Handle Niger-Delta Issue Using The Stick And Carrot Approach - Atiku Appeals To FG

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has appealed to the Federal Government to apply the stick and carrot approach to solve the issues surrounding militant activities in the Niger Delta region. Atiku made the appeal while speaking at the launch of a book titled "We Are All Biafrans’’ written by Chido Onumah‎ today May 31st.


“I think the Niger Delta should be handled with a stick and carrot approach. In 2007, before I ran for president, I met with various stakeholders on the Niger Delta issue and they came up with a policy. Part of the recommendations was that the ministry be moved to the Niger Delta and not Abuja. We have had administrations that did not do their homework on the Niger Delta. If I had won, I would have sold 10 per cent shares in the NNPC; that will give me 20 billion dollars which would build infrastructure for the Niger delta but we will always end up with accidental leadership. Bring peace and development to the Niger Delta then they will stop blowing up pipelines. Then, we will get gas and then power can be stable but until then, we will not get it.’’he said.

Goodluck Jonathan's Son In-Law Inaugurated As SA On Youths Affairs To Cross River State Governor

Former President Goodluck Jonathan's son in-law, Godswill Edwards, was inaugurated as the Special Adviser on Youth Affairs to the governor of Cross River state, Ben Ayade last Friday May 27th. Godswill is married to Faith Sakwe who is Jonathan's daughter..

Nigerian Scientist Deji Akinwande Awarded Highest Research Honour By President Barack Obama

A Nigerian professor in the United States, Prof. Deji Akinwande has received the 2016 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) from President Obama, the United States government’s highest honor for scientists and engineers in the early stages of research.

Prof. Akinwande is an associate professor in electrical and computer engineering and the Jack Kilby/Texas Instruments Endowed Faculty Fellow in Computer Engineering in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin.

Earlier in the year, precisely in February Akinwande was named by President Barack Obama, as one of the recipients of  the 105 recipients of PECASE awards.
He is currently an Associate Professor with the University of Texas at Austin. The current focus of his research explores materials and electronic systems based on 2D atomic layers. He is a co-inventor of a high-frequency chip-to-chip interconnect and an electrically small antenna for bio-electronics.

Speaking to the newsmen on Monday, Akinwande said he was awarded by Obama on May 5, 2016, at the White House, where the 105 researchers were hosted.
According to the White House, Akinwande was awarded for his "outstanding research accomplishments in nanomaterials, graphene device physics, and opto-electronics, and for dedication to the education of future scientists and engineers."

Now in its 20th year, the Presidential Early Career Awards are coordinated through the President’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, which selects winners “for their pursuit of innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology and their commitment to community service as demonstrated through scientific leadership, public education, or community outreach."

Prof. Akinwande is known for his groundbreaking research on nanomaterials, sensors, devices and flexible technology. He is considered one of the top researchers in the world in the areas of graphene, silicon electronics and 2-D nanomaterials for use in flexible electronics. In 2015, Akinwande created the first transistor out of silicene, the world’s thinnest silicon material, and he is continuing to advance the capabilities of computer chips and other electronics.

Prof. Akinwande has been the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Inaugural IEEE NANO “Geim and Novoselov Graphene Prize,” an  IEEE Early Career Award in Nanotechnology, a National Science Foundation Career Award, an Army Research Office Young Investigator award, and a Young Investigator award from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

Announcing the winners earlier in the year, Obama said: “These early-career scientists are leading the way in our efforts to confront and understand challenges from climate change to our health and wellness.
“We congratulate these accomplished individuals and encourage them to continue to serve as an example of the incredible promise and ingenuity of the American people.”

According to NUJ Europe Chapter,  Akinwande, who grew up in Opebi Allen in the Ikeja area of Lagos State, left Nigeria as a teenager in 1994, and his novel idea was aimed at building more energy efficient electronic chips to make mobile phones last a week or two without charging.

According to University of Texas at Austin, Deji Akinwande received the PhD degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in 2009, where he conducted research on the synthesis, device physics, and circuit applications of carbon nanotubes and graphene. His Master’s research in Applied Physics at Case Western Reserve University pioneered the design and development of near-field microwave probe tips for nondestructive imaging and studies of materials.

Prof. Akinwande has been honored with the inaugural IEEE Nano Geim and Novoselov Graphene Prize, the NSF CAREER award, the Army and DTRA Young Investigator awards, the 3M Nontenured Faculty Award, and w

Immigration Boss Orders Arrest Of Former Ministers, Governors, Others With Diplomatic/Official Passport

Newly appointed Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Mohammad Babandede, has ordered the immediate arrest of former political office holders including governors, ministers, senators and retired public servants who are still in possession of Official/Diplomatic passports. Babandede gave the order while addressing senior officers of the Service at the Service headquarters in Abuja today May 31st.

According to him, President Buhari had on September 7th 2015, directed the NIS to retrieve the official/diplomatic passports from all illegal holders noting that most of them were yet to comply with the directive.
"Charges will be pressed against unauthorized holders of such documents because such persons are no longer in the eligibility list and are, therefore, in contravention of Sec. 10 of the Extant Immigration Act, 2015. I am hereby directing that unauthorised holders of such passports be arrested at the airports and other points of entry/departure. Efforts will be made to trace such unauthorized holders in their given addresses."he said

Rivers State Gov. Nyesom Wike appoints Joseph Yobo As Hris Senior Special Assistant On Sports Development

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Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has appointed Former Super Eagles Captain, Joseph Yobo as his Senior Special Assistant on Sports Development to the Governor. A statement released today by the Special Assistant to the Rivers State Governor on Electronic Media, Simeon Nwakaudu, noted that his appointment will take immediate effect....

Abacha Only Lodged Funds Outside Nigeria To Keep The Nation Afloat Incase Of International Sanctions At The Time – Major Hamza Al-Mustafa

       

Major Hamza Al-Mustapha
Major Hamza Al-Mustapha who was the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to late General Sani Abacha, has said that Abacha did not loot the nation’s treasury but only lodged the said amounts outside the country so that Nigeria will have funds if the international community imposed sanctions on the country.

According to Hamza, there were “force” from the international community and within Nigeria that were enemies of the late Head of State who were ben on removing him from office.

According to TODAY.ng, Hamza said this while speaking with the media in Lagos on Monday.

General Sani Abacha served this country for four years and seven months and during that period, he stepped on many toes. Aside the two or three coup plots that were made known to the public, there were several others that were not made known.

These collaborators with some members of the international community were bent on removing him from office. General Abacha is dead today but those powerful forces are yet to forgive him. While alive, General Abacha’s enemies teamed up with the international community and they threatened to impose sanctions on the country.

There was a meeting in Abuja where it was agreed that money should be kept outside the shores of the country so that when sanction came, that money will keep Nigeria afloat. Tom Ikimi was the foreign affairs secretary then.

At that time oil was selling for seven or eight dollars. We took no loan to run the economy and that was when we also created the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF). I was embarrassed while in prison and I heard about what people called ‘Abacha Loot’. I wrote from prison to the late Abacha family to publish and make public whether those monies were in his name, date of lodgements before he became head of state or after he became head of state.

I was at the meeting where the decision was taken but because all of us could not leave the Villa, I had to go back before the meeting ended. Like I said, Abacha stepped on toes and those people have still not forgiven him even in death.

You should also remember that Abacha was not traveling out of the country. At the beginning of his administration he did go to Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and perhaps one or two other countries and that was in 1994. Most of his travels were within Africa, so how was he able to stash such money outside the shores of the country?

While as his CSO, the only bank account I had was with the Bank of the North and that was where my salary was paid. I went to the Army to serve my country and not to make money as I came from a well-to-do family.

Hamza also pleaded for more time to conclude his court cases before revealing what led to Abacha’s death. According to him, “what killed Abacha was also what killed M.K.O Abiola“.

“Like I said before Oputa Panel, what killed Abacha was also what killed M.K.O Abiola. I will just plead with you to have patience; once I’m through with the court cases, they will be made public in my memoirs and they are in three volumes,” Hamza said.

The former CSO also called President Buhari an honest Nigerian who has been dragged into politics.

“General Buhari is an honest Nigeria who has been dragged into politics. No one can question his love for the country. Even his enemies acknowledge that. And those are the qualities we saw in him; that was responsible for his appointment to head of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF),” he said.

'Goodluck Jonathan's Phone Call To Concede Defeat Left Me In Shock' - President Buhari

President Buhari yesterday revealed that the call from former President Jonathan conceding defeat before INEC announced the results of the 2015 Presidential election, left him in shock. Buhari disclosed this while speaking at the luncheon he organized for state house correspondents at the presidential villa yesterday May 30th.


"This is where I pay my respect to former President Goodluck Jonathan. This is actually a privileged information for you (journalists). He called me at a quarter past five in the evening. He said ‘Good evening your excellency’, and I said “Good evening your excellency’. He said I have called to congratulate you that I have conceded defeat. Of course there was dead silence on my end because I did not expect it. I was shocked. I did not expect it because after 16 years in government, the man was a deputy governor, a governor, a Vice-President and was President for six years. For him to have conceded defeat even before the result was announced by INEC, I think that was quite generous and gracious of him.”he said

'I Will Soon Disclose What Killed Abacha And Abiola' - Al Mustapha

Former Chief Security Officer to late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, yesterday May 30th, said he would soon reveal how his former boss and the acclaimed winner of June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief MKO Abiola, died.

Speaking at a press briefing in Lagos, Al-Mustapha alleged that Abacha and Abiola’s deaths were from same source.

According to him, he would be telling all he knows about the death of the two famous Nigerians in his new book, Mustapha’s Memoirs, which he is still writing and would soon publish. Al-Mustapha accused some Yoruba personalities of being insincere with Abiola while he was alive and in detention.
“For instance, when Chief MKO Abiola was in prison, many notable Nigerians visited him. They will visit him in the morning, and when they come back to the Villa in the evening to see Abacha, they would say a different thing entirely. On video “Unknown to these notable Nigerians, particularly notable Yoruba personalities, who visited Abiola, their visits were recorded on video. I did the video recording without their knowledge. These people would visit Abiola and come back to tell government a different thing about him. These same people would still go and tell Abiola a different thing about government. They are on video. The agencies of government have these videos evidence. These same people told MKO Abiola never to accept any compromise or negotiations. They advised him never to come back home without his mandate. All these things are on video. Of all the Yoruba leaders, only Oba Tejuosho told MKO Abiola the truth: to accept the conditional bail and go home. Only Oba Tejuosho told MKO Abiola that Abacha was his friend, urging him to reconcile with Abacha who was ready for reconciliation. It was Oba Tejuosho who told MKO Abiola that he still had the goodwill and would win if he re-contests after Abacha. What killed Abacha is what killed MKO Abiola. But I would reveal that after my court case, still at the Supreme Court. I would publish a book which has three volumes the Mustapha’s Memoirs, which will tell what happened under Abacha and how he died” he said

VP Osinbajo Arrives New Guinea For 8th Summit Of African, Caribbean And Pacific Group Of States

Vie President Yemi Osinbajo arrived Papau ‎New Guinea yesterday evening for the 8th summit of African, Carribean and Pacific Group of States. He was received by Papau New Guinea's Minister for Public Service, Puka Temu and acting Nigerian High Commissioner to Australia, Cecilia Yahaya. See more pictures below...

FG Appeals To Nigerians To Buy Made-In-Nigeria Products

Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu, has appealed to Nigerians to buy made in Nigeria products. The Minister made the appeal while speaking at a News Agency of Nigeria NAN forum in Abuja yesterday May 30th.
“We already have made in Nigeria cars. We want to champion the idea of Nigerians looking inward and thinking Nigeria promoting made in Nigeria products to encourage our own local manufacturers. It is very important.
That is the only way that we can ever become a producer nation. We cannot continue to be a consumer nation alone; it wouldn’t help us. We must help our own local producers. We must all start thinking of how we can do so. It shouldn’t be only the automobiles; it should be on all products.”‎he said

Somali Military Court Sentences Masterminds Of Daallo Airline Bomb Attack, Including Airport Security Chief

Somalia’s military court in Mogadishu on Monday, May 30 pronounced sentence on Daallo Airline suicide attack suspects. Abdiwali Mohmoud Mo’ow who was the security chief of aviation agency at Adan Aden International Airport  was given life in jail sentence.


Arays Hashi Abdi a businessman who is said to be the main mastermind of the attack received the sentences in absentia.

Abshir Mohmmed Malin and Safiyo Abdullahi Hassan- the security scan operators sentenced to four years in military jail.

Liban Mohammad Yalahow, Omar Muhaydadin Hassuin, Mohammad and  Abdi Ilmi have been slapped with a sentence of one year in military jail.

Bashir Abdullahi Afrah, Ali Nor Salad And Adan Dahir Salad Shiekhow sentenced to 6 months in military Jail. Five others were acquitted after they were found not guilty.


On February 2, laptop bomber identified as Abdullahi Abdisalam Borleh, an elderly Somali national attacked Daallo Airlines Flight 3159.

The suspected suicide bomber detonated on board the Somalia-owned Daallo Airlines plane in mid-air, as it took off from Aden Adde International airport in Mogadishu.

The explosion failed to down the commercial jet, but it left a gaping hole in the fuselage. The force of the blast sucked the alleged bomber out of the plane’s cabin. His body fell to the ground near the district of Bal’ad, about 20 miles from the capital, where it was recovered by authorities.

The pilot of the Airbus A321 was forced to make an emergency landing just minutes after takeoff. The security footage released days later showed two men – one wearing a bright orange airport security vest (said to be Abdiweli, who is now sentenced to life in jail)– handing over what looks like a laptop case to a passenger waiting to board. Investigators said the laptop-like bag contained the bomb that was detonated on board the Djibouti-bound flight.

Al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for a purported bomb attack on a passenger plane, saying it was targeted at Western officials and Turkish NATO forces.
Al Shabab said the operation was "retribution for the crimes committed by the coalition of Western crusaders and their intelligence agencies against the Muslims of Somalia"

Source: Somali News/Terror Monitor, Live From Mogadishu