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 The drama continues as protesters have taken to the streets in Auchi, Governor Oshiomole's local government.

There is tension as the protesters are protesting over the outcome of the just concluded governorship election which saw Godwin Obaseki of All Progressives Congress (APC) emerge victorious.

More live photos below

 According to online sources, one of the companies indicted for alleged diversion of Internally Displaced Funds (IDP) has been linked to President Muhammadu Buhari’s in-laws.

Mahman Daura, who is President Muhammadu Buhari’s nephew happens to be the father in-law to one of the owners. According to a source, the company is owned by one Alhaji Bachir Sanusi Dantata and his son Bachir Bachir Dantata.

Yesterday, October 4, the company’s name was mentioned in the Nigerian Senate as one of the organisations indicted for alleged diversion of funds for IDPs.

In a motion sponsored by Senator Bashir Babakaka Gabai from Borno Central District, he noted that despite huge releases by federal government and donor agencies, the situation in IDP camps is far from cheering.

Senator Gabai alleged:
“Rather than use the money appropriated for the IDPs and the Northeast to ameliorate the problems, the focus of the disbursement so far made have been used to feather other interest”.
He cited examples of diversion of the money meant for the welfare of the people as including “award of N80.7 million to JMT Global Technologies Ltd for rehabilitation of Police Station in Kwambir, N203.357m to another company, Josman Technologies Limited for removal of invasive plant species along river channels and another N117 million paid to Lintex International for supply of temporary shelters with no record of these shelters anywhere”

Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Danladi Umar, has dismissed an application by Senate President Bukola Saraki asking him, to disqualify himself from hearing his trial on false asset declaration. Saraki is standing trial for alleged false declaration of assets while he was serving as governor of Kwara state.

Delivering judgement on Saraki's application today, the Chairman of the Tribunal said he would have disqualified himself if the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which established and binds the tribunal, had made provisions for such an instance where the CCT Chairman can unilaterally disqualify himself from a case.

He added that for the President to remove the Chairman or a member of the Tribunal, there must a written address from the president to the national assembly and a two-third consent from both chambers of the legislative.

He ruled that the allegation by Saraki that he is bias in his case is a "mere conjecture of the media" "The application of the defendant is not well founded and it is hereby refused" he ruled.

The Federal government has given an explanation as to why it has not obeyed yesterday's judgement by the Court of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, ordering it to immediately release the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, who has been in detention since last year over allegations of misappropriation of $2.1 billion arms fund.

Delivering judgement on a Fundamental Human rights suit filed by Dasuki, the court ruled that his arrest, detention and continued detention, was unlawful and arbitrary.

Speaking on the judgement, the Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, Salihu Isah, told Premium Times in an interview that the Federal government was still understudying the judgement.
“We cannot just react. We will first of all study the judgement to understand it’s content before taking a stand” he said

Oga Fayose this economic recession no dey affect you.Over here where I dey our governor dey struggle to pay teachers na em you wan give cars to two teachers.The teachers in my state fit get appointment for your state?Today in Ekiti, TWO TEACHERS will go home with these brand new KIA RIO.

That's the way Gov Fayose rewards the teachers annually.

Happy Teachers' Day.


I belong to no political party.I am a patriotic Nigerian.Irrespective of our party affiliations let us learn to encourage our leaders when they take the right steps.One love Nigeria!

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has rescued an abandoned baby girl in Abia State, southeast Nigeria.

The infant was dropped by the mother with a letter that the baby should not be sold but handed over to motherless babies’ home or any well-meaning Nigerian who can cater for her welfare.

Reacting to the development on Tuesday, the Abia State NSCDC Commandant, Walter Chika, noted that the right of every Nigerian child must be protected.

He revealed that the abandoned child was rescued by the Anti-Traffic Unit of the agency near a health centre in Avodim village in Umuahia South Local Government Area of the state.

Against Child’s Right

The NSCDC Commandant urged young women to ensure that they were ready for child care before engaging in acts that could result into pregnancy.

He stated that abandoning children under the disguise of inability to care for them was a criminal act and against the right of the Nigerian child.

Mr Chika also called on the mother to show sympathy for the child who needed her love.

He disclosed that discussion was ongoing with designated ministry to take responsibility for the child.

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the UAVision of Portugal. The MoU is aimed at enhancing existing collaboration between NAF and UAVision of Portugal for local production of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in Nigeria. It is pertinent to note that the discussion that led to the signing of today’s agreement actually began few months ago. Already, the collaboration had led to production of 4 UAVs prototypes with 2 each produced in Nigeria and Portugal.
Meanwhile, the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Mshl Sadique Abubakar has expressed the optimism that the locally produced UAVs would be commissioned before the end of October 2016. The CAS, further in his speech, identified other areas of possible collaboration with Portugal to include tactical flying training for NAF pilot and aircraft maintenance, stating that the essence of the collaboration is to exploit every areas of Portuguese technological development with a view to taking the NAF to the next level.
Prominent among the Portuguese delegation are Portuguese Ambassador to Nigeria, His Excellency Antonio Pedro Rodrigues da Silva and the representative of UAVision, Engr Nuno Simeon.

According to movie producer Yomi Fabiyi, Nollywood actor Baba Suwe, real name Babatunde Omidina is scarce on TV today because the actor isn’t well.


Babatunde Omidina was nabbed by men of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Muritala Mohammed International Airport in 2011 after illicit drugs was suspected in his body system.

Baba Suwe spent 3 weeks in NDLEA custody with the law enforcement agency waiting for him to excrete the cocaine. None of this happened.

Mr. Fabiyi reveals a long pipe was inserted into Baba Suwe’s anus among other things that has left him medically damaged.

Below is what he wrote on social

“On BABA SUWE: I am calling on all SENIOR COLLEAGUES in the entertainment world especially those close to Baba Suwe cos I don’t have everyone’s contact to please reachout to him asap. The torture done on him by NDLEA is vastly damaging his health at an alarming rate. He told me he no longer feel comfortable since that episode. Baba Suwe is a widower, he can hardly walk properly as I speak, let alone go to film. How will he feed and take care of the children aunty Moladun left behind?”

“This is an A-List Entertainer and this conspiracy of silence gives me MENTAL AGONY on my part, I don’t want to speak when it may be too late, I won’t forgive myself. He told me when I visited him that he is innocent of the accusations and yet a LONG PIPE was inserted through his anus, he was detained for too long amongst other things just because he was randomly suspected like every normal person. In my opinion, only lazy, ill-trained, unfit and uncivilised officers torture in the name of investigation. Torture is criminal and sinful. If this accusation is found to be true by independent investigators, it shouldn’t go unpunished.”

“The court asked NDLEA to pay him 25million for damages which is yet to be obeyed but to me an OPEN APOLOGY will placate him and illustrate some dignified and civil approach from a government agency that made him go through all that without coming up with a single proof after that prolonged detention and drama. He who assert MUST prove! NDLEA needs to restore public confidence by doing the needful on this matter. And until individuals and government agency begin to respect fundamental HUMAN RIGHT and enhance duty of care, the essence of Nigeria’s FREEDOM is far from been realistic. No malice is intended against NDLEA with this outcry, I just hope the leadership see this as a clarion call for getting it right and save the agency from sending an innocent person to an early grave whereby leaving his children to suffer unjustly. My humble take. Thank you. #JUSTICEFORBABASUWE #SAVEBABASUWE #SAYNOTOTORTURE”

It is not rare for celebrity singers to fall during electrifying performance.

Small Doctor, is the latest celebrity to make an epic fall during a performance and this happened while he was performing his hit song ‘Mosquito Killer’ at Jimmy Jatt’s concert.

Watch the video below

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Boko Haram demanded from the Federal Government €5billion (about N1,706,850,000,000) to free 219 Chibok girls . The Euro exchanged for approximately N341.37 last night.

President Muhammadu Buhari allegedly got wind of the August 27, 1985 coup d’état against him as a military Head of State but he did not foil it to avoid executing some senior Army officers.

These facts are contained in the book, “Muhammadu Buhari: The challenges of leadership in Nigeria”, authored by Prof. John Paden.

The book, which was presented to the public on Monday at the International Conference Centre in Abuja, contained some unknown issues about the President.

But the insider’s account on the botched negotiation between Boko Haram and the Federal Government provided fresh insights into the plight of the Chibok girls.

Some excerpts from the book are: “An additional issue was the status of the Chibok girls. Secret negotiations had been held regarding an exchange of Boko Haram prisoners for the girls.

“On several occasions, prisoners were taken to Maiduguri to facilitate an exchange. But these negotiations stalled when Boko Haram demanded a ransom of €5billion for the girls.

“The dilemma for the DSS, which was handling the negotiations, was that a military assault to rescue the girls would almost certainly result in their deaths at the hands of their Boko Haram captors.

“But the Nigerian government was not going to accede to Boko Haram’s extra-ordinary demand for a vast sum of money which would no doubt be used to fund future attacks.

“One or two girls were able to escape their captors in May, but the rest remained captive and the impasse continued

“The Chibok girls were not alone in their grim fate. Hundreds if not thousands, of persons had been captured by Boko Haram in the North-East. Buhari would need to continue degrading Boko Haram until he could tighten the noose around its Sambisa hideouts and bring a close end to this painful episode.”

On why Buhari placed his ministers on lower salaries and allowances, the author said the President wanted to make ministerial appointment less attractive as a way of curbing corruption in public office.

He went on: “Buhari was trying to eliminate the allure of ministerial appointments as a means of accruing wealth either through receiving a generous salary or through exploiting power for corrupt personal gain.
“Of course, the effort to combat corruption also required creating disincentives for corrupt practices strong enough to dissuade ministers from ‘chopping’ on the side. The penalty if caught would be dismissal and public shaming.”

Concerning the arrest of a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, the author said the ties between the President and ex-Prime Minister David Cameron made it possible.

“Yet the close ties between Buhari and British (former) Prime Minister David Cameron facilitated efforts to launch a coordinated effort to bring money launderers to book, as demonstrated in the role of the London Metropolitan Police in the case of Diezani Alison-Madueke.”

The National Crime Agency (NCA) in the UK arrested and quizzed Mrs Alison-Madueke and four others on October 2, 2015 for alleged bribery and corruption and money laundering.

Also the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has interrogated between three and five more suspects since Mrs Alison-Madueke’s interrogation by the NCA.

The same NCA had last year obtained permission from a Westminster Magistrate’s Court to seize £27,000 from Mrs Alison-Madueke and two other women.

Regarding the counter-coup of August 27, 1985 which led to Buhari’s removal as a military Head of State and the emergence of ex-President Ibrahim Babangida, the author said the President knew a plot was coming but he did not want to shed blood.

The book reads: “The question has arisen subsequently as to whether Buhari knew about the countercoup in advance.

“Given his ‘appreciation’ of complex situations, it is argued by some, how could he not have known? Some of those closest to Buhari at the time have subsequently argued that he did know a countercoup was coming. They insist that Buhari calculated that to preempt this plan would have meant executing six or eight senior officers. This he was unwilling to do.”

The book explained that Buhari was detained after the 1985 coup in Akure and Benin from August 27, 1985 to December 1988.

The book states: “Babangida also tried to look for ways to indict Buhari personally, but his integrity and grassroots popularity helped protect him.

“After the Babangida countercoup, three of the ministers were retained. Babangida also set up the Aboyade probe into the finances of Buhari and some key ministers but the investigators could find no evidence of any personal aggrandisement on his part during his term as Head of State.

“Significantly, the three ministers retained from the previous administration by Babangida-Lukman, Bali and David-West— strongly defended the integrity of Buhari and his close associates, and no charges were ever brought against Buhari.

“Meanwhile, Buhari had been taken from Lagos by plane to Akure in Ondo State. After a few months in Akure, he was taken to Benin City in the south of the country, where he would stay under house arrest until his release in December 1988.”

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Source: The Nation

The Comptroller-General of Customs, Mr Hameed Ali at a joint news conference on illegal rice importation into Nigeria Tuesday in Abuja, said 99% of rice smuggled through the land borders into the country are not fit for human consumption.
He said:

“Importation of rice into the country is not banned but restricted on the point of entry to seaports only. `We remain firm in our resolve to enforce the restriction of rice imports only to our seaports. “We have re-organised our anti-smuggling patrols to provide additional capability and bite,’’
He added that samples of some of the rice seized by Customs over a period of time were referred to NAFDAC to ascertain their condition. But that test results have certified that smuggled rice through the borders was unfit for human consumption and discouraged Nigerians from buying them.

He said:
“We have seen rice conveyed in open wooden canoes across our creeks and water ways with generous amount of dirty waters splashing on them. “We have seen some mixed with other grains bags to deceive customs; some are stuffed inside any available crevice and compartments of vehicles, including the engine area.
“The concealed rice is thereafter re-bagged half cooked and presented in our markets for sale as imported rice.
“Bags of rice meant for Nigerians’ consumption (are) being conveyed in coffins inside make shift ambulance vehicles. “Often time, importers in the borders have to wait for months for the green light from corrupt customs officials before they gamble their ways across the borders.
“Rice being a perishable product, lose valuable shelve life in non conductive strong conditions. “We have strong evidence linking some reputable importers to cases of re-bagging expired rice to prolong their shelve life,’’ he added.
Ali also said that those who promote economic subterfuge were seeking a re-introduction of quota system to import 1.5 million tonnes through the entry point “We will be waiting for them.”

Ali said that many state governments are investing in local production of rice and that the Federal Government, through the intervention by CBN and Bank of Industry, is also investing in the local production of rice within the country.

Ali said Kebbi State Government has so far harvested over 700,000 tonnes of rice from irrigation farming.


Source: Guardian

In a statement released by the Defence Headquarters, the authorities have re-emphasised that the military will abide with the ongoing negotiation effort of the Federal Government with militants in order to have peaceful settlement of the Niger Delta problem.

However, while trying to achieve this feat, the military has warned that it would not tolerate "any individual or group taking its good gesture of adherence to ceasefire and peaceful disposition to the impasse for granted."

Hence, they will respond proportionately to any armed attacks against its location in a decisive but professional manner, in line with its constitutional mandate of defending innocent citizens as well as national critical infrastructure.

The Military states that the Armed Forces has the capacity to defend itself and warns various belligerent groups in either the Niger Delta or any other part of the nation to desist from any act capable of jeopardising peace and security of Nigeria or they will regret the consequences of their actions.

A National Diploma holder of a polytechnic in Delta State, Anene Odikose, has been arrested by the Ogun State Police Command for impersonation.

A police uniform, an identity card bearing his name and a Honda car were said to have been recovered from him by operatives attached to the Anti-Robbery Squad of the Agbado division.

According to Punch Metro, the team apprehended 31-year-old Odikose on Monday during a stop-and-search at a checkpoint on Matogun Road, Oke-Aro, in the Ifo Local Government Area of the state, where he lives.

 The suspect, who hails from Aniocha North, Delta State, had reportedly hid under the Force to defraud and harass unsuspecting members of the public before luck ran out on him.

In a chat with a Punch correspondent, Odikose said he was dismissed in 2011 while undergoing training at the police college in Rivers State.

He said the shame of returning home made him to approach a police friend, who assisted him in obtaining the uniform and the ID card after he paid N500.

He said, “I am an ND holder in Business Administration. I was enlisted in the police in October 2011. During the 15-month training at the police college in Rivers State, some officers came from Abuja to screen us. Unfortunately, I was dismissed on the grounds of physical fitness.

When I left the college, I was shy to go back to the village and tell my people that I had been disqualified. I went to live with a brother in Asaba (Delta State).

When my friends completed the training, I met with one of them, Henry, who was posted to Calabar, Cross River State. He collected N500 from me and helped me process a police ID card. He also gave me a police uniform.”

Odikose, however, denied using the ID card and the uniform to commit crime, saying he only tendered the ID card at checkpoints to evade police interrogation whenever he drove out his car, whose documents were incomplete.

“I came to Lagos in 2014. I was working as a security guard and a driver around Isolo (Lagos State). I got the ID card to avoid being intimidated on the road when I am driving. I have never used it to commit crime. I am a focused person. It was very unfortunate that I find myself in this kind of situation.

I had never shown the ID card to policemen until that day. All I want is mercy. I have two children and a wife to fend for,” he added.

The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the case would be charged to court after investigation.

He said, “At about 10.50am, a team of anti-robbery policemen on routine patrol around Oke-Aro, Matogun area, intercepted a Honda Civic with number plate, BW891LSR, driven by the suspect. He identified himself as a serving policeman and presented a Nigeria Police Force constable warrant ID card. On interrogation, it was discovered that he was a fake policeman.

Operatives conducted a search in his apartment, which led to the recovery of a police uniform, three police belts, one police headdress with crest and a police training manual. He will be charged to court after investigation.”

The current economic recession in Nigeria is affecting not just the country but other countries in West Africa.

Speaking on this Mr Marcel de Souza, the President of the ECOWAS commission, said that the recession being experienced in Nigeria has a negative impact on the sub-region’s overall economic performance.
While presenting the community status report at the ongoing second ordinary session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja on Tuesday, October 4, De Souza who was represented by the commission’s vice president, Mr Edward Singhateh revealed this.

He also revealed how Nigeria’s recession was affecting the general Gross Domestic Product (GDP), saying that the sub-region’s GDP had declined to three per cent in 2016 from 5.6 per cent in 2013.
Since Nigeria’s economy represents two thirds of the sub-region’s GDP, this was to be expected. He also explained that Nigeria’s GDP had dropped to 2.3 per cent in 2016 from 5.4 per cent in 2013, one of the lowest in the sub-region.

Speaking on the reason behind the reduction, De Souza explained that the drop in Nigeria’s growth rate was due to the reduction in oil prices.

He said that The Gambia also had a reduction in its growth rate to 2.3 per cent from 4.8 per cent in 2013. Liberia and Cape Verde, he said, had a growth rate of 2.5 and 2.9 per cent respectively from 8.1 and one per cent respectively.

Cote d’Ivoire was the member state with the highest growth rate from 9.3 per cent in 2013 to 9.8 per cent in 2016. While some other member states have experienced a growth rate of between 4.5 per cent and 6.6 per cent in 2016 against 3.3 per cent to 13 percent in 2013.

Speaking on Sierra Leone, he said: “The decline in Sierra Leone’s growth rate from 13 per cent to 21.5 per cent was mainly due to the negative impact of the Ebola Virus Disease on the country.’’

Meanwhile, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Court of Justice has declared the arrest and detention of former national security adviser Sambo Dasuki by the Nigerian government as unlawful. The court also ordered that a fine be paid to Dasuki.

Ruling on the case brought against the federal government before it by Dasuki over his continued detention on Tuesday, October 4, the court said the government’s action was arbitrary and anti-democratic.

Abuja – President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday called for stronger global alliance in intelligence and information sharing to halt the scourge of terrorism across the world.

The president made the call in Abuja when he received Letters of Credence from the Ambassadors of the Republic of Tunisia, Mr Jalel Trabelsi and Federal Republic of Germany, Dr Bernhard Stephen Schlagheck.

Ambassador of Kingdom of Sweden, Mrs Inger Ultvedt and the High Commissioner of Canada, Mr Christopher Thornley, also submitted their Letters of Credence to the president.

According to statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, Buhari said that countries must always be on alert and willing to share information on activities of terrorists.

He disclosed that Nigeria received support from several countries to fight Boko Haram insurgents in the North-East, after the invitation to the G-7 meeting in Germany in 2015.

He said that the support helped in the recording of remarkable progress in degrading the insurgents group and saving many lives.

“The terrorists are all over the place and we must be more watchful.

“If a developed country like France can be attacked by terrorists to the point of killing about 130 people, then what more of developing countries.

“We need to build and keep increasing our capacities to network and stay ahead.

“We need to build these capacities across borders because terrorists operate across borders,’’ he said.

The president said that rehabilitation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in the North-East also received attention from some countries, which provided services and materials to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the zone.

He stated that the government had instituted reforms in various sectors of the economy to ensure stability and integrity in operations.

He pledged to create a more enabling environment for new partnerships and attractions for Foreign Direct Investments.

In his response, the Canadian High Commissioner, said that the reforms in Nigerian economy were necessary to build global confidence and deeper relationships that would benefit the country.

‘‘We want you to know that Canada stands by you as a friend to Nigeria, and your government,’’ Thornley said.

A member of the kidnap gang that abducted the wife of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Margaret Emefiele, and three others, last Friday, has disclosed that the gang had no inkling of who their victim was.

Vanguard reports that the suspect, Musa Muhammad, and five others, who are Fulani and are currently being interrogated at the Edo State Police Command, were said to have confessed that they were simply on a random kidnapping operation on Benin-Agbor Expressway, when they accosted
Mrs. Emefiele’s convoy.

A source at the Command said that the kidnappers also confessed that they kidnapped a male motorist few minutes before Mrs Emelie’s convoy ran into their trap, but that they released the male motorist, when they realized the huge value of their new catch.

The Inspector General of Police was said to have deployed police reconnaissance helicopters, sniffer dogs and his operatives at the Special Intelligence Response Team, IRT, headed by Abba Kyari, to rescue the victims and arrest the suspects.

Mohammed was trailed few hours after the release of Mrs Emefiele to his hideout in Edo State and was said to have provided information that aided the police in apprehending five other members of the gang.

Vanguard adds that the IRT operatives and their counterparts from Edo State are currently making efforts to apprehend three other members of the gang, who are believed to be in possession of the gang’s rifles and a large part of the loot. 

 A prostitute has forced a man to part with a handsome amount after they fought seriously in public over payment for sexual services she allegedly rendered to him.

A man was left embarrassed and stranded after engaging a prostitute in a fight.

H-metro reports that the incident occurred along Selous Avenue last Friday and left the man US$200 poorer and stranded as his journey to Zambia was cut short since it was the only money he had on him. The hooker was only identified as Petronella.

According to the report, Petronella reportedly pounced on the man, held him by the collar and searched his pair of trousers and took US$200 meant for the journey.

“I never hooked her for s*x as alleged but she asked me to stop and started accusing me of failing to pay her for sucking my manhood the previous day,” he said.

“She never gave me the chance to defend myself and started searching my pockets and got off with my US$200 I wanted to use as bus fare to Zambia.

“I was just walking down the street when she approached me and her colleagues were following closely and I could not fight her. I could have been killed,” he added.

However, Petronella who is a popular prostitute in the area did not waste time after collecting the man’s money as she hired a taxi to Mbare National where most hookers who extort their potential clients hide.

The incident is becoming rampant in the area as many men have lost money after prostitutes accost them on the streets with allegations that they owe them money for services. In some cases, many are robbed and extorted.

Some of the cases go unreported to the police as victims are afraid of stigmatization.

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has commenced another round of air interdiction missions codenamed ‘OPERATION FOREST STORM’ in the North East. This new phase of offensive air operations is aimed at further degrading the capabilities of the Boko Haram Terrorists (BHT) in the Sambisa general area with a view to restrict the freedom of action of the insurgents as well as neutralise any threat posed to movement of own ground forces in continuing with their rescue operations. The operation, which commenced about 3 days ago on 2 October 2016, is expected to last few days. During this period, the NAF would be conducting series of air interdictions to take out a number of carefully selected targets in the Sambisa Forest.

Meanwhile, the Air Component of OPERATION DELTA SAFE has continued to rid the creeks in the Niger Delta of illegal oil refineries and barges used for carrying stolen petroleum products. The NAF today, using the EC-135 helicopters, destroyed illegal refineries and barges along east of Isaa town, Borikiri, old Bakana as well as Bakana and Bille Communities. Armed patrol over the affected areas also showed other illegal human activities as people were seen digging bays to bury storage tanks, drums and jerry cans. While urging these criminal elements to seek legitimate means of livelihood, it is pertinent to state that the NAF will not relent in its spirited effort to stamp out these acts of economic sabotage and illicit activities in the region and other parts of the country.

The federal government has advertised the sale of two aircraft in the presidential fleet.

A Falcon 7x and Hawker 4000 are the aircraft to be disposed, according to an advert placed in a national daily.

Interested buyers were asked to inspect the Falcon at the presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International, Airport, Abuja, and the Hawker at Cessna Zurich Citation Service Centre, Zurich, Switzerland.

The office of the national security adviser (NSA), which is in charge of the sale, said all bids should be quoted in US dollars.

The number of the aircraft in the presidential fleet has been a subject of discussion, with critics lamenting the cost of maintaining them in a period of economic crisis.

Ben Bruce, senator representing Bayelsa east, who has been one of the vocal voices in the national assembly, advised President Muhammadu Buhari to sell off all the jets.

“I appeal to @MBuhari to sell off our 11 presidential jets. Maintaining them at the current ₦5.3 Billion per annum is against #commonsense. Does it make #commonsense that our presidential air fleet is larger than the combined fleet of the Queen of England and the British PM?” he once wrote on Twitter.

In September, Garba Shehu, senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, hinted that the aircraft in the fleet would soon be reduced.

“There is a govt committee already in place, working to reduce the number of aircraft in the Presidential fleet,” he also wrote on Twitter.

 According to social media reports, supporters of the APC gubernatorial candidate in Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu and another APC guber aspirant, Segun Abraham recently clashed brutally leading to police intervention.

As the November 26 governorship election in Ondo State gradually draws nearer, the skirmishes within the ranks of the All Progressives Congress following a controversial primary election on the 3rd of September which produced Rotimi Akeredolu as the party’s governorship flag bearer has degenerated into a ‘street fight’.

A vicious clash recently broke out between the supporters of Akeredolu and Segun Abrahim, the 2nd runner-up in the APC Ondo primary election which the latter has challenged in futility.

According to a tweet by Sahara Reporters, the police has intervened in the fracas and the APC office in Ondo has been secured to forestall further damage by the aggrieved groups.

Investigations by Tori News reveals a ‘Reconciliatory Committee’ is set to be inaugurated by the APC leaders at the national level to appeal to the warring groups over the emergence of Akeredolu so as to ensure a successful prosecution of the forthcoming election in the state.

The major aim of the committee is to secure the support of the party’s ‘big fish’ Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu whose anointed candidate, Segun Abraham failed to scale through the primaries.

Meanwhile, Akeredolu has continued to soar high in popularity due to his refined grassroot campaign strategy as against the People’s Democratic Party governorship candidate, Eyitayo Jegede alleged to be taking refuge behind his principal, Governor Olusegun Mimiko.

See a screenshot by Sahara Reporters below: