NewStats: 3,263,707 , 8,181,112 topics. Date: Saturday, 07 June 2025 at 01:00 PM 722w5f

@MANGAM....Thanks for your recommendation
@Kayceejunior....Right decision at right time. Ready to be of help when needed
@House.... Oil palm plantation is a profitable agribusiness but with proper and professional management

MANGAM:
U could hookup with tjadeniyi for more on hw to manage ur palm plantation maximally. Mine are still @ the infant. I hope to learn a lot from u when mine are fully matured

I will advice on two directions
1. Since you're are not on ground to monitor this farm yourself, the attitude and seriousness of the contract labourers should be assigned to an independent/ part-time supervisor
2. Not to be at total loss, it is professionally OK to rent/lease this plantation out till you will be available to manage it properly. In this you state out your conditions to your tenant and you still get paid....Win-Win approach.

felixzo1:
my palms have started fruiting,in fact few have ripening but still at the early stages, I hope to get some thing out of them this year,I did not travel to my village personal ly but I use contract labour for clearing and pruning, I will pix as soon as I get them

Happy New Year

orontogorah:


i got my whole neighborhood and friends bad wit dis adventure.....and now everybody wants in... wots ur take on my brown new soap op? give me jux 1yr and i will be more dan u...lolzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Hi,
I need your help in getting the idea used in getting the molds used....

CosmeticChemist:

Check your email, I have activated a link for you.

ed and perusing it. I too left some message for you on whatsapp..... Thanks

@MANGAM....Apology to those that are derailed by my posts....Appreciation to those that ed me for one or the other advice.... Big thanks to OP and entire house for this thread...(y)

MANGAM:
I think is better u get a new thread solely for this. U ar derailing this thread

✅a poultry farm
✅2000m² land size
✅2 Bedroom uncompleted farm house already roofed but not yet plastered and no doors and windows.
✅fenced round with Sandcrete block work up to 3m high
✅Entry through 2 No. metal gates at the front and rear
✅Existing Poultry house and excavation for fish pond

Price: N9,000,000.00 (N9m) asking price

Location:bye- along Sapele Road (Benin City) Edo State
08098122340 (SMS only)

I really appreciate your response and proves that you're not a fluke.
Also to the house, I can guarantee anybody that cares that this guy is real.
I asked those questions to shake him
Before I go, please OP hope the gimmick of curing waiver is included in your manual- eBook?
Thumb up

@OP I really appreciate your professional response.
In your own production, do you wait for this period before you sell your products? Or you don't "cure" at all? Or you have a special way/formula for your production that require no curing?
I am sorry for these questions.
Thanks

@OP You done a better presentation and probably you've empowered some people through this thread.
Please you did not mention anything about curing with time. Please talk more on curing and time to stay during this process.

When you leverage on the experience of the
professionals,success is guaranteed.

My appreciation to my clients that got through this thread. Thanks for your patronage and trust.

Hello house,
My sincere appreciation to those that have ed me for one or two advise(s) and consultation. I say thank you for the trust.
To the general potentials on this agribusiness especially the beginners, the best time to start land preparation(felling of trees) is from now till eary February.
For those that are looking for feasibility studies, I can prepare comprehensive one for you or you get it from any other source but from experience "not all feasibility studies are feasible".
I salute the ideas shared on this thread and also appreciate the brains of some contributors.
Again for consultation and advice on this agribusiness
me on [email protected] or 08098122340 (SMS only)
Service charge applied

l

tjadeniyi:
Really appreciate and respect everybody on this
informative and educative thread.
I am a manager of an oil palm plantation in Benin
Edo State and also a consultant to some
established and potential farmers on this aspect
of agribusiness.
For consultation and advice on this and possible
field trip to know more on this business.
me on [email protected] or
08098122340(SMS only)
Thanks

Really appreciate and respect everybody on this informative and educative thread. I am a manager of an oil palm plantation in Benin Edo State and also a consultant to some established and potential farmers on this aspect of agribusiness. For consultation and advice on this and possible field trip to know more on this business. me on [email protected] or 08098122340(SMS only) Thanks

Really appreciate and respect everybody on this informative and educative thread.
I am a manager of an oil palm plantation in Benin Edo State and also a consultant to some established and potential farmers on this aspect of agribusiness.
For consultation and advice on this and possible field trip to know more on this business.
me on [email protected] or 08035645516(WhatsApp only)
Thanks

FORMER PRESIDENT OBASANJO NOT INVOLVED IN ANY SERIOUS ROAD TRAFFIC CRASH

Contrary to reports in the social media platforms that former President Olusegun Obasnjo had a serious crash on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway today, the vehicle in which the former president was traveling only had tyre problem.

President Olusegun Obasanjo moved into the backup vehicle and continued his journey while the blow out tyre was changed and left the scene.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10153310108292017&id=141944577016&refid=17

interested [email protected]

The rank of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP), in Edo State was Saturday depleted
further, as a former Deputy Governor of the
State, Mr. Lucky Imasuen, State Deputy
Chairman of the Party, Chief Christopher
Adesotu, a former member of House of
Representatives and Deputy Governorship
candidate of the party in the 2012
Governorship election, John Abolagba, all
dumped the party for the ruling All
Progressives Congress (APC).
The defection ceremony which held at the
Urokpota Hall, located at the Ring Road in
Benin, made the day a very bad one for the
PDP, as over 5,000 other party stalwarts also
followed their leaders to the APC.
Mr. Lucky Imasuen who spoke on behalf of
others at the ceremony, said it was no longer
news that the Peoples Democratic Party has
fallen apart.
“Many people have asked me why do you
want to the Comrade Governor? If you
wrestle with somebody for so long and you
are not able to defeat the person, won’t you
the person? I ed Airport Road, my
mother is at Ogida market, I attended Agbado
Primary School; Adolo College is in my
neighbourhood, I Akpakpava road
everyday and I see the work the governor has
done there.
“Have you been to Edo central and Edo
North? My message to my few brothers and
sisters left in the PDP; this train will not miss
us. The first one is taking off today at the
Kings Square and I am ing it with my
friends and brothers and I appeal to you that
in the next few months the remaining ones
that are viable will ing this train to help
build a formidable APC that the Comrade
Governor has built.
“We are going to take part in the glory of the
governor. Everything he has done has been
done by all of us. We are not coming to
cause any confusion, we will attend our ward
meeting where it is taking place and we
accept the governor as our leader,” he said.
Governor Adams Oshiomhole who received
the defectors, thanked them for their decision
to the All Progressives Congress,
assuring that they would be granted equal
opportunities as founding of the
party.
“Today, the only political elephant that is left
in the PDP has decided with his brothers and
sisters across the three senatorial districts to
formally renounce their hip of the
PDP so that they can realign, readjust and
reintegrate with the progressives under the
APC platform.
“I am very excited at the opportunity of
working hand-in-hand with our brothers and
sisters who we know in their heart and by
some of the actions they have taken in the
past, they rightly belong to the same family
of the progressives. The movement of these
people to APC means that the PDP is down
and finished.
“In APC, we will do everything we can to
integrate you into our control structures and
to ensure that like other of the APC,
you will get what is due to you. Let me
assure you on behalf of the party that we are
not welcoming you by lips but by our hearts
and working together to ensure continuous
good governance in Edo State and under the
leadership of President Buhari, now that you
have ed us, the broom has become
stronger.
“The broom has become more potent; the
broom will now be deployed to sweep away
any of the other remains and bring change
and the benefit of change will accrue to all
our people all over the state and to all of you
who are of APC.”
The Governor thereafter formally received the
defectors by presenting them with the broom,
the symbol of the APC.

www.thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2015/09/lucky-imasuen-ex-deputy-governor-others-dump-pdp-for-apc/

Eligible young women in Maiduguri, the Borno
State capital, are worried that the continued stay
of single girls in the Internally Displaced Persons
(IDPs) camps is threatening their chances of
getting married as many potential suitors are
abandoning them for those in the IDP camps for a
variety of reasons.
Some of the girl that spoke to Daily Trust, who
call themselves ‘city girls’, said all the girls in the
IDP camps are villagers who want to relocate to
the city that is why they are offering themselves
cheaply to men, referring to low bride prices and
other costs attached to marriage in the region.
Most of them, wearing long faces, lamented that
men who have dated prospective brides for years
have abandoned them for others in the IDP
camps, who accept impromptu marriage
proposals from men they do not know very well,
for the promise of a life away from the camps.
Most of the ‘city girls’ told Daily Trust that they
will not crash the prices of their dowry from the
usual N150,000 on the average to the N10,000
being paid for brides at the IDP camps,
maintaining that they are refined, polished and
have qualities that the girls in the IDP do not.
Falmata Bashir Modu, 23, is awaiting ission
into the University of Maiduguri and said the girls
in the IDP camps are actually a threat to single
girls in the city, because most men want low-cost
marriages are finding comfort there, adding,
“When someone whispered to me that the guy
proposing to marry my childhood friend is
abandoning her for an IDP bride, I could not
believe it. But it happened, just because he could
not afford N500,000 to N1 million. He went for a
rustic bride who I’m sure cannot even cook well.”
But Aisha Mustafa, 22, and a student of University
of Maiduguri said if it is just the cost of dowry
that will make her miss her suitor for another girl,
she is ready to convince her parents to reduce the
money to a bearable amount. “I cannot afford to
miss someone I love because of bride price. I’m
not for sale. There is a minimum amount fixed by
Islam as dowry and I do not mind asking for
that, once the love and understanding is there.
What I want is to enjoy my marriage with a man I
love,” she said.
Maimuna, a student of Sir Kashim Ibrahim College
of Education, Maiduguri, said she will not reduce
her dowry. “It is a matter of sitting him down and
telling him the advantages of going for the best. I
am sure he will understand,” she said.
Maimuna’s friend, also a student of the same
College of Education, who declined to identify
herself, said: “I’m aware that some men went to
IDP camps and paid N5,000 or N10,000 and got
brides. They rush for the IDPs because they do
not have to buy clothes and other traditional
requirements. It’s disturbing and something
needs to be done immediately.”
But 40-year-old widow Inna Usman said the IDP
girls are only a threat to other girls who are
desperate to marry. “Since my husband died, I
have not been keen on remarriage. I am facing
my business now. The IDP girls are posing a
challenge to ‘city girls’ and the men are not
willing to budge.”
Fatima Musa is a student of a secondary school
in Gwoza, and she escaped to Maiduguri, where
she is staying with her parents. She said the
issue of bride price is a matter that only parents
can address and that IDPs are entitled to marry.
“I don’t see any reason why men should not ask
for their hands in marriage.”
18-year-old Zainab Adamu of the University of
Maiduguri said she blames the men for the
situation. “Any man who abandons the girl he has
proposed to for one with supposedly less
economical cost does not know what he wants,”
she said.
She added that the rate at which men troop to
IDP camps in a rush to secure brides is alarming.
“I think it is time for government to relocate them
back to their various communities so that
everybody will rest,” she said.
Zainab Auwal, 27, said she is not afraid of the
IDP girls taking over her suitor because she is
educated and her suitor is only interested in
educated fine girl like her and not a girl that is
willing to give out herself in marriage so cheap.
24-year-old Hauwa Abubakar, also a student,
said a friend’s sister lost her suitor to an IDP girl.
“He complained of high bride price and before we
realised it, he had married an IDP bride.”
Miss Grace, a student of the University of
Maiduguri, told Daily Trust that there are
educated and non-educated girls both in the IDP
camps and among the so-called city girls. “The
fact is, the IDPs are less-demanding because
they’re eager for new lives away from the camps.
And the demands of the city girls are crazy, as far
as asking for N500,000 and above.”
Asma’u Suleiman, a student of Sir Kashim
Ibrahim College of Education, Maiduguri, said her
friend who is also a student of the same
institution lost her suitor to an IDP girl after four
years courtship. “I know my friend does not pay
much attention to him whenever he raised the
issue of marriage, but it was too harsh of him to
have abandoned her for the IDP. I was told that
the IDP girl used to visit him on campus, cook for
him and wash his clothes. The next thing we
heard was that they got married,” she said.
On their own part, the men who spoke to Daily
Trust said moderate dowries are not the only
factors causing them to go after the girls in the
IDP camps. Alhaji Fannami Marte said he married
his second wife from the IDP camp two months
ago, not just because it was easy on his pockets.
“Maiduguri girls have no time for their suitors
during courtship and they tend to be full of
themselves. It is either she is busy at home or
attending to her parents. I need enough time with
the girl I want to marry so that I can understand
her very well. The single girls in the IDP camps
give time and attention. Some of them are even
more beautiful and intelligent than the so-called
city girls,” he said.
Marte had accompanied a friend to an IDP camp,
where he met a girl. “She is beautiful and the
smile on her face attracted me and we got
talking. In three weeks, we got married and
without stress. Yes, she might have been born in
a village but she can fit in even in London,” he
said.
Kyari Modu, a civil servant, said he has witnessed
the marriages of seven of his friends to IDPs in
various camps in Maiduguri so far, but is yet to
marry one. “Only two of the seven men paid a
dowry of N10,000 each. All others paid N5,000
each and they are all living in peace. It’s love
that matters.”
Bana Alhaji Kyari is a trader at Bolori market in
Maiduguri and he married recently from an IDP
camp. “I married a beautiful woman, with good
character. All my neighbours envy me.”
Kyari told Daily Trust that he spent a total of
N14,500 for the marriage instead of the N300,000
he would have spent on a bride from Maiduguri.
“If I have my way, all men should go to IDP
camps and marry. They’re the best,” he said.
Maryam Isa Bulama is an IDP and she told Daily
Trust that a date has been fixed for her wedding
and does not care if her husband-to-be left any
city girl for her. She said: “It is not right - and
downright cruel - for anyone to say that IDPs are
rustic or illiterates. I am a graduate of Sociology
and there are girls here with Masters degrees. We
are victims of insurgency, and it could happen to
anyone. Going by the UN definition of a city,
Maiduguri is not even qualified to be one, even if
it is bigger than Bama where I come from.” She
added that women are not for sale, “Whatever
circumstance they may find themselves.”

www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/why-grooms-are-rushing-for-idp-brides/111479.html

cc lalasticlala

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a
pastor, Abraham Sunday, for allegedly raping a
16-year-old girl, Kike (pseudonym) in Adalemo
Estate, in the Toll Gate area, on the Lagos-
Abeokuta Expressway.
PUNCH Metro learnt that Sunday, the pastor of
Christ In All Nations Church in Adalemo, was
arrested by the Ojokoro Police Division last
Wednesday, September 2, from where he was
taken to the Department of Criminal Investigation,
Yaba.
It was gathered that Kike, who was ill, had been
taken by the pastor to a house in Adalemo Estate
on August 28 for deliverance prayer when the
incident occured.
It was learnt that the victim’s mother, who said
Sunday was a family friend, became apprehensive
after she did not hear from her daughter.
The matter was said to have been reported to the
police by the landlord of the house where Sunday
allegedly camped the teenager to rape her.
A police source told our correspondent that after
Kike was rescued, she was taken to a hospital,
where a medical test confirmed that she had been
raped. The pastor was thereafter arrested.
He said, “The pastor was like a foster father to
the girl. She was ill and had gone to a hospital in
the area. While returning from the hospital, she
boarded the same bus with the pastor, who said
he would take her to a place for prayers.
“Since the suspect was a family friend, she did
not doubt him. So, they went to the pastor’s
apartment, where he camped and raped her for
three days. The victim’s mother did not even
know about the deliverance prayer.
“On Monday, the landlord and some neighbours
got suspicious of the pastor’s arrangement with
the teenager and they alerted a non-governmental
organisation in the area, which in turn invited the
police. The girl was rescued and rushed to a
hospital, where a medical test confirmed rape.
The suspect was arrested immediately.”
Our correspondent learnt that Kike and her
mother were thereafter referred to the Lagos
State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response
Team and the Ministry of Women Affairs and
Poverty Alleviation.
The DSVRT Coordinator, Lola Viviour-Adeniyi, said
the team had taken up the rehabilitation of the
victim.
She said, “It was an NGO, Rubies Ink, that
brought the matter to our attention.
“The girl was taken away for prayer. She was in
the pastor’s house at the Adalemo area for three
days, and during that period, he raped her.
“The DSVRT reached out to the victim’s mother,
but she maintained that she would not pursue
any case. While itting that the pastor defiled
her daughter, the mother said the pastor had a
three-month-old baby, and she did not want him
to be jailed.
“However, we informed the police at Ojokoro
division that the state government was interested
in the matter.
“This prompted the transfer of the suspect to the
SDCI, Yaba.
“At present, the girl is undergoing treatment. She
was taken to the Mirabel Centre.”
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer,
DSP Patricia Amadin, confirmed the pastor’s
arrest.
She said, “The police have arrested the suspect,
and the matter has also been transferred to the
SDCI, Yaba.’’

www.punchng.com/metro-plus/pastor-rapes-16-year-old-during-three-day-deliverance-prayer/

A Professor of Computer Engineering at the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, Godwin Ighalo, has won the sum of N58,945,553, after placing bets with N800 in 1960Bet. It is the biggest sum ever won in the history of sports betting in Nigeria. The sexagenarian accomplished the feat after placing bets on two different bet slips of N500 and N300. On the N500 ticket, Prof Ighalo won N36,840,971.25 while the N300 slip won him N22,104,582.75. Ighalo, who was accompanied by two of his relatives, on Wednesday, received his cheque at the head office of the country’s top sports betting company in Lagos. On how he was able to achieve the feat, Ighalo said, “Since my childhood days, I used to have strong interests in probability, relationships and special intelligence. All these with adequate sports betting research I conducted over the years, helped in making it possible.” He hailed 1960BET for their honesty and commitment to their customers, adding he was sure he would be paid his money in full by the sports betting company, despite doubts in some quarters that they won’t be able to pay. He said, “I was sure the company would pay if I win. I have tried in the past without winning and always believe that one day luck will shine on me. “There were a lot of people out there who expressed doubts on whether they will be able to pay the money, but 1960Bet has demonstrated that they are a reliable sports betting company with this prompt payment. Immediately I arrived at their office, they called me in and the money was paid into my .” The Managing Director of 1960BET, Mr Dotun Ajegbile, said the company, with the prompt payment of the money, has enhanced its position as the most consistent sports betting firm in Nigeria. “Now it is clear that 1960BET is the most consistent, having paid more winnings in the history of sports betting in Nigeria; we have been paying since 2010. We have made it top priority in the new season to honour all transactions online and retail while guaranteeing the best odds at all times and undiluted gaming excitement in all our shops.”
www.punchng.com/sports/university-don-wins-n58-9m-in-sports-bet/

[email protected]

Lagos is a famous and glittering city,
abundant in natural beauty and
surrounded by sea, with its diverse
culture, happy-go-lucky attitude,
economic growth, and superb
accommodation, it is no surprise that
the city is Nigeria’s most dynamic city.
Lagos offers a great variety of
attractions – there’s plenty to see and
do in this city, no wonder most people
prefer to live in the city.
Lagos is one place in Nigeria that has
got affluence and glamour, much more
like Miami and New York City.
However, people from other Nigerian
cities believe that the glitz and glam
attractively presented about Lagos too
good to be true or are not real at all.
We’ve also heard people say that no
matter how amazing Lagos is being
portrayed, it is a perilous place to live.
However, we believe a lot of things
about Lagos have been exaggerated,
that is why we have rounded up a list
of 6 things about Lagos that people
from other cities exaggerate about:

1. Lagos is a land of
opportunities
Lagos is indeed a land of opportunities
for many Nigeria. It is a city where a
hardworking pauper from Makoko slum
turns into someone living in one of the
most expensive people in Lekki or
Victoria Island. However, do not jump
the next bus to Lagos expecting to be
rich overnight if you have no plan,
house and from friends or
family because Lagos is not as easy
as it is made to be. Money does not
grow on trees in Lagos because you
have to work to earn a living.
Unfortunately, jobs are limited in
Lagos.

2. The legend of Area boys
You must have heard a lot of stories
about the thugs in Lagos, who are
called ‘ Area boys ’; thanks to some
Nollywood movies. These exaggerated
stories drive fear in the mind of people
visiting Lagos for the first time. Even
though, these thugs are virtually
everywhere, but do not expect to be
harassed by them just like that. We
are not saying that they are harmless
but it is only when you end up at the
wrong place that things may get ugly
for you. The availability of Lagos Bus
Rapid Transit System (BRT) can help
you avoid the discomfort of bus
conductors in some parts of the city.

3. Lagos is ‘small London’
Lagos is filled with colourful
architectures and iconic landmarks
that have this seductive charm that
perfectly blends with the wide span of
clean roads. The city is home to one of
the richest and the most impoverished
areas in Nigeria. It is not every part of
Lagos that looks heavenly; some parts
such as Ajegunle, Makoko, Ijora Badia
and others, are shanty towns, sweat
shops and slums. Most of the
stunning things you see on newsprints
or television about Lagos may have
been edited to suit the producers.

4. The cost of living is
expensive
Lagos is an attractive destination,
decorated with affluence and luxury but
it can be surprisingly cheap. You can
get things – from sophisticated to
standard, extravagance to essential,
bohemian to natural. The cost of living
in Lagos may be on the high side when
compared to cities like Akure, Ibadan
or Benin. However, Lagos is not as
expensive as we are made to believe it
is. The city has been built in such a
way that anyone can easily blend in.
Surprisingly, you can even do a lot of
things under N2000 in Lagos.

5. The crime rate is high
Do not be carried away with stories
that everyone in Lagos has criminal
tendencies. Some people have been
warned never to ask for directions
when they are in Lagos but end up
getting missing. The crime rate in
Lagos is not as high as it has been
exaggerated. Actually, security is
paramount in the city to allow crime to
rule the day.

6. Traffic Jam is
unbeatable
You cannot come to Lagos and miss
traffic (‘go-slows’). We know that
almost every motorway is often
jammed with absurd traffic hams and
speed freaks. It is not true that you
are going to spend half of your day
stuck in traffic if you do not leave your
house early in the morning. The
menace of traffic is gradually losing its
grip, thanks to BRT lane and the train
service that have made it easier for
people to escape the Lagos traffic.
Traffic is not as horrible as it has been
painted in Lagos; all you need to do is
know your route and how to move
around.
Have you heard other exaggerated
things about Lagos?

www.travelstart.com.ng/blog/6-exaggerated-things-about-lagos/?utm_source=SocialMedia&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=Facebook_TSNG_6Exageratedthingsaboutlagos18Aug2015

What Aregbesola’s critics
won’t tell Nigerians

Nigeria's politics is sometimes
nauseating, while its government/ business
environment is nasty. For many years, I had
switched off from Nigeria. My choice to
stay back in the United States, basking in
its refreshing winter, and kicking back in its
sweet summer, had always been a safe
one. Last year, however, the intense buzz
and bustle around the governor of my home
state Of Osun drew me back home and into
a bit of its politicking.
The name Rauf Aregbesola didn’t sound
familiar to many of us who had been out of
Nigeria for a while. From different sources,
my ears were filled with both sweet and
sour stories flying around town about the
governor. I then went ing the tales
before riding alongside others on the
vilifying- train throttled by those I did not
even know.
What I saw in Oshogbo and surrounding
towns in the spiraling asphalted roads, in
the big bridges, the torn-down and
towered-back-up High school buildings that
stood in classic comparison with those in
many US cities, made my heart throb in joy.
Friends, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the only
man many of us in Yorubaland grew up to
acknowledge as THE LEADER, died a great
and accomplished man who stood on the
side of his people. Rauf Aregbesola, as
Governor of Osun, may not be the Awolowo
of this time, but his deeds remind one of
the late sage.
Men with a populist ideology suffer long.
Sometimes, they become namby-pambies in
the hands of wealthy lowbrows who
contend with them for position and power.
When I left Oshogbo, I knew opposition
against this man would be fierce and
destructive. That is the price populists pay.
Men who stand by the people always get
bludgeoned by those who have a preference
for the continuation of status quo idiocy
and depravity.
The initial noise around Rauf was actuated
by non-payment of workers’ salaries. Osun
owed 6sixmonths, 22 other states, including
the istration of Goodluck Jonathan,
owed between 9 and 12. Town-criers of
persecution continued to berate only Osun
and Rauf. Those who were not citizens of
the state also enlisted in the army of
pillory. The Presidential election had just
ended, so we knew why many of them cried
more than the bereaved. It was not about
Osun workers’ welfare, it was about their
king who had just forever auctioned off his
crown.
Rauf is tough, strong, energetic and vibrant.
He is a custodian of brain and brawn, and
his opponents who wanted him out of
power understood the tall order in the
State’s last gubernatorial election. Former
National Chairman of the Peoples
Democratic Party, Alhaji Adamu Muazu,
itted that the task of uprooting Gover­
nor Rauf Aregbesola and the All
Progressives Congress from Osun State
would be difficult. He told party
ambassador Iyiola Omisore who concurred
publicly that “The task to uproot APC from
Osun State is daunting…”
That informed why on Governorship Election
Day August 9, a legion of attack-dogs came
barking into the State, accompanied by
90,000 errand-boys of lawlessness in
masks and with ammunition, looking to
hunt down Rauf. But, Rauf triumphed in a
shellacking! The Governor will always let
whoever cares to listen understand that he
has done his best for his people. Many
people and governments in and out of
Nigeria agree with him; but the despising
minority will not want you to know the
truth.
In his creativity and from paltry funds
coming into the State’s treasury, Rauf has
managed to achieve some milestones. The
milestone is in the N5.8bn Omoluabi
Conservation Fund; a wealth fund at a sub-
sovereign level geared toward promoting
the Yoruba culture of leaving wealth for the
future generation and planning for a rainy
day. The fund can be used as relief in harsh
times only when the stat’s income is
almost ‘zero’. Primarily, it is set aside as
Future Generation Fund. The milestone is
also in the State Shares and Equity worth
N10bn that has not been accessed till
today; and the milestone is in the Blue chip
shares that were recovered from moribund
investment managers and Asset
Management Corporation of Nigeria
(AMCON). It was worth N3.2bn as at
December 31st, 2013, but the value dropped
to N2.7bn because of the present dismal
state of the Global Capital Market.
Rauf’s milestone is etched in the State and
local government investment in Federation
Sovereign Wealth totaling 1.1m US dollars,
which is 2.2b Naira; and also state and
local government investments in the
National Integrated Power Plants worth
2.2b Naira today. The State also has other
investments in landed properties. What
about Security vote? Reportedly, nothing
like that exists in the State of Osun. What
the State has is a statutory provision by
the House of Assembly. It is only a figure
on paper that can translate to money in
case of emergency and only if funds are
available. In a state that is numbered 34
out of 36 in money-bags states; show me
the money?
Osun earned only N204bn in four years, and
more than N20bn of Osun N87bn loan was
gulped by workers as salaries. The
governor inherited N4.6bn pension debt
when he was sworn in as Governor in 2010.
He has so far paid N1.6bn out of a debt he
did not incur. He increased the IGR from
700 million Naira a year in the preceding
istration to almost 10 billion Naira in
a year today. Rauf is the only governor in
the country who gave a 13th month salary
to his workers before the cash crunch hit in
2013.
Why is this man not making enough noise
about all of these milestones? Populists
don’t usually make noise about what they
have accomplished; their good deeds speak
louder than words. Rauf stands on the side
of the people, and a labour activist, Owei
Lakemfa, accurately captured it in his
article entitled “AREGBESOLA: THE
IDEALIST AS POLITICIAN” published in a
Nigerian Daily this week He said:
“Aregbesola tends to be programmatic like
Obafemi Awolowo, a populist similar to
‘Penkelemesi’ Adelabu Adegoke, an orator in
the mould of Samuel Ladoke Akintola, with
a Talakawa spirit like Aminu Kano. But, in a
polity controlled by APC and PDP where all
birds congregate, it is difficult to
differentiate doves and pigeons from hawks
and vultures.”
The hawks and vultures are mad as hell
right now because Muhammadu Buhari is
President, and Rauf was a verbose and
loquacious facilitator of the sweet victory.
Anyone can petition the EFCC alleging
corruption about anybody in Nigeria; that is
the easiest part. But, not everybody can
stand to defend and prove their allegations
as true. Why did those who accused Rauf’s
istration of profligacy and corruption
take to their heels when the time came to
defend their allegations? . The testaments
from his first term as governor are now in
the archives of history. Rauf will be the first
to tell you that he has learnt a lot in the
last five years. As for his foes, they will
continue to tell you only what they want
you to hear.
. Fola Ojo writes via [email protected]

www.sunnewsonline.com/new/what-aregbesolas-critics-wont-tell-nigerians/

The Senate yesterday approved a $75
million World Bank loan for Edo State’s
Development Policy Operation (DPO) as
requested by President Muhammadu
Buhari.
The approval followed the consideration
of a single-prayer report of the Ad-hoc
Committee on Local and Foreign Debt
presented by Kabiru Gaya, an APC
senator from Kano South.
The committee in its report urged the
Senate to approve the loan, saying that
the World Bank had already considered
the state ready for it.
Adamu Aliero (APC Kebbi Central), in his
contributions, said Edo State had
qualified for the loan, because the state
had met the conditions set by the World
Bank, saying the loan would help
increase the internally generated
revenue of the state and, therefore,
urged the Senate to approve it.
He also called on other states that had
the capacity to borrow, to go ahead and
take such loans, as long as they could
utilise such judiciously.
Ali Ndume, Leader of the Senate, while
ing the motion for the approval
of the loan, encouraged other states with
genuine needs to take advantage of such
low interest loans, rather than the
patronising commercial banks.
“The first tranche of this borrowing plan
had already been approved by the Senate
and the World Bank has strict borrowing
conditions, which the state has met. I
therefore move that we approve this
loan,” he said.
However, Matthew Urhoghide, a PDP
senator from Edo South, while
ing the approval of the loan,
expressed the misgivings of the people of
the state about it.
He said on the day the Senate received
the letter from the president, he got over
2000 text messages and emails; “out
rightly, the people have said that they do
not want the loan.’’
Urhoghide said that although the loans
would bring about more gains for the
people of the state, there was need to
accede to the yearnings of the Edo
people and the misgivings
expressed by the people of the state.
The first tranche of the loan was used for
projects that were not visible, the senator
said, and urged that the second tranche
should be judiciously utilised to clear the
doubts of the people.
“This loan was premised on certain
things that the state government said it
was going to do, it was meant to enhance
good governance, it was not meant to be
used on things that were tangible or
visible.
“It was to enhance private sector
development, improve facilities for
increased IGR in the state and increase
private investment and employment
opportunities.
“I am not standing to oppose what has
been granted by Mr President or the
desire of the state government, I am here
to look at some of the views expressed by
the people on the things that have been
done with first tranche.
“We need to some of the claims
that has been made, we need to look at
the report that has been given by the
World Bank, if they are satisfactory,” he
said.
It would be recalled that Dan Orbih,
chairman, Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP), Edo State chapter, told BD
SUNDAY in an interview that President
Buhari should be careful not to allow
Oshiomhole take cover under
presidential wings to mortgage the
future of the state, since the state was
already in debt to the tune of N250
billion.
“The President should take time to gather
the facts on ground before aiding
Oshiomhole to take further loan.
Oshiomhole has borrowed money than
any previous governor of Edo State. The
President needs to ask what he has done
with previous loan before knowing what
he intends to do with the new one he
wants to take,” he advised.
According to him, from records available
from various sources, the debt profile of
the state has risen to over N250 billion
from less than N5 billion when the
governor took over from the PDP-led
government in the state.
“The last loan he took was from the
Capital Market where he borrowed the
sum of N35 billion for erosion control
which he christened ‘The Benin Water
Storm Project.’
“As I speak with you, the bulk of that
money has been paid out; but if you go
round Benin City today, the only relics of
the fact that something is being done
towards that direction is stagnant waters
that are littered round the city that has
brought about what people now refer to
as ‘Oshiomhole’s mosquitoes.’
“Those mosquitoes are very deadly. The
malaria they bring about is resistant to
many anti malaria drugs. There is
nothing to show for previous money he
has borrowed,” he alleged.
He said for anyone to contemplate
granting the governor further loan
facility, was like condemning the state to
bottomless pit of debt which it may
never get out of.
“Due to the uncertainty of some of the
loans he has obtained, he went into a tri-
partite agreement with the creditors and
the Federal Ministry of Finance in the
past five years where they have been
deducting the sum of N520 million at
source every month from federal
allocation to service some of the loans,”
he said.
He noted that the implication of granting
the Edo State governor further access to
foreign loan, would be mortgaging the
future of the state, and requested the
Senate not to approve the President’s
request.
“We call on the President of the Senate
and the distinguished of the
upper chamber to reject in entirety, the
request by the President. This same
facility, with the same facts, was what
they used in approaching the ministry of
finance under Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and
the request was turned down; because
the request did not meet all the economy
reasoning to convince the former
minister of the need for the facility. The
Senate has a responsibility to call for the
file under which this request was earlier
presented to Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and
take a look at the reasons for turning
down the facility,” he said.

www.businessdayonline.com/2015/08/senate-approves-75m-loan-for-edo-against-protest/

Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic
Party ( PDP ) on Thursday constituted a 17 man
Reconciliation and Mobilization Committee to
bring together all aggrieved and to
mobilize and ers of the party
across the three senatorial districts ahead of
the 2016 governorship election in the state .
Inaugurating the committee at the party’ s
secretariat in Benin City, the Edo state capital ,
the state Chairman of the PDP , Chief Dan
Orbih said the committee headed by Chief
Raymond Dokpesi “is an all important one
whose efforts would go a long way to boost the
base of PDP in the state . ”
Orbih who said of the body were
drawn from the three senatorial districts of the
state also noted that Chief Dokpesi and other
of the committee were carefully
chosen by the party leadership “based on their
track record of experiences in politics to bring
about the much needed reconciliation and
mobilization for for the party.
He pointed out that with the caliber of
personalities and activities of the committee ,
the party was poised towards reclaiming the
Dennis Osadebay Avenue government house
next year, just as he charged the to
spare no efforts at ensuring that the dreams
and aspirations of the PDP are realized in order
to enthrone real change in the polity of the
state .
of the committee include Senator
Matthew Urhoghide , Hon . Matthew
Iduoriyekemwen, Chief Solomon Edebiri, Prince
Tony Omoaghe , Pastor Osagie Ize - Iyamu ,
Senator Abbas Braimoh , Hon . John Yakubu , Oni
Edigin, Senator Odion Ugbesia , Patrick Ikhariale ,
Senator Ehigie Uzamere , Barr . Bisi Idahome ,
Owere Dickson Imasogie , and several others.

www.dailyindependentnig.com/2015/07/edo-pdp-inaugurates-17-man-reconciliation-committee-2016-guber-election/

According to Transparency International’s
data from 1979 till date, the tenures of
both General Muhammadu Buhari and
former President Olusegun Obasanjo were
more corrupt than the tenure of President
Goodluck Jonathan.
The data also showed that under the
istration of President Jonathan,
Nigeria has recorded its best score in the
Corruption Perception Index (I) since
1979. This is in complete contrast to the
sordid picture of rampant corruption being
painted by the opposition, ardent critics of
the Jonathan istration and much of
the media in the last few years – especially
in the build up to the general elections.
But the point that the figures from
Transparency International make so clearly
is that, in comparative , Nigeria is
actually much less corrupt today, and per­
ceived globally to be much less corrupt
today, than it has been in the last 35 years
– including under the regimes of General
Buhari and President Obasanjo, both of who
wear the toga and chant the mantra of
anti-corruption. Shockingly, according to
the TI data, President Obasanjo’s first
tenure had the worst scale of corruption
during the 35 years period between 1979
and 2015.
The TI Corruption Perception Index is a
rating of countries from 1 to 100 showing
their corruption scale. A rating of 1 is the
worst and rating of 100 means a country is
completely free of corruption. The
mark is 50 and any country scoring below
50 is considered a corrupt country.
In the year 2000, Nigeria was ranked the
most corrupt country in the world – and
improved marginally in 2001 and 2003
when it was rated the second most corrupt
nation in the world in the TI’s Corruption
Perception Index. This was certainly not
under the watch of President Jonathan.
Since 2012, Nigeria has made steady
improvements in the I. Indeed, under
President Jonathan, for the first time in
decades, Nigeria is not in the list of 1-10
most corrupt countries in the world.
In the 2014 Transparency International’s
Corruption Perception Index, issued in
December, Nigeria was ranked 136 out of
175 countries surveyed in the report. This
ranking placed Nigeria, alongside five other
countries, as the 39th most corrupt country
in the world. This is Nigeria’s best ranking
in the last four years.
With this ranking, Nigeria leapfrogged eight
countries within a space of one year – from
the 31st most corrupt nation in 2013 to the
39th in 2014. This may be regarded by
cynics as a small achievement: but it
represents a big step in the right direction.
Indeed, the istration of President
Jonathan deserves some commendation for
the positive steps it has taken, and the
modest achievements it has made so far, in
the war against corruption – rather than
the vengeful knocks it is receiving from
various quarters.

reportsafrique.com/news/transparency-intl-rates-president-jonathan-govt-as-best-says-buhari-obasanjo-govts-worse/

ABA—A middle-aged man, identified as Chucks from Imo State, has died after consuming 20 sachets of gin in a N500 bet with a woman.
The deceased, said to be a barber, is married with a child and lived along Ngwa Road area of Aba, Abia State.

An eyewitness said the deceased had on the fateful day, gone to a nearby local shop situated within the area to take a sachet of his usual brand of gin and boosted to the shop owner that he could finish 20 sachets of the drink.

This was said to have led to an argument between the deceased and the shop owner and other customers in the shop that morning.
The argument, it was learned, reached a stage where the deceased deposited N500 and the shop owner also placed her own N500 in a bet.
The deceased was then provided with the sachet drinks for consumption.

It was gathered that he successfully consumed the 20 sachets of dry gin and went away with the bet money.
The deceased was said to have left his barbing salon earlier that day to his house when he started feeling some pains in his stomach and asked his wife to put on their sitting room ceiling fan and sat directly beneath it.
When his condition got worse, his wife asked him what the problem was.
A source said the deceased told his wife he was okay, but just needed rest.

www.vanguardngr.com/2015/07/man-dies-after-drinking-20-sachets-of-gin-in-n500-bet/

tjadeniyi:
A member of the House of Representatives ,
Linus Okorie, has flayed President
Muhammadu Buhari for failure to acknowledge
former President Goodluck Jonathan ’ s legacies
and achievements while in office.
Okorie who represents Ohaozara /Onicha /Ivo
Federal Constituency in Ebonyi State , said he
was worried by Buhari’s pattern of
appropriating achievements of the immediate
past istration and called on him to
acknowledge the contributions of former
President Goodluck Jonathan to nation
building.
Okorie also asked President Buhari to take
note of the natural law that “ what goes around
comes around ”, adding that if Buhari cannot
be fair to his predecessor, he should expect the
same treatment when he leaves office.
He cited examples of projects that were either
completed or close to completion before ex -
President Jonathan’ s exit , noting that it is
unfair and unjust for the Buhari istration
to take credit for the achievements without
acknowledging the role of the initiator and
executor .
“Just like the opposition that must be
constructive in criticising the government in
power , the sitting government owes its
predecessor, itself and the wider Nigerian
public the moral and social duty of
acknowledging the positive accomplishments
of their predecessors , ” Okorie insisted .
He enumerated some of former President
Jonathan ’s feats currently being credited to
Mr. Buhari such as President Buhari ’s
acceptance in his recent visit to the United
States of America that the U .S . denied Nigeria
arms , technology and personnel to fight Boko
Haram , which the ex -President had noted but
was lampooned by Mr. Buhari’s political party ,
the APC .
Okorie also cited the recent launch of Kano-
Port Harcourt intercity mixed rail service
without acknowledging the Jonathan
istration that reactivated the railway; the
Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries
reactivation now refining up to 200, 000 barrels
of crude oil per day after successful turnaround
maintenance initiated and completed by
President Jonathan’ s government .
Okorie also lamented that President Buhari has
been all over the media celebrating Nigeria ’s
one year polio - free anniversary without any
reference to President Jonathan and his policy
team that achieved the feat .
“The Jonathan istration introduced
cutting edge anti- corruption technology based
Public Finance management tools including
IPPIS , GIFMIS and TSA , which the present
government is now laying claim to for ghost
workers elimination and funds ability
and transparency monitoring , without giving
credit appropriately .
“The Federal Capital Territory Authority ( FCTA)
has also announced that the Abuja rail project ,
conceived and implemented by the Jonathan
istration is 67 per cent completed . This
credit should also be formally attributed to the
past government .
“I hold the view that the Buhari istration
should imbibe the necessary humility and
courage to give credit as necessary even as it
continues to put the out - gone government to
task in established areas of weakness or
malfeasance . That is leadership . I also appeal
to the media as social engineers to also
encourage the Presidency in this onerous
responsibility . We owe posterity that much, ”
Okorie said .
- Via Times

dailyindependentnig.com/2015/07/buhari-taking-credit-jonathans-achievements-says-rep/

dailyindependentnig.com/2015/07/buhari-taking-credit-jonathans-achievements-says-rep/

A member of the House of Representatives , Linus Okorie, has flayed President Muhammadu Buhari for failure to acknowledge former President Goodluck Jonathan ’ s legacies and achievements while in office. Okorie who represents Ohaozara /Onicha /Ivo Federal Constituency in Ebonyi State , said he was worried by Buhari’s pattern of appropriating achievements of the immediate past istration and called on him to acknowledge the contributions of former President Goodluck Jonathan to nation building. Okorie also asked President Buhari to take note of the natural law that “ what goes around comes around ”, adding that if Buhari cannot be fair to his predecessor, he should expect the same treatment when he leaves office. He cited examples of projects that were either completed or close to completion before ex - President Jonathan’ s exit , noting that it is unfair and unjust for the Buhari istration to take credit for the achievements without acknowledging the role of the initiator and executor . “Just like the opposition that must be constructive in criticising the government in power , the sitting government owes its predecessor, itself and the wider Nigerian public the moral and social duty of acknowledging the positive accomplishments of their predecessors , ” Okorie insisted . He enumerated some of former President Jonathan ’s feats currently being credited to Mr. Buhari such as President Buhari ’s acceptance in his recent visit to the United States of America that the U .S . denied Nigeria arms , technology and personnel to fight Boko Haram , which the ex -President had noted but was lampooned by Mr. Buhari’s political party , the APC . Okorie also cited the recent launch of Kano- Port Harcourt intercity mixed rail service without acknowledging the Jonathan istration that reactivated the railway; the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries reactivation now refining up to 200, 000 barrels of crude oil per day after successful turnaround maintenance initiated and completed by President Jonathan’ s government . Okorie also lamented that President Buhari has been all over the media celebrating Nigeria ’s one year polio - free anniversary without any reference to President Jonathan and his policy team that achieved the feat . “The Jonathan istration introduced cutting edge anti- corruption technology based Public Finance management tools including IPPIS , GIFMIS and TSA , which the present government is now laying claim to for ghost workers elimination and funds ability and transparency monitoring , without giving credit appropriately . “The Federal Capital Territory Authority ( FCTA) has also announced that the Abuja rail project , conceived and implemented by the Jonathan istration is 67 per cent completed . This credit should also be formally attributed to the past government . “I hold the view that the Buhari istration should imbibe the necessary humility and courage to give credit as necessary even as it continues to put the out - gone government to task in established areas of weakness or malfeasance . That is leadership . I also appeal to the media as social engineers to also encourage the Presidency in this onerous responsibility . We owe posterity that much, ” Okorie said . - Via Times

www.punchng.com/news/presidents-us-trip-fruitless-says-pdp/