NewStats: 3,261,559 , 8,174,379 topics. Date: Thursday, 29 May 2025 at 04:22 PM 314oo

ABUJA—Following the appointment of new service chiefs on Monday by President Muhammadu Buhari, military sources have confided in Vanguard that about 25 Major Generals may proceed on retirement when the Senate confirms the new appointments.
Indications also emerged, yesterday, in Abuja that President Buhari’s forthcoming trip to the United States of America this month for extensive bilateral, economic and financial discussions with US President Barrack Obama, the need to engage his hosts about the terrorism challenges as well as Nigeria’s military capability to tackle the menace conclusively, necessitated the sack of the service chiefs last Monday.

of the court martial sit during the inauguration to try soldiers accused of mutiny tasked with fighting Boko Haram militants in Abuja on October 2, 2014. . AFP PHOTO
Vanguard was told that with his appointment as Chief of Army Staff,  Major-General T.Y. Buratai  who is a Course 29 regular intake of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), all Major-Generals from Course 25, 26, and 27 may have to leave the service voluntarily while a few on Course 28 may be posted to Defence Headquarters.
The source noted that General Buratai may decide to post his course mates (Regular 29) and one or two of Course 28 officers to Defence Headquarters.
The source added that the appointment of Major-General Abayomi Olonishakin, a Course 25 regular intake, as the new Chief of Defence Staff, may be the leeway needed for Course 27 and 28 intakes to move up to DHQ.
The military source specifically said that those who are course mates to the immediate past Chief of Army Staff,  Lt. General KTJ Minimah and those of Course 26 to 28 may have to retire since they cannot serve under their junior.
It was reliably gathered that the appointments of the National Security Adviser (NSA) and that of the Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI) is the exclusive preserve of the President, while only the CDS and the other service chiefs are the ones subject to Senate clearance.
In fact, it was learnt that former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh (rtd) had three weeks ago informed the new Chief of Defence Intelligence, Air Vice Marshal Monday Riku Morgan  to proceed on retirement leave. However, luck smiled on him when the President on Monday announced him as the new CDI,  taking over from Rear iral Gabriel Okoi.
Why service chiefs were sacked
On what informed the sack of the service chiefs on Monday, very reliable security sources told Vanguard that “America might wish to know why the military commanders (sacked service chiefs) were still in place, when after several months of being in control and getting huge financial from the Jonathan istration, Boko Haram is still biting hard.
“They will present Buhari with the figures and ask how this huge amount of money was spent, and for what purposes? Why is the result not showing? This is because America will tell President Buhari point blank, that there is a package to assist Nigeria conquer this menace but it will be on the grounds that a new team  that is tested and will spare no effort in ending the Boko Haram mayhem is emplaced.”
The source said President Buhari will now be able to look Obama in the face and say, “I have a new team in place, trusted, with integrity, and primed to actualize my mission of ending Boko haram insurgency”.
Continuing, the source said, “Buhari will tell the Americans that he has set machinery in motion to investigate how the huge amounts of money so far released to fight insurgency was spent and why after such release to the security agencies, many of the equipment promised, to deal with Boko Haram, are nowhere to be seen.
“President Buhari will also show the Americans a blueprint of how he intends to employ new resources, improve and equip the armed forces, to ensure that any suspected corrupt tendencies are nipped in the bud”, the source added.
Meanwhile, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki said, yesterday, that the Senate was ready to perform its constitutional duty by screening the new service chiefs immediately the upper legislative chambers gets the list from the Presidency.
In a statement, yesterday by his Chief Press Secretary, Sanni Onogu, the Senate President also clarified the misconception of an earlier tweet where Saraki was quoted as saying the Senate does not need to screen or confirm the new service chiefs appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari.
He said in the statement that “we want to make it abundantly clear that based on inquiries made to the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki on whether the Senate was consulted before the appointment of new Service Chiefs was announced, he had in response tweeted that the appointment of service chiefs is the exclusive function of the President as stipulated by the Constitution.
“Let it be known that his comment is now being misinterpreted to say the Senate will neither screen nor confirm the new service chiefs. This is far from the truth.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Saraki has said his comment is without prejudice to extant laws and court pronouncements on the issue and, therefore, that the Senate will do the needful when the list of  new service chiefs is sent to it by Mr. President.
“Saraki  in a new tweet, yesterday, said: “This is to clarify the earlier position which was not up to date and does not represent the position of the Senate President on  the issue of screening of the newly appointed service chiefs. The Senate will perform its constitutional duty when it receives communication from the President on the appointments.” The Senate would resume plenary next week, July 21.
President Buhari had on Monday approved the appointments of new service chiefs and also a new National Security Adviser.
This followed the President’s sack of the former service chiefs. The new appointments are as follows: Major-General Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin – Chief of Defence Staff; Major-General T.Y. Buratai – Chief of Army Staff; Rear iral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas – Chief of Naval Staff; Air Vice Marshal Sadique Abubakar – Chief of Air Staff; Air Vice Marshal Monday Riku Morgan – Chief of Defence Intelligence and Major-General Babagana Monguno (rtd.) – National Security Adviser.
Security experts hail appointment of new service chiefs, NSA
Meantime, some security experts have hailed President Muhammadu Buhari’s appointment of new service chiefs, describing it as a step in the right direction.
The experts, who spoke in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, yesterday, said the changes would impact positively on operations of the military.
They said contrary to comments in some quarters, the appointments were not belated but calculated toward achieving the vision of the present istration in the security sector.
Retired Air Commodore Yusuf Anas, the Executive Secretary of the Centre for Crisis Communication, an NGO, said the appointments would add fresh ideas to military operations.
Anas said the changes were made at a time when much was expected from the armed forces in tackling resurgence of bombings and attacks in parts of the country.
“As far as I know, it is a welcome development, it is very timely and expected of every new istration with a distinct programme and security policy.
“Appointing the top echelon of the armed forces at this point in time should be ed because it will inject new blood into the operations of the military.”
Similarly, a former Commissioner of Police in the FCT, Mr Lawrence Alobi, lauded the choice of the new officers by the president, describing them as ‘round pegs in round holes’.
He said the appointments would inject new ideas and add a different dimension to the nation’s fight against insurgency in the North-East.
Alobi urged the new service chiefs to key into the President’s programme and bring about the much-needed change in the armed forces.
He urged them to overhaul the entire security network of the nation in line with the expectations of Nigerians.
He said Nigerians expect the new leadership of the armed forces to add value to what their predecessors had put on ground.
Another Abuja-based security expert, Mr Ben Okezie, said the appointments were well informed.
Okezie said the perceived delay in the appointments could have been prompted by the President’s need to carefully study the situation he inherited from the last istration.
He said the President’s charge to the new service chiefs was to remind them of the battered reputation of the armed forces as evident in the recent amnesty report on rights abuses.
“The president’s charge to the service chiefs is reminding them of the amnesty international report that indicted the military in its operations in the North-East.
“What he is just telling them is to be mindful of the content of the report and work toward correcting whatever wrongs that might have been done in the past,” Okezie said.



http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/07/appointment-of-new-service-chiefs-25-generals-face-retirement/

The former world’s most wanted drug kingpin, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, is a wanted man once again after authorities in Mexico say he escaped a maximum security prison through an elaborate, mile-long tunnel that led to his shower area late Saturday night, The Associated Press reports. 

A massive manhunt is underway for Guzman, head of the Sinaloa Cartel, an international organization that reportedly controls most of the major smuggling points into the U.S. from Mexico.
Mexican authorities have grounded flights at the nearest airport and Mexican federal police are heavily patrolling the area and have set up checkpoints. 

More than a dozen employees at the prison were being held for questioning. 

Guzman, who was also the No. 1 most wanted criminal by the American DEA, was captured in 2014, after having been on the run from a different Mexican prison he escaped from in 2001. He was first captured in Guatemala in 1993.

http://www.ngtrends.com/2015/07/mexican-drug-lord-el-chapo-guzman-escapes-from-prison-again/

Former Military governor of old Anambra State, Col. Robert Akonobi (rtd), has pleaded with Igbo parents to reduce the bride price of their daughters so that ‘’our young boys can marry them.”

“To me, this topic (bride price) has been dealth with in the past by Ndigbo, who came out with a reduced bride price, to enable our young boys marry our young girls,” Akonobi said.

Akonobi also cautioned that men should study their proposed wives closely and longer before engaging into marriage because “once you marry, no one else can put it asunder.”
He spoke at the industrial city of Nnewi, Anambra State during the traditional wedding ceremony of the daughter of a business mogul, Chief Louis Onwugbenu, Onyinye and her husband, Bosah Chukwuogo, weekend.
Nnewi was agog as dignitaries from all works of life trooped to the residence of Chief Onwugbenu for the memorable event. The dignitaries who were from both the military, political and manufacturing circles, including Col Akonobi, Hon. Clement Nwankwu, former member of the House of Representatives; Chairmen and Chief Executive Officers of Gabros International Limited and Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Limited, Chief Gabriel and Innocent Chukwuma respectively, among others.
The issue of high bride price was discussed extensively on the occasion. Hon. Nwankwu, in his own speech, prayed that Chief Onwugbenu and his wife would live long to enjoy the fruits of their children, especially those who married from outside their areas.
Also, speaking, Mrs. Onwugbenu expressed gratitude that her daughter’s hand was given out in marriage and prayed that her in-laws who came all the way from Awka to marry her daughter, would go back home safely. Father of the bride, Onwugbenu, in his own speech, said he had already blessed his daughter and her husband to go and make a good home.
On the bride price controversy in Igbo land, Onwugbenu declared:
“We do not charge money as bride price for someone to marry my daughter. To me, what is important is that my daughter should live in peace with her husband. Let her husband’s family accept her as part and parcel of their family.”

http://community.vanguardngr.com/m/discussion?id=4565467%3ATopic%3A857892

FG says Asaba airport not safe

MAY 6, 2015 :

Minister of Aviation, Mr. Osita Chidoka
The Federal Government has said it cannot at the moment guarantee the safety and security of air travellers using the Asaba airport in Delta State.

As a result, the government on Tuesday barred the airport from being used for commercial flight operations.

It said the airport’s safety and security alert was due to the failure of the Delta State Government to fix the key infrastructure at the facility.

It said the state government refused to comply with directives from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority mandating it to fix some of the airport’s facilities such as repairs of the undulating runways, perimeter fencing of the facility and other issues.

The Ministry of Aviation, in a statement made available to our correspondent in Abuja, stated, “The Federal Government has downgraded the Asaba airport over the failure of the Delta State Government to put in place measures that will guarantee the safety and security of engers using the airport.

“With the downgrading, which takes immediate effect, the airport will now be allowed to accommodate the operation of only Dash 8-Q 400 aircraft or its equivalent until all the safety issues are addressed.”

The Dash 8 or Q series aircraft are twin-engine, medium range and turboprop airliners delivered in four series and cannot carry up to 80 persons, hence are not often used for commercial flight operations in Nigeria by the major carriers.

The Federal Government, according to the statement, stated that it had, through the NCAA, raised several safety concerns over undulations on the airport’s runway, lack of the required strip, perimeter fencing, drainage as well as lack of adequately trained technical personnel.

It said several talks with the Delta State Government to fix the airport yielded no concrete result, stressing that the facility was a huge security risk to travellers.

“It has, therefore, become a matter of serious concern that despite a series of meetings with, and assurances given by the operators of the airport, the Delta State Government, no concrete step has been taken to address the issues, which are capable of compromising the safety of flight operations and, of course, the engers,” the ministry added in the statement.

The ministry said the Federal Government had also drawn the attention of the state government to the fact that it had, through its inability to address the issues, violated the Compliance with Safety Standards as stipulated in the Nig CARs Part 12.6.2 and 12.6.3.

“The violations are in respect of the airport runway and its associated facilities as well as adequately trained personnel,” it added.

Explaining why a decisive action was taken against the operators and owners of the airport, the Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, was quoted as saying, “The downgrading has been carried out in the public interest because the Federal Government places very high on the safety and security of air engers and will never compromise set standards for whatever reason.”

The minister, however, gave an assurance that the airport would revert to its previous status as soon as all the safety concerns were adequately and satisfactorily addressed.


http://www.punchng.com/business/business-economy/fg-says-asaba-airport-not-safe/

Press statement from the office of Buruji Kashamu. Read below…
My attention has been drawn to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s reaction to the innocuous congratulatory messages that I sent to him and other leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the aftermath of the general election. First, I must say that I doubt if the statement was approved by him. However, if it was, I must state that I am taken aback by the unwarranted attacks against me as if we were still campaigning. It is unbecoming of someone of his stature and calibre.

For me, it is high time politicians and leaders rose above petty issues and raise the bar in constitutional democracy. We should not just be democrats in words but also in deeds. We should play politics without bitterness.

It is on record that no Nigerian politician has taken former President Olusegun Obasanjo to the cleaners even as a sitting President like Asiwaju Tinubu did. Yet, Chief Obasanjo forgave him. As for me and Baba Obasanjo, he remains my father and leader, just as I am his son and follower. At no time did I abuse Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

As a true party man, I campaigned vigorously for my party and its candidates. Now, the elections are over, and as a true sportsman, I thought I should congratulate those who won. Short of any praise-singing, what I said in the congratulatory message that they chose to react to a week after it published was that there was no way anyone can wish away the achievements of Asiwaju Tinubu in the nation’s political annals, particularly in Yoruba land.

Part of the message also reads: “Although I now belong to the opposition, your achievements transcend political divides and I am not ashamed to publicly acknowledge them.

“I salute your courage, commitment, doggedness, forthrightness and tenacity of purpose even in the face of daunting opposition and challenges.

“By your sheer wit and unwavering commitment to democratic ethos, true federalism and economic prosperity, you led the Alliance for Democracy (AD) from a one-party state to a regional party, and now a national party that is about to form the government at the centre.”

Now, how do these translate to praise-singing? Are they not facts of history that I merely adumbrated?

He accused me of purchasing my election with money, the appropriate forum to prove that is the election petitions tribunal and not the pages of newspaper.

On the U.S case, I wish to state for the umpteenth time that the United States as the bastion of democracy and the Rule of Law would not lend itself to any form of abuse of the fundamental human rights of an innocent soul, especially one that has been arrested, tried and freed by its most trusted ally – the United Kingdom.

I am not running from any trial. All I have asked is for the relevant parties to follow due process – if they believe that I yet have a case to answer.

I believe in the supremacy of the almighty Allah who frustrates the signs of liars and makes fools of diviners, who turns wise men back and makes their knowledge foolish. He is the ultimate decider of the fate of all mortals. When He says yes, no man can say no and when He says no, no man can say yes!

I stand with the almighty Allah Subhana Wa Tala. He is the protector of all men. He is my refuge and shield. Let no one play God!

Signed

Prince Buruji Kashamu

Senator-elect, Ogun East Senatorial District


http://www.forumspotz.net/be-a-true-democrat-buruji-kashamu-to-tinubu/

south africans are so ungrateful after all we did for them, I think its time we let them know that we are really the giant of africa!


Sai baba

8th July

08036006528.
serious grls only08036006528.
serious grls only08036006528.
serious grls only