Sokoto Governor Pays July Salary Ahead Of Eid-el-Fitr

The Governor of Sokoto State,Aminu Tambuwalhas approved the immediate payment of July salaries to workers of the state ahead of the Eid-el-Fitr.
This was made known in a press statement by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mallam Imam Imam today. It also stated that payment of salaries has commenced for all categories of workers in the state civil service.
The Governor ‎urged workers in the public service to reciprocate the government’s gesture by continuing to render invaluable services to the state.

B’Haram fighters plant bombs in Jos church

But for the alertness of a private security guard, hundreds of people would have been killed in the Sunday morning multiple blasts that rocked the Evangelical Church Winning All in Angwan Yanshi of Tudun Wada area of Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State.
The incident came as multiple acts of terror were also recorded around Maiduguri Saturday night.
A bomber detonated his explosives in a bus at a Maiduguri motor park, killing four people including himself. Other blasts targeted the Maiduguri office of the Department of State Security Service. The insurgents were also said to have mounted roadblocks around Damagum and set many vehicles ablaze.
But in the Jos church blast, an eye witness told our correspondent that the church was full to the brim with worshippers who came for the first morning service when one of the bombs went off.
The eyewitness, who gave his name as Garuba, said that after controlling the panicky worshippers, the guard was said to have started combing the premises when he discovered another bomb near the toilet.
The brave guard did not wait to alert anybody as he quickly picked the lethal parcel and threw it over the fence. The parcel exploded spontaneously, missing him just by a whisker. He however sustained minor injuries from the flying shrapnel.
Men of the anti-bomb squad were later called in. When they were combing the area, another improvised electronic devise (IED) was discovered in an abandoned kiosk, some 10 metres away.
Officer in charge of Anti-bomb in the Plateau State Police Command, Mr. Abel Mbibi, told our correspondent on Sunday that his men were able to detonate the bomb safely, with no threat to lives and property.
According to him, the IED is an anti-tilted device.
“We discovered that the IED is an anti-tilted device. This means that it was constructed in such a way that it will explode any time it is turned either way by person or object. That was why it exploded immediately the guard picked it up. Our men also combed the area and we discovered the same type of bomb in an abandoned kiosk about 10 metres away,” Mbibi said.
The latest incident came less than a week after suicide bombers attacked the Dilimi mosque in the same Jos North Local Government Area. The ECWA Church in Tudun Wada is located near the Federal Secretariat, very close to the Jos home of Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha. One of the guards in the house told our correspondent that the explosion shook the foundation of the building and others around it.
Speaking on the blasts, the police said no one was killed from the blasts. The Police Public Relations Manager, DSP Emmanuel Abuh, said that the area was thoroughly combed after the blast and there was no further threat.
Meanwhile, a non-governmental organisation, Salvation Army, has donated 250 bags of rice and other relief materials to the Internally Displaced Persons’ camp at Bondon village, Kaura Local Government Area in Southern Kaduna, Kaduna State.
The Coordinator, Mrs. Comfort Adepoju, while presenting the relief material to victims of attacks by gunmen at Bondon village, Kaura LGA, also sought for the establishment of a health centre in the area.
She argued that setting up a health centre by the state government would drastically curb mortality rate in the area.
The organisation distributed items such as 240 bags (of 25kg) of rice; some other 10kg bags for each family; packets of magi and salt; vegetable oil (three litres) for each family; cardigans for children as well as 1,750 blankets to help cushion the cold weather.
According to her, the need for the establishment of a health centre in the area was necessary considering the magnitude of lives lost due to lack of emergency care for victims of the attacks.
She said the need for an establishment of a health centre in the area was necessary considering the magnitude of lives lost due to lack of emergency care for victims of the attacks.
She noted that most of the casualties of the attacks were those who died before being rushed to hospitals in Jos, Plateau State.
She said, “It is reported that a lot of injured persons died as a result of lack of prompt medical care while women have had miscarriages and died during such attacks.
“If only there was at least one health centre in the area, the situation may have been contained.
“We are told that the nearest hospitals are those in Kafanchan and Jos and these are grossly inadequate.”
She said the NGO had identified 240 families in the area who needed succour that would enable them a meaningful livelihood. She added that the families identified had lost their bread winners to the attacks.
“It is sad to hear that most of these women and children still sleep on bare floor and are exposed to hazards of the weather,” she said.

APC seeks probe of NLNG payments under Jonathan

The All Progressives Congress has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to probe the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan over $5.5bn dividends said to have been paid to the Federal Government by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited.
A statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Sunday, urged the Buhari-led Federal Government to also probe the taxes and dividends accruable to the Jonathan administration through the NLNG in the last six years.
The statement said, “We can tell Nigerians that apart from the said $1.6bn NLNG payment for 2015, NLNG also paid $1.4bn as Income Tax/Education Tax in May 2014, paid $0.3bn as Education Tax to the FG in 2011, 2012 and 2013 and $1.2bn in VAT and Withholding Tax to the FG since 2009. These payments are just those made in the past six years alone, hence there were other payments before then.
“In addition, dividend payments totaling $4,728,136,946 was paid to the Federal Government between 2004 and 2009, out of which only $127,851,348.19 was credited to the Federal Government’s Independent Account with JP Morgan, leaving a balance of over $4bn. The questions to ask,

Senate on a collision course with Buhari …over Perm Sec’s refusal to honour invitation

THERE were indications, on Sunday, of an imminent clash between the Presidency and the Senate over an alleged attempt by the Presidency to rubbish the senate president.
Pro-Saraki senators are accusing the Presidency of instigating the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Mrs. Anastacia Nwaobia, not to honour an invitation by the upper chamber.
Nwaobia had communicated to the Senate that she could not honour its invitation without an approval by her supervisors to do so but the Saraki loyalists said the Senate had the constitutional power to invite Nwaobia and that her refusal constituted an affront to the legitimacy of the senate president.
The Saraki loyalists’ belief apparently rested on the alleged ‘non-acceptance’ of his presidency by the All Progressives Congress and President Muhammadu Buhari.
“It will not augur well for our democracy if the Presidency will not allow civil servants to do their jobs. We should not carry the crisis in the APC to the Senate,” a pro-Saraki senator told one of our correspondents in Abuja on Sunday.
Both Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, had spurned the party’s directive on who to lead the National Assembly and had ridden on the back of an alleged alliance with the opposition Peoples Democratic Party members to clinch the leadership posts in both chambers.
The APC had preferred Ahmad Lawan, a Senator from Yobe State, as the president of the Senate.
The Lawan group in the Senate on Sunday said it supported Nwaobia because Saraki was said to lack both legitimacy and the moral right to invite the permanent secretary to brief the senate on the state of the economy.
The Saraki group said the ‘offending’ permanent secretary failed to honour the Senate’s invitation because she did not get clearance from the Presidency.
Investigations by one of our correspondents revealed that as of Friday the permanent secretary had yet to neither appear before the Senate leadership nor respond to the letters from the National Assembly management.
It was learnt that senators loyal to the Senate President were angry that the Presidency could encourage the civil servants to disobey the Senate.
The PUNCHhad on Thursday reported that the Senate ad hoc committee on Finance, in a letter dated June 29, 2015, had invited Nwaobia and some officials of the finance ministry to appear before the committee on July 8.
But when the permanent secretary did not honour the invitation at 11am on July 8, the Clerk to the National Assembly, Alhaji Salisu Maikasuwa, wrote another letter to her the same day, restating the invitation.
The permanent secretary was said to have sent a text message to the Senate on July 7, explaining why she could not come.
But the clerk’s letter, a copy of which was sent to the Head of Service of the Federation, read, “I refer to our letter Ref. No. NASS/S//SP/ COS/CORRP/15/1/06 of June 29, 2015 on the above subject matter and your text message of July 7, 2015 to the Chief of Staff to the Senate President, signifying your inability to honour the invitation.
“Your action is a deliberate violation of the provisions of Section 67(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999(as amended).
“You are, therefore, requested to appear before the Senate leadership as contained in your aforementioned letter on Wednesday July 8, 2015 at 2.00pm prompt.”
The third letter to the Permanent Secretary, written by the Chief of Staff to the Senate President, Issa Galaudu, also stressed the importance of the meeting. It read, “Please note that your text message of yesterday, Tuesday, July 7, 2015, which I received by hours of 20:02 pm, suggesting that you would not make today’s meeting, is unacceptable.
“This is an affront to the President of the Senate and its leadership. The provision of Section 67(2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), is very clear and unambiguous in this regard. Hence, you do not need the permission of any official before you attend or appear before the Senate.
“Consequently, I have the instructions of the President of the Senate and leadership that you do appear before them on the date and time earlier communicated to you, Wednesday, July 8, 2015 by 11am prompt. It is my belief that you will comply unconditionally.”
As of the close of work on Friday, the permanent secretary, our correspondents learnt, had not appeared before the Senate.
When contacted, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, on Sunday declined comment on the matter.
Efforts to get Nwaobia to comment on the issue were not successful as calls sent to her mobile phone did not connect.
Similarly, text message sent to her line was not acknowledged as of the time of this report

I’m Destined To Be A Robber – Teenage Robbery Suspect (Photo)

For two teenagers, Sani Harry and Muhammed Yahaya, who were nabbed by the Kwara State Command of the Nigerian Police Force for allegedly robbing people with a cutlass, becoming robbers was something they had no power to resist.
The suspects, who claimed to be herdsmen and farmers, however, were remorseful enough to warn other youths like themselves to steer clear of robbery and other crimes.
Seventeen-year-old Harry said he was destined to be a robber as according to him, he



could not resist the temptation.
He said, “It is destiny that made me to start robbing people. The temptation just came in a strong way. I just did it without knowing why I did it. I have never killed anybody. We normally rob with cutlasses and sticks. I regret my action now. I will not do it again.”
Yahaya on the other hand, expressed remorse for robbing people. He added that he would never get involved in robbery if he was pardoned and released.
Also paraded by the police was a robbery suspect, simply identified as Ibira, 25. Like Harry and Yahaya, he said he did not know what pushed him into the crime.
“I am a farmer and cattle rearer. I do not know why I decided to pertake in robbery. But believe me, I will never do it again.”
The Commissioner of Police, Kwara State Command, Mr. Salihu Garba, said the arrests of the suspects were in fulfilment of the command’s promise to the people of the state to reduce or possibly eradicate violent crimes in the state.
Garba, who spoke through the command’s Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ajayi Okesanmi, said Harry and Yahaya were arrested with a cutlass and face masks.
“One Hadiza Abubakar ‘F’ of Sabo Gada Village via Bode Saaadu reported that on Monday, June 29, 2015 at about noon, she was waylaid and robbed by a gang of armed bandits. Investigation into the case led to the arrest of Harry and Yahaya,” Garba said.
He said the suspects would be arraigned soon since they had confessed to the crime.
Also paraded by the police were some former prison inmates, who were nabbed after carrying out robbery they planned while in incarceration.
The police commissioner said the house of one Rhoda Adekeye ‘F’ at Tanke area of Ilorin, Kwara State was invaded by five armed men.
He said the suspected robbers tied the victims and robbed them at gun point. Valuables including one Toyota Camry saloon car with registration number Lagos FST 828 AW and mobile phones were taken away from the victims.
According to him, investigations later led to the arrest of Blessing Fayemi (19), Stephen Bamidele (32), Samuel John (24), and Juma Olasanmi (27).
Garba said an American Brony Pistol with 11 rounds of live ammunitions was recovered from the suspects, adding that they had confessed to committing the crime.
He stated that investigation revealed that the suspects were at one time inmates of Madala Prisons where they allegedly perfected plans to carry out series of robbery attacks when they regained their freedom. He said the police had intensified efforts to recover the stolen vehicle.
Meanwhile, the police have also arrested four suspected members of the Alora cult group.
The suspects – Oladayo Yusuf (22), Kelvin Orji (24), OgunnikeAdeola, (27), and Oludia Shogo (23) were arrested for armed robbery and unlawful possession of firearm.
He added that the police recovered one Ghana manufactured triple barrel pistol; five live cartridges and one 0.9mm live ammunition from the suspects.
Garba said, “At about 10am on Wednesday, July 1, 2015 the above named suspects were arrested at Sango area of Ilorin, with the above listed exhibits.
“On interrogation, they admitted being members of Alora cult group preparing for an operation when they were arrested. They confessed that they came from Lagos. It is pertinent to note that lately, vehicles have been snatched at gunpoint and were traced to Lagos.
“Investigation is ongoing to recover some of the vehicles they have stolen.”

Nyako’s EFCC Trial: ‘Two Witnesses Die After Giving Evidence’

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, yesterday, admitted to bail a former governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako, his son, Abdulaziz and two others standing trial for alleged N40 billion money laundering charge.
That was about three hours after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,


EFCC, pleaded with the court against exercising its discretion in favour of the accused persons on six grounds, including that the freedom of the accused was a threat to its witnesses.
Private counsel to the EFCC, Mr Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, had told the court yesterday that two of EFCC’s key witnesses against the accused persons had died mysteriously after volunteering indicting statements against the accused persons.
He gave their identities as Ma’aji Mohammad Iro and Abdulmalik Dalhatu, adding that they were not involved in autocrash but just died mysteriously.
EFCC expressed fear that if Nyako and the three others were granted bail, they might use their positions to cow other witnesses from coming out and that it would have difficulty prosecuting the case.
Jacobs also argued yesterday that both the former governor and his son, a serving senator might jump bail if so granted, because the duo fled the country after they were admitted to administrative bail by the EFCC while the matter was still under investigation.
He said they did not get them back until they procured a warrant of arrest from court and declared them wanted on the internet.
EFCC further argued yesterday that there was a prima facie evidence against the accused persons as investigation had shown that former Governor Nyako diverted public funds running into billions of naira into private accounts of companies belonging to them to develop an estate in Abuja.
Expressing fear that not only the grave offence committed by them but also the massive and incontrovertible evidence already piled up against them would tempt them to bolt away, Jacobs added that hiring 15 lawyers to defend the case was an evidence that the accused were ready to do anything to get off the hook anyway, anyhow.
EFCC suggested to the court to issue an order of accelerated hearing in the case and hear the matter day to day instead of releasing them to the free world and pose threat to its witnesses.
But the trial judge, Justice Elvis Chukwu, notwithstanding the litany of reasons given by EFCC yesterday admitted them to bail, albeit attached stringent conditions to the bail.
The accused persons were admitted to bail in the sum of N350 million each totalling N1.4 billion with two sureties in like sum each, one of which must be a serving director in the federal civil service.
They were also ordered to drop their international passports and other travel documents in their possession with the deputy registrar of the court if they must breathe air of freedom.
Justice Chukwu held that the stringent conditions were attached to ensure that they would attend court so that trial would not be delayed.
EFCC had, on Wednesday, arraigned Nyako, his senator son and two other individuals alongside four corporate persons on 37 count charge bothering on money laundering.
Others listed on the charge sheet filed by Yusuf Ali, acting deputy Director of Legal and Prosecution Department of EFCC as co-accused are: Zulkifikk Abba; Abubakar Aliyu; Blue Opal Limited; Sebore Farms and Extension Limited; Pagoda Fortunes limited; Towers Assets Management Limited and Crust energy Limited.
The accused persons however, pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
When the matter came up yesterday, defence counsel, Kanu Agabi, SAN, brought an application for bail for the accused, dated July 10 and filed on the same day.
Agabi predicated the application on Section 118 (2) of the Criminal Procedure Act and Section 35 of the 1999 Constitution, arguing that what the prosecution emphasised in its opposition is that the accused will not come for trial if granted bail.
He said that contrary to EFCC’s fear, the accused persons were happy to stand trial because it afforded them a rare opportunity to clear themselves

Get Ready To Patronize “Made In Nigeria” Products – Buhari To Nigerians

President Muhammadu Buhari has hinted that Nigerians get ready to patronise products made in the country after he pledged that his administration will implement essential reforms to protect Nigerian manufacturers from unfair competition from abroad.



“We will no longer allow our markets to be flooded with things we can produce ourselves. We must believe in our system. Whenever you need my intervention at anytime, please come to me, ”President Buhari told the Permanent Secretary, Abdulkadir Musa and senior officials.
At a meeting with the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, and senior officials of relevant agencies, President Buhari stressed that with its focus on job creation, his government was ready to do whatever it considers necessary to boost domestic manufacturing and industrialisation.
The President said that his administration will fully support the effective implementation of the plan evolved by the Ministry to boost local manufacturing through legal, regulatory and structural reforms, lower interest rates, special intervention funds, protection of local manufacturers and significant improvements in national infrastructure.
“With high interest rates and entrepreneurs needing trillions of Naira to buy machinery, we are virtually back at Ground Zero as far as industrial development is concerned.
“So, we will shun all anti-development policies, and make the climate more suitable for entrepreneurs. We will create the environment for them to thrive. Generating employment was one of our key campaign promises and we will keep that promise.
The Permanent Secretary and his team told the President that the objective of the Ministry’s Industrialisation Plan was to create more jobs, diversify exports and broaden the country’s tax base.
They said that the plan’s critical success factors included dialogue and consultation with industry stakeholders, essential reforms and greater collaboration among relevant agencies.

Beggars In Kaduna Protest Over Ban By Government (Photos)

Beggars in Kaduna state staged a peaceful protest over the recent ban placed by the state government on beggars and street hawkers. Governor Nasir El-Rufai


on Tuesday July 7th placed a ban on street hawkers and beggars after the bomb blast that killed 44 people in Sabogari, Kaduna state.

5 Reasons Why You Should Always Pray In The Morning

I have noticed that 80% of people don’t pray when they wake up in the morning because of one reason or the other.
You may see someone roaming around Internet till 1.00am just chatting.
When the person later went to bed, waking up in the morning to pray will be problem even if the person wake up, he/she will not remember that they is something like prayer.



This because they don’t know the reason why they should pray in the morning before doing anything. Remember that Prayer is the Key to open success.
So, here are 5 reasons why you should always pray.
1. To Thank Him For Keeping You Alive.
I think this is the first reason because is not all the people that slept last night make it the next morning.
I have heard about many unending stories about people dying without even any atom of sickness.
Make it a point atleast to thank Him.
2. For Protecting You And Giving You Health.
Many people have been attack in their dream, many have been initiated into occult world in their dream.
You don’t know the people that is having meeting because of you in their kingdom. Many people wake up with different types of sickness.
But God protected you from all.
3. For Him To Protect You From Any Hidden Danger During The Day. (Psalm91:3-4) Yes, He already promise to keep us safe during the day.
But we need to remind Him that through prayer. Am sure you have been hearing of many fatal accidents happen this days and till some people survive it.
Nobody know what will happen during the day, So always make it a point to pray for protection.
4. For Him To Provide For You During The Day Here is another point for you to pray in the morning.
As we always pray “Give us this day our daily bread”. Is good for you to say this prayer every morning to keep it as a reminder for Him.
I know that you are aware that they are some people out there that can’t even afford #5 for pure water. But you are here enjoying.
5. For His Goodness, Protection Upon Your Family and friends.
Here is the final Point for now because there are still many other reasons.
Praying for your family and friends in the morning have an important rule to play in their life during the day because we don’t know what would have happen to them if not your prayer.
God Bless Us!! Happy Sunday

Must Read!! Things We Have Noticed Since PMB Assumed Power

Did you notice this amazing Scenario?
Without Power minister:
– Electricity supply has greatly improved
Without Petroleum minister:
– refineries are almost fully revamped, to commence production within a month.
– Disappearance of fuel queues without oil marketers holding country to ransom.
– Stoppage of phantom fuel subsidy payments to the cabal, & reducing it


from over N5b to N1.8b per day.
Without Finance minister:
– External reserves increased by $3b in a month.
– Bailout to states to clear 8 months salary arrears.
– Closure of all secret govt accounts.
– Maintenance of a single Federation Account for all FG revenues.
Without External Affairs minister:
– Secured multilateral cooperation of all neighbouring countries for a MJTF against Boko Haram.
– G7 cooperation and support in fight against insurgents.
Without Commerce & Trade minister:
– Concluded package to revamp local industries.
-Again a marching order for the resuscitation of our dead Textile Industries was given.
All in barely a month!
l’m delighted about the prospect, when PMB would have touched all sectors of our national life.
…A NEW SHERIFF IS IN TOWN!…
● Former Imo State Governor Ohakim granted N270million bail for N270million fraud as in return the EXACT money you stole shikena!
● Lamido Ex Nig. Foreign minister and Ex-Jigawa Gov. and sons remanded in Prison
● Ex-Adamawa Gov. Nyako and son remanded in Prison
● Companies linked to Nnamani Ex-Enugu Gov. Loose assets to FG
And so on and so forth. Lets continue praying for President Buhari and Nigeria!!

We Will Pressure Nigeria To Reverse The Anti-Gay Law – USA

The United States government has vowed to continue to press the Nigerian government to reverse its anti-gay law.
The US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said this during a live-web chat with journalists in Washington.


Our correspondent monitored the web chat in Abuja.
Thomas-Greenfield also said that America was not bothered that Chinese companies were fast taking over the African market from their US counterparts.
President Goodluck Jonathan had on January 7, 2014 assented to the Same s*x Marriage (Prohibition) Bill 2013 which criminalises homosexuality in the country.
On January 14 when it became public that the President had signed the bill into law, the US, Canada and the European Union openly expressed reservations over the law.
Thomas-Greenfield, who said the US had adopted the protection of the rights of same-s*x people as part of its foreign policies, vowed that Washington would continue to mount and sustain pressure on Nigeria and other countries to reverse their laws against the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community.
She said, “As a government, it is one of the highest priorities and strongest values that discrimination against anyone based on their sexual orientation and gender identity is wrong.
We believe human rights should be available to everybody.
“As a policy, we will continue to press the government of Nigeria as well as other governments who have provided legislation that discriminate against the LGBT community.”
Thomas-Greenfiled, who did not agree that pressuring Nigeria to reverse the anti-gay law amounted to interference, said the country and Uganda had the hardest legislation on the gay community.
She said, “This is very much a work in progress, but I think you will agree with me that the law in Nigeria really went far in discriminating against this community but also people who associate with them.
“So we will continue to press the government, to press the legislature to change these laws and provide human rights for all Nigerian people regardless of their sexual orientation.”
She, however, did not disclose if the US would impose sanctions on the countries with anti-gay laws to achieve its objectives.
Thomas-Greenfield was optimistic that the U.S would win the fight to protect the LGBT community.
She said, “With what is happening in the US, you can determine how far we are willing to go. We strongly believe human rights for all people and we are particularly opposed to legislation that actually targets the gay community for discrimination.
So we are prepared to push this as a policy not just in Africa but across the world.”

President Buhari Refuses To Meet With Saraki

President Muhammadu Buhari has resisted fresh moves by the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, to formally meet with him, SUNDAY PUNCH has learnt.
An official in the Presidency who confided in one of our correspondents on Saturday said the President and the Senate President had only met once since the latter’s emergence as the leader of the senate.
The official said all efforts by Saraki to have another meeting with the president, after the party’s National Executive Council meeting penultimate Friday, were rebuffed by Buhari.
The reliable source said the president of the Senate had at different times reached out to people to help him persuade Buhari to grant him audience.
Saraki had defied the All Progressives Congress to contest for the position of the senate president on June and emerged victorious after a controversial election that excluded a sizeable number of senators. The APC had endorsed Senator Ahmed Lawan as its candidate for the senate presidency.
The government official who spoke to SUNDAY PUNCH said, “The truth is that the President is still displeased with what transpired in the National Assembly, especially the Senate.
“Their encounter during the APC National Executive Council meeting, when they shook hands, was the first meeting between President Buhari and Saraki since he emerged as the President of the Senate.
“We are aware that Saraki has been going about begging people to assist him to plead with the President to meet with him. That was one of the reasons why he visited former President Obasanjo.
“I can tell you that the President is very pained by what happened. He felt that since he had been transparent with the party, everybody should play that way. But since Saraki took that path, the President was and he is still pained. Let us just hope that at the end of it all, they will be able to put the matter behind them.”
Also speaking to SUNDAY PUNCH, a highly placed party official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, told one of our correspondents that the handshake between the President and Saraki during the recent NEC meeting of the APC “was for journalists.”
He stated, “President Buhari is still upset because of what happened. If you read in-between the line his speech during our last NEC meeting, he reminded people who joined the party after it was formed not to rubbish the sacrifices made by party leaders.
“It was not for the fun of it that the President took time to go down the memory lane to trace the genesis of the APC.
“Although the President said he was prepared to work with anybody who emerged as leader in the National Assembly, he did not envisage a scenario where Saraki would emerge as the Senate President and Ike Ekweremadu, a member of the PDP, would emerge as the deputy president of the Senate.”
Asked whether or not the President might change his mind anytime soon, the source said, “Not until the governors, who were mandated by the NEC to resolve the matter in the National Assembly, bring the matter under control.”
When contacted, the Special Adviser to the Senate President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Yusuph Olaniyonu, said there was no cause for alarm. During a telephone interview on Saturday, Olaniyonu said Buhari had repeatedly told Nigerians that he believed in the independence of the parliament.
He explained that Buhari had had cause to formally communicate with on “state issues” and that they exchanged warm pleasantries at the APC NEC meeting held in Abuja.
He said, “The president of a nation can have private discussions with the Senate President or the Speaker of the House of Representatives anytime he likes.
“At the moment, President Buhari, probably wants the issue around the National Assembly leadership positions formally resolved before calling for such meetings.
He has said that he would not involve himself in the affairs of the legislature and we should respect his views.”
Olaniyonu explained that Saraki and Buhari had been having regular official communication and that such would continue because the Senate would have to approve all appointments made by the President.
Asked why the President had met with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, without meeting with Saraki up till now, Olaniyonu answered that he was not aware of the Buhari-Dogara meeting.
He said, “I am not aware of that meeting you talked about.
If the meeting had held, the picture taken afterwards would have been published in the dailies. To the best of my knowledge, I don’t think there was anything like that. “
Also, the spokesperson for the pro-Saraki Senators of Like Minds, Dino Melaye, told one of our correspondents on Saturday that Saraki and Buhari met and had fruitful deliberation at the NEC meeting of the APC.

Lamido Cries Out From Prison: I’m Being Persecuted Over 2019 Presidency

After spending 72 hours with his two sons in Kano Central Prison, immediate past governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, has imputed political motives to his incarceration.
According to the former governor, he is being persecuted by those who feel that they would not be able to actualise their presidential ambition with him around the political arena.
Lamido, who spoke exclusively to Sunday Vanguard through his media aide, Umar Kyari, yesterday, drew the attention of Nigerians and the international community to the attempt being made by those he called “my political enemies” to silence him using the instrumentality of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Lamido pointed out that it was clear from the outset that there was a grand design to put him away in prison for a long time under the guise of money laundering and sundry charges so as to pave the way for his political enemies to have their way.
The former governor, whose many supporters relocated to the Kano Central Prison where they kept vigil over him and his two sons, said he was determined to prove to Nigerians that he was innocent but was merely being witch-hunted by those who feel threatened by his rising political profile.
Lamido’s spokesman said: “This current effort to frame and denigrate the former governor of Jigawa State with a view to rubbishing his high performance in office will come to naught at the end of the day.
“Lamido remains nothing but a scion of accountability and integrity who has always fought on the side of the people, particularly the downtrodden and the vulnerable, since he came into the national political scene.
“He remains unshaken over the trumped-up charges slammed on him by the EFCC knowing that he has not committed any offense to warrant being thrown into the prison over a bailable offense.
“But the refusal by his traducers to grant him and his sons bail when others charged same day and time for even more grievous offences were admitted to bail speaks volume of the intention and mindset of those who are after him.
“Nonetheless, Sule Lamido strongly believes that, after being imprisoned several times all in a bid to pave the way for sustained democracy in Nigeria, the current effort by the EFCC and others to humiliate him and his family over the so-called money laundering charges will not break his resolve to continue to fight on the side of the people.
“It is Lamido’s strong belief that having not committed any offense against the state to warrant being sent to prison, he and his two sons will be freed and vindicated against the wicked plot of their adversaries”.
Meanwhile, Lamido is said to have been overwhelmed by the large number of friends and well wishers from across Nigeria who have thronged the prison to show solidarity with him and his two sons.
A close source at the prison told Sunday Vanguard that Lamido was jolted by the show of love and solidarity that he shed what the source described as “tears of joy” on Friday.
The former governor reportedly came out on Friday afternoon in one of his best attires to the office of the prison controller with a view to getting close to all those who had thronged the prison yard to see him.
Sunday Vanguard learnt last night that Lamido and sons were likely to be admitted to bail tomorrow (Monday) as a vacation judge was most likely to hear their bail application on that day.
A source said Lamido’s associates had already prepared in many ways to meet whatever conditions the judge might stipulate for their release from prison pending the hearing of the case in September.
Lamido and his two sons, according to the charge sheet of the EFCC after what the anti-graft agency described as a thorough investigation, alleged during the arraignment of the accused persons at a Federal High Court sitting in Kano, that they laundered N1.35 billion.
They were slammed with a 28-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust.
The trial judge, Justice Evelyn Anyadike, adjourned the case till September 28 while ordering that the suspects be remanded in Kano Prison.
Anyadike, however, ruled that the case will be handed over to a vacation judge to listen to the accused persons bail application while the judiciary goes on vacation today.

Bakare, Amaechi, Others To Accompany Buhari To Us

Former Rivers state governor,Chibuike Amaechiand founder of Latter Rain Church, PastorTunde Bakarewill accompany PresidentMuhammadu Buharion his three-day visit to Washington DC, United State on July 20.
They will be joined by five state governors, they are,Abiola Ajimobi(Oyo State),Rochas Okorocha(Imo State), AdamsOshiomhole (Edo State) and two others.
The five governors are separate from an 18-man delegation made up of top aides and political associates of the President. The former Governor of Rivers State Rotimi Amaechi, the former Vice Presidential candidate to Buhari Tunde Bakare, and former member of the House of Representatives Farouk Adamu will be on the Presidential delegation.In addition to these delegates, President Buhari will bring along top civil servants, representatives from the Office of the National Security Adviser, and representatives from economic policy and foreign affairs think tanks.
The three-day visit is expected to discuss ways of partnering with Nigeria to defeat Boko Haram and explore ways of combating corruption in Nigeria. President Buhari will meet with President Obama on July 20th in the White House.

Battle Of Biggest Boxs!! Di’Ja Vs Seyi Shay, Who Got The Biggest? (Photos)

We’ve seen Di’Ja and Seyi Shay in so many music videos, who do you think got the biggest Boxs.

“You Were Advertising Drug Trafficking”, NDLEA Tells Davido Over Fans Mi Video

Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency has set up a panel to investigate a music video released by Nigerian artiste, Davido, in which he displayed a substance suspected to be hard drugs.
The video of his track entitled, ‘Fans mi’, in which he featured an American rapper and member of the Maybach Group, Meek Mill, showed Davido with a briefcase filled with dollars and another bag filled with parcels of a substance suspected to be hard drugs.
The Director of Public Affairs of the NDLEA, Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju, told SUNDAY PUNCH on Saturday that the investigative panel might invite the hip-hop artiste for questioning if the need arose.
He said, “I am aware that a panel is working on it (the video). The panel was set up soon after the video was released few weeks ago.
“When our attention was drawn to it, we viewed it and we discovered that it was improper. There is no moral lesson in it and he was just advertising drug trafficking.
“In the video, he exchanged a brief case supposedly containing narcotics for dollars. He was displaying affluence in the video. If it (the plot) had climaxed in an arrest and possible detention, we would have congratulated him for partnering with us. But the way he portrayed drug trafficking in the video was a means to an end, which the end is a life of affluence which we disagree with.”
Ofoyeju said the anti-drug agency would conduct a full-scale investigation into the making of the video and to confirm whether it was censored before its release.
The NDLEA spokesperson further said, “We are looking at the issue holistically. We believe that there should be a body that was supposed to censor videos before they go out. Those are the things we want to investigate and verify. Was the video submitted for approval? If it was submitted, why was it approved, with such content?”
NDLEA had in June 2013 said controversial Nigerian actress, Tonto Dikeh, risked a minimum of 15 years in jail for encouraging the consumption of hemp.
Dikeh had on June 28, 2013, posted photographs of a wrap of hemp and grains of the weed formed into the letters, ‘Happy birthday POKO.’
She also posted a photograph of herself and added the inscription, ‘Mi smoke ganja mi smoke weed while my hatez smoke ma gossip.’
Her picture is a close-up of her face that seemed to depict her in a high state.
As a result, the agency said it was keeping tabs on more celebrities in Nollywood and the music industry for drug trafficking, abuse and links with drug cartels.

Suicide bombers strike close to SSS office in Maiduguri

•Insurgents ambush soldiers to hijack weapons•Eight fleeing villagers killed on return homeBoko Haram yesterday took its terrorism within a few meters of the Borno State command of the Department of Security Services (DSS), Maiduguri, claiming three lives. Two of the dead were the suicide bombers. The third was a passer-by. Five other passers-by were injured by shrapnel from the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) carried by the terrorists on a day a gang of Boko Haram fighters laid ambush for a convoy of military vehicles on the Maiduguri/Damaturu highway. The hoodlums were routed, according to eye witnesses. Overnight, terrorists raided Ngamdu village some 100 kilometres from Maiduguri, killing 11, just 24 hours after another gang opened fire on residents of Gamboru, Borno State, as they returned to inspect their damaged homes in the abandoned town. Eight of the villagers died in the incident, displaced people said. Many of the residents who had fled the town, close to the border with Cameroon during a previous attack, were said to have sneaked back on Thursday following a rumour that Chadian and Cameroonian troops were providing security. The terrorists opened fire on them with only a few managing to escape. The police confirmed that yesterday’s attack was carried out by two suspected Boko Haram suicide bombers in a tricycle. Police Commissioner Aderemi Opadokun said the explosive went off at about 7am “by the Welcome to Maiduguri Gate and near the office of the State Department of Security Services (SSS) and El-Kanemi Theological College, Maiduguri.” He said the suspects were apparently targeting the Borno Express Motor Park, during the early morning rush hours. Eyewitness Sani Modu said there were three persons in the tricycle at the time of the explosion. He said:” the entire place was thrown into confusion as the bomb exploded and tension quickly rose. Everyone started running for his life. Motorists and tricycle drivers on both sides of the road began making a U turn in a bid to escape, although a few parked to see what was happening. “The remains of the explosion were scattered all over the place and the tricycle reduced to scrap.” Soon after the explosion, security operatives and rescue officials from the National Emergency management Agency (NEMA) and the Red Cross stormed the scene to take the wounded to the hospital and clear the debris. Sources at the State Specialist Hospital Maiduguri confirmed that the five people brought from the scene were treated and discharged. A few hours after the incident, scores of travellers on the Damaturu/Maiduguri highway were abandoning their trips after Boko Haram fighters engaged soldiers on the route in what appeared to be an ambush. Baba Aminu who was travelling from Damaturu to Maiduguri claimed to have witnessed it all. His words: “I left Damaturu this morning (yesterday) to come to Maiduguri. Soon after our vehicle passed Benishiek, we suddenly sighted ahead of us a long convoy of over 30 military vehicles. “We were trailing them until they stopped in the middle of the road and the soldiers jumped down from their vehicles and lay on the ground. “Facing their convoy a few meters away were three Hilux vans apparently owned by Boko Haram. The soldiers threw a bomb at the Hilux vans, destroying two instantly. More explosions came in quick succession and what we saw next was the boys (Boko Haram members) running into the bush. “The soldiers gave them a chase. They returned about an hour later and told us that the road was clear for us to proceed with our journey. “We drove behind them until we got to Jakana (about 36km from Maiduguri). They stopped again and asked from us the distance from there to Maiduguri. When we told them, they asked us to continue with our journey while they remained there.” A military source who does not want to be named said: “the insurgents are desperate to get weapons hence they decided to test their confidence. They thought they could ambush and overpower our men and then seize the weapons being moved to Maiduguri to prosecute the war against them.” Earlier on Friday, terrorists raided Ngamdu village, killing 11, residents and a member of the civilian militia said while on Thursday, eight people were killed in Gamboru, when Boko Haram fighters opened fire on residents returning to the abandoned town from Fotokol, just across the border in northern Cameroon. “We lost eight people to Boko Haram gunmen,” said Babagana Bukar, a Nigerian from Gamboru now living in the town of Fotokol, just across the border in Cameroon. “Some of our people went back to Gamboru after they were told the town was safe for them…. While they were inspecting their homes, Boko Haram gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on them killing five men and three women,” he told AFP. Two other former residents of the town, also now living in Fotokol,

Buhari Sacks Tafida, Bianca, Maduekwe, Farounbi, Others

The call of duty is over for top ranking members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who were appointed ambassadors by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
They were recalled home last night by President Muhammadu Buhari after three years of service abroad.
Prominent among them are a former Foreign Affairs Minister , Chief Ojo Maduekwe (Canada); Chairman of the Jonathan Presidential Campaign Organisation in the 2011 election, Dr. Dalhatu Tafida (UK);Professor Ade Adefuye (USA);widow of the late Ikemba Nnewi, Chief Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Bianca (Spain);and former deputy governor of Oyo State, Mr. Taofeek Arapaja (Jordan).
The rest include a former aviation minister, Mrs. Fidelia Njeze (Switzerland);ex-General Manager, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Ibadan, Mr. Yemi Farounbi (Philippines); a one-time governorship aspirant in Lagos State, Mr. Olatokunbo Kamson (Jamaica); a PDP front liner in Ondo State, Mr. Cornelius Oluwateru (UAE); Alhaji Abubakar Shehu Bunu (Saudi Arabia); a former Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General in Benue State, Mr. Chive Kaave (Argentina); a former financial secretary of the PDP, Alhaji Tukur Mani (Iran);and former permanent secretary, Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA Biodun Nathaniel Olorunfemi (Namibia).
Also on the list are: Chief Asam Asam (SAN), (Russia); Mr. Okwudili Nwosu (Burundi); Mr. Okeke Chukwuemeka (Vatican); Mr. Eric Aworahbi (Italy); Dauda Danladi (Pakistan); and Mrs. Katherine Okon (Czeck Republic); Mr. Nwofe Alexander,; Princess Victoria Bosede Onipede (Republic of Congo); Senator Haruna Garba (Kuwait); Mrs. Nonye Rajis-Okpara (Singapore); Chief Eddy Onuoha (Hungary); Mr. Adamu Babangida Ibrahim (Syria); Dr. Sam Jimba (Poland)
They were among the 93 envoys posted out in June 2012.
Authoritative sources said last night in Abuja that the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had communicated the President’s directive to the affected ambassadors.
They were told to hand over to the highest ranking officer in their various locations.
A Presidency source confirmed to The Nation that some of the ambassadors including the envoy in Saudi Arabia were already on their way back to the country at press time.
The source said: “the President has issued a directive to the Permanent Secretary in Ministry of Foreign Affairs to recall all the political appointees currently serving as ambassadors in all parts of the world.
It doesn’t matter whether they have just few months to the end of their tenure.
“I am sure the envoy in Saudi Arabia is already on his way and quite many others should be reporting to the ministry by Monday.
I really don’t have a comprehensive list of the number of people that are affected but they are posted in different continents mostly in key European, Asian and American countries.”
The sack is the biggest since President Buhari assumed office on May 29.
Their nominations were endorsed by the Senate on Wednesday February 8, 2012, nearly two months after former President Jonathan submitted their names.
On the list were 32 names of politicians.
The ex-President in a letter to the then Senate President, David Mark, requested that in line with section 171(1) C, sub-section 4 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, the Senate should consider the list, hoping that “this exercise will receive the usual kind expeditious attention of the Distinguished Members of the Senate of the Federal Republic.”
Of the 88 nominees sent to the Senate by Jonathan, only 87 appeared before the screening committee, while 84 passed the screening.
Two of the nominees, Mrs. Sifawu Momoh, Edo; and Mazi Okafor Ojih, Ebonyi, could not scale the screening as the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs did not recommend them for confirmation.
Mrs. Bianca Ojukwu, who was nominated to represent Anambra State on the list of non-career category, did not appear for screening but was confirmed nonetheless, her nomination coming barely a week after her husband died in a London hospital.
Maduekwue was nominated by Jonathan following his ouster as National Secretary of the party in what observers said was a move to placate him.
Kamson, Njeze and Arapaja had all failed to secure the party’s governorship tickets in their states.
The recall of Ambassadors serving in foreign missions is a routine exercise especially where there is a change of guard at the federal level.

Law Breaker: Police Sergeant Arrested After Leading Robbery Gang

A Sergeant with the Nigerian Police has been arrested for leading a gang of armed robbers.…A serving police sergeant serving with the Area ‘A’ Police Command, Lion Building, Campbell, Lagos State,Joseph Okweke, has been arrested for leading a notorious armed robbery gang that has been terrorising residents of the state.
It was gathered that SergeantOkweke, who hails from Obuluku in Delta State, used to wear his uniform and gave out guns and ammunitions to his gang whenever they went to rob.
He told investigators that the sight of his uniform used to make people to lower their guards, making it easy for him and his men to swoop on them.
The five-man-gang of robbers, which specialised in attacking ware houses and tying up security guards, were busted after they went for their last operation at Ogudu area of the state.
While two members of the gang escaped, Okweke and other two were arrested. The two had been identified asGbengaandOrobo.
Orobois a dismissed army officer who had refused to reveal why he was kicked out of the army.
The men were arrested by security guards attached to a company they went to rob and handed over to officers at the Ogudu Police Station. While being interrogated,Okwekesaid he had been robbing with his uniform for over five years.

Photos Of Asari Dokubo In Saudi Arabia Plus His Message To APC

See more photos below and read his message to APC as well.