Chidom's Blog: March 2016

Monday, 28 March 2016

This is one of the SADDEST stories ever told in Hollywood. His name is Sylvestar Stallone. One of the BIGGEST and Most famous American

This is one of the SADDEST stories ever told in Hollywood. His name is Sylvestar Stallone. One of the BIGGEST and Most famous American Movie superstars. Back in the day, Stallone was a
struggling actor in every definition. At some point, he got so broke that he stole his wife's jewellery and sold it. Things got so bad that he even ended up homeless. Yes, he slept at the New York bus station for 3 days. Unable to pay rent or afford food. His lowest point came when he tried to sell his dog at the liquor store to any
stranger. He didn't have money to feed the dog anymore. He sold it at $25 only. He says he walked away crying.
Two weeks later,he saw a boxing match between Mohammed Ali and Chuck Wepner and that match gave him the inspiration to write the script for the famous movie,ROCKY. He wrote the script for 20 hours! He tried to sell it and got an offer for $125,000 for the script. But he had just ONE REQUEST. He wanted to STAR in
the movie. He wanted to be the MAIN ACTOR. Rocky himself. But the studio said NO. They wanted a REAL STAR.
They said he "Looked funny and talked funny". He left with his script. A few weeks later,the studio offered him $250,000 for the script. He refused. They even offered $350,000. He still refused. They wanted his movie. But NOT him. He said NO. He had to be
IN THAT MOVIE.
After a while,the studio agreed,gave him $35,000 for the script and let him star in it! The rest is history! The movie won Best Picture, Best Directing and Best Film Editing at the prestigious
Oscar Awards. He was even nominated for BEST ACTOR! The Movie ROCKY was even inducted into the American National Film Registry as one of the greatest movies ever!
And do You know the first thing he bought with the $35,000? THE DOG HE SOLD. Yes,Stallone LOVED HIS DOG SO MUCH that he stood at the liquor store for 3 days waiting for the man he sold
his dog to. And on the 3rd day,he saw the man coming with the dog. Stallone explained why he sold the dog and begged for the dog back. The man refused. Stallone offered him $100. The
man refused. He offered him $500. And the guy refused. Yes,he refused even $1000. And,Believe it or Not,Stallone had to pay $15,000 for the same,same dog he sold at $25 only! And he
finally got his dog back!
And today,the same Stallone who slept in the streets and sold his dog JUST BECAUSE he couldn't even feed it anymore,is one of the GREATEST Movie Stars who ever walked the Earth!
Being broke is BAD. Really BAD. Have You ever had a dream? A wonderful dream? But You are too broke to implement it? Too tiny to do it? Too small to accomplish it? Damn! I've been there too many times!
Life is tough. Opportunities will pass you by,just because you are a
NOBODY. People will want your products but NOT YOU. Its a tough
world. If you ain't already famous, or rich or "connected", You will find it rough.
Doors will be shut on You. People will steal your glory and crash your hopes. You will push and push. And yet NOTHING WILL HAPPEN.
And then your hopes will be crashed. You will be broke. Damn broke. You will do odd jobs for survival. You will be unable to feed yourself. And Yes, you may end up sleeping in the streets.
It happens. Yes, it does.
BUT NEVER LET THEM CRUSH THAT DREAM. Whatever happens to
You, Keep Dreaming. Even when they crush your hopes, Keep Dreaming. Even when they turn you away, Keep Dreaming.
Even when they shut you down, Keep Dreaming.
NO ONE KNOWS WHAT YOU ARE CAPABLE OF EXCEPT YOURSELF! People will judge You by HOW you look. And by WHAT You have.
But please, Fight on! Fight for Your place in history. Fight for your glory. NEVER EVER GIVE UP!
Even if it means selling all your clothes and sleeping with the dogs, ITS OKAY! But AS LONG AS YOU ARE STILL ALIVE, Your STORY IS NOT OVER. TRUST ME.
Keep Up the Fight. Keep your dreams and hope alive. Go great .
Like and share if inspired. Lovely day people!

Sunday, 27 March 2016

Pressure mounts on Buhari to arrest Jonathan

Pressure mounts on Buhari to arrest Jonathan
— 27th March 2016
…Nigerians divided
By Chidi Obineche
THE ongoing investigations of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s aides and calls for his probe may have stirred unease across the nation, especially within the camp of the former president, fuelling speculations that agents of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC may soon knock on his door. Talks on this have simmered over time, but gained currency last week when the Senate leader, Senator Ali Ndume demanded that President Muhammadu Buhari should authorize the commission to probe and prosecute him. His intervention, according to him, has become expedient owing to the need for the ex- president to throw more light on the fallouts from the explanations of some of his aides that are being held. Ndume had said, “Nobody is supposed to be above the law. If Jonathan is a culprit, he should face the law. If there is evidence that the former president should face the law, then, he should. After all, he is presumed guilty.” As if on cue, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, while answering reporters’ questions on the subject declared emphatically that ,” The President does not tele-guide the EFCC in any way.” The president’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, corroborated him, adding that Buhari did not sign any pact with Jonathan, or any past president to exempt him (Jonathan) from probe. Expatiating further, Shehu said that Buhari’s open and transparent nature would not allow him to enter into any secret pact with anybody, especially on the ongoing war on corruption.
The resurgence of the clamour to probe and rein in Jonathan, according to Sunday Sun’s findings emanated from pressures mounted on Buhari by some of his adversaries who are now in the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, and who are bent on capitalizing on the fallouts of the probe to extract a pound of flesh from him. A source within the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP pointedly accused a former governor from the South- south as spear heading the pressure group. “Until recently, Buhari had sought to maintain the unwritten tradition in Nigeria whereby past presidents are always treated with respect and left unruffled on issues of transparency, no matter the agitations, or clamour. That espirit de corps is about to be broken.” In a thinly veiled reference to an all encompassing probe that will brook no sacred cows, the President told Nigerians in an interactive session with them last week in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea that “We will be merciless and relentless in pursuing all those who abused public trust. Nigerians will see how some of the elite conspired to run the nation down.” Although the president did not set out on a witch hunt mission against Jonathan, recent pressures that are basically hinged on the mind-boggling revelations from investigators of Jonathan regime may also have assisted in compelling him to buckle under and develop a thick skin. His stance is equally buoyed by a tacit endorsement by civil society groups, leading opinion moulders and a sweeping percentage of ordinary Nigerians who are outraged by the huge loots.
Second Republic governor of old Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa is in the league of those seeking no reprieve for Jonathan. Indeed, he told Sunday Sun on telephone that “If he is not arrested and tried, all the noise about this anti- corruption crusade will amount to nothing.” Balarabe insisted that though Jonathan didn’t start corruption in Nigeria, so much looting occurred in his administration, making it difficult to gloss over his own role in the whole malfeasance. He said: “Remember that the PDP at a time said that Jonathan should answer some questions concerning the Dasuki case. Jonathan is not talking, and I know it is because he does not want to rock the boat.” Balarabe, however is not limiting his call to only Jonathan. According to him, all former Nigerian Heads of State and presidents since 1966, including ex –governors should be rounded up, and tried. He described the administration of Ex- president Olusegun Obasanjo as one that was riddled with corruption, and because nothing was done to nip it in the bud then, his successors adopted it, and improved on it in style and sophistication.. Concluding, he revealed that to show that corruption had long taken a seat in Nigeria, “In 1975, all the governors that served under Gowon were found guilty, except Mobolaji Johnson who is still alive.”
On the part of the National Chairman of the United Nigeria Progressive Party, UNPP, Chief Chekwas Okorie, “ Arresting Jonathan is a very tricky thing, that goes beyond legalities to the issue of commitments and morality. The EFCC cannot just arrest him based on speculations, without concrete evidence, and later get stuck in the prosecution which often makes cases to linger for long. Making a case for the exculpation of Jonathan, Okorie who was the founder and former National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA said Jonathan was the ‘ dove’ God used in giving Nigeria the peace she is now enjoying. Said he: “ Jonathan played a very big role in the peace that we have today. In over 99 per cent of African countries, a sitting president can manufacture excuses to discredit elections and stay back in power. I prefer that Nigerians should give a soft landing for any leader who voluntarily relinquishes power. On the other hand, there is no excuse for corruption. If he had wanted to stay, nothing would have happened. People would have died, properties razed, but he would still have clung to power.
“If I were Buhari, in the interest of national peace, and in recognition of the sacrifice Jonathan made, I will let Jonathan go. That is my own view. Arresting him and subjecting him to humiliation may have repercussions. There is no saint in this country.” Explaining the possible repercussions his arrest may attract, Okorie said it would be a moral burden on Buhari, “because his anti- corruption drive is already perceived as lopsided. It is not enhancing national unity. If he touches Jonathan, there will be sympathy for the former president, because people will demand that all living former presidents from 1960 to date should be probed”. He however added that any loot traced to Jonathan should be recovered in the same way “Abacha loot is being recovered and no member of his family, including his wife and sons whose involvement had long been established has been arrested.”
A PDP leader and member of its Board of Trustees, BOT Chief Ebenezer Babatope, in his own reaction dared Buhari to go ahead and arrest Jonathan and reap the whirlwind. Describing the attempt as a “Wild goose chase”, he affirmed that “It is a useless clamour. In his words, “A country must not consume its leadership in a reckless manner. He also submitted that the late Chief Awo thought them that “We should preserve the myths and authority of a nation if we want to succeed..” Waxing rhetorical, he queried; “ What has Jonathan done? Those who say he should be arrested do not love this country. If they go ahead and arrest him, they will reap the whirlwind of their actions. Let them go ahead. For Chief Olorunfunmi Bashorun, second republic Secretary to the Lagos State Government, and Chieftain of the ruling APC, “ If they trace anything to him, he should be arrested. He has no immunity again. Even Obasanjo and other former leaders, if they trace anything to any of them , that one should be arrested and tried. The law is no respecter of persons”
With the wild card given to EFCC, by the president, Nigerians await with bated breath to witness when Jonathan will be picked up.

Fuel crisis: Gunmen shoot at motorists on queue

Fuel crisis: Gunmen shoot at motorists on queue
by Adekunle Jimoh, March 27, 2016 at 12:05 am in Featured, News

The-yet-to-abate fuel scarcity in the country assumed a dangerous dimension yesterday in Ilorin, capital of Kwara State as three gunmen opened fire on motorists queuing for petrol.
The incident happened at one of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Filling Stations in the metropolis.
In the ensuing melee, it was gathered that the gunmen left two young men and a lady with serious injuries.
Some others on the queue as well as officials of the station were said to have scampered for safety.
The incident, according to eyewitnesses, occurred in the early hours.
It was gathered the gunmen were part of some youths who forced themselves on the station, located along Offa Garage road to manage the gates.
They were there to reduce the practice by many motorists to jump the queue in their desperate bid to get fuel.
An eyewitness said: “It was due to an argument among the boys; you know they are thugs and they have been at the gate but we don’t really know what led to the argument but we just suddenly heard the gunshots and it was later discovered that some people were seriously injured.”
The three victims, it was gathered, were rushed to a private hospital, Yusjib Industrial Medicare along the same axis.
The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the facility Dr Yusuf Abdulraheem told newsmen the three victims were in stable conditions.
He said one of them had been taken to a laboratory where the bullets in him would be extracted.
Kwara police command’s spokesperson Ajayi Okasanmi confirmed the development.
He said one of the gunmen has been arrested, adding that a locally made pistol and some live cartridges were recovered from the suspect.
The manager of the station promised to call back.
He however did not respond to text messages from reporters.

Chibok girl’: Fed Govt sends delegation to Cameroun

Chibok girl’: Fed Govt sends delegation to Cameroun
by Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation/ Augustine Ehikioya, March 27, 2016 at 12:08 am in Featured, News

•Parents of abducted students to identify suspected suicide bomber
•Self-confessed Chibok girl flown to Yaounde
The Federal Government is sending to Cameroun immediately a delegation comprising parents of some of the girls abducted in Chibok, Borno State. They are to go and identify the self-professed Chibok girl suicide bomber arrested in the northern part of that country on Friday.
The 15 year old girl and her female accomplice were apprehended by local self-defence forces in the village of Limani, in an area of northern Cameroun that has been the target of frequent suicide bombings in recent months moment before they could blow themselves up.
The two carried explosive devices on their bodies.
They are now being interrogated by Cameroun’s security agents who said they would contact their Nigerian counterparts with a view to ascertaining the ‘Chibok girl’s’ claim.
Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Malam Garba Shehu, said that Women Affairs Minister Aisha Alhassan and the Nigerian High Commissioner in Cameroon have already swung into action and are receiving a lot of cooperation from the Cameroonian authorities on the issue.
Shehu confirmed that one of the two girls indeed claimed to be among the abducted girls although there were doubts last night about the claim following fresh information from Cameroon that the two girls were aged about ten years.
“One of the two is also believed to be heavily drugged and therefore not in full control of her senses,” Shehu added.
The Nigerian High Commissioner in Cameroon, Ambassador Hadiza Zakari Mustapha is expected to seek permission to meet with the suspects.
The Murtala Muhammed Foundation has offered to sponsor two parents from Chibok who have been selected to embark on the trip to Cameroon.
The two are Yakubu Nkeki, Chairman of the Parents of the Abducted Girls from Chibok Association, and Yana Galang, the group’s women leader.
“The Nigerian High Commission will receive the two and will facilitate their access to the two girls once permission to meet and verify their identity is obtained from the Cameroonian authorities,” Shehu said.
Nigeria and the rest of the world, The Nation gathered on good authority in Abuja yesterday, are keen to hear revelations that may be made by the suspect if truly she is one of the 219 girls abducted by the terror sect, Boko Haram, from the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State in April, 2014.
Government has been unable to establish the whereabouts of the girls which makes their rescue difficult.
Well placed sources confirmed last night that the ‘Chibok girl’ was yesterday flown from Maroua in northern Cameroun to the capital, Yaounde for debriefing and identification.
Abuja was however monitoring development last night.
The Defence Headquarters was said to be waiting for information on the development from the Multi-National Joint Task Force of which Cameroun is a member.
The source said: “From the situation report, the girl was taken to Salak Airport in Maroua from where she was flown to Yaounde for debriefing and proper identification.
“The debriefing of the suspect will begin later today (last night). Apart from Nigeria, many countries are interested in the latest development.
“The Federal Government is monitoring the situation in Cameroon to get the true picture of who was arrested.
“All I can assure you is that a bilateral understanding will prevail at the end”
A military source said the Camerounian military was yet to link up with the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) with the appropriate communication.
“So, the Nigerian military authorities cannot make any categorical statement. Even when we get information from Cameroun, we still have to verify it.”
It is expected that the girl, if truly is among the missing Chibok students, will shed light on their abduction, their treatment by the terrorists, the fate of the other girls and the like.
#BringBackOurGirls group which was set up to arouse public interest in the fate of the Chibok girls said yesterday in Abuja that it was expecting official information from the Federal Government on the matter.
Spokespersons for the group- Aisha Yesufu, Oby Ezekwesili and Hadiza Bala Usman, said in statement in Abuja that they could not respond immediately to the news “conclusively until we have facts from the Nigerian government; from whom we requested and have eagerly been awaiting official information on the matter.
“In the interim however, our thoughts are as follows:
“The claim by the young woman that she is a Chibok girl should reawaken the Nigerian government to the zeal and commitment necessary for ensuring that they are rescued and brought back;
“This development suggests that we now have a possible source of credible intelligence as to what transpired, where the others are, and other leads required to facilitate their rescue.
“Regardless of whether she is one of our Chibok girls or not, our thoughts and sentiments remain the same:
using children, girls who should be in school (or any humans at all) as suicide bombers is not only tragic and cruel, it is completely reprehensible and we denounce it;
these children suicide bomber are themselves victims, and must be seen and treated as such;
iii. we all must hasten to free all those in captivity. For as long as they are with the monsters, we all are ourselves unsafe and equally in captivity;
a few weeks ago, a girl suicide bomber did not detonate her device at an IDP camp because she knew her family was most likely in that camp, and she could not kill them.
It is important to send out messages that counter the programming of the terrorists. This may help in empowering these victims from detonating the explosives and accessing help;
this particular experience highlights the importance of building not only a regional coalition among neighbouring countries to counter terror, but a global one.
“The Nigerian government as a matter of urgency needs to swiftly act to ascertain the facts of this matter and make them public. It is getting to 24 hours since the news broke.
“We need to know her name and identity, her parents’ names, where she is from, possibly extract DNA samples for quick testing and matching, etc.
“This should be a wakeup call to the Nigerian government to adopt and utilise our citizens-developed tool the Verification, Authentication, and Reunification System (VARS) designed by our movement for such scenarios as these. This tool was accepted by the federal government on 8 July 2015 during our meeting with the president, but has not been deployed.
“Likewise, the Missing Persons Register which would have been useful in tracking this young victim in order to commence her rehabilitation, reunification, and reintegration process with her family and community.”
Each of the two girls in Cameroun were said to be carrying explosives weighing 12kilogrammes.

Father rapes 12-yr-old daughter in Bayelsa, aborts pregnancy

Father rapes 12-yr-old daughter in Bayelsa, aborts pregnancy
by Mike Odiegwu Yenagoa, March 26, 2016 at 2:58 am in Featured, News

AT 12, the world of Queen (surname withheld) has literally turned upside down. Her dreams are crumbling as she undergoes medical treatment owing to alleged abuse by her father, Bamekpa.
Her injuries are serious enough to warrant urgent surgery in one of the hospitals in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
Queen is no doubt in pains. At a point, she bled profusely from her private part. Her father, who hails from Imiringi, Ogbia Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, allegedly started to defile her at the age of 11.
He was alleged to have serially raped and eventually impregnated her. Then he forced her to abort a four-month-old pregnancy through a crude process that currently threatens her life.
Queen told Operation Rescue (OPER), a human rights group, led by Princess Elizabeth Egbe, that she ran away from the house when she could no longer bear her father’s devilish craving.
She said: “There was nobody to help me. He kept doing it despite my efforts to stop him. It was a painful and violent experience. I ran away from home because there was a time I bled so much from my private part.”
Sobbing, she said: “When I became pregnant and he heard about it, he handed me over to a lady who took me through an unsuccessful process of abortion. I have been suffering series of health issues after the abortion.”
Speaking on the travails of his niece, her uncle, David Apigi, expressed shock at the way she was allegedly violated by her father.
He said: “My niece told me the trauma she has been passing through in
father’s house and how her father has been using her, turning her to his second wife.
“She said he had sex with her to the extent that he aborted her four-month-old pregnancy. She ran to me and begged me not to allow her to return to her father’s house because she was tired. I decided to accommodate her. The father started looking for her without knowing she was with me.”
He said he reported the matter to the Kolo Police Station but asked them to hold on to enable him make some investigations. He said after his investigations, he called his cousin, Rex Ogboku, in Abuja who reported the matter to the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA).
But FIDA was sluggish in the way it handled the matter, Apigi noted. “My cousin, Rex Ogboku, in Abuja called FIDA to inform them about the situation. But the way FIDA was going about the issue was too sluggish for my liking. I decided to contact the Operation Rescue.
“We went back to the police and the Otuasiga Police Station arrested the man. The process through which the Otuasiga Police Station was handling the case was not satisfactory.
“Imagine a situation where somebody was arrested and while in detention he was still having access to his phone, making calls. He even called me. He called my uncle, trying to plead with him for settlement. I moved the case to Kolo Police Station.”
He said his niece’s father was notorious for sexual perversion, alleging also that he had slept with his biological sisters. He said the suspect repeatedly had carnal knowledge of his cousin’s daughter and forced her to commit abortion five times.
He said some of his victims were ready to testify against him.
Egbe also lamented the condition of the girl and called on the society to protect the girl-child.
She said: “Our investigations showed that the little girl had been perpetually raped by her father who impregnated her and forced her through abortion that has left her with so many health problems.
“When the girl was pregnant, she did not know. Her stepmother discovered she was pregnant and informed the father. The father handed her over to a lady who took her to a quack doctor for an abortion.
“After the abortion, the girl came back home and discovered she was bleeding from her private part. The father took her to that same lady who then took her to other places. The girl is still in pains and highly traumatised. She has been going through series of medical treatments.
“We want the police to really investigate this matter and get to the root of the case. We want the doctor to be arrested, and we want everybody that is involved to be arrested and prosecuted to serve as deterrent to other people who are involved in this act of perpetual evil against the girl-child. The girl-child is tender and has a lot to contribute to nation-building.”

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has accused the Senior Special Assistant

Buhari’s spokesman, Garba made N280m dealing in forex – PDP alleges
By Seun Opejobi on March 27, 2016

images (3)

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has accused the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, of making N280m dealing in forex.
The opposition party which took to its Twitter handle, @PdpNigeria, yesterday also alleged that the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele assisted Shehu in the deal.
The tweet reads, “FLASH: Garba Shehu got $800,000 forex at N185 from CBN on the instructions of Emefiele, CBN governor and sold at N350 on the same day.”

But Shehu in his reaction,however, denied the claim, saying he was not a forex trader.

The Presidential spokesman in post on his Facebook page yesterday threatened to sue anyone behind the Twitter handle.
“It is a lie by PDP to say I bought $800,000 from the CBN. I had only two forex purchases since coming into government: Eight thousand Dollars ($8,000) sent to my daughter and nephews through United Bank for Africa. This is verifiable.
“I’m not a forex trader. The day I choose to start trading in forex, I will resign as a presidential spokesman. If I know the coward and psychopath behind the official PDP handle, I will launch a defamation suit against him or her. And I will claim money in millions as damages,” Shehu said.

Buhari vows to end mass killings, abductions

Buhari vows to end mass killings, abductions
Published on March 26, 2016 by pmnews
President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday pledged that mass killings of innocent Nigerians, abductions and other criminal atrocities would soon become history in the country.
The president made the pledge in his Easter message to the nation.
He said that his administration was determined to achieve peace and security across the nation by ending the avoidable conflicts and crises that hindered national progress.
He said already the nation’s security apparatus were being reformed and empowered to win the war against terrorism and other criminal activities across the country.
He said that the unfortunate incidences in recent years where the blood of men, women and children are wantonly and callously shed in frequent orgies of criminal, political, ethnic and religious violence had become embarrassing and unacceptable.
“My administration is determined to achieve peace and security across our nation by ending the avoidable conflicts and crises that hinder our national progress.
“I ask for the support of all Nigerians in this regard. We must put a stop to politically motivated killings.
“Our communities must be made safe again for all inhabitants to live together in peace and harmony.
“Our armed forces, police and other security agencies are being progressively reformed, repositioned and empowered to win the war against terrorism and make mass killings, abductions and other criminal atrocities things of the past in our beloved country.
“Let us all also play our parts as patriotic citizens and do all that we can to ensure that we make Nigeria a safer, more peaceful and happier place for its people and others,” he said.
The president, who rejoiced with Nigerians, especially Christian brothers and sisters, who were celebrating Easter, urged them to imbibe the essential message of Jesus Christ, who repeatedly urged his disciples and followers to “love one another as I have loved you.”
“As we celebrate Easter this year, I sincerely believe that it will serve our dear nation very well if we all imbibe this essential message of Jesus Christ and truly learn to love our countrymen and women as we love ourselves.
“Indeed, we will surely make faster progress towards the achievement of the peaceful, united, strong, progressive and prosperous country we all desire if, as a nation, we eschew all divisive, parochial, ethnic and religious sentiments and rivalries, and begin to live more harmoniously with our compatriots, as Jesus Christ and the founders of the world’s other great religions enjoined mankind.”
According to the president, faith, belief and the fulfillment of expectations are also key themes of the Easter celebration.
He urged Nigerians to continue to have faith in the future greatness of the nation and believe that the change his administration promised would surely come to fruition.
“That change, which we all yearn for, will certainly occur more rapidly if we all place the love of our country above selfish personal and group interests.”
Buhari reassured Nigerians that his administration would ensure that the 2016 budget recently passed by the National Assembly would be efficiently and successfully implemented to achieve the objective of faster economic growth and development.
While thanking Nigerians for their patience and understanding in the first ten months of his administration, Buhari assured that the Federal Government would continue to work “very hard to overcome the challenges he encountered on assumption of office.
“We are moving on with an unshaken resolve and determination to deliver on the mandate you gave us on March 28, last year.

NNPC discharges 44 million litres of petrol nationwide

NNPC discharges 44 million litres of petrol nationwide
Published on March 26, 2016 by pmnews · 1 Comment
Dr Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, NNPC MD and Minister of State, Petroleum Resources
Dr Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, NNPC MD and Minister of State, Petroleum Resources
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said it has discharged one cargo of 44 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to ensure availability of the product across the country.
This is contained in a statement signed by Mr Garba Deen Mohammed, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC, on Friday in Abuja.
“Our immediate concern is to make petrol available through the interventions and processes put in place so that the queues will disappear within the next one to two weeks.
“As at 4 p.m today, one PMS cargo containing 42 million litres has completely discharged.
“Two more PMS cargos with a combined ‘Remaining on Board’ (ROB) of 44 million litres are currently discharging while another PMS cargo containing 44 million litres is berthed and awaiting discharge,” it said.
According to the statement, the corporation have enough products lined up to ensure that the supply gap which created the problem is bridged.
It added that in order to ensure effective distribution, NNPC would work with Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), oil majors and over 1,000 NNPC staff nationwide to overcome the obstacles in the distribution of the products.
It noted that for long term solutions, the NNPC and the Government were working to put in place machineries to ensure that the refineries were fixed and working optimally.
It added that the pipelines which had been under attack for some time now were repaired.
“The Direct Sale Direct Purchase (DSDP) arrangement for crude would commence in the first week of April,” it said.
It further stated that the President had given his support to increase the crude supply to NNPC to ensure local sufficiency of products.
This, it said, would go a long way to solve the problems in the short and long term.
It assured that while the Easter celebration last, the NNPC would continue to work hard to bring the fuel scarcity to a speedy end.
“We urge Nigerians to continue to be patient because the difficulties being experienced as a result of the situation will soon be alleviated.
“We would like to assure all Nigerians that the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, and everybody else associated with this situation is working tirelessly round the clock to ensure relief is brought to Nigerians.’

Tinubu blasts Kachikwu

Tinubu blasts Kachikwu
By Saxone Akhaine (Northern Bureau Chief), Ali Garba (Bauchi), Auwal Ahmad (Gombe), Abba Anwar and Murtala Muhammed (Kano), Kelvin Ebiri and Ann Godwin (Port Harcourt), Charles Coffie Gyamfi (Abeokuta), Charles Akpeji (Jalingo), John Akubo (Lokoja), Lawrence Njoku (Enugu), Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu (Benin City), Iyabo Lawal (Ibadan), Tunji Omofoye (Osogbo), Paul Adunwoke (Lagos) | 27 March 2016 | 3:02 am

Crowd at a fuel station in Lagos yesterday (Inset: a man leaping over a fence with a gallon of fuel.) PHOTOS AYODELE ADENIRAN
Crowd at a fuel station in Lagos yesterday (Inset: a man leaping over a fence with a gallon of fuel.) PHOTOS AYODELE ADENIRAN
• Your flippancy is out-of-line • You do not own NNPC • You’re bad advertisement for APC govt
• Petrol shortage sours Easter celebrations • NLC calls for minister’s resignation
The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has condemned comments by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu “that he (Kachikwu) was not trained as a magician and that basically Nigerians should count themselves fortunate that the NNPC under his stewardship has been able to bring in the amount of petrol fuel it is currently doing.
In a statement sent to The Guardian, and titled, ‘Kachikwu Needs To Know That Respect And Good Performance Will Do What Magic Cannot’, the former Lagos State Governor insisted he is “an avid and partisan supporter” of the President Buhari-led government and of the progressive policies of the APC.
With that, Tinubu said he reserves “the right and the duty as a Nigerian to voice my opinion when I believe a member of this government has strayed from the progressive calling required of this administration. I do this because my greater devotion and love are for this nation and its people. Party and politics fall secondary.”
He said: “Perhaps the statement by Kachikwu was made in a moment of unguarded frustration or was an awkward attempt at a joke. Whatever the motive, it was untimely and off-putting. The remark did not sit well with the Nigerian people; they were as right to feel insulted, as the Minister was wrong to have said such a thing. The fuel shortage is severely biting for the average person. They are forced to remain in lines far too long, for too much time, to pay too much money for too little fuel. This is no joking matter. Livelihoods and people’s welfare are at stake. With so much on the line, Kachikwu’s flippancy was out-of-line. He was basically telling Nigerians that they should be lucky that they are getting the inadequate supply they now suffer and that they should just be quiet and endure the shortage for several weeks more.
“Kachikwu’s intervention was unhelpful. It panicked and disappointed the public as to the duration of the crisis. It insulted the people by its tonality. He spoke with the imperious nature of a member of the elitist government the people voted out last year and not the progressive one they voted in. Kachikwu must be reminded that he was not coerced to take this job. He accepted the job and its responsibilities knowingly. He also must remember that he does not own NNPC. This also is not a private company that owes nothing to the public except the duty of fair dealing.
“He is a public servant. The seat he sits upon is owned by Nigerians, not by him. The company he runs is owned by Nigerians, not by him. They are his boss. He is not theirs. Power is vested in the people. He is a mere custodian or agent of their will. In talking to us in such a manner, he committed an act of insubordination. If he had talked so cavalierly to his boss in the private sector, he would have been reprimanded or worse. If wise, the man should refrain from such interjections in the future.
“As his ultimate bosses, the people have a right to demand the requisite performance and respect from him. He should apologise for treating them so lightly in this instance.
“His portfolio being a strategically important one, he needs to reestablish the correct relationship with the public. They no longer feel he is working for their optimal benefit as their servant. Instead, he seems to be standing above them, telling them to take it or leave it. For his policies and stint in office to be successful and a help to this government, he must have the support and belief of the people at this tough time. He must talk to them in a way that they believe he seeks their best interest and understands the hardship weighing upon them. He must ask them to work with him and perhaps to endure a bit longer but with the knowledge that he is working to resolve this matter as fast as he can and as permanently as possible. That he is dedicated to the position that once these current lines are gone that never again shall they reappear, as long as he has any influence in the matter.
“To do this, requires no magic or training in that strange craft. It requires empathy, compassion and the willpower to forge a better Nigeria. These must be the common trademarks of those serving in a progressive government, for these attributes are integral parts of the spirit and ideals upon which the APC was founded. Upon such notions was this administration voted into office by the Nigerian people in the operation of their sovereign will to seek a national leadership that would pursue their interests to the utmost and give them every fair chance to live in a better Nigeria.
“Even though times are hard, we must all realise that they would be even harder and much darker had we allowed the venal, kleptocracy of the PDP to continue to lord over the land solely for their selfish benefit and not for the common good.
“I am confident that President Buhari and this government can resolve the issues that press us. From establishing full security and safety to staking a claim to true economic prosperity and fairness, this government shall salvage our national pride and purpose.
Let all of us, in and out, of government never forget this. If we adhere to this remembrance, we shall see that magic will not be needed to bring the progress we seek.”
Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Comrade Issa Aremu, also criticised Kachikwu over comments by the latter that it is cheaper for the nation to import fuel from overseas than refine it locally.
“We condemn it and call on him to withdraw this unhelpful statement, failing which we demand he should resign,” said Aremu, who noted “with regret that Nigeria spends as much as $10bn yearly on importation of petroleum products.”
Delivering a communiqué at the 11th delegates’ conference of the National Union of Textile, Garments and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) in Kaduna, Aremu stressed: “I see no reason why Nigeria cannot build a modern refinery that will improve petroleum capacity,” adding that continuous importation is the agenda of a cabal whose desire is self gratification rather than the welfare of the masses.
The expectations of many Nigerians for a stress free Easter celebration, meanwhile, have been dashed by the ongoing fuel scarcity, which in the last 24 hours took a turn for the worse.
In many parts of the country, the very few stations that sold Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), yesterday, were attended by long queues, as frustrated buyers struggled to get the costly product ahead today’s festivities.
In Kaduna, many motorists were forced to patronise black market dealers at exorbitant prices, as few fuel stations had the product. At the independent filling stations along Kachia, Nnamdi Azikiwe and Junction Roads long queues of motorists was the order of the day, as a litre was sold for N145-N155.
Major marketers, like Mobil along Independence Way and Total at Ahmadu Bello Way, sold the product at the official price of N86 per litre. On the queues at both stations, however, were motorists, like Mallam Yinusa Abbas, who told The Guardian he had been waiting patiently for two days.
A well-intentioned directive of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence (NSCDC) unwittingly compounded the scarcity in Bauchi. The outfit had threatened to arrest and prosecute unscrupulous filling station operators and roadside sellers.
Armed with their money, would-be buyers are still not able to lay their hands on the product, as sellers have gone underground. Consequently, a four-litre gallon, which used to be N500-600, now sells for N1,100-N1,200.
In Gombe State, black marketers are selling the product for N250 per litre, while filling stations are dispensing at N170, amid buyers’ uncertainty over the genuineness of the commodity. Fares, meanwhile, have gone up. A trip from Gombe to Bauchi, formerly N800, has climbed up to N1000. Gombe to Bajoga, which used to be N250 is now N500.
Some marketers who spoke to The Guardian in Port Harcourt disproved claim by officials of the Department of Petroleum Resources that most filling stations have fuel but are refusing to sell it. The marketers explained that they purchased their product from independent depots; hence the DPR should not expect them to sell at the official price.
At fillings stations in Eleme, Rumuokoro, Rumuodumaya, Rukpokwu, Eliozu, Omoku, Ahoada, old Port Harcourt and Worji, a litre of petrol was sold being for N150 and above.
Four litres of petrol in Kano yesterday was sold for N800-N900, as black marketers took advantage of the scarcity to multiply profit.
The stations of many major and independent marketers in the metropolis were locked up. And at the few stations that sold, the queues were long.
The chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) in Kano, Alhaji Bashir Dan Mallam, blamed the scarcity on failure of the NNPC to supply the product to Kano.

Saturday, 19 March 2016

62 Killed as Flydubai Plane Crashes in Russia

62 Killed as Flydubai Plane Crashes in Russia

March 20, 2016
Zacheaus Somorin with agency reports
The Flydubai Boeing 737 jet on Saturday crashed at the Rostov-on-Don airport after traveling from Dubai, Russia’s Southern Regional Emergency Centre has said. All those on board died, authorities said. Officials believe bad weather, which kept the plane from reattempting landing for more than two hours, likely caused the crash.
The airport has been closed with medics and psychologists on standby to assist family members, he said. About 700 people are involved in the rescue operation, the Ministry of Emergency Situations said. The crash site is 800 feet (243 metres) from the airport runway, it said. The ministry said investigators had ruled out terrorism as a cause of the crash at this stage and weather conditions were most-likely responsible.

The plane’s pilot circled the airport, waiting for the weather to clear before making a second attempt to land, but the aircraft’s tail had clipped the runway, it said. State media reported winds of 97 kph (60 mph) at the time of the crash.
The Russian Investigative Committee has launched an investigation, and is considering three potential causes, state-run Ria Novosti news agency reported.
“Different versions of the incident are being investigated, including crew error, technical failure, bad weather and other factors,” it quoted committee chief Vladimir Markin as saying. Emergency staff have found one of the plane’s two flight recorders and were searching for the second, Ria Novosti reported.
“Flydubai very much regrets to confirm that the accident involving flight number FZ981 at Rostov-on-Don earlier today has resulted in 55 passenger fatalities including 33 women, 18 men and four children.
“The nationalities of the deceased passengers include 44 Russians, eight Ukrainians, two Indians and one Uzbekistani,” the airline said. Earlier, Russia’s Emergencies Ministry had said 50 of the passengers and one of the crew members were Russian citizens. It has published a list of those on board.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims, state news agency Tass reported. Families of passengers killed will receive one million rubles (approximately $15,000) from the government, Russian state media reported. It said Sunday (today) has been declared a day of mourning in the Rostov region. Dubai’s government media office posted a statement of sympathy on Twitter. “UAE offers.

Thursday, 17 March 2016

BREAKING NEWS

BREAKING NEWS
Christians in Gbagyi Villa, a 100% Christian community in Kaduna State came out today Thursday, 17th March, 2016 to stage a protest against the tyranny and the persecution of the Kaduna State APC governor, Mallam Nasiru El-Rufai; who has marked all their buildings including all the churches in their community for demolition. After the marking El-Rufai gave the Christian community 21 days ultimatum to remove their buildings or he will demolish those buildings and the owner of the buildings will pay the state government for the demolition exercise. He hinged his order on a false allegation that the people don't have planning permit. Whereas, most of them came out with their planning permit as well as their receipts of payments.

Arise News Reporter that covered the protest reported as follows:
Protest in Kaduna against the demolition notice of El-Rufai against Gbagyi Villa houses and all churches in Gbagyi Villa, the only 100% Christian community in Kaduna State.
Arise News correspondents are live in Kaduna giving you live update as the protest proceeds...
Arise News reporter that was at the scene of the protest could not control his tears as some women were seen rolling on the ground screaming "Is it a crime to be a Christian in Kaduna under APC now? El-Rufai leave us alone."
Uncontrollable tears was streaming down my eyes as I heard the agony of some Christian widows.
Another group of Christian women were also chanting, "El-Rufai, leave us alone, El-Rufai, leave us alone."
Old women were not left out. They also stormed the protest venue to join the protest.
A very old woman who spoke in Hausa language screamed in Hausa. This is the interpretation of her agony: "If El-Rufai is ready to crush our only hope, which is the buildings that our husbands have left for us, then it is better we die on the road protesting than wait for El-Rufai to come and pull down our buildings just because we are Christians. What are other Christian bodies doing to rescue us?" She asked in tears.
Shelter in Christ Orphanage Home children also stormed the street crying "El-Rufai, what did we do? Why do you want to demolish our only building?
Christians all over talk to El-Rufai.
El-Rufai want to kill us"
Before the protest march could advance to the centre of Kaduna El-Rufai sent Kaduna State security outfit, "Operation Yaki" out to disperse the protesting Christians and stop the protest.
The device used to take the picture of Operation Yaki was destroyed.
It is of a note that El-Rufai is the litmus paper to test the cooperate wills of the Christians as APC is bent on their Islamic Agenda.
Since returning from Mecca, where El-Rufai accompanied Buhari, Rauf Aregbesola, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi in an Islamic Prayer even inside the Kaaba; El-Rufai has intensified his Islamic Agenda, aggravating his persecution of Christians.
Just to mention a few how he is terrorising Christians:
1. He has ordered that apart from Good Friday and Easter Monday breaks all schools both private and public MUST NOT go on Easter break. Failure to comply shall attract severe sanction. See the link to the news: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1781705688728619&id=1778935029005685
2. He has sent an anti preaching bill to the Kaduna State House of Assembly, which is on 2nd reading already: See the link here: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1780729558826232&id=1778935029005685
3. He is terrorising Christian communities with complete demolition of their houses. See the link to the news here: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1781033495462505&id=1778935029005685
4. He has marked out all churches in Gbagyi Villa including an orphanage home for demolition.
El-Rufai is just a litmus paper if Christians all over don't rise up against this terrible persecution no matter the lies and hypocrisy that El-Rufai is using to garnish his evil agenda, then other APC governors are waiting to follow suit.
Help share this with as many Christians and Christian bodies you know. We must employ all spiritual and legal means at our disposal to stop this evil; no matter the lies that El-Rufai will hide under.

Tuesday, 8 March 2016

Dark days in America

Dark days in America

Dark days in America

YOU know that adversity has well and truly come to the forest when the pawpaw fruit tree takes the floor at a gathering of the denizens and demands to be counted as one its stalwarts.
You know that it is a dark era in American politics when the prohibitive front runner for the Presidential ticket of the Republican Party –hereafter the GOP, as in Grand Old Party – is the foul-mouthed Donald Trump, his immediate challenger is the venal Ted Cruz, and the other contestant whom it would be courteous to call a challenger is the robotic Marco Rubio.
These three of the four candidates still standing are spawns of the extreme right wing that has seized the heart and soul of the GOP over the past three decades, ably supported by a string of ultra-conservative think-tanks, so-called evangelicals, Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, a posse of millionaires determined to use money to bend the political   process to their will, and a Supreme Court that is for all practical purposes the high council of the GOP in judicial robes. They are creatures of the people who produced Sarah Palin and similar aberrations.
Now the very forces that created them are aghast and flailing desperately to block the frontrunner and promote one of the other two main contenders the least of three evils.
Trump outscores Cruz and Rubio in notoriety and villainy, but both seem cut from the same cloth.

Take Cruz first.
In 1997, Michael Wayne Haley was prosecuted for stealing a calculator from a store. The crime carried a maximum two-year prison term. But prosecutors mistakenly treated Haley as a habitual offender. The judge did not detect the error, and sentenced Haley to a jail term of 16 years.
The mistake was eventually discovered and Haley sought relief. Ted Cruz, then solicitor-general of Texas, would have none of it and petitioned the Supreme Court to keep Haley in prison for the full 16 years.
“Justice Anthony Kennedy’s interjection during oral arguments was telling. “Is there some rule that you can’t confess error in your state?” he asked. Haley was subsequently released. But by then, he had spent six years in jail.
New York Times conservative columnist David Brooks cited this case in characterising Ted Cruz as “a stranger to most of what would generally be considered the Christian virtues: humility, mercy, compassion and grace.” Cruz’s behaviour in the Haley case, he wrote,”is almost the dictionary definition of pharisaism: an overzealous application of the letter of the law in a way that violates the spirit of the law, as well as fairness and mercy.”
Until he was sandbagged in one debate by Chris Christie, the New Jersey Governor who has since dropped out of the race, Marco Rubio, the first –term U. S. Senator for Florida with the razor- thin résumé, carried on as if he was running against Obama, whom he addressed in the most disrespectful terms and accused of the heinous crime of trying to “change” America.
The election, he said repeatedly, was about who was ready to serve as commander-in-chief from Day One, as if being the son of a bar tender and a hotel maid, a circumstance he always brought up, was the ultimate preparation for that supreme office.   That is how far gone he is in his delusion. Though running a distant third, he has even urged Cruz to get out of the race and leave him to face Trump. He says he is the only Republican candidate who can beat the likely Democratic candidate, Clinton, in a presidential election.
It is to these two, Cruz and Rubio, that the GOP establishment has turned for salvation.
They are pouring tens of millions of dollars into television advertising across key states, portraying Trump, for whom there is no sympathy in this corner, as a figure without any redeeming value.
They had looked on with glee as Trump challenged President Barack Obama’s American citizenship, claiming that the people he had sent to Hawaii, Obama’s homestate, had come up with findings that would shock everyone. He never released the alleged findings, and the news media did not challenge him to produce them or shut up.
They had looked on approvingly as their ranks obstructed one Obama initiative after another, treated him with the utmost contempt, cast him as a Moslem terrorist-sympathiser, threatened to impeach him for “treason” and sought to de-legitimise him in every way inconceivable – all in an effort “to take the country back.” They did not stir when First Lady Michelle Obama was portrayed in their media as first cousin of a chimpanzee that escaped from a zoo in Oklahoma.
While all this was going on, Mitt Romney, President Obama’s opponent in the 2012 presidential election, would only say that he would not have used the language of Obama’s calumniators. The calumny itself apparently sat well with him.
In that election Romney actively sought and revelled in Trump’s endorsement, lauding the property developer as one of the most successful businessmen in America and as someone who has created thousands of jobs.
Now, irony of ironies, it is the same Romney leading the Stop Trump brigade, denouncing Trump as a phony and a fraud, and as morally unfit to lead America.
Romney apparently does not realise that he is one of the elite the movement conservatives have rejected to embrace the Trumps and Cruzes and Rubios – the voters whose minds they had poisoned with their racist rants, their homophobia, their rejection of science, their craven bid to disenfranchise African American and Hispanic voters, and their perversion of Holy Writ.
Romney has little following and even less credibility. The health insurance scheme he instituted as governor of Massachusetts was so successful that it served as the template for what has come to be known as Obamacare.
Yet, sensing the undercurrent of reflex opposition to Obamacare from the GOP camp, he vowed in 2012 that if elected president, he would repeal it in his first day in office. Such is the cynicism, the utter lack of principle that drives those who created and now seek desperately to ditch the monsters haunting and threatening to devour them.
For all I care, they can stop Trump and foist either Cruz or Rubio or any other demagogue on the American electorate in November. The centre has shifted from under their feet. Long live their distemper.