Welcome to Francis Ndimkoha's Blog.

We Don't Want A Domestic President I have been amused, reading a number of jokes concerning the frequency of the President, Muhammadu Buhari’s foreign trips. by Garba Shehu Nov 29, 2015   I have been amused, reading a number of jokes concerning the frequency of the President, Muhammadu Buhari’s foreign trips. Questions have been raised about why so many visits, and what are the benefits Nigeria is getting? I will make it clear from the beginning that the critic is entitled to his and her opinion and nothing said here is intended to silence him or her. Criticism goes with the territory and as it is often said in a wisecrack, if you don't like the heat, get out of the kitchen. President M...

November 17, 2015Press Release The Nigerian Presidency has released a statement, saying a little above two billion Naira, not an outlandish six billion, has so far been spent on maintenance of the presidential air fleet between May and now. The amount spent, the government said, included salaries and repayment of old debts. In a statement in Abuja on Tuesday, Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media and Publicity) ”expressed frustration at what he described as a fictional report that has caused the government a lot of negative reviews especially in the online media”. The statement added, “The government is focused on solving the many major issues our country faces in the areas of the economy, corruption and security. Yet almost every week, the Presidency has to also deal with the distractions which do nothing but distract from the task of government.” ”Referring to documents he had requested from the Operational Office of the Presidential Fleet...

                                A Government ago (Apologies to Ibiwari Ikiriko, Oily Tears of The Delta) The Us and Them dichotomy and why we are way better... A government ago, we had a leadership that so lacked confidence in itself that it blamed every other mis-harp on sabotage and conspiracy. Boko Haram, they said, was a conspiracy and Buhari was said to be their leader. Fuel scarcity was a conspiracy, plotted to tarnish the image of the innocent lamb caged in the Zoo. A government ago... Opposition was a conspiracy. They just won't accept that the ruling party should exist in monopoly and rule in excess of six decades. Corruption hype was a conspiracy. People just love to blow whistle! A government ago... The media was biased as they all were being bankrolled by the oppo...

(Adamu Adamu is currently the Education Minister) ....With its 129 universities, 100-odd polytech-nics and 85 colleges of education and a very I-don’t-care attitude to higher education, Nigeria spends less than 1 per cent of its Gross National Income [0.85% to be precise]; while four of its smaller English-speaking African compatriot-states spend multiples of that: Ghana [2.85%], Egypt [3.9%], Zimbabwe [5.4%] and South Africa [7%]. And while the percentage of education expenditure to total national expenditure in Nigeria is a paltry 8.4%, South Africa spends 20%, Morocco spends 26.4%, Botswana 25.6% and French-speaking Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire spend 25.6% and 21.5% respectively. In spite of this, how Nigeria still dreams of joining the big league remains the biggest mystery. In what must now be seen by some as a joke, especially in view of its attitude to education, Nigeria has been saying it wants to be among the world’s top 20 economies by 2020. But after laugh...

AMAECHI RESUMES ... PLEDGES TO COMPLETE ALL ONGOING RAILWAY PROJECTS ... MINISTER OF STATE AVIATION SEEKS HARMONIOUS WORKING RELATIONSHIP The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has pledged to complete all ongoing rail projects around the country and extend rail lines to all parts of the country. Mr. Amaechi made the pledge during his first day in office as minister shortly after his inauguration by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja on Wednesday. He said he would resume work fully on Nov. 17 when the new Permanent Secretary, Sabiu Zakari, would equally assume duty at the ministry. The minister said his meeting with the Permanent Secretary and the Directors on November 17 would begin by looking at the budget and its level of implementation. He said the meeting would be necessary to chart a new course toward completing all ongoing projects, especially the rail and extending it to different part of the country. Mr. Amaechi, however, called for cooperation from all...

Here are 7 things you should know about Magu: 1- He served as head of the EFCC’s Economic Governance Unit (EGU) during the tenure of Nuhu Ribadu as chairman 2- Magu was arrested on August 4, 2008 following allegations that police discovered EFCC files and a computer containing classified documents at his Abuja residence. 3- During his time at the EFCC, he led investigations into the affairs of officials including former Delta Governor James Ibori and current Senate President, Bukola Saraki. 4- Magu is a recipient of USG and London Metropolitan Police institute training. 5- He reportedly worked with Ribadu to jail his brother-in-law and former Bank of the North chief, Shettima Bulama. Bulama was later pardoned by former President Goodluck Jonathan. 6- He is a member of the investigative committee convened by National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno on the orders of President Muhammadu Buhari to probe the procurement of arms in the Armed Forces from 200...

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Mr. Ibrahim Mustafa Magu as the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Mr. Magu, who is an Assistant Commissioner of Police is to take over from Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde who is proceeding on terminal leave ahead of the formal expiration of his tenure in February next year. Femi Adesina Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity) November 9, 2015

I congratulate Nigeria's first elected female Governor. I withdraw the eggs on my face - I said eggs on my face after celebrating her victory at the time only to be told that she had lost... Now it turns out she was rigged out by the temporary "winners" I put the eggs on Nigeria's face. Shame on Nigeria. Nigeria's first ever elected female Governor! "Because it's 2015", Justin Trudeau would say. And precisely because it's 2015, I cannot fully celebrate this victory. It is somewhat shadowed by something so ugly, so despicable about us Something that disqualifies us from membership of 2015. No consequences whatsoever for election heist. Those sacked by the tribunal in Taraba broke the law. They rigged an election. Stealing a mandate is worse than stealing money. The way I see it, it is treason against the only real power a democratic constitution gives the people - the power of the vote. That power is sacred. My broda...

  “If you give me a space, I occupy it. If you expand the space, I expand myself.” – Reuben Abati. The first car Dr. Reuben Abati bought was a Datsun or some Nissan product. Back then, when a popular actor or musician or, especially a journalist bought a car, it was news and I am talking about a second hand, tokunbo car. Things were a lot different in the 90s. We had Abacha but we didn’t have MTN or Glo or Airtel showering money on musical artistes the way they do now. Nigerian Breweries hadn’t even thought up Star Trek. So, when a star musician or actor bought a car and when I say star musician I mean Ras Kimono, Oris Wiliki, kind of stars, the magazines of the day like Fame, HINTS or Prime People would report it. So, when Reuben Abati, star columnist, bought his first car, it was big news and then he lost it. He had gone to Niteshift to let his hair down and when he came out the next morning, the car was gone, as in, disappeared. Dr. Abati was so distraugh...

  on November 04, 2015   ABUJA- President Mohammadu Buhari is expected to declare open a two day retreat for the confirmed ministerial nominees later this morning. The retreat which would run from today through Friday would hold at the presidential villa in Abuja. Presidential spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina confirmed the development to Vanguard late last night. “The retreat would open to moor in the villa”, he said. It is believed that the exercise would herald the inauguration of the ministers

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, on Tuesday announced it ha​d​ jettisoned the controversial Offshore Processing Arrangement in petroleum products supply in the country. The OP​A​, which became popular under former President Goodluck Jonathan administration, had attracted serious criticisms from Nigerians, who said it was difficult to get commensurate value of petroleum products from the volume of crude oil allocated for refining. In place of the OPA, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs of the Corporation, Ohi Alegbe, said the management of the corporation had opted for the Direct Sale-Direct Purchase alternative designed to enshrine transparency and eliminate the activities of middlemen in the crude oil exchange for product matrix. Mr. Alegbe explained that the DSDP option was preferable, as it would allow more efficiency with the direct sale of crude oil by NNPC as well as direct purchase of petroleum products from credible international re...