WOODPECKER BLOG

- Presidential guards take over National Assembly as Buhari presents 2017 Budget today President Muhammadu Buhari will today, December 14 visit the National Assembly - Buhari will present the 2017 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the legislature - This is Buhari’s second budget since he assumed office in May 2015 President Muhammadu Buhari will today, December 14 present the 2017 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly by 10 am. Pres ident Buhari had expressed optimism that the 2017 budget will Nigeria out of recession The president will be accompanied to the National Assembly by top federal government functionaries to lay the document which will be the second since he assumed office in May 2015. The Federal Executive Council had on Wednesday, November 30 approved the document for presentation to the National Assembly. “The 2017 budget has been approved by the Federal Executive Council and the details will be revealed when the presi...

UGOCHUKWU EJINKEONYE Mr. President, Pythons Do Not Dance! Posted: 11 Dec 2016 12:08 PM PST By Obi Nwakanma   In a badly worded press release announced last week, the Nigerian Army declared what it called “Operation Python Dance,” aimed, the Army says, at anticipating and curtailing violence in the South East through the Christmas period. The language of that press statement signed by Colonel Sagir Musa was only slightly better than the extremely poor and bombastic English of an earlier statement by the Army’s Public Relations Office signed by Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, Army Director of Public Affairs, that challenged Amnesty International’s damning report about the Nigerian Army’s extrajudicial killings of unarmed Biafran activists and protesters.     *President Buhari with Military Service Chiefs The Army’s response and denial of Amnesty’s report was not only incompetent, in that it lied about the Biafrans, but ...

Pix 1:  Governor Rochas Okorocha in a group photograph with officers from the National Defence College who paid courtesy call on him at the Government House Owerri, on Monday, October 10, 2016.  1st left; leader of the team Air Vice-Marshal H.C. Okpala and other officers.  1st right: Rt. Hon. Acho Ihim (Speaker, Imo State House of Assembly), Chief of Staff Government House, Chief Uche Nwosu (2 nd right), and other senior government functionaries.   Pix 2:  Governor Rochas Okorocha receiving a Plaque from Air Vice-Marshal H.C. Okpala, who led a team of other officers from the National Defence College (NDC) on a courtesy call to the Government House Owerri on Monday, October 10, 2016

Nigeria @56 And The Worship Of Baal Posted: 04 Oct 2016  By Fani-Kayode Nigeria   is 56 years old today. Consequently it is time to speak some home-truths and look at where we are in the scheme of things. It is time to consider how well our government has fared since coming to power and to compare their record of service to previous governments that were in the saddle before them. Sadly the score sheet does not look too good. The rigging of elections, the persecution of opposition figures, the demonisation of dissenters, the destruction of the economy, the pauperisation of our people, the introduction of famine, the humiliation of Nigerians coupled with violence, impunity, aggression, intolerance and tyranny: that is all President Muhammadu Buhari and his government have served our people since he was sworn in on May 29th 2015. The last one year and four months have been the worst since independence in terms of the violation of human rights, civil libertie...