Michael Ojuroye Initiative (Ngo)

By: Funmi Ojuroye  October 29th 2013 Ex-Chief of General Staff, Mike Akhigbe A former Chief of General Staff, Vice Admiral Mike Akhigbe, is dead. He died in a New York hospital at around 1.06pm, about 7.pm Nigerian time on Monday. Aged 68, Akhigbe, who was the second in command to the former military ruler, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, was said to have died of cancer-related ailment. Before his death on Monday, there was speculation over his state of health.  The Special Adviser to the Senate President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Kola Ologbodiyan, who confirmed his death, said his boss was the deceased’s course mate at the Nigerian Defence Academy. Mark, in a statement on Monday night described his death as the loss of “a brother, confidant, friend and comrade-at-arms.” Mark, who was overwhelmed by emotions, recalled their days together  at the Nigerian Defence Academy, noting that “Mike was fearless and very diligent in our course. “He took these attributes to all ...

By: Funmi Ojuroye  October 29th 2013 Stella Oduah President Goodluck Jonathan may have finally succumbed to public pressure to  move against the embattled Minister of Aviation, Ms Stella Oduah, who is currently being probed over the N255m  bulletproof cars bought for her by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority. The development came to the fore with the last-minute decision to stop Oduah from signing the much-publicised Bilateral Air Services Agreement with Israel. The ceremony was given by Presidency officials as the  main purpose of her inclusion in the President’s entourage to Israel for this year’s Christian pilgrimage. In her stead, Minister of State I, Foreign Affairs, Prof. Viola Onwuliri, signed the agreement on behalf of the Federal Government while the Deputy Israeli Foreign Minister, Mr. Zeer Elkin, signed on behalf of the Israeli government. Presidential spokesman,  Dr. Reuben Abati, after releasing a photograph on Monday on the signing cerem...

By: Funmi Ojuroye  October 29th 2013 Citing strategic and sensitive considerations, the Nigerian Army has deployed the spokesman of the 7th Division, Lt. Col. Sagir Musa out of Maiduguri, a knowledgeable source told Mic at the weekend. Musa, who became widely-known at the height of Niger Delta militancy, was deployed to Maiduguri, the hot bed of the Boko Haram sect after the July 2009 when the sect became more sophisticated. The source added that Musa had on several occasions been active in tough operations against Boko Haram, refusing to sit back on his information desk, a doggedness that put him on Boko Haram’s spotlight as a potential target. On August 19, 2013, Musa returned to the limelight when he advanced that Boko Haram’s leader Imam Abubakar Shekau, may have died. “It is greatly believed that Shekau might have died between July 25 and August 3, 2013,” he announced.  “He was reported to have masterminded the kidnap of the seven French citizens and that of the elder...

By: Funmi Ojuroye  October 29th 2013 By Prof  Sola Adeyeye I was quite bemused by the reference by ASUU spokesman, Dr. Ajiboye,  to my enjoyment of Duquesne University’s reputed Flex benefits for its members of academic and non-academic staff while denying similar benefits to ASUU members.  First, in most instances, as its very name suggests, the Flex Benefits Program at Duquesne was flexible. It was also contributory.  The University simply matched, up to a predetermined ratio, whatever amount had been contributed by the staff. For example, each faculty or staff made individual decision about how much he or she would contribute towards retirement, pension, life insurance etc. In my case, I contributed 12% of my salary towards retirement and pension but the university was obligated to contribute not more than 6% of my wages towards my retirement portfolios which had been divided by me into different mutual funds like Vanguard, Lincoln, Traveler...

By: Funmi Ojuroye  October 29th 2013 Oshiomhole The All Progressives Congress (APC) has strongly condemned the sponsored disruption of Gov. Adams Oshiomhole’s presentation during a meeting of the Presidential Advisory Committee on National Dialogue in Benin on Monday, saying the despicable action has vindicated the party’s decision not to be part of the proposed conference. In a statement issued in Lagos on Tuesday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the Committee must thoroughly be ashamed of itself that one of its members led the show of shame that was put up in Benin on Monday. It therefore demanded an unreserved apology from the Committee to Gov. Oshiomhole, while the member who acted so unruly and irresponsibly must be publicly cautioned at the least or be excused from the Committee. ”The truth is that in proposing the conference, the government has no sincerity of purpose, does not believe in engaging in any dialogue with a...

By: Funmi Ojuroye  October 29th 2013 THE advanced countries recognise that change is inevitable.   New ideas are tested and experimented on a daily basis,   a   constant jigging and re-jigging in the process of governance to keep up with the pace. There is a deliberate attempt to find cheap, shrewd and local solutions to problems   associated with governance;   the latest of which is the setting up of behavioural insight    teams. There is the belief that: ‘’Behavioural sciences can be used to help design public policies that   will   work better, cost less and help people to achieve their goal ‘’. Such policies which – encourage behaviour subtly rather than outright require it – have come to be known as nudges, after a book titled,  Nudge  by Cass Sustein and Richard Thaler. The goal is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government by using scientifically collected evidence to inform policy designs. The nudge...

By: Funmi Ojuroye  October 28th 2013 THE family of the former Chief of General Staff, Admiral Mike Akhigbe, Monday, described as untrue, online reports that the former number two man died in a London hospital. Contrary to the reports of his alleged death, elder brother of the Admiral, Chief Joseph Alemon Akhigbe, said the news about his death was shocking to the family because ‘’ it is not true and it is really embarrassing to us’’. According to him,‘’My brother is stabilizing in an American hospital and not even London as erroneously reported. As I speak to you now, the report in my opinion is pure speculation, the paper said he died in a London hospital but my brother is in an American hospital stabilizing. The wife, son-in-law and his daughter are with him. My immediate younger brother in Abuja who spoke to the wife in America confirmed to family members that the Admiral is stabilizing; the news of his death is totally untrue. Also, younger brother of the Admiral, Mr Aselenm...

By: Funmi Ojuroye  October 28th 2013 Storm-force winds gusting up to 99mph are battering southern parts of the UK, bringing widespread travel disruption, flooding and power cuts. The intense storm, which swept in overnight, was causing a chaotic start to the working week with roads impassable because of fallen trees and surface water, and major bridges closed because of the high winds. UK Power Networks said 140,000 homes were without power in southern counties, while Western Power Distribution said 6,000 homes were affected in the south-west. Most rail companies in the south of England suspended early morning services, with many trains not expected to run until after 9am, when Network Rail staff have been able to check the tracks were safe. Network Rail said more than 100 trees had fallen on the tracks – it had cleared more than 40 blockages and was expecting to deal with more. There was also a landslip in the New Forest and a train was disabled after hitting a tree at Ivybrid...

By: Funmi Ojuroye  October 28th 2013 For the past weeks since the incumbent Aviation Minister, Ms. Stella Oduah, was reported to have purchased, through the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), her two latest and most expensive bullet proof vehicles- BMW 760 Li HSS- at the abnormal price of N255m ($ 1.6m), Nigerians, both at home and abroad have been displeased by this act of flamboyancy and many- the living, dead, deaf, blind, lame and disable and the poor- have reacted on different platforms. However, despite the fact that this act of mismanagement as many have described it has generated a lot of debates among ‘patriotic’ Nigerians, the focus of this write-up is not to expose Nigeria’s shame before the world, but to state in clear terms, why Nigeria has failed to develop despite the plethora of resources it possessed- if we like we say ‘oil’ amongst others. The only answer one can give is the existence of tribalism and ethnicity among leaders and followers in the country...

By: Funmi Ojuroye  October 28th 2013 CHAIRMAN, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Ita Enang, yesterday, gave reasons why President Goodluck Jonathan was delaying presentation of the 2014 budget, saying it was because the National Assembly had not passed the 2014-2016 Medium Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF. Enang, who represents Akwa Ibom North East on the platform of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, explained in an interview with Vanguard that the President was awaiting the passage of the MTEF by the National Assembly before acting on the 2014 budget. He said the National Assembly cannot expect presentation of the budget now, since it had not passed and forwarded the MTEF to the President. He explained that the MTEF would guide the executive in the preparation of the budget. He said: “We will expect the 2014 budget after we have passed the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and forward it to Mr President which is going to be the basis for preparation of the bu...

By: Funmi Ojuroye  October 28th 2013 Jonathan The All Progressives Congress has said that the Goodluck Jonathan administration may end up as the most corrupt in Nigeria’s history. The party, in its first official reaction to the the  N255m bulletproof car scandal involving the Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah, said it was appalled at the manner Jonathan was handling  the  matter.   “We now understand why corruption has grown wings under the Jonathan Presidency, and why the administration may well go down as the most corrupt in the country’s history,” it said in a statement by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Sunday. The statement was made available to journalists just as the  Nigerian  Civil Aviation Authority  said it had no  documents relating to the purchase of   the controversial   cars. The APC    said it reached  its conclusion on the Jonathan Preside...

By: Funmi Ojuroye  October 28th 2013 The latest effort by President Goodluck Jonathan to save the neck of his embattled Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah, hit the rocks last night in Israel. The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who arrived in Jerusalem on Saturday, was drafted to broker peace between the Minister and members of the National Assembly who are currently investigating her stunning purchase of two BMW armored cars, a scam that was first exposed by SaharaReporters. Ekweremadu called a meeting of two Nigerian lawmakers in the country, a Senator and a Member of the House of Representatives, to meet with the minister.  The meeting was attended by Ekweremadu, Stella Oduah, Rep. Jagaba Adams of Kaduna Kachiya/Kagarko federal constituency, and Senator Philip Aduda, who represents Abuja.  Also in attendance was Kola Adesina of Sahara Oil and Gas, a company now seen to be a front for President Jonathan.   However as the Minister declared her intenti...

By: Funmi Ojuroye  October 28th 2013 A Lagos-based lawyer, Mr.Daniel Onwe, has dragged the Federal Government and Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, before a Federal High Court, Lagos, over violation of the fundamental right to the dignity of person of the affected students, who have been out of school following the union’s strike. The suit, FHC/CS/1360/13, was brought pursuant to Section 46(1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution, Order II of the Fundamental Human Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 2009 and Article 5 of The African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap. 10, LFN, 1990. Onwe is asking the court for a declaration that the indefinite strike leading to the closure of government-owned universities across the country violates the fundamental right to the dignity of person of the affected students guaranteed under Section 34 of the 1999 Constitution. He is seeking for an order directing the Federal Government and ASUU t...

By: Funmi Ojuroye  October 27th 2013 Two separate incidents in Kaduna, at the weekend, saw the roasting of six persons in an oil tanker explosion and a policeman dead in a gun attack. The petrol tanker explosion took place at Mararaban, Jos, a community along Kaduna – Zaria road, at the outskirt of the metropolis, while the attack on the policeman was said to have occurred at about 10pm on Friday when some gunmen stormed a checkpoint and opened fire. The tanker exploded when an articulated vehicle ran into it as it reversed into the busy Kaduna – Zaria Expressway. Eyewitnesses said as soon as the truck hit the tanker, they both went up in flames while the drivers and their passengers were burnt beyond recognition. Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Olufemi Adenaike, who confirmed the incident in which the policeman was shot dead, said a suspect had been arrested and detained while the body of the slain officer was deposited at the St. Gerard Catholic Hospital Kakuri, ...

By: Funmi Ojuroye  October 25th 2013 The Nigerian army says it has killed 74 suspected Boko Haram militants in a raid in north-eastern Borno state. The raid involved "ground and aerial assault" and "led to the destruction of the identified terrorist camps," said army spokesman Lt Mohammed Dole. North-eastern Nigeria is the focus of an insurgency waged by Boko Haram in its bid to create an Islamic state. The area has been placed under a state of emergency as the army tries to crush the group. Lt Dole said the latest raid had been carried out on Thursday and that two soldiers had been wounded. President Goodluck Jonathan recently urged the military to up its campaign against Boko Haram, which launched its insurgency in 2009. The army's claims about military operations against the group are hard to verify - there has been no mobile phone network in Borno state since the latest offensive was launched. Nigeria's campaign has been criticised by human rights gr...

By: Funmi Ojuroye  October 25th 2013 Stella Oduah It is highly outrageous to buy two vehicles, any kind of vehicles for N225 million. It is also highly outrageous for mainstream media to rely on reports of online media, which most of the time are laced with gossips and rumours, for serious aviation reports. Now that Nigerians are outraged about the exaggerated reports on the purchase of the vehicles, the facts of the matter have been eclipsed as the first report always finds a listening ear. But it is good to deliberate on the motive behind the report and preceding reports before this last one. Princess Stella Oduah as Minister of Aviation has jolted the apple cart. In her strive to make desired changes in the sector she has excavated the status quo. There are certain trends that have defined the aviation sector. There are always since 1999 those who use lopsided agreements and contracts to milk the aviation agencies. There are also those who use aviation related associatio...

By: Funmi Ojuroye  October 25th 2013 Obiano Dr. Willie Obiano is the gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance. In this interview with selected journalists, he bares his mind on Anambra State and what he has in stock for the State if elected as the next Governor.Excerpts By Charles Kumolu HOW has the campaign been?  We are still on it and I enjoy every bit of it because, for me, it is expository. Though as a son of the soil, I had visited many parts of the State before, the campaign has afforded me the opportunity of visiting more places. I am confident that before the election proper, I would have visited all the 177 communities in the State. If you have followed my campaign, you would have noticed that it is more of grass roots sensitization. Some people say I should buy airtime in all the electronic media, including CNN . I have watched some of those adverts and my conclusion is that what they show us is but the confirmation that they are not ...