Gbajabiamila Employs Ganduje’s Daughter as Special Assistant

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September 8, 2019

By Uche Mbah

The speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has appointed the daughter of Kano state Governor, Umar Ganduje as Special Assistant on NGOs and Civil Society. The lady, Hjiya Fatima Ganduje-Ajimobi , was married to the son of former Oyo state governor, Abiola Ajimobi’s son, Idris.

This appears to be geared towards the 2023 election bid of the Alleged Godfather of Gbajabiamila, Bola Tinubu, who, it is alleged, is eying the presidency come 2023. Tinubu was the Father of the day during the wedding that built the bridge between North and west.

It was also alleged that Tinubu used the Osun template for the rerun in Kano state.

Her appointment brought up the number of aids to 33. He had appointed six media Aids in the first instance, and then another 27.

According to his spokesperson, Lanre Lasisi, the appointments take immediate effect.

Following is his press release.

“The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila is pleased to announce the following appointments.

These appointments take immediate effect.

1. Special Adviser – Administration – Odofin David Seun
2. Special Adviser – Political Matters – Olanrewaju Smart
3. Special Adviser – Special Duties – Badmus Olufunmi
4. Special Assistant – Legal Matters – Osazee Melody Ogundijie
5. Special Assistant – Legislative Matters – Hon. Raphael Nnana Igbokwe
6. Special Assistant – Gender Equality– Fatima Kakuri
7. Special Assistant – IDPs – Hamza Baba Ibrahim
8. Special Assistant – Special Needs /Equal Opportunities – Abdulsalam Idowu Kamaldeen
9. Special Assistant – Employment and Job Creation – Hadiza Abubakar Talba
10. Special Assistant – Budget and Finance – Lukman Oyewole Lawal
11. Special Assistant – Former Members Affairs – Hon Bassey Ewa
12. Special Assistant – Policy and Inter-Parliamentary – Princewill Tabia
13. Special Assistant – Executive Relations – Hon Ibrahim Mohammed Baba
14. Special Assistant – Anti-Corruption – Akin Ogunlola
15. Special Assistant – Niger Delta / Oil & Gas – Hon. Daniel Reyenieju
16. Special Assistant – Research and Public Policy – Dubem Mogalu
17. Special Assistant – Members’ Affairs – Dunkwu Nnamdi Chamberlain
18. Special Assistant – SDGs – Shehu Saleh
19. Special Assistant – Youth Matters – Ibrahim Alli-Balogun
20. Special Assistant – Intergovernmental Affairs – Adaku Apugo
21. Senior Legislative Aide – Adim Akpapunam
22. Special Assistant – Political Matters (North East) – Hon Sadiq Ibrahim
23. Special Assistant – Political Matters (South West) – Hon. Ayodeji Joseph
24. Special Assistant – Political Matters (North West) – Hon. Bashir Baballe
25. Special Assistant – Political Matters (South East) – Hon. Anayo Nnebe
26. Special Assistant – Political Matters (North Central) – Hon. Adamu Chika
27. Special Assistant – Political Matters (South South) – Hon. E. J Agbonayinma

Tribunal Sacks James Manager, Orders Rerun; Uduaghan Goes On Counter Appeal

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Uche Mbah

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September 8, 2019

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By Uche Mbah

The Election Petition tribunal sitting in Asaba has sacked the senator representing Delta south Senatorial zone.

Manager is of the peoples democratic Party, PDP.

The former governor of Delta state, Emmanuel Uduaghan, had challenged his election in the tribunal citing irregularities. He prayed that the tribunal should invalidate the election.

Uduaghan is of the All Progressives congress, APC.

In the ruling, Justice C. O. Onyeabo, who read the Judgment on behalf of his colleagues, Justice DA Onyeogbemi and justice SJ Usman, annulled the election, ordering a rerun within ninety days. Consequently, the judge ordered the withdrawal of the certificate of return given to Manager until the re-run election is conducted and a new winner emerges.

He ruled that the defendant could not adequately defend the election victory, particularly the issue of over voting and general irregularities in Burutu, Bomadi, Patani, Isoko North, Warri South-West and Warri North local government areas.

Manager is expected to appeal the judgement.

But Uduaghan had insisted that the Tribunal ought to have deducted the excess figures and declared him winner. Thereby, he is also going for a counter appeal to compel the appeal court to declare him winner.

The same scenario had played itself out in the tribunal judgement against Dino Melaye, PDP Kogi west, who got the same ruling from the tribunal holding in Lokoja. The PC also submitted a counter appeal.

These has made skeptics wonder why the All progressives Congress is scared of election reruns, but want to be declared winners out-rightly.

Jehova’s Witness Can Now Receive Blood Transfusion, Their Council Of Elders Declares

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Uche Mbah

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September 8, 2019

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By Uche Mbah

After over a century of rigid dogma of not receiving blood transfusion due to doctrinal precepts that was elevated to biblical injunctions, the Jehovah’s Witness recently sent a circular to all their kingdom Halls doctrine.

Many lives have been lost in the past due to the doctrine, as terminal cases in hospitals who needed blood transfusion to survive died due to their hold on the age old tradition.

It has been one of the sore point of major disagreement between them and mainstream Christianity.

In a letter to all their Kingdom Halls, they also discarded the teachings that insisted that those were born before 1914 will not die before the millennium comes.

This is not the first time the group will change their doctrine, one being the time they changed their belief that Jesus was not God but only his Son. That doctrine was later allegedly changed by the Council.

Below is the Directive from the Council, according to Strategic Media Nigeria.

“To the Worldwide Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses,
Greetings!
“There is an appointed time for everything, A time for every activity under the heavens” (Eccl. 3:1)

We are writing to you at this time to convey to you a number of fundamental changes being implemented at this time. We recognize that some of these adjustments may prove disconcerting to our brothers and sisters. We trust that a spirit of love and forgiveness will ensure all to make the transitions detailed here. (Romans 12:2)

Adjustments to Our Teachings and Beliefs:
After much heartfelt deliberation and prayer, we are no longer under the belief that the Gentile Times spoken about in Daniel Chapter 4 ran its prophetic course and concluded at the beginning of our 20th Century. Previously, we have asserted that this period of time commenced in the year 607 B.C.E. and concluded about the fall of 1914 C.E. We now believe this to be in error. After much research and study, we have come to realize that this teaching is one which arose as a central aspect of the 19th Century Adventism which so influenced our founder, Charles Taze Russell and his early associates and continued to be promoted throughout much of our history. While at times we have endeavored to understand the prophetic teachings of Daniel and Revelation with regard to the time that God’s rulership would be “trampled upon by the nations,” and made certain calculations coinciding to this period, we must admit that this adventist practice entails human speculation without sound scriptural basis.

We continue to maintain that the advent or coming of Christ Jesus is to be expected by the faithful and possibly not too far in our future. And while we continue to believe that there are many events and conditions which seem to signify that we may indeed be in the last days spoken of by our lord, we must in humility admit that we do not know for certain either that we are yet in the time of the nations or when the end of this system of things may be expected. (See Matt. 24:3, 2 Tim. 3:1, Lev. 26:40, Matt. 25:13)

It is with this new understanding that we must embrace that the year 1914 C.E. has no scriptural prophetic significance. In the past, we have held firmly to the belief that 1914 C.E. signified Christ’s invisible return and the beginning of the last days including the restriction to the Earth’s vicinity of Satan and the demons. (Revelation 12: 7-12) Many times, we have sought a greater understanding of the meaning of Jesus words regarding the generation that “would not pass away” at Matthew 24:34. Although these attempts to understand the meaning of the scripture were undoubtedly sincere, they were predicated upon the understanding that 1914 C.E. was a significant year in fulfillment of biblical prophecy. In light of our adjusted understanding, we must further state that we do not know the modern-day identification of that generation, if there is one, or whether Jesus intended a greater meaning than what he purposed to convey to his immediate followers when he uttered those words.

Consequently, we must now acknowledge that we have been overly presumptuous in identifying the “faithful and discreet slave” spoken of by Jesus (Matthew 24:3, 45; Mark 13:3, 4) as being closely identified with the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Previously, we have stated that the Governing Body is neither inspired nor infallible, however, now we must further clarify that the Governing Body has no claim to the fulfillment of Jesus’s illustration and no special role in providing divine truths or teachings to the household, which is Jehovah God’s people. In the future, the Governing Body will continue to focus on providing spiritual food to the best of our ability, but with no claims of special authority or divine directive.

Turning now to another important matter, we wish to discuss an adjustment in the way that members of the congregation are treated in circumstances involving commission of serious sin and other transgressions against others or against Jehovah’s laws and principles. Previously, these matters have been handled with some confidentiality by the local body of elders. At times, it was deemed necessary that a brother or sister, who was understood to be unrepentant or otherwise potentially a hazard to the welfare of the congregation, would be disassociated or disfellowshipped from the association of Jehovah’s Witnesses. (1 Cor. 5:13)

However, a consideration of the theocratic procedure outlined at Matthew 18:15-17, reveals the proper steps that members of the congregation should undertake when faced with a fellow member who has committed a serious sin. As clearly outlined, the first step should be to confront privately and directly the person who has committed such a serious sin. This need not be done in any formal way, nor by the Elders of the congregation solely, nor does there need to be more than one person confronting the errant member, as Matthew 18:15 clearly shows this to be a personal endeavor to correct the sinning member of the congregation. As stated in the continuing verse, only after the unrepentant member persists in wrongful conduct or belief should it further be endeavored with the help of one or two others to correct the matter. Only after these attempts have been made to correct the sinning member of the congregation, should the matter be set before the whole congregation. As Matthew 18:17 clearly states, the whole matter should be spoken about before the whole congregation in an open and frank discussion. This is because each member of the congregation will bear the personal responsibility of whether they wish to continue in brotherly fellowship with the person or whether they wish to treat the person as someone who stands outside of the congregation. In ancient Israel, it was similar that each member of the congregation would have a hand in rendering the judgment and carrying out any discipline that might result. (Deut. 17:7)

Therefore, after the matter has been spoken about to the whole congregation, each person as an individual, must decide for him or herself whether to continue in association with the wrongdoer. It may be that some will choose not to continue any association with such a person and it may be that others may decide that they may continue associating with the person. In either case, it is not for anyone to judge the conscience of another. (1 Cor. 10:29, Rom. 2:1-16) Special care should be taken not criticize the decisions of others in these matters with the solemn recognition that every person shall ultimately be accountable to Jehovah God for his or her own life decisions and course of conduct. (Romans 14: 1-23)

At this time, we must discuss the treatment of a very serious issue within our worldwide association, namely, the matter of child sexual abuse. While we have at times acknowledged that Jehovah’s people have not escaped the scourge of child sexual abuse and that there have been some instances of this occurring even among Jehovah’s Witnesses, it must now be confessed that in some serious ways we have failed to protect the flock at times. In no small part, this was due to insistence that there be at least “two witnesses” of serious wrongdoing within the congregation. (Deut. 17:6; 19:15, John 8:17, 2 Cor. 13:1, 1 Tim 5:19) And at other times, over-concern for the reputation of the congregation, discouraged our brothers from appealing to outside authorities or even reporting these matters to the lawful authorities. (2 Pet. 2:2)

While this scriptural principle is generally sound in many cases, it must be admitted that in typical circumstances involving child sexual abuse, it is unlikely that a second witness will arise or that the one committing such abuse will confess to his or her actions. We therefore, deem it only reasonable that the procedures as outlined above in Matthew 18 in dealing with persons who are or who have committed serious sins, be followed in situations involving allegations of child sexual abuse but with the sensible modification that the sinner need not first be confronted by the victim and that in any open discussions of such matters the sensitivity of the victims and young members of the congregation be considered. Additionally, and more importantly, while it is up to the congregation to deal with sin of the matter, it is not up to the congregation to deal with the crime, if any, of the matter. Congregation Elders and members of the congregation are neither trained nor equipped to deal with allegations or instances of child sex abuse as a matter for the congregation only. IN ALL INSTANCES OF CHILD SEX ABUSE, APPROPRIATE LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT ARE TO BE CONTACTED IMMEDIATELY. It is these superior authorities that must investigate and ultimately render civil and criminal justice in these situations and only they who can make any determinations about the criminality of the situation.

We realize that there are many within our worldwide brotherhood and many who are now outside of it, who have been terribly hurt by this issue and by our general failings in this area. We can only offer our utmost and heartfelt apology at this time and resolve that going forward these matters will be treated in the appropriate way.

Regarding the issue of accepting blood transfusions and blood components. We hereby announce that henceforth these matters will be one of personal conscience.

Regarding the issues of military service, alternative military service, political or civic affairs, law enforcement careers and other similar matters, these also we believe to be a matter of individual conscience.

Brothers and Sisters, these matters discussed above are only a few of the most important changes which we felt crucial to convey to you at this time. We intend to address each of these matters and many other adjustments to our beliefs and organization more fully and in depth in future issues of the Watchtower over the coming year as well as on our website JW.ORG.

We thank you in advance for your patience and hope that you welcome these changes with a loving and generous spirit.

Reorganization of the Local Congregation

As expediently as possible, all local Kingdom Halls will be deeded over to the individual congregations. The local congregation should immediately begin to take steps to form itself into an individual legal entity in order to take ownership of the property. Where there are more than one congregation currently sharing the Kingdom Hall, only one legal entity need be created in order to take legal ownership of the property. Help from the Legal Desk is available and a separate letter to the Body of Elders is following containing more information about this adjustment.

Within thirty days of this letter, each congregation should meet together as a group and elect among itself a “Body of Elders” to serve in a leadership capacity of the local congregation. It is advised that the local body be comprised of no less than five members, if possible and no more than twelve, however this is only a suggestion to the congregation. The exact composition of each Elder Body, the selection of Ministerial Servants, or other helpers is to be decided upon by the entire congregation in democratic order. It should be noted that these leadership positions are to be deemed open to all whom the local congregation consider are suitable and not to be restricted on the basis of gender, age, nationality, sexuality or other such factors.

The Body of Elders are hereby directed to immediately permanently dispose of all publisher record cards and are further directed to keep no official rolls of the membership of the local congregation. For use at the local level in matters of practicality, the Body of Elders may keep unofficial lists including contact information of the friends. More information regarding this adjustment will follow in a separate Body of Elders letter.

With regard to the hallmark facet of our Worldwide Brotherhood, namely that of public and house-to-house ministry, we are in preparation of a series of study articles of the Watchtower for your consideration. While it cannot be denied that over the history of Jehovah’s modern day organization, the techniques of spreading the Good News about God’s Kingdom through our public ministry and individual proselytizing has resulted in the gathering of many persons to the faith, it must also be acknowledged that these methods are no longer the most effective. Indeed, there are many brothers who have spent a life-time in full-time pioneer work or otherwise devoted countless hours to their ministry with not more than a few non-family members every accepting the Good News and choosing to dedicated their lives to Jehovah God.

Rather than continuing to burden our brothers and sisters with onerous requirements to engage in the public ministry and continuing to create an atmosphere and culture of perfection and service which can never be met and which seems more often to result in feelings of self-doubt, guilt and even depression, that the focus on becoming a person of high moral character and joyful in life will draw others who may be interested to inquire of us the reasons for our joy and exceptional attitude and character. (Matt. 5:16, Psalm 4:6)

As will be discussed in future study editions of the Watchtower and as information in future letters to the congregations that follow will discuss, we are entering into a great revolution of our Worldwide Association of Christian Jehovah’s Witnesses. We purpose to return our brotherhood to a time which more closely resembles the early beginnings of our organization as Bible Students, with a return to local control many of the ordinary facets of our worship, including determining the time, place and manner of the gatherings of the congregation. A future study article of the Watchtower which may be considered only as a suggested model of the organization of local meetings of the congregation is in preparation for your consideration.

Reorganization of the Worldwide Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses

Dear Brothers, it is with great joy and anticipation that we announce to you now a grand restructuring of the various branch offices of the Worldwide Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses including the Worldwide Headquarters at Warwick, New York (“Watchtower”).

Henceforth, Watchtower will continue to serve the Worldwide Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the following ways:
• Continuing to create and publish various publications, including the Watchtower* and Awake! magazines, the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, various other Bible based literature including several planned commentaries on the scriptures and other publications. Hardcopies of these publications will be available for purchase from Watchtower by the individual and many will be freely available on JW.ORG
• Continuing to produce and publish various written and video content for our internet broadcast and website JW.ORG
• The training of missionaries to serve in foreign lands to spread the Good News of God’s Kingdom. • The training of traveling speakers which may be requested by local congregations to visit and deliver talks on prepared bible subjects.
• The organization and coordination of annual assemblies which individuals or congregations as a whole may choose to attend.

*Please note that the Watchtower will no longer be considered mandatory study material as a congregation after the last planned study-version of the Watchtower containing discussion of the changes and adjustments mentioned in this letter. [Time to be determined.] While we believe that the articles will continue to prove to be fortifying and educational, the individual congregations will organize how to structure their weekly gatherings and the materials to be considered as a congregation.

We thank you in advance for your attention to the contents of this letter and we hope that you embrace these adjustments to our Worldwide Brotherhood in the same generous spirit as you have always expressed in the past. We believe that the future of our worldwide association is strong provided that we continue to grow and mature and progress in our greater understanding of Jehovah’s God’s purposes and activity.

Please accept our love and tender greetings.
Your brothers,
The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses

A Time to Rebuild – Governor Ihedioha

By

The Source

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September 7, 2019

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Like his other counterparts, Imo State Governor, His Excellency, Emeka Ihedioha, CON, marked the traditional 100 days in office.

On assumption of office on May 29, he met a broken state.

But Ihedioha came in well prepared. His long stint at the House of Representatives where he ended up as the Deputy Speaker, abreast with the suffering of his people makes him a natural.

So, he has been listening to the people, inspiring them, giving hope, cleaning the State’s image, and instilling confidence.

Following is the address he delivered to the people to mark his 100 days in office.

He looked at the past, the present, and the future.

A 100 days ago, my Deputy, Hon. Engr. Gerald Irona and I were sworn into offices as Deputy Governor and Governor of Imo State, respectively. At that solemn event, we pledged to serve you with honesty, transparency and the fear of God. We have not, for one day wavered from that commitment. Let me begin by thanking you for entrusting the leadership of our dear State to us at this auspicious time in our history and for your support and prayers that have taken us thus far.

In keeping with the hallowed tradition in democratic governance, a 100days in Office has always been observed as a benchmark to measure the initial achievements of any government. I can assure you, that the executive arm, the legislature and you the good people of Imo State, are working together to rebuild Imo State.

Imo Growth and Strategic Development Plan

As you are all aware, prior to our inauguration, we constituted a high-powered Transition Technical Committee (TTC) comprising distinguished Imo sons and daughters from both within the state and the diaspora. This was to harness our huge human and economic resources to set a clear path in our rebuilding process.

The outcome of the great work accomplished by this team is being reviewed to come up with an Imo State development agenda to be known as Imo Growth and Strategic Development Plan (G-SDP). The Plan involves a two-stage development horizon of a 5-year Economic Blueprint. These noble men and women assisted us at no cost. To them, we say, a big thank you for their time and sacrifices.

The Plan include the delivery of 381km rural access road projects, restoration of an improved Owerri Master-plan, restoration of water supply in Owerri metropolis, roll-out of a State health insurance scheme as well as the reactivation of four technical education institutions in the state. Others include an economic growth and strategic development initiatives along 5 sub-themes of; Human Capital Development, Agriculture and Food Security, Infrastructure, Industrialization and Job Creation as well as Security and Environment.

Building Institutional Framework for Good Governance

In this direction, we have set up a structure for transparency and accountability in the governance process. Accordingly, we have signed into law, Executive Order 005, known as Treasury Single Account (TSA) Order to consolidate all government revenues under one account. We have also adopted other measures designed to plug leakages and increase Internally Generated Revenues (IGR) in the state coffers.

We cannot achieve the right growth as a state without a sustainable revenue generating system. The State has less than 5% of the working population of over 2 million paying taxes and this is not an acceptable position. We met an arbitrary tax collection system leading to leakages, fraud and all sorts of irregularities.

To ensure a sustainable IGR regime, we took steps to reform the state Internal Revenue Service. From August 2019 all cash tax payments have been banned and the Government has mandated the use of the PayDirect platform with a single source sweeping of revenue. This has started addressing the issue of multiple accounts and leakages, and the IGR has grown from an all-time low of about 300m in July to 600m in August.

We have commissioned a Central Billing System which will drive the use of technology in tax collection. We have started a tax payer enumeration exercise with the attendant benefit of identifying the tax payers and ensuring they pay the right amount of tax to the right source.

A transformation of the revenue service built on the pillars of People Processes and Technology to ensure that we serve the needs of the populace in the most efficient and professional manner, by operationalizing the autonomy of the Imo Internal Revenue Service in line with global standards.

We have also listened to your issues on multiple taxation and commenced a tax harmonization exercise in a bid to eliminate multiple taxation and streamline taxes in a manner that will only focus on the most relevant taxes to be paid.

Due to these strategic and fiscal responsibility moves, Imo State has gained positive image and is now on track to join the Open Governance Partnership league. It also now qualifies for performance-based grants of the World Bank as well as other multilateral development institutions. We are also currently developing the Imo Growth and Economic Development Fund. The fund will be unique in Nigeria and would serve as an investment catalyst for the Imo State economy.

Restoring Confidence in the State Civil Service

Another immediate concern we confronted head-on was the weakness of the State Civil Service due to high nepotism, lack of motivation, delayed salaries and under-payments by, sometimes, as much as 30 percent of salaries due. We, thenceforth, set up a review committee to look into cases of improper or irregular appointments, promotions and other related matters.

The Committee has turned in its report and, subsequently, we have approved the restoration of payment of 100 percent salaries to all workers in the State, recalled all unjustly suspended Directors, reversed some undeserved promotions and sponsored officers to capacity building programmes. Similarly, Local Government workers have been paid the backlog of salaries owed them by the last administration. I can tell you that there is a renewed sense of motivation in the civil service across the state today.

Rebuilding our collapsed infrastructures

We inherited a huge swath of collapsed infrastructures. Except those built by the Federal Government that are useable, the roads built by the state are in a very bad shape, despite the billions of naira purported to have been spent on road construction by the immediate past administration.

However, we are happy to inform you that the expanded State Executive Council has approved the award of contracts for the reconstruction of 14 critical roads across the State to relievethe sufferings of our people. These include: Naze-Federal Polytechnic Road-Ihiagwa-Obinze road; Ahiara Junction-Okpala Road; Aba Branch-Ahiara Junction road and the Imo Stare Teaching Hospital Road. Others include, the Umuowa-Old Orlu Road; MCC-Toronto Road; Mgbidi–Oguta road; Ogwoghoranya-Avutu with spur at Avutu Poultry FarmRoad andthe Douglas–Emmanuel College-NazeJunction road.

Also captured in under this phase of reconstruction are: the Assumpta-PortHarcourt Road; OkigweOkpara Road-Police Station Road; Control Post-World Bank–Umuguma Road; Okigwe Road-IMSU-Bishop Court Roundabout Road and the Concorde Boulevard Ring Road-Zuma–PH Road. To show that we mean business as usual, yesterday, we embarked on an aggressive flag-off of seven (7) of these projects.

Just last week, at Onuimo, Isu and Mbaitoli Local Government Areas, we flagged off one of the most ambitious rural road construction projects in the country. Valued at N13.5 billion the World Bank assisted Rural Access and Mobility Project (RAMP), involves over 70 rural road networks with a cumulative distance of 381 kilometers across most of the 27 Local Government Areas of the state. We met the project just on the drawing board, we immediately harnessed the necessary resources to pay the counterpart funding.

Security, Public Utilities and Social Services

Security in the State has been a big challenge since we assumed office. Pursuant to this, we have held several meetings with our Security Chiefs on how to chart the way forward. Accordingly, a few days ago, we launched Operation Iron Gate, as a strategic measure to combat crimes and criminalities as well as rid the State of all undesirable elements.

We have taken practical and sustained steps to get our health care delivery system in Imo working again. We have relaunched the stalled Health Insurance Scheme to connect effectively into the already existing federal government insurance scheme. We have also committed 1% of our Consolidated Revenue to this scheme. We are therefore confident that, in no distant time, a good percentage of our populace would have registered and started benefitting from the scheme.

Indeed, no meaningful industrialization can take place where there is poor power supply. Power supply in the state, over the years, has been limited by generation shortfalls as well as transmission and distribution deficiencies. Other hindrances include, the absence of modern electricity management systems and the non-exploitation of green technology in the energy mix.

Consequently, we have set up the Imo State Power and Rural Electrification Agency (I-POREA) to evolve strategies to remove barriers to adequate exploitation of our power generation potentials. We also empowered I-POREA to take advantage of the State’s natural gas and alternative energy resources to bridge the gap in access to electricity in the state. We have also made remarkable progress towards the restoration of electricity supply to some areas of the State where they were nonexistent in the last seven to eight years. This include, the replacement of 79 failed transformers across the State, completion of electricity supply to Inyishi Aluminum Extrusion Company and its environs as well as the Oguta 33kv line electricity project.

For several years, the Otamiri Water Supply was not functional and our people in the State capital and its environs suffered untold hardships. We have therefore, provided what was required to get it working again. Specifically, water started running again in Imo on 24th July, 2019 after almost seven(7) years of dry pipes. In the same vein, work is ongoing to rectify cases of burst pipes across the major roads. Similarly, when we assumed office, we discovered to our consternation that there was no functional fire-fighting equipment in the state. We took prompt and practical steps. Today, we have successfully repaired four firefighting trucks to restore the operations of Imo emergency and firefighting services.

We are tackling the housing deficit in the state by taking concrete steps towards repositioning Imo State Housing Corporation. We are entering into partnership with primary mortgage institutions such as Federal Mortgage Bank, the Family Homes Funds and other reputable private sector investors, towards providing 5000 affordable homes by the year 2023. We also have a Social Housing Initiative designed to create about 15,000 jobs in the next four years.

Since our assumption of office, we have carried out the renovation of the Odenigbo lodge which presently serves as the offices of the Governor and Deputy Governor and commenced the renovation of Commissioners’ quarters and quarters of security chiefs. We have also completed comprehensive enumeration of all public buildings in the state capital for accountability purposes.

Reviving Agriculture and Enhancing Food Value Chain

Pursuant to our resolve to harness our agricultural potentials as well as generate employment, just a few days ago, we launched our Agricultural Roadmap which represents a comprehensive framework for self-sufficiency in food production, both for domestic consumption and for exports purposes. By our strategic location at the heartland of the South East and our endowment with the only international cargo airport in the region, we are certain that with the right investments, the state would harvest monumental benefits in this sector.

I am happy also to report that the first batch of 500 youths selected from all the 27 LGAs in Imo State will be sent to a modern farm at Nasarawa State, in a few weeks, under the Imo Youths in Agribusiness Programme (IYAP). Here, they would learn the best practices in tropical agriculture, after which they will be supported to start their own businesses in Imo State.

We have also commenced the establishment of a Rice Seed Farm Cluster on the Imo River Basin at Amumara – Ezinihitte Mbaise LGA. This programme will make Imo State self-sufficient in the production of improved variety of rice seeds with a view to strengthening our rice value chain. Experts in rice breeding, production and processing from the Africa Rice Centre at IITA Ibadan will be training our groups of rural young farmers to grow and process improved rice seeds.

We have also commenced the introduction of light mechanization to farmers in areas where full tractorization may not be possible. This is intended to reduce the drudgery of farming and make it more efficient and attractive for the youths. Experts in power tillers, threshers etc. would soon arrive from the National Centre for Agricultural Mechanization (NCAM), Ilorin, to commence the pilot scheme. Specialists in light irrigation and water management have also been invited and I have released funds for equipment to pilot the teaching of youths on how to make use of our perennial water sources for an all-year-round production of crops.

The process for the rejuvenation of Imo ADP has commenced and plans are underway to train staff and reintegrate them back to intervention programmes that have suffered severe setbacks in the past as a preclude to granting access to reputable, time-tested investors.

It is noteworthy that, the Avutu Poultry Farm has been cleared for a full restoration to a world-class standard. Similarly, Adapalm is being cleared through the relevant Committee and we would soon commence operations. The challenge of pending legal issues is being attended in order to clear the way for full optimization of its potentials.

Our state is set to host the only Agribusiness Park in Nigeria at Ngor-Okpala. This comprises an agribusiness academy, and a smart agribusiness centre, thus positioning the facility for revenue generation and job creation. In a few weeks’ time, we would begin the process of data capture of afffected Imolites in the upcoming agriculture revolution program targeting 400,000 participants between the ages of 15-64.

Rebuilding our Sports facilities

In the area of sports development, you would agree with us that Imo State used to be the fishing ground for sporting talents. Many celebrated sports stars have emerged from our State. But in the last few years, even our Heartland Football Club and the Grasshoppers Handball Club have performed abysmally due to complete neglect.

The Dan Anyiam Stadium was completely broken down to the extent that NFF barred it from hosting matches and our football team, the heartland football club was nearly relegated from the Premiership as a result. Happily, our prompt intervention just before our inauguration arrested the slide. We have started re-grassing the Dan Anyiam Stadium, installing new flood lights, replacing the seats and constructing Olympic standard tartan tracks, while the Grasshoppers Stadium is beginning to wear a new look. Furthermore, local councils have joined the talent mining program of the state government through construction of sporting facilities in their respective local government areas.

Strategic Reforms to Enhance Investment

For years now, Imo State has been the ugly bride in the area of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country. No amount of moulding of statues can attract the needed investment in the state if the government lacks integrity and the enabling environment for both domestic and foreign investments is not there. Accordingly, we have designed a framework for implementing the necessary reforms to improve our place on the World Bank Ease of Doing Business ranking, which has taken a battering in the last eight years.

In a few weeks’ time, we would be inaugurating the Imo State Enabling Business Environment Council – ISEBEC. The Council, would draw up, implement and oversee an agenda for business process reforms. We have commenced initial engagement with development partners like the World Bank and DFID, to provide technical assistance to the Secretariat and related MDAs to implement the reforms.

As mentioned earlier, we are reworking the Tax Billing System (TBS), to stem the debate over multiple taxations and to restore transparency and accountability in our tax collection regime. In the coming days our Imo people will know exactly what taxes are due to them and how and where to pay such taxes.

The government has revamped the Imo State government Bureau of Public Procurement and Price Intelligence and appointed a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply as its Director-General. Thus far, the BPPPI has dusted and resurrected the State Public Procurement Law No.12 of 2010, which was kept moribund since its enactment. Similarly, we recently embarked on investment and trade promotion visits to the United Kingdom, Germany and others, where we interacted with prospective investors, development partners and donor agencies.

Getting the Pension Process Right once and for all

We inherited over 6 years of pension arrears and discovered baffling discrepancies in the total number of pensioners in both the State and the 27 Local Governments. Consequently, we are carrying out a comprehensive audit of the pension administration system in the State with a view to ascertaining the actual number of pensioners and ending the perennial cycle of verifications that has plagued the process. In a short while, the exercise will be concluded and all the troubles hitherto experienced by our senior citizens, would be a thing of the past. I assure you that this will be the last pension verification exercise in this state.

Environmental Sanitation.

Owerri our State capital was famed for its cleanliness, but in the last eight years, we witnessed a gross deterioration of our standards of beauty and sanitation. It could rightly be said that no State capital in our federation at any moment in our history suffered a conscious infrastructural dilapidation and decay like Owerri. Every visitor that visited Owerri had alluded to this fact. Immediately we assumed office, therefore, we embarked on the removal of mountains of refuse dumps that littered the state capital and followed immediately with the de-silting of blocked drainages to ensure a permanent solution to the issue of flooding in the capital city.

We have also revived the monthly state-wide clean-up exercises and have set up a high-powered committee to work with ENTRACO, the Imo State sanitation agency. We are delighted to observe that the face of Owerri is progressively changing. Only last week the Nigerian Association of Town Planners gave Owerri the 2019 Green Cities Promotion Award.

Restoring the Autonomy and Integrity of the Local Governments

I am glad that we have fully restored the autonomy of the Local government as enshrined in the Nigerian constitution. The Interim Management Committee for the Local Government as resolved by the 8th Assembly, is a stop-gap measure to hold the forte as we work towards free, fair and credible local government elections.

Rebuilding Technical & Vocational Education/ Creating ICT Hub as a Catalysts for Industrial growth.

Giving our children quality and affordable education is a priority of our administration. Preparatory to the assumption of our schools in the new session, we hosted a well-attended Education Stakeholders’ Summit in which we felt the pulse of the administrators, operators, practitioners and students alike. We are geared to this time, making our systems work.

My good people of Imo State, you may recall that in my inaugural address, I promised that we would resuscitate technical and vocational education in the State. The need to create a pool of highly skilled youths that would be the pride of the State in the coming years, cannot be over-emphasized. Consequently, on June 2nd, 2019, we inaugurated a Taskforce on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) under my office. It has been charged with the mandate to deliver tangible outcomes on the transformation of TVET within 180 Days.

The resuscitation of TVET being a priority of the Rebuild Imo Project is anchored on our firm belief that the acquisition of critical technical and vocational skills by majority of our youths has the capacity to stimulate sustainable industrial development, job and wealth creation and ultimately rapid improvement in the socio-economic life of our people. Security of lives and property will also be assured when our youths are off the streets because they are gainfully engaged.

I am glad today, to inform you that just yesterday, we flagged-off the rebuilding and equipping of four technical colleges in the State namely; Government Technical College Owerri, Ahiara Technical College, Government Technical College Okporo, Orlu and Government Technical College Osu. Our target is that by 2020 we should have hit 60 percent mark of post-Basic students as enrolees in the TVET system.

Similarly, we recognize the place of Information & Communication Technology- ICT, as the bridge to the future. Consequently, again just last week we signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a major technology incubation company in the United States to harness the budding technology potentials of our youths. We are also in contact with Google Inc. on how we can invest in the capacity of our young ones.

I am glad to inform us that today we shall launch the first phase of the Chief Leo Stan Ekeh Entrepreneurship Support programme for Imo State indigenes. In this first phase 1,300 people will be given interest-free loans. The main interest free loan for bigger businesses and school fees on the N1.5 Billion support shall commence on Oct, 2019. The objective is to encourage our people engaged in genuine businesses and to empower our people. I therefore commend Chief Ekeh for this gesture and encourage other Imo industrialists to emulate his example.

Rebuilding Culture and Tourism in our State

Less than a month into this administration, we successfully revived the abandoned Ahiajoku Lecture Series. It has, indeed, been elevated to an Institute with the appointment of a Director-General to take charge of its affairs. By doing this, Ahiajoku has become a first rate cultural and intellectual resource centre on Igbo culture and civilisation like the Goethe Institute in Germany and the Italian cultural institute.

The lingering crisis between the indigenes of Nekede and the State government over the alleged misuse of the land designated for the zoological garden has been resolved and we have repositioned the zoo to ultimately become a tourist destination.

Strengthening and Optimizing the Doctrine of Separation of Powers

In this period, we have had a cordial relationship with the legislature. On assumption of office, we immediately hosted a retreat with the members of the State Assembly. This interaction had led to fruitful outcome such that a total of 8 Bills (3 in the 8th Assembly and 5 in the 9th Assembly) were signed into law in the period from May 29th to date.

The are: Imo State Public Procurement (Amendment) law (2) Imo State Local Government Administration (Amendment) Law, (3) Imo State Universal Basic Education Board (Amendment) Law; (4) Imo State Power & Rural Electrification Law , (5) Imo State Electoral (Amendment) Law, (6) Imo State Market Development Authority Law, (7) Imo State Facility Management Agency Law and Imo State Sports Commission (Establishment Law). Moving forward, we are working on domesticating the Administration of Justice Act as well as the Child Rights Act, respectively.

In the same vein, we recognize the independence of the Judiciary and are supporting the establishment of a multi-door court house to create alternative windows for dispute resolution. Only a few days ago, I inaugurated the reconstituted Imo State Judicial Service Commission made up eminent jurists, renowned legal practitioners and reputable Imo citizens. All emoluments and other entitlements of the Judiciary are released as and at the when due.

The Nagging Question of Accountability by the Immediate Past Administration

It is important to recall that we took over the reins of government without even a single handover note. Handover notes, traditionally, is the least responsibility an outgoing administration owes an incoming one. Usually it presents a clear picture of the status of government funds, assets, liabilities, pending judicial matters and even policies to enhance continuity. But unfortunately, this was not done.

We discovered upon inception that the inability to provide the necessary documentation was due to a total abuse and neglect of laid down procedures of good governance. Most shocking were the litany of “garnishee absolute orders” amounting to over N30billion in addition to six years of unpaid pension as well as salary arrears. Projects were poorly conceived, shabbily executed or hastily abandoned. We have even found some of them very hazardous to human safety.

It is worthy of note that with our wage bill at an average of N2.5b per month, almost N1b monthly pension bill and in an atmosphere of very low IGR, leaves very little for development. This is compounded by the almost N1b statutory deduction on our FAAC, majorly for the repayment of the N26.8b bailout funds, given to the last administration by the FG. But we shall not despair.

As a government that espouses the Rule of Law, we will never endorse any manifestation of arbitrary powers. As a result, we have set up two judicial panels of Inquiry, namely: the Judicial Panel of Inquiry into Land Allocation from 2005 to 2019 and the Judicial Panel of Inquiry into Award of Contracts from 2005 to 2019. We have also set up an Inquiry into the Management of Local Government Finances from 2011 to 2019. These panels are made up of very credible Imo citizens with impeccable track records and we are certain they will give ndi-Imo justice.

Conclusion

Ndi Imo Nwemadu, we have made progress in a short time. The outlook of our state is good. These could not have been possible without the cooperation of our vibrant legislature as well as your support and sacrifices. I, once again, express our heartfelt gratitude to the State House of Assembly, and you my people. I continue to appeal for your partnership and prayers as we work rebuild Imo State and work to restore the glorious days of our beloved State.

Eto’o, African Legend, Quits

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The Source

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September 7, 2019

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By Akinwale Kasali

At 38-years of age, Cameroon legend, Samuel Eto’o Fils, has thrown in the towel. He has bowed out of the round leather game, 22-years after announcing himself to the world.

The Nkon born striker made his debut for the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon at the age of 16 against Costa Rica in an international friendly on 9th March,1st 1995, becoming the youngest player to have featured for the Cameroonian national team. Cameroon lost 5-0 in the encounter.

No doubt, Eto’o is not only a Cameroon legend, but an African legend.

He became the first player to win the African Footballer of the Year four times in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2010.

He is also the highest goal scorer ever in the African Cup of Nations Championship. Surpassing Laurent Pokou 14-goal mark, he scored 16 goals in five AFCON tournaments.

He also won the AFCON trophy twice in 2000 and 2002, recording back-to-back triumph.

Shortly after the AFCON 2000 triumph, Eto’o spearheaded the Cameroon’s attack at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games in Australia, winning Gold at the soccer event, defeating the star studded Spaniards team 3-2.

Eto’o scored a brace in the final after extra time. The Spanish team had Xavi Hernandez, Gabri, Ander Iniesta, Gaizka Mendieta, Iker Camilla’s and other in the team that lost to Cameroon.

Eto’o played a total of 718 games in his illustrious career, scoring 359 goals, 116 assists and winning 22 trophies in 22- years.

He was part of the Cameroonian squad that hoisted its national flag at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France. He went ahead to attend the 2002, 2010 and 2014 world cup in Korea and Japan, South Africa and Brazil.

Eto’o joined the league of African players that participated at four FIFA world cups, following the footsteps of compatriots, Jacques Songo’o and Rigobert Song.

His football career started with Kadji Sports Academy in his native country, Cameroon.

He caught the eyes of European club giants, Real Madrid at a very young age. The club signed him, and he instantly became a household name in the Real Madrid Team B side.

Eto’o couldn’t cement a starting role in the Madrid team, forcing him to join Leganes.

He later moved to Espanyol where he was given more playing time, during which he proved himself, forcing Real Mallorca to sign him.

At Mallorca, he became a goal machine, which caught the eyes of Real Madrid rivals, Barcelona.

His move to Barcelona brought out the best in him. He became the prolific striker the world sought after.

At Barcelona, Eto’o won three La Liga titles, two UEFA Champions League titles and two Copa Del Rey titles.

He moved to the Italian league to pitch tent with Inter Milan under Coach Jose Mourinho, winning the UEFA Champions League title in his first season and two Copa Italia Titles.

Eto’o moved to Russia and joined newcomers and Billionaire owners club, Anzhi Makhachkala, earning a whooping 350,000 Euros weekly wages with other incentives, becoming one of the top three highest paid players in the world and the first in the African continent.

After two years in Russia, Eto’o moved to the English Premier League, teaming up with his former manager, Jose Mourinho.

After two seasons with Chelsea, Eto’o moved to Merseyside club, Everton, where he spent a season and moved back to Italy, joining Sampdoria football club.

At Sampdoria, he brought his wealth of experience, helping the club finish at mid-table, before moving to Turkey after a season in Italy.

At Turkey, Eto’o played for Antalyaspor for two seasons before joining Konyaspor Football Club also in the Turkish league as coach-player.

With age no longer friendly to him, Eto’o left Konyaspor after two seasons, moving to the Middle East to sign for a Qatari club side, Qatar SC.

In Qatar, Eto’o was celebrated and appreciated for his commitments and scoring prowess inspite of his age. He helped the club nurture young and promising players as well as his striking partners on how to be more prolific at the front of goal.

Eto’o will be greatly missed by soccer enthusiasts, Cameroonians, Africa and the world, at large, for his ability, honours and passion for the round Leather game.

Govs Makinde, Oyetola Fight Over LAUTECH

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The Source

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September 6, 2019

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By Akinwale Kasali

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and his Osun State counterpart, Governor Gboyega Oyetola, are at loggerheads.

Both governors are trading words over the non-payment of staff salaries at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, LAUTECH, Ogbomosho, Osun State.

Makinde, writing on his verified Twitter handle, accused of Oyetola of not being proactive and, neglecting staff members of the institution, alleging that Oyetola has failed to pay their salaries, thus denying them of adequate welfare.

Responding to the allegation, Oyetola warned Makinde to be cautious while dishing out information, especially, on issues that affect LAUTECH.

Both states co-own the university.

The Osun State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Adelani Baderinwa, in a statement cautioned Makinde to always do his findings holistically on issues that are of public concern before they are disseminated.

Baderinwa stressed that the governor ought to have been well informed by his people, before making such misleading statements the public.

He added that since the assumption in office of Oyetola, Oyo state has been living up to expectations, and carrying out its responsibilities as an equal partner in the LAUTECH ownership with Oyo State, contrary to Makinde’s claim.

“Governor Seyi Makinde needs proper briefing, and extensive readings on LAUTECH, before he could make factual and objective remarks”, Baderinwa says on behalf of the Osun State Government.

Activists Ask Buhari To Re-name Nigeria Law School After Gani Fawehinmi

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The Source

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September 6, 2019

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By Akinwale Kasali

10 years after the passing of Human Rights activist and legal luminary, Gani Fawehinmi in a titanic battle with lung cancer, a call has been made for the naming of a national monument after him.

To celebrate the 10th year anniversary , human rights activists, legal luminaries and Nigerians from all walks of life trooped to a symposium held in his honour in Lagos.

At the symposium, they called on President Muhammadu Buhari to re-name the Nigeria Law School after the legal icon.

Comrade Adeniyi Alimi, the Executive Director for the Coalition of Civil and Human Rights Organizations, COCHRO, urged President Buhari to re-name the Nigeria Law School after the late legal

luminary and social crusader, who contributed immensely to the development of the legal profession in Africa, particularly, Nigeria.

He also called for the unconditional release of all political detainees across the length and breadth of the country including Saharareporters, Publisher, Comrade Omoyele Sowore, and journalist,Agba Jaligo.

The symposium also featured protests demanding for the unconditional release of Sowore, who was the Presidential Candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2019 general elections, and other political detainees in the country.

His words: ” Gani’s contribution towards restoring democracy back to Nigeria after many years of military incursion into our governance cannot be over emphasized. He was involved in the widening of our political space through constitutional means”.

Speaking further on Sowore, the rights activist disclosed that they put their two million- man march rally on hold in solidarity with Nigerians living in south Africa on their present predicament, maintaining that all the allegations leveled against Sowore were a figment of security agents to mislead Buhari’s administration, adding that all the said allegations were baseless and lacked any modicum of truth.

He insisted that the Buhari government lacks all the tenets of democracy such as accountability, transparency,free and fair election, political equality and respect for citizens’ rights. All these, he said, have eluded the country under Buhari.

According to him; “The purpose of law in any sane society, is to bring good governance to the masses. A government like that of Buhari is not ready to cater for the welfare and security of Nigerians.

“The interlocutory injunction to detain Sowore for 45 days is illegal,barbaric, draconian,tyrannical and as democracy fighters, we will not fold our arms and allow Buhari to draw the country back to the dark days of Military era.We have concluded arrangement to collaborate with other groups to launch a crucial sphere of the struggle which would make The 2012 Occupy Nigeria a child play”

Sulaiman, therefore, warned the nation’s judiciary against subjected itself to the whims and caprices of the President on issues of national importance.

Crisis Rocks Kogi PDP, As Party Denies Wada Flag, for now

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The Source

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September 6, 2019

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By Akinwale Kasali

Following the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, primaries in Kogi State, in which Engr. Musa Wada emerged as the gubernatorial Candidate of the PDP, fresh crisis is brewing in the party.

But based on the protests by two of the contestants, the plan to give Wada the party’s flag as it’s governorship candidate was aborted.

On Thursday, he had stormed the party’s national secretariat with his supporters to receive the flag. He was disappointed.

Senator Dino Melaye and Abubakar Ibrahim, son of former governor Ibrahim Idris, disregarded the outcome of the PDP primaries. Both have petitioned the PDP National Working Committee, NWC, over the issue.

Thesourceng.com learnt that the aggrieved aspirants stormed the Wadata Plaza in Abuja to register their grievances.

Abubakar scored a total of 710 votes as against Melaye’s 70 votes at the primary poll conducted in Lokoja, the state capital. It started Tuesday, and ended on Wednesday.

Melaye said he rejected the outcome of the primary on the grounds that all the votes cast in his favour were not counted before gunmen disrupted the exercise.

Melaye submitted his petition to the national secretary of the party, Senator Ibrahim Tsauri, and demanded for a fresh election.

Wada, who clinched the ticket after garnering a total of 748 votes, made a surprise appearance at the party secretariat, accompanied by a mammoth crowd of supporters and political associates. He pleaded with other contestants to bury their hatchet and work together for the success of the party at the polls.

His plea, apparently, cut no ice with them, as the party may have decided to look into the case made by the aggrieved parties before crowning him as the flag bearer.

P&ID $9.6 bn Debt: The Obasanjo, Military Connections

By

Bayo Bernard

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September 6, 2019

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DANJUMA’S STAKES IN THE COMPANY REVEALED

As the federal government moves to explore means to escape payment of the controversial $9.6 bn P&1D judgment debt, feelers emerging from the company indicate that Nigeria may have fallen into a big scam orchestrated by owners of the Irish company.

Following the judgment delivered in August, the federal government has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC to wade into the matter and prosecute all those involved in the contract.

Also P&ID has stated that it was prepared to execute the judgment by seizing Nigerian properties abroad.

From all indications, those that may eventually be picked up, according to sources privy to the details of the contract are ex-government officials including those currently in this administration.

Danjuma’s Link To Owner Of P&ID

Some prominent Nigerians that have now being linked to the firm include Lt General Theophilus Danjuma (rtd), who was Defense Minister under the regime of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo and some top military brass in the Navy, Army and Air-force.

According to Bloomberg a foreign news agency, the ex-Defence chief was, from the start, part of the formation of P&ID.

Danjuma would later allegedly claim that the controversial gas deal, which has now left the nation with a huge liability, was originally his idea and that he was duped $40 million by the promoters of the firm.

How did it all start?

Sponsors Got Contracts From Obasanjo’s Govt

Between 2004 and 2005 an Irish businessman, Marsh Pearl was introduced to former President Obasanjo by some powerful presidency officials.

The two men hit it off almost immediately and everything changed for the businessman in Nigeria as he became a priority contractor for that government which awarded whopping and mouth-watering contracts, including multibillion defense contracts to his companies.

But most of the contracts awarded to him were never executed. It was later discovered that he’s a dupe who use fake companies to execute shady deals across the world ”and sometimes seek arranged damages,” a competent government source told the magazine.

By the time he was discovered, it was too late for the Obasanjo’s administration because he has already made friends with powerful men in government.

His closeness to Obasanjo has also blossomed so much so that some ‘ambitious administration officials” who wanted to prosecute him for corruption were forced to back off, the source said.

PDP, the party in power then was said to have benefited from the company so it was too difficult for the government to move against the owners, a party official told the magazine.

Multi-billion Naira Defense Contracts Awarded To Owners

For instance Pearl, a military source said “got a contract to fix 36 scorpion (military) tanks in Bauchi” which he never executed.

It was clear that the contractor had duped the Nigerian Army after collecting billions but he was never prosecuted. Rather “he was rewarded with many more contacts,” the source told the magazine.

But the table almost turned against him in 2006 as some officials in the government, including the military were already tired of his shenanigans.

How FG Allegedly Failed To Prosecute Sponsors

“In 2006, under Obasanjo, he and his son were charged for episionage,” but their real sin, the source said is “a large scale contract scam that involved military officers.”

“Some top brass in the military were so angry with the company and were poised to make sure that it was dealt with,” the magazine was told.

According to the source, Pearl would have gone down with the scam, save for Obasanjo that allegedly came to his rescue again.

“He denied the charges. The government intervened. You know what that means. He was left off and the case was dropped,” the source said.

That he escaped prosecution by the whiskers was not enough to deter him from committing more atrocities against the Nigerian government.

“In 2010, he entered the Airforce using another company known as Industrial Consultants. He brokered a deal for a British company to fix the ejector mechanisms of our jets. A few months later the air-force terminated the contract, the air-force broke off before it could be raped. But it was too late,” the source said.

The Firm Won $2.3million Against Nigerian Airforce

There was “arbitration” in Nigeria over the case. Pearl, the source stated “won 2.3 million dollars. The air-force refused to pay. But the British company in whose name the contact was written, who won the arbitration, was not even aware of the award.

“Mr Quin” as he was then known “had duplicated the company and used the Nigerian photocopy to run the arbitration deal,” the source said.

The biggest scam ever, is that the man called Mr Quin died in 2015, three years after his company, P&ID dragged the Nigerian government to a London court over a controversial gas contract.

It was learned that Pearl’s children and some of their backers have all the while been behind legal tussle in which a British court, finally found the federal government guilty of contract breach, last month and has now been fined huge damages.

Rift Between Tinubu, Ambode Widens,Ambode Threatens Showdown

By

Uche Mbah

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September 6, 2019

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Indications are that the rift between two former governors of Lagos state, Bola Tinubu and Akinwumi Ambode, is widening by the day with Ambode allegedly threatening to fight dirty if Tinubu does not relent in his alleged persecution plan.

Several allegations has linked the All progressives Congress, APC godfather, Bola Tinubu, to the recent travails being faced by the erstwhile governor, Ambode.

Ambode is under probe for corruption by the Lagos state House of Assembly, but sources allege that the person behind it was his estranged godfather, who they insist still bears some grudges against the immediate past governor.

The nature of the grudge, however, is not clear.

Recently, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, stormed the Epe home of Ambode. but his lawyers had claimed that Ambode was aware that the EFCC were coming, and was prepared. According to the Lawyers, they followed members of the anti-graft agency in their search within his house and claimed that they foiled the Agency’s plan to plant dollars in his house that they will finally claim they found there.

Besides, it was said that his quest for ministerial nomination was torpedoed by the political machinery of the Asiwaju.Now the chickens are coming home to roost.

This Magazine gathered that Ambode rose from a recent meeting with his loyalists threatening to go to the press with incriminating documents in his possession allegedly indicting Tinubu if he refuses to soft-pedal on his alleged witch hunt. It was said that the search within his house may not be unconnected with looking for the alleged indicting evidence against Tinubu.

Recall that Ambode served under Tinubu , and worked together with Tunde Fashola, and Yemi Osinbajo. Hence the three have insider information on the inner workings of the state. Fashola and Ambode were both governors After Tinubu.

If the allegations are true, then the last has not been heard about the Tinubu Ambode saga.