Iraqi forces push deeper into Islamic State-held Fallujah

Iraq's elite counter-terrorism forces have pushed deeper into Islamic State-held Fallujah, more than two weeks after the operation to retake the city from the militant group began, a senior military official said.

After securing the southern edge of the city Sunday, Iraqi special forces have entered the Shuhada neighbourhood, Major General Hadi Zayid Kassar, deputy commander of the counter-terrorism forces in Fallujah, said.

The operation to retake Fallujah is expected to be one of the most difficult yet: The city in western Iraq's Anbar province is symbolically important to the militant group and has been a bastion of support for anti-government militants since the 2003 US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein.

Artillery and rocket fire cleared the way, and a column of black Humvees was seen moving in between the low-rise buildings of Shuhada, a southern neighbourhood.

After Iraqi forces began their advance, a quick succession of coalition air strikes followed, filling the sky with dark grey smoke.

Just before the push, Lieutenant General Abdel Wahab al-Saadi drove to the edge of the territory that Iraqi forces control.

Surrounding buildings have been shredded by artillery fire and the dirt roads running through the mostly agricultural neighbourhood have been churned by Iraqi troops' heavily armoured vehicles - an indication of the ferocity of the fighting.

The main roads to and from the front line are marked with craters from air strikes and roadside bombs, with defensive trenches dug by both IS and Iraqi forces.

Different Iraqi forces are taking part in the fight for Fallujah, but only Iraq's counter-terrorism troops are actually entering the city. Paramilitary troops, made up mainly of Shiite militias, have been given the task of pushing the militants from the outskirts and tightening the siege.

"We expect to face more resistance, especially because we are the only forces entering the city," said General Haider Fadel, one of the commanders of the counter-terrorism forces.

"The Daesh are concentrating all their forces in this direction," Gen Fadel said, using an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group.

Major General Gary Volesky, the US commander in Iraq, defended the performance of Iraqi forces in the operation, saying they were playing a larger role than the Shiite militias in leading the isolation of Fallujah.

"The Iraqi security forces have not stalled," Maj Gen Volesky said. "They are continuing to move, they got the isolation done pretty rapidly."

Fallujah is one of the last IS strongholds in Iraq. The Sunni militant group has controlled the city, located about 40 miles west of Baghdad, for more than two years.

Iraqi forces have faced stiff resistance from IS in the fight for Fallujah. Extensive use of tunnels, well-trained snipers and roadside bombs slowed the initial push into the city.

After an IS blitz across Iraq in summer 2014, the military has slowly won back territory from the militants. But the group still controls patches in Iraq's north and west, as well as the second-largest city of Mosul.

source: breakingnews

14 facts about Stephen Okechukwu Chinedu Keshi

1. His full name was Stephen Okechukwu Chinedu Keshi.

2. He was born on January 23, 1962.

3. He hails from Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State.

4. He played as a defender for Super Eagles of Nigerian and several football clubs.

5. Apart from the Nigerian national team, Keshi coached the Togolese and Malian national teams.

6. He is the only coach to have taken the Togolese team to the World cup championship till date.

7. The first football club he ever played for in Nigeria was ACB Football Club, before joining New Nigeria Bank, Stade d’Abidjan, Africa Sports, Lokeren, Anderlecht, RC Strasbourg among other clubs.

8. From 1981 to 1995 when he stopped playing international football for Nigeria, Keshi appeared 64 times in the Eagles colour and scored a total of nine goals.

9. He served as head coach for the Junior Eagles at the 2001 African Youth Championship.

10. He spoke French and English fluently.

11. Keshi was one of the only two soccer stars, along with Egypt’s Mahmoud El-Gohary, to have won the Africa Cup of Nations both as a player and a coach.

12. He won the African Nations Cup in 1994 as a captain and as a coach in 2013.

13. His wife of 33 years, Kate died on December 9, 2015 after losing a long battle with cancer.

14. Keshi is survived by four children and his mother.

source: the punch

Clinton leads Trump by 10 points: poll

Republican Donald Trump trails Democrat Hillary Clinton by 10 points in the 2016 presidential campaign, according to a poll, showing little change from a week ago and suggesting his comments about a Mexican-American judge had yet to affect his standing in the race.

The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday came after several days in which Trump faced sharp criticism over his insistence that a federal judge who was born in Indiana to Mexican parents was biased in a case involving the celebrity billionaire.

But the fallout from Trump's comments appeared to have done little to help Clinton build her lead over the presumptive Republican nominee.

The online survey showed that 44.3 per cent of likely voters said they would vote for Clinton, compared with 34.7 per cent who would support Trump. A further 20.9 per cent said they would not vote for either candidate. The results were little changed from last week's survey.

The poll was conducted from Friday to Tuesday, starting shortly after Trump's first comments about US District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is overseeing fraud lawsuits against Trump University, the New York businessman's defunct real estate school.

Trump has suggested that Curiel's heritage is influencing the judge's opinion about the case because of Trump's campaign rhetoric about illegal immigration.

US House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan called Trump's comments textbook racism on Tuesday, while Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Trump should stop attacking minority groups.

Bowing to pressure from fellow Republicans, Trump said on Tuesday he would no longer talk about the judge, adding that his previous remarks about Curiel had been misconstrued.

Other events, including news that Clinton had secured enough delegates and superdelegates to become the first female presidential candidate of a major US political party, occurred towards the end of the poll.

The poll included 1261 respondents and had a credibility interval of 3.2 percentage points.

For most of the year, Clinton has maintained an edge over Trump in the Reuters/Ipsos poll of likely voters. That edge briefly disappeared in May after Trump's remaining rivals for the Republican nomination dropped out and party leaders started to line up behind his campaign.

Trump's level of support has since eroded as he sparred with his party's leadership and continued to be dogged with questions about Trump University.

Originally published as Clinton leads Trump by 10 points: poll

President Muhammadu Buhari Has Been Diagnosed With Cancer

President Muhammadu Buhari has been diagnosed with cancer, according to sources at the London hospital where he reportedly underwent medical check-up.
The Nigerian leader arrived in London on Monday, June 6, 2016 on a 10-day vacation, his spokesman, Femi Adesina announcing a day in advance: “During the holiday, he will see an E.N.T. specialist for a persistent ear infection. The president was examined by his Personal Physician and an E.N.T Specialist in Abuja and was treated. Both Nigerian doctors recommended further evaluation purely as a precaution.”
A source told News Express this morning, “President Buhari went for check-up hours after he arrived in London. The hospital has discovered the cause of Mr President’s illness to be cancer of the ear and brain. Let us start praying.”
The source, who is well connected in government circles, gave the name of the hospital as Royal Hospital London. He said he was given the information by medical sources at the hospital who have been his longtime friends.
Just yesterday the news filtered in that Buhari has also been battling “a terrible cough” and may need to spend more than 10 days in London to enable him seek adequate medical treatment.
Mr. Adesina, however, continues to insist that the President “is fit as a fiddle.”

We Are Not Negotiating With Any Committee - ND Militants

the dreaded militant group have refuted that they are currently negotiating with federal government or any of its representatives, they twitted and warn the general public not to believe on such news.

Bank robbery: I was appointed Special Adviser to Governor Seriake Dickson before my arrest- Suspect

A 27-year-old notorious bank robbery suspect, Ikadoi Isere, alias White Witch, who was arrested recently by operative of the Inspector- General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team, IRT, stunned Crime Alert during an exclusive interview by disclosing that he was appointed a Special Adviser to Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, on Oil and Gas matters, prior to his arrest. 
A native of Nambe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, the suspect was arrested alongside two others; Daniel Gogo, aka Full-Payment and Ifeanyi Kalu. They were accused of participating in no fewer than 15 bank and bullion van robbery and kidnappings across Port-Harcourt, Rivers State and some South East States.

Police sources disclosed that three Ak47 rifles, a Lar rifle, 360 rounds of live ammunitions, 20 magazines, five dynamites, two pistols, a rifle servicing equipment and three exotic cars, were recovered from the suspects after their hideouts were raided in Bayelsa State. 

N400m loot 

The source who spoke on the condition of anonymity stated; “White Witch and members of his gang had killed over 20 policemen and made away with their rifles in separate robbery operations within Port-Harcourt City, between 2012 and 2016.” He described the gang as one of the city’s most dreaded robbery gangs, identifying, Daniel Gogo, who is popularly known as Full-Payment, as the leader. 
The source further disclosed that having gathered credible intelligence on the gang’s activities between 2012 and 2016, operatives trailed them to Bayelsa State, where they were arrested and large catch of arms and ammunitions were recovered from them. They reportedly confessed during interrogations that they made over N400million from robbing several banks and bullion vans, including kidnappings of prominent businessmen, civil servants and oil workers across Port-Harcourt. 

Confession of gang leader 

The leader of the gang, Gogo alias Full-Payment, told Crime Alert that he invested a large chunk of his share of the loot in setting up a local oil refinery within the creeks of Bayelsa State, while his patner, Isere, alias White Witch, stated that he invested a large share of his loots on his siblings, wife and his aged mother. He added that he also used some in sponsoring the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, at the last General Election in Bayelsa State. 

He explained that he mobilized people to vote for PDP and used the gang’s rifles to protect electoral materials during the last Governorship Election at Nembe Local Government Area of the State. White Witch told Crime Alert that he joined the gang in 2010, when one of his elder brothers who is a member of Vikings Confraternity, linked him to the gang leader called Full-Payment, in Port-Harcourt. “I am a member of Icelander Confraternity and I am the executioner in-charge of Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. My elder brother IJB, who is also a member of Vikings linked me to my boss, Full-Payment, who is also a member of Vikings and he asked him to assist me. 
He accepted and brought me into the gang. At that time, I was highly frustrated because after I finished learning underwater welding through the Presidential Amnesty Program, I had no job. 

I wasn’t getting the complete amount from the stipend given to ex-militants of the Niger Delta. Before the money will get to me, it has gone through several persons and when I will receive mine, it will remain only N20, 000. There was nothing I could do with such an amount. I have a wife and children to fend for and my siblings are still in school and they are looking up to me. 

Our first operation

“ The first operation I went with the gang was at Uguruta Junction on the Port-Harcourt International Airport Road. We attacked some vehicles conveying a huge sum of money in foreign currency. We killed all the policemen escorting them including a man the police identified as the Regional Manager of the bank where the money came from. After that operation, I was given N3million as my share and when I got home, I gave my sister who had already dropped out of school some money to go back to school. I also gave some money to my younger brother who was also in school. I used part of it to establish a little business for my wife. 

Another operation 

“Seven months after that operation, my boss told me that there was a job for us at a bank in Trans-Amadi in Port-Harcourt. We were five persons who went for that operation and our target was a bullion van offloading money into the bank. Two members of our gang walked into the bank like customers who wanted to make use of the ATM, with short guns and shot into the air when they got close to a point where the bullion van was. 

The people offloading the money absconded. We drove our car into the bank and carted away a large sum of money which our vehicle could carry since we came with just one car. At the end our operation, I got N12million as my share. My boss and others who are seniors in the gang got lion share. 

Time to quit 

“After that operation, my boss told us that he was quitting and everyone should go and look for what to do with their money. When I got home, I bought a car, rented a big apartment and I decided to go into politics. My boss also told me that he wanted to set up a local refinery so I linked him to one of my uncles who was also into such business. Before the 2015 election, I and my boss had meetings with some of the political heavy weights in Nembe Local Government and we offered to work for them during the election. 

To show them that I was serious, we assured that we were going to bring out our arms, ammunition and money to support them and they promised to give me pipeline surveillance contract in my area. But one month before the election, I became very broke and my boss has also invested all his money into his local refinery business, we were left with no other option than to go for one more operation. 
Back to base- another operation 

“ Our informant, one Promise Barisnsia, who had once worked in a bank, alerted us about a bullion van that would supply money to a bank at the main Campus of Rivers State University of Science and Technology, UST. We trailed a van supplying money to the bank and we shot into the air to scare both the policemen, bank security men and workers around the bank and they absconded leaving the bullion van open. We carted away a large sum of money which our vehicle could carry. 

Encounter with the police 

“On our way out of the campus, we passed through the back gate but unknown to us, there were policemen hiding inside the bush. When I stepped out of the vehicle to open the gate, I was shot on the leg, but my boss came out and gave me a cover. We shot the gate open and escaped. But the policemen kept on chasing us. They shot at the boot of our vehicle and one of the bags containing some of the money we stole fell off and the policemen also deflated three of our tires. We stopped another vehicle and transferred all our goods into the new vehicle and escaped. I was given N6 million as my share of the loot and I used part of it to treat my bullet wound. 

Time for election

“When it was time for election, we brought in lots of boys, from Rivers, Delta and Imo States to work for PDP, Bayelsa State and we paid them with our own money. After the election, I was appointed a Personal Assistant to the Chairman of Nembe Local Government Area, who gave me a Toyota Hilux van with a government plate number. I was also linked to the Bayelsa State Deputy Governor. By October of that same year, some of our gang members became very broke and they called on my boss, Full-Payment, asking him to allow them do one last job which would fetch us enough money to enable us quit robbery, completely. Our informant told us that money was to be supplied to a bank on Trans-Amadi Road Port-Harcourt.

……yet another operation 

“On the day of the operation, we stormed the bank with three SUVs and when the bullion van arrived to supply money, we attacked it by shooting into the air to scare people away. The bank was close to a police station and the police had blocked the route in front of their station. My boss who had a highlander drove in first and we loaded his vehicle with huge sums of money and when he was about leaving, we discovered that some soldiers had blocked the route we intended to escape through. 

Then, my boss decided to escape through a very narrow road linking him to Mummy be Road, but unknown to him, some policemen had already laid ambush and he drove into it. He was shot on the thigh and his driver, one Kennedy, was also shot and their vehicle came to a halt. I was behind him in another vehicle when this happened and I quickly approached him and rescued my boss. We abandoned the vehicle and all the money in it. The next day in the news, I read that the police recovered N350million from us. 

Time to finally quit 

“That operation was a huge loss and my boss vowed never to participate in any robbery activity again. In December, when the governorship election came, I was given N3million by PDP and I brought in my boys and we worked for them. We ensured that all electoral materials were intact and we prevented people from the opposition party from snatching ballot boxes. 
We also had some policemen working for us during that election. Between January and February, 2016, While I was waiting for PDP to fulfil the promises they made to me, and my boss was still nursing his injury, I took our rifles from Bayelsa State with the government Hilux van that was given to me and police escort and organized our boys. 

Operation with government vehicles 

“We attempted to rob two bullion vans, one was at Agip Junction by Ada-Gorge Road and the other was at Emenike Junction on Ikwere Road, Port-Harcourt. We failed in those operations but our informant, Promise, brought a job at Fidelity bank and warned that we must not allow the Operation Manager of the bank to leave the bank if we must succeed. We attacked the bank around 4pm. We accosted the woman while she was about leaving the bank and we took her back into the bank. We blew up the security doors, and shot indiscriminately to scare people. At the end of the operation, we retrieved the RDV from the CCTV recording machine to avoid our faces being detected. We returned to Bayelsa State with the government Hilux leading the way. We made N24million from that operation and I got N4million as my share. 

Arrest at last 
“Two weeks before my arrest, I was been shortlisted as a Special Adviser to Bayelsa State Governor, and we were waiting for him to return from his trip abroad so that he would swear us into our various offices. I did not know that the police got to know about my activities. I was shocked when they trailed me to my house and arrested me and I took them to my boss and he was arrested too. They recovered our arms and ammunition,” he lamented.

source:vanguard news

A commercial Toyota Sienna bus traveling from aba to anambra, involved in an accident, driver disappeared.

A commercial Toyota Sienna bus lost balance, somersaulting into the bush on Tuesday 7th June killing 1 woman and leaving 4 injured close to Ihiala LGA headquarters along Onitsha-Owerri Road in Ihiala, Anambra State. An eye witness said they ran towards the accident scene to rescue the survivors but couldn't find the driver of the vehicle on the steering. The bus was said to be travelling from Aba, Abia State to Onitsha in Anambra State.

former president jonathan with mama peace

you can see our rejuvenated our former president looks now, he have really recovered from nigeria hectic wahalas lol.
sir i hope you are warming up, cos nigeria needs you more.

CBN Extends Consultations, Naira Falls to N361/$1

As concerns continue to mount over the modalities for the proposed flexible exchange rate regime to be introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the naira depreciated further to N361 to a dollar on the parallel market yesterday, as against the N357 to a dollar it closed on Monday.

The nation’s currency had fallen sharply from N350 to a dollar it closed the previous week to N357 to a dollar on Monday.

Dealers attributed this to the uncertainty over the flexible exchange rate as there have been speculations that the policy might be announced this week. As a result of this, currency traders have been hoarding the dollars in anticipation that its value against the naira would strengthen once the policy is announced.

CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, had at the last monetary policy committee, said the central bank resolved to introduce greater flexibility in the foreign exchange market structure and to retain a small window for critical transactions for prospective investors.

“With the foreign exchange market framework now ready, the MPC voted unanimously to adopt greater flexibility in the exchange rate policy to restore the automatic adjustment properties of the exchange rate,” he added.
The CBN met with bank treasurers and the Nigeri

a Labour Congress (NLC) last week as it continued to engage stakeholders on its policies.

Speaking on the much-awaited guidelines for the flexible exchange rate, acting Director of Communication at the CBN, Mr Isaac Okoroafor, said: “The modalities have not been released. The governor has explained that we have to find a way of creating some flexibility around the foreign exchange management as it is today and the details would be released in due course.”

Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, has reiterated that a misaligned currency and forex shortages were part of the problems hurting the economy.

Rewane, in a latest presentation titled: “Nigeria – Technically in Recession, Could this have been avoided?” he presented at the Lagos Business School’s monthly economic news and views, noted that with Nigeria’s external reserves at $26.3 billion, it could only cover 4.28 months’ import.

He stated that a flexible exchange rate policy has a long term impact of attracting capital inflows.
“CBN preparing guidelines but caught between a rock and a hard place. External reserves minus arrears are lower than desirable. There is the fear of a run as soon as cap is removed. Funding sources for a second forex window in doubt,” he said.

Creating possible outcomes on the planned flexible exchange rate, he predicted that the critical window rate could be N220/$; Interbank – N280/$ and parallel market– N320/$.
“Initial divergence will be followed by convergence and slight naira appreciation. Rationale- likely to lead to exchange rate unification. Guidelines and modalities likely to be effective June 13,” he added.

Minister of Finance Kemi Adeosun led a team of officials to meet bond investors in London yesterday. Tapping the offshore bond market this year is crucial for Nigeria to fund a budget of N6.1 trillion ($31 billion) meant to stimulate the economy, according to Rand Merchant Bank.

source thisday

Fulani Herdsmen Return To Nimbo In Enugu, Threaten To Unleash More Terror

Nimbo community has, again, become a ghost town following the return of Fulani herdsmen who allegedly raped no fewer than six women.
Traditional ruler of the community, Igwe John Ikemefuna Akoh revealed this to Nsukka General Assembly when the group paid a visit to his palace before making a donation of over N1.4 million to the victims of the April 25 massacre in the community.
In his words: “We are glad you people are here today to also share our present fear. For the past two days, our people have not been going to farm as Fulani herdsmen have taken over the entire farm in Nimbo community destroying farmlands and threatening to unleash more terror. Some of our people who saw them said they told them that they were back to unleash more terror with more sophisticated weapons. The herdsmen chased them away and ushered their cattle into the farm. Since then, many people have left the village because they are afraid that more disastrous attack would happen at any time.
“We have called the Divisional Police Officer in charge of this area and he said they did not have fuel in their vehicle,” the Igwe said.
However, when Chief Nnia Nwodo, who is a member of the group called the Commissioner of Police, Enugu State, Emmanuel Ojukwu, to intimate him on the report, he confirmed the report and said Nsukka Area Command has been instructed to arrest the situation and promised he was on the way to Nimbo.
stephen keshi is death, read more details here
Chairman of Nsukka General Assembly, Prof. Lawrence Ochor called on the state government to declare a state of emergency in Enugu State to avoid another attack even as he urged the community to protect themselves with any available means within their reach. “I urge the youths of Nimbo to mobilise themselves and protect their village from the menace of Fulani herdsmen. We cannot run away from our village, it is time full state of emergency is declared so as to avert another possible attack. We are confident that the administration of Governor Ugwuanyi is on top of this matter but, more effort is needed from everybody to rescue our state from the hands of Fulani herdsmen.”
While donating over N1.4 million on behalf of the group to the victims, Ochor urged the victims to forget the attack and move on with their lives, believing God to provide for them. The community, has however called on the state government to declare state of emergency in the area so as to help avert the impending danger. Speaking through their spokesman, Apostle Dr. Akachukwu Clement, the community said their lives have been threatened following the return of Fulani herdsmen and therefore, called Ugwuanyi to take more drastic actions to save the community.
“No amount of security personnel can stop these people.”
However, Nwodo has affirmed that Nsukka people and Enugu State in general cannot condone any other attack from Fulani herdsmen and that further attack on any Enugu Community will be disastrous to Nigeria as a whole.
Similarly, the parish priest of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Nimbo, Rev. Fr. Obetta Okeke pleaded with the state government to come to their rescue.
He also revealed that the herdsmen have continued To Molest their women and were threatening to unleash more mayhem in the community. “We are calling on the state and Federal Government to come to our rescue as these herdsmen continue to attack our villagers. The war is not over. Many women have been raped and our people have not been going to farm for the past two days and that farm is the only source of income to the community. Hectares of farm lands have been destroyed since their return and as raining season will soon stop, famine will soon hit this community and Enugu at large as Uzouwani is considered the food basket of this state,” Fr. Okeke said.
Meanwhile, the military personnel posted to the community following the attack of April 25 have abandoned the community without any known cause. According to the traditional ruler of the community, Igwe John Akoh, the military people who have been in the area since the attack recently disappeared without any known reason and it has created more fear in the community. “Our people are in fear not only because the herdsmen have returned but also because the military people who have been here just disappeared without informing anybody or saying anything to us. And in just few days after their withdrawal, the herdsmen returned. And if you recall, the same thing happened when the herdsmen attacked us in April. The security agencies were patrolling around during that time but just few minutes to the attack, they disappeared and our people were butchered on that day. So, the same thing is happening now and it made our people to be living in fear while others have left the community. Today is our market day, but you can see that nobody is there because they have all left the community,” the Igwe said.

source the sun

stephen keshi is dead.

today Nigerians received the sad news of the death of former nigerian coach, stephen okechukwu chinedu keshi. it was a rude shock and very difficult to comprehend why and how this ugly incident happened so fast, within a twinkling of an eye, big boss passed on. many have attributed it to the shock of losing his wife last year to cancer, family source said that he have not really recovered from that shock.

only God knows why, we can't question god. our heart goes out to the family he and his wife left behind, we pray that God will grant them the fortitude to bear this irreparable lost. we pray that God will comfort them and give them the courage to live on without their parents.

keshi made nigeria proud both as a talented footballer and as a coach. he left an indelible marks in the history of nigeria football, and also inpired many former players to take interest in coaching career.

later today, we will update our readers with lifetime achievements of stephen keshi.
rest in peace big boss.

TA Orji calls for an establishment of chartered institute of politician.

former abia state governor that waisted the whole eight years without any visible infrastructural development for the entire eight, calls for an establishment of chartered institute of politician, whatever that means, left many nigerians to remember his dormant eight years in office. who can even imagine that ta orji would smuggled himself to the senate, a hallowed chamber held in high esteem.

Vanity fair magazine, featured the england Queen on cover page

the Queen of England alongside her four beloved dogs Willow, Vulcan, Candy and Holly appear on the front of the Vanity Fair magazine's summer edition which hits UK newsstands on Friday, in a colourful image shot by acclaimed fashion photographer Annie Leibovitz.

I’ll soon reveal how Abacha, Abiola died, says Al-Mustapha

Former Chief Security Officer to the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, yesterday, said he would soon reveal how his boss and the acclaimed winner of June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief Bashorun MKO Abiola, died. 

Disclosing that Abacha and Abiola’s deaths were from same source, Al-Mustapha said he would make the comprehensive revelation in his new book, Mustapha’s Memoirs, which, according to him, is still in the works. 

Al-Mustapha, who addressed journalists in Lagos yesterday, on a number of issues relating to his 15-year travails in detention, said Abiola and Abacha were very good friends before some fifth columnists caused disaffection between them. He said: “For instance, when Chief MKO Abiola was in prison, many notable Nigerians visited him. They will visit him in the morning, and when they come back to the Villa in the evening to see Abacha, they would say a different thing entirely.

On video “Unknown to these notable Nigerians, particularly notable Yoruba personalities, who visited Abiola, their visits were recorded on video. I did the video recording without their knowledge. “These people would visit Abiola and come back to tell government a different thing about him.


“These same people would still go and tell Abiola a different thing about government. They are on video. The agencies of government have these videos evidence. “These same people told MKO Abiola never to accept any compromise or negotiations. They advised him never to come back home without his mandate. All these things are on video.

 “Of all the Yoruba leaders, only Oba Tejuosho told MKO Abiola the truth: to accept the conditional bail and go home. “Only Oba Tejuosho told MKO Abiola that Abacha was his friend, urging him to reconcile with Abacha who was ready for reconciliation. 

It was Oba Tejuosho who told MKO Abiola that he still had the goodwill and would win if he re-contests after Abacha.

 “What killed Abacha is what killed MKO Abiola. But I would reveal that after my court case, still at the Supreme Court. I would publish a book which has three volumes— the Mustapha’s Memoirs, which will tell what happened under Abacha and how he died.” 

On Abacha loot still being returned to the country from abroad, 18 years after his death, Al-Mustapha said he was shocked the first time he heard of Abacha’s loot. 

He added that most of what was today known in the media as Abacha’s loot were mere media campaigns aimed at smearing the late Sani Abacha’s image by local and international persons he stepped on their toes while he was Head of State. …

killer squad Also, 

Al-Mustapha reiterated his call for a public debate, where former President, Chief  Olusegun Obasanjo, would come to substantiate claims in his infamous 18-page letter that he (Al-Mustapha) was contracted to head a killer squad of 1,000 snipers for former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, ahead of the 2015 general elections. 

Al-Mustapha debunked insinuations that the ex-President, Jonathan, interfered with court process to facilitate his release from prisons, to enable him (Al-Mustapha) help train the ‘killer squad’ or procure Jonathan’s success in the North during the last election. 

Al-Mustapha said, ab initio, he had no case to answer but for the plots of his persecutors to see him eliminated because he stepped on their toes while he served as the Chief Security Officer to the late Head of State, adding that the appellate court acquitted him when it determined that he had no case to answer on all the charges levelled against him.

Obasanjo’s had his day’ 

He said: “Nobody contracted me to catch 1,000 mosquitoes under the Jonathan administration, let alone human beings. I am Al-Mustapha. I have my background away from the propaganda peddled by the likes of Obasanjo.

“Obasanjo has had his day. I am doing my investigation and I have discovered so many things as to what made him (Obasanjo) make such allegation. I have it. I will release it very soon and that is why I have challenged him to an open debate. 

“Obasanjo is my senior in the force; he was a former Military Head of State, but when issues of law and rights of man are being discussed, definitely equality comes to the fore. 

“You cannot put an allegation against your junior because you are a senior, and you believe the junior would keep quiet. No, I would not. That would amount to ignorance. I am not ignorant about our laws. 

“Thank God a new government is here today, where he (Obasanjo) can bring up the issue, requesting it to investigate and, if there is any contract between Jonathan and I to catch one single mosquito, I want to say that I am guilty and want to be tried.”

source: vanguard

President Buhari's Federal Excuses Council - Reno Omokri

I tweeted a joke which went viral. I had said that at meetings of the Federal Executive Council, the minister of information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, would address members and say ‘turn to your neighbour and say, neighbour have you blamed Jonathan today’! 

Yes, it was a joke, but like most good jokes, it had and still has a basis in reality! 

The President and his ministers appear ill prepared for office and the evidence of this is their inability to take responsibility for the situation of things in Nigeria. 

Was it not John Burroughs who said “a man can fail many times, but he isn’t a failure until he begins to blame somebody else”?

Those words should be embossed on a plaque and placed in a very prominent location at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa. 

Seeing this admonition weekly may help members of the Federal Executive Council take responsibility and stop acting the victim. 

For example, Nigerians were shocked when the minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said in December of 2015 that the Jonathan administration, which had left office six months ago, was responsible for the biting fuel scarcity the nation was and still is grappling with. 

That statement by Mr. Lai Mohammed is a classic case of psychological projection (a psychological disorder characterized by a patient defending himself against his own unpleasant realities by denying the existence of the reality while at the same time blaming another for it).

And it gets worse. It is bad enough that this administration refuses to take responsibility for its own failures, it also wants to take credit for the success of others. 

In a treatise bothering on megalomania, the publicity and communications team of President Buhari’s office claimed the implementation of the Treasury Single Account (AKA TSA) as the major achievement of the first 365 days of the Buhari administration. 

But for a government that prides itself on anti-corruption, that statement, fraudulent as it is, is dishonest and ‘fantastically corrupt’! 

First of all, the Treasury Single Account WAS NOT an idea of the Buhari administration and secondly the present government DID NOT initiate its implementation. 

The TSA was conceived by the Jonathan administration and there was to be a staggered implementation because from an expert point of view, it was thought that if all Federal Government funds were suddenly pulled out of the commercial banking sector in one fell swoop, the shock on that sector would be so immense that it would trigger job losses and perhaps bank failures. It was thought that a gradual implementation would allow banks recover such that the baby would not be thrown out with the bath water. 

Enter the Buhari administration which, in a hurry to claim credit, did not tread with caution, but in one fell swoop forcefully withdrew all Federal Government funds with the threat of sanctions to non compliant banks. 

Rather than claim this as an achievement, this administration should chalk this one up as a big failure because in their rush to implement something that should have been gradual they have unleashed an unintended consequence on the banking sector such that Nigerian banks over the last year have shed something like 50,000 jobs. 

As a matter of fact, the pro-Buhari Leadership Newspaper had as a major headline on September 12, 2015, ‘Banks Begin Massive Sack Over Treasury Single Account’! 

Yet, even as the reality of their rushed action stares them in the face, a Presidential spokesman has the nerve to accuse former President Jonathan of lacking the will to implement the TSA! 

And the excuses continue! In order to explain away its lackluster performance, various ministers and mouthpieces of the current administration have been touring media houses blaming the precarious state of the economy on the refusal of the Jonathan administration to save for the rainy day when crude oil prices were high. 

In fact, President Buhari himself said “In the First Republic, more enduring infrastructure was built with meager resources. But in the past 16 years, we made a lot of money without planning for the rainy day.” 

But even as this administration is set on revising history, it should not be forgotten so soon that the Jonathan administration met about $6.5 billion in the Excess Crude Account, ECA, and increased it to almost $9 billion by 2012. However, the Nigerian Governors Forum, using their influence at the House of Representatives, had gotten that August body to declare the Excess Crude Account illegal in 2012. 

So excruciating was the pressure from the NGF and most notably from the then Rivers state Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, for the Jonathan administration to end the Excess Crude Account and the Sovereign Wealth Fund and instead share the funds in those accounts amongst the three tiers of government that they approached the Supreme Court, to challenge the legality of the Excess Crude Account and Jonathan’s decision to transfer $1 billion from that account to the Sovereign Wealth Fund. 

Working in tandem with Amaechi and his supporters in the NGF, the then minority APC members of the House of Representatives approached a Federal High Court on the 7th of February, 2014, for a perpetual injunction restraining the Jonathan administration from operating the ECA and to pay all the proceeds of that account into the Federation Account for sharing amongst the three tiers of government. 

So it is quite clear that President Buhari made the accusation he made on April 4th, 2016 without cross checking the facts or consulting history. If the President is not happy that more funds were not saved in the Excess Crude Account, he should call a Federal Executive Council meeting and ask members to get up and point accusing fingers at his ministers of transport and Power, Works and Housing. 

In the last 365 days, the most consistent thing that has emanated from the Federal Executive Council is blames, excuses, finger pointing and a refusal to accept responsibility. 

As at last count, the President and his ministers have excused their inability to stem the economic tide, fully defeat Boko Haram, provide jobs for Nigerians, maintain the availability of petrol, fix roads and improve power on the previous administration. 

The funniest thing is that just as the media team of the Buhari led Presidency was reeling out its achievement in office on its first anniversary, two state governors were also doing the same thing. 

The shocking thing however is that if you get the list of achievements released by Rivers state Governor, Nyesom Wike and Lagos state Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, and compare them with what has been released by the Presidency, the shocking verdict is that in terms of tangible achievements, like roads built and houses constructed and public infrastructure, both of these states have individually outperformed the Federal Government! 

Do not take my word for it. Google their released anniversary documents and compare and contrast them by yourself. Ignore such silly and intangible achievements included in the Presidential list like ‘motivated the military’ and ‘no more road blocks and curfews’ (believe me, the President’s team listed these as his achievements!) and focus on tangibles like roads constructed or hospitals built etc and it becomes clear to even the most brainwashed Buhari supporter that both Lagos and Rivers individually beat the Federal Government hands down. 

Both Wike and Ambode took over from predecessors that did not really support them and who left huge debts and a high monthly wage bill, yet despite these seeming obstacles, both of them have proven the adage true that you will either find a way or you will find an excuse. 

And for those who are saying that it is not realistic to expect a new government to achieve much, let me remind them that in his first year in office, former President Jonathan did not deliver excuses or blames. 

In fact in his first year, former President Jonathan revived the Nigerian Railway Corporation and for the first time in decades the Lagos to Kano rail services commenced in 2012 at a cost of ₦1500. He also built nine new universities including the only federal university in Katsina state where President Buhari hails from. Inflation reduced from 10.2% to 9.4% in his first year and remained at single digits throughout his tenure. Average Life Expectancy increased from 47 years to 52 years (according to the UN). In the same period he also launched the NigeriaSat-2 and NigeriaSat-X satellites to expand Internet Bandwidth and provide early warning to prevent natural disasters as well established the Automotive Development Fund amongst others. 

Many Nigerians must be wondering that if the Jonathan administration was as bad as the Buhari government says it is, then how come he had to leave office before they started experiencing double digit inflation, negative economic growth rate and ‘budget padding’? 

In conclusion, the word ‘execute’ means to carry out or put into effect something. When you have a body of men and women who are not carrying out anything, it is hard to see how you can honestly call them a Federal Executive Council. What are they executing? Put it this way, are you an executive if all you do is execute excuses? 

Reno Omokri is the founder of the Mind of Christ Christian Center in California, author of Shunpiking: No Shortcuts to God and Why Jesus Wept and the host of Transformation with Reno Omokri

source:vanguard