EFCC Starting Investigations Into Former Governors Across Nigeria For Corruption

In 2014 the EFCC discovered that Mr. Lamido and his sons used their positions to seize Jigawa State funds. N1.3 billion from the construction firm Dantata and Sawoe was paid into the accounts that the former Governor and his sons had interests in. The EFCC arrested Mr. Lamido's sons, Mustapha and Aminu, in 2013. However, their father, Sule Lamido, enjoyed full immunity. After returning to Nigeria from abroad, the former Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, promised that he would pay a visit to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) this Thursday to follow up with ongoing EFCC investigations he is implicated in.

He stated that because the EFCC is the government's anti-graft agency, and commissioned by law, there was no reason he would deny the invitation. Lamido is willing to honor the invitation and claims he would have also gone if he was still a Governor with immunity.
During the period Lamido was in office, Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company was awarded contracts of about N13.5 billion. The State Government paid for these contracts.
In 2014 the EFCC discovered that Mr. Lamido and his sons used their positions to seize Jigawa State funds. N1.3 billion from the construction firm Dantata and Sawoe was paid into the accounts that the former Governor and his sons had interests in. The EFCC arrested Mr. Lamido's sons, Mustapha and Aminu, in 2013. However, their father, Sule Lamido, enjoyed full immunity.
Martin Elechi, the previous Governor of Ebonyi State, is also under corruption investigation and interrogation by the EFCC.
Until recently, Mr. Elechi had not honored the EFCC's invitation. Instead, his lawyer sent notification to the agency that Elechi was not available at the time they wanted to question him.
In January, the EFCC also interrogated Elechi's son, Nnanna Elechi, over fraud allegations.
Nnanna was said to have profited from State and Local Government contracts.
Prior to May 29th, Elechi was a former Governor who could not face any charges the anti-graft agency threw his way; he had constitutional immunity against legal prosecution. However, now that he is no longer in office the EFCC is resuming its investigation in full.
The EFCC has also questioned the Secretary of the State Ministry of Works, Cornelius Onwe, the State's Accountant General, Edwin Igbele, the Commissioner for Finance, Timothy Ogbonnaya Odaa, and the Commission for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Cele Nwali.
All those mentioned above were suspected to partake in fraud concerning the Asphalt Project. It is probable that millions of naira were deducted from several Local Government accounts.

Our expulsion, suspension illegal say's APC leaders

The nine stalwarts of the All Progressive Congress in Bayelsa State expelled and suspended by the All Progressives Congress, Bayelsa State chapter, have described the decision of the party as laughable.

The sanctioned members led by a former Security Adviser to the State Government, Chief Richard Kpodo, said their purported suspension and expulsion was illegal, unconstitutional and breach of process.

They said the sanction without proper trial was a deliberate act by some questionable characters to cause an implosion within the party in the state.

The APC had on Monday expelled two and suspended seven of its leaders for anti-party activities. The two expelled members are former Chairman of defunct New Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Perekeme Kpodo and a top member of the party, Mr. Sunday Oputu.

Those suspended were Mr. Godwin Sidi;  Fred Akamu; Rosemary Okeazi; Chief Livinus Opratapu; Harrow Zuokumo; Enoch Koripamo; and Christopher Abariowei.

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The APC Secretary, Mr. Marlin Daniel, had said the duo of Kpodo and Oputu had since left the APC to join the opposition.

But Chief Perekeme Kpodo,who is one of the founding fathers of the party in the state, while reacting to the development, said the sanction is being challenged.

He said he and other affected members had filed a petition before the national leadership of the party.

He said the decision by a few officials of the party led by a member of the Board of Trustees of the party is illegal, unconstitutional and a deliberate action meant to cause an implosion within the party.

Kpodo said if the APC did not put its house in order, they should forget winning the 2016 governorship election in the state.

He said, “It is funny that party men cannot come together and discuss the way forward for the party. How can some persons accused of criminal charges be selected to lead the party.

“This is the action you will get. They did not follow the constitution and set up avenue for fair hearing. It is criminal.”

Kpodo, who has been having a running battle with the former Governor and leader of the party in the state, Chief Timipre Sylva, accused Sylva of promoting crises within the party with the alleged hand picking of members of the State Working Committee of the Party.

He said, “APC is a decent party and this is why we are blaming Timipre Sylva. In fact, there are bitter complaints that have been sent to the national leadership of the party.

“We want the national leadership to look at the complaint and decide. And I believe that with what we have on the ground, if they decide to put this same executive committee, they should forget about the governorship election in the state.”

Also speaking on his suspension, an elder of the party, Christopher Abarowei declared the action illegal and lacking in fair hearing.

He said, “Some of the APC members allegedly  connived among themselves to suspend some party members without following the party rules and constitution as well as the law of fair hearing.”

Abarowei said Marlin Daniel, who announced the suspension was not qualified to do so as he had since resigned his position to contest the last House of Assembly election.

“We the concerned members of the party still remain resolute in the quest to bring change to the party for utmost result ahead of the forth coming governorship elections in the state,” he said.

White House confirms U.S. strike killed al Qaeda leader in Yemen

The White House on Tuesday confirmed that Nasir al-Wuhayshi, the head of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), was killed in a U.S. strike, calling it a "major blow" to the terror network.

"The president has been clear that terrorists who threaten the United States will not find safe haven in any corner of the globe," the White House said in a statement. "While AQAP, al Qaeda, and their affiliates will remain persistent in their efforts to threaten the United States, our partners, and our interests, (his) death removes from the battlefield an experienced terrorist leader and brings us closer to degrading and ultimately defeating these groups."
In a video statement released early Tuesday by the media wing of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, al Qaeda confirmed al-Wuhayshi's death and said his deputy, Qassim al-Rimi, has been named its new leader.
Al-Wuhayshi was the deputy of al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri and once served as Osama bin Laden's personal secretary.

While the group's newly appointed leader Qassim al-Rimi may seem like the next logical figure for the U.S. to target, former CIA insider Michael Morell said Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, the brains behind sophisticated bombs that have been used in attempts to attack the U.S., is "probably the most significant after Wuhayshi."
"I think he's the most important target because he is the guy responsible for producing these very sophisticated explosive devices: the one that the underwear bomber used, the one that was in the printer cartridge and the one that was in that non-metallic suicide vest," Morell, also a CBS News contributor, said Tuesday on "CBS This Morning."
Former CBS News senior correspondent John Miller called Asiri "one of the most creative bomb makers" and "one of the most dangerous people that we have seen," on "CBS This Morning" in 2012.
Two years ago, U.S. officials thought al-Asiri was killed in a drone strike, but it was later determined he was still alive.
Rep. Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the intelligence committee, said al-Wuhayshi's death "would be a significant blow to the core of the terrorist organization and its most dangerous franchise."
As al Qaeda leaders have been captured or killed, Schiff said, "Zawahri has been increasingly reliant on a small cadre of loyal lieutenants. As one of those top lieutenants, al-Wuhayshi has played an important role in keeping al-Qaida factions aligned with Zawahri in the face of rival pressures" from the Islamic State group.

Shell to increase deepwater field production to 210,000 bpd in 2017

Shell Nigeria says it is activating a ‘Bonga Business Improvement Plan’, to increase output from its sole Deepwater oil field from 148,000BOPD (as of 3rd Quarter 2014), to 210,000BOPD by 2017, Daily Trust reports.
“The ultimate goal is to get Bonga producing at 95% of its potential,” Theo Ekiyor-Katimi, the Bonga operations manager, told Shell World, the internal organ of Shell Companies in Nigeria. “The FPSO/field is currently producing at 70/80% and we are gunning for 95%, which would mean a sustained level of 210,000BOPD.”
The company said the strategic journey began in the first quarter of 2014, a few months before the oil price crash.

Tinubu didn’t impose Lawan, Gbajabiamila on APC Say's Robert Boroffice

The  Senator representing Ondo North Senatorial District, Robert Boroffice, on Tuesday clarified that the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress,  Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, did not impose Senator Ahmad Lawan and Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, as consensus candidates of the party for the National Assembly leadership positions.
There was a general  outcry among some federal lawmakers over the roles played by Tinubu, towards the inauguration of the eight National Assembly when the election into the office of the Senate President; his deputy; Speaker of the House of Representatives and his deputy, were conducted.
There was a section among the APC federal lawmakers,  who are loyalists of Senator Bukola Saraki, and Hon. Yakubu Dogara, who believed that Lawan and Gbajabiamila were single-handedly picked by the former governor of Lagos State for alleged personal interests.
But Boroffice, in an interview with journalists in Abuja on Tuesday argued that, Tinubu had preferred Senator George Akume and Gbajabiamila, to be presented as the party’s choice for the post of Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives respectively.

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He said the argument of Tinubu was that both Akume and Gbajabiamila being minority leaders  in the Seventh Senate and House of Representatives, should automatically assume the leadership of both chambers as Senate President and Speaker respectively.
Boroffice said, “Asiwaju Tinubu had already made up his mind to, in line with the normal, global parliamentary practice,  support Akume and Gbajabiamila but the story changed along the line,  when there were indications that the party leadership was favourably disposed to Lawan.
“Tinubu did not before then,  have any close political interactions with Lawan. It was a senator, who is very close to the presidency that actually took Lawan to Asiwaju in Lagos,  in company with another prominent party leader.
“Tinubu,  categorically told the two gentlemen in the presence of Lawan that his choice was Akume and pledged to consult with other party leaders before he would give his final answer to their request to support Lawan.
“I was in the know of all the process that led to the emergence of Lawan and Gbajabiamila as consensus candidates. Tinubu played the role because of his loyalty to the party. I was among the four people that he sent to beg Akume, since he had already promised to support him.
“The campaign of calumny against Asiwaju was a grand conspiracy to tarnish Tinubu’s image because some people were no longer comfortable with his ever growing influence  and goodwill within the party,  which he earned over the years as a result of his generosity and selfless service.”
Boroffice said the initial campaign of the anti – Tinubu lawmakers within the APC was that Lawan’s emergence, being too independent minded person, coupled with his alleged closeness to the former Senate President, David Mark, would be a thorn in the flesh of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
He said, “It was when their wicked campaign against Lawan because of Asiwaju’s support for him failed, that they connived with the Peoples Democratic Party to rebel against the party’s consensus candidates of Lawan and Gbajabiamila.”

30 Suspected Cult Members Arrested

Men of the Nigeria Police Force, Ogun State Command, have arrested 30 suspected cult members around Ijebu Ode area of Ogun State.
A statement by the spokesperson of the command, Muyiwa Adejobi, a deputy superintendent of police, yesterday, in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, said the suspects were arrested within a week and that some of them had been charged to court.
According to Adejobi, the commissioner of police in the state, Val Ntomchukwu, had recently deployed more men to combat the activities of the suspects.
“The commissioner of Police Ogun State, CP Val Ntomchukwu, has recently vowed to tackle cultism and other vices that are capable of embarrassing the police and other security agencies in Ogun State.
“In a bid to actualise his determination, he has deployed more than 10 teams comprising Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Anti-Robbery of the Department of Criminal Investigation and Intelligence, Mobile Police Force, State Intelligence Bureau, etc, led by the deputy Commissoner of Police in charge Department of Criminal Investigation and Intelligence, DCP Shina Olukolu,” Adejobi said.
He further stated that “the teams on special operation in Ijebu Ode have carried out raids on many black spots and hideouts, including Fidipote Street, Ogbogbo Village, Ita Alapo, Imeweje Village and some hotels in the area which have led to the arrest of the prime suspects or ring leaders who had been involved in many criminal acts including series of killings of people in the area and in some other parts of the state.”
The spokesperson gave some of the arrested suspects to include Gbenga Banjo, Akeem Kareem, Dammy, Jawando, Kazeem Akeem, Oluwatimileyin Akintunde, Olootu Lukman, Neyo and Oladele Oluniga.

Buhari is planning to visit Cameroon over Boko Haram

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari is planning to visit Cameroon to cement a regional fighting force against Boko Haram, he told AFP on Monday.

Buhari met his counterparts from Niger, Chad and Benin at a summit in Abuja last week but Cameroon's leader Paul Biya was noticeably absent and represented by his defense minister.

The two countries have long had strained ties, in part over a bitter territorial dispute but also after Boko Haram mounted cross-border raids into northeast Nigeria from Cameroon's far north.

Buhari visited Niger and Chad in his first week in office and said he would have gone to Cameroon's capital Yaounde for talks with Biya had he not been invited to attend the G7 summit in Germany.

"But on my return to Nigeria now, I will try to go to Cameroon," he said on the sidelines of the African Union summit in Johannesburg.

Last week's Abuja summit rubber-stamped an 8,700-strong regional force involving the five countries to replace an ad hoc coalition of Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

The current force came into being after Chad's President Idriss Deby sent troops to assist their Cameroonian counteparts against a wave of attacks by the Islamist militants.

Troops from Niger and Chad have crossed into Nigerian territory but those from Cameroon have not in an indication of the strained relations between the neighbors.

But Buhari indicated last Thursday that soldiers from the new Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) would not be restricted in terms of movement.

The MNJTF will be headed by a Nigerian officer for the duration of the mission, with his deputy from Cameroon for an initial 12 months once troops are deployed from July 30.

Buhari has made crushing Boko Haram his immediate priority since coming to power on May 29 and he said in the interview that foreign support was vital.

"The most important support is intelligence. What we are looking for from the G7... is intelligence. We want help in terms of logistics," he said.

"Boko Haram declared that they are in alliance with ISIS, so terrorism has gone international. They are in Mali, they are in Nigeria, they are in Syria, they are in Iraq, they are in Yemen.

"It's an international problem now," he said.

U-20 Germany defeat Nigeria

The flying Eagle of Nigeria was defeated by Germany by 1 goal this morning at the Christchurch Stadium.