I Was Let Down After My Struggle For Buhari Government – Pro-APC Blogger, Abusidiq

A pro-All Progressives Congress, APC government blogger, Mr. Abubakar Sidiq Usman, better known as Abusidiq, who was arrested and detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, over an alleged story he posted on his website, says he was let down despite his struggle for President Muhammadu Buhari-led government.

Abusidiq was however released on Tuesday evening by the anti-graft agency following general public criticisms.

However, after regaining his freedom, the Abuja-based political blogger took to his website to slam the Buhari administration for allegedly enabling acts that contradicted the spirit of his campaign.

He wrote: “This experience has stirred up broader conversations on the roles of our statutory established institutions, the parameters of our laws, and our civil liberties as citizens of our great Federal Republic.

“Moving forward, I will be pursuing all legal and constitutionally established avenues to ensure that this does not repeat itself.

“This is a government that I fought for. But occurrences like these are not the experiences that myself and millions of Nigerians have fought for.

“The reason(s) for my arrest will be made know to you all.

“I would like to thank my family, my friends, my legal team, the members of the All Progressives Congress Youth Forum (APYF), political parties, members of the Nigerian online community irrespective of their affiliations, and hundreds of thousands of Nigerians who in one way or another spoke out against my unconstitutional detention by the EFCC.

“Your tweets, posts, and demands for the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of speech led to my release and the victory that we have achieved today.

“I hope that we can use this to rectify the wrongs in our system towards the attainment of a more sustainable democracy.

“Thank you all for the love and support you showed me,” he added.

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S H O C K E R: Repent Of Your Lies, God Does Not Speak To You – Nigerian US-Based Doctor Blasts Pastor Adeboye

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, Pastor Adeboye's marriage warning has continued to generate heat on the social media.

There was frenzy on social media recently over the advice by Pastor Adeboye to young men and women.

However, a Nigerian US-based medical doctor, Dr. Ijabla Raymond, in his own reaction, says he is convinced God does not speak to Pastor Adeboye.

The US-based medical doctor, in an open letter, wrote on his Facebook page thus: “The question that has been on my mind is: does that mean God is deaf? What parent makes their child beg (for one hour) for something they know the child needs? The truth is that prayers, besides making the believer to feel good about themselves, are an absolute waste of time.

“They do not grow the economy or an amputated limb. Youth unemployment is at an all-time high despite our regular night vigils, prayers and supplications – it is evident that a God who is interested in human welfare does not exist. If He did, malaria and cancers will not kill millions of children whilst He preoccupies Himself with consensual sex between homosexual cWouples.

“In our country, pastors are marriage counsellors, psychotherapists, psychiatrists and financial advisers all at once even though they are not appropriately trained for these roles. They tell women to go back to their violent husbands because, according to them, divorce is a sin against God. Many a woman has lost her life because of this advice. People like Adeboye are so influential anything they say is taken as the literal truth.

“Sadly, his comments portray a man who is out of touch with the realities of modern family life. More and more women are now in employment and some of them are the main providers for their families. Marriage is now regarded as a partnership rather than as a master-servant relationship. Some of the most celebrated chefs in western cultures are men – what is wrong with teaching our boys and young men to cook for themselves? Adeboye has similarly instructed his female followers not to marry men without jobs. But what happens when a man loses his job – should his wife divorce him?

“I feel sorry for the people who think God speaks through this man or through any man at all.

“If you want incontrovertible evidence that religion cannot reform the world, then consider the degree of theft and corruption in Nigeria. These problems have become endemic even though practically every Nigerian is a practising Muslim or Christian.

“Nigerian pastors have acquired a taste for private jets – ostensibly to reach the parts of the world that need the gospel of Jesus, except that they avoid such places as Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia and Iraq. Charity begins at home – it is senseless to run off to put out the fire in your neighbour’s house when your own house is up in flames.

“Nigerians and their country are in dire need of salvation from endemic corruption. It is evident that religion cannot transform our nation because as our religious devotions have increased, so have our corrupt ways.

“Pastor Adeboye and his other pastopreneur friends need to sell off their jets, repent of their lies, stop robbing their church members through emotional blackmail, and give back what they have stolen. Their message has failed. Adeboye’s gaffes were followed by the news that the Nigerian government is going to subsidise pilgrimage to Mecca by granting Muslims concessionary exchange rate.

“That is almost N8 billion for an exercise that does not benefit our economy. Many businesses are failing, parents are struggling to send their children to school, our hospitals are poorly resourced but that is how our government chooses to spend N8 billion. And believers wonder why we cannot stop talking about religion. There would be no use to criticise religion if it is removed from public space and kept as a private matter. It is wrong for the government to use tax payer’s money to subsidise religious rituals.

“The week ended with the RCCG convention where Adeboye makes his usual wild claims but says nothing of consequence about our nation. Our Vice President and a professor of law, Yemi Osibanjo, who also happens to be a pastor in the Redeemed Church watched on as Adeboye went to town with his preposterous claims.

“For a man who claims to have resurrected dead people, cured all kinds of diseases and driven a car without feel, you would think Adeboye would have told Vice President Osibanjo by now where to locate the abducted Chibok girls, right? But no, another RCCG convention has ended and not a word about their whereabout.

“When Adeboye claims that his car drives without fuel or that he has resurrected dead people and there’s a medical doctor, engineer, architect, research fellow, PhD holder or a professor in the congregation who believes this fantasy then I feel grief and have great concern for the education system that has nurtured such people.

“Religion has caused more harm than it has done good to African societies. Without a doubt, Adeboye and his fellow pastopreneurs have been responsible for the corruption in the way a generation of Nigerians think. But judging by the reactions to his sermon on social media, I think it is safe to say that the scales are starting to fall off the eyes of believers. I believe that pastor Adeboye will think twice now before re-telling his favourite story of how his car drives without fuel.

“I am thankful for the Internet and how it has placed knowledge at the fingertips (literally) of ordinary people. I pay tribute to fellow secularists for their unrelenting effort to liberate the minds of our people from the shackles of religion. Despite my grief, I feel hopeful about the future.”

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A Letter From Jesus

Ruth went to her mail box and there was only one letter. 

She picked it up and looked at it before opening, but then she looked at the envelope again. There was no stamp, no postmark, only her name and address.

She read the letter:

Dear Ruth:
I`m going to be in your neighborhood Saturday afternoon and I'd like to stop by for a visit.
Love Always,
Jesus

Her hands were shaking as she placed the letter on the table. 'Why would the Lord want to visit me?

I'm nobody special. I don't have anything to offer..'

With that thought, Ruth remembered her empty kitchen cabinets.

'Oh my goodness, I really don't have anything to offer. I'll have to run down to the store and buy something for dinner.'

She reached for her purse and counted out its contents. Five dollars and forty cents.

Well, I can get some bread and cold cuts, at least..'

She threw on her coat and hurried out the door.

A loaf of French bread, a half-pound of sliced Turkey, and a carton of milk...leaving Ruth with grand total twelve cents to last her until Monday…

Nonetheless, she felt good as she headed home, her meager offerings tucked under her arm.

'Hey lady, can you help us, lady?'

Ruth had been so absorbed in her dinner plans, she hadn't even noticed two figures huddled in the alleyway.

A man and a woman, both of them dressed in little more than rags.
'Look lady, I ain't got a job, you know, and my wife and I have been living out here on the street, and, well, now it's getting cold and we're getting kinda hungry and, well, if you could help us. Lady, we'd really appreciate it.'  Ruth looked at them both. They were dirty, they smelled bad and frankly, she was certain that they could get some kind of work if they really wanted to…

'Sir, I'd like to help you, but I'm a poor woman myself. All I have is a few cold cuts and some bread, and I'm having an important guest for dinner tonight and I was planning on serving that to Him.' 'Yeah, well, okay lady, I understand. Thanks anyway.'

The man put his arm around the woman's shoulders, turned and headed back into the alley.

As she watched them leave, Ruth felt a familiar twinge in her heart. 'Sir, wait!'

The couple stopped and turned as she ran down the alley after them.

'Look, why don't you take this food. I'll figure out something else to serve my guest.' She handed the man her grocery bag.

'Thank you lady. Thank you very much!'

'Yes, thank you!' It was the man's wife, and Ruth could see now that she was shivering 'You know, I've got another coat at home.

Here, why don't you take this one.'  Ruth unbuttoned her jacket and slipped it over the woman's shoulders.

Then smiling, she turned and walked back to the street ....without her coat and with nothing to serve her guest.
'Thank you lady!
Thank you very much!'

Ruth was chilled by the time she reached her front door, and worried too.

The Lord was coming to visit and she didn't have anything to offer Him.

She fumbled through her purse for the door key. But as she did, she noticed another envelope in her mailbox.'That's odd. The mailman doesn't usually come twice in one day.'

Dear Ruth:
It was so good to see you again. Thank you for the lovely meal. And thank you, too, for the beautiful coat.
Love Always,
Jesus

The air was still cold, but even without her coat, Ruth no longer noticed. Matthew 25:35-40.

Source: Unknown.

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Goodluck Jonathan Cries Out Over Plots To Assassinate Him

Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, in a statement made by his media aide, Ikechukwu Eze has raised an alarm that his life is under threat by the militants group MEND.

The statement by Jonathan also said the list of sponsors by the splinter group Reformed Niger Delta Avengers (RNDA) was political, adding that it was part of an attempt to assassinate him.

The statement read in part: “Since it is not in our place to speak for all those named in the obvious fabrication, we are only intervening to the extent that its hidden intent poses a violent threat to the life of former President Goodluck Jonathan, a committed patriot.

“We are seized by the feeling of déjà vu occasioned by the resurrection of one dim character masquerading as Cynthia Whyte, who had in the past served as the spokesperson for a notorious group that had all along shown its hand to be going after the life of former President Jonathan.”

The former President recalled that in 2007, after he emerged as the running mate of the late President Umar Yar’Adua, the group invaded Yenogoa in an effort to assassinate him.

He added that the members of the group later bombed his compound in Otuoke, Bayelsa state, on a night he was scheduled to attend to an important matter in his country home.

“Do we need to remind anybody that the so-called Cynthia Whyte is the self-declared spokesperson for the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta, a violent and murderous underground group led by one Henry Okah, which has not hidden its intention to destroy the former President?” Jonathan stressed.

According to him, the bombing that took place on October 1, 2010 at the Eagle Square, Abuja, showed that the group was violent.

GEJ noted that: “We have no doubt in our mind that MEND, as a group contracted to go after Jonathan with the mind of assassinating him, has yet to abandon this criminal and ignominious craving. It is in this light that we view the purported statement issued by Cynthia Whyte as not only a sadistic continuation of this sick desire, but also a futile attempt to instigate the Federal Government to needlessly go after the former President.

“Those who have been following the unsavoury developments in some parts of the country since the last general election would have noticed that MEND, its paymasters and other unscrupulous elements in the South-South region have been striving fruitlessly to exploit the ensuing confusion by surreptitiously working for the fulfilment of its yet-to-be declared political agenda.

“We are not under any illusion that more accusations and allegations of this nature would not be hurled Jonathan’s way in the future. But we are very positive that he can never be fazed by such negative energy.”

A group, which split from the NDA – Reformed Niger Delta Avengers – had named Jonathan as the grand patron of the NDA.
An online medium, Sahara Reporters, reported that in a statement by its spokesperson, Cynthia Whyte, the RNDA also listed the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, and the Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, as sponsors of the NDA.

Others mentioned in the list were Chief Edwin Clark, a former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator Godswill Akpabio; ex-militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo (alias Tompolo); the founder, African Independent Television, Raymond Dokpesi; Kingsley Kuku; Kimi Angozi, and Patrick Akpobolokemi.

According to Sahara Reporters, the group said the NDA sympathisers are Daniel Alabrah; Tony Uranta, Daniel; Ms. Annkio Briggs, and a former spokesman for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh.

The Reformed Niger Delta Avengers also named Oyege Nimi Brown, VIP Timothy, Joshua Macaiver, Paul Bebenimibo, among others, as the main operatives of the NDA.

It added that the President of the Ijaw Youth Council, Udengs Eradiri, aka Brig. Gen. Murdoch Agbinibo, served as the NDA’s chief spokesman.

Also, Clark, who spoke through his lawyer, Mr. Dotun Sowemimo, wondered why he would be mentioned as one of the sponsors of such a heinous crime against the nation.

He said: “The allegation is an attempt to undermine the efforts of the Niger Delta leaders to bring true, lasting peace to the region.

“Clark and other leaders in the region believe in the unity of Nigeria. The list is a cheap lie, which is meant to distract the peace moves by the elders and leaders in the Niger Delta.”

On his part, Wike, who spoke through his Special Assistant on Electronic Media, Mr Simeon Nwakaudu, said the list should be ignored by the members of the public.

Dokpesi, also distanced himself from the Niger Delta Avengers. Dokpesi in an interview with The Punch on Sunday in Abuja, said he remained committed to strengthening the unity and stability of Nigeria.

He said, “I don’t know who is giving that report; I have never met any member of the NDA in my life, I have no association with them and I don’t know who they are. I have been committed to strengthening the unity and stability of the country.”

Also denying the allegation, Metuh said he had nothing to do with the NDA . He said: “Ordinarily, I would not have responded to this, but on this occasion, I have chosen to respond, as this particularly borders on matters affecting national security.

“This is a wicked, cruel and devilish plot to link me with such activities, especially as the claim is outright false.’’

A former spokesman for the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, also denied being a sympathiser of the NDA.

Alabrah said in a statement on Sunday that the report was a product of mischief designed to distract the Federal Government from decisively addressing the resurgence of militancy in the Niger Delta.

The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio, denied being a sponsor of the Niger Delta Avengers or any other militant group.

In a statement on Sunday by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr Anietie Ekong, the former Governor of Akwa Ibom state described the allegation as “baseless, reckless and senseless.”

The statement read in part, “Senator Akpabio has no link with the Niger Delta Avengers or any other militant group for that matter.’’

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PDP Is Gasping For Breath —Obasanjo

His Excellency, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, former Nigeria President,  in a statement, signed by his media aide , Kehinde Akinyemi, and made available to newsmen, denied attending the Peoples Democratic Party , PDP, event at the Shehu Musa Yar’adua Centre, Abuja , saying it was an attempt to drag him back to the party he had left.

While reacting to a photo news which went viral on social media, where he was alleged to have attended a PDP event held in Abuja, Obasanjo said he had left the party when it was alive and bubbling, and, therefore, he could not have rejoined now when the party was divided, factionalised and gasping for breath.

But, Obasanjo, while reacting to the issue in a statement titled “ Photonews story of Obasanjo “spotted“ at PDP event, declared: “Believe it and believe that your mother is not a woman“, maintained that he was invited by the Commodities Association Stakeholders.

The statement read in part: “His conclusion was that he has told the world that he has quit partisan politics and that is final. Anybody hoping to drag him back will fail like any man feeding mice to a dead cat. “Those who know me, know that I have publicly announced my quitting partisan politics and those who will believe the purported story will believe anybody who tells him that his or her mother is not a woman.

“If I quit a party when it was alive and seemingly united, how could I go back to a now divided, factionalised party gasping for breath?

“To clear the minds of doubting Thomases and those behind the orchestrated news in circulation and particularly those who had been calling to ascertain what actually happened at the Shehu Musa Yar’adua centre is explained below.

“On the invitation of the Commodities Association Stakeholders, His Excellency, was invited to the “Zero Hunger Nigeria” event at the Centre. He arrived at about 10.00am and immediately moved to the meeting.

“The meeting commenced but few minutes into the session, his attention was drawn to the presence of some people walking up to where he was seated. At closer glance, he recognised them to be politicians and they exchanged pleasantries, saying they came to greet him and they walked out again from the meeting. “The former President cracked jokes with them calling them “invaders and gate crashers”,

“The programme ended and immediately he and his entourage headed back to Lagos. He was barely hours in Lagos when he started receiving calls from both far and near, wanting to find out about his presence at a political party programme in Abuja.

“The photo news in circulation, which claimed that he was spotted at a political party event is therefore mischievous, as a responsible journalist ought to have gone further to ascertain his actual destination in and among the number of venues at the centre and not taking photograph of his alighting from his vehicle to read another meaning.

“ Shocking, also, is to note that the picture was actually taken while on his way out of the Centre after the programme he had attended had finished.

“This is the height of irresponsible journalism, which the former President is calling for its investigation and sanction on anybody involved in order to serve as deterrent to others who may want to be used, either by omission or commission, to misinform the public on such sensitive issue”, the statement concluded

NOI BEGGED ME: Read What Amaechi Said About Jonathan, Okonjo-Iweala

The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has absolved the Buhari- led federal government of any blame instead claiming that the current economic recession in the country started under the leadership of former President, Goodluck Jonathan and former Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

The Cable quoted Amaechi as making this claim on the Osasu Show yesterday.

According to the report, Amaechi alleged that Okonjo-Iweala begged him to stop saying Nigeria was broke in order not to drive away investors from the country.

He said, “People just pick up words without knowing what they mean. Even under Goodluck (Jonathan) we went into recession.

“I am one of those who participated in the budget. We looked at what happened in the past and we discovered that actually if recession means three times (three quarters of negative economic growth), we have done more than the three times before we came in.

“The difference is that while our government is transparent and open, we are able to admit that, the Federal Government was saying even to me as chairman of governor’s forum, ‘Amaechi, don’t say that again’.

“If you remember as governor, I said we were broke. The minister of finance came to my office in Abuja and pleaded with me that I shouldn’t say it again. That if I said it, it would affect Nigeria in terms of investment; that investors will run away. That I shouldn’t say we are broke. I should say we are cash-strapped. That was what Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told me.

“So, I knew as chairman of Nigeria Governors’ forum, that we had gone into recession under Goodluck. I knew as chairman of governor’s forum. And when I open my mouth to say it, that we are broke, she spoke to me not to say it.”

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MAN BEATS POLICEMAN FOR ALLEGEDLY PREVENTING HIM FROM KILLING GIRLFRIEND

Uchenna Okeke, A 26-year-old trader in Lagos, appeared in an Ikeja Magistrates' Court for allegedly beating up a policeman  The trader who is a resident of Oluwalimu Street, Ikeja, Lagos, is being tried for breach of peace and assault.  Insp. George Nwosu, the lead prosecutor told the court that the accused committed the offences on June 11 at Ikeja, Lagos. The prosecutor said the accused unlawfully assaulted a policeman in uniform attached to MAN Centre Police station for preventing him from killing his girlfriend.   Okeke pleaded innocence of the offences and was granted bail in the sum of N100,000 with two sureties in like sum.

   The Magistrate, Mr A.A Adesanya, adjourned the case till July 6 for mention.