My expectations was high for Nigeria but disappointed me- Former Finance Minister, Okonjo-Iweala

“When I was 18, the world seemed open, prospects from my country seemed good; we had come out of a war, we were united and rebuilding so it seemed like a place where there was a lot of opportunities because we were reconstructing the country, there were a lot of jobs.Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has said she had high hopes for the country, while she was growing up.

The former World Bank director stated this on a panel at the Mo Ibrahim Forum in Morocco.

“I had very high expectations of a country where it would have what it needed infrastructure wise and people could go up and down the ladder anywhere they pleased”, she said.

Okonjo-Iweala also singled out unemployment as one of the greatest challenges Nigeria was battling with.

“When we think about creating jobs, which is the biggest problem our economy is faced with, we want to get very practical to talk about what we should be doing rather than the theory,” she said.

“One thing is important, you can not create these jobs unless you have a conducive environment in the economy that enables and encourages your domestic private sector to invest as well as the foreign private sector so that is where it begins”, she added.

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You Have Failed on Chibok Girls- BBOG to Buhari

•     Says three years wait is too long

By Kasim Sumaina in  Abuja 

The BringBackOurGirls Group #BBOG, has condemned President Muhammadu Buhari’s inability to fulfill the promised he made during his inauguration address on May 29, 2015 where he said the country cannot claim to have defeated Boko Haram without rescuing the Chibok girls.

 The Group, in its 3rd year anniversary statement made available to the press on Friday in Abuja, stated that, Buhari had not only so far failed the #ChibokGirks, but, failed to honour his word and commitment.

 The statement signed by its leaders, Oby Ezekwesili and Aminat Yesufu, noted that, “He has also failed to honour the pledge he made to the parents, the Chibok community, and our movement when we met five weeks after his inauguration as president.” 

According to it, “Today marks three  years, that is 1096 days since 276 schoolgirls were taken from their school, Government Secondary School, Chibok on the night of 14 April 2014; 57 escaped, 24 returned after 2 years. Today, 195 of our of Chibok girls are still captives of terrorists to the utter shame of our country. And under President Muhammadu Buhari’s watch for 681 days of the 3 years. 

“President Muhammadu Buhari and the federal government have no choice but to bring back our 195 Chibok girls.  

“Would our Chibok girls and their parents be treated with such emotional detachment and lack of fierce urgency to end their tragedy if they were the daughters of the high and mighty?

“We cannot claim to have defeated Boko Haram without rescuing the Chibok girls and all other innocent persons held hostage by insurgents. 

 “This government will do all it can to rescue them alive.’ 

Very sadly, 7 months after that meeting, the president and his administration changed the benchmark when they began to declare ‘technical defeat’ in December 2015 without our Chibok girls.”

However, the Group said, “on this tragic third commemoration of their abduction, we declare again: #3YearsTooLong. #NoMoreExcuses.

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Ikoyi $43m Haul: Rivers State Government Claims Ownership

• Gives FG 7-day ultimatum to return money allegedly diverted by ex-governor
• Amaechi: Wike is a child, he talks without evidence

By Yemi Adebowale and Ernest Chinwe in Port Harcourt

Governor, Nyesom Wike yesterday said that the $43 million found in a luxury apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos belongs to the Rivers State Government and gave the federal government a 7-day ultimatum to return it, “failing which Rivers State Government will take legal measures to ensure that it gets back her stolen resources.”

Addressing journalists at the Government House, Port Harcourt last night, he said that investigations by his administration revealed that the money was proceed from the sale of gas turbines by the immediate past governor of the state, Rotimi Amaechi.

But Amaechi told THISDAY last night that Wike’s allegations were frivolous and lacked any evidence.

Wike said: “The money in question belongs to the former Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi. We want to confirm that the house in Ikoyi also belongs to Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.

“If you recollect in 2015, we said that gas turbines built by former Governor Peter Odili were sold to Sahara Energy, business partners of Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi at $319 million.

“That money was used to sponsor the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the 2015 general election. From the date of sale of the gas turbines to May 29, 2015, the money depleted from $319 million to $204,000. What was stashed at the Ikoyi residence was part of that fund.

“We have facts to prove that the said money belongs to the Rivers State Government. The Federal Government must return our money.”

Wike said all the stories be- ing peddled about the money belonging to the National Intel- ligence Agency were false and mere face-saving measures by the embattled APC federal government.

He said: “As I speak to you, the federal government is so embarrassed that this has happened. All the stories that the money belongs to the NIA are fake”.

Wike challenged the federal government to set up a panel of inquiry, which will sit publicly to investigate the money, if it doubted the claim of the Rivers State Government.

He stated that the Rivers State Government needed the money to complete an array of projects, insisting that on no account would this “criminal activity be swept under the carpet.”

The governor said as long as the federal government continued to disturb the progress of Rivers State, “so long will God throw the federal government into confusion.”

“We are giving them seven days to return our money.

Otherwise, we would take legal action to recover our money. $43 million will help us complete several projects,” he said.

But Amaechi scoffed at Wike’s Allegation. He said: “I don’t know who owns the money or the building. This Wike is a child. He just talks without any evidence. All he has been doing in the last two years is repairing roads. He can’t even construct roads. Journalist should try and find out who the owner of the Ikoyi building is from the Lagos State Government, before we start talking about the owner of the money. The building must have been registered. The documents must be in somebody’s name.

“I know Wike very well. He worked with me and stole so much when he was in govern- ment. He also stole when he was working for Jonathan. All his previous attempts to rubbish me failed. He will also fail in this one. At the Appeal Court, he could not provide documents to nail me over his shabby panel of inquiry. He will fail again.”

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Election of Gov Obaseki Upheld by Edo Tribunal

Governor Godwin Obaseki’s election, has been upheld by the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, that sat in Benin on Friday.

Justice Ahmed Badamosi dismissed petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, declaring that it lacked merit.

The Tribunal also said that the reliance of the petitioners on the ticking of the name of a prospective voter on the left side of the voters’ register, to mark complete accreditation was only an administrative guideline for election officials.

According to the election tribunal, all the witnesses’ evidence only gave credence to the September 26, 2016 election.

According to Twitter user, @shina_pitta, there were wild celebrations and loud chants of “Obaseki” and “APC”, after the judgement was delivered.

Governor Obaseki responded by waving his party’s flag proudly and acknowledging greetings from the crowd.

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