Don’t contest in 2019, Obasanjo warns Buhari

By Muyiwa Adeyemi (Ibadan), Azimazi Momoh Jimoh, Adamu Abuh, Terhemba Daka and Kingsley Jeremiah (Abuja) Seye Olumide (Lagos), Charles Coffie Gyamfi (Abeokuta) and Emmanuel Ande (Yola) 

President Muhammadu Buhari right welcoming Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and APC former Chairman Chief Bisi Akande to the close door meeting at the State House Abuja yesterday….Photos:Phillip Ojisua .

• PDP, others concur, presidency, APC silent
• Aso Rock in secret talks with Tinubu, Akande
• Crisis hits CAN over alleged 2019 endorsement Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday, warned President Muhammadu Buhari not to seek re-election in the 2019 polls.He urged the incumbent not to “over push his luck” or “over tax the patience and tolerance of Nigerians, no matter what his self-serving, so-called advisers” say.
Obasanjo also cautioned that the factors that made Nigerians vote out Buhari’s predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, was again at play.
In a letter titled, ‘The Way Out: A Clarion Call For Coalition For Nigeria Movement’, he maintained that Buhari needed a “dignified and honourable dismount from the horse. He needs to have time to reflect, refurbish physically and recoup. And after appropriate rest, once again, join the stock of Nigerian leaders whose experience, influence, wisdom and outreach can be deployed on the sidelines for the good of the country.”
He said: “Without impaired health and the strain of age, running the affairs of Nigeria is a 25/7 affair, not 24/7,” and appealed to Buhari to “consider a deserved rest at this point in time and at this age.”He stressed: “President Buhari does not necessarily need to heed my advice,” but insisted: “Whether or not he heeds it, Nigeria needs to move on and move forward.”
Femi Adesina, Buhari’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, had in a recent interview in Abuja disclosed that the state of the President’s health could determine whether he seeks re-election or not. “Health is wealth. ‎The President is not a frivolous person. If he thinks that his health cannot carry anything, he will not do it. So, of course, his health will matter a lot,” Adesina said.
The former president accused the Buhari-led government of “wittingly or unwittingly” allowing the herdsmen crisis to “turn sour and messy.” According to him, “It is no credit to the Federal Government that the herdsmen rampage continues with careless abandon and without an effective solution.”He noted that it was a “sad symptom of insensitivity and callousness” that some governors, barely 24 hours after 73 victims of the Benue massacre were buried, jubilantly endorsed Buhari for a second term.
“The timing was most unfortunate. The issue of herdsmen/crop farmers’ dichotomy should not be left on the political platform of blame game. The Federal Government must take the lead in bringing about a solution that protects the life and property of herdsmen and crop farmers alike and make them live amicably in the same community.”
Obasanjo listed three cardinal sins of the current administration. He cited “nepotistic deployment, bordering on clannishness and inability to bring discipline to bear on errant members of his nepotistic court. It would appear that national interest was being sacrificed on the altar of nepotistic interest, or what does one make of a case like Maina’s?”
The second, according to Obasanjo, was a “poor understanding of the dynamics of internal politics. This has led to wittingly or unwittingly making the nation more divided, with inequality widening and becoming more pronounced. It also has effect on general national security.”
The third, Obasanjo noted, was “passing the buck.” He said blaming the Governor of the Central Bank for devaluation of the naira by about 70 per cent and blaming past governments “is to say the least, not accepting one’s own responsibility. Let nobody deceive us, economy feeds on politics and because our politics is depressing, our economy is even more depressing today. If things were good, President Buhari would not have needed to come in. He was voted to fix things that were bad and not engage in the blame game.”
Pre-empting public response, the former president said: “Some may ask, ‘what does Obasanjo want again? Obasanjo has wanted nothing other than the best for Nigeria and Nigerians. And he will continue to want nothing less.”He called for the establishment of a ‘Coalition for Nigeria’, a body that “needs not be a political party” and which would “salvage and redeem” the nation. “This Coalition will be a movement that will drive Nigeria up and forward. It must have a pride of place for all Nigerians, particularly for our youth and our women. It is a coalition of hope for all Nigerians for speedy, quality and equal development, security, unity, prosperity and progress. It is a coalition to banish poverty, insecurity and despair.”
The National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bolaji Abdullahi, “asked to be given the opportunity to study the statement,” saying: “We shall respond appropriately afterwards.”The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), however, described Obasanjo’s advice as courageous, timeous and patriotic.

The National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondinyan, in a statement, yesterday, said APC’s failure were obvious and that Nigerians had already resolved to vote them out in 2019.
Obasanjo’s counsel, Ologbondinyan said, had rekindled people’s fate in the democratic process. He noted, however, that solution does not lie in creating another political quicksand in a third force but rather consolidating on a rescue mission with the repositioned PDP.

The Action Democratic Party’s National Secretary, James Okoroma, said: “Obasanjo’s description of Buhari as clannish and nepotistic was apt. Buhari’s lopsided appointments in favour of his Fulani kinsmen make him unworthy of leading other Nigerians. He remains a disappointment to the nation. His lack of capacity, vindictiveness, narrow mindedness and shallow understanding of global politics, make him a bad choice for the future of Nigeria.”
The National Chairman of the United Progressives Congress, Chekwas Okorie, described Obasanjo’s warning as timely, noting that the current administration had done more harm to the unity of the country than any other.Also, the Chairman of the National Conscience Party, Tanko Yinusa, advised Buhari to heed Obasanjo’s counsel, adding: “The most surprising thing is the President’s refusal to visit the killing fields in Benue, Numan, Taraba and other parts of the country where his kinsmen unleashed terror on the people.”
President General of the Urhobo Progressive Union, Olorogun Moses Taiga, said: “I reason in line with the former president and I suggest Buhari should start looking out for a younger person to replace him, a person that will be concerned and compassionate about the interest of minorities in the country. The economy is down and it needs someone with strength and ideas to revive it.”The President, Yoruba Council of Elders, Chief Sofola, urged Buhari to “follow the examples of former presidents of South Africa and Tanzania, Nelson Mandela and Julius Nyerere, and leave the podium now that the ovation is louder and go and look after (his) health.” He also warned Buhari not to stretch his luck too far.
The presidential candidate of the National Action Council (NAC), Dr. Olapade Agoro, enjoined Buhari to heed the call not to re-contest.He said with the enormous security and economic challenges facing the nation, “those urging Mr. President to go on are not only his enemies but are also self-interest serving infidels, enemies of humanity, truth and good conscience.”
Also reacting to Obasanjo’s letter, the Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Ibrahim Musa, said: “President Buhari should take the advice of Obasanjo, to be able to conclude and concentrate on his first term in office and provide quality leadership. If he does this, the international community will see him as another Mandela in Africa.”
Meanwhile, Buhari, yesterday, held a closed-door meeting with APC National Leader, Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the former Interim National Chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.The duo arrived few hours after Obasanjo made his letter to Buhari public.Before the meeting, Tinubu told curious reporters: “Please, go back to where you are coming from. I will not talk to you. Don’t turn me into a talkative.”
After the meeting, which lasted about one hour, the APC leaders left the Villa unannounced. The Presidency has kept sealed lips over Obasanjo’s comments, with the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, saying: “We are not commenting now.”
In a related development, a crisis seems to be brewing between the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Youth Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (YOWICAN) over the endorsement of Buhari for a second term.YOWICAN is alleging a plot by CAN to remove its President, Mr. Daniel Kadzai, for refusing to back Buhari’s re-election, vowing to resist the move.
The group said an illegal election slated for Saturday, this week, was hurriedly fixed after Kadzai rejected the idea of endorsing Buhari in return for alleged financial gratification.In a statement in Yola after an emergency meeting, the group said: “If they insist, we shall resist their manipulations to destroy the structure of the voice of Christian youths in Nigeria. We shall fight and resist to every inch and with the last pint of our blood.”
YOWICAN wondered why a call for election was being made by CAN 10 months before the expiration of Kadzai’s tenure.“We are pleading with our CAN leaders and Nigerian Christian stakeholders to intervene in yet another thick manipulation at the CAN headquarters over premature YOWICAN elections to install a stooge towards the 2019 general elections,” the group said.

Guardian

Walter Wagbatsoma, Nigerian Oil Magnate Sent to Jail in UK

Walter Wagbatsoma

Nigerian businessman, Walter Wagbatsoma, 47, was on Wednesday sentenced to three years and six months imprisonment for money laundering in the United Kingdom.

Wagbatsoma was also disqualified from being a company director for six years.

A Nigerian court last year had sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment for fuel subsidy fraud .

According to Lincolnshire police, the convict fraudulently obtained funds in the UK were laundered through an account in Dubai under the control of a co-conspirator Oluwatoyin Allison, a UK national who was convicted in his absence at an earlier trial in April 2017 and sentenced to seven years imprisonment.

The funds were then transferred to Wagbatsoma’s account in the UK. Following a trial at Leicester Crown Court, a 13th defendant has been convicted of conspiracy to launder money in an international fraud and money laundering investigation.

This investigation was conducted by Lincolnshire Police Economic Crime Unit under Operation Tarlac, in which over £12m was defrauded from public bodies including hospital trusts, housing associations and councils around the UK.

Wagbatsoma was originally detained on a European Arrest Warrant in June 2016 while travelling through Germany. He was extradited soon afterwards and charged with conspiring with others to launder the proceeds of fraud through his business interests in the UK.
Wagbatsoma, an oil and gas businessman, was on trial in Nigeria at the time of his arrest for his part in a £1.9 billion oil subsidy fraud for which he was convicted and sentenced in his absence to 10-years imprisonment in January last year.

This is the third criminal trial for this operation and follows the successful conviction of 12 other defendants in the investigation which began with a complaint of fraud from Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust in September 2011, in which £1.28m was fraudulently obtained by the gang. Subsequently, a further 20 linked offences was identified resulting in losses of £12.6m.

After a four-year investigation, those convicted have received prison sentences in excess of 50-years and proceedings are underway to recover the gains of the conspiracy under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Detective Chief Inspector Steve Knubley, who heads Lincolnshire Police’s Economic Crime Unit, says officers painstakingly unravelled complicated trails of money transactions using financial data and other undisclosed techniques.
“We have got the convictions and now we are interested in recovering the equivalent cash and assets to the amount that the criminals benefitted”, Llincolnshirelive quoted him as saying.

“We have already commenced proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act and that can take up to three years to go through.
“We are really pleased with the results of this investigation. It concerned public money and it was really satisfying to put some serious criminals in prison. That, and protecting the public, is the job we do and the reason we joined.”
Knubley said it has been a tough case to crack.

He said: “Money would go out of the country to Dubai and eventually end up back in an account via a number of other accounts.
“It was a real challenge but we have some really clever people in the economic crime unit.
“It wasn’t as easy as following money from an account – the conspirators tried to show it had come from legitimate companies but we were able to show it had not.

“Wagbatsoma personally received a total of £480,000 from four of the frauds including Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Trust which came in 15 different payments.”

Deputy Chief Constable Craig Naylor said: “For a small force, this investigation shows that officers in our Economic Crime department have shown real endeavour and determination in investigating what is a huge money laundering and fraud offence.

“Operation Tarlac has now seen 13 individuals given lengthy prison sentences for their part in an international offence, which has had a national impact on public bodies in the UK. As a force, we have achieved a significant impact against organised crime in this investigation and this shows the hard work by our officers.

“Proceedings are now underway to recover a large amount of money, and I want to personally thank partners for their support and co-operation with us in this investigation and congratulate my officers and staff on a job well done.”

Culled from Thisday

Porn star Stormy Daniels opens up about 'generic sex' with Donald Trump just months after Melania gave birth

Details of the alleged affair have come to light in a newly-released interview, given in 2011 before the adult actress was reportedly paid £100,000 hush money

By

Christopher Bucktin

• 
  

The porn star who allegedly had an affair with Donald Trump has told how the President began their relationship just months after his wife Melania gave birth to their son.
Adult actress Stormy Daniels, who was allegedly paid £100,000 weeks before the 2016 election not to discuss her time with the US leader , claims he was terrible in bed.
“[The sex] was textbook generic,” Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, said in an interview with US magazine InTouch magazine in 2011.
It “was nothing crazy. It was one position, what you would expect someone his age to do.”
The seven-year-old interview was published for the first time yesterday after allegations emerged last week that Trump’s personal lawyer brokered a deal for her never to speak again.

Stormy Daniels claims she had sex with Donald Trump months after his wife Melania gave birth to their son (Image: FilmMagic)

Donald Trump denies the allegations (Image: AFP)

But before accepting the supposed payment weeks before Trump was elected the “Good Will Humping” star had already discussed her alleged liaison with Trump with InTouch.
She and the billionaire businessman met at a celebrity golf tournament in Nevada in 2006 — after Trump had married Melania and when their son, Barron, was just three months old, she said.
Clifford said she agreed to go back to his hotel room, where she says she teased him about his hair and he evaded her questions about Melania.
“He goes, ‘Oh, don’t worry about her,’” she recalled.
Eventually, Trump began pressuring her to get closer to him.

The adult actress, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, said the sex was "generic" (Image: Getty Images North America)

“He was sitting on the bed, and he was like, ‘Come here.’ And I was like, ‘Ugh, here we go,’ and we started kissing,” she said.
“I actually don’t even remember why I did it, but I do remember while we were having sex, I was like, ‘Please don’t try to pay me.’ And then I remember thinking, ‘But I bet if he did, it would be a lot,”’ she said, according to the mag.
Afterward, he asked her to sign a copy of her X-rated film “3 Wishes,” Clifford, 38, said.
She said the now President became “smitten” and started calling her every 10 days, promising to get her on The Apprentice and referring to her as “honeybunch,” she said.

She says Trump told her 'not to worry' about his wife Melania (Image: Getty Images North America)

She also recalls Trump comparing her to his daughter, Ivanka.
“He told me once that I was someone to be reckoned with, beautiful and smart just like his daughter,” Daniels said.
Despite the then-60-year-old Trump’s unremarkable performance between the sheets, the pair continued to meet up, including in his office at Trump Tower in 2007.
“Whether you’re a fan of his or not, which I never really was, you gotta admit he’s pretty fascinating,” she said of their relationship. “We had really good banter.”

The porn star says she was paid £100,000 to keep quiet (Image: Getty Images North America)

Responding to the claims Clifford received “hush money” the White House said last week: “These are old, recycled reports, which were published and strongly denied prior to the election.”
They refused to answer questions about a possible payment made to Clifford, who performed in around 150 porn films, including “Dirty Deeds,” “Nymphos” and “Good Will Humping,” an XXX-rated spoof of the flick “Good Will Hunting.”
Lawyer Michael Cohen, who is alleged to have brokered the deal with the porn star, also refused to talk about money.
He said: “President Trump once again vehemently denies any such occurrence as has Ms Daniels.”
“This is now the second time that you are raising outlandish allegations against my client. You have attempted to perpetuate this false narrative for over a year; a narrative that has been consistently denied by all parties since at least 2011,” Cohen added.
The president has repeatedly said that all of the more than a dozen women who’ve accused him of sexual misconduct or assault are liars.
Mirror News