LABARI

What Ooni Oba Sijuwade told me about Buhari – Aina FORMER registrar of National Business for Technical Education Board, NABTEB and Pro- Chancellor, Governing Council, Igbinedion University, Okada, Professor Olu Aina disclosed yesterday that the late Ooni Oba Sijuwade Olubuse (II) fought the south-west before his death. Professor Aina said he was privilege to hold a private meeting with the Ooni some few days before he died, said that the late Ooni had canvassed support of the South West zone for President Muhammadu Buhari in his desire to re-invent Nigeria, adding that he described President Buhari as a man “God specifically brought as a Messiah to re-start Nigeria. Prof. Aina, a Chief from the source in Ile-Ife, disclosed this in an audience he had with some Ife Kingmakers and Chiefs weekend, as preparations for installation of the next Ooni begins to generate attention, appealed to Kingmakers not to falter in their judgment on who becomes the next Ooni. Professor Aina at the meeting...

Buhari never promised he was going to do anything in 100 days- Lai Mohammed APC national spokesperson, Lai Mohammed this morning on Channels TV said President Buhari never promised to do anything within his 1st 100 days in office. "Buhari never promised to do anything in 100 days, that's the honest truth. You see, when you are running a campaign, all kinds of literature will emerge from all sorts of groups but I came here and I said there are only just two documents that you can judge a party with. that is the constitution of the party and the manifesto of the party. Those are the only two documents that are registered with INEC you can go to court on or hold a party accountable for" he said  His statement comes a few days after presidential spokesperson, Shehu Garba released a statement distancing President Buhari from two documents tagged "One Hundred Things Buhari Will Do in 100 Days" and the other, "My Covenant With Nigerians.". The documents had...

The presidency has released a statement replying former Ministers who worked in Jonathan's administration. In a statement released this evening, the former ministers had asked the Buhari led govt to be sincere in its fight against corruption and not use it as a tool for political witch hunting. In a statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the presidency said the war against corruption is not a personal one nor a means of political witch hunting and that the fight is not negotiable and does not have friend nor foe. The statement in part reads  In this regard that there is no witch hunt or malice against anyone in the pursuit of the county’s stolen assets still stand . This war against corruption knows no friend nor foe. There is no intention to deny anyone of their good name where they are entitled to it and that President Buhari reserves the highest regards for the country’s former leaders including Dr Jonathan Goodluc...

Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) has released the identities of 21 alleged commanders and front-line members of the Boko Haram terrorist group arrested in different parts of the country. In a statement signed by Mr Tony Opuiyo, the DSS explained that the successful arrest is a result of the services’ “re-strategised measures to combat the insurgency menace”. The suspects are said to have been arrested in Lagos, Kano, Plateau, Enugu and Gombe States between July 8 and August 25, 2015. “They include those allegedly responsible for the coordination and execution of the suicide attacks in Potiskum, Kano, Zaria and Jos who were arrested on July 8 in Gombe State”, the statement said. The suspects named by the DSS include “Usman Shuaibu a.k.a money, said to be the co-ordinator of the suicide attacks, Ahmed Mohammed also known as Abubakar, an Improvised Explosives Device (IED) expert, who is said to have prepared the IEDs for the attacks. “Others...

Customs rakes in N20bn at Lagos Airport Col. Hamid Ali (rtd), new Customs boss The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) command has disclosed that it generated N20.111 bn between January and July, 2015. In July alone, the command generated the highest ever duty by taking in N5.209 billion. Besides, the sum of N179, 326,838 was collected from the international wing of the airport from the informal trade alone following the close monitoring of merchandise in baggage by officers of the command between January and July, 2015. According to the service, the amount generated from the informal trade alone would have been lost if not for the commitment of eagle eyed officers deployed at the arrival halls. In a statement clarifying the operational modalities of officers at the arrival hall of the airport signed by the command's Public Relations Officer, Williams Thelma, the service explained that it has appointed First B...

Understanding Buhari in 100 days by Garba Shehu Special Adviser to President Buhari on media and publicity, Garba Shehu wrote this OP-ED in commemoration of President Buhari's 100 days in office. Read the article below The enormously popular talk show, Berekete on WazobiaFM radio, Abuja station told the incredible, yet true story of the hardworking and respected school teacher somewhere in Plateau state who hanged himself. He hadn't been paid salary for seven straight months. He came home to find that no one had eaten and two of the children had medical prescriptions for which there was no money. He sneaked out without talking to anyone. After a long while, news came home that he had strangely been caught with a stolen goat. On his day in court, the teacher confessed to the offense. The reason he stole, he told the local judge, was that he hadn't been paid for seven months and when he got home to see what he saw, he just couldn't stand it. The judge allowed him to go...

3 Aljazeera journalists sentenced to 3yrs in prison by Egyptian court Mohamed Fahmy, Baher Mohamed and Peter Greste were today Saturday August 29th sentenced to three years in prison for ;operating without a press license & broadcasting material harmful to Egypt.'   The verdict in a retrial was issued against Mohamed Fahmy, a naturalized Canadian who has given up his Egyptian citizenship, Baher Mohamed, an Egyptian, and Australian Peter Greste, who was deported in February and sentenced in absentia. Egyptian judge Hassan Farid said he issued his ruling because the three weren't registered with the country's journalist syndicate. He also added that the journalists brought equipment without the approval of security officials into Egypt, as well as spread 'false news' and used a hotel as a broadcasting point without permission. Reacting to the verdict which sparked international outcry, the acting director general of the Qatar-based news network, Mostefa Souag ...

LABARI: Buhari will balance his appointments in future - Femi Adesina

Buhari will balance his appointments in future - Femi Adesina While speaking on a show on RayPower 100.5FM today August 28th, Special Adviser to President Buhari on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, said President Buhari will balance his appointments in future. Many Nigerians were taken aback after Buhari announced key appointments yesterday with majority of those appointed from the Northern region of Nigeria. "Nobody can fault the fact that the persons appointed were appointed on merits. In terms of the spread, the President has prerogative to appoint and he knows there is federal character. I am sure that there will be balance in the future. These are still early days. At the end of the day, we will have a balance. By the time more appointments are made, it will balance out. The President is trying to get the very best of Nigerians. The issue of key positions and no key positions should not be the issue. He gave a deadline of September for the appointment of ministers ‎and h...

Shun corruption or quit, Buhari warns civil servants President Buhari has warned civil servants to shun corrupt practices or be shown the way out of the civil service. The permanent secretary in the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Muhammed Bukar, who spoke with NAN, said President Buhari gave the warning while receiving notes on the activities of the General Services Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF). “We have received a mandate to work harder. He has given us a very strong warning that change has come and every public servant has to sit up. We will give our best to support the government. We told him what we have been doing in support of the government’s policies and the president promised to give us the support and the political will to do our job better.’’he said

‘We’ll meet presidential deadline on Boko Haram’ - Defence HQ spokesperson The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) spokesman, Colonel Rabe Abubakar has assured Nigerians that the military will meet the presidential deadline to stamp out Boko Haram from Nigeria on or before December this year.  He gave the gave the assurance in a meeting with the editorial team of Media Trust Limited, publishers of the Daily Trust newspaper titles at its Abuja head office yesterday August 27th. "We are on course, to meet the deadline given to us by President Buhari, with the active collaboration of the Chief of Defense Staff and other Service Chiefs, the insurgency will definitely be over before the deadline or at worst on the deadline. We will maintain that level of momentum; we are not going to fail Nigerians. I believe the activities of Boko Haram will very soon be a thing of the past.”he said

Full list of appointments made so far by Buhari and their states of origin Below is a list of all appointees made so far by president Buhari and their states of origin 1. Aide de Camp to president: Lt. Col Abubakar Lawal, [Kano State, North-West] 2. Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the president: Femi Adesina, [Osun State, South-West]. 3. Senior Special Assistant, Media and Publicity: Garba Shehu, [Kano State, North-West]. 4. State Chief of Protocol/Special Assistant (Presidential Matters): Lawal Abdullahi Kazaure, [Jigawa State, North-West]. 5. Accountant General of the Federation: Ahmed Idris [Kano State, North-West} 6. National Security Adviser: Babagana Monguno [Borno State, North-East] 7. Chief of Defence Staff, Abayomi Olonishakin, [Ekiti State, South-West] 8. Chief of Army Staff: Tukur Buratai, [Borno State, North-East] 9. Chief of Naval Staff: Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, [Cross Rivers, South-South] 10. Chief of Air Staff, Sadique Abubakar, [Bauchi State, North-East] 11....

BREAKING: Buhari appoints SGF, Chief of Staff, others August 27, 2015Press Release President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the following appointments: Babachir David Lawal – Secretary to the Government of the Federation Abba Kyari – Chief of Staff to the President Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (rtd.) – Comptroller-General, Nigerian Customs Service Kure Martin Abeshi – Comptroller-General, Nigerian Immigration Service Senator Ita S.J. Enang – SSA to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate) Hon. Suleiman A. Kawu – SSA to the President on National Assembly Matters (House of Representatives) The appointments are with effect from today, August 27, 2015. Lawal, the new Secretary to the Government of the Federation hails from Hong Local Government Area, Adamawa State. He graduated from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1979 with a Bachelor of Engineering Degree and worked with the Delta Steel Company, Aladja, Nigerian External Telecommunications Limited and Data Sciences Limited b...

Delta state governor had more votes than accredited voters in the state- INEC says INEC officials who appeared before the Delta state Election tribunal sitting in Asaba the state capital, yesterday August 26th, told members of the tribunal that after the April 11th governorship elections had been concluded, it was discovered that the state governor, Ifeanyi Okowa who was declared winner of the election, had more number of votes than the number of accredited voters during the April 14th governorship election. According to Premium Times, two INEC officials, Assistant Director, ICT Department from Abuja headquarters and Chief Planning Officer, Delta State office, tendered the accreditation report of the April 11 election before the tribunal on the instance of the APC its candidate, Emerhor Otega who is challenging the election results. The INEC staff told the tribunal that the card readers recorded no sustained failure during the governorship election in Delta state and accredited num...

See list of illegal tertiary institutions as released by NUC Below is a list of illegal degree awarding Institutions operating in different parts of Nigeria as released by the National Universities Commission on August 24th. The NUC Executive secretary, Julius Okojie, says anyone who patronise these schools, do so at their own risk. Full list after the cut.. Full list: 1. University of Accountancy and Management Studies, operating anywhere in Nigeria. 2. Christians of Charity American University of Science and Technology Nkpor, Anambra State or any of its campuses. 3. University of Industry, Yaba, Lagos or any of its other campuses. 4. University of applied Sciences and Management Port Novo, Republic of Benin or any of its other campuses in Nigeria. 5. Blacksmith University, Awka or any of its campuses. 6. Volta University College, Ho, Volta Region, Ghana or any of its other campuses in Nigeria. 7. Royal University Izhia, P.O. Box 800, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State or any of its other c...

No missing money, NDDC boss tells Buhari; tackles Auditor-General The Niger Delta Development Commission, NNDC, Managing Director, Mr. Dan Abia, yesterday, met with President Muhammadu Buhari for the first time since issues of funds misappropriation to the tune of N183.7 billion was raised by the Auditor-General of the Federation, Mr. Samuel Ukura, against the commission, stating that the allegation was completely false. Following an audit report on NDDC from 2008 to 2012, Ukura had said the commission had a case to answer. Briefing journalists after a meeting with President Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abia said no money was missing and he also dissociated himself from issues of contract splitting. He said: “It is only proper that we should come and brief the President. I requested to meet Mr. President in my capacity as the Managing Director of NDDC. I was not summoned as reported in the media. We briefed the President on our mandate. “As far as the audited account of NDDC is...

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, on Monday, lost N141 billion following intense pressure of global markets as a result of ripples from the Chinese economic crisis. He joins a long list of billionaires whose fortunes have tumbled over the past few days. According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Dangote lost $708.6 million (N140 billion) as Chinese stocks sank lower after a rout on August 24 that the official state news agency, Xinhua, dubbed ‘Black Monday.’ Dangote gained $79.2m (N15.6bn) gain fromThursday to Friday last week, only to lose the same amount about nine times over. The 58-year-old was just one of 197 billionaires who lost billions of dollars in 24 hours, with only three of the world’s top 200 billionaires making gain on ‘Black Monday.’ Wang Jianlin, Asia’s richest man, and Bill Gates, the world’s richest man, lost $3.6 billion and $3.2 billion respectively as the worst-hit billionaires on Monday. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder, lost $1.7 billion, placing hi...

The management of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), said in Abuja on Wednesday that it had attained new peak of 4,810.7 megawatts of generated electricity. This is contained in a statement signed by the Managing Director, System/Market Operation of TCN, Mr Dipak Sarma and given to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). The statement said this was achieved at 20.45 hours of Aug. 25 following a record set on Tuesday when 4748megawatt was generated. It said these successes were due to the joint contributions of the gas companies, generation companies, distribution companies and the TCN. According to the statement, the Managing Director of TCN, Mr Paul Stefiszyn, said: ``The Federal Government has been supportive in coordinating the activities of the sector across the value chain.’’ It stated that the sector now aimed at achieving 5,000 megawatts in a short time, adding that this would be an important milestone for the nation’s economy. (NAN)

A landlord in the Idumota, Lagos Island area of Lagos State, Sola Solomon, has allegedly poured petrol and set fire to one of his tenants, identified simply as Abeeb, aka Ogbon. PUNCH Metro learnt that as the victim struggled to put out the flames, the 67-year-old landlord pushed him down from the top floor of the three-storey building. The father of one was said to have landed with a thud, as the flames ate through his body. Our correspondent was told that Abeeb had barely spent five months in the house located on Iga Idunganran Street, Idumota, when he was killed. PUNCH Metro gathered that the incident was caused by a disagreement over the use of the compound toilet. A tenant in the house, who spoke on condition of anonymity, explained that the quarrel had been settled in the evening and she had pleaded with both parties to maintain the peace. She said, “Before the incident of yesterday (Monday), there has been a quarrel in the house over the use of the toilet. “Everybody had...

President  Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, accused past administrations of allowing the infrastruc-ture in the oil sector to collapse to allow their cronies steal by importing refined products. The President made the accusation while speaking at a meeting with the Chairman and members of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, RMAFC, lamented “the current situation in which Nigeria is forced to spend billions of Naira annually on alleged subsidies for petroleum products.” A statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant to President Buhari on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, quoted the President as saying:  “the escalation of petroleum subsidy payments over recent years was due to the deliberate neglect of the nation’s refineries, oil pipelines and other related infrastructure to allow the importation of petroleum products and corruption to thrive.” According to the statement, the President restated his huge disappointment with the way Nigeria’s oil industry...

A crew member of Arik Air, Mr.Chika Egwu Udensi, was on Monday night apprehended at Heathrow Airport, London, for allegedly peddling substances, suspected to be cocaine. Spokesman of Arik Air, Mr. Ola Adebanji, confirmed the latest arrest. He said the crew member was arrested by the UK Border Force in connection with alleged possession of items suspected to be banned substances. Adebanji, in a statement, stated that the airline was presently carrying out its own investigation to determine how the cabin crew member came about the suspected banned substance. He stressed that the airline would also be cooperating fully with the UK authorities and other appropriate agencies in their investigations. The statement said: “The airline again reaffirms its commitment to the fight against drug and illicit substances trafficking and will not tolerate the use of any of its aircraft or crew for the courier of bann...

New wage formula for legislators to be released next month- RMAFC boss says The chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission commission, Elias Mbam says a new wage formula for members of the National assembly will be released next month by the commission. RMAFC is the government agency saddled with the responsibility of determining the remunerations of political office holders in Nigeria. The commissions Chairman announced the new wage plan after a meeting with President Buhari. The President had expressed his displeasure over the approval of outrageous remunerations for political office holders by the commission. The commissions boss while speaking said “We are currently reviewing the subsisting remuneration packages and it is going to reflect the socio-economic realities of today. We expect that before the end of next month, it will be ready. But it will go through a process, it is not something that you will just say yes or no. No member of the National A...

Jonathan recruited 1600 into Immigration, not Parradang - NIS Senior Officers Some concerned Senior officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service have released a statement defending their suspended boss, Mr. David Parradang, in the controversial recruitment exercise that rocked the agency during the last administration. Femi Adesina, spokesperson of President Buhari last week stated that Parradang was suspended by president Buhari for his alleged involvement in the recruitment exercise that led to the death of 16 applicants. The statement from the concerned officials after the cut... “Still on Suspension of Parradang of NIS…Setting the Record Straight” The recent suspension of CGI David Shikfu Parradang OFR, mni as the Comptroller-General of Immigration with effect from 21 August 2015, is a matter that has been generating rhetorics and innuendoes in the information space. It is a development that has set so many tongues wagging and the self-styled puritans who are known for pran...

LABARI: I-N-T-R-I-G-U-E-S ! Another Sijuade’s Son Emerges as Ooni Of IFE !

I-N-T-R-I-G-U-E-S ! Another Sijuade’s Son Emerges as Ooni Of IFE ! If feelers reaching National Weekender from the ancient Yoruba city of Ile- Ife, are anything to go by, the wait for a new Ooni to the throne of the ancient city, may not be long. This on the strength of reliable information which strongly suggests that the first son of the late Ooni , Oba Okunade Adele Sijuade, Prince Tokunbo Sijuade is likely to succeed his father as the next traditional ruler of Ile-Ife. According to a source close to the Council of Chiefs’ deliberations on-going to determine whether or not, to allow Tokunbo take-over the ruler ship role of his late father, the late Oba before his death, had anointed Tokunbo and given instructions to his chiefs to make sure that, he succeeds him. He added that not all the chiefs are in support of the mov, since some of them believe that tradition should be followed to determine who the next Ooni should be. “As it stands now in Ife, Tokunbo is most likely to suc...

It's sad that Senators, Reps get N46,000 daily as newspaper allowance, says NLC president The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has advised members of the National Assembly to reduce their salaries and allowances in line with the present economic reality in the country. NLC President, Mr Ayuba Wabba, gave the advice, on Monday in Abuja, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). He said a situation where a worker receive N18,000 as minimum wage and a senator or member of the House of Representatives get N46,000 daily as newspapers allowance was unacceptable. He said all public office holders must conform to the change being preached by President Muhammadu Buhari as most Nigerians were desirous of change. "If you are collecting N46,000 as newspapers allowance daily and somebody is working almost every day but collecting N18,000 for 30 days, I think it is unacceptable. "We want change in this country and everybody must conform to the change; the National Asse...

FG names 13-man panel to probe Yar’Adua, Jonathan President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, set up a 13-member panel to probe two of his predecessors, late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, on procurement of arms and ammunition for the Armed Forces. The investigative committee’s mandate is to identify irregularities and make recommendations for streamlining the procurement process in the Armed Forces. The committee, which was constituted by the the National Security Adviser, Major-General Babagana Monguno (retd), on the directive of the President, is headed by AVM J.O.N. Ode (retd.) while Brig-Gen. Y. I. Shalangwa is secretary, Mr. I. Magu (EFCC) amongst other members. A statement from the presidential spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina, said “The establishment of the investigative committee is in keeping with President Buhari’s determination to stamp out corruption and irregularities in Nigeria’s public service. “It comes against the background of the myriad of challenges that t...

DSS charges former National Security officer Dasuki to court The immediate past National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki, has been charged to court by the Department of State Services (DSS) for possession of fire arms without a license. According to a statement released today August 24th by the Acting spokesman of the DSS, Tony Opuiyo, Dasuki's action is an offence which is punishable under Section 27(i) (a) (i) of the Firearms Act Cap F28LFN 2004. “This is in line with democratic practice and our avowed commitment to the rule of law, in which nobody is deemed to be above the law, no matter how highly placed in the society. Accordingly, the general public will be duly informed as the matter progresses”, the statement reads in part Recall that DSS had, on July 16, 2015, carried out a search operation on properties belonging to Dasuki in Abuja and Sokoto. Large cache of arms and ammunition among other things were recovered after the search. DSS charges former National Security...

Press statement from the presidency below.. President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the National Security Adviser to convene an investigative committee on the procurement of hardware and munitions in the Armed Forces from 2007 till now. The investigative committee's mandate is to identify irregularities and make recommendations for streamlining the procurement process in the Armed Forces. Accordingly, the National Security Adviser has constituted the Investigative Committee as follows: AVM J.O.N. Ode (rtd.) - President R/Adm J.A. Aikhomu (rtd.) - Member R/Adm E. Ogbor (rtd.) - Member Brig Gen L. Adekagun (rtd.) - Member Brig Gen M. Aminun-Kano (rtd.) - Member Brig Gen N. Rimtip (rtd.) - Member Cdre T.D. Ikoli - Member Air Cdre U. Mohammed (rtd.) - Member Air Cdre I. Shafi'i - Member Col A.A. Ariyibi - Member Gp Capt C.A. Oriaku (rtd.) - Member Mr. I. Magu (EFCC) - Member Brig Gen Y.I. Shalangwa - Secretary The establishment of the investigative committee is in keeping with Pre...

Sokoto residents rush out to clean streets following cash reward of N1m by state governor. Sokoto state residents have come out in their numbers to clean their streets following the announcement of N1million reward by the state governor, Aminu Tambuwal, to residents of the cleanest streets. Tambuwal yesterday made the announcement as a way to ensure that the state is kept clean. The runner-up street will get N750,000 while the 2nd runner-up will get N500,000.