The Inspector-General of
Police, Ibrahim Idris, has ordered an investigation into the purchase
and distribution of vehicles by his predecessors.
It was gathered that the probe was informed by the discovery that
retiring officers, including former IGs and Deputy Inspectors-General
of Police, were in the habit of appropriating police vehicles for their
personal use.
Findings by our correspondent on Sunday show that the probe, which is
being handled by the Special Investigation Panel, had identified and
recovered 19 police vehicles from former IG, Solomon Arase.
Some of the vehicles include assorted sedans, Sports Utility Vehicles and pick-up vans.
The vehicles, it was learnt, were apart from the four vehicles he was entitled to take away with him on retirement.
A senior officer, who is familiar with the investigation, said the
SIP was still working to recover five additional vehicles from the
former police boss.
It was learnt that the SIP, headed by Assistant Inspector-General of
Police, Ali Amodu, (retd.), had also recovered a number of police
vehicles from other retired DIGs.
The recovered vehicles were said to have been distributed to newly promoted Commissioners of Police and AIGs.
The source said, “We are making progress in our investigations. We
were able to trace 24 vehicles to the former IG and we have recovered 19
already. He has yet to release the remaining five, but we won’t let up
until we recover all the vehicles. We have pictures of the vehicles and
they have been documented, so he can’t deny it, the recovery is a fact.”
Arase had earlier denied taking away 24 vehicles when his successor,
Idris, made the allegation during an interview with journalists on July
18, 2016, shortly after he assumed office.
Idris had further alleged that the seven DIGs, who retired alongside Arase, also carted away between seven and eight cars each.
Arase, however, denied the allegations of his successor, saying he did not go away with any police vehicle.
He said, “What am I going to do with 24 cars? Do I want to open a car
shop? This is a malicious accusation. There are ways of verifying
issues rather than engaging in media propaganda.”
Arase said all vehicles bought by the police under him were
distributed to the state commands and other appropriate units of the
Nigeria Police Force.
Obanikoro will account
for N4.7bn fraud — EFCC
On October 24, 20161:57 amIn NewsComments
By Soni Daniel, Northern Region Editor
Former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, will be
made to account for the N4.7 billion traced to firms linked to him, if
he is found to be culpable, a top source in the commission, said last
night.
The source, who spoke in confidence, pointed out that the case of the
former minister, who is in the commission’s custody, would be treated
strictly on its merit, contrary to insinuations that the agency ferried
him into the country to be used as a prosecution witness against other
suspects in the $2.1 billion arms cash.
“Let me make it clear that we did not bring the man from the United
States of America to be used as a witness against any of the suspects we
are investigating in respect of the $2.1 billion arms cash scandal.
“No two cases we are investigating are the same and it must be made
clear that Obanikoro’s case has nothing to do with any other person
being investigated by the commission. The truth of the matter is that we
are just beginning the investigation of Obanikoro and evidence adduced
from the probe will determine our next move against him.
“But let it be made known that if evidence establishes that he committed
the suspected financial crime, we will immediately charge him to court
to show that we have no support whatsoever for corruption no matter who
is involved.”
The official, who was responding to allegation by Ekiti State Governor,
Ayo Fayose, that Obanikoro was brought in from the U.S to nail him,
pointed out that the commission did not intend to use the former
minister for any trial.
“The former minister has a serious case of fraud hanging on his
shoulders and we were about to declare him wanted after raiding his
home and he still did not show up.
“We immediately took him for questioning as soon as he reported to the
commission and his case would be determined by the evidence before us.
“Those who are making such claim have forgotten that the case against
Dasuki is different from that of Obanikoro. We cannot use one suspect
for another and vice versa. Each case is unique in itself and the
suspects must answer for their respective offences,” the source said.
The arrival of Obanikoro in Nigeria last Monday and the evidence he has
given so far , has rattled Governor Fayose, who claimed last week that
it was the EFCC, which arranged his visit to Nigeria deliberately to
nail him.
In his statement to the EFCC, Obanikoro admitted giving Fayose N2.23
billion and $5,377,000 in cash while his associate, Mr. Abiodun Agbele,
got N1.3 billion.
Obanikoro admitted that the N1.3 billion was flown to Akure airport in
two chartered flights for delivery to Agbele.
The former minister said he also gave N1.7 billion to a former Osun
Deputy Governor, Senator Iyiola Omisore, but did not say what the money
was meant for.
The money was sourced from the $2.1billion meant for arms purchase at
the ONSA.
But Fayose has spit fire over Obanikoro’s revelations and accused the
EFCC of bringing him from the U.S. under an arrangement to give him a
‘soft landing’ and use him to nail him (Fayose) and others named in the
arms scam.
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/10/n4-7bn-fraud-obanikoro-wont-testify-fayose-dasuki-others-efcc/
Obanikoro will account
for N4.7bn fraud — EFCC
On October 24, 20161:57 amIn NewsComments
By Soni Daniel, Northern Region Editor
Former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, will be
made to account for the N4.7 billion traced to firms linked to him, if
he is found to be culpable, a top source in the commission, said last
night.
The source, who spoke in confidence, pointed out that the case of the
former minister, who is in the commission’s custody, would be treated
strictly on its merit, contrary to insinuations that the agency ferried
him into the country to be used as a prosecution witness against other
suspects in the $2.1 billion arms cash.
“Let me make it clear that we did not bring the man from the United
States of America to be used as a witness against any of the suspects we
are investigating in respect of the $2.1 billion arms cash scandal.
“No two cases we are investigating are the same and it must be made
clear that Obanikoro’s case has nothing to do with any other person
being investigated by the commission. The truth of the matter is that we
are just beginning the investigation of Obanikoro and evidence adduced
from the probe will determine our next move against him.
“But let it be made known that if evidence establishes that he committed
the suspected financial crime, we will immediately charge him to court
to show that we have no support whatsoever for corruption no matter who
is involved.”
The official, who was responding to allegation by Ekiti State Governor,
Ayo Fayose, that Obanikoro was brought in from the U.S to nail him,
pointed out that the commission did not intend to use the former
minister for any trial.
“The former minister has a serious case of fraud hanging on his
shoulders and we were about to declare him wanted after raiding his
home and he still did not show up.
“We immediately took him for questioning as soon as he reported to the
commission and his case would be determined by the evidence before us.
“Those who are making such claim have forgotten that the case against
Dasuki is different from that of Obanikoro. We cannot use one suspect
for another and vice versa. Each case is unique in itself and the
suspects must answer for their respective offences,” the source said.
The arrival of Obanikoro in Nigeria last Monday and the evidence he has
given so far , has rattled Governor Fayose, who claimed last week that
it was the EFCC, which arranged his visit to Nigeria deliberately to
nail him.
In his statement to the EFCC, Obanikoro admitted giving Fayose N2.23
billion and $5,377,000 in cash while his associate, Mr. Abiodun Agbele,
got N1.3 billion.
Obanikoro admitted that the N1.3 billion was flown to Akure airport in
two chartered flights for delivery to Agbele.
The former minister said he also gave N1.7 billion to a former Osun
Deputy Governor, Senator Iyiola Omisore, but did not say what the money
was meant for.
The money was sourced from the $2.1billion meant for arms purchase at
the ONSA.
But Fayose has spit fire over Obanikoro’s revelations and accused the
EFCC of bringing him from the U.S. under an arrangement to give him a
‘soft landing’ and use him to nail him (Fayose) and others named in the
arms scam.
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/10/n4-7bn-fraud-obanikoro-wont-testify-fayose-dasuki-others-efcc/
KARACHI, Pakistan (AA): A month of tension between Pakistan and India
that has resulted in diplomatic arguments and cross-border gunfights
has also been played out on the cultural front in recent weeks.
While Indian film producers barred Pakistani artists and technicians
from working on Indian movies, Pakistan also enforced a ban on Indian
movies and dramas on Friday.
Indian hardline groups like the right-wing Hindu nationalists Shiv
Sena have demanded Pakistani actors leave the country, including the
in-demand Fawad Khan, whose films they wanted boycotted, and Mahira
Khan, a famous Pakistani female actress who was set to make her Indian
debut in the film “Raees”.
The tension began when 19 Indian soldiers were killed in Indian-held
Kashmir by militants India claimed had links to Pakistan. Indian Prime
Minister Narendra Modi has since boasted about carrying out “surgical
strikes” on the Pakistani side of the border.
The entertainment industry has often become a battleground relations
between the two nations since 1947, with a 40-year ban on Indian movies
after the 1965 war only being lifted in Pakistan in 2005.
Khalid Farshori, a Pakistani drama writer told Anadolu Agency: “I do
not think the ban will take too long as Pakistani artists, especially
singers, are very popular in India and are a huge business for the
Indian film industry.”
“But yes this will continue until normalcy returns in terms of diplomatic relations between the two neighbors,” he said.
Indian film-maker Vivek Agnihotri defended the decision made by
Indian film producers, claiming the problem developed after some
Pakistani artists did not condemn the attack against the soldiers in
Kashmir.
“That was when masses and public said if they don’t feel sympathy
with the country they are living and earning money in, then they
shouldn’t be allowed to work in India. I think it is a war-like
situation…if we suspended cultural exchange for sometime it is a wise
decision,” said Agnihotri.
Kolkata-based social activist and writer Saira Shah Halim said
however that the two countries should be focusing on other issues, like
working together to tackle poverty and unemployment.
“The India-Pakistan cultural war doesn’t help anyone nor does
employing talent from the other country make any one less patriotic,”
she said. “Cultural exchanges should continue between the two countries
and all measures taken to de-escalate tensions that could have the
potential of escalating things into a full blown war.”
[Archive Photo: Indian policemen throw stones at Kashmiri Muslim
protesters in Old ciity of Srinagar in Jammu & Kashmir, India.
Photographer: Faisal Khan/AA]
YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AA): At least 55
people were killed and over 575 others injured when a train derailed in
Eseka, around 120 kilometers (74 miles) from Cameroon’s capital city
Yaounde.
The train left Yaounde at 11 a.m. (1000 GMT) Friday and but derailed
by midday, Cameroonian Transport Minister Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo’o told
state-run CRTV.
Many passengers said that at least seven railroad cars were involved
in the accident. Between 1,200-1,300 people were traveling on the train,
according to local media.
The injured were immediately transported to Eseka District Hospital.
According to the operator Camrail — owned by French group Bollore — two
crisis centers have been set up.
Governor of the Littoral region, Dieudonne Ivaha Diboua told
reporters rescue teams and firefighters immediately rushed to the scene
but did not give a reason for the derailment.
The situation appeared to be that of total desperation for most of
the passengers who had resorted to the Douala train after a main road
linking Cameroon’s political and economic capitals was blocked from the
early hours of Friday, CRTV reported.
The road leading from the port of Douala to Yaounde is one of the
largest in the country by traffic density. Trade to Chad and the Central
African Republic also pass through this axis, which is one of the most
dangerous in terms of accidents.
Muhabir Felix Nkambeh Tih
Hackers used internet-connected home
devices, such as CCTV cameras and printers, to attack popular websites
on Friday, security analysts say.
Twitter, Spotify, and Reddit were among the sites taken offline on Friday.
Each uses a company called Dyn, which was the target of the attack, to direct users to its website.
Security analysts now believe the attack used the "internet of things" - web-connected home devices - to launch the assault.
Media captionTechnology explained: What is the internet of things?Dyn is a DNS service - an internet "phone book" which
directs users to the internet address where the website is stored. Such
services are a crucial part of web infrastructure.
On Friday, it
came under attack - a distributed denial of service (DDoS) - which
relies on thousands of machines sending co-ordinated messages to
overwhelm the service.
The "global event" involved "tens of millions" of internet addresses.
Media captionEXPLAINED: What is a DDoS attack?Security firm Flashpoint said it had confirmed that the attack used "botnets" infected with the "Mirai" malware.
Many
of the devices involved come from Chinese manufacturers, with
easy-to-guess usernames and passwords that cannot be changed by the user
- a vulnerability which the malware exploits.
"Mirai scours the
Web for IoT (Internet of Things) devices protected by little more than
factory-default usernames and passwords," explained cybersecurity expert Brian Krebs,
"and then enlists the devices in attacks that hurl junk traffic at an
online target until it can no longer accommodate legitimate visitors or
users."
The owner of the device would generally have no way of knowing that it had been compromised to use in an attack, he wrote.
Mr Krebs is intimately familiar with this type of incident, after his website was targeted by a similar assault in September, in one of the biggest web attacks ever seen.
Media affected by attack - Leo Kelion, technology desk editor
It
has emerged that the BBC's website was also briefly caught up in
Friday's attack. The BBC is not a customer of Dyn itself, but it does
use third-party services that rely on the domain name system hosting
facilities provided by Dyn.
I understand that these include Amazon
Web Services - the retail giant's cloud computing division - and Fastly
- a San Francisco-based firm that helps optimise page download times.
Both
companies have acknowledged being disrupted by the DDoS assault. Only
some BBC users, in certain locations, would have experienced problems
and they did not last long.
But there are reports that other leading media providers also experienced similar disruption.
It
serves as a reminder that despite the internet being a hugely robust
communications system, there are still some pinch points that mean a
targeted attack can cause widespread damage.
The incidents mark a change in tactics for online attackers.
DDoS
attacks are typically aimed at a single website. Friday's attack on
Dyn, which acts as a directory service for huge numbers of firms,
affected several of the world's most popular websites at once.
The
use of internet-connected home devices to send the attacking messages
is also a relatively new phenomenon, but may become more common.
The
Mirai software used in these attacks was released publicly in September
- which means anyone with the skill could build their own attacking
botnet. Image copyrightThinkstockImage caption
Any number of home devices could be used in such attacks - so long as they're connected to the internet
On social media, many researchers and analysts expressed frustration with the security gap being exploited by attackers.
"Today
we answered the question 'what would happen if we connected a vast
number of cheap, crummy embedded devices to broadband networks?'" wrote Matthew Green, an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Information Security Institute.
Jeff
Jarmoc, head of security for global business service Salesforce,
pointed out that internet infrastructure is supposed to be more robust.
"In
a relatively short time we've taken a system built to resist
destruction by nuclear weapons and made it vulnerable to toasters," he tweeted.
Imo Recordz front line act who goes by the name “Ellyman”
with real names Elias Sunday Ogbu make a big appearance into the
Nigerian Music Scene 3 months ago with his hot slamming single titled “O’Africa” accompanied with the visuals to the same just a few weeks after its release. Ellyman comes straight out of the case with his
presentation single delineating it the African path melded with his one
of a kind style, genre, vocals and straight concentrating on the
importance of solidarity/Unity in the general public and Africa on the
loose. DOWNLOAD “Ellyman – O’Africa Audio & Video” HERE O’Africa had won the hearts of Ellyman’s fans as he is making waves both on TV and on radio stations across the country. Ellyman turns out to be the following huge thing in
the Nigerian music industry. This feat seems to easy because of his
great talent and the endeavors of the label imprint Imo Recordz to help
him get to the pinnacle of is music career.
Not long after the release of O’Africa, Ellyman discharges a hot new single demonstrating his music aptitudes are of high review he reemerges with a banger titled ‘Got the Money‘ which likewise cleared path to the heart of his fans and making them to continue requesting more. DOWNLOAD “Ellyman – Got The Money” HERE
Ellyman has a promising future in the Nigerian Music Scene and is
certain to go far in the music business regardless of the Nigerin music
industry drama at its back-closures and alot of rivalry. He guarantees
his fanatics of more quality music as they expect more from him.
Follow Ellyman on Twitter @officialellyman and on Instagram
Stay Tune!!!
South African Olympic gold medallist, Caster Semenya is 2016 MAMAs Personality of the Year.
She won the award ahead of singer Wizkid and Nigerian blogger Linda Ikeji.
‘I will like to thank God for this precious talent, and my lovely wife. It’s been a fantastic year for me winning the Olympics.
‘The haters are still coming,’ Semanya said as she dropped the mic on stage.
Semenya was the gold medal winner in the 800-metre event at the 2016
Summer Olympics in Rio, Brazil. She has also been nominated for the
women’s 2016 World Athlete of the Year by world athletics governing
body, IAAF.
Other personalities nominated in the category include Gabon striker
and 2015 African Player of the Year Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, and TV
personality Pearl Thusi.
Following her victory at the 2009 World Championships, it was
announced that she had been subjected to gender testing.[2] She was
withdrawn from international competition until 6 July 2010 when the IAAF
cleared her to return to competition. In 2010, the British magazine New
Statesman included Semenya in a list of “50 People That Matter 2010”.
in late 2015, Caster Semenya became married to longtime girlfriend Violet
Ledile Raseboya. The two tied the knot in a traditional wedding
ceremony in their home province of Limpopo. In an interview with the
Sunday Times earlier this year, Semenya said, “I just got married a few
months ago. With the support I get from my training partners, my wife,
coach, fellow South Africans and the support system at the university,
there’s no way you can’t be happy.” Semenya and Raseboya have known one
another since they were teenagers, and while Semenya was in Rio, her
wife was rooting her on Instagram
YBNL record label boss and an online front rapper in Nigeria,
Olamide aka Baddosneh is always on the news for one reason or the
other. after a recent change of hairstyle, Olamide is seen flaunting the
new tattoo behind his left leg.
The tattoo is what looks like a symbol of the iconic yoruba statue,
Oduduwa and the caption he added to it makes us realize the man is
really proud of his culture. See the tattoo below:
Mavin record star, Reekado Banks has been showing off his babe, Emem
Inukim on his social media pages for awhile now. Reeky boy and his
19-year-old Akwa Ibom bae spent time together in the states where they
have been enjoying cosy moments together. Reeky has been been sharing
the wonderful moments with his fans on Instagram.
The Spotlight singer referred to Emem, a medical student as his favorite pet in one of the photos.
See below …
Olamide Beats Wizkid, Davido, Sarkodie & Others To Wins Afrimma Award For “Best Male West Africa”
Olamide Baddo shared on Instagram his award from the just concluded Afrimma award. He won in the “Best Male West Africa”
category which had other big African artistes such as Wizkid, Sarkodie.
Davido, Flavour and many top male artiste from across Africa.
Hardwork & Consistency will keep paying for Life!!!
Congrats to Olamide..
From Kogi to Delta, Bayelsa, Kano, Ondo and Abuja, the All Progressives Congress (APC) is in crisis.
Like a marriage of convenience, the APC is, unarguably, made up of
strange bedfellows, a development that presented it as a party dead on
arrival, notwithstanding the fact that it is in power.
While the APC leadership may want to bury its head in the sand and
pretend that it is all a bed of roses for its members, recent events
have shown that the party is made up of various cliques competing for
its soul.
APC now in Factions -Timi Frank
One man that the Chief John Odigie-Oyegun-led National Working
Committee (NWC) of the party does not usually want to hear speak in
public is Comrade Timi Frank.
While the NWC refers to him as “Deputy National Publicity Secretary”,
who is not sanctioned to speak for the party, Frank prides himself as
the “Acting National Publicity Secretary” of the APC and he is always
firing from all cylinders, reacting to issues in the polity even when
the party leadership fiddles.
Despite repeated denials by the NWC, Frank, an associate of a former
Vice President and chieftain of the party, Atiku Abubakar, said the
party is now greatly factionalized.
“If anybody should tell you that there is no division even at the
national level, they are telling lies. I can tell you, there are issues;
there are very critical issues. The issue of the Senate President is
still lingering, nobody is saying anything at the national level, but I
tell you, any Nigerian that knows will tell you very clearly that with
the body language of our party as of today, if we are not careful, we
are going to lose our popularity”, he said.
“So, there is crisis in the party. If anybody says there is no
crisis, it is a lie. We have many divisions right now within the party,
so I won’t be scared to speak. That is my personal opinion and I have
spoken again and I will continue to speak out. Oyegun, Tinubu and Buhari
“I have nothing to worry about, in a matter of short time, this will come to play out”.
Meanwhile, there is no gainsaying the fact that the party is
controlled by “political warlords” who would do everything to ward off
any intrusion to their territories. Since politics is a game of numbers,
these warlords are often on a collision course as they engage in battle
of wits to out-manoeuvre themselves in the bid to capture new
territories. But, what does the equation roughly look like? APC In the beginning…
Obsessed with the dream of sacking the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP)-led Federal Government, the APC started off as a conglomeration of
friends and fiends, sharply divided in political ideology but strongly
united in the bid to obtain power at all costs.
What is now known as the APC began with the self-styled “Legacy
Parties”, listed in order of political importance: the Action Congress
of Nigeria (ACN)-led by Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu; Gen. Muhammadu
Buhari’s Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the All Nigeria
People’s Party (ANPP) led by Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu.
Ofcourse, there was also a faction of the All Progressives Grand
Alliance (APGA) led by the current Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha,
even as the late Sen. Pius Evwherido and Olisaemeka Akamukali led the
Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) into the merger.
It was later on that a faction of the PDP, tagged new Peoples
Democratic Party (nPDP), led by the incumbent Senate President, Bukola
Saraki, and some five governors joined the APC.
From the beginning, the party had issues with who should be its
“National Leader”. While the APC interim chairman, Pa Bisi Akande,
reportedly settled for Tinubu, Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff, (who has since
defected to the PDP and now leading a faction), protested and said that
since he led the APC to the merger, equity demands that he be accorded
the same respect as Tinubu.
‘No National Leader’
In attempting to cut Tinubu to size, President Muhammadu Buhari was,
sometime in June, reported to have laid the issue of “National Leader”
of the party to rest.
At a dinner with senior party chieftains, Saraki had reportedly
addressed Tinubu as “national leader of the party”, but in his own
address, Buhari had allegedly countered, saying: “Sen. Bola Ahmed
Tinubu, even though the Senate President addressed you as the National
Leader of APC, you are not the National Leader of the party. You are one
of the National Leaders of the APC”.
Since then, the party leadership has been referring to Tinubu as “a
National Leader of the party” and not “the National Leader of the
party”.
The Asiwaju men
Some political pundits believe that Tinubu has been left in the lurch
by the Buhari administration, especially following reports that the
former Lagos State governor could not influence the appointment of many
of his appointees in the government.
Aside Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and the Chairman of the Federal
Inland Revenue Service FIRS, Tunde Fowler, most of the appointments
from his South-West were said to have been done without his input.
Today, he has lost more disciples compared to the days leading to the
formation of the APC.
Odigie-Oyegun, the APC National Chairman, is clearly not in his camp
any more. The same can be said for its National Legal Officer, Dr Muiz
Banire, whose legal advice on the recently concluded but highly
controversial primary election to pick the APC governorship candidate
in Ondo State led to the NWC to uphold the mandate of Mr Rotimi
Akeredolu as against Tinubu’s preferred candidate, Dr Segun Abraham.
In Lagos, it is alleged that Tinubu has lost his political son and
former governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, to the Buhari group. Same for
Dr. Kayode Fayemi, a former governor of of Ekiti State. The list is
endless.
The Turaki Adamawa
Atiku is one man who understands Nigeria’s politics very well and his entry into the APC also altered the equation.
For a long time he sought to also control the soul of the party, but
while he may not be happy that the APC has refused to elevate his “son”,
Timi Frank, as its spokesperson following the appointment of the former
National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, as a cabinet minister, the
former Vice President might perhaps take consolation in the fact that
his group produced the Senate President, the House Speaker and some
ministers. The governor of his home state, Adamawa, Jubrilla Bindow, is
also in his camp while his ally, Sen. Lawal Shuaibu, remains the Deputy
National Chairman (North) of the party. Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, who
is at loggerheads with his governor in Kano, Abdullahi Ganduje, is also
in Atiku’scamp despite having contested against the former Vice
PSesident during the party’s presidential primary election ahead of the
2015 general election.
Sen. Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko and the incumbent governor of Sokoto
state, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, among others, are also said to be aligned
to this bloc.
But the the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir
(SGF) David Lawal, also from Adamawa and who calls Atiku his “uncle”,
seems more aligned with Tinubu. While the SGF is also close to the
President, it is now understood that there are those in Buhari’s camp
who have decided to place Lawal on some kind of “political watchlist”
to determine where his current and true allegiance lies. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo
Osinbajo was reportedly nominated by Tinubu, but Buhari’s authorized
biographer, John Paden, recently claimed in his book, “Muhammadu
Buhari: Challenges of Leadership,” that the President unilaterally chose
Osinbajo as his partner in the 2015 presidential election despite
pressure from Tinubu, who wanted the position.
However, speaking at a presidential dinner in honour of the
beneficiaries of the Amnesty Programme Wednesday night in Abuja,
Osinbajo explained how “somebody somewhere” recommended him for the
position. He fell short of naming the person.
For now, the vice president appears aloof from the behind-the-scene
politicking that has been a hallmark of the present administration.
Chairman Odigie-Oyegun
During the party’s national convention in 2014, Odigie-Oyegun was
Tinubu’s candidate while Kwankwaso and, later, Rotimi Amaechi reportedly
rooted for a former governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva.
But with party Chairman’s handling of the Kogi APC governorship
crisis as well as the Ondo primary election crisis, it is not in doubt
that the relationship between him and Tinubu has headed south.
And ofcourse, there is no love-lost between Odigie-Oyegun and the governor of his home state of Edo, Adams Oshiomole.
Aisha Buhari
Though her husband said she belongs in the kitchen, living room and
the other room, Aisha featured prominently in the 2015 presidential
campaigns, galvanising support across the country not just for her
husband’s presidential bid but also for the success of the APC.
Though she is said to be close to the Minister of the Federal Capital
Territory, FCT, Muhammadu Bello, the minister’s loyalty clearly lies
with the President.
Aisha, according to reports, does not exercise authority over any of
the competing power blocs, even though many party chieftains are aligned
with her recent outburst that Buhari seemed to have forgotten those who
toiled for his emergence.
The NSA Monguno and Magu connection
The National Security Adviser, NSA, Mohammed Monguno, and the
Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, are believed
to also belong to the same bloc.
Lawal Daura, Abba Kyari, Mamman Daura and Malami
Rumour of the romance between the Director General, Department of
State Services, DSS, Mamman Daura, and the Minister of Justice and
Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, has continued to
gain traction with the use of the DSS to track some suspected corrupt
individuals.
Many pundits have questioned the use of the DSS to raid the
residences of some judges when the EFCC could have also done that. It
got so bad that Malami was alleged in some reports to have lost
confidence in the EFCC, hence his decision to use the DSS.
Although, the EFCC has denied the existence of any cold war between
it and Malami, the recent constitution of the “National Prosecution
Council” under the Minister to handle some high-profile corruption cases
is perhaps instructive. This is aside having the Presidential Advisory
Council on Anti-Corruption.
Equally believed to be in this group is the President’s Chief of
Staff, Abba Kyari, as well as Daura. This is perhaps, the group that is
closest to the President.
Image copyrightEPAImage caption
A tow truck was used to separate the vehicles
At least 13 people have been killed in southern California after a tour bus collided with a lorry, media reports say.
Pictures show the mangled bus front rammed into the back of the lorry. Some 30 passengers were taken to hospital.
The crash happened on Interstate 10 close to the resort town of Palm Springs on Sunday morning.
It is not yet known why the two vehicles collided. The bus was bound for Los Angeles.
Rescuers used ladders to climb into the bus windows to remove bodies. Five of the injured passengers are in critical condition.
The west-bound lanes of the interstate were closed near the crash site.
According to the Desert Sun newspaper, the tour bus, run by US Holiday, was coming from Red Earth Casino, near Salton City in California.
The
small Los Angeles-based company, runs trips to casinos in California
and Las Vegas. The driver of the bus was one of the owners of the tour
company.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
records show the company had one vehicle and one driver. According to
the data the company held a satisfactory safety rating and had not been
in a crash for two years. Image copyrightAPImage caption
The cause of the crash is still unknown
– The EFCC denies rumour
that it brought Obanikoro to Nigeria to testify again Fayose
– The former minister returned to the country to confess to the
anti-graft agency
– His confession has implicated some top persons wanted by the EFCC
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has clarified that
Senator Musiliu Obanikoro will face his own case squarely and not tied
with other suspects.
The former minister has been providing implicating statements to the
EFCC since he willingly submitted himself to the office of the
anti-graft agency,
READ ALSO: Obanikoro offers to return N785m stolen election fund
There was speculation that Obanikoro would be used to strengthen the
cases against Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti and Colonel Sambo Dasuki who
is the former national security adviser.
Vanguard reports that an EFCC source said that Obanikoro would account
for the N4.7 billion traced to firms linked to him if he is found
culpable.
The source said Obanikoro would not be used as a protection witness
against suspects in the alleged $2.1 billion arms scandal.
The source said: “Let me make it clear that we did not bring the man
from the United States of America to be used as a witness against any of
the suspects we are investigating in respect of the looting of the $2.1
billion arms cash scandal.
READ ALSO: 4 people Obanikoro’s confession is likely to affect
“No two cases we are investigating are the same and it must be made
clear that Obanikoro’s case has nothing to do with any other person
being investigated by the commission. The truth of the matter is that we
are just beginning the investigation of Obanikoro and evidence adduced
from the probe will determine our next move against him.”
Meanwhile, Obanikoro continued to provide more damaging confession to
the EFCC as his latest revelation implicates Senator Iyiola Omisore.
The EFCC source said: “The former minister, Obanikoro, is still with the
commission. The investigation is still ongoing and he cooperated and
answered the questions put to him.
“He admitted that he transferred N1.7bn to Senator Iyiola Omisire out of
the N4.685bn paid into the Silva Mcnamara’s account on the instructions
of Col. Sambo Dasuki, the former NSA.
“He said a total of N3.880bn was transferred to Fayose and Omisore from
the N4.685bn that was transferred to the company account of Sylva
McNamara.
“The former minister told the commission that Tope Aluko (the then Ekti
State Secretary of the PDP) and other PDP leaders were present when the
dollars were handed over to Fayose, who took them to a room next to
where they met.” Read more: https://www.naij.com/1019528-obanikoro-used-punish-fayose-dasuki-efcc-speaks.html
How 200,000 Unemployed Graduates Will Get Jobs Before End Of October – Presidency Reveals
The vice president has revealed that the implementation plans
for the effective commencement of a number of the social investment
programmes has reached advanced stages for the selection of the first
200,000 unemployed graduates to get jobs.
While speaking with a small group of radio journalists and producers
at the Presidential Villa Abuja, on Tuesday, Vice President Yemi
Osinbajo, said that the implementation plans for the effective
commencement of a number of the social investment programmes has reached
advanced stages as the selection of the first 200,000 unemployed
graduates to get jobs is now being completed.
According to Premium Times, the VP said that:-
“we expect that before the end of the month, we will engage 200,000,”
out of the 500,000 unemployed graduates the Buhari administration plans
to hire in the N-Power jobs programme.
He revealed that the direct government jobs is meant “to keep this
young people occupied, pay them some amount of money and also give them a
device, which will also help them to learn several skills that they can
develop as time goes on.”
“we expect that before the end of this month, we should have engaged
200,000 of them and we are hoping that before the end of the year we
should have engaged more.”
Speaking further, the former Lagos state commissioner of justice,
disclosed that the Home-Grown School Feeding programme is set to kick
off in several states this month.
“Definitely before the end of this month, we expect that several
states would have come on stream with their Home-grown School Feeding
Programmes,” the Vice President noted.
He added that the Home-Grown School Feeding programme “will energise
agriculture in the different states because it is what you plant that
you feed the children with, we will be hiring caterers, cooks, etc in
each state because it will be Federal Government funded from Primaries
1-3 and the state governments hopefully would be able to cater for the
other classes.”
According to the Vice President, the Home-Grown School Feeding
programme is another section of the Social Investment programmes that
impact directly on the lives of Nigerian children and families. He said
several states will start implementing the Home-grown School Feeding
Programme before the end of October.
Olamide’s sixth studio album will be released in December, and it will definitely have rap in it.
The Nigerian rapper who has released released a studio album every
year since his debut in 2011, is working on maintaining his figures and
keeping his momentum going, by dropping a studio album in 2016.
The new album will be released in December, as songs on the album
have already been recorded. It will feature hit song ‘Who you epp’,
along with other singles. No official title, artwork, and tracklist has
been released.
This will be Olamide’s 7 album. In 2011, he launched his career with
“Rapsodi”, and went further to release a string of albums every year
including “YBNL” (2012), “Baddest Guy Ever Liveth” (2013), “Street OT”
(2014), “2 Kings” (joint album with Phyno, 2015), and “Eyan Mayweather”
(2015).
2016 has been a big year for the rapper. Under his leadership and
guidance, his record label, YBNL, has released an album (“YAGI”) for
rapper Lil Kesh, who have subsequently left the company, to found his
personal imprint. It is currently still promoting Adekunle Gold’s “Gold”
album. He has also began work on another of his signed rappers, Chinko
Ekun, who is releasing singles.
Nobody knows how many of his singles since his last album will make
the next full-length project. And although the rapper has kept up his
work in the pop genre, he has always been sure to mix that with some
Hip-hop tracks. This genre diversity has retained his credibility as a
rapper, while also chasing the big bucks that comes from the pop sound.
Singles ‘Who you epp’, ‘Lies People Tell’, ‘Owo Blow’, and ‘Sere’
have all been rap singles which sits squarely at the center of the
Hip-hop conversation. If ever there was an award for the most
eye-catching and viral Hip-hop record for 2016, ‘Who you epp’ will be a
shoo-in for the trophy. Olamide understands his roots in indigenous rap
music, and how he earned his credentials by spitting for the streets. He
embraces his past, and looks to the future with more of it.
Pop music has been a menace to the Hip-hop genre, with the two types
of music having found a way to move in together and cohabit a single
space. Just as the marriage between R&B and Hip-hop in the US, our
pop sounds have formed a natural alliance with rap music, and together
they have grown. Olamide’s ‘Sere’ strides this fine line, and embodies
what has been happening on the music scene for almost a decade. He is on
the record with Lil Kesh, and together, they create music with elements
of both worlds on display.
Just like his past three albums, rap has never been absent from
Olamide’s career, and his next album will still be a glowing addition to
Hip-hop. The man can adapt and become Nigeria’s A-list pop star, but he
finds new ways to still be a rap star too. December will be a good
month for the glory of Nigerian rap music.
Family Over Everything!!! Maheeda Shares Photo Of Her Hubby, Robert And Daughter
Former gospel singer Maheeda who has been married to her
hubby, Robert, for 4 years, shared this rare photo of him and her
daughter on her page and wrote:-
“First you become a success inside you , in your private life, then the rest will follow!!! Success begins from inside you!!!
Haha my daughter is grown I did a great job, thanks to my Hero the
one whose shoulders are my heartbeat… I’m grateful and thank you all for
your love ️ Osheeey”.
