12 Ex-Governors, 14 GEJ Ministers Breakaway From Sheriff's PDP

This is of course not a palatable time for the major Nigerian opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party as a  total number of twelve former governors and fourteen ministers who served under the ousted former Nigerian leader, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan Ebele has formed own faction of the  PDP, which they christened Concerned PDP Stakeholders Steering Committee, Punch Newspaper says.

The breakaway faction whom already constituted a 57-man committee in Abuja yesterday, according to Punch Newspaper,  is expected to take over the running of the party from May 21, when the tenure of the current members of the National Working Committee of the party comes to end.

Few days ago, News Punch reported a purported sacking of Ali Modu Sheriff-led national working committee by the new group, championed by former foreign affair minister, Prof Jerry Gana. Gana group described Sheriff-led NWC as hoodlums, gangsters

Former Borno Governor, Sheriff has swiftly reacted, thereby describing Jerry Gana group as thief

On the contrary, already, the NWC members led by the party’s National Chairman, Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff, are planning for the national convention scheduled to take place in Port Harcourt on Saturday.

The party is expected to elect new national officers at the convention.

The former governors, who have formed the breakaway group are Lucky Igbinedion (Edo),  Bonnie Haruna (Adamawa),  Ibrahim Shema (Katsina), Donald Duke (Cross River),  Attahiru Bafarawa (Sokoto),  Mahmood Shinkafi (Zamfara),  Abdulkaldir Kure (Niger),  Mohammed Makarfi (Kaduna),  Achike Udenwa (Imo), Babangida Aliyu (Niger)  Okwesilieze Nwodo (Anambra) and Gbenga Daniel (Ogun).

They have been joined by 14 former ministers who served under the PDP-led Federal Government when the party formed the government at the centre.

The former ministers are Prof. Tunde Adeniran (Education),  Inna Ciroma (Women Affairs),  Adamu Maina Waziri (Police Affairs), Prof.Jerry Gana (Information), Dr. Abubakar Suleiman (National Planning),  Tanimu Turaki (Special Duties),   Ishola Sarafa (Solid Minirals),  Zainab Maina (Women Affairs),  Joseph Anenin (Women Affairs), Ojo Maduekwe (Transportation), Prof. ABC Nwosu (Health), Dubem Onyia (Foreign Affairs), Bala Mohammed (FCT) and   John Odey (Environment).

However, it was gathered that the list was still being complied and that more big wigs in the party were planning to identify with the group, which is working to stop Sheriff from emerging as the national chairman of the party on May 21.

Among those who have joined the former governors and former ministers are Sen. Ibrahim Mantu, Amb. Nkoyo Toyo, Shehu Gabam, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, Rabi Ibrahim, Mairo Habib, Amb. Wilberforce Juta, Ibrahim Bunu, Sen. Joseph Akaagerger, Sen. Zigo Azeez, Sen. Ben Obi, Mrs. Remi Adiukwu and Sen. Ben Obi.

Also on the list are Dr. Bolere Ketebu, Prof. Sam Oyovbaire, Sen. Florence Ita-Giwa, Shittu Mohammed Kabiru, John Dara, Sen. Folashade Grace Bent, Awwal Tukur, Dr. Doyin Okupe, Dr. Patrick Okomiso, Sen. Anietie Okon, Alh. Aminu Yakudima and Mr. Nichola Msheliza.

Okupe, a former presidential spokesperson, told our correspondent on Saturday in Abuja, that the group would elect its officers next week.

He also said that the time and period of its inauguration would be determined during the week.

“The group would meet and elect its officers next week. We are serious about recovering the party from the grip of the few,” he added.

However, Sheriff had said that members of the group were “free to leave,” alleging that they never contributed to the success of the party in the first place.

He accused them of contributing to the deluge of problems facing the party now, adding that if they had worked assiduously with others in the past, perhaps, the party would not have lost power in 2015.

Sheriff, who spoke through his media aide, Inuwa Bwala, said, “Certain faceless groups have come up with different gimmicks trying to divert attention from the effects of what they did in the past leading to the squandering of the fortunes of the party, or to distract the attention of the chairman from pursuing very lofty and laudable programmes for the repositioning of the PDP or even just to cause mischief.

“Unfortunately, among such groups are self-styled elders and stakeholders led by Prof.  Gana.

“I have seen him sweating on television, playing with language but at the end of the day saying nothing.

“I want to specifically say we kept sealed lips about some of the activities of this man believing that we could still find a rendezvous at which we could work together for the progress of the PDP.

“I must say, and there are witnesses, that this is one character that attempts to play role in every government since the time of the military.”

Bwala added that given his recent action, “It was glaring that Gana would not add value to the repositioning of the PDP.”.

Excerpts from Punch Newspaper

Jonathan Is Founder, Sponsor of Niger Delta Avengers To Frustrate Buhari - Ex-Militant Leader Exposed

Daily Post - The National Coalition of Niger Delta Ex-Agitators, NCNDE-A, has accused former President Goodluck Jonathan of founding the new militant group known as Niger Delta Avengers.

The NCNDE-A claimed that the group was formed in January last year ahead of the March 2015 presidential election, which Jonathan eventually lost to Muhammadu Buhari of the APC.

The National President of NCNDE-A, Israel Akpodoro, who made this shocking revelation in Abuja on Friday, urged the former President to call members of the self-acclaimed Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, to order.

According to him, “the Niger Delta Avengers is a creation of the ex-president aimed at thwarting any efforts made by successive administration especially that of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress, APC, administration.”

He further revealed that the threat was planed at a well-attended meeting called at the instance of a governor from the South South region in January last year with all the prominent ex-militants including Jonathan and some of his close pals in attendance.

Akpodoro claimed that the message from them as delivered by the a Special Adviser‎ to the President then was that all ex-militants from the region should return to the creek preparatory for action should Gen. Buhari win the then coming election saying; that includes “what we are witnessing today in the actions of the Niger Delta Avengers.”

He warned his kinsmen against risking their lives for the political interest of one man.

He said, “I was bundled out of the meeting but then that is realities of what Nigerians are witnessing today.

“The former President created the monster-Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, and he alone can call them to order and that is what my group is asking him to do.

“Nigerians should hold the Ijaw leader responsible for any possible collateral damage that may be incurred in the process of exterminating that destructive rag tag group with all its sympathisers in the region.

“Our common enemies in the Niger Delta region are those governors, ministers, Special Advisers, Director Generals, Senators and other representatives from the region who participated in government and use their offices to enrich themselves at the detriment of general good.

“We must redirect our anger to those who cornered the dividends of democracy in the region buying fleet of aeroplanes, building mansions in choices cities of the world…while their people live in abject poverty.

“President Buhari isn’t our problem but our leaders from the region.

“President Buhari should not relent in his military actions against those he described as enemies of peace in the region,” he added.

Regretful Okupe Prostrates To Beg Obasanjo Over Excesses During Jonathan's Govt. See Photo

Doyin Okupe Prostrating to beg Obasanjo
Photo Credit: Premium Times

Former media aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan has begged former President Olusegun Obasanjo in what he, (okupe) described as the misunderstanding between him and his former boss (Obasanjo) when he joined Jonathan's government few years ago.

Okupe who personally disclosed this via his facebook page said he led some of his friends to beg the former president.

According to Okupe; "Last sunday , in the company of some friends I met with Baba Obasanjo principally to try and settle and resolve the misunderstanding that has existed between Baba and I since I joined the Jonathan's Administration."

"Vintage Baba, he descended on me heavily and vented his anger copiously."

"I prostrated and held his feet as a well trained Yoruba man and pleaded earnestly for his forgiveness, occasionally given short explanations for areas I considered my actions were misunderstood."

"Also typical of Baba, ever willing to forgive a repentant son, we embraced, I even kissed him as a loving son."

'Politics sometimes is such a bad business, u hurt your friends and even benefactors, but its all that is well that ends well."

It would be recalled that Okupe during his stewardship as media aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan, had attacked Obasanjo on several occasions.

Prominent among such attacks was his bitter reaction to former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s endorsement of the Presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) General Muhammadu Buhari, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe has responded with bible verses.

Obasanjo in an interview with Financial Times in Nairobi on during the 2015 presidential campaign had said: “I’ll only go by the constitution. By our constitution, there must be a new government on the 29th of May and the constitution lays out how that new government should emerge.”

Okupe during the time reacted via his Facebook account to Obasanjo’s prediction that a new government will be formed on May 29, 2015, said: “Someone was reported to have said “A new government will be installed on the 29th of May 2015. “Lamentations 3 vs 37 says “Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass when the Lord commandeth it not? “Isaiah 7 vs 7 says “Thus sayeth the Lord God, it shall not stand neither shall it come to pass. “Please if you are a friend of President Jonathan say AMEN to this.”

Earlier before then Obasanjo had appointed Okupe as as one of his first aides when he became the first president after democracy returned to Nigeria in 1999, only for him to turn his back against Baba when he got a similar appointment from Jonathan many years later. Now that he has gone to bite more than he can chew, he’s desperate for Baba’s forgiveness, a source told Premium Times

The Untold, The Joker, The Big Secret Why Buhari Is Actually On Massive Crackdown On 'Corrupt Politicians'

The total dominance of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC by 2019 has been revealed as the untold reason why President Muhammadu Buhari government will continue and sustain its massive crack down on corrupt politicians, Ripples Nigeria reported

It was learnt according to Ripples Nigeria that the hunt for perceived enemies of the state is beyond the anti-graft war as has been widely speculated.

The last three months have witnessed a rash of arrests, mostly of top government officials who served in the Goodluck Jonathan administration and their ‘collaborators’ in the corporate world. The most recent were the dramatic invitation and arrest of Femi Fani-Kayode, Jonathan’s former Campaign Director, and Barrister Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, a known critic of Buhari’s seeming permissive disrespect for the rule of law.

Theirs were preceded by the detention and release of the Managing Directors of Fidelity Bank, Sterling Bank and Access Bank. There are speculations that a very top official of First Bank may also have been picked by operatives of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

While Adegboruwa has been accused of ‘419’ activities, the bank chiefs are alleged to have partaken in Dasukigate and the looting of $15 billion earmarked for arms purchase.

Very competent sources within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have confided in Ripples Nigeria that the sustained battle against ‘corruption’ is deliberate and orchestrated, and aimed at clearing the way for total dominance of the party in the 2019 elections. But this is only the broad perspective. Our sources say that the minor details lay in the hidden struggle for the control of the party structure and soul of the APC.

“APC is stewed in opposition politics. We are veterans and understand what it means to put our opponents on the defensive all the time. PDP was a behemoth, and still remains largely so with a massive financial chest. We know that with a slim majority across the states and the National Assembly, our hold on the polity would be tenuous.

“The move to decimate PDP is strategic and deliberate. It’s the wisest and safest thing to do in the circumstance, if we hope to consolidate the reins of power in 2019. We don’t want to be a one-term government, the source stated.

He continued that “The PDP made themselves game by the reckless looting of the nation’s treasury. We knew they were desperate to retain power in 2015 and stole heavily to fund the campaigns. It was easy to track their sources of funding because of our network within the presidency. The revelations so far are a tip of the iceberg. By the time we are done, PDP would barely crawl,” our source said.

He admitted that rumblings within the party had become a major threat to its stability but was quick to add that APC was focused on the primary task of putting PDP in disarray.

“Yes, it’s true that powerful elements within the APC hierarchy are engaged in a fierce struggle for control of the party machinery. Not even the presidency is uninterested. Buhari is arguably one of the hungriest and smartest Nigeria politicians alive. He knows that he must work to keep the party structure with him. Don’t be deceived, the ‘anti-corruption war’ may swing either way and come in handy as a joker.”

The source also noted that discerning party chieftains are already wary of this and plotting safety valves, just in case Mr President decides to table his ace.

“In spite of all the rumblings, we are focused on the one goal of returning to power in 2019. This is paramount to all APC faithful”, our source said.

Ripples Nigeria

$115m Diezani Bribe Scandal: 2 'Thief-Bank' Chiefs Return N10b

Sterling Bank’s CEO, Yemi Adeola and Herbert Wigwe, the Managing Director of Access Bank Plc have reportedly returned the sum of N5billion each, totaling N10 billion to the coffers of the Federal Government from political slush funds fraudulent acquired during the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, through the embattled former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, Sahara Reporters says.

Bothe bank executives have since been released after the part payments

Sterling Bank’s CEO, Yemi Adeola, who was arrested on Wednesday in a raid on his bank by EFCC operatives, was released last night after he deposited a payment of N5 billion, Sahara Reporters confirmed from EFCC sources.

According to one of our sources, the money returned by Mr. Adeola was in partial restitution for a transaction of $88 million he received from Nigeria's former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke.

Mr. Adeola is expected to pay back a total of N17 billion to the recovery accounts of the Nigerian treasury within two weeks.

Also released last night was Herbert Wigwe, the Managing Director of Access Bank Plc., who was arrested yesterday after EFCC agents raided the bank headquarters in Lagos. 

A source at the EFCC told SaharaReporters that some notable personalities, including Oba Akiolu of Lagos and the bank's former CEO, Aig-Imokhuede, had pressured the anti-corruption agency to grant Mr. Wigwe bail. “We refused all such entreaties until Mr. Wigwe returned $5 million.” EFCC investigators said Zenith Bank had illicitly transferred the $5 million to Access Bank from a slush fund arranged by Ms. Alison-Madueke.

The EFCC source said the agency was conducting discreet investigations and recoveries of plundered funds from rogue bank CEOs who assisted Ms. Alison-Madueke and other officials of President Jonathan’s administration to launder funds. He added that most of the funds were laundered through opaque accounts that were kept “off records” by bank MDS.

#Dasukigate: Fresh N1.1b Traced To Abati, Gulak, Other Top Aides To Jonathan; See Amount Collected Each

A total sum of N1.12 billion naira has been traced to some top aides of former President Goodluck Jonathan as the intensive investigation of $2.1, which was later discovered was actually $15 billion armed funds mismanaged by the former Chief Security Adviser, Mr Sambo Dasuki continues.

The Monies were traced to Reuben Abati, Fadile Bello, Ahmed Gulak who are prominent aides to Jonathan in different capacity and PDP Chieftain, Uche Secondus.

In this latest development of the massive probe of Mr. Dasuki’s fraudulent use of public funds which are now known to have been used to bribe top military officials, rig the Ekiti State gubernatorial elections, and also diverted to accounts belonging to powerful public officials; an EFCC source according to Sahara Reporters revealed that Mr. Jonathan’s former spokesman, Rueben Abati, took N72 million; top-PDP chieftain Uche Secondus took N250 million, Ahmed Gulak was found to have taken N50 million and Fadile Bello took N754 million, totalling N1.126 billion.

It would be recalled that Mr. Bello Fadile was a security analyst used by Jonathan to attempt to stop INEC from releasing the 2015 presidential election results.

Meanwhile, the EFCC agents have raided the home of former top aide to Mr. Jonathan and spokesman of his presidential campaign Femi Fani-Kayode, our source says.

Jonathan Not A Killer Leader, But Ben Bruce 'Forgot Common Sense', Threatened Me For Revealing $20bn Missing Oil Fund - Sanisi

Mr, Sanusi wrote former president Goodluck Jonathan in 2013 to raise the alarm over billions of dollars from oil sale not remitted to the federation account.

Sanusi was later suspended as CBN governor but he became emir of Kano while he was in court seeking that his suspension be declared illegal.

The emir of Kano revealed that Jonathan did nothing until former President Olusegun Obasanjo wrote his own letter.

Amaechi on Wednesday night confirmed to TheCable that he was the one that leaked the letter “because the corruption was simply too much”.

JONATHAN SAID I LEAVE OR HE LEAVES

Narrating the $20 billion saga to Forbes Africa, Sanusi said that in 2012 and 2013, government revenue collapsed by $10 billion, without a collapse in oil prices or production capacity, adding that the CBN found a $49 billion revenue gap.

Shocked at the revelation, Sanusi said he wrote Jonathan, saying: “If this continues, we are going to have a big problem if the price of oil came down. We can’t protect interest rates, we can’t protect exchange rates, we can’t protect reserves.

“We may have to tighten money to prevent inflation, there will be unemployment, government will suffer – all of the things we are seeing today.

“In the middle of all these, the president called me and said I should see him at 3pm. I turned up at 3pm and the entire place had been swept. There was no one apart from security services. I got to his office, it was just me and him. It was as if everybody had been asked to go.

“And so he says to me, he’s calling me because he is surprised that letter I wrote to him got to Obasanjo, I said I’m surprised too.

“He said he’s convinced that the letter went from the central bank to Obasanjo, and I had 24 hours to find who leaked the letter or sack somebody; the director who prepared the letter or my secretary and if I did not sack them, that was proof that I leaked the letter and therefore, I should resign.

“I said to him that I’m surprised that I’m being asked to resign for raising an alarm over missing funds and the minister in charge of the portfolio is not being asked to resign.

“From then I knew I had signed my equivalent for death warrant. But I said I was not resigning. He got very angry and said whether you like it or not, you’re going to leave that office, I cannot continue to work with you, either you or I will leave government.”

JONATHAN IS NOT A LEADER THAT CAN KILL

“I was amused that leaking the letter is far more crime than leaking money. I went straight to the office of the principal secretary to the president, and I met him with a gentleman from Kano, who was foreign minister Ambassador Aminu Ali.

“I said to them, gentlemen, I’m coming to you because I just had a meeting with the president, and there were no witnesses, and the president had threatened me.

“I repeated what happened and told them I am going to tell people close to me, if anything happens to me, it is the president.

“I don’t think I was really in fear of my life. Even if you don’t like someone – Jonathan was not the kind of person that would have someone killed. He wasn’t that kind of leader.”

BEN BRUCE TOLD ME THEY’D JAIL ME

“I remember Ben Murray Bruce, who is now a senator, coming to me to say that he had it on good authority that if I went to the senate with my documents, I would be removed, investigated and imprisoned.

“Then I said, why would I be imprisoned, and he said, you know, you’ve worked in government. I have worked in government, if people really want to find something on you, in the central bank, five years, they would come and look, they would find something.

“I was like they would find it if I have done it. I mean they can plant something, but if haven’t done it, maybe somebody under me had done something that I wasn’t aware of.

“But in all my years at the central bank, to the best of my knowledge, I had done nothing that should put me in prison. However, I said to him, tell the president, from me, that if the punishment for going to the senate is prison, he doesn’t need to go through all of that, just ask him to tell me what prison he wants me to go to and for how many years, I’d drive myself there.”

OBASANJO’S LETTER PUSHED JONATHAN TO ACTION

Sanusi said nothing was done until Obasanjo wrote his famous open letter to Jonathan. In that letter, he now referred to a letter from the central bank governor.

“This was in August 2013, the president received the letter and did nothing. A few weeks after that, the finance minister called to say, governor, can we do some reconciliation on oil revenue numbers? I said minister, I report to the president.

“I have written to the president, if the president wants me to sit with you and do reconciliation, the president will tell me.

“After Obasanjo’s letter, all hell now broke loose. The letter was then leaked to online media, and it became public. That was when the president got angry and we then had to sit and do reconciliation.

NOBODY TOUCHES DIEZANI AND SURVIVES

“I knew that taking on NNPC was taking on the most powerful minister in Jonathan’s government, and nobody who had touched Diezani had survived. It was not a question of what would happen, I just didn’t care at that time. I did not want to go down in history as having seen this and kept quiet.

“After the first round of reconciliation, there was $29 billion that was explained. And how was that explained? Crude that was shipped by NNPC did not entirely belong to NNPC.”

He said some oil companies paid taxes and royalties in oil, and the NNPC sold this oil on behalf of FIRS, meaning FIRS got the money and not necessarily the federal government.

“No reasonable explanation for $20 billion, $6 billion was with NPDC that had not gotten to the federation account till date.”

Culled From Abusidiqu

Budget Padding Not New, A Normal Routine Crime Under Jonathan - Senator Ojudu

A former Senator from Ekiti State, Babafemi Ojudu has revealed that the budget padding which many Nigerians now see as new thing was not actually new at all, as the padding of budget was a routine crime perpetrated under former President Goodluck Jonathan without fear of been checked or exposed

Ojudu who reportedly spoke on Budget Padding Under Goodluck Jonathan said;

"In my state in 2013, they budgeted for the construction of five roads in Ekiti State and I picked up the budget, looked at the details. How could you say you are building a road in Kebbi, a town in Nasarawa State and you put it in Ekiti State? 

Apparently some groups were playing games in the ministry of works. And I shouted and cried out to the minister that, “This is wrong! This is theft!” 

They called me in and tried to pacify me but I said, “No. What you should do is, if there are roads to be constructed in Ekiti, construct them in Ekiti. If there are no roads to be constructed in Ekiti, remove these items from the budget.” 

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"Severally things like that happened under the previous administration and had been happening, at all levels of the preparation, presentation and approval of the budget. So, the President is saying this is not going to happen. People involved are not yet used to this new way. They are still fighting. They are still kicking and they have their plans. May be you want to tell somebody with building in Dubai that he wants to complete based on what he is going to make from this budget. Everybody who is involved is angry.

That is why you are seeing these. If they absorb this new system of doing things this year, seamlessly, the budget will be passed next year without any controversy because they would have been used to this new system. So, the fact that this controversy itself is coming out is to show that there is a change in place.

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"Under previous governments, the budget would go through the ministries and the budget office padded, then to the National Assembly and the National Assembly would also add its own padding. They would give the highlights of the budget to the president and he signed. As he was signing, they were adding more to it, and there were billions of naira free out there for people to share.

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"But this President is saying, “No way. Whatever leaves my ministry and passed to the budget office must be the one that gets to the National Assembly and must be the one that comes to me fully without any padding before I sign.” That is change for you.