GOV. LALONG AND GOMMOS IN ALLEGED BARC’S SCANDAL IN PLATEAU STATE

The governor of Plateau State,  Simon Bako Lalong and Ezekiel Gommos,
MD of  Plateau Investment and Development Company (PIPC), are
currently embroiled in alleged financial scandal.
The scandal revolves around the Brewery Agro and Research Company Ltd
(BARC Farm), a subsidiary of Jos International Brewery, which was in
the early 1990s was under the ownership of the Plateau State
government.
BARC Farm is known to have been sold to a company called ILHAMA
Enterprises Ltd in 1993, a company owned by the former governor of
Adamawa State, Admira Murtala Nyako. And like a bad coin the issue of
the sale continues to raise problems because of its dubious nature.
One of the major problems is that to date, nobody has been held
accountable for the amount the company was sold for and the nature of
its receipt into the government.
The situation has been compounded by the fact that different figures
have been discovered over the years since 1993 concerning the amount
for which the company was sold.
During the sale, the MD of PIPC,, Ezekiel Gommos handled the process
from the beginning and being a very close of the governor, he was
later appointed the Secretary to the State Government and continued to
evade the question of how much BARC Farm was sold for and what account
the money was paid into.
He initially said the company was sold for N19 million but other
documents quoted him as saying it was N18 million while claiming N27
million in later years and later claimed it was N54 million for the
sale. All the claims were backed with documents.
It was discovered that initially, instead of receiving a payment from
ILHAMA Ltd, the buyer, the amount received was described as a loan of
N17 million given to government and was claimed has been paid back to
the buyer rather than retained as part payment for the company.
At the time of sale, the 5,000 hectares of land on which the company
was built was valued at N2 million and the local original owners have
expressed much distress at being cheated by the government but they
were never heard due to constant manipulation of facts.
Lalong was said to be a barrister at PIPC when Gommos was the Managing
Director and he was allegedly involved in the process. And since 2015,
Gommos has been aggressively offering to broker the reverse sale of
the company from Admiral Nyako back to Plateau State Government for
N1.8 billion and in 2017,  the value rose to N3 billion without fully
disclosing the amount for which it was sold.
To crown the scandal, the government has allegedly setting aside N3
billion from the Paris Club refund to buy back BARC Farm  rather than
paying the long suffering workers in the state.
Under former Governor Joshua Dariye, an investigation committee was
set up, the committee visited Admiral Nyako who claimed that he paid
N180 million for the purchase of the company but when the truth was
uncovered, the final report of the committee never saw the light of
the day.
Gommos who allegedly orchestrated the entire scam is known to own
large properties in the USA, Abuja, and Jos including hotels and a
business school which he sold to former governor Jang administration
for about N350 million.
In recent time, the declaration of the buyback of the company has been
heralded by the ignorant as a great achievement but in actual fact it
is an extention of the scam

Definitely A New One! Nigerian Couple Do Their Pre-wedding Shoot Inside A Pool

The very interesting and unique pre-wedding shoot of Faith Odianosen and man was released by their photographer on IG and many are hailing it as very creative. What do you think?

Teenage Mother Kills Her Baby By Strapping The Child In Car Seat For 2 Days Without Food Or Water

22-year-old Lovily Johnson from Michigan has been charged with first-degree murder for allegedly leaving her 6-month-old son strapped in a car seat in a hot apartment without food for two days, Detroit Free Press reports.

The young mother was on Monday charged by authorities with first-degree murder and felony child abuse. Prosecutors alleged that on July 17, Johnson put her 6-month-old baby boy, Noah Johnson, into his car seat and left him on the upper floor of her Wyoming apartment with no air conditioning for two days. She also left the baby without and food and water, according to court records.

While on the 19th of July, Johnson brought the deceased infant to the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital. Detectives arrived shortly after and placed Johnson under arrest after interviewing her.

“Upon arrival, Noah was clearly deceased and had been for some time,’’ Wyoming Detective Robert Meredith wrote probable cause affidavit obtained by WZZM

According to the probable cause affidavit, Johnson admitted that although she was home “multiple times a day during that time frame, she knowingly and intentionally deprived him of the necessities of life by not feeding him since Monday evening,”

She appeared via video for arraignment and pleaded not guilty to child abuse and murder. During her arraignment, she initially claimed she didn’t understand her charges. Wyoming District Court Judge Steven Timmers broke down what she was charged with in simple terms.

“Well, let me make it really clear,’’ the judge told Johnson. “They alleged you killed a young child and that you physically abused it. Does that make sense to you?”

“Yes sir,’’ Johnson answered.

“OK, at least you understand the charges against you,’’ Timmers said.

Timmers denied Johnson bond. She remains behind bars awaiting a probable cause hearing in August.

Her other child, a two-year-old daughter, has been placed under the supervision of the state Department of Health and Human Services

Law School Releases Statement On The Expulsion Of One Of Its Students, Kayode Bello

On July 17th, the Nigerian Law School in Abuja expelled 34-year-old University of Ibadan graduate, Kayode Bello pictured above following an argument he allegedly had with another student over a seat in the lecture room. According to reports, Kayode had a face off with one of his colleague identified as Chidinma over the reservation of seats for persons who were not yet in class. They had to be invited by the security officers of the school and he was later to be accused of inciting the students against the school's management. He is alleged to have always complained about the lack of infrastructure in the school. 

After his expulsion, many students went online to condemn the management of law school for expelling him when he was only fighting for a just course. 

The Nigeria Law School has now released a statement clarifying on why he was expelled. Read the statement below

Mr. Olusegun Kayode Bello applied for admission to the Nigerian Law School in July, 2012. His application form and Dean’s Reference revealed that he was rusticated from the Faculty of Law, University of Ibadan in the 2008/2009 Academic Session for disrupting the peace and tranquility of the University Campus. The Dean’s confidential report showed that he defied the authorities of the University and continued his program without serving out the rustication period. It was when his defiance was discovered that he was forced to comply.

After his studentship was reinstated, he was unrepentant as the report indicated his further involvement in a case of gross misconduct (insubordination), which made the Board of the Faculty of Law to recommend him for further disciplinary action.

In line with the extant policy at the Nigerian Law School, the candidate’s application for admission in 2012 was referred to the Council of Legal Education, which resolved that the candidate should only be considered for admission in the 2016/2017 School Year in view of his negative antecedent in the University.

Invariably, he applied for admission in 2016. When he was eventually to be offered admission in October 2016, the Council of Legal Education further directed that he should be issued a letter of warning, to avoid any acts of misconduct and indiscipline while at the Nigerian Law School; and that his admission was on probation, subject to good character.

Sometime in March 2017, there was a report of an altercation between him and one of his female colleagues over a preferred seat in the venue of lecture.

The report from his colleagues was that a female student left the hall to visit the toilet. In her absence, Mr. Bello left his seat at the rear of the hall and took the seat of the absent student. All entreaties of the Auditorium Marshall, the Chairman of the Students Representative Council (S.R.C.) and other students fell on deaf ears. It was further reported that Mr. Bello nearly went into a scuffle with the female student on her return from the rest room.

Because of his disorderly behavior, a query was issued to him by the Head of Students Affairs Department. Rather than addressing the issues, he went into irrelevant narration, alleging bias by the officials.

Thereafter, he went on to procure and print on a polo shirt inciting inscriptions and embarked on a solo protest around the School premises. He followed this with a petition against the “Head, Control Room”, addressed to the Secretary to the Council of Legal Education and Director of Administration, which he circulated to the whole world, including the Secretary-General of the United Nations and Amnesty International.

His continued disruptive behavour raised concern among his colleagues. In consequence, the Students Representative Council issued a disclaimer of his actions which was addressed to the Head of Academics on March 21, 2017 and read in part as follows:

“This is to bring to your notice that the S.R.C…………….distances itself totally from the unnecessary and inordinate acts of one Mr. Kayode Bello. This is coming after the S.R.C. through the appropriate Committee met with the said Mr. Kayode Bello to aggregate interest, but he walked out on the Committee.”

Following the disclaimer and Mr. Bello’s continued acts of intransigence and nuisance in the hostel, the Students Affairs Officer issued him with another query, but he refused to accept it. Considering his estranged relationship with his colleagues; and to avoid any break down of law and peaceful co-existence, a letter of advise was written to him to vacate the Hostel in his interest. Mr. Bello howeverrefused to accept the letter.

Instead, he went to the Bwari Divisional Police Station to lay a complaint of criminal intimidation against the management of the Nigerian Law School, seeking the arrest of all the officers. He further urged the Police to invite the Chairman, Council of Legal Education for interrogation.

Consequently, he was invited, along with the female student he had an altercation with, the Chairman of the Students Representative Council and the Auditorium Marshall, to appear before the Students Misconduct Committee, for various infractions of the Students Code of Conduct. Even though he received the letter of invitation, he refused to acknowledge receipt of it and failed to appear before the Committee, despite repeated invitations.

At conclusion of its deliberations, the Committee found Mr. Bello liable of the allegations against him. It noted that:

“The Council of Legal Education was magnanimous in its decision to approve the admission of Mr. Bello to the Nigerian Law School, despite the adverse report from his University.” It further noted that: “Mr. Bello lacks the core attributes, disposition and comportment of an aspirant to the Bar.”

It therefore recommended his expulsion from the Nigerian Law School.
The report of the Committee was considered by the Council of Legal Education at its meetingof July 11, 2017, which approved the recommendations accordingly.

The decision of the Council of Legal Education was delivered to Mr. Bello, but he refused to accept the letter and further refused to vacate the Students Hostel as he was directed. Instead, he armed himself with an iron rod and threatened to injure whoever went near him. The security personnel left him alone, to avoid a situation in which any of them would be injured by Mr. Bello.

He was eventually sighted in the Library unarmed, as a result of which the Security Operatives were able to escort him to the Bwari Divisional Police Station. The Police later brought him to the hostel to evacuate his belongings.

Mr. Bello’s penchant for misbehaviour was also recently brought to the fore via the letter from the Principal Partner (a Senior Advocate of Nigeria), of the Law Firm to which he was attached, during the just concluded Externship exercise by all students of the Nigerian Law School. The Firm was constrained to terminate his stay there even before the period expired because of Mr. Bello’s incorrigible behaviour. The letter went thus:

“We write to inform you that your conduct during the period of your externship in our Law Firm is highly unbecoming of a person aspiring to be a legal practitioner. You have demonstrated little or no respect to the leadership and personnel of the firm. As an aspiring legal practitioner, your conduct is expected to be Fit and Proper. We are therefore constrained to reject your continuation of the externship and hereby wish to inform you that you leave the office forthwith.”

The Nigerian Law School and the legal profession, to which he aspired to belong, do not condone the type of behavior constantly exhibited by Mr. Bello.

On facilities at the Nigerian Law School, it is worthy of note that the Main Hall of the Nigerian Law School in the Bwari, Abuja has more than enough seats for all registered students. The position is the same in the other Campuses of Nigerian Law School.

Therefore, the basis for the conflict precipitated by Mr. Bello, by leaving his seat and moving over to that occupied by a fellow student was unfortunate. The Nigerian Law School has sufficient capacity to cope with students projection for the foreseeable future.

CHINEDU UKEKWE
Head 0f Information & Protocol

Viral Video Of Ghanaian Undertakers Performing Choreography While Carrying CorpseÂ

A Group of Ghanaian undertakers says they have now found an exceptional way in helping families send their loved ones off in style by adding choreography while rendering their services.

In the video below,  the leader of the group, Benjamin, says he decided to add choreography to improve their services.

According to him, whenever clients come to them, they ask if they want it solemn or a bit more of the display with choreography.

One of their clients who paid for their service at her mother's burial, said  'I decided to give my mother a dancing trip to her maker.'

Watch the video below...

Housekeeper, Driver Arraigned For Allegedly Stealing N150m Worth Of Jewellery From Segun Odegbami's Wife

A housekeeper and driver of Oyindamola Odegbami, wife of former Nigerian footballer, Segun Odegbami were on Wednesday, arraigned before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court for allegedly stealing N150 million worth of jewellery.

The accused Patrick,25 and Mohammed Abdulazeez, 26, who were arraigned alongside Esther Pam, 28, a friend of the housekeeper are facing a two-count charge of conspiracy and stealing. They all denied the charges.

According to the prosecutor, Inspector Peter Nwangwu, the trio committed the offences on Dec. 10, 2016 at the complainant’s residence in Ikoyi, Lagos.

"The complainant (Mrs Oyindamola Odegbami) on Dec. 10, 2016, discovered that sets of jewellery as well as some personal effects were missing from her bedroom. The missing personal effects are; a set of Roberto Coin Gold set valued at $15,000 (N7.5 million), a set of Van Clef Diamond and Gold Butterfly jewellery valued at $50,000 (N25 million) A dangling gold jewellery set valued at $50,000 (N25 million), a set of black and white diamonds valued at $75,000 (N37.5 million), a plain gold set valued at $15,000 (N7.5 million).

"A big set of gold and diamond encrusted pendant valued at $50,000 (N25 million) as well as other valuable personal and household items such as an iPad, three Blackberry mobile phones, six Ankara fabrics etc," he said.

According to the prosecutor, the complainant after noticing that the items were missing, realised that Patrick, her housekeeper, who has yet to return from a holiday that ended over two weeks ago was responsible for the theft.

“The complainant reported to the authorities and Patrick was apprehended at the home of her boyfriend, one Cpl. Mathias Hussein, a mobile policeman of Mopol 43, Lion Building, Obalende, Lagos.

“Police investigations also revealed that Abdulazeez, the complainant’s driver and Pam, Patrick’s friend also domestic staff at a nearby house, had aided Patrick in stealing the items in suitcases. On interrogation by the police, Patrick admitted stealing Mrs Odegbami’s household items and personal effects, but denied taking the jewellery.

"The property she admitted stealing were recovered from the Mobile Police Barracks residence of her boyfriend, Cpl. Hussein at Obalende, Lagos," Nwangwu told the court.

The offences contravened Sections 278 (1), (2) and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011.

In her ruling, the Magistrate, Mrs Y.O. Aje-Afunwa granted each of the accused N2 million bail with two sureties each in like sum.

Aje-Afunwa said the sureties must be homeowners who must provide evidence of two years tax payment to the Lagos State Government.
She adjourned the case until Oct. 17 for trial.

Kwara State Civil Servant To Be Arraigned In Court For Allegedly Criticizing Senate President, Bukola Saraki On Facebook- SR

According to Sahara Reporters, a civil servant with the Kwara state civil service, Biodun Baba, has been arrested and will be arraigned in a court in Ilorin, the state capital today. According to SR, he is being charged to court for insulting Senate President, Bukola Saraki, via his Facebook page.

Drug abuse in Plateau State scary, alarming – NDLEA

 

Plateau State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has described the rate of drug abuse among youths in the state as alarming.

Mrs Ene Akuh, officer in charge of Operations at the agency, spoke during a sensitisation training, organised by Nigeria Youth Network on Countering Violent Extremism (NYNCVE) for youth leaders in Jos.

Akuh, who urged youths to desist from taking illicit drugs, called on community and religious leaders to support government in ensuring that the menace of drug abuse in the general society, was brought to an end.

In his remarks, State Focal Person of NYNCVE, Mr Jacob Pwakim, said the aim of the training was to build capacity of young people who would take action against violent extremism in the communities.

He said youths were usually the most hit when violence erupted, hence the need to educate them in ensuring an end to violence in the society.

“Over time, we have experienced incessant violent protests where young people were used to take the lives of people in the society.

“We can’t fold our arms and see the population of young people who ought to be leaders of tomorrow depleting. This is why the network decided to organise this sensitisation.

“Our target is to build structure of young people who will take action against violent extremism at the community level,” Pwakim noted.

The training supported by Search for Common Ground and Youth Initiative Against Violence and Human Right Abuse (YIAVHA), drew participants from Jenta Adamu and Rikkos communities in Jos North LGA.

A ten-man committee was set up to curb violence, extremism in the communities.

The network was formed from a youth summit against violence extremism held in Maiduguri, the Borno State Capital in 2016.

Plateau had witnessed various forms of violence that left scores killed or displaced.

Photos: NDLEA Destroys 24.3 Metric Tons Of Drugs Seized In Abuja

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has destroyed 24,304kg of assorted forfeited narcotic drugs seized within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.

The exercise is sequel to two destruction orders signed by Honourable Justice NnamdiDimg class='img-responsive text-center' style='margin: auto;'ba and Honourable Justice A. Abdulkafarati of the Federal High Court in Abuja. The exhibits with an estimated street value of 250 million naira were jointly set ablaze by local and international collaborators at Lungi barracks along Aso drive in Abuja.

Chairman of the anti-narcotic Agency, Col.  Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah (retd) who described the destruction as symbolic and strategic both to the Agency and drug control policies of the government stressed that seized drugs remain a threat until they are destroyed.

"Public destruction of drugs is the climax of operational activities which begin with tracking of suspected drug merchants, drug exhibits, prosecution of drug dealers and forfeiture of the drugs. Until drugs are completely destroyed they remain a threat to societal peace" Abdallah stated.

The drugs are products of concluded drug cases by the FCT command in the past two years, precisely June 2015 to date. The breakdown of the drugs are as follows; cannabis 24,278.33kg, psychotropic substances 23.68kg, cocaine 1.6256kg, heroin 0.1084kg and amphetamines 0.1082kg.

 FCT Minister, Honourable Muhammad Musa Bello who was the Special Guest of Honour commended the NDLEA for the seized drugs and also urged the Agency to extend the war on drugs to the grass root and motor parks. The Minister who was represented by the Chairman, Abuja Municipal Council, HonourableAbdullahiAdamu said that:

“I appreciate the role of the Agency in eliminating drugs from the FCT. Let me urge the NDLEA to intensify efforts by taking the drug war to the grass root and motor parks. The FCT administration will continue to support the fight against drug trafficking in our collective search for a healthy society”.

The Ona of Abaji and Chairman Council of traditional rulers in the FCT, AlhajiAdamu Baba Yunusa called on youths to stay away from drug trafficking, drug abuse and other acts that are injurious to the society.

“I want youths to stay away from drug abuse and be useful to themselves and the society. The NDLEA should also take the drug enlightenment to communities as well as teach drug education in schools” the royal father advised.

The FCT Commander of the NDLEA, Mrs ObijuruChinyere in her welcome remarks said that the command will step up campaign programmes in schools, workplaces, religious and worship centres to address the problem of drug abuse within Abuja.

The NDLEA Chairman added that the volume of the seized drugs reflects the high demand for drugs within the FCT which is alarming.

"There is a growing obsession of youths with the use of psychotropic substances particularly cough syrups with codein, tramadol as well as unconventional substances like gasolin,  tippex, rubber solution, lizard waste, pit latrine fume,  and local concoctions such as goskolo and zakami which require urgent attention" the NDLEA boss added.
 
The Agency reassured members of the public that the war against drugs shall be intensified. According to the Chairman, "we need to ensure that drug traffickers run out of market. We must reinvigorate our anti-drug campaign efforts through law enforcement and public sensitisation on the effects of drugs on health, security and development".

Present at the event were representatives from the National Assembly, members of the diplomatic community, military and paramilitary agencies among other stakeholders.

More photos below...

Plateau govt rakes N5.19bn as IGR in first half of the year

 

THE Plateau Government has declared that the State Internal Generated Revenue for the first half of this year stands at N5.19 billion saying there is the tendency that state might meet its target of N13 billion IGR for the year, 2017.

Mr Dashe Arlat, Chairman, Plateau State Internal Revenue Service (PSIRS), who disclosed this to newsmen in Jos said the State revenue services is working round the clock and exploring all avenues to meet the target.

“If you look at the analysis of our collections within the period you see that we are able to hit N1.2 billion in the month of June followed by N877, 88 million recorded in the month of January.

“Our desire as a service is to maintain the one billion naira mark in our monthly collection which I believe be a great boost for the state government to meet its obligations to the people of Plateau, ’’ he asserted.

Arlat, who described the feat within the period as “very huge’’ and “encouraging’’ commended the staff of the service for their resilient and hard work.

According to him, right from January the list of the service monthly collection was recorded in April with only N643. 22M, followed by February – N781, 75M, March – N825. 85M and May – N848.68M respectively.

He also attributed the feat to introduction of various reforms including `Smart Collection,’ a technology that fast track issuance of Tax Identification Numbers (TIN) to tax payers and quick mode of payment.

Arlet further explained that the new technology adopted has helped at checkmating wastages and gingering the MDAs at improving their collections too.

The chairman said that the service has been waiting for the Governor’s signing of the harmonization bills recently passed by the state House of Assembly for it to improve its revenue collection.

“As I earlier said, the 500 Ad hoc staff we recently engaged are so small for us to achieve our goals but we hope the government will give us the go ahead to employ more hands.

“By the time we more workers, whom we can send out into the street to capture tax payers, especially those within the informal sector, our story will tremendously change’’ the Chairman explained.

The PSIRS Chairman however called on the general public to cooperate with its staff, who will soon be going round to enumerate all houses within the Bukuru-Jos Metropolis for the collection of ground rent.

According to him, numbering all the houses in Plateau and for collection of ground rents was in the interest of the generality of the state toward government meeting its social responsibilities to them.

Vera Sidika Expresses Her Joy At The Size Of Her Newest Man's D*ck While Explaining The Great Advantages Of Big D*ck

Kenyan socialite, Vera Sidika went all raw on snapchat glorifying the size of her man's d**k and also extensively explained the benefits of a big manhood. According to her, she can never settle down with a man who has a small manhood. Rather, she can date the person for only a few months. She then talked about everything she can do with a big manhood. Y'all have to read it yourselves. 

Midnight swearing in of LG committee, illegal, PDP accuses Lalong

The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in Plateau State has condemned the swearing in of the new management committee for the 17 local government areas of the state on Friday at about 9:00 pm saying it was an illegal act to escape litigation.

Even as Governor Simon Lalong through his media adviser, Daniel Manjang said it was constitutional and the time of the swearing in was immaterial.

The State Publicity Secretary of PDP, Mr John Agans said the action of the government depicted illegality adding that running the government especially the swearing in at midnight was dangerous for democracy and people of the state.

“Admitting an oath of office at the odd hour of the day is illegal and we are not surprise that the governor chooses the odd hour for such an event. Our findings revealed that it was done to avoid litigation based on the case we filed at the State High Court to stop the swearing in ceremony.”

“He narrated that the PDP in the State had gone to court but something happened along the way and the process was delayed until Friday but to evade any negative action against the swearing in, the governor hurriedly performed the swearing in the night on Friday.”

He said: “The Governor is running away from litigation, we are aware of this, the composition of the management committees is illegal and unconstitutional. We are appealing to the judiciary to come to the aid of Plateau and stop this impunity and others being perpetrated by the governor.”

Responding, the State Governor through his Special Adviser on Media, Mr Daniel Manjang said there was no section of the constitution which said oath of office must be taken at a particular time of the day adding that it was matter of convenience.

“There is no section of the constitution which says it must be done at a particular time, it is a matter of convenience. The timing doesn’t change anything but the action is the most important.”

“This government believes in the rule of law, nothing happened that is outside the confine of the law. We had a situation in this state where a governor pronounced his son as Special Adviser and Commissioner without swearing in and the son assumed office as commissioner even without appearing before the state assembly.”

He advised the PDP in the state to provide credible opposition instead complaining over actions that were taken in the interest of the state.

Chidi Mokeme Mocks Presidency, Releases Timetable For Visiting President Buhari

Chidi took to his IG page this morning to mock the presidency over new photos of President Buhari. Sharing a photo of the six governors who visited the President in London yesterday, Chidi wrote

• #InOtherNews Following the success of the last 2 editions of the presidential lotto, the organizers,#TheKitchenCabinet, based on doctors recommendations, have in their magnanimity, extended the privilege to other sectors thus, *** PRESIDENCY RELEASES TIMETABLE FOR VISIT TO BUHARI IN LONDON *** 1. APC governors: Balcony cabinet (Visited) 
  2. PDP governors: Boys Quater cabinet (Visited- please note Federal Character Compliance) 
  3. UPP, APGA, NDP, HDP, ADPA, SDP, AC AND OTHERS (31st July).
• 4. NIGERIAN STUDENTS (3rd August).
• 4. FARMERS(5th August) 
• 5. MEDICAL DOCTORS (10th August).
• 6. LECTURERS(12th August).
• 7. APC online Zombies (15th August).
• 8. PDP WAILING WAILERS (18th August)
• 9. OTHER WORKERS NOT MENTIONED ABOVE(20th August).
• 10. CRIPPLES AND OTHER DISABLED PEOPLE(23rd August).
• 11. IPOB BIAFRANS (25th August).
• 12. NIGER DELTA MILITANTS (27th August).
• 13. OPC MEMBERS (28th August).
• 14. BOKO HARAM MEMBERS (30th August).
• 15. AYO FAYOSE, WIKE AND FFK (2nd September proposed but still under consideration)

42 Escaped Chibok Schoolgirls Graduate from Plateau, Katsina Schools

Forty-two girls who escaped from Boko Haram terrorists after their abduction from the Government Secondary School, Chibok on April 14, 2014, have graduated from private schools in Plateau and Katsina States.

The girls were sponsored by a non-profit humanitarian organisation, Girl Child Concern (GCC) chaired by Dr. Mairo Mandara, a foremost advocate of girl-child education in Nigeria and in conjunction with the Borno State Government.

Speaking at a ceremony in Abuja to mark the graduation of 73 girls among whom were the 42 Chibok girls and 31 internally displaced girls, the Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kassim Shertima, said about 54,911 widows and 52,311 orphans were left to bear the brunt of the over three years of murderous insurgency in the North-east part of the country.
The governor also said the activities of the dreaded Boko Haram, have left a total of 5,335 buildings from 503 schools destroyed.

According to him, the figures were obtained from the report compiled by the World Bank in partnership with European Union and the presidency.
He said: “A total of 54,911 widows and 52,311 orphans were created by the years of insurgency in the North-east.

“These are official figures, probably the unofficial figure may be twice these number. The truth is that we either take care of these orphans or ten to fifteen years from now, they will be the monsters that will drive us out of this land.”
The 42 Chibok girls were among the 56 that escaped from the terrorists after they were kidnapped from their school in 2014.

The girls were assisted by GCC to gain admission to complete their education in Nurul Islam Secondary School, Bukuru, Jos, Ulul Albab Islamic School in Katsina and Bethel International Christian Academy in Jos, Plateau State.

Speaking on the challenges posed by these children from broken families resulting from terrorists activities, Shettima said there was need for leaders to take responsibility and do something to ensure that they become useful to the society, adding that failing to do so may be disastrous.

According to him, some elite and political big wigs were already afraid of visiting the rural areas to meet with the common man for fear of being molested.
He added that there was presently a palpable discontent against the elite glaring on the faces of most common men.
The governor stressed that unless the country’s leadership began to think towards improving the lots of the common man in the society and working for the people, the situation would deteriorate.

“The truth is that we either take care of these orphans or 10 to 15 years from now, they will be the monsters that will drive us out of the land,” he said. The governor said his government was paying special attention to education and that about 30 per cent of the annual state budget is being devoted to the sector.

“Where there is a will, there is always a way, we are right now building twenty mega schools across the state and each of them is going to be a state of the art institution with very conducive study environment and kitted with digital facilities,” he said.
Earlier, the chairperson of GCC, Dr. Mairo Mandara, expressed gratitude to the governor as well as the Malala Fund who she said did a lot to ensure that the Chibok school girls completed their secondary education.

Mandara recounted some of the challenges faced by the Chibok girl after being rescued, adding that they faced stigmatisation in their quest to secure a new school to complete their studies.

According to her, in some of the schools, the parents even threatened to withdraw their children if the Chibok girls were admitted.
Speaking on the near incommunicado which the girls were kept years after escaping from captivity, Mandara said: “Today is a special day for GCC because a group of our graduating girls were kept out of the lime light for the last three years. It was difficult getting them schools at the time we got custody of these girls. Schools refused to accept them out of fears of consequences that could befall them if it is discovered that they were in the school.”.

Some of the girls who spoke to THISDAY said apart from studying for their school certificate examination, they were also taught several skills that can make them survive economically.
They however refused to be drawn into revealing their experiences while in captivity, describing it as heinous and agonising to remember.

Lalong and Nigerian Governor Award

 

Nigerians are one of the simplest people to please in governance than anywhere in the world. Majority of us do not angle to be listed on the exclusive club of millionaires and billionaires in the country.

What we demand at all times from those whom are entrusted with the mandate of leadership is just creating the enabling environment for us to survive, thrive in business or the work place and empowered enough to pick up basic family bills.

Any executive office occupier who fixes his eyes on these simplicities is infinitely appreciated by the people. Without sycophantic flavor, he is celebrated as a hero by his people. He does not require intensive campaigns while seeking re-election because his good works speak for him. He does not need to hire thugs to rig elections or bribe anybody to acquire votes; hence his popularity soars on account of his performance.

In Plateau state, we are happy the wind of change which blew across Nigeria in 2015, affected us positively, with the election of a seasoned politician and doyen of transparency, accountability and epitome of performance, Simon Lalong as governor of the state. In the last two years, we have observed that Lalong has bestridden on the Plateau like a colossus, depositing unsurpassable development signposts in various sectors.

Governor Lalong has reinvented governance in the state in a manner that has astounded even his arch opponents who have buried their pride and idiosyncrasies’ to applaud him. Having witnessed the bad and the ugly in Plateau, I noticed the sharp and unforgettable difference Governor Lalong has impinged on governance of the state, which is remarkably different from his predecessors.

I was therefore not surprised when I read in the pleasant advertorial news in one of our national newspaper that Nigerians voted Governor Simon Lalong as the The Nigerian news portal, a flourishing London-based news site, as the best Governor in Nigeria, and qualifies for its 2017 Governor of the Year award. The ceremony is slated to hold next month, (August 2017) in London.

To say, Governor Lalong deserves this prestigious award and much more would be tantamount to stating the obvious. Those of us on the Plateau who feel and touch the impact of his administration, known in very certain terms that Nigerians, including Plateau people who voted him first among equals, only confirmed what we have already known and documented.

It confirms to me the notion that a good leader is noticed anywhere, even if he shields himself in the darkest of labyrinths. Voices would echo his name and feet would grope to locate his shadows.

On the Plateau, it is a unanimous consensus among the people, having benefitted immensely from his two years in office so far and still counting. Before this positively eloquent testimony by Nigerians on our Governor, we had already resolved that the only way we can appreciate Governor Lalong is to reward his exemplary leadership qualities with tenure in 2019. We owe a debt of gratitude to The Nigerian, a credible news platform for its research methodology, which exposed our dear leader to stardom, with the irrefutable decision on Governor Lalong.

A perusal into Governor Lalong’s compendium of achievements, displays a fascinating level of commitment to development and unbeatable concern for the welfare of the masses. It becomes more exciting, the realization that the focus of his administration is hinged on populist projects, mainly targeting the mass of the people of Plateau.

In Plateau state, much like in many other states in the country, the propensity of Governors to abandon uncompleted projects of predecessors is very high. Every governor does not see wisdom in completing the projects he inherited. And through this unhealthy practice, scarce public funds are wasted, with no results beneficial to the people to justify the funds such projects have gulped.

We were troubled by crises of all dimensions on the Plateau, which raged for upward of a decade. We lamented and wailed at the devastation and social dislocation it caused us. We knew no peace, as violence and killings irreverently replaced the sacredness of peace and prosperity. Our leaders knew the path to peace, but ignored its enforcement because of inordinate influences and the non-challant attitude to the protection of lives and property.

But Governor Lalong who is also a victim of the conflagrations on the Plateau in countless ways elected upon himself to end the menace of violence. He wholeheartedly attuned his administration to fully support the sustenance of the peace efforts upon assumption of office. His no nonsense and uncompromising posture on security of lives and property has changed the horrible narrative on insecurity in the state.

He has re-engineered a relieving pace of peace and tranquil on the Plateau not known to the people for more than 10 years. We are not just a happy people now, but proud that the famed and accustomed peace on the Plateau has regained its soul. Governor Lalong’s peace initiatives and collaboration with the security agencies have enabled this hitherto impossible reality.

And the ethnic agitations which appeared insurmountable in Plateau state as a result of discriminations foisted on the people by the past administrations have vanished. The Governor deployed a simple strategy of according every ethnic nationality in the state a sense of belonging. He halted discriminations and extended equal and fair treatment to all and sundry. To him, ethnicity is an ass and political affiliation, a chain of servitude. What has mattered must to him is the collective interest of people and how the state can attain unbridled and unequalled development on all fronts.

The Governor considerably doused the tension in the land, mostly manifest in youth restlessness. Aside erasing all forms of injustices, which tethered or people to bondage and provoked constant anger, his policies on youth empowerment and poverty alleviation are devoid of sectionalism or godfatherism. His ultimate conviction is that every Plateaun deserves a good life and to live in peace. And these are no rhetoric as the people bear loud testimonies of his vision and actions on streets, offices and other public places. I believe this is an enviable mark of good leadership anywhere in the world, worthy of emulation.

In Nigeria this day, the plague of workers salary debt has hit a lot of states in the federation. But on the Plateau, we are lucky, as payment of workers’ salaries is Governor Lalong’s topmost priority. He does not owe salaries of public servants and through prudent management of resources the state also meets its monetary contractual obligations to contractors handling various developmental projects, some of which have been commissioned.

It explains why Governor Lalong’s style of leadership spots him tall among his colleagues at the national level. It is why we are massively backing and supporting his administration to continue with the onerous task of liberating and developing the state.

The Nigerian’s 2017 Best Governor Award to Governor Lalong is what has gladdened the heart of every Plateau indigene. It is in African culture to fete our people who excel. And we owe Governor Lalong this token of appreciation.

APC won't exist beyond 2019 - Rt.Hon. Daika

Rt. Hon. George Daika, chieftain of the opposition PDP and former Speaker of the Plateau State parliament represented Qua’an-Pan, Mikang and Shendam Constituency in the House of Representatives. He speaks with Correspondent AGABUS PWANAGBA on the victory of the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led faction of the PDP at the apex court, the future of the party, the 2019 general elections and sundry issues. Excerpts:
How did you receive the Supreme Court’s verdict granting victory to the Ma­karfi-led faction of the PDP leadership?

The judgment didn’t come to me as a surprise, because I had confidence in the mem­bers of the jury particularly the judges. It was presided over by the Chief Justice of the Federation, somebody that has integrity. I had every confidence owing to the fact that even the initial judgment at the Court of Appeal contra­dicted the issues. You can see that the judgment in favour of Makarfi did not take us by surprise. You see, the national convention, the highest organ of the party that could decide even on that day to dissolve the party. If the convention at that time decided that the PDP stood dissolved, it would have been dissolved. The de­cision of the convention stood based on the party’s constitu­tion.

What is the future of the PDP on the Plateau, consid­ering the victory of Makarfi?

Well, the victory is a vic­tory for democracy, victory for the entire Nigerians be­cause it has clearly shown that our judiciary is now up to the task of delivering the right judgment for the people at the right time. That has built our confidence and the entire Nigerians are happy too. You could see all over the country that people jubilated on the streets, including the mem­bers of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the civil servants. That shows that they were truly aware that what Sheriff and the likes of Abang were trying to do was to de­stroy democracy in Nigeria, which is against the wishes of the people who were not happy about it. Also, they knew that without any strong opposition, Nigeria will be a one-party state, which will be at the detriment of the larger society.

The judgment itself serves as a quit notice to the APC, asking them to get prepared that by 2019, they should start packing at both the state and the national levels. So, it’s a quit notice asking them to get set to pack because the PDP is back and stronger than ever. What we need to do now is to talk about reconciliation, particularly with those that are aggrieved. And I think this is the right time for us to start thinking of genuine rec­onciliation. I think as much as possible we should avoid anything that has to do with imposition of candidates. We should allow the free will of the people to prevail. And let’s start to think of how to win in 2019. I know the entire Nigerians are with us, because APC is already a goner. By 2019, I assure you there will be no APC in place.

In 2015, when the PDP had no rancour, it was defeated by the APC. Now that it’s trying to rebuild, do you think the party will be strong enough to defeat the APC come 2019?

It is not an issue that the PDP will be strong before 2019, because it is already strong and stronger than ever. Even after the challenges we had we didn’t lose to the APC. We were rigged out. Actually we didn’t lose the election, we were rigged out. Thank God for the kind of leader we had in the person of President Goodluck Jonathan, who said he wouldn’t want any blood to be shed because of his elec­tion. And he wouldn’t want anything to spoil our relation­ship with the people abroad. For that, he conceded defeat even before the announce­ment of the results. But you could see that even what hap­pened on the Plateau, did the APC win the Southern Zone? What was the difference be­tween the APC and the PDP? It wasn’t wide.
The people decided to do what they did because they were aggrieved and looking for a change because they wanted the governorship to go down to the South­ern Zone. The problem was that even from the Southern Zone, because we could not present a candidate as a zone that gave an advantage to the only aspirant who came from the Northern Zone, who was late Senator GNS Pwajok. And that was how he won the PDP gubernatorial primaries with a landslide victory. If the Southern Zone was really co­ordinated, and had worked together as a family, and had decided on a particular can­didate, I think GNS Pwajok wouldn’t have had the oppor­tunity of winning the election. I don’t want to really believe that GNS Pwajok was actually imposed on the people. We actually defeated ourselves in the Southern Zone. And for some of us who felt there was no unity of purpose, we decided to do otherwise to vote for the candidate that we felt was credible, that had the pedigree and believe he could deliver, and that was late Sen­ator GNS. And we gave him 100 percent from Mikang during the primaries.

Are you saying your party (PDP) has the confidence of returning to power in 2019?

Well talking about con­fidence, I want to assure you that there is no APC on ground on the Plateau. I don’t believe in the existence of APC on the Plateau. You can see clearly for yourself that if you go to the APC secre­tariat, you will find out, aside the Igbo traders, car dealers, welders and rug carpet sellers; you don’t see the sign of any human being there. There is no activity taking place there. But go to the PDP secretariat, you will see a lot of activities taking place, because people believe in the party. They believe in the leadership of the party. They believe in the caliber of the people that we have at the state and national assemblies. That has actu­ally been our strength and our profile.

As far as I am concerned, our status remains the same. So we do not doubt winning the 17 local government elec­tions if they are held. That’s why I think the APC is scared of conducting the local gov­ernment elections because it knows, from the reports it is receiving, that it will not make any impact, even in Shendam where the governor comes from. PDP will still win. We are fully prepared and even if they say today the local gov­ernment elections will hold, we will win overwhelmingly. People actually did what they did out of protest, out of an­noyance, and some out of mere sentiments.

The APC said the party does not encourage people to leave their jobs to come and stay at the party secretariat to beg for money, which it al­leged the PDP is doing. What is your take?

What has the APC been doing as a government, not to talk of a party? Some of us know how the APC structure was formed. It only exists on paper. Even as a party in gov­ernment, they still don’t have structures. So what activities will happen at the party sec­retariat when they have a one-man-squad EXCO and sec­ondly when there is nothing forthcoming from the APC?

Even within the govern­ment, if you go to the Gov­ernment House, the minis­tries, you don’t find people there. Jang was entertaining and meeting people at odd hours, unlike the present gov­ernment that you hardly see people around the Govern­ment House.

You hardly see people around the commissioners and political appointees. If you see any of the appointees interacting with people, they are doing it for their selfish interests. That political ap­pointee is having an ambition to contest for an election or so. He wasn’t working for the interest of his principal.

Don Jazzy Asks If God Will Forgive Deziani Allison Madueke If She Pleads For Forgiveness

Mavin boss, Don Jazzy took to his Twitter page to ask if God will forgive Deziani if she pleads for forgiveness and also suggested that they should be different levels of sins. Read his tweets below..