NNPC Has Not Remitted Any Money Yet - FG

Four Months after former President Goodluch Jonathan directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to refund $1.48bn (N291.56bn) into the Federation Account, the corporation has yet to do so.

An international audit firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, was last year hired to carry out a forensic audit of the corporation following an allegation by the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Lamido Sanusi, that $49bn was not remitted to the Federation Account by the NNPC.

Sanusi, who is now the Emir of Kano, had written a letter to Jonathan that the amount was not remitted to the Federation Account by the NNPC.

But following the controversy, which the letter generated, a committee was set up to reconcile the account.

Sanusi later recanted and said the unremitted fund was $12bn. He again changed the figure to $20bn.

PwC had stated in its report that while the total gross revenues generated from crude oil lifting was $69.34bn between January 2012 and July 2013 and not $67bn as earlier stated by the Senate Reconciliation Committee, what was remitted to the Federation Account was $50.81bn and not $47bn.

Within the $69.34bn, the audit report revealed that $28.22bn was the value of the domestic crude oil allocated to the NNPC, adding that the total amount spent on subsidy for Premium Motor Spirit amounted to $5.32bn.

But speaking on Tuesday shortly after this month’s Federation Account Allocation Committee meeting, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, Mrs. Anastacia Nwaobia, said no amount had been refunded as directed by Jonathan.

She said, “On refund from the NNPC, that was not discussed but you can see that from the breakdown, we have a refund of what we have been expecting from the NNPC to the Federal Government. We had a refund of about N6.33bn.

“The refund that you are asking about, maybe it is a fallout of the forensic audit; that has not been done. The forensic audit is still being considered and I am sure that when a decision is taken, it will be communicated and you will have that information.”

Speaking on the amount shared at the meeting, Nwaobia said the sum of N418.4bn was shared among the federal, states and local governments as revenue for the month of May.

She said that the shared amount comprised the month’s statutory revenue of N324bn and N6.3bn refunded by NNPC, being the corporation’s indebtedness to the federation before the release of the forensic audit report.

The permanent secretary said, “The gross revenue of N324.96bn received for the month was higher than the N282.06bn received in the previous month by N41.99bn. The distributable statutory revenue for the month is N324.06bn. The sum of N6.33bn was refunded by the NNPC to the Federal Government.

“Also, there was an exchange gain of N31.24bn, which is proposed for distribution. The total revenue distributable for the current month, including VAT, is N418.4bn.”

Giving the breakdown of the revenue shared among the three tiers of government, Nwaobia said after deducting the sum of N6.82bn as cost of collection, the Federal Government received N151.8bn, representing 52.68 per cent; states, N76.9bn, or 26.72 per cent of the total; while the local governments received N59.3bn, or 20.60 per cent of the amount distributed.

She announced that N29bn, representing 13 per cent derivation revenue, was also shared among the oil producing states.

President parries question on ministerial list

President Muhammadu Buhari may shock state governors and other leaders of the All Progressives Congress by the time he releases the list of his ministerial nominees, investigation has revealed.

THE PUNCH learnt on Tuesday that indication that Buhari was keeping matters relating to the appointment close to his chest emerged during a meeting he held with state governors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

A governor who pleaded anonymity told our correspondent that one of his colleagues raised the issue at the meeting.

He said the governor had asked the President when the names of ministerial nominees would be sent to the Senate for screening.

He said Buhari however refused to answer the question posed by the governor.

This, he explained, was an indication that the President did not want to talk on the matter.

“During the meeting today, a governor asked the President what is delaying the list of his ministerial list.

“The President did not answer that question. That, to me, means that he is keeping details to his chest,” the source said.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina; and his Senior Special Assistant and Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, could not be reached for comment as of the time of filing this report.

Source: http://www.punchng.com/news/president-parries-question-on-ministerial-list/

Buhari-US’ll assist us to recover stolen funds

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday said his administration had received firm assurances of cooperation from the United States and other countries in his quest to recover and repatriate funds stolen from Nigeria.

According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, the President spoke while granting audience to members of the Northern Traditional Rulers Council led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Adesina quoted Buhari as saying that it was now up to Nigeria to provide the international community with the facts and figures needed to drive the recovery effort.

He said he would be busy, in the next three months, getting the facts that would help in recovering the stolen funds.

“In the next three months, our administration will be busy getting those facts and the figures to help us recover our stolen funds in foreign countries,” Adesina quoted the President as saying.

Citing the report submitted by the Ahmed Joda-led transition committee, President Buhari said that several revenue-generating institutions in the country had been compromised.

On insecurity, the President was also quoted as telling the traditional rulers that they would play a key role in stemming terrorism and insurgency in the country.

This, he said, they would do by assisting the government with cost-effective intelligence gathering.

Buhari also assured the traditional rulers that his administration was working hard to end insecurity and terrorism in the country in the shortest possible time with the cooperation of neighbouring countries and the international community.

Acknowledging that Nigerians expected a lot from his administration, the President appealed for patience and understanding while his government works diligently to speedily overcome the huge national challenges it inherited.

The Sultan had earlier presented the Northern Traditional Rulers’ recommendations to the President on issues related to national development.

He told the President that as custodians of tradition and stakeholders in the Nigerian project, the traditional rulers had a responsibility to always advise political leaders on the “path of truth and justice.”

“We have always advised our leaders, but their acceptance of our advice is their own prerogative,” the Sultan said.

The traditional rulers assured the President of their unflinching support for his administration’s efforts to fulfil its promises to Nigerians.

The traditional rulers later joined the President in the traditional breaking of fast.

They were also joined by some state governors.

Source: http://www.punchng.com/news/usll-assist-us-to-recover-stolen-funds-buhari/

Fresh crisis brews in APC

The sharing of principal offices in the Senate seems to be creating a fresh crisis in the ruling All Progressives Congress.

The principal offices are the Senate Leader; the Deputy Senate Leader; the Chief Whip and the Deputy Chief Whip.

While the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, is believed to have recommended to the APC National Working Committee that the positions be allocated to the zones, some leaders of the party, especially those from the South-West, want them filled by the party’s hierarchy.

A senator made this known to one of our correspondents in Abuja on Thursday just as the APC NWC meeting   on Thursday   failed to agree on the modalities for brokering peace among aggrieved members of the party.

The senator warned that if the issue was not quickly resolved, the Senate and the APC might “face another round of crisis bigger than that that resulted from Saraki’s emergence as Senate president.”

He added, “The Senate President, had after wide consultations, suggested how the officers to occupy these posts could be appointed. He suggested the allocation of the four principal offices to some of the geopolitical zones.

“But some leaders, who are still angry with his (Saraki) emergence, turned down his suggestion. Some of the influential leaders from the South-West are insisting that the party should fill the offices. This is in spite of the fact that the chairman of our party (John Odigie-Oyegun) and other members of the NWC are in support of allocating the principal offices to zones.

“The South-West leaders are even saying that allowing the party leadership to fill the offices, remained the only way to allow peace to reign in the Senate.”

A Senator from the North-Central , who is loyal to Saraki, confirmed the development on condition of anonymity .

He said that it was true that some APC leaders were insisting that the party should nominate the senators who would occupy the four principal offices .

He said, “By the Senate tradition, the party in majority normally sends the offices to the zones where the Senate caucuses would meet and choose among themselves in the zone, who occupies the offices.

“Some other leaders of the party are claiming that asking the party to produce the principal officers was a smart way   to impose the Senate Leader, the Deputy Senate Leader, the Chief Whip and the Deputy Chief Whip on the Senate.”

The senator claimed that a “very influential “ leader of the party from the South-West had allegedly written Odigie- Oyegun that the leaders would fill the positions. “

He said, “Some of us were just called by some members of the NWC intimating us of details of a letter forwarded to the body that it should just fill the remaining four leadership positions in the Senate.

“In fact, the letter from the South-West leader is that the party must take charge and name its preferred candidates for the four offices.”

It was further learnt that some senators had already met with some NWC members asking them to ignore the letter.

They   were said to have insisted that the tradition remained that the zonal caucuses which did not produce the Senate President and his deputy should meet and nominate among themselves.

They added that it was when there were two or more nominations that,   an election could hold and that whoever scored the highest votes   would be the candidate.

Efforts to get the spokesperson for the pro – Saraki group, Dino Melaye, failed because his mobile phone was switched off.

Spokesperson for the Senate Unity Forum, a group of senators loyal to   Lawan, Kabir Marafa, argued that the choice of other principal officers who are not elected on the floor of the Senate, remained the sole business of the party leadership.

He said, “How can the executive of the party at the zonal levels determine who will be made the Senate Leader, the Deputy Senate Leader, the Chief Whip   and the Deputy Chief Whip?

“It is the party executive that would determine all these. So the party would write the Senate President. That is the tradition. It cannot be done at the zonal level, it is absurd. There should be due process in whatever things   we do.”

But when contacted , the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Lai Mohammed simply said,   “No comment.”

NWC meeting deadlocked

Meanwhile, the leaders of the party will meet again on Friday   following their failure to reach an agreement on how to end the crisis that arose due to the National Assembly leadership elections .

The meeting, which was held behind closed doors at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja   started at about 5.20pm. It   lasted for a little over an hour.

Details of the meeting were not made public as of   8pm on Thursday when this story was filed.     When approached for comments ,   Odigie-Oyegun,   said, “We will meet again tomorrow to continue.”

It was however learnt that the party leaders had been unable to get supporters of the Senate President and the APC’s preferred candidate for the Senate Presidency , Ahmed Lawan, to meet face-to-face.

One of our correspondents, who visited the APC secretariat observed that the posters and banners of a former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, had disappeared from the secretariat.

His banners were hitherto pasted   side by side those of President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.

Most of the banners were put up by individuals and groups   supporting the APC.

It is not clear what led to the disappearance of the posters and banners.

PDP Will Regain Power in 2019 - Mimiko

The newly-elected Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ Forum, Ondo’s Olusegun Mimiko, on Thursday said that the opposition party would regain power at the centre come 2019.

Mimiko said the PDP had in fact commenced the process of taking back power from the All Progressives Congress during the next general elections.

He said this at the Akure airport during a mini-reception organised for him on his return from Abuja, where he was voted as the new PDP governors’ chairman on Wednesday.

Mimiko said the governors were determined to give the PDP a new face as the opposition party, pledging that the party’s engagement of the ruling APC would be robust and offer alternative policy platform and programmes for the country.

He said the PDP governors had resolved to collectively work assiduously and excel in governance with a view to re-branding the party and selling it to all Nigerians.

He said, “We must sustain enthusiasm in our party; and as governors who have pivotal roles to play in re-branding our party, we must show in governance term the difference between us and the APC and these are the challenges ahead of us.

“As opposition party, our engagement will be robust; we must offer alternative policy platform and programme when we criticise one. We must show Nigerians that we are a different party. We will not be abusive in opposing the government and we will praise where it is worthy of praise and criticise in a very robust manner”

He said that the PDP in Ondo State had reached an appreciable level of repositioning and that the party was “overwhelmingly” in charge in the state.

The Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Jumoke Akindele, noted at the reception that the emergence of Mimiko as the chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum was well deserved.

Wike - I Met An Empty Treasury

THE Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has said that contrary to the claims by the immediate past administration that it left N7bn in the state coffers, he met an empty treasury.

Wike explained that the treasury where the monthly Federal Allocation accruing to the state was always kept had remained in debit as at May 29 when he (governor) took over the reins of governance in the state.

The governor made this remark on Thursday at the Government House in Port Harcourt during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the state government and officials of Julius Berger and a Chinese Construction firm, CCECC, for the rehabilitation of 33 kilometres of township roads in the state capital.

He stated that from the brief he received from the state Accountant General after his inauguration, only one revenue account with Sterling Bank had some funds left by the immediate past administration.

Wike said, “I want to say on good authority that we did not meet any N7bn, as being speculated. The state’s FAAC account as at May 29 (2015) was in debit. That was the briefing I received from the Accountant-General.”

Signing the MoU with the two construction giants, Wike explained that the step was to realise his administration zero potholes programme launched on May 29, 2015.

According to the governor, while Julius Berger is to handle the rehabilitation of 11 kilometres of township roads alongside street lights and traffic lights, the CCECC will handle 20 kilometres of township roads in Port Harcourt.

He explained that the state government had resolved to work with the construction giants to rebuild road infrastructure in the state capital. He added that the revival of facilities in the state capital was beyond political consideration.

Wike noted that the funds for the ‘Operation Zero Potholes’ had been set aside, hence the signing of the MoU to ensure that the companies concluded work in 120 days.

He, however, promised to personally monitor the execution of the projects by the construction giants.

Wike explained that his administration had resolved to take the N10bn loan with specific focus on key projects to be implemented, noting that the request to the state House of Assembly was accompanied by all the projects to be executed.

NNPC - WE WILL KICK START PORT HARCOURT REFINERY BY JULY

The Group Managing Director (GMD), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Joseph Dawha, on Thursday said the Port Harcourt Refinery might resume operation by July.

Dawha said this while addressing newsmen after a tour of some filling stations in Abuja with some top management staff of the corporation.

``When the refinery comes up stream in late June or early July we expect that it will run at least 80 per cent installed capacity.

``It will give us a contribution of about five million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) on a daily basis.”

Dawha said the ongoing Turn Around Maintenance(TAM) of the refineries was a conscious effort to ensure that they were all running.

``If the refineries were not in depth or in good state to process crude for maximum gain there was no need of sending crude to such refineries for processing.

``What we do is to fix them so that we can get the real value for products.

``We are satisfied with the level of work carried out so far at the Port Harcourt Refinery so that if we start processing crude now we will get value for the refined products.

``So there will not be distraction as it will be, if refineries were operating properly.”

The GMD also decried the spate of vandalism of the pipeline in the country, stressing that the NNPC was working hard to put in place mechanism to minimise the menace.

He described the situation as ``a very serious matter”, noting that NNPC could not use the pipeline network supply because of vandalism.

``If you send products through the vandalised pipeline then you lose the product.

``We cannot live it that way; we have to repair them but as you do that, it is vandalised again. It is a very serious matter.

``We are left with the option of trucking which involves a lot of logistics to succeed.”

The Managing Director of the Pipeline Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Prince Haruna Momoh, condemned the recent vandalised system 2B pipeline of the NNPC in Lagos.

According to him, the system 2B pipeline in Ije Ododo in Lagos is the most vandalised structure.

He said that already the situation had been controlled and repair of the pipeline would soon begin.

``As at today, the NNPC imports 50 per cent of the petroleum products into the country as part of the 40 million litres daily consumption by Nigerians.

``The corporation will continue to intensify its efforts to wet the country with products from its coastal depots to inland depots.”

He said the NNPC was ready to work with all the relevant stakeholders in the downstream sector of the Oil and Gas Industry to end the lingering fuel scarcity. (NAN)

GOVERNOR OF AKWA IBOM STATE TO SET UP TECHNICAL COMMITTEE FOR PEACOCK PAINTS INDUSTRY

As part of his plans to revitalise moribund industries in the state, the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, His Excellency Mr. Udom Emmanuel on Wednesday June 10, 2015 paid a visit to the Peacock Paints Industry in Ikot Ekan , Etinan local government area.

During the visit, the governor promised to within two weeks, set up a technical committee that will assess the current condition of the moribund paint factory and advise government accordingly.

It should please be noted that His Excellency the Governor did not promise to bring the factory back to full operations in two weeks as erroneously published in some social media platforms.

Signed

Ekerete Udoh, SSA(Media)/CPS to the Governor

Akwa Ibom State

TINUBU CONFRONT BUHARI FOR ALLEGED TREACHERY

A Former Governor of Lagos State and the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu has surprisingly criticized President Muhammadu Buhari​,​​ ​saying he betrayed the party.

This is in the wake of events that led to the emergence of Ex-Kwara State Governor Bukola Saraki as the President of the Eighth Senate and the return of Chief Ike Ekweremadu as the Deputy Senate President for a​ ​third term.

Tinubu, who on Wednesday through the Nation Newspaper​,​ in an article titled “The untold story of PDP’s coup behind Saraki’s Senate Presidency” pointed an accusing finger at President Buhari for displaying neutrality in who emerges as the Senate President without due regard to the fate of the party.

According to Tinubu; “Despite the choice of National Assembly leaders being a mixture of party politics and legislative duty, the aloofness, or the perceived neutrality of the President allowed the ‘fight’ within APC to fester until it went of hand.”

He explained that the invitation of the APC lawmakers to the International Conference Centre, ICC, was said to be at the behest of the President; shockingly, the President did not show up.

“The bewildered 51 APC Senators, who were waiting endlessly for the President in ICC, watched the proceeding of the inaugural session from a nearby TV box.

“Before the 51 APC Senators could race down the five-kilometre stretch from ICC to the Assembly Complex, Saraki had emerged as an unopposed candidate.

“To add insult to injury, President Muhammadu Buhari neither showed up nor sent apology to the stranded Senators at the ICC.

“They were left at the mercy of troops from the Brigade of Guards, who had already been deployed in the centre ahead of the supposed arrival of the President.

“Unfortunately, there was no communication between his office and the 51 APC Senators who heeded his invitation.

“It was around 10.35am, we saw that the inaugural session was already on and Saraki had been elected. If we were to be defeated, it should have been done on the floor.”

In defence ​of President Buhari​,​ a highly-placed source, said: “The President had actually made up his mind to be at the ICC but there were feelers that some associates and strategists prevailed on him not to dabble in the selection of the Assembly leadership because he will portray himself as an inconsistent leader having promised not to interfere in the internal affairs of the Legislature.

“Probably acting a pro-Saraki’s script, these associates/strategists made the President to realise that his last-minute intervention would amount to dancing to the tune of one man: Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

“Even if President Buhari is not interested in a second term, he owes the APC a duty to keep the party intact.”

Tinubu therefore stressed that the coup in the National Assembly by PDP was a litmus test for Buhari’s leadership prowess.

“The President may need to assert himself by playing a fatherly role to reunite his political platform that is in tatters.

“When some leaders met with the President after the coup in the Senate, he was said to ‘be hollow’ without a solution to the crisis at hand. The time to act is now,” he emphasized.

The APC National leader berated Buhari for the refusal of the APC leadership to address the important index of power-sharing formula deprived its National Assembly members of the much-needed unity.

“If there had been an acceptable formula in place, the situation may not degenerate to this extent. What Saraki did was to be tactical in conceding the Deputy Senate President to the Southeast which is almost relegated to the background by the Buhari administration.”

“Unless an urgent reconciliation is put in place, the anti-party activities which led to Saraki’s Senate Presidency might cause a prolong crisis in the party. And with plans by the APC leadership to enforce discipline, some leaders might call it quit with the party,” Tinubu added.

Source: http://www.agendang.com/index.php/multimedia/photos/item/289-tinubu-blasts-buhari-for-alleged-treachery

Buhari Declears Over N900 million Asset

“Mr. Integrity”, Buhari lied about his asset which is over N900Million, curiously he borrowed N27Million from a Bank to be able to pay for party nomination form as a candidate..”—Wumi Akintide

In a piece titled: “APC & BUHARI ARE GOING TO HAVE THE SHORTEST HONEYMOON WITH NIGERIANS!”, Dr. Wumi Akintide, said, that he is a little suspicious now about President Buhari’s integrity.

His words: “…..I was a little bit taken aback when the man recently declared his asset. It was close to 900 million Naira. Here was a man who had to borrow 27 million from the Bank to be able to pay for his nomination paper as a candidate…….”, he said.

On Aisha Buhari Cartier Watch scandal, Mr. Akintide said, “That someone would pay attention to the Cartier wrist watch Aisha Buhari wore to the Inauguration ceremony tells me loud and clear that the PDP is not going to let go on making Nigerians know that the change they thought they have voted on March 28 for was a day dream. The PDP wanted to prove that Aisha is not different from Dame Patience Jonathan who had built a crawling estate in Rivers State using her position as first lady to enrich herself. The speculation has put Aisha on the defensive. It has put her in an embarrassing or awkward position to now admit that the wrist watch she was wearing was a fake Cartier she bought in some flea market in London or New York for only 129.00 Dollars and not for 35,000 Dollars from Macy’s or Savoy Row in London where celebrities shop as rumored by some elements in the PDP who want to damage the first couple irredeemably as closet capitalists pretending to be social democrats. I have heard some people say the APC is no better than the PDP. Their members are going to loot Nigeria pretty much like the PDP has done. I am beginning to think that they sure have a point. If the APC allows such impression to gain traction, it has done itself a disfavor to put it mildly.

On INEC form he said: “I was a little bit taken aback when the man recently declared his asset. It was close to 900 million Naira. Here was a man who had to borrow 27 million from the Bank to be able to pay for his nomination paper as a candidate. Nigerians now know that the man is far much richer than he wanted Nigerians to believe when he started his campaign. That asset compared to any of his peers like Babangida, Sani Abacha, Obasanjo, Abdulsalam Abubakar, and Ebele Jonathan has to be viewed as only a drop in the ocean. I sure get that but I am still a bit surprised. The asset he declared was done like the old one where he could not be charged for perjury or over-up if he or his Vice President had lied in the declaration. It was nonsense pure and simple…

Critics think Buhari is a liar, dubiously corrupt. Adding that he, Buhari unprompted promised to Buhari said, on assumption of office on May 29, he will:-End corruption in Nigeria; Make N1.00 = US$1.00; Provide 24 hours electricity in entire Nigeria; Fix all the roads and streets in Nigeria; Pay every unemployed graduate N5,000 ($5,000) per month for 2 years; Jail all the thieves in Nigeria; Build 4 mega Refineries in Nigeria…”, said, Chris Udoh.

But APC, agent, and Buhari supporter, Joseph Igietseme, at CDC, think otherwise. He words: “..Yours below exemplified the problems in the society and why things are in constant mess; some of us like to use different and double standards to assess or evaluate leaders, so that they can make excuses for people they support and malign people they dont like or support. Its not fair citizenship because we sacrifice national principles for nepotism in any color [ethnic, buddy etc].
JUI would like to refresh your memories by presenting the following sequence of events on Assets declaration in reference:

“.Greed and Leadership corruption are rampant in Nigeria; so citizens would like leaders to declare their assets to CCB before and after taking offices; the constitution also requires it; Some leaders have complied and even went further to publicized their assets declaration; however, some leaders have kept their assets declaration out of the public, although Nigerians will prefer the public announcement of declared assets; Some of us who supported Jonathan know that he refused to make his assets declaration public even when the predecessor [Yar'Adua] publicized his declaration; while some citizens had a problem with the half measure of Jonathan that only met the minimum requirement of the constitution, some other like Chris Udoh and Pastor Joe had no issues with it because he was their man! Some of you even defended the minimum constitutional action of Jonathan, arguing that the public announcement was voluntary, not required!

Adding to aforesaid, “Now, a new leader has come into office and he has promptly declared his assets that met the minimum requirement of the constitution; however, people like Chris Udoh and Pastor Joe are now obsessed with the voluntary public announcement which they didnt care about with the leader they supported. Is this double standard or bias? The audience can take it from here!!..jUI hopes Brother Chris Udoh wont repose like Pastor Joe, that he’s confused about the bias call JUI is making on him; Hahaha! The fact is that Pastor Joe and Chris Udoh are being called on a double standard; and they should be trying to dance any kpan-logo or kokoma”, he said.

Respected educator,Abba Gumel, is getting confused about Buhari on this topic, because Buhari did promise to made his assets public once he assumed office May 29, 2015. Buhari is yet to keep his promise. His words: “I find myself in the rather uncomfortable position of actually fully agreeing with you on this one. It seems, perhaps, that change has indeed come to our beloved Ajegunle (to the extent that you and I are becoming ideologically the same). Chei, miracles do happen…even in our own Ajegunle-:))). Bro. JUI, Pastor Joe is right on this one. The President promised to public-ally declare his assets. He meant what he said, and the Buhari we know always keep his word. So, it was always only a matter of short time before the public declaration is made. We, at the APC, always honour our commitments…unlike our PDP brothers who seem not to know the meaning of the word “commitment”.

Another Buhari critic, Joe Attueyi, response. “Yes indeed I am satisfied with this approach that says Buhari intends to keep his promise to make PUBLIC his asset declaration after CCB verification.

Adding that, “If we had joined those of you high-fiving him for meeting the constitutional requirement and asking anybody interested in the details to use FOI Act to access we wouldn’t be where we are today on this issue would we?

“There should be a teachable moment in this for you. It is NOT a mark of support to a leader to hail his every move– whether right or wrong. Followers, especially the intellectuals like you, have an obligation to point out to leaders where their actions require adjustments.

“Those of us who advised the president to keep his freely given pledge–an advice he has now accepted-have done him greater service than those of you including his media adviser asking us to go use FOI Act…”, he said.

Read full text beneath:

I am predicting that the Buhari Government are going to have the shortest honeymoon with Nigerians and many of their ardent supporters in the mainstream and social media and rightly so. Unless Buhari changes his current lethargic and snail speed approach to governance, he is going nowhere but down to put it bluntly.

There is no way Buhari is going to meet the huge expectations of Nigerians if he continues to drag his feet and simply look the other way all because he wants to be too careful and painstaking in taking decision. I know there is a limit to how much we can expect from a 73 year old man who is probably going to fall asleep or take a fall climbing the steps like 90 year old Robert Mugabe has been doing lately to the total embarrassment of Zimbabwe because the man does not know where to draw the line and call it quit. I do not want the predictions of Ayo Fayose to come thru for Buhari who could be going thru mid-life crisis or health challenges as predicted by the loquacious Fayose.

I have reason to believe that Ayo Fayose the embattled Ekiti Governor could do anything. He may have put a spell or a jinx on Buhari from all I am able to see as a Nigerian who would not put anything past Ayo Fayose who claims to be a born again Christian but who could have been paying some nocturnal visits to Okija Shomorika or Aiyelala shrines in Okitipupa area for all you know. I say that because the man is an outlaw, and would do anything to remain Governor by all means.

Nigerians fully understand that Buhari is not a Houdini or Professor Moshudi Peller, Nigerian greatest magician. Buhari himself has tried to lower Nigerians’ expectation on that score because he probably knows his limitations. Some of you might think it is too early to start passing judgment on Buhari but I am going to do it because I care too much about the man because I knew him in his prime as an incorruptible leader with very low tolerance level for corruption.

I was a little bit taken aback when the man recently declared his asset. It was close to 900 million Naira. Here was a man who had to borrow 27 million from the Bank to be able to pay for his nomination paper as a candidate. Nigerians now know that the man is far much richer than he wanted Nigerians to believe when he started his campaign. That asset compared to any of his peers like Babangida, Sani Abacha, Obasanjo, Abdulsalam Abubakar, and Ebele Jonathan has to be viewed as only a drop in the ocean. I sure get that but I am still a bit surprised. The asset he declared was done like the old one where he could not be charged for perjury or over-up if he or his Vice President had lied in the declaration. It was nonsense pure and simple…

I am aware that other African leaders like Mobutu Sese Seko, Houphet Boigny, and Emperor Jean Bokasa were far much richer in their life time than most of our leaders, but you still have to wonder how our leaders plunder their countries to get richer the whole country. Ebele Jonathan the shoeless canoe man of Otuoke is almost as rich as Bill Gates or Dangote today if you add the wealth of his power-drunk first lady.

I fully understand that Buhari who has voluntarily dropped his title of a General in the Nigerian Army is proceeding with great caution because he does not want to look like a dictator or being blackmailed or stigmatized as one by the PDP, and even by some elements in his own party who want to act and behave like the PDP did for 16 years of total impunity and recklessness in Nigeria
I concur that Buhari needs to proceed with caution but caution is one thing and lethargy, sloppiness and foolhardiness belong to a different kettle of fish for a man who was a former Head of State for 20 months from August 1983 as a military dictator. They constitute a different ballgame and for a man who has sought the office of a civilian President for 12 consecutive years and should have been fully ready to know some of the things he wants to do, and some of the individuals he would need to get the job done. He ought to have known what the Nigerian Constitution would permit him to do with the consensus of his party majority in both Houses of Parliament. He does not come away now like a man who has gone thru that baptism of fire and conviction. He does not look to me like a proactive President right now. He looks like somebody waiting to react to events as they occur which is not good enough.

Buhari should have had a rapid response team in place by now to help him define his order of priorities after March 28 when it became clear he has won the election, and after his nemesis has conceded victory without wasting time. The magnanimous concession by President Jonathan should have given Buhari a leg up to fine-tune some of his the things he wants to do on taking over from Jonathan on May 29 just like David Cameron has been doing in Britain. He should have seized the opportunity of his inaugural address to demonstrate that conviction more forcefully than he did.

He should have given his listeners some concrete ideas about where he wanted to take Nigeria beyond his election campaign rhetoric. That we still don’t know who is Secretary to Government is going to be up till now is a proof the man is far from ready to lead. It could also be a proof that there is a big division in the rank and file of the APC. That is not something they can be proud of having waited for 16 years to come this far. Chairman of the Party, John Odigie Oyegun as a former Administrator and Permanent Secretary should have known that.

By failing to do a few things, Buhari is beginning to lose some credibility and traction in my judgment sad to say. The APC ought to be fully aware that they have their job cut out for them because the PDP is not going to give them a breathing space at all because the PDP is understandably aggrieved and very unhappy to have been kicked out of office and denied 4 more years of anomie and total hopelessness that have become their legacy as a the biggest party in Africa.

The APC has woken up a sleeping lion from its slumber and some of their members are going to go after the APC with vengeance, and rightly so, because Politics is a blood sport in much of the third world believe it or not.

That someone would pay attention to the Cartier wrist watch Aisha Buhari wore to the Inauguration ceremony tell me loud and clear that the PDP is not going to let go on making Nigerians know that the change they thought they have voted on March 28 for was a day dream. The PDP wanted to prove that Aisha is not different from Dame Patience Jonathan who had built a crawling estate in Rivers State using her position as first lady to enrich herself. The speculation has put Aisha on the defensive. It has put her in an embarrassing or awkward position to now admit that the wrist watch she was wearing was a fake Cartier she bought in some flea market in London or New York for only 129.00 Dollars and not for 35,000 Dollars from Macy’s or Savoy Row in London where celebrities shop as rumored by some elements in the PDP who want to damage the first couple irredeemably as closet capitalists pretending to be social democrats. I have heard some people say the APC is no better than the PDP. Their members are going to loot Nigeria pretty much like the PDP has done. I am beginning to think that they sure have a point. If the APC allows such impression to gain traction, it has done itself a disfavor to put it mildly.

I agree that the speculation is a little irritant, but it is one that Buhari does not need this early in his Administration. I once mentioned what General Murtala Mohammed did on taking over from General Gowon in 1975. He gave the nation a laundry list of what he wanted to do and his order of priorities. He actually challenged or dared the Press and the Media to put his feet to fire if for any reason he did not keep his promise.

He was sure of what he wanted to do and he gave a very swift indication of that when he canceled the 1973/74 Census with immediate effect and automatic alacrity by taking the advice of Obafemi Awolowo hook, line and sinker. There was no pretense about Murtala Mohammed for the 200 days he was Head of State. What you saw was what you got. Nigerians cannot say the same thing of Buhari if you are judging him by what he has done in his first week in office as a catalyst for change in Nigeria.

I thought Buhari should have made a pronouncement on the 60 military officers and soldiers who are awaiting execution for deserting the war against Boko Haram on the excuse they lacked the arms and weapons to fight back. If Buhari could not talk about their fate with his inauguration address, he should at least have said something about them within a day or two of his inauguration.
I had expected him to issue some statement on what should be the fate of Captain Sagir Koli who blew the whistle on the complicity of Brigadier-General Aliyu Momoh on the well-documented rigging of the Ekiti election in favor of Governor Ayo Fayose at the Spotless Hotel at Ado Ekiti. The poor man had been forced to become a fugitive offender in his own country for doing what was expected of him as a commissioned officer with an oath of allegiance to Nigeria.

Up till now, Buhari has not found the time to address that issue and to show that he cared a hoot about what has happened to that Captain and his 13 year old brother who was illegally detained and imprisoned against his own will just because he is the brother of a whistle blower.

That development should have forced Buhari to immediately sponsor a Bill on a Whistle Blower protection Law as the first order of business by the APC-controlled Parliament in Abuja. If he was too busy to put together a bill because of other pressing national issues, he should, at least, have issued a statement to show that he cared. As a professional soldier and a General for that matter, he should never have allowed that issue to go unaddressed within a week of his assuming office. I found that reprehensible to say the least. Rigging of election in Nigeria is never going to stop until and unless our leaders begin to demonstrate some sensitivity and revulsion against the malfeasance.

Buhari ought to have made statements showing that he was proactively thinking about what to do about the excessive salaries and allowances our legislators pay to themselves and the implication of the Immunity from public prosecution for any criminal act some of our leaders in Government may have committed during their tenure in office.

It is as if that problem is no longer an issue for Buhari and Osinbajo and the power brokers in his party now that the ball is in their court, and they are on the receiving end. I deeply regret this observation and so should all Nigerians. The APC leaders all talked a good game about that while they were still lobbying Nigerians to give them a chance. Once they get elected, they appear to want to completely sweep the subject under the carpet.

Some of us are not going to let them get away with it. I for one supported Buhari and the APC because I thought Nigeria deserved a change. Their criminal silence about the subject bothers the hell out of me. That is why I am writing about it now to remind Buhari and the APC that they are already beginning to fall short. Many of you may not agree with me on this concern, but that is the way I feel and I am going to keep harping on it until they hear me loud and clear.

The most disturbing development to me right now is the impunity Governor Ayo Fayose has continued to demonstrate in Ekiti after Jonathan has handed over to Buhari. I could not believe my eyes that Ayo Fayose was allowed to deploy the Nigerian Police and State Security to continue to intimidate the 19 Ekiti legislators including their Speaker who have been driven out of Ekiti with the complicity of President Jonathan.

I can understand Ayo Fayose using his own State Police, if he has one to do what he has been doing with reckless abandon in Ekiti. It is the Federal Government that controls the Police and the State Security in Nigeria because unlike America State Governors in Nigeria do not have their own Police Once Buhari took over from Jonathan on May 29, the Nigerian Police, the State Security and the Nigerian Military now have to report to him and no longer to Jonathan because the PDP has been ousted from power.
The Chief of Defense Staff, General Barde, the Inspector -General of Police, Mr. Arase, and Alhaji Dasuki, the Director of Security were all supposed to take their orders from Buhari as President and Commander-in-Chief from May 29th.

Nigerians want to know who authorized Governor Fayose to deploy the Police to continue to harass the 19 Ekiti APC legislators. How could the new I.G. in Abuja and his Police Commissioner in Ado- Ekiti look the other way while Ayo Fayose was using the Police and his thugs to barricade all the roads leading to Ekiti and to the Ekiti House of Assembly? Ayo Fayose deliberately wanted to deny those legislators any access and free movement in Ekiti until his new legislators come on board on June 6th or thereabout.
He barricaded the entrance to the Ekiti House of Assembly because he wanted to make it impossible for the 19 legislators to carry out their lawful duties as legislators or to impeach him if they wanted to? I can understand Ayo Fayose doing that under Goodluck Jonathan because Jonathan had no respect for the rule of Law. All he cared about was protecting the PDP and their criminal activities in Government. It is abominable to have Ayo Fayose doing that with Buhari as Head of State and Commander-in-Chief.

The implication of the silence of Buhari makes me wants to throw up. What exactly was Buhari up to or thinking to give Ayo Fayose that kind of latitude? Your guess is as good as mine. Buhari is going to be away from Nigeria visiting Niger, Chad and Cameroons for a few days. After that, he would be traveling to Germany to attend some meetings. By the time he comes back, Ayo Fayose would have gotten away with his criminality in Ekiti.

I call the development “Okaraba Baba Edi” meaning that Buhari and his party leaders and power brokers and Inspector-General of Police. Arase have all been hypnotized by voodoo or something to go to sleep and not pay any mind to what is happening in Ekiti. It is simply insane that Buhari would have closed his eyes to what is happening in Ekiti and leave the country without doing something about the situation.

Time is of the essence. If Buhari does anything after he comes back from his trip, it is going to be too little too late. Osinbajo as an attorney should have known the full ramifications of what Ayo Fayose is doing to humiliate, oppress and victimize 19 APC legislators in Ekiti. What are those legislators supposed to think of their own party and their President? I am not saying that two wrongs make a right but right is right and wrong is wrong.

If Buhari and the APC continue this trend of gross negligence and apathy towards their own members and interest within reason, they are going to have the shortest honeymoon with Nigerians, and they would deserve to lose in 2019 when Nigerians have another chance to keep the APC and Buhari in power or vote them out.
I rest my case.

Source: http://www.agendang.com/index.php/multimedia/photos/item/269-assets-declaration-buhari-shocks-supporters-declares-over-n900m

20 Most inspiring quotes from African Billionaires

20 Most inspiring quotes from African Billionaires and Multi Millionaires and who knows, you too might learn one or two on how the top 1% are able to reach success and grow their bank accounts to the 9 digit mark. From Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga to Johann Rupert and Patrice Motsepe. We hope you find massive inspiration from this collection of billionaire quotes from the Richest Africans

Failure is a good thing – Hakeem Belo-Osagie

It’s essential to draw up a “things to do” list on a daily basis and set priorities in executing them, making sure that any unfinished task get posted to the next day’s list. – Folorunsho Alakija

I grew up in poverty, but I always saw it as a challenge. The good thing is that you can surmount a challenge if you are willing to pay the price. The price is hard work. – Reginald Mengi

People in Tanzania look at my wealth and think I must be sunbathing and playing golf all day. But I work really hard. I put in a hundred hours a week. It’s a never stopped game. You can never say I’ve worked hard enough now. – Mohammed Dewji

A vision on its own is not enough. Hard work & dedication is required to make that vision a reality – Strive Masiyiwa

Today is the beginning of the Rest of your Life! You are the Pilot of your life! Lock in your destination; take off to it, from where you are! – Vimal Shah

In business you have to know when to retire, before someone knocks you out.” – Lauritz (Laurie) Dippenaar

In whatever you do, strive to be the best at it – Aliko Dangote

Whether you’re a farmer, builder or engineer, the opportunities are equal: Just add a little‪ innovation – Strive Masiyiwa

Entrepreneurship without skills limits your growth potential – Strive Masiyiwa

If you don’t have ambition, you shouldn’t be alive. – Aliko Dangote

Every morning when I wake up, I make up my mind to solve as many problems, before retiring home. – Aliko Dangote

As you start out in life, it is important that you know at least something about everything, but as you get older it is important that you know everything about something. – Johann Rupert

The harder you work, the luckier you get. – Mike Adenuga

In Life, you don’t get anywhere or do anything you hope to without some sort of sacrifice. – Stephen Saad

I think there are a lot of people with family connections but who are actually nowhere. If you are hardworking and determined, you will make it and that’s the bottom line. I don’t believe in an easy way through. – Isabel Dos Santos

One has to set high standards… I can never be happy with mediocre performance. – Patrice Motsepe

Money is not my objective. – Desmond Sacco

I own quite a lot and I have worked very hard for it. – Sudhir Ruparelia

In today’s world, paradoxically, it is the boldest action that is often the safest. Remaining where you are in a world that is changing so rapidly is in fact the most dangerous of all places to be in. – Hakeem Belo- Osagie

10 Things To Know About Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs is a topic most people feel they have some kind of knowledge about. After all, nearly everyone has seen or heard of the blockbuster movie Jurassic Park, and young children are usually the experts in any house on the names, shapes, sizes, and eating habits of these ancient reptiles. However, even though dinosaurs might have been extinct for more than 60 million years, that doesn’t mean there’s nothing new to learn about them. Here are 10 things you probably didn’t know about dinosaurs in our modern world, but will after reading this list.

10. Triceratops and the Brontosaurus

There are some paleontologists who think one of the species of dinosaurs we take for granted – the species that includes dinosaurs such as the Triceratops and the Brontosaurus – did not actually exist. They think two other existing species have been confused for all of these years, and there might be something to the idea, given that paleontologists actually still have never found a complete skeleton of a triceratops.

9. Humans & Dinosaurs

A surprisingly high percentage of people in the United States – more than 4 out of every 10 adults, in fact – actually believe that human beings and dinosaurs were on the planet at the same time. They weren’t, of course, as dinosaurs preceded human beings by hundreds of millions of years. But it’s fun to think Jurassic Park could really have existed, isn’t it?

8. Chickenosaurus Dinosaur Facts

Jack Homer is one of the best known paleontologists in the United States who discovered and named Maiasaura, he provided the first clear evidence that some dinosaurs cared for their young ones. In addition to his many paleontological discoveries, He was also one of the consultants for Jurassic Park, serving as a partial inspiration for one of the lead characters, Dr. Alan Grant. Since the movie, he has put his efforts toward the creation of a real life dinosaur. His goal is to make a chickenosaurus, which, as you can imagine, is designed to be a hybrid of sorts between a small prehistoric dinosaur and the modern chicken.

7. Sauropods

Even though the Tyrannosaurus Rex gets a lot of attention from movies like Jurassic Park, the truth is that it wasn’t even one of the biggest dinosaurs. These were a group of dinosaurs known as the Sauropods. The biggest of these was actually 200 or more feet long and actually capable of making sonic booms by the speed at which they could whip their tails.

More Cool Facts about Dinosaurs

6. Clive Palmer and Dinosaurs:

Clive Palmer is a billionaire in Australia who has a lot of ideas about whimsical things to do with his money. Among other things, like his desire to build a new Titanic, he also wants to make a Jurassic Park, like the movie. However, his will just have lots of mechanical dinosaurs that are life sized; there won’t be any genetic recombination with chicken eggs.

5. Theory of Dinosaur’s Brain:

There used to be a theory, which has now been disproved, that some dinosaurs actually had not one, but two brains! The idea at the time was that the second brain was located in the dinosaur’s bottom. That gives a new meaning to the phrase about having one’s head…you know where.

4. Discoveries of Various Species of Dinosaurs

Back between 1877 and 1892, there were a pair of paleontologists, or dinosaur scientists, who were part of something odd called the ‘Bone Wars’. This meant they ended up stealing, destroying, and otherwise sabotaging each other’s work over the decades. However, at the same time, they were also responsible for the discovery of more than 140 new species of dinosaurs at the time. Was it worth it?

3. Pterodactyl vs Dinosaurs

The largest animals in the history of the Earth that ever took flight were not dinosaurs, but a special clade of reptiles that just lived alongside dinosaurs back in the day. These included other non dinosaurs such as the pterodactyl, which lots of children and not a small number of adults are probably still familiar with. More broadly, however, these ancient reptiles were called pterosaurs. The largest of them had wingspans 40 feet in length, which is wider than some of today’s airplanes!

2. Birds vs Dinosaurs

Birds are actually classified as part of the super group that encompasses all dinosaurs known as a clade. That’s right; birds are really dinosaurs! It’s thought that birds were among the few kinds of dinosaurs that survived the mass extinctions hundreds of millions of years ago. However, to keep from confusing the general public, scientists don’t call birds dinosaurs, except for when you go to their yearly conferences or read classification guides.

1. Rapetosaurus Dinosaur Facts

Finally, the fact most people probably don’t know about dinosaurs is that there is actually a dinosaur named Rapetosaurus. An odd name, for sure, but don’t worry – all it really means is mischievous giant lizard. However, the funny thing about rapetosaurus is that is’s actually related to the very first dinosaur bone that was ever found, from a giant dinosaur called a megalosaurus. And the very first bone found from that dinosaur was called (you’ll never guess this) scrotum humanum. Why? Because it resembled a certain part of the male human anatomy.

Tele Ikuru- I left office broke

Former deputy governor of Rivers State, Engr Tele Ikuru, has said that he left office broke as he did not get any parting gift from his boss, former Governor Rotimi Amaechi, before they bowed out on May 29 this year.

Ikuru, who spoke in Andoni Local Government Area of the state, during a church service to thank God for his tenure, recalled that he served as deputy governor under former Governor Amaechi for seven years and seven months, adding that he also did five months under deposed Governor Celestine Omehia.

Continuing, he said former Governor Amaechi did not think he deserved a parting gift at the end of their tenure.

He said that as deputy governor, he returned excess cash to the state’s coffer at the end of every assignment he was given, adding that transparency was his watchword while in office.

“I served the government for seven years and seven months under Amaechi, because I was with Omehia for five months. At the end of the seven years and seven months Amaechi did not think that I deserved any parting gift despite the fact that in the course of this administration, by reason of the office I occupied, I returned several monies to him valued at over N2 billion cash at different times during one assignment or another.

“By reason of my contribution, I also saved not less than N100 billion for the state government over the period. At the end of the seven years and seven months, my boss left me hard and dry, nothing and no penny to go home with,” he said.

It will be recalled that the former deputy governor parted ways with former Governor Amaechi when he dumped their All Progressives Congress, APC, for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, few days to the last presidential election.

Ikuru had told newsmen that his decision to dump the APC stemmed from the need to support the presidential aspiration of his fellow Niger Deltan, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.

A Group Calls For Dissolution of Rivers State LGA Chairman

A civil society group has petitioned the Rivers State House of Assembly calling for the removal of all the Local Government Chairmen in the State.

The group, Civil Liberties Organisation, CLO, in a statement signed by its Rivers State Chairman, Sotonye George, charged the State Assembly to empower the state Governor, Nyesom Wike to dissolve the newly elected Chairmen and their Councillors.

CLO accused the former Governor Rotimi Amaechi-led government of going against
a purported court order by holding the elections.

The group also called on the State House of Assembly to investigate an alleged N4.5 billion spent on the Local council elections.

The CLO further noted that the move by the elected Chairmen to get an injunction to stop Wike from disolving them was an abuse of court process.

According to the statement, the “Civil Liberties Organization has petitioned the Rivers State House of Assembly calling on it to immediately take necessary legislative actions and resolutions to dissolve the Local Government Chairmen and their Councilors who are illegally occupying office as they are unknown to law giving that their purported elections were null and void ab initio by a subsisting order of court.

“Thus: When a court gives an order or when a matter is before a court of competent jurisdiction, parties are automatically bound to stay away automatically from the RES or Subject matter so as not to commit contempt or foist a fait accompli on the court knowing that the subject matter immediately comes under the custody of the Court.

“Therefore, anything done contrary to the order of Court becomes an affront on the Court and a nullity.

“Therefore, we have charged the House that they are duty bound to resolve that the Governor should quickly dissolve the Illegal Chairmen and their Councilors and immediately constitute Caretaker Committees for the affected Local Government areas pending when the state can conduct proper Local Government Elections so as not to be caught in the web of laches and acquisance as ‘delay defeats equity’.

“It is the position of the Civil Liberties Organization that the House must probe RSIEC and investigate the spending of this 4.5 billion Naira outrageous sum for an illegal venture called L.G.A elections on May 23, 2015 even when workers in the state were not paid their salaries for several months.

“Remember, the suit by the self acclaimed Local Government chairmen seeking to retrain their dissolution is a clear abuse of Court process giving that the same matter is in a sister Court, which granted an order, which they now seek to validate and benefit from as it is clear that they may have been purportedly elected but in all ramifications not in any way duly elected.

“Therefore, they do not exist. Thus this intervention cannot be viewed as subjudice but lawful, legal and necessary.

“We also call on the relevant security agencies to investigate those making statements capable of causing breakdown of law/order and cause anarchy in the state on this matter”.

In the meantime, the Rivers state House of Assembly has summoned the leadership of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC.

In a statement obtained by DAILY POST signed by the Clerk of the House, Emmanuel Egele, the Assembly wants the Chairman of RSIEC, Professor Augustin Ahiaozu and other Commissioners to appear before its members for questioning.

The Assembly also advised the members of the commission to come along with relevant documents for clarification on the just concluded Local government elections.

The Rivers State House of Assembly will hold its third session today, Monday 8th, 2015 where the top members of the RSIEC are expected to appear.

Wike Sacks the Chairman of the Rivers state Independent electoral Commission, RSIEC

The Rivers state House of Assembly has empowered the Executive Governor of the state, Nyesom Wike, to sack the Chairman of the Rivers state Independent electoral Commission, RSIEC, Professor Augustin Ahiaozu and his six-man member Commission.

The Assembly also granted power to Governor Wike to dissolve the Secretary and members of the Rivers state Judicial Service Commission, JSC.

The resolution was reached after more than two-third of the House members voted to empower the Governor to take action against the two commissions.

Earlier, Leader of the House, Martin Amaewhule, who made reference to some sections of the 1999 Constitution as amended and the Law establishing the RSIEC Law said the Commission was not able to convince the Assembly on its responsibilities.

Amaewhule who is representing Obio-Akpor Constituency 1 in the Assembly also indicted members of the Judicial Service Commission over their alleged role in the closure of the state courts and the judiciary crisis.

The House hopes to repeal the Rivers state High Court Law on their next sitting being Thursday June 11.