Mr Olumide's Blog .com |
- UPDATE: 7 Governors, 20 Senators, Prominent Nigerians for Obasanjo's 2019 Coalition
- Saraki In Trouble As Senate Ignores Buhari's Nominees... plot against him thickens
- EFCC Detains Former SGF Babachir Lawal
- Presidency Reacts To Obasanjo's Letter
- Femi Falana Reacts To Obasanjo's Letter To Buhari
- EFCC Staff Arrested For Demanding Bribe Through His Girlfriend
| UPDATE: 7 Governors, 20 Senators, Prominent Nigerians for Obasanjo's 2019 Coalition Posted: 25 Jan 2018 03:25 AM PST  Obasanjo is mobilising politicians and other Nigerians to sign on to his Coalition for Nigeria project, to oust President Muhammadu Buhari from office. Many of those consulted by Obasanjo are said to have signed on to his elaborate plan for a mass movement away from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and his former party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to "rescue" Nigeria from poor governance and hardship. Obasanjo described the two parties as "wobbling" and unfit to run Nigeria. On Tuesday, the former president issued a scathing public commentary on the Buhari administration, advising the president to take a "deserved rest" and urging Nigerians to vote him out should Mr. Buhari insist on running. The Nigerian government on Wednesday responded to Mr. Obasanjo, outlining many achievements of the government. But there is an untold story to the public rebuke. Impeccable sources told PT the former president repeatedly discussed his concerns with Buhari, and then decided to go public after he noticed no improvement in the way the country is governed. Frustrated by the worsening political and security situation of the country, Obasanjo spent the last few months consulting key political leaders in the country. He then used the better part of January drafting and editing what is now the explosive "special press statement" that has shaken the nation's political foundation. Signs that things were amiss between Mr. Obasanjo and Mr. Buhari, a man the former endorsed for the presidency in 2015, manifested early this month in far away Oxford, United Kingdom. Giving a talk at the University of Oxford, Mr. Obasanjo commended some African leaders for their reforms and economic transformation, but left out Mr. Buhari. Asked from the audience on when he would make his feelings about the Buhari government public, Mr. Obasanjo said the time was not ripe. However, aides and associates of the former president said he had actually began expressing his misgivings about the Buhari administration from late last year, and shared his feelings with political associates and some elder statesmen. A number of those consulted, consented to Mr. Obasanjo's idea that it was time to intervene in the political course of events. Obasanjo has held meetings with former Nigerian leaders, serving governors, lawmakers and other key leaders across the country before arriving at the decision. "At the last count, seven governors, 20 senators and over 100 House of Representatives members have agreed in principle with Baba to go into this coalition," a close associate of the former president told our reporter. The personalities have chosen to remain in the shadows for now but have signaled their intention to move in to what is envisioned to be a mega coalition at some time. HOW THE STATEMENT WAS COMPOSED AND RELEASED On his return to Nigeria from Oxford, Obasanjo commenced work in earnest on the press statement. He shared a draft with a few close aides and some of his children to get their comments. The former president was said to have made final edits on the document on the flight to and from Liberia for the inauguration of President George Weah. "Very early in the morning of Tuesday, Mr. Obasanjo called a meeting of about eight of his close aides and associates to finalise the document and what to do with it," a source familiar with what transpired that morning revealed. Some of the former president's children were said to have cautioned him about his personal security considering the tones of the letter. "Baba (Obasanjo) however told them that was the least of his concerns. He told them that he considers himself to be living on extra-time and was ready to pay whatever price for this country," the source explained. The meeting then discussed the content of the statement and came to agreement that time was ripe for the document to be released. Obasanjo then directed that the statement be released to the media by email at 1pm, Tuesday. He also ordered for the final copy to be produced into a booklet. Initial 1000 copies were then produced. The octogenarian then picked up some copies of the booklets as he made for Ibadan later that morning. NIGERIANS SUFFERING Obasanjo took a swipe at Mr. Buhari in the open letter, accusing the president of ineptitude, clannishness and callousness in handling affairs of the country. He described another term of four years for Mr. Buhari as "prison term" arguing that "Nigeria deserves and urgently needs better than what they have given or what we know they are capable of giving". "To ask them to give more will be unrealistic and will only sentence Nigeria to a prison term of four years if not destroy it beyond the possibility of an early recovery and substantial growth. Einstein made it clear to us that doing the same thing and expecting a different result is the height of folly." OBASANJO'S VISION FOR THE MOVEMENT In the widely reported press statement, Obasanjo spelled out his concept of the movement. He said it would provide Nigerians a window to determine their fate and chart a new course for the country, away from the now dominant political parties. "This Coalition for Nigeria will be a Movement that will drive Nigeria up and forward," the former president said. "It must have a pride of place for all Nigerians, particularly for our youth and our women. It is a coalition of hope for all Nigerians for speedy, quality and equal development, security, unity, prosperity and progress. It is a coalition to banish poverty, insecurity and despair. "Coalition for Nigeria must be a Movement to break new ground in building a united country, a socially-cohesive and moderately prosperous society with equity, equality of opportunity, justice and a dynamic and progressive economy that is self-reliant and takes active part in global division of labour and international decision-making." A discreet plan is said to be on afoot to constitute the leadership of the proposed Coalition for Nigeria movement, with announcement expected sometimes next week.  culled from Olu famous Mr Olumide's Blog |
| Saraki In Trouble As Senate Ignores Buhari's Nominees... plot against him thickens Posted: 25 Jan 2018 12:35 AM PST  Investigations by Daily Sun have, however, revealed that the move may fail, as lawmakers already contacted are yet to fully commit to the plot. Last week, Senator Isah Hamman Misau said at plenary that a minister is leading a move to impeach Saraki. He said this when lawmakers condemned the spate of killings in Nigeria. He did not, however, name the minister involved. "When we were on holiday, so many people were going behind that they should try and remove the Senate President. During this holiday, it was a minister that was spearheading that thing. What is the reason? "They said the senate president would leave APC and that they should create problems for him (Saraki). What kind of country is this? Everything is about religion and about tribe," Misau had alleged then. Daily Sun, however, gathered that the said minister believed to be leading the move is a former governor of an oil-producing state in the South South. A serving governor from the North West and a close ally of President Muhammadu Buhari is also believed to be involved in the plot. It was gathered that, at the meeting in Abuja, where the plot was hatched, four serving senators from the North, who are believed to be against the senate presidency of Saraki, attended. One of the senators is a former governor of a state in the North Central. Another lawmaker who attended the meeting is a senator from Bauchi State. A front line rival of Saraki and senator from president Buhari's home state of Katsina is also involved. The fourth senator, who attended the meeting, is one of the longest serving lawmakers in the National Assembly. At the meeting, the four lawmakers, including the minister from the South South, a serving governor from the North West, one of President Buhari's top aides, named another former governor of Kano State, who was not at the meeting, to lead the impeachment plot. Besides Saraki, four other senators are also being allegedly targeted. They are: Dino Melaye; Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi; Misau and Shehu Sani. It was learnt that senators (besides the four who attended the anti-Saraki meeting), who were poached to join the offensive, told the former governor that it was better to have a united National Assembly, ahead of the 2019 general elections, instead of initiating a destabilisation plot that will die on arrival. Despite the unwillingness of lawmakers who have been approached to join the fight, the head of the impeachment team reportedly told them the minister is bent on pressing on with the impeachment project. The lawmakers reportedly said the choice of the minister to lead the plot was a wrong move. On plans to include four senators, the plotters said Misau, Sani, Melaye and Abdullahi were too critical of president Buhari and should, therefore, "be put in their right place." Those who were conscripted argued that Misau was right to be angry at the Presidency over his trial by the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), following his face-off with the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Ibrahim Idris. In the case of Sani, they said Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, mobilised All Progressives Congress (APC) chairmen in the local government under his senatorial district not to support his re-election bid. They said the chairmen endorsed Uba Sani, an aide to El-Rufai, as Sani's replacement. On Melaye's case, the lawmakers said instead of Buhari to reconcile him (Melaye) with Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, he had allegedly given the nod to APC National Working Committee to dissolve the state chapter. Although Saraki is aware of the plot, at the time of filing this report, he was yet to make any official statement on it. When contacted, his media aide, Mr. Yusuf Olaniyonu, did not make any comments.  culled from Olu famous Mr Olumide's Blog |
| EFCC Detains Former SGF Babachir Lawal Posted: 25 Jan 2018 12:15 AM PST  The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has detained the immediate past Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, for alleged fraud to the tune of N223m. Presidency agents are celebrating the ex-SGF's invitation on social media. It was learnt that Lawal arrived at the Abuja office of the EFCC around 11am on Wednesday after which he was detained. When contacted on the telephone, the acting spokesman for the EFCC, Mr. Samin Amaddin, confirmed Lawal's arrest to The Punch. He said, "It is true. The former SGF honoured an invitation and arrived at our office around 11am on Wednesday. He was thereafter detained." Lawal's detention comes less than three months after he was sacked by President Muhammadu Buhari for financial impropriety and less than 24 hours after former President Olusegun Obasanjo described the anti-corruption war as one-sided. The EFCC is probing Lawal for alleged contract scandal, violation of Public Procurement Act, abuse of office and mismanagement of funds. It was learnt that the former SGF was brought before a special team of investigators set up by the acting Chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Magu. After being grilled for about eight hours, he was asked to remain in custody after which interrogations will continue on Thursday (today). Two separate committees headed by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and the Senate Ad hoc Committee had last year recommended the prosecution of all those involved in the alleged contract scam in the Presidential Initiative in the North-East headed by Lawal. Among other things, the ex-SGF, who is the prime suspect, was accused of awarding a N223m consultancy contract for the removal of invasive plant species in Komadugu, Yobe Water Channels to his company, Rholavision Engineering in contravention of Section 43(iii) and (iv) of the Public Procurement Act 2007. The firm was said to have been incorporated by Lawal in 1990 for the purpose of ICT services and not for agro-business. The contracts awarded by PINE allegedly had no direct bearing to the needs of the Internally Displaced Persons The former SGF was said to be a director of the same firm till September 2016 when the contract was allegedly awarded.  culled from Olu famous Mr Olumide's Blog |
| Presidency Reacts To Obasanjo's Letter Posted: 24 Jan 2018 09:15 AM PST  They claimed Obasanjo is too busy to notice Buhari's achievements. Obasanjo in a letter on Tuesday had criticised Buhari's government and urging him not to recontest in 2019 But briefing State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council meeting chaired by President Buhari, the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, listed some achievements of the administration, which he said are better than those of past administrations. He also noted that the former President might have been too busy to take note of the achievements being recorded under Buhari. While stating that the Buhari's administration is equal to the task of giving the desired leadership for the nation, he said that the government is determined to end the herdsmen/farmers clashes in the country. But we couldn't confirm if the Presidency has anything to say about the nepotism in Buhari's appointment and the mass poverty in nigeria under his watch.  culled from Olu famous Mr Olumide's Blog |
| Femi Falana Reacts To Obasanjo's Letter To Buhari Posted: 24 Jan 2018 05:31 AM PST  Obasanjo, in a 13-page statement, criticized Buhari and urged him to bury any plans of re-contesting in 2019. Falana believes that the letter is a Clarion Call to the president, advising him to act promptly against the influence of the Cabal. He pointed out; "President Olusegun Obasanjo's intervention is a vivid expression of the frustration of the Nigerian people with the Buhari administration. "The statement is a clarion call on President Buhari to remove the incompetent and corrupt cabal of power mongers that has hijacked political power from him. Through sheer nepotism and cronyism, the regime has lost the massive goodwill that heralded it to power. "The success recorded in the fight against insurgency in the northeast zone has been eroded in the wave of kidnapping and reckless killing of unarmed Nigerians by AK47-bearing herdsmen. The success of the fight against corruption and impunity has been rubbished by the inability of the regime to remove corrupt public officers. "President Obasanjo's challenge has been taken up by many Nigerians who have already formed a coalition of genuine progressive forces to liberate Nigeria from internal colonialism and imperialist control."  culled from Olu famous Mr Olumide's Blog |
| EFCC Staff Arrested For Demanding Bribe Through His Girlfriend Posted: 24 Jan 2018 05:31 AM PST  The two yet to be arraigned is being investigated for demanding for money to facilitate a case where they had special interests. A statement from the spokesman of the Commission Jemilu Sale said that under the leadership of its Chief Executive Ibrahim Magu whose zero tolerance for corruption and continual drive to fight corruption both internally and externally they have been recording success in their operations by ensuring that such rotten eggs are thrown away. He noted that "this zone has secured two convictions and made several recoveries in this month of January 2018 alone adding that Internal checks have also been weeding out the bad ones amongst its staff." He went on "On Friday the 19th of January, 2017, this zonal office got information from one of its suspects under investigation that someone posing as a staff of the Commission intimated him on phone about a case under investigation involving him in which the alleged imposter promised to avail him with the original case file on the condition for payment of an amount of money. "The Commission then detailed a team of operatives to investigate the matter. During the investigation, a staff of the Commission one Detective Assistant Habila Dungji Buba and his girlfriend Keron Ayuba Lapips were arrested while trying to make an exchange of the said case file reported in the matter. "The said Detective Assistant then revealed to the team of investigators one Sgt. Bashir Muhammad a police officer attached to the Maiduguri zonal office, as the person who gave him the said case file and also guided him on how to carry out the exchange successfully, on the grounds of helping him secure money to buy a car for which he had earlier informed the said Sergeant of his need and also of his financial incapacity." The release noted that the Investigation into the matter is still ongoing with a view to unveiling more facts on how they intended to finalize the corrupt acts even as servants in the temple of anti-corruption. The spokesman urged the public to report to any of its offices, demands anything by any person(s) regarding information on its cases as a means of interfering with the investigation stressing that victims should report any corrupt practices perpetrated by individuals or organisations. No date has been fixed for arraignment as the investigation is still ongoing. "The fight against corruption is a collective responsibility, everybody is a partner. Let's join hands and fight corruption," he concluded.  culled from Olu famous Mr Olumide's Blog |
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