LABARI

Independence Speech: Why I Sent Ministerial List Late – PMB President Muhammadu Buhari explained this morning why he eventually sent the list of the first batch of his ministerial nominees to the National Assembly for the Senate late yesterday. According to him, the procedure for handing over to his government by the immediate past administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan contributed to the delay in the appointment of cabinet members. Buhari who made this explanation in a nationwide address broadcast live on national television and radio station at 7am this morning noted that he was not unaware of the anxiety and heat generated both home and abroad by the delay in appointing his ministers. He also hinted that he was yet to complete the nomination of ministers, saying he would forward additional names to the Senate for confirmation in due course. “Anyway, the wait is over. The first set of names for ministerial nominees for confirmation has been sent to the S...

PIB : Please Invite Buhari Nigeria has now become a Buhari that is very enigmatic when we discuss how and what Nigeria should be, and in which direction she should be headed. In all spheres of Nigeria’s bureaucracy today the mention of that name Buhari  conjures  the image of a spirit that is everywhereand watching everybody. People now go to work early;though some on their desks actually pretend to be busy doing nothing. The common parlance in Nigeria today is that a new sheriff is in town. President Buhari says that leadership is a call to patriotism, and to him patriotism is the ability of a man to sacrifice all that is dear, dearer or dearest to him for the benefit of his country. Some have said that he is a true friend of Nigeria that should be held with both hands. So as I thought about this piece on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB)which for years could not scale throughthe National Assembly for inexplicable reasons, I felt that invoking the name of mysterio...

The Federal Government, yesterday, docked the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, sitting in Abuja, on a 13-count criminal charge that bordered on corruption, false declaration of assets, and illegal operation of a foreign bank account while in office as a public servant. Saraki, who was docked before the tribunal at  11:24am, yesterday, pleaded not guilty to the charge marked ABT/01/15, which the Federal Ministry of Justice preferred against him following a recommendation by the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB. Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki Docked by Code of Conduct Tribunal in Abuja. Photo by Gbemiga Olamikan In the charge sheet which was signed by a deputy director in the office of the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. M. S. Hassan, he was alleged to have manipulated the assets declaration forms he submitted before the CCB in 2003, 2007 and 2011, by making anticipatory declaration of assets. The Federal Government mainta...

Extra-Judicial Killings in Abuja, Benin: ASP kills senator's son.                         The Force Criminal  Investigations Department (FCID) of the Nigerian Police force has arrested and detained an Assistant Superintendent of Police, ASP, and six other Police officers over allegations of extra-judicial killings in separate incidents that occurred in Abuja and Benin, the Edo State capital. The first case resulting in the arrest of the ASP (Mohammed Yusuf) and two officers (Corporal Agada Lawrence and Corporal Agada Kenneth, involved the extra judicial killing of the son of the former Chairman, Senate Committee on Defence, Senator Fidelis Okoro, in Abuja last year. According to Police sources, Mr. John Chukwuemeka Okoro (son of Senator Okoro) and a friend of his (Sunday Markus alias Sunday Black) were at the Durumi district of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, ...

FG seeks warrant for Senate President Bukola Saraki’s arrest Breaking News: FG seeks warrant to arrest Saraki The Federal Ministry of Justice has asked the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, sitting in Abuja to issue bench warrant for the arrest of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki. Bukola Saraki A deputy director in the office of the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. M.S. Hassan, applied for the arrest order following Saraki’s refusal to appear before the tribunal to enter his plea to the13- count corruption charge against him. ‎Saraki who was billed for arraignment this morning, sent his team of lawyers to serve the tribunal with a copy of the ruling of Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, yesterday, which summoned the Ministry of Justice to appear on Monday to show cause why the trial should be allowed to proceed. Equally summoned by the court were the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Danladi Umar and that of the C...

Article by Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Buhari, Femi Adesina Some call it the Buhari bounce. Others describe it as the Buhari effect. Yet some others say it is the Buhari aura. One thing is however crystal clear. Things have not been the same in the past 100 days in Nigeria, since Muhammadu Buhari assumed the presidency. A new sheriff has truly come to town. Exactly 100 days ago, he climbed the podium at Eagle Square in Abuja and got inaugurated as president, 30 years after he had been toppled from power as military head of state. He promised to belong to nobody, and to belong to everybody. It is a pledge that still resonates loudly today, and will surely echo for a long time to come. On a day like this, you would expect a presidential spokesman to chronicle the achievements of his principal in office. He has turned stone to bread, slain the dragon, and climbed Mount Olympus in ten seconds. But that is not what I want to do. There are some intangible, almost im...

The assets of President Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo have finally been disclosed. Below is a press statement from the presidency. “Documents submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), show that the retired General has indeed been living an austere and Spartan lifestyle, contrary to what many might expect of a former Head of State of Nigeria and one who has held a number of top government positions, such as governor, Minister of petroleum and the head of the Petroleum Development Trust Fund (PTDF). “The documents submitted to the CCB, which officials say are still being vetted and will soon be made public, show that prior to being sworn in on May 29, President Buhari had less than N30 million to his name. He also had only one bank account, with the Union Bank. President Buhari had no foreign account, no factory and no enterprises. He also had no registered company and no oil wells. “The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) who had...