OSUN CRISIS, BEYOND MY CONTROL – AREGBESOLA

Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State on Friday said the economic situation in the state that led to his administration’s inability to pay workers’ salaries was beyond his control.
He said it was heart-rending that he had found himself in the situation which he described as a quagmire.
Aregbesola spoke with State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari behind closed-doors at the Defence House in Abuja.
He said he was not happy the same way a head of a family would feel when he cannot meet the needs of his family members.
He said, “No head of the family will be happy that he cannot feed members of the family.
“Extend that to state, it is heart-rending that I am in this quagmire.
“But no matter how sad (I don’t want to use the word ‘depressed’), no matter how unhappy I am, the truth is that I will not fail to say that it is a situation absolutely beyond my control.
“I led an administration in receipt of regular allocation in which I do my budget.
“Unfortunately, this allocation started falling in rapid form that totally disorganised my budget and any other arrangement.”
Aregbesola said those who want to be objective would readily admit that the Osun State of November 2010 when he assumed office and Osun of today are not the same.
He said people must give credit to the changes that his administration had brought about in the state, saying the changes were not miracles but were occasioned by application of resources.
The governor further explained that with the unexpected and sharp decline in revenue, his administration had a dislocation.

BUHARI NEEDS MORE TIME TO APPOINT CABINET - AHMED JODA

President Muhammadu Buharideserves a little more time to appoint his cabinet members, the chairman of his transition committee, Alhaji Ahmed Joda, has said.
Joda said this in an interview with State House journalists yesterday after submitting to Buhari, an 800-page report of the memoranda and presentations its committee received from across the country. 
He explained that transfer of power from one political party to another as recently witnessed Nigeria requires a long process.
According to him, this is part of the evolution of democracy, and that Nigerians have to be a bit more patient as such evolution cannot be with immediate effect
He noted that political appointment was entirely the president’s prerogative, saying Buhari would go through the committee’s report and understand its recommendation.
On the insinuation that the submission of the report delayed political appointments, Joda said one of the terms of reference of his committee was to get the handover notes from former president Goodluck Jonathan, but that the committee did not receive it until weeks after its inauguration. 

“You are a Big Betrayer” Tinubu tells President Buhari

                             
A Former Governor of Lagos State and the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu has surprisingly criticized President Muhammadu Buhari, saying he betrayed the party.

This is in the wake of events that led to the emergence of Ex-Kwara State Governor Bukola Saraki as the President of the Eighth Senate and the return of Chief Ike Ekweremadu as the Deputy Senate President for a third term.

Tinubu, who on Wednesday through the Nation Newspaper, in an article titled “The untold story of PDP’s coup behind Saraki’s Senate Presidency” pointed an accusing finger at President Buhari for displaying neutrality in who emerges as the Senate President without due regard to the fate of the party.

According to Tinubu; “Despite the choice of National Assembly leaders being a mixture of party politics and legislative duty, the aloofness, or the perceived neutrality of the President allowed the ‘fight’ within APC to fester until it went of hand.”

THREE TREKKERS FOR ATIKU STRANDED IN YOLA

Three men, who trekked to Yola in honour of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, are now stranded in Yola.
The men, Salihu Jibrin, Aliyu Adamu and Abubakar Suleiman, who spoke to newsmen on Saturday in Yola, said since their arrival, they have been unable to see their mentor, Atiku.
They said all they needed was to see Atiku or his representatives to deliver their messages and go back to their various destinations.
“I trekked for 38 days all the way from Lagos to Yola to see Atiku in view of his role over APC’s victory in the general election but up till now I hAve been unable to see him.
“I am now stranded with no money to go back; at times I sleep in motor parks or squat with good Samaritans,” Jibrin said.
Adamu, who rode on a bicycle from Kaduna to Yola, said he spent eight days on the way.
“I want to thank the Secretary, Nigeria Union of Journalists, Adamawa Council, Mr. Baba Zare, who had been assisting me since arrival to cope with the difficult situation I found myself.
“I want to meet Atiku before finding my way back to Kaduna,” Adamu said.

Delta Appoints New Senior Vice President for Europe, Middle East and Africa

 Delta Air Lines has promoted Nathaniel Pieper to the position of Senior Vice President – Europe, Middle East and Africa effective in August 2015.  He replaces Perry Cantarutti who will leave Delta on secondment to the SkyTeam global airline alliance to assume the position of Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director. 

Based in Paris, Pieper will have accountability for all of Delta’s Europe, Middle East and Africa commercial activities, including maximizing the long-term growth opportunities for Delta’s joint venture agreement with Air France KLM and Alitalia – the industry’s largest trans-Atlantic alliance – as well as the partnership with Virgin Atlantic Airways.  Pieper will report to Delta’s president, Ed Bastian.

“Nat’s outstanding record of strategic fleet management, combined with his experience of forging world-class partnerships, will keep Delta on course for success on the trans-Atlantic, continuing the great work achieved under Perry Cantarutti,” said Ed Bastian. 

APC MAKES A U-TURN, ACCEPTS SARAKI AS SENATE PRESIDENT

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, on Friday said the party has accepted Senator Bukola Saraki as the President of the Senate.
He said the reality was that Saraki’s colleagues had duly elected him and the party was ready to live with the reality.
Odigie-Oyegun spoke with State House correspondents shortly after joining members of the transition committee set up by President Muhammadu Buhari to present their report to the President at the Defence House, Abuja.
Saraki and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, both of the APC, emerged as leaders of the National Assembly on Tuesday against the directives of the party which had earlier asked its members to vote for Senator Ahmed Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila.
Since their emergence, the party had insisted that Saraki, Dogara and their supporters would be sanctioned.
When asked specifically whether the party would accept Saraki as the President of the Senate, Odigie-Oyegun said, “Of course! He has been duly elected by his colleagues. We have a reality and we must live with it.”
On Saraki’s aborted visit to the APC secretariat on Thursday, the party chairman said there were a lot of consultations going on at that time and he could not have been in two places at the same time.
He however said party chiefs were already talking with Saraki and would not want to make noise about it.

Impeachment Notice: My Enemies Are At Work -Onyeakpa

BY ABUCHI IFESINACHI, AWKA

The executive chairman of Orumba South Local Government Area, Hon. Barr. John Onyeakpa has described the impeachment notice served to him by legislative chamber of Orumba South council area as handiwork of his enemies and that of those who are hell-bent in halting his fast rising  political profile.

Onyeakpa who stated this in an exclusive interview with Fides, while reacting to the impeachment notice served by the legislative chamber which 16 out of 18 councilors endorsed the resolution and signed by the clerk of the house, said the councilors ganged up against him simply because of he refused them assess to some IGR windows.

The council boss, said the reason why they conspired to remove him was because he turned down their request of using some of the IGR windows of the council area to repay their accumulated debts noting that all those engineering his impeachment were all enmeshed in one financial crisis or the other.

His words, 'Let me just clear the air because a lot had been said within this short period. Honestly, I have had a good working relationship with them but because of selfish interests they came together and concocted these glaring lies against my person. I was not personally served, I understood I was served.

BUHARI’S POST-G7 SUMMIT SPEECH JOLTS SOCIAL MEDIA USERS -Punch

Some Nigerians, especially social media users on Friday reacted to the discovery of an error in a speech by President Muhammadu Buhari while briefing journalists in Abuja on his arrival from G7 summit in Germany on Tuesday.
Buhari had referred to the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, as “President Michelle of West Germany.”
He had said, “I was personally invited by G7. I went there and I was asked to brief the G7, and I was impressed with the tremendous sympathy for the sub-region, the Lake Chad Basin Commission. Their humanitarian approach to the issue to say the least is very impressive and all of them, not only in Europe; from President Obama to the Chairman of G7, President Michelle of West Germany, and French President, they are all willing to help us.”

In a telephone conversation with foremost economist, Prof. Pat Utomi, said the President could make mistakes, adding that such an error was not a big deal.
He said, “I like to compare that kind of slip to Ronald Regan’s tenure as US President. He was often forgetting stuffs, but it didn’t stop him from doing a great job in the US. So, it’s not a big deal.”
Also, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, said it was only the enemies of the country that would play up on such.

President Buhari to announce Ministerial list Next Week, as Fashola Tips to bag SGF

As the days go by in the era of a new Nigeria led by President Muhammadu Buhari, he is still yet to give indication of who will occupy his cabinet. However, a source close to President Buhari has told Ashiwaju.org that Babatunde Raji Fashola (Former Governor of Lagos State) has secured himself a top 5 spot on Buhari’s list. This is as Bola Tinubu has started to realise that this new administration may not be the stroll in the park that the envisioned.

Babatunde Fashola,highly regarded  amongst the populace for transforming Lagos within his 8 years as governor,fell out with his godfather, Bola Tinubu, when they supported different candidates for the last Lagos State gubernatorial election. Bola Tinubu was behind the eventual winner Akinwunmi Ambode whilst Babatunde Fashola  supported Barrister Supo Shasore (SAN) who lost at the primaries.  One of the contestants for the governorship post of Lagos told Ashiwaju.org in confidence that “Tinubu is a very vindictive person. Fashola did not even make to the list of nominations that Tinubu sent to President for consideration. This disappointed Fashola so much that he swore to accept any appointment from this current administration. However,'' we have persuaded him to let bygones be bygones and I am happy to see that he was on the G7 team.”

Obiano Inaugurates ASBA, Disburses N1bn MSMEs Loans to Small Business

In a bid to ensure that Anambra State achieves sustainable development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and becomes the hub for MSME empowerment in the country, the governor of the State, Chief Willie Obiano has inaugurate the Anambra State Small Business Agency (ASBA) to serve as the catalyst for growth in the MSME sector in the state.
Inaugurating the Agency at the Governor’s Lodge, Amawbia on Wednesday, Governor Obiano announced that the state had secured the sum of N2 billion for on-lending through ASBA to eligible beneficiaries in partnership with participating financing institutions that meet specific selection criteria in the State.
Of the N2 billion made accessible to Anambra State after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with an Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO) for the principal and accrued interest,  the sum of N1 Billion has  already been drawn-down out of which the sum of N205m was disbursed to beneficiaries in the first phase of the scheme.
The handing over of symbolic cheques to some of the beneficiaries took place at the flag-off of the First Phase of the ASBA/CBN MSMEs Development Fund in Anambra State, Wednesday at the Governor’s Lodge, Amawbia.
The first set of ten beneficiaries were shortlisted after due diligence for the Revolving Working Capital Facility. Among the beneficiaries are Austraco industries Limited for bakery and beverages production; Bold Ventures Limited, for PVC Pipe manufacturing and Zara Industries Limited, for poultry and fish feed production.
Others are I.I.C. Construction Co. Limited, for fabricated steel production; Omus Oil Limited, for production of steel and associated materials and Restructure Nigeria Limited, for production of aluminium cooking pots.