President Jonathan To Buy New Executive Jet

President Goodluck Jonathan wants to ride yet another new aircraft, and he has asked the National Assembly to approve the purchase.  The request is part of the 2015 budget presented to the National Assembly in Abuja last week by the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. 

It will be the fourth such purchase since he took office in 2010.

To make the acquisition of the gleaming new toy fit for the electoral stomp an attractive proposition, the presidency will trade in one of the planes currently in the presidential fleet.  But the purchase will still gulp N400 million as deposit to the manufacturer.  

Towards combating the insurgency in the country, the appropriation bill contains a N1,308,400,600 proposal to be spent on NICEP II security elements phase II by the NSA; N2,093,861,553 for maritime border security solutions (Falcon Eye); N2,093,861,553 for North-East border security solutions  and N850 million for the DSS to buy more firearms and ammunition for all the service formations.

Gunmen Open Fire On Taraba Wedding, 13 Killed

A security source in Taraba State has confirmed that about 13 persons were killed and over 30 injured in an attack by unknown gunmen on a village during a wedding rite.
The source said the incident occurred on Monday night in Nafirde, in Gassol local government area of the state.
The gunmen opened fire as the marital rites were in progress.

President Jonathan Ranks Fourth Among 9 Richest African Presidents

Robert Mugabe

Country: Zimbabwe

Years in Power: 26

He is a part of a very wealthy family. His net worth is around $10 million.

Withdrawal of 18 PhDs not a witch hunt –LASU VC

The authorities of the Lagos State University, Ojo, have said that the withdrawal of 18 PhD certificates from some of their graduates is not for witch-hunt.

The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. John Obafunwa, stated this while speaking to journalists in Lagos.

He spoke against the backdrop of the Academic Staff Union of Universities’ claim that the certificate withdrawal was to embarrass the LASU-ASUU Chairman, Dr. Adekunle Idris.

The ASUU Lagos Zonal Chairman, Dr. Nasir Adesola, had accused the VC of orchestrating the withdrawal following Idris’ role in the call for the reversal of tuition in the school.

Before the tuition reversal to N25,000, the typical undergraduate student of the institution paid between N150,000, and N350,000 depending on his course of study.

But dismissing the ASUU allegation, Obafunwa said his leadership was only interested in cleansing the rot in the university.

How to treat a naked woman: Another rejoinder

On Tuesday, December 2, 2014, Jibril Sado wrote a rejoinder to an article published in The PUNCH, titled, How to treat a naked woman. The write-up was a response to an earlier one written on November 27, 2014.
Adelakun who took her inspiration from some women and men in faraway Kenya that “protested a culture that strips a woman naked– to enhance her dignity and protect the sanctity of their society” had in the write-up surrendered to all values that are antithetical to Africa, elevated even the strange modern culture that is hunting the West and condemned African culture as a myth that never existed.

Abia varsity reduces tuition

The Abia State University on Tuesday confirmed a 20 per cent reduction in its school fees, beginning from 2014/2015 academic session.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that an increase in the tuition in 2012/2013 session had put the university authority and the students on war path.

Mr Udo Nwokocha, the Dean of Student Affairs of the university, told NAN on telephone that the reduction cut across all the faculties.

The fees, which was raised in 2012, had forced the students to stage peaceful demonstrations.

The students had considered the hike in the tuition as government’s attempt to deny them of their right to education.

Jonathan condones corruption, says Osinbajo

The Vice-Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has said that one of the fundamental problems bedeviling the nation is the failure of the President Goodluck Jonathan-led Federal Government to tackle corruption.

Osinbajo stated this during a Twitter chat tagged #AskProfOsinbajo on Monday.

He said it was saddening that under Jonathan’s government, “there is no consequence for corruption.”

He added, “One of the fundamental problems is that there is no consequence for corruption. I think that what everyone will agree to about a Buhari government is that it will not tolerate corruption.

“If the number one citizen has a clear and uncompromising anti-corruption stand then the anti-corruption policy will work. If the number one and number two citizens have a strong stance on anti-corruption then our policy can succeed.”

Read Bitter Truths About The Economy The Jonathan Govt. Does Not Want Nigerians To Know

As is well known, available figures, statistics and ratings show that the Nigerian economy has consistently maintained an unprecedented growth rate of 6-7 per cent under the Jonathan administration. They also show that the Nigerian economy is now the leading economy in Africa and the 26th largest in the world, with a gross domestic product of over $500 billion per annum.
Statistical indicators are like a woman’s bikini, they hide or mask the most important details, while revealing what, to a casual observer, seem like a whole lot. Take for example real economic growth rate: a measure of how much the economy grew, in real terms. Real growth rate is essentially a quantitativemeasure. While it measures the total goods and services produced in a given year, it does not say anything about how the quality of life has changed, and whether or not available resources were used transparently and beneficially.

How Sea Pirates Killed Three Soldiers In Bayelsa

Some sea pirates on Monday launched a deadly attack against military personnel attached to the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) code named Operation Pulo Shield, killing three.
The incident took place along the waterways and creeks of Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
Our source said the JTF military personnel were on escort duty for cargo belonging to the Brass terminal owned by NAOC when the gunmen opened fire on them.
The source, which sought anonymity, said the military personnel were ambushed by deadly pirates.
“It is suspected that the gunmen either hijacked the gunboat [and] later killed the soldiers and threw their dead bodies into the water, or they shot and pushed them into the water before stealing the gunboat," he said.

Those Benefitting From Corrupt System Holding Jonathan Hostage –Ishola-Williams

How would you react to the latest ranking of Nige­ria as the 39th most corrupt nation in the world by the Transparency International (TI), considering the fact that you were once the Nigeria chapter chairman of TI?
As far as I’m concerned, nothing has changed about Nigeria regarding corrup­tion. It is sad that the situation is getting worse. The latest ranking by TI is an indict­ment on the leadership. Our leaders need to do more to fight corruption.
As it is today in Nigeria, war against corruption is dead. The situation is getting worse, and the leadership has not shown enough will to tackle corruption. Nothing has changed.
But the Presidency has come out to say that Jona­than’s administration is in­deed winning war against corruption, how do you see this development against your own position?