Rep Blasts Fayose Over Comment Against Buhari

Fayose/Buhari

A member of the House of Representatives and former Oyo State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Bosun Oladele, yesterday, in Lagos took a swipe at Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State over what he described as his persistent unfortunate comments against President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption programme, dismissing the governor as a rabble rouser.



Fayose recently said President Buhari’s probe was targeted at PDP supporters and cautioned him against playing to the gallery as he said, “Nigerians should not be probed on the pages of newspapers. Rather, the anti-graft agencies should do their jobs quietly.”

Oladele, who is representing the Irepodun/Orelope/Olorunsogo Federal Constituency of Oyo State under the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, asked the governor to wait for the President as, according to him, Abuja would get to him soonest.

His words: “Fayose is just a meddlesome interloper. He is a rabble rouser. It is only him that sees ghosts where everybody sees lives. He should not start talking about Buhari probing on the pages of the newspapers.

”He should wait for him because, he (Buhari) is coming to him. Fayose will get his own bit of it. I think from all indications of what he has been seeing, he has started developing butterfly in his stomach but he shouldn’t wait for too long, he will start feeling the heat and that is exactly why he is talking when everybody is supposed to keep quiet.”

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Boko Haram Behead Nigeria Air Force Pilot, Shekau Appear In Another Video.

Boko Haram, the extremist Islamic group In Nigeria, has posted a video that shows charred plane wreckage and the beheading of a man identified as a pilot of a missing Nigerian Air Force jet, bolstering the group’s claims that it shot down a fighter plane.

The video also allegedly featured Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, a man Nigeria’s military twice claimed to have killed — first in 2009 and again last year. Two weeks ago the military said they had killed a Shekau lookalike who had posed in the group’s videos.

“Here I am, alive, and I will remain alive until the day Allah takes away my breath,” the man says in the Hausa language. “Even if you kill me … it will not stop us imposing Islamic rule … We are still in our Islamic state, reigning and teaching the Quran.”

The United States still has a $7 million bounty on Shekau’s head.

The video was made available to The Associated Press through the same channels used previously and seems to show the same man. Nigeria’s Defense Headquarters suggested in a blog that the insurgents had manipulated images and cloned “another Shekau.”

In the video, the man identified as Shekau says Boko Haram is implementing strict Shariah law in areas of northeast Nigeria under its control. Examples are shown, including the stoning to death of a man apparently accused of adultery; the amputation of the hand of a young man accused of theft; the lashings of a man and what appears to be a girl covered in a hijab.

The video ends with a show of burnt-out plane parts in rugged bush. Two pilots and an Alpha jet have been missing since Sept. 11 when it left the northeastern town of Yola on a bombing mission against Boko Haram.

The video shows a kneeling man in a camouflage vest with his right hand in a sling, with a fighter hovering over him with an ax, which is later used in the beheading.

Speaking in English, the victim identifies himself as a wing commander in the Nigerian Air Force and says he was undertaking a mission in Kauri area of northeast Borno state.

“We were shot down and our aircraft crashed,” he says. “To this day I don’t know the whereabouts of my second pilot.”

The insurgents have stolen military hardware from Nigerian forces, probably including anti-aircraft weapons.

On Mount Arafah, Pilgrims Seek Divine Solution To Nigeria Challenges.

NIGERIA’S security challenges, growth and development turnaround as well as fair, free and peaceful elections in 2015 were some of the points canvassed at a special prayer session held for the country at the weekend at Mount Arafah.

   A total of 76000 pilgrims from Nigeria joined over two million Muslims from 37 countries who stood on Mount Arafah at the weekend.

  Staying on the plain of Arafah is not only the cardinal rite of Hajj, it is regarded as a divine moment of blessing for the humanity. And when it falls on a Friday, it becomes a unique moment of multiple blessings. This uniqueness of this year’s Arafah Day was hammered by the Amirul Hajj and leader of Federal Government Delegation, Oba Riliwanu Akiolu of Lagos, who tasked all pilgrims from Nigeria to pray fervently for the country.

  “This Arafah Day which falls on a Friday is unique. It is a sign of better things to come for us as Nigerians and our country, provided we sincerely and genuinely believe in God; be our brothers’ keeper. Since this exercise started, Dahiru Bauchi and others have been praying and the anchor of their prayers is that sincerity, love for others and belief in God should reign supreme in our hearts. We pray that all security challenges and other challenges in our country, Allah, in His infinity mercies, should bring a permanent end to them. In sha Allahu, I have no doubt that our prayers have been answered.”

  The monarch, however, stressed “sincerity and honesty of purpose” as ingredient that quicken acceptance of prayer. “As we pray for all our leaders that God should be with them, guide them in the right way, the leaders also have a duty to be absolutely honest in anything they are doing. There should be no pretence of any sort. And the general elections in 2015, my prayer is that the leader that has the best interest of Nigerian community should emerge and lead us in the way of God and peaceful coexistence.”

  Both Islam and Christianity, Oba Akiolu averred, “teach peace, even, the traditional religionists also preach peace,” just as he tasked Nigerian masses to cooperate with leadership. “But we the followership should also cooperate with our leaders, pray for them, support them and give them honest and sincere advice, not what they want to hear. If we continue to tell them what they want to hear, the Day of Reckoning will come when, according to the Holy Quran, the mouth will not be allowed to talk, but your hands and legs will do the talking. We should remind our leaders that everything that has the beginning must also have an end. I have no doubt that Nigeria is a blessed and loved country provided we know what we are doing. By the grace of God Almighty, all will be well for us.”

   In the same vein, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal underscored the imperativeness of peace to socio-political and economic development pleading for normalcy to return to Nigeria.

  “We just finished praying for our dear country, Nigeria. We earnestly need peace and that is what has been prayed for. May God Almighty return Nigeria to normalcy, so that we can witness tremendous development in all spheres of life. This is Mount Arafah where, as Muslims, we believe that once you pray, Allah answer the prayer. And we believe firmly that Allah has answered our prayer in that respect.”

  Tambuwal also seized the occasion to call on Nigerians “and our leaders that we must continue to see ourselves as Nigerians, we must continue to relate with one another as brothers and sisters. We have only one country, Nigeria and we believe in Nigeria, we must continue to work for the progress of Nigeria.’’

 I plead that we should continue to tolerate each other, understand one another, and we should continue to preach unity and peaceful co existence.”

   As a member of the delegation, Ambassador Adamu Muhammad Bulkachuwa described this year’s hajj as special because Arafah day fell on Friday. He recalled that the Arafah of the last and only Hajj performed by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was also on Friday.

 “We, here in the Federal Government delegation tent, have prayed for peace and tranquillity for our beloved country.    And we have also prayed for the unity of Nigeria and all the things that make us, Muslims and Christians, feel bad, we have prayed against that and we have asked God to bring back Nigeria as it were in the very good old times.”

  The Seriki Bai of Katgum insisted that prayer is what Nigeria need to overcome its all challenges. “At all times, we should continue to pray for Nigeria. The country needs prayers. We have so many wise, clever people, who believe they know the solution to myriad of Nigeria’s problems, but ultimately, we believe prayer is the ultimate thing as God Almighty is the only solution to our problems.   We have prayed here in Saudi Arabia and I believe, Nigerians, especially Muslims who are in festive mood, will also continue to pray for our dear country.”

   What gladdened the heart of the spokesman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Malam Uba Mana was the prompt resolution of the transportation challenge that confronted the last batch of Nigerian pilgrims in Madinah. “I am happy that all our pilgrims made it to Arafah.” Last Wednesday night when Mana’s attention was drawn to the hitches faced by 120 Nigerian pilgrims, he had assured that both the Hajj Mission and the Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj Affairs were hard to the remaining pilgrims then in Madinah join their counterparts in Makkah for onward movement to Arafah on Friday.

  He had attributed the delay to large number of pilgrims who arrived in the holy land this year through the city of Madinah.

  “For the first time in the history of airlifting of pilgrims, over 70 per cent of pilgrims came through Madinah. And this tasked the movement of pilgrims back to Makkah for the commencement of the rites of Hajj. But the hitches are being sorted out as no pilgrim will stay in Madinah today (last Wednesday),” Malam Mana had said.

  Statistics from the NAHCON office in Madinah indicates that out of 76000 pilgrims, over 74 per cent had visited the city which hosted the sacred mosque of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. A total of 37000 flew directly from Nigeria to Madinah, while 20,100 came by road having first landed in Jeddah.

  And to make the stay on the plain of Arafah comfortable, Saudi Arabia authorities mobilised over 10,000 security and para military officials to ensure security of lives and property during the observation of the fundamental rite of hajj. Similarly, over 800 hospitals and clinics were provided to cater for the wellbeing of pilgrims during the dawn to dusk programme

Ekiti Workers Strike Over Unpaid Salaries

Workers in Ekiti have began indefinite strike over two months unpaid salaries and allowances by the outgoing Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.

Organised Labour Unions, under the leadership of Joint Negotiating Council, also criticised the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress in the State for not protecting the interest of workers.

Addressing journalists in Ado Ekiti, the JNC Chairman, Comrade Oladipupo Johnson, said the August and September salaries had not been paid.

He also said June and July deductions from the workers salaries had not been remitted by the government.

Johnson said, “It is unfortunate to note that in spite of the pronouncement  and promises from top government functionaries, there seem to be no light at the end of the tunnel. Sequel to the following, the workers of the public service had met and directed that no worker should come to work today, October 2, 2014 and this subsists until all conditions are met.

“And any worker who refuses to obey this simple directive does so at his or her own risk since the leaders would not take responsibility for anything that happens.”

Johnson, who said the council had been in dialogue with the Governor in the last three months to resolving the issue, expressed surprise that the workers were not paid even after government received two allocations.

“We don’t want to stay back and allow our people to be dying on the streets because we are gradually becoming beggars. The Government  has not paid  salaries in the last two months, that is why we ask them to be at home and look for alternative way of existence .

“They are owing full salaries  for August and September and 60 percent deductions in the June and July Salaries. And going by evidence we had, the Governor had collected two allocations without remembering that these salaries should be paid.

“We have met with the Head of Service, the Accountant General and other relevant people and what they agreed was that the salaries  will be paid by October 1, 2014.

“But I want to assure you that the workers  will resume to work as soon as the two months salaries are paid as well as the June and July deductions.”