Monday, October 31, 2016
We Started Infrastructural Development Afresh Because Amaechi Squandered Rivers Fund - Wike

Rivers State Governor , Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has declared that the administration started the process of infrastructural development afresh because the immediate past administration of Rotimi Amaechi squandered resources that accrued to the state under his eight years of misrule.

He said it was Amaechi’s eight years of misrule that made it impossible for the former governor to construct a road to the hometown of his political mentor , Chief Godspower Ake of the APC.

The governor also urged the people of Rivers State to rise up and pray to God to handle those working with outsiders to disrupt the political process and deny the Rivers people representation at the Senate.

Governor Wike spoke on Sunday during the 10th Anniversary Thanksgiving Service of the Omega Power Ministry in Port Harcourt and the Harvest Thanksgiving of Saint Luke Anglican Church , Rumuadaolu.

"Amaechi squandered the money of our people, using state resources to sponsor elections in other places. Because of the funds squandered by Amaechi, we are starting the development of statewide infrastructure afresh. For eight years, at a time that the state got approximately N20billion monthly, that administration failed to develop critical infrastructure," he said.

"G..U Ake was Amaechi’s political mentor. Yet for eight years, he denied his community the required access road. For us, we will continue to ensure the development of infrastructure in all communities of Rivers State , irrespective of the political leaning of the people ".

Speaking at the Omega Power Ministry , Governor Wike , Governor Wike said he has presented the political problem of the state before God, urging all Christians to pray fervently for the sustenance of the state .

"The same God who ensured that we overcame them in 2015, will answer our prayers"

The governor commended the General Overseer of Omega Power Ministry , Apostle Chibuzor Chinyere for his commitment to the welfare of the less privileged.

Tuesday, November 01, 2016
We're Our Own Worst Enemies, Kalu Bombs Igbo

Ndigbo who have often blamed the Federal Government for the backwardness in the South- East have been told that they have no one but themselves to blame for their woes.

This was the assertion of former Abia State governor and business mogul, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu in a recent interview.

He said a number of the elite in the region were not only selfish but get their politics wrong.

“Let me tell you,” he said in an emotion laden voice, “there were more problems between (Asiwaju Bola) Tinubu and (Babatunde) Fashola, than there were between TA (Theodore Ahamefule Orji) and I.

But the discipline of the Yoruba kept them at bay. Igbo have no discipline in terms of politics. They are very good traders; they’re good in anything they do, but they don’t understand politics.”

Kalu who referred to the fractured relationship between Tinubu and Fashola in the latter’s second term as governor of Lagos State, compared it to his own issue with his successor, Theodore A. Orji, which led to the extinction of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), the party he founded.

In the interview, Kalu illustrated his point with a conversation he had with President Muhammadu Buhari, who wondered aloud why previous high profile Igbo appointees had done nothing for the region.

Kalu also spoke on the agitation for a state of Biafra and the travails of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPO, Nnamdi Kanu, his relationship with former president Ibrahim Babangida and former governor Ikedim Ohakim, the recent statement of former governor Peter Obi and allegations that while he governed Abia for eight years, his mother ruled.

In this edition, Tolu Ogunlesi engages Boko Haram leader, Abu Shekau in an “exchange” of letters by email and Nigeria’s matriarch of Agony Aunts, Bunmi Sofola, gives an insight into what happens to love in a recession.

In one of his first major interviews, the Managing Director of Nigeria’s mortgage refinance company, Prof. Charles Inyangete, also shares secrets on how you can make mortgage work for you.

“It’s a sure medicine for this recession,” Ishiekwene said in a statement released on Monday.

Daily Sun

Tuesday, November 01, 2016
BIAFRA: Group Honours Nnamdi Kanu With 'Shinning Star' Award

A unit of the Indigenous People of Biafra based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, ILOM IPOB Family Unit, has given an award to the detained leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPO, Nnamdi Kanu for his struggles in actualising the sovereign state of Biafra.

The award, Kpakpando 1 (Shinning Star) of Biafra coincided with the demand for the first time by Igbo leaders for Kanu’s release. See video here.

The award was received by Kanu’s father, Eze Israel Okwu Kanu at his Afara Ukwu home in Umuahia, Abia State.

The coordinator of the group, Nwosu Emmanuel said they honoured the IPOB leader because of his untiring efforts in liberating Biafra from what he called the shackles of Nigeria enslavement.

“We decided to give Nnamdi Kanu, the IPOB leader, the award because we see him as the true Biafra leader; he is the one that will take us to the Promisedland.”

Deputy coordinator of the group, Chukwunyere Chibuike said Kanu has sacrificed a lot for Biafra and deserved every recognition in Igboland.

Eze Kanu said with the award, his son’s spirit would be high even as he is still in detention.

Younger brother of the detained IPOB, Emmanuel, showered praises on members of the group, stating that their journey to Umuahia to see members of Kanu’s family was heartwarming.

He promised to inform the IPOB leader about the award as soon as possible.

Tuesday, November 01, 2016
Buhari Is Changing Leadership Perception In Nigeria, Africa - Osinbajo

Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has said President Muhammadu Buhari is beginning to change the narrative and perception of leadership in Nigeria and Africa because of his widely acclaimed uprightness and honesty.

Osinbajo stated this while delivering a public lecture titled: “The Unravelling of Boko Haram and the Rebuilding of the North-East of Nigeria’’ at the Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs on Thursday.

Before he spoke, the Vice President had been received in the school by the Harvard University Marshall, Ms. Jackie O’Neil, and Prof. Jacob Olupona of the Divinity School, among other top Harvard officials and professors.

Osinbajo said the Buhari presidency offered Nigeria and indeed Africa the best opportunity to convince the entire world about leadership perception in the country and the continent.

According to the Vice President, “the commitment that the Federal government has made is to be consistent and there is no distrust for the political leadership in Nigeria today, and for good reason, this has promoted the easy embrace of dissenters of all shades by the people.’’

He said: “Nigeria has a great opportunity to change the perception of leadership as being corrupt and unreliable, with President Buhari who is widely acknowledged as being forthright and honest, Mai gaskiya (the truthful one, as he is known in the North).

“Transparency in government, social investments, provision of education and healthcare could improve the government’s image as being responsive.’’


Prof. Osinbajo, who spoke on some of the causes of Nigeria’s security, social, political and economic challenges, noted that governance failure in the past culminated in the myriad of problems that manifested in the form of terrorism, kidnapping, general insecurity and many others that predated the Buhari government.

On the Boko Haram insurgency, Prof. Osinbajo said the inability of previous governments to implement programmes and policies that had direct impact on poor Nigerians, and endemic corruption, led to a degeneration of the situation in the North-East.

He, however, expressed optimism that the Buhari government’s posture and actions had changed the narrative for the better, stressing that the international community and Nigerians, including a few skeptics now believe in the government’s abilities to change things.

He said: “Clearly one of the strongest reasons for President Buhari’s victory in the March 2015 Presidential election was the expectation that going by his reputation as a no-nonsense soldier he would defeat Boko Haram and restore peace to the North East.
“He moved quickly to realise this objective, announcing a relocation of the Command and Control Headquarters to Maiduguri right at the heart of the insurgency.

“With more effective leadership, command and control, improved logistics and intelligence, better equipment and motivation of the troops, the tide soon turned.’’

The Vice President told his audience that the Federal Government led by President Muhammadu Buhari remained committed to rebuilding the devastated North-eastern region through a comprehensive plan that is also transparent.

According to Prof. Osinbajo, “The overall objective of the Buhari Plan is to develop a structure and process capable of providing leadership, co-ordination and synergy in achieving its targeted goals.’’

He said the goals are to: “Restore peace, stability and civil Authority in the North-East region; co-ordinate the mobilization of targeted resources to respond to the humanitarian crisis and jumpstart the region’s economies while strategically repositioning the region for long-term prosperity;

“Provide equal access to basic services and infrastructure; promoting a civic culture that integrates zero tolerance to sexual and gender based violence with peaceful co-existence as the success indicator;

“Accelerate equal access to quality education for girls as well as boys and building social cohesion; targeting social and economic development and capacity building that reduces the inequalities affecting the poor, particularly women and youth;

“Address environmental degradation through sustainable measures to halt desertification and protect the Lake Chad resources; physical reconstruction of infrastructure especially schools, hospitals and dwellings in areas considered safe for residents to return.’’

Regarding treatment of abused women and girls, Prof. Osinbajo said despite the daunting challenge, the government in collaboration with local and foreign partners was establishing special programmes and shelters for abused women and girls.

Citing the case of the recently released 21 Chibok girls and the teenage bomber that refused to blow up herself at the Dikwa IDP camp in February, VP Osinbajo said government had a strong commitment to impact on the lives of both the victims of the insurgency and other persons affected.

He stressed the need for stakeholders to partner with government at all levels to counter the ideology of the insurgents as one of the measures of addressing the menace of terrorism.

“After the trauma and deprivations of captivity on the day of their release they looked frightened, malnourished and unkempt. But such is the power of freedom that few days after their release, the girls were seen dancing and rejoicing heartily at a Thanksgiving service where their parents reunited with them for the first time in over two years!

“What the stories of the Chibok girls and that of the converted suicide bomber point to is the certain defeat of Boko Haram insurgency and the waning resonance of its underpinning ideology.

“While we had to put troops on the ground to liberate occupied territories and free captive people in the North-East, we would have to continue the battle for the minds of the radicalized many so that we can have more Aminas of Dikwa saying no to terrorist propositions of death, despair and destruction.’’

He said government however acknowledged the fact that the most important long term therapy was the assurance that the state has the capacity and the will to protect the most vulnerable.

The Vice President concluded that the Federal Government’s commitment and strategy in combating Boko Haram and rebuilding the region was anchored on its anti-corruption posture which would ultimately ensure judicious utilization of resources for both the military’s operations and in implementing the non-kinetic aspect of reconstructing the north east.

What a great app to behold !