Obasanjo Demanded His Share Of Malabu's $1b Bribe, Etete Tells British Court

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo was involved in an underground attempt to cut a slice of oil bloc OPL 245 in the dubious Malabu oil deal, the man at the centre of the scam, Dan Etete, told a British High Court.

According to details of the approved judgment by Lady Justice Gloster of the Commercial division of the Royal Court of Justice, London, in a breach of contract case between Malabu Oil and middleman Emeka Obi, owner of Energy Ventures Partners Limited (EVP), Mr. Etete, a convicted felon and sole signatory to Malabu accounts, said his licence to the oil block was revoked in 2001 because conflicts erupted after Mr. Obasanjo made personal demands on the controversial oil bloc.

Mr. Etete, as Petroleum Minister in 1998, had fraudulently awarded OPL 245 to a company he had interest in, using a false identity Kwekwu Amafegha. The oil bloc has since gone through different ownerships, legal tussles and deals before it was controversially sold for $1.1 (over N170 billion) to Shell and ENi in controversial circumstances last year, with the Nigerian government playing a shady role in the deal. Mr. Etete suggested that Pecos Limited, which was listed as a previous shareholder in Malabu’s records with the Corporate Affairs Commission, was a company connected to Mr. Obasanjo’s regime.

Sources knowledgeable about the Malabu deal told this reporter that Pecos, owned by businessman Oyewole Fasawe, was used to secure ownership of a significant percentage of the oil bloc in 2001 at a time Mr. Obasanjo and his then vice president, Atiku Abubakar, were very close; with Mr. Fasawe doing deals on behalf of both leaders.

Pecos was controversially removed as a shareholder in 2010 after licence to the oil block was re-awarded to Malabu and replaced with Munamuma Seidougha and Amaran Joseph, both of whom had 10 million shares each. Both men have close links to Mr. Etete and anti-corruption investigators believe they were fronts used by Mr. Etete to outmaneuver his business partners. A career of bribery and fraud The court document also shows that Mr. Etete, who was convicted for money laundering in France, collected bribe in excess of N375 million ($2.5 million) between 1996 and 1998 when he was the country’s petroleum minister.

The document also shows that the government was surcharged N2.7 billion ($18 million) in signature bonus accrued from the award of licence for OPL 245. Out of the $20 million obligatory bonus that should have been paid to the government Malabu only paid a paltry N300 million ($2.04 million) in 1999. Flawed personality The judge while delivering judgement also spent time profiling the former minister. According to Lady Gloster, during the course of the trial, Mr. Etete came across as one with inherently flawed personality. The judge described his evidence as “self-serving, self-contradictory, unrealistic, argumentative or, at times, almost impossible to follow.” The judge said Mr. Etete “frequently changed his story, often within a few minutes of having given a directly opposing answer.

The manner in which he gave his evidence was argumentative and extravagant.” “He was prone to make wild allegations of fraud and forgery, or point the finger of blame at others, including his own trusted financial advisers and lawyers, without any appreciation of the serious implications of his accusations. His recollection was very poor and, at times, the only conclusion which I could reach was that he was being deliberately dishonest. “My ultimate conclusion was that I could not rely upon him as a witness of truth. I also conclude that, in a commercial context, he would have presented an almost insuperable challenge as a counter-party to negotiations,” the judge said

Culled from:PremiumTimes

NANS passes vote of no confidence on Jonathan

*’We’re disappointed over Okonjo-Iweala’s comments’ National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, through a statement made available and signed by the National P.R.O. Comrade Victor Olaogun, has passed a vote of no confidence on President Goodluck Jonathan over what they called his “ineptitude to handle and resolve the ongoing impasse between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU.”

While berating the lackadaisical attitude of the Nigerian President towards the development of the youth and his insensitivity and inattentiveness to the pains and demands of Nigerian students and university lecturers, the Association called for instantaneous declaration of state of emergency on Nigeria’s education sector, saying “we can no longer condone his ineffectiveness, whereupon we pass a VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE on him. “Also we pass VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE on the Minister for Education, for not having the interest of Nigerian students at heart.

We also condemn the Senior Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan on Students and Youth Matters, Comr. Jude Imagwe over his lukewarm attitude to the plights of the Nigerian students. “As a former president of NANS, (though factional) we expect Comr. Jude Imagwe to use his good office to press for the demands of the students and even protect the interest of undergraduates who at this time are facing huge challenges as a result of the lingering strike action embarked on by the Academic Staff Union of Universities”

However the Association pleaded with ASUU to return to the classes while deliberation continues or drag FG to court. “we urge ASUU to drag the Federal Government to court since nobody is above the law. We call for immediate allocation of Special Intervention Fund to Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary education in Nigeria. We remained indifferent on ASUU strike because we thought the two parties could use pragmatic approaches to settle their rift.


source:vanguard

Broken Marriages: Now A Thing Of Pride For Nigerian Celebrities

The recent trend of broken marriages of Nigerian actresses has becoming a natural phenomenon and a recurring decimal which if not checked could mislead the youths (the girl child), according to Godwin Ocheje. In the beginning, they hoped to achieve it big in the entertainment industry promising God and their families that things would go well when their dreams and aspirations come true.

But on the contrary, the industry changed them unlike their counterparts like Omotola Jalade who has been married for more than a decade now and is waxing stronger and stronger in her marriage.

But the issue now is... what are the factors responsible for these break-ups? Why are the ladies the ones involved in this development? While some say it is a way of being free from any man’s command as a husband, others believe that it’s due to lust for numerous men and not wanting be under the control of a man who would never want them to star in any obscene role or what not that is prompting their wanting to be free.

For Monalisa Chinda, it was alleged that the reason for her marriage breakup with her ex-hubby, Dejo Richards, was money. According to reports, the actress, who had particularly been the bread winner of the household, could not handle the heat of her wealth, part of which comes as Globacom ambassador and decided to let loose what she has been holding together over the years. Her marriage produced one beautiful daughter.

Also Clarion Chukwura is one actress who has been married twice but is now single. She has laid the blame for her failed marriages as the price she has to pay as an artiste. While Eucharia Anunobi-Ekwu’s case was that of infidelity, she stated that she wanted her marriage with Charles Ekwu to last. But the ex-hubby had other plans as he depended on the actress for his own welfare and that of the family until he was caught red handed making love to their 13-year-old house girl.

As for Jennifer Eliogu and husband, the marriage crashed months after she delivered her second son where she lost her husband to a Swiss woman and their apartment at Lekki.

But for Fred Amata and Agatha, their case has always served as a case study of Nollywood couple whose marriage hit the rocks as a result of infidelity. Disappointedly, Ngozi Ezeonu was reported to have packed out of her matrimonial home many years ago on account of her husband’s alleged infidelity as he dumped her for another woman whom he got pregnant.

Then came Shan George who was believed to have first gotten married as a teenager but left the marriage after giving birth to two boys and later walked down the aisle with a US-based guy, Tony Nwaosisi, but found out that the man was married to another woman who had given him children at the time of his marriage to Shan, so she decided to quit the marriage for good.

But recently, Chika Ike, Nollywood actress, finally achieved her divorce from  her estranged husband but she may run the risk of being blacklisted by fans as loads of criticisms keep rocking her boat since she publicly announced that she’s officially divorced. While some said scenes from many of her movies might be responsible for her wanting to be single, others said it’s a move to get sympathy from fans.
The actress took to social network, Facebook, on July 29, 2013, to announce to her teeming fans that the court had finally granted her a divorce. “Hi fans. Thank you all for your love and support over the years. It’s been an emotional journey and I want to announce to you guys that the court has granted me a divorce. I’m now officially divorced. Thanks,” she posted. But in swift disgust, her fans seem not to be okay with the news as lashes of words started pouring in. While just few congratulated her and urged her to move on with her life, many didn’t find the news funny, criticising her of going public with her divorce as if it was a good development. According to Tracy, he frowned at her not being able to show a difference from other celebrities who couldn’t hold their marriages. He urged her to take her time to think instead of happily declaring that she has divorced. Prince Charming said: “What an announcement! Just more like a thanksgiving. Well, who knows, maybe it’s better this way for her.” Another fan by the name Flavia called Chika a “stupid woman” for being happy that she’s again a single woman when many ladies are out in search of men to call their own. According to another fan, he said the actress is lucky her ex-husband, Tony, has been quiet about it unlike Funke Kindele’s ex-husband who gave the actress a public disgrace. He advised her to move on with her life instead of washing her dirty linen in the public. “Chika we have heard you o! You are going around announcing your divorce as if it is a good thing. You are lucky that Tony is a good man and he is highly literate that he hid your secret. You know what you did now. Thank God you do not have an agbero husband like Funke Akindele’s husband who disgraced her in public. Take a chill pill and stop bringing his name into the news. The guy has moved on, so move on with your life. Very soon you’ll say you need your privacy. Learn to keep some things within the family,” He said.

Funke Akindele: For this sultry actress who has been in the movie industry since her teenage years, the news of her divorce was disheartening not only to family members but to her fans. In a statement she released confirming the divorce according to nigerianfilms.com, it read: “On behalf of our client, star actress, Funke Akindele, we want to formally inform you that after due consultation and consideration, she’s now separated from Mr Kehinde Oloyede as his wife.

She hereby urges her fans and all concerned to pray and wish her the best as she moves on in her career. Kindly note that this is the first and only official statement from Funke Akindele on this matter and she will be glad if her wish be respected.  Thank you.” So will this be the end for the actress or would she continue searching for the right man?

 Ini Edo: The media hype and jamboree of Ini Edo’s marriage was awesome when she got married to her Europe-based husband. In an interview with the actress, she stated the distance between them was not a problem as they knew how to sort themselves. But little did they know that things were not right as the news broke of their divorce. According to nigeriafilms.com, Ini Edo was not happy and the reason was that it was alleged that pressure was being mounted on her handsome husband, Philip Ehigwina, by his family members to dump the charming actress.
According to what tale bearers told nigeriafilms.com, Ini Edo’s in-laws are not happy that the glamorous actress hasn’t given them a child after about four years of marriage. “These Edo people are just too funny. They have already told Philip to send away Ini Edo since she can’t give them a child,” one of the gossips told nigeriafilms.com. Another said: “But come to think of it, why would Ini Edo’s in-laws interfere in her marriage?” This was quickly answered by the first busy-body. “That’s Edo culture for you. Their sons don’t have much say in their marriages.”

Culled from thisday

Osun pledges N35m towards Obadare’s burial

Government of the state of Osun has set aside N35 million as its contribution to the burial of a renowned Evangelist and Prophet, Apostle Timothy Obadare, in his home town, Ilesa, this weekend. Late Obadare, the founder and leader of World Soul Winning Evangelical Ministry, WOSEM, died March 21, this year and will be buried on August, 17 in Ilesa, Osun State.

Prophet T.O Obadare The state Commissioner for Finance, Economic Planning and Budget, Dr. Wale Bolorunduro, disclosed the contribution of the state government in a statement  in Osogbo yesterday. Dr. Bolorunduro described the late Prophet Obadare as one of the greatest spiritual icons and a sage who made the state proud.

He said the deceased had promoted the state beyond the shores of Nigeria during his missionary duties.

source:tribune

Dead’ Man Wakes Up, Grabs Bottle Of Water At Own Funeral

Onlookers were shocked when a man, who was said to be dead, suddenly got up and grabbed a bottle of water.

The soft drink vendor in China faked his own death in order to sue the government after an altercation with government employees. But his cover was blown when he became too hot in the Hubei Province, in central China. The heat was too much for him to bear.
The incident occurred around 4:00 pm, when more than 10 men held the “corpse” on a gurney covered with a white sheet near the Jianghan Road subway station in the provincial capital of Wuhan. The men protested and claimed that the government workers had beaten the vendor to death and they demanded tens of thousands of yuan in compensation.

More than 300 people gathered at the scene, and 80 police officers were sent to the scene to maintain order. After two hours of protest, the “dead” man suddenly stood up, grabbed a bottle of water and drank it before saying: “It’s too hot. I cannot take it anymore.” According to Human Rights Watch, many Chinese cities employ non-criminal law enforcement personnel called chengguan who work independently from police.
Their job is to monitor citizens compliance with sanitation, traffic, and environmental laws. The group is not very popular with the Chinese public after a series of high-profile violent incidents involving chengguan members. In the latest incident, six chengguan members were detained after a fruit seller in Hunan died after the group hit him on the head amid an altercation. The “dead” man, whose surname is Han, along with two others have, been arrested for disorderly conduct.

After being detained, Han told police that chengguan members clashed with vendors early in the day after claiming that their carts were blocking traffic. They told the vendors to leave before confiscating their mineral waters.

Aregbesola's Days In Office Are Numbered - PDP Aspirants

Four governorship aspirants of Osun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party have faulted the performance of Governor Rauf Aregbesola, saying the days of the governor in office are numbered.

 The aspirants, who addressed a joint news conference at the party's secretariat in Osogbo, on Monday, agreed to work collectively for the victory of the PDP in the 2014 governorship election.
The aspirants, who addressed the press conference, were a former Chairman, Senate Appropriation Committee, Chief Iyiola Omisore; a former Minister of Youth Development, Chief Olasunkanmi Akinlabi; a former Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Defence, Chief Oluwole Oke; and a former Secretary to Osun State Government, Alhaji Akinade Akinbade. State Chairman of the party, Alhaji Gani Olaoluwa, said the essence of the news conference was to present the aspirants to the media, adding that the forum also provided an opportunity for the supporters to know the manifesto of each aspirant.

The four aspirants separately condemned the beautification project embarked upon by the Aregbesola administration, saying it was wrong to demolish people's kiosks "in order to plant flowers." Specifically, Oke faulted the economic policies of the Aregbesola administration, saying "infrastructural development without socio-economic empowerment of the masses is wrong." Omisore said the state government should embark on the construction of state roads instead of constructing federal roads, whose costs would be refunded by the Federal Government.

Akinbade and Akinlabi challenged the governor to declare the debt profile of Osun State, stressing that the state government should devise creative means of generating funds than resulting to borrowing for all projects.

source:punch

Tonto Dikeh attempts suicide

It is really not easy to be a celebrity particularly if you are always in the news for all the wrong reasons Nollywood actress cum musician, Tonto Dikeh has been tagged as the most controversial celebrity because she is believed to have a thick skin – never cares about what people say about her on the different social media platforms – she doesn’t give a damn about what people think about her!

She actually do care… Days back, Linda Nkeji reported on her blog that the actress attempted committing suicide a few weeks back, due to outrageous comments she gets from critics on the various social media platforms.

 Here is Linda’s report below:

“Tonto Dikeh tried to commit suicide a few weeks back. Unbelievable, right? I heard everything that happened on that fateful day but decided not to write about it because it’s such a sensitive issue. She really wanted to end her own life but thank God for the intervention of good friends. If I write details of what happened that day, none of you will believe it. I was in shock myself.
All I will say now is please take it easy on her with your comments and attacks on social media. The only reason I’m writing about it now is because she kinda shared what happened to her on her instagram page but most people didn’t get what she was trying to say.

Also, like Tonto said, suicide is never the solution to any problem. This is for those who are contemplating it. Tonto posted this photo above on her instragram page and wrote below it..

“Woke Up happy and decided to share this. I  have been here before n I can tell you we are stronger than our problemz/painzetc.

That day I realized SUICIDE is for COWARDs. If you’ve got no1 to talk to like me, I suggest you start with GOD, diz shitzzzz crazy(world) but it iz Ourz dnt leave it in SHAME,I LOVE U”—Tonto Dikeh”

Guys Here Are Signs Your Girl Is Cheating On You!!!

The truth is, there is no such thing as a perfect relationship. Though you might be in love with your better half, there’s always a chance that she might be cheating on you.

Against what your macho mind might feel, you may not be the center of her universe after all. Stay calm, here is a top list of signs she’s cheating on you. While all the cheating signs that follow may not imply that she is in fact cheating on you, each is definitely a warning that something is amiss with your ladylove.

Depending on the scenario, you may need to look further for more signs she’s cheating on you.

1. She detaches herself from your family The fact that she no longer wants to attend your family’s functions or hang with your friends is one of our signs she’s cheating on you. This sign may be indicative of cheater’s remorse on her part, which means that she likely feels guilty about cheating.
The less she immerses herself in your circles (which contain people who are painful reminders of her sins), the less mental anguish she’ll have to endure.

2. She nags you incessantly Gone are the days when the two of you could communicate with harmonious precision. Now, every sentiment you express sets her off and she finds any excuse to lash out at you. If such an about-face sounds familiar, she may be subconsciously trying to justify her little tryst. Nagging you helps eliminate or at least ease her nagging guilt.
So if she habitually begins to point out your every flaw, you may want to get to the bottom of what’s really going on because it’s one of the signs she’s cheating on you.

3. She has a mysterious friend A telltale sign that your woman is cheating arises when a mysterious friend inches his way into the picture. Whether it’s someone she claims is a coworker or an old friend from way back, she keeps this friendship under wraps and is hesitant to share any general details about him, much less introduce you. And it doesn’t take a Ph.D. to figure out why.

4. She deflects simple questions You should be suspicious of your girlfriend when she refuses to answer the simplest and fairest of questions or answers questions only after repeating them back to you, which usually indicates a mind that’s searching for a lie.
Be wary of times when, rather than reveal that she got home at midnight, she begrudgingly asks, “Why do you want to know what time I left the coffee shop?” If she gets defensive about disclosing information that she used to volunteer without hesitation, she may be hiding something or someone and it’s one of the surest signs she’s cheating on you.

5. She shifts priorities away from you If she is involved in a hot and heavy romance with someone else, you’ll definitely feel a shift in her daily priorities. Suddenly, there are no more implied Sunday dates at the movies or something always comes up on dance-lesson Thursday.
There is a tendency for most philanderers to schedule meetings with their new flame as often as they can, which results in a complete disregard for previous engagements.

6. She puts more effort into looking sexy You may like her just the way she is, but that won’t stop her from trying to dazzle her new fling. Just as you tried to impress each other at the beginning of your relationship, she’ll try to impress her new flame with a sudden urge to improve her style, change her makeup and alter her physical appearance for the new man in her life.
 So, while her desire to look sexier is one thing, not caring about your opinion on the matter is quite another.

7. She becomes autonomous One of the biggest signs she’s cheating on you is her breaking away from your little two-person unit to become more autonomous. She has dropped ” we” from her vocabulary in favor of “I.” Moreover, she does more things on her own and stops consulting you about future plans. In short, she conducts herself in ways that hint that she no longer needs you to hold her hand.
Whether she’s hoping you’ll leave her or she’s simply looking for more time to lead her “double life,” it’s safe to conclude that she wants you out of the picture — she just can’t build up the nerve to leave you.

8. She is secretive about her schedule She may claim to no longer have time for any extracurricular activities with you, yet she has one foot out the door the minute one of her girlfriends calls. Either that or she has been “going away on business” one too many times.
And when she does leave, her whereabouts are sketchy at best and you are somehow always the last to know. Disclosing her itinerary to you at the last minute and overlooking your plans in the process can mean many things, one of which isn’t that she’s forgetting, but rather leaving you out.

9. You become irrelevant What could be worse than a girlfriend who nags you about absolutely everything? How about one who stops noticing that you’re even alive? All at once, she doesn’t care if you don’t want to go to the saloon with her; she’ll just find somebody else with whom to go.
And whatever opinion you may have, be it about how she looks or how you’re feeling, is met with a tepid response. In other words, she doesn’t place the same importance on what you think and what you do as she once did, especially on things that directly affect the relationship.

-RelationshipTips

GTBank Commences Instant Account Opening on Facebook

(GTB) Guaranty Trust Bank Plc has said it upgraded its social banking offering on Facebook to accommodate instant account opening. With this upgrade, a statement from the bank at the weekend said its prospective customers would be able to open accounts and immediately get their account numbers while on Facebook, without having to visit any GTBank branch.

Commenting on the new offering which went live recently, the Managing Director  GTBank, Mr. Segun Agbaje, said the upgrade would make it more convenient for people to commence banking relationships with the bank. Agbaje explained all potential customers had to do while on Facebook was fill the account opening form, upload their passport photograph and signature mandate and immediately get their account number.

Agbaje explained: “GTBank social banking is a unique offering pioneered by the bank earlier in the year that allows people open GTBank accounts, make account balance enquiries, perform money transfers and purchase Airtime on Facebook. The bank remains the leading Nigerian financial services provider in the social media space with over 1.3 million followers on Facebook alone, the largest following for any Nigerian company. “With Social Banking, GTBank has successfully introduced a new and effective platform through which its customers can get real-time customer service and perform transactions quickly, safely and at their convenience.”

According to the GTBank boss, the banking requirements of today’s customers necessitated a high degree of flexibility, which was why the bank instituted the value adding channels on social and other platforms  that allows people bank 24 hours, every day. GTBank was established in 1990 and has within the last 23 years come to be recognised as one of the most innovative and service focused banks in Nigeria.