SENATE FORGERY CASE: SENATE THREATENS ATTORNEY GENERAL.

The Nigerian Senate on tuesday made a statement threatening to
hold the Attorney General of the Federation Malami Abubakar in
contempt if he does not appear before their investigative committee to
defend his decision of prosecuting a case that was non of his
business.
The Senate also said that an internal unit, the Senate Committee
on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal matters is looking into the
details of the forgery case that involved their two leaders. The
president of the Senate and his Deputy.
Malami had failed to appear before the senate for two weeks
running, on the grounds that he was outside the country. But the
president liaison with the national assembly Isa Etang, has pleaded
with the senate to have patience and await the return of the AGF. He
said that Malami will appear before the senate the moment he returns
to the country.
Right now reports can not state clearly if Malami has returned or
not, but the Senate has given him 48 hours to appear before their
committee.
The Senate also summoned the Secretary to Federal Government to
appear before its committee, on the statements he made recently on the
implementation of the national budget and national conference report.
All these decisions were taken when the Senate resumed from their
short recess on tuesday.
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BUHARI SACKS NIGERIAN AIRPORT AUTHORITY MD. *Appoints Hadiza Bala-Usman as new MD

President Buhari has sacked the Managing Director of the Nigerian
Airport Authority Habib Abdullahi and has appointed Ms Hadiza
Bala-Usman as a replacement.
Hadiza Bala-Usman, will take over from Abdullahi after the former
Director was removed from the same post in April 2015 and then got
reappointed in April of the same year.
In a statement that was signed by the director of press, Nigerian
Ministry of Aviation, Yetunde Sonaike, it was disclosed that others
appointed into several positions include Mohammed Bello-Koko as
Executive Director, Finance; Dr. Sekonte Davies as Executive Director,
Marine Operations and Prof. Idris Abubakar as Executive Director,
Engineering.
Hadiza Bala-Usman, born Jan 2, 1976 in Zaria, Kaduna has a B.Sc
in Business Administration from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria.
She also has a post graduate degree from Leeds University in UK.
She worked at the Bureau of Public Enterprises(BPE) from 2000-2004
as an enterprise officer. In 2004, she got hired by United Nations
Development Programme(UNDP) to work with the Federal Capital Territory
Administration. She worked as a special assistant to the Minister on
Project Implementation.
Between 2011 and 2015, Hadiza the new NPA boss, worked with the
Good Governance Group as the director of strategy. The Good Governance
Group is an NGO founded by Kaduna State Governor, El-Rufai and his
friends. Prior to her appointment as the new Nigerian Airport
Authority boss, she was working as the Chief of Staff for El-Rufai.
She assumed the position in 2015.
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POINT SYSTEM WILL NOT BE USED FOR ADMISSION-JAMB

JAMB SAYS ADMISSION WILL BE BASED ON MERIT, CATCHMENT AND EDS.
On sunday, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board JAMB
released the guidelines the 2016 admission procedure for tertiary
institutions in Nigeria. The guidelines were duely stated in a
document that was signed by the head of public information Dr. Fabian
Benjamin.
The document stated that admission will be conducted based on
three already existing thumb rules, Merit, Catchments and
EDS(Education Disadvantaged States). No point system(s)
The statement read: "... "Sequel to the recent
workshop convened by the Honourable
Minister of Education on the modality for the
2016 admission into tertiary institutions in
Nigeria following the cancellation of Post
UTME..." It went further...
"The federal government approved the re
enforcement of admission guideline
recognise by law. This is not the point system
widely circulated in some media. For the
avoidance of doubt, the Board wishes to
state clearly that the point system is an
illustration by the Registrar of JAMB of a few
institutions that were using the point system
to select candidates while their colleagues
were subjecting candidates to written test.
"These examples are contain in a paper
presented by the Registrar which is placed
on our website and was adopted by the
media wrongly as the 2016 guideline".
"Please note that the 2016
admissions will be conducted purely on the
three existing admission pillars of merit,
catchment area and educational less
developed states through the following
process".
Then I think they came out clear here:
"First, presentation of the list of candidates
who qualify for screening into individual
institution based on the three stipulated
criteria mentioned above. This screening
should not demand for another test in any
form either written, oral or electronic.
"Candidates are to present their Senior
School Certificate Examination ( SSCE)
results/Advanced Level (AL) results for
verification and clearing purposes. WAEC,
NECO and NBTE results or equivalent are
acceptable as matriculation requirements.
Qualifications for screening:

"Each candidate is expected to have a
minimum of five (5) credits at SSCE
including English, mathematics and any
other three (3) relevant subjects to his or her
discipline
"The list of qualified candidates awaiting
SSCE/AL results can be kept in view (K.I.V)
pending the release of their results. Any
candidate who does not posses the
requirements as listed above is deemed to
have failed the screening".
Please note this too:
"Consideration of the
recommended list as forward by JAMB should
be completed within one Month from the
date of receipt of the list. Any institution that
has a shortfall in the admitted candidates
can make-up for candidates from other
departments on the institutions list".
Also:
"Reasons for rejection of candidates on the
list should be clearly stated with proofs
provided alongside".
Now for the avoidance of doubt, JAMB has emphasised that the 'point
system' which popped up on their site last week was only an
illustration by the JAMB registrar. It is not an established procedure
as was widely circulated on the media. It was meant to projecting a
system some institutions were selecting their candidates rather than
subject them to written tests.
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PRO-EKWEREMADU PROTESTS ROCK ENUGU.

Daily posts has reported that thousands of residents took to the
streets of Enugu today protesting against the prosecution of their
son, the deputy senate president- Ike Ekweremadu. The protests were
from indegenes of the Agwu senatorial zone of Enugu State. The
protesting indegenes bore placards with inscriptions demanding an end
to the " prosecution of their son".
The protest had a mommoth crowd on its roll call and they headed
straight to the Agwu/Aninri Federal Constituency.Their read: "Enough
is enough, life wire of Igbo race should not be harrassed";
"Presidency leave the Senate alone"; "Buhari leave Ikeoha alone!"
At the constituency office of the representative Hon.Toby
Okechukwu, the had a meeting with the rep and reached an agreement to
fight of any atempt to remove Ekweremadu from his current position.
The agreement was read by oe Chief. Prof. Sam Ukpabi, the traditional
ruler of Ekoli Okpanku community, as well as a former Provost of
Nigeria Defence academy. The communique read thus:
"We, the people of Enugu-West
Senatorial District of Enugu State, in a massively
attended stakeholders rally in Awgu,
headquarters of Enugu-West Senatorial District,
today, July 9, 2016, reviewed the state of the
nation, especially the politics of bitterness,
nepotism, hate and crushing economic hardship,
which a narrow cabal in the All Progressive
Congress (APC), has unleashed on Nigerians
since assuming the reins of power at the center.
In particular, we reviewed the recent politically-
motivated trial of the Deputy President of the
Senate and former Speaker of the ECOWAS
Parliament, Distinguished Senator Ike
Ekweremadu, PhD, CFR, on trumped-up charge
of forgery, which has added yet another
disturbing dimension to the APC-led Federal
Government's unabashed determination to
continually harass and overrun our illustrious son
and representative.
We noted, with dismay, that:
a) Since the re-election of Senator Ekweremadu
as the Deputy President of the 8th Senate on 9th
June 2015, the APC has neither hidden its hatred
and disgust for the revered Senator nor its
declared intention to get rid of him by "all
means", not minding that the process, which
produced him and, which was watched live by
Nigerians on live television, was credible and
transparent.

b) Many high-ranking members of the APC,
including the incumbent Minister of Labour and
Productivity, had at various times, while speaking
about Ekweremadu's emergence, boasted that
they have "so many ways to kill a rat".

c) While the current political trial did not come to
us as a surprise, therefore, the Attorney-General
of the Federation (AGF) is yet to tell the world
how he generated the name of Senator
Ekweremadu and Senator Bukola Saraki for trial
when the petitioners, all Senators and National
Assembly bureaucrats interrogated by the police,
and indeed the police report itself did not
mention or indict him and Senator Bukola Saraki
in any way.

d) This kangaroo trial, which the Federal High
Court, Abuja, on 28th June 2016, described as
"an abuse of legal process", and which the great
constitutional lawyer and elder statesman, Prof.
Ben Nwabueze (SAN), has described as a
"flagrant breach of separation of powers caused
by ignorance" poses a grave danger to our
democracy and national unity.
e) That this kangaroo trial has continued,
although Hon. Justice Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High
Court, Abuja, has expressed
shock at the "desperate haste" to file criminal
charges against the presiding officers of the
Senate on 10th June 2016 in contempt of a
subsisting suit (FHC/ABJ/CS/646/15) filed by
Senator Gilbert Nnaji against the Inspector-
General of Police and AGF, challenging the
constitutionality of their action in prying into the
internal affairs of the Senate.

f) That the AGF, Mr. Abubakar Malami, was a
counsel to the defedants before his appointment
as the AGF.

g) the learned judge's perception of this
impunity "as steps taken which are beyond
serving the 'public interest' by the
commencement of a criminal trial in the FCT
High Court in order to subvert the pending suits
in the Federal High Court one of which has been
fixed for 6/7/16".

h) The failure of Nigeria's security agencies to
investigate the 17th November 2015
assassination attempt on Senator Ekweremadu,
the nation's Number 5 citizen and the only son of
the South East occupying any substantive
position in Federal Government even though it
was duly reported to them.
Following the above sad observations, we hereby:
1) Declare that Senator Ike Ekweremadu is a
Senator of the Federal Republic, elected with an
overwhelming mandate of his people and has
remained one of Nigeria's brightest lawmakers
who enjoys the confidence of his colleagues; on
account of which he was re-elected the Deputy
Senate President for an unprecedented third
time.

2) Declare that his re-election into that position
did not violate any known convention, practice,
and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria.

3) Declare that the desperation of this cabal
within the APC-led Federal Government's
desperation to get rid of Senator Ekweremadu by
"all means" is hugely counter-productive and
hold ramifying consequences for Nigeria's
political stability and unity.
4) Declare that we will hold the APC-led Federal
Government squarely responsible should
anything untoward happen to Senator Ike
Ekweremadu.
5) Condemn, in the strongest terms, this
kangaroo trial of the Senate presiding officers
and National Assembly bureaucracy in continued
contempt for the rule of law, revered democratic
principle of separation of power, court orders,
which constitute a dangerous muscling of the
judiciary, and "abuse of legal process" (in the
words of Justice Kolawole) by the APC-led Federal
Government.
6) Call on the APC-led Federal Government to, as
a matter of urgency, refrain from this culture of
political persecution and take immediate steps to
arrest the unprecedented hardships faced by
Nigerians in the past thirteen months, the
nosedive of the naira, the menace of herdsmen
who have turned every part of southern and
Middle Belt of Nigeria to killing, raping, and
maiming fields; the resurgence of restiveness in
various parts of the country; the rising culture of
inconclusive and poorly conducted elections; and
the disturbing fast-diminishing of human rights
and political freedoms.
7) Call on the international community to stop
playing the ostrich in the face of this dangerous
slide to dictatorship and anarchy as against the
expected rule of law and democratic freedoms
expected in the democracy, which they helped
Nigerians to enthrone on 29th May 1999.
Conclusion
In standing up to be counted at this critical
juncture in our national life, we want to aver that
our observations, resolutions, and declarations,
are anchored on a genuine sense of moral
justice, patriotism, democratic ethos, and the
verdict of history.
In more ways than one, our democracy is on
trial, and we call on all patriotic lovers of
democracy in this country and beyond to rise to
the occasion and reject this cabal's
determination to foist a reign of impunity
Upon Nigeria.
As our people say, let the kite perch, and let the
eagle perch. But any, which wants to undo the
other, may the almighty God break and clip its
wings."
It was signed by many ressidents of the zone,
comprising all Members of the House of
Representatives, House of Assembly,
Commissioners, Local Government Chairmen and their Vice, other
political appointees and most of the traditional rulers from Enugu
West West Senatorial District, among others.
The President of the senate and his deputy were prosecuted last
month on counts of forgery opf the senate standing rules for 2015.

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FUEL SCARCITY TROUBLE: CRISIS AS NNPC STOPS PUMPING FUEL TO DEPOTS.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has stopped
pumping fuel to its depots due to attack from militants. The
corporation announced that the move was in a bid to reduce losses from
militant attacks. According to The Punch newspaper, NNPC has stopped
pumping to depots but now sells directly in bulk to oil marketers who
now distribute to the dealers and lower vendors.
This has confirmed reports from sources that the incessant
attacks on oil facilities was weighing down on the capabilities of the
oil sector. And this, may lead to fuel scarcity in some areas in
Nigeria. The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of
Nigeria(IPMAN) said through their spokesman Dibu Aderigbigbe that the
association was having a difficult time getting the commodity. Due to
the fact that fuel was unavailable at the NNPC dispensing depots.
He said that the NNPC had stopped pumping fuel, because of the
risks of pipeline vandalisation and facilitity bombings. And also the
need to minimise loses as a public body. There were initial reports
that IPMAN could not get fuel from NNPC because their members were
owing the corporation, but Mr. Aderigbegbe, an executive member at
IPMAN said that most of the members
At IPMAN had settled their debts, however that was not the reason for
the scarcity. He insisted that no fuel could be found at NNPC depots.
According to Aderigbigbe, the Ibadan and Mosimi depots are empty,
he also said that NNPC had expressly told them that the product was
not available but however they were now storing fuel in marine tanks
and dispensing to customers. He said that this was not good for the
nation as it could cause unnecessary fuel scarcity and hike.
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THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES! AFTER BEING SUSPENDED BY GOOGLE AND TWITTER, AVENGERS ARE ON FACEBOOK.

On sunday, social networking website twitter, suspended the
account of Niger Delta Avengers because it contrevened its rules. In
the same line Google deleted their blog from its search index. But the
Niger Delta Avengers have been bold to come out and announce that
their accouts have been blocked and that they are now available on
facebook. Where they would pasting their updates from now on.

Last night, they announced on their facebook page that they had
blown up oil facilities belonging to NNPC,NDPC and Chevron. The Niger
Delta Avengers have disclosed that the main reason why they have
continued their attacks despite arranged negotiations with the Federal
Government is because the Federal government had failed in its own
part of the deal. That is, the Federal had continued to turn the blind
eye to the needs and sufferings of the indegenes of the Niger Delta
region.
Meanwhile, another militant group, Ultimate Warriors of Niger
Delta have announced their intent to pull out of the ceasefire
agreement with the federal government, terming it a 'diversion trick'.
The group spokesman of the Ultimate warriors has sent a warning to
Buhari, telling him that their activities which is as a result of his
policy reversal will only have a boomerang effect on him.
Twitter suspended the account of Avengers group because it had
been using it to announce and promote its attacks of government
interest. This clearly contravenes rules stated in its terms that "You
may not make any threats of violence or promote violence, including
terrorism". Google, obviously for similar reservations about the
activities of the group and for its interests in Nigeria also deleted
their blog. They have now fully migrated to the largest and most
"free" social network on earth.

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TOP 'n' TRENDING: BUHARI IS KILLING DEMOCRACY IN NIGERIA- Enugu Trad...

TOP 'n' TRENDING: BUHARI IS KILLING DEMOCRACY IN NIGERIA- Enugu Trad...: "Nigeria's democracy is under serious threat if Buhari's
unforgiving spirit goes unchecked".
A traditional ruler i...

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NSCIA DECLARES TOMORROW AS EID-EL-FITR.

The President of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic
Affairs has declared tomorrow July 6, 2016 as the date for Eid-el-Fitr
in Nigeria. The President General of the association who also doubles
as the Sultan of Sokoto made the announcement yesterday and also added
that the new moon of Shawwal had not been sighed anywhere in Nigeria.
The President General Sa'ad Abubakar has not been seen in the country
for days.
Abubakar therefore enjoins all muslims to observe the fast on
tuesday and also their eid prayers on wednesday July 6. Earlier, the
NSCIA had told all Nigerian muslims to look for the moon between
Sunday and Monday for the Eid-el-Fitr. And on Sunday the secretary
general of the association in a statement released to the public
enjoined all muslims to search for the moon.
Other countries like Saudi-Arabia have already announced wednesday
as their Eid-el-Fitr. The celebrations are used to mark the end of a
month long Rammadan fast by muslims. In Nigeria, the Rammadan fasts
began on monday, June 6.

What you need to know about the Rammadan
The Rammadan is a period of fasting, prayers and meditation observed
by all muslims. It is seen and highly regarded as a sacred period, and
its believed to be the period when the mysteries of the Quran were
revealed to the lowly state of mankind. The Rammadan fasting is a bit
unique, as muslims during this period fast only in the day time. That
is, they are not allowed to it or drink anything at all. Its also a
time for meditation and frequent visits to the mosque for prayers.
Rammadan is a time for muslims to reflect on their lifestyles and work
on their whole persons. The Quaran states that " he who is not willing
to give up false statements and evil deeds is not fit to give up
eating and drinking" meaning that during the fast you must work on
discipline.
The iftaar
The iftaar is a period at the end of each day of fasting during the
Rammadan when families gather to end the fast. Iftaar literally
translates to "break fast". Its usually a family thing, but there
could also be communal and charity feasts at mosques and other
centres.
For the exceptions, there are variations, but as a convention
(and as stated in the Quran), pregnant women,the elderly, top
performing athletes and the diabetics are exempted. Children too, but
sometimes children participate with their parents on half fasts.
On Eid-el-Fitr, muslims will gather at the mosque to say their
final prayers for a successful fasting period and then go on to spend
the rest of the day with families and relatives. With everyone wishing
the other "Eid-mubarak". In core muslim states, the eid holiday span
3-5 days at a stretch.
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SARAKI AND BUKOLA ARE NOT IMMUNE- FEMI FALANA.

One of Nigeria's most prominent Human Rights Lawyers,political
activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria(SAN) on saturday, urged the
president of the senate Bukola Saraki and his deputy to face their
trials and stop making it look like they were being victimised.
Femi Falana SAN, said this in a lecture he delivered at the 60th
birthday celebration of the secretary to the Edo State Government
Prof. Julius Ihonvbere. The lecture was titled "The Limits of
Executive Immunity". It was held in Benin, capital of Edo State.
The Lawyer also stated that the constitution provided immunity
from prosecution only to governors and the president and not to
lawmakers. He expressly faulted the invitation extended to the
Attorney General of the Federation by the senate, insisting that the
Attorney General Abubakar Malami was answerable only to the President
himself. Falana went on to urge the Senate leaders to face the forgery
case levelled against them and "stop politicising the whole issue".
"As the leader of the national assembly you are above the board
and that is why you must be very careful". He said. He also added that
there was no more total immunity both at the state and national levels
and so any criminal case must be treated as such. Falana also made
reference to the case of the Ekiti State Governor and EFCC, he said
that contrary to the claims of Governor Fayose that it was
unconstitutional to freeze his Zenith bank accounts, his issue was a
criminal case, involving an account that had a lot to do with illegal
transactions. And so the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had
the right to freeze his accounts pending his leaving office and facing
charge.
Falana also stated that the Senate is mandated by the dictates of
the constitution to reports any activities of forgery of its rules to
the Attorney Genaral but it failed to do that. And that the Attorney
General of the Federation had every constitutional rights to prosecute
the case, while he remains answerable only to the president.
The senate last week had sent a summon to the Attorney General of
the Federation Abubakar Malami on thursday, but the AGF failed to meet
the appointment, the AGF sent the representative of the President
instead. But the representative was promptly walked out of the senate
meeting. With the lawmakers insisting that they wanted only the
presence of the Attorney General. The AGF had been summoned by the
Senate to explain his reasons for prosecuting a case that albeit
mattered only to the Senate and was none of his business.
The prosecuted lawmakers were arraigned before a Federal high
court in Abuja,and were granted release on the condition which they
met there at the court premises. About 24 hours later, Senator Ike
Ekweremadu, the deputy Senate President addressed a letter to the
international community on the case. In the letter,he claimed that he
and his boss Bukola Saraki were being prosecuted as an attempt by the
party in power to threaten democracy and witchhunt its opponents.
The senate is yet to decide on any action to take against the AGF
for shunning their summons.
About a month ago, Femi Falana had heavily criticised the request
of the Senate for immunity and pension for life, terming it "satanic
and devoid of a clear conscience". He said that no serious nation
could grant immunity to a legislature that had been deeply enmeshed in
cases of forgery,rape,sexual abuse and diversion of public funds. He
also said that all hands were on deck around the human rights
community to ensure their request was not granted.
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FOR NIGERIANS,THIS MEANS YOU WILL NOT BUY AIRLINE TICKETS IN FOREIGN CURRENCY AGAIN.

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has warned all defaulting
airlines to desist from selling airline tickets in foreign currencies
with immediate effect. In a statement released by the Acting General
of public relations unit, Sam Adurogboye, he said that this illegal
act by the airlines which had recently been brought to their notice
was contravening the decreed guidelines of the Central Bank of
Nigeria(CBN) on purchase of goods and services in Nigeria.
On April 17,2015 via a circular the CBN decreed that all pricing
and purchase of any product shall continue to be in Naira only and it
is illegal to denominate or state the pricing of any product in any
foreign currency.
The Acting General said that the aviation regulatory authority is
disturbed by reports of airlines refusing to accept naira as payment
for services. Only accepting payment in just foreign currency.
The statement also disclosed that such activities by the airlines
contravened the stated rules and provisions of the Bilateral Air
Service Agreement (BASA) between Nigerian and countries in articles
8(4) . Standing on this, the statement read that all airlines are
hereby ordered to desist from from such illegal activities and heed to
the provisions of BASA and CBN rules. In other words, airlines are not
allowed to sell their tickets to customers in foreign currency but
only in naira.
Mr. Sam also said that letters of warning had also been
dispatched and read to all the airlines. The letters expressly read:
"Sales of tickets and services should henceforth
be offered to air travellers in naira without further
delay,".
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BREAKFAST: UCHE OGAH'S 'FLIMSY' ATTEMPT AT ESCAPING HIS CRIMINAL CHARGES.

*Abia PDP war, Uche Ogah wants office immunity to escape 12 criminal
charges against him.
As the crisis in PDP Abia soaks up the more, the governor of
Abia state has insisted that the decision by a Federal high court and
the INEC to kick him out of office is all part of a grand plot by his
opponent Uche Ogah to escape 12 counts of criminal charges brought
against him. He said this in a statement made when he was informed
that INEC had issued Uche Ogah a certificate of return.
Governor Ikpeazu went further to describe the current situation
of things as a 'trial to democracy'. He added that no Abia court had
the power to change anything at this level. Ikpeazu said that he was
completely baffled at the way Ogah was going about the whole
situation, and the gritted determination by Ogah to get into office at
all cost. Adding that currently Ogah was being investigated in Lagos
State for not less than a dozen criminal charges. He summed up on this
by saying that Ogah was clearly on a mission to escape the justice
of the long arm of the law.
Constitutionally, immunity from prosecution or arrest is provide
for state governors,the president and minister, and if we should
align with Ikpeazu's idea, there could also be a valid point here
because three days ago, Uche Ogah was found to have been enmeshed in
some deep fraudulent case that involved signature forgery. He and
three others were arraigned in the police in june. So if INEC is
saying that a criminal who is currently being prosecuted for forgery
is better than a tax defaulter, then there is a big confusion.
Governor Okezie before he joined politics and got elected as the
ninth governor of Abia state worked in a number government owned
institutions as a lecturer, and I wonder how charges of tax evasion
can be valid against someone who worked for the government and was
paid by the government. Governor reminded the public that the last
post he held was in a governmental agency and that the Board of
Internal Revenue(BIR) had the documents to refute the charges. He
said:
"I want to dissuade the rumours that are making
the round that some people are sponsoring this
injustice against our state because we understand the current position
of the government at the federal level against corruption and it
cannot support somebody battling to wear the veil of immunity just
because the person wants to run away from the certainty of justice."

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NEWS: PASTOR KUMUYI TELLS NIGERIANS TO HAVE PATIENCE WITH BUHARI.

The General Overseer of Deeper Christian Life Bible Church has
pleaded with Nigerians to exercise more patience with the President,
General Muhammadu Buhari. The respected clergy man said this during a
visit to the National Headquarters of the Nigerian Pilgrims
commission. Pastor Kumuyi also expressed his faith in the current
saying, saying that he believes and hopes that government is on the
right track to make Nigeria better.
He said that although things were obviously not looking good on
the surface, Nigerians should still put their faith and trust in God
and hope that the nation would quickly arrive at the end of the
tunnel. He said that God will never fail Nigeria but will turn things
around.
In his speech, he said that "one's direction determines his final
destination" and one's focus determines the results that would be
achieved at the end of the day. And that he believes the current
administration led by President Buhari is leading the country in the
right direction and that the President has the right focus to make
things better.
Well on the other side, some other well respected Pastor doesn't
feel the same way at all. Pastor Johnson Suleiman, the General
Overseas of Omega Fire Ministries last month told Nigerians as a
matter of fact that Gen.Buhari was never God's choice for Nigeria.
Pastor Suleimen said that except God intervened in the affairs of this
country, thing will get worse. He also added that Nigerians are the
cause of their suffering, and that is because the made Buhari their
choice.
Pastor Suleiman also made a reference to the looted funds that
were being recovered, he insisted that things were better when
billions were being looted than they are now, and that Buhari is just
as confused as he can ever be. Citing the rate at which the current
administration was loosing popularity, pastor Suleiman said that even
in the north, the Presidents tribesmen hate him.
As we go deeper into the second half of 2016, Christians all
over Nigeria are anticipating the 2017 prophecies that would be
released by these men of God who command millions of Nigerians under
the wing of their congregation.

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CBN TO SPEND N3 MILLION NAIRA ON LOANS FOR NYSC MEMBERS.

As part of its agenda to aid the Federal Government in poverty
alleviation the CBN has announced that it will start issuing loans out
to the beneficiaries of the Youth Innovative Entrepreneurship
Development Programme-YIEDP. The YIEDP is a youth empowerment
programme that was launched by Central Bank of Nigerian in
collaboration with the Federal Government. And during the launching in
Abuja back in March, the governor of the apex bank had disclosed to
those present that the sum of 3 million naira had been set aside to
sponsor the a credit line that would empower youths financially.
Governor Godwin Emefiele also said that individuals who had made
good use of the funds will be qualified to migrate to other credit
schemes from CBN and access more funds. He said that the effort was a
response to the alarming rate of unemployment in Nigeria, especially
among youths. Speaking further, he stated that 48% of the Nigerian
population was made up of unemployed youths.
The programme will be on for the next four years and will be open
to youths currently serving as members of the National Youth Service
Corps and also those with not more than five years post-NYSC
experience. Through the programme CBN has the target to reach out to
as many as 10,000 youths empowering their ideas and helping them
achieve their dreams with the funds.
The CBN governor also made emphasis, insisting that the funds was
not a grant, but a loan that must be repaid, and so collateral would
be attached to it. The collateral will be inform of NYSC
certificates,degree certificates, moveable assets and third party
approval. The loan, according to the governor will seek to nurture the
Nation's next generation of successful entrepreneurs.
APPLY FOR CBN ENTERPRENEURSHIP LOAN FOR YOUTHS AND CORPERS.
CBN is in a partnership with Heritage Bank PLC for the Youth
Innovative Entrepreneurship Programme(YIEDP). The following categories
of youths are qualified as beneficiaries of the loan:

*Serving youth corps members.(Currently serving members of the NYSC).
*Non-NYSC Members(Not more than 5 years after NYSC).
Approved business sectors:
*Manufacturing/cottage/conversion industry
*Agro-Allied industry
*Construction support
*Education and Financial consultancy
*Film cinematography and photography
*Automobile and mercenary
*Information and communication Technology.
& others.
Note also that applicants must be aged(18-35) years.
Interested and qualified persons should apply at the online portal
here: http://www.yiedp-hbng.com/
(Please if it doesn't click, copy and paste the address on your address bar)
Applicants can also track the approval process on the portal.
Applicants can apply as single individuals or as a group(between 3-5
persons) of the same idea. Applicants who apply in groups will gain
access to more in loan facility.
Graduates will have to submit their degree certificates and NYSC
discharge certificates. Graduates currently serving will have to
submit their degree certificate and pledge their NYSC discharge
certificate.
Please for more info visit their portal @http://www.yiedp-hbng.com/

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ALLEGED FORGERY: AGF SUMMON,SENATE WALKS AGF REPRESENTATIVE OUT.

"This is the second time and its a slap on our face"-Senate
*AGF says panel lacks justification to open the matter up.
Today, the senate committee on Human Rights and Legal Matters
walked the special assistant to President Buhari out from a meeting,
on the grounds that the committee had summoned the Attorney General of
the Federation himself.
Chief Justice Abubakar Malami the Attorney General of the Federation
and the minister of justice was summoned to appear before the senate
committee to explain the reason and rationale behind prosecuting the
presiding and most senior members of the senate.
Earlier in the past few weeks, the AGF had been handling the
prosecution case of the president of the Senate and his deputy over an
alleged forgery of the senate standing rules. And after the AGF ruled
a conditional bail for the case, the senate is under the impression
that the judiciary is in a conspiracy plan that will endanger
democracy.
Today,thursday 30th June, the senate summoned Malami, to appear
before a panel, but the AGF chose to snub the summon, probably acting
on instructions from the executive. He rather to chose to send the
representative of Buhari Obono-Obla. This made the senate wonder
deeply who the AGF had as backup for his phony actions. After all he
knows quite well that physical presence was needed and not a
representative.
The seating senate expressed concerns over the actions of the AGF
terming it 'a threat to democracy' and that something urgent needed to
be done to save the situation and avert impending doom. Efforts by the
representative to deliver a message from th AGF were thwarted by the
committee's chairman Senator David Umaru who insisted that it was the
AGF that was summoned by the house and not his representative.
Consequently Obla was told to leave the place just a few minutes after
he introduced himself.
After the seating, the chairman of the committee said that
reports of events would be sent to the senate-in-planery on resumption
from its current break and that the senate would formerly make the
crucial decisions and take action against Malami. But later on and
outside the senate house, Obono Obla told journalists that the reason
why the AGF snubbed the summons was because he felt the committee had
not enough justification to open the case.
This comes two days after the President of the Senate, Saraki and
his deputy Ike Ekweremadu were arraigned before Justice Malami at a
federal high court in Abuja and granted release on conditional bail.
Two other persons were involved in the case. A former clerk of the
House of Assembly and his assistant.
The four members of the legislative house were prosecuted and
arraigned over an alleged case of forging the Senate standing rules
of 2015 used in approving the election and appointment of top
officers.
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GENERAL ELECTRIC TO INVEST $2 BILLION IN NIGERIA'S RAILWAY PROJECT.

The minister for transport in Nigeria told journalists in an
interview with CNBC yesterday the American company General Electric
has concrete plans to event about $2 billion in the country's railway
sector. He also said that the Federal government was looking for
investment from both private and public partnership deals as a source
to fund improvements in the transport sector.
As for the private investment, General Electric an American
multinational conglomerate based in new york will be pumping in 2
billion dollars to revive the Lagos-Kano gauge, and Port Harcourt
Maidugiri narrow gauge.

The former governor of Rivers State said:
"It is good that such kind of funds will come into
the economy, it will create employment, it will
increase business and everybody will be part of
the process."
He also added that the arrangement will ensure that much stress
is taken off the shoulders of the federal government. This is because,
the government will not be funding the rail projects, but will only
initiate them, and the investors will take over. President Buhari will
be flagging of the Lagos-Kano line by july and by the end of this
year, the Lagos Ibadan section of the line should have been
constructed.
A loan has also been procured from a Chinese bank, and the
condition for the loan is that one of the contractors will have to
come from China. And the minister for transport has disclosed that the
services of CCECC(China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation).
The total cost for the line should be about 3.5 billion dollars, and
minister says there are plans to employ as many people as possible for
the work. The construction should span a period of about three years.
Rotimi Amaechi also disclosed that the government was still
expecting the bulk of the $160 billion dollars needed to renovate the
Nation's transport sector. And so, plans were being made to invites as
many investors as possible to the podium.
According to him, Nigeria has a very big market that favours
investors a lot, and it wouldn't take time for investors to get back
there money once the system has started working. The new rail system
will be dual purpose, both passenger and freight transportation.
Ameachi also added the the Federal government had also made
efforts to cut down on costs and save money by negotiating some of the
deals saving up almost 1 billion dollars.
''We negotiated that one from $11.97 billion to $
11.17 billion, saving the country $800million.''

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EKWEREMADU'S OPEN LETTER TO THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY.

*Deputy senate president writes letter to.
UK,EU,US.
*Attorney General to appear before senate.
Roughly 24 hours after his arraignment, the deputy senate president
has made an attempt to put the international community on red alert on
what he feels is a plot to kill Nigeria's democracy. In the letter
which was written to the UK and copied to the European Union, and the
governments of the United States, Senator Ike Ekweremadu asked for
fair judgement on his involvement in the alleged forgery of senate
rules.
On June 21th, Senators Saraki and Ekweremadu were arraigned at
an Abuja court on a two count charge that read: "That
you, Salisu Maikasuwa, Benedict Efeturi, Dr.
Olubukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu, on or
about June 9, 2015, at the National Assembly
complex, Three Arms Zone, Abuja, within the
jurisdiction of this court, conspired amongst
yourselves to forge the Senate Standing Order,
2011 (as amended) and you thereby committed
the offence of conspiracy, punishable under
Section 97 (1) of the Penal Code Law."
And yesterday 28th June, the court had another hearing on the case
which also involved two members of the house of assembly, a former
chief clerk and his deputy, the court granted the four defendants
conditional bail. Thereafter, the defendants met the bail conditions
and left the court grounds
But hours later, Senator Ekeremadu has decided to take up a plea
to the international community querying the rationale behind his
arraignment. The two paged latter was titled: "Re: Trumped up Charges
Against the Presiding Officers of the Eighth Senate: Nigerian
Democracy is in Grave Danger"
Accompanying the letter were attachments including copies of the
court summons and other relevant documents relating to the case. He
urged the international community to take time to go through the
documents and decide if the procedure was proper, or was just some
scheme to exterminate and emasculate a top ranking member of the
opposition in the senate. He insisted that the prosecution was purely
not justifiable at all because neither his name nor Saraki's name were
mentioned in the petition written by the senate, not even in the
papers used by the police to investigate the case.
He also alleged in the letter that he was never given an
opportunity to fair hearing on the matter and that during the
investigation the police did not ask him any questions or even make
efforts to query. He said he was charged to court straight from
detention.
He added the the matter to the list of other events involving
"prosecution of government officers, targeted arrests of principal
opposition members and continual and indefinite detention of
opposition officers inspite of disapproving voices and also the
marginalisation of the South East and South South". He termed these "a
clear violation of the constitution and as well a threat to a hard
earned democracy.
The letter read in part:
"I wish to appeal to you to kindly find time to read through these
annexures including the petitions by members of the Senate Unity
Forum, persons interrogated and the police report to see if our names
appeared anywhere on these documents. You may thereafter conclude if
the Federal Government acting through the Attorney General of the
Federation has any justifications whatsoever to generate our names for
trial".
"Moreover, the rules and principles of fair hearing have not been
adhered to because the police have neither interracted with me nor the
president of the senate up till this time"
Ekweremadu also made referrence to an attempt made on his life on
November 17,2015, and queried why the security agents had not moved a
foot in investigating the matter. He said that "all these" culminated
to a plot to eliminate a principal representative of a marginalised
section of the masses-the South East and South South.
There are suggestions that executive(presidency) is displeased
with the emergence of Saraki as the president of the senate in place
of APC preferred choice Senator Ahmed Lawal. Senator Saraki had defied
the wishes of his original party APC by consenting to the demands of
PDP members who insisted that their support for his bid for presidency
will only be on the condition that he picked Ekweremadu as his running
mate for deputy. This propably angered APC who had preferred Saraki to
pick Lawal. This explains why the executive could be in a conspiracy
to handicap the legislature. That is if their plans to kick out Saraki
and his deputy and install their preferred choice does not work.

Tension in the house:
the prosecution and arraignment of the senate president and his
deputy has continued to sustain so much unease and heat in the senate.
Supporters of the president and his deputy have proceeded to
strategise plans that will counter the schemes of a 'shady' executive.
Earlier last week, the PDP cabals in the senate had passed a vote of
no confidence on the executive led by Gen. Muhammadu Buhari. This
means that proposals and policies will now face very stiff opposition
and criticism at the senate.
For now, the senate is on break, and the president is
observing religious obligations. Femi Adesina, the media
representative of the President of the executive, Gen Buhari has said
that the President will not comment on Ekweremadu's letter.

*AGF to appear before senate committee: The

Attorney General of the Federation has been summoned to appear before
the senate committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters
tommorrow 30th June to explain why he chose to prosecute the forgery
case. The AGF was supposed to present himself at the senate summon
last thursday, but was unable to, and the date will now be tommorrow.
The move to invite the AGF for question comes after Senator
Dino Melaye of Kogi West zone insisted that the AGF should by
questioned for re-opening a case that was previously dropped by
Justice Gabriel Kolawole of a High court in Abuja. He termed it "a
threat to democracy". Should the AGF Mr.Malami honour the invitation,
he sure will be aggressively queried for picking up a case that wasn't
supposed to be his business. Justice Kolawale,last year had ruled that
the alleged case of senate rule forgery was a chamber affair and
should be settled out of court.

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IS THIS A GRAND PLOT BY EFCC TO EXTERMINATE FEMI KAYODE?

Reports have surfaced suggesting that the Nigerian Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission have a plan to detain the former minister
of aviation Femi Fani Kayode till he probably dies in prison.
Not just that, the EFCC operative who once assaulted Femi Fani
Kayode will not be punished this was revealed by Femi's spokesman. And
there is the possibility that the decision made by the agency to
punish the operative is in line with a grand conspiracy plot to send
Femi to jail and kill him there.
Femi Fani Kayode was allegedly assaulted by Kabiru Suleiman for
the 'crime' of observing his prayers while in detention. In the
custody of EFCC. Kabiru is an operative of EFCC. The former minister
for aviation was detained by the Economic Financial and Crimes
Commission after he honoured an invitation by the anti-corruption
agency. The agency had summoned him for explanation regarding funds
looted and diverted from CBN treasury. This happened on May 9, 2016.
Since then, Femi Fayode has been in the custody of the
commission(5 weeks now). After his initial detention in Abuja for
roughly two weeks, Femi was transferred to Lagos for further
questioning and investigation. Still without trial, a detention
warrant was obtained by the commission to keep for another three
weeks.
After the three weeks, EFCC announced that Femi would be
arraigned on June 17, 2016, on a friday. But the arrangement was later
aborted when the judge who was supposed to rule the case got engaged
in another case. The date was shifted by four days to to tuesday, 21st
June, this time the judge to rule on the case was absent. This led to
a loud outcry from various quarters of the sitting court, including
Femi's wife who accompanied him to the court.
It was also reported that another EFCC operative had sent a
nerve shivering threat to Femi Kayode, when he told him to the hearing
of people around that EFCC had the right to detain him(Femi) for the
next five years without trial. In his words: "we will kill you and
nothing will happen!"
The way EFCC and the Judiciary in charge of Femi's case are
handling it, it will be hard to disbelieve that another story similar
to Abiola's 1992 will soon be told. A source who expressed concern at
the proceedings said that Femi Kayode will be fortunate to leave the
claws of EFCC alive.
I fear for Kayode's life, because all these will go on and he
will not be tried. The recess for all judges in the federation is fast
approaching, and it is going to span four three months. So there's the
high possibility that EFCC will play the case at their finger tips and
Fayode may not be able to submit a bail application before the judges
go on break. And if the worst happens, Fayode could be spending extra
three months in Jail.
From the reports of a few sources, the EFCC top tier is
comprises of mainly muslims who are ardent supporters of Gen. Buhari.
And these northerners and muslims harbour so much hate for Femi, and
will do anything possible to exterminate him. The hate comes because
on several occasions Femi had openly criticised the leadership of
Buhari.

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DON'T CALL US BOKO HARAM- Niger Delta Militants.

"...We are not being sponsored by any politician we have not
asked to negotiate with a politician like Buhari..."
In the face of the regularity with which new Niger Delta

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YOU CAN'T RULE! COURT SACKS ABIA STATE GOVERNOR.

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has declared null and
void the election of Abia state governor Okezie Ikpeazu and has
ordered him to vacate office with immediate effect. While issuing a
certificate of return to Samson Ogah a member of PDP who contested the
post with the governor.
The court found Mr Ikpeazu guilty of tax evasion for two years.
And now the court has passed the judgement, ordering him to hand over
immediately Mr Ogah, who came second during the PDP party primaries.

A couple of members of the Peoples Democratic Party had alledged
in 2014 that Mr. Ikpeazu failed to pay his personal income tax within
the period of 2010 and 2011 and this is contrary to the section 24 of
the 1999 constitution as amended which states that "...Every citizen
must as a duty declare his income to the lawful and proper agencies
and also pay his tax promptly". In a suit in November 2014, two
members of the party Obasi Eke and Chukwuemeka Mba had asked PDP and
INEC to disqualify Mr.Ikpeazu, a gubernatorial contestant from
contesting the elections in 2014. The suit was backed by the Federal
High Court in Abuja.
The plaintiff further requested that the court should declare the
governor unfit to contest the elections. Standing on Section 24(f) of
the 1999 constitution as amended and also Paragraph 13 of part IV of
the INEC electoral guidelines for primaries. The also insisted that
the court ban PDP from presenting Ikpeazu as their gubernatorial
candidate for the elections. They didn't stop, the went further
requesting the court to ban INEC from accepting Ikpeazu as a candidate
and also the PDP candidate who polled second during the party
primaries should be declared the right candidate for the main
governorship polls.
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ALLEDGED FORGERY: SARAKI, EKWEREMADU AND OTHERS HAVE BEEN GRANTED BAIL.

The Nigerian Senate president Alhaji Bukola Saraki and his
deputy Ike Ekweremadu today denied being guilty of court charges and
they have been granted bail. Together with them were two others also
accused of forgery: A former clerk of the national assembly Mr. Salisu
Maikasuwa and his deputy, Benedict Efeturi.
They were granted bail but the judge who ruled on the case said
that all defendants(the four) will continue their detention at the
Kuje maximum prison in Abuja pending when they meet the bail
conditions. The defendants are expected to provide two sureties with
evidence of properties in major urban areas of Abuja.

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