Fight Against Boko Haram: Military Set to Move Command Center to Maiduguri as President Buhari meets with Service Chiefs...............

As President Muhammadu Buhari promised, the military is making plans to move its command center to Maiduguri, Borno State to facilitate the fight against Boko Haram.

The news was confirmed by Chief of Naval Staff, Usman Jibrin after a meeting between the service chiefs and  Buhari on Tuesday, Vanguard reports.

Speaking on the meeting, Jibrin said:

“Since he was inaugurated as our commander-in-chief, this is the first time that we are formally meeting him to give general security briefing of the country. We have been able to provide insights into the security situation of Nigeria.

Specifically on Boko Haram, with the level of successes being recorded, we want to maintain the tempo and sustain it  until they are routed out.

On the command centre, we will go back and work on it. Soon it will be carried out, it is a Presidential directive, it must be carried out, and we must do that as quickly as possible.”

Service Chiefs say they will soon carry out President Muhammadu Buhari's directive to relocate the military command and control centre to Maiduguri, Borno State, to tackle the Boko Haram insurgent.

The Chief of Naval Staff Rear Admiral Usman Jibrin, stated this while addressing State House journalists on Tuesday after a three-hour closed-door meeting President Buhari held with the security chiefs at the Defence House in Abuja.


Fielding question on when the command centre would be relocated to Maiduguri, the Chief of Naval Staff said: "The command center, we're the ones to go back and work on it. Soon, it will be carried out. It is a presidential directive. It must be carried out, and we must do that as quickly as possible".

Jubrin said the armed forces would sustain the tempo of their success against the insurgents, asking Nigerians to continue to support the military by providing the needed intelligence.

"As to the human beings, their movements and suspicious movement should be reported to the police. Of course, the police will make that available to us. You know as we continue to put pressure on them in the Sambisa area, they'll try to run away from there and then create further problems, using improvised explosives devices.

"Like I told you, we're sustaining the tempo and the successes we've recorded so far. We want to continue to maintain that, and if there is any suggested solutions that requires amendments or alteration of what we're doing, why not? Most especially the more they give us the intelligence, the better", he said.

The service chiefs at the meeting were Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh; Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Kenneth Minimah; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal A. N. Amosun; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral U. O. Jibrin and Inspector General of Police Solomon Arase.

The president had stated in his inaugural speech on Friday that victory against the sect could not be achieved by basing the command and control centre in Abuja, saying "The command centre will be relocated to Maiduguri and remain until Boko Haram is completely subdued."

TOO BAD: Suicide Bomber Kills 50 after Shouting "Sai Buhari"

Another bomb blast rocked the troubled Borno State capital of Maiduguri late on Tuesday morning, after the president, Muhammadu Buhari, met service chiefs,  leaving many dead and others wounded.

Prior to the explosion at the popular Kasuwan Shanu (meat market), residents were rudely woken up at 12:45am on Monday by gunshots that boomed in parts of the city till around 2pm.

No official reason was given by the military authorities for the gunshots which many of the residents feared were fired by advancing Boko Haram insurgents.

Sadly, just when business activities were peaking in the city, a bomb went off in the meat market, sending cattle rustlers, butchers, customers and passersby scampering to safety.

Although the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the State Commissioner of Police, Aderemi Opadokun, as saying that five people died in the blast, Reuters reported about 50 dead.

CP Opadokun said the suspect, “who was shouting 'Sai Buhari', danced close to an abattoir in the market, before detonating the bomb strapped to his body when people had gathered around him.

"Five people, including himself, died, while eight others sustained injuries," he said, adding that policemen were mobilised to the scene to evacuate the corpses and convey the injured to the hospital.

But Reuters quoted a witness as claiming that "as many as 50 people were killed."

It added that Lawal Kawu, a paramedic, said 31 charred bodies were taken to a hospital in Maiduguri.

Abubakar Mohammed, a college student, also told the news agency that he had to run away after the blast shook their school building.

A member of the youth vigilante group, who spoke on condition of anonymity with Punch, however said that the terrorist dropped a bag under a table in a stall with an excuse that he wanted to pick up something.

He added shortly after he left, the bomb he hid in the bag went off.

The spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency, North-East, AbdulKadir Ibrahim, put the death toll at 17 while his Red Cross counterpart in Borno State, Umar Sadiq, said 13.


That is Nigeria for you, we can never get accurate figures whenever there is an incident of this nature.

Battle Line Drawn!!! Current Gov. Wike begins probe of former Gov., Amaechi

Looks like Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike is officially ready for former Gov. Rotimi Amaechi. He's asked all Permanent Secretaries in the state to produce full account details of their Ministries’ expenditure in the last 18 months. Read the press statement below...

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has directed Permanent Secretaries in the state   to produce   full account  details  of their Ministries ' expenditure  over the  last 18 months.

This is even as the  governor  advised  the permanent  secretaries  to  shun partisan politics  as career civil  servants,  saying the roles some of  them played in  the  closing  days of the immediate  past administration  were politically  motivated.

Addressing  permanent  secretaries  during  a meeting  at Government  House,  Port Harcourt on Tuesday,  Wike regretted that some of the  permanent  secretaries helped the immediate  past  administration to illegally  withdraw  funds from the State Government  coffers even  up to the  28th of May,  2015.

He said : "I want full details  and print out of every  ministry's  account  in the  last 18 months. I will not accept  any  handover  note without  an accompanying account  details. 

"The  government  was coming  to  a close and some of  you were busy  signing cheques on 26,27 and 28 of May. On 28 of May, the Transition  Committee  called most of you and you refused to cooperate  because  they  told you  I will  not be sworn-in. "

The  governor  noted  that  he  will  not witch hunt any civil servant irrespective  of his/her role in the electioneering  period . He, however,  said that no civil servant  would  be  allowed  to  sabotage  the  efforts of  his administration. 

He urged the  permanent  secretaries  to  work  with  his administration  to revive  the  state  and put back smile  on  the  faces of  the  people.

 

"Those of  you  who  want to work  with  us to develop  Rivers  State  will get the necessary  support.  You are career civil  servants and not politicians.  As civil  servants,  don't play  the role  of politicians ", he said. 

The  Rivers  State  Governor  pointed out  that  the  back-dated employments  and indiscriminate  issuance  of certificates  of occupancy by the  immediate  past administration  would be  re-visited. 

He specifically  directed the Permanent  Secretary  in  the  Ministry  of  Lands and Survey to produce  the relevant  land documents  for examination. 

The permanent  secretaries  were led to the meeting by the Head of  Service,  Barrister  Samuel  LongJohn.  

Others  who attended  the  meeting  were the former  Minister  of  Sports,  Dr  Tammy  Danagogo,  Former  Deputy  governor,  Tele  Ikuru  and Secretary  of  the  Transition  Committee,  Barrister  Frank Owhor.

 

Buhari reportedly considers Fashola, Fayemi for position of Chief of Staff

According to multiple reports, President Buhari is considering naming former Lagos Governor, Babatunde Fashola or former Ekiti state governor Kayode Fayemi as his Chief of Staff. Abubakar Mamu is also being considered for the position. There are indications that President Buhari might today reveal who the Secretary to the Government of the Federation will be as well as other aides.

Footballer Taye Taiwo shares beautiful photos of his family

Don Jazzy Follows the Caitlyn Jenner Transgender Craze............

The Don says we should address him sorry her as Rose Mary Jazzy while mimicking Caitlyn Jenner

EXPOSED: Tompolo Collects N1.5b Monthly from Government

The pioneer chairman of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Ahmed Tijani Ramalan, has revealed that the agency pays the sum of N1.5bn every month to the ex-militant leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), Mr. Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, to protect the nation’s maritime areas, yet we have a military.

Dr Ramalan, however, lamented that despite such fraudulent deal, Nigeria still loses over 400,000 barrels of crude oil on a daily basis from the nation’s shores.

He said, “Over 400,000 barrels of crude oil are being stolen daily from our shores under President Jonathan; yet we had a government that has the Navy, the Army and the Air Force, and the government of Jonathan decides to hand over the security of our maritime waters to Tompolo at a very exorbitant amount of money. 

“And these same people that are given the job of our maritime security are the ones that are collaborating with the international shipping companies to steal our oil.”

The former NIMASA chairman, who revealed this in an interview with LEADERSHIP in Kaduna, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to cancel the contract given to the ex-militant by the administration of Goodluck Jonathan.

He said one of the ways to help the country’s economy to bounce back is to revoke Tompolo’s contract.

“And if Buhari does not do so, we will be the first to start attacking him. There is no basis to give that kind of billions of naira job to ex-militants,” he declared.

Making further clarification on how long the payment has been going on, Ramalan said it started “sometime after 2011 when Jonathan won his election and since then the payment has been on.

“I was the pioneer chairman of NIMASA, and NIMASA is the one funding the contract given to Tompolo. This is a guy that is collecting about N1.5bn every month and yet our Armed Forces are not well funded. So, we call on the president to discard such contract...

“We believe the country needs a leader that is not corrupt, because the issue of corruption in the country has led the country to its knees.

“The country would have gone down if the administration of Jonathan was allowed to continue. For us, we believe that having a new leader is what the country needs because of the massive corruption. We believe in President Buhari; we believe there is hope in having him as the president.”

Tompolo keeps mum
Attempt by LEADERSHIP to get clarification on the allegation from Tompolo wasn’t successful. Initial calls made to his spokesperson, Comrade Paul Bebenimibo went unanswered, likewise SMS but he later replied to an SMS sent to him saying “I will get across to my boss.”

He never got back again to LEADERSHIP up to the time of going to press when several calls around 11:27pm where again made to him.

BRUCE JENNER OFFICIALLY CHANGES TO A WOMAN

You can now call him no sorry her Caitlyn Jenner as she poses for Vanity Fair, photographed by Annie Leibovitz. Boobs and all! Wow!

The new First Lady wore a N10m watch for her official portrait?

My hand is not in this one o....lol. I found the allegation on The Breaking Times. Read what they wrote below...

Investigations by Breaking Times on Monday revealed that Aisha Buhari, wife of the President of Nigeria wore a Cartier Baignoire Folle 18-Carat White Gold Diamond Ladies Watch that cost £34,500 to President Buhari’s inauguration on Friday, May 29. The equivalent of this at the current CBN foreign exchange rate of N303 to £1 is N10, 453, 000.

The Cartier Baignoire Folle 18-Carat White Gold Diamond Ladies Watch comes in a case made of rhodiumised white gold set with brilliant-cut diamonds. On the side of the case is an octagonal crown set with a diamond. The case is 44mm high, 35mm wide and 10mm thick and is covered by glare-proof sapphire crystal glass.

President Muhammadu Buhari was elected riding on the wave of strong anti-corruption, integrity and pro-masses sentiment. This shocking extravagance by Mrs. Buhari runs contrary to earlier indications that the Buharis are modest and the President, a pastoral farmer with 150 cows, barely raised the money to pay for his presidential nomination form.

16yr old Nigerian footballer slumps and dies on football pitch in Ireland

Shetemi Ayetigbo, a 16 year old Nigerian midfielder who plays for Belvedere Football Club in Dublin, Ireland slumped and died while playing in a league match at the St Kevin’s Boys Football grounds yesterday May 31st.

An eyewitness while narrating what happened to Mirror UK, said Shetemi suddenly slumped and died while playing with his mates. 

"There was no incident, any attack. The young lad was playing, and he just dropped on the pitch. It was around 25 to 30 minutes into the game. A number of people rushed to his side straight away to give him first aid, as there was a defibrillator at the grounds. An ambulance came, and paramedics tried to treat him there. But he couldn’t be saved. They then took his body to the hospital. The match was cancelled. Everyone was in shock. The young players, staff, and supporters had never witnessed anything like that on a football pitch. There were a good few people watching the match because it was the last game of the season.”.

His football club, Belvedere Football Club released a statement in which they confirmed the death of Shetemi who was fondly called Shay by his fellow teammates.

“Belvedere Football Club is mourning the death of one of our U16 players who tragically collapsed while playing for the club [yesterday]. While all of our members are in deep shock, our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this tragic time. We ask that the privacy of the family be respected as the club supports them in grieving their boy.”

Meanwhile his friends have taken to his facebook page, expressing their sadness over his demise One of his friends, Gabriel Okuribido wrote “RIP Shetemi. Know you like two years now, you were sick at football. Hope you have a great send off, I’ll definitely be going. Miss you bro.”

Another one Andrew Finni wrote: “Imagine a man died playing the sport he loved and he was our age. That actually shows you can lose your life at anytime, value your life, family and friends while they’re still here cause we’re not going to be here forever. It doesn’t give you an excuse to go out and do every drug you can get and head to all the sessions you hear of, means nothing on your deathbed because if a healthy athlete died, doesn’t mean you can’t lose your life either.”