Patience Jonathan changes name to Mama Peace

The first Lady of Nigeria said yesterday at an event in Abuja that she no longer wants to be called Patience but Mama Peace...

6 Simple Tips to Help You Lose Belly Fat

There are no guarantees with weight loss. It's largely genetic. But you can help yourself out. These tips can help you lose weight overall, including from around your midsection.

Eat breakfast

Before your body can run efficiently, it needs fuel. By eating within 90 minutes of waking up, you kick-start your metabolism. People who eat breakfast in the morning generally have more energy throughout the day and make better food choices. (See Ask the Experts: Why Should I Eat Breakfast?)

Eat regularly

Eating small meals every 3 or 4 hours helps keep your metabolism running at a steady pace. Your body can only use so much energy at a time, and eating 5 or 6 small meals instead of 3 large ones makes it easier to burn off calories instead of storing them as fat.

Increase fiber

Fiber certainly has staying power, and it will keep you full for longer periods of time. Sourcs of fiber include fruits, vegetables and whole grain products (whole wheat bread, brown rice, quinoa, beans and lentils). There are many options to choose from.

Reduce intake of simple sugar

Simple sugars contribute to body fat gain because they are generally high in calories. By avoiding foods like soda, ice cream, cakes, cookies, and candy bars, you can cut out many unnecessary calories. Fresh fruit, dried fruit, fruit juice, and frozen yogurt can satisfy your sweet tooth with natural sugars. (See 5 Foods and 3 Tips to Fight Sugar Cravings.)

Eat healthy fats

Healthy fats—found in olive oil, nuts, nut butters, salmon, tuna and avocado—can help fill you up and keep you full. Including these fats in your diet every day (in moderation) can help you maintain your weight. (See How to Incorporate Healthy Fats Into Your Diet.)

Be smart when eating out

If you eat out frequently, make smart choices by using the available resources. Apps such as GoMealsand CompareChains provide nutritional information for many restaurants. Also, most restaurants post nutritional information on their websites. Plan your meal before you leave the house to make sure you pick healthy choices. (See also 5 Guidelines for Eating Healthy in Restaurants.)

These 5 Marriage Mistakes Invite Divorce: Are You Making Them?

In marriage, it's common sense advice to treat one another with respect and share love. But some are not so sure how that looks like on a day to day basis. That's where things get a little trickier. Check out this list of marriage "don'ts" to make sure you're on the right track to a lasting, loving relationship.

For A Healthy Marriage, Don't...

President Jonathan appoints Kanayo O. Kanayo

President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the appointments of the chairmen and members of the governing boards of 42 federal government agencies and parastatals and among the appointees is Nollywood actor, Kanayo O. Kanayo.

The appointments were announced yesterday in a statement signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim.

The actor was made a member of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism Studies.

Other notable appointees include, former governor of Anambra State, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezife Hon. Cairo Ojougbo; the former Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch magazine, Mr. Ray Ekpu; music icon Bongus Ikwue and Mr. Olusola Akanmode.

Kanayo O. Kanayo, as he is fondly called, has been romancing President Jonathan’s administration before his appointment on Tuesday. He has been one of the major liaisons between the FG and Nollywood.

N1tn spent on N’Assembly members in eight years – Ezekwesili

A former Minister of Education, Mrs Oby Ezekwesili, on Monday said Nigeria had spent over N1tn on the National Assembly members in the last eight years.

Ezekwesili, in a keynote address she delivered during one-day dialogue session on the ‘Cost of governance in Nigeria, “ added that banks earned N699bn as interests last year on loans secured by the government.

“Since 2005, the National Assembly members alone have been allocated N1tr,’’she said while also lamenting that “82 per cent of Nigeria’s budgetary cost goes for recurrent expenditure.”

Petroleum Minister, Diezani Allison-Madueke, Accused Of Blowing N2 Billion On Private Jets

A group that tags itself whistleblowers against corruption has accused Nigeria’s Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, of squandering millions of dollars of public funds to rent private jets for the conduct of her official activities. In a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the group, known as Crusader for Good Governance,” demanded that Ms. Allison-Madueke be investigated for her habit of spending extravagant sums to rent private jets for her official hops.

Ms. Alison-Madueke has frequently traveled around the world in private jets since becoming a minister, first under the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and later under President Goodluck Jonathan. In addition, she often moves members of her family in private jets.
In 2010, President Jonathan appointed Ms. Alison-Madueke to the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the nerve center of the Nigerian economy and traditionally the vortex of corruption in a country that is widely regarded as one of the most corrupt in the world.
Since being appointed minister of Petroleum Resources, Ms. Alison-Madueke has become one of the most powerful Nigerian government officials. Several reports have linked her to sleazy oil deals and a penchant for wastage of public funds.
She has spent some N2 billion on private jet rentals, according to the petition submitted to the EFCC by Enugu-based “Crusader For Good Governance.” The petition was signed by Okechukwu Obiora Nnamdi, the group’s leader.

Jonathan's Female Minister Blows N2billion On Private Jet

One of the closest female minister to President Goodluck Jonathan is using Nigeria's money anyhow she likes and, unfortunately, no one is saying anything. She has already wracked up to N2billion.

“We are of the view that Mr. President is not aware of all these atrocious and reckless spending of the minister. Usually, we understand that smaller presidential jets are usually assigned to ministers on official assignments abroad whenever there is need for such trips. 

“Mr. Chairman, we make bold to ask in good conscience whether Nigeria’s fragile economy can afford to carry this financial burden any longer and that is why we are calling on you to act and provide the new lease of life for the Nigerian economy."

10 YOUNG AFRICAN MILLIONAIRES

While African millionaires and billionaires like Patrice Motsepe may have more money than most of us can ever dream of, but there are a handful of young Africans in their 20s and 30s who have built businesses and amassed enviable million-dollar fortunes Mark Shuttleworth, South African Age: 38 Founder, Knife Capital When Shuttleworth was 22, he founded Thawte, a digital certificate and internet security company which he sold to VeriSign for $575 million in 1999, when he was 26. Shuttleworth used a fraction of his proceeds to start HBD Capital (now called Knife Capital), a Cape Town-based emerging markets investment fund. HBD has made a series of successful exits including Fundamo, a mobile financial services company which was acquired by Visa for $110 million in 2011; and csense, which was acquired by GE Intelligent Platforms the same year.  Shuttleworth also founded and funds Ubuntu, a computer operating system which he distributes as free open source software. Shuttleworth has a net worth north of $500 million. Ashish Thakkar, Ugandan Age: 29 Co-Founder and CEO, Mara Group Thakkar, 29 is a co-founder and CEO of Mara Group – a Ugandan conglomerate with tentacles in financial services, hotels, renewable energy, technology and manufacturing.  Mara Group operates in four continents and its annual revenues are approximately $100 million. Thakkar provides mentorship and seed funding to young East African entrepreneurs through his Mara Foundation. Also funds an independent charity focused on improving education quality in disadvantaged secondary schools in Uganda. The Mara Group recently signed a $300 million deal with the Tanzanian government to develop a 3.5 million square foot state of the art mini-city. Ladi Delano, Nigerian Age: 30 Founder and CEO, Bakrie Delano Africa Ladi Delano made his first millions as a liquor entrepreneur while living in China. In 2004, at age 22, he founded Solidarnosc Asia, a Chinese alcoholic beverage company that made Solid XS, a premium brand of vodka. Solid XS went on to achieve over 50% market share in China. He sold the company for $15 million and invested his funds into his next venture-The Delano Reid Group, a real estate investment holding company focused on mainland China. He is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Bakrie Delano Africa (BDA) – a $1 billion joint venture with the $15 billion (market cap) Bakrie Group of Indonesia. Bakrie Delano Africa is responsible for identifying investment opportunities in mining, agriculture and oil & gas and executing them. Justin Stanford, South African Age: 28 Founder & CEO, 4Di Group Stanford is a software entrepreneur and venture capitalist. After dropping out off high school, Stanford set out to launch an internet security company which flopped. Today, Stanford’s ESET (a Slovakian anti-virus software package) Southern Africa operates the ESET brand in the region and sells ESET’s range of internet security products in about 20 sub-Saharan countries. Stanford’s ESET brand records over $10 million in annual turnover and controls 5% of the anti-virus market in Southern Africa. Stanford is also the founding partner of 4Di Capital, a Cape Town-based venture capital fund. He is also a co-founder of the Silicon Cape Initiative, a non-profit movement that aims to turn the Cape into Africa’s own Silicon Valley. Magatte Wade, Senegalese Founder, Adina World Beat Beverages & Tiossan  In 2004 Magatte Wade founded Adina World Beat Beverages, a San Francisco beverage company that manufactures coffee, tea and fruit juices using traditional beverage recipes across Africa and organic ingredients sourced from smallholder farmers in Africa and Asia. Within five years of launching, Adina raised over $30 million and the products began being sold by Whole Foods and United Natural Foods. Magatte stepped down from her position as CEO to grow her second company, Tiossan, a manufacturer of luxury skin care products based on indigenous Senegalese recipes. Mike Macharia, Kenyan Age: 36 Founder & CEO, Seven Seas Technologies When he was 25, Macharia, a Kenyan national, founded Seven Seas Technology, now easily East Africa’s most reputable IT services firm.  The $50 million (annual sales) company is a leading provider of integrated business and technology solutions across Africa in the telecom, financial, Real Estate, service industry and government. Seven Seas is gearing up to get listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange next year. Vinny Lingham, South African Age: 33 Founder, Yola Inc Lingham is the founder of Yola Inc, a San Francisco-based Web 2.0 outfit that provides free website building, publishing and hosting services to over 3 million active users across the globe. Yola has attracted over $30 million in venture capital financing from institutional investors such as Columbus Venture Capital, a subsidiary of South African billionaire Johann Rupert’s Richemont Group. Prior to Yola, Lingham founded Click2Customers, a hugely successful search engine marketing company with offices in London, Cape Town, and Los Angeles.  Click2Customers rakes in about $100 million in annual revenues. Lingham is a co-founder of the Silicon Cape Initiative along with fellow South African entrepreneur Justin Stanford. Kamal Budhabatti, Kenyan Age: 36 CEO, Craft Silicon Kamal is the founder and CEO of Craft Silicon, a $50 million (market value) Kenyan software company which provides software in core banking, microfinance, mobile, switch solutions and electronic payments for over 200 institutional clients in 40 countries spread across four continents. Yolanda Cuba, South African Age: 35 Executive Director, South African Breweries One of just two women to make it to this list. When Yolanda Cuba was 29 she was appointed CEO of Mvelaphanda Holdings, a Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed investment holding company. She was awarded stock options worth over $10 million which she exercised before stepping down as CEO last year. She subsequently took up a job as an Executive Director at South African Breweries.  Cuba still serves on the boards of South African blue chips such as Steinhoff International Holdings and Absa Group. Jason Njoku, Nigerian Age: 31 Founder & CEO Iroko TV The Nigerian Internet entrepreneur is founder of Iroko TV, the world’s largest digital distributor of African movies. Iroko TV has been dubbed the ‘Netflix of Africa’. Earlier this year, Iroko TV raised $8 million in venture capital from Tiger Global Management, a New York-based private equity and hedge fund run by billionaire Chase Coleman. IrokoTV enjoys lucrative content distribution deals with Dailymotion, iTunes, Amazon and Vimeo. Njoku is unwilling to divulge figures, but analysts believe IrokoTV could be worth as much as $30 million. He is the company’s largest individual shareholder.

BREAKING NEWS: Tope Alabi’s embattled prophet Ajanaku dies

Report reaching us now has it that the estranged spiritual father of ace gospel sensation, Tope Alabi and General Overseer of Christ Victory Chapel International Prophet, Ireti Ajanaku is dead.

The controversial cleric reportedly passed on Saturday evening in Osun State.

According to a reliable member of the church, prophet Ajanaku passed on after a brief illness in his country home in Gbongan, Osun State.

The late cleric was Tope Alabi’s spiritual father until they both parted ways in early 2013 following claims of sexual harassment.

details soon

B-R-E-A-K-I-N-G NEWS! DEBTS LEFT FOR NEXT GENERATION BY STATE GOVERNORS: LAGOS ON THE LEAD

Debts Left For Next Generation By State Governors.
Party-By-Party Basis From Hope For Nigeria.

BIGGEST BREASTS IN THE WORLD:

Sheyla Hershey, a Brazilian model who lives in Houston wanted to have the largest breasts in the world, and she did achieve it when she had M-cup implants put into place. After more than 30 plastic surgeries, Hershey suffered her first complication following her most recent breast augmentation procedure in June. A severe staph infection reached both of Hershey's breasts.

Staph infections can enter the bloodstream and be life threatening. She has had to give herself infusions of intravenous antibiotics every twelve hours to fight the infection. The treatment has helped one breast, but doctors say the other one is still in jeopardy. That would mean that she will not only lose both implants, but quite possibly need to have the entire breast removed.

Doctors who are concerned for her life took Hershey into surgery recently to remove the implants.

"I had large fever and painful. I just couldn't breathe properly; it was terrible! I was in bed all day, couldn't get up," says Hershey.

Well She Made it To The Guinness Books Now She Gotta Fight for her life.

Re-Osun: Why Launch ‘Opon Imo’ In Lagos?

“The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about” – Wayne Dyer

I decide to react to the write- up of one Aluko–Olokun on the above subject as captured by “The Punch” of Thursday, May 16, 2013 contained at page 24 simply because of the inspirational wise saying of Wayne Dyer on the purport of displaying ignorance on issues.

State of Osun Student Displaying Opon-Imo in Class. (Inset is Ayo Aluko-Olokun)

Ayo Aluko–Olokun gave an embellish account of the monumental achievement of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, governor, State of Osun on the unique introduction of computer learning tablets tagged “OPON IMO” to secondary school pupils. He missed the point, when he gave fallacious graphic account of how Osun government saved N8.2bn for the state, which could have been spent on purchase of books on an annual basis and that the project “OPON IMO” was launched in Lagos.

Nasir El-Rufai Replies Jonathan - Kindergaten President; Childish Handlers

by Nasir El-Rufai

I still recall how one of my sons behaved before going into kindergarten. He did not know how to share toys or food, threw tantrums whenever he failed to get his way or insulted his siblings or sulked when criticized. With years of parental effort at home, and intervention of handlers in nursery school, our son learnt the virtues of sharing, inclusion and getting along with those that he disagreed with.

I guess this is the experience of many parents. I have always wondered what manner of person would resort to abuse, bigotry and division when his or her conduct and utterances are interrogated, instead of simply responding in civilized language. APC chairman Bisi Akande’s characterization of Jonathan as a  kindergarten president explained everything. And surrounded with equally parochial, morally-flexible handlers, one is bound to read the kind of falsehood that emanates from the likes of Reuben Abati from time to time.

It's True, Our Salaries Are Very Outrageous –A Serving Senator Finally Confesses

It baffles meF that many Nigerians are getting themselves involved in criminal activities due to the poor salaries they collect monthly, and when such people are caught, they are punished. But what the government is paying these people cannot feed them and their family comfortably.

"Honestly, l think it's unfair. I'm also guilty of it because l benefited from it as a senator. It's unfair for us elite to arrogate so much of the country's resources to ourselves and still expect economic development."

Nigeria Is Cursed with Very Bad Leaders ––Obasanjo Explodes; Mentions Names

Former President Olusegun Obsanjo has a strong message for us. Hear him:

“We had some people who were under 50years in leadership positions. One of them was James Ibori, where is he today? One of them was Alamieyeseigha, where is he today? Lucky Igbinedion, where is he today? 

“The youngest was the Speaker, (Salisu) Buhari; you can still recall what happened to him. You said Bola Tinubu is your master. What Buhari did was not anything worse than what Bola Tinubu did. 

“But in this part of the world some people covered up the other man. The man claimed he went to Government College, Ibadan but the governor (Oyo State) went to Government College and packed all the documents so that they would not know that he did not go there.

“I wanted someone who would succeed me so I took Atiku. Within a year, I started seeing the type of man Atiku is.

"And you want me to get him there?

“I once went to Tanzania because Julius Nyerere recognised Biafra. He told me not to mind his aides and others in government. They would say they have one house in town but their five year old sons and daughters would have houses all over.

“Some of you who are condemning the leadership would get there tomorrow and it will be a different story. Only very few are actually good.

“Abacha, my predecessor got $750m. Through our lawyer in Switzerland we recovered $1.25bn and the lawyer still said there is probably still another $1bn to be recovered. In 1979 we had 20 new ships specially built for Nigeria. When I came back 20 years after, the national shipping line had liquidated.

“The whole thing is not just about leadership. If we talk about good leadership you should also talk about good followers. If you talk about human right you should also talk about human duties and obligations.

“It is sad that after 53years of independence we have no leader that we can commend. The problem in Africa is that when one person takes over he would not see any good thing that his predecessor did. Let us condemn but with caution,”

OluFamous.Com observed that Obasanjo said all these on Tuesday in Ibadan, while reviewing the history of Nigeria as a keynote speaker at the 4th Annual Ibadan Sustainable Development Summit by the Centre for Sustainable Development, University of Ibadan, and African Sustainable Development Network.

We are expecting reactions from some of those he mentioned. 

Richest Black Woman, Folorunsho Alakija Shares The Secrets

Today Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija is the Executive Vice Chairman of Famfa Oil and Executive Vice Chairman of Dayspring Property Development Company. In addition, she is the Founder, Rose of Sharon Foundation, an NGO that caters for widows and orphans across the country. 

At any empowerment program she organizes for the less privileged, she does it with modesty and humility as she danced and ate with them. She is down to earth and has deep passion for God’s work.

Below is how she tells her story and the secrets:

FG to introduce chip-based national identity card

Federal Government has disclosed plans to start the production of a chip based National identity multi-purpose smart card that will contain personal features like the biometrics and National Identification Number (NIN) of individuals.

The Director General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Barrister. Chris Onyemenam said the product would help Nigerian businessmen/women to confirm the identities of people they transact with on daily basis with just a touch of a button.

In a press statement signed by the Director of Corporate communications, Anthony Okwudiafor,the DG further stated that delivery of the multi-purpose smart card production mechanics and also the mobile enrolment service vehicle indicated that the commission was ready to begin production of the chip based national identity multi-purpose smart card.

M-I-R-A-C-L-E: Woman Gives Birth To First Baby At 52 In Bayelsa

A 52-year-old woman, Mrs Kate Fezigha, has given birth to her first baby, which came after 19 years of her marriage.

The new mother, who is a midwife at the General Hospital, Sagbama in Bayelsa State, got married in 1994 and has supervised the delivery of many children but she never had a child.

Her attempt to adopt a child from a Bayelsa-based orphanage home was scuttled, as she was swindled by the coordinator of the home.

Sometime last year, her menstrual flow ceased and Fezigha concluded that menopause had set in and her chances of having a child gone. Thereafter, she started experiencing regular dizziness and pains in some parts of her body and went for a test and the scan showed she was pregnant.

Nine months after, she gave birth to a baby girl named Prudent on June 3, 2013.

Nigerian jet for Malawian President

Malawi’s President, Joyce Banda
When Nigeria dispatched a jet from its Presidential Air Fleet late last month to fetch Malawi’s President, Joyce Banda, to Abuja, it unwittingly drew attention to our government’s fiscal recklessness. It was lost on President Goodluck Jonathan that while Banda had sold her cash-strapped country’s only presidential jet to save costs, he has, in three years in office, expanded Nigeria’s executive fleet to 10 aircraft.

Inspirational Armless Vehicle Engineer.. Must Watch & Share

 30-year-old Richie Parker of Beaufort, South Carolina was born without arms, many people told him he couldn't ride a bike, live on his own and have a successful job. Parker proved them all wrong and is a star Vehicle Engineer at Hendrick Motorsports.

AOL to buy video ad platform for $405m

NEW YORK: AOL Inc said on Wednesday it would buy Adap.tv, which helps businesses buy and sell ads for online video electronically, for $405m, its largest acquisition since the 2011 purchase of the Huffington Post,Reuters reported on Wednesday.

In recent months, AOL has turned its attention to video advertising as it tries to get more sales from marketers and reduce its reliance on lucrative but dwindling revenue from its dial-up subscription service.

To that end, AOL also reported higher-than-expected revenue for the second quarter on an increase in display, search and ads from third-party networks.

Shares of AOL were up 3.6 per cent at $37.50 in trading before the market opened.

Revenue rose almost one per cent to $541.3m, compared with the analysts’ average estimate of $539.6m, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Net income fell to $28.5m, or 35 cents per share, compared with $970.8m, or $10.17 per share, a year earlier, when AOL sold a group of patents to Microsoft Corp for more than $1bn.

AOL said it was paying $322m in cash and about $83m in stock for Adap.tv.

Why Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Should Resign Now!

She was recently listed as one of the most powerful women in the world. Her name conjures up the image of an Amazon who symbolises excellence and the height of intellectual achievement. She is by no means a role model and a worthy example of the level Nigerian women can attain if given the opportunity to excel.

There is also no doubt that the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, is one of Nigeria’s proud exports. One cannot but admire her simplicity and self-effacing demeanour. Personally, I am in awe of her spartan fashion style. It portrays a woman not given to vanities or the mundane. 

Dangote To Provide Electricity For Nigerians, Invests $7bn

Current reigning Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote has finally decided to intervene in Nigeria's epileptic power situation. He is to lead a $7 billion investment in the nation’s power sector, as well as petrochemical and mining sectors.

Alhaji Dangote, who disclosed his intentions at a function in Lagos on Sunday, said that he will be investing in the construction of a 2,000 megawatt power-generation facility to boost electricity supply over the next four years.

“We want to do power that will be about 2,000 MW, that is infrastructure,” he said.

Deeper Life Pastor Convicted For Fraud In America; Faces 30 Years In Prison

A jury in New York has convicted Nigeria lawyer and Deeper Life Bible Church pastor, Ifeanyichukwu Eric Abakporo, on charges of fraud. 

Consequently, Pastor Eric Abakporo could spend a maximum term of about 30 years in prison when he is finally sentenced on November 12, 2013.

Tributes as Fashola’s father buried

Last rite- Fashola performs the dust to dust rite at the graveside for his father

The father of Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, Alhaji Ademola Fashola, who died on Monday, has been buried.

The deceased, 80, was buried on Tuesday at the Vaults and Garden, Ikoyi, a private cemetery in the state.

Happy Birthday, Mr. President: Obama turns 52

EXPOSED: Petrol Should Not Sell for More Than N40 Per Litre

Former Minister of Petroleum, Prof. Tam David-West, speaks about his misgivings against the running of the petroleum ministry, corruption and sundry other national issues in this interview with Punch's AKINWALE ABOLUWADE. Except:

"What is wrong with Jonathan is that he takes hook, line and sinker whatever he is told. He is a PhD holder, who should be grounded in the methodology of investigation. [But] he listens to Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as if she is a repository of wisdom." 

You have been criticising the Minister of Petroleum, what is the point of disagreement?

When you are assessing your colleagues after you, you are also in another context putting yourself on the line to be assessed. Of course, we are public officers and public officers must open themselves up for assessment by anybody. The assessment should be constructive and should help the system. I don’t talk to press and I don’t write anything without praying to God to guide me. My prayer has always been very simple. I thank God for granting me the talent of social analysis and commentary. I thank God for that blessing. I pray to God to direct my thoughts and pen, my words and actions. Whatever I am going to use the talent for must glorify God’s name and contribute positively to the system.

If God directs me and people are not happy with what I have said and they are annoyed I have no apologies. I know Diezani (Alison-Madueke) for as long as she was working for Shell. I know her father too. But I am not happy with her stewardship, not based on my own time as a benchmark, but based on what I know. What is good everybody knows is good. Diezani should consider what I am saying constructively. Every human being is the best judge of himself. You know your weaknesses and strengths more than anybody else. The industry, as it is, is terrible. As I have always said, any minister or government that cannot manage the Nigerian oil industry well is a failure. Over 90 per cent of the money Nigeria has abroad is from oil. Oil makes about 85 per cent of our budget. Diezani is free to say whatever she likes about me. The public will judge. One of her problems is that I don’t think she does her job faithfully. She did not prepare herself well for the task of a petroleum minister. I became the minister with the background of a virologist. I didn’t know anything about oil. I never met (Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu) Buhari before he appointed me and he had been a petroleum minister before me. Buhari is a brilliant person. He can match many professors. 

What I did was that I first understudied him. I got a lot of instructions from him. Then the heads of the oil companies in the country became my personal friends. Mobil, Shell and a number of them became personal friends and not drinking friends; the ones I can ask for guidance. From them, I gained a lot. I also asked questions to cross-check from members of my staff. I discussed with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation as if it was a seminar in the university. I didn’t take oil policies to the government without informing the oil companies that ‘this is what I want to do, what is your position?’ They will make their input. So, I never brought in a policy in which there was a friction. For example, the flaring of gas: Government after government had said that oil companies should stop flaring gas. During (President Shehu) Shagari’s time, the FG said if they flared gas, the government would seize their licence. They could not be threatened; they said if they stopped flaring gas, they would stop production. 

Now, the Federal Government made a political policy without studying the science behind it. There is no place where they do oil drilling and they don’t flare gas. I have been to the Gulf, I travelled extensively in Saudi Arabia, they flare gas. The rationale is to consult before making a policy. The policy will affect not only Nigerians, but also the operators. They are very vital; so, we don’t have to antagonise them just as we don’t have to pamper them. We must bring them on board whenever we want to make a policy that will affect them. What I did was that I sent Mr. Green (an engineer) and two others to go round the oil producing areas. They brought the record of all the gas flaring fields. There are three types of oil wells. For the first, they must flare gas if they must drill oil, if you tell them to stop flaring it means you are telling them to stop drilling oil and the Nigerian economy will collapse. They can also re-inject. We identified the fields where they must flare and gave them authority to flare. Where they can afford not to flare there is an alternative for re-injection. 

But, we fined them by calculating how many cubic of gas they flared. It is not easy to tell the oil companies that you want to fine them. I called a meeting and told them the government knows they must flare gas but in those areas where they can inject without flaring gas, we will fine them if they flare gas. I knew the names of the directors of the oil companies at the time, so at meetings, I would call them by their first names and we would discuss. I would joke with them. The policy was approved by the oil companies. Nigeria needs the oil companies. All of them complied before I left. During Shagari’s administration, the policy could not stand so they reneged. But this time, the policy went through with an approval. If I didn’t bring them on board they would give me problems and I needed them. All of them complied till I left.

Under Diezani, they make the oil companies look as if they are enemies. Even the Senate president said the oil companies should not threaten us. Diezani is brilliant, I am a virologist and she is an architect. The oil minister of Saudi Arabia was in the position for 25 years. He is a lawyer. So, it is not your field that matters but how God guides you to use it. But there is too much corruption in the oil sector in Nigeria.

Some people wonder why you are not satisfied with the performances of your successors in the petroleum ministry.If I take a job, I will give it my all. Why I am complaining is that I know where they are failing. They sometimes have not been able to resist personal interests. If you are doing that type of job and you have a tinge of personal interest, you have failed. One contract of oil can make you a multi-millionaire in dollars. Many people have not been able to resist this. Now, they are talking about local content. It is good for Nigerians but they should not glamorise it. When I was minister, I told the oil companies that they could not remove a white person, whose tenure has expired, from a position and replace him with another white man. You must check with me if there is no Nigerian that is suitable to fill the vacant position. It is a good policy and Buhari approved it but it was later cancelled by another administration.

You have always insisted that the Federal Government’s subsidy is a fluke. What prove have you?
I challenged President Goodluck Jonathan and all his ministers to a public debate on oil subsidy, but they refused to take the challenge. I have the facts that there is no subsidy, Buhari and the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi said there was no subsidy. Fawehinmi wrote a pamphlet on it. Oil subsidy is all a fraud. At a Gani Fawehinmi lecture, I said the amount the Federal Government would get from oil subsidy was like an amoeba that is always changing shape. The government gave 10 different figures that we could get, so we know it doesn’t exist. They will bring fuel from Port Harcourt to Lagos and say it is imported. It is fraud and the navy has proved it. If any government delights in making life difficult for the people, God will punish them. In every society, the poor are more in number than the rich. Let the government’s policy be directed towards alleviating the suffering of the masses. If you develop a policy against the masses, you are going against God. They had a conference in Lagos on subsidy. They did not invite me; they avoided me because they would be exposed.

Petrol should not sell for more than N40 per litre. After my calculation, a professor of petroleum (a Nigerian based in Texas) sent an article to the media, saying petroleum should not cost more than N35 per litre. They are lying.

Do you agree with the objectives of the Subsidy Reinvestment programme of the FG?
SUREP is a fraud. How can you invest what you don’t have? You are going to put money into that project from other sources. They have not invested well. They just used the SURE Project as a palliative for Nigerians. They are getting money for the SURE project by punishing the people. It is all propaganda. They said they were going to have millions of work, but they have nothing because the premise is wrong and faulty. I said there is no subsidy on technical grounds. It is callous – what do you have the international price for?

You don’t need any international price because the oil was given to us by God. We have refineries and why don’t you drill the oil? Get the product you want to consume into the refineries, refine and sell at the filling stations. So, forget about the international price. But they increased the price and punished the people. They sabotage the refineries by making them moribund. As I am talking to you, no Nigerian refinery is working up to 30 per cent capacity. By this, they create an artificial problem and start to import fuel. We are drilling and there are four refineries but all of them are having problems. The vital parts of the refineries are destroyed.

Don’t you think it is the system that is supporting the illegality?
We can link the problem to poor value system. You cannot do that during the Buhari administration. But what is happening now is that when the leadership cannot address the issue, people will take chances because they know they can get away with it. A former petroleum minister has a filling station and he attends oil marketers’ meeting. He is no longer a minister but a marketer.

Should the President have the sole power to approve licence for oil blocks?
One of the things that I have against Diezani is that the petroleum minister in Nigeria has a lot of power even before my time. The Petroleum Industry Bill gives the minister more powers that he can award and revoke any contract without recourse to anybody. It is crazy to put all the livewire of a country in the hands of one person. The minister should not have all that power. At the National Assembly, Diezani’s argument defeated her. She mentioned Malaysia and Norway as countries where the oil ministers have so much power. A minister that uses Malaysia and Norway to justify a policy in the oil sector is an ignorant minister. Why don’t you use Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Venezuela, who are big players in the oil industry? What is the role of Malaysia in the global oil market? She didn’t use the appropriate examples.

How well is Jonathan’s administration faring in terms of touching the lives of Nigerians?
If Jonathan is thinking that the Nigerian economy is doing well, I am sorry for him. I criticise him to put him right. What will I derive by criticising a president that is doing well? If I do, I will ridicule myself. Unfortunately for Jonathan, his advisers are not fair to him. Machiavelli in his book, The Prince, said, “For the prince or leader to be wisely advised, he also should be wise in the first place.” 

How do you judge that your economy has gone up? Is it by how much you have in your foreign reserve? That is nonsense. It is like saying you have money in your bank account and still complaining that you are hungry. There is poverty in the land but the President is comfortable with getting an approval for N1bn food money to feed himself and his deputy in a year. Are their stomachs digesting rocks? He should be very careful and know that God is not asleep and there is nothing that touches God than the cries of the poor. Any leader that makes the poor people unhappy should be very careful.

How do you assess infrastructural development under this administration?
What infrastructure? What is the cause of the grouse between Jonathan and Governor Rotimi Amaechi? It is the East-West Road. It is very bad. Sometimes you pay someone to push your car on that road. Jonathan and his minister for Niger Delta abused Amaechi and painted the governor in bad light. No infrastructure. Education is finished.

The National Assembly members were accused of collecting so much money as salaries but they passed the buck to the executive. How do you react to this?It is nonsense. What they are saying is that my neighbour is a thief so I must be a thief. Why can’t you correct your neighbours? Were they not the ones that approved the salaries for the executive? But the economy is suffering. Someone wrote in The Sun that a senator in Nigeria can employ four Barrack Obama, the American President. It shows we are not serious. The economy is down. When it comes to helping themselves at the expense of the poor, they do it. President Jonathan has 10 presidential jets and two are still coming at the state’s expense. The Prime Minister of Britain goes in public transport. He has no fleet.

Babangida Meets With APC Leaders; Says Votes Must Count

General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, Nigeria's former Military President has stated that the emergency of All Progressive Congress (APC) will bring about vibrant political activities and give the people an alternatives to choose from in 2015.

Babangida who insisted that votes must count in 2015, said:

“I think we have a lot of time now we will see vibrant political activities, political parties will like to sell their products, perhaps you should keep on insisting the votes should count also and allow the people to vote their choice and should have only one vote”.

Barely 24 hours the APC was registered some of the chieftains stormed the residence of the former military leader where they entered into a closed door meeting that lasted for about two hours.

IBB stated that the emergence of APC has further confirmed his strong believe on two parties system which would provide an equally strong avenue for people to make choice.

When asked whether votes have not been counting in Nigeria in the previous elections he said “No, I never said so I only said that insist that votes should count”.

Babangida stated further that “I have been and I will continue to be a strong believer of two parties system, I told you that, maybe as PDP itself said we now have a strong and vibrant political associations, you have the choice, you either take this or that”.

Rivers Assembly leader arraigned for attempted murder

Majority Leader of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Chidi Lloyd (third left) being led to the court in Port Harcourt...on Wednesday.

AFTER eight days in police custody, the Majority Leader of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Mr. Chidi Lloyd, on Wednesday, finally appeared before a High Court in Port Harcourt.

Lloyd, arraigned on six counts of attempted murder, conspiracy, assault and malicious damage, arrived at the court about 10.52am accompanied by riot policemen and other security operatives.

Clad in blue attire, the lawmaker limped as he entered the court premises, supported by two unidentified persons.

The offence of the PDP lawmaker, who was reportedly involved in the fracas in the State Assembly on July 9, 2013, the prosecution said, was contrary to Section 320 of the Criminal Code Law, Cap 37 laws of Rivers State of Nigeria 1999.

 Lloyd allegedly hit his fellow lawmaker, Mr. Michael Chinda, with a fake mace during a fight at the Assembly chamber.

During the hearing, the prosecution counsel, Mr. Donald De-wigwe (SAN), objected to the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Worgu Boms’ plea to take over the criminal proceeding.

De-wigwe argued that Boms could not take over the court proceedings since there was no proper arraignment of the accused before the court.

De-wigwe said, “Judicially, the argument does not stand. It is not a law of today. The issue is that whether or not there is a criminal proceeding before the court. Until plea is taken, there is still nothing for the attorney-general to takeover.”

Referring to legal authorities to defend his argument, De-wigwe said the attorney-general’s attempt to take over the criminal proceeding of the court was premature.

Boms had earlier noted that Section 211 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, empowered him to take over the case.

Noting that the measure was necessary in the interest of justice, the Attorney-General insisted that the alleged offence was against the state.

He added, “I stand here by the powers conferred on me by Section 211(1)(b) of the 1999 Constitution to take over the prosecution of the matter between the Commissioner of Police and Chidi Lloyd.”

Also, Lloyd’s lead counsel, Mr. Beluolisa Nwofor (SAN), who objected to the appearance of De-wigwe and other lawyers for the prosecution, explained that as private lawyers, they needed to obtain a fiat from the state Attorney-General to prosecute the matter.

Nwofor said, “I object to De-wigwe’s appearance for prosecution. He is not a police officer, but a private practitioner. The law requires that for a private practitioner to appear in a criminal charge by the Commissioner of Police, he should tender a fiat from the Attorney-General of the state.

“I urge the court to expunge the appearance of all the lawyers announced by the SAN, except J.C.A. Ideachaba, a Superintendent of Police, who filed the information.”

He argued that the letter presented to the court by De-wigwe was not enough as far as the law was concerned.

De-wigwe, however, disagreed saying the state Commissioner of Police initiated the charge not the state Attorney-General.

Justice Nyordee adjourned the case till August 6, 2013 to rule on the submissions of the opposing counsel as it concerned the declaration for a takeover of the criminal proceedings by the Attorney-General.

Meanwhile, there was tight security at the court premises as security operatives frisked all that entered the courtroom.

RIVERS CRISIS: Reasons NASS took over State Assembly; The Amaechi connection

•Rivers counts the cost of face-off

It has emerged that the governor of Rivers State, Honourable Rotimi Amaechi, was instrumental to the takeover of the state House of Assembly by the National Assembly last week.

Last Thursday, the Senate voted for a takeover of Rivers State House of Assembly, thus, concurring with the earlier position of the House of Representatives on the contentious matter.

Sources in the National Assembly, however, confirmed to Sunday Tribune that the decision of the Senate was long in coming because the lawmakers were not easily convinced that the takeover was imperative.

But it was gathered that lobbyists loyal to the governor actually pressurized the two chambers into taking the final decision.