Ekiti PDP raises questions over Aisha Buhari’s US trip, slams APC

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State has described the comments by the State chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC), on the visit of the Wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari to the United States of America (USA), as a function of total ignorance and

mischief, saying, “Even the Presidency has not told anyone that wife of the President travelled to the USA and in official communications, only ignorant and mischief makers in the APC will belief that a trip to the USA will be made by Mrs Buhari and Nigerians will only get to know about it through online media.”

Aisha Buhari In Washington DC

The PDP, which said it would have ignored the APC and allowed those in the party to continue to wallop in their self-deceit, added that “it is only in the world of the APC that wife of the President of Nigeria, the most populous black nation in the world would travel to the USA, ostensibly to debunk her involvement in a major scam and no television station will report her departure and arrival. The question is, did she travel to USA or Qatar?”

8yrs after creation, N-Delta Ministry completes only one project— Minister

Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr Uguru Usani, yesterday, said that the ministry had successfully completed only one project since its creation eight years ago.

He stated this in Abuja.Pastor Usani Uguru

Mr. Usani said it was regrettable that no project had been commissioned or completed since the establishment of the ministry in 2008, except a cassava processing plant in Ondo State by the present administration.

He decried the destruction of oil facilities by Niger Delta Avengers, arguing that no matter the provocation, it was wrong for the group to destroy the environment that bore the peoples’ heritage.

He said that the region was everybody’s business and that no personal or collective interest was worth the destruction of oil pipelines in the region.

“Let us come together as one to protect our communities. Let us preach love, peace, tolerance, patience and dialogue with one another. Let us convince ourselves that it is our region and that we have nowhere to go to, if we destroy it,” he said.

Breaking: Buhari relaunches War Against Indiscipline Brigade

The President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government, on Monday, relaunched the War Against Indiscipline, WAI Brigade, in Abuja, saying in this era of insecurity, violence, kidnapping, and other forms of social vices, the role of the Brigade in civil intelligence gathering cannot be over emphasized.President Muhammadu Buhari

Announcing the development on the occasion of the National and State Commanders meeting of the Community Support Brigade, CSB, also known as WAI, the Director-General, National Orientation Agency, NOA, Dr. Garba Abari said the President Buhari administration has declared the intention to relaunch the Brigade for better performance, as well as to bring its activities to the fore.

Speaking at the meeting, Abari said: “It’s great pleasure that I have the opportunity to meet with the leadership of WAI, for the first time since my assumption of office about two months ago. This meeting is meant to discuss the repositioning of the WAI Brigade in the current dispensation of change.

“I’m not only delighted with this gathering, but excited with you all for keeping faith and working tirelessly to contribute your quota to nation building as volunteers who are not being paid for over 3 decades. So, I salute your patriotic efforts, indeed, Nigeria salutes your patriotism.”

Militancy: FG not in talks with Niger Delta militants —Tabai

By Emma Amaize, Soni Daniel & Perez Brisibe

More confusion  enveloped the Niger Delta region, yesterday, as a key actor in the region, Jude Tabai, said that he was unaware of any discussion between any militant group and the Federal Government.

The claim by Tabai, who described himself as a major stakeholder in the Niger Delta crisis, ran contrary to the position of President Muhammadu Buhari last week, that the government was discussing Niger Delta peace with militants.

Tabai, who led Sports and Youths Development Minister, Solomon Lalong, to a failed peace parley with Niger Delta Avengers lately, said that the government might have been discussing with fifth columnists, who were merely keen on reaping pecuniary gains, adding that  there was no credible dialogue currently going on between the government and the real ‘stakeholders’ in the Niger Delta crisis.

Police launch investigation into alleged assassination attack on Pedro Obaseki

By Gabriel Enogholase 

The Edo State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Chris Ezike has ordered an investigation into the alleged assassination attempt on Mr. Dan Pedro Obaseki, a cousin of the APC candidate, Godwin Obaseki. 

The police investigation follows reports confirmed by Pedro Obaseki that a group of thugs he claimed to be dressed in his cousin’s campaign attire unleashed mayhem on his residence in the Upper Mission area of Benin on Sunday night. Pedro, a former APC aspirant, has turned against his cousin and is presently active on the campaign team of the PDP candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu. 

According to Pedro, the mayhem followed an altercation between him and an APC supporter in his neighbourhood which prompted the intervention of security men. The former APC governorship aspirant said as soon as the security men left no fewer than 30 thugs descended on his residence. He said, “Youths in the area sympathetic to me came out to resist the intruders, but they were beaten up with machetes and bottles. 

Many of the wounded are in the hospital receiving treatment. “The hired assassins attempted to gain entrance into my compound but were resisted by my Personal Assistant Mr. Ferdinand Orumwense.who was injured trying to defend his boss.

Nigeria: Budget Padding Scandal - Jibrin Returns, Relaunches War Against Dogara

By Hassan Adebayo

After ceasing fire for a few days in obedience of his party's directive, a former Chairman of the Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives, Abdulmumin Jibrin, on Sunday, resumed his onslaught against Speaker Yakubu Dogara on Sunday.

Photo: Daily Trust
Yakubu Dogara, Nigeria House of Reps Speaker.

The leadership of the All Progressives Congress had ordered him and the Speaker to stop public comment on the budget padding scandal in the House.

But in a fresh attack on Sunday, Mr Jibril accused the speaker of pocketing N25million monthly, amounts he said were never accounted for.

He accused Mr. Dogara of enlisting the support of a five-man cabal consisting of two governors and three former House members to help him shield him from possible prosecution.

The said cabal, Mr. Jibrin said, had blocked him from reaching Mr. Buhari.

"I am therefore left with no choice than to plead with all our former Heads of State, Gen Yakubu Gowon, Gen Olusegun Obasanjo, Alh Shehu Shagari, Gen Ibrahim Babangida, Chief Enest Shonekan, Gen Abdulsalam Abubakar and Dr Goodluck Jonathan and the diplomatic community, particularly Ambassador of the United States of America, High Commissioner of the United Kingdom, the German and French Ambassadors and all well-meaning Nigerians to join in the call on the corrupt and fraudulent Speaker Dogara and 3 others to reconvene the House immediately, step aside and allow for a thorough external investigation and also call on the anti-corruption agencies to expedite action on investigation and commencement of prosecution in line with the anti corruption stands of this government, " he said.

Read Mr. Jibrin's Full Statement

YAKUBU DOGARA, YUSUF LASUN, ALHASSAN DOGUWA AND 9 OTHERS: A LITMUS TEST FOR THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA AND A DEFINING MOMENT FOR THE STRUGGLE TO CLEAN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF CORRUPTION AND WEED OUT CORRUPT ELEMENTS

It has once again become necessary for me to make some statements, clarifications and further revelations.

As you are aware, my party the APC has intervened in the current crisis, following allegations of corruption, embezzlement and gross abuse of office I leveled against Speaker Yakubu Dogara, three other principal officers and 9 other members, of which none had responded to any

AfDB approves $9m equity investment for SME’s in Nigeria

Akinwumi Adesina

The African Development Bank has approved a nine million dollar EQUITY INVESTMENT in the Fund for Agricultural Finance in Nigeria (FAFIN) to provide expansion capital to agricultural small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

This was contained in a press statement issued by the bank on Monday and published on its web: www.afdb.org.

The statement said that FAFIN is a first-generation private equity fund that provides financial, capacity-building and technical assistance to commercially viable SMEs in the Nigerian agribusiness sector.

It said that FAFIN used a unique value chain-centric approach, a combination of equity, quasi-equity and convertible loan instruments to provide loan for SME’s.

According to