Ex-Anglican Primate Adetiloye buried amid encomiums

The remains of the late Primate of the Anglican Communion, Most Reverend (Dr.) Joseph Adetiloye were buried in his home town, Odo-Owa, Ekiti yesterday. He was buried at St. Paul’s Millenium Anglican Church where the funeral service was also held.
The revered cleric died a few days before his 83rd birthday. The sleepy community witnessed an unprecedented number of visitors in its history as the Christian wake and funeral service were graced by the family members and many others from all walks of life.
The state Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, his wife Dame Fayemi, Police Affairs Minister, Navy Captain Caleb Olubolade (retd), former Governor of Western Region, General Adeyinka Adebayo (retd), former governors of Ekiti State, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, Ayo Fayose and Segun Oni were among dignitaries that were present at the funeral.
Taking his Bible reading from 2 Timothy 4: 7-8, the Primate of the Church, Most Reverend, Nicholas Okoh, admonished the congregation to see the occasion as an opportunity to mend their relationship with their creator.
He said: “Late Adetiloye struggled with man and sin and the elements of the world. He has finished the fight and now at rest. He has entered the eternal presence of God into eternal salvation.
“We are not here to help him, that is not possible now. We are here to see the possibility of changing our lives to make meaning here and hereafter. If you don’t understand it, I say to you that you need Jesus. You need him to make a case on the last day. If you have not settled with him, this is an opportunity to have a spiritual birth so that your future can have eternal meaning.”
He described the deceased as “a committed and powerful evangelist both locally and internationally. It is by divine arrangement that he is being buried today that we celebrate St. Paul who was a great servant of God. He waged a total war against secret societies and we should not in any way rehabilitate or revive it in the name of religion.”
The widow of the deceased, Titilayo Oyinola, in a chat with newsmen,said she would forever remember him as a man who loved God so much. “ He was a lovely and wonderful man of God. He loved to see everybody happy. He could go to any lenght to do this. He wanted fulfilment for everybody in a righteous way,” she said.
Governor Fayemi displayed a rare sense of humility when he was called upon to address the people by calling on Captain Olubolade, the representative of President Goodluck Jonathan to address the congregation.
Addressing the people, Captain Olubolade said: “ As you are aware, President Jonathan travelled and just returned and it an honour for me to represent him. We are gathered here to celebrate him who rose from humble beginning to become the head of the Anglican Communion. He undoubtedly excelled in his assignment while alive. He was a humane and a dependable community leader who was loved in return by people within and outside the country. President Jonathan commiserates with the family, the people of Odo- Owa, Ekiti State and the people of Nigeria.”
Governor Fayemi’s respect was, however, rewarded as he was immediately recalled to speak after Captain Olubolade.
“This is a celebration of life that was totally committed in all its sacrificial sense to the work of God. I am privileged to consider myself as one of his sons” the governor said, adding that “the late Primate’s Iddo Declaration speaks to all politicians in this land to declare that never again shall we spill the blood of our people on the altar of politics.
“I, as the governor, stand here to say that I will abide by this declaration. I want to on behalf of the politicians here present and others in the state say that we would all abide by it. I am putting N5million into the service of this church to assist in the propagation of the faith and evangelism which Baba lived and died for.”
In his tribute titled ‘The Primate on a Hill’, the governor described the late cleric as a fearless man who spoke the truth always. He said : “My earliest memories of Baba as we endearingly called him dates back to my days as a student of Christ School, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti, Nigeria. Baba used to live on top of the famous Agidimo Hill within the school. Baba was an integral part of the school life in that anytime we students ran into trouble with the school authority, the principal would run up to Baba on the hill for intervention. Baba would often come down and mediate in the impasse, ensuring the return of normalcy before he left.
“In the last years of his glorious life, though Baba was a global citizen, he demonstrated his love for the land of honour, Ekiti State, by refusing entreaties from more cosmopolitan states of the federation to settle down in retirement in his native Odo-Owa. Baba’s presence in the community no doubt raised its profile, not only considering the numerous distinguished visitors who paid homage to him, but also on account of him frequently putting his weight seeking solutions to issues that affected his kinsmen.
“In fact, the last time I spoke with him was when he called to discuss details of an ongoing project. However, Baba never laboured the goodwill and love he knew I had for him; majority of the times he called for the purpose of checking on my welfare and praying for me. The people of Ekiti State, Nigeria are extremely glad to have had Baba spend his last years with us.”
Governors Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State and their Ogun State counterpart, Governor Ibikunle Amosun, also paid tributes to the late indefatigible man of God. In his tribute titled ‘ Uncanny and Photographic Memory, Governor Fashola said: “Primate Adetiloye was truly a man of virtue and greatness. We are thankful to God for sending us his servant, indebted to the late Primate for his worthwhile contributions and proud to be counted him amongst our eminent citizens in Lagos.
“On behalf of grateful Lagos State, including my wife, Abimbola, the government and the people, we thank the family for graciously lending their son, brother, father and grandfather and pray for his joyful repose with the Lord. It is no less than he deserves.”
“He will be foundly remembered for being always on the side of the people and for his active involvement in the struggle for demilitarization and enthronement of democratic rule in the country. I urge the family not to mourn, but thank God Almighty for his life in the belief that he has transited to heavenly glory. May his gentle soul rest in perfect peace,” Governor Aregbesola stated in his tribute titled ‘Active Involvement in the Struggle for Demilitarization’.
Governor Amosun, in his tribute titled ‘A Life of Uncommon Dedication, said: “The Most Reverend Adetiloye lived a life of uncommon dedication to the service of God and humanity. During his 11years’ reign as the Primate, the Church of Nigeria witnessed spiritual transformation and complete eradication of secret cults. His messages on the pulpit were distinct and critical of a better society.

MAJOR ECONOMIC ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE JONATHAN ADMINISTRATION

Improvement in Economic Indices - In October 2011 International Ratings agency, Fitch Ratings revised the country’s Outlook upwards from Negative to Stable.

Standard and Poor’s another internationally respected and independent ratings agency, revised Nigeria's ratings from stable to Positive.

Signing into law the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Bill 2010 (Local Content Bill) which has increased Local Content in the Oil and Gas sector.

Ø As a direct result of that law Royal Dutch Shell awarded a N7.8 billion ($49.9 million) contract to a Nigerian firm, S.C.C Limited, for the manufacture of high pressure line pipes that would otherwise have been awarded to a foreign firm.

Ø As a result of this law, Exxon Mobil awarded an off shore platform contract to a local firm, NigerDockNig. PLC that would otherwise have been awarded to a foreign firm.

Initiating the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF). A seed capital of $1 billion was provided to kick start the fund as well as establish three sub funds- the Nigeria Infrastructure Fund; the Future Generations Fund and the Stabilization Fund which will be the pillars of the SWF.

Launched the Youth Enterprise with innovation in Nigeria (YOUWIN) initiative on the 11th October 2011 which is the administration's job creation centre piece.

Ø On Thursday April 12, 2012, 1,200 Nigerian youths emerged winners of the competition following a transparent process. Each winner receives a business start up grant of between 1 to 10 million Naira.

Foreign exchange reserves rose to $37.02bn by May 14, 2012, the highest level in 21 months.

On March 29th, 2011, The UK Government in London described Nigeria as the fourth fastest growing economy in the world.

On February 13 2012, President Goodluck Jonathan launched the Public Works Women and Youth Empowerment Programme, an intervention programme designed to employ 370,000 youths in the year 2012 with 30% of those jobs being reserved for women.

The Federal Government under President Jonathan has secured investment commitments worth 4.89 Trillion Naira.

Launched the NigComSat-1Rsatellite which will help expand Internet Bandwidth, monitor the weather and provide early warning to prevent natural disasters like floods, crop monitoring and urban planning. It has the attendant benefit of reducing the over $1 billion spent in purchasing Internet Bandwidth from abroad.

Nigeria’s banking industry rescued and stabilized by the establishment of the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) in the year 2010.

MasterCard made Nigeria its regional headquarters for its West/East and Indian Ocean islands zone raising the profile of Nigeria’s e-commerce industry.

Nigeria’s GDP grew by a record 8.29% during the last quarter of 2010 and by over 7% in 2011. In the first quarter of 2012 Nigeria had verifiably become the fourth fastest growing economy in the world as recently attested to by several multilateral bodies and trading partners.

Revival of the Textile industry via the 150 billion Naira Textile Industry Bailout. As a result the United Nigerian Textile Limited was reactivated amongst others and 2000 employees re-engaged.

Non oil exports from 2010 (standing at $2.3 Billion) and subsequent years are ten times what they were in 2000 (which were $200 Million) as a direct result of this administration’s intervention in the Textile Industry and Real Sector.

UPDATE: Govt raises 11-man panel to probe Police Colleges’ rot

The Federal Government yesterday set up an 11-man committee to probe the rot in Police Colleges.

The committee will also ascertain the amount of money appropriated for the police to renovate and upgrade the police institutions between 2009 and 2012.

Director, Special duties in the Police Affairs Ministry is the head of the probe team raised by Police Affairs Minister Omoniyi Olubolabe.

The committee has one week to submit its report.

President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday visited the Police College in Lagos after Channels Television exposed the rot in the school.

Members of the committee are: Rep. of NPF-Vice Chairman, Director, Finance and Account-Member, Director, PID-Member, Director, PSD-Member, 3 Nos. Representatives of NPF-Member, Legal Adviser-Member, Head of Budget Division-Member, Head of Internal Audit-Member, Head of External Audit-Member and Secretary-PRS.

The committee’s term of reference are:

•To ascertain the amount of funds appropriated by the Federal Government of Nigeria to the NPF for renovations/upgrade of the Nigeria Police Institutions between 2009 and 2012 and total donations received in the period under review.

•To examine the budget proposed/appropriated by NPF for the Training Institutions between 2009 and 2012

•To verify the utilisation of the appropriation to the NPF for the upgrade of facilities in the following Police Training Institutions.

•Detective College Enugu;

•PMF Training Schools Gwoza and

•Illa Oragun, ATS Training School, Nonwa Tai;

•Police Colleges Ikeja, Kaduna, Maiduguri, Oji-River, PTS Iperu.

•To ascertain if the Heads of the NPF Formations were regularly updating the NPF Management on the conditions of the Institutions between 2009 – 2012 and what actions were taken by the Management of NPF sequel to such;

•To examine the design and capacity of the institutions vis-à-vis the current number of intakes;

•To examine the current condition of infrastructure in all the NPF training institutions and make appropriate recommendations to Government;

•To consider any other matter relevant.

Olubolade said his ministry and the police management team will address the rot in police colleges in the country without delay.

He spoke to reporters after a meeting with Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar at the Force Headquarters yesterday. ,The minister said the matter is of priority to the government.

Olubolade said the meeting with the IGP centred on how to fix the decay in police colleges and how to tackle the rising wave of terrorism, kidnapping and other criminal activities in the land.

The minister said: “We looked at the training of policemen and the training institutions not only on police colleges because solving the problem of police colleges alone is not enough.

“We will solve the problem of police colleges and that of other training institutions including the Police Academy in Kano as well as the Staff College in Jos.

“Once we address those issues, we will be making better progress. So, if you ask me, this meeting was aimed at repositioning the police to attend to training matters. To attend to operational matters so that this year, we will see a better policing in Nigeria police.”

“Nigerians should expect a highly professional police force that will stand up and face the challenges that are confronting our nation. And to do that, I have to constantly meet with the management team headed by the IGP who is here with me as many times as possible.

“This is to ensure that we are on course with our plan, to ensure that whatever we asked for to make the police force more efficient, is given to us. It is also to ensure that we are making progress in fighting crime, criminality and terrorism.

“Like I said, I am here to follow up on what I have just spoken about; to interact with the IGP and his management team, to look at lapses that may exist and how we will surmount them because it is a joint effort and I think it is critical to do that.

“The IGP is making some progress in certain areas and I will also have to look at them”.

UPDATE: CAN dares Catholic Church, describes them as appendage of PDP

The Christian Association of Nigeria has dared Catholic block to pull out of the organization, accusing them of arrogance.
Catholic Bishop’s Conference of Nigeria, CBCN, on Wednesday in Abeokuta, Ogun State Capital threatened to pull out of the National Christian body over the alleged romance of the CAN leadership with the federal government.
CAN however blamed CBCN action on the loss of the Presidency to Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria President, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, rather than being too close to the government as alleged. Oritsejafor also doubled as the President of CAN.

*Oritsejafor

The Public Relations Officer of the 19 Northern States of CAN and Abuja, Mr. Sunny Oibe, in an interview with Journalists, Wednesday night also described the conference as an appendage of PDP, who speaks with the two sides of their mouth.
His words, “There is no division in CAN and we are all speaking with one language. There are some certain elements in the leadership of CBCN led by Cardinal John Onaiyekan because he lost PFN Presidency to Oritsejafor who has a lot of achievements.
“There is no need for anybody to lose sleep over the threat by Catholics to pull out of CAN because without them CAN will still continue. The constitution of CAN makes provision that membership can be terminated by any group that is misbehaving or any group can also terminate their membership.
“Why is it that when Catholics were in the leadership of CAN, every bloc supported them but now because power has changed hands, they are threatening to pull out and causing confusion?”
“They have been agitating that the Presidency of CAN must come from the South. They are appendage of PDP and PDP themselves. They are known for double standards. A man of God should not be double speaking”.
Accordding to Oibe who is also the spokesperson of the President of “Tarayar Ekklisiyar Kristi A Nijeriya”, a conglomeration of 13 church groups in CAN, Catholics should not mislead the public even if they want to pull out.
He added, “The Catholics are claiming that the  current CAN leadership has deviated from the vision of the founding fathers when they don’t even know how CAN came about. What did the Catholics know about the vision of the founding fathers?
“CAN was formed because of the marginalization of Christians in the North. The Christians in the North, particularly those of them from the TEKAN extraction came together and formed Northern Christian Association. It was that body that metamorphosed to CAN”.
He further disclosed that when CAN was to register during the Obasanjo’s administration, “the leadership was given to them because Catholics were in leadership; I want to correct that impression because they have been telling the world that they are the founding fathers of CAN.
“Catholics have accused the current CAN leadership led by Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor of being pro-government. But if you look at the whole scenario, you will be able to find out who between Oritsejafor and Onaiyekan  is more close to government.
“The problem of Catholics is that they always display arrogance of knowledge. They don’t want to be under anybody but they want everybody to be under them. it doesn’t work like that because there is no seniority in CAN”.

vanguard

Original Copy Of Catholic Church Of Nigeria's Letter Withrawing From The Christian Association Of Nigeria (CAN)

The Nigerian Catholic Church says it has ‘temporarily’ withdrawn its membership of the Christian  Association of Nigeria (CAN) in order to promote Christian unity and peaceful coexistence amongst  Christians and non-Christians alike.

A spokesperson of the Church,  Rev. Fr. Dr. Cornelius Omonokhua, said the action taken by the Catholic Church will be reviewed after the annual meeting of the Conference of Bishops in February.
Dr. Omonokhua listed as reasons for the pull out to include the polarizing statements of some Christian leaders; the use of money in CAN elections; and several court cases involving state chapters of CAN.
He said as members of CAN, Catholic leaders have quietly brought these concerns to CAN leadership but that their advice was shunted aside as the CAN leadership repeatedly accused them of ‘intellectual arrogance.’
He pointed out that the Catholic Church is some 1,000 years old and has the experience and knowledge to offer advice and moral leadership to CAN and has done so many times.
But, Dr. Omonokhua said, "You just can't save people who are drowning, if you are drowning with them."
He also said that the leadership of CAN is not the leadership of Nigerian Christians, since most of the churches are autonomous.  As such, the pullout will not create any vacuum.
Asked if the Catholics were concerned about material acquisition by CAN leaders, he said the Catholic Church does not want to tell church leaders how to live their lives, but cautioned that modesty was lacking among some church leaders in Nigeria of today. He said Catholic priests have sworn an oath of poverty and as such could not partake in the material acquisition of worldly things.
“We will be happy if CAN leadership can show moderation,” he said.  “Common sense dictates that they do that.”
 

The Nigerian Catholic Church letter expalining why it has decided to withdraw its membership of the Christian  Association of Nigeria (CAN) in order to promote Christian unity and peaceful coexistence amongst  Christians and non-Christians alike.





Sahara Reporters

EFCC Arraigns Malaysia-Based Undergraduate Scammer Monday

 
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has concluded arrangement to arraign a Malaysia- based Nigerian fraudsters, Hope Olusegun Aroke and his accomplice, Tafida Garuba Ibrahim before a Federal High Court, Lagos tomorrow, Monday January 21, 2013. They will be docked before Justice Mohammed Idris on two separate charges of Money laundering and False Declaration of Assets.

Aroje was one of two Malaysia-based Nigerian undergraduate fraudsters arrested by the EFCC in the closing weeks of 2012 at the 1004 Housing Estate, Victoria Island, Lagos following a tip- off. The 25 year-old indigene of Okene, Kogi State claims to be a student of Computer Science at the Kuala Lumpur Metropolitan University, Malaysia. But the Commission’s investigation fingered him as the arrow head of an intricate web of internet fraud scheme that traverse two continents.

His accomplice, Tafida Ibrahim is a Bureau De Change operator. Through him, Aroke was able to launder proceeds of multiple scams to the tune of over N31million. The duo enjoy a cozy business relationship that saw Ibrahim travel to Malaysia twice between September and October 2012 at the instance of Aroke.

When Aroke was arrested, a search conducted by EFCC operatives on his apartment led to the recovery of several items such as laptops, iPad phones, travelling documents, cheque books, flash drives, internet modem, and three exotic cars - a Mercedes Benz Jeep, One 4Matic Mercedes Benz Car and a Range Rover Sport SUV.

Operatives of the EFCC also downloaded over 80 implicating documents from the laptops recovered from him.I think we should atleast clap for the efcc if they cannot jail Tinubus' the Otedolas, the Lawal farouqs of this world they can jail this guys.

Senator Ganiyu Solomon: I’ll Be Next Lagos Governor

 

—by Jamiu Yisa
The Minority Whip of Nigeria’s Senate, Ganiyu Olanrewaju Solomon, GOS, has declared that he would be the next governor of Lagos State, come 2015.
The Senator who represents Lagos West Senatorial district made this declaration on Thursday while speaking on one-on-one, an interactive programme on the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA).
He explained that with his experience and developmental vision nursed over the years for the state, he was more than prepared to take the state further.
“I have the experience and I am convinced that I will take the state further from where it is now,” he said.
The former member of the House of Representatives where he represented Mushin Federal Constituency I, also dwelt on the agitation for local government’s autonomy.
He said while the councils could not have full autonomy, they deserve a degree of independence to be able to function effectively, especially in terms of finance. He said it amounts to sheer semantics calling them by whatever names such as administrative vehicle or arm.
GOS frowned at the state of local government administration in the country, saying that as a former council chairman, things were different in his days as they had their allocation directly from the federation account and as such, could put development to serious task.
The lawmaker who is serving his second term as a senator, however, defended the attitude of the state government to the councils in the state, saying no local government chairman has come out to protest perceived injustice.
On the ongoing constitution review which public hearing he chaired in the Southwest, GOS said some of the key issues that dominated discourse include special status for Lagos, council administration, state creation and state police.
He noted that a referendum may be impossible because it is not provided for in the clause that pertains to amendment of the constitution.
“We cannot choose to embrace whatever suits us to define our federalism in terms of character. I support state police because it will reflect the character of federalism in the true sense of it,” he said.
GOS described the controversial allowances of National Assembly members as over-exaggerated, explaining that the Budget Act is a document of the National Assembly which comes from the executive as mere proposal and that it is the duty of the parliament to determine what goes where, if convinced by the presentations of the various ministries.
He also described as misplaced, opinions of certain people who would rather the National Assembly passed the budget as presented by the executive, noting that the document is the parliament’s and not the executive’s as may have been misconstrued.
He condemned in strong terms, the menace of political thugs in the society and established a link between the ugly trend and the growing unemployment rate in the country, adding that it was a global concern and must be addressed as such.

Court SACKS Oyinlola as PDP's National Secretary

A Federal High Court on Friday sacked former Osun State Governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, from office as the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party. Delivering judgment in a suit filed by the Ogun State Executive Committee (SEC) of the PDP, Justice Abdul Kafarati, voided the nomination of Oyinlola as the candidate of the South West Zonal Chapter of the PDP and his consequent election as National Secretary at the party’s National Convention in March last year.
Relying on the order and two separate judgments of the Federal High Court, Lagos, which nullified the South West zonal congress that produced Oyinlola as candidate, Justice Kafarati held that his nomination and subsequent election were invalid, null and void.
The judge arrived at the decision after assuming jurisdiction and dismissing the preliminary objection of Oyinlola and the PDP. The court held that the suit was not an intra-party affair of the party as claimed by (Oyinlola and PDP) but a cause of action seeking the interpretation of the two separate judgments of the Federal High Court, Lagos, that nullified the zonal congress.
According to the judge, the suit did not constitute an abuse of court process, therefore it is “justiceable”, adding “the action discloses reasonable cause of action.”
“On the whole, the two preliminary objections are dismissed. All the three questions are answered in affirmative and the reliefs sought granted.”
Oyinlola said the judgment was a misapplication of principle of justice. The state’s PDP Chairman, Adebayo Dayo, hailed the judge for the courageous judgment. He expressed hope that the party’s national leaders would obey the court’s ruling.

NIGERIA MADE 20th FORBES LIST OF SADDEST NATION(see ranking)

 
"The influential Forbes Magazine, has listed the country as ranking high in global index for harbouring one of the world's saddest people, saying the country's leadership must move from corrupt practices and official profligacy to render quality leadership to the people.Nigeria also shares the same unenviable position with several other African and Asian countries of the world with the war torn Central African Republic topping the chart as the country harbouring the saddest people in the globe." - Leadership Newes

1. Central African Republic

2. Republic of Congo

3. Afghanistan

4. Chad

5. Haiti

6. Burundi

7. Togo

8. Zimbabwe

9. Yemen

10. Ethiopia

11. Pakistan

12. Iraq

13. Liberia

14. Angola

15. Sierra Leone

16. Guinea

17. Ivory Coast

18. Sudan

19. Mozambique

20. Nigeria