LAGOS INVASION

Militants regroup, engage soldiers, police in gun battle On July 28, Sounds of sporadic shots by gunmen suspected to be Niger Delta militants, continued yesterday at the Ewedogbon end of Totowu. Police confirmed that they were said to have fired for several hours without coming out of the creeks. But no life was lost. Unconfirmed report had it that the militants engaged a joint military and police team in another gun battle at the riverine community in Ishuti, Igando, old Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State for a second day running. However, police sources claimed there was no confrontation. Rather, a joint military and police team, according to sources, were stationed at the river banks to confront the militants who were said to have remained inside the canal, from where they fired continuously. Reports of attack OUR sources was reliably informed that the gunmen staged a comeback shortly after the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, who visited the scene, left. Rumours went round that the command’s boss had been attacked with some of the policemen shot. It was learned that leader of the gunmen, who attacked the community, lives within the Ewedogbon/Akesan axis. Sources said that the home of the kingpin had been razed by the residents to avoid its use as attack base. The militants, in its latest onslaught, invaded Ewedogbon community, early Tuesday, shooting sporadically, an action that set the entire community into pandemonium. It took the efforts of the the security team to repel the aggression of the militants, though some people from both sides were said to have sustained injuries. Retreat, regroup Men of the Rapid Response Squad, RRS, of Lagos State Command, had to deploy and place two Armoured Personnel Carriers, APCs, and combat helicopter, on patrol to finally repel the gunmen from advancing. The militants were said to have retreated into the creeks only to return yesterday evening. According to an eyewitness, Mr. Seyi Aiyetoro, there was confusion again at about 4p.m., as the militants engaged the joint military/police team in a gun battle, sending residents scampering for safety. RRS source confirms attack An official of the RRS, who confirmed the report on condition of anonymity, said: “We received a distress call that the militants regrouped in an attempt to seize the community again. “They were said to have engaged the joint military/police team stationed there in a gun battle. “As I speak, (at about 6p.m. yesterday), the gun battle is still on, but report said the militants had started retreating into the creeks again.” The suspected Niger Delta militants stormed the riverine community attacking and harassing the residents, who are mainly Aworis, inhabitants of Ogun suburb. The community was said to have been deserted. The militants, who came in two speed boats, were said to be the same group that likely kidnapped the traditional ruler, Oniba of Iba, Oba Yushau Oseni. At press time, police helicopters were sighted hovering above the waterways, apparently with a view to ascertain the militants location. Police assurance Meanwhile, Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, visited Ewedogbon/Akesan commu-nity yesterday, assuring residents that the command would do everything within its reach to ensure their safety. In an interview with Vanguard, the Police Public Relation Officer, SP Dolapo Badmus, explained that the CP’s visit was aimed at getting a firsthand information about developments in the area. Her words: “Police have dominated the area. We are going to sustain that for a long time, while the Marine Police Command is stepping up its operations. We are not leaving anything to chance.

A CARETAKER CHAIRMAN AND HIS CARELESS PRESS STATEMENT.

Attention has been drawn to a press statement purportedly released by caretaker chairman of Agatu LG, condemning and calling Bar Paul Edeh (Convener 1 Idoma Initiative) names. According to Enenche Comedian, he said the caretaker chairman of Agatu Local Government accused Bar Paul to be a "non Agatu", that goes about collecting money for Agatu course. Let us keep the records straight, the idea for the March 2nd protest that brought Agatu genocide to limelights was conceived in Bar Paul's sitting room on the 27th of Feb., 2016 by Paul and i. Bar Paul is not a hungry man, God has blessed him and I personally know how much of his personal money that have gone into this struggle. They are more than 30 persons I know of, that Bar Paul is putting roof over their heads in Abuja for free. The Agatu struggle was born out of love and passion for homeland, but today Bar Paul is been tagged "a non-Agatu". Where was Joseph Ngbede, when Bar Paul "a non-Agatu" was running from Force HQtrs. to National Assembly, from Ministry of Justice to Media Houses crying and telling them the Agatu story? Where was Joseph Ngbede when Bar Paul "a non-Agatu" led a protest in Abuja to end the killings of our people back home? Bar Paul is not a hungry man, calling him names at this time is very unfortunate and ignorant. When Bar Paul "a non-Agatu", escorted trailer loads of relief materials, he didn't channel any to his non-Agatu village in Ogbadibo, but he channelled all to Agatu. When Bar Paul (a non-Agatu) at one time paid his hard earn 2 Million naira to Media Houses to sustain the hype of Agatu genocide, where was Joseph Ngbede? The just concluded Agatu Peace Concert cost money, Bar Paul Edeh sank 1 Million Naira during preparation, where was Joseph Ngbede? The venue of the concert was 840, 000 Naira, go to Sheraton Abuja and inquire, the stage, sound and light cost slightly less than 500,000. We didn't pay any artiste, we booked their flights, hotels and logistics. Sales from tickets was less than 600,000 Naira. We have records of every Kobo spent and we are making it public before the end of the week. The next phase of the concert is the DVD, we played two documentaries on Agatu genocide during the concert. We are trying to explore ways to massively distribute the videos and keep the media nerves of the genocide alive. If we must make money, it can never be with the blood of our people back home. God and humanity would never forgive us. So, if anyone is expecting anything in any form or guise, he is wasting his time. The proceeds from the concert is strictly going into sending Agricultural inputs to our people in Agatu... what they need now is empowerment to move on. If Joseph Ngbede thinks Bar Paul made a statement that he shouldn't have made, why didn't he approach him to talk to him, instead of bombarding him with names? We are aware that some elements are not happy with our rising profile and are doing everything to sabotage our efforts, but if Joseph Ngbede must do the biddings of his employers, then he must do it with utmost sense of decorum and posterity. Our revived and holistic zeal to to add value and life to our people back home must never be sacrificed on the altar of personal political fireworks..

The N750bn agriculture intervention fund

food5 — 24th May 2016 The Federal Government recently underscored its commitment to the diversification of the economy with the approval of a N750 billion Agriculture Intervention Fund to be managed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The cheering news was broken by Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State for Agriculture, at the 2016 National Summit of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN). Agriculture is a veritable route out of the present economic quagmire precipitated by our unwise over-dependence on oil. It is one of our strongest areas of economic strength and government is right to focus on it in a bid to diversify the economy. We welcome this new commitment to agriculture. It is a sector which served the nation very well in the past, especially in the years before and immediately after our independence. As government re-traces its steps, and learns from the experiences of nations where food security promotes national security and development, we urge it to move forward with good planning and disciplined execution of identified programmes. Let government take necessary steps to make the N750bn intervention fund available for disbursement. We are not unaware that similar plans made by some of our past governments were never executed. We urge the government to ensure that this fund and others still in the pipeline such as Jaiz Bank’s $2.5 million and another undisclosed amount from the African Development Bank (ADB) are made available to our farmers. We recall that the former President Goodluck Jonathan administration similarly focused on agriculture in its bid to diversify the economy, and it recorded modest successes, especially in cassava and rice production. The proposed N750bn is a lot of money. It has to be properly managed if it is to have the desired impact on the lives of the citizenry and the national economy. What this will require is for government and relevant stakeholders to painstakingly determine the special intervention areas the new fund will be deployed into and the expected outcomes. Just how much of the money should go into crop farming, for example? Which are the crops we are prioritizing and for what purpose? As Dr. Ayoola Oduntan, President of PAN, disclosed at the event, the government does not often consult widely enough before taking such decisions. This is wrong and should be quickly corrected, especially at this time that synergy is required to achieve the desired results in this critical sector of the economy. It is good that government is making efforts to make this fund accessible and attractive to the people who really need it. One reason farmers find it difficult to obtain credit facilities in commercial banks is the high interest on loans which is unrealistic for agricultural purposes. The plan, therefore, to make the present fund available to farmers at less than six per cent interest rate is commendable. We hope that in subsequent years, efforts will be made to further lower the rate below three per cent as presently obtains in the most developed agricultural societies. Having secured the fund, government must work hard to ensure that it does not go the way of other intervention funds in our recent history. We recall with pains, the good intentions of government in the establishment of special intervention funds, some of which later became slush funds for unconscionable public officers. It is, therefore, no surprise that they did not make the desired impact. As a corollary, government must put in place workable modalities to secure this intervention fund. All benefiting farmers must know from the outset that the loans must be paid back. The inability of government to recover agricultural loans in the past made financial institutions to list such loans as high risk. The time has come to correct this poor perception of agricultural credit. The ability to secure and grow this fund for sustained intervention in the agricultural value chain is key to our breakthrough in the sector. Government should be reminded about rural development as a cardinal policy to open up our vast rural areas to the huge potentials of agriculture. Necessary infrastructure such as good access roads, electricity, water and irrigation as well as transportation should be provided to support rural farmers. For agriculture to be truly attractive to our teeming unemployed youths, it must be mechanized and brought completely in tune with modern trends. Again, the examples from successful agricultural nations like the USA and Israel should serve us well in this regard. To ensure total and integrated development of agriculture, all the states are advised to key into this Federal Government initiative. We are encouraged by the recent outing of the North-West Governors Forum on agriculture. In the South-West, a template for collaboration already exists from the Western Region days when agriculture was the mainstay of the economy of the region and that of the entire country. With effective use of the Agriculture Intervention Fund and other such initiatives, the country should be able to go back to the days when agriculture was the pillar of the economy. Nigeria can be financially strong again and enjoy food security if we give agriculture the pride of place it deserves.

Fayose: kill erring herdsmen, cows

Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose yesterday declared a war on herdsmen, who are unleashing terror in communities in the state. The governor urged the people to rise against the herdsmen and kill them to defend their lives, families and farmlands. Fayose visited Oke-Ako community in Ikole Local Government Area, where suspected herdsmen killed two residents and injured four others in a night attack on Friday. He was accompanied by Commissioner of Police, Etop James; Director of Department of State Services (DSS) Andrew Iorkay; Commandant of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps John Ikemefuna and traditional rulers led by the Elekole of Ikole-Ekiti, Oba Adewumi Fasiku. The community has become a ghost town as many residents have fled.

EFCC uncovers how $40m was transferred to Jonathan’s cousin’s account

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has traced the source of the $40million paid to Roberts Azibaola, who is former President Goodluck Jonathan’s cousin, to a bank in London. The cash was wired through Citibank N. A. Canada Square Canary in Wharf London E 145 LB into the account of One Plus Holdings Nigeria Limited of Azibaola. About $6million of the money was paid to a bureau de change in Abuja. Azibaola, who was yet to make any refund, has been relocated from Lagos to Abuja in preparation for his trial. Charges have been filed against the ex-President’s cousin at a Federal High Court in Abuja. No date has been fixed for his arraignment. The $40million came from the account of the Special Services Office of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF). “The Special Services Office has a joint account with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and some security agencies, which was managed by ONSA. “The $40million was wired into the account of Azibaola’s company through Citibank N. A. Canada Square Canary in Wharf London E 145 LB. “The money was transferred to One Plus Holdings Nigeria Limited with Robert Azibaola and Stella Azibaola as directors. All disbursements went to individuals and companies including two foreign firms and the wife of the ex-President’s cousin. About $5.5million has been allegedly transferred to Mrs. Azibaola. “The $40mmillion was in respect of a contract for the supply of Tactical Communication Kits for Special Forces. No records of contract executed. “We wrote to the Office of the SGF and the Permanent Secretary, Special Services Office (PSSO) said: “The SGF office is not in possession of any document or evidence of contract. “Even the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) said it had no records of the contract but it only made available payment advice to transfer the funds to the Azibaola’s account. A source close to the investigation said: “We have to release the outcome of investigations to show that the EFCC is not engaging in any witch-hunt against the cousin of the ex-President. “Although the contract was for the supply of Tactical Communication kits, when we interrogated the cousin of the ex-President, he said ‘they had a discussion with the ex-NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), to secure pipelines in the Niger Delta but there is no evidence to show for it. “If there was any contract, how come $6million was remitted into the account of a bureau de change? None of the suspects was able to explain the reason for this. Responding to a question, the source added: “Robert Azibaola has not refunded the $40million or a part of it. He has been relocated from Lagos to Abuja in readiness for his arraignment in court. He has behaved well in detention. The EFCC arrested Azibaola’s on March 23 – in line with the ongoing probe of 300 companies involved in phantom contracts by ONSA. But counsel to the suspect, Gordy Uche (SAN) in a statement in Abuja accused the Commission of embarking on a vendetta mission against former President Goodluck Jonathan. He said the Federal Government was still owing his client $4million, being balance of the contract sum for “successfully securing oil pipelines which saw Nigeria reap billions of US dollars from increased oil production”. He asked the commission to “either charge my clients to court or release them on bail”. Uche said: “My client (Roberts) is being persecuted and punished because of his DNA, as a relative of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. “My client is innocent until proven guilty, according to the laws of Nigeria. So, his continuous detention is a breach of his fundamental human rights as a free citizen of Nigeria. The appropriate thing for the EFCC to do in this circumstance is to release him now or charge him to court.”

DEREGULATION, THE TRUE WAY TO DEVELOPMENT.....F.A ITODO

Before we use our preconceived notion and misconstrue certain reality with politics, Government did not fix the price of the PMS at #145 as being circulated on social media and many people, the Government only says marketers should source for Forex themselves, import the product and sell at any price from #0- #145.the official pump price of PMS remains #86.50 per liter at the NNPC Mega Stations and other Major Marketers' outlets like Oando, Forte Oil, Total oil, Exon mobile etc. Nigerians have been buying pms product even above the #145 naira which the government now set as bench mark for marketers when subsidy was in place, the federal government was paying heavily on ghost subsidy that have been entering individual's(oil marketers) pocket, and continue to struggle with the unending settlement of subsidy debt which they had managed to pay about N600 billion outstanding claims by marketers for subsidy inherited from the previous administration, yet the product was never available for common men on the street. A healthy competition is the only tool needed to take care of the market environment and force in availability of the product in near future, nobody will like to build a fuel station for people to be looking at it and be praising the building, they build it to sell as often as possible, turn over as quick as possible and make good money, If Mr. A says he will be selling his product at 145 naira which is the maximum allowed by the Government at all cost, and Mr. B is there willing to import more of the product and sell at #135 naira and make more money, Mr. A who may end up selling only one truck for number of months will be forced to reduce his own price too and sells in volume so he can also make more money, that is how the competition will continue until the price get to the barest minimum. What deregulation implies in practical terms is simply a call on individuals, groups,associations,independent oil marketers , business men etc. to competitively work for their money, it is also a call for every interested individuals to invest their money into the oil sector and make good returns on their investment, Government can not afford to be spending much money on subsidy when in real terms only the marketers benefits and the masses continue to suffer in double fold, the subsidy money would be reinvested into other key sectors of the economy such as the dead mining and industry, textile industry etc , Some of the oil companies have laid off hundreds of their staff because the business environment was not friendly at all for them to operate freely their profit margin dropped and the nearest option is to reduce their workforce to suit the money they are making, but here comes a decision that will boost their business and attract more investors to the oil industry. Yes the immediate pains is certain and people are bounds to suffer, but believe you me at the long run competition will make the price of oil bearable and affordable, Suffering the Bible Says last for a night but Joy cometh in the morning.

Ijaw Youths Disown Niger Delta Avengers

The Niger Delta Avengers have claimed responsibility for the recent attacks on the SPDC platform in Forcados, the Chevron Okan platform in Abiteye in Escravos, and the pipelines transporting crude oil to the Warri and Kaduna refineries. ________________________________________ The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has condemned the nefarious activities of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), a new militant group active in the Niger Delta region. The IYC spokesman, Eric Omare, said in an interview on Monday that his group does not see the justification for the group’s decision to destroy oil facilities and wreak havoc on the region's environment. He appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to go after the real culprits and not the innocent communities and people in the region in his government's efforts to unmask the characters behind the new militant group. Niger Delta Avengers Tife Owolabi The Niger Delta Avengers have claimed responsibility for the recent attacks on the SPDC platform in Forcados, the Chevron Okan platform in Abiteye in Escravos, and the pipelines transporting crude oil to the Warri and Kaduna refineries. Sources from the president’s office said over the weekend that the federal government has set in motion a mechanism to uncover those behind the activities and has given a specific directive to the military to prevent the return of militancy in the region. "We do not see the justification in the Niger Delta Avengers embarking on the destruction of oil facilities because Chief Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, denounced the group,” Mr. Omare said. “I think Tompolo did the proper thing by coming out to inform the entire world that he was not part of the NDA when there were insinuations to the effect that he was behind them.” Mr. Omare pointed out that as in previous assaults on oil facilities, the Niger Delta environment and people are the ultimate victims and would suffer from these latest attacks. “The IYC believes that irrespective of their grievances, there are better ways of expressing them rather than contributing to the further destruction of the already massively degraded Niger Delta environment," he pleaded. On the government’s threat to crush the militants, Mr. Omare urged security agencies to not use the attacks as a justification to attack innocent civilians in the community. He stated that from experience, the security personnel, in bids to impress their superiors and justify the huge amounts of money budgeted for their purpose, always attack the innocent. "This must not be allowed to happen this time around,” Mr. Omare said. “We would also advise the federal government to be prompt in directing security agencies to deal with insurgent groups all over the country, including the Fulani herdsmen who have been killing innocent Nigerians, just like they have just directed in respect of the Niger Delta Avengers."