HOW WE DEFEATED JONATHAN – TINUBU

 ALL Progressives Congress, APC, leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, yesterday, attributed the defeat of President Goodluck Jonathan in the last presidential election to a commonsense revolution anchored on a rebellion against the excesses of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
He spoke at a book launch in Lagos where Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka extolled him, and Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State as the drivers of the uprising, which he said, was fast-tracked by President Jonathan’s mishandling of the Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF crisis.
The public presentation of the book “Dynamics of Change: The Amaechi Years”, was witnessed by a cross section of the political class and civil society including governors, former governors, senators among others.
Justice Adolphus Karibi-Whyte, who was chairman of the occasion, said the book only offered a glimpse into the vision that stimulated the infrastructure and developments during the Amaechi years in Rivers State.
Amaechi on his part gave a peep into his political challenges, noting how even when he got Tinubu angry before the APC convention, both men set aside their issues for the common goal of achieving victory in the elections that were yet to be held at that time.

Indegenes of Ezinano Community Call For Lawrence Chinwuba's Sack

Hundreds of Indegenes of Ezinano Community, of Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State Nigeria  have called for immediate sack of the state commissioner  for Housing and Urban Development Lawrence Chiwunba for allegedly involving in illegal acquisition of  landed properties  and diverting state owned properties into private use.

The mammoth crowd thronged the state secretariat, Awka, with placards carrying different inscriptions like; Sack Lawrence Chinwuba Now, Law Is Death, Here if Your Coffin, Thief, Converting Our Heritance To Private Use, Chinwuba Must Leave Awka For Us, and host of others, noted with strong equivocation that the state commissioner should be sack in the interest peace in the state capital.

The protesters, who are in their advance  ages 40 and above barricade the entrance of the   state secretariat bearing white coffin, with the commissioner for housing picture on it and traditional quotes to exorcise non indegene in their community.

Our enemies are after us, says Azikiwe university VC

By Tony Okafor in Awka.

The Vice- Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State , Professor Joseph Ahaneku on Wednesday accused those who contested the position of vice- chancellorship of the institution with him about a year ago of trying to pull him down.
He said “ bad losers and those facing disciplinary actions were behind students' protest that erupted in the university on Tuesday.”
The Vice-Chancellor spoke through the Director of communications of the University, Dr Emmanuel Ojukwu.

The president of the Student Union Government of the university, Noble Eyisi, had on Tuesday called out some students of the university to protest the hike in post-Unified Matriculation Examination Test from N1,000 to N2,000
The students also condemned N7,500 paid by the candidates for biometric data
In a letter to the Vice-Chancellor before the Tuesday protest, the students accused the management of the university of being corrupt for so doing..

AMAECHI: BUHARI’S VICTORY SAVED ME

Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi yesterday said he would have been hounded out of the country by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led government, had the All Progressives Congress (APC) lost the election.
Amaechi spoke at the public presentation of the compilation of his administration’s achievements in Lagos. The book “Dynamics of Change: The Amaechi Years” is edited by Dr Chidi Amuta and Dr Yemi Ogunbiyi.
Amaechi said he knew that he would be in trouble if change did not happen in Nigeria and was prepared to make the sacrifices necessary to make it happen.
“I knew I was going to be in trouble. Anything that would cause that change not to take place, I was ready to make that sacrifice. The federal government sent out a signal that if they won nobody should let me out of Nigeria from any airport. One day Asiwaju got angry with me. He was very angry. I went to his house with Mallam Nasir El-Rufai and knelt down, saying ‘please let’s not disagree, let’s win first and then we can disagree’.”
“I lost my passport in Ghana and went to the High Commission. They gave me a certificate but the Ambassador was given a query for doing so. I later applied for a passport and they gave me green, not red. Now they have given it to me – two weeks ago,” Amaechi said.

CONDUCT BUREAU ORDERS PRESIDENT JONATHAN, MINISTERS, OTHERS TO DECLARE ASSETS

The Code of Conduct Bureau has made Assets Declaration Forms available to President Goodluck Jonathan, ministers and political office holders.
Also, all newly-elected governors, National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly members have been directed to obtain assets declaration forms.
It, however, said after the submission of the forms, its officers will move round nationwide to verify the claims of political office holders.
According to a notice by the Secretary to the bureau, Mr. Kolade Omoyola, the filling of assets declaration forms is in line with the 5th Schedule to the 1999 Constitution.

OIL MARKETERS COURT APC LEADERS OVER N200BN SUBSIDY PAYMENT

Fuel marketers have reached out to some All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders to influence the President- elect, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, to pay the outstanding N200 billion on subsidy, interest and foreign exchange differentials, New Telegraph has learnt.
A source said yesterday that they had decided to woo the APC leaders in the face of the seeming reluctance of the outgoing Jonathan administration to settle the Federal Government’s indebtedness to fuel marketers as a way of ending the crippling nationwide product shortage.
The courting of the APC came on day the importer said they could not guarantee that the ongoing fuel scarcity would end before the expiration of this government on May 29. The Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) and the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA), which stated this at a joint press conference in Lagos, alleged that the “insensitive approach” of the outgoing government to sufferings caused by the ongoing scarcity was likely to make the incoming government to inherit the crisis.

JONATHAN ORDERS $500M OIL PROJECT MOVED FROM LAGOS

President Goodluck Jonathan has directed that a $500 million oil and gas investment project be relocated from LADOL Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in Lagos to Agga in Bayelsa State, The Nation learnt yesterday.
The project is a partnership between LADOL Integrated Logistics Enterprise and Samsung Heavy Industries, Korea.
The two companies are to build fabrication and integration yards for Egina Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility for the use of local and foreign-owned oil companies.
The multi-million dollar project is in phases, and billed to be completed in the next five years.
The project is said to have reached an “advanced stage” before Jonathan issued a directive that it should be relocated.
The directive, contained in two letters dated April 27, was signed by Mr A.B Mohammed, a general manager with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
Mohammed signed the letters on behalf of the NPA Managing Director, Sanusi Ado Bayero, who is believed to be a stakeholder in Intel, an oil and gas logistics firm in Rivers State– an allegation he has denied in newspaper advertorials.

BUHARI, GOWON, OTHER DIGNITARIES EXPECTED AS OSHIOMHOLE WEDS IN EDO

All roads lead to Iyamho community, Etsako West council area of Edo state and the political stronghold of former President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Governor of the state, Adams Oshiomhole, as he marries Miss Lara Forte.
The Ethiopian young lady, who is a former model and air hostess, is expected to be the center of focus as former Head of State General Yakubu Gowon, ex-Presidents, Ibrahim Babangida, General Abdulsalam Abubakar, and the President- elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari storm the state today to grace the historic ceremony.
Also, expected to arrive the state for the event are APC National leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the party’s national chairman, Chief John Oyegun, Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State, Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, other top politicians, captains of industry, labour leaders, the clergy and activists, as well as associates of the governor.

AREGBESOLA EXPRESSES DISMAY OVER NONPAYMENT OF WORKERS SALARIES

Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, has said he is pained by the inability of his administration to pay civil servants in the state for the past six months.

The governor said this in Ilesa on Thursday during the unveiling of the partnership of the Airtel Nigeria with RLG, which is partly owned by the state.
The governor told the gathering and his itinerant praise singers that he would not dance as he usually does because of the mood in the state. The governor, who was obviosuly carried away however joined the praise singers after that.
Aregbesola said, ” It is painful to me that we have not paid our workers but we are working to put this one behind us.
“Let them know that we are pained by this situation but those who created the problem will soon go away. We will not dance today.

BUHARI TO TAKE OVER PETROLEUM MINISTRY

Barring any last minute change in plans, the President- elect, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, will personally oversee the Ministry of Petroleum, as he is considering not appointing a minister to supervise the ministry.
Rather than having a Petroleum Minister, sources told New Telegraph that the former military head of state who once supervised the Ministry of Petroleum Resources as well as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in the 1970s, will appoint a special adviser on power and energy, who will report to him.
It could not be immediately confirmed if the incoming president was also considering same option for the beleaguered power sector. If he sees through his plan, Buhari will be following in the footstep of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who directly supervised the Ministry of Petroleum Resources for about seven years.
He relinquished the position in January 2007 when, in a cabinet reshuffle, he elevated the then Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Edmund Daukoru, to head the newly-created Ministry of Energy, formed from the merger of Ministry of Petroleum Resources as well as Ministry of Power and Steel. One of the sources said Buhari was considering the idea of not appointing a minister for the Ministry of Petroleum as part of efforts to clean the rot in the ministry.
The source said: ”This is part of the immediate plans General Buhari has mapped out to tackle the rot in the oil sector and it is likely to remain as long as the industry remains mysterious and shrouded in secrecy.”