$16 Billion Power Probe: IBB’s Call For OBJ’s Arrest Timely

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The time is now or never, for justice delayed is justice denied. The evil perpetrated by former Nigerian president Chief Olusegun Obasanjo during his eight years reign as Nigerian president is now catching up with him.

The clarion call by Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, during his 70th birthday anniversary and the press release issued by IBB’s allies represented by Barrister Salisu Mohammed of Civil Society Movement for Justice and Freedom; Comrade Chukwu Nwabueze of Movement for Freedom and Equal Rights and Barrister Abiodun Akanbi of Human Rights Action Network.

Other groups include: Social Rights Advancement Projects led by Comrade Nasiru Dalti; Transparency Network of Nigeria led by Alhaji Saleh Mamman and Good Governance Coalition under Engr. Umar Farouk Al Hassan. All the leaders of the six groups signed the press statement.

published by pmnews for the immediate arrest and prosecution of OBJ is timely owing to the fact that the immunity clause which shielded him from prosecution by the anti-graft agencies is no longer in place, it now behoove on president Jonathan and EFCC-chairperson Farida Waziri to wade in to this grand allegations by revisiting the power probe chaired by Hon Ndudi Elumelu to unravel those culprit who drained our treasury for their personal use.

It is high time the president direct through his AG and Minister of Justice Adoke that the S16-billion dollars power-scam which involved Obasanjo,Agagu and Imoke be re-open and suspects prosecuted including their God-father Chief O Obasanjo. $16 b is a big drain out of Nigerian treasury. With the loot of S16 b Obasanjo, Imoke, Agagu and their co-criminals are living big and jetting round the globe with their wives and children along with cronies. They must be arrested now and be prosecuted.No sacred cows.

According to the report the committee recommended the interrogation of some former and serving public officials by the country’s anti graft agencies for their roles in the power project contracts. Standing out among them are former president Olusegun Obasanjo; the then Governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Agagu; Governor of Cross River state, Mr. Liyel Imoke; Central Bank Governor, Professor Charles Soludo; the Accountant General of the Federation, Alhaji Ibrahim Dankwambo, among others.

The committee in the report expressed the belief that the intervention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in the matter would compel the indicted officials and institutions to account for their roles in the award and execution of the multi-billion naira contracts for the Independent Power Projects [NIPPs.]

The panel also indicted the former boss of Power Holding Company of Nigeria [PHCN] a cousin and Special Adviser to President Obasanjo, Mr. Joseph Makoju; proposed a mass purge in PHCN to enhance its performance; and submitted that all the power projects should be reviewed.

Agagu and Imoke, both former ministers in the Ministry of Power and Steel, according to the committee’s findings, awarded contracts to non-existing firms, and must be made to account for their actions.

The panel rejected their explanations on the role they played in the scandal as“unsatisfactory”. It recommended that the indicted persons, if found guilty in the trial the committee recommended, should be barred from holding any public office in future.

In the case of the possible culpability of Obasanjo and the former Minister of State for Energy, Alhaji Abdulhamid Ahmed, the committee was unsparing in its condemnation of the contentious practice of approvingwaivers for some contractors and, in a damning indictment, observed that in view of their alleged roles in the entire projects, Obasanjo and Ahmed should be cited for economic sabotage.

“The committee identified the brains behind waivers of due process on NIPP disbursements. The Justification at that time was to fast-track the completion of the projects. But rather than fact-track or facilitate the completion of the projects as envisaged, waivers of due process became the major plank that facilitated payments to contractors and consultants that have failed to perform, at the expense of the nation and the power industry. These officers need to be thoroughly investigated by the appropriate agencies for economic sabotage to the country,” according to the report.

Referring to Obasanjo, the report said: “In view of the enormity of issues entailed in the findings, it is recommended that former President Olusegun Obasanjo should be called to account for the recklessness in the power sector during his time. The committee recommends that EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences [ICPC] should investigate him.”

On Ahmed, the committee said: “For his patently willful manipulation of Due Process, flagrant abuse of Due Process, gross abuse of financial procedures in the award of contracts and payments, especially during the last few weeks of the Obasanjo administration, exemplified by initiation of requests to the president and procurement of presidential approvals for huge and questionable payments in respect of Papalanto Phase II, Mambila Plateau I, Zungeru Hydro, Omoku expansion, Gabarain Ubie expansion and Egbema expansion [nine additional GE Frame turbines to Rockson International] without due process compliance for contract award and certification for payment.”

“The committee found out that during the tenure of Dr Olusegun Agagu as Minister of Power and Steel, numerous contracts were awarded relying on a letter from the Corporate Affairs Commission [CAC]. at the time of Agagu’s tenure as minister in 2002, the committee found out that some unregistered companies were awarded huge contracts. ..Consequently, there was a prima facie evidence that Agagu awarded contracts without due process. Up till the time of this report, all efforts to the owners of the companies to appear in person before the committee proved abortive. Rather, the committee received some documents containing reports that the companies were registered. The true identities of the owners remained unresolved”.

“In view of the huge amounts involved, the committee recommends that EFCC and ICPC should investigate the allegations with a view to prosecuting anyone found culpable,” the report said on Agagu.

The report equally hit hard on the CBN and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation. On the CBN, the report said: “The committee is perturbed by the failure of the CBN Governor to provide information in respect of Letters of Credit opened and where the money involving over one billion dollars had been kept all these years.”

It therefore recommended that “in view of the apparent unwillingness of the CBN to cooperate with the committee in this matter or provide the committee with a proper account of withdrawals from the excess crude account, the balance on the account, where the money in respect of unutilized letters of credit are kept and interest that have accrued thereto, we recommend that the EFCC be invited to investigate the office of Accountant –General of the Federation and the CBN in respect of the above issues relating to Letters of Credit opened.”

Calling for a mass purge at the PHCN, the committee said: “The crass incompetence entrenched at the top echelon of management of the PHCN and NDPHC/NIPP must be addressed decisively and with utmost dispatch. In this respect, it would be absolutely necessary to cleanse the Aegean Stable immediately. The committee recommends intensive and extensive purge at all levels of PHCN and associated agencies.

Charles Audu, A public affairs analyst writes from Lagos

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How Peter Obi Rules Anambra State

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By C. Don Adinuba

“Failed state” is a term popularized by Bill Clinton following the coinage in 1993 in an essay in Foreign Policy by two American political scientists to describe countries whose governments do not enjoy legitimacy or control over all their territories, and do not provide the people with security, and do not fulfill primary obligations to the people and the international community; in fact, foreign governments and institutions distance themselves from such regimes as much as possible. Somalia, Taliban’s Afghanistan and Laurent Gbabo’s Cote d’Ivoire are excellent examples. As already adumbrated, the term is used mostly in international relations to refer to countries, rather than their component parts. But in his broadcast on August 27, 2006, to mark the 14th anniversary of Anambra State, Governor Peter Obi curiously called Anambra “a failed state”.

Neighboring Delta State was, when this broadcast was made, engulfed by debilitating security problems, including the Ijaw-Itsekiri fratricide. But James Ibori did not describe his state in lurid terms. Bayelsa and Rivers states were almost being overrun by militants, separatists, oil thieves armed with fearsome paraphernalia, etc. But the governors did everything within their means not to give the world the impression that their states were massive jungles. So, why did the Anambra governor gravely de-market his state by likening it to Somalia? Governor Obi wanted to legitimize his government by delegitimizing all his predecessors, a notorious political malaise in Africa.

Anambra still pays a heavy price for this mindset. I took a group of Indian businessmen to the state five years ago to build a factory, and introduced them to the governor at a party which he organized for Dora Akunyili when the NAFDAC chief executive received an honorable mention in Time magazine for her war against drug fakers. The governor displayed a great interest, which was quite encouraging. But when he made the broadcast and they picked it up from the Internet, the businessmen began to look elsewhere. Their factory has since gone into production at Agbara, Ogun State.

How has Anambra fared on Obi’s watch? As you are reading this article, no state government-owned health facility has opened in the last eight months because doctors, pharmacists, nurses, laboratory scientists and other health workers have been on strike over pay. My own people in Ihiala Local Government Area are a bit lucky; they go daily to health centres and hospitals in neighbouring Imo State for immunization and general medicare. For four months until the second week of July, 2011, no courts in Anambra State sat. Why? The workers were on strike over pay. Anambra enjoys the distinction of being the only state in the whole federation where the people, including those in Government House, have not enjoyed pipe-borne water for at least five years. Employees of the state water corporation have not received salaries in at least as many years. My own uncle, Pius Nwabugwu, a 1973 geology graduate of the University of Ibadan who voluntarily left the services of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to work for his home state, died last year without salary, gratuity or pension.

The situation in my home state tries men’s souls, to paraphrase the Great Zik of Africa. The situation challenges the conscience of the media, civil society and all those who can say no to sacrilege. A couple of weeks ago when I wrote a well circulated article calling attention to the abysmal state of roads in Ihiala, the fourth largest town in the state, and complained of the unjustifiable relocation of the state’s university from a place which represents Africa’s technological ingenuity as demonstrated the Nigerian civil war of 1967-70, the state government went into a frenzy of puerile denial, name calling and braggadocio, leading critics to conclude that it may be afflicted by schizophrenic paranoia. It is instructive that the most important qualification for recruitment into the Government House media team is an enthusiasm to play a rabies-infested Rottweiler, Chinua Achebe’s “rabid beast of fanaticism” and “dangerous lunatic”.

In reaction to my brief essay in question, countless articles, frenetically written, were sent to the print media and the Internet under all manner of names. The state radio and television were mobilized to attack my person. As though to add a comic touch, Aloy Egwuatu, an otherwise fantastic gentleman who was two years ago given the sinecure position of Commissioner for Science and Technology after the people of Ihiala, the largest Local Government Area in the state, complained bitterly that not even a personal assistant or part time director of a government agency came from their place, went on air to announce that my townspeople had dissociated themselves from the publication. Interestingly, the commissioner cannot, in this rainy season, move in his official Peugeot 406 car from his house to mine, a distance of five kilometers, because of the embarrassing roads. Nor can he drive to the residence of the Ihiala Progress Union president or the palace of our traditional ruler on account of the state of the roads.

A little comparison here may be telling enough. I wrote two articles in 2007 in the national media calling attention of the Bola Tinubu government in Lagos State to the absence of basic infrastructure in most parts of the Lekki Peninsula. On the day landlords in the area were meeting Tinubu over the state of roads in the Ajah part of the peninsula, Reuben Abati, then the chairman of The Guardian editorial board, coincidentally published a third article of mine on this lack of infrastructure entitled “Ajah—Badore Road: Open Sore of A State”. Tinubu had gifted propaganda storm troopers led by Information Commissioner Dele Alake, but he did not ask them to turn the heat on me or to remind me that I am not a Lagos indigene. He rather asked PW, the competent Irish construction firm, to reconstruct and expand the road for a whopping 2.8billion naira. As Babatunde Fashola was preparing to take over from Tinubu as governor, I ran into him at Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, and complained about the poor state of the road leading to my estate. Fashola dispatched a team of engineers and surveyors to my house within days. I now have a first class road, complete with excellent drains. Hence, Unity Estate residents did not feel the devastation of the July 7, 2011, rainfall like the rest of the peninsula.

Can anyone imagine how the Obi government would react to a Yoruba resident in Anambra State audacious enough to criticize the government for not extending considerable infrastructure to his place? Obi made all his fortune in Yorubaland, yet he does not tire of asking Anambra people to reject Ngige and his supporters in the Action Congress of Nigeria because, as he claims, the ACN is a Yoruba party, contrasting it with his All Nigeria Progressives Grand Alliance which he unabashedly calls the Igbo party. The ACN may well be a Yoruba party, but you can never hear that from the lips of Tinubu or Fashola. Why does the Obi group mouth APGA’s Igboness from the rooftops? Does the tiger need to proclaim its tigritude, as Wole Soyinka once said about negritude philosophy? Can APGA grow in leaps and bounds by alienating non-Igbo Nigerians from it? No wonder, ACN has been waxing stronger across the nation, but not APGA.

There is a determined effort at what Okey Ndibe, the famous writer and columnist, calls systematic North Koreanisation of Anambra State. The government wants to turn the people into robots, that is, elements grossly incapable of independent thought and action, as they rely thoughtlessly and wholly on government relentless and energetic propaganda, the type well bereft of verisimilitude. Take the state’s electronic media coverage of the senatorial contest between erstwhile governor Chris Ngige and former Information Minister Dora Akunyili. To this day, neither the Anambra radio nor television has announced the election result, which was conducted on Tuesday, April 26, 2011. When I asked some editors why they did not consider the result newsworthy, despite their sustained scurrilous attacks against Ngige and the canonization of Akunyili prior to the vote, they replied, ”Do you want us to lose our jobs?” Need I say anything about the plight of Anambra Broadcasting Service employees who have retired in the last few years?

How did the home state of Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chinua Achebe, Chike Obi, Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu, Pius Okigbo, K.O.Dike, Ukpabi Asika, Olaudah Equiano, Mokwugo Okoye, Nwafor Orizu, etc, come to the present state? Governor Obi himself would ask rhetorically, “Is the fault with us? Or is it in our star?”

Adinuba is head of Discovery Public Affairs Consulting

Embracing the new CBN Initiative on Agriculture

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by Ochanya Samuels

The coming of the Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi in June 3, 2009 as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria [CBN] was turbulent – following the completion of tenure by the previous Governor of the CBN in the person of Prof Charles Chukwuma Soludo. It brought shockwaves to the many regions of Nigeria and to the financial world as the new incoming Governor sought sweeping reforms to the Nigerian Banking system to bail out Nigerian Banks operating at the verge of near collapse.

Just two months following his arrival, the new Governor led the CBN into bailing out of Afribank, Intercontinental Bank, Union Bank, Oceanic Bank and Finbank with 400 billion naira of public money, while dismissing their chief executives. \”We had to move in to send a strong signal that such recklessness on the part of bank executives will no longer be tolerated.\” – stated Sanusi. Sixteen senior bank officials faced charges that included fraud, lending to fake companies, giving loans to companies they had a personal interest in and conspiring with stockbrokers to boost share price.

Sanusi’s immediate jolt was felt instantly which generated a reactionary clatter in high decibels that quickly took a political dimension threatening the near distortion of the new CBN and its initiatives.

Economic development was top on the new CBN’s initiatives and it draws from the CBN Act of 2007 which explicitly provided and mandated for the CBN to play the developmental roles in the economy. Like other Central Banks in a developing economy, the development and sustenance of a vibrant real sector is germane to the efficacy of monetary policy tools.

Among the policy tools the new CBN has turned to stimulate needed economic activity in the real sector is the ground breaking initiative it recently launched on agriculture. Through a revolutionary approach designed by the new CBN, it boosts agricultural activity through softened lending programs.

According to official labor statistics, localized agricultural activity has been the largest employer in Nigeria. Specifically, 70% of available labor in Nigeria is employed in the local agricultural industry equivalent to 40.05million people out of the 57.21million total labor force. Interestingly, the large chunk of the labor market impacts the Gross Domestic Product [GDP] a messily 26.8% – indicating a wide untapped potential – to help boost the GDP per capital beyond the current $3640, and possibly an opportunity to decrease the segment of the population living below the poverty line from to the current 67.5million Nigerians [45% of Nigerian population] to below 34million.

Through this realization, the CBN sought to utilize its mandate in the CBN Act of 2007 to engineer the local agricultural sector into a vibrant sector to possibly affect the Nation’s GDP. It launched the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending [NIRSAL]. The NIRSAL, according to the CBN, is geared to make the risk of lending to local farmers who typically have little or no real collateral to present to lending Banks. The NIRSAL posits to provide shared risk to the lending Banks and to increase agricultural lending by $3billion over 10years equivalent to an increase from 1.4% to 7% of Nigeria’s total bank lending.

Historically the agricultural sector had not faired well due largely to limited available credit. This is because lending banks associate agricultural sector with high lending risk – the banks lack the skills to properly evaluate/ rank associated risks. Some lending banks did not trust the farmer would make enough profit to repay the loan. In affect, the lending banks did not want to carry the risk alone. For this reason, the monies previously made available by the past administration at the CBN failed to reach the intended final users – the local farmers.

Implementation of NIRSAL points to directly to sealing the gaps in the earlier interventions by designing into the program five solution components for the lending bank. The solution components are basically to provide incentives for the Banks to lend to local farmers at lowered risks and interest rates – they comprise of; Risk Sharing Facility, Insurance Component, Technical Assistance Facility, Bank Incentive Mechanism, and Agricultural Bank Rating System.

The NIRSAL as designed will not only cater to the farmer alone. The new CBN discovered that the local farmer depends on other factors to enable his crop reach the appropriate market in a timely manner. This requires the constructing, linking and servicing the commodity and financial value chains for all players to optimize their businesses by ensuring that operator, from the farm to the market, is properly funded, assisted and given adequate incentives to play their different roles appropriately. It requires ensuring that needed infrastructure, roads, irrigation, processing facilities, extension service, marketing support, insurance, improved seeds variety, fertilizer, and technical assistance are provided – so that every part of the chain functions unhindered.

Through the CBN’s Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme [CACS] in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources, established in 2009, the scheme sought implementation of the NIRSAL program of providing financing of agricultural value chain from input supply to commodity marketing. And the results, judging by data obtained from the field, indicate the new CBN’s scheme as having succeeded in its objectives.

Since the implementation of the scheme, under the new CBN, 20,826 new jobs have been created, 185 skilled, 231 semi-skilled and 20,412 unskilled. A reported increased in production output of 3.5metric tones per hectare of maize was recorded. Yoghurt and fruit juice increased to 3,000liters per hour and 1,200 tonnes respectively; fingerlings production increased to 260,000 per day; poultry increased to 1,800,000 birds manufacture of layers raised to 963,100; pigs increased to 20,500; nestle milk increased to 11,376metric tonnes; etc. In addition, 13 grounded large scale agricultural projects have been revived.

The success is credited directly to the NIRSAL program which enable for loan disbursement to the four main value segments of food processing [N46.14billion]; food production [N25.34billion]; food marketing N6.26billion]; and food storage [N1.08billion]. A remaining sum of N103.19billion awaits disbursement as at December 31, 2010.

Perhaps, as the NIRSAL comes into full gear, and the credit facilities continue to reach the sector previously ignored by the previous failed interventions, the near 41million labor force employed in the agricultural sector would find their activities generate appreciable income to positively affect the National GDP and considerably decrease the percentage living below the poverty line in Nigeria. Just Perhaps.

Nigerian Compass Moves to Placate EFCC over Case of Economic Sabotage

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Destroys 8,950 copies of ‘bad press’ to appease Waziri

The management of Western Publishing Company Limited, publishers of the Nigerian Compass and The Westerner, has embarked on moves to placate if not compromise, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the case of corruption and economic sabotage brought against it at the commission by a former Editor of its Sunday title, Mr. Dotun Oladipo.

The company on Wednesday destroyed 8,950 copies of the pullout of its Thursday edition that contained damaging and uncomplimentary reports on the Chairperson of the EFCC, Mrs. Farida Waziri.

It was learnt that the story, an interview with the President of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), Mr. Olasupo Ojo, criticized Waziri’s leadership of the EFCC, describing the anti-graft agency as having become corrupt under Waziri.

In the interview, meant to have been published in the Law Personality column of Compass Law on Thursday, August 25, 2011, the rights activist had said among other things that, “Mrs. Waziri can never deliver anything positive in EFCC; I have told her on several occasions; I have challenged her to come and confront me in a debate – a public debate – and I will unmask her. She is not competent to be at the helms of affair of the EFCC; I think we should just stop deceiving Nigerians. EFCC is dead, only a change of guard will revive it.”

In the two-page interview conducted by Olugbenga Soyele, the CDHR chief added: “The woman is no longer worthy of that office; if she has credibility she should resign. I am telling her to resign and go back to retirement….”

The interview, scheduled for publication in the pullout pages of the newspaper was on Pages 14 and 18.

However, after the printing of the 8,950 copies of the pullout was concluded in the wee hours of Wednesday, the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of the Nigerian Compass, Mr. Sina Kawonise, spotted what he considered an opportunity to appease Waziri.

Kawonise stopped press and ordered the destruction of the 8,950 copies of the newspaper, filling the pages with other materials.

First thing at dawn, he was on the first flight to Abuja to show Waziri what he had done for her, hoping to leverage on it for a soft landing in the case of corruption and economic sabotage brought against the company by Oladipo.

Unfortunately, Kawonise, an active politician and immediate past Commissioner for Information in Ogun was not in luck, as his dubious scheme was flushed down the drain at the Commission. He was not even allowed to see Waziri in person.

EFCC sources however indicated that the action has further primed the Commission to continue to attend to the case brought against the company.

It would be recalled that in the letter of complaint sent to Waziri by Oladipo on July 1, 2011, entitled ACTS OF ECONOMIC SABOTAGE BY WESTERN PUBLISHING COMPANY LIMITED, he wrote: “I wish to bring to your notice the failure of Western Publishing Company to remit the pension fund of its staff, which it has been deducting since February 2008, including mine, and the withholding of the cooperative contributions of staff members, amounting to about N7 million. I joined the company on February 8, 2008 as the Editorial Page Editor. So also has the company not remitted my Pay As You Earn (PAYE).

“The company, publishers of the Nigerian Compass and The Westerner, has not remitted a kobo of the money it has been deducting from my salary for pension since February 2008 when I was employed. So also has it not fulfilled its own part of the bargain that requires it to add its own share to the pension fund.

“As for the cooperative fund, the company has been deducting from source the contribution of members of the Western Publishing Company Limited Cooperative Society. But it has failed, despite several meetings with the management, to remit the money to the society. Rather, elected officials of the society have not only been intimidated but victimised for demanding what rightfully belongs to members. My financial contribution to the society stands at N730,000:00 only. The company at present owes the society about N7 million.

“On the PAYE, I discovered that the company had not been remitting it when I attempted collecting my tax certificate. No staff of the company has a tax certificate. And this is because the company has not remitted anyone’s PAYE.

“My plea ma is for the commission to help investigate this gross act of economic sabotage and recover the money from the company, including the interests that would have accrued on both the pension fund and the cooperative contributions.”

True to type however, Kawonise, it was learnt has been using the opportunity of the several trips to the Commission to milk the company dry.

Sources within the Western Publishing Company Limited said Kawonise, since assumption of duty, has embarked on a spending spree.

For every trip he undertakes to Abuja to attend to EFCC summons, even when he does not spend the night there, he collects N300,000, while 80 percent of the company’s outstation correspondents have not been paid for the past one year.

Workers at the headquarters also have arrears of unpaid salaries and allowances while Sina Kawonise junkets with company fund.

A source in the company said: “It is now an everyday thing. The man (Kawonise) collects money as he likes and he does not even bother to retire same. Everyone here is tired and frustrated. And this is in the face of unpaid salaries, which has risen in excess five months. In fact, he recently collected N500,000 from the company for the purchase of a new engine for his personal car, a Toyota Camry, which he said he wants to use as official car.”

According to another source, the new management of the company has since converted it to a ‘market place’ for corruption of all kinds.

Said he, “You do not need to search too deep, just scratch a little and you watch the worms crawl out. It’s that bad”

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MASSOB Leader, 280 others remanded in prison

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Information available to 247ureports.com indicates that the leader of MASSOB, Chief Ralph Uwazurike has been remanded in prison along with 280 members of MASSOB who were arrested yesterday [August 24, 2011] at the award event in Enugu. They were charged for treason at an Enugu State Magistrate court on Thursday August 25, 2011. Bail was denied and the case was postponed indefinitely [Sine die]. In particular, they were charged with planning to overthrow the South East governors of Nigeria on August 24, 2011 under the guise of attending an award event. This is according to State Security Service [SSS] report receivedby 247ureports.com. The court session began 11am and ended 2pm. The rowdy court session was held outside at the car park of the court house because the court did not contain the over 300 people that had showed up to court. The court session was presided over by Dennis Ekoh who is a former magistrate and the current registrar at the Enugu high court. He was borrowed from the Enugu High Court for this hearing. According to eyewitness report, the borrowed magistrate, Dennis Ekoh, was said to already be signing the reprimand order before the court began hearing at 11am. He was said to be penning his signature on the order in the open court before the accused could present their arguements for bail. The eyewitness added that a fight was on the verge of erupting between the defence lawyers and the prosecuting lawyers who came with the police officers. The borrowed Majistrate, in refusing to grant bail, indicated that he is refusing to grant bail because the Magistrate Court has no jurisdiction to decide on bail matters in cases concerning treason. He then remanded the 281 MASSOB members to prison. Highly credible sources indicate that the soiled relationship between the Governor Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi and the MASSOB leader which dates back to the period when Gov Peter Obi, in 2004/5, ordered for the Nigerian militay to “shoot at sight” all suspected MASSOB membersmay have precipitated the August 24, 2011 arrest. Gov Peter Obi’s order was not received well by the MASSOB leader who was incarcerated at the time the statement was made. But the relationship between the two did not completely sour till the two attended the burial of Ojukwu [Ikemba]’s relative in Enugu last year. And Gov Peter Obi who was not with his security men closeby, found himself manhandled by the MASSOB members in revenge for the “shoot at sight” order handed to the Nigerian Army. It became an embarrassing incident for the governor of Anambra State. The source who spoke to our correspondent indicated that it was the same organizer of the Igbo Youth Movement event that scuttled the Concorde Hotel meeting of Igbo leaders during the run up to the Presidential election. He is said to be the one that petitioned the police that the Igbo leaders [Dr. Alex Ekwueme and company] were coming to Imo State to plot against the country. Reacting, the then Ikedi Ohakim promptly reacted to order the police to lockup the Hotel. stay tuned

Onyeabor Obi, PDP BOT Chieftain, Emeakayi Lament Rot in Anambra PDP

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A founding member and topflight Board of Trustees (BOT) chieftain of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Onyeabor Obi has lamented over the steady dwindling of political fortunes of the party in Anambra state since 2003.

At the same time at another rally at the Udoka Housing Estate Office of the party by the Counsellorship and Council Chairmanship candidates of the party presided over by the state chairman, Chief Ken Emeakayi the members resolved to follow-up their aspiration and the noble ideals of the party’s founding fathers, weeding out every rotten apple in their midst.

The First Republic Senator and the pioneer legal adviser and counsel to the PDP in whose chambers in Lagos the first draft proposal for what is today known as PDP was put together told the Guardian he was earlier approached by both Emeakayi executive and the zonal chairman, Chief Olisa Metuh to lead a reconciliation panel to unify all divergent opinions in the party in the state. He appreciated the zeal and drive of both men but disclosed he initially declined; pointing out it was only if permitted by Dr Alex Ekwueme.

He said it was after that, and followed by a formal letter from the acting National Secretary of the party that he accepted to mediate. That he was merely serving the National Headquarters of the party, not Metuh or Emeakayi.

But contrary to the stand taken at the meeting of council election candidates that the party’s list of contestants which was vide an open transparent primaries since 2002 remain sacrosanct, Senator Obi said his panel has not taken any stand on it yet. But that they would consider it critically with a view to presenting an acceptable and commendable copy.

But while calling for the removal of Metuh form the National executive of the party, the candidates urged him to tidy up the account records along with his uncle Chief Emma Nweze who has been indicted by two independent and external audit reports already. They bemoaned their fate since 2002 when they started spending money to see to the realization of their political aspiration.

They called for the sack of Metuh from PDP, “for anti-party activities, being that he has been working for the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to ensure that PDP remained on its knees in the state”

To avoid any manipulation with the list of the candidates they have announced that a compendium of biodata of all of them would be published and circulated on the day they would be given the party flags. They also resolved to match on the Wadata Headquarters of the party, with copies of all the financial impropriety records and all their resolutions for their direct appreciation of the goings on in the state.

Meet Kate Middleton’s Go-To Designer ‘Daniella Helayel’

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Call it the Kate Effect. Ever since Kate Middleton wore that silk navy dress at the announcement of her engagement with Prince William, the label Issa and its designer Daniella Helayel have become as popular as the new Duchess herself.

The little-known brand of easy dresses in vivid colors and exuberant prints made the transition from insider-only label to international sensation overnight. Kate has worn Issa dresses on several occasions. Most recently, she wore a purple wrap silk dress  at the Canada Day celebration she and her husband attended in Ottawa. Kate’s sister Pippa has also been spotted in a floor-length Issa dress.

Here, I talk to Kate’s favorite designer, Daniella Helayel, on fashion, beauty rituals and the Kate Effect.

What do you think is the appeal of Kate Middleton’s style?

Daniella Helayel: Kate has a classic sense of style. It’s chic and effortlessly elegant. Her fashion choices are part of what makes her such an icon as a modern day princess. I think her style is so appealing because women all over the world can relate to her. She dresses for her body shape and as a result she always looks glamorous, appropriate, comfortable and confident in what she’s wearing. We can all learn a lot from her. Her style is one that will survive and she’ll look as fabulous next season as she has for the past 9 years.

She has had such a tremendous impact on your business. How is it like dealing with this heightened publicity?

DH: I have tried to be as accommodating as possible to everyone, but of course it’s been a big change with the huge demand for interviews and the spotlight so firmly on my brand.

But what is Issa all about? Who is the Issa customer?

DH: I take a lot of inspiration from my childhood in Brazil, surrounded by nature. I have tried to translate all the unexpected color combinations, natural shapes and the thrill of carnivals into my prints, fabrics and designs. I keep the Brazilian vibe in my mind when designing. Issa is all about effortless glamour and making women feel confident, comfortable and cool in their own skin and a great dress; all women should look and feel fantastic. Issa is for all.

How would you describe your own personal style?

DH: I have quite a timeless approach to fashion, I like looking back at what has been done before and seeing how I can update it. I believe it’s very important for women to understand their bodies and what works for them. Once we know that then we can have fun with fashion and the trends, which come and go while still looking and feeling our best. But I will say that you always need a pair of big Jackie O sunglasses in your bag, and a scarf is the most versatile, chic accessory; a silk one tied round your neck, hair, wrist or handbag.

You travel a lot between London, Brazil, New York, China and so many other places in between. How do you stay looking fresh and put together despite your hectic work schedule?

DH: I try not to allow life to become too hectic! I don’t work a regular 9 to 5 but I manage my time so I can still look after myself.

What is your skin care and fitness regime?

DH: The face peels and red light treatment with Dr. Frances Prenna Jones are my indulgence. She works wonders on my skin and has given me Formula 2006 to cleanse followed by Neo Strata renewal and hydrating creams or TNS recovery complex before bed. I’m also really looking after myself at the moment, I’m trying to eat super healthily and cut out all processed food. I also see my personal trainer most mornings during the week and we work out for an hour and a half, then I run for 45 minutes every morning.

What products are on your vanity table?

DH: Lancome Bi-Facial to cleanse, although I don’t wear makeup every day. There’s also L’Oreal Absolut Repair Shampoo followed by a Kerastase mask or nourishing oil. Sunscreen is so important, I never used to be very dedicated, but now use La Roche-Posay for my face and Clarins or Lancaster on my body. And Allure fragrance by Chanel

Is there a right and wrong way to wear Issa?

DH: Definitely not – Issa means freedom! Wear it however it makes you feel the best.

Meet Kate Middleton’s Go-To Designer ‘Daniella Helayel’

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Call it the Kate Effect. Ever since Kate Middleton wore that silk navy dress at the announcement of her engagement with Prince William, the label Issa and its designer Daniella Helayel have become as popular as the new Duchess herself.

The little-known brand of easy dresses in vivid colors and exuberant prints made the transition from insider-only label to international sensation overnight. Kate has worn Issa dresses on several occasions. Most recently, she wore a purple wrap silk dress  at the Canada Day celebration she and her husband attended in Ottawa. Kate’s sister Pippa has also been spotted in a floor-length Issa dress.

Here, I talk to Kate’s favorite designer, Daniella Helayel, on fashion, beauty rituals and the Kate Effect.

What do you think is the appeal of Kate Middleton’s style?

Daniella Helayel: Kate has a classic sense of style. It’s chic and effortlessly elegant. Her fashion choices are part of what makes her such an icon as a modern day princess. I think her style is so appealing because women all over the world can relate to her. She dresses for her body shape and as a result she always looks glamorous, appropriate, comfortable and confident in what she’s wearing. We can all learn a lot from her. Her style is one that will survive and she’ll look as fabulous next season as she has for the past 9 years.

She has had such a tremendous impact on your business. How is it like dealing with this heightened publicity?

DH: I have tried to be as accommodating as possible to everyone, but of course it’s been a big change with the huge demand for interviews and the spotlight so firmly on my brand.

But what is Issa all about? Who is the Issa customer?

DH: I take a lot of inspiration from my childhood in Brazil, surrounded by nature. I have tried to translate all the unexpected color combinations, natural shapes and the thrill of carnivals into my prints, fabrics and designs. I keep the Brazilian vibe in my mind when designing. Issa is all about effortless glamour and making women feel confident, comfortable and cool in their own skin and a great dress; all women should look and feel fantastic. Issa is for all.

How would you describe your own personal style?

DH: I have quite a timeless approach to fashion, I like looking back at what has been done before and seeing how I can update it. I believe it’s very important for women to understand their bodies and what works for them. Once we know that then we can have fun with fashion and the trends, which come and go while still looking and feeling our best. But I will say that you always need a pair of big Jackie O sunglasses in your bag, and a scarf is the most versatile, chic accessory; a silk one tied round your neck, hair, wrist or handbag.

You travel a lot between London, Brazil, New York, China and so many other places in between. How do you stay looking fresh and put together despite your hectic work schedule?

DH: I try not to allow life to become too hectic! I don’t work a regular 9 to 5 but I manage my time so I can still look after myself.

What is your skin care and fitness regime?

DH: The face peels and red light treatment with Dr. Frances Prenna Jones are my indulgence. She works wonders on my skin and has given me Formula 2006 to cleanse followed by Neo Strata renewal and hydrating creams or TNS recovery complex before bed. I’m also really looking after myself at the moment, I’m trying to eat super healthily and cut out all processed food. I also see my personal trainer most mornings during the week and we work out for an hour and a half, then I run for 45 minutes every morning.

What products are on your vanity table?

DH: Lancome Bi-Facial to cleanse, although I don’t wear makeup every day. There’s also L’Oreal Absolut Repair Shampoo followed by a Kerastase mask or nourishing oil. Sunscreen is so important, I never used to be very dedicated, but now use La Roche-Posay for my face and Clarins or Lancaster on my body. And Allure fragrance by Chanel

Is there a right and wrong way to wear Issa?

DH: Definitely not – Issa means freedom! Wear it however it makes you feel the best.

Inside Donald Trump’s New Jet

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Image by AFP/Getty Images via @daylife

Donald Trump has just unveiled his newly refurbished $100 million Boeing 757, an aircraft that once belonged to Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, and what an overhaul it was. In fact, the aircraft’s interiors are almost gold plated as gold can be found covering everything from the sinks and faucets down to the seat belt fixtures themselves.

Should you be flying with the Donald, you can expect to be seated in the aircraft’s wood paneled and suede ceiling covered passenger cabin. Seated here, you will be able to watch the latest episode of the Apprentice on a 52-inch plasma television screen that’s also preprogrammed with 1,000 movies or listen to music on the aircraft’s state-of-the-art music sound system. Moreover, you will know that you are in the Donald’s aircraft as his name and the family crest are etched just about everywhere. All told, Donald’s new aircraft can accommodate 43 passengers in the utmost comfort imaginable.

Meanwhile and for the Donald himself (along with his wife Melania), there is a private bedroom that includes a massive flat-screen television and even a console where electric shades covering the room’s windows can be controlled at the push of a button. There is also a huge closet for both Donald and Melania to share.

As for the Donald’s old aircraft, a 43 year old Boeing 727 half the size of his new aircraft, its been on sale for a mere $8 million since 2009.

Jay-Z brings 40/40 restaurant franchise to London

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(Reuters) – Rapper Jay-Z plans to bring his 40/40 restaurant and bar franchise to London next year in a deal which will team him up with England and Chelsea soccer player Ashley Cole.

The NVA Entertainment Group (NVA), which brokered the multi-million pound (dollar) deal, said that The 40/40 London will be the first project of a partnership between Jay-Z and Cole that will include a number of new ventures.

“London is one of the most vibrant and exciting cities in the world and the perfect location for our new venue,” Jay-Z said in an NVA statement emailed to Reuters.

“I’m excited about working with Ashley and NVA Entertainment Group on a range of new projects and The 40/40 London is going to be the hottest place in town.”

The management team will be appointing a top chef to deliver a modern American-themed menu for the restaurant/bar that will feature top DJ’s and A-list artists. A shortlist of three potential sites is now under consideration with a final decision on location expected in August, NVA said.

The 40/40 London will give first option on jobs to talented, long-term unemployed young people. Each month a percentage of profits from the project will go to local youth charities for music and sport projects in deprived communities.

“I am delighted to be working with Jay Z I have grown up listening to his music and now to be doing business with him is amazing and the projects we do will be delivering much needed funds back into sport and music on a local community level as well as helping talented young people get back to work,” Cole said in the statement.

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