WOODPECKER BLOG

The PDP apology: Seven sins Secondus should confess On March 27, 20185:36 amIn News, Politics24 Comments By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor Yesterday’s plea for forgiveness by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, profuse as it was, however, did not mark out the sins of the former ruling party in its 16 years in power. Secondus: We are sorry The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Prince Uche Secondus, would have been shocked by the reaction he got from the All Progressives Congress, APC yesterday after he made profuse apologies for the mistakes of his party while in power. Speaking during a national discourse on contemporary politics and governance in Nigeria in Abuja, Secondus said: “I am the very first to admit that our party the People’s Democratic Party of Nigeria made many mistakes. Consequently, we were roundly sanctioned by Nigerians occasioning our loss at the polls in 2015. Let me seize this opportunity to apologize to Nigerians unequivocally...

Danjuma Asks Nigerians To Defend Themselves Against Killers, Says ‘Armed Forces Not Neutral’ Theophilus Danjuma, a former minister of defence, has asked Nigerians to defend themselves against killers. Danajuma said this on Saturday while speaking at the maiden convocation of Taraba State University. He said the army and other security agencies colluded with killers to attack Nigerians. by Dyepkazah Shibayan, TheCable Mar 24, 2018 Theophilus Danjuma, a former minister of defence, has asked Nigerians to defend themselves against killers. Danajuma said this on Saturday while speaking at the maiden convocation of Taraba State University. He said the army and other security agencies colluded with killers to attack Nigerians. Theophilus Danjuma TheCable The retired general accused the army of “bias”, saying it has failed in its responsibility of securing the country from attacks. “The armed forces are not neutral. They collude with the armed ba...

Nigeria's Debt Profile: Smallest State Has Largest Debt The debt stock data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that the smallest state in Nigeria- Lagos, with a landmass of 3,345km, has the largest debt burden among all states. The state’s debt stock is 35.61% of the country's foreign borrowings. Kaduna (5.79%), Edo (5.64%), Cross River 4.08% and Enugu 3.23%, are all clustered behind Lagos.  by SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORK Mar 27, 2018 The debt stock data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that the smallest state in Nigeria- Lagos, with a landmass of 3,345km, has the largest debt burden among all states. The state’s debt stock is 35.61% of the country's foreign borrowings. Kaduna (5.79%), Edo (5.64%), Cross River 4.08% and Enugu 3.23%, are all clustered behind Lagos. The spread of domestic debts is more even; Lagos takes up only 10.85% of the stock in this category. Sokoto state ...

Nigerian Youths Must Fight For Real Change Posted: 26 Mar 2018 04:55 AM PDT By Dan Amor I am first and foremost a Nigerian child. Then I am a depressed Nigerian youth. Depression obviously has its several roots: it is the doubtful protection which comes from not recognizing failure. It is the psychic burden of exhaustion, and also and very often, that discipline of the will or the ego which enables one to continue fighting, continue working, when one’s unadmitted emotion is in panic.  And panic, it is, I think, which sits as the largest single sentiment in the heart of the collective members of my own generation. Today, I find myself in an overwhelmingly urban society, a distinctly urban creature. Thus, I am adequately informed of current developments in my country. I am anxious, angry, humorless, suspicious of my own society, apprehensive with relation to the future of my own country. Quixotic, yet optimistic, I am on the prowl for the immediate and remot...

Buhari's Communications Minister Adebayo Shittu Owns 12 Luxury Homes, N93m Printing Press And 25 Cars-Spokesperson Victor Oluwadamilare, Special Assistant Media to Mr. Adebayo Shittu, Minister of Communications, has accused his boss of greed and wickedness. Mr. Oluwadamilare made the allegations in a letter to the minister. Dated March 12 and exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters, the former spokesperson’s letter said Mr. Adebayo owes him the sum of N13million in emoluments from November 2015 to the end of March 2018. Despite Mr.  Shittu’s refusal to pay, said Oluwadamilare, the minister has been living a lush life. ictor Oluwadamilare, Special Assistant Media to Mr. Adebayo Shittu, Minister of Communications, has accused his boss of greed and wickedness. Mr. Oluwadamilare made the allegations in a letter to the minister. Dated March 12 and exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters, the former spokesperson’s letter said Mr. Adebayo owes him the su...

The lone hostage — 25th March 2018 Truly, politicians are a rare breed of humans.   Self-interest is the foundation of their ways, thought process and behaviours. The meanness of most of them is as shocking as the extravagance of the poor (Voltaire); their poverty of the spirit beyond comprehension. Their lives and everything in them are about self, self and self. With them, all things start and end with the quantum of political capital they can make out of any situation, no matter how grim and heart-shattering. Like the mass abductions of 273 students at Government Girls Secondary School,   Chibok, between April 14 and 15, 2014, and 110 from Government Girls Science and Technical School, Dapchi, Yobe State, on February 19, this year. That is the only way I could interpret the staccato of responses that have been coming from the various political camps in Nigeria since...

Voting for Buhari will not give Igbo Presidency –Ex-Gov. Udenwa — 24th March 2018                   Imo guber : We’ll resist imposition of Okorocha’s son-in-law Former governor of Imo State, Chief Achike Udenwa has expressed worries over the spate of violence in the country. He believes that the All Progressives Congress(APC) has no solutions to the situation. In this interview with WILLY EYA , he spoke on various issues including the determination of people of Imo State to resist the imposition of Governor Rochas Okorocha’s son in-law, Mr Uche Nwosu on the state. How do you feel about the state of affairs in the country today especially with the spate of violence and wanton killings in Nigeria ahead of the 2019 general elections? The state of the nation is nothing to write home about. There is so much suffering in the land. A lot of people are not employed. The prices of goods are ris...

Why we did not sign Africa free trade agreement — Zambia March 23, 2018 Agency Report   Zambia did not sign the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as it was still conducting internal negotiations on some protocols in the agreement, a Zambian official said. On Wednesday, 44 African countries signed the agreement to launch the AfCFTA during an extraordinary summit of the African Union (AU) in Kigali, Rwanda. Zambia’s foreign minister, Joseph Malanji, said Zambia only signed the African Free Trade Area Declaration and not the agreement. He said in a statement that Zambia had negotiated the protocol on goods and services and the dispute settlement mechanism, while the remaining protocols, including on trade competition, investment and the intellectual property, were yet to be negotiated. The minister, however, said the signing of the declaration shows that Zambia stands with all other African countries in the quest to improve intra-Africa trade. Meanwhile,...