It appears the long queues that suddenly appeared at fuel stations nationwide may soon be over as the federal government has announced that it will be paying petroleum marketers N156 billion within the next 24 hours.

Speaking with reporters today, Wednesday, April 29, finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said oil marketers should be assured that all outstanding payments will be resolved as well.

“On the issue of oil marketers, we have really been working with them and we have been dialoguing with them all along. We’ve paid N350 billion in December, we paid them N31 billion in foreign exchange differentials and by tomorrow (Thursday) we will be paying them N100 billion for which we had earlier given them IOUs (an informal document acknowledging debt) for as well as their interest rate differentials of N56 billion.

“So, I am about to go and sign, to get that paid and I think that Nigerians can see that the government is making maximum effort to accommodate the oil marketers. They are also Nigerians, and they need to also cooperate with us.”

She however appealed to the marketers to bear with government as it tries to prioritise its policies in the light of dwindling revenues.

The post As Suddenly As They Appeared, Those Annoying Fuel Queues May Disappear “Within The Next 24 Hours” appeared first on Ekekeee.

Aso Rock has apparently found something to complain about the ongoing transition process.

The federal government on Wednesday, said it took exception to some of the terms of reference of the transition committee set up by President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

According to the National Planning minister, Dr. Abubakar Sulaiman, who spoke at the end of the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting, the council wants the incoming government to desist from running a parallel government.

Sulaiman, who is the chairman of the Technical Subcommittee of the outgoing government’s transition committee, said the Buhari team should not take President Goodluck Jonathan’s magnanimity as a sign of cowardice.

To be fair, we do not understand what that means.

The post ‘Buhari Should Not Run A Parallel Government’ | FG Is Clearly Worried About Something It Is Not Willing To Share appeared first on Ekekeee.

The Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State have been involved in this tug-of-war-like back and forth which frankly is becoming tiring.

The party has now dismissed an APC claim that it (Rivers PDP) was conspiring with the Independent National Electoral Commission to stop the ruling party in the state from accessing election materials.

The state APC chapter, had through its chairman, Dr. Davies Ikanya, and governorship candidate, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, accused the PDP and INEC of its efforts in attaining what it calls ‘justice.’

Peterside accused Resident Election Commissioner Khan of deliberately withholding materials for the April 11 polls to be tendered before the election petitions tribunal, adding that the situation was making it difficult for him to approach the tribunal.

READ: “We Challenge Jega To A Moral Test” | The APC Is Not Giving Up On Ensuring That INEC Sack This Woman

Ikanya says the APC applied for 17 documents while only a few of the documents requested for were made available.

In response, the PDP’s State Publicity Secretary, Mr. Samuel Nwanosike, told the Punch on Wednesday that his party had nothing to do with the APC’s search for election materials.

He said it was wrong for the APC to begin to accuse the PDP of conniving with INEC to bar it from getting election materials for the tribunal.

“The APC is a political party that is built on falsehood. Very soon, Nigerians will know. They want to box everybody to a corner in order to achieve what they want.

“Since last week, APC agents have been going to INEC office to make life unbearable for workers. For the past two weeks, one of our candidates has not received his certificate of return, but we have not been terrorizing INEC staff because of this.

“It is falsehood for the APC to say that the PDP in the state is conspiring with INEC to deny them access to election materials. We have won; we are PDP and we did not conspire against anybody,” Nwanosike added.

He said the PDP was ready to prove that it won the elections in Rivers State, maintaining that it was ready to face the APC at the tribunal.

The post #WarOfWords: The PDP Says The APC’s Allegations On Rivers State Are “Built On Falsehood” appeared first on Ekekeee.

Ahead of the inauguration of the 2019 class of the National Assembly in June, one of the longest-serving members of the lower House of Representatives and current minority leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has declared his intention to run for the Speakership.

Gbajabiamila, who represents Lagos’ Surulere 1 federal constituency, disclosed his readiness to occupy the seat in a letter he sent to all of the House’s members-elect.

According to him, he is humbly putting himself forward for the seat presently occupied by Sokoto’s Governor-elect, Aminu Tambuwal, because he is qualified for the job. He then goes on to list his achievements in 12 years as a federal lawmaker.

“I have been in the House for 12 years now, and eight of those years as the Minority Leader, doing my best with the support of other members of the House to build a vibrant and accountable legislature and legislative process, sometimes at the risk of life.

“Having worked with four Speakers and as I prepare for my fourth term, I will be one of the few members with the longest service in the House. I encourage you to see me as a steadying hand, a custodian of institutional history and a strong bridge-builder between the House and the executive.

“As we usher in a new era in Nigerian politics, (an era of accountable governance), it is my hope that with my vast experience in the House you will consider me worthy to serve as your Speaker,” he wrote.

The post It’s Official: Gbajabiamila Will Run For House Speaker appeared first on Ekekeee.

The President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday in Abuja inaugurated a 19-member Transition Committee to liaise with its Federal Government counterpart to ensure a smooth transition.

A statement issued in Abuja by the National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the terms of reference of the committee include to develop a clear framework for liaison with the out-going Administration for purposes of a smooth hand-over/take-over and to receive hand-over documents from Ministries, Departments and Agencies and itemise the most important or most urgent issues confronting the in-coming government

It said the committee is also saddled with reviewing and making preliminary assessment of the balance sheet of government with particular emphasis on the status of assets and liabilities of government; cash flow position of the government; quantum of public domestic and external debt of government and their deployment; government’s out-standing contractual obligations and its ability to meet such obligations and the status of implementation of capital projects.

The committee is also expected to undertake a preliminary assessment of the security challenges facing the country and the counter-insurgency measures taken by the government thus far; the counter policy measures being implemented in the Niger Delta to deal with unrest and major economic crimes in the area. In particular, the status of the Amnesty Programme, the readiness of the Police and other national security and intelligence agencies in addressing threats to law and order and provide a brief over-view of CBN, NNPC, NCC, Customs and FIRS.

Other terms of reference of the committee include to suggest “quick fixes” which will result in tangible, visible and practical measures so that CHANGE will be seen after 30 days, after 100 days, after 6 months of the Administration taking office, and to make any other observations which in view of the Committee would be helpful to the transition and take-off of the new Administration. The committee has two weeks to conclude its work

Speaking at the inauguration in Abuja on Wednesday, the President-elect charged the committee to ”assess the information provided to you and advise me on its quality and accuracy. It is a simple matter that you must have the right information if you are to shape appropriate policy decisions.

”Needless to repeat, that your Committee – and indeed our Government – are not on a witch-hunt or engaged in fault-finding. We want the facts and nothing but the facts. What has been done can not be undone. Our job is to learn from the mistakes of the past and attempt to avoid similar.”

Gen. Buhari hailed the calibre of the committee’s membership, saying they represent some of the best Nigeria can offer. He described the committee chairman, Malam Ahmed Joda, as one of the few surviving links between First Republic civil service to the present day, a man whose versatility includes farming, industry and 21st Century IT and one of Nigerian’s precious assets.

Full list of Transition Committee members:

1. Mal. Ahmed Joda – Chairman

2. Dr Doyin Salami – Vice-Chairman

3. Mr Boss Mustapha

4. Mal. Muhammad Hayatuddin

5. Alh. Abubakar Malami SAN

6. Brig. Gen. Lawal Jafaru Isa

7. Sen. Hadi Sirika

8. Sen. Audu Ogbeh

9. Barrister Dalong

10. Mrs Bola Adesola

11. Mr Wale Edun

12. Mrs Nike Aboderin

13. Dr Ogbonnaya Onu

14. Mr Festus Odimegwu

15. Chief John Oyegun

16. Gov. Rotimi Amaechi

17. Dr. Tam David West

18. Alh. Lai Mohammed

19 Mal. Adamu Adamu – Secretary

The post Here’s The Full List Of Buhari’s 19-Member Transition Committee [READ] appeared first on Ekekeee.

We brought you a report this morning that the Peoples Democratic Party Chairman, Adamu Mu-Azu and members of the party’s National Working Committee members which he heads, were asked to resign by some state governors. The party has now issued an official statement denying the existence of a dispute between Mu’azu and the governors, or that he was even asked to resign.

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh in a statement on Thursday said that the “NWC was never asked to resign by the forum of governors or any other organ of the party for that matter”

“For the avoidance of doubt therefore, the NWC states that at no time was the National Chairman of our great party, Ahmed Adamu Mu’azu walked out of the meeting of the governors, neither was he in any way ill-treated at that meeting contrary to reports in some section of the media.

“To put the records straight, our National Chairman upon invitation by the governors attended the meeting alongside our Deputy National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus and National Legal Adviser, Barr. Victor Kwon and left after a brief and fruitful discussion with the governors. He was not at any time asked to resign and nothing close to such was ever insinuated at the meeting.

“For purposes of clarification, the National Working Committee as a duly elected organ of the party has a constitutionally guaranteed tenure which expires in March 2016. It is therefore focused on galvanizing every organ and interests within the PDP with a view to re-engineering it for the task ahead.

“To this end, the NWC is currently working hand in hand with strategic stakeholders including PDP governors towards repositioning our great party and regaining power at the center by 2019.

“In this regard, the National Working Committee in its meeting on Wednesday April 29, 2015 constituted a special committee under the Chairmanship of the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu. The committee membership is drawn from all the key stakeholders of the party including members of the forum of governors.

“Furthermore, the NWC states that it holds the PDP Governors’ Forum in very high esteem, especially its Chairman, Governor Godswill Akpabio, who has worked assiduously for the progress of the party.

“Finally, the NWC restates that it enjoys the confidence and respect of all our organs and structures across board, particularly the PDP governors who individually and collectively appreciate that the supremacy of the party is more important than anything else at this point in time.

The post “The NWC Was Never Asked To Resign By Governors” | The PDP Has A New Story To Tell appeared first on Ekekeee.

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has blamed the current fuel scarcity in parts of the country on the People’s Democratic Party.

While speaking to journalists on Wednesday, after a private meeting with President-Elect Muhammadu Buhari at the Defence House in Abuja, Atiku said the PDP’s trademark has always been inefficiency and corruption.

Speaking on his meeting with Buhari, he said: “We just discussed private matters. Well, there is nothing unusual in what is going on. That is PDP for you: corruption, inefficiency and what have you. Real changes will come.”

Speaking further, he said, “the president elect has assured that but it will not just come over night. It has to be gradual. Definitely there will be positive change in that matter but it will be gradual”.

Atiku also spoke on the ongoing jockeying for principal offices in the National Assembly, saying it will be resolved.

“This is something the party and the leadership are handling. I believe it would be resolved before the House reconvenes”, he said.

The post Atiku Says The PDP’s “Corruption And Inefficiency” Are To Blame For The Fuel Scarcity appeared first on Ekekeee.

According to the Lagos State government, 24 religious houses were shut down in the metropolis last year for contravening the State guidelines on noise pollution.

Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello and General Manager of the Lagos State Environment Protection, LASEPA, Mr. Ademola Shabi, made this known at the 2015 ministerial press briefing held in Alausa Secretariat, Ikeja.

Shabi said: “We received over 1, 000 petitions in the year under review. But we have been able to resolve some and some have relocated.

“We have shut down about 24 religious outfits in the last one year because they failed to adhere to the state guidelines on noise pollution”.

Like every other city in the country, Lagos is a cauldron of religious houses blaring discordant tunes from loud speakers placed outside their buildings. Even churches and mosques with audiences as small as 10 persons, still have loud speakers positioned outside their cubicles in some cases.

Lagos has been battling noise pollution unsuccessfully for quite some time now and the State government has said that its war with the polluters will be scaled up.

“The religious outfits contribute about 50 percent of the noise pollution in the state. In the last few years, we have been having problems trying to control noise from these outfits. We have been able to shut them down while some have relocated from the community where they were.”

The post Noise Makers: For Disturbing The Peace, 24 Churches And Mosques Were Shut Down In Lagos appeared first on Ekekeee.

The DailyPost reports that Federal Road Safety Commission officials have returned the sum of N600,000 to an unnamed accident victim (featured above). The man was involved in a road incident along RS7.11 Gwagwalada in the Federal Capital Territory.

The post The FRSC Just Returned N600,000 To This Road Accident Victim (LOOK) appeared first on Ekekeee.

Belgian footballer Gregory Mertens has died of heart failure, three days after collapsing during a match.

The 24-year-old Lokeren player was treated on the pitch during the first half of Monday’s reserve-team game with Genk but did not recover after time in hospital on a life-support machine.

A club statement said: “The medical staff have done everything to save Gregory, but they finally had to acknowledge their impotence.

“Gregory passed away at around 16:30.”

The former Belgium Under-21 international’s condition had worsened since he was taken to hospital in Genk, with doctors giving him little chance of survival.

On Thursday his family agreed his life support should be switched off.

Mertens passed all pre-season health tests required by Europe’s football governing body Uefa, and was judged to be one of the fittest players at his club.

He joined Lokeren in January 2014 from Cercle Brugge and played 15 league games this season, as well as featuring against Hull City in the Europa League in August.

The club statement continued: “Gregory was only one and a half years at the club, but in that short time his quiet modesty made him an indispensable person. Now we will have to learn to live with the loss.”

– BBC

The post Sadly, This Belgian Footballer Has Passed Away After Collapsing During A Match (LOOK) appeared first on Ekekeee.

A Pakistani court has jailed 10 men for life for involvement in the attack on education activist Malala Yousafzai.

Ms Yousafzai, who was 15 at the time, was shot in the head on board her school bus in the Swat valley in 2012, in an attack that shocked the world.

She was awarded last year’s Nobel Peace Prize for campaigning for children’s rights, despite the risk to her life.

Officials say the 10 men, who do not include the man named as chief suspect, belonged to the Pakistani Taliban.

Ataullah Khan, a 23-year-old militant, was identified by a police report at the time of the shooting – but he did not appear in the list of 10 men convicted on Thursday.

They were tried in an anti-terrorist court in Swat, in north-west Pakistan.

The BBC’s M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says that no local journalists were aware that the court case was taking place, so there is uncertainty as to the exact charges the men were facing and who the witnesses were.

A lawyer from the local District Bar Association told the BBC that “there were no open hearings”.

Those convicted “had a role in the planning and execution of the assassination attempt on Malala”, a police official in Swat told Reuters.

Pakistani officials believe local Taliban leader Mullah Fazlullah ordered the attack. He is thought to be in Afghanistan.

Ms Yousafzai, now 17, was treated for her injuries in the UK and currently lives in Birmingham with her family. They are unable to return to Pakistan because of Taliban death threats.

Pakistan’s mountainous Swat valley was overrun by the Taliban from 2007 to 2009.

It was the threat by Mullah Fazlullah to close down schools offering girls’ education that led to Malala’s diary for BBC Urdu, which was written when she was just 11 years old.

The blog, which described life under the Taliban, was anonymous, but the schoolgirl also began to campaign publicly for children’s rights.

By the time Malala was shot in October 2012 most militants had been cleared from the valley by Pakistan government forces – but people who spoke out were still at risk.

Malala was travelling home from school in the town of Mingora when her bus was flagged down.

A group of gunmen asked “Who is Malala?” and opened fire.

Two of her classmates were also injured in the attack.

Shazia Ramzan and Kainat Riaz have recovered from their injuries and are now studying at Atlantic College in Wales.

The post Pakistan Has Finally Jailed 10 Persons For Trying To Kill Malala Yousafzai appeared first on Ekekeee.

President Goodluck Jonathan has spoken out on the seemingly unstoppable defection of Peoples Democratic Party members to the All Progressives Congress, using a rather interesting analogy.

According to the President, PDP members who switched allegiance to the APC after he lost the presidential election, “would eventually return with an empty stomach.”

Jonathan made the statement while receiving the report of his Presidential Campaign Organisation at the Presidential Villa.

He had some well intended advice for the the leaders of the new ruling party – take care of your original members first before accommodating defectors.

And on a note of finality, the President said that food may have finished in the APC before the defectors get something to eat.

Who understands what is going on here?

The post Was The President Hungry Or What When He Made This Analogy About APC Defectors And Food? appeared first on Ekekeee.

It was the last day of the 2011 campaign. The venue was the International conference Center in Abuja. My attention was transfixed on the television as I watched the General deliver his touching speech. “I have fought drift and purposelessness in this country. I have fought corruption and indiscipline. I have fought indolence and betrayal of trusts. I have fought the Nigerian civil war and struggled for the unity of this country in many ways …… and in all I’ve done; I have never touched a kobo of public funds”.

My heart brimmed with pride and reverence as I listened to him with rapt attention. As he continued with his speech, his voice trailed off and he battled to keep his emotion under control. The pain in his heart made his mouth to quiver feverishly. For a General, it was a rare sight. He removed his glasses to wipe the tears from his eyes. On that day, he showed a side of him not too well known.

Where I was sitted, I battled with my own emotions as hot tears pricked my eyes. The tears in my eyes felt like a river threatening to overflow its banks. I yielded to its supremacy as hot tears trickled down my face. My sisters and brothers who ordinarily would’ve mocked me stayed quiet the whole time. They saw passion, pain and hunger for change written all over me. Not just in me, but also on the faces of the General and countless Nigerians who broke down in tears for the love of country on that night April 13th 2011.

Exactly four years after that sober night of tears, lovers of the General had cause to have teary eyes again but this time, it was tears of victory. By some stroke of hard work, resilience, formidable alliance and masterful strategy, the opposition won power and an idea that once seemed impossible became an exciting reality. Expectations are high, hopes have been rekindled, and Nigerians now have cause to look into the future with optimism.

Change comes at a price. Nigerians paid the price by standing long hours against the scorching sun and in some places against torrential rainstorm to deliver the victory we now celebrate. The only thing they ask for in return is a fulfillment of the change promised. Nigerians want a break from the past. They desire a country where they can sleep with both eyes closed, they want the wealth of the nation to be enjoyed by all, they want a nation where honest hard work is rewarded and corrupt enrichment is sanctioned. A country where youths can earn a living through productive engagement. They yearn for sincere and honest leadership, one that is not immune to the suffering of the masses.

Change requires courage and demands patience. Courage on the part of the General and patience from the Nigerian people. Courage to make tough decisions and to curtail the appetite of vested interests who pooled their resources to realize his ambition. Patience is a hard currency in Nigeria. Our people must however realize that change is a process and that the ills of many years cannot be completely cured in a short time.

In the coming months, the change we clamoured for will demand more sacrifices from us, our expectations may take longer to materialize. As we move forward into the future, only a united nation, a vibrant and vigilant citizenry and a committed government can deliver the change we so desperately need.

Honest Offor
Please follow me on Twitter @honest4change

The post The Audacity Of Change–By Honest Offor appeared first on Ekekeee.

By Premium Times

Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has distanced herself from the audit firm,
PriceWatersHouseCoopers, saying she should not be held responsible for its hiring to probe Nigeria’s alleged missing oil money, days after a widely-discredited report by PwC was released.

As finance minister and coordinator of the economy, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala played a leading role in 2014 when PwC was hired, as the government tried to counter an allegation that $20 billion oil money had been stolen.

Former Central Bank governor, Lamido Sanusi, who made the claim, accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC of diverting the money.

After efforts by the government and the Senate to reconcile the sum yielded no tangible results, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala recommended an independent forensic audit. She later announced the hiring of PriceWaterHouseCoopers.

The report containing the outcome of PwC’s investigation, was released Monday several months after the firm completed its assignment.

PriceWaterHouseCoopers however said the work should not be relied upon, as it failed to meet international standards.

In an unusual statement Thursday, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala sought to steer clear of the audit firm, although she said her response followed a lawsuit blaming her for the hiring.

A statement released by Paul Nwabuikwu, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala’s spokesperson, said the minister was responding to a lawsuit filed by a group of three accounting firms before a Lagos High Court, accusing Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala of violating federal local content law by appointing PwC.

The statement was issued before the minister received a formal notification of a suit, a rather unusual and prompt response seen as an attempt by Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala to comment on the PwC case.

“The CME is astonished by the news of the said court action which is spurious in the extreme,” spokesperson Mr. Nwabuikwu said. “It is shocking that professionals of the calibre of the SIAO Partners can embark on this kind of legal action without taking the trouble to do the minimum amount of homework to confirm basic facts.”

The statement said “Okonjo-Iweala did not appoint the PWC to carry out the audit”.

The minister called on those behind the suit to immediately drop it or face her in court.

The post Facing Legal Action, Okonjo-Iweala Denies Hiring PwC To Audit The NNPC–Premium Times appeared first on Ekekeee.

Femi Fani-Kayode wont be running from the law under a Buhari presidency or flee the country on some exile, he told State House correspondents today.

For a character famed for his garrulousness, the PDP Presidential campaign spokesperson has gone quiet since President Jonathan lost a re-election bid amid swirling rumours he was seeking an asylum.

Fiction, he says.

“We are not going anywhere, I can speak for myself and I can speak for many others,” he said.

“We are here to stay. We will provide a virile opposition to the APC. We will do all that needs to be done to ensure that the incoming government remains on its toes and we will all do this in a very peaceful and a very honourable way.

“Nobody is going anywhere as far as I’m concerned, we are here to stay, neither are we running away, there is nothing to be scared of, we fought hard, we did well.

He said he is proud of the role he played during the campaigns.

“I’m very proud of my team, I am proud of my campaign organisation and we will continue in the trenches until this country is on the road to success and we will continue to do that.”

The post ‘I’m Not Running To Anywhere. I’ll Be Right Here To Keep The APC On Its Toes’–Fani-Kayode appeared first on Ekekeee.

The 19 APC lawmakers in Ekiti have said State Governor Ayodele Fayose will still be impeached if he continues with being clever by half.

The lawmakers shunned a peace meeting convened by Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) to reconcile them with Fayose and suggested that Fayose was planning to attack and get them arrested if they showed up at the peace meeting.

In a statement through Speaker Adewale Omirin’s Special Adviser on Media, Wole Olujobi, the lawmakers have said they’ll only attend a peace meeting whose venue is outside Ekiti; with Ibadan where Babalola hails from as a first choice.

“We cannot hold any meeting on the basis of monetary settlement in isolation of the consideration of the constitutional breaches by the Governor. It is amazing that the truce terms will not include resumption of our duties, but just to settle us monetarily and escorting us out of Ekiti State,” the statement from the lawmakers read.

Even though Babalola has assured the lawmakers that they are guaranteed protection from police during the peace meeting, the legislators aren’t buying it.

“What is this all about if not coded incitement for mob attacks?” the lawmakers queried.

But Fayose said he doesn’t plan to arrest anyone and added that he’ll do everything within the law for peace to return to Ekiti State.

“Within the ambit of the laws, I will respect the views of all of them. If there is anybody who should be evasive, it should be me because their time has almost expired. The guilty are afraid.

“They said I sent police to arrest them, where will I keep them after arresting them? We should stop playing to the gallery in a matter like this. I’m ready to shift ground. I’m ready to ensure they depart and finish their tenure successfully and whatever is due to them, I’m ready to pay. That is not an act of cowardice.

“I’m prepared to make peace and work in the overall interest of the state. I’m ready to submit myself to this meeting as many times as possible,”, Fayose said.

The post The 19 APC Lawmakers Will Still Go Ahead With Their Plans To Impeach Fayose Unless [READ appeared first on Ekekeee.

It’s been a harrowing one week for residents of Lagos; Nigeria’s commercial capital as the long queues at petrol stations have returned and the black market is buzzing again.

Fares have also hit the roof as a consequence and most Lagosians have resorted to trekking to and from work as only a few public buses can afford to ply the roads.

“The interesting thing is that with all the promises made by the concerned authorities, the scarcity has continued. In a country without public power supply, we can’t even run our generators at home and in the offices”, said Olojede, a banker who was sweating the ordeal in a petrol station in Victoria Island.

Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala had blamed the marketers for the agony experienced by motorists in Abuja, Lagos and most other parts of the country, but the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has blamed the federal government for the situation. While Mrs Iweala has promised that marketers will be paid this week, another theory holds that the tanker drivers are holding marketers to ransom until their debts amounting to billions of naira are cleared by the latter.

The situation has also exacerbated the snarling traffic situation in all parts of Lagos as queues spill into major roads.

It is a similar situation in Abuja where our correspondent in the capital city reports that the queues have been a constant for a month now.

“We hear that the marketers have promised not to co-operate until their debts owed them by the government are cleared because the incoming government at the center will not want to pay them”, said Victoria Awashika, a lawyer who spoke to Ekekeee amid sweltering heat at a gas station queue in Abuja.

At the time of filing this report, the black market has been the only option for Lagos and Abuja residents where a 10 liter quantity of PMS is sold for as much as N2,500.

“It’s tough already living in Nigeria without the scarcity. The government should please come to our aid as soon as possible. We have suffered enough in this country”, one Lagos resident told this medium in the Onipanu area of Lagos.

The post Petrol Scarcity Grounds Lagos, Abuja As Fares Hit The Roof. Citizens Groan appeared first on Ekekeee.

Nigeria’s total electricity generation has dropped to a meagre 2,800 Megawatts, the lowest in nearly a year, as Nigerians struggle with mini-heat waves due to rising temperature.

The Ministry of Power said Thursday that power output dropped from a recent peak of 4,500MW on April 3, to 2,800 as of March 30.

Godknows Igali, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry blamed the huge cut on “vandalism of gas pipelines”.

Mr. Igali spoke at a meeting with the Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Ade Abolurin, where he called for increased protection of Nigeria’s power infrastructure.

He said the affected pipeline is the Escravos route.

“As at April 3, which is the nearest reference point for us, we were able to generate about 4,500MW on the grid, but as at this morning we had gone down to about 2,800MW.

“So you can see how much power we have lost as a result of vandalism, that is why power supply has become very bad all over the country because of these strange Nigerians that continue to deliberately blow up our gas pipelines,” Mr. Igali said.

All Nigerian cities, including the capital Abuja and Lagos, have witnessed one of the worst electricity supplies in recent years, with power available for less than five hours a day in many areas.

The supply has dropped even more in the last weeks as many Nigerians struggle with rising temperatures.

The permanent secretary decried the activities of the vandals and described their action as national economic sabotage.

He said the ministry of power was working more closely with the security agencies, especially the NSCDC to adequately protect power infrastructure across the country.

Mr. Igali said the damaged pipelines were being repaired to boost power generation and distribution across the country.

Earlier, the Civil Defence boss, Mr. Abolurin, who strongly condemned the activities of the vandals, said personnel were working to curtail the menace of pipeline vandalism in the country.

He said the NSCDC had acquired more vehicles, boats and gadgets to aid its operations, especially in the Niger Delta region.

Mr. Abolurin said in 2015, about 50 culprits have already been convicted by the law courts while several others had been arrested and awaiting prosecution.

He said the NSCDC would not relent in his effort to ensure adequate security and protection of critical power infrastructure across the country in line with its mandate.

The NSCDC chief also appealed to the private investors operating the power infrastructure to make their own provisions for security to compliment government’s effort.

(NAN)

The post It’s A Bad Time To Live In Nigeria As Electricity Generation Drops To 2,800 Megawatts appeared first on Ekekeee.

The All Progressives Congress has accused the Jonathan Administration of plotting to hinder a smooth handover of power on May 29.

The APC said it was becoming apparent that the administration will not fully cooperate with the incoming government, despite its public posturing in that regard.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, the party also described as an act of hostility and a patently-misplaced aggression the “unnecessary vituperation” against the incoming Buhari Administration by the Jonathan government, ostensibly because of the terms of reference of the Buhari Transition Committee.

The APC said the move was part of an orchestrated plot to sabotage the transition.

It rejected the “continued blackmail” by the Jonathan Administration as a result of President Jonathan’s concession of defeat, wondering whether the concession, gracious as it was, has now become a shield for all wrong doings.

“We are sick and tired of being blackmailed by the Jonathanians,” the APC said. “Gen. Buhari won the 28 March Presidential Elections fair and square, having satisfied both constitutional and other statutory requirements. We have no apology for our victory, and the concession of defeat – while it may have increased the political stock of President Jonathan – has by no means diminished the historic and emphatic victory of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress.”

Justifying its statement that the Jonathan Administration is plotting to hinder a smooth transition of power, the party said while the outgoing government had earlier issued a memo to all ministries, departments and agencies to make sure their handover notes are ready by April 20, the same government has now reversed itself and said the handover notes will not be ready until May 1.

“With the new date, the Buhari Transition Committee will have little or no time to take a thorough look at the handover notes or seek clarification on knotty issues, effectively handing it (Buhari Transition Committee) a fait accompli as far as the handover notes are concerned,” the APC said. “This does not augur well for a smooth transition and gives the impression that the outgoing Administration is trying to hide something.

”By its dilly-dallying on the date for the readiness of the handover notes from the MDAs, the administration’s posturing that it is ready to hand over has been exposed as nothing but a smokescreen.”

APC described as illogical and strange the claim by the Jonathan Administration that the President-elect is trying to set up a parallel government simply because he has set up his own Transition Committee and given its terms of reference meant to guide the members on the discharge of their duties as members of that Committee, wondering how on earth those terms of reference have become the concern of the outgoing Federal Executive Council.

”In case the Federal Executive Council has forgotten, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress was declared the winner of the March 28th Presidential Election by INEC. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari is therefore today the President-elect and the All Progressives Congress the incoming government,” the party said. “It is therefore illogical to accuse the President-elect and the incoming government of setting up a parallel government.

”It is either the outgoing Federal Executive Council has something to hide or is bent on sabotaging the incoming government. There can be no other reasons for the misplaced aggression that was exhibited in that ill-intentioned, unprovoked and vitriolic statement from the Jonathan government.”

It said that in order to put the matter beyond doubt, the party has decided to publish in full the terms of reference in question so that Nigerians can judge for themselves whether there is anything suggestive of intimidation or running a parallel government in the document.

APC warned the supporters of Mr. Jonathan not to overstretch the goodwill which the president has earned by his gracious concession even before INEC officially declared Mr. Buhari as the winner of the March 28th Presidential election, saying while it was momentous, it was not unprecedented in Africa, where power has changed hands peacefully between the ruling and opposition parties in several nations.

”Are they now saying that because the President conceded defeat, the incoming administration can no longer ask legitimate questions or seek clarifications that may arise from the handover notes?” the APC asked.

”We will not surrender to any blackmail, subtle or otherwise. We shall ask questions and ask for explanations and clarifications whenever and wherever we deem such necessary. We cannot run a transparently honest government or fight corruption if we are prevented from asking legitimate questions and seeking clarifications from the outgoing government during the transition process. Let the Jonathan Administration not tie our hands behind our back just because he conceded defeat after losing an election.”

The post The APC Says It’s “Sick And Tired” Because Jonathan Is Hampering The Transition Process appeared first on Ekekeee.

The Mayweather Vs Pacquiao bout may be coming 5 years late at least, but the world has been gripped by the hype around it nonetheless. Both boxers are viewed as the best pound-for-pound fighters on the face of the planet at the moment and here are six things you’ll need to know about what has been dubbed the “fight of the century”:

#1 : The venue for the fight is the MGM Grand Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. Duh.

#2: The fight is on Saturday May 2.  The gates will be flung open at the venue at 2pm local time, with the first bout scheduled for 3pm. The main event comes up five hours later around 8pm.

The post Mayweather Vs Pacquiao : 6 Things You Need To Know About The Fight Of The Century appeared first on Ekekeee.