1000 missing Cows: Nassara State Govt. Sets up Cow Finding Committee.

In order to recover 1000 missing cows some communities in his state, Gov. Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State

has announced the establishment of a committee to work for the recovery of over 10,000 cows that got missing during the recent communal crisis in the state. He announced this during a meeting with leaders of the Fulani ethnic group in the state at his private residence in Lafia. Al-Makura said that the committee would be saddled with the responsibility of recovering all the missing cows across the state. It would be recalled that some parts of the state, particularly Nasarawa South Senatorial District, have been enmeshed in communal crisis since June last year. In the crisis, many people were killed, property worth several millions of naira were destroyed, while thousands of cows got missing. Al-Makura assured the leadership of the Fulani group that the committee would handle the assignment efficiently, adding that the necessary logistics would be given to the committee to make its assignment easier. He said that members of the committee included soldiers, policemen, members of the State Security Service (SSS) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), as well as some state government officials. ``The committee will visit every nook and cranny of the state to ensure that all the missing cows are found,’’ he stressed. Besides, Al-Makura announced that 200 of the missing cows, which had been recovered at Kwandare, were currently under the custody of the traditional ruler of that area. He urged the Fulani leaders to supervise the herdsmen during their visit to Kwandare to identify their cows.

FG to Ezekwesili : How did you spend N457.8 Billion Education fund as Minister?

Call it the blame game, responding to criticisms or outright quest for transparency in the management of the country’s resources, more information will be streaming out in the coming years as the Federal Government has taken the query from the former World Bank Vice President, Mrs. Obiageli Ezekwesili on how the the Umaru Yar’Adua and President Goodluck Jonathan administrations spent the $45bn left in the foreign reserves account and $22bn in the Excess Crude Account by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo administration from a critical point of view and have technically taken the former minister of education to the cleaners. Ezekwesili , who was a former Minister of Solid Minerals and Education under Obasanjo and a founding director of Transparency International had at the convocation lecture of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, last week alleged the that Nigerians had lost dignity because of ravaging poverty arising from poor choices of the elite, corruption and lack of investment in education saying that, “The present cycle of boom of the 2010s is, however, much more vexing than the other four that happened in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.This is because we are still caught up in it and it is more egregious than the other periods in revealing that we learned absolutely nothing from the previous massive failures.”

The former minister while lamenting the squandering of the significant sum of $45bn in the foreign reserves account and another $22bn in the Excess Crude Account being direct savings from increased earnings from oil that the Obasanjo administration handed over to the successor government in 2007, revealed that six years after she handed over what she described as a huge national wealth to the next government, most Nigerians, especially the poor, continue to suffer the effects of failing public health and education systems as well as decrepit infrastructure and battered institutions. “One cannot but ask what exactly does symbolize with this level of brazen misappropriation of public resources? Where did all that money go? But in response to her pointers, the Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, has said that the statements made by former minister are “even more curious in light of the fact that she has held senior positions in government, and more recently, a position as a Vice President of the World Bank.”

In a statement in response to the accusation obtained by goodnameafrica, Maku while making an attempt to clear the air said that the statements credited to Ezekwesili was not only incorrect but rather indicted the former minister and asking her to account for how she spent the sum of N457.8 Billion while sitting as the minister for education. “We also found Mrs. Ezekwesili's interrogation of the educational system somewhat disingenuous and borderline hypocritical. During her tenure as Minister of Education between 2006 and 2007, she collected a total sum of N352.3 billion from direct budgetary releases. In addition, she received about N65.8 billion under the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Fund, and over N40 billion from the Education Trust Fund (ETF) during her time as Minister of Education. In view of these humongous allocations, a few legitimate questions arise. What did she do with all these allocations? What impact did it have on the education sector? One wonders if our educational system would have been better today if these allocations were properly applied,” Maku said. In explaining how funds in the excess crude oil account and external reserves were spent, Maku said that at the time the Obasanjo administration left office, the nation’s gross reserves stood at $43.13 Billion against $67 Billion being allesged by Ezekwesili. “The statement by the former World Bank Vice President that the governments of Presidents Musa Yar'adua and Goodluck Jonathan have squandered $67 billion in reserves (including $45 billion in external reserves and $22 billion in the Excess Crude Account) left by the Obasanjo Administration at the end of May 2007 is factually incorrect. At the end of May 2007, Nigeria's gross reserves stood at $43.13 billion - comprising the CBN's external reserves of $31.5 billion, $9.43 billion in the Excess Crude Account, and $2.18 billion in the Federal Government's savings. These figures can be independently verified from the CBN's records. , The figure of $67 billion alleged in her statement is therefore clearly fictitious,” he said.

He went on to explain that since President Obasanjo left office, the reserves experienced fluctuations, rising from $43.13 billion in May 2007, peaking at $62 billion in September 2008 during the Yar'adua/Jonathan Administration when oil prices peaked at $147 per barrel, and falling subsequently to a low of $31.7 in September 2011. “This fall in reserves was a result of the vicissitudes of the global financial crisis which caused CBN interventions in the currency market to defend the value of the naira. The Excess Crude savings, a component of the reserves, was also used to stimulate the economy at the height of the global financial crisis to the tune of about $1 billion (or 0.5 percent of our 2009 GDP). As a result, Nigeria is one of the few countries in the world that did not seek assistance from international financial institutions. It should be noted that the fiscal stimulus used to shore up the economy during that period was shared by all 3-tiers of government, including commitments of about $5.5 billion made under the Obasanjo Administration for power projects,” the minister said. On the use of reserves, Maku said it was fallacious of the former World Bank chief to say that the nation's external reserves were dipped into or misapplied by the Federal Government. “It is important to note that the Federal Government cannot dip its hands into external reserves. Like in other countries, the management of external reserves is one of the statutory mandates of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Section 2 sub-section (c) of the CBN Act (2007) states that the Bank shall "maintain external reserves to safeguard the international value of the legal tender currency" – in other words, to defend the value of the Naira. No President since the democratic dispensation has contravened this Act. Other uses of the reserves are to settle both public and private sector foreign currency obligations of Nigeria, including the importation of goods such as equipment for power sector. Whenever a ministry or agency of government needs to incur approved expenditure in foreign currency (e.g. payment of goods and services, settlement of external debt, etc) it must provide the naira equivalent to the CBN before the Bank sells the required foreign currency. As a former World Bank Vice-President for Africa, surely, Mrs. Ezekwesili must have known this.”

While commending the Jonathan administration of having restored macroeconomic stability against the backdrop of global economic uncertainty, slow growth in the United States and high unemployment and unsustainable debt in Europe, Maku said Nigeria still faces challenges, most of which were built up over a long time but Nigerians need to acknowledge the significant achievements of the administration in the aftermath of difficult but necessary macroeconomic and structural reforms being implemented in the country. Maku described as disingenuous and borderline hypocrisy Ezekwesili’s criticism of the educational saying that during her tenure as Minister of Education between 2006 and 2007, the minister collected a total sum of N352.3 billion from direct budgetary releases. “In addition, she received about N65.8 billion under the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Fund, and over N40 billion from the Education Trust Fund (ETF) during her time as Minister of Education. In view of these humongous allocations, a few legitimate questions arise. What did she do with all these allocations? What impact did it have on the education sector? One wonders if our educational system would have been better today if these allocations were properly applied.” Maku went on to describe how the economy did withing the first quarters of 2012. “ In the first 3 quarters of 2012, Nigeria's economy grew by about 6.4 percent and is set to continue at a similar pace in 2013 according to independent forecasts. We have reduced our fiscal deficit to only 2.17 percent of GDP in the 2013 budget, while rebalancing our spending in favour of capital expenditure. These achievements have already received strong endorsement from international ratings agencies. At a time when many advanced and emerging markets are being downgraded, Fitch and S&P have upgraded our sovereign credit ratings. The inclusion of Nigeria's sovereign bonds in the emerging market bond indices of JP Morgan and Barclays also testifies to the growing confidence of the international investment community in our economy,” he said. He went on: “We have also focused our attention on removing the bureaucratic and structural bottlenecks in the economy to enable the private sector create more jobs for our youths. In the power sector, most Nigerians will attest to improvements in power supply even as the 10 new power plants being built by this Administration are yet to fully come on stream. There have also been improvements in rail services; for example, the Lagos—Kano rail line is now fully operational and serving Nigerians for the first time in over 20 years. There have been significant improvements in road development; aviation – in particular refurbished terminals; and agriculture, where new jobs are being created every day. Serious work is ongoing to improve our ports and lower the cost of doing business and the cost of consumption in Nigeria. The government has further launched a number of initiatives targeted at creating jobs for our youth, including support for entrepreneurship through the YouWin Programme; work for the unskilled through the Community Services programme of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme; and support for unemployed graduates through the Graduate Internship Programme. This administration is squarely focused on promoting a stable, non-inflationary, and inclusive economic environment for Nigeria to ensure that Nigerians can live better and more fulfilled lives.” There has been no response yet from the former minister but being a founding member of the Transparency International and having served under the Obasanjo administration as a two time minister as well as establishing the office of due process, Ezekwesili, a highly revered and respected economist is expected to respond to the allegations leveled against her integrity.

Ribadu to Northen Governors: Show what you have done with N8.3 Trillion in 11 years.

This is not the best of times for people in government as more citizens are calling more transparency and accountability to their spending of state funds. Just days after a former minister inquired of the Federal government to explain how they spent the $45bn left in the foreign reserves account and $22bn in the Excess Crude Account by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo administration, former boss of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has asked the governors of the 19 Northern States to account for the N8.3 trillion that accrued to their states between 1999 and 2010 as there was nothing to show for the huge resources at the state and local government levels. Ribadu made this known at a two-day summit of Northern Development Focus Initiative (NDFI) and lamented that despite the fact that each of the 414 local governments in the north currently has budget in excess of that of the entire Northern Region under the late Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello, successive administrations in the region have failed to meet the expectations of the people. He blamed the problem on corruption, saying: "We have got a problem with our country.” Ribadu said it is unfortunate that 90 per cent of the nation's resources are being stolen by public officials. He added: "When Major Nzeogwu made his speech to justify the takeover of power on January 15th, 1966, he mentioned that the military took over because the first republic politicians were collecting ten percent bribes...but nonetheless it is presupposed that at least they were using 90 percent of the resources to do the work. But the question we are asking now is 'What is happening now'? It is either the other way around: public officials taking away 90 percent and using 10 percent to work or even out rightly looting of the treasury. In fact, from recent reports, a lot of money is stolen from the source, that it does not even make its way to the treasuries of the many governments in the country today. As I was writing this paper I stumbled on a tweet that got me thinking that read as follows, "The revenue Nigeria received for the whole of last year (2012) from the sale of crude oil is more than the yearly aid, the entire sub Saharan Africa received. Where is the money, where is the improvement?" This was a question posed to us by the UK Prime Minister, David Cameron at the World Economic Forum in Davos,” he asked.

Anambra dead bodies: Hold Anambra SARS responsible--CLO

The Anambra State Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) have been accused by the Civil liberties organization (CLO) in Anambra State of complicacy in the gruesome discovery of close to 50 dead bodies discovered floating in a river in the state recently. The State Chairman of CLO, Comrade Aloysius Attah and Secretary, Comrade Justus Ijeoma in a press statement pointed accusing finger at the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) saying they contended that litanies of extra judicial killings have been rampant in the state insisting that government should investigate the activities of the body.

But the State Police Command through the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Mr. Emeka Chukwuemeka denied the allegation, describing it as untrue and added that there were no bullet wounds on the bodies of the corpses. Chukwuemeka stressed that an autopsy is already been carried out by a team of specialist on the bodies and that such insinuations would affect investigation into the matter. Two weeks ago, The town of Amansea located at the border of Enugu and Anambra State woke up last week to discover dead bodies of able bodied young men floating on their river known as ‘Ezu river’ which empties into Anambra River from Agba Ogwudu River in Enugu State and the issue has been generating concerns as most of the dead bodies still had some of their clothing on.

Anambra State governor Mr. Peter Obi, who had to cut short a foreign trip, on arrival immediately visited the river and announced a N5 million reward for anybody that can give a clue to finding those involved in the dastardly act. Though, the villagers claim to have seen fifty floating dead bodies, after the recovery of eighteen bodies from the river, the state police commissioner Mr. Bala Nasarawa announced that autopsy would be carried out on three bodies. Though the villagers claimed to have seen fifty floating dead bodies, the police team led by the Anambra State Police Commissioner Mr. Bala Nassrawa,said the bodies recovered were eighteen out of which three were selected for autopsy while the rest of the fifteen had already decomposed. He further revealed “we have also discovered that there were no gun injuries or matchet cuts founded on their bodies as being speculated and the dead bodies are not up to thirty” Nasarawa announced that the autopsy team would comprise of the commissioner for Health Anambra State, as well as the Police Commissioner in charge of Medicals and other pathologists from the two states, Anambra and Enugu states. As investigations has commenced to unwrap the perpetrators of the crime, so many insinuations from so many quarters are being traded as to the origin of the dead bodies as some claim they may have been brought in from the neighboring state of Enugu to deepen confusion, the other see it as robbers that were shot by the police. Their arguments may not be farfetched as fresh blood stains were seen on top of the bridge that morning which indicated that the alleged van carrying the bodies may have halted on the bridge to evacuate the bodies. But CLO further alleged that the anti-robbery group may have resorted to killing and dumping of the corpses in river because the former place where they bury their victims in shallow graves within Agu Awka has been developed for residential houses. He further said, “The reason we are worried is not far fetched. Awkuzu SARS has acquired notoriety as the worst detention center by the police in Anambra where human bazaar goes on unabated. For instance, on November 4, 2004, our fellow comrade, Ifeanyi Onuchukwu was detained in the line of duty as an activist. He later came out with a chilling revelation that the SARS operatives that same night at about 7.15pm mass murdered 20 able bodied men in their custody. A lawyer who did not want her name disclosed told goodnameafrica that CLO might have some truth in their allegations because so many human right abuses and extra judicial killings goes on in the dreaded SARS office located along Awkuzu junction in the State. “I agree to what CLO is saying because I have handled a case there, when their cell gets congested, they bring out some and shoot them. Thereafter, they dispose their bodies in only God knows where. On one occasion I saw two dogs licking blood from the walls of the station and I almost fainted. I had to fast track my client's case and got him moved him to Onitsha prisons before he was eventually released because SARS couldn't

prove their case beyond reasonable doubt as they accused my client of armed robbery and could not provide victim(s)or the arms used for the operation,” she said. CLO therefore called on government to bring in a team of foreign pathologists or in the event of using a Nigerian such pathologists must be procured from different geopolitical zones of the country to avoid partiality and compromise in unraveling the mystery behind the dead bodies.

Conviction of Okah: MEND promises to attack with nuclear warhead.

In retaliation for the convictions of two of its members to life imprisonment, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has promised to stage an attack that would be likened to a massive earthquake that will be trigged by nuclear war head, which will destroy the entire oil wells, oil pipelines and installations across the country. In a statement dated 23rd January, 2013 signed by one Comrade Azizi, with reference MEND/QTD/82MP/2013 and subject: Conviction of our Leader and Founder Mr. Henry Okah, the militant group acknowledged the conviction of their leader, Henry Okah in a South African court and described the judicial process that led to his being found guilty on 13 counts charges of terrorism as “Aso Rock Politics on a man who refused to be bought over.” Henry Okah was last week found guilty by South African court on terrorism charges and is awaiting sentencing likely to be life imprisonment. Four days after his conviction, an Federal High Court sitting in Abuja also sentenced another accomplice of the former MEND leader, Mr. Edmund Ebiware, to life imprisonment for his failure to disclose to the agents of the Nigerian Government that acts of terrorism were being planned. While delivering his ruling, Justice Gabriel Kolawole who had listened to the testimony of the witnesses as well as seen the exhibits, denounced Ebiware’s attitude and The judge drew from Section 40 (B) of the Criminal Code Act, which says anybody that becomes an accessory to treason or becomes aware of the commission of treason and fails to give evidence to the President, a State Governor or a law enforcement officer in order to prevent the commission of the crime, is liable to treason and sentenced to life imprisonment. He concluded that the accused person is adjudged guilty as charged, being aware early in September 2010, that Henry Okah was planning a bomb attack but did not give such information to any of the persons or authority listed in Section 40 (B) of the Criminal Code Act. An enraged Ebiware had a violent encounter with the security operatives at the premises of the court after his conviction yelling on top of his voice in a gesture apparently targeted at the media saying: "my conviction is political after what I have done for this country is this how they will pay me back." But it seemed that the threat letter had already been written before Ebiware was convicted last week. Part of the threats in the statement, which was made available to goodnameafrica, were that the disintegration of Nigeria would start from the region, The banishment of the Minister of the Niger Delta Ministry Mr. Orubebe Peter Godsday from Delta State and the entire Niger Delta region as well as promises to attack the families of the Nigeria ruling class abroad. “To the Nigerian Government, you have seen NOTHING, the disintegration of Nigeria will start through us and by us and we are well equipped for this task. We have details of all the family members of the Government (1999-2013) and our Diaspora Command will take care of that aspect, we will get to them, we will skin them and post their remains to your door steps as compensation to the Ode people, except our resources are handed over to us without conditions. All Federal, States and Local Government officials under the pay roll of the Government ( ministers, Permanent Secretaries, Director Generals, Directors etc ) should stay away from the Niger Delta, if found anywhere in the South South region, they will have themselves to blame and that is if they live to tell the tales.The Minister of the Niger Delta Ministry Mr. Orubebe Peter Godsday is hereby banished from Delta State and the region at large pending when he returns the money he stole which was meant for the Niger Delta Development Councils and also while with:(a) Burutu Local Government Council, Delta State (1991-1993),(b) As second Member: Primary Education Board, Asaba, Delta State 2000-2003.(c) As the Special Adviser to James Ibori former Delta State Governor on Urban/Regional Planning between January 2004 and November 2005. This whole money belongs to the Niger Delta people and must be returned or he should be ready to face the consequences along with your nuclear and immediate family members. To our Natural Resources, there will soon be a massive earthquake that will be trigged by our nuclear war head, this earthquake will destroy the entire oil wells, oil pipelines especially to Kaduna refinery, oil installations, oil rigs and what have you, when it happens, which we know will be very soon, the Government and those owners of these oil wells and installation will know it’s a different ball game. All oil companies, (foreign or local) should start parking up from the region as this might be the last warning, we really will not want civilians to be caught in between so please take this warning seriously. To our old breed Commanders, you can talk as much as you want just because you were bought over for a token but we wonder why the fight against your masters, the hurricane is almost there and it will sweep everything left,” the statement read. While expressing their disappointment with the South African Government for the conviction of their leader, MEND in the statement said that some South African companies and citizens would be targeted if they meddle into the nation’s affairs. “To the South Africa Companies: we made some promises before and now we are repeating same, LEAVE NIGERIA totally, there will be massive and aggressive campaign on all companies owned, operated and affiliated to the South African Citizens or their Government both in Nigeria, Western and Southern Africa respectively.” While promising not to hide their faces or dialogue with their old comrades who the government might use for peace talks, the group chided the Nigeria Army not to “underrate their capabilities which will take the Nigerian Military another 10 years to catch.” The grouped said in the statement that would start after Henry Okah’s appeal. According to analysts, the statement looked like a mere threat with no real appeal and since it came without the infamous Gbomo Jomo signing off the statement, it could well be a distraction from getting justice to be done.

Health hazard engulfs Lagos community over vandalized oil pipeline.

The people in the Iju-Ishaga area of Lagos State and its environs are facing an unknown outbreak of outbreak of health hazardous substances is suspected to have been emitted by constant action of vandals on oil pipelines in the area. This development has led to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) strongly advising Nigerians who live around the areas affected by the spilling of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) against inhaling the product as a result of the indiscriminate activities of vandals who vandalized the pipelines and leaving the product to spilling all around the areas. The warning became necessary as a result of distressed calls from the residents of Oluwole Bisiriyu Street, Ilori Coker crescent, Kayode Williams Estate and Akute-Odo area in Iju-Ishaga, Lagos over the pollution of the fresh air as a result of pipeline vandalism over night by vandal. According to Ibrahim Farinloye, Information Officer, NEMA South West, Lagos, residents complained of serious stomach upset, nausea and coughing. “NEMA on getting the alert mobilized the safety personnel of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on the development and is almost concluding fixing the ruptured pipeline. However, the affected pipeline is located under the Ogun River and residents of these areas are strongly enjoined to avoid consumption and usage of the river-water in the next three water. Furthermore, the residents are also advised to seek further medical test, advice and treatment as long time measure against complications,” he said.