Niger Delta Militants-MEND Endorses Buhari, Turns Back on Jonathan As It Accuses President Of Failing Nigeria

In a very surprising turn of events, The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND,  6th of January 2015 threw its weight behind the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Muhammadu Buhari, at the same time, launching a scorching attack on President Goodluck Jonathan, Premium Times reports exclusively.
In a three-page statement signed by a spokesperson, Jomo Gbomo, MEND said it endorsed and fully support Mr. Buhari, after careful consideration of the state of the nation.
The group said the decision to support the APC presidential candidate stems from the pathetic level the Jonathan administration has brought the country.
The group said the president does not deserve to be given a second chance at the Aso Villa immediately his tenure expires because of his continuous and blatant disregard for the people who voted him into office.

“This is a president that told Nigerians to their faces that he does not ‘give a damn’ when asked to declare his assets. A requirement that is constitutional on assuming the office of the President,” wrote Mr. Gbomo.
“President Jonathan, since assuming office, has setup countless committees but none of the reports has ever been implemented. From the Nuhu Ribadu report to the KPMG and Fuel Subsidy reports, just to mention a few.
“How can Nigerians expect a highly corrupt person like Goodluck Jonathan to fight corruption when he believes that stealing is not corruption, as he shamelessly told the Nation?
“He has proven beyond all reasonable doubt, his inability to tackle corruption or prosecute a single government official in his six (6) years in office.”

According to him, MEND finds Mr. Jonathan’s recent plan to fight corruption “laughable”, saying it not only smacked of ignorance but also shows how stupid the president thinks Nigerians are.

“A president that had six years to tackle corruption but choose to shield corrupt government officials and also partake in looting the nation’s resources, MEND argued, lacks the temerity to say his has a plan to fight corruption,” the group said.
“We re-state our disregard and lack of confidence in President Goodluck Jonathan. Rather than address the perennial issues in the country responsible for his administrations failures, he is concentrating government funds in a campaign of misinformation intended to hoodwink Nigerians who, unfortunately for him, are now wiser and smarter than he is.
“Goodluck Jonathan’s actions, utterances and arrogance prove that he is totally disconnected with the situation facing the ordinary Nigerian and completely out of touch with reality,” MEND indicated.

MEND, with roots in the oil-rich Niger Delta, stood as the face of a militant struggle against the Nigerian government for years, launching attacks on oil installations, and confronting government forces.

The violence largely ended after the government offered amnesty to fighters in the region who said they were pushing for greater share of oil and gas resources in the region, although the government said the claim was a mere cover for criminality.

To date, MEND has not formally accepted the amnesty offer.

The group blames Mr. Jonathan for the arrest, prosecution and imprisonment of its leader, Henry Okar, by the South African government. Mr. Okar is serving a 24-year term in South Africa.

The militant group commended Mr. Buhari for planning to scrap the office of the First Lady if elected president, saying that apart from serving as the conduit for plunder, the office is irrelevant, fraudulent and unconstitutional.

Mr. Gbomo noted how Mrs. Jonathan narrowly escaped being charged to court for attempting to launder stolen money to the United Kingdom, barely a few months after the husband was sworn in as president.

He said a former Governor of Delta State, James Ibori, failed to escape the long hands of the law and was arrested, prosecuted and jailed in the UK for the same offence Mrs. Jonathan got a reprieve.

Mr. Gbomo lampooned Mrs. Jonathan for her initial criticism of the BringBackOurGirls campaigners and accused both the president and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for continuously exploiting national tragedies for political gains.
He said the party and the government twisted the Boko Haram insurgency for political gains while also exploiting regional and religious sentiments as strategy to cover up their failure to rein in the bloody group.

MEND said the Niger Delta region has experienced excruciating poverty since Mr. Jonathan, an indigene of the area, became Nigeria’s president.

While multinational oil firms have continuously exposed the region to worst levels of pollution and environmental degradation, MEND said the president has failed to openly condemn such criminal acts or sanction irresponsible oil firms.

It accused corrupt government officials and those it described as “pot-bellied generals” as well as the military Joint Task Force and the Nigerian Navy for aiding the multi-billion dollar oil theft in the Niger Delta region.

The group said the once respected Nigerian Army has been reduced to a ragtag army by the Boko Haram insurgents, stating “It can only take a bold and courageous man like General Muhammadu Buhari to tackle the insecurity and oil theft plaguing the nation.”

“The Niger Delta region has the Ministry of the Niger Delta, the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, the Presidential Amnesty Programme, PAP and the largest percentage in oil revenue allocation, yet the region has nothing to show for all these due to a very corrupt government and systems in place.
“We are confident that a General Mohammadu Buhari presidency would probe these agencies and divert all stolen revenue back to the development of the region and Nigeria as a whole,” Mr. Gbomo stated.

Four Nigerians Arrested By Indian Police Over Online Fraud

On Saturday, January 3rd, the Hyderabad police in India arrested four Nigerians including a woman for internet fraud. The police said they recovered a car, money and mobile phones from them.

The accused, Peter Austin (29), Eboh Felix (26), Steffi Ebohon (24) and Uzaonicha Daniel Iwenwanne (26), reportedly contacted a student named Mohd Wasiuddin, and told him he’s won some money. 

The police said the gang managed to convince the victim to deposit money for registration, customs clearance, processing fees and other expenses.

“Believing the gang members, Wasiuddin deposited about Rs. 35 lakh in different bank accounts operated from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Mumbai, only to realize later that it was fraud,” the police in charge said.

The police arrested the four Nigerians after they tried to defraud another victim. Their phone call records and email conversations were traced, leading the police straight to them. They will be facing

 trial soon in India.

Nigerian Billionaire beats Oprah to be - The world's richest Black Woman

Nigerian oil tycoon Folorunsho Alakija is now the richest black woman in the world with an estimated fortune of $7.3 billion. Africa boasts 55 billionaires – far more than previously thought – and they’re worth a staggering $143.88 billion in total, according to pan-African magazine Ventures Africa.

Mother-of-four, Folorunsho Alakija, 62, started her career as a secretary in a bank then studied fashion and launched a label but her big break was oilIn 1993, her company, Famfa Oil, was awarded an oil prospecting license, which later became OML 127, one of Nigeria’s most prolific oil blocks

The company owns a 60 per cent stake in the block, valued at around $7.3 billion, Ventures Africa reports

According to Forbes, Oprah Winfrey is worth $2.9 billion

Starting her career as a secretary in a bank in the mid 1970s, Alakija, 62, then studied fashion in London and returned to Nigeria to start a label, Supreme Stitches. But her biggest break came in oil.

In 1993, her company, Famfa Oil, was awarded an oil prospecting license, which later became OML 127, one of the country’s most prolific oil blocks, by then-president Ibrahim Babangida.

The company owned a 60 per cent stake in the block until 2000 when the Nigerian government unconstitutionally acquired a 50 per cent interest without duly compensating Alakija or Famda Oil.

In May 2012, Alakija, a married mother-of-four, challenged the acquisition and the Nigerian Supreme Court reinstated the 50 per cent stake to her company.

She also has a charity called the Rose of Sharon foundation that helps widows and orphans by empowering them through scholarships and business grants.

N21.27 Billion Raised For Jonathan by Friends Causes Public Debate

Recently, a fund raising event was held at the Aso Villa by the Peoples Democratic Party to support President Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign, and the sum of N21.27 billion was realised – but this has attracted a lot of public attention.

Some have argued that Jonathan, the ruling PDP and its 21 state governors took lawlessness to a new height on Saturday, when one Tunde Ayeni, leading other donors, gave N2 billion on behalf of himself and his unnamed “partner” and “friends.” Jerry Gana, a permanent fixture in successive governments, announced N5 billion on behalf of his equally mysterious friends and “associates in the power sector.” Not to be outdone, oil and gas sector “friends” also pledged N5 billion; real estate and building sector, N4 billion; transport and aviation sector, N1 billion; food and agriculture, N500 million; power, N500 million; construction, N310 million; road construction, N250 million; National Automotive Association, N450 million; and Shelter Development Limited, N250 million. Going by the Electoral Act, which caps the donation an individual could make at N1 million, 5,000 donors must have been behind Gana’s N5 billion gift.

The question is, how did they come about these billions they stashed out – Considering also that private firms were also part of the donation crew, would government regulations still apply to them???

Blogger Linda Ikeji Purchases N1 Million Dress During Future Awards To Support Campaign Against Ebola

Linda wows in a full length monostrap Herve Leger dress for the 2014 Future Awards

During the Future Awards which held yesterday December 7, 2014 at the Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island Lagos an auction took place to raise money to support the campaign against Ebola.

The bidding was for a gold and pink Lanre DaSilva Ajayi dress in order to raise money for the Ebola Virus Disease cause. 

The auction started at N200,000, and like any typical auction increased to N800,000 that was the highest prize point for the dress. Before Celebrity blogger Linda Ikeji raised her hand and bidded one million Naira. She received an applause for her charitable gesture.

For a good cause: Blogger Linda Ikeji purchased the dress above for N1,000,000

***interesting*** 

Nigerian Military Captures Boko Haram's Camera Men

As the Nigerian troops continue to sustain their offensives against terrorists in North-Eastern Nigeria, more arrests have been made.
Some of the recent arrest include professional cameramen for the terrorist group who are experts in photo, video recording and filming of their attacks on communities and atrocities against innocent citizens.
The terrorists were nabbed during patrols, surveillance and raid operations to track fleeing terrorists in communities around Adamawa State.

Confirming the development, the Director Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade said four of those nabbed as they tried to escape in an SUV jeep with digital camera and weapons were taken into custody.

Charlotte finds out her BF was born a woman

Madly in love and convinced she had found the perfect man, one woman, 20 year old girl, Charlotte Urie, was shocked to learn her boyfriend was born a girl.

For years, her 23-year-old handsome new beau, Kieran Moloney who was born a female called Ciara had kept his sex-swap a secret. Growing up as a child, he had been unhappy with his gender and had no interest in girlie things – bursting into tears if his Mum put him in a dress. When Kieran started primary school, he became a target for bullies. And when puberty hit, the teenager’s confusing feelings escalated.

Kieran told DailyMirror:
“I hated seeing my breasts develop and I was jealous of the boys at school when their voices dropped and they started shaving. I hated being a girl.”
At 14, Kieran lost his virginity to a boy, but says it felt wrong. After seeing a counsellor aged 16, Kieran was finally diagnosed as transgender. He says:
“I started taking hormone tablets which lowered my voice and gave me more body hair. I loved the changes.”

Kieran’s family supported him and his mum Bronagh Moloney, 49, a nurse, began calling him her son. By 17, fine hairs started to grow on Kieran’s face and with a rigorous gym workout, Kieran’s body was transforming into a man’s.

He began binding his breasts with sports tape, spending £20 a week in a quest to hide any hint of being a female. Gradually his cup size dropped from a B to an A. In November 2009, aged 18, Kieran started monthly testosterone injections and, two years later, had a £5k double mastectomy, paid for by his mum. Today, with his chiselled jawline and bulging biceps Kieran would not look out of place on a Hollywood red carpet.

Despite the shocking revelation, Kieran and Charlotte are stronger than ever, and are now hoping