EFCC RE-ARRAIGNS EX-PDP CHAIR’S SON FOR SUBSIDY FRAUD

Two oil marketers and an oil marketing firm were on Tuesday brought before a Lagos State High Court in Ikeja over alleged N4.5bn fuel subsidy fraud.
The accused persons, who were freshly arraigned on an amended 49 counts of fuel subsidy fraud, include Mamman Ali, son of a former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party and Director-General of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation in the last general elections, Senator Ahmadu Ali.
Ali was charged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission alongside his two alleged accomplices – Christian Taylor and Nasaman Oil Services Limited, an oil marketing firm.
They three were dragged before Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo by the EFCC, which alleged that they fraudulently obtained N4.5bn as fuel subsidy claim from the Federal Government on a purported importation of 30.5 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit(petrol).
The re-arraignment of Ali and the two others on Tuesday followed the ‘disappearance’ of one Oluwaseun Ogunbambo, with whom they were first arraigned by the anti-graft commission on July 26, 2012.

OHANAEZE CHIEF THREATENS IGBO WILL SECEDE IF MARGINALISED

The Chairman of state Presidents of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, a socio-cultural organization, in seven Igbo speaking state, Dr. Chris Eluemunoh, on Tuesday warned against any attempt to “further marginalise” the Igbo in Nigeria.
Eluemunoh, who spoke with newsmen in Awka, the Anambra State capital, said such attempt would be greeted with a strong move for self-determination by the Igbo.
For him, Ndigbo had such concluded on such option, waiting for the “opportune time” to use the joker.
He said already, the United Nations had invited some Igbo elders, to hear them out about their demand for a sovereign state for the Igbo in June.
He said former National President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Dr. Dozie Ikedife, would be leading the Igbo delegation to the United Nations in June.
Eluomunoh, who was speaking against the backdrop of speculation that the incoming government of President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, might marginalise the Igbo because the people of the South-East voted against him in the just concluded general elections.
He said some time last year, the African Union had also granted an Igbo delegation a similar audience in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Attacks: Plateau govt declares curfew in 7 LGAs.

Following the recent attacks, killings and other acts of violence in some local government areas in Plateau state, the State government has ordered the restriction of movements in seven out of the 17 local government areas in the state.

In a statement issued in Jos and signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Communication, Mr. Christopher Bello, the affected Councils are Barkin Ladi, Riyom, Jos East, Mangu, Wase, Langtang North and Langtang South.

The curfew is to take effect between 10pm and 5am in the seven Local Government Areas with immediate effect and Security agencies in the State have been directed to enforce the restriction order and step up their surveillance across the State.

‘Girls raped, boys abducted, towns torched’ as South Sudan battle rages

Gunmen in South Sudan have raped girls, seized boys to become soldiers and torched towns in some of the heaviest fighting seen in the 17-month-long civil war, the United Nations said Tuesday.

Over 300,000 civilians have been left without “life-saving aid” in the northern battleground state of Unity, after the UN and aid agencies pulled out due to a surge in fighting, with over 100,000 forced to flee their homes.

The UN peacekeeping mission said it was “increasingly concerned” about reports from Guit and Koch counties in Unity state of “towns and villages being burned, killings, abductions of males as young as 10 years of age, rape and abduction of girls and women, and the forced displacement of civilians.”

POSTERITY SHALL JUDGE ME RIGHT – JONATHAN

President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday expressed confidence that posterity will judge his outgoing administration right.
According to Jonathan, his government has delivered the dividends of democracy in various sectors of the economy, particularly in the power sector as he claimed that the sector presently generates 6, 000 megawatts of electricity.
Jonathan lost to the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Muhammadu Buhari, in the March 28, 2015 presidential election and he is expected to hand over on the 29th of this month to a new government.
The President spoke through his deputy, Namadi Sambo, during the official inauguration of Niger Delta Power Holding Company/National Integrated Power Plant Gwagwalada 330/132/33KV Transmission Substation in Abuja.
Jonathan said, “Let me reiterate our firm belief and respect for democracy and its norms and values and our continued commitment to the progress and prosperity of our dear nation.

91-YEAR-OLD WOMAN THREATENS LAGOS GOVT OVER METROPOLITAN COLLEGE

A 91-year-old woman has threatened to occupy the Lagos State Governor’s office if the Metropolitan College and Isolo Secondary School are not returned to her within seven days.
The nonagenarian, Mrs. Roseline Ololo, gave the warning through a statement issued by her lawyer, Malcolm Omirhobo, Monday.
She vowed to permanently occupy Governor Babatunde Fashola’s office until her requests were met.
The woman with her late husband, Chief Michael Ololo founded the college in 1955 through their firm, Akaix West Africa Limited.
But the school was taken from them in 1976, following the military’s Education (Private Secondary Institutions Special Provisions) Law, which saw 48 private secondary schools collected from their owners in Lagos.
Subsequently, the Isolo Secondary School was established on the same premises as the Metropolitan College.

Asthmatic people usually have high IQ – Expert

A medical expert,   Prof. Emmanuel Bamidele, has said that asthma patients usually possess higher IQ than non-patients.

He spoke during the free screening exercise and lecture organised by the Nigeria Thoracic Society, one of the societies in the fore-front of caring for  asthma patients to mark this year’s world asthma day.

The theme for this year’s event is; ‘You can control asthma- preventing asthma death. ‘

According to Professor Bamidele, “ Studies have shown that asthmatics have higher IQ than the normal population out there. Some great personalities with asthma include a former president of United States of America, the world’s richest man, Bill Gates and various people who have won world championships in athletics.

N1.2billion Unspent Funds: ICPC to arraign former NSCDC boss, others

The Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, said it would soon arraign three officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, over N1.2 billion unspent funds.
A resident consultant with the ICPC, Folu Olamiti, made this known in a statement on Monday in Abuja.
The three officials will be arraigned before Justice Husseini Baba, of the Federal Capital Territory High Court on Tuesday.
According to Mr. Olamiti, the NSCDC officials to be arraigned include a former Assistant Commandant General, Mohammed Umar and Amobi Chidozie and Ojuolape Oyemomi, whose ranks were not specified.

Presidency expels German Radio correspondent from Aso Rock for asking “embarrassing question”

The Nigerian State House Media accreditation was on Monday withdrawn from a German Radio Deutsche Welle correspondent, Ubale Musa, by handlers of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Mr. Musa’s accreditation tag was withdrawn by security operatives attached to the Presidential Villa, for asking a visiting Chadian President, Idriss Deby, a question they found embarrassing.

Confirming the withdrawal, Mr. Musa said the Chief Security Officer to the President appears not to be comfortable with the question he asked the visiting Chadian leader.

Mr.Musa had asked the Chadian President the link between the troops of the Multi-national Task Force and mercenaries from South Africa that are currently fighting in the Sambisa forest.

He said the Chadian leader responded that he was not aware of the presence of mercenaries in Sambisa fighting alongside the multi-national troops.

My differences with Obi — Obiano

Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, celebrated one year of his swearing-in last Tuesday at a colourful ceremony at Ekwueme Square, Awka. In this chat with select journalists, he outlined his achievements in the last 365 days, his differences with his predecessor, Mr. Peter Obi and his quest to make the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) a national party.
By Clifford Ndujihe
On the efforts he is making to strengthen APGA
They made me chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) and leader of the party. Since then I have the enthusiasm to establish this party first all over the South-East. We are very likely to win Abia State governorship election. I have gone for rallies for Alex Otti twice. There will be one more in Aba.
We are doing very well in Ebonyi with Senator Agbo, our governorship candidate. What is going for us there is that he is from Ezzamgbo and that is where they have the voting population.
We are also going to do very well in Imo. Don’t forget Imo was APGA until Governor Rochas Okorocha moved to APC. We are still there strongly.
The other thing that is making us a national party is the interest shown by Nasarawa State. That is an area we can also win. Labaran Maku is with us. When he could not get the ticket in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) he joined APGA. He visited me once here. He has a strong opposition but he is doing very well.