Since Amina Zachary, Buhari’s niece that was recently removed from her vantage position as the independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Director of Operations, the professional lobbyists in this administration have set to work to see that she is returned back to her former position. Amina has recently been moved to Medicals as their new Director as a result of pressures on the government to remove her because of her filial relationship with President Buhari.
In the wake of the rerun elections in Osun, it was alleged that she was instrumental to the pyrrhic victory of the All Progressives Congress Candidate, Gboyega oyetola, in the governorship rerun election. The Magazine was told that after the first election that was won by the Peoples democratic Party, PDP, candidate, Ademola Adeleke, at the heat of announcement of the result, the resident electoral Commissioner received a call from an unknown source, after which he ordered a rerun where it has previously canceled the results. Indications were that the call came from the office of the Director of Operations, who were believed to have taken orders from Zachary. It was then that Kayode Fayemi was detailed to leave President Buhari in the US and rush back home to help Osun repeat the Ekiti feat.
Thereafter, just before the PDP went for their convention, the senate President, Bukola Saraki, led other PDP big wigs in a demonstration to INEC office, accusing Amina of complicity in the rigging of the rerun election . The Police, however, dispersed them under controversial circumstances. They were asking for the resignation of Amina Zachary from office as they alleged she is already compromised due to filial corruption, and that there will be no guarantee of free and fair election as long as she is the Director of Operations in the Commission. INEC Chairman, Mahmud Yakubu, appeared to have resisted the pressures, but the Senate, on resumption of plenary, were said to have pegged the approval of INEC budget on the sacking of Zachary. When she was redeployed, they immediately passed the budget for INEC.
The INEC commissioner in Osun, Oyo and Ogun states, Adedeji soyebi, was later to be transfered to the Electoral Institute.
The lobby to bring Amina back was based on the permutation that she may come in handy in defense of the victory of her uncle during the 2019 elections. Already, the ruling party is said to have become jittery since the duo of Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi emerged as the candidates of PDP-more so as their reliable anchor man in the DSS, Lawan Daura, is no longer with the spy agency.
It is not clear whether Yakubu will succumb to the pressures, but the future promises to be interesting.
More facts have emerged why Border Regions In Transition, BRIT, slated Nigeria and Republic of Benin, two neighboring countries in the West African sub-region for its sixteenth annual Conference to take a critical look at issues relating to Border Management across the world. This is because of the 2019 general elections in Nigeria and the need to ensure the elections are free and Fair by controlling cross border movements.
It is the first time the Conference would be held in Africa because of the importance attached to the Nigeria elections which is to produce another Democratically elected President in the country, an indication that the country may be transiting from one Democratically elected government to another.
Perhaps, to ensure a Free and Fair elections and as a country in Democratic transition, BRIT believes that organizing the Conference in the two West African countries will help to extend the frontiers of knowledge and assist the countries’ policy makers in formulating and implementing policy decisions on Border Management”.
Buhari may have thrown his weight behind the BRIT-organized ”North-South Dialogue On Border Management” in Nigeria, because of his promise to the International Community to organize a Free and Fair elections in the country. The president may have seen the Border Management Conference as an opportunity to expose the Nigeria Police Force, NPF, Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS and The Nigeria Customs Service , NCS, officials to the push and pull factors for both regular and irregular migration from the South to the North in the modern world and the global, regional and national border control mechanisms that exits for dealing with the problems and how adequate they could be.
Perhaps to ensure a successful hosting of the 3-day and two days Border Management Conference in Nigeria and Republic of Benin respectively, the BRIT officials were said to have maintained regular contacts with government officials from both countries to prepare the ground for it.
As a prelude to the the 3-day Conference, which kick-started at the University of Ibadan on Monday, September 15, 2018, Abdulrahman Dambazau, a retired Army Lt. General and former Chief of Army Staff and who incidentally is the minister of Interior was said to have inaugurated a National planning Committee . The Committee was said to have been headed by Tajudeen Akanji, a Professor at the University of Ibadan to oversee the Conference .
The President was said to have given matching order to ibrahim Idris, Inspector General of Police, IGP, Hameed Ali, retired Colonel and, Nigeria Customs Service, NCS and David Paradang, Comptroller General, Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS and other security agencies Chief Executives involved in Border control services to mobilize their officials for the Conference both in Nigeria and Benin republic. Ali, the Customs Comptroller General was said to have appointed a Comptroller in one of the land Border posts to represent him at the Conference. A source disclosed that about 60 senior Customs officers , mostly from all the Border posts including the Customs Headquarters were at the Conference at University of Ibadan. The NPF and the NIS , were also said to have sent powerful representations to the BRIT Border Management Conference at University of Ibadan.
Dambazau, confirmed that this is the” first time the government is making efforts to tackle the threats and challenges associated with trans-border crimes and criminality in the country”. He thanked BRIT officials for giving the government the opportunity to do so. He described”the Conference as a dawn in Border Management in Nigeria.”
Prior to the Conference , Paradang, the Comptroller General, NIS, had disclosed that here are over 1,400 illegal routes used by immigrants to enter into the country. Paradang confirmed that there are only 84 approved land border stations, an indication that the number of illegal routes is about 100 times more than the approved routes.
The NIS boss was said to have cited the case of Adamawa which had over 80 illegal routes in the state, through which immigrants, particularly from Cameroun, could enter into the country freely without traveling documents.
The porous nature of the state may have influenced the deployment of Orisemire Kayode, a former Comptroller of Federal Operations Unit, FOU, Zone C, Owerri, Imo state, by Ali, the Customs Comptroller General, to take over the Adamawa/Taraba customs Command. Kayode who had also served as Comptroller of FOU, Zone D, Bauchi and Kaduna/Katsina Commands respectively may have had the opportunity of visiting some of the illegal Border routes in the north to know how to deploy his officers to police it to forestall smuggling of Contraband into the country. His NIS counterpart was also said to be on ground to control movement of immigrants through the illegal routes into the country despite the limited Staff strength.It is not surprising why why Paradang, the NIS boss is pushing for an additional 30 Border posts in Adamawa/Taraba, alone, to effectively contain immigrants .
The NIS boss was also said to have cited Ogun state where there are confirmed 83 routes, stressing that the development has a grave implications to the country, particular during elections . He revealed that in some of the Border Communities, ”there are people who have their bedrooms in another country and their sitting room in Nigeria.” The Magazine cited one of such buildings at the Ilaro axis of Ogun state.
The government may have a role to play to strengthen both the NIS and the NCS, to effectively do their job in the Border areas of controlling cross border movements and anti-smuggling activities by lifting the ban on unemployment into NIS and NCS. The agencies, according to a security expert should be allowed in the next five years to recruit at least five thousand officers each to effectively carry out their duties at the Border areas in the north and the southern part of the country.
The Magazine findings shows that past elections in the country, had witnessed citizens of Republic of Benin,Niger, Chad, and Cameroun parading themselves as Nigerians and coming to vote in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo and Ekiti states, in the south west, Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfra states in the north west, Adamawa, Taraba, Borno and Yobe states, north east, Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Rivers state in the south south south and Kwara state in the north Central geo-politcal region.
In most cast cases, they were said to have entered the country through the sea. This is the situation in Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Rivers state. This is why President Buhari must has to equip the NCS, the two Amphibious Commands, Western and Eastern Marine Commands, with adequate functional Crafts to be able to patrol the nation’s waterways to control movement of immigrants.
Until Buhari is ready to put down his foot to force the ministry of Finance to release Funds to the Ali led Customs Management to procure the Crafts to support the two Customs Amphibious Commands , the voting pattern in the states in the north and the south with porous borders may not be different from the situation in past elections in the country.
Many believe that he has to act fast as the leadership of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, have taken the bold initiative to hand over the newly built multi-million dollars ,world class Border post at Seme, the Border Community between Nigeria and Republic of Benin.
Participants at the one week BRIT Conference, which kick- started in Nigeria on Monday September 15, 2018, and which is expected to end on Friday, September 19, 2018, at Republic of Benin see it, as an eye opener to Customs , Immigration and other security agencies personnel from Nigeria Benin and other countries in Africa on Border Management .
Customs and NIS officers who attended the BRIT Conference at University of Ibadan, confirmed that the Resource persons succeeded in appraising the existing policy frameworks, instruments, institutional arrangements and opportunities for managing the border routes in other parts of the world showed how the new methods used in these other countries to control Cross -border movements could be applied in Nigeria , Republic of Benin and other Africa countries in general. They confirmed that there was no dull moment at the Conference as they were fully occupied to learn new methods involved in Border Management.
It is not surprising why NCS and NIS officials had vowed to tighten up security at the country land Border posts, ahead of the 2019 general elections, to forestall immigrants from coming into the country to stay in order to participate in the elections.
Although, the first leg of the Border Management Conference will end in Nigeria on Wednesday, October 17, 2018, Mohammed Uba Garba, the NCS Comptroller at Seme Command, and his counterpart at NIS, who were at the BRIT Conference were said to have started implementing some of the decisions reached on the Border Management Conference at the land Border.
A senior Customs officer confirmed that the Security situation has been tightened up at the Border as it is no longer business as usual for immigrants. The immigrants may have been forced to cry out for help, pleading with the Customs and NIS personnel to relax some of the stringent policies being implemented at the land Border as they could no longer enter the country with ease. Other Customs and NIS, Comptrollers are expected to follow suit.
The wife of Lagos State Governor, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode has taken a critical move to actualizing the state’s government objective of reducing infant mortality rate in the state, by donating transport Incubator Ambulance to Gbagada General Hospital and Lagos Island Maternity.
Ambode made this donation last Wednesday at the Gbagada General Hospital alongside committee of Lagos state officials (COWLSO), as part of their health intervention project for the year.
The Lagos First Lady promised that no effort would be spared to achieving zero infant mortality in the Lagos state, adding that COWLSO was touched by the high rate of pre-term babies, occurring before they could access intensive care.
The transport incubator would provide a womb-like environment for the baby, with the right temperature and life-saving gadget, to help the newborn survive before arriving the intensive care unit.
The committee also donated Hearing Defect Management Equipment, Portable Otoread OAEs, to Shomolu and Alimosho General Hospitals to enable early screening of newborn for possible hearing defects. This, the committee said was to eradicate the menace, which leads to delayed language development, academic under performance, social isolation and higher risk injuries among others.
Dr. Jide Idris, the commissioner for health, in his address, said the donation of transport incubator ambulance to two state general hospitals would help reduce the neo-natal morbidity and mortality rates significantly, commending the committee for its timely intervention in the healthcare sector.
He also urged the benefitting hospitals to make good use of the equipment to achieving the health objective of the state government.
What does the Federal Government stand to gain by heating up the polity filled with overheated, overstretched, overburdened and vulnerable Nigerians who seem to have lost hope of a better tomorrow? Why dash their frail suicidal minds against brick walls of Executive decisions, according to some quarters, just to score cheap political points?
The decision of the Federal Government in line with its anti-corruption campaign, to ban about 50 prominent Nigerians from travelling outside the country has rather raised more dust than attract more support. This is because, in its peculiar manner, it said it will not mention the names of such people, both living and dead, leading not a few Nigerians to ask, why bring up the issue in the first instance?
Although many are in love with governments anti-corruption campaign, however, the same cannot be said of the results in almost four years of the present administration. The lists that had been released by government had most of the time rubbished its laudable and desired policy. According to many, they were not comprehensive enough as they allegedly omitted some names that were supposed to be primary.
“ On the so called list you asked for confirmation, I want to confirm to you that we (Federal government) has not issued any list, and we are not doing so”, Shehu Garba, Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on Media and Publicity said, while reacting to a list circulating around. He stated that the list of those to be banned was inherited by the present administration from previous ones. The question then remains: Why raise the hopes of Nigerians only to dash it to pieces?
The SSA was said to have made the statement following heavy outrage against the decision from prominent Nigerians and organisations including Atiku Abubakar, Elder Statesman and Yoruba leader, Ayo Adebanjo, Human Rights Lawyer, Femi Falana, Nigeria Labour Congress President, Ayuba Wabba, Yoruba socio-political organization, Afenifere, Socio-Economic Rights and Accoutability Project (SERAP).
In a chat with the Magazine, Dimabo Samuel, a political analyst challenge government to publish the names of such Nigerians. “ Can they do it? If government will, I can bet you that the list will be filled with names of small fries that can be sacrificed when the chips are down.
“ I can also bet that like former lists, key names will be omitted either overtly or covertly. I can also tell you that the whole thing is ‘Abubakar Atiku-lated’. All of this is because of the emergence of Atiku Abubakar as the Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who the PDP believes will give President Buhari a run for his money.
Paulson Ekwo believes that government’s decision is laughable although it can be implemented. “ But what about the alleged corrupt present Ministers, Governors, Senators and House of Representatives members, senior civil servants et cetera?
“ Why did this administration have to wait until this time, about four months to the 2019 general election before it brought up this idea? What does government actually want to do to these people who many describe as its political opponents? Little wonder the widespread opposition to President Buhari’s Executive Order (EO) which has been described as draconian, fascist and dictatorial,” he said.
Meanwhile the PDP has rejected the travelling restrictions on 50 high-profile Nigerians in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, on Saturday, October 13, 2018 in Abuja.
The PDP scribe described the restriction as a ‘draconian step’ and a “Decree”clearly targeted at members of the opposition parties, business community, religious leaders, former political leaders and traditional rulers, perceived to be opposed to President Buhari’s re-election bid.
He said that the ‘decree’ was a direct clampdown on the country’s democratic order and an overthrow of rights of citizenry as guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution (as amended). We hope this is not a ploy to harm certain eminent Nigerians on the claims of resisting travel restrictions.
“The whole world can now see how fascism is fast taking over our democracy and judicial system and how the Buhari administration, by fiat, has directly ordered that citizens be secretly trailed. Their movements and financial transactions are restricted by government agencies, without recourse to due process of the law,” he said.
Ologbondiyan said that since Atikus emergency as PDP flag bearer and the wild jubilation that trailed it across the country, the Presidency had gone into panic mode. He said that the party maintained that the resort to total clampdown on the opposition and PDP supporters would be totally unacceptable.
“What this means is that all Nigerians, particularly opposition members, members of the business community and religious leaders have become endangered and stand the risk of state violence under the APC administration,” he said.
He has therefore alerted the international community to take note should any harm befall any opposition leader, key members of the business community and religious leaders across the country, as Nigerians march towards the 2019 general elections.
NAN recalls that Buhari had mandated the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to implement the Executive Order 6 (EO6) in full force following the instant judicial affirmation of the constitutionality of the order.
Meanwhile, the Buhari Campaign Organisation( BCO) is angry with the rejection of the travelling ban on some Nigerians, describing it as absurd as it stands to dwarf the huge benefits over 200million Nigerians stand to gain by it.
In a statement issued by its Director of Communication and Strategic Planning, Mallam Gidado Ibrahim, the BCO said only corrupt and criminal-minded persons would condemn the president’s effort to stop corrupt persons from escaping with looted funds.
The group said if the president’s directive on the full implementation of the Executive Order 6, recently validated by the court, would quake the PDP and other opposition camps to the extent of generating negative reactions, then they truly are questionable characters and have skeletons in their cupboards.
Urging Nigerians to stand strong and not to fall for the antics of the opposition, the BCO said it was only in Nigeria that corrupt persons would regroup to loot the country dry again with gullible persons whose future was stolen celebrating them.
The soaring profile of the Atiku-Obi ticket is quietly unnerving the presidnency. In a panic measure, the Buhari Media Centre, BMC, have taken to smear campaign against Atiku-the same mistake that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, did in 2014 in the wake of the 2015 elections.
It will be recalled that personality attacks rather than the showcasing of their achievements was one of the reasons that led to the PDP losing the 2015 presidential elections.
The focus of the presidency is currently on the alleged corrupt profile of Atiku. But it appears to be an uphill task since it is difficult to deny the monumental corruption allegations against those around the presidency. Only recently, Aisha Buhari, wife of the president, accused her Orderly of collecting monies on her behalf and got him arrested. This magazine has it on good authority that the accused has been in DSS custody since the allegation was made and has refused to agree that he stole, or where the loot is hidden.Those close to the family said he is accusing her of using him to collect monies and later planning to dump him.
Meanwhile the profile of Atiku’s new running mate, Peter Obi, is soaring despite the crisis of endorsement rocking the appointment of Peter Obi by the South east governors and leaders. Last week, Former President Obasanjo was in Malaysia, and was vehement in his support for the duo. He was said to have told those in the conference to back the ”incoming president” . In the same conference, the American representative was said to have that “we in America are already contacting our allies”. Within the same period, the Archbishop of Canterbury flew in to Abuja and held a closed door meeting with Atiku. it will be recalled that the Archbishop of Canterbury has been a regular companion of Buhari whenever he goes to London.
While the acceptance of Peter Obi is across board, the South east governors have been irked that Obi was picked instead of their agreed choice, Chukwuma Soludo. Their rebellion has resulted in threats of shifting their weight behind the re election of Buhari if care is not taken. But pacification meetings are ongoing.
It was alleged that those who are vehement in their opposition-like Chris Ubah of the Godfather scandal in Anambra-are doing so on the ground that Obi is not open handed, that he is too thrifty to dole out money whenever they need it, that he will be asking too many questions. Obi has been known to practice economic shrewdness, and that was the reason for his success as a governor in Anambra state. This is against the general behavior of the average politician. It is said to be the best combination-spendthrift Atiku and tightfisted Obi. He was said to be the candidate of Nyesom Wike, the strong man of Rivers state.
Others who were said to have opposed the nomination, like Dave Umahi of Ebonyi, are doing so because it is jeopardizing their chances on the throne. Buhari was said to have promised him the presidency in 2023 after his second tenure. It will be recalled that Buhari also made the same promise to Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress, APC, National leader. Others that are not happy are Willie Obiano, Anambra state governor,who has been having a running battle with Obi, and Osita Chidoka, former Aviation Minister who was also on the consideration line for the VP position. he was said to have been one of those instrumental to the reconciliation meeting between Obasanjo and Atiku.
Facts have emerged as to why the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP refused to consult the party’s stakeholders in the Southeast, including governors, before picking former Anambra state governor, Peter Gregory Obi as his running mate. One, Atiku’s one term promise is partly at the heart of the brouhaha over his choice of Obi as Deputy. Secondly, some of the stakeholders, including two sitting governors, are allegedly President Muhammadu Buhari/ APC’s moles in the South east PDP. Atiku who is in the know of these and the sinister game plan of the stakeholders went ahead them, outsmarted them and picked Obi without interfacing with them.
Governorship candidate of the PDP in the November 2017 Anambra election, Obaze Oseloka reminded a gathering of the stakeholders in Enugu last Saturday that no past president of Nigeria ever consulted anyone or any region before picking their Deputies and wondered why Atiku and Obi’s case should be different. Oseloka: “In 1979, Shehu Shagari did not consult south east before picking the late Dr. Ekwueme as his running mate. Indeed, Ekwueme who was then resident in London had been introduced to Shagari by the late sir Nwankwu. In 1999, Olusegun Obasanjo did not consult the Northeast PDP leaders before he selected Atiku Abubakar. Indeed, Atiku, having won the gubernatorial election in Adamawa was driving to Adamawa on that fateful day before when he got a call to return to Abuja to become Obasanjo’s running mate. In 2007, Umaru Yar’Adua did not consult the South south before picking Goodluck Jonathan…It was James Ibori Yar’Adua wanted as his running mate. It was the trio of Obasanjo, Tony Anenih and Ahamadu Ali who decided, without any consultation with the region, on Jonathan.”
Peter Obi: Receives tremendous support
A source close to the Atiku campaign organization and the South east PDP stakeholders told this magazine that contrary to what the public has been fed with, former Central Bank Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo was never in the picture as Atiku’s running mate and there was no agreement between the governors and PDP presidential flag bearer to select him as running mate. “Soludo is an APGA member; he is a card carrying member. How can a card carrying member of another party pair with PDP’s presidential candidate as running mate? Where has that ever happened?” , the source queried. The Source was told that within the governors and other PDP bigwigs from the region exist variegated interests. While some of them wanted Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu to run with Atiku so that after four years, he will take over from him (Atiku) as president, others were working to ensure that the PDP presidential candidate did not pick his Deputy from the South east so that they will have a valid excuse to come out in the open to do what they have been doing in secret: work for Buhari’s re-election. This was with erroneous believe that Buhari will indeed handover to an Igbo man in 2023 as has been bandied about by the APC.
Another source close to the PDP in the South east spoke of the stakeholders thus: “The fight against Obi by some of our people is because they believe Atiku may win. And if he does only one term, and depending on his relationship with Obi, he, Obi may become the President in 2023.Many of the so called stakeholders are simply envious of Obi, they are bellyaching over the possibility of Obi becoming president in 2023”.
Governor Dave Umahi: Bemoans Obi’s selection
On Ekweremadu, the source said: “Ekweremadu wants the VP position badly but it is not possible because he has cases, bothering on alleged corruption in court against him. Atiku does not want anything to distract his campaign; he is aware that picking Ekweremadu means an invitation to EFCC’s harassment, harassment of the Deputy Senate President and this will tell on his, Atiku’s campaign”
Meanwhile, multiple APC sources who spoke to this magazine insist the South east was being sold a dummy by Buhari and the party. “Do you think Senate President, Bukola Saraki was talking rubbish when he revealed the agreement between APC national leader and Buhari to the effect that in 2023, power will rotate back to the South west and specifically to Tinubu? My, brother, South east does not feature in APC’s calculations for 2023; this is a brutal truth. You can take it to the bank”, one of the sources said. But a chieftain of the APC from the South west who craved anonymity dismissed the notion, saying the party is not a private enterprise where a sole owner calls the shots. “There is no truth in the alleged Buhari- Tinubu pact; there is nothing like that. APC is a national party and before 2023, the party will meet and decide where its presidential candidate will emerge from. To say that a decision has already been taken to cede the 2023 presidential ticket to the South west and specifically to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is a blatant lie”, he told this Magazine.
This is not the best of times for serving Comptrollers under Hameed Ali, a retired Colonel and Comptroller General, Nigeria Customs Service, NCS. This is because of the no nonsense attitude of the Comptroller General who is ready to sack or suspend any officer found wanting, irrespective of the rank. It is not surprising why the Comptrollers appear to be very meticulous in their actions and directive to their officers on the field to avoid exposing themselves to the fifth Columnists in the service who had the ears of Ali, to trap them.
The Comptrollers may have learnt their lesson from Olakunle Abdurazak Oyeleke, Comptroller, Kaduna/ Katsina Command, suspended early this month (September, 2018) by Ali, over undisclosed reasons . The suspension may have be slammed on him barely two months in office.
As a prelude to getting to the root of the problem that led to the Comptroller’s alleged suspension, the Comptroller General was said to have set up an investigation Committee, an indication that the fate of Oyeleke , the embattled Kaduna/Katsina Comptroller still lies on the hang.
When contacted ,Joseph Atta, a Deputy Comptroller and the Customs Spokesman, confirmed, the suspension but said the matter was” under investigation”. It could be ascertained the duration of the Investigation Committee, whether it would be one month or three months. But a source told the Magazine that the Committee is under intense pressure to expedite action on the Investigation so that the suspended Comptroller would know his fate instead of keeping him waiting endlessly.
Feelers from Customs circles shows that the Kaduna/Katsina Command Comptroller may have been suspended over alleged ofence committed by his officers, which many believe, he could not have claimed ignorance as their boss. This is because the officers who may have roped him into trouble could not have gone out on operations on their own without his approval. This may have made the case of the suspended Comptroller a difficult one.
The rumour making the rounds was that his case may have been worsened by suspected moles who were out to force him out from the Command for standing on their way. A senior officer who spoke to the Magazine disclosed that some members of the Comptroller General, CGC, Task Force on Investigation, may have also played a part to expose the mess at the Command which facilitated the suspension of the embattled Comptroller. The suspended Comptroller , according to a source,may have opportunity of defending himself from the Kaduna/Katsina Command mess when he appears before the Investigation Committee.
Officers who could not hide their feeling over the alleged suspension of the Kaduna/katsina Customs boss by Ali, described it as a ”set up”. They noted that as a former Comptroller, Federal operations Unit, FOU, Zone D, Bauchi, which had nine state states in the north to cover in its ant-smuggling war and revenue generation drive, there were never lapses or negative reports about him to the Management. They noted that he effectively mobilised the Officers of the Command to police the 27 border routes scattered in the nine states under his jurisdiction .
A source confirmed that until his redeployment to the Kaduna/ Katsina Command last August, the then FOU, Zone D, Comptroller and his officers were said to have made several spectacular seizures of Contraband with a Duty Paid Value , DPV, of about N187.08 million. Between December, 2017, and May, 2018, the Command, was said to have made a seizure of 4,488 bags of 50kg each, of foreign parboiled rice, 430 cartons of noodle, 1,430 of ”25 kg” Jerry cans of vegetable oil . The management may have considered it a very impressive performance compared to other anti-smuggling Commands reports because of the activities of the Boko Haram insurgents, particular in the north eastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.The Magazine thatthat there were instances where the insurgents turned smugglers had laid ambush for officers on anti-smuggling operations in the region to distabilize them.
t The experience garnered at FOU, Zone D, Bauchi, may have toughened him to face squarely the smugglers a at the Kaduna /Katsina axis and the Corporate Organisations which evade the payment of Excise duties . He was said to have made a promise to build on the achievements made by Olusemire Kayode, the former Comptroller of the Command.
Unknown to him, the Cooperation which he got from officers at FOU, Zone D, may be lacking at the new Command. This is because of the alleged struggle by the Officers to outshine their boss because of their link at the Management level. He may have started well initially at the Command as the officers were making seizures.
Take for instance, the month of August, 2018, alone, the Command, was said to have generated about N852 million, which Oyeleke claimed was about N340 million, higher than the revenue generated in the month of July. The Command was also said to have also made 81 seizures of Contrabands with a DPV, of about N33 million . The seizures , according to him, included 31 vehicles, 606 bags of foreign parboiled rice of 50kg each, 239 bags of 50kg each of imported sugar, , 73 bales of second hand clothing, 327 Jerry cans of vegetable oil of ”25 litres each.
His suspension may have denied him the opportunity to join other Comptrollers in the Zone to welcome Orgah Odibu, the new Acting Assistant Comptroller General, Headquarters Zone B, Kaduna, last week.While Oyeleke may have landed himself into trouble at the Kaduna/ Katsina Command, barely one month at the helms of affairs in the Command , Kayode, his predecessor, and his Operational team, officers, appear to have found their footing at FOU, Zone C, going by the spectacular seizures regularly made, including foreign parboiled rice, particular, from the Bakasi and Ikom , axis of Cross River state.
Only recently, the FOU, Zone C Comptroller, confirmed the seizure of cartons of Pharmaceutical drugs containing cough syrups with Codeine, diazepam, tramadol injection and tablets, which had been banned by the government. Adamu Aliyu Mohammed, Comptroller, FOU, Zone, Ikeja, and his Predecessor, Muhammed Uba Garba, now Comptroller , Seme Command, may have opened the eye of their Counterparts in other Command about these dangerous drugs.
Perhaps, the major, seizure of the FOU, Zone C, Customs Comptroller and his officers was the seizure of military camouflage uniforms and other military related items at the Onitsha Bridge head. , Anambra state. Onitsha is the Commercial nerve center of the state and the entire south east in general.
According to him, the military uniforms were Concealed in a truck laden with household wares at the Ontisha Bridge Head . Given an insider information , he disclosed that there were about 90 pairs of camouflage trousers and shirts, 97 pairs jungle hearts, 40 pairs of jungle boots, 202 pieces of round neck vests and rolls of plain khaki materials that were found in the truck.
The Onitsha camouflage military uniforms seizure were said to be the second to be made by the Unit in less than six months. Last July the Command impounded a truck laden with over 4,000 pairs of military camouflage uniforms and 300 pairs of combatant boots. The military items may have released from the Oil and Free Zone Seaport, Onne, Rivers state. This is evident going by the location where the items were intercepted by the FOU, Zone C, officers. It was said to have been intercepted along the Aba-Eleme highway, while heading to an undisclosed location in the south east . There were indications that the agent may be taking the Consignment to the importer’s warehouse at Aba, the Commercial nerve center of Abia state.
With the seizure of the military uniforms, Comptroller Kayode, may have sent a signal to smugglers in the south east and the south including the politicians , who are still hoping to import weapons, military uniforms and other military related items to scare opponents in the 2019 general elections that it was no longer going to be business as usual. He was said to have beamed his searchlight at the seaports, border routes in the two southern regions to be careful. Agents taking delivery of their Client’s Containers which had K-leg were said to be upbeat while approaching the Onitisha bridge because of Concealment or Under Valuation . They fear being stopped by Kayode’s no nonsense fierce looking officers on the road. Some of them who have had a smooth journey from Lagos, beating all the Customs Checkpoints on the road , were said to have actually been stopped by Kayode’s men on the road and bassed on intelligence gathering and their Containers transferred to the Command premises at Owerri for Examination.
Those found guilty were said to have been issued Demand Notice, DN. The FOU, Zone C, officers , sources said, may have been given more jobs to do on the road in the south east and south Geo-political regions, particular Anambra state, but for the interventionist measures put in place by Mohammed the, FOU, Zone A, Comptroller and implemented by the Operations and Lagos Roving team officers on the road. The officers and the Ijebu Ode, Ogun state, Surveillance , team, at different times, were said to have re-routed suspected Containerised cargoes going to the south east back to the Command warehouse, at Ikeja, for Examination and DN, issued to those found guilty.
The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for next year’s presidential election, Atiku Abubakar has proved bookmakers right by choosing former Governor of Anambra state, Peter Obi, as his runing mate.
Shortly after his election in Port Harcourt, the River state capital last Sunday as the party’s presidential candidate, bookmakers had predicted the former Vice President would pick Obi as his running mate.
As correctly reported by The Source on Sunday, very credible sources close to both Obi and Atiku had also told the magazine that long before the former VP won the PDP ticket, he had settled for Obi as running mate.
Atiku: Applauded for choosing Obi
Obi is bringing to the ticket a rich background in economic and financial management.
A seasoned banker and shrewd businessman, Peter Gregory Obi as governor won platitudes for strict and disciplined management of Anambra’s financial resources resulting in the unprecedented multi- sectorial development of the state under the ANIDS programme. Obi’s sterling performance as governor remains a reference point and yardstick to measure performance, especially of governors.
Till today, though they are no longer in the same party (APGA), Willie Obiano, Anambra’s incumbent governor, still acknowledge his predecessor performance’s in office
During his time in office, Obi invested heavily on education, bringing innovation to bear on that sector.Church- owned schools were returned to their former owners for better management and regular grants given to such churches to run the schools.In addition, under Obi, virtually all schools in the state received massive face- lift; and equipped with modern leaning and teaching aids such as computers.
Obi’s intervention in the education section did not end with his tenure as governor.Even out of office, he became a roving education interventionist. He invested personal fund in the renovation of schools round the South East, especially those in remote areas, as well as granting scholarship to indigent students.Recently, he widened the scope of his intervention when he visited schools in the North,with Sokoto state as take off point, where he issued cheques in support of education.
Though Atiku had long settled for Obi, some South west elements lobbied for the position.Their argument was hinged on the need to give the APC and Buhari a good fight in the zone.They argued that a Southwest runing mate for Atiku wil counterbalance the vice president Yemi Osinbajo factor there.
Obasanjo: Insisted on a South east VP
However, party sources told this Magazine that Obi’s emergence became fait accompli on Thursday when Atiku met with his former boss, former President Olusegun Obasanjo who later endorsed him.It was learnt that during the meeting , the former president reiterated the need for Atiku to pick a deputy with rich knowledge of the economy. Obasanjo was also said to have conseled that such deputy should come from the South east in order to give the zone a sense of belonging in the Nigeria project.
Whether APC and president Buhari will stick to Professor Osinbajo as running mate is not yet clear but top presidential aide and a source close to the national leadership of the party separately confided in the magazine that APC was waiting for PDP’s choice for VP candidate before deciding Osinbajo’s fate.The presidential aide hinted that Buhari may opt for a South east running mate if PDP picked a VP running mate from there.”
“Apart from countering PDP, the idea of a South east VP is also to erase the impression that the president hates the people of that zone and also to assure them that if he is voted back to office in 2019, an Igboman will take over from him in 2023”, the aide told The Source.
Speculations are rife that the recent visit of former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Anyim Pius Anyim to president Buhari was in connection with his possible replacement of Osinbajo as the President’s running mate.
Meanwhile, wild jubilation erupted in the streets and churches in South east Friday evening when Obi’s nomination as Atiku’s running mate was made public.Hailing him as “Okwute Peter” (Peter the Rock), many in the streets of Awka, the Anambra state capital, said the PDP has caught a gold fish in Obi. They describe the Atiku/Obi ticket as a perfect combination that will rescue and restore Nigeria
I don’t know how many of you who read what the out-going governor of Ekiti state, Ayodele Fayose, said after the PDP Presidential Primary in PH, Rivers state. I read it.
So, briefly.
In the aftermath of the failure of the urbane Sokoto state governor, Aminu Tambuwal, to clinch the presidential ticket due to former Vice President Atiku Abubarkar’s landslide victory, Fayose’s anger boiled over. So, like a wild fire, he has been raging. And he is threatening the PDP with fire and brimstone. He says he may leave the party.
I know most Nigerians have been on edge for months and counting, but nothing compares to what we’ve been through since the primaries of political parties peaked two weeks ago. In almost all the states, it has been tears, blood and deaths. We have witnessed violence during these primaries as never before.
At least, 12 people have lost their lives. And dozens have been seriously injured. Houses and vehicles have been razed. During the APC governorship primary in Imo state, one man was killed in Orodo, Mbaitoli LGA, as guns boomed. At least four vehicles were burnt in the same LGA. Elsewhere in the state, gun shots were the order of the day.
In Anambra state, during one of the Senatorial primaries in Amawbia, gun shots sent everybody, including Iyom Bianca Ojukwu, Dim Ikemba Ojukwu’s wife, running for their iives. In this particular incident, we must thank God for little mercies. Just imagine if Bianca had been hit by a gun shot. I shudder to imagine what MASSOB, IPOB, BIM, and other such groups would have done. Real fire would have been on the mountain.
In Lagos state, at least, three people were killed. Some lucky ones escaped with serious injuries.
In Abuja, an angry mob locked the gates of the APC national headquarters with padlock and chains. It took the Police to force the gates open.
Ayodele Fayose.
A couple of days later, another angry mob held the party’s national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, captive. One protesting group called him wicked. Some other groups, including state governors, asked him to resign. And, at least, two states, Ogun and Zamfara, have either barred Oshiomhole from entering their states, or asked him to keep off completely from their affairs.
Ogun state governor, Ibikunle Amosun, accused him of working to scatter his state. Former IGP, Suleiman Abba, publicly rained curses on him because he was disqualified from the Senatorial primary.
And, all these just for the parties to choose their candidates from among their party men and women.
If party primaries were this bloody, I cringe at what our fate will be during the real elections in 2019. Condemnations of the Primaries have been like claps of thunder. But, here, I choose to comment on two of them – those of our beautiful First Lady, Aisha Buhari and Governor Fayose.
Since she became Nigeria’s First Lady, nobody has been in doubt of what this woman is. Disarmingly beautiful. Brilliant. Bold. Courageous with plenty of spunk and panache to the bargain. She has commented and/or intervened in national issues like no other First Lady. An activist, she speaks truth to power.
Her first shot was when she warned the APC not to relent on its promise to feed school children free. But she has since upped the ante. Just a few.
She told us her husband’s government has been hijacked by, total strangers to her and her husband, the President. She threatened she would neither campaign for her husband’s re-election nor encourage any woman to do so if nothing changed.
She soon chastised the Medical Director of the State House clinic over its alleged poor running. There were not even consumables in the clinic the day she went there for medical attention. She told her story publicly, and asked for a probe to account for all the millions of Naira budgeted annually for the clinic. This order day when the story broke that her ADC has been arrested by the Police and detained by the DSS over the sum of over two billion Naira, she revealed that the guy has been defrauding people using her name. By the way, what is the status of that case now?
Aisha does not suffer fools gladly and pulls no punches. Yet nothing compares to her recent comment on the Primaries of the APC. Writing on her verified twitter handle, she rubbished the process. Nobody has pointedly confirmed, but speculation is that her outburst was because her younger brother, Halilu Ahmed, was defeated at the governorship primary by the incumbent governor, Muhammadu Bindow. But Aisha held nothing back in her criticism of the APC primaries process and Oshiomhole.
Aisha: “It is disheartening to note that some aspirants used their hard-earned money to purchase nomination forms, got screened, cleared and campaigned vigorously, yet, found their names omitted on election day. These forms were bought at exorbitant prices.
“Many others contested, and yet, had their result delayed, fully knowing that AUTOMATIC tickets have been given to other people.
“All Progressives Congress, being a party whose cardinal principle is change, and headed by a Comrade/actvist, whose main concern is for the common man, yet, such impunity could take place under its watch. Then, the bomb.
“It is important for the populace to rise against impunity and for voters to demand from aspirants to be committed to the provision of basic amenities such as potable drinking water, basic healthcare, (primary healthcare centres)
“Given this development, one will not hesitate than dissociate from such unfairness, be neutral, and speak for the voiceless, education within conducive and appropriate learning environments”
I wouldn’t want to analyse Aisha’s comments except to say this: The First Lady has given the entire APC primaries a red card. She gas rubbished it. She has accused the party of fraud. She said she would speak for the voiceless – not for the APC. She has also advised Nigerians to shine their eyes while voting, and rise against impunity.
Phew! Strong words. Criticisms like no other. Some guts. No wonder the PDP has been using Aisha’s exact words to hit at the APC. Was she passing a message? You be the judge.
But enters, Fayose, the garrulous, controversy-prone out-going Ekiti state governor.
For the records, I took to him during his first sojourn as governor. I liked his ordinariness, his unassuming nature and his visits to Amala joints to eat with the common people. I just liked him. He had my sympathy when I felt he was being persecuted as a governor during the Olusegun Obasanjo presidency. When he was removed as a governor, my sympathy was also for him. When he staged a comeback, four years later, I rejoiced with him. I liked his fighting spirit. I liked it that he never allowed anybody, or his circumstances to put him down.
In fact, I even liked his foul-mouthedness, until he began to over-do it, like he did during the 2015 presidential election. He spoke at every drop of the hat, and often made outlandish claims. There were no limits.
But he won my heart again when he endorsed his deputy to succeed him in office. Of course his manner of endorsement, just like he does some of his things, was untidy. Yet, I was impressed that he did what most governors don’t do – back their deputies to succeed them. But he mishandled the campaign, just as he mishandled the endorsement, thus, alienating many of his party men and women.
It was like Fayose was still contesting for governorship. Nothing much was heard from the real candidate.
A professor, he was like a zombie, following Fayose, and missed the opportunity of selling himself to the electorate. Several reasons, including the overzealousness of security personnel, combined to cost them the election. Several questions have been asked. But, like they say, it is what it is.
For weeks, Fayose’s tongue was arrested by the loss. He became dumb. Even during the controversial Osun governorship election, he said little or nothing. And the EFCC allegations against him have not helped matters. Obscene as the EFCC’s celebration of his sudden vulnerability was, his letter to the Commission informing it of when he would make himself available to it was unnecessary. But his response when the Commission wanted to strip him of his immunity, as a governor, through the back door, by inviting him to its office for interrogation was apt.
But it seems Fayose has, in his frustration, found his voice again given his recent outburst. Two days after the Atiku victory in PH, Fayose issued a weightless threat to his party. He threatened to leave it because his preferred candidate, Tambuwal lost to Atiku.
Fayose: “We have no regret aligning with Governor Nyesom Wike to support Governor Tambuwal for the presidential ticket, and no apologies either.
“We kept the party alive and strong when most men became women. We never compromised. If any group feels it can do it alone, we will see how far they can go.
“I may renounce my membership of the party if the need arises. In the meantime, I and others will continue with our consultations while watching the turn of events.
“We cannot but appreciate leaders who have intervened so far, but this release become necessary to avoid fresh crisis or misrepresentation.”
Fayose’s threat has no weight and substance. My advice: The PDP should call his bluff, and encourage him to immediately leave the party.
The convention ended on Sunday, and Atiku declared winner same day. By Monday, Fayose was already talking about the sidelining of some people. He was already talking about those wanting to do it alone. Unless, there is something we didn’t notice, but watching the process on the television, and listening to all those who spoke – Atiku, Senate President, Bukola Saraki who spoke on behalf on his fellow aspirants, Party Chairman, Uche Secondus and Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, the Chairman of the Convention, one saw no bitterness and, didn’t get the impression Fayose is creating.
Even Governor Nyesom Wike whose name Fayose is flaunting, immediately toed the line of the delegates who decided the winner. When Atiku visited to say thanks to him for being a good host, Wike said that in any contest, people support different candidates, but once a winner emerges, all hands are on deck to support the winner. That is the spirit.
So, why is Fayose trying to be more Roman Catholic than the Pope? Tambuwal, for whom Fayose is boiling is not complaining. Instead, as a democrat, he has congratulated Atiku, and pledged to work with him for the success of the party at the polls in 2019.
Of course, everybody is important, but in case Fayose does not know it yet, he needs the PDP more than the PDP needs him. I don’t want to say that he is more of a liability now than anything else.
He is an out-going governor, and brings nothing to the table to either the PDP or any other party he may go to, if he has the liver to carry out his threat. I don’t know how many people who would leave the PDP with him in Ekiti – certainly not NASS members, House of Assembly members, party state executive members, his Executive Council members, LGA and ward chairmen. He has lost the clout.
One of his main supporters, Speaker of the House of Assembly, Kola Oluwawole, has just been impeached. His other supporters have also been suspended. The APC has taken over the House of Assembly. So, who are his followers?
Fayose is not a Bola Tinubu. Only a handful of politicians would command the influence the Jagaban commands out of office.
Truth is, it will be uncharitable of the PDP to concentrate only on the “big people” who left the party, but later re-joined it. If other people did not stay back, there would have been no party for the prodigal sons to come back to.
Fayose is not the only one who stayed back to build the party. There are many others, including former Senate President, David Mark, former Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha, former Anambra governor, Peter Obi, and thousands of others. So, Fayose cannot blackmail the party on that score.
But finally, an advice for him. When this order day, Governor Wike mis-spoke and threatened his party, the PDP, if it did not hold its Presidential convention in PH as earlier planned, he understood the implications of that threat, and quickly apologised to the party and his governor-colleagues. Nobody is an Island. And that was Wike, the governor of Nigeria’s richest oil state, with plenty of money and so, influence. He apologised.
Fayose should toe Wike’s line and apologise for mis-speaking. Most times, gra-gra does not help. It is cheap.
President Buhari Campaign Organisation reacts to Obasanjo’s endorsement of Abubakar Atiku
Full text Bellow:
Our attention has just been drawn to the so-called endorsement of the candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party for the forthcoming 2019 Presidential Election, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, by former President Olusegun Obasanjo today at his Presidential Library Complex in Ogun State.
We are inclined to dismiss this gathering and “endorsement” as a complete non-event, but we feel we have a responsibility to Nigerians to remind them of the character and antecedents of these individuals, lest they take Nigerians for granted and see all of us as fools.
We do not intend to dwell on all the unprintable things touching on the lack of character, lack of integrity and corruptibility of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar that Chief Obasanjo has repeatedly and consistently told the whole world about up until few weeks ago. These are well-documented and circulated for Nigerians to remember.
However, we are bemused and amused that a character who intends to be President of Nigeria has, for the past eleven years, consistently begged for “forgiveness” from a man who has consistently and unequivocally called him a very corrupt fellow. We wonder what type of character would not vigorously confront his accuser with facts to show his innocence, but would rather consistently ask for “forgiveness” from him.
The desperation to get the endorsement of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo by the PDP and its candidate is a clear sign that they want to return us to our sordid past where a few people decide who should govern us. In 2014/2015, President Muhammadu Buhari and his team, out of respect and convention, paid courtesy calls on prominent individuals and statesmen in the course of their campaigns when they visited cities in which these individuals lived. However, Nigerians should note that President Buhari was NEVER reported to have groveled and “begged” ANYONE for forgiveness, just to be endorsed as a Presidential candidate. Ultimately, he relied on the people of Nigeria to decide his fate. President Buhari would continue to rely on the endorsement of the people of Nigeria to be re-elected.
Interestingly, just a few weeks ago, specifically on the 4th of August, 2018, Chief Obasanjo was widely reported to have said “God will NEVER forgive me if I support Atiku for President”. Whilst we acknowledge the constitutional right of the ex-president to support anyone of his choice, we draw attention of all God-fearing Nigerians to a character who would use the name of God in vain and in a flip-flop manner in just a matter of weeks. Where is the shame? Where is the honour? Where is the pride?
When a person invokes the curse of God upon himself if he does a particular thing, like Obasanjo has done, and then deliberately does that particularly thing and calls on Nigerians to follow him to receive his curse, Nigerians must flee in the opposite direction. We urge Nigerians NOT to follow this character to receive the curse he invoked upon himself.
We are also constrained to ask Chief Obasanjo about his Coalition For Better Nigeria, otherwise known as Third Force. We hope it is doing well.
We also note with interest the full participation of some “men of God” in the entourage of the Peoples’ Democratic Party for this political re-alignment. We are glad that they have publiclydeclared their partisan interest and urge all Nigerians to see all their previous, present and future attacks on President Buhari from their pulpits in the context of partisan politics and not in the context of nationalistic or altruistic commitment. We wish them well.
Finally, we see this gathering as a confederate of desperate power-mongers and questionable characters who wish to return us to the era of unbridled corruption. It is significant that the meeting was held in a building which has become the symbol of corruption of the Obasanjo years, where a sitting President collected monies from known government hangers-on and contractors to build a “Presidential Library” in clear violation of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers. We hope President Obasanjo would one day return Governor Ayo Fayose’s Ten Million Naira to that building as Fayose has requested. It is a significant reminder of the difference between the past and the present.
Nigerians would soon be called upon to choose between returning us to the era of corrupt Presidents and their deputies or continuing on this path of transparency and people-oriented Government.
Thank you.
FESTUS KEYAMO, Director, Strategic Communications, President Muhammadu Buhari Campaign Organisation
