Pharmacists Council seals 236 pharmacies, medicine stores in Ekiti

Pharmacists Council of Nigeria has sealed 236 pharmaceutical shops in Ekiti out of the 240 inspected for offences ranging from illegal sale of medicines and operating without the supervision of a pharmacist. The PCN Deputy Director and Head of Enforcement, Mr. Stephen Esumobi, who briefed journalists in Ado Ekiti on the outcome of the exercise said 12 pharmacies and 224 patent medicine shops were affected. According to him, the remaining four premises cleared by the Council during the raid still have problems ranging from poor documentation and poor storage condition of medicines. He described the situation in Ekiti as “worrisome” calling on the State Government to assist in bringing the situation under control. The PCN boss expressed worry that a top government official led the protest against the activities of the Council while the task force teams were carrying out the inspection. He said, “This is the only state where we met this kind of resistance. The manner in which the people (Patent Medicine Sellers) protested suggested that it was a premeditated attack. “They threw dangerous objects into our office in Ekiti and broke the burglar glass in protest. They threw raw eggs. We deliberately withdrew from the exercise as a responsible organisation because it could have led to a bloodshed if the Police were not professionals in handling the protest. “It surprised me that people had to protest in that manner and numbers. It showed that it was a premeditated action. We are not out to make life difficult for them, but to ensure compliance to simple rules. As a regulatory body, we cannot allow the sale of drugs that can kill innocent people. “We learnt that some Pharmacists are compromising with them and whoever is caught will be deregistered,” he threatened. Esumobi urged the State Ministry of Health to continue to engage drug dealers in constant seminars and workshops to safe the people untimely death. “Some of the registered premises are selling beyond their approved list or keeping and stocking highly ethical and controlled substances in a manner that violates laid down rules and regulations to the detriment of the citizens. “If this trend is allowed to continue, it will impact negatively on the health of the citizens of the state. This exercise is an attempt to reverse this ugly situation.”

I stand by my comment on Soyinka, says Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that he maintains his view, as expressed in his three-volume autobiography, My Watch, that Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka has better expertise in wine matters than in political analysis. In the book, Obasanjo wrote, “For Wole, no one can be good, nor can anything be spot-on politically except that which emanates from him or is ordained by him. His friends and loved ones will always be right and correct no matter what they do or fail to do. He is surely a better wine connoisseur and a more successful aparo (guinea fowl) hunter than a political critic.” However, last year December, shortly after the book went public, Soyinka had, in a piece titled ‘Watch And Pray, Watch And Prey’, vehemently protested that description of him, calling Obasanjo an expert liar, who lies to boost his ego. But in an interview granted a private television station, Channels, on a programme tagged ‘Book Club’, Obasanjo, while holding on to his words, said what he wrote about Soyinka was purely his view, adding that Soyinka did not have to agree with. The former President, who added that he did not write the book to please anybody, also disclosed that there is a lingering feud between him and the Nobel laureate, who, he said, had vowed that the differences between the two of them would not be resolved on earth. Obasanjo, however, said he had told Soyinka that, in that case, whichever of them gets to heaven first should wait at the gate to welcome the other. He said, “Wole Soyinka is a gifted man, I have always acknowledged that but he is a bad politician and I have also always said that; and that is my own point of view. He may agree with it, he may not agree with it. “But having said that, I also, in my book, bring out Wole Soyinka as I see him and that’s my own judgment; that’s my own perspective of him. He may agree, he may not agree but anybody can bring out his own perspective of me. “For instance, I know that if I want somebody to give me the best wine, one of the people I will go to is Wole Soyinka and I know he has a taste for good wine and I said that in the book.” Obasanjo also dismissed a rejoinder to his book titled ‘Watch the Watcher’, written by the Publicity Secretary of the Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin, saying the book is not worth to be kept in anybody’s library. Obasanjo, who said Odumakin was paid by former President Goodluck Jonathan to write the book, said he could not be worried because Odumakin did not write anything that will last. Obasanjo said, “Yinka Odumakin was hired to do the hatchet job and he did it. “It was part of the campaign of Goodluck Jonathan and he did serve the purpose of Goodluck Jonathan. But whether Goodluck Jonathan gained from it or Yinka Odumakin gained from it, well, it’s now left to history. “But how should I worry about that? That Yinka Odumakin was hired by Goodluck Jonathan to do a job, which he did and Yinka Odumakin didn’t write anything to last. He wrote current affairs, not a book that anybody will seriously want to keep in his library and that’s the way I see it. And a book should be something that somebody wants to keep in the library.”

PDP condemns Ambode’s N39bn loan

The Lagos State chapter of Peoplea Democratic Party has strongly berated Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for hastily obtaining a N39.4bn loan from the World Bank. In a statement issued by its Publicity Secretary, Taofik Gani, on Sunday, the major opposition party in Lagos also advised the governor to rescind the decision pending the book check on all previously obtained loans in the state, especially by the last administration under Babatunde Fashola. This is just as the party also described Ambode “as weak to fight corruption and block leakages” in the state with the alleged continual services of the tax consultant firm, Alpha Beta. According to the statement, the firm is allegedly milking the state of its revenue. “The party’s positions are on the heels of the reports of another World Bank loan and the recent announcement by the governor to scrap the state’s finance and administration department while renaming its administration and human resources department, the statement said in part. The PDP noted that “the history of loans in the state is very embarrassing and has plunged the state into local and foreign debts running into a trillion naira.” “Why indeed will a state still run after World Bank loan when such state realises an average of N27bn naira as monthly internally generated revenue? Governor Ambode should have a rethink and be prudent,” it said.

Suicide bomber kills 15 in Yobe market

15 killed, 47 others injured in suicide bomb attack on Sunday Market, Damaturu, Toyin Gbadegeshin, Police Public Relations Officer in Yobe, confirms. Details later. . .

Three policemen face trial for assaulting pregnant woman

Three policemen who assaulted an eight-month pregnant woman in Lagos are currently undergoing orderly room trial, the Lagos State Police Command said on Saturday. The command’s spokesman, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, who made the disclosure to the News Agency of Nigeria, said they were arrested on Tuesday after a complaint about their alleged human rights infringement. He said the law would take its cause on any member of the police force that committed any crime, particularly human rights abuse but did not disclose the names of the policemen. NAN learnt that the woman lost her pregnancy after the assault. Sources had told NAN that the woman, who whose name was not disclosed had complication as a result of the assault. “The policemen were said to have sprayed tear gas on the woman in her car following an argument arising from the gridlock on the road. “She was rushed to one Safe Hands Hospital at Old Ojo Road, Amuwo Odophin, where she was allegedly operated upon but the baby died less than 48 hours later. “Apparently the gas she inhaled resulted in the complication and the subsequent surgery. “The three policemen in question are attached to the Satelite Town Police Division,’’ the sources said.

We’ll protect Nigerians in South Africa – NU

The President of the Nigeria Union in South Africa, Mr. Ikechukwu Anyene, says the body is determined to protect the interest and welfare of Nigerians in that country. Anyene told the News Agency of Nigeria in Pretoria, South Africa, that the union had implemented some key programmes aimed at uniting and protecting Nigerians in South Africa. He said the body was particularly interested in ensuring the unity of Nigerians in various provinces of South Africa to enable them speak with one voice. “The present executive of the Nigeria Union has opened new offices in some wards in the provinces. “The idea is to carry our people along and ensure that decisions and issues concerning Nigerians get to them at the ward level. “We are happy to know that some key programmes like the identity card, monthly publication known as NaiRand News and opening of our National Secretariat have been carried out,” he said. According to Anyene, Nigerians in South Africa now have one identity card with bio data of the country’s passport embedded on it, while the monthly publication will contain stories about Nigerians. “In addition to all these, there is a permanent secretariat where Nigerians can easily access information about their welfare and policies or issues affecting them,” he said. Anyene, however, advised members of the union who lost in the recent election to continue contributing their quota to its improvement. He said the election was not a do-or-die affair, stressing that such members could still win in future. The president also urged such members to stop promoting ethnic sentiments in the union as the body was for all Nigerians.

Female suicide bomber kills 14 in Cameroon

At least 14 people have been killed after a suicide bomber detonated an explosive at a popular night spot in the town of Maroua in northern Cameroon, three days after two attacks there, authorities say. Midjiyawa Bakari, governor of the far northern region of Cameroon, told The Associated Press news agency that authorites were still counting the dead and wounded following Saturday night’s explosion in the Pont Vert district. A local official, who was reportedly at the scene of the attack, told Reuters that the suicide bomber was a woman. While there was no immediate claim of responsibility, fighters from Boko Haram have been blamed for scores of attacks in the region this year. On Wednesday this week, in separate attacks in the town, explosives worn by two young girls detonated, killing at least 20 people and injuring at least another 22. One of the girls was at a central market and the other was at the adjoining Hausa neighbourhood when the explosives detonated. Authorities later told the Associated Press that one of the girls, aged nine, was disguised as a begger before the explosives went off. Boko Haram, which was founded in neighbouring Nigeria, has vowed to attack Cameroon because the country has supported the Nigerian military’s mission to defeat the group.

Obama criticised for pushing gay rights in Africa

U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday delivered a firm message on gay rights during his landmark visit to Kenya, Africa, where homosexuality is outlawed, triggering strong criticism for apparently imposing his values on the continent. Obama arrived Friday in Kenya, his father’s birthplace, starting his first visit in seven years since he was elected president to the East African nation that considers him a local son. Ignoring cultural differences between the Western world and Africa, where many religiously conservative countries do not consider gay rights an issue, Obama called for gay rights, comparing homophobia to racial discrimination during his talks with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. Obama, who started to embrace gay marriage in 2012, told Africans that discrimination against gays was like treating people differently because of race, drawing on his own background as an African-American. He said he is “painfully aware of the history when people are treated differently under the law.” Kenyatta was unmoved, however, saying gay rights “is not really an issue on the foremost mind of Kenyans.” “There are some things that we must admit we don’t share, our culture, our societies don’t accept. It is very difficult for us to impose on people what they themselves do not accept,” he said. Some African rights groups had urged Obama to tread cautiously on the issue and a number of Kenyan political leaders had warned Obama that any overtures on gay rights would not be welcomed in Kenya, where anti-gay laws have broad public approval and homosexuality is seen as immoral, punishable by up to 14 years in prison. In 2014, the United States stopped some of its aid to Uganda due to the African country’s move to toughen prison sentences for gays.

Gbajabiamila’s ex-loyalists accept Dogara’s offer

Some ex- loyalists of former Minority Leader, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila and members of the All Progressives Congress Loyalists Group, on Saturday declared support for the House of Representatives Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara. The lawmakers claimed that they had realised it was better to place the interest of the country ahead of all other considerations to accept the positions of the principal officers of the House as proposed by Dogara. Gbajabiamila who is believed to have the backing of the Loyalists Group, had for long insisted that the office of Majority Leader must be zoned to the South-West and be held by him. Members of the group who attended a joint news briefing in Abuja with the Speaker’s group were Mr. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa (Kano State); Mr. Mohammed Monguno (Borno State); and Mr. Pally Iriase (Edo State). The APC leadership, in a June 23 letter to Dogara, had recommended to zone the majority leader to the South-West; deputy leader to North-West; chief whip to North-East and the deputy whip to South-South. However, the Speaker opposed it, citing alleged violation of federal character principle, and instead, proposed to zone the majority leader to the North-West. Dogara also zoned the deputy leader to the North-Central; chief whip to the South-South; and deputy whip to the South-East. By the Speaker’s proposal, Ado-Doguwa will now become the majority leader, while a lawmaker from Kogi State, Mr. Buba Jibrin, will become the deputy leader. Mr. Pally Iriase from Edo State, will become the chief whip, while the position of deputy whip which goes to the South-East will be occupied by Mr. Chike Okafor. Ado-Doguwa, Monguno and Iriase were all Gbajabiamila’s men, but who had made U-turn to back Dogara. They now subscribe to a new tune and group, “Equity Forum.” Dogara is set to name the principal officers on Tuesday when the House would have reconvened from its current four-week break. Speaking on behalf of the loyalists group, Iriase claimed that their change of mind was informed by the realisation that the members had to comply with Section 14 of the 1999 Constitution, which dealt with federal character. Iriase added, “Let Nigerians know that the crisis in the House has been resolved. “Based on the letter the speaker wrote to the APC, under Section 13 of the constitution, he is to ensure compliance with Section 14 (3) of the constitution. “We have, therefore, accepted the Speaker’s proposal on the equitable distribution of the principal positions. “The majority of APC members in the loyalists group have accepted these positions for the sake of promoting equity.” According to Iriase, the loyalists group won a major victory over Dogara for being able to produce the majority leader, deputy leader and chief whip. Ado-Doguwa also spoke at the session, saying he backed the position of the group as explained by Iriase. He said he accepted to be the House leader because he realised the group must give up fighting for the sake of rescuing the country’s democracy from further crises. “We reached a point that we just agreed that the interest of the whole nation supersedes any other. “Where we are now is okay for us as a group and we must sheathe our swords and move on,” he added. On his part, Monguno looked weighed down when he said that by agreeing to team up with the Speaker, he knew he had become one of the biggest losers. Monguno had wanted to be the Seaker, but stepped down for Gbajabiamila. He also contested the post of deputy leader and lost to the current occupant, Mr. Yusuf Lasun. The APC later proposed him to be the chief whip but he also agreed to swap the position with Iriase, who was initially nominated as deputy whip by the party. His case worsened when Dogara’s proposal excluded his zone, North-East, from the four contested principal offices. “Ordinary, I should have been the last person to be part of this meeting, considering the fact that, all along, I have been the one making the sacrifice. “Ultimately, I have become the loser in all of this. But, for the interest of the nation and the House, I have accepted to work with this arrangement,” Monguno stated. The spokesman of the House Dogara, Mr. Abdulmumin Jibrin, had also confirmed that the new development signalled the end of the crisis. Jibrin promised that the loyalists group, particularly Gbajabiamila and Monguno, would be adequately compensated in the distribution of key committees in the days ahead. He said, “We have commenced collection of signatures which has reached advanced stage to affirm the Dogara formula. “All other interests, including those excluded from the principal officers, specifically, Gbajabiamila and Mongunu, will be duly accommodated with commensurate responsibility to serve. “Since the Speaker has about 200 positions to share out, many members will have the opportunity to serve the country.” However, Gbajabiamila was not at the session. SUNDAY PUNCH made fruitless efforts to get Gbajabiamila to comment on the development on Saturday. He neither answered calls made to his telephones nor returned our correspondent’s calls. He had also not replied to any of the text messages sent to him on the matter as of 3.28pm. Spokesman of the APC loyalists group, Mr. Nasiru Zango-Daura, however issued a statement, saying the group would not support the sharing arrangement adopted by Ado-Doguwa, Monguno and Iriase. The one-paragraph statement read, “The APC Loyalists Group hereby denies and unequivocally rejects any purported endorsement of a so -called formula on the APC leadership in the House of Representatives. Any member of our group who claims to be part of this arrangement acts on his own and not on behalf of the group.” Meanwhile, there is a suit fixed for hearing at an Abuja Federal High Court on Tuesday on the same crisis. The suit, which was filed by two APC members, is seeking an injunction stopping Dogara from naming any principal officers other than those recommended by the party. Copyright PUNCH.

Reasons for Vaginal Bleeding During or After Sex

It can be alarming to finish having sex and find you are bleeding. Bleeding after sex refers to having vaginal bleeding during or just after sexual intercourse when you're not menstruating. This type of bleeding happens most often in women between the ages of 20 and 40. Vaginal bleeding after sex is not something to take lightly. There is a laundry list of possible causes. Here’s a rundown of some of the reasons for vaginal bleeding after sex. A woman’s cervix, the narrow, lower end of the uterus, is usually the source of bleeding brought on by vaginal sex. This can be particularly true before menopause. If the cells of your cervix become inflamed or otherwise abnormal, sexual intercourse can cause enough friction to cause bleeding. A woman may have suffered injuries to the vaginal wall or opening to the vagina during intercourse. Sometimes oral contraceptives or hormone replacement therapy can lead to bleeding after sex. Lowered estrogen levels in perimenopausal or postmenopausal women may cause the lining of the vagina to become thinned and easily inflamed or infected. These changes can be tied in with vaginal bleeding after intercourse. Bleeding after vaginal sex may be an initial indication of endometrial or cervical cancer. However, more than likely, the cause is due to another condition. Sometimes the cause cannot be determined, but it's very important to be diagnosed by a physician to rule out cancer or any other diseases. Bleeding after vaginal sex is not normal, but in most cases, it's the result of harmless, treatable cervical changes, not cancer. Sexually transmitted diseases or infections like gonorrhea and chlamydia can be a cause of vaginal bleeding after intercourse. Inflammation or swelling and infection of the vagina or cervix such as vaginitis or cervicitis can also bring about after-sex bleeding. Another possible cause for bleeding after vaginal sex may be pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). Uterine fibroid tumors or polyps on the cervix or vaginal wall may also lead to vaginal bleeding during or after intercourse. Women with uterine polyps are known to experience vaginal bleeding after sex. Keep in mind these tumors are usually benign and rarely malignant. Anytime you experience bleeding during or after vaginal sex when you are not menstruating, it's important to visit your doctor or health care provider to determine the cause. Getting an accurate diagnosis is critical. Even if the bleeding is due to something minor, it’s most likely treatable and better for your peace of mind. Sources: About.com Health’s Disease and Condition, MayoClinic.com, WebMD.com, MedicineNet.com

Timaya raped me — US lady

A US–based lady on Instagram has accused popular musician and self-styled Egberi Papa 1 of Bayelsa, Enetimi Odon otherwise called Timaya, of rape. The allegation was made on Thursday in a series of posts on Instagram. The posts sent under the identity, ‘ExposingtherealTimaya,’ consisted of screenshots and audio recordings from previous conversations between the duo, and continued till Saturday. The allegation sparked mixed reactions from the musician’s fans. Timaya, it was alleged, committed the act while in the US for a show. One of the posts by the lady read: “You are a rapist. I will make sure the world knows it. You might want to cancel your show and get out of Atlanta because I am going to the police.” She followed up with a reply from Timaya which read: “I don’t hurt people, but if you want me dead, then it is fine. I leave you to God. No problem, I will leave the town as you advised; I am taking myself off the show.” But it seemed the lady’s anger sparked off when Timaya did not keep to his word as he went ahead with the show, contrary to his previous reply. Furious, she wrote: “Timaya what you did was wrong, and you know it. Just because you are a star does not give you the right. Yet you still went ahead and did your show while I was hurting.” In yet another post, the lady also accused Timaya of threatening her life. According to her, it was not her intention to expose him, but his threats forced her to do so, adding that he was not remorseful for taking advantage of her and threatening her. In response to the threat, the lady whose identity is unknown, wrote, “Who are you; that’s a threat. This is not Nigeria, you will never see the light of the day behind bars.” Reacting to the accusation via an email interview exchange with our correspondent on Saturday, Timaya denied the allegation, saying it was what happened was a consensual sex between two adults. He said, “She is a fan who follows me on Instagram. She started by sending direct messages and if you looked at the screenshots my manager released, you would see that on many occasions running into weeks, I wouldn’t reply her. But when I got to Atlanta, we agreed to meet. “There was no rape and you can deduce this from the recordings she released. There was consensual sex, no doubt. Or, how would you describe a woman who travelled down to my hotel and made out with me, only to start a tirade? She is just being mischievous.” Regretting his communication with the lady, he added, “I am still dealing with it. I have two girls and it is better I deal with the issue decisively now so they do not grow up and be taunted by what may be perceived as my wrongdoing. “Necessary steps are being taken my team and I am sure that in no time, we will all know the truth because no sinner will go unpunished.”

Tinubu behind Toyin Saraki’s EFCC ordeal — Sen. Waku

A former Vice- Chairman and member, Board of Trustees of the Arewa Consultative Forum, Senator Joseph Waku, has accused the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, of allegedly masterminding the petition that has changed the wife of the Senate President, Mrs. Toyin Saraki, to be invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. According to him, the decision was followed by a promise to help secure a second term for the EFCC Chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde. But Tinubu said Waku should not be taken seriously, as he was broke and needed “a quick fix.” Waku, a leader of the APC, in a statement sent to journalists in Abuja on Saturday, described a situation where Tinubu would be allegedly using his personal relationship with the EFCC Chairman “to embarrass and torment fellow party members” as unfortunate. Waku, in the statement, claimed that his findings showed that Tinubu personally gave the petition to Lamorde under the guise that he was submitting it on behalf of the APC leadership to punish Saraki for working against the party’s leadership on the choice of National Assembly leaders. He said, “I have chosen to speak out on this issue and make my findings on this issue known to the public. After days of painstaking enquiries, I discovered that both Tinubu and Lamorde maintain a mutually beneficial relationship since the days of Lamorde as the EFCC Director of Operations and based in Lagos between 2003 and 2007, when Tinubu was equally the Governor of Lagos. “I also discovered from my findings in EFCC that the so-called petition against Mrs. Saraki was personally given to Lamorde by Tinubu under the guise that he was submitting the petition on behalf of the APC leadership to punish Saraki for working against the party’s leadership on the choice of National Assembly leaders. This was followed by a promise to help secure a second term for Lamorde as EFCC chairman.” The controversial Benue State politician, who once called for military coup few years after the return of democracy, expressed his concern that EFCC “is again being dragged into the political arena to settle political scores like some years ago.” But when SUNDAY PUNCH contacted Tinubu’s Media Adviser, Mr. Sunday Dare, he said, “No one should pay Senator Waku any attention. We know when he is broke and needs a quick fix.” He added, “What he has said is fit for the trash. No one should dignify Waku’s tales by moonlight with any attention or ever take him serious. “For any serious individual with a reputation to protect, Waku is a very poor hire. Waku is an individual with no shred of reputation and a political pariah in his home state. “Tinubu does not run or dictate to the EFCC. And like countless others, Tinubu had also been investigated by the EFCC several times in the past. Tinubu has no hand in the travails of anyone because he is right now very busy, working with others of like minds on how the APC political agenda can set sail as quickly as possible. That is the urgency of now and not the tantrums of the likes of Waku.” Also, some members of the House of Representatives have kicked against Saraki’s wife’s invitation by the EFCC, who is billed to answer the invitation on Tuesday. In a statement signed by the lawmakers representing Lokoja/Kogi Federal Constituency, Umar Buba Jibril, and another representing Okehi/Adavi Federal Constituency, Muhammad Kabiru Ajanah, on behalf of 25 others in Abuja on Saturday, described the invitation as “highly suspicious.” The group said while it would continue to encourage the EFCC to carry out its legal mandate, it was optimistic that the highly professional anti-graft body, “will not lend itself as a tool to propagate the political agenda of any person or group.” The lawmakers added that they held strongly that the days of using the EFCC to harass and intimidate political opponents were gone, warning that, “We must never return to that dark and dangerous side in our polity.” Several telephone calls, emails and SMS messages to the spokesman of the EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, on Saturday for his response to the allegation were not replied. However, an Abuja-based Non-Governmental Organisation, Society for Exemplary Leadership and Transparency, in a statement issued in Abuja on Saturday, dismissed the Like Minds Senators’ political insinuation into the invitation of Mrs Saraki by the EFCC. The group, in the statement signed by Mr. Emmanuel Johnson, asked why the senators could see the invitation as one from a legally constituted agency of the state instead of their “parochial angle.” It said, “It is now clearer than before that this set of senators are, indeed, hindrance to transparent governance promised Nigerians by the APC, and they will scuttle legislations and policies design to enthrone accountability and transparency.” The NGO reminded the senators that it would have been more altruistic if they had also questioned a similar invitation of the daughter of the late former President Umaru Yar’Adua and wife of a former Kebbi State Governor, Hajia Zainab Dakingari by the EFCC. “In view of these, we hasten to ask: why were you silent and did not mention ‘political motivation’ when, recently, other former state governors such as Murtala Nyako (Adamawa) and Sule Lamido (Jigawa) were invited to account for their years in office?” The statement added. SOURCE: PUNCH

Police confirm Senate forgery

The Nigeria Police have concluded their probe into the forgery of the Senate Standing Order and given a copy of the report to President Muhammadu Buhari, SUNDAY PUNCH can authoritatively report. The President received a copy of the report last week, a highly reliable source in the presidency told one of our correspondents on Saturday. The Police report confirmed that the Standing Rules used to inaugurate the 8th Assembly were forged, our source said. In the report, the Police recommended the prosecution of those found culpable of forging the orders, which had been used in the controversial election of the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, and his deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, on June 9, 2015. The report was said to have indicted the management of the National Assembly, especially the Clerk, Salisu Maikasuwa and recommended the prosecution of the suspects. Acting on a petition by Senator Sulaiman Hunkuyi (All Progressives Congress, Kaduna State), the Police had on July 6 quizzed Ekweremadu and Maikasuwa over an alleged forgery of the standing orders. The petition alleged that some parts of the 2015 Senate Orders were different from the one ratified by the 6th Senate in 2010, which was used by the 7th Senate, as Standing Orders 2011. The Police, on the strength of the petition, had subsequently quizzed the leadership of the 7th Senate, including former Senate President, Senator David Mark; his deputy (now Saraki’s deputy), Ike Ekweremadu; former Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba; and the former Chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Senator Ita Enang. The Clerk to the National Assembly, Maikasuwa, who is the custodian of the Senate Standing Order was also invited for questioning by the police. According to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, handed over copy of the investigative report to Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja last Sunday. The source said, “I can confirm to you that the President has a copy of the Police’s investigation report on the Senate forgery and I can also authoritatively tell you that the report confirmed that the Senate rules were forged. Notable among those recommended for prosecution in the National Assembly is the Clerk because he is the one that keeps the Standing Orders.” When asked if the Directorate of Public Prosecution had received a copy of the Police report, the source said he couldn’t confirm that. SUNDAY PUNCH’s study of the controversial 2015 Senate Standing Orders, Rule 3, as contained on page four of the document, which has to do with the election of presiding officers, had shown that it is different from the 2011 Senate Order. Rules 3(e) (i) and (ii) have been included in the 2015 document to accommodate electronic voting and secret ballot, whereas secret ballot and ballot papers were not specifically mentioned in the 2011 Standing Orders. The Senate Order 3 (e) (ii) of 2011 states, “Voting shall be conducted by the Clerks-at-the Table, using the Division List of the Senate with the Tellers in attendance. The Clerk of the Senate shall submit the result of the division to the Clerk of the National Assembly. “(iii) The Clerk shall then declare the Senator-elect who has received the greater number of votes, elected as President of the Senate.” The same section in the 2015 Senate Order however reads, “Voting by secret ballot which shall be conducted by the Clerk-at-Table using the list of the Senators-elect of the Senate, who shall each be given a ballot paper to cast his vote with the proposers and seconder as Teller. The Clerk of the Senate shall submit the result of the voting to the Clerk of the National Assembly who shall then declare Senator-elect who has received the highest number of votes as Senate President- elect.” Apart from the ‘alteration’ to the procedure for election, Order 95 of the 2011 rule on the chairmanship and membership of the committees is also different in the 2015 version. In the 2011 document, provisions in Order 95 read, “The membership of all committees shall not be less than 11 and not more than 13 senators. (2) No senator shall serve in more than three committees (3) No committee chairman shall serve in more than one other committee.” However, a new insertion in the amended version reads, “The appointment of Senators as Chairmen and members of committees shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the six geopolitical zones of the country and there shall be no predominance of senators from a few geo- political zones.” In SUNDAY PUNCH’s exclusive report on the scandal, which was published on July 19, some senators who served in the 7th Senate had disowned the 2015 edition of the Senate Standing Orders (as amended). Similarly, members of the current 8th Senate across parties had also denied being part of any amendment process. The senators, who were from both the ruling All Progressives Congress and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, said they were not aware of any amendments to the 2011 Senate Standing Orders. For instance, Senator Victor Lar (PDP, Plateau- South) had declared, “As of the time we left the (7th) Senate, there were no alterations (to the Senate Standing Orders).” Also, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business in 7th Senate, Senator Ita Enang, stated that the Standing Orders that was used and closed within the 7th Senate was the Standing Orders that should have been used for the inauguration of the 8th Senate. Enang, who was in the PDP when he was in the Senate but later defected to the APC, had stated, “I made proposal for amendments between 2011 and 2015, I laid the report on the floor, but we did not consider the report. We did not amend the Standing Orders. “Before we left, I had approved the reprinting of the Standing Orders and the reprinting did not include inserting anything which was not in the old one. Reprinting is, simply reproduce what we have because there are no more copies.” Some senior legal practitioners had told SUNDAY PUNCH that forging a document like the Standing Rule of the Senate was a felony, which, according to them, is a criminal offence against the state that attracts a penalty of three years jail term, a fine or both. However, when contacted on Saturday, the Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Emmanuel Ojukwu, did not confirm if the President had received a copy of the report. “The Police are still working on the report. Investigation is still going on,” he said. Director (Information), Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. Charles Nwodo, responding to an inquiry by one of our correspondents on Saturday night also said he was not aware of the if the DPP had received a copy of the report. SOURCE: PUNCH

Buhari recalls ambassadors

President Muhammadu Buhari has recalled Nigerian ambassadors in foreign countries. SUNDAY PUNCH gathered on Saturday that the ambassadors were recalled as part of efforts to reposition the country’s foreign policies. When contacted, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, confirmed the recall. Adesina however said only non-career ambassadors are affected in the recall. “Yes, I can confirm to you that non-career ambassadors have been recalled by the Federal Government,” the presidential spokesman said.

NDLEA sets to probe Davido over video

Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency has set up a panel to investigate a music video released by Nigerian artiste, Davido, in which he displayed a substance suspected to be hard drugs. The video of his track entitled, ‘Fans mi’, in which he featured an American rapper and member of the Maybach Group, Meek Mill, showed Davido with a briefcase filled with dollars and another bag filled with parcels of a substance suspected to be hard drugs. The Director of Public Affairs of the NDLEA, Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju, told Crystal rainbow's P.I on Saturday that the investigative panel might invite the hip-hop artiste for questioning if the need arose. He said, “I am aware that a panel is working on it (the video). The panel was set up soon after the video was released few weeks ago. “When our attention was drawn to it, we viewed it and we discovered that it was improper. There is no moral lesson in it and he was just advertising drug trafficking. “In the video, he exchanged a brief case supposedly containing narcotics for dollars. He was displaying affluence in the video. If it (the plot) had climaxed in an arrest and possible detention, we would have congratulated him for partnering with us. But the way he portrayed drug trafficking in the video was a means to an end, which the end is a life of affluence which we disagree with.” Ofoyeju said the anti-drug agency would conduct a full-scale investigation into the making of the video and to confirm whether it was censored before its release. The NDLEA spokesperson further said, “We are looking at the issue holistically. We believe that there should be a body that was supposed to censor videos before they go out. Those are the things we want to investigate and verify. Was the video submitted for approval? If it was submitted, why was it approved, with such content?” NDLEA had in June 2013 said controversial Nigerian actress, Tonto Dikeh, risked a minimum of 15 years in jail for encouraging the consumption of hemp. Dikeh had on June 28, 2013, posted photographs of a wrap of hemp and grains of the weed formed into the letters, ‘Happy birthday POKO.’ She also posted a photograph of herself and added the inscription, ‘Mi smoke ganja mi smoke weed while my hatez smoke ma gossip.’ Her picture is a close-up of her face that seemed to depict her in a high state. As a result, the agency said it was keeping tabs on more celebrities in Nollywood and the music industry for drug trafficking, abuse and links with drug cartels.

Multiple blasts rock Jos ECWA church

Thousands of worshipers escaped death by the whiskers as four powerful blasts rocked Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) in Tudun Wada area of Jos North Local Government of Plateau State. The blasts were said to have gone off in quick succession at about 8am Sunday morning. No death was however recorded. Details later

BoT chair: Dark days ahead for APC

The battle for the chairmanship of the All Progressives Congress Board of Trustees may be a fierce one among former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; former interim National Chairman of the APC, Bisi Akande; and a chieftain of the party, Audu Ogbeh, writes TOBI AWORINDE Article 13.2 (X) of the APC Constitution (October 2014 as amended), which deals with the powers of the BoT, stipulates: “The Board of Trustees shall elect its chairman, deputy chairman, secretary and other officers as it deems necessary, and formulate its own rules and procedures to regulate its meetings and activities.” This must have prompted the National Executive Committee of the All Progressives Congress, to ratify proposals made for the inclusion of some members of the party’s Board of Trustees. No sooner had the NEC approved proposals made by the party’s National Legal Adviser, Dr. Muiz Banire, that some contenders emerged for the chairmanship of the BoT. Last Monday, it was gathered that three party chieftains desired to give it a shot. They are: former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar; a former interim national chairman of the APC, Bisi Akande; and an ex-national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Audu Ogbeh. When asked in a recent interview with SUNDAY PUNCH, if amending the party’s constitution may hold the key to resolving the ongoing leadership crisis at the National Assembly, Ogbeh, who is the former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, and also a founding member of the APC, expressed disappointment in the party’s delay in inaugurating the BoT, adding that the board is the answer to the party’s woes. Ogbeh said, “It isn’t the constitution that is the real problem. Constitutions are run by human beings. We have our constitution; we have a certain understanding among ourselves about what we should do and shouldn’t do. I think there are some managerial lapses somewhere. “For instance, we have not yet formally inaugurated our Board of Trustees. What are we waiting for? This is the kind of crisis that the Board of Trustees should have taken over and resolved and not the National Working Committee or the National Executive Committee of the party. Why is the Board of Trustees still not in place?” The party’s NEC, which is its highest decision- making body, reportedly took nominations for membership of the BoT from the various state chapters during a NEC meeting which held penultimate Friday. On June 20, Saturday PUNCH had reported that a fresh power tussle between Atiku and Akande was on the horizon over the party’s BoT chairmanship. According to findings, the tussle is an episode in the supremacy war between power blocs in the APC. Atiku and the National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, were reported to have been the primary contenders in a fierce battle to control the party. With these two camps, clinching the BoT chairmanship would go a long way in assisting them to control the party. Both camps were said to have started reaching out to members of the board, who will elect the chairman. Further investigations showed that Akande had the backing of Tinubu, who is reportedly angry with Atiku’s role in the National Assembly leadership elections. The struggle for the chairmanship of the APC’s BoT, it was learnt, became intense following the inauguration of the eighth Assembly which witnessed the controversial emergence of Bukola Saraki as Senate President and Yakubu Dogara as Speaker. They were said to have won with the support of Atiku. Tinubu and the party’s National Working Committee, on the other hand, were voting for Ahmad Lawan for the Senate presidency and Femi Gbajabiamila for the House speakership. Political observers have since highlighted that Saraki’s election would enable the Atiku camp take control of the party’s National Executive Committee since the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives are members of the NEC. However, Tinubu is believed to be in control of the party’s NWC, as many of its members are said to be loyal to him. Thus, the contest for the control of the BoT is clearly between both camps. Atiku, who has held the number two office in the country for two consecutive terms and contested in the party’s first ever presidential primary which produced President Muhammadu Buhari as the APC candidate for the March 28 election, is widely regarded as a political heavyweight in the APC. Pundits, however, note that Atiku’s chances are slim. The executive chairman of the Coalition against Corrupt Leaders, Debo Adeniran, in an interview with SUNDAY PUNCH, argued that Atiku was not as all-embracing as the job of BoT chairmanship demands. Recalling Atiku’s political history with concern, the activist said the APC may not last long with the ex-vice president at the helm. He said, “When we look at Atiku, especially with regard to the controversy surrounding his activities as vice-president, he has not yet convinced Nigerians that he didn’t soil his hands. Moreover, the kind of divisive politics that he plays may not put him in a good position to be the best BoT chairman that can satisfy the yearnings of rank-and-file members of the party. “One would not want the ruling party to succumb to the whims and caprices of somebody who already has an open agenda that once was hidden. We must not forget the influence of the Peoples Democratic Movement in the PDP and the prominent role it played in the breakup of the PDP. The same thing happened when the New PDP emerged. That means that with an Atiku in the saddle, the APC may not last the tenure of the current regime before they break it into pieces. “The divisive politics of Atiku puts him at a disadvantage. I don’t see him as having a sectional agenda; his agenda cuts across, but he plays opportunistic politics and that is not fair. People like Saraki and Dogara need somebody who is courageous enough to confront them. Atiku is hand in glove with them, and if he becomes BoT chair, he will tolerate whatever they do.” Similarly, a professor of political science in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Onyebuchi Ezeani, agreed with Adeniran, adding that Atiku could not be held to the commitment of the party’s founding members because he formed the party late. “Most of the groundwork that was laid for the party’s formation was already there long before he arrived. As a result, I don’t think he has what it takes to hold such a position. Atiku is what I call a latecomer,” the professor opined. But the Director-General of the Atiku Media Office, Mr. Paul Ibe, when contacted on Monday, said the former vice-president “is eminently qualified to occupy the position.” He added, “We are not aware that the APC has thrown open the race for the chairmanship of the party’s BoT. But if, in the wisdom of the party, it elects to appoint (Atiku) Abubakar as chairman of its BoT, the Turaki Adamawa will be amenable and well- disposed to it because he is eminently qualified to offer his services to the party at that level.” For Akande, the battle for a top job in the APC is not entirely new. On June 11, 2013, the erstwhile national chairman of the now defunct Action Congress of Nigeria was reported to have been in a fierce contest with Tom Ikimi, another chieftain of the party, for the position of interim national chairman of the newly formed APC. The battle between Akande and Ikimi followed the decision by stakeholders of the APC — a merger between the ACN, the Congress for Progressive Change, and the All Nigeria Peoples Party — to cede the chairmanship to the ACN. But the APC, following a meeting behind closed doors in Abuja on June 26, 2013, named Akande its national chairman. Spokesman for the Congress for Progressive Change, Rotimi Fasakin, said the appointment, which was, “part of the requirements (set by the Independent National Electoral Commission) for the registration of the new party was a collective decision of all the merging parties.” The APC was then registered by INEC on July 31, 2013, after which the party was joined by aggrieved PDP members, including Atiku, Saraki, and seven governors, between November and December of the same year. On June 14, 2014, Akande handed over his seat as chairman to a former Governor of Edo State, John Odigie-Oyegun, who became the first substantive national chairman of the APC, following a consensus arrangement by the leadership of the party at the inaugural national convention of the APC. By August 21, 2014, the party was reported to have appointed no fewer than 74 persons, including Buhari and Tinubu, as members of its BoT. Others listed were Atiku, Ikimi, Akande and Ogbeh. The BoT also comprises serving and former APC governors still in the party as well as two senators representing each of the six geopolitical zones and a member representing each state and the FCT. However, in a provocative statement on June 28, Akande alleged that the members of the APC, who left the PDP, came into the ruling party with vested interests, which he claimed were fuelling the APC crisis. The APC chief said, “What began as political patronages, which was to be shared into APC membership spread among ethnic zones, religious faiths, (as well as) political rankings and experiences, has now become so complicated that the sharing has to be done by and among PDP leadership, together with cohorts of former New PDP affiliations in the APC, by and among gangs against Buhari’s presidency, and certain APC legislators and party members who dance round the crisis arena to pick some crumbs. “After the elections, which saw the APC to victory all round, a meeting was reported to have been held by certain old and new PDP leaders in (former National Chairman of PDP) Kawu Baraje’s house in Abuja to review what should be their share in this new Buhari’s government and resolved to seek collaboration with the PDP with a view to hijacking the National Assembly and, having got rid of Goodluck Jonathan, with an ultimate aim of resuscitating the PDP as their future political platform.” But Baraje, in a summary rebuttal, described Akande’s claims as unfortunate and expressed disappointed that the former interim chairman of the APC would make such claims. Baraje was not the only one who had a bone to pick with Akande. The APC chieftain’s claims also drew the ire of party chairman, Oyegun, Saraki, Dogara, the Arewa Consultative Forum and the northern caucus of the party, among several others, leading to speculation that Akande’s chances of emerging the APC BoT chairman had been hurt. But Adeniran disagreed. On the contrary, he argued, the same reason that made some party members allege that Akande was being sponsored by Tinubu proved his suitability for the job. “He told no lie within the submission he made. He has said he didn’t make any sectional statement that was credited to him and nobody has disproved him since. Confronting them with past records that they have is not supposed to be seen as a disadvantage. It should, instead, be seen as an index of courage, which is why I believe he has adequate courage to confront anybody that wants to sabotage the good fortune of the party,” Adeniran told SUNDAY PUNCH. Commenting on speculation that Tinubu is behind Akande’s candidature, the activist said the national leader of the APC is a proven political tactician whose prowess would serve as an advantage. “Take it or leave it, Tinubu is a political strategist with a level of sagacity that no other politician has been able to achieve in the (Nigerian) political landscape. If Tinubu is supporting Akande, it should be seen as a plus, rather than a minus,” he opined. Citing Akande’s tenure as governor of Osun State, Adeniran described Akande as an articulate leader and a Cicero in his own right, whose wealth of experience would position him well for the job. Akande’s former Chief Press Secretary, Adelani Baderinwa, also expressed conviction of Akande’s capability to lead the APC’s BoT. Baderinwa, in an interview with SUNDAY PUNCH, described the party chieftain as well qualified for the position. He highlighted Akande’s run at the party’s interim national chairmanship, and his role in laying the groundwork for the party’s formation. “He knows Nigeria very well and so there is nothing so spectacular about being the BoT chairman. By virtue of being the (interim) national chairman of the political party, he must have met quite a lot of the stakeholders in the process of managing the party, especially to the level that it became a success in terms of what the APC is. My take is therefore that he is found to have an advantage,” he said. But Ezeani expressed opposition to Akande’s advantage, arguing that Ogbeh is the candidate to beat. The professor of political science said, in comparison to Akande and Atiku, Ogbeh stands out because, “he does not have the baggage that comes with being linked to Tinubu. He is untainted, which is a crucial consideration in picking the man for the job. “If we are talking about those who have experience and contributed to the formation of the APC, Audu Ogbeh has the advantage. Let us not forget that he has held top positions in the PDP, so he has the most experience and the best understanding of what the party needs to.” Adeniran, however, expressed mixed feelings about Ogbeh’s candidature, arguing that though Audu Ogbeh is not known to accumulate wealth, his gentlemanly disposition would translate to a reluctance to want to rock the boat, which the political expert believes, is contrary to the demands of politics in Nigeria. “Save for the possibility that he might be too conservative for the dynamism that Nigerian politics deserves, he could have been the best candidate. But he may not have the guts, courage or political will to discipline erring party members and he doesn’t have the charisma with which he can carry everybody from different sections of the country together the way some other leaders are expected to. He is likely to tolerate the intolerable and that would be a minus against him,” Adeniran opined. Attempts to get Ogbeh’s reaction were unsuccessful, as he did not answer calls by our correspondent to his mobile telephone number on Wednesday. On the consequences of a fierce BoT chairmanship race to the already embattled part, Ezeani told SUNDAY PUNCH that the crisis in the APC came as a shock to many political observers. According to him, the rift in the party is proof that the parties that came together to form the APC did so out of selfish interests, rather than a shared ideology. “I would advise the President to maintain his objective position and not meddle in the political dealings of the party. That is the right decision; I think that it is best that he stays away from the crisis rocking the APC so as not to be distracted from governance,” he added. But Adeniran argued: “Everybody was surprised that the (primary) election conducted by the APC went as smoothly as it did and that the general elections also went smoothly. It could be yet another surprise that, after this race, everybody will go back to his camp calmly without any strife.” SOURCE: PUNCH

Suicide bombs: Muslims kick as army, police frisk women in hijab, burka

Muslims across the country have kicked against heightened searches conducted on women wearing Islamic dresses by security men. Muslims who spoke to SUNDAY PUNCH this weekend cautioned security agencies against frisking Muslim women dressed in hijab and burka, adding that such an action would amount to profiling them. Wikipedia describes the hijab as a “veil that covers the head and chest, which is often worn by Muslim women beyond the age of puberty in the presence of adult males outside of their immediate family as a form of modest attire.” Other dresses worn by Muslim women as a religious duty are the niqab, which only leaves the area around the eyes open and the burka which is a dress that covers all parts of the body leaving just a mesh over the eyes. Nigeria’s neighbour, Chad – which is also part of the multinational joint task force – banned women from wearing hijab both in private and public places, following two suicide bomb attacks. The hijab was also banned in public places in Congo-Brazzaville, to counter terrorism in May. SUNDAY PUNCH gathered that due to the rising cases of Boko Haram female suicide bombers hiding explosives beneath the Islamic dress, Nigeria’s security agents in the North have also begun to search women who wear Islamic dresses for bombs. Last year, there were about 10 cases of female suicide bombers who used the Islamic dress to conceal explosives in parts of the North. This year there have also been similar cases recorded in some parts of the country. In May, a 10 year-old girl detonated a bomb concealed under her religious veil killing five and injuring many others at Bayan Tasha motor park in Damaturu, Yobe State. Two months earlier, in February, two hijab- wearing women said to be in their late 20s in Yobe State killed two people when they detonated explosive devices hidden beneath their clothings. On February 11, in Borno State, another female suicide bomber in a burka attacked a crowded market, killing seven people and seriously injuring 20 others. Prior to the February suicide bombing, a girl believed to be no more than 10 years old detonated explosives hidden under her burka at a crowded Maiduguri Monday market, killing 20 people and wounding many more in January. The UNICEF child protection specialist Laurent Dutordoir, had last month, noted that female suicide bombers were on the increase in Nigeria. Following this development, the army and the police had deployed more female operatives for the purpose of frisking women wearing hijabs especially in states where Boko Haram have attacked more than once. SUNDAY PUNCH could not get the Director, Defence Information, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, to comment on the issue as calls to his phone did not connect and he did not respond to a text message sent to him. A top military official however confirmed the new security procedure. He said, “In a particular community, the women were asked to use the type of hijab worn by female youth corps members. It covers only the head and part of the face, but this was rejected by the people, saying it was an attempt to prevent them from practising their religion. “Now, we ask the female agents on duty to ask anyone wearing hijab to raise up the cloth from afar so that they can see if they have anything under the covering and anyone that fails to obey will be arrested.” The Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, Abayomi Shogunle, told SUNDAY PUNCH that women who wore the hijab were only searched by female security agents because of the religious and cultural beliefs prevalent in the region. He said, “More female policewomen have been deployed to participate in security operations that would involve the searching of women, because of the religious and cultural beliefs of the (Northern) region. “Women wearing hijab don’t constitute a security threat. The Nigerian constitution guarantees freedom of religion and dressing. Our officers serving in the states prone to terrorism are aware of the modus operandi of the insurgents and they know what to look out for.” The police spokesperson said though policemen face threats on a daily basis, they knew the mode of operation of terrorists. He said, “Recently in Kano a female terrorist wearing a hijab was trying to mingle with people entering the mosque, but the officers there were able to identify her and fish her out. “The same thing happened again in Kano when a hijab-wearing female attempted to enter a school and she was prevented from entering the school to carry out her deadly mission. The policemen on duty knew she was not coming on a good mission, so they stopped her from entering the school and she was forced to detonate her bombs outside the premises.” But Muslim leaders who spoke to SUNDAY PUNCH flayed the security procedure. JNI Secretary- General, Dr. Abubakar Aliyu-Khalid told one of our correspondents that frisking hijab-wearing females would not solve the problem of terrorism. “We are not comfortable with the security arrangement. There should not be separate laws for Muslims and other religion adherents. Solving problems in Nigeria is like scratching the surface. We do not support the fact that Muslim women should be singled out for this action. It is known that some of the people who carry out these suicide bomb attacks are not even Muslims,” he said. Similarly, the Convener, Muslim Rights Concern and Professor of Islamic Eschatology at the Lagos State University, Professor Ishaq Akintola, said the Muslim community was against the search of women wearing hijab. Akintola said, “It will amount to profiling Muslim women. The repercussion will even be graver than we ever expected. Already, the Nigeria elite are discriminating against Muslim women and Muslims generally. Muslims have the right to dress the way they like. Let the security agencies do their work; they know what to do. There is deep intelligence. They should nip conspiracy and plots to bomb in the bud. “Where they (Boko Haram) are making the bombs, get them there. Those who are behind making the bombs, get them. Those who finance them, pick them. You don’t infringe on civil rights. Boko Haram or no Boko Haram, people should dress the way Allah has instructed them.” In the same vein, the Executive Secretary of Muslim Ummah of South-West of Nigeria, Professor Dawud Noibi, told one of our correspondents that singling out hijab-wearing women was wrong. He said, “It would be wrong for the army or the police to single out Muslim women who wear hijab for security search simply because the Boko Haram insurgents use a similar mode of dressing to carry out their suicide bomb attacks. It will be wrong to target only Muslim women. That will also mean that (all) Muslim women wearing the hijab are suspected suicide bomber. It will also be against the ethics of the police and other uniformed security agencies to use men to search women.” Muslims spread across the country also spoke against the frisking of women in hijab. One of them, Azeez Olasupo, said such move was tantamount to denying the Muslim women their right to freedom. Olasupo stated, ‘‘I condemn in totality the action of the police. Nigerian security agents are not that civilised to know how to handle Muslim women.” Another Muslim, Adullahi Jika also said, “That some of the bombers wore hijab does not mean that every woman wearing hijab is a bomber. The government should find a solution to the insecurity and not disturb women wearing hijab.” But the Christian Association of Nigeria, the umbrella body of Nigerian Christians insisted that hijab-wearing women be searched. The General Secretary of CAN, Reverend Musa Asake, told SUNDAY PUNCH that Muslims must understand the new trend in the war against Boko Haram. Asake said, “If some people are misusing it, then, there should be a restriction as to where to use it. If you are trying to compare it with Catholic nuns, have you ever caught a Catholic nun with a bomb? Has a Catholic nun ever bombed anybody anywhere? Hijab is not something new and has anybody ever challenged it? It is until this thing (suicide bombing) started happening. This is what we are saying; it is for our security.” Copyright PUNCH.

ISIS releases first video with Boko Haram

There are strong indications that the Islamic sect Boko Haram has forged a strong operational alliance with the ruthless Islamic State as the two bodies have released a joint video for the first time on Saturday. This is the first video recording since Boko Haram pledged allegiance to the Islamic State last year. The video showed the picture of a suspected Nigerian soldier in a kneeling position surrounded by three terrorists with AK47 assault rifles. Later in the video, the body of the soldier was shown without the head. The location of the action was not specified in the latest video. Also, the leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, did not speak in the video. Mail Online reported that the audio message, which was entitled ‘kill and be killed,’ was read by an unidentified spokesman for ISIS. The audio message released through the militants’ vast social media channels was read by an ISIS spokesperson who also threatened further violence against Christian and Jewish communities. The video carried a West African insignia of the ISIS which indicated that the group has set up media wing in Nigeria. The horrific pictures displayed in the video bore a striking similarity with the horrendous acts and scenes in ISIS videos. The video also showed the insurgents in a battle against security forces who were not visible and did not return the fire of the enemy. Our correspondent could not get the Director, Defence Information, Maj-Gen. Chris Olukolade to comment on the video. However, Olukolade, who is believed to be outside the country, responded to a text message on the issue and referred our correspondent to the Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. SK Usman. SUNDAY PUNCH could not raech Usman to get his view on the video as calls to his mobile telephone line did not connect. Also, Usman had not responded to a text message on the issue as of the time of filing this report on Saturday night. However, a security operative in the mission said there had been no recent incident of Boko Haram attack and sacking of military formations in the North-East. SOURCE: PUNCH

Buhari refuses to meet with Saraki

President Muhammadu Buhari has resisted fresh moves by the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, to formally meet with him, SUNDAY PUNCH has learnt. An official in the Presidency who confided in one of our correspondents on Saturday said the President and the Senate President had only met once since the latter’s emergence as the leader of the senate. The official said all efforts by Saraki to have another meeting with the president, after the party’s National Executive Council meeting penultimate Friday, were rebuffed by Buhari. The reliable source said the president of the Senate had at different times reached out to people to help him persuade Buhari to grant him audience. Saraki had defied the All Progressives Congress to contest for the position of the senate president on June and emerged victorious after a controversial election that excluded a sizeable number of senators. The APC had endorsed Senator Ahmed Lawan as its candidate for the senate presidency. The government official who spoke to SUNDAY PUNCH said, “The truth is that the President is still displeased with what transpired in the National Assembly, especially the Senate. “Their encounter during the APC National Executive Council meeting, when they shook hands, was the first meeting between President Buhari and Saraki since he emerged as the President of the Senate. “We are aware that Saraki has been going about begging people to assist him to plead with the President to meet with him. That was one of the reasons why he visited former President Obasanjo. “I can tell you that the President is very pained by what happened. He felt that since he had been transparent with the party, everybody should play that way. But since Saraki took that path, the President was and he is still pained. Let us just hope that at the end of it all, they will be able to put the matter behind them.” Also speaking to SUNDAY PUNCH, a highly placed party official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, told one of our correspondents that the handshake between the President and Saraki during the recent NEC meeting of the APC “was for journalists.” He stated, “President Buhari is still upset because of what happened. If you read in-between the line his speech during our last NEC meeting, he reminded people who joined the party after it was formed not to rubbish the sacrifices made by party leaders. “It was not for the fun of it that the President took time to go down the memory lane to trace the genesis of the APC. “Although the President said he was prepared to work with anybody who emerged as leader in the National Assembly, he did not envisage a scenario where Saraki would emerge as the Senate President and Ike Ekweremadu, a member of the PDP, would emerge as the deputy president of the Senate.” Asked whether or not the President might change his mind anytime soon, the source said, “Not until the governors, who were mandated by the NEC to resolve the matter in the National Assembly, bring the matter under control.” When contacted, the Special Adviser to the Senate President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Yusuph Olaniyonu, said there was no cause for alarm. During a telephone interview on Saturday, Olaniyonu said Buhari had repeatedly told Nigerians that he believed in the independence of the parliament. He explained that Buhari had had cause to formally communicate with on “state issues” and that they exchanged warm pleasantries at the APC NEC meeting held in Abuja. He said, “The president of a nation can have private discussions with the Senate President or the Speaker of the House of Representatives anytime he likes. “At the moment, President Buhari, probably wants the issue around the National Assembly leadership positions formally resolved before calling for such meetings. He has said that he would not involve himself in the affairs of the legislature and we should respect his views.” Olaniyonu explained that Saraki and Buhari had been having regular official communication and that such would continue because the Senate would have to approve all appointments made by the President. Asked why the President had met with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, without meeting with Saraki up till now, Olaniyonu answered that he was not aware of the Buhari-Dogara meeting. He said, “I am not aware of that meeting you talked about. If the meeting had held, the picture taken afterwards would have been published in the dailies. To the best of my knowledge, I don’t think there was anything like that. “ Also, the spokesperson for the pro-Saraki Senators of Like Minds, Dino Melaye, told one of our correspondents on Saturday that Saraki and Buhari met and had fruitful deliberation at the NEC meeting of the APC. “The President and the Senate President met at the NEC meeting. We are all awaiting the outcome of the peace moves initiated at the meeting. For now, there is no cause for concern,” he said. When contacted, the Special Adviser to President Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina declined comments. SOURCE:PUNCH

‘Oritse Femi has nothing to do with his ex- manager’s misfortune’

The romance between Oritse Femi and his former manager, Danku, ended on a sour note. Although the erstwhile manager contributed tremendously to the artiste’s career and even facilitated the ownership of a SUV for the artiste, their relationship came to an end when Oritse Femi felt his last album was not properly handled. Shortly after their split, it was reported that his ex-manager fell ill and was rushed to a psychiatric hospital in Abeokuta. This made people to point fingers at the Double Wahala singer. However, a source in the singer’s camp who pleaded anonymity told Saturday Beats that the singer has nothing to do with his former manager’s ill fortune. He said that it was coincidental that he fell ill after they parted ways. “The two of them are no more working together as business partners and it is official. They had since parted way after Oritse Femi released his last album. That was before Danku became ill. I think what happened between them was that Oritse Femi was not happy with the way his album was handled. It is only coincidental that he had the problems after they split but Oritse Femi has nothing to do with his problems. The truth is that he is better now and he has since been discharged from the hospital. He is already at home and his wife is taking care of him but he does not want to address the press now,” the source said.

‘Oritse Femi has nothing to do with his ex- manager’s misfortune’

The romance between Oritse Femi and his former manager, Danku, ended on a sour note. Although the erstwhile manager contributed tremendously to the artiste’s career and even facilitated the ownership of a SUV for the artiste, their relationship came to an end when Oritse Femi felt his last album was not properly handled. Shortly after their split, it was reported that his ex-manager fell ill and was rushed to a psychiatric hospital in Abeokuta. This made people to point fingers at the Double Wahala singer. However, a source in the singer’s camp who pleaded anonymity told Saturday Beats that the singer has nothing to do with his former manager’s ill fortune. He said that it was coincidental that he fell ill after they parted ways. “The two of them are no more working together as business partners and it is official. They had since parted way after Oritse Femi released his last album. That was before Danku became ill. I think what happened between them was that Oritse Femi was not happy with the way his album was handled. It is only coincidental that he had the problems after they split but Oritse Femi has nothing to do with his problems. The truth is that he is better now and he has since been discharged from the hospital. He is already at home and his wife is taking care of him but he does not want to address the press now,” the source said.

Govs blackmailed Buhari to accept bailout –LP

The Labour Party has flayed state governors for blackmailing President Muhammadu Buhari to release over N700bn bailout to them, saying the action set a bad precedent and will encourage governors to steal more. The LP National Chairman, Alhaji Abdukadir Abdulsalam, told journalists in Abuja that the disadvantages of the bailout far outweighed its benefits. He said, “This over N700bn released by the President for the bailout belongs to Nigerians. Although it is good that workers will get their salaries, but the bailout has created a bad precedent. Such an action is tantamount to illegality. “Buhari came with the promise of change, but it seems the President has not learnt from the mistakes of previous administrations because what is happening now was what happened during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo when the state governors prevailed on him to bastardise the local government system and local government funds were diverted to personal use of the governors. “For how long will Buhari continue to bail out the states to pay workers’ salaries? It will be difficult for the President to prevent many of the governors from mismanaging the funds since they know that even when they are caught, they have plea bargain and that the alleged offence is bailable.” Abdulsalam added that when former President Goodluck Jonathan assumed office, the governors also deceived him to carry out certain policies and projects, “but at the end disappointed him.” He said, “Buhari has fallen into their trap; they must have deceived him that they used money meant for workers’ salaries to campaign for him and his party and that he must now save them. But unfortunately, Buhari has spent over N3trn without appropriation or recourse to other considerations. “The government claimed the bailout were loans; but under what conditions were the loans given? What is the mode and processes of the repayment? In this regard, the President has started on a very bad note, this is unfortunate and we are going to suffer for it.”

Jonathan denies Edo of N10bn in four years – Oshiomhole

The Edo State Governor, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, on Friday alleged that former President Goodluck Jonathan and his Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, jointly denied his state of about N10bn in four years. He said the sum was an estimate of what could have accrued to his state if the past administration had been faithful in remitting taxes paid by the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Company and Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria into the Consolidated Federation Account the same way the present administration did. Oshiomhole spoke with State House correspondents shortly after he and former governor of Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, met with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The governor claimed that if the $1.6bn NLNG tax that Buhari used as bailout for states had come during Jonathan’s administration, it would have gone the same way it had been going without states benefitting. He said he was happy with Buhari because he made it clear that he would stop impunity and fragrant disobedient of law and order. Oshiomhole said, “All the noise that have been generated over what happened last week, there was nothing extraordinary. What was extraordinary is that the NLNG has over the years been remitting funds to the Federal Government but the government illegally refused to transfer these funds to the Consolidated Revenue Fund which belongs to the three tiers of government. “All that President Buhari has done is to, in line with his commitments to ensuring that all funds and money accruing to the Federation Account are remitted, that he has directed the Central Bank of Nigeria to transfer the funds to the consolidated funds. “Our commissioners along with federal officials met last week to share those funds in line with the revenue allocation formula. If this money had come under the last administration, it will have gone the same way as in previous years. “The NLNG is not starting fresh to remit. It has been doing that every year plus taxes paid by, I think Shell, amounting to about $500m added to the amount of $1.6bn from the NLNG that total to the amount of $2.1bn. That was the money that was shared. “Imagine what Edo State got from this renewed transparency and total compliance to the spirit and letter of the constitution. If what we got last week, courtesy of this renewed commitment to transparency, if we had gotten this in the past four years consecutively, we would have made about N10bn. “So, by the same token, Edo State Government had lost N10bn under Jonathan.”

Suicide bomber kills three, injures three in Maiduguri

A suicide bomber driving a commercial tricycle has killed three persons and injured three others on Saturday morning in Maiduguri, Borno State, witnesses have said.According to one of the witnesses, Yusuf Adamu, the explosion occurred at about 7.10am when motor parks in the town were full of activities as travelers get to join commuter buses out of town. Adamu said a tricycle attempted to ram into a vehicle that just came out of Borno Motor Garage, the biggest in the town, where vehicles were joined to destinations outside the town. Adamu, who claimed he was near the scene of the incident, said the tricyclist had waited for a vehicle to emerge from the motor park and immediately sped after it but could not catch up with it. About a kilometer away, it exploded and killed three passers-by on the highway and left another three injured. He said: “I was at the motor park to board a vehicle when the explosion occurred. The park is near the SSS office and a tricycle was targeting a bus that just left the motor park but triggered off the explosion before it could get to bus. Four people, including the bomber, were killed.”

Nigerians will revolt against APC if there is no change – APC Chairman, USA

In this interview with Ben Agande in Abuja, the Chairman of the All Progressive Congress in the United States of America, Mr Anthony Isama says Nigerians should allow President Muhammadu Buhari choose his cabinet at the time he wants but warn his party on the dangers ahead. Excerpts: *-The president recently revealed the willingness of the world powers to assist Nigeria recover some of the stolen monies kept abroad. What role will the All Progressive Congress in the Diaspora play in ensuring that such monies are traced?-* We will use the legal tools in our various countries of residence to reach out to our representatives in the congress to support the administration in this effort. *-Despite several visits to solicit foreign direct investments, it has been argued that the result has not been commensurate with the efforts previous governments have put into it. What do you think is responsible for this?-* Expectation is one thing and recognition of the realities of the situation is another. Basically, a business person wants a place that is safe they can invest and make some profit at the end. If you don’t have such a secure environment, you can make all the arrangements. It wouldn’t work. You wouldn’t get the right people. So our party will first move to secure our environment. If we guarantee safety of people coming in, things will change. *-Apart from the oil sector, there is little involvement of the United States of American businessmen in the country. What would you say is responsible for this minimal presence?-* There are several factors and they all come down to the same thing: security. The oil companies have all been around for a long time, even in our most difficult times. The key is how to project the country for the values it has for an investor coming in to say this is our population. change. *-What are your expectations from the Buhari administration in terms of people that should form his cabinet?-* The president is experienced and he has come out to serve. He must have an idea on the character of the person that he would want to serve in his government. The essence of finding the right people remains the president’s prerogative and he has to give them his standard that he wants. We cannot define it for him. *-Don’t you think that the crisis rocking the national assembly is capable of derailing the APC from its targets?-* I don’t think so because the country voted for change and we cannot afford to fail the country. The APC family will sort it out. We cannot continue to do what we were doing under the Peoples Democratic Party. We have to recognise that the country wants that change that they sought and if we don’t give them that change, Nigerians will revolt against us. The populace will revolt. *-Are you not scared that the PDP will take advantage of this disagreement to the detriment of the APC?-* I am not scared because PDP has consumed itself and as of now there is nothing like PDP. Maybe what is happening now may help to bring up some people to re-organise the party as a potential force which will be good for the country because we also need a strong a virile opposition.

7 Practical Ways Through Which You Can Earn Massively In Blogging by damilola duke

With the new trend in blogging these days. Almost everybody wants to be a blogger simple because of the information around about how much some bloggers earn here in Nigeria. And with the pressure on people to make extra income, they believe blogging is an option, which truly it is. Only that most of the wanna-be bloggers get it wrong along the way. And so they get discouraged and eventually opt out. What most bloggers don't realize is that there are diverse ways through which you can make your money in blogging. They tend to follow the conventional style of blogging which is the entertainment niche, which to me , is over saturated and i will not advise any one to go into it, except if you have enough resources to promote your blog. Blog is a short word for WEB LOG, which is more or less like a WEB JOURNAL OR DIARY, where you can update anything of interest. It doesn't have to be limited to entertainment, gossips and so on. Any body can blog on anything. A doctor can blog on health issues, an engineer can blog on mechanical issues, a lecturer can have his blog where he updates details of his lectures and so on. In fact, i don't advise people to go into the entertainment niche as blogs are all over the web space and everyone blogs about same gists. As a blogger, i don't even blog on a daily basis. The most important thing is for you to have this blogging knowledge and you are on your path to make real and live cash from these points i will be highlighting below. 1. BLOGGING TRAINING I make the bulk of my blogging cash through organizing blogging training for people both online and offline. It doesn't have to be a large seminar like that. I sometime make it a one-on-one training and this even makes me charge them more. The most important thing you need to have to do this is your blogging knowledge, your smartphone as you are going to be training them on either whatsapp, bbm, or facebook messenger. The training will be done after you have sent a blogging manual to them. You simply ask them to read the manual and understand, then later schedule a date to hold the training. Here you will need to convince them how genuine you are, especially those you will be meeting on line. Most online users are sckeptical about parting with thier money online. What i do to convince them is to send them a mini -book on blogging, they will have the basic idea, but will still need to run the training to be fully versed in the blogging training. I charge trainees N5000 per person, which you can as well charge more, and i must say i have nothing less than 6 people to train weekly. 2. BLOGGING ADMIN As there are several blogs on the internet this day, it is so surprising to know that most of the bloggers are only seeking for an extra income and so are not always available to update their blogs on a daily basis. Your job here will be to seek them out and offer to assist in updating their blog. And they will jump at the proposal. Here, you can charge a minimum of N6000/blog for a month, and some as much as N10,000 all depending on how bouyant the blog owner is. Those amounts are not bad for a 1hour job and also considering the fact that you will be working with as much as 5- 10. I currently have 5 bloggers am working for and paying me an average of N5000 monthly. That's a whopping N25k and more. 3. CONSULTATION Another medium through which you can make serious money in blogging is consulting for corporations. You can offer to help them build a responsive blog and they will pay you. I charge N15,000 for a blogspot blog and N30,000 for a wordpress blog. Not that you will be spending this much, but your knowledge is what they are paying for. And for a blogspot blog, you won't even be spending close to N5000 to get it done. 4. ADSENSE Adsense is another means through which you can make a lot of money through blogging. Though it takes time and professionalism before google approves your adsense, but once you are approved. You begin to make virtual money which can be cashed after reaching a certain qouta. Adsense really has to do with high traffic on your site. If you are not having much traffic, you might not really make money through adsense as your income will be generated through clicks by your visitors on the adverts google place on your blog. But if you are able to have a high traffic on your blog, then you are good to go with adsense 5. PAID ADVERTS This another means through which you can make a lot of money on your blog. And with this, you might even not have as much traffic to get adverts. What you do is to just ensure the targets of your advertisers are regularly visiting your blog. For example if your blog is student targeted, it will be so easy to you to get adverts from boutiques, salons, game shops, phone and gadgets shops and so on. I have this resource that can assist you in getting paid adverts for your blog. Depending on you location, you can charge advertisers a minimum of N5000 per adverts and you can as well charge more. Now multiply this by say 5 different adverts, every month. 6. BLOGGING MANUALS You can as well decide to write blogging ebooks that you can sell to trainees. Definitely you will need to have blogging manuals as these are what you will be training your prospects with. And i must tell you, I have made a lot of cash on this. Minimum you can charge on ebooks are within the range of N1500. 7. DOMAIN NAME PURCHASE Yes this is another medium through which you can make enough cash in blogging. What you simply do is assist people purchase their domain names and help them do the redirecting to their blog. You charge them for the domain name and you also charge them for your technical work. With all these highlighted points, i think am able to convince you on why you should go into blogging. You dont even have to be a pro, just understand the basics of blogging and do more research with time, and i assure you, if you are the type that really has the passion, you can understand blogging perfectly in just a period of a month. You don't even have to be blogging on a daily basis by owing a blog. Just have this blogging knowledge, Although you can have a blog for your outfit where people can get information about your services. And also, you don't have to wait until you get adsense before you begin to make money in blogging. With all these highlighted points, you don't need to get a new job. You will even begin to create jobs for people.

Buhari, Nigeria will benefit from APC crisis— Ogunlewe, Ex Minister of Works

Former Minister of works and chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Sen Adeseye Ogunlewe has described the composition of the principal officers at the National Assembly as the best that has happened to the country. In an interview with Saturday Vangaurd at his Ogudu, Lagos residence, Sen Ogunlewe stated that whether people like it or not, the development would benefit the President and the country more. Excerpts: *-What is your view on the crisis rocking the governing party sequel to the emergence of the leaders of the National Assembly?-* Well, I have been there before. I am not surprised. It is only those people who have not been there will be surprised at what happened. In a presidential system of government, the influence of the party with the members of the National Assembly or congress is very minimal. Once they are elected and they now follow the principle of the separation of powers, they will remove the toga of the party immediately and become national assets. You can see the oath of office they took; there was no mention of party. They have sworn to defend the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and that is what they must do and they have done the right thing. The choice of who leads them, who presides over the chambers, depends on the legislators themselves. If you are not a member, you don’t have any right. I was only miffed by the party’s mock primaries. It is unheard off, even if you have it in your mind, you don’t exhibit it. It is okay to lobby or canvass. But, where you believe because you have money, you are the leader of the party, therefore you can dictate to the National Assembly, then you are making a mistake. The drama is just starting. *-Right now, they are bitter about the position of the Deputy Senate President . As a party leader, do you agree on the supremacy of the party as being canvased by APC?-* You are talking about opposition party with 49 senators as against 59. Is that a bad minority? There is nothing they can do in that senate that would not require most major decision which is the 2/3 majority. So, how can you have a 2/3 majority if you don’t carry the 49 along. So, it is the most reasonable thing to do. Whether people like it or not, it will pay the country. There will be little conflict, but there will be progress in the nation. They will look at things dispassionately and arrive at a decision because they are all in the game. But, if you say 49 senators are not relevant, only 59 should take everything. It is actually the 49 that will be against the 59. And where they require 2/3 majority for any major decision, it will not happen. But, now things will go on smoothly to the benefit of Nigeria and Buhari himself. If he has the two of them on board, it is the policy he has for the country that will serve the country and not the policy of APC. It is the policy of Nigeria, so it is the best thing that has even happened to this country. And with that kind of cooperation, I can assure you that you will marvel at the level of achievements the country will record. *-Do you see the alignment as a build-up to political re-invigoration , as your party has promised to return to power in 2019?-* It is so easy for us to determine what is going to happen in 2019. The defeat of the 2015 election was caused by Jonathan. If not, it is impossible to defeat PDP. Look at all the people that are playing games now including the governors, the Senate President, Speaker and others, they were from PDP. So, it is the majority party and it is going to come on board. We need Buhari now, no doubt, to straighten things out. And let us have a new direction to governance in the country. *-How did Jonathan cause PDP defeat?-* I was a member of the presidential campaign team in 2011 and this sentiment of the North being short-changed was discussed extensively by the Northerners. The supporters of PDP said they were finding it difficult in the North to campaign because the Northerners believed they had been short-changed. They said, it was their turn to be President. So, if it were possible, Jonathan shouldn’t have contested and it would have been easy for PDP. This sentiment will never happen again in this country. When you are zoning, let the zone bring the candidate. We will never have North and South dichotomy in an election again; we will never have a Christian-Muslim division in our election again, because we barely escaped catastrophe. If there was no zoning, the situation would have changed. That was what Obasanjo enjoyed in 1999 when two candidates came from the South-West. The people of North conceded despite the fact that Obasanjo lost in the North- West, he became the President. I think they have conceded enough. Is it proper for them to be short-changed this time? They wanted the power back and they got it. *-But, the leaders of the party should have waded into the situation and prevailed on Jonathan not to contest?-* As we are saying so, some people disagreed because they were benefiting from him. It was a cabal that surrounded him telling him what was not going to happen. People that stood their ground to defend PDP and Jonathan saw hell in the North. It was a total movement in the North. They brain- washed them that the South was already using their turn and they needed to take it back. We have learnt our lessons, if it was the turn of the North, let them have it. And if it is the turn of the South, let all the candidates come from the South. If we can marry that, there will be less friction. The issues of ethnicism, religion are critical to the political decision of this country. And it can never go away. In England, the Scots have their own party and they vote en-mass for them. Why do we believe that some people will not vote for their own people? It is self-determination and I praise their courage. The same thing played out in national assembly leadership tussle. They said they wanted it for the North central because of Saraki and Akume. Immediately Akume stepped down for Lawan, a North-East person, I knew, they had lost it because Dogara is North-East. That was why Gbajabiamila was defeated. I believe and I thought Tinubu was a clever politician until recently. He did not show any sense of political prowess. It is very easy to catch him. When your profile is rising, you are bound to have enemies and you must be careful not to believe that you can have it your own way all the time. Some people will want to cut your wings and that was happened. The man should learn how to be a team player. Everything in politics is not money and national politics is not Lagos state. He must sit down now, make more friends and concede a lot. *-Is this part of the change Nigerians are yearning for?-* The change was for Jonathan to go. It was the personality that they wanted to change and they have achieved it. The man that has benefited from that change should perform. There is nothing new that he will do that we don’t know. We don’t need change other than to do what is right. Are we changing in Lagos State where corruption is at its highest or changing for not paying salaries for seven months? It is all gimmicks. The only change was between Jonathan and Buhari. *-But do you agree that PDP is gaining from this development?-* It was not a loss to PDP, it was Jonathan phenomenon. PDP is a solid party, PDP can hardly be defeated. 49 out of 59 senators was not a defeat. Before, it was a personality issue and it was a matter of time and we were seeing the handwriting on the wall that the battle would be lost and it came to reality. I am not surprised at all because I knew the pain of the people from the North. *-Your party is also having its own share of crisis, the call for the disolution of the National Working Committee and the BOT issue, the Lagos crisis among others, what is the way forward?-* You cannot throw away the baby with the bath water. Because you lost election, then heads must roll or the PDP must hold new congress or national convention, it is not going to happen that way. What everybody must do now is to sit down and strategies and bring people that are fit into the position so as to work for the party and safe the party. The election was lost because of the configuration of the country. Even if PDP were angels, they wouldn’t have stopped Buhari from winning. That was a man without structure, without a campaign from the South. In Jigawa state and other few northern states, Jonathan did not campaign. All the campaigns you saw on the television were last minute campaigns. All the emirs and other people had already made up their minds that they were going to take their mandate. We were lucky; they did not go to war. I can’t blame them because they can’t be chased out of government for sixteen years. *-The crisis in Lagos chapter of your party is yet unresolved, why is it that leadership at all levels seems to have disappointed the people?-* Leadership in this country is critical to development and that is why I believe Buhari should be the right person to govern this country, not people that are still struggling to send their children to school or build houses or build mansions and you are saying they should not be corrupt. If you are fulfilled, you want to serve, then, come and serve as President of Nigeria. It is not a training ground. We must establish that in this country and that is when we are going to make progress because there will be a lot of distractions. People that will be dealing with you all the day are businessmen who will entice you with money in order to gain favour. So, you are vulnerable to influence, but if you are like Buhari, what else do you need in life that somebody will want to lure you into signing a particular contract. So, I have told them, that if they want a chairman that is reliable, then, they must bring a comfortable person, someone who is fulfilled and not desperate. But, if you bring somebody who is not comfortable your chairman, we will lose the election because politicians will bribe him. In the same way, if PDP wants to present a presidential candidate in the next election, it will belooking for somebody in the calibre of Buhari. A man who is not in a hurry and he will not allow anyone to distract him. People like that are available, there are credible Nigerians that can rule this country and I believe they will come out. At least, we have the first experiment, Buhari does not have the money and that is an albatross. There are so many people that have done so much in their lives and cannot be distracted with money anymore because governance is difficult in Nigeria. In a poverty-stricken country where everybody wants to take advantage of you, where somebody wants to build mansion for you in England, your children also want to go to school in England and you are a younger person; the pressure on you will be so much and you can be easily swayed. But let’s see what Buhari will do, I believe he is going to be a torch-bearer. *-In the light of current development and based on your experience in government and in partisan politics, how would you advise the President?-* Muhammad Buhari, listen to me. There is nothing you can achieve if you rely on Indians, Lebanese or Chinese to do your construction work. There are enough Engineers in Nigeria to construct anything you want to construct in this country. That is the way to develop. You don’t rely on Lebanese or Chinese to develop your infrastructure, you will be a failure. So, get Nigerian Association of Engineering, Nigerian Academy of Engineers t do your constuction. That was what they did in China, India. Engineers drive the economy of the country not the economists or the Minister of Finance who is a manager of funds and who does not create wealth. It is only the engineers that can create wealth. Mr. President, call them. I tried it when I was a Minister of Works; they frustrated it because I knew from my experience that there is nothing a Nigerian Engineer cannot do. The only thing they lack is equipment. But, because the expatriates will give you more money as a Minister, they will build houses for you in England; politicians will say our Engineers are not good. Anybody who feels otherwise can challenge me, I have been there, we have the best brain here with P.HD, Masters in Engineering but they are never allowed to do our work. The second aspect is food. Never again should Nigeria rely on any country to feed itself. That was the proclamation of Indians and Chinese, Indonesians, Malaysians, Thailand; “Never again should any country in the world feed my people.” If you say that, then, you are making sense. It means you must grow your food by yourself and that is our policy. No importation of food and that is how to develop. We must have a benchmark. We should not think of growing rice and giving waiver to supplement. It is that waiver that Indians will cash on. You must have a benchmark for your country. We will not import petroleum again even if heaven is going to fall. All you need is to call Nigerian engineers to design refineries for us and in another two years there will be no importation. But you see, everybody believes once democracy is fine, the economy will grow. There is distinction between democracy and national development and they don’t go together. There are countries that are more developed than Nigeria, yet they don’t practice democracy. But, we believe that once we have free and fair election, our country is growing. It is not true. *-Why didn’t you give former President Jonathan this piece of advice?-* I advised Jonathan to engage Nigerian engineers and it was agreed, but they went behind and did another thing. We can employ the service of consultants abroad for trainings and they will go back. It is not for our children to work under them. They will make mistakes but it will be corrected. A leader must make up his mind.