The demons of President Goodluck Jonathan

Few articles in print can be as troubling as “The Spiritual Side of Aso Villa,” published by former Nigeria presidential adviser Reuben Abati on October 14.
Mr. Abati’s account portrays the Nigerian seat of power under Mr. Goodluck Jonathan as having being under spiritual bondage, and suggests that performance was impossible.
The situation was so bad under Mr. Jonathan that staff were always falling sick, according to the account. Men routinely reported they had become impotent, and their wives comforted themselves with sex videos and toys. Mysterious fires were common in homes of villa staff.
It was so bad that someone warned the writer that he was “coming to the villa using Lux soap, but that most people around the place always bathed in the morning with blood. Goat blood. Ram blood. Whatever animal blood…He said there were persons in the Villa walking upside down…”
A pastor told Abati the villa was full of evil spirits and too much human sacrifice. Someone always died. People “lost daughters and sons, brothers and uncles, mothers and fathers…”
Faulty presidential aircraft, one enduring a bird strike in Kenya. In Norway, a helicopter bearing President Jonathan almost crashing.

Fix infrastructure before wooing investors – APGA tells Ikpeazu

The Abia State chapter of the All Progressives Grand Alliance has urged Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to address the problem of poor infrastructure, multiple taxation and insecurity before wooing foreign investors to the state.
The party noted that if the governor was actually serious about bringing investors to the state, he should provide an enabling environment that would make prospective investors willing to invest in Abia.
The party stated this on Saturday in a statement issued by its state Chairman, Rev. Augustine Ehiemere, in Umuahia, the state capital.
APGA posited that the lull in government activities, especially in terms of project execution and

Ondo APC, INEC bicker over rigging allegation

The All Progressives Congress in Ondo State has called on the police and the Department of State Services to thoroughly investigate the activities of the Independent National Electoral Commission in the state.
The APC alleged that the commission was working with the Peoples Democratic Party to rig the upcoming governorship poll.
The party, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Abayomi Adesanya, said there was the need for a total overhaul of INEC ahead of the November 26 governorship election in the state.
Adesanya accused the Ondo State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Segun Agbaje, and the commission’s Administrative Secretary, Kabir Omosanya, of collaborating with a faction of the PDP in the state to rig the election.
He alleged that the two officers of the commission had been working with key loyalists of

PDP govt spent N2.1bn on sweets, juice – Kaduna commissioner

The Kaduna State Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Mohammad Abdullahi, on Saturday, alleged that the previous Peoples Democratic Party-led administration in the state spent N2.1billion on sweets, juice and food, annually.
Mr. Abdullahi made this known in Kaduna at a round table discussion on the Kaduna State 2017 budget proposal, organised by the Kaduna State chapter of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ.
The commissioner also revealed that N500 million was spent, annually, on purchase of newspapers by the PDP administration.
He, however, stated that the All Progressives Congress-led administration had since decided to cut down on such expenses by channelling the funds to infrastructural development.

House c’tee queries non-remittance of N38m

The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has queried the management of the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Dala, Kano State for non-remittance of N38.8 million Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to the federation account, and the non-payment of tax amounting to N21 million.
The committee headed by Hon. Kingsley Chinda, said the discoveries emanated from the report of the Auditor General of the Federation from 2011 to 2013, and berated the officials for not remitting tax to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
Chinda mandated the hospital management to provide the committee with details of all bank accounts it operates.
The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Salihu Muhammad however explained that the hospital was unable to get a Tax Identification Number (TIN) from FIRS for the year 2012. The TIN was eventually procured, and payments made, he said.

70 Ondo graduate farmers get Mimiko’s N25m loan

Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko has disbursed N25 million to 70 young agro-farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs to enable them start their own agricultural ventures.
Mimiko noted that it was in line with his administration’s resolve to support micro and small businesses, create wealth and increase food production in the state.
The loan is at a single interest rate of 2.5 per cent for a period of two years with a moratorium period of six months.

Edo Gov-elect Obaseki states support for traditional institution

The Edo State Governor-elect, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, yesterday, expressed his avowed commitment towards uplifting the traditional institutions in the state, saying, “My loyalty to the Royal family, the Benin tradition and the entire traditional institutions in the state is unalloyed.”
The Governor-elect, in a congratulatory message to the 40th Benin Monarch, Oba Ewuare II, said, for guidance and advice, he would be counting on the Oba to succeed as Governor.