Innocent Ojefia Blog

The former Minister of aviation has come out hard on the IGP and the Police authorities for sending mainly southern and Christian policemen to fight Boko Haram.   Fani-Kayode writing on his Twitter Page said the officers absconded because 91 percent were Christian and 88 percent were southerners. He said, “Out of the 167 “runaway policemen” that were assigned to fight Boko Haram, 91 percent were Christian and 88 percent were southerners. Can you blame them for running? No matter how many Christmas carols he sings, Buhari's ethnic and religious agenda is becoming more obvious by the day.

The presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has asked relevant agencies to investigate President Muhammadu Buhari’s family’s alleged ownership of shares in the Etisalat Nigeria and Keystone Bank. Atiku, in a statement yesterday by his Special Assistant to Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said: “Such a probe was necessary in view of reports that members of President Muhammadu Buhari’s family now own substantial share in Etisalat Nigeria which has an estimated $2bn of its estimated $20bn global net worth.” Atiku said he was shocked by “reports from unimpeachable sources that the first family now plays big in the nation’s financial sector after acquiring mouth-watering shares in Keystone Bank with total assets of $1.916bn as well as purchasing about  ₦3bn worth of shares in the new Pakistani Islamic Bank. “I know that last week was turbulent for President Buhari and I apologize for adding to his woes, but he is insisting on the myth that ...

A week after he stuttered at the vice-presidential debate in Abuja, as result of functioning in Lai’s lane, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo was at the palace of the Alaafin of Oyo last weekend to shred whatever vestige of credibility he has left for crass political opportunism. The otherwise cerebral professor did not have to stammer this time around as he sang the scoundrel song his two other Lagos competitors (Messrs Bola Tinubu and Raji Fashola have been miming) for the illusory 2023 presidential slot: a vote for Buhari is the surest route to Yoruba presidency in 2023. Our elders from the depth of their wisdom said a leaf that glues with soap for long begins to foam and so it has become with Osinbajo playing cheap ethnic card to divide when the position he occupies requires unifying all sections of the country. We belong to everybody has always been lip service for them all. Before going into Osinbajo’s outing in Oyo, let’s fill in some gaps. The hornet’s nest was stirred by ...

The Governor Delta State, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa has signed the 2019 Appropriation Bill of 390.3 billion naira  into law. The governor signed the bill in Asaba, saying early signing of the bill into law will give his administration room to utilise the dry season to engage in construction works. According to the governor, "this is very important for governance, because, it gives us room to utilize the dry season to construct roads and provide other infrastructures before the commencement of the rainy season." The 2019 Budget is made of capital expenditure of 233.2 billion naira and a recurrent expenditure of  157.1 billion naira. He commended the Delta State House of Assembly for the early passage of the appropriation bill, describing the state legislature as great partners in the delivery of dividends of democracy to Deltans. "With the signing of the appropriation bill into law today, it means power has been given to the executive to start implement...

On 24th December 2015, about seven months into President Buhari’s reign I had mused in this space ‘Buhari’s first Christmas’. I urge readers to Google it and read and see how nothing fundamental has changed in the administration positively and appreciate why writing on the last Christmas was necessary. What actually informed the topic then was a look back at a statement issued on 24th December, 2014 by the then spokesman of the main opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), who is now the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammad which he titled, “This is your last Christmas in bondage.” In the statement he had painted a gory picture of the situation against the ruling government of President Goodluck Jonathan and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), hear him: “Many cannot travel home due to fear of kidnapping, ethnoreligious crisis and insurgency, depending on which part of the country they are from. Many cannot celebrate due to the effects of the econo...

The practice of College Old Boys or Old Girls Associations recognizing, honoring and celebrating only those who attain political, professional or material status in life is selective and discriminatory. We should be human and spiritual, to equally appreciate those among us who were once our childhood colleagues, but unable to rise to the material heights of life. We should recognize and honor as well as help those who ‘couldn’t make it in life’. They are not failures in life, they are those not privileged by fate to acquire or assume the vanities or the ephemeralities of life. Old Boys and Old Girls Association should be a reunion of souls, to recount the good old days of brotherly or sisterly unconditional love and celebrate the wrinkles, baldness and the grey hairs that marked our mileage. It should be a place to recall history with jokes and smiles and prayers for those who departed earlier than us. The prevailing situations in most old Boys and Girls meeting is that i...

The Governor Delta State, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa has called on Deltans to vote for all the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 general elections to ensure continuous dividends of democracy. The governor made the call at Ozoro, Isoko North local government area of the state during an empowerment programme organized by Mr. Jay Ogor, a businessman and younger brother of the Minority Leader of House of Representatives, Hon Leo Ogor. According to Governor Okowa who spoke through the State Director of Protocol, Mr. Ifeanyi Eboigbe, a vote for all the candidates of the PDP will guarantee adequate provision of infrastructure and wealth creation for the people of the state. The Okowa said; “I am very pleased with my brother, Mr. Jay Ogor; I am happy seeing Isoko people in their large numbers here today, adding "Seeing the items here put together for this empowerment today, I cannot, but say thank you.”  "This kind of empowerment can only be done by ...

The Governor Delta State, Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa and former Governor of the state, Chief James Ibori have called on Christians to be actively involved in evangelism to win souls for Christ.  They spoke at the 25th anniversary celebration of Divine Way Baptist Church, Asaba. "Soul winning is the call of every Christian," Governor Okowa stated, noting that while befitting structures are necessary for the comfort of those who worship God, the greatest task before every Christian is to win more souls for Christ. He commended the Divine-Way Baptist Church for midwifing the birth of several churches, observing that it was important for more people to know the importance of serving God. "I am glad that this Church has grown and is more interested in soul winning," the governor asserted and used the occasion to call on Christians to reconcile themselves with God as they celebrate Christmas. He stated, "this is a season to rejoice because of the birth o...

Controversy trailed Wednesday’s revelation by the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) that the excess crude revenue account savings have been depleted to only $631 million within three weeks. Barely three weeks ago, Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, disclosed at the end of the committee’s meeting in Kaduna on November 25, 2018, that the balance in the account stood at about $2.319 billion. It was not clear how about $1.688 billion, almost 73 percent, left the account in a space of three weeks. Excess Crude Account is a special account established to warehouse excess revenues from the prevailing crude oil price at the international market. Income generated above the approved crude oil benchmark price in the annual budget is saved in the account. Withdrawal from the account is subject to the approval of the three tiers of government and the Executive Council of the Federation (FEC). It was not clear when the decision to draw from the account was taken and for w...

Mike Daramola, a trader who deals in soaps and detergents at Sabo market, Ikorodu, Lagos, knew that the sum of N10,000, which the Federal Government was giving out in the first phase of the TraderMoni scheme, would not do much to boost his business; still, he had so much expectations and hope in the programme. TraderMoni, a collateral-free loan targeted at petty traders and artisans, is part of the National Social Investment Programme, under the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, through which the Federal Government says it intends to bridge the credit gap and empower Nigerians at the grassroots.   Beneficiaries of TraderMoni, which is being coordinated by the Bank of Industry and the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, a unit in the Office of the Vice President, have six months to repay the loan with flexible options of N85 daily or N430 weekly. The beneficiaries, who receive an initial loan of N10,000, will qualify to obtain further loans of N...