Innocent Ojefia Blog

I have consistently tried to create levels of differentiation between democracy and dictatorship, especially dictatorships of the military variant as we have had in Nigeria. I have argued that Nigeria is still very far away from the goalposts of what could be called a democratic society. In my view, the environment does not as yet look anything democratic because the actors are largely strangers to the ethos of democratic governance, and what is more, too many of them are tied to the old order, not to talk of the fact that the presence of General-presidents suggest that we are still in the thrall of militarism. Democracy thrives on debate, consensus building, negotiation, persuasion, argumentation, rule of law, process and inclusion. The military thrives in a coup culture, secrecy, betrayal, violence, command structure, exclusion and lack of transparency. That explains why I have always warned against describing the current charade of violent elections as democracy. I...

Mrs. Buhari also called for the regulation of social media, noting that China with about 1.3 billion people had done so. The President’s wife, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, has slammed state governors for failing to provide basic social amenities and infrastructure, noting that things were getting out of hand. The wife of the President spoke at the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs General Assembly and National Executive Council Meeting held at the National Mosque in Abuja on Friday. She said,  “We should either fasten our seatbelt or do the needful or we will all regret it very soon because, at the rate things are going, things are getting completely out of hand. The VP (Yemi Osinbajo) is here, some ministers are here, they are supposed to do justice to the situation. “People cannot afford potable water in this country while we have governors. Since this is the highest decision-making body of Islamic affairs, for those that are listening, we should fear God, and we ...

The governor Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa and the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, have identified youths restiveness, illegal development fees among others as the key issues hampering economic development in Urhoboland. They said the development had led several multi-national oil companies and others operating in Urhoboland to pull out of the area to other parts of the country for business. They made the observation on Friday 22nd November on their separate speeches during The Second Urhobo Economic and Investment Summit organised by the Urhobo Economic Summit Group. The Summit with the theme “Private Sector and the Future of the Nigerian economy: The Ease of Doing Business in Urhoboland” attracted several speakers including Dr. Benson Uwheru, Partner Advisory Services, Ernst and Young, who presented the keynote address. The event chaired by Engr. Mike Orugbo, also had in attendance, the Executive Director Business Development, NEXIM Bank, Mrs S...

Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, allegedly paid a whopping $2million in bribe to have Attorney General Abubakar Malami, raise a memo advising President Mohammadu Buhari to jettison the already screened board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, a source familiar with the deal told  pointblanknews.com The Senate recently confirmed  President Buhari’s 15 member   nominees for the  Niger Delta Development Commission  board while Buhari was away on a Private visit to the United Kingdom. Ex-Edo State Deputy  Governor Pius Odubu  was confirmed as Chairman of the board while Delta State’s Bernard Okumagba  was confirmed as Managing Director and Bayelsa State’s Maxwell Okoh as Executive Director of Finance and Administration. Others are  Prophet  Erue (Delta), Victor Ekhator (Edo), Otobong Ndem (Akwa Ibom), Nwogu Nwogu (Abia), Theodore Allison (Bayelsa), Maurice Effiwatt (Cross River), Uchegbu...

Nigeria is gripped in a macabre dance in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) where an ‘interim management committee’ is running the agency when the nominees for the board have been screened and confirmed for over two weeks now. This is without precedent in Nigeria or anywhere else. And it bothers a lot of people, especially considering the promise made by the current federal government to follow due process and the law. The law governing the NDDC, which is the NDDC Act of 2000, as amended, has no provision for the appointment of an interim management committee. No law in Nigeria provides for that situation. In fact the extant practice is that where interim management is in office in a State parastatal, it immediately vacates the position and ceases to exist once the substantive management is appointed in accordance with the law governing that parastatal or institution. In this particular instance, the NDDC Act provides that it will be run by a board nominated by the ...

  But as far back as 2014, Diepreye Dikibo, spokesman of the ex-Militant Leaders Forum in the Niger Delta, alleged that Onyema and Kingsley Kuku, former adviser to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta Affairs, used funds meant for the amnesty programme to float Air Peace. Kuku was the coordinator of the project while Onyema was a consultant. In a statement, Dikibo alleged that Onyema’s Foundation for Ethnic Harmony was one of the biggest beneficiaries of contracts from presidential amnesty programme. Below is the full statement from the spokesman of the ex-militant leaders: Read more at: Initially, there were rumors that Air Peace, a new Airline whose aircrafts have recently been cited at Lagos Airports belong to the First Lady Patience Faka Jonathan. That is all not true. We believe at this moment that those who churned out the story that the Airlines belonged to the First Lady did so deliberately to hide the truth and to mislead the people. The truth ...

On Friday, the United States department of justice announced that Allen Onyema, the chief executive officer of Air Peace, one of the leading airlines in Nigeria, had been  indicted for money laundering . The US authorities, which have reportedly issued warrant for Onyema’s arrest said he used several fraudulent letters of credit to American banks and initiated wire transfers to the tune of $44.9 million between 2010 and 2018. The funds were reportedly transferred from the Nigerian bank accounts of organizations founded by Onyema. They include Foundation for Ethnic Harmony, International Center for Non-Violence and Peace Development, All-Time Peace Media Communications Limited, and Every Child Limited. The Nigerian businessman has since denied the allegation, saying he is ready to clear his name. But as far back as 2014, Diepreye Dikibo, spokesman of the ex-Militant Leaders Forum in the Niger Delta, alleged that Onyema and Kingsley Kuku, a former adviser to ex-Pr...