Today's Headlines:

Jonathan tells EFCC, ICPC to flaunt achievements http://www.ipaidabribenaija.com/index.php/news/item/81992

Boko Haram razes Borno village, kills 39 http://www.ipaidabribenaija.com/index.php/news/item/81990

Update: Maku names, give reasons for replacement of sacked ministers http://www.ipaidabribenaija.com/index.php/news/item/81985

JAMB sensitises students on E-Testing http://www.ipaidabribenaija.com/index.php/news/item/81996

PDP denies dollar inducement claim by APC http://www.ipaidabribenaija.com/index.php/politics/item/81998

Reps to investigate NIS arrest of 400 Northerners in Yenegoa http://www.ipaidabribenaija.com/index.php/news/item/81999

Money laundering: Prosecute ex-Army chief, Bamaiyi, Fred Ajudua tells EFCC http://www.ipaidabribenaija.com/index.php/news/efcc/item/81984

NNPC, PPMC makes concerted effort to provide improved petroleum products, stable price regime http://www.ipaidabribenaija.com/index.php/news/nnpc/item/81910

National Assembly commends PPPRA for saving N409b subsidy claims in 2012 http://www.ipaidabribenaija.com/index.php/news/nnpc/item/81648

Sanusi Lamido's constant flip flop on kerosene subsidy http://www.ipaidabribenaija.com/index.php/news/item/81961

Update: Boston bombing suspect trial set for November http://www.ipaidabribenaija.com/index.php/america-news/item/82000

Thursday's Love and Sex: Even without money, you can still have a wonderful experience on Valentine's Day http://www.ipaidabribenaija.com/index.php/entertainment/item/82003

Iyanya's manager insists Iyanya did not lie about the Lenovo deal http://www.ipaidabribenaija.com/index.php/entertainment/item/81976

Manchester United held Arsenal to a goalless draws http://www.ipaidabribenaija.com/index.php/sport/more-in-sport/english-premier-league/item/82001

"Faith makes all things possible... love makes all things easy." - Dwight L. Moody

Good morning.

Nine-man Interim Management Committee Set up by APC

KANO — National leadership of the yet-to-be registered All Progressives Congress, APC,has approved the appointment of a nine-man Interim Management Committee of the mega party, comprising three nationalprincipal officers each from the merging parties.
 

Briefing reporters in Kano yesterday, Secretary of the Central merging Committee of All Progressive Party, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, explained that the measure was adopted to facilitate the registration exercise of the mega party.
 

Shekarau said: “The national leadership of APC has agreed unanimously that the national principal officers of ACN, CPC and ANPP, which includes the national Chairman,national Secretary, and Treasurer, respectively, should form the interim management committee of APC for the purpose of registration of the mega party with Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, only.”

For real? MASSOB Will Enforce Sit-at-home Directive

The Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, yesterday warned that it would not take lightly any attempt to undermine its June 8 sit-at-home directive in Imo State.

The group said the directive would afford Ndigbo the opportunity to critically reflect on their fate in the Nigerian project, especially over the suppression of the Igbo.

In a statement, the MASSOB Regional Administrator in Njaba Local Government Area of the state, Mr. Emmanuel Chukwudi Nwokeji, requested the Imo State residents, especially those living in Njaba to sit at home in protest against the unprovoked killings of Ndigbo in the North and other parts of the country.

Nigeria Senate Recommends 6-year Single Term, LG Autonomy .

The Senate committee on constitution review has recommended a six-year single term for the President and state governors in future elections, a source in the committee told Daily Trust yesterday.

The single term presidency has been a subject of heated dispute since 2005, when it truncated the attempt to do a wholesome amendment of the constitution, following fears that former president Olusegun Obasanjo was using it in a bid to extend his constitutional tenure.

Daily Trust also learnt that the Senate committee led by Deputy Senate President Senator Ike Ekweremadu has recommended abolishing of the controversial ‘states and local government joint account’ to enable the third tier of government receive revenue allocations directly from the federation account.
“As a check, there is also a clause which prohibits release of revenue allocation to local governments that do not have elected council chairmen and councillors,” the source said.

2015: Lamido, Amaechi’s posters flood Abuja

ABUJA – AS impeachment threat dangles before the embattled Rivers State Governor Hon. Chibuike Amaechi , posters bearing his photograph and Governor Sule Lamido for the 2015 presidential election now litters some parts of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.

But the Governor has denied having any ambition to contest the 2015 election against President Goodluck Jonathan, saying that it might be the handiwork of his political detractors’ flooding some parts of FCT with his posters.

Breaking: 14 PDP Governors Leave Party, Sides Amaechi.

News filtering around have it that, no fewer than 14 PDP governors have signed a letter of resignation from the PDP over the suspension of Amaechi. The group led by Babangida Aliyu have given a condition of Amaechi being recalled back from suspension for them to rescind their decisions.

Source is from the PDP headquaters in Abuja..... Clearer details to come in a short while.

At Long Last, Nigeria Senate Approves State Of Emergency

The Senate on Tuesday approved the State of Emergency declared by President Goodluck Jonathan in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe States. The 100 senators present unanimously approved the president’s declaration at a session of the whole house. The Senate had earlier gone for closed door session to debate the matter. At the end of the closed door session, the committee of the whole Senate unanimously approved Mr. Jonathan’s declaration; with none of the senators present opposing it. Read details here: http://premiumtimesng.com/news/135300-breaking-news-nigerian-senate-approves-state-of-emergency.html

Remarks: The situation of things in Nigeria has become so scary. The senators may be afraid of the BH menace and its consequences on the polity. Hence any action other than what the did may put them at loggerheads with the populace. It is a good move though.

Federal Court Convicts ‘my Pikin’ Killer Syrup Makers, Winds-up Company

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, Friday convicted and setenced to seven years imprisonment, two employees of Barewa Pharmaceutical Company Ltd, Adeyemo Abiodun and Ebele Eromosele.

The company and its employees were charged on an amended six-count charged of the production of a killer syrup, “my pikin.”

There was mild drama, midway into the judgment, as one of the convicts suddenly began to collapse.

Trial judge, Justice Okechukwu Okeke in his judgment, convicted the accused on two counts, while he acquitted them of four counts.

The Judge accordingly sentenced the accused to seven years imprisonment each on the offence, while he ordered the company to be compulsorily wound up and its assets forfeited to the Federal Government.

Imo Pastor Prescibes Indian Hemp For Followers, Claims It Fosters 'Sober Reflection'

General overseer of Divine Justice Church, Owerri, Imo State, Pastor Clement Ezeigbo, who is currently cooling his heels in the police Anti Kidnap Unit of the state police command, told the police: “I don’t know anything about kidnapping but I am the owner of the Indian hemp (Igbo) but the good thing is that I don’t smoke it but I use it to prepare my food. Ienjoy eating food prepared with Indian hemp.”

“I don’t think there is anything wrong when you use Indian hemp to prepare your food; it gives inspiration and it makes one have sober reflection and that is why I recommend it to my Church members. I use to preach to my members against smoking it but I encourage them to cook their food with hemp. “Some of my members do prepare some delicacies with it, which they serve me. I love Indian hemp because after eating Indian hemp, it gives me inspiration, then when I mount the pulpit, you will notice the efficacy of hemp.” Explaining what brought him to the police, he told CrimeWatch that “on the fateful day, I was in my Church, praying when the police stormed the place, claiming they were looking for some kidnappers, who used to hide their victims near my Church. I told them that I was not aware of the hideouts of kidnappers. You see, it was while searching my Church that they saw the Indian hemp. Well, I did not deny ownership of the hemp, it belongs to me; I love it.”

Breaking: 3 Soldiers, Gunmen Killed In Daura Attack – Army

The Nigerian Army on Friday confirmed that three soldiers were killed in an attack by gunmen in Daura, Katsina State.

Maj.-Gen. Garba Wahab, General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division, Nigerian Army, who disclosed this to newsmen in Kaduna, said several of the attackers were also killed.

He said that the army and other security personnel had cordoned off three areas in the city and were conducting a house-to-house search “to fish out some of the wounded gunmen who forced their way into peoples’ homes’’’.

He also said that the army was coordinating with security agencies in Niger Republic as “80 to 90 per cent of these gun men are not Nigerians’’.

Opposition Act: ACN Condemns and Reject President Jonathan Declaration of State of Emergency

…Asks National Assembly to reject it

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has described the declaration of a state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States by President Goodluck Jonathan as lacking in original thinking, and therefore asked the National Assembly to reject it.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said if the use of force was capable of ending the Boko Haram crisis, it would have ended a long time ago.

State OF The Nation: Jonathan's National Broadcast May 14, 2013 - Full Text

PRESIDENT GOODLUCK EBELE JONATHAN, GCFR



ON THE DECLARATION OF A STATE OF EMERGENCY IN BORNO, YOBE AND ADAMAWA STATES IN ORDER TO RESTORE PUBLIC ORDER, PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY IN THE AFFECTED STATES OF THE FEDERATION


MAY 14, 2013



Dear compatriots,

1.It has become necessary for me to address you on the recent spate of terrorist activities and protracted security challenges in some parts of the country, particularly in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe, Bauchi, Kano, Plateau and most recently Bayelsa, Taraba, Benue and Nasarawa states. These unfortunate events have led to needless loss of lives and property of many innocent Nigerians including members of our security forces.


2.The recent killing of security operatives by a cult group in Nasarawa state is particularly condemnable. I have directed that no effort or expense be spared in identifying and bringing to justice all those who had a hand in the killing of the operatives.

Economy: Eastern Nigeria turns into rapid growth market, Overtakes National Budget.

Five years ago the current MD of a listed Nigerian multinational was in London to interview for the post amid skepticism from the parent company about growth prospects, outside the Lagos and western axis of Nigeria.

"I was told there were little or no opportunities for growing the business substantially in Nigeria," he tells business day.

"That was one of the reasons why I took the job."

The large swathe of Nigeria spreading from Benin to as Far East as Calabar and from Anambra to Bayelsa has become a rapid growth market for consumer goods, which is leading to a rush by Nigerian and multinational firms to set up factories in the region.

Nowadays the multinational is shopping for a suitable location in the region to site its new 100 million pounds (N24.1 billion) factory, according to the MD.

Nigerian Breweries (NB) Plc, in February 2013 commenced the 100 percent expansion of its production facility in Aba, Abia State with investments worth N15 billion.

SAB Miller recently built a new $100 million plant at Onitsha; Shoprite is expanding in Anambra, and Owerri in addition to its Enugu retail outlets, while GZ industries is setting up what would be the largest aluminium can manufacturing plant in Africa with its N1.2 billion investment in Aba.

"If our sales target in the Eastern part of Nigeria is achieved then it means the national target will be met, there is a lot of money flowing there and it currently makes up 40 percent of our national consumption figures," the MD added.

A couple of powerful trends are driving the trend, which include a young and growing population, rising real incomes and an increase in State Government spending due to derivation.

The eleven South East and South South states had a combined 2013 budget of N2.64 trillion ($16.7 billion)- equivalent to 50 percent of the Federal budget- according to data compiled by business day's research unit.

Spending on capital projects approach 75 percent of the budget in some states like Akwa-Ibom leading to a multiplier effect, and helping to create jobs and drive income growth.

The states also have a young and increasingly well educated population, whose aspirational lifestyle often influences their spending patterns.
States in the region also come out tops in terms of WAEC and JAMB applications and female literacy levels, and while Lagos is Nigeria's economic powerhouse and commercial capital, and boasts the largest sub-national economy in Nigeria, at close to $50 billion, Rivers State has a higher GDP per capita ($3,965) which is 160 percent above the national average.

"Uyo, Aba, Port Harcourt, Onitsha-Asaba, Benin and Bayelsa are the new regional hubs for business in Nigeria. I have doubled my staff strength in Eastern Nigeria," the MD said.

"The next 10 to 15 years will see phenomenal growth in these areas."

http://businessdaynigeria.com/eastern-nigeria-turns-rapid-growth-market

Breaking: For Threats To Nigeria, Dino Melaye Takes Asari Dokubo To Court

Word reaching me suffices that, the self acclaimed anti corruption crusader and a former member of the Federal House of Representative, Hon Dino Melaye has filed a suit against former ex-militant leader, Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, for treason over his recent statement on President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election in 2015.

Hon Dino Melaye who is one of the richest former member of the National Assembly said that ”this morning, my lawyers instituted a case against Asari-Dokubo, that Nigeria will be made ungovernable if President Jonathan isn’t re-elected in 2015".

Sad News For Blackberry Users in Nigeria: Blackberry Faces Ban in Nigeria.

Blackberry services could be at risk of being banned in the country as a new regulation by the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, will run counter to the technical operating standards of the phone’s distinct network. Our source gathered yesterday that the telecoms regulator was working on a regulation, which would make it mandatory for any licensee in the nation’s telecoms market to provide access to its communications facilities for necessary interception by the law enforcement agencies.

Levels Have Changed, I Have Murdered Poverty - Saka

Hafiz Oyetoro’s controversial move from Etisalat to MTN as a brand face seems to have changed his fortune for good, writes CHUX OHAI

South Africa-based scholar, Prof. Kole Omotosho, and lecturer at Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, Hafiz Oyetoro, do not belong to the same generation. The distance between Nigeria and SA also implies that they cannot be meeting each other constantly. Yet, they both have something in common.



They have the enviable record of successfully combining their work as lecturers with advertising. Apart from the fact that Omotosho is a writer, best known for his controversial novel about Nigeria – Just Before Dawn – he has made a name for himself in SA where his face has graced several advert bill boards. The latest is the one in which he is advertising for Fidelity Bank Plc.

The Opinionist Corner: Would You Support The Remarking Of Utme Exam?

The UTME/JAMB exams result was released a few days back, and the drama that unfolded from the point of release is still ongoing. The episodes have been entertaining albeit thought provoking. Now, the opinions roll out, with most quarters raising salient points here and there.

No Doubt, The Northerners Appear to be the most United People in This Country(Nigeria ­).

While the Easterners, Southerners and Westerners have sat down, give in to faith and accepted the released 2013 Jamb results, Only the Northerners have said NO, That's Not Our Results, And You Must Release our own results.
 

They Have backed it up with Protest in Kano and Sokoto(two power house of the north), and we also gathered that Kaduna, and Borno is also boiling with protests today.

If this continues, the 2013 UTME Would be re-marked as was the 2009 incidence.
 

Would you support the Re-marking?

 

Footnotes:

My 2cents though! Just because many people failed they want it remarked. The problem is in the poor quality of the education system which has been represented in the results. These guys should better protest for an improvement in the quality of education.
 

GEJ Takes to Social Media to Pay Tribute to Late Yaradua

Three years ago, I lost a friend and a brother and Nigeria lost a great Servant Leader and an apostle of the Rule of Law in the person of President Umaru Musa Yar'adua. He may be gone, but his legacies remain indelibly with us. We remember you today not for your passing but for your life of service anchored on humility and good works. We pray that Almighty Allah grants you al jannah firdaus. GEJ.

Source: Goodluck Jonathan Facebook wall

Amaechi is a Traitor - Asari Dokubo.

Following closely to the ongoing saga that centers around Governor Amaechi of Rivers state and his political party, PDP; there seems to be so many events unfolding as each day comes to light. At first, it was among the party's big wits, later it involved the President, now some minor opinions are echoing all over the place. So much drama it seems.   Now, leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, Alhaji Mujaheed Dokubo-Asari, has described Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State as a traitor. According to him, since the governor joined forces with the North to work against President Goodluck Jonathan, he has betrayed the people of the Niger Delta. Dokubo-Asari, who spoke with journalists on Friday in Abuja, on Jonathan-Amaechi rift among other issues, said the 2015 general elections would “define and decide” the existence of Nigeria.

Politics: Yoruba Group Rejects Buhari’s Offer To Step Down For Anyone In APC.

A few days after former Head of State and the defeated candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in the 2011 Presidential election, Maj Gen Muhammadu Buhari, offered to drop his ambition of vying for the presidency if a better candidate emerges, a socio-political group, Yoruba Ronu Leadership Forum, has expressed regret for his position.
In a statement by its Secretary General, Akin Malaolu, the group said that if Buhari steps down for another candidate, the alliance that brought about the All Progressives Congress (APC) would fail.