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PDP plotting to disrupt poll in Borno –Govt

The Borno State Government on Friday alleged that there is a grand design by the Peoples Democratic Party to thwart the forthcoming general elections in the state.

The government during a press briefing by the Commissioner for Information, Dr. Mohammed Bulama, said the recent politically motivated attack and allegations by the party were parts of the plan to ensure that elections do not hold in Borno State.

Bulama said, “Everyone knows that the PDP cannot win the forthcoming elections as the party has been nowhere in the last four years when the state went through its hardest time.

“Since the PDP knows that they are going to meet their Waterloo during the elections, they do not want the day to come or try as much as possible to discredit our victory which is already assured.

“It is a known fact that the leaders of the PDP in the state, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and Alhaji Mohammed Imam, are the promoters of politics of violence and are presently drawing from the reservoir to destabilise the state.”

Bulama explained, “That Sheriff having lost his bid for the senate has nothing to protect but to see that Governor Kashim Shettima who has grown to become his major traducer does not get his mandate renewed.

“On his part, Mohammed Imam has seen that the election is already won and lost and he does not have the intention of accepting his fate and move on without an inglorious fight.”

He added that the state government and the APC would do everything to ensure that the elections are held because “we can see that we have the chance of not only winning the state but forming government at the federal level.

Why Turkish politicians just can't stop brawling in parliament

I believe you all will now agree and believe that it is not only Nigerian politicians that fight and jump through fences, look at what is happening here, just cant stop laughing...............

But Nigeria politician own serious ooooooh, chai there is God o

Nigeria bans ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ movie

The National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) has banned ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ movie in Nigerian cinemas.

NFVCB ordered the removal of the highly anticipated movie from the list of movies showing at cinemas.

The movie, which showed in most major cinemas in Nigeria in its first week of releasse, has also been banned in Kenya and Malaysia.

Fifty Shades of Grey is a 2011 erotic romance novel by British author E. L. James.

It is the first installment in the Fifty Shades trilogy that traces the deepening relationship between a college graduate, Anastasia Steele, and a young business magnate, Christian Grey.

The novel is notable for its explicitly erotic scenes featuring elements of sexual practices involving bondage/discipline, dominance/submission, and sadism/masochism (BDSM).

I’m not the player I was -Messi

Barcelona star Lionel Messi admits he is a very different player to the one who burst on to the scene a decade ago.

The four-time Ballon d’Or winner has reached 300 games in La Liga for the Camp Nou club and has earned 95 caps for Argentina, despite still being only 27.

Having enjoyed a largely injury-free start to his senior career, the forward has struggled in the past 18 months with some muscular problems and he concedes he must now manage his body differently.

Speaking at a sponsor’s event, he said: “I am not 17, 18, 19, 20 or 21 years old any more, when your body doesn’t feel the strain.

“You get older and you feel it. Now I make more of an effort to look after myself at half-time and be careful about what I eat.

“I have changed a lot since I first started out. I’m more mature and I have learned things both on and off the pitch. Some of the old Messi is still here, but not much.”

Messi’s future was shrouded in doubt at the turn of the year but the forward is adamant he is now happy once more with life at Camp Nou.

“I feel fine,” he added. “I’m happy with the way things are going.

“I want to keep helping this team. Last year was not a good one for us. There were too many problems on and off the pitch. But I hope all that changes this year.

Why I Quit Politics Before Elections- Comedian Julius Agwu

Comedian Julius Agwu revealed why he quit politics when speaking at the Valentine dinner hosted in honor of Buhari and Yemi Osinbajo. Julius Agwu who anchored the event said he had the ambition to become the next governor of his state.

Julius said “My mum called me to confirm and I said it was true. She cried on the phone and told me to drop my ambition and leave it for the politicians before they kidnap her and demand for ransom. I had to oblige my mother’s request,”

Hanks Anuku Denies Allegations He Gave His Wife HIV

Reports have it that popular actor, Hanks Anuku intentionally infected his wife with HIV.

According to Naij, the rumors are completely false and misconstrued. Hanks said his quote was taken out of context. What he actually said was:

“I got tested while I was in Zambia after one of my girlfriends advised me about her pregnancy. She had gone for pregnancy tests and during that time she was tested for HIV and the results was shocking, she was positive. She forced me to get tested but I could not come to terms with the results. After I got tested I came back to Zimbabwe and I kept quiet about the issue. I never told my wife about the issue. I infected her but I regret. I later on received some counseling and it went well,”

“During my peak of popularity I had sex with approximately 80 women, within Harare and Zambia. In 2002 it was so amazing to be on TV. I abused the fame. To make matters worse I lacked counseling and I failed to handle it properly, leaving me in this mud. I am now a born again Christian with UFIC under the guidance of Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa”.

Hanks experience was misconstrued and the media painted him in a bad light when he actually explained that he regretted not telling his wife about HIV status and the counseling he received after the bad incident.

Buhari receiving treatment in UK, Fayose alleges

Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, on Friday alleged that the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), who travelled to the United Kingdom for a supposed working visit, is in a London hospital.

According to him, Buhari is being treated at a hospital located at Cavendish Street, Cavendish Square, W2 London West End, London.

The governor said this had vindicated his earlier stand that Buhari was sick and lacked the required capacity to rule Nigeria.

Speaking through his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, the governor described the claim by the APC that Buhari would give a talk at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, London as a “deceit taken too far.”

Obanikoro threatens Sahara Reporters over Ekiti rigging scandal

A former Minister of Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, who is one of the characters caught on tape plotting the rigging of the 2014 governorship election in Ekiti State, has threatened news website, Sahara Reporters, and its publisher, Omoyele Sowore, for reporting the scandal.

Mr. Obanikoro warned the website of legal action if it continues with its reporting.

In the February 19 letter by his United States-based counsel, Joseph Tacopina, Mr. Obanikoro said the reporting of the rigging tape by Sahara Reporters was “merely propaganda for Sen. Obanikoro’s opponents”.

He said the audio recording of the meeting, involving Mr. Obanikoro; Minister of Police Affairs, Jelili Adesiyan; the Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose; and Aliyu Momoh, a Brigadier General, heading 3rd Artillery Brigade, Akure, where strategies for rigging the election were plotted, was a fabrication.

“Additionally, even assuming the authenticity of this audio and it was not manipulated, there are no statements by Sen. Obanikoro that substantiate your claims,” the lawyer said.

“Simply put these alleged statements are not heard on this tape and nothing on the audio supports such purported claims. In fact, the audio is of an alleged vague conversation concerning security for an election, not election rigging, fraud or bribing officials. You clearly knew this fact when you reported the above-referenced defamatory statements.”

Robbers kill Poly student, beat father to coma

Tragedy struck in Ado Ekiti, capital of Ekiti State on Monday when a 12-man gang of robbers attacked residents of Olorunda, a satellite town in the city, killing a student of the Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti, Temitope Ogunleye.

The National Diploma II Accountancy student was shot at his father’s house on 14, Olorunda, Zone 4 area of Ado Local Government Area.

The bandits also inflicted machete wound on the victim’s father, Mr. Ogunleye, a Principal of Idu High School, Erio-Ekiti.

Commissioner of Police in the state, Taiwo Lakanu, and top members of the Command were said to have visited the bereaved, assuring residents that the area would be secured.

Recounting how the operation that lasted for about 45 minutes happened, Temitope’s younger sister, Yetunde, a student of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State, said the robbers, numbering about 12, besieged their residence at about 1:30am on Monday and started shooting sporadically.

She said the robbers had earlier robbed a house opposite their building owned by a widow and retiree.

“We had earlier heard the noise coming from the next building which sent a signal to us that robbers were in the area. But later they came to our house peeping through the windows and threatening that we should open the door or face the dire consequences.

“They said they were not in our house for tea party. They broke the windows and lit the living room with their torches and started shooting sporadically into the inner side of the bungalow when we didn’t open the door on time. It was at this time that I ran inside to inform our father who instructed us to shout.

“But as we were shouting, Temitope was already shot in the stomach and was in the pool of his blood. At this stage, the robbers had already entered the living room and started beating our mummy and everybody.

In fact, when they sighted daddy, they beat him mercilessly,

Elections: CAN denies N7bn bribery allegation

The Christian Association of Nigeria has denied the allegation that its leaders were offered N7bn by the Presidency to campaign for President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election.

The association also called on security agencies to investigate the Voice of Northern Christian Movement and its Executive Director, Mr. Musa Dikwa, for making the allegation.

The association also linked the allegation to those using different Christian organisations to perpetrate fraud.

 In a statement issued on Friday in Abuja by the General Secretary of CAN, Dr. Musa Asake, the association said the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd), had fallen into wrong hands, “because his endorsement for the March 28 general election by Northern Christian Leaders Eagle-Eye Forum led by one Aminchi Habu was fraudulent.”

The statement read, “We are therefore calling on security agencies to investigate the activities of the Voice of Northern Christian Movement and Musa Dikwa himself to unravel the N7bn mystery which is intended by their sponsors to throw the country into serious crisis.

“For the avoidance of doubt, CAN has no knowledge of any N7bn transaction as alleged by Musa Dikwa who claims to be the Executive Director of a non-existent group, Voice of Northern Christian Movement.

“CAN is not a political party, let alone getting involved in partisan politics. Christians who are members of CAN belong to different political parties. It is therefore surprising to hear that CAN is campaigning for one candidate.

“Revered men of God including the CAN President, Pastors Ayo Oritsejafor; Bishop David Oyedepo of Winners Chapel and Pastor Bosun Emmanuel (Secretary-General of National Christian Elders Forum) are too upright to be linked with any such deal.

The APC has accused the NIMASA of orchestrating hate campaigns against the party’s presidential candidate

The All Progressive Congress Presidential Campaign Organisation has accused the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency of orchestrating hate campaigns against the party’s presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, and his family, through recent documentaries aired by AIT and the Nigerian Television Authority.

The APC said on Thursday it was in possession of evidence linking a top management staff of the maritime agency to campaigns against Mr. Buhari.

The campaign’s Director of Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said the office has confirmed that the agency was indeed the sponsor of all the “dirty campaigns” propagating hate messages against Mr. Buhari on the two television stations and several other media platforms.

According to Mr. Shehu, the act contravenes the NIMASA Act, the Public Service Regulations, and the Independent National Electoral Commission Act 2010 as amended, among others.

The APC criticised a situation whereby a government agency uses public funds to sponsor a campaign of calumny against the APC candidate, saying it was not only illegal, but should also be condemned and investigated by the joint committees of the National Assembly on Marine Transportation.

Jonathan promises to establish cooperative varsity in South-West

President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday promised that his administration would immediately begin the process of establishing the nation’s first University of Co-operatives that will be established in one of the states in the South West.

Jonathan made the promise while granting audience to members of the Oodua Cooperative Alliance from the six South Western states in the State House, Marina, Lagos.

The President further promised to dispatch a Federal Government delegation to Nairobi, Kenya in order to understudy a similar university established there.

The leader of the delegation, Asiwaju Adetokunbo Osisanya, had earlier asked the government to take a cue from Kenya which already has such university.

The President said he had always been of the opinion that Nigeria needs specialised universities.

He explained that that was why he is establishing a Maritime University in Delta State.

He said, “On the issue you raised about a University of Cooperative, I will send a team to Kenya to go and look at the University there.

“They need to look at the courses they offer, the departments and how the entire institution is structured. Then we will establish our own and it will be located in the South West.”

On the request for the institution of N200bn National Cooperative Development Fund provided in the 2002 National Cooperative Policy, Jonathan promised to ask the Central Bank of Nigeria to consider the inclusion of that in its operations.

He further promised to look into other requests made by the delegation if he was re-elected in March.

The group leader promised to mobilise over two million votes for the President’s re-election bid out of its six million membership strength.

Mark, Tambuwal, others to earn pensions for life

Even as Nigerians continue to complain about the earnings of their lawmakers and other public office holders, a recommendation to allow former National Assembly presiding officers enjoy pension for life, has been approved by the state Houses of Assembly as part of the ongoing amendment to the 1999 Constitution, earlier passed by the National Assembly.

Nigeria’s former leaders, including those who came to power through military coups are already enjoying the privilege. Past Chief Justices of the Federation are also beneficiaries.

A total of 33 out of the 36 state legislatures voted in support of the alteration of Section 84 of the Constitution to insert a new subsection 5A to read, “Any person who has held office as President of the Senate, Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, shall be admitted to pension for life at a rate equivalent to the annual salary of the incumbent President or Deputy President of the Senate, Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives”.

The law however came with a proviso that “Provided that such a person was not removed from office by the process of impeachment or for breach of any of the provision of this Constitution”.

Chime signs Enugu 2015 budget

Enugu State Governor, Sullivan Chime, on Friday signed the state’s 2015 Appropriation Bill of about N96.735bn into law.

This followed the passage of the Bill by the State House of Assembly after a motion moved by the House Leader, Sunday Ude-Okoye, and seconded by Deputy Leader, John Ukuta.

Signing the Bill at the Government House, Chime promised a speedy implementation of the budget, as well a “continuous delivery of good governance and dividends of democracy to the people” until his last day in office.

A breakdown of the Bill, tagged ‘budget of transition’ which would be the last to be administered by Chime, shows that the total sum of N54.9bn, or 56.8 per cent, was earmarked for capital expenditure while N41.7bn, would be used for recurrent expenditure.

Speaker of the House, Eugene Odo, called for a speedy implementation of the budget, to facilitate a smooth transition to a new administration by May 29.

I will declare my assets publicly –Buhari

Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), said he would publicly declare his assets and liabilities, if voted into power.

Buhari stated this in a document obtained by our correspondent in Abuja on Thursday. The document highlights what Buhari will do in his first 100 days if he assumes power on May 29.

He said he would encourage political appointees in his administration to also declare their assets publicly.

If the APC candidate keeps to his promise, he will be the second Nigeria’s President to publicly declare his assets.

The late President, Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua, also from Katsina State as Buhari, was the first and the only Nigeria’s President to have publicly declared his assets when he assumed office.

This action forced his then deputy, who is now the President Goodluck Jonathan, to also make his assets declaration forms available to the public.

Fayose unleashing violence on our members, APC tells NHRC

The All Progressives Congress has petitioned the National Human Rights Commission over alleged attacks on its members and supporters in Ekiti State by Governor Ayo Fayose and his loyalists.

The Executive Secretary of the commission, Prof. Bem Angwe, while receiving a copy of the petition in Abuja on Friday, expressed shock over the weighty allegations against the governor.

He assured them that the allegations against the governor would be “thoroughly investigated”.

The party alleged that with the current wave of attacks on its members in the state, violence free elections could not be guaranteed in the forthcoming polls if the trend was not checked.

The petitioner accused Fayose using thugs to cause political violence in the state. It added that the thugs physically attacked and intimidated opposition personalities in the stated.

The APC alleged that Fayose’s activities were undermining the peace pact recently signed by all presidential candidates in the forthcoming polls, including those of the Peoples Democratic Party, President Goodluck Jonathan and the All Progressives Congress, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

Man arraigned for beating, raping girl, 15

A 25-year-old Collins Ezekiel, who allegedly raped a 15-year-old girl and assaulted her with blows appeared before an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrates’ Court on Friday in Lagos.

The accused, who resides at the Government Residential Area, Ikeja, is facing trial on a two counts of forcefully having sexual intercourse and assault.
The prosecutor, Etim Nkankuk, told the court that the offences were committed on February 2 at about 12.15pm at 19, Sowemimo Street, GRA, Ikeja.
Nkankuk told the court that the accused assaulted his victim, who was his neighbour, by blowing her and then proceeded to forcefully have sexual intercourse with her.
“The accused was able to overpower the teenager before defiling her,” Nkankuk said.
He said the offences contravened Sections 137 and 170 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Section 137 prescribes life imprisonment for offenders.
The accused entered a plea of innocence.
The chief magistrate, Mr Olatunbosun Abolarinwa, granted the accused bail in the sum of N500,000 with two sureties in like sum.
He adjourned the case till March 10, for legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.

I have fulfilled my promise on power sector -Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday said he had lived up to his campaign pledge to Nigerians that he would make the power sector a priority for his administration.

Jonathan spoke during the inauguration of the Olorunsogo II Power Station in Ogun State.

The power plant is a 750MW Nigerian Integrated Power Project.

“I have lived up to my campaign pledge to make the power sector a priority,”Jonathan told the gathering that included members of the Federal Executive Council, Peoples Democratic Party chiefs from Ogun State and leading traditional rulers.

Jonathan said although it was capital intensive to make a difference in the power sector, his administration had been tackling it headlong.

BBC Radio 1Xtra heads to Ghana for Destination Africa 2015

BBC Radio 1Xtra heads to Ghana in March to bring back a host of exclusive content for Destination Africa 2015 – a celebration of some of the most exciting sounds of Africa.

Ghana has an incredibly vibrant music scene so for the on-air project, BBC Radio 1Xtra will travel in and around the capital city Accra, to explore, discover and meet some of the biggest artists from the region. The results of the trip are special programmes, interviews, videos, exclusive Live Lounge performances and takeovers from UK and African artists which can be heard on 1Xtra from 14-28 March.

One aspect of the Destination Africa programming is a UK & Ghana Music Exchange, where 1Xtra Breakfast presenter Twin B links up a BBC 

Bobbi Kristina Brown Undergoes Tracheotomy

A source has revealed that doctors performed a tracheotomy on Bobbi Kristina Brown this week to rearrange her breathing tube in what a family source calls a “normal procedure.” ….The source says the procedure does not indicate a change in status.

It’s a normal procedure to have the tracheotomy because if you have a breathing tube down there for a long time, it can cause an infection,” said the source.

“She is still critical and we don’t know what the outcome will be,” the source added. “No one is giving up on this kid.” 

Brown, 21, has been hospitalized since she was found unresponsive in her bathtub on Jan. 31. This past weekend, a source told PEOPLE her condition remains grim as family including father Bobby Brown and grandmother Cissy Houston keep a bedside vigil. 

“There’s a medical reason behind [the tracheotomy], but it’s making things clear to everyone how serious this is,” says the source. “Even if she wakes up, there’s a possibility that this could do some damage to her vocal cords, I hear.” 

Source: PEOPLE/RadarOnline.com

Fani-Kayode counters President Jonathan, says Ekiti rigging tape authentic but ….

Contrary to President Goodluck Jonathan’s dismissal of the Ekiti rigging audio recording as a fabrication that is not worth his attention, the spokesperson for his campaign, Femi Fani-Kayode has admitted that the tape is genuine but that the characters involved in the meeting captured in the recording were not discussing how to rig the 2014 governorship election in Ekiti state.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, Mr. Fani-Kayode said his team had listened to and reviewed the recording and that it came to the conclusion that the opposition All Progressives Congress turned fact on its head by claiming that Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state; former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro; and the Minister of Police Affairs, Jelili Adesiyan, who featured in the recording, planned how to rig the election.

“We have listened to the audio clip and we make bold to say that the discussion that took place in it did not make any mention of any form of rigging in the Ekiti state governorship election and neither did it contain any evidence of any conspiracy to rig,” he said.

IG ignores N’Assembly order, warns policemen against strike

There were indications on Thursday that the Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba, had ignored a resolution by the House of Representatives to reinstate one Inspector Simon Anyanwu, who was said to have been wrongfully dismissed from service.

Anyanwu, who is currently hospitalised for diabetes, had petitioned the Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, over the termination of his appointment without recourse to police disciplinary procedures following which the House on October 16, 2014 directed the police to reverse Anyanwu’s dismissal and convert same to retirement with all his entitlements, salary arrears, allowances, gratuity and pension paid.

B’Haram attacks Adamawa village, kills 30

The members of the Boko Haram Islamic sect attacked Gaya village in Hong Local Government Area of Adamawa State in the early hours of Thursday.

Investigations revealed that the rampaging insurgents killed 30 indigenes of the community said to be located near the Sambisa Forest.

The insurgents were also said to have burnt several buildings in the community before fleeing the area.

The attack came shortly after the military liberated 11 communities from the insurgents. The military killed over 300 of the insurgents with several calibre of arms and ammunition seized from them on Tuesday.

Lamido, Mu’azu meet over Obasanjo

The Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido and the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, met in Abuja on Wednesday on how to convince former President Olusegun Obasanjo to return to the party.

Investigations by our correspondent in Abuja on Thursday indicated that the meeting took place at the Abuja residence of Mu’azu.

The meeting, it was learnt, was at the instance of Mu’azu, who was said to be worried about the political implications of Obasanjo’s decision to dump the PDP.

Obasanjo, while announcing his decision to leave the party where he was once its Chairman of Board of Trustees, on Monday, also ordered that his membership card be torn to shreds.

David Mark’s wife, Dangote, Adenuga, others named in #SwissLeaks as operators of secret foreign accounts

Some of Nigeria’s wealthiest industrialists, former government officials and their relatives, were amongst thousands of individuals around the world who operated highly secretive foreign accounts with the Swiss branch of banking giant, HSB​C, concealing their identities for years and using codes perhaps to shake off tax authorities from accounts, some of which held illicit assets from criminals, traffickers, arms dealers and other outlaws, secret files published last week by a consortium of journalists around the world have shown.

The trove, released by the French Daily, Le Monde and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, in partnership with PREMIUM TIMES, and a host of other major media organisations around the world, showed how HSBC profited doing business with people who stole from their countries and some of the world’s most notorious con artists, including people who made a fortune fuelling wars in Africa.

PREMIUM TIMES is the only Nigerian publication involved in the investigation, which lasted several months.

The bank helped questionable characters conceal their wealth despite knowing their sources, and devised ways to hide the identities of the owners of the secret accounts from governments around the world.

At least 100,000 secret bank account operators who owned about $100 billion were exposed in the leaks, unsettling investigators in several countries.

Edo alleges plot to cause pre-election violence

Ahead of the general elections, the Edo State Government has raised the alarm of an alleged “evil plot” by anti-democratic forces to “unleash terror” on citizens of the state.

The Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Louis Odion, in a statement made available to journalists in Benin on Thursday evening, said the state government learnt that the perpetrators are planning to forment violence by way of high-profile killings to intimidate the All Progressives Congress, prior to the March 28 and April 11 polls.‎

“The objective, we gathered, is not only to sow fear in the minds of the teeming supporters of All Progressives Congress but also make the state ungovernable for Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

“The new evil agenda is akin to the one unleashed in 2012 ahead of the governorship election in which the Principal Private Secretary to the Comrade Governor, Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde, was brutally murdered. Till date, the killers are yet to be brought to justice,” It read.

Odion also alleged that those targeted were key figures in the Governor Adams Oshiomhole administration, “APC leaders, a vocal palace chief as well as journalists considered too independent-minded and unwilling to file fabricated stories to promote PDP.”

He, however, urged the citizens‎ to remain calm and law abiding, adding that the state government had directed security agencies in the state to carry out investigations and “bring all those involved to book.

Jonathan bribed pastors with N7bn, not N6bn – Cleric

More facts appear to be emerging on the allegation by Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, that President Goodluck Jonathan gave pastors across the country N6bn to vote against the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari(retd.), in the presidential election.

A Borno-based Pastor, Kallamu Musa-Dikwa, said on Thursday that the money that was given to pastors by the President was actually N7bn and not N6bn as alleged by Amaechi, who doubles as the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation.

Amaechi had alleged that unnamed leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party paid N6bn to Christian clerics to campaign against Buhari and the APC.

The governor’s allegation caused a stir among the Christian clerics, with the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria and the Northern State Christian Elders Forum asking Amaechi to name the church leaders, who collected the huge bribe.

But Musa-Dikwa, who is the Executive Director of the Voice of Northern Christian Movement, told journalists in Kaduna on Thursday that the said money was channelled through the Christian Association of Nigeria.

He said the CAN got the said money(N7bn) on January 26, 2015 and disbursed N3m to each State Chairmen of the CAN across the country.

Musa-Dikwa, who was an Associate Pastor with the E. Y. N. Church, Farm Centre, Dikwa Road, Maiduguri, Borno State, under Rev. Emmanuel Kwajihe between 2002 and 2004, said the CAN had started threatening Christians in the state (Borno) that they must re-elect Jonathan in the rescheduled election.

He said, “It was N7bn that was given to the CAN leadership by President Goodluck Jonathan. They(CAN) later disbursed N3m to the State Chairmen of the CAN.

“The money was handed over to the CAN Leadership on 26th January, 2015.”

“Actually, President Jonathan is using CAN President, and it was the CAN President who collected the monies and shared N3m to the CAN executives in each state.

“And some Pentecostal Bishops also collected their share. Actually, the money is not N6bn, it is N7bn. This is what I know. One of the CAN officials from Abuja told me that they have collected the money. The corruption in CAN is terrible. They are corrupting the body of Christ because of money.

“They are now threatening Christians in Borno State that they will deal with anybody, who refuses to vote for Jonathan. And the CAN officials are now campaigning that if Buhari emerges President, he will Islamise Nigeria; and that Osinbajo collected monies from Islamic world; and that the same Osinbajo will resign soon after Buhari wins to give way for Tinubu to emerge Vice President.”

Musa-Dikwa named some high-profile clerics, who had benefitted from the controversial largesse to actualise the re-election bid of Jonathan.

New constitution: N’Assembly okays independent candidacy for poll

No fewer than 20 states in the country rejected autonomy for local governments in the fourth amendment to the 1999 Constitution, passed by the Senate on Wednesday.

However, the National Assembly has also approved the inclusion of independent candidacy in the new proposed constitution.

The extant electoral law in section 177 stipulates that candidates for elections must be sponsored by political parties. But the lawmakers have altered this section by inserting a new paragraph that “a candidate must be sponsored by political party or he is an independent candidate.”

Consequently, any qualified Nigerian can now stand for election without necessarily belonging to any political party.

Our correspondent, who obtained a copy of the report of the Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, submitted by Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, on the floor of the Senate, noted that 20 states voted against local government autonomy while 16 states voted in support.

The 20 states that voted against were: Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Enugu, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kwara, Lagos, Ondo, Osun, Rivers, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara.states.

The states that voted in favour of the council’s autonomy were Adamawa, Anambra, Abia, Bauchi, Benue, Edo, Gombe, Imo, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Oyo, Plateau and Sokoto states.

CBN sells dollar to banks at N198

In a bid to reduce pressure on the naira, which has come under speculative attacks in recent weeks, the Central Bank of Nigeria on Wednesday announced the closure of the Retail and Wholesale Dutch Auction Systems of the foreign exchange market.

The closure, which takes immediate effect, was confirmed in a statement issued by the Director, Corporate Communications Department, CBN, Mr. Ibrahim Mu’azu.

In taking the step, the central bank was said to have fixed the exchange rate of the naira to the dollar at 198, which is N30 above its N168 (+/-5 per cent) rate.

As a result of the plunge in global oil prices, the CBN had in November devalued the naira by eight per cent as it officially pegged the currency at 160-176 to the dollar.

Following the postponement of the general elections by six weeks on February 7, the naira hit an all-time low of 202 against the dollar at the interbank segment of the foreign exchange market last week, stoking speculation that the CBN might devalue the currency again.

In a new report entitled: ‘Nigeria: Devaluation pressures grow’, the Ecobank’s Economics Research Desk, headed by Mr. Angus Downie, said for a second time in recent days, the CBN sold the US dollar outside of the Retail Dutch Auction and interbank market on Monday.

The report stated, “The CBN asked banks to submit the amount of the US dollar demand they required based on a selling price of N198, with bids assessed on the banks’ actual levels of client demand.