Sack Kemi Adeosun, Udo Udoma and Godwin Emefiele Immediately – Dino Melaye Urges Buhari

The Senator representing Kogi West, Dino Melaye has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately sack three prominent members of his Economic Team as the solution-precedent to reboot the ailing economy.

Dino Melaye, in a statement in Abuja on sunday said the president must sack the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, Budget and National Planning Minister, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma and the Governor of the Central bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele if the Change Agenda must succeed.

Melaye said “At the moment, it must be crystal clear to all discerning minds that the president’s widely-acclaimed magical body language has lost its presumed aura and efficacy.

“His no-nonsense demeanour is equally neither instilling fear nor commanding respect and loyalty from amongst his cabinet members. It is therefore obvious that the time for barking is over, now is the time to bite and boot out all those who have demonstrated, in the past several months, a crass lack of capacity to effectively carry out the functions of their office.

“The Finance Minister has not only displayed gross incompetence on the job, she also lacks the basic and rudimentary grasp of economic fundamentals necessary to run a critical sector of the Nigerian economy like the Finance Ministry.

“It is time for her to go now and pave way for a qualified and experienced person to steer the Nigerian economy away from the dark woods it has sunk presently under her stewardship”.

On Udoma Udo Udoma, he stated: “To be sure, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma is a very charismatic man, an accomplished lawyer, and a quintessential gentleman with a fairly untainted reputation.

”In everyday parlance, he is a good man. But the critical job of Budget and National Planning Minister for a huge country like Nigeria, with her prevailing economic challenges requires much more than being a good man with a great personality.

“It is for someone with the relevant qualification, professional knowledge and experience in public sector finance, development economics, strategic thinking, budgetary planning and management.

“As a lawyer, accomplished in this field as he is, Udoma’s appointment to that position is nepotism taken to very ridiculous heights; and a classic case of putting round pegs in square holes-it will, and can never fit. It is akin to saddling a carpenter with a tailor’s responsibility.

“The outcome under the circumstances, as has become evidently clear, is bound to be catastrophic for the economy. President Buhari must therefore do the needful now by relieving Udoma of this huge burden that is constituting a clog to the revival of the Nigerian economy. ”

On the CBN governor, Senator Melaye pointed to his disastrous handling and release of the so-called Dasuki-gate funds which amounts to about 15 per cent of the nation’s foreign reserves, policy flip-flops, summersaults and inconsistencies as clear evidence of gross incompetence in the management of the nation’s fiscal and monetary policies.

“The net effect of this inconceivable ineptitude on the part of Emefiele, according to Melaye is the free fall in the value of the naira and the total loss of faith and confidence by the international community on the Nigerian economy.”

”President Buhari must muster the courage to wield the big stick and give Emefiele the boot, to be replaced by a fiscal and monetary policy guru. “We have these qualified Nigerians in abundance, and the President must beam his searchlight to find them to help him, the Nigerian economy as well as the suffering Nigerian masses”.

“The President must immediately transit from mere rhetoric to drastic but positive action to save the economy and Nigeria from total collapse.

”The hunger in the land is real, pervasive, widespread and debilitating for the poor masses. As I walk the streets of my constituency these days, I constantly harbour a foreboding that I could be stoned by my angry constituents for the failure of Mr President to fulfil his campaign promises and expectations to Nigerians”, Melaye said.

“Nigeria is tottering on a dangerous precipice, sliding perilously to a certain catastrophe if the current economic malaise is not halted immediately”, he declared, even as he said his criticism is borne out of an altruistic fervour, and not a product of sour grapes akin to some traditional critics of “Every Government in Power (EGIP)”.

“I was a permanent fixture at the All Progressive Congress, APC’s Presidential campaign rallies and events, functioning mostly as the Master of Ceremonies, MC”.

” I am a proud APC Member, a party bonafide with a great stake in the success or failure of this administration, so no one can accuse me of sour grapes or meddlesomeness.

“I am a truly concerned stakeholder presently bothered by the imminent, clear and present danger of a still-birth of a Change Agenda that held so much hope and promise for Nigerians a little over a year ago.

” While there is a lot of hunger, anger, anguish and despair currently in the land, I have a firm belief that the situation is not beyond redemption for Mr President, hence my call for urgent and drastic remedial action now”, Melaye concluded.

2016/2017 FIRST ONLINE ADMISSION SCREENING EXERCISE (100 LEVEL) AND DIRECT ENTRY CANDIDATES

The long awaited screening exercise for Lagos state university 2016/2017 academic session.

NEW GUIDELINES FOR 2016/2017 FIRST ONLINE ADMISSION SCREENING EXERCISE (100 LEVEL) AND DIRECT ENTRY CANDIDATES

1.         APPLICATION
Applications are invited from qualified candidates for the Lagos State University 2016/2017 Admission Screening Exercise, for candidates seeking admission via UTME (100 level). These ONLINE screening exercises are mandatory requirements for entry into Lagos State University.
There shall be two rounds of Online Admission Screening Exercises for First Choice (More Preferred) and Second Choice (Preferred). The Online Admission Screening Exercise for the Second Choice (Preferred) candidates shall not take place until late September/October 2016 when the first round would have been concluded.
2.         ELIGIBILITY FOR FIRST ROUND
i.          Candidates who have chosen Lagos State University as their First Choice (More Preferred) institution in the 2016 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME), and have scored a minimum of 190 marks are eligible to participate in the First Online Admission Screening Exercise. In addition, candidates must be at least 16 years of age.
ii.         ALL Direct Entry candidates who wish to be considered for admission into Lagos State University for the 2016/2017 academic session, who must have obtained Direct Entry Form from JAMB are also eligible and must apply for the screening exercise.
iii.        Candidates of Lagos State Origin, for 100 & 200 levels will be required (if admitted) to prove their claims before the Independent Indigeneship Verification Committee (lIVC) set up by the Lagos State University.
iv.        Candidates should note that ONLY the accredited courses listed below are available for the 2016/2017 Academic Session. Therefore, only candidates that have chosen any of the under listed courses should apply.

S/NFACULTYDEPARTMENT
1.ARTS
- Arabic      
- Christian Religious Studies
- Islamic Religious Studies  
- History & International Studies    
- Music        
- Theatre Arts          
- Portuguese / English
2.EDUCATION
- Arabic Education  
- CRS Education      
- Islamic Studies Education
- English Education
- French Education
- History Education
- Yoruba Education
- Biology Education
- Chemistry Education        
- Mathematics Education  
- Physics Education
- Physical & Health Education
- Health Education
- Computer Science Education
- Educational Technology
- Business Education
- Accounting Education
- Educational Management
- Geography Education
- Economics Education
- Political Science Education
3LAW- Common/Civil Law
4.SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE- Agriculture
5.MANAGEMENT SCIENCES
- Public Administration
- Marketing
- Banking & Finance
- Management Technology
- Industrial Relations and Personnel Management
- Insurance
6.SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION- Mass Communication
7.SCIENCE
- Biochemistry
- Botany
- Chemistry
- Fisheries & Aquatic Biology
- Mathematics
- Microbiology
- Physics
- Zoology
- Computer Science
8.COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
- Medicine & Surgery
- Physiology
- Dentistry
- Nursing
9.SOCIAL SCIENCES
- Geography & Planning
- Psychology
- Economics
- Political Science
- Sociology
10.SCHOOL OF TRANSPORT- Transport
11.ENGINEERING
- Mechanical Engineering
- Electronics & Computer Engineering
- Chemical and Polymer Engineering
3.         METHOD OF APPLICATION
A.         ONLINE PAYMENT (FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT PREVIOUSLY PAID FOR LASU ADMISSION SCREENING)
1.         Prospective Candidates will visit screening.lasu.edu.ng and select MAKE PAYMENT option in the drop down list at the top, to make the required payment of N5,000 (Platform Access Fee N2,500, Screening fee N2,500) for the 2016/2017 LASU Admission Screening Exercise.

The prospective candidates would be required to submit the following:
JAMB Registration Number
Surname, First name, Middle name
Email Address and telephone number (both must be active and personal to the applicant)
2.         Click on PROCEED
3.         On the next page, a TRANSACTION ID to be used for PAYMENT would be displayed. The candidate should copy this TRANSACTION ID and          proceed for PAYMENT at http://www.quickteller.com/lasu
4.         On http://www.quickteller.com/lasu page,
(i)         Click on PAY
(ii)        Enter your email address, GSM number.
(iii)       Also enter the Transaction ID copied in step 3 above
(iv)       Proceed to enter details of your ATM card
(v)        Click Process payment
(vi)       Print your Payment receipt from the screen. A transaction message will be sent to your email and GSM, hence the need to use your personal E-rnail address and GSM number.
B.         ONLINE REGISTRATION FOR ALL FIRST CHOICE CANDIDATES
1.         After successful payment for LASU 2016/2017 Online Admission screening exercise, return to screening.lasu.edu.ng and select CONTINUE REGISTRATION option in the drop down list at the top.
2.         Prospective candidates should enter the required details (JAMB Registration number, surname and Mode of Entry - UME or DE).
3.         Click on PROCEED button to load/update the Registration Form.
Each applicant is expected to complete/update the registration form by providing the following information.
Candidates will be required to upload a scanned copy of their passport size photograph (File Size: Not more than 20KB; File format: JPEG [i.e. ‘jpg’]). Application for change of passport photograph by candidates given provisional admission shall NOT be allowed. This same passport photograph, uploaded by such candidates, will be used on their degree certificates.
ONLY TWO CHOICES OF COURSE OF STUDY ARE ALLOWED
Carefully study the agreement form. If you agree to the stated terms, click on the 'I agree’ button on the left-hand side of the page.
Note:   If you do not agree to the stated terms you will not be permitted to go beyond this point. Please read and understand the terms before registering/updating.
Fill in all required details contained on the online registration form. Confirm THAT DETAILS ARE ACCURATE then click FINISH. To make changes, before you click finish, you may click on the Edit button.
Candidates must possess five (5) O' Level credits in subjects relevant to their desired course of study at not more than two sittings, except Medicine that requires ONLY 1 sitting.
Credit in English Language is compulsory for admission into all courses in Lagos State University.
Candidates awaiting the result of NABTEB, NECO (June/July) 2016, are eligible to apply. Note that any examination taken after July 2016 shall not be accepted.
Make sure you print your Registration Form/Slip as this serves as your entry ticket into the screening hall.
C.         ONLINE SCREENING FOR ALL FIRST CHOICE CANDIDATES
The Screening of Candidate(s) will be based on Point Grading System using the UTME Score and SSCE (or equivalent) Grades in five BEST RELEVANT subjects to Candidates Choice of Course
The relevant subjects are obtainable from JAMB brochure 2016 available online at http://www.jamb.org.ng/Unifiedtme3/Brochure.aspx
Candidates are advised to visit JAMB website to study the O\Level subject requirements for their Course of choice before participating in the online Admission Screening.
In the Screening step, Candidates are expected to fill-in ONLY FIVE (5) BEST RELEVANT subjects as contained in JAMB Brochure 2016 online.
The Point grading system is as follows:
O\LEVEL SSCE (WAEC/NECO/NABTEB) GRADING POINTS
GRADEPOINT
A110
A2 (B2)9
A3 (B3)8
C47
C56
C65
TOTAL OBTAINABLE50 %
Candidate should know that both payment and registration/updating would last one [1] week, August 31 – September 6, 2016 (12 midnight).
PLEASE NOTE that candidates who had earlier responded to the previous advertisement placed in the Guardian Newspaper of Friday, 10th June, 2016 and the The Nation Newspaper of Monday, 13th June, 2016 and who had completed their online registration, need not apply again.
However, they are expected to update their records as indicated in (c) above.

LEWIS, Akinwunmi Oladapo
SIGNED
REGISTRAR
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
of N5,000 (Platform Access Fee N2,500, Screening fee N2,500) for the 2016/2017 LASU Admission.
#SUCCESS

Olamide Unveils Tracklist to His 5th Studio Album

Olamide Baddo unveils the tracklist to his 5th studio Album #EyanMayweather. The 21 tracked album features no artist and most songs are majorly produced by PheelzPheelz
1.  EYAN MAYWEATHER
2.  INFERIORITY COMPLEX
3.  DON'T STOP
4.  WHERE THE MAN
5.  IGARA CHICKEN
6.  BOOM BOOM BOOM
7.  BALL
8.  ARARA
9.  SAY SOMETHING
10. BE HAPPY
11. KANA FINISH
12. I'M OKOK
13. MATTERS ARISING
14. LAGOS BOYS
15. MAMA MI
16. MELO MELO
17. SOLD OUT
18. BOBO
19. TORIOMO
20. JEGA
21. OG WAHEEDEE

Production Credits

Pheelz, BBanks, ID Cabasa and Young John

Nigeria wins U17 World Cup

The Golden Eaglets defeated Les Aiglonnets in Vina del Mar to lift the U17 World champions for a record fifth time

Mali’s hope of lifting a first ever Fifa U17 World Cup faded in thin air in Viña del Mar as they crumbled 2-0 to Nigeria at the Estadio Sausalito.

Two successive second half strikes from Victor Osimhen and Funsho Bamgboye were all the Eaglets needed to become world champions, and also become the second country to successfully defend their title after Brazil.

NOA urges persons with disablity to collect PVC

The Director, National Orientation Agency in Jigawa, Malam Shuai’bu Haruna, has urged people living with disability to collect Permanent Voter Cards for them to participate in the forthcoming elections.

Haruna made the call at a one-day voter education exercise for the physically challenged persons in Hadejia, Jigawa.

The director said the call was imperative to enable such persons to exercise their civic rights.

Haruna said the Independent National Electoral Commission had made adequate arrangements to support the disabled persons and simplify their voting processes.

He said the exercise was conducted in collaboration with INEC and the Joint Association of Persons with Disability.

Mallam Muhammad Usman, who is the Chairman of the Association of Persons with Disability, commended the agency for the exercise, saying that it would create awareness among their members.





Source: Punch Online

Jonathan afraid Buhari will jail him — Obasanjo

 

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo said President Goodluck Jonathan had a grand plan to scuttle the coming elections for fear that if General Muhammadu Buhari(retd) of the All Progressives Congress succeeds him, Buhari would send him to jail.

He said this at his Hilltop presidential residence in Abeokuta, Ogun State while talking with journalists. He said he broke his promise not to talk till after the elections because the elections were postponed.

Obasanjo spoke just as Nobel laureate and playwright, Prof. Wole Soyinka, warned President Goodluck Jonathan not to use security agencies to scuttle the current democratic dispensation.

Soyinka’s warning to Jonathan was contained in a letter he sent to one of our correspondents on Saturday.

In another letter that was made public on Saturday, former chairman of the National Population Commission, Chief Festus Odimegwu, called on Jonathan to ensure that the polls were free and fair.

Obasanjo, who just returned from foreign trips, said, “I believe the President’s fear is particularly motivated by whom he sees as his likely successor, that is, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari. I believe people would have been telling him that Buhari is a hard man; he will fight corruption and he (Jonathan) may end up in jail if not in the grave. I think people would have told him that sort of thing and he is not the only one afraid of Buhari.”

But Obasanjo said Buhari should have learnt his lessons and might not be contemplating sending people to jail to fight corruption.

“If he has not learnt his lessons, he would be probably the most unlearning human being. Now if he has learnt his lessons, he will know that you do not fight corruption by putting people in jail for 200 years. This was done by my predecessor in office, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar. He recovered over $750m from Abacha’s estate without putting anybody in jail and without harming or hurting anybody.

“When I took over, we recovered over $1.25bn from the same Abacha without hurting anybody and without harming anybody. What is rather unfortunate is the fact that our lawyer who is still alive, who was chasing this money all over the world, said to us that there was still well over $1bn to be recovered from the Abacha estate.”

On the allegation that Jonathan had a grand plan to scuttle the coming polls, Obasanjo likened Jonathan to the former president of Cote d’lvoire, Laurent Gbagbo, who shifted election dates until he believed the odds were in his favour.

Obasanjo said, “President Jonathan has a grand plan to ensure that he wins the election by hook or crook and if he loses, he scuttles it and brings chaos and confusion in the whole country.

“It looks to me that the President is trying to play (Laurent) Gbagbo. Gbagbo was the former President of Cote d’Ivoire and Gbagbo made sure he postponed the election in his country until he was sure he would win and then allowed the election to take place. He got an inconclusive election in the first ballot and I believe this is the sort of thing Nigeria may fall into if I am right in what I observed as the grand plan.

“Then in the run-off, Gbagbo lost with 8 per cent behind (Alassane) Quattara and then refused to hand over. All reasonable persuasion and pleading was rebuffed by him and he unleashed horror in that country until nemesis caught up with him. I believe that we may be seeing the repeat of Gbabgo or what I called Gbagbo saga here in Nigeria, I hope not.”

Obasanjo noted that the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, must have been boxed to a corner by the powers that be, before announcing the postponement of the elections.

He recounted how world leaders confronted him over political developments in the country, saying, “I was away because I had a number of assignments abroad which took me to Morocco, Munich, Nairobi, London and New Delhi. Exactly a week today, when we were in Munich for what they called the Munich security conferences annual event, everyone in the security community was there.

“I refused to make any categorical statement on this issue because I wanted to come back home and learn what actually transpired and what was going on, and it turned out to be a forced decision on the INEC, because it was alleged that the security chiefs were unable to provide security and as a result, the Chairman of INEC had to postpone the elections, in accordance with the dictates of the so-called security chiefs.

“For me, that was a bad precedent for democracy in Nigeria. It meant it doesn’t matter what preparation or lack of preparation any electoral body could make in Nigeria, the final decision on whether election will take place on the day scheduled for it lies in the domains of the security, it is a sad day for democracy in Nigeria.”

He said he was worried that President Jonathan had said in his recent media chat that he knew nothing about the postponement of the elections.

“I want to believe that this was forced on them (security chiefs). I want to believe that whether it was forced on them or it was their initiative, it was bad, very bad. I hope we will never have a repeat performance of this in this country again.

“It was even made worse when the President in the media chat on the 11th of this month claimed not to have knowledge or not to have authorised it. I get worried, very worried that if the President of Nigeria is not in charge of security, maintenance of law and order and such a decision can be taken behind him, assuming that it is true, then the President must be reigning and not ruling.”

While puncturing a hole in the excuse of the Boko Haram insurgency as a reason for the postponement, Obasanjo said it remained to be seen how the war against Boko Haram which could not be won since 2009, could be won in six weeks.

Obasanjo also appealed to the two leading political parties, Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress not to heat up the polity.

He said, “I have offered some warnings but let me also offer some appeals and the appeals for me will be for President Goodluck Jonathan. I appeal to him not to do anything to destroy the fledgling democracy that we are enjoying, democracy is not a destination. It is a process and the more we strengthened the process of democracy, the institutions and the factors, the better it is for us.”

In its reaction, the Presidency on Saturday said it was aware of a plot by Obasanjo and some unnamed persons within and outside the country to thwart the forthcoming general elections and foist an unconstitutional Interim National Government, which Obasanjo hopes to head, on the nation.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, said this in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja.

Abati said, “We find the false claims and allegations reportedly made against President Goodluck Jonathan by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo on Saturday in Abeokuta very odious and repugnant.

“As we have had cause to say before, it is most regrettable indeed that a man like Chief Obasanjo, who should know better, chooses to repeatedly, wantonly, and maliciously impugn the integrity of a sitting President of his country for the primary purpose of self-promotion.

“It is obvious from Chief Obasanjo’s serial vituperations against President Jonathan who is doing his best to positively transform Nigeria for the benefit of all of its people that he has willfully chosen to close his eyes to the present administration’s good works and intentions. For reasons best known to him, Chief Obasanjo has set his mind on regime change by fair or foul means.

“Otherwise, it would be completely senseless, irrational and out of place for Chief Obasanjo, who still claims to belong to the same party as the President, to accuse President Jonathan of plotting to win the rescheduled presidential elections by ‘hook or crook’ and planning to plunge the nation into crisis if he loses the election.

“For the record, President Jonathan has no such intention and will continue to give the greatest possible support to INEC and other relevant federal agencies to ensure that the rescheduled elections are successfully conducted.

“Chief Obasanjo’s plot with others within and outside the country to thwart the general elections and foist an unconstitutional Interim National Government, which he hopes to head, on the nation is well known to us, but by the Grace of God Almighty, his odious plan to return to power through the backdoor will fail woefully.”

Also, the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation said it was not true that Jonathan was planning to retain power at all cost.

Its Director of Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode, said this in a statement.

He said, “It is sad and unfortunate that President Olusegun Obasanjo, a father of the nation and a man that we all revere and have immense respect for, could have misread the situation so badly.

“It is simply not true that President Goodluck Jonathan wishes to remain in power at all costs and the suggestion that he has a hidden agenda or that he somehow imposed his will on INEC by getting them to postpone the elections is baseless and absurd.”

In a related development, Soyinka, in his letter titled, ‘Under-reading violence’, noted that the use of security operatives to intimidate the populace other than to protect them, is a “new low in the life of this nation,” adding that it is a serious threat to the future of democracy in Nigeria.

“It bodes ill even for the postponed elections. Is the postponement truly to ensure enfranchisement for the entire electorate or to fine-tune a new strategy for the absolute and total cooption of the uniformed services?” Soyinka asked.

The Nobel laureate also flayed the deployment of soldiers to the Lagos house of a chieftain of the major opposition party, the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

The human rights activist reminded Jonathan of how security operatives allegedly prevented the then governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, “from exercising his civil rights.”

Concluding his letter, Soyinka called on the President to lift the military siege on his political opponents before it is “too late.”

In the same vein, Odimegwu who ran into trouble with Jonathan’s government when he faulted the 2006 census, raised the alarm over the safety of Buhari, saying Jonathan, Nigerians should secure his safety to avoid a replication of what happened to the late business mogul, Chief MKO Abiola, following the controversies which trailed the June 12, 1993 Presidential election.

Odimegwu, a former chairman of Nigerian Breweries Plc, in a blunt article entitled, ‘The challenges before President Buhari’ which he e-mailed to SUNDAY PUNCH in Abuja, advanced seven reasons why Buhari would be a better choice for Nigeria.

According to him, Buhari is dreaded by many that have looted Nigeria dry, adding,”I am happy in this worthy company of free citizens of the world and institutions that endorses General Buhari and recommends him to all Nigerians.”

He said, “It is imaginable, given the annulment of June 12 under unclear circumstances, that this six weeks delay can have more supporters than are known. President Jonathan himself can lose control as during the trying time of the 1993 election crisis. It is imaginable that some vested interests may not want both President Jonathan and General Buhari and may work alone or in cooperation with others to impose a contrived and orchestrated interim government that is now gaining traction.

“On coups or coup baits that are being mentioned, worsened also by giving security agencies more roles over election matters than necessary. The forces that aborted June 12 could still be alive. General Buhari in many ways reminds one of MKO. Nigerians must shine their eyes beyond the ordinary and the conventional. Things seem to me now like the more one looks, the less one sees.”

He also warned that the Federal Government, as distinct from the ruling party, must take steps to secure the life of General Buhari “as these intrigues thicken.

“Nothing should happen to him. He may not be a saint. Even Mandela rightly said he was not. No one is. But he now personifies the new hope for Nigeria. Nigerians need him. Nigerians need change. What happened to Yar’Adua Senior, MKO and even Abacha must not happen to him.”