President-Elect Buhari: The nation waits for a new era Read full article here: http://www.gistuncover.blogspot.com

<div>In a few day’s time, Nigerians will witness an epochal history as out going President Goodluck Jonathan hands over the reins of power to in coming President Muhammadu Buhari. It is novel to Nigeria and carries with it, monumental loads of expectations from eager and clearly disenchanted citizenry that are just surviving perhaps the most corrupt and profligate era in the troubled history of Nigeria. Buhari is coming to power at a time the nation has been practically hobbled by insensate corruption, horrible governance, impunity and ineptitude. The huge expectations being piled on Buhari’s shoulders by both his supporters who fervently voted for him and his antagonists who did everything humanly possibly to stop his historical march to power is a load that comes with his sweeping ride to power. Every Nigerian has moulded a magician of Buhari who is expected to, in one clear swoop, banish the specters of 16 years PDP misrule and place Nigeria firmly on the threshold of progress. Even those that unleashed brazen violence, impunity and deadly hate, those that emptied the national treasury in a blinding bid to stop Buhari’s ascension to power have hewn a fat list of expectations Buhari must compulsorily meet on his first day of power. <br /><br />But Buhari is coming prepared to cleanse the badly desecrated Augean stable. He is fully kitted for a very drastic mission to rescue a well endowed but viscerally crumbled country from the deepest pit of rot where a purblind outgoing government has plunged it. Buhari is fully clothed for war against the deliberate vicissitudes that were employed to reduce Nigeria to a region in hell even with monumental oil wealth, rich natural resources and abundant human potentials. He is preparing no excuse and he will give none to anybody, least of all, sore vermin that are still bitterly ruing their rustication from power. Buhari is primed to meet the eager expectation of his genuine followers and supporters who wove a fitting garb of a rescuer for him as the debauchery and irresponsibility of the outgoing Jonathan regime reached a feverish pitch with the regime’s consuming desire to hang unto power. <br /><br />For the avoidance of doubt, this is not the best of times for any Nigerian to take up the delicate task of reinventing a country that has been practically grounded by corrupt and clueless leadership. It is that rare capacity to rise above the din of the ordinary and rescue a sinking ship that marked Buhari out as the harvester of the fervent support of Nigerians during the elections. It us not an ordinary expression of sentiment that Nigerians feel Buhari is well equipped to lead the salvation task in a practically crumbled country, gasping for breadth at the feet of an inept and ultra corrupt cabal. To be sure, Buhari had led this country at such sorry pass of its chequered history before and his stellar performance then coupled with a rich swathe of rare honesty, integrity, discipline and firmness made him fit for the role he is assuming in a 2015 Nigeria that has become a study in unbridled brigandage and outlandish prodigality. Buhari is meeting with the huge ruins of an empire lost; a house that has fallen and a paradise misused. <br /><br />The Nigeria Buhari is meeting is an empty shell. The treasury has been completely drained. The state of infrastructure is horrible. The economic conditions are austere. Corruption is on its most prurient state. Nepotism, sectarian division, ethnicisim and tribalism have inserted deep cleavages of hate, anger, intolerance and disillusionment. Poverty walks on all fours, even with the prank of periodically writing flowery economic reports that mean nothing to a famished and weather beaten people that are existing on the very brinks of survival. Today, Nigerians are aimlessly roving in pitch darkness as the public power sector has practically collapsed even with a dubious privatization program that ended up exposing millions of Nigerians to barbaric exploitation by the czars of the outgoing regime. The energy sector is in total chaos as a deliberate culture of corruption has ensured that the sixth largest oil producer on earth undergoes an embarrassing pang of excruciating fuel crisis. Unemployment is at its ever highest pitch as the figure adds up each day with proven official incompetence to manage the issue. The country has become the butt of ribaldry in international affairs as a visionless government had become a big rebuke in the comity of nations. All fonts of economic generation have been milked to feed an idle coterie of sybaritic eunuchs that live on singing the dumb praises of a clueless government and tickle its fancies. Life expectancy has plummeted to an embarrassing level that Nigeria is practically an expansive grave for citizens who are forced to survive on sheer will to live. <br /><br />These and more are dreary pictures that stare Buhari and his incoming government in the face. These are the pallid state the out going government leaves Nigeria and for which its grieving denizens expect Buhari to fix on his first day in power. Yes, they said Buhari has no excuse for not doing wonders with the despicable state they have rendered the treasury! What a bunch! They said Buhari should unleash the miracle that made Nigerians to reject their rotten commission and vote him. Lest we mistake the sore grapes of these displaced free loaders with the original demands of patriotic Nigerians that Buhari should come arrest the drift of the state through accountable and responsible governance, Buhari is ready and very prepared to tackle the gargantuan rot the out going government is leaving behind headlong. There is no doubt about this in the minds of genuine supporters of Buhari and he will do it. <br /><br />What we must do is to offer him our sincere support and ideas, where we can, to do the tasking work. Many have talked of patience, yes, we must give him. Many have talked of understanding, yes, we must give him. Many have talked of patriotism, yes, we must give him. To be candid, Nigerians have given these abundantly to the strings of prebendal leaders that have ruled this country and ended up hugely disappointed. Buhari will get enough of it. Nigerians will help him to succeed for there lies our last hope; our last card to survival and progress as a nation. <br /><br />By now, it is my fervent expectation that Buhari has his acts well cut out; waiting for unleashing on a country that simply cannot wait. Days seem like years and the huge relief Buhari’s early policy directives will inflict to a pinning and parched nation will be seen on Inauguration Day as anxious citizens hear, with wrapt attention, the policy thrust of the new regime. His early pronouncements and his early postures will uplift the soul of a dreary nation and wake the dead bones of a disheveled nation to life so we eagerly await May 29 and I know Nigerians will never be disappointed. <br /><br />As to what we expect, these have been clearly articulated by the flotilla of prescriptions that have been put up by both friends and foes since Buhari emerged but by now, Buhari must have employed the meat cleaver to sift the grain from the chaff in these demands. He must have cone out with a priority list that encapsulates what we need and require most, even with the enormity of problems created by the outgoing regime. Buhari must have discerned that Nigerians need power, that we need jobs, that we need fuel, that we need good roads, that we need food on our tables, that we need good security, that we need accountability, that we expect him to make those that have swallowed our national patrimony to vomit same for the task of fixing Nigeria. On the last item, there should be no compromise because he needs to set the moral template of a depraved nation by ensuring that those that steal the common patrimony pay. Buhari should know that governance in Nigeria needs form and sequence and no more the jumbled jungle we are just emerging from where there is no head and lickspittles ran riot because the head is rotten and weak. He must show strong leadership as this reflects on the quality of governance he renders and seeps down to the type of country he will leave behind after his stewardship. <br /><br />To do these, there is no way Buhari can make an omelet without breaking an egg. He needs to be firm and decisive on corruption, as we know he will be, knowing that his success depends on how well he tracks this stubborn decibel. He must step on toes; rotten fat toes that have stood on our success as a nation. He must feel free to offload the compromised deadwoods the departing Jonathan is packing in the entire system as he prepares for exit. He must have his men firmly in all spheres because success or failure of his regime is his and his alone. I expect Buhari to reverse the flurry of questionable appointments Jonathan has lately made his favorite pastime and imbue in the system men who are equally driven by his passion for a new Nigeria. <br /><br />As we wait for the long days between now and May 29, 2015; the longest days in the Nigerian history, we anxiously await the dawn of a new era when the country will bounce back to its lost years of glory under the able leadership of a man moulded by history and dint of personal effort to lead the daunting task. We have no doubt that he is equal to the difficult task.<div style="left: -99999px; position: absolute;">In a few day’s time, Nigerians will witness an epochal history as out going President Goodluck Jonathan hands over the reins of power to in coming President Muhammadu Buhari. It is novel to Nigeria and carries with it, monumental loads of expectations from eager and clearly disenchanted citizenry that are just surviving perhaps the most corrupt and profligate era in the troubled history of Nigeria. Buhari is coming to power at a time the nation has been practically hobbled by insensate corruption, horrible governance, impunity and ineptitude. The huge expectations being piled on Buhari’s shoulders by both his supporters who fervently voted for him and his antagonists who did everything humanly possibly to stop his historical march to power is a load that comes with his sweeping ride to power. Every Nigerian has moulded a magician of Buhari who is expected to, in one clear swoop, banish the specters of 16 years PDP misrule and place Nigeria firmly on the threshold of progress. Even those that unleashed brazen violence, impunity and deadly hate, those that emptied the national treasury in a blinding bid to stop Buhari’s ascension to power have hewn a fat list of expectations Buhari must compulsorily meet on his first day of power. But Buhari is coming prepared to cleanse the badly desecrated Augean stable. He is fully kitted for a very drastic mission to rescue a well endowed but viscerally crumbled country from the deepest pit of rot where a purblind outgoing government has plunged it. Buhari is fully clothed for war against the deliberate vicissitudes that were employed to reduce Nigeria to a region in hell even with monumental oil wealth, rich natural resources and abundant human potentials. He is preparing no excuse and he will give none to anybody, least of all, sore vermin that are still bitterly ruing their rustication from power. Buhari is primed to meet the eager expectation of his genuine followers and supporters who wove a fitting garb of a rescuer for him as the debauchery and irresponsibility of the outgoing Jonathan regime reached a feverish pitch with the regime’s consuming desire to hang unto power. For the avoidance of doubt, this is not the best of times for any Nigerian to take up the delicate task of reinventing a country that has been practically grounded by corrupt and clueless leadership. It is that rare capacity to rise above the din of the ordinary and rescue a sinking ship that marked Buhari out as the harvester of the fervent support of Nigerians during the elections. It us not an ordinary expression of sentiment that Nigerians feel Buhari is well equipped to lead the salvation task in a practically crumbled country, gasping for breadth at the feet of an inept and ultra corrupt cabal. To be sure, Buhari had led this country at such sorry pass of its chequered history before and his stellar performance then coupled with a rich swathe of rare honesty, integrity, discipline and firmness made him fit for the role he is assuming in a 2015 Nigeria that has become a study in unbridled brigandage and outlandish prodigality. Buhari is meeting with the huge ruins of an empire lost; a house that has fallen and a paradise misused. The Nigeria Buhari is meeting is an empty shell. The treasury has been completely drained. The state of infrastructure is horrible. The economic conditions are austere. Corruption is on its most prurient state. Nepotism, sectarian division, ethnicisim and tribalism have inserted deep cleavages of hate, anger, intolerance and disillusionment. Poverty walks on all fours, even with the prank of periodically writing flowery economic reports that mean nothing to a famished and weather beaten people that are existing on the very brinks of survival. Today, Nigerians are aimlessly roving in pitch darkness as the public power sector has practically collapsed even with a dubious privatization program that ended up exposing millions of Nigerians to barbaric exploitation by the czars of the outgoing regime. The energy sector is in total chaos as a deliberate culture of corruption has ensured that the sixth largest oil producer on earth undergoes an embarrassing pang of excruciating fuel crisis. Unemployment is at its ever highest pitch as the figure adds up each day with proven official incompetence to manage the issue. The country has become the butt of ribaldry in international affairs as a visionless government had become a big rebuke in the comity of nations. All fonts of economic generation have been milked to feed an idle coterie of sybaritic eunuchs that live on singing the dumb praises of a clueless government and tickle its fancies. Life expectancy has plummeted to an embarrassing level that Nigeria is practically an expansive grave for citizens who are forced to survive on sheer will to live. These and more are dreary pictures that stare Buhari and his incoming government in the face. These are the pallid state the out going government leaves Nigeria and for which its grieving denizens expect Buhari to fix on his first day in power. Yes, they said Buhari has no excuse for not doing wonders with the despicable state they have rendered the treasury! What a bunch! They said Buhari should unleash the miracle that made Nigerians to reject their rotten commission and vote him. Lest we mistake the sore grapes of these displaced free loaders with the original demands of patriotic Nigerians that Buhari should come arrest the drift of the state through accountable and responsible governance, Buhari is ready and very prepared to tackle the gargantuan rot the out going government is leaving behind headlong. There is no doubt about this in the minds of genuine supporters of Buhari and he will do it. What we must do is to offer him our sincere support and ideas, where we can, to do the tasking work. Many have talked of patience, yes, we must give him. Many have talked of understanding, yes, we must give him. Many have talked of patriotism, yes, we must give him. To be candid, Nigerians have given these abundantly to the strings of prebendal leaders that have ruled this country and ended up hugely disappointed. Buhari will get enough of it. Nigerians will help him to succeed for there lies our last hope; our last card to survival and progress as a nation. By now, it is my fervent expectation that Buhari has his acts well cut out; waiting for unleashing on a country that simply cannot wait. Days seem like years and the huge relief Buhari’s early policy directives will inflict to a pinning and parched nation will be seen on Inauguration Day as anxious citizens hear, with wrapt attention, the policy thrust of the new regime. His early pronouncements and his early postures will uplift the soul of a dreary nation and wake the dead bones of a disheveled nation to life so we eagerly await May 29 and I know Nigerians will never be disappointed. As to what we expect, these have been clearly articulated by the flotilla of prescriptions that have been put up by both friends and foes since Buhari emerged but by now, Buhari must have employed the meat cleaver to sift the grain from the chaff in these demands. He must have cone out with a priority list that encapsulates what we need and require most, even with the enormity of problems created by the outgoing regime. Buhari must have discerned that Nigerians need power, that we need jobs, that we need fuel, that we need good roads, that we need food on our tables, that we need good security, that we need accountability, that we expect him to make those that have swallowed our national patrimony to vomit same for the task of fixing Nigeria. On the last item, there should be no compromise because he needs to set the moral template of a depraved nation by ensuring that those that steal the common patrimony pay. Buhari should know that governance in Nigeria needs form and sequence and no more the jumbled jungle we are just emerging from where there is no head and lickspittles ran riot because the head is rotten and weak. He must show strong leadership as this reflects on the quality of governance he renders and seeps down to the type of country he will leave behind after his stewardship. To do these, there is no way Buhari can make an omelet without breaking an egg. He needs to be firm and decisive on corruption, as we know he will be, knowing that his success depends on how well he tracks this stubborn decibel. He must step on toes; rotten fat toes that have stood on our success as a nation. He must feel free to offload the compromised deadwoods the departing Jonathan is packing in the entire system as he prepares for exit. He must have his men firmly in all spheres because success or failure of his regime is his and his alone. I expect Buhari to reverse the flurry of questionable appointments Jonathan has lately made his favorite pastime and imbue in the system men who are equally driven by his passion for a new Nigeria. As we wait for the long days between now and May 29, 2015; the longest days in the Nigerian history, we anxiously await the dawn of a new era when the country will bounce back to its lost years of glory under the able leadership of a man moulded by history and dint of personal effort to lead the daunting task. We have no doubt that he is equal to the difficult task.<br /><br /> Read full article here: http://www.theopinion.ng/buhari-the-nation-waits-for-a-new-era/ <div style="left: -99999px; position: absolute;">In a few day’s time, Nigerians will witness an epochal history as out going President Goodluck Jonathan hands over the reins of power to in coming President Muhammadu Buhari. It is novel to Nigeria and carries with it, monumental loads of expectations from eager and clearly disenchanted citizenry that are just surviving perhaps the most corrupt and profligate era in the troubled history of Nigeria. Buhari is coming to power at a time the nation has been practically hobbled by insensate corruption, horrible governance, impunity and ineptitude. The huge expectations being piled on Buhari’s shoulders by both his supporters who fervently voted for him and his antagonists who did everything humanly possibly to stop his historical march to power is a load that comes with his sweeping ride to power. Every Nigerian has moulded a magician of Buhari who is expected to, in one clear swoop, banish the specters of 16 years PDP misrule and place Nigeria firmly on the threshold of progress. Even those that unleashed brazen violence, impunity and deadly hate, those that emptied the national treasury in a blinding bid to stop Buhari’s ascension to power have hewn a fat list of expectations Buhari must compulsorily meet on his first day of power. But Buhari is coming prepared to cleanse the badly desecrated Augean stable. He is fully kitted for a very drastic mission to rescue a well endowed but viscerally crumbled country from the deepest pit of rot where a purblind outgoing government has plunged it. Buhari is fully clothed for war against the deliberate vicissitudes that were employed to reduce Nigeria to a region in hell even with monumental oil wealth, rich natural resources and abundant human potentials. He is preparing no excuse and he will give none to anybody, least of all, sore vermin that are still bitterly ruing their rustication from power. Buhari is primed to meet the eager expectation of his genuine followers and supporters who wove a fitting garb of a rescuer for him as the debauchery and irresponsibility of the outgoing Jonathan regime reached a feverish pitch with the regime’s consuming desire to hang unto power. For the avoidance of doubt, this is not the best of times for any Nigerian to take up the delicate task of reinventing a country that has been practically grounded by corrupt and clueless leadership. It is that rare capacity to rise above the din of the ordinary and rescue a sinking ship that marked Buhari out as the harvester of the fervent support of Nigerians during the elections. It us not an ordinary expression of sentiment that Nigerians feel Buhari is well equipped to lead the salvation task in a practically crumbled country, gasping for breadth at the feet of an inept and ultra corrupt cabal. To be sure, Buhari had led this country at such sorry pass of its chequered history before and his stellar performance then coupled with a rich swathe of rare honesty, integrity, discipline and firmness made him fit for the role he is assuming in a 2015 Nigeria that has become a study in unbridled brigandage and outlandish prodigality. Buhari is meeting with the huge ruins of an empire lost; a house that has fallen and a paradise misused. The Nigeria Buhari is meeting is an empty shell. The treasury has been completely drained. The state of infrastructure is horrible. The economic conditions are austere. Corruption is on its most prurient state. Nepotism, sectarian division, ethnicisim and tribalism have inserted deep cleavages of hate, anger, intolerance and disillusionment. Poverty walks on all fours, even with the prank of periodically writing flowery economic reports that mean nothing to a famished and weather beaten people that are existing on the very brinks of survival. Today, Nigerians are aimlessly roving in pitch darkness as the public power sector has practically collapsed even with a dubious privatization program that ended up exposing millions of Nigerians to barbaric exploitation by the czars of the outgoing regime. The energy sector is in total chaos as a deliberate culture of corruption has ensured that the sixth largest oil producer on earth undergoes an embarrassing pang of excruciating fuel crisis. Unemployment is at its ever highest pitch as the figure adds up each day with proven official incompetence to manage the issue. The country has become the butt of ribaldry in international affairs as a visionless government had become a big rebuke in the comity of nations. All fonts of economic generation have been milked to feed an idle coterie of sybaritic eunuchs that live on singing the dumb praises of a clueless government and tickle its fancies. Life expectancy has plummeted to an embarrassing level that Nigeria is practically an expansive grave for citizens who are forced to survive on sheer will to live. These and more are dreary pictures that stare Buhari and his incoming government in the face. These are the pallid state the out going government leaves Nigeria and for which its grieving denizens expect Buhari to fix on his first day in power. Yes, they said Buhari has no excuse for not doing wonders with the despicable state they have rendered the treasury! What a bunch! They said Buhari should unleash the miracle that made Nigerians to reject their rotten commission and vote him. Lest we mistake the sore grapes of these displaced free loaders with the original demands of patriotic Nigerians that Buhari should come arrest the drift of the state through accountable and responsible governance, Buhari is ready and very prepared to tackle the gargantuan rot the out going government is leaving behind headlong. There is no doubt about this in the minds of genuine supporters of Buhari and he will do it. What we must do is to offer him our sincere support and ideas, where we can, to do the tasking work. Many have talked of patience, yes, we must give him. Many have talked of understanding, yes, we must give him. Many have talked of patriotism, yes, we must give him. To be candid, Nigerians have given these abundantly to the strings of prebendal leaders that have ruled this country and ended up hugely disappointed. Buhari will get enough of it. Nigerians will help him to succeed for there lies our last hope; our last card to survival and progress as a nation. By now, it is my fervent expectation that Buhari has his acts well cut out; waiting for unleashing on a country that simply cannot wait. Days seem like years and the huge relief Buhari’s early policy directives will inflict to a pinning and parched nation will be seen on Inauguration Day as anxious citizens hear, with wrapt attention, the policy thrust of the new regime. His early pronouncements and his early postures will uplift the soul of a dreary nation and wake the dead bones of a disheveled nation to life so we eagerly await May 29 and I know Nigerians will never be disappointed. As to what we expect, these have been clearly articulated by the flotilla of prescriptions that have been put up by both friends and foes since Buhari emerged but by now, Buhari must have employed the meat cleaver to sift the grain from the chaff in these demands. He must have cone out with a priority list that encapsulates what we need and require most, even with the enormity of problems created by the outgoing regime. Buhari must have discerned that Nigerians need power, that we need jobs, that we need fuel, that we need good roads, that we need food on our tables, that we need good security, that we need accountability, that we expect him to make those that have swallowed our national patrimony to vomit same for the task of fixing Nigeria. On the last item, there should be no compromise because he needs to set the moral template of a depraved nation by ensuring that those that steal the common patrimony pay. Buhari should know that governance in Nigeria needs form and sequence and no more the jumbled jungle we are just emerging from where there is no head and lickspittles ran riot because the head is rotten and weak. He must show strong leadership as this reflects on the quality of governance he renders and seeps down to the type of country he will leave behind after his stewardship. To do these, there is no way Buhari can make an omelet without breaking an egg. He needs to be firm and decisive on corruption, as we know he will be, knowing that his success depends on how well he tracks this stubborn decibel. He must step on toes; rotten fat toes that have stood on our success as a nation. He must feel free to offload the compromised deadwoods the departing Jonathan is packing in the entire system as he prepares for exit. He must have his men firmly in all spheres because success or failure of his regime is his and his alone. I expect Buhari to reverse the flurry of questionable appointments Jonathan has lately made his favorite pastime and imbue in the system men who are equally driven by his passion for a new Nigeria. As we wait for the long days between now and May 29, 2015; the longest days in the Nigerian history, we anxiously await the dawn of a new era when the country will bounce back to its lost years of glory under the able leadership of a man moulded by history and dint of personal effort to lead the daunting task. We have no doubt that he is equal to the difficult task.<br /><br /> Read full article here: http://www.theopinion.ng/buhari-the-nation-waits-for-a-new-era/ </div></div></div>

Marriage: 6 Fun Workout Ideas For Couples To Lose Weight

<div>You will find many interesting tips to spice up your love life (in and out of the bed!), be it teasing your beloved’s senses or making your spouse feel special. But, here is another way in which you can heat up things with your better half. This is by toning your body and losing some fat together. Apart from hitting the gym, there are many interesting workout ideas through which couples can spend quality time together, while simultaneously losing weight.<br /><strong></strong></div>

News on set: Buhari Jets To London With Diezani On Board

<div>Embattled Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, today booked herself on a British Airways flight to London with Nigeria’s President-Elect, Muhammad Buhari, who sources claimed was on an scheduled trip. <span class="ds-1col file file-image file-image-jpeg view-mode-embedded centered clearfix block-story-object block-story-object-resource block-story-object-resource-image"> <span class="block-story-object-asset"><img alt="" class="media-element file-embedded" src="https://secure.saharareporters.com/sites/default/files/styles/normal_medium/public/M-BUHARI.jpg?itok=4gtpKjVI" /></span><span class="block-story-object-content"><span class="block-story-object-content-header"><span class="block-story-object-content-header-description">Muhammadu Buhari </span></span><span class="block-story-object-content-footer"><span class="block-story-object-content-footer-item block-story-object-content-footer-item-attribution">Buhari Media Team </span></span></span> </span> <br /><span class="container container-pod container-pod-short"></span>Diezani had been billed to travel to the UK next week Tuesday according to a source, however upon learning that Buhari was traveling to London, she asked the airline to book her on the same flight as Buhari so that she could have a chance to discuss directly with the President-Elect. The British Airways flight departed Abuja this morning at 9:00am Nigerian time.<br /> Several aides and close associates of Buhari said they were surprised to learn of the trip since they were with him till 7PM last night shortly after he arrived from his hometown, Duara.<br /> A family source told SaharaReporters that Buhari was traveling to London for the weekend and is expected back in Nigeria on Tuesday in time for the swearing in ceremonies. </div>

Diezani Denied Conversation With President-Elect Buhari during their trip to London

<div><div class="first"><span style="line-height: 1.538em;">Last night’s secretive and rather abrupt trip to London by Nigeria President-Elect Muhammadu Buhari caught several of his political associates unawares, several of them learning about it only when we broke the story.</span><span class="ds-1col file file-image file-image-jpeg view-mode-embedded centered clearfix block-story-object block-story-object-resource block-story-object-resource-image"> <span class="block-story-object-asset"><img alt="" class="media-element file-embedded" src="https://secure.saharareporters.com/sites/default/files/styles/normal_medium/public/Muhamadu-Buhari.jpg?itok=I5S9qWyh" /></span><span class="block-story-object-content"><span class="block-story-object-content-header"><span class="block-story-object-content-header-description">President -Elect, Muhammadu Buhari </span></span><span class="block-story-object-content-footer"><span class="block-story-object-content-footer-item block-story-object-content-footer-item-attribution">Wikipedia </span></span></span> </span> </div><span class="container container-pod container-pod-short"></span>Asked if the President-Elect had any health issues that may have required urgent travel overnight, they insisted he appears to be healthy.<br />Meanwhile, sources have told SaharaReporters that the efforts by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, to speak with Buhari aboard the British Airways aircraft failed abysmally as the President-Elect only greeted her during the boarding process and then quietly settled into his seat 2K in First Class. The embattled Minister, SaharaReporters learnt, had somehow booked herself into seat 3K, seating directly behind Buhari on the six-hour flight.<br /><span style="line-height: 1.538em;">Our sources said she rose up a few times and tried to stir up a conversation with the President-Elect, but that he only nodded and let her get back to her seat without permitting any dialogue. The flight arrived Heathrow in London at 2:15p.m. local time, but the passengers didn’t disembark until 2:45pm due to delays at the airport.</span><br />Other Nigerian dignitaries in the First Class compartment of the flight included the chairperson of the National Electricity Commission, Sam Amadi, as well as Senator Philip Adida, Segun Awolowo, and Hakeem Bello-Osagie, who sat in 4K directly behind Diezani.<br />When the airline crew announced passenger disembarkation, Buhari asked if Diezani had any of her bags in the overheard compartment so he could step out of her way. It then turned out she had occupied the entire overheard compartments with several of her carry-on bags, traveled with two of her aides also in First Class. Buhari was reportedly traveling with only one aide.<br />The Nigerian High Commissioner to the UK, Dalhatu Sarki Tafida, met Buhari at the airport.<br /><span style="line-height: 1.538em;">As SaharaReporters reported earlier, Minister Alison-Madueke was originally scheduled to travel to the UK next Tuesday as she is billed to address the Nigerian Senate on Monday regarding the fuel scarcity crisis.  Our source disclosed that upon learning of Mr. Buhari’s trip, she booked herself on the same flight in the hope of an opportunity of a direct discussion with the man who takes over the governance of Nigeria one week from today.  Her Ministr y, reputed as being one of the most corrupt, is likely to be among the first to come under Buhari’s scrutiny.<a href="http://gistuncover.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">See More:  President-Elect Muhammadu Buhari trip to London </a></span></div>

President-Elect Buhari misses pre-inauguration prayers, jets out to UK - See more at: http://www.gistuncover.blogspot.com

<div><a class="thumbLink" href="http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/05/buhari-misses-pre-inauguration-prayers-jets-out-to-uk/" title="Buhari misses pre-inauguration prayers, jets out to UK"><img alt="Buhari" class="attachment-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" height="224" src="http://cdn2.vanguardngr.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/296x224xBuhari-official-296x224.jpg.pagespeed.ic.S9dmvk3Ct3.jpg" width="296" /> </a><br />THERE was anxiety at the National Mosque yesterday in Abuja over the absence of the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari at the special Juma’at prayers to mark the beginning of the week long activities leading to his inauguration on May 29.</div>

Breaking News: Consulate in New York complies with FG’s directives, issues passports within 24 hours - See more at: http://www.gistuncover.blogspot.com

<div><div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">New York –  The Consulate General of Nigeria in New York has complied with the directive to deliver travel passports to Nigerians within 24-hour in compliance with President Goodluck Jonathan’s mandate.<br /> <div class="node-content"><div class="section field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item odd">Amb. Habiba Habu, the outgoing Consular-General of Nigeria in New York, said Bureau Chief in an interview on Friday.<br /> “Nigerians now get their passports issued to them on the same day.<br /> “We have complied with the Federal Government’s directive that travel documents must be delivered to Nigerians within 24 hours,” he said.<br /> Habu said that before he took over, it was business as usual.<br /> “When I took over in 2011, there were so many complaints of delays, corruption and extortion by some officials in the passport unit in the Consulate.<br /> “When I came on board, we overhauled the passport unit.<br /> “We introduced a ‘first come first served system,’ I also told the officials that I will appropriately sanction any of them caught engaging in mistreating and collecting anything from applicants.<br /> “We also conducted a training programme for the staff on how to relate with the applicants and also render selfless and patriotic service, while shunning corruption and extortion,” Habu said.<br /> He said that after taking over that he conducted an investigation and found “a clear evidence of up to 20 days delay, mistreatment of applicants and corrupt practices in the Consulate.<br /> “The allegations were that passport officials compelled them to pay bribe to obtain the travel documents.<br /> “Those who refused to pay to the officials have had their applications delayed.<br /> “One thing is certain, I discovered that due to the extraordinary delay in issuance of travel documents, some of the officials engaged in these acts,” he said.<br /> Habu also said that most of the plans he had for the consulate in the area of passport issuance had been accomplished.<br /> The Consulate-General said that in 2014, 11,112 passports were issued, while as at May 15, 2015, 3,734 passports had been issued.<br /> He expressed gratitude to staff members who accepted the changes and worked hard to serve Nigerians.<br /> The Consulate has under its jurisdiction in the following states: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine and Massachusetts.<br /> Others are Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Nebraska, Ohio, North Dakota, South Dakota, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Vermont and Pennsylvania.</div></div></div></div>- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/05/consulate-in-new-york-complies-with-fgs-directives-issues-passports-within-24-hours/#sthash.gIA6ITus.dpuf</div></div>

Cameron to lobby European leaders on Britain’s EU terms

<div><br /><div class="metaStuff"><br /></div><div class="socialButton" id="facebookLike"><div class="facebook_button"><span style="height: 0px; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: top; width: 0px;"></span></div><div class="twitter_button"> </div><div class="plus_button"> </div><div class="sharethis_button"><span class="st_sharethis_large"><span class="stButton" style="color: black; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; text-decoration: none;"><span class="stLarge" style="background-image: url("http://w.sharethis.com/images/sharethis_32.png");"></span></span></span></div></div>Riga (Latvia) – British Prime Minister, David Cameron, on Friday disclosed his plan to meet the leaders of Germany, France and the European Commission, in a bid to gather support for his efforts to renegotiate the terms of Britain’s EU membership.<br /> Cameron said at the EU summit in Riga (Latvia) that he would renegotiate the terms of Britain’s membership before holding an in-out referendum by the end of 2017.<br /> “There will be ups and downs, you’ll hear one day this is possible, the next day something else is impossible.<br /> “But one thing throughout all of this will be constant and that is my determination to deliver for the British people a reform of the EU, so they get a proper choice in that referendum that we’ll hold,” he said.<br /> Cameron said that changes to welfare, to cut EU migration, would be an absolute requirement in the renegotiation.<br /> “But other leaders are wary of any changes to freedom of movement, one of the most cherished rights in the 28-country EU.<br /> He said he would first meet with EU President Jean-Claude Juncker on Monday at Chequers, because he was expected to play a key role in the British renegotiation effort.<br /> Cameron said by Thursday he would be in Paris, for a meeting with President Francois Hollande, followed by talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Friday.<br /> A report from government office stated that, the British prime minister would make a “whirlwind tour” of European capitals after the Queen’s Speech to parliament, detailing his government’s work programme, on Wednesday.<br /> Cameron has promised to renegotiate the terms of Britain’s membership before holding an in-out referendum by the end of 2017. (dpa/NAN)<br /> <h5><br /></h5></div>

Sport: 2015 U-20 World Cup: Ghana coach names final squad

<div><br /><div class="metaStuff"><br /></div><div class="socialButton" id="facebookLike"><div class="facebook_button"><span style="height: 20px; vertical-align: bottom; width: 78px;"></span></div><div class="twitter_button"> </div><div class="plus_button"> </div><div class="sharethis_button"><span class="st_sharethis_large"><span class="stButton" style="color: black; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; text-decoration: none;"><span class="stLarge" style="background-image: url("http://w.sharethis.com/images/sharethis_32.png");"></span></span></span></div>Accra – Ghana coach Sellas Tetteh has named his final 21-man squad for the FIFA U20 World Cup in New Zealand later this month, according to media reports in Accra on Friday. </div>Tetteh, who won the 2009 World Cup in Egypt, retained majority of the players who featured at the African Championship in Senegal early this year where they won bronze.<br /> He settled on his final squad after Wednesday’s 1-0 friendly defeat to Portugal in Sydney.<br /> The Black Satellites of Ghana will wrap up their preparations with a friendlyagainst Colombia before playing their Group B opener against Austria on May 30.<br /> <div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_402450" style="width: 422px;"><img alt="Members of the Ghanaian team pose for a group picture ahead of a group stage football match between Ghana and the USA at the FIFA Under 20 World Cup Turkey at Kadir Has stadium in Kayseri on June 27, 2013. AFP " class="size-full wp-image-402450" height="250" src="http://cdn1.vanguardngr.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/412x250xGhana-under20.jpg.pagespeed.ic.-CCjdMffSY.jpg" width="412" /><div class="wp-caption-text">File: Members of the Ghanaian team pose for a group picture</div></div>The Black Satellites will also face Argentina and Panama in the Group stage.<br />The following is the Ghana U-20 squad:<br /> Goalkeepers: Kwame Baah (Heart of Lions), Siedu Muntawakilu (Hearts of Oak), Lawrence Ati-Zigi (Red Bull Salzburg)<br /> Defenders: Kingsley Fobi (Right to Dream), Owusu Bempah (Hearts of Oak), Joseph Aidoo (Inter Allies), Joseph Adjei (Wa All Stars), Emmanuel Ntim (Valenciennes), Patrick Asmah (BA United), Patrick Kpozo (Inter Allies)<br /> Midfielders: Aseidu Attobrah (New Edubiase), Godfred Donsah (Calgliari), Kofi Yeboah (Wa All Stars), Prosper Kasim (Inter Allies), David Atanga (Red Bull Salzburg), Yaw Yeboah (Man City), Clifford Aboagye (Granada), Osei Barnes (Paios Ferriera)<br /> Strikers: Benjamin Tetteh (Dreams FC), Emmanuel Boateng (Rio Ave), Samuel Tetteh (WAFA) (NAN)</div>

Amaechi: Why Jonathan is in trouble — Gov Amaechi

<div><strong><em>GOVERNOR Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State was recently appointed Director-General of the Buhari Campaign Organisation. At an interactive session, Amaechi among other things, reels out plans of the campaign organisation and also clears the air on knotty issues. Excerpts:</em></strong><br /> Why Jonathan is in trouble — Gov Amaechi<br /> Says he didn’t fund Buhari’s campaign<br /> By Dapo Akinrefon<br /> <strong>I</strong><strong>S it true you funded the Buhari campaign for the primaries?</strong><br /> I did not. Buhari did not spend money for the primaries. Anybody who said they spent money should come forward with evidence. We have maintained consistently that Nigerians would fund us and that is why we have launched our campaign we are hoping that people will contribute. It is there on our website; you will just look at the account and go and pay.<br /> And we are making sure that we convince General Buhari to be the sole signatory to that account. That is the way we would raise our money. We would not depend on rich men. You can’t fight the president on funds. See how much he raised from people who some of them collected the N2.3trillion on oil subsidy and are yet to pay back. If he is not prosecuting them for oil subsidy, why shouldn’t they pay for his election?<br /> <strong>Symbol of change</strong><br /> The president is trying to raise over N200 million for power and then those people he is helping to raise the money are giving him N500million. We can’t fight the president with money, we will fight him with the people. We will fight the president by telling Nigerians that they have to vote for change and the symbol of change for us is the APC and General Buhari. I will like to reiterate again that General Buhari did not pay anybody to vote for him at the primaries and he won because Nigerians want change.<br /> <strong>How do you intend to combine your duty as director-general of the APC presidential campaign with your duties as governor? </strong><br /> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_395190" style="width: 422px;"><a href="http://www.vanguardngr.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/jonathan-amaechi.jpg"><img alt="Rotimi Amaechi and Goodluck Jonathan " class="wp-image-395190 size-full" height="250" src="http://cdn1.vanguardngr.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/jonathan-amaechi.jpg.pagespeed.ce.afP7CXHnnK.jpg" width="412" /></a><div class="wp-caption-text">Rotimi Amaechi and Goodluck Jonathan</div></div>We will try. That is why there is a deputy governor. I have a deputy who is efficient and I will also from time to time go back to the state. But we need to deliver and we are all making sacrifices ?to deliver this change. I don’t know how people feel. The president and the federal government have not denied the fact that N2.3trillion was taken for oil subsidy and that was six months in 2011.<br /> Oil subsidy before that time was N300billion, so how did it rise to N2.3trillion and the people are not afraid? The federal government and all its agents were not afraid that N2.3trillion was taken. So, basically, I don’t mind what I can do legally to make sure that there is a better Nigeria.<br /> <strong>What about the controversy that you have not paid eight months salaries?</strong><br /> Anybody who said I have not paid him salaries should come forward. We have paid up till December; you can call Rivers State to confirm. I got a Blackberry message on Tuesday, saying; “Thank God, we are going home with our salary before Christmas.”<br /> <strong>Payment of salaries</strong><br /> What we agreed in the cabinet was that we should make sure that everybody goes home with his salary before Christmas because as a Christian, I know that December 23 and 24 are the two days that Christians like to shop. I do not owe salaries in Rivers State. I am proud to say that I will pay salaries until I leave office and I will continue to pursue development projects in the state.<br /> I was even surprised that the president’s spokesman even put it in one of his statements when he was responding to the accusation that the people who contributed to the N21billion are those plundering our economy and he said after all, Governor Amaechi funded the election of Buhari while he owes teachers eight months salary. And I asked the question, for you to be a presidential spokesman, facts and statistics must be on your palm; you shouldn’t joke with that. But the man was just reacting to gossip.<br /> <strong>What are Buhari’s programmes for Nigeria if he wins the 2015 election?</strong><br /> The message is simple. Buhari chased away Maitasene while he was Head of State. Many Nigerians will remember that Maitasine was like Boko Haram and they were killing people in Borno and Kano and Buhari chased them away because he is a strong leader.<br /> <strong>Strong leader</strong><br /> We need a strong leader now to chase away Boko Haram or it will chase us away. Buhari will deal with insurgency because he has done that before. Many Nigerians would remember that when Borno was attacked by Chadian rebels, Buhari as an officer of the Nigerian Army almost chased them into Ndjamena. He had crossed the Lake Chad when President Shehu Shagari called him back. If he didn’t do that, Borno would have been overrun by Chadian rebels and till today Chad has never crossed into Nigeria to fight us. It takes a strong leader to do that.<br /> We will deal with insurgency. The country may be broke now because of two factors. The first which is very critical is the diversion of funds at the NNPC. That is the greatest factor for me. The level of diversion in the NNPC has affected everybody including me.<br /> We will deal with power because if you don’t address it, you cannot tackle unemployment. The essential factor for industrialisation from elementary economics is power.<br /> So, when you hear that people in the power sector contributed N500 million for the president’s re-election, where did they get it? First, you must pay your bill every month whether you like it or not; whether you have power or not. People are now being forced to pay N75 every month whether they use power or not. So, they are being punished for not having power.<br /> <strong>How do you respond to the claim by the PDP that Buhari is a semi-illiterate jackboot?</strong><br /> Our campaign will be issue-based. The president has a PhD in Zoology, how many farms do we have and how many people has he employed? If you say the president has a PhD and Buhari does not have one, let him show us his thesis. You are bringing yourself to the level of those who are making those allegations. Don’t bring yourself to that level, remain focused on the issues and let the president meet you there.<br /> <strong>Many have defected from the PDP to the APC and as soon as they move they become progressives. What exactly does the APC stand for and what is the ideology of the party?</strong><br /> How many people would say that when I was in the PDP, I wasn’t a progressive? Those who left the PDP are the progressive wing of the party.<br /> Please tell me what else I need to do to become a progressive. The ideology of progressivism is about the people and I bother about them a lot. That is why there is free education in my state which is not part of the PDP manifestoes. While in the PDP, I introduced free education and health care. What else would I need to become a progressive?<br /> Those who studied at the University of Port-Harcourt will say that I have been a Marxist from my university days till today. APC stands for a progressive ideology and you can see that in our manifestoes.<br /> <strong> What is the assurance that Buhari will win the presidential election?</strong><br /> The simple electoral arithmetic is that before the president had the South-south and Southeast 100 percent, but now there are problems for the PDP in Cross Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta States. It wasn’t like that before.<br /> By this time the PDP would have been dancing but have you seen them doing so? When they were doing the Transformation Ambassador of Nigeria (TAN) rallies, I knew that it will get to this point.<br /> You have not seen the PDP dancing or doing any major campaign because there are problems everywhere. There is problem within the party in Enugu, Ebonyi and Abia States. So, it is no longer the same. The electoral map appears to have changed.<br /> If we go to the north, does the APC have problems in Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa and Sokoto? Did we have problem in Lagos State? No, it is the PDP that has problems in those states. So the political map has changed and that is why I believe that by God’s grace, Buhari and the APC will win. I am a Christian and I think positively.<br /> I am not from the north; I am not from the south. I am a Nigerian. I don’t believe in indigeneship, but in citizenship. Buhari will win the 2015 presidential election by God’s grace and he will also win because the political map does not favour the president anymore. In 2011, in the South-South and Southeast, we said he is our brother and now we are saying he is no longer our brother.</div>

Buhari: President ‘Okechukwu’ Buhari !

<div><div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">Nigerians are beginning to know more about our President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari. During the electioneering campaigns which preceded the Presidential election of March 2015, a repeated documentary profiled him as a candidate who did not meet the basic educational requirement of the West African School Certificate. After he won the election, a new documentary surfaced crediting him with a Master’s degree in Defence Studies. If he had lost the election, perhaps the new documentary would have shown how he didn’t get near a primary school.<br /> Having emerged as President-elect, he has become an instant hero to all in a countrywhere failure is an orphan while success is claimed by all. His admonition and that of hisvictorious party- the All Progressive Congress APC) that defectors to the party may get no welcome package appears to have fallen on deaf ears as many are scheming to get close. In any case, why should anyone want to remain in the former largest party in Africa which according to the Senate President, David Mark has since gone into coma? So, why should people not befalling over themselves to be seen and accepted as Buhari’s acquaintances? After all, didn’tBuhari present himself as a man of every group during the electioneering period, especially as he had to be adorned in several Nigerian attires for the campaigns? He could jolly well be an Ibo man.<br /> Only last week, the Imo State Governor-elect, Rochas Okorocha was quoted by the media to have announced a new name-Okechukwu, for the President-elect. The incoming first lady was not left out as she too was proclaimed Hajia ‘Ogechi’ Buhari. As Governor Okorocha reportedly explained, both names confirm that his people are in a season where God has chosen to bless them with the election of General Buhari. Although no one should be surprised at the eulogies being poured on Buhari, some people may find it hard to understand why the Southeast where Buhari performed so poorly is at the forefront of those cringing and hustling for political patronage from the same President-elect.<br /> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_482080" style="width: 422px;"><a href="http://www.vanguardngr.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/buhari.gif"><img alt="Buhari" class="size-full wp-image-482080" height="237" src="http://cdn2.vanguardngr.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/412x237xbuhari.gif.pagespeed.ic.0g5sPF6eh_.jpg" width="412" /></a><div class="wp-caption-text">Buhari</div></div>The story all over the place is that APC leaders in the zone led by Okorocha have already undertaken a strategic visit to Buhari with a specific mission to say: “we know that we’ve lost out in the position of senate presidency because we did not have a ranking senator elected to the National Assembly. We however appeal and we believe that you will be generous enough to consider the Southeast region for the position of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF). The team was also said to have requested for the position of the speaker of the House of Representatives or its deputy.<br /> Meanwhile, a committee set up by the APC to review the zoning arrangement is yet to conclude its work. If so, why is the Southeast caucus already lobbying for the post of SGF?  In addition,how come members of the caucus have since gone into action to position themselves for the post? A former Governor of the old Abia State, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, Senator Chris Ngige, a former Governor of Anambra State and Professor Anthony Anwuka, the current secretary to the Imo State Government are all said to be in the race for the post with none of them willing to cede the post to the other. Under the circumstance, who says, General Buhari will find a conducive environment to effect the much awaited change to our political culture? The point must however be made that it is not everyone in the Southeast zone that is cringing. The famous Ohanaeze ndigbo, the Igbo apex socio-cultural organization for instance, has since stated through the President of its Anambra Branch Dr Chris Eluomunoh that it would not beg for appointment because it expects Buhari to give the Igbo their due. in his government.<br /> The President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Anambra State, Dr. Chris Eluomunoh, while speaking at a press conference in Awka, Anambra State said that Ndigbo would never stoop so low to beg anybody for job.The President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Anambra State, Dr. Chris Eluomunoh, while speaking at a press conference in Awka, Anambra State said that Ndigbo would never stoop so low to beg anybody for job.<br /> The South-south zone which but for Edo State, made similar negligible returns to Buhari’s success did not toe the ndigbo line as a group which called itself the forum of former Speakers of State Houses of Assembly wants Pally Iriase of Edo APC, to be made the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Are these claims supposed to be made while the party’s zoning committee is yet to produce a blue print on the subject? Again if the zones where the President-elect garnered the least votes are aggressively clamouring for what they should get, what then happens to the old adage that ‘from whom much is expected much must be given? Here, we venture to say that for change to our self-centred political interest to end, political parties must learn to give little to those who brought in little.<br /> Nigerians need to, for once, see politics as a game in which losers, go back into their shell to strategize for the next competition. Indeed, the old practice whereby losers canvass for government of national unity which keeps them in government is one that must be jettisoned if our nation is to develop a democratic template which prepares good players to appreciate when to be in government and when to serve as a veritable opposition to a ruling party.<br /> On this score, General Buhari’s attitude to the Southeast and South-south politicians in his party should be to admonish them to concentrate on party organization in their zones for better future performance. He should not allow them to distract him with daily visits on lobbying for their personal gains; otherwise there would be no difference between those who performed well and those who did not. This will bring some sanity to the political landscape of Nigeria which will in turn help a new President to develop a good cabinet bearing in mind that at the end of a presidential election, the victorious candidate ought to function as the President of all. The posture would also assist the President-elect to embrace not just the letter but also the spirit of the provisions of Section 14 of our constitution which require him to obey the federal character principle by picking men and women of vision (not lobbyists) from all parts of the country.<br /> - See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/05/president-okechukwu-buhari/#sthash.ZDL5zutY.dpuf</div></div>

News: Tricycle, motorcycle union beg Jonathan to redeem 1,000 tricycles campaign promise

<div>By Johnbosco Agbakwuru, Abuja<br />The ‘Keke’ and ‘Okada’ operators under the umbrella of National Commercial Tricycle and Motorcycle Owners and Riders Association, NACTOMORAS, have appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to fulfil his campaign promise to the union before the expiration of his tenure.<br /> Specifically, the union begged the President to redeem the 1,000 units of tricycle popularly known as ‘Keke’ which he promised during his presidential campaign in Lagos as part of his administration’s poverty alleviation scheme.<br /> Making the plea in Abuja, Friday, President of NACTOMORAS, Alhaji Muh’d Sani Hassan said that the President could use the fulfilment of the promise as his parting gift to the union.<br /> He explained that President Jonathan made the promise through Mr. Babajide Oluwasanmi which was also officially pronounced by the Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Hon. Musiliu Obanikoro during the union’s national convention in Lagos.<br /> Alhaji Hassan said that the union has saluted the courage of President Jonathan accepting the result of just concluded presidential election and also prayed for his successful handover to the incoming administration.<br /> “We also pray for the incoming President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, (retd) to have a successful, peaceful and above all God’s guidance in his tenure for the good of the entire citizens of our great country, Nigeria.”<br />Follow on Twitter @munirmuhd1</div>

Fact: How we defeated Jonathan – Tinubu

<div><div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">LAGOS — ALL Progressives Congress, APC, leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, yesterday, attributed the defeat of President Goodluck Jonathan in the last presidential election to a commonsense revolution anchored on a rebellion against the excesses of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.<br /> He spoke at a book launch in Lagos where Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka extolled him, and Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State as the drivers of the uprising, which he said, was fast-tracked by President Jonathan’s mishandling of the Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF crisis.<br /> The public presentation of the book “Dynamics of Change: The Amaechi Years”, was witnessed by a cross section of the political class and civil society including governors, former governors, senators among others.<br /> Justice Adolphus Karibi-Whyte, who was chairman of the occasion, said the book only offered a glimpse into the vision that stimulated the infrastructure and developments during the Amaechi years in Rivers State.<br /> Amaechi on his part gave a peep into his political challenges, noting how even when he got Tinubu angry before the APC convention, both men set aside their issues for the common goal of achieving victory in the elections that were yet to be held at that time.<br /> <div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_520354" style="width: 422px;"><a href="http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/05/how-we-defeated-jonathan-tinubu/dynamics-of-change/" rel="attachment wp-att-520354"><img alt="BOOK PRESENTATION—The book, Dynamics of Change, The Amaechi Years was launched, yesterday at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos. From left, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, National Leader, Apc; Justice Adolphus Karibi-Whyte, Chairman of occasion; Mrs Judith Amaechi, Mr Tonye Cole, book presenter; Dr Kayode Fayemi, former Governor of Ekiti State; Dr Chidi Amuta, co-editor of the book; Alhaji Abdulazeez Yari, Governor of Zamfara State and Mr Rotimi Amaechi, Governor of Rivers State during the book presentation. Photo: Lamidi Bamidele. More photos on Page 16." class="size-full wp-image-520354" height="222" src="http://cdn1.vanguardngr.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/412x222xDynamics-of-Change.jpg.pagespeed.ic.Mh6PXfZKow.jpg" width="412" /></a><div class="wp-caption-text">BOOK PRESENTATION—The book, Dynamics of Change, The Amaechi Years was launched, yesterday at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos. From left, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, National Leader, Apc; Justice Adolphus Karibi-Whyte, Chairman of occasion; Mrs Judith Amaechi, Mr Tonye Cole, book presenter; Dr Kayode Fayemi, former Governor of Ekiti State; Dr Chidi Amuta, co-editor of the book; Alhaji Abdulazeez Yari, Governor of Zamfara State and Mr Rotimi Amaechi, Governor of Rivers State during the book presentation. Photo: Lamidi Bamidele. More photos on Page 16.</div></div>Tinubu, who was guest of honour at the presentation of the book written by Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi and Dr. Chidi Amuta in his comments said: “Amaechi is an example of common sense revolution. In the course of the historic campaigns for the 2015 Presidential Election, I was emphatic that the election itself was a great opportunity to popularise and test the noble idea of a Common Sense Revolution in Nigeria. Soon enough, we found in the resonance of the APC Change mantra with the electorate a confirmation that Nigeria needed a Common Sense Revolution that is non-violent.<br /> “Indeed there is a publication with that title authored by me in which I argued that Nigeria was ripe for a change of leadership and Nigerians must act in a Common Sense and rational way in choosing their leaders. The results of the March Presidential elections and that of April have demonstrated clearly the desire by Nigerians for change.”<br /> The APC national leader, however, urged the new crop of leaders to embark on policies that will alleviate the plight of Nigerians.”<br /> Continuing, he said: “Elections over, both the leaders and citizens must brace up to meet the challenges required to build a better, more prosperous nation. Indeed, even as we subscribe to the tenets of Common Sense Revolution, we must retool ourselves, the new leadership must embark on policies that will improve the general well-being of the mass of our people.<br /> “It is a positive one to rescue, repair and restructure the nation and its institutions in ways that further collective prosperity and well-being. The only violence that is to be done is to violence, injustice and poverty themselves. At its essence, a common sense revolution is a call to return to a level of decency in the relationship between government and the governed, between each one of us and his neighbour.<br /> <a href="http://community.vanguardngr.com/photo/photo/listTagged?tag=CHANGE" target="_blank">See more photos here </a><br /> “In my view, our gathering to celebrate the landmark achievements of my brother, Governor Rotimi Amaechi, in Rivers State in the last eight years is also another justifiable celebration of idea of Common Sense Revolution for development. The publication of the book, <strong><em>Dynamics of Change: The Amaechi Years</em></strong> is a timely service to history.”<br /> <strong>Governors’ Forum crisis</strong><br /> Lauding Amaechi’s leadership of the NGF, the former Lagos State governor said “this occasion is all the more remarkable because of the huge challenges Amaechi has been facing especially in his second term from an extremely hostile federal government. His role as the chairman of the Governors’ Forum invariably brought him into a bitter collision with President Jonathan.<br /> “Governor Amaechi and most of the governors want a properly defined federalist relationship with the government at the centre. The President would have none of that as in the notable example of the management of the federation account. This is, therefore, another great opportunity to salute Amaechi’s rare courage of conviction and sense of purpose. The APC has every cause to be proud of him,” Tinubu said.<br /> <strong>Amaechi took a risky decision</strong><em>—Soyinka</em><br /> In his comment, Prof. Soyinka commended Amaechi for standing up to President Jonathan during the NGF crisis. He identified Tinubu and Amaechi as the two main agents who brought down the PDP.<br /> “The political atmosphere today, whatever you call it, change or hope or cautious hope and naked hope or careless hope, I recognise two personalities, in particular, who led the chant of change. One of them, I call him the architect of the process, the architect, in fact, that houses the essence of hope. That is Ahmed Bola Tinubu. The other person was unconsciously, perhaps, the arrow head of that charge that led to the change and that is the man that we gather here to celebrate.”<br /> Soyinka said Amaechi took a risky decision during the NGF crisis that inevitably exposed him to the wrath of the presidency.<br /> “He (Amaechi) was the one who said no, we cannot turn the clock backwards. Nothing about the philosophy of the clock runs against what we were hoping for. It was a very unpopular and risky decision to take. But it exposed to us the basic arithmetic fallacy of governance in demonstrating that when 16 is said to be higher than 19, something is fundamentally wrong and the same kind of arithmetic leads to the cooking of figures in governance. And it was within that nexus that he stood up and challenged even his own colleagues, and said let’s change the mentality of the stock, let us re-orientate it towards the people and towards the nation and the electorate.<br /> “I remember someone very close to me that said I hear you are close to Rotimi Amaechi, tell that young man that he is going to destroy himself, and I said, you know something, you have been in a position where I have had the opportunity of being your teacher and your mentor and you mean to say you never learnt from me that it is better to be destroyed on the basis of what you really live for? And you want me to deliver such a message? That person who is in Aso Rock wanted me to tell Amaechi to back off, to slow down and that he is playing with fire and playing with a catapult against big guns. I never delivered that message. All I did was to study him more closely and wait to see.”<br /> <strong>Karibi-Whyte commends Amaechi</strong><br /> Justice Karibi-Whyte commended Amaechi for embarking on developmental projects that were beneficial to the people of Rivers State, saying it was only a peep into the successful adventure of Amaechi in the state. “From my observation, I believe those who have written, wrote from the position which they thought but they did not to a large extent, look behind the facade of the motivating factors because I believe that he had been pained that nobody had seen the problems which he was foreseeing when he brought about schools, health centres in every local government, roads, education.”<br /> <strong>I was determined to effect change</strong><em>—Amaechi</em><br /> Giving the background of the challenges he faced after joining the APC, Governor Amaechi noted the sacrifice he and other leaders made for the eventual victory that was realised with the victory over the PDP in the presidential election last March.<br /> “I am determined that there should be a change because if there’s no change, things will not move. Even before the party convention, I got Asiwaju Tinubu angry. I went to him and implored that we should not fight or disagree over issues. I told him that the important thing was for us to win first and after which, we can disagree. I believe that we must win and make a change, for anything that will not bring that change; I am ready to make a sacrifice.<br /> I am proud to be a part of the change process. I am not stubborn but principled. I speak the truth and abide by the rules.”<br /> On the crisis that engulfed the NGF, Amaechi, who is the chairman of the forum, accused the president of instigating the crisis.<br /> He said: “In the Governors’ Forum, we set up a mechanism where we go from state to state to see how the governors were faring. Unfortunately, the President scattered the Governors’ Forum”.<br /> Extolling Soyinka’s virtues, he said he is the only person whose bag he has ever carried because of the respect he has for him.<br /> <strong>ROLL CALL</strong><br /> Governor Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Governor Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Governor Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara), Justice Adolphus Karibi-Whyte, Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, Bishop of Sokoto, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah; Chief John Oyegun-APC National Chairman; Asiwaju Bola Tinubu—former Lagos State governor; Chief Bisi Akande, Engineer Segun Oni, Dr Kayode Fayemi—former governor of Ekiti State; Otunba Niyi Adebayo— former governor of Ekiti State; Business mogul, Alhaji Aliko Dangote; Jim Ovia—former CEO of Zenith Bank; Akinwumi Ambode—Lagos State governor-elect; Mallam Nasir El-Rufai-Kaduna State governor-elect; Mr Samuel Nanlong—Plateau State governor-elect; Mr Sam Amuka, Publisher, Vanguard Newspapers; Senator Magnus Abe, Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora, Senator Daisy Danjuma and Alabo Graham Douglas.<br /> - See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/05/how-we-defeated-jonathan-tinubu/#sthash.9vYLpHeS.dpuf</div></div>

Breaking News: Senate summons Okonjo – Iweala, Allison – Madueke, NNPC, others

<div>The Senate Joint Committees on Petroleum Resources (Upstream and Downstream),Friday, summoned the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the Minister of Petroleum Diezani Allison-Madueke, to appear <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_282961684" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">on Monday next week</span></span> over the biting fuel scarcity in the country. The Joint Committee also extended the summon to the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation; Managing Director Petroleum Pricing and Regulatory Agency;  and the Director of the  Department of Petroleum Resources.<br /> Also to appear before the Committee to explain the reason behind the lingering fuel scarcity that has caused untold hardship to many Nigerians are the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria; Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria and the National Association of Road Transport Owners.<br /> A statement issued in Abuja by the Chairmen of the two committees,  Senators Emmanuel Paulker (Upstream) and Magnus Abe (Downstream), explained that the invitation to the relevant stakeholders in the oil and gas was as a result of the assignment given to them by the senate.<br /> It will be recalled that the Senate, <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_282961685" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">Thursday</span></span>, directed its Committees on Petroleum Resources, Upstream and Downstream to unravel the reason behind the lingering fuel scarcity in the country and report back within two weeks.<br /> The Senate Deputy Leader, Abdul Ningi had drew the attention of the Senate over the persistent fuel scarcity and its attendant consequence on the country.<br /> Senator Ningi had also urged the Senate to look into the matter with a view to finding the causes and lasting solution to the problem.<br /> The statement by the Joint Committees said that it was in view of the development the Senate directed its Committees on Downstream Petroleum sector and Petroleum Resources (Upstream), to investigate the matter and brief the Upper Chamber about their findings, <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_282961686" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">next Tuesday</span></span>.<br /> The  statement further stated that the Joint Committee extended the invitation to the affected individuals, agencies and groups was therefore necessary in order to obtain adequate information that would be needed to write their report for submission to the whole house.<br /><div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">The Senate Joint Committees on Petroleum Resources (Upstream and Downstream),Friday, summoned the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the Minister of Petroleum Diezani Allison-Madueke, to appear <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_282961684" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">on Monday next week</span></span> over the biting fuel scarcity in the country.<br /> The Joint Committee also extended the summon to the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation; Managing Director Petroleum Pricing and Regulatory Agency;  and the Director of the  Department of Petroleum Resources.<br /> Also to appear before the Committee to explain the reason behind the lingering fuel scarcity that has caused untold hardship to many Nigerians are the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria; Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria and the National Association of Road Transport Owners.<br /> A statement issued in Abuja by the Chairmen of the two committees,  Senators Emmanuel Paulker (Upstream) and Magnus Abe (Downstream), explained that the invitation to the relevant stakeholders in the oil and gas was as a result of the assignment given to them by the senate.<br /> It will be recalled that the Senate, <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_282961685" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">Thursday</span></span>, directed its Committees on Petroleum Resources, Upstream and Downstream to unravel the reason behind the lingering fuel scarcity in the country and report back within two weeks.<br /> The Senate Deputy Leader, Abdul Ningi had drew the attention of the Senate over the persistent fuel scarcity and its attendant consequence on the country.<br /> Senator Ningi had also urged the Senate to look into the matter with a view to finding the causes and lasting solution to the problem.<br /> The statement by the Joint Committees said that it was in view of the development the Senate directed its Committees on Downstream Petroleum sector and Petroleum Resources (Upstream), to investigate the matter and brief the Upper Chamber about their findings, <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_282961686" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">next Tuesday</span></span>.<br /> The  statement further stated that the Joint Committee extended the invitation to the affected individuals, agencies and groups was therefore necessary in order to obtain adequate information that would be needed to write their report for submission to the whole house.<br /> - See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/05/fuel-crisis-senate-summons-okonjo-iweala-allison-madueke-nnpc-others/#sthash.DpaQQuZI.dpuf</div><div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">The Senate Joint Committees on Petroleum Resources (Upstream and Downstream),Friday, summoned the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the Minister of Petroleum Diezani Allison-Madueke, to appear <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_282961684" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">on Monday next week</span></span> over the biting fuel scarcity in the country.<br /> The Joint Committee also extended the summon to the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation; Managing Director Petroleum Pricing and Regulatory Agency;  and the Director of the  Department of Petroleum Resources.<br /> Also to appear before the Committee to explain the reason behind the lingering fuel scarcity that has caused untold hardship to many Nigerians are the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria; Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria and the National Association of Road Transport Owners.<br /> A statement issued in Abuja by the Chairmen of the two committees,  Senators Emmanuel Paulker (Upstream) and Magnus Abe (Downstream), explained that the invitation to the relevant stakeholders in the oil and gas was as a result of the assignment given to them by the senate.<br /> It will be recalled that the Senate, <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_282961685" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">Thursday</span></span>, directed its Committees on Petroleum Resources, Upstream and Downstream to unravel the reason behind the lingering fuel scarcity in the country and report back within two weeks.<br /> The Senate Deputy Leader, Abdul Ningi had drew the attention of the Senate over the persistent fuel scarcity and its attendant consequence on the country.<br /> Senator Ningi had also urged the Senate to look into the matter with a view to finding the causes and lasting solution to the problem.<br /> The statement by the Joint Committees said that it was in view of the development the Senate directed its Committees on Downstream Petroleum sector and Petroleum Resources (Upstream), to investigate the matter and brief the Upper Chamber about their findings, <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_282961686" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">next Tuesday</span></span>.<br /> The  statement further stated that the Joint Committee extended the invitation to the affected individuals, agencies and groups was therefore necessary in order to obtain adequate information that would be needed to write their report for submission to the whole house.<br /> - See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/05/fuel-crisis-senate-summons-okonjo-iweala-allison-madueke-nnpc-others/#sthash.DpaQQuZI.dpuf</div><div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">The Senate Joint Committees on Petroleum Resources (Upstream and Downstream),Friday, summoned the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the Minister of Petroleum Diezani Allison-Madueke, to appear <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_282961684" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">on Monday next week</span></span> over the biting fuel scarcity in the country.<br /> The Joint Committee also extended the summon to the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation; Managing Director Petroleum Pricing and Regulatory Agency;  and the Director of the  Department of Petroleum Resources.<br /> Also to appear before the Committee to explain the reason behind the lingering fuel scarcity that has caused untold hardship to many Nigerians are the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria; Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria and the National Association of Road Transport Owners.<br /> A statement issued in Abuja by the Chairmen of the two committees,  Senators Emmanuel Paulker (Upstream) and Magnus Abe (Downstream), explained that the invitation to the relevant stakeholders in the oil and gas was as a result of the assignment given to them by the senate.<br /> It will be recalled that the Senate, <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_282961685" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">Thursday</span></span>, directed its Committees on Petroleum Resources, Upstream and Downstream to unravel the reason behind the lingering fuel scarcity in the country and report back within two weeks.<br /> The Senate Deputy Leader, Abdul Ningi had drew the attention of the Senate over the persistent fuel scarcity and its attendant consequence on the country.<br /> Senator Ningi had also urged the Senate to look into the matter with a view to finding the causes and lasting solution to the problem.<br /> The statement by the Joint Committees said that it was in view of the development the Senate directed its Committees on Downstream Petroleum sector and Petroleum Resources (Upstream), to investigate the matter and brief the Upper Chamber about their findings, <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_282961686" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">next Tuesday</span></span>.<br /> The  statement further stated that the Joint Committee extended the invitation to the affected individuals, agencies and groups was therefore necessary in order to obtain adequate information that would be needed to write their report for submission to the whole house.<br /> - See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/05/fuel-crisis-senate-summons-okonjo-iweala-allison-madueke-nnpc-others/#sthash.DpaQQuZI.dpuf<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">The Senate Joint Committees on Petroleum Resources (Upstream and Downstream),Friday, summoned the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the Minister of Petroleum Diezani Allison-Madueke, to appear <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_282961684" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">on Monday next week</span></span> over the biting fuel scarcity in the country.<br /> The Joint Committee also extended the summon to the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation; Managing Director Petroleum Pricing and Regulatory Agency;  and the Director of the  Department of Petroleum Resources.<br /> Also to appear before the Committee to explain the reason behind the lingering fuel scarcity that has caused untold hardship to many Nigerians are the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria; Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria and the National Association of Road Transport Owners.<br /> A statement issued in Abuja by the Chairmen of the two committees,  Senators Emmanuel Paulker (Upstream) and Magnus Abe (Downstream), explained that the invitation to the relevant stakeholders in the oil and gas was as a result of the assignment given to them by the senate.<br /> It will be recalled that the Senate, <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_282961685" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">Thursday</span></span>, directed its Committees on Petroleum Resources, Upstream and Downstream to unravel the reason behind the lingering fuel scarcity in the country and report back within two weeks.<br /> The Senate Deputy Leader, Abdul Ningi had drew the attention of the Senate over the persistent fuel scarcity and its attendant consequence on the country.<br /> Senator Ningi had also urged the Senate to look into the matter with a view to finding the causes and lasting solution to the problem.<br /> The statement by the Joint Committees said that it was in view of the development the Senate directed its Committees on Downstream Petroleum sector and Petroleum Resources (Upstream), to investigate the matter and brief the Upper Chamber about their findings, <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_282961686" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">next Tuesday</span></span>.<br /> The  statement further stated that the Joint Committee extended the invitation to the affected individuals, agencies and groups was therefore necessary in order to obtain adequate information that would be needed to write their report for submission to the whole house.<br /> - See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/05/fuel-crisis-senate-summons-okonjo-iweala-allison-madueke-nnpc-others/#sthash.DpaQQuZI.dpuf<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">The Senate Joint Committees on Petroleum Resources (Upstream and Downstream),Friday, summoned the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the Minister of Petroleum Diezani Allison-Madueke, to appear <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_282961684" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">on Monday next week</span></span> over the biting fuel scarcity in the country.<br /> The Joint Committee also extended the summon to the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation; Managing Director Petroleum Pricing and Regulatory Agency;  and the Director of the  Department of Petroleum Resources.<br /> Also to appear before the Committee to explain the reason behind the lingering fuel scarcity that has caused untold hardship to many Nigerians are the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria; Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria and the National Association of Road Transport Owners.<br /> A statement issued in Abuja by the Chairmen of the two committees,  Senators Emmanuel Paulker (Upstream) and Magnus Abe (Downstream), explained that the invitation to the relevant stakeholders in the oil and gas was as a result of the assignment given to them by the senate.<br /> It will be recalled that the Senate, <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_282961685" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">Thursday</span></span>, directed its Committees on Petroleum Resources, Upstream and Downstream to unravel the reason behind the lingering fuel scarcity in the country and report back within two weeks.<br /> The Senate Deputy Leader, Abdul Ningi had drew the attention of the Senate over the persistent fuel scarcity and its attendant consequence on the country.<br /> Senator Ningi had also urged the Senate to look into the matter with a view to finding the causes and lasting solution to the problem.<br /> The statement by the Joint Committees said that it was in view of the development the Senate directed its Committees on Downstream Petroleum sector and Petroleum Resources (Upstream), to investigate the matter and brief the Upper Chamber about their findings, <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_282961686" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">next Tuesday</span></span>.<br /> The  statement further stated that the Joint Committee extended the invitation to the affected individuals, agencies and groups was therefore necessary in order to obtain adequate information that would be needed to write their report for submission to the whole house.<br /> - See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/05/fuel-crisis-senate-summons-okonjo-iweala-allison-madueke-nnpc-others/#sthash.DpaQQuZI.dpuf</div></div></div><div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">The Senate Joint Committees on Petroleum Resources (Upstream and Downstream),Friday, summoned the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the Minister of Petroleum Diezani Allison-Madueke, to appear <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_282961684" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">on Monday next week</span></span> over the biting fuel scarcity in the country.<br /> The Joint Committee also extended the summon to the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation; Managing Director Petroleum Pricing and Regulatory Agency;  and the Director of the  Department of Petroleum Resources.<br /> Also to appear before the Committee to explain the reason behind the lingering fuel scarcity that has caused untold hardship to many Nigerians are the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria; Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria and the National Association of Road Transport Owners.<br /> A statement issued in Abuja by the Chairmen of the two committees,  Senators Emmanuel Paulker (Upstream) and Magnus Abe (Downstream), explained that the invitation to the relevant stakeholders in the oil and gas was as a result of the assignment given to them by the senate.<br /> It will be recalled that the Senate, <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_282961685" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">Thursday</span></span>, directed its Committees on Petroleum Resources, Upstream and Downstream to unravel the reason behind the lingering fuel scarcity in the country and report back within two weeks.<br /> The Senate Deputy Leader, Abdul Ningi had drew the attention of the Senate over the persistent fuel scarcity and its attendant consequence on the country.<br /> Senator Ningi had also urged the Senate to look into the matter with a view to finding the causes and lasting solution to the problem.<br /> The statement by the Joint Committees said that it was in view of the development the Senate directed its Committees on Downstream Petroleum sector and Petroleum Resources (Upstream), to investigate the matter and brief the Upper Chamber about their findings, <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_282961686" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">next Tuesday</span></span>.<br /> The  statement further stated that the Joint Committee extended the invitation to the affected individuals, agencies and groups was therefore necessary in order to obtain adequate information that would be needed to write their report for submission to the whole house.<br /> - See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/05/fuel-crisis-senate-summons-okonjo-iweala-allison-madueke-nnpc-others/#sthash.DpaQQuZI.dpuf</div></div>

Report: Lagos State Football Association Announces Naeto C and Wizkid as Eko Football Ambassadors

<div><div class=" preloading autoslide_false autoslidedelay__5 slideshow_page_big medium slideshow_container"><ul class="slideshow" style="height: 350px; width: 620px;"><li class="featured featured_container1"><a href="http://www.gistus.com/gs-c/uploads/2012/02/Nateo-C-Seyi-Akinwunmi-and-Wizkid-Eco-Football-Ambassadors.jpg" rel="lightbox[auto_group1]" style="display: inline-block; float: none; position: relative;"><img alt="" src="http://www.gistus.com/gs-c/uploads/2012/02/Nateo-C-Seyi-Akinwunmi-and-Wizkid-Eco-Football-Ambassadors.jpg" title="Nateo-C-Seyi-Akinwunmi-and-Wizkid Eco Football Ambassadors" /><span class="image_overlay_effect lightbox_image" style="display: block; opacity: 0; z-index: 5;"></span></a></li></ul></div><br />Rapper <strong>Naeto C </strong>and<strong> singer <strong>Wizkid</strong> </strong>has been announced ambassadors of Eko Football, a Lagos State soccer festival which will be holding its first event on the 27th to 3oth September 2012.<br />Organizers say the event is the convergence of football and the entertainment industry. The plan is to improve the level of football tourism in the country.<br />To deliver a successful event, Lagos State Football Association (LSFA) recently announced their partnership with storm 360.<br /><blockquote>‘<em>Storm 360 is extremely proud to be the producers of the very first annual Eko Football Festival and look forward to a long and positive association with the Lagos State Football Association. And with Wizkid and Naeto C ready to support this we feel that the Eko Football Festival will be an amazing event to bring football back home to the fans in Lagos State</em>’, Storm 360 C.E.O, Obi Asika says.</blockquote></div>

Names Of Those Buhari Submitted For Ministerial Posts READ MORE: http://www.jaxnigeria.blogspot.com

<div><div><strong>General Muhammadu Buhari has submitted to the security agencies for screening 40 names being considered for ministerial appointments .</strong><br /> According to Daily Post, the names were submitted by the president-elect about a week ago.<br /> <div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_440289" style="max-width: 750px;"><img alt="Names Of Those Buhari Submitted For Ministerial Posts" class="size-full wp-image-440289" height="432" src="http://i.cdnnaij.com/o/wgruVLQsp30yqF6hNUYe1S8S.jpg" width="750" /><div class="wp-caption-text">Tinubu, Amaechi, Buhari meet</div></div>The Department of State Services, the Directorate of Military Intelligence and the National Intelligence Agency are the security agencies screening the potential ministers.<br /> The names listed by the president-elect were mostly former PDP men who had defected to the APC, leading people to question where is the change.<br /> <strong><br /></strong> The names being screened include Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, the former Osun state governor and ousted PDP national secretary; Chief Bode Mustapha, the former PDP national auditor; an All Progressives Congress stalwart from Ogun state; and Engineer Segun Oni, the former Ekiti state governor and APC deputy national chairman (South West).<br /> </div><div> Others are Dr Kayode Fayemi, the immediate past governor of Ekiti state; Dr. Abba Ruma, a former minister for agriculture and water resources; and Chief Kanu Agabi, a former minister of justice.<br /> The list continues with Donald Duke, a former governor of Cross River state; Governor Raji Fashola of Lagos state; and Yinka Folashade Oredola, a pharmacist from Ondo state.<br /> <br />Others on the list are Rotimi Akeredolu, a former gubernatorial candidate in Ondo state; Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers state; Engineer Funsho Kupolokun, a former group managing director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation; Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwanso of Kano state; and Bisola Adegbenro, a senator-elect from Ogun state. <br />Also on the list are Isaiah Danjuma, the son of General TY Danjuma from Taraba state; Dele Momodu, the publisher of Ovation; Kehinde Lawanson, a former executive director of First Bank; and Chief Bayo Ojo (SAN), former minister of justice.<br /> The rest of the names will be published when security agencies confirm the names to newsmen.<br /> Buhari ran on the platform of change but critics have asked whether working with the old guard even with a new system can guarantee change? If you agree or disagree with this, leave your comment below.<br /> READ MORE: http://wwwjaxnigeria.blogspot.com</div></div>

Science: NASA Experiment Hitches Ride on X-37B Space Plane

<div><div class="fragment-media media-vertical slider-member centerMe member-static" style="width: 670px;"> <div class="media-hero-wrap"> <img class="media-hero" src="http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/blogs/dnews-files-2015-05-x37b-space-plane-670-jpg.jpg" /> <div class="over-wrap over-wrap-related"><div class="over-super"><img height="15px" src="http://static.ddmcdn.com/en-us/news/img/gallery-icon.png" width="13px" /> </div></div></div><div class="media-body-wrap"> <div class="media-body"> he United States Air Force’s robotic X-37B space plane will carry a NASA experiment to orbit when it launches on its next mystery mission Wednesday (May 20). The NASA payload, called the Materials Exposure and Technology Innovation in Space (METIS) investigation, aims to test how the space environment affects certain materials. The experiment is packed aboard the unmanned <a href="http://www.space.com/75-x-37b-spaceplane.html">X-37B spacecraft</a>, which is scheduled to blast off atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on Wednesday at 10:45 a.m. EDT (1445 GMT) from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.<br /> <div data-spx-slot="1">“By exposing materials to space and returning the samples to Earth, we gain valuable data about how the materials hold up in the environment in which they will have to operate,” said METIS principal investigator Miria Finckenor, a materials engineer at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. [<a href="http://www.space.com/29401-x-37b-space-plane-4th-mission-photos.html">See photos of the X-37B's fourth mission</a>]</div><a href="http://news.discovery.com/space/history-of-space/slide-show-military-mini-shuttle-landing-california.htm">Photos: Military Mini-Shuttle Completes Secret Mission</a><br /> <div class="fragment-media secondary-image media-vertical video-over"> <div class="media-hero-wrap"> <a class="event-click-tracking" data-link-position="Pos 1 : Image" data-module-name="left rail : linked video" data-track-rule="module" href="http://news.discovery.com/space/videos/space-richard-branson-unveils-sexiest-spaceship-ever.htm"> <img class="media-hero" src="http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/storymaker-human-space-trips-2012-0103120-250x150.jpg" /> <div class="over-main"><img height="38px" src="http://static.ddmcdn.com/en-us/news/img/video-icon.png" width="38px" /> <span>Play Video</span></div></a> </div><div class="media-body-wrap"> <div class="media-title"> </div><div class="media-body"> SpaceShipTwo, a six-passenger, two-pilot suborbital spaceship, is due to begin test flights beyond the atmosphere in 2012. </div><div class="media-sub"> Virgin Galactic </div></div></div>“Spacecraft designers can use this information to choose the best material for specific applications, such as thermal protection or antennas or any other space hardware,” Finckenor added.<br /> METIS will use some of the same materials as those placed on the <a href="http://www.space.com/16748-international-space-station.html">International Space Station</a> for the Materials on International Space Station Experiment (MISSE), which operated between 2001 and 2013 and flew more than 4,000 samples into space. Part of the goal is to look for more environmentally friendly materials that can be used in space, researchers said.<br /> “When we flew newly developed static-dissipative coatings on MISSE-2, we did not know they would be used for both the Curiosity rover and the SpaceX Dragon,” Finckenor said in <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-test-materials-to-fly-on-air-force-space-plane">the same statement</a>. (MISSE included several sets of experiments, and MISSE-2 was the second one.) “Some program we don’t know about now will be successful because engineers found the data they needed” on this experiment.<br /> <div data-spx-slot="1"><a href="http://news.discovery.com/space/private-spaceflight/robotic-space-plane-launches-in-mystery-mission-this-week-150518.htm">Robotic Space Plane Launches in Mystery Mission This Week</a></div>The reusable X-37B, which takes off vertically and lands horizontally on a runway, last landed in October 2014 after spending 674 days in orbit. It has flown three space missions so far, conducting activities that are mostly classified.<br /> The Air Force owns two X-37B spacecraft, both of which were built by Boeing’s Phantom Works division. The vehicles look like NASA’s now-retired space shuttle orbiters, but are much smaller — just 29 feet long by 9.5 feet tall (8.8 by 2.9 meters), with a wingspan of 15 feet (4.6 m). In fact, two X-37Bs could fit inside the space shuttle’s payload bay.<br /> The X-37B mission launching Wednesday is called OTV-4 (short for Orbital Test Vehicle-4). Air Force officials have not said how long the mission will last.</div><div class="media-body">\</div></div></div></div>