ABIA SPEAKER FACES IMPEACHMENT, AS FORMER ABIA GOVERNOR, T.A ORJI PLOTS TO INSTALL SON AS NEW ASSEMBLY SPEAKER

​Investigations have revealed that, the former Governor of Abia State, who is now a Senator in the National Assembly, Chief. T A Orji is currently plotting to install his son, Chinedu Orji as the next speaker of the State Assembly. 

There are moves to unseat the current speaker, Hon.Martins as the sum of two hundred million Naira, (N200,000,000) has been earmarked to perfect his impeachment. If that fails, an alter ego, Hon. Chinwendu Kalu, steps in as speaker. 

Sources say, the target is not the office of speaker, but the office of Governor which will become the next target once the impeachment of the speaker sails through. 

Recollect that, TA Orji, who as governor, took Abia through its darkest period in governance and elevated visionlessness as state policy. 

TA Orji plotted that his son became a member of the state Assembly in a detailed plot to endanger Okezie Ikpeazu’s time as Governor. As at the time of this report, the plot to impeach the speaker has been shifted to a date after presentation of 2017 Budget by the Governor.

 As at last count, more than two third members of the House have signed for the impeachment. The new plot is to ensure that the impeachment coincides with the swearing in of newly elected local government chairmen in the state.

©Secret Reporters 

​ABIA STATE GOVERNORSHIP TUSSLE: FOR THE ATTENTION OF CHIEF JUSTICE OF NIGERIA AND PRESIDENT BUHARI

I write to formally bring to the attention of President Muhammadu Buhari and the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, the Abia State Governorship pre-election case pending at the Supreme Court, between Dr Uche Ogah and Dr Okezie Ikpeazu. 

I represent millions of young Abia indigenes worldwide who are keenly following the case brought against Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, which has to do with him presenting false information under oath and what the 2010 Electoral Act says concerning it. We are aware of how the interlocutory case went and how the Supreme Court insisted that the matter must be tried on its merit at the Abuja High Court. We saw how justice prevailed at the Abuja High Court and also noted the Appeal Court judgement on the matter. 
Whiles we await the final verdict by the Supreme Court, it is pertinent that I inform my lord the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria that we are very much interested what the pronouncement will be. As the next generation of leaders in the state, we are aware of what implications this will have on our polity depending on which way the matter swings. 

It will either have negative or positive implication depending on whether it favours those who lie under oath or those who insist on the rule of law. 

We are particularly concerned because in recent time, we have seen the state resources being deployed by Dr Ikpeazu towards media propaganda, focused to create false sense of acceptability amongst the Abia people, which he hopes will convince the Supreme Court to give judgement in his favour. We have heard his allies boast that judgements at times are not based on facts and evidence, and that if you can convince the court through a media propaganda that a judgement given against an individual could lead to anarchy, they will be careful not to give such judgement. Hence, their focus is to use media propaganda that will make the Supreme Court believe that Dr Ikpeazu is too popular, and that any decision against him will lead to crisis in the state. But that is a big lie. Our people are not happy with him and T. A, Orji who forced him on the state.   
Particularly of note is the on-going series on African Independent Television (AIT), and the This Day News Paper’s Editorial of 29th of November 2016 where the judgement delivered by Justice Abang was maliciously attacked without reference to law, facts and evidence. The Nduka Ogbiagban led news paper went partisan, and deliberately took an uninformed position in the case between Dr Uche Ogah and Okezie  Ikpeazu. The content of that editorial piece was absolutely malicious and was done in bad faith. It was devoid of legal facts, rather drawing conclusions from Ikpeazu’s men. 
In order to achieve their pay master’s objective, This Day editorial attacked Justice Abang frontally, basing its authority on hearsay, with no reference to any known legal position. The totality of what they based their unwarranted attack on was an obiter dictum, which every enlightened mind knows is of no real legal consequence.
Since 2014, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu and his godfathers who have held the state hostage have been on a mission to evade justice. At first, they made every attempt to frustrate the matter from being heard. They took the interlocutory up to the Supreme Court, and it lasted for over one year. The Supreme Court in its judgement frowned at the fact that a man who wants to oversee the resource of a state was afraid to answer questions regarding his tax records and the information he presented to INEC under oath. 
Making one to ask: why was Dr Ikpeazu afraid of allowing the substantive matter to be heard when he was sure that his hands were clean? I thought that the right thing for someone who has no criminal baggage to have done was to have allowed the substantive matter to be heard so that he could quickly have his named cleared. Why the unnecessary delays and result to media propaganda? 
This time around, his media propaganda team is hinging their effort on the Appeal Court outcome, which is not new. Even at the interlocutory stage, the Appeal court ruled in his favour until the Supreme Court insisted that such issue bothering on Lying On Oath should not be swept under the carpet. We have seen many cases which were set aside by the Appeal Court but were later upheld by the Supreme Court. 

Why is This Day editorial coming to a conclusion that Justice Abang was wrong in a case that is yet to be decided by the Supreme Court? 
Again going by the verdict of the National Judicial Council on the four petitions sponsored by Dr Okezie Ikpeazu and his godfathers against Justice Abeg, it is clear that he did no wrong. Justice Abang was cleared on all cases and the NJC was emphatic in its pronouncement, stating that the Learned High Court Judge was on point with the law regarding the matter. But deliberately This Day editorial made no reference to the verdict of NJC on the matter. 

Meaning that This Day editorial not only indicted Justice Abang, it also questioned the knowledge of the highest judicial decision making body in the land regarding the law. This by inference means that This Day Editorial is saying that members of the NJC are ignorant of the law. 
This Day News Papers editorial was part of Dr Okezie Ikpeazu’s cheap media propaganda to FORCE THE HAND OF JUSTICE.  They never sought to know the basis upon which Justice Abag’s judgement was set aside. It did not occur to Dr Ikpeazu and his media propagandists that nothing in the judgement of the Appeal Court was based on the substance of the matter. The technicalities upon which justice Ogunwumiju based her judgement were detrimental to the substance of the matter, which has to do with whether an individual lied under oath or not, and what is the consequence. 
The Electoral Act 2015 as amended is clear about the fact that a contestant is required to present his document to his party after having sworn to an oath in any High Court of the land affirming the authenticity of any information he provides. By this act, the individual will be held liable for any false information so presented and not anyone else or institution. The opportunity of this oath also avails the individual the leeway to correct any noticeable discrepancies in his document by stating the true fact in his affidavit if any. 
Mr President and Mr Chief Justice of Nigeria Sirs, a review of this case shows that Dr Okezie Ikpeazu is liable according to the law.  The main issue started when Dr Uche Ogah sought to look at the documents presented by Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu which is a requirement of the law. The law says if you want to contest an election you must file in an affidavit, fill a form, and disclose your educational qualification, your birth certificate and your tax papers. Now, the issue of tax is very critical. It is a constitutional requirement that if you want to contest an election in any political party you must have paid your tax for three years as at when due. But in Ikpeazu’s case, it was discovered that he had lied. There were so many lies on the face of his tax papers. 
One of the things discovered was that he was alleged to have started paying tax tax a government worker even when he was not yet in the employment of Abia State Government. Two, the serial numbers on his tax receipts were evidence of deception. The 2013 serial number showed as if it was the beginning of the tax payment, whereas, the 2011 receipt showed as if it was the last payment. The serial numbers were conflicting. The conflict showed that Ikpeazu had not paid his tax as at when due in accordance with the law. 
Third, was the issue of figures. Let us assume he was supposed to earn N500, 000 per annum but in his tax papers, it was showing above N1million.

He said his tax was being deducted at source. But the question is: 

If that was so, why the discrepancies in his taxable income? 

Is it not what he was earning, he should be taxed on? 

The court found so many discrepancies in his tax certificate.
And the law in Section 31 of the 2010 Electoral Act as amended gives a co-aspirant the opportunity to examine the documents of an opponent to validate whether he was qualified to contest for the primary election in the first place, because it is a pre-election matter. And if you find out in his disclosures and declarations that he has given false or misleading information, the section guarantees you the right to apply to a Federal or State High Court for a redress. You also have the right to ask that, that candidate be disqualified because he was not qualified in the first place to run for primaries. Section 31(6) says if such a candidate was found to have declared false information, he is liable to be disqualified by the court. 
When Dr Uche Ogah found all that, he proceeded for Originating Summons, but Ikpeazu’s legal team came up with the issue that the court has no jurisdiction. So, it was trashed out at the Supreme Court. The apex court was shocked that a man who wants to be a governor was not ready to come clean on his tax record. It ordered that the case be tried at the high court. And subsequently the case was assigned to Justice Abeng’s court. 

Ikpeazu was not ready to face his case because he knew obviously that his records were not clean. That was why time was wasted, because this matter would have been settled a long time ago.
Already, the Supreme Court has held in the case of Otti vs. INEC, that PDP is the winner of April 11, 2015 election in Abia State, the PDP is the party that ought to replace the candidate that was not qualified. This is exactly what Justice Okon Abang ruled on June 27, 2016. 

The judge ordered that Ikpeazu should vacate the office and that INEC should issue a Certificate of Return to Dr. Uche Ogah immediately and he should be sworn in immediately by the Chief Judge of Abia State. And this was exactly what INEC did. There was no contrary order to that judgment. It’s the extant law.
In his findings, Justice Abang discovered that, indeed, Dr. Ikpeazu was not qualified based on 2014 Peoples Democratic Party Electoral Guidelines to contest the said primary because the INEC Form CF001 and documents Ikpeazu deposed to and submitted to Independent National Electoral Commission contain false information contrary to Section 31(5 & 6) of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.
So, it needs repeating that the Abia State Governorship case has nothing to do with forgery of the documents as alleged by the Ikpeazu legal team. It is not whether the tax receipts were forged by Dr. Ikpeazu. The issue here all along has been simple and straight forward: 

whether there is any false information contained in the documents submitted to Independent National Electoral Commission by Dr. Ikpeazu. It was confirmed that the information contained in tendered documents are actually false as could be seen in Dr. Ikpeazu’s tax receipts.
When he was appointed as General Manager of Abia State Passengers Integrated Manifest Scheme effectively from 18th July, 2011, his salary, allowances/entitlements were clearly spelt out. 

Going by the exhibits, Dr. Ikpeazu worked for Abia State Passengers Integrated Manifest Scheme for 5 months, 12 days in 2011. Now, his earnings based on the letter of appointment in 2011 for 5 months and 12 days by simple calculation would be N493, 128.00 if he was assigned Government vehicle or N546, 609.00 without any Government vehicle. The tax receipt or tax clearance did not reflect these figures. Exhibits further show that the tax receipt for 2011 indicates that the gross emolument of Dr. Ikpeazu for 2011 was N1, 135, 476.00 and his income tax was assessed on this figure for 2011. 

However, his gross emolument for 2011 did not correspond with the period he worked for Abia State Passengers Integrated Manifest Scheme in 2011.
In 2011, Dr. Ikpeazu actually received 12 months’ salary whereas he worked for only 5 months and 12 days. 

Put differently, Dr. Ikpeazu gave false information in his documents that his gross emolument for 2011 was N1, 135, 476.00. The correct gross emolument ought to be N493, 128.00 or N546, 619 (if not assigned any government vehicle). It is not possible that Ikpeazu earned that amount having worked for 5 months and 12 days in 2011, taking into consideration what he was supposed to earn as salary, allowances and entitlements as per appointment letter.
Also, there is a difference between the date of issuing of a tax receipt and its duration of coverage. In Ikpeazu’s case, the date he was issued the tax receipt with Serial No. 0012849 was on 31st December, 2011, which was a Saturday. 

Saturday is not a working day even in Abia State. Ministers, Public bodies such as Abia State Board of Internal Revenue do not work on a Saturday.

 This is another false information given in the documents submitted by Dr. Ikpeazu.
Going further, the Serial No. 0012849 of his 2011 tax receipt came first for a tax receipt purportedly issued on a Saturday on 31st December, 2011 before the tax receipt No. 0012846 of 2012, 31st December was issued. The tax receipt for year 2013 with Serial No. 0012847 was earlier in time before Ikpeazu obtained tax receipt for 2011. 

This is false information. Using the same booklet to issue tax receipt for 2011 ought to have been first in time before the serial number of the tax receipt of Ikpeazu for 2012 and 2013. However in this case, it is the serial number of his tax receipt for 2012 and 2013 that came first.
Although Ikpeazu claimed that the information was issued in error, the fact of his explanation here is an admission against interest that indeed the earlier 2011 tax receipt contains false information. 

But if indeed the information was issued in error and known to Ikpeazu, he ought to have explained this to Independent National Electoral Commission when Form CF001 with attached documents was returned to INEC on 26th December, 2014. He waited till when the issue was raised by Dr. Ogah. Therefore, Ikpeazu’s defense on this issue was an after-thought.
Yet another misinformation given by Ikpeazu is the claim of payment of income tax for 2011, 2012 and 2013. For instance, his tax clearance certificate of 2013 in a column indicated that he paid personal income tax of N75,017.76 while his tax receipt for 2013 with serial no. 

0012847 dated 31st December, 2013 indicated that he paid N38,775.00. The amount in the 2013 tax receipt for 2013 should be the same amount in the column for 2013 tax in the tax clearance certificate. This is false information that Ikpeazu submitted to INEC in his tax clearance certificate.
It is obvious, from all the foregoing hard facts presented, there is no doubt that Ikpeazu was not qualified to contest the People’s Democratic Party’s primary for the office of the Governor of Abia State of Nigeria in line with Article and 14 (a) of People’s Democratic Party’s Electoral Guidelines 2014. And Justice Abang was right in his judgment disqualifying Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu as the candidate of People’s Democratic Part for 2015 general election and declaring Dr. Uche Ogah as the de facto Governor of Abia State. 
Abia people were happy with that judgement because it gave them the opportunity to have the man they always wanted to be their governor.
In spite efforts by Dr Okezie Ikpeazu to confuse the matter, it is important to let him realize that when you swear an oath claiming that the information you have presented is correct and that you are liable upon the discovery that it is false, no other person can be held responsible for it.
Despite this fact, Dr Ikpeazu and his co travellers have engaged media propaganda in an attempt to mislead the public and lure the Supreme Court away from the true position of law in the upcoming judgement. 

All these running around, visiting every prominent Nigerian, attending occasions that have no relevance to Abia State development and pumping up in the media are all attempts to arm-twist and ambush the Supreme Court in a matter that is obviously clear.  
I want the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria and his Supreme Court colleagues to know that youths of Abia State are watching. We want to know how they will handle this matter in the face of ongoing war against corruption and criminality in Nigeria. 

They should be aware that nations defined by law and rules of engagement make progress, while those that pay lip service to issues of character and pander to cheap profiteering  ends up doing battle with the same old enemies which condemns  them to underdevelopment. 
History of successful economies and institutions in human society had always been based on respect for ethics and value systems which in actual fact act as the oil that lubricate the engine of progressive development. The whole essence of law is to uphold character and to insist that every member of society, especially leaders and those who intends to lead live by example worthy of emulation for the sustainable moulding of a nation. Resources alone cannot build a nation, character and the rule of law does. 

Where there is disorder, only a few who operate outside the law benefit and where there is order, not only is there hope and lawful expectation of benefit, the lesson of history is that many more people find an opportunity for benefit and the realization of their expectation. 
Maintenance of law is the defining essence of leadership, where it is lost there is no morality to uphold justice on behalf of the people. Especially, leaders amongst members of the society must stand on high moral ground and have the confidence of purity to administer law on the people and to issue punishments and grant reward when they are merited. 
Mr Chief Justice of Nigeria and his Supreme Court Justices must remember that those who hold public office are trustees of legacies of hope created by the sacrifices of others. They must realize that good governance and leadership are hinged on the ability to uphold moral values and passion to render selfless services. 
As Abia youths we seek leadership, but not any type of leadership.  We seek leadership that is defined by the highest values and that can help us fulfil our aspirations as a state and by extension as a nation. And they must first be driven by the pursuit of the highest values that can produce sanity in our polity.
Especially in this era of anti corruption fight, and when non oil revenue is the focus, those who determine who gets what cannot afford to be liars under oath and who are dodgy about their tax history notwithstanding our sentiment. And whereby Ikpeazu has been found wanting the law must be applied, no technicalities should be entertained. 

This case is going to serve as precedence for the nation; it will determine whether tax evaders and irresponsible citizens will continue to take charge of our resources. It will also determine whether people will continue to be held liable for their actions as it relates to presenting false information. And it will be a lesson for us the future leaders of Nigeria who are keenly watching the Supreme Court Justices. 
Thank you
Great Imo Jonathan

​THE FEAR OF DR. UCHE OGAH, THE BEGINNING OF POLITICAL WISDOM IN ABIA!!

Hear this, there has been a clandestine meeting between T. A Orji, Okezie Ikpeazu, Enyinna Abaribe, Charles Ogbonna and others to pressure Gov. Ikpeazu to resign as the Governor of Abia state and handover power to his deputy or the state assembly speaker as a substantive governor immediately the Supreme Court throw out Dr. Alex Otti’s joinder suit early January 2017.

The cabals came to a final but very painful conclusion that it will be extremely difficult for Ikpeazu to win the case against Dr. Uche Ogah with all the facts and evidence supporting Dr. Ogah’ suit. 

They agreed in principle that for T. A Orji camp of PDP in Abia State to still remain in power, best is to  re-arrange the power equation with the current deputy governor or the state assembly speaker with T. A Orji’s son as governor and deputy just as they succeeded in conducting kangaroo Local govt election with a view to installing their foot soldiers at local govt level in the likely event  Supreme Court rules against them

This effort in futility is a plan B option while they still keep on their bribery move to convince the eminent juries of the Supreme Court who have refused to accept their blood money and greek gift to play along with them.

The simple truth is that God is seriously at work in Abia, to redeem the state and give back the soul of Abia to the original owners which is Abians themselves and not bootlickers and occultic men.

Truth be told, it is not about Dr. Uche Ogah but about the soul of Abia state that is crying for enmancipation and freedom from power mongers and political merchants that has held it down against development, therefore any outward move to subvert justice through manipulation, privately or surreptitiously will NEVER stand because this is God’s project while Dr. UCHECHUKWU Sampson Ogah is God’s divine instrument for the project of Abia Redemption.

Powered By; Chima Obiwuru,

Member Rescue Abia Group.

​Breaking News: Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu to Resign before His Supreme Court Case.

Information leaked to Digits News Online has it that Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu may likely be forced to resign before the end of January 2017. Once he resigns, the Abia State speaker of the house of Assembly would be sworn in as the Governor or Hon. Chinedu Orji, the son of T.A.Orji who is currently the majority leader of the house. 

It was alleged that, Ikpeazu approached the Governor of Imo State Owelle Rochas Okorocha to use his stake in APC Party to help him influence the upcoming judgment, but the request did not go down well with them, as Gov. Rochas was of the opinion that Ikpeazu’s tax case is a constitutional issue of which Supreme Court must touch the substance of the case.

Since Ikpeazu’s request was not supported by Okorocha, his allies are now of the opinion that he resigns before the final judgment, except Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe who didn’t support the resignation proposal. Though they know that even if Ikpeazu resigns, it will not stop the Supreme Court from giving their judgment but they intentionally want to create more constitutional problem in the country in order to have more time to loot the treasury of Abia State.

It was further disclosed that the former Governor of Abia State, who is currently a Senator and a political Godfather of Okezie Ikpeazu is strongly pushing Ikpeazu to resign, daring the consequences. 

The former Governor Senator T.A.Orji and his son Chinedu Orji do not want Dr. Uche Ogah to become the Governor of Abia State for the fear of being probed of his 8 years disastrous administration in Abia State from 2007-2015. 
Though the Supreme Court has not fixed the date for the  final judgment between Dr.Okezie Ikpeazu and Dr. Uche Ogah Pre-election matter but analysts are of the opinion that if the judgment is decided by merit, Uche  Ogah would be favoured.
Abians are hoping that the Judgment will come anytime January or early February 2017. 
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​Boko Haram: Behind the Rise of Nigeria’s Armed GroupAn investigation into the origins and ideology of the rebel group and its bloody rise.

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In the past years, Nigeria’s rebel group Boko Haram  has repeatedly attacked schools, churches, mosques and markets, but state institutions such as police stations and military facilities have remained primary targets.
 

The group provoked global outrage in April 2014 when they kidnapped 276 schoolgirls in Chibok, northeastern Nigeria. The kidnapping received global condemnation and sparked the solidarity campaign #BringBackOurGirls.
In August 2016, Boko Haram split into two factions after long-time leader Abubakar Shekau rejected an attempt by ISIL’s Abu Musab al-Barnawi to replace him. Al-Barnawi is believed to be the son of late Boko Haram founder Mohammed Yusuf and used to be Boko Haram’s spokesman. Sporadic fighting broke out between the two factions, one headed by Shekau and the other by al-Barnawi and some believe that the division could break the spine of the Nigerian rebel group.
Since the start of the insurgency, the violence has resulted in more than 32,000 deaths and over two million people displaced.
But how did Boko Haram emerge and rise to power? What motivates them and why do they continue to thrive?
This documentary explores the origins and ideology of the rebel group and its bloody rise to power.
Some of the 21 Chibok schoolgirls released by Boko Haram during their visit to meet President Muhammadu Buhari In Abuja, Nigeria  [REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY]

Mohammed Yusuf and the origins of Boko Haram
Boko Haram, also known as Jama’at ahl al-sunna li-da’wa wa-l-qital, was established in 2002 in the town of Maiduguri, northeastern Nigeria, by  32-year-old  Mohammed Yusuf.
Yusuf set up his own mosque in a run-down neighbourhood … People were intrigued … There was a lot of curiosity in this radical rejection of the Nigerian state … It was packed with people … Yusuf fed the orphans and the street children. It became more than just a mosque.
Marc-Antoine Perouse de Monclos, professor at the French Institute of Geopolitics
With the return of democracy in 1999, Nigerians hoped for an end to widespread corruption within the elite and for fairer distribution of wealth.
To bring an end to corruption in politics, the Muslim majority in the north of the country wanted to see Islamic law applied more strictly. And Boko Haram took advantage of this popular demand.
“He [Yusuf] was quite a gifted preacher who became very popular because he was a good orator. And above all, he was a political preacher. It was that which spoke to his followers, the people of Borno. He talked a lot about lies… because for him, the politicians were liars,” says Elodie Apard, French Research Institute for Africa.
Yusuf’s message quickly resonated with people in the Borno region where the level of poverty was as high as 69 percent in 2011.
Nigeria is the leading economic power in Africa, but more than half of its population lives below the poverty line. Plagued by corruption, which is endemic among Nigeria’s elite, politicians have gradually lost the trust of the people.
“Poor people identified with this [Yusuf’s] discourse because they were promised paradise. They promised an Islamic state with Shariah, which is a form of social justice. Then the rich would no longer siphon off public money. They joined this group because they believed it would improve their lives through the more rigorous practice of Islam,” explains Marc-Antoine Perouse de Montclos, professor at the French Institute of Geopolitics.
Nigerian authorities were increasingly concerned about the growing popularity of Boko Haram and Mohammed Yusuf’s influence on the people. 
“Yusuf’s sermons were clearly against the state and were very violent in tone. Although Yusuf was not engaged in an armed struggle against the state, his discourse was contributing to it which was disturbing to the authorities. He was widely followed and really very popular. He became a threat,” Apard says.
In June 2009, a federal government task force stopped a group of Boko Haram members riding motorbikes as part of a funeral procession. The task force sought to enforce a law that required to wearing of helmets, but they refused to comply, and police officers opened fire on them.
“In a sermon that followed, Yusuf said that if the military was capable of killing people during a funeral, they had no respect for anything. They can come and kill you even if you are doing nothing. He said: ‘Now you have shown yourselves, you’ve killed us en masse, the next time you show yourselves, we will be ready. We will be prepared for you and when you come you will see. Then you will see what you are up against,'” says Apard.
Since the start of Boko Haram’s insurgency the violence has resulted in more than 32,000 dead [Al Jazeera]  

The battle of Maiduguri and the death of Mohammed Yusuf
WHO IS ABUBAKAR SHEKAU?

Abubakar Shekau became the leader of Nigerian insurgent group, Boko Haram, in July 2009, after the group’s founder, Mohammed Yusuf, was allegedly killed in police custody.
According to experts, Shekau has neither the charismatic streak nor the rhetorical skills of Yusuf, but he has an intense ideological commitment and ruthlessness. Since he took power, Boko Haram has become more radical and violent. Under his leadership, the insurgency has spread to neighbouring countries, killed more than 20,000 people and driven more than 2.2 million from their homes.
Shekau’s age is unknown, but he is believed to be in his 40s. He was born in Nigeria’s northeastern state of Yobe. He studied theology under local clerics in the Mafoni area of Maiduguri, then attended Borno State College of Legal and Islamic Studies for higher studies on Islam. He is believed to speak four languages, Arabic, Hausa, Fula and his native Kanuri.
According to analysts, he is a loner and communicates with Boko Haram members through a few select confidants. The group communicates and claims responsibility for attacks by posting video or audio messages of its leader.
The Nigerian military has announced Shekau’s death several times, but he has always reappeared alive on video. In March 2015, Shekau switched allegiance from al-Qaeda to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and declared that Boko Haram be known as the ISIL’s West Africa Province.
In August 2016, ISIL, also known as ISIS, announced Abu Musab al-Barnawi as the group’s new leader, prompting a message from Shekau challenging the announcement of his replacement. Boko Haram has now split into two factions – one loyal to Shekau and the other to Barnawi.
The outpouring of emotion triggered by the shooting provoked real tension among the followers of the group. The sermons of Mohammed Yusuf were fierce, but behind the scenes the leader of Boko Haram urged caution. His position, however, became untenable. The hardliners of the movement, led by Abubakar Shekau, called for immediate revenge.
Bishop Naga Mohammed recalls the time in Maiduguri after the shooting:
“This time, it was terrible. The Boko Haram held the city at stake for almost a week. That was the genesis. We don’t know what had happened anyway, but later on they turned the town upside down. There was no Christians, there was no Muslims. Mosques attacked, churches attacked, all the civil societies have been attacked.”
The army intervened and according to Professor Perouse de Montclos there was a r eport by the government of Borno which was never published saying that 1,000 people were killed – most of them civilians. The tension escalated and a full-scale military operation was undertaken in just a few days.
Some Boko Haram members died, some escaped, and Yusuf was arrested.  While in jail, he was asked to reveal the name of his right hand, and he named Abubakar Shekau.
“He didn’t know he was going to die at that moment, he knew he was in a bad position. But Yusuf had been arrested several times before. He did not know that he would be shot 10 minutes later in the street,” says Apard. 
Once arrested Yosuf had the right to been taken to court, but the government had given the order to shoot him.
“Yusuf was the dove of Boko Haram. Once he was killed, you have killed the dove. You have killed the structuring element of the group, which would disintegrate into small autonomous cells and clandestine groups. The vultures immediately took power after his extrajudicial execution in 2009,” says Perouse de Montclos.
The army’s role as a ‘recruiter for Boko Haram’
After the death of Mohammed Yusuf, the survivors of the battle of Maiduguri gathered in Niger to prepare their revenge. In July 2010, Boko Haram launched their first attacks in the state of Borno.
“Their target group was initially security forces and ‘bad’ Muslims, corrupt Muslims who were in government. It was not the Christians. But in 2010, Christian minorities were targeted with planned attacks,” says  Perouse de Montclos.
These people came with ignorance…. they perceived that everybody was Muslim. And if you are Muslim you are supporting Boko Haram, even though you are not supporting Boko Haram openly. So the army treated civilians the same as they treated Boko Haram.
Fulan Nasrullah, Boko Haram insider,
The attacks against Christians provoked a widespread outpouring of emotion in the country. This added to the targeted murders of security forces, traditional leaders and politicians considered to be corrupt by the group.
After Boko Haram carried out a suicide attack on the headquarters of the national police in Abuja, President Goodluck Jonathan was forced to send the army to the northeast, but it was  an army that was ill-prepared and poorly educated.
“The soldiers sent to fight in Borno did not speak the local languages, so when they said ‘Hands up’, the people did not understand and didn’t raise their hands. They shot at the crowd. Every time there was an attack against the military, there were acts of revenge … Action. Reaction. So if the attack started in a certain neighbourhood, they would burn that neighbourhood …”
“This built the legend of Boko Haram and people wanted to join the group – not because they followed the ideas … but because they were afraid of the repression by the military … The army has played a big role as a recruiter for Boko Haram,” says  Perouse de Montclos.
In May 2013, President Jonathan declared a state of emergency.   
Boko Haram’s territorial expansion 
The summer of 2014 marked Boko Haram’s year of territorial expansion.
The group seized several towns in the northeast of the country and the Nigerian army was on the verge of defeat. In the south of the state of Borno, Boko Haram took the town of Gwoza without any resistance.
Fear was imposed in the areas controlled by Boko Haram and the purging of what they called “bad” Muslims and the hunting of Christians continued and got worse.
“What is happening is not a jihad, it’s genocide. What are your objectives? What do you want to achieve?… It’s a faithless Muslim organisation engaged in carnage. And then unfortunately the media and the people took it as Islam, but there’s no Islam there,” says Adam Muhammad Ajiri, professor of Islamic studies, University of Maiduguri. 
The civilians who fled the fighting and the massacres crowded into camps in the region. More than two million people, forcibly displaced, have lost almost everything and most of them are severely traumatised.
Women who have fled violence in Nigeria queue for food at a refugee welcoming centre in Ngouboua, Chad [Reuters/Emmanuel Braun] 

Technical defeat: ‘They won’t kill the idoeology’
As Boko Haram continued to advance, France – at the request of then Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan – organised a summit to discuss security in the region. An international military coalition was formed and the armies of neighbouring Chad and Niger now had the right to pursue into Nigerian territory.
After several months of fierce fighting, the coalition managed to drive Boko Haram from the large cities in the state of Borno. In December 2015, Muhammadu Buhari, the new Nigerian president, declared that Boko Haram technically defeated.
Even though Boko Haram has suffered many military setbacks against the international coalition, the group still threatens isolated villages in the region – challenging the claim of victory by the Nigerian military.
“They may crush the movement, but they won’t kill the idoeology, which is based on the gap between the rich and the poor in Nigeria. The ideology it brought, that Yusuf started, can spread everywhere. Even if the movement has been crushed, maybe in two or three years time we will have to see what they do and where it will re-emerge,” says Apard.
Source: Al Jazeera News

​Abia Christmas of Hunger, sorrows and tears.By Uche Aguoru

Today the 25th day of December is a day set out globally for people to laugh, have fun exchange gifts and look your best in celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. 
But in Abia, it has been accultural under Dr. Okezie Victor Ikpeazu PhD, that the  Abia civil servant must celebrate their Xmas in hunger and tears
Most often I sit in the quietness of my closet and I try to enquire from my inner being what is actually wrong with my state, Abia? what have we done to attract such an unmeritted punishment from those whom we have entrusted our collective destinies into their hands through the ballot box?
When I listened to Governor Okezie Victor Ikpeazu PhD pronounce the setting up of a committee to be chaired by the commissioner of finance Obinna Oriaku with the terms of reference being the management of the Paris Club 10.6 billion naira returned fund,  as previously predicted i knew immediately that the story of 2015 will be replicated in 2016, and Abia civil servants will be celebrating their Xmas in tears and hunger.
In September 2015 Abia state received 14.152 billion naira and a committee was setup and was chaired by Mr. Obinna Oriaku the then special adviser to Dr. Ikpeazu on economic matters the end result was the mismanagement and misapriopration and embezzlement of the fund which resulted in Abia civil servants unable to get their slaries and had to celebrate the 2015 yuletide season in hunger and tears.
And today after receiving Paris club return of 10.6 billion naira, Abians are today just like in 2015 celebrating their Xmas without receiving their salaries despite being owed between 3 to 8 months salary arrears,  when States like Ebonyi, cross river, Anambra, Akwaibom, Rivers etc are appreciating and  celebrating their citizens by extending a bonus payment of 13th month to their civil servants.
The question that keeps reverberating within my mind is What is the vision behind the setting up of a committee to pay for a man’s wages which he/she legitimately worked for and earned. And each time I ask my self that question the answer that keeps returning is fraud,wickedness, lack of vision, laziness in thinking and action.
What excuse will Ikpeazu give to Abians for giving them another bleak Xmas after telling the world that he is set to offset all outstanding salaries being owed Abians, why will Ikpeazu deploy his media team to go all out to deceive the public that he is paying salaries when in reality he has not paid a single ministry, department or agency. 
I find it extremely difficult to understand why Ikpeazu and Obinna Oriaku will hold on to the funds meant for the salaries of the civil servants and punish them to the extent of sending them home on a Christmas celebration hungry and without hope of what to eat or drink with their families  in such a season as this where they should have enough, while our Governor and his friends will as usual endulge in choice wines, exotic spirits and partying and sharing of gifts to their friends and relations.
I do not want to go with the public notion that he is only applying systematic delay while waiting for the outcome of the case between him and Dr.Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah so as to abscond with the funds knowing fully well that the case will sure go against him.
I encourage Abians to take heart and be assured that if God liveth, that they are seeing the last of Ikpeazu and his wickedness as the time for Abians to rejoice is here because Uchechukwu ga emeriri n,Abia very early in 2017.
Aguoru

Writes from Umuahia

White Man Arrested In Sambisa Forest

A white man whose nationality is yet to be disclosed, was arrested inside Sambisa Forest as Nigerian troops cleared Boko Haram insurgents out of their last fortress on Thursday.

“The man is under custody and providing positive information”, said a soldier, who just returned to Maiduguri from the liberated forest.

NAN quoting Daily Trust on Sunday said the soldier said while hundreds of Boko Haram fighters were killed during the offensive that began about a month ago, many others were captured alive while attempting to flee.

“Hundreds of Boko Haram captives, including men, women and children have been freed and taken to safety.

“All I can tell you is that no big Boko Haram commander is alive in the Sambisa; we are in control of the forest.

“It took months of planning and mapping because of the size, difficult weather and other factors in the Sambisa Forest.”

The source said that one of the major factors that delayed the takeover of the insurgents’ hideout was the thousands of people, including those living in villages around the vast forest that were being held as human shield by the Boko Haram leaders.

It was gathered that the 4,200 troops were deployed to the Sambisa Forest through various fronts, including Ngurosoye, Konduga/Aulari, Bama, Fulka and Damboa.

“The 151 Battalion of the Nigerian Army advanced into Sambisa through the Banki-Darul Jamal axis, the 27 Battalion advanced through Mafa, the 152 Battalion advanced through Pulka, while the 222 Battalion approached the dreaded forest through the Maiduguri axis,” another soldier, who participated in the operation, said.

He said the operation was carried out day and night.

“When mine detectors cleared the way, troops moved in to confront the insurgents, who were equally well armed with sophisticated fighting equipment.

​FG Secures $150m World Bank Support for Mining Development

……as ministry commissions 38 surveillance vehicles for Mines Offices. 
 
The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development,  has secured $150million (N45.7 billion) support from the World Bank for the Mineral Sector Support for Economic Diversification (MSSED or MinDiver) programme.
The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi, who disclosed this in Abuja on Monday, said the Ministry is working with the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, the Nigerian Stock Exchange and other institutions to assemble  a $600million investment fund for the sector, by first quarter of 2017.
The Minister stated this in his 2016 End of year Ministerial Briefing and Projections for Year 2017, at the conference room of the Ministry. The event was attended by the Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Hon Abubakar Bawa Bwari and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mohammed Abbas.
 Dr Fayemi said: “We have secured support from the World Bank for the funding of $150mn  Mineral Sector Support for Economic Diversification ((Economic Diversification MSSED or MinDiver) program, adding that “a critical component of the support is to provide technical assistance for the restructuring and operationalisation of the Solid Minerals Development Mining Investment Fund, which would make finance available to ASM operators through development finance, micro-finance and leasing institutions.
The Minister spoke of plans for the mining sector new year, at the event which also featured the commissioning of 38 surveillance vehicles bought for mines officers, valued at about N322 million.
He said “The fund will also help to bring back on stream previously abandoned proven mining projects like tin ore, iron ore, coal, gold and lead-zinc among others.”
Dr Fayemi said the sector has witnessed some positive developments and productivity  in the last one year, including a major improvement in the ministry’s contribution to the Federation Account to about N2 billion n in 2016, up from N700M in 2015.
He added that  increased productivity in the  mining space had also led to significant discovery of mineral deposits, notably the large find of high-grade nickel a few months ago in Dangoma, Kaduna State by an Australian mining company operating in Nigeria.
Fayemi, further revealed that government had constructed 10 Prototype Mineral Buying Centres across the country for specific strategic industrial minerals.
“The centres are to serve as standardisation centres to enable ASM Cooperatives and operators receive fair premium for their labour. With renewed determination to strengthen collaborative efforts with State governments in natural resource governance, the PMBCs are being ceded to state governments” he said
Dr Fayemi recalled that he had identified some challenges , including lack of geological data, weak institutional capacity and limited supporting infrastructure during his inaugural ministerial briefing on December 21, 2015, said he the ministry has recorded some remarkable achievements in tackling those challenges.
The Minister also inaugurated the Mining Implementation Strategy Team(MIST). Composition to be chaired by the Chairman, Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society, Prof. Olugbenga Okunlola and Coordinated by the Special Adviser to the Minister on Policy and Strategy Prof. Okey Onyejekwe.
Presenting their Terms of Reference (TOR) the Minister said “these includes developing a logical framework matrix that spells out priorities,key performance indicators (KPIs),targets/benchmarks,time lines and result based action plans.
Others include developing a framework for monitoring and evaluating the implementation process and progress, developing resource base mobilisation, developing accountability framework and communication strategy for communicating the implementation process and progress.

While commissioning the surveillance vehicles, the Minister who remarked that that was the first time the ministry would procure such a large fleet of surveillance vehicles, urged the Mines Officers to use the vehicles and other surveillance gadgets to ensure effective inspection of mines activities.
The commissioning was witnessed by  the Minister of State, Hon. Abubakar Bawa Bwari, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. Mohammed Abbas; the Wife of Kebbi State Governor, Hajia Zainab Atiku Bagudu; and Commissioner for Commerce, Zamfara State, Hajia Fatima Umaru Shinkafi.
The Minister said: “The execution of this vehicle procurement project is therefore a clear demonstration of the commitment of this administration to our strategic goal of repositioning the Mining sector for greater productivity. One of our objectives is to strengthen our ministry with the requisite capacity and capabilities to deliver on our mandate to effectively regulate the sector”, he added.
Fayemi stated that the fleet of vehicles cost Government about N322 Million, which is no small expenditure in view of competing priorities.
He said the purchase of the vehicles has successfully addressed the challenge of the absence of logistical support for field operations of the technical departments of the Ministry. The progress will result in scaling up the capacity of the departments for effective discharge of their statutory duties and functions.
The Minster said beginning from January 2017, he expect to start seeing the positive impact of the investment in terms of increased revenue generation, reduction in number of illegal mining incidences, fewer cases of conflicts arising from mining activities, and timely rendering of periodic reports of mining activities from respective field stations.
He warned officers to use the vehicles strictly for the official duties they are meant for and on no reason should the vehicles be used for unofficial purposes except with express approval. He said to discourage arbitrary use of the vehicles other than the discharge of official duties, the vehicles have been installed with tracking devices that will enable the Ministry monitor their movements centrally from Abuja. That any officer that runs afoul  of the ethical use of the vehicles shall be dealt with in accordance with relevant Civil Service Rules.
The Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development Hon. Abubakar Bawa Bwari in a vote of thanks commended the Dr. Fayemi for the passion shorn for the mining industry, the National Assembly for their understanding and cooperation for the industry, the Security Agencies for their cooperation and all stakeholders especially the International partners and Agencies and the Media for their support

​ALEX OTTI VS DMO: WHEN WILL THE OKEZIE IKPEAZUS STOP WAILING?By. Ferdinand Ekeoma.

Little over two weeks ago, a financial guru and the APGA Guber Candidate in the last election in Abia State Dr. Alex Otti scripted a well articulated article on the proposed 30 Billion Dollar loan being sought by the Federal Government. The piece which he captioned “30 Billion Dollar Loan: Are you for Real?” was published on his Thisday Column “Outside The Box” on 28 November, 2016.
In the said article, Otti asked some  critical but very important questions which bothered on strategies that could define the steps government intends to take and how it intends to attain its defined goals, the time frame and  what happens after, a clear planning document under whose framework the borrowing is supposed to come, clarity on where the loans are coming from, how the loan would be utilized, foreign exchange management policy, ability of Nigeria to service the loan etc. 
The article generated so much reactions from online and offline readers. The reactions were quite expected, one because the loan issue has remained a very sensitive national discuss which many read and listen to with every bit of curiosity and religiosity. Secondly, the writer, Alex Otti is considered by the crème de la crème of the financial world as a reliable and respected authority in  financial matters, so his Thisday Column “Outside The Box” which comes up every other Monday has become an intellectual forum for those who desire to feast on financial information and knowledge especially at this moment of economic uncertainty.

Just like millions of Nigerians, there is no doubt that both the media and economic team of Mr. President read the column and that may have been how the DMO got hold of the November, 28 edition of Otti’s article where he made his well  articulated contributions on the controversial loan proposal.

It is no longer news that the Debt Management Office (DMO) hurriedly took up paid adverts in different news papers where it angrily descended on Otti, criticized and accused him of quoting inaccurate figures on debts being owed by the Nation.

Many who had read Otti’s article and comprehended its richness were taken aback by the DMO’S press releases, devoid of convincing facts capable of overwhelming Otti’s empirical facts and figures. Of course Nigerians who could read in between the lines and took it upon themselves to criticise the DMO on different online platforms for not being honourable enough to accept Otti’s statesmanly intellectual intervention grounded in factuality and accuracy, especially with figures quoted from the DMO official website.

Strangely, a group of Okezie Ikpeazu/PDP trumpeters who were thrilled by the DMO scanty Press releases began to efecate on, and  desecrate the social media with nonsensical anti Otti puerile.

Led by my good friend and a close ally of Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, Barrister Onyebuchi Ememanka, these Ikpeazu supporters speedily picked up their vuvuzelas and went to town to announce the phantom demolition of their nemesis Alex Otti via a scanty release issued by a frightened DMO who were not even  courageous enough to sign their release using an official of the agency, probably for fear of being intellectually torn to shreds by Otti.
Leading the onslaughts on Dr. Alex otti, Barr Ememanka who captioned his piece “Alex Otti vs The Presidency” , tried  though without success  to present Dr. Otti as one who was  cut to size by the DMO’s official one page falsehood even without verifying the veracity of DMO’s face saving press release.

To clearly prove that the crux of the matter was not that the DMO made any sense in  their press release against Otti, Barr. Ememanka, like his Boss Okezie Ikpeazu mournfully let the cat out of the bag when he stated that , “This is a very serious issue and calls into serious question, the integrity and knowledge of Mazi Alex Otti. When men who have attained such dizzying heights speak on serious national issues in public, they must be absolutely sure of their facts”.
He continues, “For me, the fact that Dr. Otti, after fighting his case with Governor Ikpeazu up to the supreme court and lost, sought to join in the misguided case of Uche Ogar, seeking to reap the benefits of an ill advised intra party issue made me to start viewing him with some concern”. The Federal High Court  threw out his monstrous application describing him as a meddlesome interloper. The court of Appeal agreed and he is now at the supreme court in what I call a totally misguided fighting expedition”. “What could have motivated this bandying of unsubstantiated figures by Otti? Could it be borne out of a desire to pull a publicity stunt?
Anyways, I look forward to seeing how Dr. Otti will respond to this intellectual knockout by the Debt Management Office”.
From the above statement, it is clear even to the most unintelligent that these Ikpeazu men are still traumatized by Alex otti’s involvement in a case they have continued to boast that they have already won.

Throughout the electioneering period, we saw an Okezie Ikpeazu and supporters who exhibited the worst form of primitive sectional emotions  which made them assume an insulting sense of entitlement to a Governorship seat that was open for every qualified Abian. Dr. Alex Otti was considered an enemy because of his pedigree which posed a huge threat to the man who said that it was their turn to govern Abia. Okezie Ikpeazus and his minority supporters think it’s a crime for Dr. Alex Otti to exercise his legal rights in a case that directly connects him going by the provisions of our laws.

In case sentiments have blinded all Ikpeazus, including the brightest not to know the difference between election and pre election matter, I would humbly want to remind them that no law forbids a candidate from approaching the courts on a pre election matter even after an election matter had been decided by the supreme court.
To be so quickly thrilled by some inconsequential  anti Otti fallacies to the extent of claiming that you now view him with some concern, especially when the issues at  hand are financial and economic matters where he is a grandmaster is to be very unguarded, mischievous and conscientiously ridiculous.
I sincerely think that it is better for Otti to remain on the misguided fishing expedition “as declared by the Ikpeazus than to embrace the looting expedition of the clueless governor.

I understand that the Okezie Ikpeazus have continued to have sleepless nights because of Alex Otti, yet it is important to remind them that Dr. Otti neither initiated the present battle nor went to court against Ikpeazu, rather he went to court to challenge the consequential orders that he believes are not in tandem with the provisions of our Electoral Act. Can anyone tell me what is wrong with that? 

To attempt to pollute Otti’s intellectual contributions at the highest level by cheaply accusing him of trying to pull a publicity stunt because of the ever nauseating Abia politics is to be scandalously pathetic.

Otti’s civilized and quiet mien has been seen and attested to by Abians and Nigerians, he is neither garrulous, controversial nor desperate, and does not need cheap publicity because the followership, the support and solidarity he enjoys in the midst of Abians is the type Okezie Ikpeazu can never command even if he serves as governor for sixteen years. This is an incontrovertible fact known even to those who desire to hold Abia in perpetual captivity.

It is not by accident that Otti’s “Outside the Box” column in ThisDay Newspapers is one of the most sought after columns in Nigeria today because he writes facts and figures that can yield results when put into pratice, so his articles are neither meant for dull brains nor for biased intellectuals who bury intellectualism on the alter of partisan politics.
As iritiating as the below standard reactions of the Debt Management Office and Agents of Abia State Government were initially , one must also commend the DMO for eating the humble pie, and the Agents of Abia State Government for applying the demeaning “pause mode”, after Dr. Otti released his follow up article captioned, “Haba DMO, Except If Your Own Figures Are Wrong”, which completely made a mess of the DMO’s rejoinder and attracted the deserving encomiums from those who cherish intellectual discourse.

While Otti’s creative interventions, no matter how flawless are open to criticisms and scrutiny being the work of man, such thoroughly researched and well scripted pieces should not be desecrated on the altar of primitive politics.
And to Ikpeazu/PDP antagonists, be reminded that Otti had the capacity and the followership to repel your election-period political terrorism with equal acts of terror, but he put the lives of innocent Abians first while you brazenly stole what did not belong to you in a manner that was completely anti human, so now that you are desperately looking for the sleep you murdered, you should be wise enough to remember the Igbo Adage which says that, “He who brings an ant infested firewood is indebted to the lizard”, so bear it in mind that Otti is not to blame, may be the gods are. 

Remember that when the Appeal Court declared Otti governor, he neither contemplated nor approached any authority for the purpose of swearing him in, so Otti is not and will never be involved in any political or legal coup against Okezie Ikpeazu or any other person for that matter, so it’s high time you stopped this endless wailing and face the job of governance for the sake of suffering Abians.

FIVE REASONS WHY FRAUDULENT ABIA STATE LG ELECTION WILL NOT STAND

Honest Abians have all risen up to condemn the fraudulent Abia State Local Government election that held yesterday. Even if their was no injunction stopping the election, the election would have been adjudged as the worst election in human history going by the delibrate and openly wicked rigging methods applied by ABESIC under the tutulage of Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu.

The childish rigging method applied by PDP, ABSIEC and Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu is to make sure that election materials did not come on time to opposition stronghold and even when it comes it will be insufficient. A unit that should get atleast 5 voting booklet will get 1 or 2 ,thereby giving the remaining booklet to their preferred candidates or already decided winner. In other areas the electoral officers will not come with election result sheet and the worst is that election results are not declared in units, wards and collation centres as it is the norm, but they are all moved to ABSIEC office in Umuahia where it is actually not counted, but already written results are read out.. WICKDEDNESS

Abians can not be fooled, time will solve everything and vindicate Abians and Abia Facts Newspaper (We stand for truth and justice).

THESE ARE FIVE REASONS WHY THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTION WILL NOT STAND AS WRITTEN BY MAXWELL NWADIKE

——————————-

Five reasons why the selection and Kangoro exercise conduct by PDP under the supervision of Gov. Okezie cannot stand

1–There was no validation of the voters register as stipulated by the electoral act.

2–All court in the state were not in session when party primaries were conducted. Normally courts supposed to be in session as stipulated by the electoral act.

3–List of APGA candidates were intentionally removed by ABSIEC under the instruction of Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu and these candidate were denied the opportunity of screening till they went to court only for the same list to resurfaced just yesterday.

4– The election was not captured in 2016 state budget.

5– There was a court injunction restraining Gov. Okezie led ABSIEC from conducting the election.

Everything done yesterday in the name of election is illegal, null and void.

©AFN 

PRINCE KALU: WHY ABIA WILL REMAIN THE “MOST BACKWARD STATE” IN NIGERIA

I have been keeping quiet over the past one year or so on political matters,especially,the ones affecting OUR SORRY STATE (Abia State), which ,unfortunately, have never seen good governance since her creation in 1991.

Talk of infrastructure, health, security and the rest of them you will pity the state.

The most lucrative or booming business in Abia State is “SYCOPHANCY” or “PRAISE-SINGING”. Lying and telling the people that things are going well even when they are not.

A state full of deceitful human beings who has no human conscience or the fear of God,but goes about mimicking themselves in the name of being from “God’s Own State”. My brothers,God cannot be mocked. That He keeps silence without striking people for cajoling with His name does not mean He does not take record, but I am aware that He will visit the sins of fathers upon their children and Children Children when the time comes. After the race,the miles would be counted.

We all saw what happened in 2015 during the elections and today, 21-12-2016 is have been slated for LOCAL GOVERNMENT and COUNCILORSHIP ELECTIONS in Abia State.

In order to deceive themselves, some people have thought out the idea of holding the election during this festive period, in Midweek (Wednesday) and without restriction of movements to enable participation. In their sinister plan to make today’s charade called LG election look real, banks are asked to close while markets are open and the people going about their normal businesses.

Their joy is that most of the VOTERS’ CARDS which ought to be at the hands of the people are still at the hands of the thugs breeding agency of the state (L.G Headquarters) and they can bring them out today,hand them over to hired thugs who in turn will use the cards to vote in place of the real owners. So,whether the people come out or not, it does not matter. ABIA STATE NTOORRR!!!!.

My people,just tune-in to your radio, and of course,you know the stations to tune-in to and listen to hear about the result and how millions of people came out to vote peacefully ,and bet me, at the end of the day you will hear that One political party has won 98% of all the elections in Abia State,both the chairmanship and councilorship seats,and even if some bloods were shed (God forbid this time), you see the purported winners going to Churches to stand in front of the altars, picking microphones to mimic themselves in the name of thanks-giving to God.

A state where cars are shared among thugs while civil servants are owed is a doomed state. A state that a police officer will be harassing her citizenry,extorting monies openly and making sure that night life does not exist even when there is no curfew is doomed.

My heart bleeds to be frank.

Okezie Ikpeazu plans to Kill Abia Workers With Hunger – Chuks Omesie

Okezie Ikpeazu Gathered Abia State workers in order to fool them to Vote PDP during this LG election not to Pay them their 8 months Salaries. His government Has finally Suceeded In their Plan to starve Abia State Workers.
Apart from the time of Biafrian War and in the year 1988-1989 when there was an outbreak of Cassava Mealybugs (Phenacoccus manihoti) there has never being a time again Abia people experienced hunger until now Dr. OKezie Ikpeazu is the Governor.
This article will clearly tell the Readers that Abia State has one heartless Man as their Governor who is interested in looting the state and he has no regard for his Workers. Okezie Ikpeazu is one inept Man who doesn’t understand his background. Do you know that Okezie Ikpeazu’s Mother was a civil servant, if she wasn’t being paid just as Ikpeazu is owing workers 8 months salaries in Abia State, there wouldn’t have been money to train Ikpeazu.
Let’s not forget that Abia Workers are being owed for 8 months and imagine if one of the Workers were your Brother, Uncle or Aunty; think about how he/she would be feeling and what their families are passing through right now. Every kind hearted Abian should join and speak against this maladministration meted against Abia Workers by Okezie Ikpeazu. Okezie only came to steal, kill and to destroy Abia State.
Before now, there was an article i wrote, stating reasons why Abia Workers would go home empty handed this Christmas and as usual, some people saw it as a joke, but today I have been vindicated. Abians and Civil servants in Abia State should know that Dr. Okezie cannot pay Abia workers this year because there is no money to pay them, reason being that the fund which is supposed to be used to pay the Workers was massively looted before its arrival. I said it and that is the buttom pot. My previous Article has it that Abia government used their FAAC account as guarantee (MT-760) to give fictitious Cheques for the payments of their fictitious contracts, but later on they couldn’t receive the amount they expected. In fact, after they received about 11 Billion Naira from Paris Club returned fund, Abia State FAAC account is still on red. They need more than 20 Billion Naira to cover up the fictitous cheques they issued using FAAC account.
Okezie and Hon Eziuche Ubani are major team Players in what is happening to Abians today. Eziuche is the Commissioner of Workers in Abia State but he has used that ministry to siphon billions of naira belonging to Abians. They loot the state funds using fake Contracts and Contractors. 

The Contractors are those that help them convey the looted monies abroad, in disguise that they are sending the funds outside the country to use it for the purchase of construction equipment, and at the end, the funds will remain in a foreign account without supplying the equipment.
Since 1999 till date, Abia leadership has gone from bad to worse. Okezie is the worst Governor Abia State has ever had. Ndi Ngwa can now confirm what i wrote before now that Okezie Ikpeazu is not the right Ngwa Man to govern Abia because he lacks the unquenchable Ngwa man’s courage and sincerity to defend his people. 

The shame Ikpeazu is bringing to the Ngwa people is more than they could bear. Even when over 60% of Abia Work force are the Ndi Ngwa, still their son, who they are doing everything to defend, is not making any single effort to pay them. In fact Okezie is an embarrassment to Ngwa people, that was why i use to say that Okezie loves Ndi Ibeku more than Ndi Ngwa forgetting that Igbo proverb said that after eating at the townsquare, you go back to the hut (Erishaa Na Ama, Alaa Na Obi).
How to go about this pitiable condition of Abia workers this Christmas is for everyone to help one another. When situation like this occured in Osun State, well to do personalities, stakeholders and NGOs sent food items to them, at least for them to eat once a day. Since we do not expect our Civil Servants to go and steal, all we need to do is to help one another by supporting them with food items no matter how little it maybe.
During the time this similar thing happened in Osun State when Raul Arigbosola couldn’t pay his workers for 10 months, people and organizations were sent Trailers full of food items. 

Therefore, i use this medium to humbly appeal to the good people of Abia State who often claim to love our dear state to support Abia Civil Servants because they are really suffering and dying. I hope that former Governor Orji Kalu, Dr. Alex Otti, Dr. Uche Ogah, Dr. Chikwe Udensi, Bawas, Rtd.General Ihejirika, Ochiaha Reagan Ufomba, Rtd Real Adimiral Ndubuisi Kalu, Mr Emma Nbaka, Iyke Greg Ibe, Chief Chris Nwonta, Friday Nwosu SAN and others come to the aid of their dying state workers. 

Three Trailer loads of rice, one for each Senatorial Zone will go a long way to assist those Civil Servants who have not been paid.
Abia State really needs divine intervention and the people to revolt against the bad government created by T.A.Orji. It is a wicked foundation that T.A. Orji layed that Okezie is building on but hopefully, their end is very near. We really need to weep for the Patients who have been discharged untimely at Abia State Teaching Hospital Abayi Aba. I have received more than 17 calls from there reporting that Patients have been asked to go because the Doctors and Nurses have refused to attend to them because of non payment of their salaries for months. Even those booked for Operations have been asked to try other private Clinics and for now we are yet to ascertain the number of casualities.
The world should really pity Abians because nothing is more dangerous than a bad Leader and leadership. 

Though Ikpeazu is sitting as Abia Governor for now but the state has been hijacked from him. All the sources of getting revenue in Abia have been diverted to Agberos and they only give kickbacks to Ikpeazu, so there is no way Abia will move forward with this style of leadership. May God help Abians.
Meanwhile, i read that Federal High Court Abuja has given an interim injuction to stop Abia State LG election. I learn’t that all the parties were briefed by the judge earlier on before giving the injuction but Ikpeazu and Abia PDP in their usual stubbornness and disobedient to the authority insisted on making plans to go ahead with the election. 

More injunctions are coming as far as majority of Abians are not in support of the upcoming election. With the way Abians are using every legal means to resist injustice and bad leadership, let us hope that things will get better soon.
Abia State is really in a trial time and by the grace of God, Uchechukwu ga-eme in Abia State.

Don’t Expect Me To Praise Gov.Ikpeazu For Paying Salary – Chidinma Ubani

It’s never out of the bakers kindness that we get bread, we all work for it.
So if you are expecting me to praise OKEZIE IKPEAZU for paying salaries, 

I WILL NOT DO IT.

The payment of salaries is the workers right and not a privilege, they worked for it. 

It’s really pathetic that our workers had to collect salaries when it now look like a once in a while privilege and no longer the normal salary payment that they worked for but it’s even more pathetic when we have to celebrate the governor for the payment.

Before you think about dealing my number because of this post, think about this…

My BOTH parents are civil servants so I feel their pain directly.

DANGER IN ABA, AS HOODLUMS ATTACK SHOPS, LOOTING AND MAIMING SHOP OWNERS

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The crime rate in Aba seems to be increasing unbated based on this heart breaking incident that occurred today around York area, close to recreation Club in Aba, Abia State.

Abia Facts Newspaper gathered that hoodlums numbering about 100 stormed shops around York by 1pm ,surrendering shop owners with guns, looting their shops and phones.

We gathered they broke the head of many traders in that axis, while others were inflicted with different degrees of injuries.

During hoodlums raid, we gathered they were chanting “As From Today, No More Azubuike “.

AFN later discovered that Azubuike is the current Road Transport Workers Union leader who has refused to step down after years of assuming the office.

Eyewitness had this to say, ” Aba is becoming really dangerous, I was robbed today of my phones and goods worth N200,000.00 at my shop around York close to Recreation Club. The hoodlums came shouting, brandishing guns and cutlasses, looting shops,  maiming traders.. 

This is so bad. Abia State Government need to step in and arrest this situation before it gets worst, the government needs to also help some of us that were robbed in broad daylight  ” She concluded.

Abia Facts Newspaper learnt that the traders have reported the incident to the nearest Police Station.

©AFN 

​Dr Kalu Idika Kalu comments on reactions to Orji Uzo Kalu’s visit to Nnamdi Kanu at Kuje prisons.

…… Not according Nnamdi Kanu his due legal rights and fundamental habeas corpus is ” criminal and  judicial incompetence” in the first instance! 

However, Nnamdi Kanu and partners miscalculated the context of the agitation! 

Ndigbo and other Nigerians went into the Biafran struggle by the inexorable force of the circumstances of the day! 

If those circumstances are repeated today, Ndigbo and other Nigerians would not need any single individual or band to force the issue!
Today we face all manner of poor governance at every conceivable level in virtually all institutions across every state in the land. . 

that is the crux of the logic for restructuring. . 

from the local government to a central government , with circumscribed powers!
All this romantic talk and presumed palliatives cannot ignore the real feelings of the ordinary citizens of this bewildered realm wherever they may live! 

We had better screw on our heads right to face the real existential issues all Nigerians are confronted with on a daily basis! 
Dr Kalu Idika Kalu