Presidential Directive: Jonathan’s Men Secretly Returning FG Property

Rattled by the directive handed down by President Muhammadu Buhari that they should return all government property in their possession, government officials who served under former President Goodluck Jonathan have started returning some of the assets they took away as they left office.

LEADERSHIP checks revealed that by yesterday some former top government officials were secretly returning government property, including vehicles, generator sets and furniture to the ministries, agencies and even some departments in Aso Rock where they were taken from.

Those whose families are still occupying government buildings are said to have started asking them to quickly vacate the place on the pretext that they were staying there without their knowledge, after they had left for their respective states or travelled abroad.

A top presidency official told our correspondent that, since yesterday, some of the past government officials, including former President Goodluck Jonathan’s men, had been calling to explain themselves, insisting that some of the property were taken either by their family members or close aides without their consent.

The presidency official, who preferred not to be named in print since his was not the spokesperson of the presidency, noted, however, that despite the last-minute effort being made by this former officials to save their head from the ongoing probe directed by the president, they would still be made to explain their actions which amount to nothing but sharp practices.

He said, “Throughout today (yesterday), we have been receiving calls from some of the former aides and officials of government who claim that whatever was still in their possession were taken and were being kept either by their families members or personal assistants.

“Some even claim that they were aware that their family members were still living in government buildings while they were away in their hometowns, or abroad where they are on vacation. But their explanations amount to nothing but medicine after death. Whether they return the property or not, they must face the law because what the president is angry about is the action itself.”

Asked whether the committee set up to go after the culprits had identified them, he said, “We have the names of most of them on ground already. What the committee is doing at the moment is to ascertain whether due process was followed before they took the property as their personal possessions.

“Once discovered that they did not buy them in line with the monetization process initiated by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, they will still be prosecuted.”

President Buhari was said to have set up a committee consisting of security agents and civil servants to identify and recover public assets still with former political appointees.

Confirming the development on Sunday, senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, had explained that the aim was not to embarrass anyone but to recover government assets

“That is precisely the case. Even here at the Presidential Villa, there are cars and other property belonging to the government which are yet to be returned. The property belong to the Nigerian people. We are not trying to humiliate anyone by asking them to return their cars or houses,” he said.

Noting that he was not in a position to tell whether the state and local governments were facing similar challenges with retrieving government property from their predecessors, the presidential spokesman added, however, he would not be surprised if that was the case.

According to him, this attitude of holding on to government property even after leaving office must be a natural outcome of the culture of impunity entrenched in the country by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration.

“But change has come. That is why we have to do things differently now”, Shehu said.

He reiterated President Buhari’s commitment to running an austere government that will save the Nigerian people wastage of public funds.

“Imagine how much Nigeria will save by retrieving and reusing these government property instead of purchasing new ones for new government officials,” he said

MASSOB women protest Igbo marginalization, ask Buhari to address issues.

Chief Ralph Uwazurike-led Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, has warned that Ndigbo will not tolerate further marginalization in Nigeria, urging President Muhammadu Buhari to address the issue without further delay.

This was disclosed by MASSOB Women Director for Anambra North, Amaka Okafor while briefing newsmen after they rose from a closed door meeting with the regional administrators and other top MASSOB members, yesterday in Onitsha.

The women at a protest without placards chanted anti- Igbo marginalization and Federal Government songs, saying they have resolved to embark on prayer, through the service of prayer warriors in their bid to actualize the cause of Ndigbo.
Okafor said:

“We will use this month of August women meeting to pray more fervently as we have embarked on prayer session throughout Igbo land to ask God to help us actualize our cause.

“We cannot achieve this without fervent prayers and we ask our women in Igbo land to ensure they use this August meeting of women to mobilize the women for the prayer which will be headed by the prayer warriors we have employed.

“We have been marginalized for about four decades and that prompted Chief Uwazurike to vow that the marginalization must stop and actualizing a Biafran state is the only way it will stop,” she said.

According to her, 

“ for the women to come out in their large number to speak against the injustice being meted out to Igbos by the Federal Government in Biafran land shows that they are fed up and can no longer tolerate it.

“It was for this same reason that we had the Aba women riot of 1929 when the women protested because they were asked to pay tax by the government and we said no and today again, we saying no to the marginalization of the Igbo” she said.

Vanguard

If Igbos are butchered again,Nigeria will break-Fani Kayode warns

Chief Femi Fani- Kayode on Monday berated the Convener of the Coalition of Northern Politicians, Academics, Professionals and Businessmen, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, describing his comments that President Muhammadu Buhari owes Igbos nothing as most most insensitive, cruel and Puerile.

Responding to comments credited to Junaid, Fani- Kayode in a message to Vanguard noted that his statements that If the igbo feel marginalised they should attempt to break away again, was most uncharitable and careless, warning that if there was any attempt to butcher the Ibos or a repeat of what happened in 1966, it would be resisted by not only the Ibos, but by all Nigerians, with attempt to secede, which according to him, would be successful.

According to him, the like of Junaid must learn from history, our mistakes, preach peace and peaceful coexistence, rather that boast and beat our chests for yet another round of war. Fani- Kayode reacting to a statement titled, ” If the igbo feel marginalised they should attempt to break away again”- Dr. Junaid Mohammed, The Punch Newspaper, 17th August 2015, said, “Given the immense suffering that the igbo were subjected to both before, during and after the civil war this is one of most insensitive, cruel and puerile comments that I have heard in recent times.

“I daresay that if Junaid Mohammed’s Nigeria ever butchers over 100,000 innocent igbo civilians again, as they did in the north in 1966 just before the civil war, there will indeed be another attempt to secede, but this time it will not only be successful, but they will also take many others with them.

“Rather than boast and beat our chests, we must learn from our history and we must never repeat its mistakes.” Dr. Junaid Mohammed, had in an interview in one of the national dailiies dismissed the sentiments shared by a former Governor of Anambra State that the Igbo have not been treated fairly in the governance of Nigeria.

Junaid who noted that people of the Igbo nation have enjoyed favourable treatment, said it was wrong to reward the Igbo simply on the basis of the Nigerian Civil War, which lasted between 1967 and 1970.

Mohammed had said, 

“If it is about Buhari making the appointments based on merit, I have no problems with it. I don’t believe Buhari or Nigeria owes any Igbo anything. I don’t care what Ezeife says; if they had seceded, there would have been no Nigeria today. As people who acted outside the interest of Nigeria as a country, to expect compensation is a very odd logic.

“If the Igbo don’t like it, they can attempt secession again. If they do, they must be prepared to live with the consequences. Nobody owes them anything and nobody is out to compensate them for anything.”

Kris Jenner Opens Up About Caitlyn Jenner For The First Time.

After Caitlyn Jenner slammed her ex-wife Kris in her quite-literally revealing Vanity Fair interview this year, you’d think that the two former spouses weren’t exactly on the best of terms.

But in fact, Kris seems to have taken it all in her stride and appears to be dealing with it all in a remarkably grown-up way.

Kris sat down with your friends and ours at ’Haute Living’ magazine to talk about the various ups and downs her family have faced over the past year – including Caitlyn’s transition, her daughter Kourtney’s split from partner Scott Disick as well as the break-down of her own marriage.

The momager extraordinaire said of Caitlyn: “I just want everyone that I love in my family

and in my life to be happy, and so my wish for Caitlyn is that she finds her joy”.

Ain’t that sweet, eh kids?

The two have been spending more time together in recent weeks, sharing a photo together with Kim, as well as attending their daughter Kylie’s 18th birthday bash.

Caitlyn famously blamed the break-down of her marriage on Kris in the Vanity Fair interview, saying that after Kris’ career took off, she had less of a need for her husband:

“I think in a lot of ways she became less tolerant of me. Then I’d get upset and the whole relationship kind of fizzled.”

Kim and Khloe confronted their stepfather over the article on Caitlyn’s new show ‘I Am Cait’, with Kim telling her that it was ‘the most unfair thing in the world to say.’

Khloe agreed, telling the former Olympian: “We want to support and be there for you. But we don’t think that entails you speaking negatively about my mom. I our opinion, you don’t even need to mention our mom.”

Fair point, we guess?

Anyway, it’s nice to see the family FINALLY getting along, isn’t it? Keep it up, gang.

Man 78-year-old arrested by police for raping 11 year old girl.

A 78-year-old man, Alhaji Dauda Adebowale, has been arrested by the police in the Agege area of Lagos state for allegedly raping an 11-year old girl.

It was learnt that some time in June 2015, the little girl in question was passing by a shop where the old man lived alone when he called to send her on an errand.

When she returned, he was said to have dragged her into the shop and raped her, threatening to kill her if she told the act to anyone.  He was said to be living alone in the shop. It was gathered that Adebowale raped her on several occasions after the first time because he had threatened her with death if she told any one.

However, trouble started for the suspect on Sunday, August 2, when the girl, who was reportedly sleeping beside her mother in the afternoon of the fateful day, suddenly woke up, shouting ‘penis, penis’ to the bewilerment of the mother.  The woman, who did not want her name in print, said her daughter opened up to her after she pestered her.

She said:

“On that Sunday, I was ill and was sleeping. She also slept beside me. She suddenly cried out, shouting, ‘penis, penis, penis’. I was shocked. When I asked her what happened, she said it was a man on our street that had been having sex with her.

“I followed her to the man’s house. Some boys confronted him and he confessed to them. I then reported him at the Area G Police Command in Ogba and he was arrested. I took my daughter to a hospital for tests because she has become lean. The medical result showed that her vagina had been tampered with and I have given it to the police.”

The victim, a primary 2 pupil, who spoke in Yoruba, said she had lost count of the number of times the old man had raped her but that she had gotten fed up and called his bluff.

She said:

“I was passing by a shop on our street one Saturday afternoon when he called me. He was sitting outside the shop and told me to help him bring a document inside the shop. I was about to leave after I gave him the document when he dragged me inside and locked the door.

“He covered my mouth and raped me. He threatened to kill me if I told anybody. The following day, he called me again and repeated the same thing. I can’t remember how many times he had sex with me. Whenever I told him I would tell my mother, he would say I was playing with my life.

“When I could no longer bear it, I opened up to a woman in our area and she promised that she would make sure the man was evicted from the shop.

“It was few days after that my mother said she heard me shout ‘penis’ while I was asleep.”

The sister of the victim said she had narrowly escaped being trapped by the suspect not knowing that her younger sister had fallen victim.

She said:

“He called me two weeks ago and told me that he liked me. He promised to take care of me if I cooperated.

“I said I did not understand and managed to run away. I told my mother when I got home and she warned me to stay off his reach.”

The suspect was arraigned before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court on three counts bordering on rape.

The charges read in part, “That you, Alhaji Dauda Adebowale, 78, sometime in 2015, at a shop in Pen Cinema, Agege, Lagos, in the Ikeja Magisterial District, did have sexual intercourse with one 11-year-old girl.

“That you, within the same period and place in the aforementioned magisterial district, did sexually assault one 11-year-old girl.”

The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges which, according to the police, contravene sections 137, 166 and 257 of the Criminal Law II, Vol. 44 of Lagos State, Nigeria, 2011.

The presiding magistrate, Mr. T. Elias, granted the defendant bail in the sum of N1m with two sureties each in like sum.

The matter was adjourned till September 2, 2015, Elias ordered that the man be kept in prison custody pending the time he would be able to perfect his bail.

'Stop bandying imaginary figures', PDP Tells APC

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,  has descried as reckless, irresponsible and highly provocative, Sunday’s statement by the APC spokesman, Alhaji Lai Mohammed wherein the party bandied imaginary figures against the previous administration to suit a heinous purpose.

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, in a release on Sunday said the APC has again exhibited its emptiness and disgusting desperation for public approval.

The PDP said “in trying to escalate their stock-in-trade of lies, wild allegations and falsehood, the APC failed to understand that their baseless fabrications are capable of throwing an unsuspecting nation into chaos.

Stating that “the spate of fabrications by Lai Mohammed has become a sickening source of worry for well-meaning Nigerians including those in his party”, the PDP called on President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC as a party, to call their spokesman to order before he plunges the country into crisis with wild and unsubstantiated claims.

The PDP said instead of engaging in unnecessary playing to the gallery, the APC-led government should get serious with the fight against corruption by investigating and prosecuting corrupt persons, while moving on with the demands of governance, especially in fulfilling their numerous campaign promises for which they were voted into office at the centre.

Signed:
Chief Olisa Metuh
National Publicity Secretary

Fayose Says; “I can’t be intimidated by anyone”, urges Buhari to tread cautiously.

The Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has urged President Mohammadu Buhari to tread cautiously and be mindful of the body language of those hailing him today, saying; “the president should be cautious enough to know that the former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar led National Peace Committee tactically told him to tread cautiously and be mindful of the fact that he is not heading a military government.”

The governor, who said he was not unaware of the sinister plot to destabilise his government because of his strong and truthful stands on national issues, vowed not to be cowed by threat from any quarter.

According to a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, the governor said; “opposition is one of the roots on which democracy stands and any

President or Governor that does not want opposition will eventually become a dictator.

"I want to state without fear or favour that I will continue to speak the truth no matter whose ox is gored.

“Nigeria belongs to all of us and no one can intimidate me or the good people of Ekiti State who freely and overwhelmingly gave me their mandate.

“Democracy as a form of government thrives on our ability to ask questions and get answers from leaders," he said.

He urged the President to listen to wise counsel from the General Abdulsalami Abubakar  led National Peace Committee saying; “the Peace Committee has reminded the president that he is not heading a military government and with the calibre of Nigerians in the Committee, their wise counsel should not be ignored.

"These are Nigerians who don't need personal favours from the President  and he should get the message very clearly that he is being told not to act as a dictator.”

Governor Fayose said the President should also know that Nigerians are not interested in any honeymoon, but their well-being.

His words; “rather than concentrate and make a difference within his 100 days in office, the president’s greatest achievement so far is harassment of PDP leaders, appointment of his in-law and kinsmen into sensitive positions, selective fight against corruption and arrest and detention of INEC officials who worked in States won by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).”

While declaring support for the fight against corruption, Governor Fayose however said; “fighting corruption should not be synonymous with convicting Nigerians on pages of newspapers. Rather, the

 judiciary and other relevant agencies should be allowed to do their jobs without any direct or indirect interference from the President and his party.

"Corruption must be fought in accordance with the laws of the land because going against the laws of the land and the oath taken by the President to respect the constitution in itself is corruption."