Africa

Nigeria: Buhari Declares to Run for Second Term
News, Nigeria

Nigeria: Buhari Declares to Run for Second Term

“President Muhammadu Buhari has just officially announced his intention to seek re-election in 2019.” This was the simple statement released by the President’s Personal Assistant on New Media Engagement, Bashir Ahmad. Our correspondent also reported that Buhari made the declaration on Monday morning (today) at the ongoing National Executive Committee meeting of the ruling All Progressives Congress. The President has asked party members to grant waiver to the party’s National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, and other members of the National Working Committee who want to seek re-election. NEC meeting, which is presently holding, is being attended by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Bukola Saraki, Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara and 24 state gover...
Nigeria: Dasuki Sues DSS, Others for Illegal Detention
Corruption, Crime, Judiciary, Justice, News, Nigeria

Nigeria: Dasuki Sues DSS, Others for Illegal Detention

Seeks N5bn compensation The detained former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), has filed a fresh fundamental human rights enforcement suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja demanding his unconditional release from the custody of the Department of State Services. Dasuki, who has been detained by the DSS since December 29, 2015, also demanded N5bn as “general damages and compensation” for the alleged violation of his rights. In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/263/2018 and filed on March 15, 2018, the ex-NSA also urged the court to order the three respondents to the suit to tender public apology to him in two widely published newspapers for the violation of his rights as enshrined under sections 34(1), 35(1), (4) & (5), 37 & 41(1) of the Constitution of ...
Nigeria: Buhari Leaves for UK
News, Nigeria

Nigeria: Buhari Leaves for UK

To meet Theresa May, others. President Muhammadu Buhari will, on Monday, travel to United Kingdom. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in a statement on Sunday described the President’s trip as “an official visit.” Shehu said the President would be meeting with some persons, including the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings. Buhari’s trip is however coming more than one week ahead of the CHOGM meetings billed for April 18-20. The statement read, “President Muhammadu Buhari will leave Abuja on Monday 9th April, 2018 for an official visit to Britain where he is due to hold discussions on Nigeria-British relations with Prime Minister, Mrs. Theresa May, prior to the Commonw...
Nigeria: CAN Disowns Arewa Pastors Forum
Corruption, News, Nigeria, Religion

Nigeria: CAN Disowns Arewa Pastors Forum

Challenges group to publish list of clerics on opposition payroll The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, has dissociated itself from a group of Northern clergy under the aegis of Arewa Pastors Peace Initiative, Nigeria, APPIN, who visited President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday to pledge their support to him and his government. APPIN, under the leadership of Bishop John Abu, had told President Buhari during the meeting that those accusing his administration of nursing an Islamisation agenda were opposition elements trying to destabilise the government. The group, which also described President Buhari as God sent, promised to liaise with Pastors in Eastern and Western parts of the country to fish out their colleagues allegedly being used by enemies to cause violence by propa...
Nigeria: Subsidy on Petrol Hits N1.4tn per Year, Says FG
Corruption, Economy, Nigeria

Nigeria: Subsidy on Petrol Hits N1.4tn per Year, Says FG

A total of N1.4tn is now being spent annually by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation as subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, the Federal Government has said. Although it described the amount as under-recovery, the government stated that the national oil firm had been shouldering the huge financial burden, because the NNPC is the country’s supplier of last resort when it comes to the provision of petroleum products. The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, who disclosed this while speaking at a Liquefied Petroleum Gas workshop organised by the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources in Abuja on Thursday, also stated that the ministry planned to unveil an infrastructure rebirth map for the oil and gas sector in two months. On March ...
Nigeria: Looters’ List: APC, PDP in a Show of Shame, Says Okogie
Corruption, Nigeria

Nigeria: Looters’ List: APC, PDP in a Show of Shame, Says Okogie

A former President, Christian Association of Nigeria, Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi-Okogie, has lambasted both the ruling All Progressives Congress and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party on their accusations and counter-accusations over those who looted Nigeria’s treasury. The retired Lagos Archbishop of the Catholic Church described the back and forth accusations between the two major parties as a show of shame. Okogie stated this in a press statement, titled, ‘We Are Watching and Waiting 2.’ The statement was the second in the series that the cleric sent to The PUNCH on Thursday. He said, “Nigerians are currently forced to watch a show of shame by the ruling party of today and the ruling party of yesterday. Such are accusations and counter-accusations of looting that Nigeria...
Nigeria: Nigerians Offer N70,000 to Anyone Who Can Name a Projected Initiated and Completed by the FG in 3 Years
News, Nigeria

Nigeria: Nigerians Offer N70,000 to Anyone Who Can Name a Projected Initiated and Completed by the FG in 3 Years

A Nigerian came on Twitter to offer a cash price of N20,000 to anyone who could name a project that was initiated and completed by this administration in its three years in office. The criteria was that the project must be physical and not a body language project. Other Nigerians added more cash incentives raising the total cash price to N70,000. The offer started yesterday 28th March 2018 and ends by 12 noon today 29th March 2018. As at the time of this publication, no one had been able to give any project initiated and completed by this administration in its three years of existence.
Nigeria: Produce Nnamdi Kanu By June 26 Court Tells Abaribe, Others
Biafra, Judiciary, Justice, News, Nigeria

Nigeria: Produce Nnamdi Kanu By June 26 Court Tells Abaribe, Others

Senate Enyinnaya Abaribe, senator representing Abia South in the upper house and two others have been ordered by the Federal High Court Abuja to produce Nnamdi Kanu in court by June 26th 2018. Justice Binta Nyako, the presiding judge gave this order following Nnamdi Kanu's continued absence from court. It will be recalled that Nnamdi Kanu's whereabouts has been unknown since the Army stormed his father's house on September the 22nd 2017. Senator Abaribe, Tochukwu Uchendu and Emmanuel Shallom Ben had all stood surety for him, signing bail bonds of N100 million each. Following the continued absence of Nnamdi Kanu whose lawyers and family had declared missing following the Army attack, the prosecution had demanded of the court that the three individuals that stood surety for Nnamdi K...
Nigeria: Buhari Receives Fake Martin Luther King’s Award
News, Nigeria

Nigeria: Buhari Receives Fake Martin Luther King’s Award

Earlier this week, Nigerians were greeted to the news on social media that President Buhari had received the prestigious Martin Luther King’s Exceptional African Leadership Award. The news was circulated by Lauretta Onochie, President Muhammadu Buhari’s personal assistant on Social Media.  In the news which was accompanied with pictures, she wrote “President Buhari receives the First Black History Month National Black Excellence and Exceptional African Leadership Award 2018 from Martin Luther King’s JNR Family. “Dr Mrs Naomi Barbara King led other members of the African-American body to the conferment. “The Award was presented to him in Abuja by the Family of Martin Luther King led by Luther’s Wife. Martin Luther King’s Wife said PMB won this award because of America’s recognit...
Nigeria: Ohanaeze Youths Vow to Defend Igboland
Fulani Herdsmen, News, Nigeria, Security, Terrorism

Nigeria: Ohanaeze Youths Vow to Defend Igboland

The Ohanaeze Youth Council, the youth wing of the apex Igbo socio-political body, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has backed Danjuma’s self-defence call. OYC President, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, on Monday in a statement in Enugu, said the Igbo youth organisation had identified self-defence, in the form of armed resistance as the most effective panacea for herdsmen attacks. Isiguzoro said Igbo youths were ready to defend the South-East. Although he was quick to point out that the Ohanaeze youth wing was not armed, Isiguzoro said any herdsmen attacks in Igboland would not only be resisted, it would also be avenged. He said, “Danjuma has justified the position of Ohanaeze Youth Council Worldwide. We are ready to resist the herdsmen militia. “It has been our earlier stand; we have been calling...