Haram

Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, and the National President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor.

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, and the National President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, on Monday openly disagreed on the continued violence being unleashed on parts of the country by Boko Haram.

While Abubakar said Islamic leaders had “tried so much” to preach against the activities of the sect, Oritsejafor said they had not done enough in reaching out to the insurgents and making them understand the true teachings of Islam.

The two religious leaders spoke at a round-table meeting with special advisers on religious affairs from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The programme, which was declared open by Vice-President Namadi Sambo, was organised by the Offices of the Senior Special Assistants to the President on Islamic and Christian matters.

It had “Toward synergising and interfacing in the religious sector for national development” as its theme.

Abubakar, who is also the leader of the Jama’atu Nasril Islam, had in his remarks said there was no problem between Islam and Christianity. He argued that if there was any problem between Christians and Muslims, such matter should be dealt with at that level.

He heaped the blame on what he described as lack of education about religions which breeds lack of trust and sincerity.

The Sultan regretted that while Islamic leaders had continued to condemn the insurgents, they were still being accused of not doing enough.

This, he said, was not fair to the religious leaders.

Female Suicide Bombers Hit Market In Maiduguri

Two female suicide bombers have struck a crowded market in Maiduguri the Borno state capital early this 
.morning killing several people
 

 Eyewitness told Saharareporters that the suicide bombers detonated their explosives across from the Monday market in the metropolis this morning around 11:30 AM.

Senators initiate move to impeach Jonathan

Nigeria Senate

Some Peoples Democratic Party’s senators on Monday started impeachment moves against President Goodluck Jonathan over what they described as the high level of impunity and corruption allegedly being condoned by his administration.

Investigations by our correspondent revealed that the PDP senators had started compiling impeachable offences against the President.

An All Progressives Congress member of the Senate, who confided the development in our correspondent on the condition of anonymity, explained that his aggrieved PDP colleagues in the upper chamber had started reaching out to the opposition senators.

He said, “I was personally consulted this evening over the issue and I also cross-checked from my colleagues who also told me that they had been contacted.

“The grouse of the lawmakers, according to the person that contacted me, was that Jonathan’s handling of the last week Thursday’s invasion of the National Assembly by the police was carelessly handled by the Jonathan administration.

Police parade OPC chief over Ekiti ex-NURTW boss murder

The Ekiti Police Command on Monday paraded a former coordinator of the Oodua Peoples Congress in the state, Prince Adeniyi Adedipe a.k.a Apase, over the murder of a former Ekiti State Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Omolafe Aderiye.

Aderiye, a staunch supporter of Governor Ayo Fayose, was killed on September 25 in Ijigbo area of the state capital, Ado-Ekiti.

The police had earlier charged four persons to court after arresting and questioning 19 suspects in respect of the killing to determine their level of culpability.

The Commissioner of Police, Taiwo Lakanu, told journalists at the Police Headquarters in Ado-Ekiti that “the available direct and circumstantial evidence necessitated the arrest and prosecution of the suspect (Adedipe).”

The police also paraded members of a four-man gang, Chinedu Ugwu and Adekunle Osho, for conspiracy and armed robbery.

The police said they attacked a man simply identified as Chief Gbenga at Okeila, Ado-Ekiti and shot him on his leg before dispossessing him of his Toyota Camry car which was traced to Edo State where the two suspects were arrested and the car recovered.

Two members of a seven-man armed robbery gang, Eniola Sunday and Afolayan Segun, were also paraded for breaking into two houses and carting away N105,000, two mobile sets and one Bajaj Motorcycle with registration number ADK 792 QC.

The Punch

Developer woos customers with car gifts

Property development and marketing firm, Beryl Shelter Limited, says it is re-engineering in order improve the industry.

The firm also said in a statement it was offering its consumers new Hyundai cars for the festive season.

“We are continuously developing products and incentives that clearly meet the needs of our market and exceed their expectations so we are giving away brand new Hyundai cars when you refer to Beryl Shelter anyone who wants to buy, sell or rent a property,” the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Abiola Afolayan, said.

He added that the model of the Hyundai car given for each referral would be subject to the value of the property transactions.

“With our clear strategies and planning, we intend to achieve a minimum of 30 per cent share of our segmented target market that is the medium to high income earners in Nigeria by the end of the first quarter of 2015,” Afolayan stated.

According to him, the ‘Felix Promotion Product’ targets people that own properties and desire either to sell or rent out as well as people who wish to either buy or rent properties.

Institute earmarks $4bn for 20,000 housing units

The Institute of Empowerment and Strategy has unveiled plans for the construction of 20,000 housing units across the country, valued at over $4bn.

The gesture, it said, was to address the housing deficit in the country.

The Director-General of IES, Dr. Boniface Afifia-Oru, at a press briefing in Abuja, said the agency had secured financial partnership with reputable international organisations that were ready to invest heavily in Nigeria’s critical sectors, including the housing sub-sector.

He said, “We will soon commence the building of 20,000 units of affordable mortgage housing estates across the nation. With the support of our international partners, the Institute of Empowerment and Strategy shall key into the implementation of the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy.”

Speaking on the poverty index in Nigeria, Afifia-Oru said that there was a great gap imbalance in the distribution of income, wealth and wages among the people in African countries.

According to him, only a few privileged people of less than one per cent hold and control about 90 per cent of the African growth.

“We have come on a rescue mission to complement the efforts of the Federal Government’s transformation agenda to change the tide of impoverishment to empowerment, joblessness to wealth creation, unequal status to economy in Africa, with the annual growth of 7.6 per cent,” he added.

Oil slump: Allocation to states, LGs to drop by N32bn

The decline in the price of crude oil in the international market may have led to a reduction in the 2015 allocation to states and local governments from N3.969tn in the 2014 budget to N3.937tn in 2015.

The proposal, which is contained in the revised 2015-2017 Medium Term Expenditure Framework sent by President Goodluck Jonathan to the National Assembly, is N31.91bn lower than the amount approved in the 2014 fiscal period.

The sources of allocation, according to the document, are from the federation account, Value Added Tax and stabilisation fund (Excess Crude Account).

Jonathan had last Wednesday submitted the revised MTEF to the National Assembly, in response to the declining oil price at the international market.

He had said the recent development in the international oil market necessitated that the MTEF be revised to allow for adjustment in some of its key parameters.

In the MTEF, a copy of which was obtained by our correspondent on Sunday, the document stated that while the sum of N2.24tn should be allocated to states, the 774 local governments should share the sum of N1.697trn.

The 2015 figure of N2.24trn for the 36 states is N17bn lower than N2.257tn shared in 2014.

Similarly that of local governments is also expected to decline by about N15bn from N1.711tn to N1.697tn.

Giving a breakdown of the 2015 allocation to the 36 states, the document put their share of federation account, VAT pool and stabilisation fund at N1.728tn, N420.44bn and N91.55bn, respectively.

This is against the N1.665tn, N405.82bn, and N185.94bn allocated under the same sub-heads in the current fiscal period.

For the 2015 allocation to local governments, the MTEF put their share of the federation account, VAT pool and stabilisation fund at N1.332tn, N294.31bn and N70.58bn, respectively.

The amount approved for the 774 local governments in 2014 under these fiscal items were N1.284tn, N284.07bn and N143.35bn.

The Chairman, FAAC Commissioners Forum, Mr. Timothy Odaah, had during an interview in Abuja called for more allocation to the states and local governments to enable them to complete ongoing projects.

He said since elections were coming and coupled with the fact that provisions for security and other elections logistics were expensive, it would be difficult for the states to carry on with developmental projects owing to paucity of funds.

Odaah said, “FAAC commissioners forum has asked for $2bn to be accessed specially from the foreign excess crude account because the states and local governments are really suffering.”

The Punch

FG considers alternative building technology

Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mrs. Akon Eyakenyi

The Federal Government has said it is set to explore alternative building technology in order to reduce housing deficit in the country.

The Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mrs. Akon Eyakenyi, disclosed in a speech delivered at the conference of the African Union for Housing Finance in South Africa, and made available to our correspondent on Sunday.

She said, “In Nigeria, we are conscious of the need to deliver affordable homes both at a reduced cost and on the right scale. We have developed the national housing and urban development policies for the realisation of this strategic national programme.

“We have also realised that the key to delivering on a massive scale to reduce the national housing deficit is the adoption of alternative building technologies, hence our present efforts in facilitating a private sector-led delivery of mass housing process.”

Eyakenyi added that a 30-year road map for the housing and urban development sector aimed at addressing all the challenges presently facing the sector had been developed.

According to her, the sector has been faced with several challenges including inadequate finance for mass housing delivery, low capital base of primary and secondary mortgage banks and inaccessibility to land with secure titles.

Oando opens rights issue at N22

Oando Plc has commenced a rights issue on the basis of one new share for every four ordinary shares held as of July 25, 2014.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange confirmed in its weekly report that the energy giant, which is listed on the Exchange and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, had notified it of the rights issue.

According to the Exchange, the price of the issue, which opens on Monday (today, is N22. It added that the offer will close on December 19.

Meanhile, the Exchange said it had on Tuesday last week, admitted 215.6 million shares of 50 kobo each belonging to Oando for trading on the Exchange.

“This arose as a result of the shares conversion of N2,587,500,000 notes, thus increasing the issued quantity of the company’s share to 9,084,685,738,” the Exchange said.

The group’s unaudited results for the nine months to September 30, 2014 showed that its profit after tax rose by 76 per cent to N10.7bn from the N6.1bn it realised in the corresponding period of last year.

The results also showed that the company’s gross profit rose by 70 per cent year-on-year to N76.6bn as against N46.7bn in the corresponding period of 2013, while its profit before tax at N10.2bn was four per cent higher than the N9.8bn it posted in the same period last year.

A statement from the company, following the release of the result had quoted its Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Wale Tinubu, as saying, that the group was pleased with the performance, especially as it was achieved despite falling crude prices.

He said, “The group is making solid progress in achieving a more robust financial performance despite the current industry trend and 30 per cent decline in global crude prices year to date. Our conservative nature ensures that we apply risk mitigating processes, by implementing hedging tools in the upstream on our future crude production, $100/barrel for three years.”

Tinubu explained that the group also fixed gas prices through long-term contracts with its customers in the midstream sector and had taken advantage of the lower prices in landing its refined imported products, resulting in improved pricing efficiencies.

“As we wrap up 2014, we look forward to a full quarter’s production contribution from our newly acquired NAOC Joint Venture assets, which have steadily increased our current output above 50kboepd, as well as achieving diversity in earnings via our increased upstream contribution,” he added.

We’ll enforce high standards in mining industry – Minister

Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Musa Muhammed Sada

The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr. Mohammed Sada, has said that the Federal Government will continue to ensure that high standards are kept in quarry and mining activities in the country.

He stated that the government would ensure that operators in the industry continued to adhere strictly to the government’s prescribed safety and environmental standards.

He spoke on Thursday when he visited KAM Quarry, Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

The minister urged operators in the industry to be alive to their corporate social responsibilities by making sure that community development standards are complied with.

According to him, quarry activities must not be injurious to the host and surrounding communities.

He added that they must be accepted by the people while the communities must get value for quarry or mining activities.

He commended KAM Quarry for keeping to approved standards.

Nuclear weapons: West, Iran make ‘last push’ for deal

World powers and Iran will make a “last push” for a nuclear deal before a Monday midnight deadline even though the parties are far apart, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has said.

“At the moment we’re focused on the last push, a big push tomorrow morning to try and get this across the line,” Hammond told reporters on Sunday in Vienna when asked if an extension of the deadline was being considered.

“Of course if we’re not able to do it, we’ll then look at where we go from there,” he said.

A senior US official acknowledged for the first time on Sunday that Iran and world powers were now discussing a possible extension of their deadline for a deal amid wide gaps in the talks. The West wants Iran to scale back its nuclear ambitions in exchange for lifting economic sanctions.

Hammond said the parties would still try to bridge the gaps even though it was not clear whether they could be.

“We’re all focused on trying to get to a deal but I wouldn’t want to give any false hopes here. We’re still quite a long way apart and there are some very tough and complex issues to deal with but we’re all focused right now on trying to get that deal done,” he said.

Hammond said he was consulting on Sunday evening with his counterparts from Germany and France on how to “manage the meetings” on Monday with the Iranian negotiators.

Britain, the US, Russia, China, France and Germany have been locked in talks with Iran for months to turn an interim deal that expires on Monday into a lasting accord.

Such an agreement, after a 12-year-standoff, is aimed at easing fears that Iran will develop nuclear weapons under the guise of its civilian activities, an ambition it strongly denies.

US Secretary of State John Kerry had earlier said in Vienna that “serious gaps” remained between them and Iranians.

“We’re working hard,” he said.

Meanwhile, pro-nuclear clerics and students took to the streets in the Iranian capital to demand their government not to cave in to Western pressure.

Around 300 demonstrators chanting “death to America and Israel” gathered near Tehran’s nuclear reactor.

Iranian officials have refused to reduce the volume of uranium they are capable of enriching, a stand Western officials say is unacceptable as this would potentially allow Iran to amass enough fissile material for an atomic bomb in little time.

A second sticking point is the pace and sequencing of sanctions relief. Iran wants them terminated swiftly, not suspended and gradually scrapped, depending on the degree of Iranian compliance with the deal terms, as the West wants.

PDP gov aspirants threaten to defect

Some Peoples Democratic Party governorship aspirants in Akwa Ibom State have threatened to defect to the All Progressives Congress.

The aspirants from Oron federal constituency and Uyo senatorial district, including parts of Ikot Ekpene senatorial district, particularly Abak Federal Constituency, said they will declare in a few days’ time.

A source, who did not want to be named, told our correspondent that the aspirants had concluded plans to defect to the APC before the PDP South-South screening exercise for governorship aspirants in Port Harcourt, on Saturday.

He said, “Before the end of this month, we shall stage a rally for the APC in the state that will welcome some of our governorship aspirants and others into the APC.

“We cannot sit down and allow somebody to hijack our destiny. Akwa Ibom belongs to everyone of us and, not for a particular person. The state is too big for an individual to pocket.

“The most annoying aspect of this scenario was the attitude of a governorship aspirant, who arrived at the screening centre later than other aspirants, but was given preferential treatment as he walked inside around 11am and left around 12pm.”

Kwankwaso berates Presidency over insecurity

Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwakwanso

Kano State Governor and a presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has berated the Federal Government for not using the right measures to tackle ravaging insecurity in the North-East.

Kwankwaso, who was in Ogun State to see Governor Ibikunle Amosun, on Friday, lamented the effect of insurgency in the northeastern states of Yobe, Adamawa and Borno, among others.

Kwankwaso also chided the Jonathan administration for what he termed “the worsening economic situation in the country.”

The aspirant was received by the Secretary to the State Government, Adeoluwa Taiwo, as Amosun had travelled out of the state.

Kwankwaso noted that the PDP had not allowed a level playing field by conceding the party’s presidential ticket to Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, thus shutting other aspirants out of the race.

He said the PDP had extended its reign of impunity to the National Assembly, where security men used teargas on lawmakers.

He said, “You saw what happened at the National Assembly. Nobody is happy about that. Everybody is angry and shocked about it. It is a sign of the impunity we have been talking about.”

“We saw the signs early and decided to leave (the PDP). The PDP printed one form for one man. We have never seen anything like that. This time, the PDP is as weak as any other party in the past. It is presenting only one man. Nigerians have tested him and nobody is happy with his performance. There is no better place than APC.

“Four million Nigerians have been displaced because of insurgency. Thousands are in Niger, thousands are in Chad. The President and the PDP are whipping up religious and ethnic sentiments around it to polarise the nation to win election.

“Our military used to be known for its strength and valour. They had demonstrated that in Sierra Leone, Dafur and other places. Today, we have a situation that is contrary to what we knew before.

“It has to do with the leadership at the top. It has to do with the capacity of the leadership at the top; it has to do with the political will of the leadership. The APC has the capacity and the political will to provide the leadership needed to salvage the nation.

“The insurgents have no place initially. They were roaming from one place to another. Now, they have carved out territories for themselves, hoisted flags and changed names. But the APC, if voted into power at the centre, would provide the leadership capacity and political will to defeat the insurgents.”

The Punch

PDP clears Orubebe in Delta, holds Lagos congresses

Godsday Orubebe

Ex-minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godsday Orubebe, has been given the nod by the Peoples Democratic Party to contest the party’s governorship primary in Delta State.

The Ambassador Obed Wadzani-led South-South zonal screening committee of the PDP gave the former minister the clearance after the screening in Port Harcourt, on Saturday.

The party congress is scheduled to hold on December 7 and 8, 2014.

This was contained in a statement issued by the Orubebe Governorship Campaign Orgainsation in Abuja, on Sunday.

Meanwhile, following the cancellation of the November 1, 2014 ward congresses of the PDP in Lagos, the state chapter of the party says it will hold its ward congresses on Monday (today).

The party, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Taofik Gani, said the congresses would take place from 12pm across the 245 wards in the state.

He said, “While the party wishes its members a happy congress, it is also quick to admonish its members to participate in the process as law-abiding citizens and loyal members of the PDP. It warns detractors and opposition-sponsored thugs to steer clear of the congress venues as any intruder or agent provocateur shall be dealt with in accordance with the laws of the land.”

The Punch

APC to sue DSS over Lagos office raid

National Chairman, All Progressives Congress, John Odigie Oyegun

The All Progressives Congress has said it will sue the Department of State Service for Saturday’s invasion of its Lagos State secretariat by the operatives of the DSS.

The National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said this in an interview with one of our correspondents on Sunday.

Asked what the APC would do to redress the invasion, he said, “We will definitely go court to seek redress and enforce our fundamental rights. Two days before then, they went to attack the House of Representatives we had information that this was going to happen.”

However, the DSS commonly referred to as SSS, justified the raid, arguing that it acted based on information.

The Deputy Director, Public Relations of the DSS, Marilyn Ogar, in a statement issued in Abuja, explained that the department swung into action based on a petition.

She said the petition alleged that the APC data operators planned to corrupt the database of the Independent National Electoral Commission and replace it with the party’s.

Ogar said the building was subsequently placed under surveillance by the operatives of the DSS, adding that the service only acted when it was convinced that unwholesome activities were going on in the building.

She maintained that Saturday’s raid led to the arrest of some persons while a server, three hard drives and 31 Ghana-must-go bags of hard copy documents were recovered.

The DSS spokesperson said, “A petition was received by this service about some activities at No. 10, Bola Ajibola Street, Ikeja, Lagos. The petition alleged that those behind the activities were cloning INEC permanent voter cards, with the intention of hacking into INEC database, corrupting it and replacing them with their own data.

“Based on this information, the service placed the building under surveillance and having been convinced that some unwholesome activities were going on in the building, it undertook a raid of the premises.

“In the process, some persons were arrested, three hard drives and 31 Ghana-must-go bags of hard copy documents were recovered and taken away for further investigation. It must be noted that the said location had no signpost indicating whether it was a private or government office.”

However, Mohammed dismissed Ogar’s claims, saying that the DSS was acting out a script which was part of a grand plan to intimidate the APC and its supporters to pave the way for the rigging of the 2015 elections.

Mohammed challenged the DSS to make public any incriminating document found in the building.

According to him, it is laughable for the service to say the party was cloning PVCs when they could not even get the password into the computers they found in the place.

“What did they get when they got there? They couldn’t invite us? In 2014, just a few months to the 2015 elections, they are telling us they did not know it was our office. They could not even get the password. How can you say we are cloning PVCs? Where is the evidence now,?” he queried.

Mohammed also said, “They even said we had a warehouse where we store weapons, we don’t have any such warehouse and we know nothing about weapons.

“The whole idea is to destablise our party and rig the 2015 elections because what they have done now is to take our database and from there make sure that we don’t get PVCs, that’s what they are doing and this is not going to be allowed to go like that.

“What this administration is doing is an invitation to anarchy, we will not allow the excesses of a few individuals trying to use institutions sustained by tax payers’ money to truncate this democracy that we all laboured and fought hard to give life to.”

The Punch

Naira falls by 10.5% to N177

The naira has fallen further against the dollar to a new low of N177.45, bringing the total value loss by the local currency this year to 10.5 per cent.

The national currency has been under persistent pressure since June when the global oil prices started crashing.

It, however, began a steep and consecutive fall 10 days ago.

The naira on Friday shed 0.76 per cent to close at the N177.45 against the greenback, despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s intervention for a fifth day with dollar sales to prop up the currency.

According to foreign exchange dealers, the development forced the CBN to ask 21 commercial banks to bid for $2m each.

The central bank has been selling between $150m and $200m in each intervention, causing huge depletion in nation’s external reserves.

Judiciary workers threaten to resume strike Dec 1

National President, Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, Marwan Adamu

Judiciary workers, under the aegis of Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, have threatened to resume their nationwide strike over the alleged unwillingness of state governments to implement court judgment barring piece-meal funding of the nation’s judiciary.

The union, which suspended its three-week strike in July, took the decision to resume the industrial action at an emergency meeting of its National Executive Council on Saturday.

A communiqué jointly signed by the union’s President, Marwan Adamu, and its General Secretary, Isaiah Adetola, was released to journalists on Sunday.

The union said it chose December 1 to resume the strike because it decided to grant the seven days requested by the stakeholders who assured the union’s officials of their readiness to implement the court judgment.

Suicide bomber kills 45 at Afghan volleyball game

At least 45 people were killed and 60 others wounded Sunday when a suicide bomber attacked a crowd watching a volleyball match in the Yahyakhil district of Afghanistan’s southeastern Paktika province, according to a spokesman for the provincial governor.

In 2010, a suicide car bomb exploded in the middle of a group of men playing volleyball, a popular sport in the region, in northwest Pakistan. That attack left 30 people dead and 52 wounded.

Sunday’s attack comes the same day the nation’s parliament agreed to allow US and NATO forces to remain in Afghanistan after 2014.

It’s unusual for an attack in Afghanistan to kill so many people.

Only a few comparable incidents come up in the University of Maryland’s Global Terrorism Database, which tracks acts of terror from 1970 to 2013.

In October 2012, a suicide bomber dressed in a police uniform attacked a mosque in the city of Maymana in Faryab province, according to the database. At least 42 people, including 19 members of the Afghan security forces, were killed and another 50 people injured in that blast. No group claimed responsibility for the incident, but sources attributed it to the Taliban.

In April 2013, nine attackers dressed as soldiers killed 53 people at a courthouse complex where several Taliban members were standing trial in the city of Farah.

At least one suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the entrance to the complex, while the other attackers entered other buildings and began shooting and throwing grenades. About 93 additional people were wounded. All of the attackers died, Global Terrorism Database reports.

The Taliban said it was behind the carnage.

The Punch

Al-Shabab denies Kenya reprisal over bus raid

Somalia’s rebel group, al-Shabab, has denied claims by Kenyan authorities that more than 100 of their fighters, who allegedly masterminded an attack on a bus in northern Kenya, were killed by Kenyan forces.

Deputy President William Ruto, said on Sunday that his country’s armed forces carried out a cross-border attack in which they targeted the perpetrators of Saturday’s attack in which 28 bus passengers were killed near the town of Mandera.

“Two successful operations in the hideouts of the perpetrators of Mandera executions were swiftly carried out across the border. Our retaliatory action left in its trail more than a hundred fatalities.” Ruto said in an address to the nation outside his office in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

“It also destroyed four technicals [pickup trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns] and the camp from which this crime was planned.” Ruto added.

However, the al-Qaeda-linked group’s military operations spokesman, Abdi Aziz Abu Mus’ab, called Ruto’s claim “absurd”.

“Our Mujahedeen are safe and didn’t face any attack whatsoever after the successful operation they carried out by the grace of Allah.” Mus’ab told Al Jazeera.

“Claims like these are only spewed by the Kenyan authorities to cover up their failure to secure the safety of their people,” he added.

In Saturday’s attack near the Somali-Kenya border, gunmen hijacked a bus with 60 passengers on board before separating the Muslims and non-Muslims onboard.

The gunmen then executed all the non-Muslims before crossing the porous border back into Somalia. Among those killed were at least seventeen schoolteachers traveling back to their hometowns for Christmas.

On Saturday Mandera governor, Ali Ibrahim Roba, who last month survived a suspected al-Shabab assassination attempt, accused the security forces of taking insecurity in the region lightly.

“The county security team has downplayed the increased threats of terror in Mandera town & along the border. We always react after events.” Roba said on his Twitter account.

Kenyan authorities have blamed al-Shabab for a wave of deadly attacks across the nation. Kenya sent troops to Somalia in 2011 after raids on its coastal towns blamed on al-Shabab and has since seen a surge in lethal attacks.

The Somali group has also been blamed for the September 2013 attack on the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, which killed 77 people.

The Punch

Dozens dead in Morocco flash flood

Flash flooding in southern Morocco has reportedly killed at least 30 people, with many others still missing.

Heavy storms have swept across several regions including tourist hub Marrakesh, where torrential rain destroyed many mud homes on Sunday.

Roads and highways were blocked off, making it hard for emergency crew to reach people.

The “exceptional” storms also swept across the regions of Guelmim, Agadir and Ouarzazate, and a search was under way for the missing, the authorities said.

Journalist Brahim Boulid, reporting from Guelmim, told Al Jazeera on Monday that the death toll stood at 31, including eight members of the same family who died after floods swept away their vehicle.

The Arabic-language dailies Al Massae and Al Ahdath gave death tolls of 16 and 22 respectively.

Some 130 all-terrain rescue vehicles and 335 Zodiac inflatables and other boats were being used, the interior ministry said, in a statement carried by the North African country’s MAP news agency.

The agency said at least 14 people remained missing in Guelmim, 200km south of Agadir.

The national weather service warned that an alert over more heavy rainfall would remain in place until midday on Monday.

It said around 100 mud-brick homes were partly or totally destroyed in the south, and 100 roads cut off, including six national highways.

Boulid told Al Jazeera that authorities were warned that the amount of rainfall would trigger floods but choose to ignore them.

“It was forecast that more than 100 millimetres of rain would fall, but nothing has been done. They just waited for the catastrophe to unfold,” Boulid said.

Flash floods are common in Morocco, where four children drowned in the south in September when they were swept away. 

The Punch

Egypt’s Sisi heads to Rome on first European visit

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi left for Rome Monday on his first European trip since ousting his Islamist predecessor and overseeing a crackdown that has killed hundreds.


Sisi is to meet Pope Francis at 1330 GMT on the first Vatican visit by an Egyptian leader in eight years, officials said.

He will then meet Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi at 1800 GMT, Renzi’s office said.

Sisi, who was then army chief, ousted president Mohamed Morsi, the country’s first freely elected leader, in July 2013, prompting a wave of deadly violence between security forces and Morsi’s supporters that drew rebukes from Europe and the United States.

But boosted by its increasingly central role in combating Islamist militancy, Egypt has come in from the cold since Sisi won a presidential election in May after crushing both Islamist and secular opponents.

Officials said the four-day tour, which will also take him to France, is also aimed at securing European investment in the Egyptian economy, which has been battered by political turmoil since the Arab Spring uprising of 2011.

The Punch

Taraba Assembly Speaker resigns

The Speaker of Taraba House of Assembly, Mr Josiah Kente has resigned his position.

Kente told journalists on Monday in Jalingo he had forwarded his resignation letter to the Clerk of the assembly.

The speaker said he took the decision in the interest of peace in the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that Kente was elected speaker in November 2013, following the death of his predecessor, late Mr Haruna Tsokwa.

He thanked the people of the state and members of the seventh assembly for their cooperation during his one year tenure as speaker.

Three killed, houses burnt in Ibadan mayhem

One of the buildings and a car burnt by thugs in Ibadan ... on Sunday.

At least three people were killed and 10 houses destroyed by armed youths who invaded Born Photo, Isale Osi, Idi Arere and Popoyemoja in Ibadan South-West Local Government Area of Oyo State.

The youth who operated freely for about two hours before policemen arrived at the scenes, also burnt or vandalised about 200 shops, several vehicles and a tricycle.

Eyewitnesses said the thugs partly burnt a petrol station at Popoyemoja junction.

Our correspondent gathered that the mayhem started at 9am at Born Photo before it spread to Isale Osi, Idi Arere and Popoyemoja.

Residents linked the violence to last Friday’s attack in which a policeman was shot dead at a rally by the All Progressives Congress.

Jonathan supervises a corrupt govt, says Amaechi

Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi

Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State has said President Goodluck Jonathan “is supervising a highly corrupt government.”

He also claimed that “there is no democracy yet in Nigeria.”

The governor, who spoke in Abuja on Saturday, insisted that he had no personal quarrel with President Jonathan, adding that if governance could be separated from the President, he (Jonathan) “remains a good man.”

He, however, regretted that the President “is supervising a highly corrupt government.”

He described the form of government being practised in Nigeria today as diarchy.

While reacting to the invasion of the National Assembly by the police on Thursday, Amaechi described the action as uncivilised.

He said the actions of the police in recent times had shown that they had been pocketed by the Presidency and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party.

Obanikoro, Lai Mohammed, Ogunlewe’s sons to contest Assembly seats

Mr. Babajide Obanikoro

The sons of political chieftains of the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party have thrown their hats into the ring to contest for Lagos House of Assembly seats.

They include the son of the immediate past Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, the son of the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Lai Mohammed, and the son of a former Minister of Works, Adeseye Ogunlewe.

Jimi Mohammed, the son of Lai Mohammed, is set to contest the Lagos State House of Assembly election.

According to information on the Facebook page of the APC, Jimi will contest the Ikeja constituency 1, the constituency the current Speaker of the House, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, represents. However, Ikuforiji has declared his intention to contest Lagos governorship election.

The statement read, “Jimi Mohammed, the son of APC spokesperson, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, is running for a seat in the Lagos House of Assembly. He is coming out from the same area that the current speaker, Ikuforiji came out from in Ikeja.

“Already, he has begun campaigns for the seat and his friends are rallying round for him. Jimi is a brilliant guy. Judging by his achievements, he has done well for himself and others. Folajimi is the Managing Director of Knightsbridge Dredging Limited.

“He is a University of Kent, Canterbury, Law graduate. He also attended Fordham Law School and the Nigerian Law School.”

PDP moves to stop Jonathan’s removal

National Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Ahmadu Adamu Mu'azu

The Peoples Democratic Party may have started offering ‘re-election tickets’ to its members in the National Assembly as a means of dissuading them from supporting the reported drive by the All Progressives Congress lawmakers to impeach President Goodluck Jonathan.

In the House of Representatives in particular, the bait was said to have “toned down” the anger of some PDP members, who ordinarily would have backed the bid to remove Jonathan.

An influential National Assembly source said on Sunday that “many of these lawmakers have long fallen apart with their state governors.

“They have been told before now that they should forget any ambition to return in 2015.

“Attempts they made to use the Presidency to intervene in their case also did not turn out in their favour.

“But, with the impeachment move against Jonathan, the party is now assuring some of the members to keep supporting the President as the tickets can still be theirs.”

About 113 lawmakers, largely of the APC fold, began collecting signatures to impeach Jonathan after the police and Department of State Service operatives locked the gates of the National Assembly on Thursday.

Many of them, including the Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal, were held out for hours as a result of the security action.

Jonathan to Obasanjo: I’m Nigeria’s best leader

President Jonathan and Obasanjo

President Goodluck Jonathan has described himself as the best leader to be produced by Nigeria.

The President said no leader since the country gained independence in 1960 had done better than himself for the country.

He, therefore, said the comment made by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in which the ex-President described Jonathan’s performance as below average, was untrue.

Jonathan said this in a statement by his Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, in Abuja on Sunday.

Okupe’s statement read, “Our attention has been drawn to comments made by a former President of this country, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, regarding the performance of the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

“Obasanjo had at an event over the weekend declared that he rated the President Goodluck Jonathan administration ‘below average’.