Obasanjo Worst Thing To Have Happened To Nigeria – Owie

A founding member of the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and a former member of the highest legislative body in the country, Senator Rowland Owie has accused former president Olusegun Obasanjo of being the master-mind behind the destruction of the dream of the founding fathers of the party and what the party stood for.
According to him, Obasanjo “is the worst thing that has happened to the country”.
Senator Owie said that he was ready to challenge Obasanjo to a public debate on any news medium locally or internationally, “and I will prove that he is the worst thing that has happened to this country”. Senator Owie who represented Edo South senatorial district during his time in the senate said that former president Obasanjo had scant regard for the party ethos, just as he willfully circumvented the party’s constitution to achieve his personal goals.
Owie who spoke to LEADERSHIP SUNDAY exclusively, said that the former president lacks the moral high ground to attack President Goodluck Jonathan, as according to him, President Jonathan in his two years in the saddle has achieved more than what Obasanjo did in eight years.
There appears to be no love-lust between President Jonathan and the former president, believed to be his benefactor. The matter came to the fore with Obasanjo declaring that power must return to the geo-political North in 2015. The implication being that he would not support President Jonathan’s second term.
It is widely believed that Obasanjo is propping up the governor of Jigawa state, Alhaji Sule Lamido to vie for the party’s presidential ticket. Obasanjo who stepped down as the chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees (BOT) unceremoniously, is also believed to be fronting another candidate as a replacement for the office. This, it was learnt, has pitched him and his group against President Jonathan.
Only recently, Obasanjo told the national chairman of PDP, Dr. Bamanga Tukur, who had reached out to him in his Ota Farm, that he would not stop criticizing the party. But speaking with LEADERSHIP SUNDAY yesterday, Senator Owie said that Obasanjo superintended the desecration of the party.
His words; “It is shocking and amazing that Obasanjo can now talk about being passionate about PDP. Obasanjo was in jail when well meaning Nigerians like late Chief Sunday Awoniyi, the late Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, Chief Solomon Lar, Malam Adamu Ciroma, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, Atiku Abubakar led many of us to the PDP.
“The vision of the founding fathers was destroyed by Obasanjo. The party guidelines for choosing candidates for the 1999 elections were very clear. To qualify to contest for the office of president then, the candidate must win his state, his senatorial district etc,.”
He recalled that the former president lost both his polling booth and Ward to the then Alliance for Democracy (AD), which he said, ought to have disqualified Obasanjo from the contest but for the timely intervention of eminent citizens such as former military heads of state, Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalam Abubakar, Generals T.Y. Danjuma and Aliyu Mohammed Gusau.
Owie also alleged that the former president induced members of the National Assembly   to ‘install stoogies as heads of both arms of the NASS’.
Furthermore, the former federal lawmaker accused the former president of ‘blattantly rigged the national chairmanship election between the late Chief Awoniyi and Chief Bernabas Gemade, which Germade eventually won. When he couldn’t stand the guts of Gemade, he removed him and imposed Colonel Ahmadu Ali (retd)’.
Leadership

Edo Assembly Approves N149. 447bn Budget

Speaker of Delta House of Assembly, Hon. Victor Ochei

Kwara proposes N94.4bn as Niger budgets N84.09bn   Delta assembly passes 12 bills in 2012

Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City and Hammed Shittu in Ilorin with agency reports

Edo State House of Assembly Thursday approved the sum of N149,477,798,805 as the state government’s 2013 Appropriation Bill.
Similarly, Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, also presented a budget proposal of N94.4 billion for the 2013 fiscal year to the state House of Assembly for approval, just as Niger State House of Assembly passed the state’s 2013 Appropriation Bill of N84.09 billion into law.

Equally, Speaker of Delta House of Assembly, Hon. Victor Ochei, Thursday said the Assembly passed 12 bills between January and December this year.
Prior to the approval of the budget, Governor Adams Oshiomhole, had last month presented a budget estimate of N150,045,377,060 to the Assembly for its consideration and approval.                                            
The N149.477 billion approval was sequel to the report presented to the Assembly by the Chairman of the Committee on Appropriation and Project Monitoring, Hon. Peter Aliu, representing Etsako East constituency.                     

The approved budget showed a decrease of N594,579,865.00, while the approved recurrent expenditure stood at N42,582,666,405.00, with the consolidated fund charges standing at N20,760,135,800.                  
Consequently from the approved estimate, the total recurrent expenditure was pegged at N63,342,801,205 billion as against the earlier proposal of N116,479,778,045 billion, while capital expenditure was N86,104,997,60 as against the proposed estimate of N87.40 billion.     

The Assembly also approved N7 billion for the state government to service internal debts, N250 million for external debts, bond N6.240 billion, services for local banks charges N300 million while guaranteed loans stands at N300 million.                                  
On his part, Ahmed, while presenting the budget to the Assembly tagged: “Sustained Prosperity”, which represented a 10 per cent increase over last year’s projection of N85.1 billion, said apart from this, “It is also aimed at reducing the state’s dependence on federally-allocated revenue and attract foreign and domestic investments into the state.”
He stressed that the budget was designed to boost infrastructure, accelerate agro-led wealth creation, create jobs and sustain the state’s development.

Ahmed said: “Our resources may be limited but our resolve to overcome these challenges and provide good governance for the benefit of the people is boundless.”
A breakdown of the budget shows a total recurrent revenue of N58.1 billion, while recurrent expenditure was put at N51 billion.
The total recurrent surplus stood at N6.3 billion, while total capital receipt was estimated at N42.6 billion with total capital expenditure also pegged at N42.6 billion.

Reflecting on last year’s budget performance, the governor said the significant progress made was in road development, health, energy, education and water supply, despite the limitations imposed by the realities of the national economy.
Receiving the budget proposal from the governor, Speaker of the Assembly, Hon. Abdulrasaq Atunwa, promised that the Assembly would give urgent attention to the budget for quick deliberations and approval in order to assist the governor implement the budget effectively.
Presenting the state’s budget to the Assembly, Governor Babangida Aliyu, said the budget was a slight increase of N300 million as against the N83, 79 billion in the outgoing year.

Chairman of the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, Alhaji Usman Magaji, told the Assembly that the committee increased the budget by N300 million to cater for certain exigencies.

The Speaker, Hon. Adamu Usman, said the early passage of the budget would earn the assembly the confidence of the people.
“We want the people of Niger to have confidence in Niger Assembly. We want them to count on our leadership and we want to prove to them that 2013 budget is a budget of reality. Earnestly, since 1999, this the first time the budget is being passed before the succeeding year as we suspended everything else, to achieve this for the very first time,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ochei, while fielding questions from journalists in Asaba, said out of the 12 bills passed, seven were assented to by the state Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, while five were still pending.

According to him, the Delta State’s Anti-Kidnapping and Anti-Terrorism Bill 2012, is among the bills awaiting the governor’s assent.
“In the same vein, we have 10 bills still pending before the House, seven of such bills are at the committee’s stage, while three are ready for second reading,” he added.
Ochei explained that the members were spurred by the overriding need to protect their people’s interest in the course of discharging their legislative responsibilities.

He said the Assembly received and treated many petitions from aggrieved individuals over infringement on their rights.
“We shall always do this because the mandate given to us confers on us a responsibility,” he said.
Ochei said the Assembly embarked on oversight functions on projects being executed by MDAs as approved in the budget.
According to him, the standing committees inspected projects across the state and identified lapses so that the people of the state can have value for the money allocated to projects.

He, therefore, assured the people that the Assembly would continue to facilitate the delivery of good governance in the state.
Ochei commended the media for their detailed coverage, reportage and incisive comments on the activities of the fifth Assembly since its inauguration.

ThisDay

Court: 'Irresistible' Workers Can Be Fired

By Alyssa Newcomb

• 
  ABC News - Court: 'Irresistible' Workers Can Be Fired (ABC News)

An Iowa dentist was within his legal rights when he fired a longtime employee he found to be "irresistible" and a threat to his marriage, the State Supreme Court unanimously ruled.
The seven justices, all male, affirmed on Friday a lower court's decision in favor of Dr. James Knight, who terminated Melissa Nelson after employing her for 10 and a half years as a dental assistant.
"We do think the Iowa Supreme Court got it completely right," said Stuart Cochrane, an attorney for James Knight. "Our position has always been Mrs. Nelson was never terminated because of her gender, she was terminated because of concerns her behavior was not appropriate in the workplace. She's an attractive lady. Dr. Knight found her behavior and dress to be inappropriate."
The two never had a sexual relationship or sought one, according to court documents, however in the final year and a half of Nelson's employment, Knight began to make comments about her clothing being too tight or distracting.
"Dr. Knight acknowledges he once told Nelson that if she saw his pants bulging, she would know her clothing was too revealing," the justices wrote.
Six months before Nelson was fired, she and her boss began exchanging text messages about work and personal matters, such as updates about each of their children's activities, the justices wrote.
The messages were mostly mundane, but Nelson recalled one text she received from her boss asking "how often she experienced an orgasm."
Nelson did not respond to the text and never indicated that she was uncomfortable with Knight's question, according to court documents.
Soon after, Knight's wife, Jeanne, who also works at the practice, found out about the text messaging and ordered her husband to fire Nelson.
The couple consulted with a senior pastor at their church and he agreed that Nelson should be terminated in order to protect their marriage, Cochrane said.
On Jan. 4, 2010, Nelson was summoned to a meeting with Knight while a pastor was present. Knight then read from a prepared statement telling Nelson she was fired.
"Dr. Knight felt like for the best interest of his marriage and the best interest of hers to end their employment relationship," Cochrane said.
Knight acknowledged in court documents that Nelson was good at her job and she, in turn, said she was generally treated with respect.
When Nelson's husband tried to reason with Knight, the dentist told him he "feared he would have an affair with her down the road if he did not fire her."
Paige Fiedler, Nelson's attorney, said in a statement to ABC News affiliate KCRG that she was "appalled" by the ruling.
"We are appalled by the Court's ruling and its failure to understand the nature of gender bias.," she wrote.
"Although people act for a variety of reasons, it is very common for women to be targeted for discrimination because of their sexual attractiveness or supposed lack of sexual attractiveness. That is discrimination based on sex," Fiedler wrote. "Nearly every woman in Iowa understands this because we have experienced it for ourselves."
ABCNews

“Present Civil Service Directors have more houses than Dangote” – President Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan has urged public office holders to emulate the late Kaduna State Governor, Mr. Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa who never lived a flamboyant life while serving his fatherland.
Jonathan who made this call during the burial mass of the late Yakowa at Saint Paul Catholic Church, Kaduna noted that some Directors in Civil Service have more edifice than Aliko Dangote.
His words: “Yakowa talked about peace, love, and unity always. He was a nationalist but death comes when it will come. When it comes it is what matters. His death is unfortunate, but it is the Will of God. I was encouraged by the speech of the widow (Amina) that Yakowa’s death brought unity and peace.
Speaking further, Jonathan added that: “Yakowa was a nationalist. He played his roles very well as a civil servant of the old not as a civil servant of today when a director has more houses than Dangote.
“There was no ethnic or religious divide in his blood. It is time for all Nigerians to preach peace, love and unity because this is what Yakowa represented when he was alive,” he added.
DailyPost

15-Year Old School Girl Kidnapped From Parents Home In Abuja

A 15-year-old school girl was on Friday evening kidnapped from her parent’s house at Gwarinpa Estate, Abuja. The girl was kidnapped around 8pm when her mother, Mrs. Uche Pauline, was said to be away.

According to Mrs. Uche, her daughter was the only one in the house when the kidnapper came to abduct her, adding that some neighbours saw the kidnapper and alerted her.
While describing her daughter who she said is of average height, chocolate in colour, and was wearing a dark blouse on a black skirt when she was abducted, said that the matter has been reported to the FCT Child Protection Network and the Gwarinpa Police Division.
Mrs. Uche who expressed worry over the incident, said she has yet to be contacted by her daughter’s abductor.
Meanwhile the FCT Police Commissioner, Aderenle Shinaba said he was yet to receive report of the incident at the command headquarters.
InformationNigeria

No SEC 2013 Budget As Reps Stick To Guns

The battle of supremacy between the House of Representatives and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), backed by the Federal Government took a dramatic turn on Thursday, 20 December when the budget for the Commission was excluded from the 2013 appropriation bill approved by the House.

DG SEC: Ms. ARUNMA OTEH

The House had in July this year adopted the report of its adhoc committee on the “near collapse” of the Nigerian capital market chaired by Rep. Ibrahim Tukur El-Sudi (PDP, Taraba) which called for the sacking of Ms. Arunma Oteh, the Director General of the commission over gross misconduct.
However, Oteh, who was earlier sent on compulsory leave by the government, was recalled back to her post in the wake of the consideration of the capital market probe report in July.
On resumption from its two months annual recess, the House passed another resolution mandating the President to sack Oteh within 14 days.
“This means that the commission will not be able to pay salaries and embark on some expenditure as from January next year if Oteh remains the DG,” said House Chief Whip Rep. Ishaka Mohammed Bawa (PDP, Taraba).
InformationNigeria

Revealed: Labaran Maku lied about missing trip on ill-fated helicopter

SaharaReporters has reliably learnt that Nigeria’s Information Minister, Labaran Maku, lied when he said he was scheduled to be a passenger on the ill-fated helicopter that killed Governor Patrick Yakowa, former National Security Adviser, General Andrew Azazi (ret.), two pilots and two aides.
Our sources told Saharareporters that Mr. Maku had left the venue of the funeral more than an hour before the crashed helicopter lifted off. The sources insisted that Mr. Maku was already in Port Harcourt when passengers in a helicopter rented by ThisDay publisher, Nduka Obaigbena, spotted the burning chopper. The passengers in Mr. Obaighena’s helicopter brought the tragic news to Mr. Maku.
The Information Minister had claimed in an Aso Rock press briefing that he was invited to join General Azazi and Governor Yakowa but that he “hesitated” and stayed back. He said he watched Mr. Azazi’s chopper leave.
Sources told Saharareporters that Mr. Maku was with Ben Bruce-Murray, Timi Alaibe, Umaru Sanni and three others as Governor Yakowa and Mr. Azazi went to Mr. Oronto Douglas’ residence for lunch.
It is unclear why the Information Minister chose to lie about nearly perishing in the crashed chopper. But an Abuja-based government source told SaharaReporters that Mr. Maku’s yarn was in keeping with the minister’s attitude. “He appears determined to misinform the nation on many issues. He is so committed as a misinformer that the line between what is true or what is a lie is easily blurred.”
Another source, a politician, suggested that Mr. Maku might have lied to undermine a growing conspiracy theory amongst Nigerians that the crash was part of an intentional plot to eliminate the former NSA and the Kaduna State governor.
Since the crash that claimed the lives of the six passengers, several Nigerian public officials and movie stars who attended the funeral of Mr. Oronto Douglas’ father have claimed that they were close to being passengers on the doomed helicopter.
 DailyPost