INEC WILL SUCCEED-JEGA

The chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Attahiru Jega, has promised that the commission will meet Nigerians’ aspiration for free, fair and credible elections in the March 28 and April 11 polls.

According to Punch, Jega gave the assurance yesterday, March 12, at a meeting with the 37 Resident Electoral Commissioners in Abuja, where he promised that the commission would examine every gap in its preparations for the elections in the next few weeks.

READ ALSO: Card Readers: Youths Storm INEC, Call For Jega’s Sack

The INEC chairman however lamented that that the commission was battling forces designed to distract INEC from making the general elections a success.

Speaking before the meeting went into closed-door session, he said: “This meeting is very important because it is an opportunity for us to   have a final review and updating of the extent of our preparations for the elections.

“It is important that we also remain focused in terms of delivering the best elections for our country. There are a lot of things to distract us but we need to remain focused and resilient.”

Jega also called on all Nigerians to be ready to contribute their quota in ensuring that the elections were a success. He pleaded with political parties and their candidates to abide by the peace accord they entered into, which is meant to avoid violence by their supporters.

He said: “We all need to ensure that the elections are peaceful, because peaceful elections are what will promote the stability of our country and what will lay a solid foundation that is required for development.”

READ ALSO: Why Emirs Supported The Use Of Card Readers

Jega’s comments come a day after the Peoples Democratic Party Governors Forum (PDPGF) passed a vote of no confidence on the preparedness of the commission for the general elections. The governors faulted the electoral body for its stance on the use of card readers for the coming polls.

Nigeria's Women Private Jet Owners

unconfirmed sources said that four Nigerian women are among the many businessmen, clergy men and politicians that own private jets in the country.

These sources listed the women who have private jets to include Folorunsho Alakija, Diezani Alison-Madueke, Daisy Danjuma and Hajia Bola Muinat Shagaya:



Folorunso Alakija

She is one of Nigeria’s first female billionaire and the founder of Famfa Oil, a Nigerian company that owns a substantial interest in OML 127, a lucrative oil block on the Agbami deep water oilfield in Nigeria. She is said to be worth at least $3.2 billion and also said to own at least $100 million in real estate and a private jet worth $46 million.

Diezani Alison-Madueke
The first female President of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and she is still the current Minister of Petroleum Resources, and also the first woman to hold that position in Nigeria. Alison-Madueke was elected President of OPEC at the 166th General Meeting of the body in Vienna, Austria. She has held three significant positions in the Nigerian Federal Government. Alison-Madueke was appointed Transport Minister in July 2007. On December 23, 2008, she was named as Minister of Mines and Steel Development.

In 2013, the Federal legislators accused Alison-Madueke of wasting N10 billion to charter and maintain private jet solely for her personal needs and those of her immediate family.



Hajia Bola Muinat Shagaya

She is the Managing Director of Practoil Limited, one of the largest importers and distributors of base oil in Nigeria, serving local lubricant blending plants. Unconfirmed sources said she has acquired a Gulfstream G650 aircraft made in the United States.

Shagaya is said to be the closest ally to the first lady, Dame Patience Jonathan and she is one of the richest women in Africa.



Daisy Danjuma

She is the wife of one of Nigeria’s richest men, General Theophilus Danjuma(rtd). Elected in 2003, she has served on numerous committees, among them are the Chairman of the ECOWAS Parliament’s Women and Children’s Rights Committee and Senate Committee Chairman on Women Affairs and Youth Development.


http://dailyindependentnig.com/2015/03/women-private-jet-owners/

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Pastor Snatch Another Pastors Wife - Family

Pastor, John Ajayi, on Tuesday pleaded with an Orile Agege Customary Court in Lagos to dissolve his marriage over his wife’s alleged adultery and desertion.

Ajayi, 49, who lives at 22, Erinle Street, Iju Ishaga, near Lagos told the court that his wife, Christiana, left their matrimonial home since 2011.

They had been married for 16 years.

Ajayi, a father of three, aged between seven and 14 years, told the court that his wife had an affair with his pastor-friend whom he invited for a church programme.

“When my pastor-friend came to Lagos on my invitation for our church programme, I noticed how my wife was admiring him which made me to suspect a foul play.

“After the pastor had returned to his base in Ibadan, my wife was nowhere to be found in Lagos, so I traced her to Ibadan and met her with the pastor.

Ajayi also alleged that Christiana was not taking care of her family.

“Before she left finally in 2011, whenever she left the house in the morning, she would only return late in the night, she was not taking care of me and my family.

“She would not welcome my family members anytime they come to our house, she did not take care of my mother when she was sick for four years until the woman died.

“The worst of it is that she denied me sex before she left but I maintained my integrity not to commit adultery.

“I reported her to her mother but instead for my wife to heed the counsel of her mother, she chose to fight me,” he said.

Christiana has refused to show up in court for the fifth hearing.

The President of the court, Mr Adegboyega Omilola, told the petitioner to maintain the peace, directing the court bailiff to serve the respondent the court order again.

http://dailyindependentnig.com/2015/03/pastor-pleads-court-dissolve-marriage/

Patience Jonathan Won’t Appear Before ICC – PDP(PUNCH NEWSPAPER)

The Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation has said that wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, will not appear before the International Criminal Court.

It said there was no basis for her to be reported to the international court in the first place.

The Director of Media and Publicity of the organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, stated this at a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday.

Fani-Kayode was reacting to the claim by the main opposition party, the All Progressives Congress, that it had reported the President’s wife to the ICC.

Patience was reported to have told supporters of the PDP at its rally in Cross River State to stone anyone canvassing for change in the state.

“Change” is the slogan of the APC.

In its complaint to the ICC, the APC through its Director-General, Presidential Campaign Council, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, who is also the Governor of Rivers State, said the wife of the President was calling on the supporters of the ruling party to attack those of the APC.

But Fani-Kayode described Patience as a woman of peace, adding that her speech didn’t propel anyone to take to violence.

The former Minister of Aviation added that those that dragged the wife of the President to ICC were not educated on issue of international law.

He said if they were, they would have known that individuals were not taken to the court on the basis of their speech.

He said, “It is pertinent to note that, first of all, if they were a little better educated and had a better understanding of international law and how the ICC works, they would appreciate the fact that no individual is ever taken to the ICC based on what he or she has said unless and until people act on those words and massacre others.

“It is only if that speech is followed by violence and mayhem or if it incites people to commit violence, which results in death, mass murder and crimes against humanity, that the person who indulged in such hate speech becomes an eligible candidate for the ICC.

“Dame Patience Jonathan is a woman of peace. She did not threaten anyone with violence; she did not incite anyone to commit violence or to kill others and her words have not resulted in death, mass murder or any crimes against humanity.

“We therefore completely reject the baseless charge and assertion that she has called for the killing or slaughter of anyone at any point in time.”

Fani-Kayode described the threat to take Patience to the ICC as not only absurd but also nothing more than an empty and boastful “ranting of a perfidious, desperate, decaying and dying political party and such threat will amount to nothing.”

He said that if anyone was to be taken to the court, it must be the presidential candidate of the APC, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari(retd.).

Fani-Kayode also alleged that the APC was planning hate documentary on the private lives of the President, his wife and that of the Minister of Petroleum, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke.

POOREST STATES IN NIGERIA

Sokoto State remained the poorest state in Nigeria at the end of 2012. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, it has 81.2% poverty rate.

According to the information posted on the bureau’s website, the Nigerian states that have over 70% poverty rate include:

Katsina – 74.5%

Adamawa – 74.2%

Gombe – 74.2 %

Jigawa – 74.1%

Plateau – 74.1%

Ebonyi – 73.6%

Bauchi – 73%

Kebbi – 72%

Zamfara – 70.8%


Niger is the state with the lowest poverty rate which is 33.8%. It was followed by Osun (37.9%) and Ondo (45.7%). Bayelsa (47%) and Lagos (48.6%) have less than 50% poverty rate.

The average poverty rate in the Northwest geopolitical zone is 71.4%, which remained the highest in the said area. It is followed by the Northeast region which has 69.1% and the North central region which has 60.7%. Poverty was least dominant in the Southwest (49.8%), South-South (55.5%), and South-East regions (59.5%).

According to NBS, the national unemployment rate at the beginning of 2012 was 23.9%. Statistician-General Yemi Kale said that 112.519 million Nigerians (69%)lived in poverty conditions.

Zamfara State had the highest unemployment rate which is 42.6%. It was followed by Bauchi (41.4%). Other states that had above 30% unemployment rates include:

Gombe – 38.7%

Nassarawa – 36.5%

Jigawa – 35.9%

Edo – 35.2%

Adamawa – 33.8%

Kaduna – 30.3%


Unemployment rate in Osun was the lowest. It was followed by Kwara and Lagos.
2 years ago

http://ireporterstv.co/poorest-states-in-nigeria-revealed/

Amaechi’s Brother Hospitalised After Machete Attack By Thugs

Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s younger brother was yesterday attacked by machete-wielding youths in his room at the Igbinedion University, Benin City, the Edo State capital. Chidi Adi Amaechi was injured in his head and arms. He is being treated at an undisclosed hospital. The All Progressives Congress (APC) said it is difficult to see the attack on the younger Amaechi and other people with relationship to the party as “mere happenstance”. It described the attack on the governor’s brother as “freaky”. In a statement in Lagos yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party added that the killing of nine APC members in two incidents in Rivers on Saturday night raised a very serious concern about the motive of the killings. It said the fact that all those killed, including five at the D-Line of Port Harcourt and four along the Eastern By-Pass in the Marine Base near the state capital, were members of the APC is a clear indication that the killings may have been politically-motivated. The statement reads: “It is difficult to see these attacks as a mere happenstance, against the backdrop of the ceaseless attacks on APC members and supporters in the Okrika council area of the state, where the opposition has been the victim of at least three bomb attacks, and the hate messages being purveyed by the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, who hails from Okrika. ‘’We know that because they have no answer to the runaway popularity of our party in the state, they are ready to do anything possible to prevent free, fair and peaceful elections there on March 28th and April 11th. By targeting opposition members and supporters, as well as their families, the anarchists will be hoping to trigger chaos and truncate the elections in the state. This is their plan, hence we are calling on the security agencies to act fast to fish out the killers in Rivers before they decimate the ranks of the opposition and scuttle the elections.’’ It said if the mindless killings in Rivers are placed in the context of the accusation by former President Olusegun Obasanjo that the Jonathan Administration was training snipers secretly while 1,000 Nigerians have been placed on a watch-list, it would be logical to conclude that the increasingly-fascist Jonathan Administration may have finally unleashed the snipers on the opposition. APC urged Nigerians and the civil society to keep a tab on the killings of opposition members and supporters in the run-up to the forthcoming polls, with a view to exerting pressure on those whose duty it is to bring the killers to justice. The party said President Goodluck Jonathan bears the ultimate responsibility for the cold-blooded murder of the APC members and supporters, especially because of his constitutional role of ensuring the security and welfare of the citizens, as well as his direct involvement – and that of his wife – in the political crisis in Rivers http://thenationonlineng.net/new/amaechis-brother-hospitalised-after-machete-attack-by-thugs/ (Quote) (Report) (Like) (Share)

Jonathan Okays Oil Jobs For Tompolo, Fasehun, Others

The Federal Government is set to execute its new plan to safeguard the waterways and oil pipelines.

The Presidency is believed to have directed the Police and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to quit the job for some companies, which have been signed on by the government.

The companies are owned by some former Niger Delta militants and prominent citizens. They include Government Tompolo; Mujaheedin Asari-Dokubo and Chief Bipobiri Ajube (aka Gen. Shoot-At-Sight).

There is also founder of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) Dr. Frederick Fasehun who said last night that his company was being considered for the multi-billion naira contract.

The OPC National co-ordinator, Otunba Gani Adams, who is also said to be part of the deal, declined comments last night, saying he was at a meeting.

The takeover is said to be with effect from March 16.

According to a source, seven companies have been allocated “regions” or operational areas as follows: Egbe Security River One (Bayelsa); Gallery Security (Mosinmi -Ore); Close Body Protection (Edo State); Adex Energy Security(Rivers) ; Donyx Global Concept(Lagos and Ogun); Oil Facilities Surveillance-(Delta) and New Age Global Security (Mosinmi-Ibadan).

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) will coordinate the jobs.

Details of the deal are sketchy as only few in government are in the picture.

A source said: “The so-called new deal for the protection of waterways has not been made known to members of the Federal Executive Council, unlike in the past.

“Maybe this is an ad hoc arrangement to achieve a political purpose because some ex-Niger Delta militants on January 24 met at the Government House, Yenagoa and vowed to declare war if President Goodluck Jonathan does not win the March 28 election.

“Asari Dokubo specifically said: “We are going to war. Every one of you should go and fortify yourself.”



Responding to a question, the source added: “These former Niger Delta militants are benefiting from all manner of pipeline protection contracts.

“Apart from being on retainership with NIMASA, I am aware that in 2009, a former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Chief Ufot Ekaette presented a memo on December 2, 2009 to the Federal Executive Council for the award of the N1.8billion Kurutie Shoreline Protection and Reclamation contract.

“A company, KFT Kpudoh, allegedly owned by Tompolo and another called Phoenica Nigeria Limited, bid for the said contract.”

Based on the advice of the Bureau of Public Procurement, after a thorough technical audit, the Shoreline Protection and Reclamation Contract was awarded to Phoenica Nigeria Limited by FEC. But the award of the contract to Phoenica fetched Akaette death threats. The government later reviewed the contract.”

A source in Warri, Delta State, said the contract for pipelines in Delta State would be executed by Oil Field Surveillance Limited, the same company, which had previously handled it. It is owned by Tompolo.

“What I was told is that it has been awarded for Delta, Edo, Ondo, Bayelsa, Rivers, Lagos and Ogun states. Like the one of Lagos State, I learnt it’s being anchored by Dr Frederick Fasshun and that it’s going to commence on Monday,” the source said.

The NSCDC Deputy Commandant General in charge of Operation, Evans Ewuurum, said the corps was yet to receive any circular on the contracts.

Nigeria has been battling with huge revenue due to vandalism of oil and gas pipeline.

The Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Usman Jibrin, recently disclosed that Nigeria had been losing an estimated 100,000 barrels of crude oil valued at N1.18 billion daily to oil thieves.

This amounts to an annual loss of N433.62 billion.

The Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, said pipeline vandalism led to shortage of gas for firing power plants.

The electricity market, which has 5,500MW installed capacity now generates an average of 3,575.85MW following paucity of gas as vandals who always strike whenever the sector is about to hit 4,500MW”.

http://thenationonlineng.net/new/jonathan-okays-oil-jobs-for-tompolo-fasehun-others/