I Am Not In Exile And Will Never Go On Exile’ – Goodluck Jonathan Refutes Reports

 

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has refuted reports that he is on temporary self exile in the West African country of Cote d’Ivoire.

In a text message reply to The Trent late afternoon of Monday, May 23, 2016, Dr. Jonathan acknowledged seeing reports that he had gone on exile and that they were not true.

“Thank you. I have seen the story [of his reported self-exile],” Jonathan wrote. “I’m not on exile and I will never go into exile. I have no need to [seek exile]. This is my second visit to Cote D’Ivoire since leaving office and it is not for official reasons.”

“The story was a wicked act,” the former president concluded.

A source close to the former president confirms that the idea to go on exile has not been discussed in the Jonathan household.

Read, below, our earlier report on the development.

Nigeria’s former President Goodluck Jonathan has reportedly gone on self exile following intelligence reports that that President Muhammadu Buhari is hell bent on arresting his predecessor, ThisDay reports.

According to the report, Jonathan received reports that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has instructions from Buhari to arrest him on his arrival to Nigeria from his overseas tour on allegations of corruption and misappropriation of funds during his five years as president.

Sources close to the former president confirm that Jonathan has sought refuge in Cote d’Ivoire following his two month trip to the United States of America, where he spent the last two weeks in New York.

Jonathan had travelled to London to spend time with his children for a few days enroute Nigeria. It was there that officials sympathetic to him informed him reliability that Buhari planned to arrest Jonathan to demonstrate ‘a major achievement’ in his May 29 anniversary speech.

“Top security sources say that the former president would have been arrested upon arrival in Nigeria and going by the current lawless disposition of the Buhari government, there is no assurance that Jonathan’s rights would be respected or he would be given access to justice,” a source familiar to the situation toldThe Trent.

“On getting wind of the plan,  Jonathan contacted a few West African leaders including the President of Cote d’Iviore, Mr. Alassane Outtara, who offered him a safe haven until the coast is clear for him to return to Nigeria,” ThisDay reports.

Vengeance In The Delta 

Observers blame heightened attacks on oil and gas installations by militants in the Niger Delta on “the decision by President Muhammadu Buhari to renege on his promise that his predecessor had ‘nothing to fear’ from him (Buhari) after he handed over the reins of power on May 29, 2015”.

The actions of the Niger Delta militants who operate under the name, Niger Delta Avengers has resulted in the loss of an estimated 800,000 barrels crude oil per day,  according to Nigeria’s minister of state for petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu.

Since Jonathan handed power over to General Muhammadu Buhari, the country’s security agencies have been on a campaign to “nail the former president by all means”. The country’s anti-graft agencies have swooped on associates and relatives of the former president, dentaining Aziabola Roberts, a close relative and disobeying court orders for his release on bail.

Officials who served under former President Jonathan have been hounded and jailed without trial on the orders of the president as the EFCC opened an investigation into the campaign funds of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

According to leaks from the anti-graft agency, $2.1 billion was moved from the Central Bank of Nigeria account to the campaign accounts of the PDP presidential campaign of 2015. Several prominent PDP chieftains have been arrested and questions. However, only those who are Christians and from the South, like Chief Femi Fani-Kayode have been denied bail and are being held illegally by the EFCC on the orders of Buhari.

Allegations of money laundering, corruption, and diversion of government funds have been leveled against officials who served under the Jonathan administration. Buhari has gone on national TV to declare former national security adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rtd), guilty of corruption and undeserving of bail. Dasuki has been held illegally by the Buhari government after the secret police swooped on him, arresting him as he met his bail conditions and was released from Kuje Prisons late last year.

Femi Adesina Ridiculed For Being Out-Of-Touch On Suffering Of Nigerians [LOOK]

 
Presidential Spokesman, Femi Adesina and President Muhammadu Buhari at United Nations General Assembly, New York in September 2015 | State House Photo

Spokesman to President Muhammadu Buhari, Mr. Femi Adesina is being ridiculed by Nigerians for comments he made in defence of his principal.

In a series of media appearances which culminated in an editorial on Wednesday, May 25, 2016, Adesina, a former newspaper editor, said that Buhari is doing well and denied that Nigerians were suffering under the new president.

Adesina surprisingly hailed Buhari’s decision to increase the pump price of petrol to N145 as one of the best things that the president has done since assuming office on May 29, 2015.

An outstanding cartoon-editorial by Mike Asuquo captures the mood of Nigerians at the moment. See it below in his tweet. The cartoon has already gone viral and it serves to show a presidential spokesman who is not only out of touch, but also insensitive to the feelings of Nigerians.

Since, Buhari became president of Nigeria, Nigeria’s booming economy has been grounded and our positive economic growth has been erased by the medieval economic policies of the president. Not only that, we are now experiencing a decline and observers say the country is officially in a depression.

#DasukiGate: Court Grants Attahiru Bafarawa Permission To Travel Abroad On Lesser Hajj

 

For the third time, the federal government has been ordered to allow the detained former national security adviser, Colonel Muhammad Sambo Dasuki to have unhindered access his lawyers for consultation and briefing in order to allow him prepared adequately for his trial.

The court also granted one-month permission to former governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa who is standing trial along with Dasuki to go to Mecca in Saudi Arabia to perform the Lesser Hajj.

In the latest order an Abuja High court ordered that Dasuki must be released to his team of lawyers for 8 working days to take briefing from him and prepare for the trial in the criminal charges filed against him by the federal government.

Justice Peter Affen who issued the order in Abuja on Wednesday, May 25, 2016 directed that the operatives of the Department State Security Service (DSS) who had been detaining the ex-NSA since December last year after being granted bail by three courts, must bring him to his lawyers within the premises of the FCT judiciary headquarters.

It would be recalled that similar orders had been made by Justice Adeniyi Ademola of a federal high court as well as Justice Baba Yusuf of an Abuja High Court for the same purposes due to complaints of denial of access to lawyers by Dasuki even after all of them had granted bails.

The security agents are by the fresh order to make Dasuki available to his legal team being led by Mr. Joseph Daudu, SAN as from June 13, to June 22, 2016.

The briefing which must be confidential will hold in the appointed days between 9am to 4pm every day.

Ruling in an application by Dasuki, in which he complained that he has been denied access to his lawyers in spite of the charges filed against him, Justice Peter Affen said that it is in the interest of justice that the defendant must be allowed to have access to the lawyers of his choice as required by law and in the interest of fair trial.

The judge noted with joy that the lawyers in the matter consented that the ex-NSA deserved to be made available to his legal team for the purpose of making adequate preparation for his defence in the criminal matter.

The federal government’s counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacob, SAN, had vehemently objected to the request of Dasuki for access to his lawyers.

The counsel claimed that there was no evidence before the court that Dasuki’s lawyers made any attempt to visit the headquarters of the DSS to take briefing from their clients, adding that the request was a ploy to delay the trial. Jacobs prayed the court not to indulge the defendant in the request as doing so would further delay the trial.

However, Justice Affen disagreed with him in the ruling, adding that it is in the interest of fair trial and constitutional matter that an accused person must be allowed unfettered access to the legal practitioners of his choice in other to prepare his defence.

The judge said that in the instance case, the defendant who is being detained by the DSS on behalf of the federal government had made it clear that he was being denied access to his already chosen legal practitioners and asked the prosecution to in the interest of justice comply with the new order on accessibility to the counsel by Dasuki.

Meanwhile, former Sokoto State governor, Attahiru Bafarawa who is standing trial along with Dasuki had been granted permission by the court to travel for lesser Hajj in Saudi Arabia to perform this year lesser Hajj otherwise known as Umra.

Justice Affen granted the permission following a motion to that effect by Dasuki’s lawyer, Prince Latif Fagbemi SAN and which was not opposed by the protection counsel.

The judge ordered the travel document be released to Bafarawa by the registrar of the court while the applicant was granted permission to perform the Lesser Hajj between June 5 to July 5 this year.

Justice Affen then adjourned the matter till July 14 and 15, 2016 for definite trial at the instance of counsels in the matter adding that he would not take any excuse from any of the parties in the matter.

Banky W confirms he is Tunde Demuren’s Best Man

With over 21 years of friendship between them, it was of course expected! Banky W who’s currently in Dubai for Capt. Tunde & Toolz’s white wedding, confirmed via Snapchat that he would be performing the best man duties.

Minister tasks heads of Information Parastatals on standard

 
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed on Thursday charged the new Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Information parastatal agencies to raise the set standard in making their organisations credible.
The minister gave the charge in Abuja at a meeting with the new CEOs and the former acting heads of the parastatal agencies.
Mohammed said that in the last three months, he had worked with the acting heads of the organisations to set the standard for raising the credibility of the parastatal agencies.
The minister said that with the set standard, the organisations had become more credible than they used to be in the recent past.
He therefore urged the new CEOs to strive to improve on the set standards with new ideas and innovations.
The minister said that he was fortunate to have the set of new appointees by President Mohammadu Buhari to head the six parastatal agencies under his ministry.
Mohammed said he had worked with most of them at one time or the other and urged them to sustain the good working relationship with him.
Mohammed noted that the three months he had worked with the former acting CEOs of the organisations witnessed significant achievements.
Specifically, he said the period witnessed successful roll out of the pilot scheme of digital switch over in broadcasting, the first national summit on culture and tourism and hosting of town hall meetings.
The minister urged the former acting CEOs that as they return to their earlier positions in their respective organisations, they should cooperate with the new heads.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the minister on Wednesday announced the appointment of the CEOs of six parastatal agencies under the Ministry of Information and Culture.
The appointees were, Mr Bayo Onanuga, Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria, Mr Yakubu Mohammed as Director-General of Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), and Mr Osita Okechukwu as Director-General of Voice of Nigeria (VON).
Others were Mr Mansur Liman as Director-General of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Mr Ishaq Modibo-Kawu as Director-General of National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), and Garba Abari as Director-General of National Orientation Agency (NOA).