News Desk Thursday, November 15, 2007

Corruption Charges: Group Drags Obasanjo To EFCC Former President Olusegun Obasanjo's name re-echoed yesterday on the streets of Lagos as youths marched in their hundreds and thousands protesting what they described as eight years of dictatorial and corrupt regime of a "civilian czar" which should call for immediate probe. Their first port of call was the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC in Lagos. MORE>>> I Am Not In Any Battle Of Supremacy –– IBB Former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida has refuted insinuation that he is in a supremacy battle with former president Olusegun Obasanjo over who becomes the national chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). MORE>>> FG takes over NICON, Nigeria Reinsurance Plc The lingering imbroglio that beset the insurance sub-sector since the recapitalisation of the industry has now been rested with the Federal Government dissolving and taking over the boards and managements of NICON Insurance Plc and Nigeria Reinsurance Plc. MORE>>> Gulf of Guinea: Nigeria, US Collaborate over Oil Theft The Federal Government is collaborating with the United States Government and some European countries in a bid to forestall crude oil theft in the Gulf of Guinea. The collaboration would be under the aegis of the Gulf of Guinea Energy Security Strategy (GGESS). MORE>>> Cameroun retaliates - Kills 10 Nigerians THE Camerounian government said on Wednesday that its soldiers killed 10 suspected Nigerian gunmen in a retaliatory attack after they killed 21 soldiers in the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula. MORE>>> Senatorial candidate arrested over forgery THE person identified by the Court of Appeal, Abuja, as the lawful candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Ondo South Senatorial District in the April 14 election, Chief Olusola Oke, was reportedly arrested on Tuesday by the police for allegedly forging the signature of the party’s national chairman, Dr. Ahmadu Ali. MORE>>> ‘We ’ll deliver 2nd Niger bridge in 36 months’ Mr. Domenico Gitto, Managing Director of Gitto Construzioni Generali Nig. Limited, the Italian firm handling the construction of the Second Niger Bridge in Onitsha, assured yesterday that the bridge which has a 36 month completion time would be delivered on schedule. MORE>>> Foreign reserves hit $49bn – CBN Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo said yesterday in Abuja that the nation’s foreign reserves had hit $49 billion. Soludo also said that the aggregate credit lending to the private sector of the Nigerian economy had tripled from N1.2 trillion in 2004 to N4 trillion as at the end of October, 2007. MORE>>> We’re ready to probe Obasanjo – EFCC The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, on Wednesday, said that it would investigate allegations of corrupt enrichment against former President Olusegun Obasanjo. MORE>>> Araraume Concludes Submission At Tribunal Governorship candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Imo State in the last election, Ifeanyi Araraume, on Wednesday concluded the submission of documents in the petition he filed at the Election Petitions Tribunal against the declaration of Governor Ikedi Ohakim by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as governor. MORE>>> IN GLOBAL NEWS Pakistan opposition begins to unite against Musharraf (BOSTON GLOBE) Iraqis Wasting An Opportunity, U.S. Officers Say (WASHINGTON POST) Musharraf 'will quit army soon' (BBC) Working in a Warzone (The Guardian Weekly) LAPD's Muslim mapping plan killed (Los Angeles Times) African Crucible: Cast as Witches, Then Cast Out (New York Times) Zionist official was first to hear of Final Solution (Jerusalem Post)

News Desk Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Obasanjo, IBB Battle for the Soul of PDP

The cold relationship between former military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida and immediate past president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, may have shifted to the National Convention of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as both appear set for a fierce battle. The convention, which has been shifted from December 8, 2007 to January 5, next year, as a result of a procedural error, has seen the party divided into Obasanjo and Babangida camps with each supporting different candidates for the office of the national chairman of the party. MORE>>>

Yar’Adua Blocks Buhari’s Witnesses

For the second time, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua has frustrated the efforts made by General Muhammadu Buhari to get his witnesses a platform to give a situation report on the inspection of documents and materials used for the April 21 presidential polls. Counsel to the president yesterday opposed fiercely an application made by Buhari’s lawyer, Chief Mike Ahamba (SAN), before the presidential election tribunal seeking to bring five witnesses to adopt the depositions they tendered before the court. MORE>>>

London court hears Ibori’s asset case today

A three-man panel of the Court of Appeal Criminal Division will today in London hear former Governor James Ibori’s money laundering case. The panel, scheduled to begin sitting at 10:30 a.m., will be led by Justice William Gage and assisted by Justice Dame Staal and Ms. Justice Cox. MORE>>>

Court discharges Judith Asuni, others

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday discharged Judith Asuni, an American woman, charged with felony and espionage against Nigeria. A Nigerian, Saidu Danjuma and two German journalists, Florian Orpitz and Andy Lehman, who were charged alongside her, were also discharged. MORE>>>

Adedibu: AC, Balarabe slam Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday came under strong criticism for describing a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party in Oyo State, Chief Lamidi Adedibu, as ”the only father of the PDP.” Obasanjo, during his visit to the politician in Ibadan on Sunday, was quoted as saying that Adedibu, as the father of the PDP, could not be looked down on. MORE>>>

IMF ready to cancel Liberia debt

The International Monetary Fund is ready to start cancelling Liberia's debt to the agency after securing sufficient funding for the process. The IMF says donor nations have pledged $842m (£407m) which will start the process once the pledges are honoured. MORE>>>

Nigeria Discuss Early Deployment of Hybrid to Sudan

ABUJA (AFP) — US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and Nigeria's Foreign Minister Ojo Maduekwe on Monday discussed the importance of a rapid deployment of the United Nations-African Union hybrid force to Sudan's troubled Darfur region. "I think there is work to be done in Darfur. It's very important that a heavy support package should be deployed as soon as possible and then followed by the UN-AU hybrid force," Negroponte told reporters after the talks in Abuja. MORE>>>

AL QAEDA IN NIGERIA

Nigeria arrests alleged Al Qaeda operatives

The U.S. embassy warned in September that Nigeria, Africa's top oil producer, was at risk of "terrorist attack", and Osama bin Laden once named the country as ripe for jihad, but Nigeria has yet to see any major attack in the style of al Qaeda. Nigerian police and the secretive (State Security Service) have made sporadic arrests of suspected jihadists for some years and trials have been launched, but there has been no conviction and no conclusive evidence of al Qaeda's presence in Nigeria has been made public. MORE>>>

The Vanishing Nigerian Dailies and Quality News Reporting

The decline and the quality of fine journalism within the Nigerian press continues to amaze me. I have been wondering what happened to the Vanguard Group of Newspapers and its eloquent staff writers and columnists for nearly one week now that the paper has gone offline. The paper has shown no sign of coming back and my guess would be that, somehow, a management staff had forgotten to pay the bills, or maybe the owner(s) may have given up the idea of online publication to reduce cost. I think I really miss reading from the Vanguard, and perhaps that's why I'm perturbed for the fact that I am popping up this very topic twice in just two days. I must be feeling it--the urge to read from a daily I have been hooked up to for a while now.

The past couple of days, I have engaged in a series of discussion on why the Vanguard continues to disappear on the web and why the Guardian Newspapers continues to be offline and off the streets for a strike that could have been avoided if the management took its business seriously. According to the statement by Guardian, which was issued on November 6, 2007, the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the National Union of Printing, Publishing and Paper Products Workers (NUPPPPROW) withdrew its services to the company on the ground of not reaching a deal even though the Guardian group came half way to the two unions demand. The Guardian statement reads:

The Management of Guardian Newspapers Limited wishes to inform members of the public that our newspapers have been off the streets and online, following an industrial action called by our workers.

The two unions in our company - Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), and the National Union of Printing, Publishing and Paper Products Workers (NUPPPPROW) - withdrew their services on Tuesday, November 6, 2007. Their grouse was that our company would not commit to award a 50 per cent raise on their gross pay. Mindful of the prevailing economic situation in the country in general, and the media industry in particular, we offered a more realistic pay increase to the workers. We also held several meetings with the unions, with a view to reaching an agreement on the issue. But the unions rejected our offer outright and stuck to their demand.

We thank our readers and advertisers both in print and online, and the general public for their understanding, and ask that they bear with us over the prevailing situation.

Nowadays that the two major newspapers are offline, I rely on other newslinks and I'm not quite sure if I'm getting the real deal when it comes to quality news reporting. I have tried to avoid all the tabloids, notably the Daily Sun and other sensationalized newslinks that have no clue the importance of keeping up with news in today's journalistic world. The Port Harcourt-based Tide has its news done for four or five days in a week, then remains the same until it pops up the next couple of days with fresh news stories. The Tide Could care less about damage report. It vanishes whenever it feels like and pops up anytime it deems necessary. I'm quite sure not too many read online from this tabloid. I wonder how they are able to stay in business with fierce competition out there. Nevertheless, it hasn't stopped me from doing the news on my blog-related News Desk which is part of keeping up and updating readers who visit and comb my blog.

The Port Harcourt Telegraph is another big joke. Its Garden City and Riverine-related news could be ten days old and nobody cares. Maybe, some oil baron should buy it out, though some of its lousy journalist who have been overstating its circulation may land on their feet and the paper could rejuvenate for fine newspaper reporting, changing the paper's content. In the newspaper business, it takes quality journalism work to thrive, like the Guardian has done over the years. With the Guardian on strike, its quality journalism work is definitely over. Now after a week and no news, who is going to be interested when there are many other news sources that can produce the same quality work the Guardian had been giving us all these years?

From a brief survey that I conducted regarding the Guardian, almost 85 percent of the readers I surveyed were satisfied with the Guardian and its quality work. That number fell dramatically as of yesterday when I carried out the same survey. Guardian just lost it and perhaps that's how it goes in the newspaper business.

The Punch, Daily Champion,, This Day, Daily Trust and Daily Independent tastes the same save for the Nigerian Tribune which is ngbati-ngabti , noise-making in nature as it has been since Obafemi Awolowo set its tone in the 50s for the interest of Egbe Omo Oduduwa, descendants of Oduduwa. By the way, the Daily Independent was gone for a while and it's now back. It has lost its base and Guardian is likely to fall within that category from an avoidable strike nobody wants to reach a deal.

Who knows? The newly Abuja-based Leadership Nigeria Newspaper whose motto states "For God And Country" may take over from the Guardian in quality news reporting. I doubt it. We'll see!

News Desk Sunday, November 11, 2007

Nigeria’s military might a hoax

The self acclaimed su periority of Nigeria’s military in Africa has been described as a hoax by a university don and military strategist, Dr Osisioma Bazil Chinedu Nwolise. Dr. Nwolise, of the Political Science Department, University of Ibadan, in an exclusive interview with Sunday Tribune in Ibadan at the weekend, claimed that Nigeria cannot stand up to countries like France in a serious war for two months without capitulating. MORE>>>

Five ex-governors to return N50bn

Five former governors may have given the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission undertakings to return more than N50bn looted public funds within the next two weeks.A top source in the EFCC told our correspondent that they risked arraignment before the courts if they reneged on the mutual agreement or failed to honour it within the stipulated period. It was learnt that the mutual agreement informed the decision of the commission to put on hold its plan to commence the prosecution of two of the former governors last week. MORE>>>

MASSOB: Tension Over Uwazuruike’ Life

The crisis within the ranks of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) has heightened, with fears that majority of those occupying Freedom House, the official residence of its founder and leader, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, were hired to do him in. The MASSOB leader and founder, who arrived Imo State on Tuesday, is said to be studying the situation at his residence in Okwe against the backdrop of information he got while in detention and since his bail two weeks ago. MORE>>>

NUT Tackles Imo Govt Over Sacked Teachers

Imo State government and the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) are on collision course over the estimated 3,500 teachers under the Secondary Education Management Board (SEMB) axed by a government White Paper, which the present administration is bent on implementing. According to the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Chuma Nnaji, the affected teachers are to leave the state’s secondary education system, following an audit report which had been released by the government of Ikedi Ohakim. MORE>>>

PDP: Ali Hands Over to Convention C’ttee Dec 8

With the shift in the date of the national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to Jan 5, 2008, the National Working Commit-tee (NWC) headed by Dr. Ahmadu Ali, may hand over to the National Convention Committee to be set up in the next two weeks. The Ali's NWC tenure expires on December 8 after the 60 days notice of resignation it filed on September 8. MORE>>>

CBN To Enact Law Prohibiting Foreigners From Acquiring Local B

In its efforts to secure a firm, sound and sustainable banking sector, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN is to enact a law prohibiting foreigners from taking over local banks in Nigeria before the end of the year. The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, who stated this during a workshop in Enugu however said the policy does not stop them from participating in banking activities in Nigeria. MORE>>>

AEPB Thugs, Ex-police Officer Manhandle Publisher

In what appeared to be its continued show of notoriety, thugs of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) at the weekend beat up Mr. Inyang Edet, the publisher of National Dictative, on the orders of a former police officer, (Rt) ASP Titus Supro. According to an eye witness, the AEPB staff had arrested a newspaper vendor, and taken him to their office at Area 3. The vendor put a call to his colleagues who then stormed the AEPB office in company of Edet. MORE>>>

Tension as Gov Obi battles Awka elite

Lingering face-off between Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State and prominent indigenous union in Awka, the state capital, worsened yesterday, as the governor alleged that the union was planning to carry out another mayhem in the state. Consequently, the police disrupted a scheduled meeting of all the branches of his perceived dread-Awka Development Union (ADU)-thereby throwing panic into the capital city. MORE>>>

Georgian Leader Says Emergency Rule to Last as Needed

TBILISI, Georgia, Nov. 10 — Anticipating demands from a senior American diplomat that he immediately lift a state of emergency, President Mikheil Saakashvili said Saturday that the emergency decree would remain in effect as long as the Georgian government deemed it necessary. MORE>>>

Oil Price Rise Causes Global Shift in Wealth

High oil prices are fueling one of the biggest transfers of wealth in history. Oil consumers are paying $4 billion to $5 billion more for crude oil every day than they did just five years ago, pumping more than $2 trillion into the coffers of oil companies and oil-producing nations this year alone. The consequences are evident in minds and mortar: anger at Chinese motor-fuel pumps and inflated confidence in the Kremlin; new weapons in Chad and new petrochemical plants in Saudi Arabia; no-driving campaigns in South Korea and bigger sales for Toyota hybrid cars; a fiscal burden in Senegal and a bonanza in Brazil. In Burma, recent demonstrations were triggered by a government decision to raise fuel prices. MORE>>>

Ghana to UK: the new trail of misery

With the trial of two British girls accused of smuggling drugs set to resume this week, Dan McDougall in Prampram reveals how cartels move their cocaine to Europe by exploiting the vulnerable and the poor. THE condoms are smeared in margarine or local vegetable oil, 'to help them slip down', says Kawko, holding out the white grains of pure cocaine in his scarred palm. Behind him, on the palm-tree fringed beach of Prampram village, dozens of colourfully painted longboats make land; the bulky wooden vessels heaved and roped out of the roaring West Atlantic by slender teenage boys. MORE>>>

The Slums and Nigeria Oil Money

No question, the entrapment called Nigeria is well known in the oil business it is one of world's biggest supplier of oil. That image of oil has set up a tone that Nigeria is a very rich country bubbling with life portrayed by the haves, even though when one takes a close look at the changing phases and events of the common man, bogus businessmen and government officials to see how oil has controlled and doomed the country in its entirety, the country is nothing but a jungle despite its oil wealth and its enormous human capital.

With all that oil, the nation seems to be underdeveloped and moving backward by the day, with the above picture of Njemanze Waterfront in Port Harcout, the hub of the nation's oil well taken by Candace Feit of New York Times. In President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua's presentation of the 2008 budget he projected a total revenue of N1.96 trillion in which eighty percent of that will come from crude oil sales with a "presumed exchange rate of N117 to the US $1."




So, Mr President, how about the slums in the neck of the wood where oil is produced? What are you going to do about it? Would there be another Fela Anikulapo Kuti to tell it in your face that corruption has eaten the entire nation it is now baked in every Nigerian gene? Apparently, the oil boom is not ending anytime soon since war here and there has catapulted oil sales, once again to the top.

Nevertheless, the poisonous substance called oil has created all sorts of characters in Nigeria which is disturbing and bizarre. Nobody wants to get anything done but to engage in mysterious underground economy, using oil as a tool that fuels bitter conflicts often seen in the Niger-Delta crisis which indeed has destroyed any hope of ordinary development. The above picture speaks for itself.

Strikes and the Disappearing Nigerian Daily Newspapers.

Stanley Macebuh, the media guru in newspaper business, started it all. He had helped erect The Post Express, the first daily newspaper to go online in Nigeria. He was the pioneer managing director and editor-in-chief of Post Express before calling it quits to pave way for a younger generation to take over. It didn't take long, Post Express was offline before anyone knew it. Many have come and gone.

Daily Sun, the tabloid, has not been consistent with its online publishing ever since it surfaced in the Second Republic on Orji Kalu's bankroll. Daily Independent plays a cat and mouse game not caring about the people that pays to keep it afloat. It pops up online whenever it feels like and I'm sure by now the hits to the site has gone down the drain.

Probably, the blame should go to web-journalism since it couldn't challenge newspapers on the streets where it's really practical. The Post Express is a perfect example. When Post Express launched its first online version in 1998, it appeared to signal a whole new trend in journalism. However, it turned out to be expensive and paying the dues wasn't easy. Newswatch equally did the same trying a paid subscription model but lost more readers because most readers weren't willing to pay since they could get the same news source elsewhere, free of charge.

The past four days or so, in my routine early morning News Desk publication, I noticed one or two things. In particular, The Vanguard Group of Newspapers have disappeared online without a trace or explanation whatsoever. Visiting the site, it reads "This is the Plesk default page. If you see this page it means: 1) hosting for this domain is not configured or 2) there's no such domain registered in Plesk."

I have been wondering what would amount to an authentic paper in Nigerian standard of web-journalism vanish online just like that. I hope the owner(s) of this unique newspapers that assembled some fine journalist would do something to avoid losing its archive in terms of making references. I have enjoyed reading the Vanguard for quite sometime now.

The Guardian, the best managed paper, in my own humble opinion, is being shut down as I write. Its employees have embarked on a strike the past four days or so, indicating "the management of Guardian Newspapers Limited wishes to inform members of the public that our newspapers have been off the streets and online, following an industrial action called by our workers."

What these guys are demanding is just a pay raise or some kind of benefits. Would that amount to taking a newspaper of Guardian's magnitude off the streets and online? Why not go to the table and negotiate to stay in business? Assuming that Guardian declines to the demands of its employees, my guess is that Guardian will instantly lose its value. The irony is a paper begun well by Macebuh goes offline after all these years of fine journalism.

News Desk Friday, November 9, 2007

LAPD to build data on Muslim areas

An extensive mapping program launched by the LAPD's anti-terrorism bureau to identify Muslim enclaves across the city sparked outrage Thursday from some Islamic groups and civil libertarians, who denounced the effort as an exercise in racial and religious profiling. MORE>>>

Police ring Bhutto home in crackdown

LAHORE, Pakistan — Security forces placed former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto under virtual house arrest early today as a crackdown on President Pervez Musharraf's opponents continued, a day after he bowed to enormous political pressure and pledged to hold parliamentary elections by mid-February. MORE>>>

Gangs Terrorize Nigeria’s Vital Oil Region

PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria — Rosemary Douglas has no connection to the oil business that pumps more than two million barrels of crude a day from beneath the swampy Niger Delta. But the violence surrounding it pierced her home in September anyway, when a bullet shattered her upper left arm as she napped with her 2-year-old daughter. MORE>>>

On Campaign Bus, Obama Opens Up About Challengers

CHARITON, Iowa, Nov. 8 -- Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) took on his two principal rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday, arguing that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) cannot appeal to independents and Republicans as effectively as he can and asserting that former senator John Edwards's populist message does not square with his record. MORE>>>

Nigeria sues over child smokers

Nigeria's government says it has begun legal action against three leading international cigarette companies. It is demanding more than $40bn in compensation over their alleged role in promoting underage smoking. MORE>>>

Senegal: Journalist Arrested for Allegedly Offending President

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today called on the government of Senegal to put an end to the "oppression" of journalists after the arrest of an editor this morning. This is the fourth arrest of a reporter or editor in the last month for allegedly offending the President or endangering national security. MORE>>>

The Search For Ozo & The Rest.

I had called Mike Egi, compiler of Flashback 1 & 2 a couple of days ago to see if he made it back from his trip to Naija on an expedition to dig out master tapes of 70s local ensembles that kept body and soul one. Mike had told me his journey was very "disappointing" and somehow was not worth the trip.

He trooped to Pound Road, Aba, and according to him the road was so bad it took more than two hours to drive through a couple of miles. He had gone there to look for original albums of the Wings, The Apostles, Action and many other old-school jams of the day. We talked for nearly two hours on the phone and it was quite engaging. I had written a piece in the past about these old school jams and that's how we hooked up. Mike lives in St. Paul.

For a while now, I have been searching for some of these rare LPs. I have digged every archive but could only be that lucky. Some are there, some not. Mike also noted how bad in shape these 70s musicians were when he ran into them. Drummer Ben Alaka was so bad in shape and could not remember the songs he made in his heydays playing gigs at Lido, in Warri.

I had asked Mike if he was able to find the group Ozo whose 70s "Listen to the Buddha" album was a smash hit. "No where to be found," according to him. Ozo was a group founded by Igbo born Keni Saint George who later went solo and produced Asaba. Just browsing, I stumbled into this rare track here, and in shock I clicked on the album version of the track "Anambra" which echoed taking me aback to the groovy days all compositions and arrangements were original. Not even the all-flavor vintage Paris DJs founded by Djouls and Grant Phabao has it in stock. I give it to them, though. Those kids are doing a hell of a job remixing and digitally waxing all African vintage songs they can lay their hands on.

The album "Listen to the Budhha" was produced by Keni St. George and Vernon Cummings and recorded at DJM Records in 1976. Tracklisting: 1) Listen to the Budhha, 2)You Better Run, 3) Kites, 4) Anambra, 5) Love Me Tomorrow, 6) Who Shot Him Down, 7) Times-A-Changing, 8) Love is Gone, 9) Realms.

Mike's Flashback 3 will be out soon and I hope this time around, the track "Anambra" and "Listen to the Budha" will be included. Listen to the music. There's a message in it.

Hey, Mike, don't forget the liner notes and biographical info.

News Desk Thursday, November 8, 2007

FG Revokes Yar’Adua, Ex-Govs’ Land in FCT

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday revoked titles of plots of land belonging to President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, former governors of Kaduna, Zamfara and Plateau states, Mohammed Makarfi, Ahmed Yerima, and Joshua Dariye respectively and other prominent Nigerians. MORE>>>


French Court Jails Etete

A French court yesterday sentenced in absentia former Minister of Petroleum, Dan Etete, to three years in prison and a fine of 300,000 euros ($440,000 ) for money laundering. The Paris criminal court also issued an arrest warrant for Etete, who served as Petroleum Minister under Late General Sani Abacha from 1995 to 1998, and is currently living in Britain. MORE>>>

A-G Stops Asuni's Trial Over Espionage

The Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Michael Kaase Andoakaa (SAN) yesterday ordered the immediate stoppage of the on-going trial of an American cum Nigerian woman, Judith Asuni. Asuni is standing trial before a Federal high court, Abuja for conspiracy and espionage. MORE>>>

N70b Textile Fund - Obasanjo Issued Dud Cheque

The much celebrated N70 billion textile fund, which was initiated by former President Olusegun Obasanjo as an emergency fund to rescue the ailing industry, has become a big fraud. MORE>>>

PDP, Kupolokun, Obaseki may appear in US court - Over N750m bribery allegation - FG to probe top officials

TOP functionaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Group Managing Directors of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Gaius Obaseki and Mr. Funso Kupolokun, may be subpoenaed as possible accomplices in a $6 million (N750 million) bribery allegation. MORE>>>