Buhari capable of leading Nigeria, says Edwin Clark

Chief Edwin Clark

A former Federal Commissioner of Information, Chief Edwin Clark, has once again canvassed support for President Muhamadu Buhari.

He described the President as being capable of leading the country; therefore, he should be supported by all Nigerians.

Clark, who was one of the staunch supporters of former President Goodluck Jonathan, spoke in Abuja on Wednesday at his residence when he received a group, known as Probity Ambassadors Organisation of Nigeria.

APC NWC, lawmakers-elect meet today over N’Assembly leadership

                            National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Lai Mohammed

There are strong indications that the All Progressives Congress National Working Committee will on Thursday (today) direct its National Assembly members-elect to pick consensus candidates for the senate presidency and the speakership of the House of Representatives.

It was reliably gathered on Wednesday in Abuja that the issue of leadership of the eighth National Assembly would be a part of the agenda of the APC NWC’s meetings with senators-elect and their counterparts for the House.

A top member of the NWC, who confided in The PUNCH, said that the decision to pick consensus candidates was part of efforts to prevent the opposition Peoples Democratic Party from controlling the eighth National Assembly.

N8bn scam: Cash assistant has N134m in one account, says EFCC

More of the N8bn currency fraud suspects being taken to a court in Ibadan, Oyo State ... on Wednesday.

Hearing in the Central Bank of Nigeria N8bn mutilated currency fraud suit continued at the Federal High Court, Ibadan on Wednesday as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission told the court that one of the accused persons, Mr. Ayodeji Alase, had N134m in one of his bank accounts.

The EFCC told the trial judge, Justice A.O. Faaji, that Alase, a primary six certificate holder, started work at First Bank as a guard before he was promoted to the position of a cash assistant.

The lead prosecution counsel for the EFCC, Mr. Rotimi Jacob (SAN), also told the court that the accused had property worth hundreds of millions of naira.

AI wants Ihejirika, Badeh, others probed for war crimes … asks ICC, Buhari to launch investigation

                                                                                          Badeh; Ihejirika

Amnesty International has called on President Muhammadu Buhari and the International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands to investigate some former and serving Nigerian service chiefs for war crimes.

The crimes, according to the global civil rights organisation, were perpetrated during the fight against Boko Haram in the North-East between March 2011 and 2014.

It said in a   comprehensive report, entitled, “Stars on their shoulders, blood on their hands: War crimes committed by the Nigerian military,” that no fewer than 8,000 persons were “murdered, starved, suffocated and tortured to death “in the North-East during the period.

Don’t single me out for probe, Jonathan tells Buhari

President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday advised the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, not to single out his administration in any probe he may want to carry out after his inauguration on Friday.

He said all those advising Buhari to probe his administration must also advise him to extend his probe beyond his regime or else, the probe will be seen as a witch-hunt.

Jonathan made his position known at the valedictory session of the Federal Executive Council which he presided over at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He also said those calling for his administration’s probe should add that the probe should be extended to the way oil wells and fields were allocated in the past.

Police shut Anambra restaurant for serving human flesh

                                                                                   Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano

A restaurant in Anambra has reportedly been shut down for cooking human flesh and serving it to customers. The police were tipped off by locals who suspected something horrific was taking place inside the kitchen.

They raided the hotel restaurant to discover human heads which were still dripping with blood in plastic bags.

A local priest who ate at the restaurant was alarmed at the price of meals there, let alone where the meat came from, BBC Swahili reported.  He was presented with a bill of N700.

The priest said: ‘The attendant noticed my reaction and told me it was the small piece of meat I had eaten that made the bill scale that high.

American fans sue Pacquiao over injury

                                                                          Manny Pacquiao

Two Nevada men filed a class-action lawsuit against Manny Pacquiao on Tuesday, seeking millions in damages because they say he fraudulently concealed a shoulder injury before his defeat to Floyd Mayweather, AFP reports.

It is just the latest fallout from Mayweather’s victory in Las Vegas on Saturday in a unanimous decision, with Pacquiao saying afterwards that the shoulder complaint hampered his performance in the welterweight world title showdown.

The plaintiffs argue that by failing to go public with the injury before the feverishly anticipated bout, the Philippine icon and his camp violated the Nevada Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

Banks use female marketers to woo senators, Reps-elect

                                                                  National Assembly building, Abuja

Commercial banks have sent marketers, mostly females after newly-elected senators and members of the House of Representatives in Abuja to open discussions on investments and other business deals.

The energetic, sweet-talking and mostly female marketers, flooded the International Conference Centre, venue of an ongoing induction course for the new arrivals on Monday.

Investigations by The PUNCH showed that the target of the banks largely was to woo the lawmakers to open accounts with them.

Some of the smartly dressed marketers also offered loan opportunities they claimed their banks could guarantee with “friendly repayment terms.”

Controversial sacking of police IG

                                                                President Goodluck Jonathan

DISPLAYING utter contempt for the 1999 Constitution he swore to uphold, President Goodluck Jonathan has sacked Suleiman Abba as the Inspector-General of Police. He replaced him immediately with Solomon Arase, a Deputy Inspector-General, in an acting capacity. Both the dismissal and the acting appointment are gross violations of the 1999 Federal Constitution, Nigeria’s supreme law.

Without citing any cogent reason, the President unceremoniously fired Abba, who assumed office nine months ago. Sadly, however, these actions are in keeping with the trend of impunity in the Jonathan administration, which has consistently conducted itself in an imperial manner, to the detriment of the rule of law, the common good and growth of our democratic norms. They have all the trappings of using power for selfish end.

‘Missing’ $20bn oil money: I have nothing to hide, Jonathan tells Buhari

                                                                President Goodluck Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday said his administration had nothing to hide in respect of the claim by a former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor,   Lamido Sanusi, that   $20bn oil money was not remitted to the Federation Account by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

To prove this, he said he had directed that the full report by PriceWaterHouse which was commissioned to carry out a detailed investigation into the activities of the NNPC be made public immediately.

Jonathan, in a statement in Abuja by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity,   Reuben Abati,   also described   the allegation by the All Progressives Congress that his officials were embarking on last minute illegal actions as “unfortunate and uncharitable.”

‘Ondo deputy gov’s impeachment, a joke’

                                                                                Alhaji Ali Olanusi

Alhaji Ali Olanusi on Monday described his removal by the Ondo State House of Assembly as deputy governor as a huge joke.

Olanusi spoke through his lawyer, Oluwole Kayode, hours after the Commissioner for Agriculture,   Lasisi Oluboyo, was sworn in as the state’s new deputy governor.

Olanusi’s travails began a month ago when he dumped the Peoples Democratic Party for the All Progressives Congress.

In condemning his impeachment, he reminded the lawmakers of   an April 23 court order that the status quo be maintained in respect of his office.

Pesticide responsible for Ondo deaths, says WHO

                                                                                   Dr. Margaret Chan

The World Health Organisation says pesticide poisoning is the probable cause of mysterious deaths of over 18 people in Ode Irele, in Irele Local Government Area of Ondo State.

Those who died suffered from blurred vision and headaches, and then lost consciousness before dying within 24 hours.

The “current hypothesis is cause of the event is herbicides,” WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl, said in a tweet.

“Tests done so far are negative for viral and bacterial infection,” he added.

The WHO spokesman said the current theory was that the deaths were caused by weedkiller.

All of those affected started showing symptoms between April 13 and 15.

My plea for forgiveness not cowardice –Fayose

                                                        Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose

The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has said his asking for forgiveness should not be taken for cowardice by his opponents, saying his tenure in office will be determined by God.

He said he took the step to seek a genuine reconciliation with the All Progressives Congress, whose 19 lawmakers in the state House of Assembly were plotting his impeachment.

The governor spoke on Sunday at the thanksgiving service organised for him at the Cathedral Church of Emmanuel, Anglican Communion, Ado Ekiti, to celebrate his electoral victory at the Supreme Court.

Fayose said, “I asked for forgiveness for reconciliation and to pursue genuine peace. Waiving the olive branch does not mean cowardice, it is for peace.

I didn’t spend N2tn on elections –Jonathan

                                                                               President Goodluck Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday said there was no truth in a report that he and the Peoples Democratic Party spent N2tn for campaigns ahead of the just-concluded general elections.

He also denied setting up a committee to conduct an audit of how the elections funds were disbursed by party members and state officials.

Jonathan made the clarification in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati.

S’Africa attacks: Nigerians lose N21m, says envoy

Zimbabweans moving their belongings from a temporary refugee camp in Chatsworth, South of Durban in South Africa before boarding a bus back to their country... on Sunday

Nigerian Consul-General in South Africa, Amb. Uche Ajulu-Okeke, said on Sunday that Nigerians lost more than N21m Rand (1.2m) in the on-going xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

Ajulu-Okeke told the News Agency of Nigeria by phone from Johannesburg, South Africa, that the loss included looted shops, burnt shops, two burnt mechanic workshops, 11 burnt cars and two stolen cars, among others.

“Nigerians have compiled the cost of the damage to their property and it is totalling about 1.2m Rand or N21m, which will be sent to the Federal Government for further action,” the ambassador said.

She said that two of the three Nigerians who were wounded during the attacks in Durban had been treated and discharged from the hospital.

Jonathan demands N2tr election funds refund, audit

                                                                      President Goodluck Jonathan

Following the defeat suffered by President Goodluck Jonathan and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, during the March 28 and April 11 elections, the President has asked the party and government officials, who handled campaign funds, to refund unspent monies, or those not judiciously expended, SUNDAY PUNCH can authoritatively report.

Jonathan, credible sources said, has also set up a committee of five to get those with the funds to return them.

Sources within the party and the government told our correspondents that Jonathan was disturbed that despite giving campaign coordinators, ministers, special advisers, close aides and friends, support groups and traditional rulers over N2tr in cash, most of them could not deliver their polling booths and local governments.

Handover: Buhari may write Jonathan over May 28 date

                                            President-elect, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari

President-elect, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd) may write President Goodluck Jonathan to seek clarification on the May 28 handover date.

Sunday PUNCH reliably gathered on Saturday that to avoid dispute between the incoming and outgoing administrations, Buhari would ask for explanation on a statement by the Minister of Information, Mrs. Patricia Akwashiki, on Wednesday.

The minister had, after the Federal Executive Council meeting, told journalists that Jonathan would hand over to Buhari at a dinner in Abuja on May 28.

She had said, “By May 28, the President intends to have the formal handover done at a dinner so that we can reserve May 29 for the incoming government.

CBN to prosecute proprietors, others demanding foreign currencies

                                                                       The Naira and dollar

The Central Bank of Nigeria says it will not hesitate to prosecute persons, including school managers, who demand and accept tuition in foreign currencies.

A statement by the bank’s Director Corporate Communications, Ibrahim Mu’azu, noted that the CBN Act of 2007 criminalised the usage of other foreign denominations over naira.

“The attention of the bank has been drawn to the increasing usage of foreign currencies in the domestic economy as a medium of payment for goods and services by individuals and corporate bodies.

“It has also been observed that some institutions price their goods and services in foreign currencies and demand payments in foreign currencies rather than the domestic currency (the Naira), which is the legal tender in Nigeria.

IOC President invites Buhari to Lausanne

                                                                  Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd)

President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, has congratulated the President-elect, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) on his victory at the polls and also extended an invitation to him to visit the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.

In a congratulatory message sent to Buhari and copied to the President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee, Mr. Habu Gumel, the IOC President told Buhari that, “the election demonstrates the great confidence the people of Nigeria have in you. For your team, I wish you all the very best and a great success.”

Buhari, who will also become the Grand Patron of the NOC from May 29, was invited to the IOC headquarters by Bach.

Revealed: Plot to abduct Jega during presidential poll

                                                                   INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega

Fresh facts have emerged on the March 31 attempt by a former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, to scuttle the announcement of the March 28 presidential election results.

The main part of Orubebe’s action, according to Reuters on Thursday, was a plot to use hired thugs     to kidnap the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, and consequently stall the electoral process.

The news agency quoted unnamed pro-democracy advocates and a Nigeria-based diplomat as saying that one of Jega’s aides unearthed the plot.

It said that the aide had sent a text message to an independent voting monitor, “warning of an imminent threat to the electoral process.”