A top notch of the dreaded Boko Haram sect (names withheld), has escaped from the detention of the State Security Service. Sources in the Presidency told The Eagle Online that the National Security Adviser, General Andrew Owoeye Azazi, has threatened that heads will roll if he was not re-arrested soon, heads will roll in the service.
Author: Odeworitshe Okafor
Dear Lagosians, For the past few days, I have monitored the developments related to the public protest against the increase in the pump price of petrol. During that period, I have at the invitation of my colleagues in the Governor’s Forum responded to an invitation from the Presidency. My role since last Monday till date has been to find a ground of compromise that stabilizes the polity, protects our democracy and prevent any loss of lives. In spite of these efforts, we were not wholly successful in preventing the loss of the life of a young…
Shortly before organized labour called off the strike action over the increase in the pump price of petrol, security agents across the country went beserk. In Abuja, some soldiers brutalized a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, while agents of the State Security Service invade the Lagos offices of the British Broadcasting Corporation and the Cable News Network.
Fire has gutted one of the oil rigs of multinational oil company, Chevron Corporation in Nigeria. According to a news item on the website of Businessness, the oil rig, belongs to one of the subsidiaries of Chevron Corporation in Nigeria, is located in the offshore Niger Delta region.
Organised labour on Monday suspended the one-week strike it embarked upon to protest the increase in the pump price of petrol by the government. The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar, joined by the President of the Trade Union Congress, Peter Esele, announced the decision in Abuja.
The Save Nigeria Group (SNG) and its allies have condemned the deployment of troops and tanks to the Gani Fawehimi Fredom Square at Ojota, Lagos. The SNG and its allies also rejected the N97 per litre offer of the Federal Government. In a statement signed by the Convener of the SNG, Pastor Tunde Bakare, the group said the move was not called for because the protest had been peaceful.
A combined military team of the officers and men of the Nigerian Army and Nigeria Air Force, assisted on the side by regular policemen are on a shooting spree in the Ojota/Ketu axis of Lagos, in an attempt to disperse protesters who want to gain access to the Gani Fawehinmi Memorial Park. The park, from Monday to Friday last week, was a beehive of activities as protesters gathered there to show their displeasure about the increase in the pump price of petrol from N65 to N141. Though President Goodluck Jonathan this morning announced a reduction in price…
Organised labour is to address the nation today at 1pm via a press conference. The press conference will state in clear terms labour’s reaction to the speech of the President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, on the issue of the pricing of petrol. According to feelers from labour, the issues to be addressed will include the offer of N97 for a litre of fuel, the allegation by the President that some other forces have hijacked the protest, the plea to call off the strike and the deployment of the military for the maintenance of security.
The Christian Association of Nigeria in the 19 Northern states and Abuja has criticized the Borno State Government for paying a compensation of N100 million to the family of the late leader of the Boko Haram, Alhaji Mohammed Yusuf, to settle a case in court.
Former Military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to use the opportunity of the ongoing crisis over the withdrawal of subsidy on petrol to implement true federalism in the country.
The President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, has said that other interests have hijacked the labour-organised protests over the removal of subsidy on petrol by the government.
“Dear Compatriots, 1. This is the second time in two weeks I will address you on the deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector. In the last seven days, the nation has witnessed a disruption of economic activities. Although, the economic imperatives for the policy have been well articulated by government, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) went ahead to declare a nationwide strike.
The President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, has commenced a meeting with organized labour in the First Lady Wing of the Presidential Villa. He is meeting with a team from the Trade Union Congress and the Nigeria Labour Congress.
The meeting the President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, has been having with almost all the state governors and some represented by their deputies in the Presidential Villa ended about 30 minutes ago. In attendance at the meeting were the Ministers of Finance, Petroleum Resources, Labour and Information. The Vice-President, Alhaji Namadi Sambo, was also there. The President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, and the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, just spoke with State House Correspondents:
At least 23 governors are in the Presidential Villa waiting for the President Goodluck Jonathan for the crucial meeting on how to handle the ongoing crisis over the withdrawal of subsidy on petroleum products. Among them are the governors of Lagos, Edo, Sokoto, Plateau, Benue, Niger, Osun, Ogun, Kogi, Kebbi, Katsina, Nasarawa, Taraba, Ebonyi, Rivers, Imo, Zamfara, Gombe, Bauchi and Akwa Ibom. The ministers of Petroleum Resources, Finance, Labour and Information are also scheduled to attend the meeting slated to hold at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa.
The negotiations, which began between government and labour on Tuesday, through the initiative of the Senate appears to have collapsed after both parties refused to find a common ground.
The Eagle Online can confirm that the President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, is at the moment recording a speech that would be relayed as a nationwide broadcast on the ongoing crisis over the withdrawal of subsidy on the pump price of petrol. As exclusively reported by The Eagle Online in the wee hours of today, the government team has agreed that Jonathan should make a nationwide broadcast reducing the cost of petrol to N120 since organized labour insisted on a reversal to N65.
In preparation for a deadlock of the talks between labour and government later today, President Goodluck Jonathan has just concluded a meeting with the service chiefs at the Presidential Villa. The emergency Security Council meeting was called to strategise on how to react to the anticipated resumption of strike action tomorrow if negotiations failed. In attendance at the meeting were all the service chiefs, the Inspector General of Police, the Directors general of the National Intelligence Agency, the State Security Service, the Ministers of Defence and Police Affairs, the National Security Adviserand the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety…
Ahead of the resumed talks on the vexed issue of petrol price, organized labour is meeting right now at the Labour House in Abuja, The Eagle Online can authoritatively report. Sources close to the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress confirmed that the 18-man delegation that attended the meeting with the government team at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa is a part of the meeting.
A suspected Boko Haram sponsor, identified as Comrade Nuhu Mohammed, was arrested at about 1am today by a team from the 1st Division of the Nigerian Army, Kaduna. The arrest, said to be based on a tip-off, was effected in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State while allegedly arming some youths in the area. Mohammed is described as “a gun-runner and patron of the Islamic terror group, Boko Haram.”