Reaveled:Ribadu’s Report: Presidency Blasts SNG, ANPP, Vows No Cover Up

President Goodluck Jonathan has vowed to get to the root of those who have stolen from the Petroleum industry, insisting that there would be no cover up in the implementation of the Mallam Nuhu Ribadu committee’s reports when received on Friday.
In a statement issued by Dr. Doyin Okupe, Senior Special Assistant, Public Affairs, he said the accusation by the Save Nigeria Group, SNG and the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP that the Federal Government is trying to cover up the conclusion of the Ribadu’s report is baseless and unfounded.
“President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan should be commended for his personal resolve to fight institutionalized corruption in Nigeria. President Jonathan ordered the probe of the Oil Industry for the period of ten years
(2002 – 2011), which also covers the tenure of his administration. No president in our history has gone this far and this explains why the rots in our system have persisted for so long,” a statement signed by Dr. Okupe said.
Okupe stated that while it is unfair for the members of the SNG and the ANPP to have accused the Federal Government wrongly, “the president has neither seen nor received any copy of the Ribadu Committee Report.
Essentially, what appears to have been irregularly released prematurely to the Media is a draft copy, which still requires full accent of all members of the Committee and clarifications and due process from the originating Ministry before the official handing over to the Presidency.”
He said it is the determination of the President to fight corruption objectively that led to the appointment of credible members of the society, Mallam Ribadu, a well-known anti-corruption crusader and members of opposition parties.
“President Jonathan approved the appointment of a well – known Corruption Crusader, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu,who ran against him at the Presidential Poll on the platform of the Action Congress  of Nigeria, ACN. It is also noteworthy that the Secretary of the Committee, Mr. Supo Sasore was a former Attorney General of Lagos State under an ACN Government.”
According to him, “President Jonathan’s unwavering and commendable determination to fight corruption is clearly demonstrated by his approval of the appointment of credible Nigerians, anti Corruption Crusaders and members of the opposition party in the committee.”
He noted that, “The efforts of President Jonathan has also helped in exposing the fraud in the Petroleum Subsidy regime dug up by Aig Imokhuede’s Committee. The indicted persons are currently being tried in various courts.”
The Presidential Aide maintained that, “For the purpose of clarity, President Jonathan’s resolve to fight against corruption and dig out all the rots in the system should not be misconstrued or politicized by the opposition as if it is his administration that is guilty of corruption, rather, he should be commended for taken the bold step that will ultimately sanitize the policy and the system.
He said his administration is determined to rid off the Petroleum sector of years of rots and institutionalized corruption

PHOTONEWS: Recent Updates From Kaduna Bomb Blast

NEMA's update:
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) today 30th October, 2012 at about 10am embarked on rapid assessment of hospitals for the second day running to ascertain the  conditions of victims of the recent Kaduna bomb attack which occurred at the St. Rita’s Catholic Church, Ungwar Yero, Malali, Kaduna.
Having carried the assignment successfully, the agency has confirmed that 7 people including the suicide bomber lost their lives while 55 victims are still on admission at   seven medical centers while almost 90 victims has been discharged.
The initial death toll of 8 released by the NEMA was as a result of a corpse that was double counted; when the agency team visited Garkuwa hospital the body of the deceased was at the hospital at the time and was later deposited at the Barau Dikko Hospital morgue were the corpse was still unknowingly counted.
Among the dead persons are 18 years  old Miss Laraba Sule of No 13 River Close, Ungwar Yero and 32-years old Mr. Bitrus Audu of No 6 Birnin Gwari Road, Ungwar Yero, Malali Kaduna, the two corpses and the body of the attacker were taken to the 44 Army Reference Hospital.
Information gathered from the visited clinics indicates many of the victims are likely to be  discharge soon while two victims who are currently in  intensive care were referred to the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH) Shika, Zaria and the National Eye Centre, Mando in Kaduna.
As  of 3:35pm on Tuesday, Barau Dikko Specialist Hospital has the highest number of admitted victims with 22 people followed by 44 Army Reference and St. Gerards Catholic Hospitals each having 12 victims, Garkuwa hospital 5 victims, Yusuf Dantsoho 2 while ABUTH and Eye Centre has 1 each on admission.

 

culled from Sahara reporters

Sacrificial Eid Al Adha ram butts his owner to death

sheep

An Algerian man bought a big ram to sacrifice it on Eid Al Adha. Instead, the ram sacrificed the man when he butted him to death.

After performing the Eid dawn prayers in the northeastern port of Annaba, the man went back home, got a big knife and prepared the ram for slaughter.

 

“As he prepared it for sacrifice, the ram surprisingly butted the man, who fell on the ground and died minutes later,” the Algerian Khabar newspaper said.

Photo of the day

Stumbled into this pics online couldn't hold my laughter
happy Ramadan Muslim clerics

Governor Amaechi Buys $50 Million Bombardier Jet, Amid State's Flood Disaster

Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State has acquired a brand new Bombardier Global 5000 

(N565RS) for his exclusive use, SaharaReporters has learn.
Mr. Amaechi’s lavish new “toy” comes at a time hundreds of thousands of residents in his state are displaced by the worst flooding crisis in the state’s history.
The newly purchased jet left Montreal-Trudeau Airport in Montreal, Quebec to Dakar Yoff International Airport. And then it was delivered to the state government on October 7th 2012.
The jet was primarily purchased from Bombardier in Canada for $45.7 million through the Bank of Utah Trustee account. “This is an ungodly act,” said a Port Harcourt-based human rights campaigner.
“Why should Governor Amaechi’s priority be to acquire a jet at a time the state is experiencing the worst flooding in its history, leaving many Rivers indigenes homeless?” he added.
Last year Mr. Amaechi traded off the state’s current Embraer Legacy 600 claiming it was too expensive to maintain. There were also unconfirmed claims that the jet was struck by lightning.
The oil-rich Rivers State already owns an AW139 helicopter which it leased to Aero Contractors. The state then turned around to patronize Aero’s VIP Sikorsky S76C helicopter at a cost one critic described as “exorbitant and unjustified.”
Last year, the state government sold its Dash 8-Q200 aircraft to Cross River State for $6 million. Cross River State then leased the plane to Aero Contractors to undertake commercial flights to and from Obudu airstrip in the state.

Army blocks move by Boko Haram to hoist flag in Damaturu

ABUJA — Security operatives of the Joint Task Force have thwarted an attempt by the Boko Haram Islamic sect to hoist what they said would have been their national flag, “a yellow, white and red stripes” with weapons of mass destruction inscribed, at the centre in Damaturu, Yobe State capital which sources said is scheduled to be the headquarters of the Boko Haram nation. The disclosure was made just as security sources said indigenes of Borno, Bauchi, Yobe and other states harbouring the sect’s ‘cells’ are under immense pressure and fear owing to threats on them to support the group with funds by a percentage of  their salaries or profits made from their businesses, which is said to be non negotiable.
Failure to remit such money is most times met with the killing of a loved member of that family or the family is wiped out. That is why the sources of funding for the Islamic sect have been difficult to trace, the source said.

Why Policemen, other security agents are targets

Another mode of funding for the sect, according to the security sources, is the daily killing of security agents particularly the police, soldiers of the JTF, armed Customs and Immigration officials.
Vanguard was told that there was a reward of N5,000 for each security personnel killed and if such a security agent killed has a rifle and the killer or killers succeed in collecting his rifle for the sect, the reward is N10, 000. Hence, the killing of security agents by members of the group is seen as a source of generating funds and acquiring arms and ammunition for the group.
According to the source, the source of arms for the sect members has also been traced to the porosity of the nation’s borders especially those of Niger, Chad and Cameroon through which most of the weapons used in the Arab Spring crises find their way to the country.
The source noted that allegation of killing of innocent indigenes, especially during crossfire with the sect by the JTF was ‘political talk’ especially since great efforts through intelligence and surveillance are carried out by the JTF before they strike.
The source added that such efforts had always yielded unquantifiable discoveries in large stockpile of IEDs, AK 47 rifles, GPMGs and hundreds of thousands of live ammunition.
Vanguard has, consequently, learnt that it was this mode of killing for financial benefits by Boko Haram adherents that has been the stumbling block to officers of security agencies, who when they are deployed to Maiduguri, Damaturu, Potiskum, Mubi, Bauchi, Jos and parts of Kaduna among others protest vehemently and embark on all sorts of lobbying to prevent their being posted to areas considered Boko Haram states.
It would be recalled that recent mass transfer of Police officers especially those from the South-East and South-South to parts of the North recently, experienced such protestations as most of the officers threatened to resign than allow themselves to be used as guinea pigs.

culled from  vanguard

Plane Crash: Suntai survives, in critical condition

 
Contrary to earlier reports that  the Taraba State governor, Danbaba Sutai died from a plane crash in Yola, Thursday, Vanguard can confirm that he is alive but in critical condition.
Secretary to the Taraba State Government, Ambassador Emmanuel Njiwah confirmed that Suntai was one of the survivors of an air crash in Yola Airport but however,  said the governor was in critical condition in a specialist hospital in the Adamawa state capital.
Also, the Special Assistant to the Aviation Minister, Mr. Joe Obi, issued a terse statement on the incident claiming that nobody died in the air crash.
According to Obi, the incident involved a Cessna 208 aircraft marked 5N-BMJ with six persons on board.
The aircraft, which was piloted by the Taraba State Governor, Danbaba Suntai, reportedly left Jalingo, the Taraba State capital at about 5: 20 pm,  but lost contact with the Yola Control Tower 38 miles to landing.
The spokesman said the pilot’s attempt to raise the aircraft, failed.
Obi said search and rescue was immediately activated and the site of the incident located with all the victims alive but with various degree of injuries.